You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Marvel Rivals doesn’t only feature its core 6v6 hero shooter gameplay; rather, the game consists of different modes to cater to each player and their playstyle. While some like the stacked action that ranked lobbies bring in Competitive, others like to grind on missions and play arcade modes like Conquest or Doom Match to level up faster. However, each new season, NetEase introduces a new limited-time mode that gives players a break from the overall action and gives them a fresh perspective to utilize their favorite heroes. Modes like Clash of Dancing Lions allow you to play soccer with heroes like Star-Lord, while Giant-Size Brain Blast allows you to turn any of the heroes in the roster into an easy headshot target with a huge head. Once again, Rivals devs are bringing in a new limited-time mode called Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol with the Season 2.5 release, which is a unique fantasy team experience where you can create your own team and send them into battle. Marvel Rivals’ new mode allows you to create your own fantasy team of superheroes Marvel Rivals released their latest episode of Dev Vision Vol. 06, where the devs discussed new content arriving in the Season 2.5 update, arriving on May 30, 2025. In the video, apart from the new Team-Ups and changes, devs also showcased a new Limited-Time experimental mode called Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol which will release on June 6 and will offer a fantasy team style experience where you can create your own team of six superheroes and send them into battle, along with modifying their stats. Make your own Rivals team with six heroes of your choice. Image by VideoGamer. Purchase power ups for your heroes to perform better. Image by VideoGamer. Arrange your heroes in the formation you want them to attack from. Image by VideoGamer, You can amplify your hero’s abilities to overpower enemy team. Image by VideoGamer. Previous Next 1 of 4 Previous Next If you’re still trying to wrap your head around it, think of it like Football Manager but with superheroes. You’ll begin each round by creating your team of six superheroes and battling against five other players with their own unique team composition. Once you’ve made your selection, you’ll be loaded into the Card Shop menu from where you’ll be able to craft unique builds and enhance hero traits. Then create a formation of your team and set the heroes in frontline, midline, and backline positions in a 4×5 grid format. Once you’ve set your heroes in a lineup, then play as Ultron and assist your team to defeat enemies by constantly enhancing their powers and introducing new cards into play. You can turn Venom into a Kaiju Monster, make Hela throw her daggers all around the map, demand Psylocke to affect a larger area, or even summon multiple Monstro Spawn as Namor. You can play multiple rounds and win after you’ve gathered the most victories against enemies. While you’re checking out Season 2.5 content in Marvel Rivals, do check out all the hero nerfs and buffs that will affect the meta drastically when the update is out. Marvel Rivals Platform(s): macOS, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Fighting, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Microsoft brings over 50 classic Activision games to Game Pass via new Retro Classics app Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Neowin @LoneWolfSL · May 21, 2025 16:40 EDT In a surprise announcement, Microsoft today revealed the Retro Classics app, a brand-new resource for Game Pass members that features dozens of classic titles. As is evident by its name, the app specializes in retro classics, and the focus is on Activision-published games that landed back in the 80s and 90s. Arriving as a partnership between Xbox and Antstream Arcade, the app is available to all Game Pass subscribers. Considering the age of the games, a wide variety of consoles are listed when sorting, including the original PlayStation. It seems more games are planned for the app too. The games have gamepad and keyboard controls, instructions on how to play through them, in-game daily challenges, and even achievements. Here's everything included in the launch version of Retro Classics: Activision Prototype #1 Atlantis Atlantis 2 Barnstorming Baseball Beamrider Bloody Human Freeway Boxing Bridge Caesar 2 Checkers Chopper Command Commando Conquests of the Longbow Cosmic Ark Crackpots Decathlon Demon Attack Dolphin Dragster Enduro Fathom Fire Fighter Fishing Derby Freddie Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist Freeway Frostbite Grand Prix H.E.R.O. Kaboom! Laser Blast MechWarrior MechWarrior 2 Megamania Pitfall Pitfall 2 Police Quest Pressure Cooker Quest for Glory Riddle of the Sphinx River Raid River Raid 2 Robot Tank Sky Jinks Space Quest 2 Space Quest 6 Space Treat Deluxe Spider Fighter Star Voyager Tennis The Adventures of Willy Beamish The Dagger of Amon Ra Thwocker Title Match Pro Wrestling Torin's Passage Trick Shot Vault Assault Venetian Blinds Zork: The Great Underground Empire Zork: Zero "This initiative is a step in our commitment to game preservation and backwards compatibility, allowing players to experience many timeless games on modern devices," added the company. The new Retro Classics app is available on PC, Xbox consoles, as well as all cloud-supported platforms, including Smart TVs, VR headsets, and more as a part of Game Pass. