The filmmakers behind the latest movie in the “X-Men” franchise created the uncanny valley but with a real person.

One scene in “Dark Phoenix” has a woman stepping away from her dinner party to tend to a barking dog. When she returns, she seems a bit … off. The color has drained from her face and she’s moving as if her own body is alien to her. That woman is played by Jessica Chastain, and her body has indeed been snatched by an alien named Smith, also played by Chastain.

Smith is the film’s primary villain, and a new addition to the “X-Men” movies. Her goal is to tap into, and usurp, the heightened superpowers that have turned Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) into a nearly unstoppable force. Smith is none too friendly to humanity in that pursuit.

The character has a look that is mildly off-kilter, like a trip into the uncanny valley, but using a human rather than a robot or computer-generated imagery to arrive there. The styling was minimal, but still involved a few thoughtful steps to get Chastain to this human-esque place. Below is a closer look at how.

Hair

Chastain’s light wig was inspired by some of Tilda Swinton’s screen looks.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox

The film’s writer and director, Simon Kinberg, said that Chastain wanted a look that went far in the opposite direction from her previous screen appearances. “We looked at stripping down, not just the pigment of her hair down to white, but actually stripping down almost all makeup,” he said in an interview. “She becomes this ghostly, and yet at the same time saintly looking character, depending on your perspective.”

Some of Tilda Swinton’s offbeat looks in movies were considered as inspiration. Chastain wore a light wig that helped in the transformation.

Eyes and Skin

The makeup was limited to a Korean BB cream to make Chastain paler.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox

Chastain worked with Linda Dowds, who has done her makeup for several films, including “Molly’s Game” and “Crimson Peak.” Dowds first considered using special contacts to give Chastain’s eyes an out-there look, but decided to forgo the lenses. Instead, she kept the makeup to a minimum, using just a Korean BB cream to make her paler. “It has a tiny bit of iridescence to it,” she said in a phone interview. “It lightens up the skin to give it a little bit of a glow and create something almost ethereal, but not anything too crazy.” The idea was to give “a little clue to something otherworldly, but not completely give it away.”

Lips

A tint, not lipstick, is the only hint of color on Chastain’s face.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox

For Chastain’s lips, Dowds went with a tinted treatment rather than full-on lipstick. “In these lip tints, there’s some moisture and there’s a bit of color in them but they don’t flatten out the lips,” she said. That hint of lip color was the only signifier Dowds used to suggest life in Chastain’s face. Otherwise, it is a sea of paleness, with her eyebrows nearly fading away into the light skin.The filmmakers ruled out an all-white look as too alien.CreditDoane Gregory/Twentieth Century Fox

A Vision in Black

Smith learns how to toggle between light and dark. She needs to seem as if she’s going to Jean to help save her, even when her intentions are more nefarious. That duality also speaks to the larger themes of the movie, which deal in these contrasts. To assist with this visually, the filmmakers paid special attention to Chastain’s costumes.

When Kinberg and Chastain first spoke of the look, he said, she was interested in the idea of her character being clinical, almost like a doctor. So in addition to the pale skin and white hair, she wanted to wear white. “We tested that,” Kinberg said, “and it all started to feel too clinical, too alien.”

“When we put her in black clothes,” he continued, “the juxtaposition made her feel slightly off, but not so much so that if you saw her walk into a bar you would think, well that’s an alien.”

Daniel Orlandi (“Logan”) oversaw the costuming for Chastain, who was dressed primarily in two black outfits. “The black helped make her skin almost translucent,” he said. “It created a chic look, and her silhouette became much stronger when we darkened everything.”

Orlandi decided on a long coat with a little movement. “We tried some blazers, but that just seemed kind of common,” he said. “We wanted her to not be common, but also not flamboyant.” The result is something that feels calming, while projecting a sense of menace at the same time.

