The past year was stellar for handheld gaming, no matter the size of your actual hands. Between the Steam Deck, Playdate and an explosion of retro consoles, we received an embarrassing amount of mobile gaming goodness in 2022, and cloud play is only encouraging more innovation. Even though Sony still hasn’t revived the Vita, it feels like the handheld market is in the throes of a renaissance — so let’s celebrate the milestones of the year right here.
December is a historic month for handheld gaming. Sony released the PlayStation Portable in Japan on December 12th, 2004, and then debuted the Vita in Japan on December 17th, 2011. Both of these consoles were hits with players, critics and developers, but a disorganized marketing scheme and failed cloud ambitions kept Sony from investing in handheld gaming after the Vita. RIP, etc. Basically, for the past decade we’ve been waiting (very patiently, mind you) for a breakthrough mobile device to finally make this industry viable again.
Finally in 2022, the handheld market is flush. The Switch paved the way for mobile play over the past few years, and massive corporations like Valve are finally getting in on the action. Cloud gaming has found its foothold, and the market for portable Android and Linux devices is buzzing, with major names like Razer getting involved. Meanwhile, more underground companies like Analogue, Ayaneo and Panic are quietly churning out high-quality handhelds for retro, PC and indie gaming.
Engadget
But of course, Valve’s Steam Deck dominated the portable conversation in 2022. The Steam Deck is big, it’s heavy, it doesn’t have a great battery life – and it’s everything PC players have been waiting for, apparently. Valve started rolling out the Steam Deck in February, and by October it had shipped more than 1 million of these beasts across the western world, with plans to expand into additional regions. Steam Deck comes in three flavors ranging from $400 to $650, which makes it more affordable than existing handheld PC devices from companies like Ayaneo. It comes with Steam pre-installed, but it’ll also run Windows if you really want to spend an afternoon screaming why? at the machine in your lap.
Imperfect though it may be, Steam Deck proved there’s heat in the handheld PC market in 2022. It’s a relatively accessible way to play PC games on a portable screen, and it successfully combines the Steam software with decades of hardware research at Valve. The Steam Deck is a great start from a company that’s known to lose focus easily, so hopefully it doesn’t all end here.
Engadget
Even if Valve gets too distracted to make a Steam Deck 2.0, plenty of other companies are eager to pick up the thread in the mobile PC space. The most prominent name is Ayaneo, a brand that took off in 2021 thanks to an Indiegogo campaign that raised more than $2 million. Today, Ayaneo is continuing to iterate on its original PC device with sleek, Switch-sized machines capable of running titles from Steam, the Epic Games Store, Game Pass and other hubs. The Ayaneo Air Pro starts at $700 and can technically handle high-fidelity games, though you’ll likely have to lower your framerate, resolution and expectations. The beefiest Ayaneo, the Next Pro, starts at $1,500 and it’ll run anything a Steam Deck can, but without the extra bulk.
Ayaneo makes extremely cute gadgets and the company is emerging as Valve’s main competitor for portable PC glory. The Ayaneo 2 is poised to pack even more power into a sleek package, though it’ll have a price tag of $1,000, at least. The exciting thing here is that there’s actual competition in the handheld space – companies are investing in mobile hardware more than ever, and not just when it comes to PC play. Recent upgrades in mobile processors are powering a ton of new devices built specifically for retro and cloud gaming.
James Trew / Engadget
At the end of 2022, the market for retro handhelds is lush, covering every era from NES to GameCube at relatively affordable prices. On the NES to PSP side of things, this year we got the Miyoo Mini and Retroid Pocket 3: The Miyoo Mini costs about $60 and has a modern dual-core processor that can handle even some PS1 games, while the Pocket 3 is an Android-powered handheld that costs $120. For more modern emulation experiences, there’s the Odin by Ayn, which can run PS2 and GameCube titles at 1080p on a 5.9-inch screen. The Odin costs between $200 and $290, depending on the model. For retro handhelds, the general rule is the hardware gets more expensive as the era progresses.
In the honorable mention section, we have the Analogue Pocket, which plays actual physical cartridges from the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, and is unsurprisingly about the size of a classic Game Boy. Analogue started shipping the Pocket at the end of 2021 and it enjoyed a sold-out year, with more orders and accessories due in 2023. Pocket is a special little handheld that breathes new life into classic cartridge libraries, and it comes with a price tag of $220 – which is just about what a Game Boy would cost in today’s coin.
Engadget
OK, that’s enough about the past. If 2022 has proven anything, it’s that portable gaming has a strong future, and this is going to include cloud and phone play. Cloud technology has finally become reliable enough that even Sony figured it out this year, and Microsoft has continued to grow its enormous cloud network, which is intrinsically tied to Game Pass. Our slowly encroaching subscription-based future has created a rich environment for Android- and Linux-based handhelds that don’t need a ton of on-board processing power, as the Steam Deck does. Logitech recently dropped the G Cloud Gaming Handheld, which costs $350, while the Razer Edge is an Android-based handheld starting at $400 and expected to start shipping in January.
This year Razer also released the Kishi V2, which is a $100 gamepad that essentially turns your smartphone into a cloud gaming device. Backbone makes a similar product for iPhone and Android players, and this year the company rolled out an officially licensed PlayStation gamepad just for iPhone. As mobile processors continue to evolve and cloud technology further stabilizes, smartphone gaming is only going to grow as an industry, and already mainstream entertainment companies like Netflix are joining the fray. Netflix specifically has ushered acclaimed games like Kentucky Route Zero, Into the Breach and Spiritfarer onto mobile devices this year, and it’s introduced gems like Poinpy and Hello Kitty Happiness Parade.
Panic
Finally, I’d like to take a moment to honor Playdate. This brilliant business-card-sized indie gaming machine came out in April; it costs $180, it has a crank, and it doesn’t fit into any existing video game category. Playdate exemplifies innovation. It’s an open-source, crank-powered piece of magic offering some of the most unique experiences the video game industry has to offer, distilled on a miniscule, monochromatic screen. Playdate is pure joy in a tiny yellow package, and for me, it’s the standout handheld of 2022.
And that’s a wrap. Here’s to you, handheld gaming. Thank you for a fantastic year, and may the momentum of 2022 continue to generate creative ideas in this space. To the years and games ahead, cheers.
