FanX Flashback - Home Improvement Reunion Panel Highlights [FanX 2025]

As a product of the late '80s and '90s, the "Home Improvement" reunion panel at FanX 2025 was a blast. It reunited cast regulars Richard Karn, Patricia Richardson and Debbe Dunning for an hour of reminiscing, nostalgia, and family-friendly laughs. Here are some of the quick highlights:

On what “Home Improvement” meant to her career and becoming part of the cast:

Debbe Dunning: I was working on all sorts of commercials and little bits of shows here and there. When I came in the first year, I came in as Kiki Van Fursterwallenscheinlaw. Remember that?

I was blessed enough to be asked back after Pamela decided to go, and I realized I had a family. I had a place where people tuned in.

It’s a crazy thing when you work so hard and all of a sudden you’re like, now you have a name. You’ve actually made a name for yourself doing everything that you love.

I loved showing up. I loved the fact that my dressing room became a nursery when I had a kid. This show was so good for me.

We had antics. We were a family. When you work with somebody year after year, five days a week, you become like family. Sometimes we’d argue. Sometimes we’d be a little pissy. But at the end of the day, we all really, really loved our job.

I feel like you guys come to our table and say, “This was one of the best parts of our childhood, because this is when our families would meet at dinner on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.” It really left an imprint.

So I feel very blessed to have been part of this show. And thank you guys for not only showing up today, but for all your nice comments. I was here two years ago and I was like, “Oh, I’m definitely coming back.”

You guys are just amazing.

On joining “Home Improvement” at the last minute and when she realized the show could become a hit:

Patricia Richardson: I was a last-minute replacement for Frances Fisher, who’s a friend of mine now and a wonderful actress.

[Richardson explains that Fisher’s performance simply wasn’t the tone the producers ultimately wanted for Jill Taylor.]

It wasn’t that she was bad. It was that, the way the show is written, if you play the wife as a victim, they were worried because [Tim’s character] was seeming abusive.

I’d already been signed with Disney for something that was supposed to happen in September. I had just given birth to twins three months before this. I was not interested in working then.

But they called me on a Wednesday and said, “We want you to start tomorrow. You’ll rehearse Thursday and Friday, maybe Saturday. Monday we’ll do cameras. Tuesday we shoot the show.”

I hadn’t worked in a year because I was pregnant, in bed, and then had two kids with colic.

Richard Karn: Tell them the show that you were supposed to do.

Richardson: The show I was supposed to do, ironically, was called “Home Movies,” and it was by the people who wrote “The Wonder Years.”

It was supposed to be a dramedy about a young husband and wife with a very young child, which was really what I was interested in doing. I’d already done three sitcoms that failed.

[Richardson explains that she and her then-husband, actor Ray Baker, had been through enough pilots to know that big studio-audience reactions did not guarantee a pickup.]

So when we did the pilot, the laughs were like -

Richard Karn: Eleven seconds. Thirteen seconds.

Richardson: They didn’t know who we were. They hadn’t seen the show yet, so they were laughing in the moment without having any context.

I’m sitting there waiting through these laughs - waiting, waiting, waiting - and thinking, “God, we have done so many pilots.” I knew they always stack the audience with your friends, so I thought the reason we were getting these ridiculous laughs was because it was full of friends.

I was like, “These people are nuts.” I almost wanted to go, “Calm down, calm down. We’re trying to do a show.”

When it was over, I went upstairs and my husband was there. I still thought I would do the show, it would fail, and I could go home and be with my babies.

There had been other shows with a stand-up and a family that had bombed, so I just thought, whatever.

But the script was good.

And even when something is going really well, that’s not a guarantee. In Hollywood, you can do a brilliant sitcom and not get picked up.

Then Ray said, “Well, welcome to the show you’re going to be doing for the next seven years.”

And I was like, “What? That’s not my plan.”

And he said, “It is so good.”

I was stunned. I just didn’t know.

[Richardson says her confidence grew when ABC gave “Home Improvement” a strong time slot next to “Roseanne.”]

And we were up against “Seinfeld.”

And we won. We beat “Seinfeld.”

However, they moved “Seinfeld” to Thursday night, and that became Must See TV. And it became, well, “‘Seinfeld’ is the smart show, and ‘Home Improvement’ is the show for children and their parents.”

Which is a good thing, because now we are really rewatching it, and it is such a safe show. It’s a show that you don’t have to worry about. And it’s also giving a really great lesson.

I feel like you guys have learned something from it and been affected in some way by it, and mostly it’s all been positive.

So when you ask when I knew it was going to be a hit... I felt like it was a hit when I started. I really did.

We were always People’s Choice. Every time we went to an awards thing, we won.

And I really didn’t watch it because I was working so hard. You work a full week, and then coming home and actually sitting there watching the show that you’re on... we would just tape it.

We’d be working when it aired.

FanX Flashback - Sean Astin Panel Highlights [FanX 2025]

Our next FanX Flashback takes us to the Grand Ballroom panel featuring Sean Astin at FanX 2025. Astin covered a lot of ground during his appearance, from the possibility of a long-awaited “Goonies” sequel to his time on “Stranger Things” and his newly expanded role in public service. Along the way, he reflected on joining beloved franchises, what Bob Newby meant to Joyce Byers, why he once imagined becoming a congressman and the simple rule he tries to follow when stepping into an already-successful project: “Don’t suck.”

Here are a few of the highlights:

On whether “The Goonies 2” is actually happening and whether the original cast could return:
Sean Astin: No, he was in Italy at the film festival and said that he finished the draft. I know what you know, but I have a sense of confidence that it’s actually happening. Fans seem to want it. I know it’s been years.

Moderator: Maybe they’ll want the original cast to be in it as well. I don’t know. I mean, would you like to get the band back together in some form?

Astin: I mean, it’s just lived in all of our imagination for so long, probably because of the conventions, that this is what people want. It’s what they want. And we’ve all had different ideas for it. Corey Feldman and I wrote a treatment for it, and we pitched that treatment, and they’re like, “Oh, no, I’m not gonna do that.” So, you know, it’ll be weird if we’re not…

Moderator: Yeah.

Astin: So it’s gotta be good.