As Jean Grey begins to unravel, so do the X-Men as they take on her alter-ego, Dark Phoenix. USA TODAY

Spoiler alert! The following story details a major plot point in the new X-Men movie “Dark Phoenix,” so beware if you haven’t seen it yet.

“Dark Phoenix” was pretty much non-stop roiling emotions for Sophie Turner as she filmed the epic breakdown of X-Men heroine Jean Grey. So much so that a running joke arose between Turner and director Simon Kinberg.

“He would be like, ‘All right, another intense climactic scene for the movie!’ And it would be every single day,” says Turner, 23. “I was constantly draining myself emotionally, but it was so exciting for me because it’s one of the first roles I’ve had where I didn’t just stand in the background, able to hang out and make jokes and (mess) around on set. It really put me to the test and I loved it.”

But one scene almost broke Turner.

Seriously. This is your last chance to bail out, because things are about to get super-spoilery. 

Powerful telekinetic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) becomes a pawn in a cosmic conflict when her abilities grow stronger and more unstable in the X-Men film “Dark Phoenix.” (Photo: DOANE GREGORY)

“Dark Phoenix” finds Jean being blown up during a space mission, but instead of dying, she’s possessed by a cosmic force that gives her god-like powers. Unfortunately, as addictive as these abilities are, this new entity inside her tears her apart, inside and out.

Jean was orphaned at a young age and taken in by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) after she survived a car accident that killed her parents. But she finds out that Xavier’s been lying and her dad is still alive, not wanting to have anything to do with her after blaming Jean for his wife’s death.

The X-woman goes to her old home to confront him, and she runs into Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and the X-Men who’ve traveled to find her before she does something rash. Mystique tries to calm her down, but feelings get out of hand and Jean unleashes a telekinetic blast that forcefully impales Mystique onto the business end of a bulldozer, killing her.

“It’s the catalyst for everything that happens in the movie,” says Turner, who was “hyperaware” of how important Lawrence’s fatal finale was. “There was a lot of buzz around the scene, and I didn’t take it lightly.”

Sophie Turner says her role as a conflicted Jean Grey in “Dark Phoenix” is “on a different level” than any she’s played before, including Sansa Stark. AP

The problem was, Turner didn’t sleep at all the night before because she was so worried about the scene, and the actress had trouble mentally getting into it during filming. 

“It’s such a kind of emotionally hyped-up scene,” Turner says. “I was crying because I couldn’t get it, and then the minute I started to feel that kind of frustration and that anger, I realized, ‘This is what Jean is supposed to be feeling right now.’

“The fact that I couldn’t get the scene right made me get the scene right.”

Jennifer Lawrence, who stars as the blue-skinned shapeshifter Mystique in “Dark Phoenix,” co-starred with Sophie Turner in one of the film’s most pivotal scenes. (Photo: DOANE GREGORY)

Co-star Michael Fassbender was “really blown away” by Turner’s maturity and how she handled each shooting day, he says. “She really has to go to some pretty extreme places emotionally.” And Kinberg adds that actors would tell him how “incredible” she was: “Everybody knows she’s a great actress from ‘Game of Thrones,’ but she definitely surprised all of us.” 

Headlining “Dark Phoenix” was “a daunting task,” Turner says, but she adored the support from Lawrence and others.

‘I felt like, ‘Well, I’m really going to (mess) this up because I have (freaking) Oscar winners and Oscar nominees all around me and they choose me to lead it? That girl from that TV show?’ ” Turner recalls. “To have them root for me was just the most special thing.

LOS ANGELES – After nearly 20 years and a dozen films, the current manifestation of X-Men movies is going out with a whimper.

Scorched by poor reviews, “Dark Phoenix” earned a franchise low of $33 million from 3,700 North American locations over the weekend for a second-place finish, according to studio estimates on Sunday. First place went instead to “The Secret Life of Pets 2.”

The sequel, featuring the voices of Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Harrison Ford in his first animated role, grossed an estimated $47.1 million in ticket sales. Although less than half of what the first film opened to in 2016, it’s still a major win for the studio, considering the production budget was around $80 million. Including international grosses, its global total is already sitting at $97 million.

