The nominees for the 79th Golden Globe Awards have been announced, with Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog leading the pack.

Both Belfast and The Power of the Dog have totted up 7 nominations with both films up for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

This year’s nominees were announced by rapper Snoop Dogg and HFPA president Helen Hoehne during an official Golden Globes 2022 livestream on Monday. Belfast landed a long list of nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay along with Best Actor (Jamie Dornan and Ciarán Hinds), Best Actress (Caitriona Balfe), and Best Original Song.

The Power of the Dog also landed Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay nominations, as well as Best Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actor (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Best Supporting Actress (Kirsten Dunst), and Best Original Score.

Marvel and Disney+ also bagged two leading acting award nominations for Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany for WandaVision.

Other hot contenders in the film categories include Don’t Look Up, which bagged 4 nominations despite mixed reviews, and West Side Story which was also nominated for 4 awards along with King Richard.

This year’s Best Animated Film is dominated by Disney, with the studio totting up 3 nominations in one category, for Encanto, Luca and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Leonardo DiCaprio has received a nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his role in Don’t Look Up, which is bound to prove divisive. But Kristen Stewart is already taking steps towards that Oscar with her Best Actress nomination for Spencer.

This year’s Golden Globe Awards could be the first that won’t be broadcast live, after NBC pulled out of the awards following backlash over the HFPA’s lack of action when it comes to diversifying its membership. However, the HFPA still plans to hold the ceremony, with the winners potentially announced via press conference.

Meanwhile, Succession has swept the board when it comes to the TV categories, with nominations for Best Drama Series as well as its stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook. Both Ted Lasso and The Morning Show followed with 4 nominations each. Netflix was also the leading studio this year with a staggering 17 nominations - 12 more than any of its competitors.

The complete list of 2021 Golden Globes nominees follows:

Nominees for Best Motion Picture – Drama

• Belfast
• CODA
• Dune
• King Richard
• The Power of the Dog

Nominees for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Cyrano
• Don’t Look Up
• Licorice Pizza
• Tick, tick… BOOM!
• West Side Story

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Mahershala Ali, Swan Song
• Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Will Smith, King Richard
• Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

• Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
• Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
• Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
• Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
• Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up
• Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
• Andrew Garfield, Tick, tick… BOOM!
• Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza
• Anthony Ramos, In the Heights

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

• Marion Cotillard, Annette
• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Jennifer Lawrence, Don’t Look Up
• Emma Stone, Cruella
• Rachel Zegler, West Side Story

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
• Jamie Dornan, Belfast
• Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
• Troy Kotsur, CODA
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• Caitriona Balfe, Belfast
• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
• Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
• Ruth Nega, Passing

Nominees for Best Director – Motion Picture

• Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
• Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
• Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Nominees for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
• Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos

Nominees for Best Motion Picture – Animated

• Encanto
• Flee
• Luca
• My Sunny Maad
• Raya and the Last Dragon

Nominees for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language

• Compartment No. 6
• Drive My Car
• Hand of God
• A Hero
• Parallel Mothers

Nominees for Best Original Score – Motion Picture

• Alexandre Desplat, The French Dispatch
• Germaine Franco, Encanto
• Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
• Alberto Iglesias, Parallel Mothers
• Hans Zimmer, Dune

Nominees for Best Original Song – Motion Picture

• Be Alive from King Richard
• Dos Oruguitas from Encanto
• Down to Joy from Belfast
• Here I am (Singing My Way Home) from Respect
• No Time To Die from No Time To Die

Nominees for Best Television Series – Drama

• Lupin
• The Morning Show
• Pose
• Squid Game
• Succession

Nominees for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• The Great
• Hacks
• Only Murders in the Building
• Reservation Dogs
• Ted Lasso

Nominees for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Dopesick
• Impeachment: American Crime Story
• Maid
• Mare of Easttown
• The Underground Railroad

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama

• Brian Cox, Succession
• Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
• Billy Porter, Pose
• Jeremy Strong, Succession
• Omar Sy, Lupin

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

• Uzo Aduba, In Treatment
• Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
• Christine Baranski, The Good Fight
• Elisabeth moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
• Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pose

