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Pokemon Sword & Shield have not been out for long, but already dedicated players are starting to build up a full Pokedex and are hunting for rarer shiny Pokemon. As it turns out, there are actually two versions of each “shiny” Pokemon in these games–the regular shiny Pokemon that sparkle with stars when you encounter them or send them into battle, and a variant that sparkles with squares when you find them.

As Polygon has reported, several players have reported spotting and catching these unique shiny Pokemon. One fan on Twitter has gone viral with footage of themselves encountering a shiny square Wooloo the very first time they enter long grass.

The Pokemon community has been trying to figure out the distinction between the two different kinds of shiny critters, and why some have squares instead of stars. Initially, it seemed like square shiny Pokemon were much rarer, yet it seems as though a lot of people are finding and catching them compared to “traditional” shiny monsters; further digging is starting to suggest that there’s a reason for that.

The simple version seems to be that squares are theoretically rarer, but are much more common if you are using certain methods to purposefully seek out shiny Pokemon rather than just stumbling across them. The community is continuing to dig into this, so there might be more specific details coming out down the track.

Meanwhile, the official Pokemon website has posted some insight into how to increase your odds of catching shiny Pokemon. The more of a single Pokemon you fight, the better your chances of eventually finding a shiny, increasing from the set odds of 1:4096. You can also encounter “Brilliant” Pokemon, which shows an aura of light when you encounter them in the grass, and rewards you with watts after you defeat or capture it.

Battling a Pokemon once allows Brilliant versions to appear, and the odds of finding Brilliant Pokemon increase again after 20, 40, and 100 battles. They increase dramatically for shiny Pokemon as well–after 50 battles your odds double, after 100 they triple, and then at 200, 300, and 500 battles your odds multiply by 4, 5, and 6. Of course, the rarer a Pokemon is, the harder it will be to find a shiny version (although our guide to rare Pokemon should prove useful.)

Pokemon Sword & Shield received a 9/10 in our review. Kallie Plagge wrote that “in collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place.”

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The roster of big game releases for 2020 recently grew when Valve, out of nowhere, announced Half-Life: Alyx for launch in March 2020 as a virtual reality-exclusive title. Given that it’s been so long since the release of a new Half-Life title, there will surely be pent-up demand that could scare other developers launching games close to it.

CD Projekt Red isn’t scared about launching Cyberpunk 2077 in April 2020, however, because the two games are going for different markets. Half-Life: Alyx is designed for virtual reality while Cyberpunk 2077 is going after a bigger audience of players on console and PC.

Management for CD Projekt Red said on an earnings call recently that the company isn’t shaking in its boots over Half-Life: Alyx because VR is an incredibly niche market.

“Of course we’ve seen the Half-Life VR announcement. I think it was a surprise for everybody … VR remains an extremely niche-y niche of the market,” the company said. “It’s very, very small.”

The only reason why Valve would make Half-Life: Alyx exclusive to VR is because they want VR as an industry to grow. The hope is people will be so excited for a new Half-Life that they’ll go buy a headset, according to CD Projekt Red.

“The only reason I can think of why Valve has decided to actually put this title on the market is because they actually have a cooperation on the hardware side of the things and I assume they are planning … this is probably a big effort for them to try to expand that niche,” CD Projekt Red said. “That niche is very, very, very–and I could add a few verys here–small. So, from the market perspective, are we afraid? No. It is a very different niche.”

Whereas Valve is trying to specifically improve VR hardware sales by making Half-Life: Alyx, at least according to CD Projekt Red, the Polish studio is trying to appeal to more people. VR as a business sector remains unproven and not profitable, according to CD Projekt Red.

“[Half-Life: Alyx] is an endeavor to try to push the hardware while we are really targeting the mass market where it is–which is major consoles and PCs without the need to have the VR gear,” the company said. “I know there are a few titles here and there that usually showcase [VR] but I have not heard of anybody building an actual valid business on VR so far.”

One day, VR might become a viable business, and CD Projekt Red acknowledged that Half-Life: Alyx could be the game to help drive interest in VR. Still, the company doesn’t think it will happen soon–if it ever does–so it has no plans to adapt its games for VR right now.

“Perhaps Half-Life will become this first stone that is going to turn into something larger [for VR] as we go, but that’s definitely not going to be the case come first half of the next year; I dare say it’s probably not going to be next year,” CD Projekt Red said. “I don’t dare to venture any further because things may change. At some point VR may be a mass market entertainment that will validate the business model behind it but it is not the case, at least not for us, right now.”

Half-Life: Alyx is a prequel to Half-Life 2 in which players control Alyx Vance. The game is reportedly a big undertaking for Valve, and among the developers contributing to the project are members of the Campo Santo team that Valve acquired in 2018. The voice actress for Alyx is Ozioma Akagha, who replaces Merle Dandridge from the earlier Half-Life games. New Zealand-based actor Rhys Darby (Jumanji, Flight of the Conchords) is joining the game as a new character.

Half-Life: Alyx is free on Valve Index for those who buy a headset before the end of 2019. The game is also playable on other PC VR headsets made by companies other than Valve.

Warning: Full spoilers for The Walking Dead’s Season 10 midseason finale follow…

With last week’s episode, “Open Your Eyes,” showcasing Season 10’s best efforts to date, it was unlikely the midseason finale was going to top it. And it didn’t. But it sure seemed like it was trying during the first 20 minutes or so, when we got all our questions about Dante answered, Rosita took him down (and saved Coco from a zombified Siddiq), and Gabriel went nuts and murdered Dante in his cell.

Those were all very interesting and intense moments. And I mentioned last week how I hoped Rosita would get to be the one to take that Dante out. I was just afraid things wouldn’t come to a head as quickly as they did. Like, that the episode would take its sweet-ass time with the full reveal of Dante’s betrayal. But we got it right out of the gate, so “The World Before” gets some solid points for digging into it right quick.

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After months of speculation and waiting, we finally know the name of the third television series in The Walking Dead franchise. AMC aired the first teaser for the series during the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead Season 10.

The series will be called The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The series is the third in the franchise and the second spinoff, after the original series and Fear the Walking Dead. World Beyond doesn’t have a release date yet, but the teaser trailer promises the show will debut in 2020.

Here’s the first poster for the series:

The Walking Dead World Beyond Announcement Poster

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