“It’s a fantastic result,” says Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic theatrical distribution. “We couldn’t be more proud.”

Duke (left, voiced by Eric Stonestreet) and Max (Patton Oswalt) have a lot to learn from no-nonsense farm dog Rooster (Harrison Ford) in “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” (Photo: ILLUMINATION ENTERTAINMENT/UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

With decidedly less stellar results, “Dark Phoenix” trailed behind the talking animals. Directed by longtime X-Men scribe Simon Kinberg, it focuses on Jean Grey, who is played by Sophie Turner, fresh off of her “Game of Thrones” run as Sansa Stark. It also brings back James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence. It’s the de facto conclusion to the modern X-Men movies that started in 2000, and also the first major 20th Century Fox film to be released by Disney following the acquisition.

Listen to this week’s episode of USA TODAY’s podcast, The Mothership, to hear our Tech Reporter and Film Critic discuss whether X-Men’s “Dark Phoenix” will rise from its counterpart’s ashes.

But the quality wasn’t there and it scored even worse reviews overall than the widely disparaged “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Audiences who showed up seemed to concur with the critics, giving it a deadly B-minus on CinemaScore.

“It’s softer than we hoped,” says Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of theatrical distribution. “While the film didn’t open the way we wanted, we think the legacy of the X-Men series is important and it’s more important than how one film opens. We’re trying to keep it in perspective.”

Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey gets imbued with great power that tears her apart, inside and out, in the X-Men film “Dark Phoenix.” (Photo: 20TH CENTURY FOX)

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, notes even with the lackluster North American debut and reception, “Dark Phoenix” was No. 1 internationally with $107 million from 53 territories, including China. Globally, it earned $140 million.

“In the international marketplace, it seems like the spectacle and the brand wins out,” Dergarabedian says.

Also, the X-Men characters, which had been licensed to Fox, are now expected to be integrated with Disney’s stable of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Disney’s new extended “Aladdin” trailer is here for the live-action remake that hits theaters May 24.WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

Disney has another winner in its books in “Aladdin,” which coasted to third place in its third weekend with an additional $24.5 million. Globally, it has earned $604.9 million to date.

“Godzilla: King of The Monsters” had a titan-sized second-weekend fall, however, down 67% with $15.5 million.

And the acclaimed Elton John biopic “Rocketman” rounded out the top five with $14 million.

Overall, the box office is healthy. The weekend is up 37% from last year when “Ocean’s 8” opened and the year-to-date deficit improved again. The year is now down 5.9%.

Final numbers are expected Monday.

Of all the games to top the PlayStation Store download charts last month, we wouldn’t have predicted Minecraft. The ever popular build-em-up has been available on PS4 for nearly five years, so why has it topped both the North American and European charts? Well, the game was recently updated with a bunch of new items, so there’s that.

In fact, second place on both charts goes to an older game, too: Grand Theft Auto V. In Europe, Days Gone takes the bronze, while brutal fighter Mortal Kombat 11 takes third in the US. World War Z is also quite prominent, taking fourth and fifth positions on the respective charts.

As for PlayStation VR, it’s Sony’s Blood & Truth that’s the top seller in Europe. However, it’s beaten to first place in North America by Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted. Unsurprisingly, the newly released action title Dauntless takes the free-to-play chart.

Take a look at the North American and European charts through the respective links. Are you still chipping away at Minecraft on PS4? Don’t be a Creeper in the comments below.

The Xbox E3 2019 briefing took place today, as Microsoft hit the stage in Los Angeles to unveil its roadmap for the rest of this year and beyond. Xbox has already kicked off a notable sale in tandem with today’s event, but as expected, we saw a number of announcements and updates on the latest coming down the pipeline this year.