On whether he could eventually run for political office after becoming SAG-AFTRA president:
Astin: So before I put my name forward to be the SAG president - SAG president - I talked to my wife and kids. And I think this role is about as much as I’m gonna convince them is okay. I think at this point my wife is like, “We have these dogs, there’s a rocking chair somewhere, we’re gonna, you know, we get to just relax and have each other and time.” So who knows what the future holds in store? I always hate it when politicians who are obviously about to do something are like, “I really don’t know.” It’s like, “Yeah, you do. We already saw the bumper stickers on the back of your car,” right? Whatever. But I don’t know. I always thought I’d be a congressman or something.

Moderator: But this role of union leader –

Astin: Well, yeah. I love “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” anything Frank Capra ever did, [several unclear film references/titles], “To Kill a Mockingbird.” As a performer, you aspire to this great civic virtue. That’s the thing: What can you do to contribute to the lives of the people around you?

And because I’m an actor who’s enjoyed more than my fair share of good fortune working and earning, you might start to buy the press. You might start to believe that you can actually do all that.

So, I have no idea. But what I look for in people who are doing that, I want to see people who are passionate. I want to see people who are honest, but not held to some ridiculous cartoon standard.

And I want to see people who have real, genuine curiosity and passion for what it is that they’re going to be doing, you know, and, like, that. And as much as you go for good leaders, we need to be good people. Like, leaders require good people.

On playing Bob Newby in “Stranger Things” and joining franchises that were already massive:
Astin: I learned about “Stranger Things” coming to conventions. People would come up to me, “Have you seen Stranger Things?” I’m like, “What is that?” They’re like, “No, no, no, it’s Goonies. It’s Goonies. It’s Goonies.” I’m like, “It’s Goonies? Goonies didn’t have big monsters.” It looked a little scarier, but they’re riding bikes, there’s RadioShack, it’s the ’80s.

To me, Bob’s function in the story was to give Joyce and the audience a moment to breathe, because you’d spent an entire season with her in absolute terror with the loss of her son. It was kind of unrelenting cruelty to that character.

So they gave her a few episodes where she could have somebody who was there and cared about her, and cared about her kids. His whole thing was just like, “Bring some puzzles. I want you to be happy.” Boy, that would be pretty great if some of us knew how to do that - just make someone else happy.

[Astin said he appreciated joining a show that had already become a major cultural phenomenon, comparing the experience to entering other established worlds such as “The Color of Magic” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”]

The feeling is, number one, you want to make sure you do your job and don’t suck, right? That’s the number one thing: don’t suck. And contribute. Find some way to contribute to what this thing is that’s being created.

I actually auditioned for a different character. I auditioned for the reporter, the guy who was investigating [Barb]. But then they said, “Can you come back and read for this other guy, Bob?” I was super appreciative that they had accomplished this amazing thing, and I was there to basically help it keep going.

I didn’t know, when I got “Lord of the Rings,” anything about the Tolkien lore and mythology and how well-known that story was around the world, in every language, for generations. I knew it intellectually, but I didn’t feel it like that.

So “Stranger Things,” yeah, it was pretty great to just be able to walk in and feel like I get to be with all these people who are doing this. The Duffer Brothers, the world they created...

I didn’t get to work with Millie. I was bummed out. In the eighth episode, they sent her to Chicago for some reason to get in, like, gang fights in Chicago. (The audience laughs.) I don’t know what happened in that episode.

But she wasn’t there, so I didn’t get to interact with her. That was the only disappointment I had, because I just thought that what they had all created with Eleven was just next level. But I got to hang with my peeps, and it was fun.

FanX Flashback - Zachary Levi Panel Highlights [FanX 2025]

With FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention right around the corner, it's time for that time-honored tradition of scrambling to transcribe a ton of audio clips from last year's convention. But, thankfully, with the recent realization that technology is amazing and we no longer have to manually re-listen to these clips, try to determine what the celebrity is saying over the audience noise, and type it out word-by-word, this process just got significantly easier and faster!

So hey. Zachary Levi has been an awesome guest for several FanX conventions. His panels are always must-see, and he gives some truly thought-provoking and uplifting responses to the fans' questions - and he's coming back in a couple weeks! Can't wait! Looking forward to it.

With no further ado, here are some highlights from his panel in 2025, in which he discussed his greatest hits, hinted at potential projects in the future, and shared some very insightful thoughts about human emotions. Enjoy!

On what he would do if he had a magic purple crayon (like his movie “Harold and the Purple Crayon”) in real life:

I know this is a little lofty for the kids, although drawing a cool jet ski wouldn’t be bad. But I think that we are overtaken with consumption, we are overtaken with materialism, we all are overtaken with consumerism. We all are being programmed to, like, “Oh, I need this thing, I need that thing, and I need the new phone and I need the new bag, and I need whatever all that stuff is.” And the reality is, guys, we don’t need almost any of that stuff. What we need is community - that’s a huge thing. By the way, that’s one of the things I love about conventions: so much wonderful community at conventions, right? So many people that are really passionate about so many things, and you get to come together about that - you get to come together with your love for that. So, genuinely, I would be drawing peace on Earth. I would be drawing good will toward men. Whatever that looks like, that’s what I would be drawing.

On whether the “Chuck” movie could ever reasonably happen:

That’s a great question. And it’s a question that I would love to answer with a “Chuck” movie one day. (The audience cheers loudly.) Listen, listen. So at some point, I might - I might - need everybody in this room, or… Actually, that’s a good question. Who here is a “Chuck” fan? (The audience cheers loudly.) That’s a good answer. So, I am actively - and have actively - been trying to get Warner Bros., who own the rights to “Chuck,” to be open to, at least, allowing me [to make] a “Chuck” movie. I believe that the show - of all the shows that keep getting rebooted or movies that are made from shows - I feel like “Chuck” is so deserving of that, and you, the fans, are so deserving of that, because we did kind of end the show on a little bit of a cliffhanger. If you haven’t seen the show, I won’t spoil it for you, but you should go see the show. And I think we need to resolve that. At the very least, we need to resolve that. So, in order to do that, there might be a moment in the near-ish future - I don’t know - where I might, on [social media], I might post to the world, and I might say, “Hey, go to this website and say - raise your hand - and say, ‘I want this.’” Not only will I need you to sign that petition… I know there’s some petitions that have floated around but none of them have been really official, so none of them have really been […] respected by the [movie studio]. So, to do an official petition or an official website, where I can send all of you people to it and say, “If you want this, let me know”… and it can’t stop at you; you’ve got to spread that all over the world. It becomes your mission, beyond that, right? And if I could get enough of those signatures and even, like, commitments of, like, “I would spend $10” or “I would spend $20,” or “I would go, I would spend money on this thing,” I think we could make that thing happen. And it would be cool, going back to your question, “What would Chuck and Sarah and Casey and Ellie and Awesome and Morgan… What would their lives look like, 15 years down the road?” - because we’re almost there. I know this because of this. (He gestures to his hair.) Look at all this gray!