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
• Nicholas Hoult, The Great
• Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
• Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
• Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
• Elle Fanning, The Great
• Issa Rae, Insecure
• Tracee Ellis Rose, Black-ish
• Jean Smart, Hacks

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

• Paul Bettany, Wandavision
• Oscar Isaac, Scenes from a Marriage
• Michael Keaton, Dopesick
• Ewan McGregor, Halston
• Tahar Rahim, The Serpent

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television

• Jessica Chastain, Scenes from a Marriage
• Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha
• Elizabeth Olson, Wandavision
• Margaret Qualley, Maid
• Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
• Kieran Culkin, Succession
• Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
• Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
• O Yeong-su, Squid Game

Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus
• Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick
• Andie MacDowell, Maid
• Sarah Snook, Succession
• Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

The winners of the 79th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on Sunday, January 9, 2022. Stay tuned to IGN for coverage of the awards.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

For the first time, Ubisoft is supporting an Assassin's Creed game with a second year of paid and free content, as the developer has revealed big plans for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. In addition to a newly announced crossover event featuring two Assassin's Creed protagonists, a major paid DLC expansion is coming to Assassin's Creed Valhalla next year.

Titled Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, the story expansion is coming to the game on March 10, 2022, and it will take Eivor to the realm of Norse mythology as the character embraces a new role as the Norse God Odin.

Developed by Ubisoft Sofia, who previously worked on 2014's Assassin's Creed Rogue and The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC for Assassin's Creed Origins, this new DLC story is set to be the franchise's largest yet. Ubisoft says Dawn of Ragnarok contains over 35 hours of gameplay, with a Norse realm to explore that's one-third the size of Valhalla's England.

In this expansion, Eivor drinks a potion that transports them into the world of Svartalfheim, a mythology-infused world under invasion. Here, as Eivor embraces the role of Odin, they set out on a mission to save their son Baldr. Along the way, the player will interact with Dwarves, Frost Giants, and more creatures from Norse mythology.

Dawn of Ragnarok will introduce new hooks into the combat already established in the Assassin's Creed Valhalla base game. For example, a new ability allows the player to absorb power and abilities from defeated enemies, changing the way a battle can play out. One of these abilities will let you resurrect defeated enemies to fight on your side. The DLC's creative director says the supernatural elements play a key role in the gameplay.

"In Dawn of Ragnarok players will experience what [it] feels like to be a God," Mikhail Lozanov of Ubisoft Sofia said. "To harness the powers of defeated enemies is one of the key new additions to the expansion."

Recent Assassin's Creed games have been diving more and more into mythology. Assassin's Creed Origins dove into Ancient Egyptian mythology, while Odyssey saw figures from Greek mythos including Medusa, Cyclops, the Minotaur, and more.

Typically, Assassin's Creed games have wrapped up with post-launch support after the game's first year. With Valhalla, the team is continuing the project onto its second year, a first for the franchise. The devs say this decision is simply because there were more ideas on the table for what to do with Valhalla.

"Since the production of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we knew we wanted to re-invent our post-launch support as during the previous opuses the team often felt there were more stories or ideas we could have delivered to the player," Jose Araiza of Ubisoft Montreal said. "For this reason, we came up with a plan to deliver on the team's ambitions and things like the festivals and the game modes came to life. Additionally, the reception from the players has been very positive, and seeing that they are still accompanying us is what makes year 2 possible."

We do know that the next mainline game in the series, called Assassin's Creed Infinity, is in development, but Ubisoft has not given any specific details about the project. Rumors indicate the new game is designed to run for years as a live service game, with new content released over time. One could read into this new Valhalla roadmap as testing the waters for the live service concept, but Ubisoft did not comment on the specifics of where the franchise is going from here.

In addition to the major expansion and the crossover event with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Valhalla players can also check out The Siege of Paris, Wrath of the Druids, and the game's Discovery Tour.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

For the first time, Ubisoft is supporting an Assassin's Creed game with a second year of paid and free content, as the developer has revealed big plans for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. In addition to a newly announced crossover event featuring two Assassin's Creed protagonists, a major paid DLC expansion is coming to Assassin's Creed Valhalla next year.