Mercedes isn’t tip-toeing into electrification. The automaker put together an aggressive plan and it shows no sign of slowing down. That’s why every few months it seems like there’s another Mercedes-Benz EV being announced.
In all this removal of gas-powered engines, Mercedes still needs to make sure to build vehicles that exude the luxury customers have come to expect from the automaker. It started with the EQS as the electric version of the S-Class sedan and followed that up with the EQS SUV. A taller vehicle with more headroom, off-road capabilities and the number one feature wanted by the US market: it’s an SUV.
While the parity of tech features between the EQS and EQS SUV is impressive, the one thing that S-Class owners moving to an electric luxury vehicle will notice is the increased headroom in the EQS SUV. There’s also the design, which looks better on the SUV, and if you opt for all-wheel-drive the off-roading capabilities are there for when the second home happens to be up a dirt road.
Still, we put the EQS SUV to the test and found that overall it’s an impressive entry into the luxury EV SUV market, even with its weird regenerative brake pedal. Watch the video below for the full story.
I don't know if this is a delayed effect of the remote working trend or simply a bunch of technologies all maturing at the same time (or possibly both), but 2022 was an unusually great year for monitors. So before we move onto a new generation of gadgets in 2023, I just wanted to take a little time to recap some of the standout displays that came out in the last 12 months.
Before we even get to specific models, this year we saw the arrival of two new major players in the gaming monitor space thanks to Sony’s Inzone brand and HyperX’s line of Armada displays. For a company like Sony that's responsible for some of the most popular consoles of all time, this move was both a surprise yet also feels a bit late. That's because while Sony has dabbled with gaming displays in the past (remember that weird Playstation 3D TV from 2011), the company has largely refrained from expanding into the wider gaming hardware and accessories market — especially when it comes to PC peripherals.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
That said, while Sony's line of Inzone devices is made up of headphones and monitors that share a similar design with the Playstation 5 and a few exclusives features, it's important to note that the devices come from Sony Electronics (the company that makes TVs and wireless earbuds) and not Sony Interactive Entertainment (aka the Playstation people). That means you won't find any explicit Playstation logos, but what you do get is some of the fancy tech found on Sony's other premium gadgets like its flagship WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones.
As for monitors, after testing it out earlier this year, I found the Inzone M9 to be one of the best 4K gaming displays for the money. Now going for just $799 (down from its $899 launch price), you get a 27-inch display with VRR and NVIDIA G-Sync support, DisplayHDR 600 certification and full array local dimming. I also appreciate some of the smaller touches Sony included such as a built-in KVM switch and surprisingly decent onboard stereo speakers, the latter of which makes it really easy to hook up a PC or a PS5 and just start gaming without worrying about audio.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Meanwhile, HyperX (which is now owned by HP) has also joined the fray this year with its line of Armada gaming monitors. Similar to Sony, HyperX's first batch of displays features a small twist on the standard formula because, instead of shipping with a traditional desktop stand, both of its new monitors are only available with a bundled monitor arm. And when combined with a 25-inch panel that offers a 1080p resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate for just $450 or a 2,560 x 1440 display with a 165Hz for $500 on the 27-inch model, what you get are some great mid-range displays, particularly for anyone looking to keep clutter to a minimum.
Alienware's AW3423DW was the first QD OLED monitor on market when it went on sale earlier this spring.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Another important milestone in 2022 was the release of the first batch of QD-OLED monitors, headlined by the Alienware AW3423DW. The really nice thing about QD-OLED displays is that they combine the super saturated colors and pure blacks you get with traditional OLED panels, but with much better brightness, not to mention less blooming and wider viewing angles (when compared to conventional LCD displays). When you factor in its huge ultra-wide format and 175Hz refresh rate, you get what's arguably the best overall gaming monitor on the market. And while Alienware was the first company to release a QD-OLED monitor, other companies like MSI have their own rivals coming soon.
With a massive 55-inch 4K display, Samsung's Odyssey Ark is one of the biggest gaming monitors available today.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Alternatively, for people who don't care about costs and just want the biggest and baddest gaming display on the market, Samsung's Odyssey Ark was one of the most memorable gadgets I've used all year. With a massive 55-inch 4K panel and a 1000R curve, the Ark wraps around you like some kind of spaceship cockpit. And if that wasn't enough, you can even rotate it into portrait mode, which delivers one of the most unique gaming setups I've ever experienced. The downside is that while the Ark has four HDMI inputs and a special Multi View mode (which is basically a souped-up picture-in-picture feature), due to a limitation with HDMI, it can only display content from one external source at a time. But if you have$3,500 lying around and want the most jaw-dropping monitor that came out this year, the Odyssey Ark can't be beat.
I also recently had the chance to check out LG’s latest UltraGear gaming monitors with their new 240HZ displays, which is the highest refresh rate you can get from any OLED monitor on sale today. LG’s new panels mean you can get both the deep blacks and vibrant colors OLED screens are known for and the kind of refresh rates that previously were only available from IPS displays. The downside though is that with a max brightness of just 200 nits, the new UltraGears aren’t ideal for gaming in bright rooms.
Not only does LG's latest 45-inch gaming monitor boast a super fast 240Hz display, it also features a very curvy 800R radius that delivers a cocoon-like experience.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
But as someone who’s been waiting a long time for OLED panels to become more mainstream, it’s really encouraging to see more products get added to the mix. That’s because while there are a handful of OLED monitors out right now (like the aforementioned Alienware AW3423DW), pickings are still pretty slim. Some like the LG C2 are actually just TVs that are also being pushed as large-format desktop displays. Meanwhile, ASUS' ROG Swift OLED line uses the exact same panels LG uses in the C2, but with a few tweaks like a built-in heatsink and a DisplayPort 1.4 jack for improved gaming performance.
But perhaps the bigger issue is that, essentially, all the OLED monitors available right now are rather large. The smallest C2 and ROG Swift OLED models measure 42 inches across, while the Alienware AW3423DW isn't much better with its 34-inch ultra-wide panel. But with LG's new UltraGear OLED, we're finally getting something in a more manageable size along with one of the highest refresh rates we've seen on an OLED monitor to date.
Featuring an unusual 16:18 aspect ratio, LG's DualUp monitor is designed to provide additional vertical screen space without needing to rotate a display into portrait mode.
