Sons of the Forest has officially arrived in Early Access and one of the biggest talking points for the game has been Kelvin, an AI companion already so beloved by the community whose mission is to help you on your journey, even though he sometimes makes bizarre and hilarious decisions.
For those unfamiliar, Kelvin is an elite soldier who survived the helicopter crash that stranded you on the island featured in Sons of the Forest. Unfortunately for him, he suffered brain damage and can no longer hear or speak, so players must communicate with him via a notepad. Despite his new injuries, he remains extremely helpful… well, mostly.
The developers of Sons of the Forest created Kelvin to help replicate the multiplayer experience for solo players, but he is also very useful for those who wish to play Sons of the Forest with friends.
“We found in our first game, The Forest, that building and collecting resources in single-player could be a real slog compared to multiplayer where you had multiple players helping,” Endnight Games told IGN. “We wanted to solve this and help bridge the gap between the two modes. At the same time, the new AI system we had created for enemies/animals made it extremely easy to apply to an AI character that was friendly.”
So, this all sounds wonderful, right? A companion who is always there to help chop down some trees, catch fish, and more? While Kelvin is undoubtedly helpful, he does act a bit odd from time to time. For example, you can tell him to chop down trees to collect wood, but some players have found that Kelvin doesn’t know the difference between a free-standing tree and those that are part of the treehouse that you built.
Sons of the Forest is great and all. but you gotta watch out for that kelvin guy… pic.twitter.com/q2NIsJfxdN
Kelvin clearly plays by his own rules and, as IGN’s Mark Medina puts it, it fits perfectly into Sons of the Forest as, “there are no rules man, we’re lost!”
Endnight Games has big plans for Kelvin, so this is really only the beginning for the early favorite for the best helper in a video game for 2023.
“Throughout Early Access, we plan to add a lot more tasks Kelvin can do as well as integrate him more into the main story and giving him his own epilogue/ending if you keep him alive,” Endnight Games said.
Endnight is also very happy to see the community take to Kelvin so quickly, and the team knew they had something special on their hands early on, as many would “make sure not to overwork him and others would feel guilty if they accidentally killed him.”
Kelvin is only but one part of Sons of the Forest, and you can check out our full preview of the game, in which we said, “Sons of the Forest appears to evolve and build on every aspect of its predecessor with a focused goal of realism and developing a flexible ecosystem, and it feels like the building blocks are there to create something truly special. But its killer feature is the addition of impressively sophisticated and smarter AI enemies and companions that could not only provide a huge leap forward for the series, but the survival game genre as a whole.”
We’re the only species on earth with the brainpower to comprehend its own existence. We’ve landed on the moon, built great feats of engineering, constructed huge buildings that pierce the clouds in the sky, and made tremendous leaps in the fields of science and medicine. So yeah, we’re a clever bunch, all told.
Hello, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last time, we kept the metaphorical Morph Ball rolling with another Metroid game: Metroid Fusion. The end result was surprisingly close, all told, but Japan managed to claim the victory with 57% of the vote. We guess folks like the blue goo!
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Although there are many folks out there who think the books were better than their film adaptations, the Harry Potter movies have become an essential part of the franchise. The film universe has even extended beyond the original series with 3 addtional Fantastic Beast prequels that introduced us to a new part of the wizarding world. Now that Hogwarts Legacy has arrived as well, it’s a good time to revisit the Potter timeline to see where everything fits.
Whether you’re new to the series or have just forgotten the proper order of the films, we’ve got you covered with our guides below. Take a look at how to watch the Harry Potter movies in chronological order or by release date.
Although there were only 7 books in the original series, there are a total of 11 movies in the Harry Potter franchise. This includes 8 films based on the books (2 parts for the Deathly Hallows) and 3 Fantastic Beasts prequels. Outside of the films there is a Broadway play called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child as well as quite a lot of Harry Potter games — including the newest one, Hogwarts Legacy.
Where Does Hogwarts Legacy Fit in the Harry Potter Timeline?
Hogwarts Legacy takes place before any of the mainline movies sometime around the 1890s. For context, the Fantastic Beasts movies begin in the 1920s and the Harry Potter films start in the 1990s. And although it takes place before the films, there are quite a few last names in Hogwarts Legacy you’ll recognize from the books and movies and Hogwarts Castle is pretty much exactly the same.