On his favorite episode of “Chuck”:

I would say, if I had to pick one, um, the first episode that I got to direct, which was in season three - I think it was episode - it ended up airing as episode 13 or something. It was called “Chuck Versus the Beard.” And it was the episode where Morgan finally found out about everything that was going on. (The audience cheers.) And that was special for myriad reasons. One, it was the first one I got to direct, and I was really grateful for that. But one of the most frustrating things about playing that role was I hated that I had to constantly lie to everyone in my life all the time. And it felt a little repetitive eventually. You know, a helicopter is dropping me off in the courtyard, and I’m like, “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know what that was.” And I was like - you know. So, so - and Morgan was kind of like the first of, of, like, kind of, you know, broke the yoke a little bit to, like, start - then other people started finding the secret. Um, so that was my favorite, I think. Yeah. Yeah.

On his least favorite character in “Tangled”:

I don’t know that I have a… Like, I think all the characters in “Tangled” are fantastic. Like, they’re so fantastically done. They’re so fantastically made. You know, it’d be easy to say, “Well, my least favorite is the evil, you know, Mother Gothel.” But she’s a fantastic character. You know what I mean? Like, she’s - she’s so good. “Mother Knows Best” is such a fantastic song. (The audience cheers.) Um, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Uh, it would be easy for me to say Maximus, because he was a little bit of a pain in the - (The audience laughs.) Yeah. Touché. Also, some of you have heard me rant about this before: How is it that Maximus got a Pop before Flynn got a Pop?! (The audience cheers and laughs.) That made me angry, bro. Angry. (An audience member shouts, “You don’t need a Pop - you’re gorgeous!”) I - I don’t need a Pop because I’m gorgeous? All right. (The audience laughs.) I love all the compliments. This is good. This is very nice. (Another audience member shouts something.) Okay, enough already. (The audience laughs.) They did. They got my nose right. The Pop got my nose right.

On his favorite part of playing Shazam:

The Wizard chose Billy because of his heart. It wasn’t because he was, you know, hyper-intelligent, or wise, or experienced. He was a child, right? But when you give that level of power to someone, it’s their heart that ultimately dictates how that power affects the world. And Billy had a heart that cared and was sacrificial, and really wanted - literally laid his life on the line in order to save his family and to save the world. And so, I think that’s my favorite part of playing Shazam, for sure.

On identifying with Anxiety in “Inside Out 2” and the importance of crying:

This is why we’ve got to love ourselves. This is why we’ve got to love each other. Because it’s hard. Life is hard. (The audience applauds and cheers.) I watched “Inside Out 2,” and they introduce - if you haven’t seen it - they introduce Anxiety into the story. I could not stop crying. Like, I - my girlfriend was sitting next to me - (He imitates exaggerated sobbing; the audience laughs.) My girlfriend - I don’t know why I - Also, listen, I’m not embarrassed about this. We should all cry. It’s important. Especially guys. (The audience cheers.) Especially us guys. But I’m watching this movie, and I’m watching Anxiety portrayed in this funny, wacky, animated form in this young girl’s head, and I silently weep. Like, I didn’t want to audibly weep, because everyone in the theater would have been like, “This guy is out of his mind. Like, something is - did he stab himself? How bad is the popcorn?” (The audience laughs.) I could - I just - I saw myself in that, in that Anxiety represented in this form, and it wrecked me. It wrecked me. But that’s beautiful. So, that’s up there. That’s up there as well. But also all the other ones I was talking about. Thank you.

Ronan Vale: Origins

Every hero has an origin story. Some begin with destiny. Others begin with tragedy.

The story of the tiefling adventurer Ronan Vale began with an ordinary day.

Before his life changed in the blink of an eye, Ronan was simply a leatherworker living in a small, close-knit farming community just outside of Phandelver. He was known not for his strength or ambition, but for his kindness, his craftsmanship, and his willingness to help anyone who needed it. Warm and easygoing with a subtle sense of humor, Ronan valued honest work above wealth and measured people by their character rather than their status. He had little desire for fame or adventure. Everything he wanted was already waiting for him at home.

The Vale family operated a modest leatherworking shop that served both local villagers and travelers passing through on the road to Phandelver. Ronan's father, Aldren, was an experienced craftsman with a dry wit and an endless supply of fatherly sarcasm. His mother, Mira, added beautiful embroidery and finishing touches to the family's work while quietly holding the household together with her warmth and wisdom. Ronan's younger sister, Elia, was endlessly creative, constantly sketching imaginative designs that challenged her brother's skills and dreaming of what the family business might one day become.

Every item that left the workshop bore a simple maker's mark: a small rising sun stamped into the leather. To the Vale family, it was nothing more than a symbol of hope and quality craftsmanship—a reminder of Aldren's belief that "the sun comes up for everybody," and that every honest day's work should leave the world a little brighter than before.

One crisp morning, Ronan planned to spend another ordinary day helping around the workshop until an old friend arrived.

Darrak Stonehand, a traveling dwarf merchant who regularly traded between Neverwinter and Phandelver, stopped by with a simple request. One of Ronan's leather satchels, sold years earlier, had finally begun to wear after countless miles on the road. The owner refused to let anyone but its original craftsman repair it. Though reluctant to leave his family with extra work, Ronan was gently encouraged by his parents to spend the day with his friend. Before departing, something unexpected came over him. For reasons he couldn't explain, he embraced his father, gathered his mother and sister into a family hug, and quietly held them for a moment longer than usual. It wasn't a premonition or a warning—only an unspoken expression of gratitude for the people he loved most.