LG
Meanwhile, for anyone who isn’t a gamer, there were also some interesting new productivity displays that came out this year. That's because while technically it was announced last year, 2022 also saw the release of LG's DualUp monitor with its funky 16:18 aspect ratio. When combined with its included arm, you’ll enjoy a setup that boasts a ton of vertical screen real estate without needing to stack multiple displays or having to deal with a screen that's too skinny when rotated into portrait mode. And, thanks to a color gamut that covers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 spectrum, the DualUp can handle a lot more than just really tall spreadsheets. LG even included support for power output of up to 90-watts, so you can get video from a laptop and keep it charged all with a single USB-C cable.
Finally, while it still needs a bit of refinement, Corsair just released its huge 45-inch gaming monitor with a bendable display called the Xeneon Flex. Now I know that the ability to manually transform a monitor from flat to curved might seems kind of silly (and it probably is, especially when gadgets like the LG OLED Flex exists and features built-in motors), but it's nice to see more companies experiment with bendy screen tech. And who knows, maybe they can add a feature where the monitor goes into gaming mode when you bend it allowing your battle station to shift gears depending on the kind of work (or play) you're doing.
Regardless, with more people working remotely than ever, it's nice to have more choices when it comes to kitting out your setup. And I haven't even talked about some of the other innovations from adjacent categories like TVs, laptops and phones such as the 240Hz OLED display option on the Razer Blade 15, new LED.EX TVs from Panasonic or the improved under-display-camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. (I recently used the UDC on my Z Fold 4 to dial into a video meeting, and not a single person complained about its image quality). Still, 2022 has been a great year for monitors and as we get closer to CES 2023, I'm expecting to see that momentum continue into next year.
In Japan, the big premiere week of James Cameron’s Avatar sequel was hit with technical problems in some movie theaters. One venue in central Japan was forced to reduce the 48 fps frame rate down to the traditional 24 fps – one of the major technical innovations of Avatar: The Way of Water. The Avatar sequel is actually available in multiple formats, including 2D 48 fps, 3D 48 fps and regular 24 fps. If you see the 48 fps version, it only uses the HFR tech for action sequences, while dialog and slower scenes are dialed down to 24 fps by duplicating frames. Intrigued by high frame rates? Check out Devindra Hardawar’s (spoiler-free) review of Avatar: The Way of Water, right here.
Despite being the widest movie release of all time in Japan, Avatar: The Way of Water failed to claim the top ranking last weekend, beaten by the anime basketball movie called The First Slam Dunk.
Earlier this year, Alienware released what’s arguably the best all-around gaming monitor on the market right now: the AW3423DW. But last week, LG quietly announced its latest batch of UltraGear gaming monitors. LG’s monitors are available in two sizes intended for slightly different use cases. There’s the 27-inch option with a flat panel, meant for both general use and more demanding competitive play, while the 45-inch monitor has a curved display with an 800R radius, designed to deliver a more immersive experience. Regardless of which one you pick, both feature 240Hz refresh rates – the highest you can get from any OLED monitor available today.
Several EU countries will reportedly share the costs.
Ukraine will receive an additional 10,000-plus Starlink satellite dishes from Elon Musk's SpaceX to help provide internet amid Russian attacks on communications infrastructure. Financial issues around the terminals have reportedly been resolved, with several European countries stepping up to share the costs, according to Ukraine's deputy prime minister Mykhailo Federov. The 10,000 new terminals add to the 22,000 already received and will be used to "stabilize connections for critical situations," according to Federov. "There is no alternative to satellite connections," he added.
Free games used to mean ropey puzzle games and knock-off clones of games that had a price tag. But now, courtesy of in-app payments and the ease of offering both a sample of a title alongside its full-fat version, there are plenty of great games to play without spending a dime. Following the continued success of titles like Fortnite, the level of quality across mobile, PC and consoles has never been higher. Put your card away, and consider this your starting point. Oh and while it’s not in the current edition of our guide, check out Vampire Survivors too — my latest addiction, and free-to-play on smartphones.
At least 20 percent of new vehicles sold will need to be zero-emission models.
The Canadian government has announced enforceable quotas for zero-emission vehicle sales. By 2026, a fifth of all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the country will need to be zero-emission models, such as electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. "We're moving forward with a regulated sales target that requires at least 20 percent of new vehicles sold by 2026 to be zero emission, increasing that to 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035," Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. There's still some way to go. In the first six months of 2022, EVs (including plug-in hybrid models) made up 7.2 percent of new car registrations.
Netflix announced today that Nike Training Club workout videos are heading to the streaming service. The first batch of videos will be available for all Netflix subscribers starting on December 30th.
Nike Training Club videos were previously exclusive to the iOS and Android app, which guides users through workout programs and wellness strategies. Nike says it will upload over 30 hours of videos to Netflix, released in two parts and available in 10 languages. Before arriving on Netflix, the only way to watch them on a big screen was to connect your phone to a TV, either through an HDMI cable or wirelessly with AirPlay or a Chromecast. Considering the limitations of working out while staring at a phone screen, starting a video from Netflix should give you one less excuse to avoid exercising (while helping Nike expand the app’s reach).
The first collection includes five programs spread across 46 videos. “Kickstart Fitness with the Basics” (13 episodes), “Two Weeks to a Stronger Core” (seven episodes), “Fall in Love with Vinyasa Yoga” (six episodes), “HIT & Strength with Tara” (14 episodes) and “Feel-Good Fitness” (six episodes) all arrive at the end of December. A second batch will arrive in 2023. Once the series is available, you can find them in a Nike collection on Netflix or by searching for “Nike.”
Nike Training Club was among the first high-profile mobile apps when it launched in 2009. It asks you to input your fitness goals and then uses workout videos, customized warmups, tips and motivation to help you stay on track. The service added Apple Watch support in 2018 and adaptive workouts for people with disabilities earlier this year.
The Canadian government has announced enforceable quotas for zero-emission vehicle sales. By 2026, a fifth of all new passenger cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the country will need to be zero-emission models, such as electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
"We're moving forward with a regulated sales target that requires at least 20 percent of new vehicles sold by 2026 to be zero emission, increasing that to 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035," Julie Dabrusin, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said at a press conference.