The Harry Potter Movies in Chronological Order
1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Set all the way back in 1926, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was the first Harry Potter spin-off prequel to hit theaters. Considering it takes place around 70 years before Harry starts school at Hogwarts, it is the first film you’ll want to watch if you’re going by chronological order. The first Fantastic Beasts film focuses on Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he navigates his way through New York and the magical underpinnings of the United States.
2. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Just a few months after the end of the first prequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald takes us back to England and features even more tie-ins to the original Harry Potter Movies. We get a look at a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) and even get introduced to a youthful Minderva McGonagall (Fiona Glascott). The film itself largely focuses on the villain revealed in the first movie, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
3. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the first film in the Fantastic Beasts series that sees a true time jump. Set 5 years after the events of The Crimes of Grindelwald, the third film in the Fantastic Beasts series largely focuses on Grindelwald himself once again — who is actually played by Mads Mikkelsen this time. There are a few time jumps due to a creature named Qilin, but most of the movie is set in the 1930s.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone is the first film in the original series. And while the majority of the film takes place in 1991, the true start of the film is technically 1980 — the year when Harry was born and Hagrid drops him of at the Dursley residence. Since this is the first Harry Potter movie released, it gives us our first look at Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) as well as our initial forray into wizarding world through a Muggle lens.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second film released in the franchise and thus follows Harry’s second year at Hogwarts. This places the movie between 1992 and 1993 as Harry uncovers truths of the past from giant spiders and a young ghost-like Voldemort. It also gives us our first indroduction to Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) and Dobby the House Elf.
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third film in the original series and coincides with Harry’s third year of classes at Hogwarts — taking place in 1993. This is the first film where we start to truly see the darker side of the wizarding world as we get introduced to the likes of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall). We also get an introduction to werewolves from the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), and of course the creepy soul-sucking Dementors of Azkaban.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth movie in the original series and coincides with Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts. Taking place in 1994, The Goblet of Fire breathes new life into Hogwarts with the addition of the Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball. We get introduced to new important characters like Mad Eye Moody (Brendand Gleeson) and Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson). We also get our first look at a professional Quidditch tournament as well as members and faculty from other wizarding schools. This also the first film Harry comes face to face with a fully alive Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth film in the original series and takes place in 1995. Harry starts his fifth year of Hogwarts with a newfound family of sorts and we get our first look at some of the other members of The Order of the Phoenix like the shapeshifting Nymphadora Tonks (Natalia Tena). We also get our first introduction to Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch), who plays an important role in the coming films. There is also a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with a penchant for cruelty that everyone gets to hate, Delores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton).
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the sixth film to be released and takes place in 1996. As Harry enters his sixth year at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry, he is starting to truly grow up after being faced with even more death. In this film we get our first true look into the motives of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). We also get to see Voldemort and the Deatheaters fully on the loose as Dumbledore reveals more secrets about the prophecy Harry is a part of. Although this film starts to get pretty dark, it’s also where we see more of Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) and expand her relationship with Harry.
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 takes place in 1997 and coincides with the seventh and final book in the series. This is the first film that breaks up the story of a single book into two movies, and for good reason as there’s a lot of story to unpack. In what would have been Harry’s seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione, and Ron instead set out into the real world to find and destroy Horcruxes. With quite a bit of action and deep character growth between Harry, Ron, and Hermione it’s clear the franchise is reaching it’s climax here. We also get a deeper look at the relationships between Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters.
11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the final movie in the Harry Potter series chronologically. Set in 1998, this film is a continuation of part 1 starting right where the previous film left off. As Harry and his friends reveal more information about the prophecy Harry is part of, they eventually make their way back to Hogwarts for a final showdown against Voldemort and the Deatheaters. It’s an emotional battle that ends in the death of a some fan favorite Harry Potter characters, but we do get to see the true heroics of Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) and a rather definitive end to story.
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Blood Bowl 3 released this past week to a reception from players as brutal as one of its matches. As its 
Dead Space remake was well received by players whether old or new to the scifi horror slice ’em up. EA are seemingly now asking a handful of players if they would therefore like the same remake treatment applied to Dead Space 2 and 3.
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