Titled Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, the story expansion is coming to the game on March 10, 2022, and it will take Eivor to the realm of Norse mythology as the character embraces a new role as the Norse God Odin.

Developed by Ubisoft Sofia, who previously worked on 2014's Assassin's Creed Rogue and The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC for Assassin's Creed Origins, this new DLC story is set to be the franchise's largest yet. Ubisoft says Dawn of Ragnarok contains over 35 hours of gameplay, with a Norse realm to explore that's one-third the size of Valhalla's England.

In this expansion, Eivor drinks a potion that transports them into the world of Svartalfheim, a mythology-infused world under invasion. Here, as Eivor embraces the role of Odin, they set out on a mission to save their son Baldr. Along the way, the player will interact with Dwarves, Frost Giants, and more creatures from Norse mythology.

Dawn of Ragnarok will introduce new hooks into the combat already established in the Assassin's Creed Valhalla base game. For example, a new ability allows the player to absorb power and abilities from defeated enemies, changing the way a battle can play out. One of these abilities will let you resurrect defeated enemies to fight on your side. The DLC's creative director says the supernatural elements play a key role in the gameplay.

"In Dawn of Ragnarok players will experience what [it] feels like to be a God," Mikhail Lozanov of Ubisoft Sofia said. "To harness the powers of defeated enemies is one of the key new additions to the expansion."

Recent Assassin's Creed games have been diving more and more into mythology. Assassin's Creed Origins dove into Ancient Egyptian mythology, while Odyssey saw figures from Greek mythos including Medusa, Cyclops, the Minotaur, and more.

Typically, Assassin's Creed games have wrapped up with post-launch support after the game's first year. With Valhalla, the team is continuing the project onto its second year, a first for the franchise. The devs say this decision is simply because there were more ideas on the table for what to do with Valhalla.

"Since the production of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we knew we wanted to re-invent our post-launch support as during the previous opuses the team often felt there were more stories or ideas we could have delivered to the player," Jose Araiza of Ubisoft Montreal said. "For this reason, we came up with a plan to deliver on the team's ambitions and things like the festivals and the game modes came to life. Additionally, the reception from the players has been very positive, and seeing that they are still accompanying us is what makes year 2 possible."

We do know that the next mainline game in the series, called Assassin's Creed Infinity, is in development, but Ubisoft has not given any specific details about the project. Rumors indicate the new game is designed to run for years as a live service game, with new content released over time. One could read into this new Valhalla roadmap as testing the waters for the live service concept, but Ubisoft did not comment on the specifics of where the franchise is going from here.

In addition to the major expansion and the crossover event with Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Valhalla players can also check out The Siege of Paris, Wrath of the Druids, and the game's Discovery Tour.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Ubisoft is supporting Assassin's Creed Valhalla with a second year's worth of content, and it kicks off later this week with a big crossover event featuring the return of a fan-favorite character from the Assassin's Creed franchise.

A free content update is coming to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, as well as the previous game in the series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey on December 14 that unites the two timelines. Odyssey protagonist Kassandra will cross paths with Valhalla protagonist Eivor in a new event called, Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories.

The event includes a new quest in both Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Valhalla where the encounter between the two characters will be a playable quest. This crossover event means the Viking era of Assassin's Creed Valhalla will come face-to-face with the ancient Greek setting from Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

This quest event is a collaboration between Ubisoft Quebec and Ubisoft Montreal. The devs say they may continue to explore the idea of different classic Assassin's Creed characters meeting each other in new ways.

"The Assassin’s Creed content is connected by characters, lore, locations, eras, motivations and more," said Clémence Nogrix, the Associate Creative Director at Ubisoft Quebec. "We had so much fun imagining how interesting the encounter would be between two of our main Assassin’s Creed heroes, we may want to explore new paths in the future."

As for what that future could look like? We already know of the development of Assassin's Creed Infinity, which is rumored to be a live service game featuring multiple historical eras. This could mean this Kassandra and Eivor team-up could be a taste of what's to come.