It's estimated that, between 2026 and 2050, the quotas will lead to Canadians saving almost $34 billion CAD in energy costs. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to Ontario's entire emissions for three years. Currently, passenger vehicle emissions account for around 10 percent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions.
While Canada already had zero-emission vehicle sales targets, those aren't yet enforceable nationwide, though some provinces, including Quebec and British Columbia, have their own mandates. The final regulations should be published in 2023. According to the Canadian Press, importers and manufacturers that don't meet the quotas may be penalized under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The country will use credits to track vehicle sales.
There's still some way to go until Canada can meet the proposed sales targets. In the first six months of 2022, EVs (including plug-in hybrid models) made up 7.2 percent of new car registrations. That was up from 5.2 percent for all of 2021. In British Columbia, almost 15 percent of new vehicles registered between January and June were EVs. In Quebec and Ontario, the proportions were 11.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. In all other provinces, EVs accounted for less than four percent of new vehicle sales.
Infrastructure improvements should help to increase EV adoption, as should incentives. Dabrusin noted that, by 2027, 85,000 federally funded public chargers will be installed across the country. She added that Canada has long offered rebates on new zero-emission vehicle purchases of up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $10,000 for businesses. More than 180,000 Canadians and businesses in the country have benefitted from those incentives, which have been renewed. The government also plans to invest in EV manufacturing.
Several automakers have pledged to switch entirely to making EVs and/or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with GM setting a deadline of 2035 and Honda aiming to fully make the transition by 2040. Some jurisdictions — such as California, New York and the UK — will ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
“The regulated sales targets for zero emission vehicles announced today will reduce emissions by helping more drivers get behind the wheel of an electric car," Anna Kanduth, a senior research associate at the Canadian Climate Institute, said. "Right now, more than half of Canadians want their next car to be an electric vehicle but they face long wait times, with scarce supply going to provinces like British Columbia and Quebec, where sales mandates are already in place. The federal regulations will help shorten wait times for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids by increasing supply in all provinces and territories."
Gone are the days when free games equated to ropey puzzle games and knock-off clones of games that had a price tag. These days, courtesy of in-app payments and the ease of offering both a sample of a title alongside its full-fat version, there are actually plenty of great games to play without spending a dime. Following the continued success of titles like Fortnite, the level of quality across mobile, PC and consoles has never been higher. Put your card away, and consider this your starting point.
Genshin Impact
Hoyoverse
At launch, many of us assumed Genshin Impactwas a tenuous Zelda: Breath of the Wild copy with impressive anime graphics and not much else. But this turned out to be a very different game Nintendo’s action RPG, with over 50 characters, at this point, to play as. The world is rich and varied. It’s also a huge accomplishment for a free game that’s found a huge chunk of its audience on smartphones.
While battles with foes form a major part of the game, a lot of the joy and satisfaction comes from customizing that army of characters, building up a collection of loot and strengthening them further. While there is an entire microtransaction system baked into the game, much of the game is playable (and enjoyable) without having to spend a dime. Did we mention it’s totally gorgeous?
Even though Blizzard has improved the onramp for new players this time around, Overwatch 2still has a steep learning curve. Stick with it, though, and you’ll get to indulge in perhaps the best team shooter around. Overwatch 2 has a deceptively simple goal — stand on or near an objective and keep the other team away long enough to win. It’s much more complex in practice. To the untrained eye, matches may seem like colorful chaos, but Overwatch 2 has a deceptively simple goal — stand on or near an objective and keep the other team away long enough to win.
It’s much more complex in practice. Blizzard reduced the number of players on each team from six to five. That, along with across-the-board character tweaks, has made gameplay faster-paced and more enjoyable than the original Overwatch. There's a greater emphasis on individual impact, but you'll still need to work well with your teammates to secure a victory.
Now featuring a cast of more than 30 heroes, each with distinct abilities and playstyles, you’ll surely find a few Overwatch 2 characters that you can connect with. The first batch of new heroes are all a blast to play. There are many great (though often fairly expensive) new skins to kit them out with too. The game looks and sounds terrific too, thanks to Blizzard’s trademark level of polish. At least until you figure out how to play Overwatch 2, you can marvel at how good it looks.
Fortnite is a social space as much as it is a game. Where else can you see Spider-Man doing John Cena's "You Can't See Me" taunt next to Indiana Jones dancing to a Dua Lipa song, or Ariana Grande hanging out with Goku while you catch up with friends in voice chat? It also happens to be a great video game with a clear path to victory. Drop onto the island, grab some weapons and gear and try to be the last player or team standing as a storm pushes survivors closer to each other.
Epic made Fortnite far more approachable earlier this year when it introduced a Zero Build mode, which prevents players from building structures for cover. If you have the skills to box an opponent into a skyscraper in mere seconds, by all means, go for it in the other modes, but Zero Build levels the playing field for new players.
Fall Guys is a different flavor of battle royale. Sure, there can still only be one player or squad standing tall at the end, but there are no guns in sight here. It's essentially a platformer in the vein of MXC or Takeshi’s Castle, in which only a certain number of players will qualify from each obstacle-laden round.
It’s also maybe the goofiest and purely enjoyable multiplayer game around. You don’t necessarily need to win to have a good time. It’s hard to feel aggrieved, even when another player shoves you off a ledge to knock you out. It rarely feels mean-spirited even when another player messes with you.
With developer Mediatonic adding more levels and cute cosmetics fairly frequently, the game rarely feels stale. Whenever you return to Fall Guys after a break, you’ll probably run into a new type of bedlam.
From the studio that brought you Titanfall, Apex is a 60-player deathmatch with teams consisting of three people each. The goal is for your team to be the last one standing in Kings Canyon, where you’ll have to loot and fight your way to survival using characters like Octane, an adrenaline junkie whose ultimate move is deploying a jump pad that catapults you into the air for sneak attacks.
You can download it and use the majority of Apex’s characters without having to spend any money. That said, you will have to shell out some cash to access to certain content, including weapon skins and new characters such as Wattson. If you don’t like the cartoonish aspect of Fortnite, and if you’re a fan of the action-packed Titanfall gameplay, it doesn’t get much better than Apex.