As he prepared to leave, Elia returned a small brass token he had forgotten on his workbench. Crudely engraved with a rising sun, it had been little more than a practice piece years earlier, but she insisted it was lucky. Ronan tucked it into his pocket before setting off down the road.

The journey to Phandelver was filled with easy conversation and laughter. Darrak spoke of distant cities, bustling ports, and the opportunities that awaited someone with Ronan's talent. Ronan admitted he would love to visit places like Baldur's Gate someday, but his heart remained firmly rooted in his little village. Adventure sounded exciting, but nothing compared to the life he had already built with his family and neighbors.

After repairing the traveler's satchel, the pair were preparing to head home when they heard a desperate cry for help. A young boy's sheepdog, Bramble, had fallen into a rocky ravine and become trapped beneath loose stones. Ronan volunteered to climb down on a rope to rescue the frightened animal. His first attempt ended painfully when the terrified dog bit through his leather glove, bruising his hand and forcing him to retreat. Rather than giving up, Ronan patiently earned the dog's trust with a strip of dried venison before carefully freeing its trapped leg.

The grateful boy offered Ronan the only payment he possessed: three copper coins he had earned through a week of hard work. Instead of accepting them, Ronan learned that the money had been saved to buy Bramble a new collar. Believing that honest labor should always be respected, he returned the coins and encouraged the boy to spend them on his loyal companion. Before leaving, the boy pointed out something Ronan had long forgotten—the cracked leather collar Bramble wore had been crafted years earlier by Ronan himself, bearing the same little rising sun stamped into every piece of Vale Leatherworks.

The rescue delayed Ronan's journey home by more than an hour.

It was a delay caused not by fate, but by compassion.

As the sun began to set, Darrak and Ronan parted ways at a fork in the road. The dwarf thanked his friend for the day, joked about returning him home with all of his fingers despite the dog bite, and sent him on his way. Ronan smiled, tucked his patched work glove beneath his arm, and walked the final mile toward home.

At first, nothing seemed unusual.

Then he noticed the silence.

No lanterns glowed in the windows. No smoke rose from evening cookfires. No voices drifted across the fields.

As he entered the village, unsettling details emerged one after another: an unlatched gate swaying in the breeze, a bucket abandoned beside the well, a child's toy left in the road, bread burning unattended in the baker's oven, and homes standing open with no sign of their occupants.

Calling out to his neighbors brought only echoes.

When Ronan reached Vale Leatherworks, he found the workshop exactly as his family had left it. His father's tools rested on the bench. His mother's sewing remained unfinished. Elia's sketchbook lay open, displaying the design of a traveler's cloak marked with a stitched sun over the heart and a handwritten note addressed to her brother: "For Ronan. You'll make this someday."

His family was gone. His neighbors were gone. The home he left that morning no longer existed.

There were no answers. No explanation. Only unbearable silence.

The sun had set.

Ronan Vale's ordinary life had come to an end.

A-Town D&D Landing Page

WWE 2K26 Preview

Tick tock, pro wrestling fans. Tick tock! We are only a few days out from the early access release of WWE 2K26, and we've got a slew of new superstars, updated features, and new game modes coming at us!

With the help of The SmackDown Hotel, we've got a roundup of what's new, who's in, who's out, and what we're looking forward to in this year's installment, so let's not waste another second and just jump right in with the roster breakdown.

Who's out?

Legends/Other

• Bruno Sammartino
• George "The Animal" Steele
• Harley Race
• Headshrinker Fatu
• Headshrinker Samu
• Jake "The Snake" Roberts
• Jalen Brunson
• KSI
• Peter Maivia
• Ricky Steamboat
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Tyrese Haliburton

No longer with the company

• Akam
• Andrade
• Ashante Thee Adonis
• Baron Corbin
• Blair Davenport
• Braun Strowman
• Carlito
• Carmella
• Cedric Alexander
• Cora Jade
• Dakota Kai
• Duke Hudson
• Eddy Thorpe
• Elektra Lopez
• Gigi Dolin
• Giovanni Vinci
• Indi Hartwell
• Isla Dawn
• Jakara Jackson
• Joe Koffey
• Karl Anderson
• Karrion Kross
• Katana Chance
• Kayden Carter
• Luke Gallows
• Mark Coffey
• Oro Mensah
• Paul Ellering
• Rezar
• Scarlett
• Shayna Baszler
• Shotzi
• Sonya DeVille
• Tamina
• Tegan Nox
• Valhalla
• Wes Lee
• Wolfgang

Notable missing Main Roster superstars

• Bravo Americano
• Brie Bella
• Danhausen
• Matt Cardona
• Rayo Americano
• Royce Keys

Notable missing NXT superstars

• Adriana Rizzo
• Arianna Grace
• DarkState (Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Saquon Shugars)
• Kendal Grey
• Lainey Reid
• Luca Crusifino
• Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, Jackson Drake, Ricky Smokes)

Who's in? (* = DLC)

Main roster

• AJ Lee
• JC Mateo
• Rey Fenix
• Rusev
• Talla Tonga

NXT

• Blake Monroe
• Hank Walker
• Izzi Dame
• Jazmyn Nyx
• Joe Hendry
• Karmen Petrovic
• Myles Borne
• Ricky Saints
• Tank Ledger
• Tavion Heights
• Wren Sinclair
• Yoshiki Inamura
• Zaria

Lucha Libre AAA

• El Hijo Del Vikingo*
• Flammer*
• Lady Shani*
• Mr. Iguana*
• Pagano*
• Psycho Clown*

Legends/Other

• Ax*
• Crush*
• Jelly Roll*
• Smash*
• Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley

Managers/Non-playable Characters

• Booker T (commentator)
• Wade Barrett (Commentator)

By the numbers

As was the case last year, The SmackDown Hotel says that this will be the largest roster in the history of WWE video games, with "over 400 playable characters." Of course, this also comes with the yearly caveat that "AJ Lee" and "AJ Lee '15" count as two different playable characters, and we're getting (as far as I can see, so far) - nine different versions of CM Punk, so let's not get too excited.