Plus, the rumors also point to Ubisoft Montreal and Quebec unifying into one team for Assassin's Creed Infinity, which are the same studios collaborating on the Crossover Stories event. We don't know if this crossover event could be a sign of things to come for the future of the series, but for now, fans can look forward to this crossover event, as well as the major paid expansion coming to Valhalla, Dawn of Ragnarok.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Ubisoft is supporting Assassin's Creed Valhalla with a second year's worth of content, and it kicks off later this week with a big crossover event featuring the return of a fan-favorite character from the Assassin's Creed franchise.

A free content update is coming to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, as well as the previous game in the series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey on December 14 that unites the two timelines. Odyssey protagonist Kassandra will cross paths with Valhalla protagonist Eivor in a new event called, Assassin's Creed Crossover Stories.

The event includes a new quest in both Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Assassin's Creed Valhalla where the encounter between the two characters will be a playable quest. This crossover event means the Viking era of Assassin's Creed Valhalla will come face-to-face with the ancient Greek setting from Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

This quest event is a collaboration between Ubisoft Quebec and Ubisoft Montreal. The devs say they may continue to explore the idea of different classic Assassin's Creed characters meeting each other in new ways.

"The Assassin’s Creed content is connected by characters, lore, locations, eras, motivations and more," said Clémence Nogrix, the Associate Creative Director at Ubisoft Quebec. "We had so much fun imagining how interesting the encounter would be between two of our main Assassin’s Creed heroes, we may want to explore new paths in the future."

As for what that future could look like? We already know of the development of Assassin's Creed Infinity, which is rumored to be a live service game featuring multiple historical eras. This could mean this Kassandra and Eivor team-up could be a taste of what's to come.

Plus, the rumors also point to Ubisoft Montreal and Quebec unifying into one team for Assassin's Creed Infinity, which are the same studios collaborating on the Crossover Stories event. We don't know if this crossover event could be a sign of things to come for the future of the series, but for now, fans can look forward to this crossover event, as well as the major paid expansion coming to Valhalla, Dawn of Ragnarok.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The NPD Group has announced that the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in the US during November 2021. Not only that, but the console remains the US' best-selling console of 2021.

In the analyst group's latest data, the Switch was reported as being the best-selling hardware platform in November, both in terms of units sold and dollars spent. 1.13 million consoles were sold during the month, with 550,000 of them sold during Thanksgiving week.

This comes despite a colossal year-on-year decline for hardware sales; November hardware spending is down 38%, to $883m. This is the lowest total since November 2016. This is blamed on a lack of available console inventory, which is a symptom of the ongoing chip shortages.

Senior analyst at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, notes that the PS5 and Xbox sales combined barely equals what Switch has sold in total, and that total sales of PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U back in November 2014 were higher than Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles this November.

If you want to know how bad the supply situation is:

- The Switch sold less than November last year
- PS5 + Xbox barely = what Switch sold in total
- The PS4, XB1 and Wii U (yes Wii U) sold more in Nov 2014 than Switch + PS5 + Xbox Series in Nov 2021. https://t.co/pX6rpKb8Nk

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 13, 2021

As for games, Call of Duty: Vanguard was November's best-selling game in the US, and has become the second-best selling game of the year. It's second only to its predecessor, 2020's Black Ops Cold War, which has been the biggest game of the year in the US. NDP's analysis notes that this is the fourteenth year Call of Duty has been the best-selling game in its release month.

For more from Nintendo, check out the news that Paper Mario is coming to Nintendo Switch Online, and where PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch rank among the best-selling consoles.

The NPD Group has announced that the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in the US during November 2021. Not only that, but the console remains the US' best-selling console of 2021.

In the analyst group's latest data, the Switch was reported as being the best-selling hardware platform in November, both in terms of units sold and dollars spent. 1.13 million consoles were sold during the month, with 550,000 of them sold during Thanksgiving week.

This comes despite a colossal year-on-year decline for hardware sales; November hardware spending is down 38%, to $883m. This is the lowest total since November 2016. This is blamed on a lack of available console inventory, which is a symptom of the ongoing chip shortages.

Senior analyst at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, notes that the PS5 and Xbox sales combined barely equals what Switch has sold in total, and that total sales of PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U back in November 2014 were higher than Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles this November.