Dota 2 has one of the steepest learning curves of any game. Only after sinking hundreds upon hundreds of hours into the five-on-five MOBA can you even begin to understand the deep game mechanics, 100+ unique characters and team strategies. But the fact Dota 2 is so challenging makes those big plays and hard-fought victories all the more satisfying. The sky-high skill ceiling means there's always something to learn, and if you eventually make it into the pro ranks, one tournament win can turn you into an overnight millionaire.
When Pokémon Go launched in 2016, there were some obvious omissions, such as trading and player-versus-player trainer battles. Now, almost every problem and missing feature has been addressed. The game isn't perfect, but the fundamentals — walking around outside, spinning Pokéstop signs and catching critters — make this a truly unique and health-beneficial experience for Pokemon fans. The daily "research" quests and timed events, which boost the appearance of certain monsters, are a great excuse to log in every day. Niantic continues to expand the Pokédex, too, so that your collection is never quite finished.
For years, Fortnite was the battle royale of choice for younger players, until Call of Duty: Warzone came along. Boosting by interest during the pandemic, the free-to-play battle royale has persisted through numerous iterations of the Call of Duty franchise, with new maps, game modes and weapons helping to push the player base above the 100 million mark. The core game requires you to either drop in solo or as part of a team and duke it out with up to 149 other players, running between different points of interest to forage for weapons, tactical items and vehicles. If that wasn’t enough, a wall of gas will force you into increasingly tight areas.
Warzone offers some fresh takes on the traditional battle royale formula. For example, if you die, you will be sent to the ‘Gulag’ to fight with other downed players for a one-time chance to redeploy back into the game. Should you lose, teammates can still ‘buy’ your return, but requires them to first earn enough in-game money to afford it. Following the release of Modern Warfare 2, Warzone was overhauled. It got a new map, Al Mazrah, which is the largest playzone in the game’s history. Loadouts – a system that allowed players to customize a Primary and Secondary Weapon, Tacticals, Lethals and three Perks before the game – have been changed too.
Online multiplayer has become part and parcel with many video games these days, but finding something you can play on the couch with a loved one has gotten tougher. If you’re looking for some cooperative fun, though, we can help. Below are 25 of the best couch co-op games we’ve played across the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Note that we’re focusing on genuine co-op experiences, not games that have local multiplayer but aren’t truly cooperative in practice. (So, no Mario Kart or Jackbox.) Even still, our list encompasses everything from platformers and puzzlers to RPGs and arcade shooters.
Super Mario 3D World
Nintendo
You know the broad strokes of any Super Mariogame by now. Within the series, though, 3D World stands out for using a largely fixed camera and levels that are more semi-3D than the totally open spaces of games like Super Mario Odyssey or Super Mario Galaxy. There are still many items to grab and secrets to uncover across the characteristically charming, brisk and inventive stages, but everything you can find at a given moment is right in front of you, which encourages you to look closer and move from foreground to background.
Co-op play can be chaotic, but 3D Worldowns that. You and up to three buddies share lives but are scored on your individual performance, with the leader at the end of each level getting a literal crown placed atop their head. This makes for a sort of competitive co-op mode, one in which a particularly devious “teammate” could straight-up grab you and chuck you off a cliff in an attempt to secure their high score. The adventure only has to be as spicy as you and your partners want it to be, though; if you aren’t playing with a group of sickos, 3D World should be an exciting update to a familiar Marioformula.
Like most Donkey Kong Country games, Tropical Freezeis a 2D platformer that’s both structurally straightforward and aesthetically gorgeous. Donkey Kong is not Mario: He has a more immediate sense of gravity to him, so when he leaps, he comes down hard. But the platforming is uniquely deliberate as a result, and the way the game leads you from one stunning scene to the next, even within the same stage, is a delight.
Tropical Freezecan get difficult, particularly during some later boss fights, but a “Funky Mode” in the Switch version eases things slightly. If you have a Wii or Wii U, meanwhile, this game’s predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns, is just as great, if not better.
If Donkey Kong is Mario’s brutish animal pal, Rayman is the eccentric French buddy he visits when he’s overseas. Rayman Legends is a more out there 2D platformer than the Nintendo properties above: Instead of the pristine environments and perfect geometry of a Mario or Donkey Konggame, here everything is a bit more abstract, cartoony and crass. (There are more fart sounds, for one.)
The moment-to-moment movement is a little less precise, too, but Legends still plays fast and light, with stages that are loaded with optional rooms and collectibles that invite your curiosity. This is an unpretentious game, a fun side-scrolling platformer that merely wants to be a fun side-scrolling platformer, and it becomes more enjoyable (and frantic) with friends.
Luigi’s Mansion 3is another ghost-hunting adventure starring Mario’s scaredy-cat brother, who this time must stomach his fears and use his “Poltergust” vacuum to rescue his friends from a haunted hotel. Its co-op mode isn’t available until an hour-ish into the story, but at that point, a second player can become “Gooigi,” a Luigi clone made of green goo with infinite lives (it makes sense when you get there). Though the game isn’t particularly tough, this setup gives you more freedom to mess around with puzzle and boss fight solutions without having to start over repeatedly.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 has some frustrating elements more generally – controlling that ghost-gobbling vacuum can be annoyingly imprecise, and backtracking through previously-conquered areas can get tedious – but the creative level designs and Pixar-esque animation give it a distinct personality compared to other Nintendo games. It’s a silly and usually satisfying time, one that’s especially well-suited for kids.
Clubhouse Gamesis a compilation of 51 classic tabletop games, from Yahtzee and Connect Four to shogi and nine men’s morris. Not every entry in the collection supports couch co-op, but most do, and almost all are made easy to grasp.
Apart from being accessible, though, Clubhouse Gamesstands out for the quality of its curation. The included games span cultures, time periods and even modes of play; some are built on skill or patience, others on abstraction or chance. When you first boot up the game, you’re asked to identify your “heart’s desire,” and there’s a fair bit of detail on each game’s origins and history as you go along. Taken as a whole, this is a game that recognizes play itself as a kind of universal connection. But even ignoring all of that, Clubhouse Gamesis a fun, chill time, much like busting out a favorite board game.
