Geek Culture Reviews

Rob reviews The Witcher: The Ballard of Two Wolves #1... When it comes to the worlds of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 , no one knows them better than CD Project Red's Bartosz Sztybor. Across his narrative journeys,  Sztybor brings his unique take on the characters - and their worlds - but remains grounded in what's come before. While the world of Cyberpunk 2077 does give him a little more scope to be expressive, it's his work with The Witcher 's Geralt that deserves some praise.  The Witcher: The Ballard of Two Wolves #1 follows Geralt and Dandelion as they roll into the town of Grimmwald. Getalts gotten word that a werewolf is on the prowl, and Jaskier may get another tale to spin into a song and dance. As they get acquainted with their surroundings, the duo soon falls into the companionship of a local girl named Red. It's through Red that Grimmwald's history is explained, and the town's troubles all seem to stem from the wealthy Hogge siste

Rob reviews Batora: Lost Haven on Xbox Series X... Batora: Lost Haven is a top-down action RPG that's been developed by The Label and published by Team17 .  Taking place just after the Earth's destruction by a cosmic force, players take on the role of a seemingly normal human called Avril. Roughly 5 minutes into the game Avril is called upon by a couple of good cosmic entities to become the Guardian of Balance, a powerful being that'll eventually right all the wrongs in the universe - and restore planet Earth. While Batora: Lost Haven seems to be steeped within its story, due to the pace of the gameplay - it becomes a little lost in translation. However, it's still a fun game even if its protagonists are a little annoying. As hero characters go, Avril is a slightly dumbed-down version of Marvel's Deadpool. She's cocky, often arrogant, and isn't afraid of a little backchat with her best friend - and fellow survivor - Mia. The "banter" b

Praise the Emperor! The Salamanders, White Scars, Iron Hands, and Ultramarines are set to receive reinforcements... Remember before the holiday season Games Workshop revealed a new series of 40K Battleforces? Well, for those who felt a bit betrayed by the distinct lack of Astartes love can now feel the Emperor's warm embrace.  To help keep the forces of Chaos at bay, Games Workshop have announced another four Battleforces box sets. The Iron Hands, White Scars, Salamanders, and Ultramarines are the lucky recipients of these Battleforces, and you can check them out below!  Iron Hands Battleforce - March of the Iron Strike Force Iron Father Feirros Primaris Techmarine 10 Intercessors 2 Redemptor Dreadnoughts “Both Characters can make battlefield repairs on the Dreadnoughts, with Feirros restoring 3 wounds every turn, so it’ll take some serious firepower to bring them down. Just add a few Gladiator tanks and you’ll prove that the flesh is weak and the machine is strong.”

Rob reviews Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #103... We're just three issues into the new "Recharged Era" and Melissa Flores has not only firmly taken the Power Ranger reigns - she's steering the ship in an entirely new direction... ...and I'm all for it!  In much the same way as the previous two issues, #103 has a lot to unpack. Not only do we get more relationship-building from Zordon and Lord Zedd, Kimberly and Tommy come to blows, Jason teams up with Bulk and Skull, and an even more sinister threat emerges from the shadows.  Kicking things off is another flashback into Zordon's past. This time however we're still firmly in the present as the Eltarian utilizes his connection to the Morphing Grid to meld with a comatose Lord Zedd. It's using this connection that Zordon continues to appeal to Zophram, whilst simultaneously finding out just how Mistress Vile was able to retake the moon. Zedd then let's slip that Vile's mysterious partn

Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #2  hits comic book shops next week, and AHOY Comics has shared the official preview for the latest issue... Billionaire Island still stands, but life is very different than it once was. With mercenaries at every turn and F-list stars struggling to survive, the lush life has taken a turn for the worse. Join us on a walking tour as we see what’s left of the island…and what’s in store for our hero, Business Dog! Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #2 is set to release December 14th. Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter, Hive, Facebook, & TikTok @GeekCultureRev

Rob reviews Ship of Fools on Xbox Series X... When it comes to pirate adventures, in my household the go-to title is Sea of Thieves . My thirteen-year-old, and I have pretty much plundered all that Rare's seafaring adventure has to offer - both good and bad. While the frantic moments of battling other players - or the monstrous Kraken - gained a sense of thrill, it's the downtime in-between that often resulted in the (not so) "Mini Pirate" getting bored.  Ship of Fools from Team17 and Fika Productions has changed all this, and now the Lake family has a reason to once again hit those rough seas yet again!  If you've not gathered already, Ship of Fools is a tremendous game. It's a frantic co-op adventure that takes all the highs of pirate life and throws it all into a tight roguelike adventure. With a simple gameplay loop that's easy to pick up and simply play, Ship of Fools is a game that deserves its place in anyone's game library.  So,

Rebellion have announced the next artist to feature in their 'Apex Editions' series.  This time, the publisher is honouring the work of the late Kevin O'Neill, who sadly past away in November.  The full press release is available to read below.  O’Neill , who sadly died in November, was an artist without peer. His work on strips in 2000 AD such as Nemesis the Warlock, Metalzoic, Judge Dredd, Ro-Busters and more sealed his reputation even before his wildly popular and influential work on Marshal Law with Pat Mills and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Alan Moore . The contents of this 160-page collection were compiled by O’Neill from his own archive, working closely with Rebellion ’s editorial and reprographics teams to curate this unmissable testament to his remarkable career. His innovative, iconoclastic, idiosyncratic, and inventive work for 2000 AD will be showcased in an unmissable over-sized art book, featuring high-resolution scan

The Gimmick - a no-holds-barred dark comedy about superpowers and pro-wrestling... AHOY Comics have announced that they will be publishing The Gimmick, a Coen Brothers-style dark comedy from writer Joanne Starer ( Sirens of the City; Away From Here ), artist Elena Gogou ( Quests Aside ), colorist Andy Troy , letterer Rob Steen , and editor Tom Peyer . The Gimmick will also feature covers by Eisner Award-winning artist Erica Henderson ( The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl ),   with issue 1 featuring a variant cover by artist Khary Randolph (Excellent). ' The Undertaker. Danhausen. El Santo . Every wrestler needs a good gimmick: a colorful in-ring persona that dazzles the crowd. Then there’s wrestling champ Shane Bryant. Shane’s a “nice guy” who floats through life with no repercussions and a forgettable gimmick. But Shane’s been keeping a life-changing secret: he has super strength. And when he loses control of that strength, punching his fist straight through his opponent’s

Rob reviews Blade Runner 2039 #1... Writers  Mike Johnson, Mellow Brown,  and publisher Titan Comics once again head back to the world inspired by Ridley Scott 's groundbreaking sci-fi noir; Blade Runner .  Now in 2039, while the world may be slightly different, the hunt to decommission rogue Replicants continues. With the remnants of the Tyrell Corporation now folded into the much larger Wallace Corporation, it's not long before the sins of the past once again rise to the surface.  Viewpoint to this opening issue comes from two sides of the Blade Runner world. On one side we have the Replicant LUV. Developed by Wallace Corporation, she's essentially Replicant 2.0. Created without all the defects of the older Tyrell models, LUV's mission is to act as public relations between Wallace and the LAPD. As a Blade Runner, LUV is utterly ruthless in her job. She's able to put up a serious fight against the Replicants she's sent to retire, and she's certa