If you want to know how bad the supply situation is:

- The Switch sold less than November last year
- PS5 + Xbox barely = what Switch sold in total
- The PS4, XB1 and Wii U (yes Wii U) sold more in Nov 2014 than Switch + PS5 + Xbox Series in Nov 2021. https://t.co/pX6rpKb8Nk

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 13, 2021

As for games, Call of Duty: Vanguard was November's best-selling game in the US, and has become the second-best selling game of the year. It's second only to its predecessor, 2020's Black Ops Cold War, which has been the biggest game of the year in the US. NDP's analysis notes that this is the fourteenth year Call of Duty has been the best-selling game in its release month.

For more from Nintendo, check out the news that Paper Mario is coming to Nintendo Switch Online, and where PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch rank among the best-selling consoles.

Regardless of how you felt about it, Final Fantasy 15 was certainly an eccentric take on the classic JRPG series when it combined hallmarks of the fantasy genre with an American road trip. The developers behind FF15 are now working under the banner Luminous Productions, and are taking a similar, genre-bending approach to their next game, Forspoken.

Luminous Productions was founded in 2018 and is primarily staffed by the developers of Final Fantasy 15. A rare internal studio within Square Enix’s many development teams, it was formed to create games that push the boundaries of the Luminous Engine. Enter Forspoken.

In a hands-off presentation, IGN was able to get a better sense of what Forspoken is. And, to be perfectly frank, it looks more like an open-world RPG in the vein of Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher than anything I’ve previously seen from Square Enix.

Speaking with IGN, Forspoken director Takefumi Terada explains that the open-world gameplay will reflect one of Luminous’ themes as a studio. “When you look back to Luminous Productions and kind of a core concept or theme for the studio, it is to really blend art and technology,” Terada says.

“So the goals are quite high as far as developing an open-world game that achieves the highest heights, essentially. Through Forspoken, we believe we’ve been able to incorporate our concept for the studio and showcase that to a certain degree”

While Terada says there’s room to grow, Forspoken will serve as a showcase for the studio in terms of the quality Luminous can bring to the gaming landscape.

The presentation was hands-off, but the gameplay we saw will be familiar to anyone who has played a modern open-world RPG. Protagonist Frey is seen traversing overland to various waypoints and mission markers. There appear to be several points of interests Frey can explore and no limit to where she can or can’t venture towards.

Along the way, Frey will encounter various enemies and monsters in the wild. Combat is completely real-time and primarily magic-based. Frey can cycle through a collection of magic spells and fight enemies with a variety of long-range and close-range attacks, whether that’s firing lightning bolts from afar or dashing close to hit enemies with a magic sword.

The Luminous Engine certainly appears to be putting in the work, especially during the combat animations that mix all kinds of elemental effects like water, lightning, and fire. Visually, Forspoken looks to be shaping up to Luminous’ goal of achieving tech-driven visuals.

While the powers are all from fantasy, your player character is a different kind of protagonist. Frey Holland (played by Ella Balinska) is a troubled girl from New York City. While struggling in our world, Frey is mysteriously transported to a fantasy realm called Athia where she gains powers through a sentient bracelet named Cuff.

The idea was created by writer Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and later included contributions from Uncharted’s Amy Hennig and finally Allison Rymer and Todd Stashwick. The premise, of a person in the real world being transported to a fantastical land, is a hot genre right now in Japanese anime and manga called Isekai, but Luminous says the inspirations for Forspoken predate the trend.

“We’re well aware there’s this popular kind of sub-genre, especially within Japanese anime and stuff," says Luminous creative producer Raio Mitsuno. "But at the time, I mean when you really thinking back about it, like there’s been a lot of fantasy novels and works like [The Chronicles of] Narnia and Alice in Wonderland that dealt with these kinds of fish out of water type stories.”

Mixing and matching a fantasy world with a New York heroine certainly is a vibe, as they say. While Athia is filled with magical jargon like the Break — a dark blight that’s corrupting the world when Frey joins; and Tantas — a group of evil sorceresses who rule over Athia, Frey is not cut from this same cloth. Frey won’t spout fantasy-tinged monologues; she’s a bit of a potty-mouth, cussing at enemies while blasting them with magical powers.