BoxBoy! + BoxGirl!may not look like much, but this minimalist puzzler from Kirby makers HAL Laboratory has the kind of simple pleasure and regularly inventive design you’d expect from a Nintendo-published game. In its two-player campaign, you play as Qbby and Qucy, two walking boxes with the ability to grow additional boxes out of their heads. Your goal is to get from point A to point B, using those boxes to cross gaps and navigate various obstacles along the way.
The catch is that you can only create a certain amount of boxes at a time, so you and your partner often have to think outside the box (sorry) to find a safe way past. You’ll start off making basic bridges, but the bite-sized levels quickly build on themselves with a stream of new ideas. Eventually, you’ll find yourself using boxes as makeshift grappling hooks, shovels, laser-blocking shields and more, all in ways that quickly make sense. Simply beating the game isn’t that difficult, but collecting the tricky-to-reach crowns tucked away in each stage brings a greater challenge for those who want it.
The 3D platformer It Takes Two is one of the few full-scale, narrative-driven games that’s exclusively designed to be played in co-op. As such, it takes care to avoid the trappings of many co-op experiences: It rarely asks both players to do the same thing at the same time, and thus it rarely makes one person carry all the weight. It constantly throws new concepts at you, and while some levels can drag a bit, its bouncy movement feels good throughout.
Its saccharine yet oddly dark story isn’t as satisfying: Few games make divorce seem like a happy ending as much as this one, and you’ll probably never want to hear the words “Dr. Hakim” again by the time you’re done. But if you can ignore the dialogue, It Takes Two delights more than it doesn’t.
The first-person puzzler Portal 2 launched more than 11 years ago, but it recently received new life with a Switch rerelease. Either way, its sharp writing and cleverly layered puzzles more than hold up today. Co-op play takes the form of an entire separate campaign – it’s not as big on story as the solo mode, but it still does a fantastic job of gradually teaching you how to think spatially. It also ensures you and your partner actually communicate. There’s no way to play on PS4 or PS5 nowadays, but on PC, you can download a range of community maps for a greater challenge, too.
Streets of Rage 4faithfully revives the classic series of early ‘90s, side-scrolling beat ‘em ups from the Sega Genesis (which remain fine co-op playthroughs themselves). You move to the right, position yourself efficiently and pulverize waves of bozos with a flurry of punches, kicks, throws and special moves. The hand-drawn animation style and bouncy soundtrack are both great, and most set pieces convey the “rage” part of the title effectively. This isn’t the most ambitious game, as it largely aims to hit high notes from 30 years ago, but it provides the kind of thrill, style and refinement any good beat ‘em up should.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a Lego-ified romp through the nine mainline Star Warsfilms. Like most Lego games, it’s dead simple to play – collect the things, bop the bad guys – but that makes it something just about anyone can pick up and enjoy. The best thing it has going for it is its sense of humor, as its abbreviated remakes of each film are loaded with cutesy gags and in-jokes. (One favorite: wandering around Cloud City and finding the room where Lando Calrissian keeps his hoard of capes – and a heroic portrait of himself.)
There’s an absurd amount of side quests and collectibles beyond the narrative bits, but most of those are repetitive, and Skywalker Saga’s systems, while fun, aren’t meaty enough to make optional content all that interesting. Still, if you stick to the main stuff, you should find Skywalker Saga to be a good-natured love letter to some inherently goofy films.
Stardew Valley has exploded in popularity since launching back in 2016, and it’s easy to see why: More than just a laid-back farming sim a la Harvest Moon, it’s an escape, an engrossing alternate life where you’re allowed to putter around your farm, mosey through town, and take life slow, free from the burdens of aggression and competition. You and a friend can share a farm and divide up tasks in co-op, but the game isn’t fussy; if one of you would rather fish, explore the beach or simply sit around your house, it’s okay to do your thing. And if you’d rather ruthlessly optimize your land for profits, that’s an option, too. Just note that you’ll need to build a cabin for your partner if they’re joining an existing farm.
Halo: The Master Chief Collectionbundles remastered versions of the first six mainline Halo games, which continue to provide tighter control and pacing than most first-person shooters that've launched in the decades since. The original Halo’s campaign in particular remains essential. While some of the later narratives here go completely off the rails – looking at you, Halo 4 – the general tone still strikes the right balance between goofiness and badassery. The newer Halo Infinitesadly dropped couch co-op altogether, but there’s still good fun to be had driving Warthogs and dual-wielding space guns in the classics. Just be aware that local multiplayer is only available on Xbox, not PC.
Divinity: Original Sin 2is a massive isometric CRPG for those who look back fondly on fantasy series like Ultima or Baldur’s Gate. It has loads of dialogue, deep character customization, and challenging turn-based combat (by default, at least). It’s not a game you’d play casually – a playthrough can last well over 100 hours, and it’s more than willing to throw a mountain of mechanics at you, regardless of whether you’re able to keep up.
If you want to dig into something dense, though, Divinity’s complexities are ultimately rewarding, and its world is wonderfully reactive. Its approach to co-op is also unusually thoughtful: You and a partner can go through the entire campaign locally, but you’re distinct characters, and neither of you have to follow the other’s lead. Indeed, part of the fun is in the ways your “buddy” could undermine your adventure, taking up a quest with contradictory aims or killing an important NPC. It asks: What’d happen if your RPG party members behaved like actual people? The answer: a mess, potentially, but a thrilling one. Just note that local multiplayer is unavailable on the Switch version of the game.
Untitled Goose Gameis a simple puzzle/stealth game that gets a lot of mileage out of its premise: You are a goose, and your only goal in life is to aggravate the residents of a little English village. If the idea of dragging a groundskeeper’s rake into a lake, pulling a seat out from under an old man right as he goes to sit down or generally honking at everyone in sight sounds funny to you, it’ll probably give you a good laugh.
The actual game part of the game doesn’t have much variance to it – you’re largely trial-and-error-ing your way through a checklist of troll-y activities – but it’s all appropriately silly, and it ends quickly enough to not run its joke into the ground.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is an open-hearted adventure game set in a world of talking animals, where the wielder of a magic paintbrush is tasked with literally filling the land with color. You play as a sprightly dog who becomes that wielder. What follows is a cozy adventure in the vein of Zelda, but with a twist: You can use the brush to paint over the environment, at any point, anywhere you want, in various colors and patterns. This turns a somewhat familiar game into something of a digital coloring book, one that remembers your markings in time as you go along. Chicory is exceedingly gentle and never suggests you’re doing it wrong, so if you want to spend 45 minutes ignoring the story and painting trees purple, you can. There are tons of accessibility options on top of that.