Roster take-aways

My first reaction is, dang, look how many people got cut this year! That feels like a ton. But other than that, uh, hey - we're getting AAA stars, so Mr. Iguana should be interesting! I'm just learning right now that the feature that previously granted all superstars and unlockables immediately may not be in 2K26, and many of the wrestlers on the roster will need to be obtained through the new "ringside pass" system, which I think I'm going to hate... but more on that later.

AJ Lee is back, Adam Pierce and Nick Aldis are playable this year, we're getting both versions of El Grande Americano... There is a character named "Bronze Breakker"? Man, that's hilarious.

I also see that they're counting a bunch of "MyRise" characters as official members of the roster, which is lame because I will never use any of them.

What else is new?

• Interactive superstar entrances
• Manual gestures, taunts, and pyro sequences
• Start of Match Actions
• Play to the crowd, offer a handshake, trade blows, surprise attack, chain wrestling
• New match types
• Dumpster Match
• I Quit Match
• Inferno Match
• Three Stages of Hell
• Showcase Mode: CM Punk
• New weapons
• Shopping cart
• Thumbtacks
• Stackable tables
• Championship pedestal
• Upgrades to GM Mode
• Intergender matches
• 5-, 6- and 8-wrestler matches
• Handicap matches
• Default 50-week seasons
• Double booking
• "Invasion" promos
• Three new GMs
• Upgrades to Universe Mode
• WWE Draft
• Universe wizard tool
• The Island
• New storyline and environment
• Faction system
• MyFaction Mode
• Intergender lineups and matches
• Ringside Pass
• Now, you don't just have to pay for DLC expansions - you have to grind out the characters you bought, too! (This sounds terrible.)

WWE 2K Q&A with A-Town

• Who will you play with first?
• Depends. Who will be available to play with and who will I have to play for hours to unlock? Joe Hendry is a fun pre-order bonus, though. Might have to check him out. Maybe a tag match between Chad Gabe and the original El Grande Americano vs. Ludwig Kaiser and El Grande Americano. I love LA Knight and Penta, too. Heck, maybe it will be Chelsea Green. She's hilarious.
• Who won't you play with at all?
• Any of the MyRise characters. Pretty much everybody from the Bloodline that isn't currently on the main roster. Most wrestlers from NXT.
• What is your go-to match type?
• Extreme Rules, baby! Anything with no DQ.
• What is your favorite game mode?
• I like GM Mode. I wish that I played it more instead of having to grind out MyFaction and play through MyRise. Having to play through MyRise multiple times last year was not my favorite chore.
• Is there anything you wish you could change or improve about these games?
• Dude, I hated ambulance and casket matches in 2K25. I would literally have to beat my opponent within an inch of their life before I could close the door on them. It was horrible and I will not likely ever willingly choose to play either of those match types ever again.
• There were some really weird trophies last year - particularly in GM Mode. I wish that I could just play this game the way I wanted to play it instead of having to do these random things like having Kyle Slickman win the main event of WrestleMania.
• I've begged about it for years now, but I want the "Statistics" feature to count all of my matches, not just the ones where I'm in Play Mode vs the computer. Count my MyFaction wins and everything else, too. We live in the modern age. I'm not asking for much.
• I still have gripes about GM Mode like I did last year. The penalties for having two powerhouses fight each other are stupid. You shouldn't have to use exclusively cruiserweights against Drew McIntyre or Brock Lesnar. The other thing that drove me nuts about GM Mode was that when you tell the computer to book a show for you, it would put the most random matches together. I wish it was a bit more intelligent with its decision making.
• I don't like The Island. I played that thing as briefly as I had to last year, but I fear that it's going to continue to be a big part of these games moving forward, and I just don't care whatsoever about the online aspect of these games. Just let me enjoy myself without having to get online with strangers.
• Make up a new tag team that does not currently exist.
• The way that Danhausen debuted at Elimination Chamber over the weekend was about as weird as I could possibly have ever fathomed, but I went down the rabbit hole and watched some clips and I think I want to like him. His first appearance on Raw cost Dominik Mysterio the Intercontinental championship, so that was lovely. If Danhausen teamed up with R-Truth and Mr. Iguana, that would be comedy gold. Maybe even an odd couple tag team of Danhausen and The Miz? But Danhausen isn't in the game this year (yet), so I'll come up with something else...
• I mean, it's got to be Tiffany Stratton and Blake Monroe, right? Give Blake the call-up after WrestleMania and give them a shot.
• Give us brand new champions for every single main roster belt:
• RAW:
• Men's Title: Finn Balor
• Women's Title: Naomi was going to be great before she got pregnant
• Men's IC: Penta literally just won it tonight, but if you had asked me 24 hours ago, I might have said him.
• Women's IC: Nikki Bella
• Men's Tag: LA Knight and Sheamus
• SmackDown:
• Men's Title: Randy Orton
• Women's Title: Break up the Judgment Day and move Raquel Rodriguez to SmackDown
• Men's US: Joe Hendry after a main roster call-up
• Women's US: I pledge allegiance to Chelsea Green
• Men's Tag: Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens would be fun if they could stay healthy
• Inter-brand Women's Tag Team Champions: Bayley and Lyra Valkyria
• Who are you looking forward to beating up?
• Always Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan. Triple H probably deserves a beating for some of his odd booking decisions, too.

The Bottom Line

The race to cross the finish line for WWE 2K25 was absolutely brutal. Some of the matches I had to play in order to beat all of the World Tour locations were completely insane. I hated it. Having to play and simulate literally 17 seasons of GM Mode with CM Punk as the GM of NXT Mutiny just to finally win the main event of Backlash was moronic. Hated it.

But I'll be danged if I'm not looking forward to this Thursday night when I can boot up some WWE 2K26. I'm getting the Monday Night Wars edition, so I might have to relive a bit of the old WCW glory days for a bit.

Honestly, the new game looks good. It looks fun. I mean, is it just a shiny new roster update? Maybe! But it's about time we got real versions of some of these new characters. I think I'll just basically need to get in and download community creations of Matt Cardona and Danhausen, but then we'll be good to go!

Another year, another 11 months of WWE action on the PlayStation. Can't wait for the weekend.

