PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

THE SPY
The Spy’s shared
universe was thought
too niche and
alienating for US
audiences.

whileback,TheSpywas

investigatingNetflixandits

rumouredpushintogaming.

Prowlingthroughexecutive

offices,TheSpy’ssearchhad

turnedupempty.Until,that

was,TheSpystumbledupona

scriptthathadfallendiscarded

downthebackofa sofa.Based

assumeditwasa treatmentfora

Splatoonadaptation,andsomovedittoa nearby

deskandaddeda notesayingitwasapprovedfor

filming.Ifyoucan’tfindtherumours,TheSpy

decided,maketherumours.

This,it turnsout,wasa mistake.TheSpyhasbeen

informedthattheshow– SquidGame– hasnothingtodo

withvideogames.Worsestill,TheSpyis nowbeing

bombardedwithelevatorpitchesasNetflixattemptsto

recreatetheviralityandbuzzofitsnewesthit.Blank

envelopesarebeingleftatTheSpy’sdeaddrops,with

high-conceptslike“BattleRoyalemeetsAnimalsof

FarthingWood?”scrawledontheback.Dead-eyed

researchersharassTheSpyonthe

waytotheshops,shouting

increasinglydesperateideas– “isekai

inwhichtheleadcharacteris a

former19thcenturyindustrialistwho

wantstobringrailwaystotheElven

kingdom?”– inthehopeofapproval.

Allofthiswouldbebearableif not

forthefactthatNetflixalso

announced that it has acquired Oxenfree developer Night

School Studios, so somehow The Spy also missed that.

Just now a pigeon landed on The Spy’s windowsill, the

note on its leg reading “RING BUT IT’S A TIKTOK

CHALLENGE”. Clearly it’s time for The Spy to shift focus

to another media conglomerate. Enter Warner Bros, who,

according to a Reddit leak loosely corroborated by

VentureBeatreporter Jeff Grubb, is making a Smash Bros

inspiredfighterfeaturing characters from across the

company’smanybrands and licences.

SHAGADELIC

AccordingtotheReddit post, confirmed characters

includeShaggyfromScooby Doo, Gandalf from Lord of

theRings,Tom&Jerry, Fred Flinstone, Mad Max, and, er,

Batman.This,ofcourse, is bizarre, as is the origin story

citedinthepost:that the project is inspired by the Ultra

InstinctShaggymeme. Google it. The Spy is not going to

debaseTheSpy’sself any further by explaining Dragon

BallZ-adjacentScooby Doo memes here.

It’scertainlytempting to dismiss this all as nonsense,

butWarnerBrosdoes have form crossing the streams of

itsvariousproperties. Space Jam: A New Legacy is an

extremeexample,going beyond the original film’s Looney

Tunespremisetointroduce the concept of the

Serververse– a shared digital universe contained within

WarnerBros’digitalserver, where Elma Fudd visits the

worldofAustinPowers and Speedy Gonzales cameos in

TheMatrix.Soyes,Shaggy fighting Gandalf is a weird

concept,butit doesn’t approach the sheer level of

absurditya premiseas flimsy as “WarnerMedia

subsidiaryproperties” could achieve. You could

theoreticallyseeCasablanca’s Rick Blaine fighting FEAR’s

AlmaWade.Batmanvs The Postman from Kevin

Costner’sThePostman. Rick from Rick and Morty vs

Jack Torrence from The Shining.

Obviously The Spy’s first instinct is

revulsion; to reject the notion of a

holding company as the basis for

artistic expression. But The Spy’s

second instinct is to pitch it to Netflix

inthehopes that it will persuade them

toleaveThe Spy alone. Spy out.

The Spy

1

Aninterestingparallel:herein

2021,we’redelvingintoRiot’s

upcomingplans.Backin2011,wewere

doingthesameforBlizzard.Theissue

featurespreviewsfora bunchofBlizzard

projects,fromWoW’sMistsofPandaria

expansiontoDiablo 3 and“Blizzard

Dota” – thethennameforHeroesofthe

Storm.It’sbeensometimesince

Blizzardfeltthisessential.

(^3)
Need some vaguely PC-themed
Christmas gift ideas? Well you’re
in luck! How about a Lego Star Wars
clock? Or an ice cube tray depicting
Han Solo trapped in Carbonite? Or a
jar of Baconnaise? These, as well as
some actually useful PC gaming
peripherals, underpinned what was
mostly an excuse to get photographed
in some festive jumpers.
(^2)
This issue
featured
more 80+ scoring
reviews than we
can fit into this tiny
space here, but
highlights include
Saints Row: The
Third and
Battlefield 3.
ISSUE
234, Christmas 2011
ON THE COVER
World of Warcraft:
Mists of Pandaria
IN THE CINEMAS
The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn – Part 1
This month in... 2011
BATMAN VS THE
POSTMAN FROM
KEVIN COSTNER’S
THE POSTMAN
BUTWHOWATCHESTHESPY?
The Spy