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Tomasz BaranieckiThis curious weapon was crafted by Senior Asset Artist Tomasz Baraniecki using Blender, ZBrush, Substance 3D Painter, and Marmoset Toolbag. Based on a 2D concept design by Mukhlis Nur, Tomasz skillfully brought Archaic Arcanist to life in 3D, capturing every detail, from mystical engravings to the gemstone at its core.Take a closer look:Tomasz BaranieckiTomasz BaranieckiThe original Archaic Arcanist was done as a part of Swordtember back in 2021:Mukhlis Nur aka Sinlaire participates in Swordtember every year, creating quite imaginative and unique weapon designs. You can explore more of his work on ArtStation.Also, check out Tomasz's take on the Mangbetu knife, inspired by the traditional fashionable blades of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:Tomasz BaranieckiSee more of his work on ArtStation and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

The popularity of the actual play show Critical Role helped make 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons wildly successful. But now, Critical Role Productions has become more than a booster and frequent collaborator for D&D: It’s become a competitor. After years in development, Daggerheart, a tabletop RPG from Critical Role’s publishing imprint, Darrington Press, launches today. And the book shows just how much lead designer Spenser Starke and the book’s other designers have learned from playing 5e, as they address some of that game’s biggest issues.Problem: Failure is boringThere are few things as satisfying as rolling a natural 20 in a clutch situation in D&D, but D&D’s d20 system has a big drawback. It’s inherently very swingy, with a wide range from success to failure, and it can lead to situations where failure means the PCs accomplish nothing, and the story doesn’t move forward in a meaningful way. Roll low, and you might miss an attack, miss a key clue needed to progress the plot, or be unable to bypass a locked door to get to the next goal.Daggerheart changes the math by having players roll two d12s and add the results, which generally smooths the probability curve in favor of success. But the more significant change is a system inspired by how Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars roleplaying game represents the pull of the light side and dark side of the Force. One of the d12s represents hope, while the other is fear, and the higher number determines which aspect is dominant in the totalled roll.Succeeding with hope is nothing but good news for the PCs. Failing with hope gives them a hope point, a resource that can be spent on numerous special abilities, as a sort of consolation prize. Fear, in turn, gives the game master a fear point they can use to introduce complications or activate abilities for antagonistic NPCs.That system, combined with a collaborative narrative focus, means there’s never an instance where a roll has no effect. If you can’t pick that lock, you might hear guards approaching, or even trigger a trap, depending on whether you failed with hope or fear. Miss a roll with fear in combat, and an antagonist will get a turn to act. Failure always has consequences that move the game forward.Image: Darrington PressProblem: Advantage and disadvantage are too significantOne of 5e’s key mechanics is the concept of advantage and disadvantage — rolling two d20s and taking the better or worse result, respectively. It’s an elegant way to avoid having numerous modifiers for conditions like being aided by an ally or trying to strike a hidden foe. But the math makes those edges and penalties too significant.Daggerheart keeps the concept, but changes the effect to adding or subtracting a d6. The game also simplifies D&D’s laundry list of conditions — “grappled,” “paralyzed,” “heavily obscured,” etc. — to just three options: “hidden,” “restrained,” and “vulnerable.” It creates a convenient way to modify rolls without making GMs worry about the specific mechanics too much.Problem: Species and background choices are too importantIn the original 5e ruleset, players had to limit their species and background choices to ensure they got attribute boosts to the key stats for their class, or risk not being able to hit as frequently or do as much damage as players who made the more optimized choices. The 2024 ruleset removed attribute bonuses from species, but instead shunted them into backgrounds. That means you’re operating at a real disadvantage if, for story reasons, you want your wizard to have been a soldier instead of a scribe.Attributes are entirely divorced from these decisions in Daggerheart, and just assigned based on what’s best for your character class. The other decisions give you flavorful minor abilities that might be better for some classes, but are fairly broadly applicable, like a giant having extra hit points, or a person who grew up in the wilderness