“Switch” up your summer

The gaming industry’s summer plans

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Releasing April 28

Set five years after the events of 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follows Jedi Knight Cal Kestis as he continues to struggle against the Galactic Empire seeking to exterminate all Jedi following Order 66. This game will retain many of its predecessor’s gameplay elements but will add an updated combat system based on your character’s skill level. Survivor will be available to play on PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Releasing May 12

Set to release after a delay of almost a year, the sequel to 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, will follow the main protagonist Link as he tries to save Princess Zelda and the land of Hyrule from a force seeking to destroy the land. A sequel has been planned since 2017 after developers were disappointed by the first game’s downloadable content. Like its predecessor, Tears of the Kingdom will be released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. It will be the 21st installment in the Legend of Zelda’s main series of video games.

Finals are right around the corner and the end is nigh. Soon summer will begin and you will hopefully have a much-deserved break. However, with the break may come some boredom, and nothing kills boredom faster than a good video game. This summer will be stacked with new releases to look forward to. This is just some of what gaming has in store:

Aliens: Dark Descent - Releasing June 20

Based on the Alien movie franchise, Aliens: Dark Descent is a real-time strategy game where a team of colonial marines stranded in the moon base of Lethe must gather resources to repair their Otago spacecraft while simultaneously stopping a Xenomorph outbreak. Dark Descent will have very unique gameplay, as it is a realtime strategy game with permanent consequences. Players must look after both their characters’ physical and mental health, as not doing so will negatively affect their combat performance. Land changes the player makes and characters’ deaths are permanent, so players must make wise and effective decisions; blocking a path may stop the enemies, but may also cut off a potential escape route. The game is set to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

As the school year winds down, I hope you can find some time for yourself. Video games are a great reward after defeating the final boss: finals. There are so many great options to choose from. Enjoy your summer!

It’s here!

The years keep comin’ and they don’t stop comin

Seniors everywhere have had bad vibes for weeks. Anxieties have run high. Motivation is at an all time low. Coffee is the only thing keeping us from curling up in bed and sleeping our lives away. While walking to class we look to the skies as a dark cloud seems to descend upon us. Yet no one else seems to see it. Is it our imagination? Have we been genetically altered to see the world differently? Why can’t the world see the end is coming?

What is this danger? Graduation --- dun, dun, dun! Every year, it comes out of nowhere to completely blind side a new set of victims. It’s the Pennywise of the entire earth. It only preys on those in The Loser’s Club — the hope of leaving school forever only to realize they now have to adult on their own.

With these fears laid before us, we’ve all developed a new physical ability: Graduation Goggles. Everything we used to hate about classes, part time jobs and the cafeteria are now the things we love the most. The screaming in the halls of the dorm at 1 a.m., the haystacks for the millionth time this week and the washer and dryer eating quarters suddenly have become the charming little quirks college has to offer. We can’t help but feel entranced by the security of the devils we know. Sure, we are educationally ready to move into the “real world,” but can we really survive out there?

Despite spending the last 18 years or so learning exactly how to survive in life, every senior is woefully underprepared for the actual survival part. I can identify intercultural dynamics, diagram sentences and write essays all day long. But I have no idea how to cook anything more advanced than macaroni and cheese. I own a couch and a bunch of textbooks that are outdated now that new editions have come out. What’s a fresh to the world graduate supposed to do?

Only the strongest will survive. We’ve been training for years, but so did the tributes of Districts, 1, 2 and 4 in the Hunger Games and they didn’t make it out of that movie alive. If anything, Hollywood has taught us that the underdog always wins. The years keep comin’ and they don’t stop comin’ until suddenly you’re standing at the precipice of life post-college. Now everything stagnates until the ball drops. Good luck to you, fellow graduates. We’re all going to need it.