*****

The road to WrestleMania is upon us! Hit us up in the comments section to let us know if you're still clinging onto dear life or if WWE has priced you out completely! While you're at it, check us out on Twitter (here and here) or chat with us on Facebook.

Ready to rumble yet again.

Until next time.

Nintendo Year in Review 2025

It's the final Year in Review post for 2025 - and this time, it's Nintendo's year in review, which they actually put out in January instead of December, so it should account for my entire year's worth of stats. And the good news is that I played a considerable amount more Nintendo than I did last year, but then again, I did set the bar remarkably low.

2025 brought with it the Nintendo Switch 2, which took a second to obtain (including the delivery person driving aimlessly around my complex for a couple minutes and deciding "Maybe we'll let somebody else try tomorrow") but ended up being a great time.

Let's take a look at my highlights from last year's time spent playing Nintendo.

Gameplay Totals

I matched last year's total of 16 games but nearly tripled my hours played. That's a decent job of bouncing back, if you ask me.

Top Games

1. Pokémon Violet - 19 hours
2. Mario Kart World - 19 hours
3. Fitness Boxing 3 - 15 hours

"Pokémon Violet" coming out on top came as a bit of a surprise until I remembered that I told myself that I could only purchase the new "Pokémon Legends: Z-A" if I beat "Violet" first. Challenge accepted and completed.

I'm not necessarily a big "Mario Kart" guy - I enjoy it, but I'm not hardcore like some people - but "Mario Kart World" was fun and is a great game to play with the family. I spent a lot of time trying to track down all of the costumes for each character. I'm still a couple short, though, which irritates me.

Another year of "Fitness Boxing." This one is a Top Games mainstay because it's the only game that I play on a near-weekly basis. I'm bad and miss a week from time to time, but it's a nice way of getting some extra movement in.

Gaming Trends

A decent balance of game types. I accept.

Monthly Breakdown

As you can see, I got the Switch 2 in July. October was the month in which I challenged myself to beat "Pokémon Violet."

Favorite Game

My Nintendo game of the year is Mario Kart World. I really had fun with it, especially playing with my oldest son. There is a decent amount of stuff to do, from tracking down alternative outfits to collecting things in the open world, not to mention racing for glory across its handful of official cups. I also like the new ability to adjust races to start on one course and transition into another. Thanks to its extreme replayability factor, a lot more Mario Kart lies ahead for me and my family in 2026.

Top Games of All Time

One really cool feature in this year's Nintendo Year in Review was the ability to look back at previous years. Nintendo even provided a full breakdown of my top games over the past eight years, when I first bought the Switch 1.

Here are my top 20 games of all time:

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 217 hours
2. Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 61 hours
3. Mario Golf: Super Rush - 50 hours
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 45 hours
5. Pokémon Shield - 41 hours
6. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - 40 hours
7. New Pokémon Snap - 40 hours
8. Pokémon Violet - 34 hours
9. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond - 33 hours
10. Pokémon Legends: Arceus - 30 hours
11. Super Mario Odyssey - 29 hours
12. Luigi's Mansion 3 - 21 hours
13. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - 20 hours
14. Metroid Dread - 20 hours
15. Mario Kart World - 19 hours
16. Fitness Boxing 3 - 16 hours
17. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu - 15 hours
18. Mario Tennis Aces - 15 hours
19. Pokemon Legends: Z-A - 13 hours
20. Donkey Kong Bananza - 13 hours

Past Years Comparison

• 2025
• Games played: 16
• Hours played: 103
• Top games: "Pokémon Violet," "Mario Kart World," "Fitness Boxing 3"
• Game of the year: "Mario Kart World"
• 2024
• Games played: 16
• Hours played: 38
• Top games: "Fitness Boxing 2," "Sid Meier's Civilization VI," "Super Mario Party Jamboree"
• Game of the year: "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate"
• 2023
• Games played: 23
• Hours played: 169
• Top games: "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope," "Metroid Dread"
• Game of the year: "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope"
• 2022
• Hours played: 140
• Top games: "Pokémon Legends: Arceus," "Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope," "Pokémon Brilliant Diamond"
  
• 2021
• Hours played: 189
• Top games: "New Pokemon Snap," "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," "Mario Golf: Super Rush"
• 2020
• Hours played: 235
• Top games: "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," "Mario Tennis Aces," "Pokémon Shield"
• 2019
• Hours played: 56
• Top games: "Pokémon Shield," "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3," "Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu"
• 2018
• Hours played: ~85
• Top games: "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," "Super Mario Odyssey," "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild"

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a decent and fun year of Nintendo for me. Granted, the Switch is not my primary console and it is often dominated by my oldest child, but I like to get in some time every now and again. I've got a bit of a backlog right now, with games like "Donkey Kong Bananaza" and "Pokémon Legends: Z-A" just sitting there, waiting to be played, so hopefully I'll be able to continue chipping away in 2026!

*****

We finally did it! That's the end of our 2025 Year in Review posts! What were your top Nintendo games of 2025? Any recommendations for the upcoming year? Let us know in the comments below, on Twitter (here and here) or on Facebook.

Until next time!

Playstation Wrap-Up 2025

Greetings, everyone, and welcome to one of my most-anticipated blog posts of the year: the Playstation Wrap-Up for 2025!

However, let's just go ahead and get this out of the way right now - this was a disappointing year for Playstation's yearly recap. Typically, they're really good about continuing to update the stats through December 31, but this year, despite the website being up through January 8, I didn't see an update to my numbers after December 23. This really rubbed me the wrong way this year, in particular, because I was on paternity leave during all of December, so I know that I got short-changed. This means that my numbers this year are not completely accurate and, most likely, quite different than what they actually wound up being.

But with that in mind, we'll jump in and break down my top games from last year, with a bit of an asterisk on top of it all. Let's take a look and see what topped the Playstation charts for 2025!

Total Hours:

Playstation said that I played 961 hours this year, but I know that to be lower than whatever the final number ended up being. I presume that I probably played another 10 or 15 hours (maybe more) in the final eight days of the year, especially considering that I wasn't working at the time.