being able to move silently. It keeps the mechanics from getting in the way of the fantasy.Image: Darrington PressProblem: Spellcasters have a lot more choices than non-castersAdmittedly, this isn’t a problem for everyone. Some new TTRPG players can be intimidated by lots of options, and might prefer the simplicity of playing a fighter who’s mostly going to move and attack on their turn, rather than considering which spells to use and prepare. Wizards of the Coast worked to offer more complexity to martial characters in the 2024 rules with the weapon mastery system, but mostly created more subclasses that are hybrids of casters and weapon-wielders.No matter your class, Daggerheart characters all have equivalent options, thanks to a card system reminiscent of 4e D&D or Gloomhaven. Every level, characters get to choose new cards, which could represent a wizard using a runic ward, or a bard bolstering their allies with a pep talk. The modularity of the system also makes it easier to multiclass by just taking cards associated with other classes, at the price of digging deeper into your base abilities.There’s still more work to be doneFor all the problems they’ve solved, the Daggerheart designers left some big holes that need filling. The downtime action section is very thinly sketched. The game is deeply ambivalent about loot, preferring to abstract treasure rewards and costs into amounts like “a handful of gold” or “a chest of gold.” Upgrading gear is important to stay competitive, but the section on weapons is the weakest past of the entire book: Weapons follow a clear linear progression based on character tier, but their stats are printed over and over again, rather than being condensed with the formula.And GMs are encouraged to come up with their own gear, but there are no tools provided. Special items only available at higher tiers have random names, like Wand of Essek or Aantari Bow, with no descriptions to give them the character of powerful D&D magic items.But overall, Daggerheart is a strong evolution of medieval fantasy roleplaying. It shows a deep understanding of Dungeons & Dragons’ flaws, addressing them by drawing on the strengths of other systems. Even for groups not ready to fully make the switch to a new game, the book can provide some inspiration for making a D&D game a bit better.Daggerheart is available for purchase now at through Critical Role shops and local game stores in the Darrington Press Guild, which offer a PDF free with a physical copy. The core set will arrive at Amazon and book stores including Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million starting June 3. The free beta playtest is still available at DriveThruRPG.For those who want to see Daggerheart in action, Critical Role has released several one-shots and specials. “Age of Umbra,” new eight-episode series run by Matthew Mercer will launch on May 29.See More:

Credit: Sea to Summit / Bote / Kelty / Mashable Photo Composite Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Learn more about how we select deals. Best REI Anniversary Sale deals Best camping deal REI Base Camp 4 Tent $331.79 (save $142.21) Best water sports deal Bote Wulf Aero inflatable paddle board $475.09 (save $83.91) Memorial Day is just a few days away, which means it's time to think about every amazing outdoor adventure you have planned for summer of 2025. If last year's gear got put away wet and dirty, it's time to consider some upgrades. Instead of doing this the Thursday night before leaving for a weekend adventure on Friday, spend Memorial Day weekend sorting through your gear and deciding what needs a refresh.Coincidentally, the REI Anniversary Sale is on now through May 26 and has thousands of deals that take up to 30% off outdoor gear. Snag a new paddle board, replace the cooler, finally keep in touch with a Garmin inReach, or get a cozier sleeping bag.Plus, if you happen to be an REI member and you see something that's not on sale, use code ANNIV2025 to take 20% off. A lifetime membership to the REI Co-op costs just $30 which means joining to apply to 20% coupon could mean the membership has already paid for itself. Mashable Trend Report: Coming Soon! Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! You May Also Like In terms of what's on sale during the REI Anniversary Sale expect to see 30% off tons of REI Co-op brand gear, 20% off REI bicycles, and up to 25% off tons of camping gear from Nemo, Kelty, Therm-a-Rest and more. Below are some of our favorite deals or you can spend hours browsing the entire sale selection.Best camping deal Opens in a new window Credit: REI REI Base Camp 4 Tent $331.79 at REI $474 Save $142.21 Why we like itThe outdoors is a wonderful place to spend sunny weekends but it's no time to skip out on sleeping. You'll want to head out with a cozy sleeping set-up which relies on a functional tent, and that's where the REI Base Camp 4 Tent comes into play. It's part of the brand's Anniversary Sale which means you'll be saving 30% on the tent, scoring it for $331.79 instead of the normal price of $474. Related Stories In terms of function, the Base Camp 4 Tent is ready to sleep you and three friends with its durable