Aaron Down

As the world's progressively trended harder towards an all-digital future, my Millennial self has only clinged to the physical harder. Old PS2 games. A 2006 iPod Nano; the list of relics of a bygone era that populate my house is ever-growing. At Christmas, I would be gassed to see a Steam gift card slip out of a card, but even that tangible good is going away, with Valve announcing it will no longer restock them.

Overwatch has revealed its 53rd playable character, and Shion definitely isn't putting the 'hero' in 'hero shooter.' The Hashimoto Clan's "most terrifying elder" made her big debut in a new animated trailer, which may clue us in to what her kit is going to look like. Shion's design is incredibly cool. She's an omnic like Orisa, Ramattra, and Zenyatta, but she's capable of human facial expressions, though her mouth isn't synced to her voice module.

Stars Reach is the upcoming sci-fi sandbox MMO from former Ultima design lead Raph Koster's Playable Worlds. It's a hugely ambitious project, integrating all sorts of simulatory tech to give players a ridiculous level of control over their environments. Complex terraforming of entire planets is possible here, and you never know what sorts of creatures you'll have to fend off, or what material you'll be able to farm to help make your millions.