The upgrade system, too, is unconventional. While Frey will be able to improve her powers and stats by upgrading her cloak, she can also gain special abilities and buffs using magical nail polish. Overworld travel is also done using magical parkour, which lets Frey cover large distances on foot, dashing across fields or jumping to high locations.

I like this kind of off-kilter take on the JRPG formula, just like how I enjoyed the road trip flavor of Final Fantasy 15. It won’t be for everyone, particularly purists, but it’s new even if maybe just a slight cringe. But I’m willing to take this ride if only to see what Luminous Productions has up their sleeves for their first official outing.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

The Wild Hunt is mentioned multiple times throughout Netflix’s The Witcher. It’s referenced in the pilot episode, and has several nods through this year’s second season. One day it will arrive, and change Geralt’s world forever. But for now, it’s a looming threat, much like Thanos was for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At a recent press junket, IGN asked The Witcher showrunner and Executive Producer, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, if The Wild Hunt is the show’s Thanos. “Completely,” she said.

“What I love, and this is how it's set up in the books too, is that the Wild Hunt is a ‘portent of doom',” she said. “They're always just mentioned when war is coming, or a battle is on the horizon. And so they have this air of evil mystery around them. What we're going to start doing [in the show] is beginning to understand where they came from and what they want. And so, like all characters in Sapkowski novels, we're going to get a little bit deeper into them so they're not just the evil skeletal bad guys.”

Hissrich says that part of the reason the Wild Hunt has been seeded so early is that it helps communicate to fans that the team knows what is important. “We wanted to make sure we mentioned the Wild Hunt in season one, for instance,” she said. “It's in the pilot, so that we can say ‘We hear you fans, we know that this is a big deal.’ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it's what the fans know. But we're not ready to get to it yet.”

Building up to the Wild Hunt’s eventual introduction requires careful planning, but Hissrich notes that not everything has been placed deliberately.

“I would love to say that all of that is planned out perfectly,” she said. “Some of it is, there are things that obviously we knew we wanted to tell over the first couple of seasons. Sometimes, though, it's pure coincidence. There are things that I look back on in season one and I think ‘Thank God someone threw that line in there’, and we've continued to play with it and expand it in later series.”

For more from The Witcher, check out our season 2 review, as well as Henry Cavill talking The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine and what characters he'd like to play in a Warhammer show.

Henry Cavill has said that he’d like to be part of a Warhammer TV show or movie, should a live-action project ever happen.

Talking to IGN at a recent press event for The Witcher, Cavill said, “There are a lot of characters from the Warhammer universe that I want to be. But I can only really be one, because once I'm one, then I can't be others. So if it were to ever happen, if there were to be anything live action, I would have to be very aware of that.

“[Warhammer] is obviously character rich, and especially the 40K universe,” he continued. “I suppose I could play a different character from the Warhammer Fantasy universe versus the 40K universe, but I'm now just dreaming. I'd have to speak to the guys at Games Workshop and see what happens.”

When suggested that he’d make a good Gregor Eisenhorn, a character from a trilogy of Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor books written by Dan Abnett, Cavill said, “That would be exciting, yes, but then I burn Primarchs, and the Captain-Generals, so I don't really know.”

Captain-General is the most senior rank of the Adeptus Custodes, the elite bodyguards of the Emperor of Mankind in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Cavill himself collects and paints Adeptus Custodes miniatures, as revealed in a photo the actor uploaded to Instagram last year. The Primarchs, meanwhile, are the fathers of the iconic Space Marines. Fans of the Horus Heresy series of books may find it easy to imagine Cavill as Roboute Guilliman, Rogal Dorn, or, since he seems to be fond of his Witcher wig, perhaps even Leman Russ.

Henry Cavill has mentioned his love of Games Workshop’s sci-fi universe before, having pointed out that a chandelier on The Witcher season 2 set looks like a Blackstone Fortress. He’s also a fan of the Fantasy side of the hobby, and is even an Easter egg in Total War: Warhammer 2.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.