materials that are also water repellent. The wide two door means no sleeper is trapped inside and everyone will have easy access for that inevitable 1 a.m. latrine trip. Of course, the pockets and hang loops make camp organization much easier. More camping dealsSea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Bag (3 pack) — $52.39 $69.95 (save $17.56)GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Base Camper Cookset — $67.39 $89.95 (save $22.56)Kelty Low Loveseat — $97.39 $129.95 (save $32.56)Helinox Chair Zero — $104.89 $139.95 (save $35.06)Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket (two person) — $149.19 $199 (save $49.81)Sea to Summit Traveller 45F Down Sleeping Bag — $149.19 $199 (save $49.81)Coleman Cascade 222 2-Burner Camp Stove — $164.99 $220 (save $55.01)NEMO Dagger OSMO 2P Tent — $374.89 $499.95 (save $125.06)Best water sports deal Opens in a new window Credit: Bote Bote Wulf Aero inflatable paddle board $475.09 at REI $559 Save $83.91 Why we like itYou've tried out the paddle boards from the local rental shop and decided it's a great way to get out on the water, but have you tried your own? Bote makes some impressively designed paddle boards and the Bote Wulf Aero is on sale during the REI Anniversary Sale for $475.09, down from the usual price of $559. At 10 feet 4 inches in length, the Bote Wulf means you can spend the day out on the water instead of on the crowded shoreline and the included travel bag means everything is so much easier to carry to the lake. You'll also get a three-piece adjustable SUP paddle, a hand pump, a coiled leash, and a removeable Aero center fin, and an Aero repair kit.More outdoor gear sales at REINRS Ninja PFD — $119.89 $149.95(save $30.06)Garmin inReach Mini 2 — $299.99 $400 (save $100.01)Cannondale Topstone 3 Bike — $1,119.93 $1,400 (save $280.07)Salsa Journeyer Sora 700c Bike — $1,169.09 $1,299 (save $129.91) Topics Outdoors Lauren Allain Contributor Lauren Allain is a freelance journalist covering deals at Mashable. She graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in journalism and holds an M.B.A from Webster Leiden. You can find more of her work online from publications including Reader’s Digest, U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Refined, and more. When she’s not writing, Lauren prefers to be outside hiking, bouldering, swimming, or searching for the perfect location for all three.

33 Immortals is back for Xbox Insiders with a fourth playtest starting Tuesday, May 20, 8am PT (11am ET). The playtest will be available for 6 days and end on Monday, May 26, 8am PT (11am ET). Thunder Lotus incorporated more updates and is notably making the game available to players on Xbox One consoles for the first time. The developer is excited for Xbox Insiders to try the update and to get your feedback. Limited space is available so be ready to join on May 20th to experience this co-op action-roguelike for 33 players. About the Game: Play a damned soul and rebel against God’s final judgment. Dive straight into epic 33-player co-op battles with instant “pick-up and raid” matchmaking. Cooperate with your allies to survive against hordes of monsters and massive, challenging bosses. Expand your arsenal and equip powerful new relics to permanently upgrade your soul. Face the Wrath of God in a fight for your eternal life. If you want to learn more, please sign up on the 33 Immortals Website! Updates and Fixes: Control rebinding has been added to the game! Sword of Justice has been balanced following player input. Staff of Sloth has been balanced following player input. Bow of Hope has been balanced. Daggers of Greed have been balanced. Some Feats that were posing problems have been fixed. For more information on updates, please see our full list of patch notes here. Playtest Times: Start: Tuesday, May 20th, 8am PT (11am ET)  End: Monday, May 26th, 8am PT (11am ET)  How to Participate: On Tuesday, May 20th, 8am PT (11am ET): Sign in on your Xbox console or Windows PC and launch the Xbox Insider Hub app (or install the Xbox Insider Hub from the Store first if necessary) Navigate to Previews > 33 Immortals Select Join Wait for the registration to complete and be directed to the Store and install 33 Immortals Beta NOTE: Limited space is available and offered first-come first-served. NOTE: This playtest is now available on Xbox One consoles in addition to Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC. How to Provide Feedback: If you experience any issues while playing 33 Immortals Beta, don’t forget to use “Report a problem” so we can investigate: Hold down the home button on your Xbox controller. Select Report a problem. Select the Games category and 33 Immortals Beta subcategory. Fill out the form with the appropriate details to help our investigation. Other resources: Get the Xbox Insider Hub app Xbox Insider FAQ How to provide feedback as an Xbox Insider For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit. The post 33 Immortals: Try Out New Features in the Fourth Playtest from May 20 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Elden Ring Nightreign may look familiar in many ways, but FromSoftware’s stand-alone multiplayer