In co-op, player one still controls the pace of progression, but player two gets another brush with all the same abilities. On top of giving a second set of hands to deal with the game’s various puzzles and boss encounters, this lets you both create a shared impression on the world, like two kids sharing crayons on a children’s menu. The narrative gets heavier than the cutesy art style suggests, exploring themes of self-doubt, impostor syndrome and other struggles that can come with creative work. But it’s refreshingly earnest throughout. If you’re looking for a warm, caring, but still goofy co-op experience, Chicory is worth a shot.
Spiritfarer is a management sim not unlike Animal Crossing, but with some light platforming elements. Like Chicory, it’s generally relaxed, sincere and low-stakes, but occasionally devastating in the way it puts a friendly face on adult themes. Here, you play as Stella, a young woman who becomes tasked with ferrying freshly deceased souls into the afterlife. This mostly involves exploring the seas on a big boat, doing quests and gathering and crafting resources to make passing on more comfortable for the many characters you get to know. Player two joins in as Stella’s pet cat, Daffodil, who can’t trigger quests but can otherwise help with platforming and management tasks.
Spiritfarer’s sim elements can sometimes feel monotonous, and the way the game addresses death head-on can be sad, but it stands out for being as much about love and care as sorrow. If you and your partner are into management sims and aren’t afraid of shedding a tear or two, there’s beauty to be found here.
The Overcooked! games set you and up to three friends as chefs tasked with preparing various meals on a timer. In theory, this is as simple as grabbing the right ingredients, preparing them properly, then sending the finished plate off on time. But as the orders keep piling up and parts of the levels start to conspire against you, your ability to scramble and communicate under pressure becomes increasingly put to the test. There’s a non-zero chance your partner will call you an “idiot sandwich” by the time you’re done.
With its adorable looks, Overcooked! knows what it’s doing, but fighting through the anxiety of its most chaotic levels brings a particularly comical sense of accomplishment. The All You Can Eat edition here includes the original Overcooked!, the (superior) sequel Overcooked 2!, and all their DLC. It also adds an “assist mode” that lets you ease up the timers on each order, which, yes, kind of defeats the point of the game, but also might be necessary if you and your friends start screaming at each other over cartoon fish chopping.
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetimeis a vibrant space shooter in which you and up to three partners must collectively navigate a chunky battleship through levels packed with baddies and other obstacles. There are eight panels for controlling the ship’s engine, shields and various weapons, but each player can only man one station at a time, so you have no choice but to scramble and communicate to keep your shared body alive for as long as possible. The net effect isn’t unlike Overcooked!, then, but if you don’t mind a little stress, Lovers is effective in the way it makes you and your buddies work toward a common goal.
The run-and-gun shooter Cuphead is a stunner, with a lovely soundtrack and luscious animation that combine to make the whole thing feel like a playable cartoon from the ‘30s. (It’s no wonder there’s now a TV show based on the game.) Somehow, the story, about a pair of talking cups who make a deal with the Devil, fits the art style like a glove.
Actually playing Cuphead, meanwhile, is an exercise in punishment. It is brutally difficult, with several intense boss fights that demand serious concentration. Playing it in co-op makes it even tougher, as those bosses gain more health, and having two characters jump around can make the action more chaotic. That said, the challenge is not cheap, and overcoming each fight brings the expected wave of catharsis. If you have a bit of a masochistic streak, it’s worth a go. A recent DLC expansion only adds to the beautiful mayhem.
Spelunky helped popularize the trend of modern 2D platformers with roguelike elements – i.e., games where you mostly start from scratch upon death. Spelunky 2, released about a decade later in 2020, essentially polishes the original game’s formula.
Like Cuphead, neither of these games is for the faint of heart. Traversing their caves while avoiding the many death traps within is like descending into cartoon Hell. But again, it’s a (mostly) fair and legible challenge, if you can stay patient. The procedurally generated levels keep exploration from feeling totally rigid, and the frankness and pure speed with which death can hit you gives everything a morbid sense of humor. Couch co-op can feel somewhat unnatural at times – everyone has to stick near player one to stay on camera – but having a partner or three to revive you is a relief, provided you don’t accidentally blow each other up first.
Ikaruga is more than two decades old at this point, but it remains a crown jewel among shoot ‘em ups. It takes a simple idea – every enemy and projectile in the game is either white or black, and you have to change your ship’s color accordingly to survive – and makes the most of it across five meticulously crafted stages. It’s another notoriously difficult one, but there’s not an ounce of fat on it, and its central mechanic forces you and your partner into a near-perfect state of concentration. If you’re craving an arcade-style shooter, it’s still a rush. And if you get sick of dying, know that recent releases have added more accessibility settings, including the option for infinite continues.
Wizard of Legendis a top-down, 2D dungeon crawler with an emphasis on speed. It’s another skill-based roguelike, but letting your arsenal of spells fly and figuring out how to best chain attacks with your partner is a joy. Simply moving around is pleasingly kinetic, and the pixelated art style is kind on the eyes. It’s probably not enough to convince the roguelike-averse to hop aboard, but Wizard of Legendis a good one of those all the same.
Assault Android Cactus is an especially intense twin-stick shooter. You and up to three friends play as little androids charged with surviving hordes of robot baddies on a space freighter. (The tone is much more campy than gritty, thankfully.) Its tension derives from the fact that each android runs on a continuously depleting battery; if emptied, it’s game over. Since you can only replenish that battery by defeating waves of enemies, it behooves you to play aggressively and keep moving. The nonstop rush of baddies, gunfire and power-ups Cactus throws at you is exhilarating, and it’s heightened by quick-burst levels that rarely sit still. Plus, while this isn’t an easy game, it’s far from unfair, with most of the challenge coming from chasing high scores.
Wilmot’s Warehouseis a clever little game about organizing an ever-growing warehouse. At the start of each level, you get a batch of colorful boxes, which you must gather and tuck away on a timer. Exactly how you organize them is up to you. When the timer ends, customers will start requesting certain products within the warehouse, and the challenge becomes retrieving the corresponding boxes as quickly as possible.