The screenshots above also don't indicate that I spent a dozen hours or so playing the Playstation 3, cleaning up trophies on Skyrim and some old NCAA football games that my brother played on my profile back during my college years. (Also, if I did play "a dozen hours or so" on the PS3, the numbers in the Wrap-Up wouldn't add up. I'm skeptical.)

Ultimately, I don't know what my total number of hours for 2025 ended up being, so we'll just call it "961+ hours," for the sake of my final stats.

I wish that they would have given me the stats for my controller usage because I've been using a new purple controller pretty much exclusively for months, so I really must have loved that black controller in the first half of the year.

Top Five Games:

1. Assassin's Creed Shadows: Ah, yes. "Assassin's Creed Shadows." After getting some real burnout from "Assassin's Creed Valhalla," I was hesitant to pick up the next big, open world installment in the franchise, especially after having played the significantly smaller "Mirage," but I had a great time sneaking around Japan as Naoe and Yasuke. I learned to rely on Naoe for exploration and Yasuke for butt-kicking but truly enjoyed playing with both characters, which I had been a little hesitant about. I, sadly, didn't spend nearly as much time cultivating my ninja hideout as I thought I would, when I first heard that that was going to be a thing, but that was still a fun aspect of the game. My mind was constantly blown when I thought for the thirtieth time, "There's no way that this villain board can get any bigger," and then watched in amazement as a new sub-faction of thugs appeared in my objective map. I picked up the "Claws of Awaji" DLC but only played that for about an hour around Christmastime, so my total number of hours played actually should have been 95, not 94, but who's counting, right? Thanks to Assassin's Creed for pumping out a game that never felt too big and never made me bored. Good stuff.
2. Star Wars Outlaws: I hadn't heard a single good thing about "Star Wars Outlaws," but I love Star Wars and I wanted to give it a shot anyway. I really liked it! I don't know if I was just late enough to the game that the developers had fixed all the stuff that players complained about, but I didn't really have many issues with it. No Force usage, no lightsabers, sure, but the thing about Star Wars is that there is room for so many stories to be told that don't directly involve the Skywalker family. I really liked Kay Vess and her little space puppy. I had fun sneaking around and trying to avoid detection. I enjoyed the reputation system revolving around the biggest crime syndicates in the galaxy far, far away. I was secretly hoping that "Outlaws" would be one of my top games and was really glad to see that it was. I also picked up and completed all of the DLC missions, so if you were ever wondering what it would be like to play Lando Calrissian in Sabaac, have I got some stories for you!
3. Disney Dreamlight Valley: Sixty-eight hours of "Dreamlight Valley" is going to look weak next year, I tell you! With the final days of my paternity leave in early January, I put in WORK on DLV, but those stats will have to wait until the end of 2026 to manifest themselves. The most impressive thing I can say about "Dreamlight Valley" is that it remains one of my top games despite already having earned the platinum trophy. Almost 70 more hours of this game and not a single trophy to show for it? That's just wild.
4. WWE 2K25: Yep, back at it with the pro wrestling. "2K25" was a solid entry in the series with a more up-to-date roster at the time of its release than some of the other recent WWE games, and the game modes are fun enough to merit several dozen hours of play time. However, I dislike how much 2K wants us to play the "career" mode each year. It's my least favorite thing to do with each installment, and it seems like 2K is just doubling down on it every year, as if we think the cheesy original storylines are fun. Less of that in the future, please! But I did appreciate some improvements to GM Mode and (shockingly) the decreased load time required to boot up MyFaction mode. Thank you!!
5. Blue Prince: Talk about an original game! If a puzzle and an escape room had a baby, it would be "Blue Prince." It was free for Playstation+ members and I had heard some online rumblings about it being a noteworthy release, so I figured I'd try it out. The fact that I spent 56 hours on it speaks volumes to how deep I got into it. I HAD A PHYSICAL NOTEBOOK TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAD DISCOVERED. Trial and error, trial and error, and some great successes along the way. I'm too weak of an individual to try to beat the game on its intimidating harder difficulties, but I mostly enjoyed my time in that weird old mansion, and this game will probably wind up as one of my more memorable gaming experiences for years to come.

Honorable mention: "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle," which was my #5 game when Playstation Wrap-Up first kicked off but got booted from the leaderboard by "WWE 2K25" a few days later.

Games Played:

Aside from my top five games of the year, here are a few other games that I loved in 2025:

• NHL 25, NHL 26 - New year, new hockey game. The Mammoth have arrived!
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - I'm not brave enough to go for the platinum, but a very good game with a lot of stuff to do along the way.
• Astro Bot - The continuous addition of free DLC speed run levels was a lot of fun and occasionally very stressful.
• Backyard Baseball '97 - Not as good as it was on PC when I was a kid, but a nice shot of nostalgia nevertheless.
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 - THPS 4 takes me way back! I had never played THPS 3, but I always love a good shred session.
• Split Fiction - More on this later, but a really innovated and exciting game.
• The Outer Worlds 2 - One of the funniest games in recent memory. It got pushed to the backburner toward the end of the year, but I look forward to hopping back in very soon!
• Anno 1800 - I can't believe it but I finally beat the story. Good heavens, this was one of the hardest games I have ever played and I don't think anything in the world could convince me to try for the platinum.
• Sunderfolk - This was a really cool local co-op game where you and some friends can use your phones as controllers. I would have played it more often if I felt more comfortable asking my married guy friends if they could come over to play video games. Those parental responsibilities will get you, man!
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - This game basically took over at the end of the year - not soon enough to crack my top five but there's a small chance that the time I've spent playing it in January could get it high up on my list for 2026. I bought it on sale after it won Game of the Year and a ton of other awards and loved the unique, original story. (It definitely had some outbursts of profanity that caught me off guard with my wife and kids in the room, so be aware of that, but it was a very fun late-night game for dad.) The combat system was incredibly difficult to learn and master but provided some of the most thrilling moments when I finally figured out the timing and beat some hard bosses. I'm sure I'll be writing more about this in my recap for next year, so... stay tuned for that, I guess.