spinoff of Elden Ring will play differently thanks to its battle-royale-inspired map and a roster of playable characters. Unlike the blank-slate, highly customizable characters of the original Elden Ring, the playable heroes of Nightreign — known as Nightfarers — are predefined characters with class roles — think rogues, sorcerers, barbarians, archers, and mages. There will be eight confirmed Nightfarers in Elden Ring Nightreign. Here’s a guide to everything we know about all Nightreign’s character classes announced so far plus gameplay video of them in action. We’ll update this guide as more information becomes available. Duchess The Duchess is “a nimble fighter who specializes in stealth and prefers daggers,” according to her official description. She’s essentially the rogue of the group, a speedy glass cannon who fights with quick, up-close slashes, and can provide crucial combat support to her team. If you’re a dexterity-focused Elden Ring player, she’s your Nightfarer. Passive Ability Magnificent Poise: Dodge and attack swiftly with reduced stamina cost. Allows up to two consecutive evasive actions. Character Skill Restage: Reapply the last few seconds of team damage to enemies. Ultimate Art Finale: Obscure nearby allies to hide from foes. Enemies lose track of the caster (and her allies), wandering aimlessly or becoming prone to leaving themselves vulnerable. Basically, it’s an invisibility spell. Guardian The Guardian is a “pinionfolk captain” — a flying birdman, in other words — who is skilled in offense and defense, and who prefers halberds, poking enemies from behind the cover of a heavy shield. Passive Ability Steel Guard: Plants his feet and braces with his shield raised for a more powerful guard. Greatly improves guard boost, but prevents running while holding up shield. Character skill Whirlwind: Guardian beats his wings to summon a cyclone that draws in enemies, knocking them off their feet. Whirlwind can be charged to enlarge its range and can repel light projectiles Ultimate Art Wings of Salvation: Dive from above to attack a large area and protect allies from damage. While in the air, Guardian can move briefly. Ironeye Iron Eye is an archer class with “split-second judgment and pinpoint accuracy.” If you like bows (and giant bows), Iron Eye’s your guy. Passive Ability Eagle Eye: His keen observation increases drops from downed enemies — allies get the same boost. Character Skill Marking: Marks enemies to create a temporary weak point. Iron Eye cuts his foe with a dagger, creating a temporary weak point. Inflicting damage on that weak point to damage and stagger foes. Damaging the weak point extends its duration. Ultimate Art Single Shot: Shoots a supersonic arrow that pierces any defense. Single Shot pierces all types of enemies, terrain, and structures. Raider Raider is a “powerful sea-farer who favors enormous weapons.” If you like walking around with a giant sword, axe, or hammer, and playing offense, you’re a Raider. Passive Ability Fighter’s Resolve: Taking damage boosts the potency of Raider’s character skill, Retaliate. He cannot be knocked down while using it, and will stay in the fight with a sliver of HP even after taking heavy damage. Character Skill Retaliate: Assume a defensive posture that reduces incoming damage and unleash a vigorous punch that can stagger large enemies. Ultimate Art Totem Stela: Summons a giant tombstone that deals damage, boosts nearby allies, and can be climbed and used as a platform. The tombstone radiates a protective aura, boosting strength of nearby allies, and blocking arrows. Recluse Keep your distance as the Recluse, a witch of the deep forest who deftly wields ancient sorceries. Elden Ring players who focus on intelligence builds will gravitate toward the Recluse. Passive Ability Elemental Defense: Collect elemental residues to replenish FP, and grant allies residues of specific elemental affinities. Character Skill Magic Cocktail: Combine elemental resides into different powerful spells. Collect the affinity residues of targets to unleash an affinity-exploiting magic cocktail. Complex affinity combinations create more powerful spells. Ultimate Art Soulblood Song: Brand foes with temporary blood sigils that increase damage taken by enemies. Those sigils also restore the HP and FP of caster. Wylder The Wylder is your classic all-rounder, with well-balanced abilities and easy-to-handle skills. Probably a good starting point in Nightreign before specializing. Passive Ability Sixth Sense: Cheat death a single time. Can be restored by dying or passing through a Site of Grace. Character Skill Claw Shot: Launch a grappling claw to rope in foes or move swiftly. Only certain enemies can be pulled in with Claw Shot, but it’s effective at breaking guard. Ultimate Art Onslaught Stake: A powerful single attack that launches an iron stake with a great explosion. Executor Official details on the Executor Nightfarer are forthcoming, but the class appears to borrow from FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, with a focus on deflection and Faith-based skills. Revenant We also don’t know much about the Revenant, but it appears to fill the role of healer.