The game, then, is coming up with a system that will let your specific brain remember where everything is and adapt to new box types as they roll in. There’s a frenzy to completing orders, and a dark undercurrent to the idea of two warehouse workers being scored as they fulfill this many orders and strive this hard for efficiency. (The latter is made particularly clear in the game’s sudden ending.) In the abstract, though, Wilmot’s Warehouse makes a soothing game out of our unending desire to create order from chaos.
Escape Academy is, in essence, a series of digital escape rooms. You work with a partner, combing for clues, deciphering codes and solving puzzles to get out of a locked room within a time limit. Like the real thing, it can result in some shouting, but it encourages constant communication and ultimately provides a sense of empowerment. The puzzles themselves are varied, but maybe a touch too easy, and the overarching narrative is (mostly) just kind of there. But if you and a partner have been itching to try a real-world escape room, Escape Academyshould serve as a charming substitute for a couple of afternoons.
If you want more than just a robot vacuum, Roborock's models provide not just exceptional sucking power but mopping functions as well. Now, you can grab some of the company's best models at steep discounts thanks to Amazon's latest sale. Some of the best deals include the E5 Robot Vacuum and Mop at $200 (44 percent off), the S7 Robot Vacuum and Mop ($410, 37 percent off) and the Roborock S7+ Robot Vacuum and Sonic Mop at $680, or 28 percent off the regular $950 price.
The Roborock E5 is one of the best value robot vacuum/mops out there, but that doesn't mean you're losing out on features. It offers a powerful 2,500PA of suction, yet can clean for up to 200 minutes of a charge. It's also ideal for pet hair and other bulky debris thanks to the large 640ml (0.67 quart) dustbin. It can vacuum and mop simultaneously, mopping up to 1,600 square feet efficiently thanks to the OpticEye scanning and dual gyroscopes. And it's no slouch technology-wise, offering an app, Alexa voice and a remote to give you fine control over cleaning. Normally it's priced at $360, but you can grab one now for just $200.
The Roborock S7 has the same 2500PA suction, but comes with a larger water tank for mopping and an ultrasonic sound feature that identifies carpet so the machine can automatically adjust cleaning strength. Also, the S7 can be connected to a clean base, so you have the option in the future to add another level of convenience to your robo-vac. It also supports voice control with Alexa or the Google Assistant, full app control, home mapping, cleaning schedules and spot cleaning, too. Normally priced at $650, you can grab it now for $410 ($240 off).
Finally, if you've been saving up for the best robotic mop/vacuum around, The Roborock S7+ fits the bill. It's a vac-and-mop combo, and its mopping map automatically lifts itself out of the way when the machine reaches the carpet. At the same time, the mop picks up more dirt thanks to the sonic vibration technology. And it can dump the dirt after each cleaning, so you don't need to deal with emptying for up to 120 days. It cleans efficiently thanks to LiDAR navigation, while offering voice control, home mapping and more. The Roborock S7+ is normally quite expensive at $950, but it's on sale for $680, or $270 off the regular price.
Twitter news whiplash continues. Elon Musk has said he’ll step down as CEO of Twitter once he’s found a suitable replacement. You might remember Musk ran a poll at the weekend asking if he should leave the role, and the Twitter-using public overwhelmingly told him, well, yes. There was no immediate response to the results of the poll, but by late Tuesday, after suggesting he might change it so only paying users could vote, he seems to be acting on the result. According to his tweet, Musk plans to stay on and run the software and server teams.
The job as Twitter CEO will be viewed by many as a poisoned chalice. Roughly 70 percent of the staff have either been laid off or quit, hate speech and trolls have thrived and many advertisers have dropped or reduced their advertising spending. On top of all that, the company is also now facing increasing pressure from the US government.
– Mat Smith
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Lenovo’s Go Desk Station with Webcam is for those of us with limited desk space. It’s a webcam, adjustable desk light, Qi wireless charger and expansion hub all in one, and it doesn't compromise on any of those things. But it is priced accordingly. The primary feature is the Lenovo Go 4K Pro Webcam, which is also available as a standalone camera. It can stream 4K at up to 30 fps and includes autofocus and auto-framing with an adjustable field of view, along with auto ambient light adjustment, via the built-in desk light. That desk light rides on a height-adjustable and rotating arm.
The hub has a full-function 65-watt USB-C port for laptop power, to start with. It also has a 15-watt Qi compliant charging pad for mobile devices, a 20W USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A 3.1 ports and an HDMI 2.0 output for external displays. This beastly peripheral arrives in March 2023, starting at $329.
Sifu’s long-awaited Arenas challenge mode will arrive next March. Developer Sloclap made the announcement through IGN, which shared a trailer for the upcoming DLC. The studio first teased the mode last April when it published a free content roadmap for Sifu. Sloclap told IGN: “Completing the new Arenas challenges will also unlock new cheats and exclusive new outfits.” The Arenas mode update will coincide with the game’s release on Xbox and Steam.
This is likely the final photo NASA's Mars InSight lander will ever send back to Earth. Since landing on the planet in November 2018, the robot has been snapping pics and gathering data about the Martian environment, accumulating dust on its solar panels that entire time. As NASA predicted earlier this year, the layer of debris has finally become too thick for the solar panels to operate. The InSight Twitter account officially said goodbye on December 19th with a final image from the surface of Mars.
"My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send," the tweet reads. "Don’t worry about me though: My time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me."
Meta finishes in a much worse place than it started.
This time last year, the company once known as Facebook had finished rebranding as Meta, with Mark Zuckerberg explaining: “From now on, we're going to be metaverse-first, not Facebook first.”
The company has lost billions of dollars on Reality Labs, the division overseeing its metaverse work. Its stock has cratered. The company has, for the first time, shed thousands of employees in mass layoffs. Perhaps most crucially, given its new goals, Meta hasn’t articulated what the metaverse is or effectively made the case for why we should care. Karissa Bell breaks down Meta’s first year.
Soccer legend Lionel Messi posted a slideshow of him and his Argentinian teammates celebrating after winning the World Cup and, at the time of writing, the post has more than 68.7 million likes, breaking the record for the most-liked post on Instagram. The previous record-holder, a stock photo of an egg, claimed the top spot in early 2019 and currently has north of 57.3 million likes.