Trophies Earned:

Although Playstation said I earned 751 trophies in 2025, it didn't account for an additional 18 trophies earned after December 23, so my actual total for the year would have actually been 769. That's the fewest trophies that I've earned in a year since I started keeping track of my stats back in 2020, but paternity leave with three kids is way different than paternity leave with one kid - especially since the older two boys are smart enough to vote me off of the big TV from time to time.

Here's a list of all of the games for which I either got the platinum trophy or reached 100% completion in 2025:

1. Sonic Frontiers - January 4
2. Epic Mickey Rebrushed - January 14
3. WWE 2K24 - February 2
4. No Man's Sky - February 10
5. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions - February 17
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 - March 9
7. Star Wars Outlaws - March 27
8. Hello Neighbor 2 - April 30
9. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - June 17
10. LEGO Movie: The Videogame - July 2
11. MLB 14 The Show - July 13
12. Disco Elysium - August 1
13. Split Fiction - August 16
14. Assassin's Creed Mirage - August 20
15. NCAA Football 11 - August 25
16. Stick It To the Man, 100% - November 5
17. Endling: Extinction is Forever - November 6
18. Assassin's Creed Shadows - November 7

Thoughts on that list:

• I played "Sonic Frontiers" mainly because my oldest son accidentally earned a trophy on my profile and I therefore felt the need to finish the game for the sake of my completion percentage. Same thing with the "LEGO Movie" game. Probably wouldn't have played either of those if it weren't for my son "helping me out." Whoops!
• I had played "Epic Mickey 2" but never the original, so I was happy when they remastered it; that was a fun game.
• "No Man's Sky" certainly deserves some credit for how much better the game has become over the years - it's basically a totally different game than what it was when it was first released about 10 years ago.
• Getting the platinum trophy for "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2" was incredibly tedious. I love that game, but I did not love that trophy list. Sheesh.
• "Hello Neighbor 2" and "Endling: Extinction is Forever" were two games that, if I'm being honest, I only played because I Googled how long it would take to get the platinum trophies and I wanted to boost my stats.
• Speaking of boosting my stats, I spent a decent amount of time cleaning up games on my old Playstation 3. I got the platinum trophies for "MLB 14 The Show" and "NCAA Football 11" but also cleaned up the original "Skyrim" (even though I made it further on the PS4 version of the game) and a "Call of Duty" game that I had never actually played. NCAA and CoD were played on my profile by two of my brothers way back when I was in college and the completion level was not good. They're looking much better now.
• "Stick it to the Man" was a free PS4 game for Playstation+ members years and years ago. I played it but didn't complete it, and I finally got around to just knocking it out so I never have to think about it again.
• "Indiana Jones" was a lot of fun. I'm a product of the '80s and love Indy, so I loved the game. I had a couple of gripes about it - one of the areas was very dark and difficult to navigate, and the collectibles were such a pain. Holy cow, I think I was missing a collectible that took me about an hour and a half to find. Horrendous. Other than that, though, really enjoyable.
• I had heard great things about "Disco Elysium." It was a very interesting game that took me a while to complete. I don't believe that I would recommend it to most of my family, friends and associates.
• I got the platinum trophy for "Split Fiction" after playing the entire game with my oldest son, who is five years old. I do not believe that the game was intended for such young players. I was so proud of him. It was extremely frustrating at times and probably took two or three times longer to beat than it would have if I had played with, say, my wife (with whom I had originally planned on playing), but the fact that I beat it with a child was a fantastic accomplishment.
• "Assassin's Creed Mirage" was great. In fact, it's probably one of my top three or four AC games of all time. I enjoyed the series reverting back to the old stealth system, the simplified controls, and the much, much, much smaller map. It only took me about 35 hours to beat, including the free DLC update that came out toward the end of the year, and I'd recommend any AC fans who were on the fence about "Mirage" to give it a chance.

In the past, Playstation has given us a monthly breakdown of top games, hours logged and play sessions, but they didn't do that again this year. Instead, they gave us some trophy milestones to sort of journal our stats throughout the year. Here's what they had for me:

...except this wasn't my latest trophy - just proof that Playstation gave up on me after December 23, frowny face emoji.

Yearly Comparison:

• 2025
• Hours played: 961+
• Top games: Assassin's Creed Shadows, Star Wars Outlaws, Disney Dreamlight Valley, WWE 2K25, Blue Prince
• Trophies earned: 769
• Platinum trophies: 16
• 2024
• Hours played: 1,091
• Top games: Baldur's Gate III, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, WWE 2K24, Star Wars Battlefront II
• Trophies earned: 845
• Platinum trophies: 15
• 2023
• Hours played: 1,212
• Top games: Disney Dreamlight Valley, Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel's Midnight Suns, NBA 2K23, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• Trophies earned: 911
• Platinum trophies: 20
• 2022
• Hours played: 1,308
• Top games: WWE 2K22, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Gotham Knights, Ghost of Tsushima, Stardew Valley
• Trophies earned: 968
• Platinum trophies: 18
• 2021
• Hours played: 1,203
• Top games: MLB The Show 21, NBA 2K21, Marvel's Avengers, Watch Dogs Legion, Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Trophies earned: 1,091
• Platinum trophies: 14
• 2020
• Hours played: 2,419 (holy crap, COVID!)
• Top games: MLB The Show 20, Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 Remix, NBA 2K20
• Trophies earned: 1,410
• Platinum trophies: 15

Final Thoughts:

So, in the end, the combination of having growing kids and playing really long games resulted in a year with fewer hours and trophies, but that's ok. Games like "Assassin's Creed Shadows," "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33," "Disco Elysium," "Anno 1800," hockey games and even "The Outer Worlds 2" all have stretches where trophies are few and far between, not to mention the 68 hours I put into earning no trophies on "Dreamlight Valley." But I had a great time playing and, perhaps, even a few less regrets about the games I've played than in past years, so that's a win, ultimately. I'll be back next year, probably even bigger and better, so I look forward to the exciting games, stories and platinum trophies that lie just beyond the horizon.

Mainly, I'm just disappointed in Playstation for not continuing to update my stats through the end of the year like they have in the past. Come on, guys. That was just lazy. Do you not really love me, after all we've been through??

Anyway, feel free to let me know what your top games were by leaving a comment below, following us on Twitter (here and here) or finding me on Facebook or some other method of communication.

Until next time!