Andor‘s final batch of episodes had to walk a steady balancing act, tying together myriad swirling character arcs into the overarching looming shadow of not just the events of Rogue One, but the events of Star Wars itself. In navigating those final climactic days where Andor could be itself as well as the passer of the torch, the show managed to give us and its characters alike the endings that perhaps mattered most. Luthen © Lucasfilm It’s impossible to talk about the final arc of Andor without talking about the ending it gets out of the way first. Luthen’s long-awaited confrontation with Dedra is tragic in many ways, not just because of his choice to sacrifice himself to deny her the information she craves, but because, in contrast to the other rebellious stories we see climax here, it’s so incredibly lonely. There is no grand exit, no long goodbye—he gets a brief moment with Kleya when he sends her away, and of course, Dedra’s attempts to keep him alive make the actual moment of his end occur after the course of episode 10, “Make It Stop.” He dies quietly, he dies unable to really know just what an impact he’s about to have on the people he knew, the people he loved, the Rebellion, and the fate of the galaxy itself. But Luthen’s final moment standing, before he takes the knife to himself, as sad as it is, is also a beautiful one—one that thematically then ties the endings of the rest of the rebels across Andor‘s final act together brilliantly. “The Rebellion isn’t here anymore, it’s flown away,” he tells Dedra. “It’s everywhere now… there’s a whole galaxy out there, waiting to disgust you.” The work Luthen did may have been isolatory by design, playing cells and operatives off each other, the paranoia of all the secrets he helped keep. But as he burns brightly, for that sunrise he knew he’d never see, he is defiantly steadfast that what he has helped create has connected voices all over the galaxy. That there are, as his agents’ code phrase said, friends everywhere. Partagaz and the ISB © Lucasfilm It is this particular thematic throughline sparked by Luthen’s words that also defines the endings of our Imperial antagonists across the arc in stark contrast. We’ll get to Dedra separately, but it’s interesting that the endings we get for Andor‘s ISB apparatus—represented by her, Partagaz, and Heert in these episodes, and to a lesser extent double-agent Lonni—are lonely for very different reasons than Luthen’s was. Syril’s death on Ghorman laid the blueprint here: Andor‘s vision of the Empire is defined in equal parts the abuse of its systems for personal glorification, and the deadly threat of that system subsuming even its most ardent supports and benefactors, because that’s exactly what the Empire is designed to do. Lonni might die at Luthen’s hands, it’s implied, but he dies because his use as a tool of the system he’d turned on is over. Heert’s grand chase of Kleya—a mirror to Dedra’s obsession with Axis that he’d sneered at her for—is rewarded with K2 tossing his lifeless body around as a meatshield, crumpled and forgotten. Partagaz’s is perhaps the most deliciously bitter, not just for the system he helped create crashing down around him, but because, again, his final moments are spent realizing that the rebellion is so much bigger than the “disease” he thought he could contain and sterilize. He’s alone in a room, committing suicide, after hearing Nemik’s manifesto: he has no idea who it is. He just knows, again, that it’s getting out everywhere. Kleya © Lucasfilm Kleya’s end is not so much an end, but a continuation of a legacy that she’s followed her whole life. Luthen’s sacrifice gives her a chance to flee and tell the Rebellion about the Death Star, but it also pushes her out from under his lonely world of cloak and daggers, in a way. In the flashbacks that are woven throughout her solo mission to lay Luthen to rest before the Empire can pull him from the brink, we see her story start alone and afraid and angry—and in choosing to save this orphaned child and help her point that anger somewhere as she grows up, Luthen’s final gift to Kleya is to give her something bigger to be part of. Perhaps it’s a story we’ll revisit someday, of Kleya’s life in the Rebellion, but in this moment that set of facts doesn’t really matter, it’s that she gets to carry on his spirit as the Rebellion flourishes. Dedra © Lucasfilm It’s fitting and so telling then, that Kleya and Dedra’s final moments on-screen in Andor are side-by-side. If Kleya wakes up to on the new dawn of being part of the thing her mentor helped build, then Dedra—clad in those white-and-orange scrubs of the Imperial prison system—is to witness the structure that she helped build and champion chew her up and spit her out into some forgotten hole. We know from season one’s arc on Narkina-5 that the Empire has now designed these facilities to never really grant freedom. There’s a fascinating parallel to Syril’s own death in her ultimate punishment, the idea that her obsession with Axis, as his was with Cassian, pushed her and pushed her to a point where the Empire itself could turn on her and discard her, and she’d be too blinkered to notice it until it was too late. It’s not just that Dedra’s hoarding of information she shouldn’t have lands her in Krennic’s crosshairs, it’s her drive to get Luthen, to keep him alive once he mortally wounds himself, in the hopes that she will be rewarded regardless of any transgression she’s made to get there. That the Imperial system she believed in will work for her, rather than her for it. But the Empire exists to consume even its most loyal adherents, and so her punishment for championing it so ardently is as satisfying to watch as it was inevitable. Bix © Lucasfilm If any of Andor‘s endings might prove controversial, it’s perhaps its very last one. In some ways, Bix’s isolation from the final act of Andor (a decision she makes, but one that still takes her out of the broader fight she had previously yearned to be part of), only for her to part the series with the revelation that she’s given birth to Cassian’s child—a child he’ll never know—treats her story as less her own, and more in the service of Cassian’s. But it’s likewise also compelling that Bix is the rare character who ends the series given the chance of peace, of not having to fight and struggle. Many of the journeys that close out Andor are ones that we know will continue, and more specifically that continue in the sense that their fight isn’t over yet. That she is the final vision we have the show feels, in part, that this is what it was all for: to be free to live life with loved ones, a generation that can grow up in the hope that they in turn don’t have to fight and struggle to maintain that peace. Bail Organa © Lucasfilm But wait! Bail Organa’s journey doesn’t end in Andor. He’s in Rogue One! He’s technically in A New Hope, or at least very, very tiny atomized parts of him are! But while those stories are, chronologically speaking, Bail’s last moments in the Star Wars saga, it feels like Andor actually gives the man himself a proper sendoff—more proper than the hasty one he gets in Rogue One to go meet his explosive destiny—in his brief chat with Cassian. It’s short and sweet but laden with meaning, to give Bail a little teeth, and a moment of bonding with Cassian after their initial disagreements. We don’t ever get to see Bail’s final moments from his own perspective on screen (they’re retold, if you’re interested, in the From a Certain Point of View anthology), but giving him a goal to go out swinging feels like a fitting coda. The Stories Left Untold © Lucasfilm But for all the above stories that Andor wraps up in its last act, there’s just as many—and it’s just as important—that it leaves so many paths open. There’s characters we just simply don’t see again, like Leida after her wedding, or even further flung characters like Kino Loy from season one. There’s characters for who the story just continues elsewhere, like Cassian and K2 themselves, or Mon Mothma, last seen chatting to Vel amid the hubbub of Yavin IV, or Saw, staring down the Imperial occupation of Jedha. Some of these are famous Star Wars figures, and we know where they end up, but just as important is getting flashes like Wilmon and Dreena sharing food, or, in a grimly hilarious fashion, a drunken Perrin hanging off the arm of Davro Sculden’s wife. Perhaps most fitting then is an end we glimpse, but never get: when Cassian wakes from his slumber to go on his mission to Kafrene, he dreams of his long-missing sister. Andor‘s first major story thread, the focus of its opening scenes to put this whole story into motion, never gets resolved. Some people may be frustrated by that, in an age when Star Wars fans and Star Wars itself, at times, is obsessed with checking off the facts and details of its world. But we get everything we need to know: Cassian still thinks about her. He dies never getting the answer. We will, perhaps rightfully, never learn ourselves. Not all ends definitively. Life goes on. Even as we know the broad strokes of what’s about to go down in this moment in Star Wars, some answers are just never found. But there’s a whole texture of existence beneath that sweeping saga and those big questions, and that’s what Andor was always reminding us of. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.