Xbox E3 2019 kicks-off with The Outworlds

Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division kicked off the Xbox E3 2019 event with an unveiling of The Outworlds. A dystopian FPS, this beautifully animated title started this year’s Xbox event with a bang. It is available for pre-order today and will ship on October 25, 2019.

Bleeding Edge from Microsoft’s Xbox Studios

Next up was the new combat-action brawler Bleeding Edge, which hit with jam-packed thriller detailing 4 on 4 gameplay that’s slightly reminiscent of Super Smash Brothers in its own way. It will hit Microsoft Game Pass on June 27th.

The creators of Minecraft are back

Ready for a new Minecraft title? One of the big early unveils of the Xbox E3 2019 presser was Minecraft Dungeons, a unique one versus all game that takes the visuals you know with a whole new take on the iconic game. There’s even some Zelda vibes here. Available in the spring of 2020, Minecraft Dungeons is possibly going to be an Xbox Game Pass-only release. More details are sure to come by the end of the year.

New Star Wars title in-route from EA

We’ll be getting another new Star Wars title this November, and we’re excited to see how the last few years have re-shaped EA’s approach to the series. Available for pre-order today and shipping in November, Jedi Fallen Order offers a fresh take on the iconic Star Wars lineup. It will release on November 15th with appearances by Rogue One characters and well-known Star Wars mainstays.

Remember the Blair Witch Project? It’s getting a game remake

We’re getting a Blair Witch Project reboot on August 30th, taking the ghost and zombie classic to the small screen with a classic FPS styling. Details were few and far between, but it will be available in Q3 with more to come later this summer.

Cyberpunk 2077 gets more details at Xbox E3 2019

The upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 was featured at the Xbox E3 2019 event after getting the same treatment last year. The upcoming role-playing title from CD Projekt set in a metropolis of the future got a special unveil from Keanu Reeves. Set some 57 years after the original Cyberpunk 2020, the latest version will be released on April 16th, 2020 and is available for pre-order today.

Xbox Game Pass

A few small updates for Xbox Game Pass were detailed today, including additions to its lineup: Batman Arkam Knight, Metro, Hollow Knight, and Borderlands The Handsome Collection. Otherwise, this bit of the Xbox E3 2019 briefing left quite a bit to be desired. Xbox Game Pass for PC officially launches today following last week’s unveiling. There will be 100 games available at launch, including Football Manager 2019 and Imperator Rome. The entire Halo Master Chief Collection will also be available at launch, with more titles to come after the open beta is over. It will be $9.99 per month at that time. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will bring both together on console and PC, along with an Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 monthly following a $1 trial launch discount.

New Xbox One Elite Controller

Our first batch of new hardware today was an update to the Xbox One Elite Controller, officially dubbed Series 2. It takes all of the best features from the original and adds a whole new level of customization, including customizable trigger locks, mechanical tension adjustments and a built-in rechargeable battery. A new docking system is also coming as well. It will be available for pre-order later today on the Xbox Store.

LEGO expansion coming to Forza Horizon 4

Xbox has done a stellar job of bringing expansions to its Forza games, and the latest is one you’re not going to want to miss. LEGO is coming to Forza Horizon 4 on June 13th with a new expansion pack announced today at the Xbox E3 2019 briefing. Based on what we saw from the quick video preview, this is going to be an add-on you won’t want to miss.

Project xCloud gets an update with October launch date

Project xCloud is coming in October as a means for Xbox gamers to enjoy their content and game progress wherever they prefer. It will support all Xbox One games at launch and is slated to include all backward compatible titles as well. Learn more in our announcement coverage.

Next-gen Xbox unveiled: Project Scarlett coming holiday 2020

Project Scarlett is the next gaming console coming from Xbox, but it’s sure to have a different name as you’d assume. A few of the notable specs detailed includes a new state of the art processor made with AMD that delivers performance that’s six times more powerful than Xbox One X. This includes 120 frames per second support with 8K capabilities supported by a Microsoft-exclusive solid-state drive. More details are expected in the spring of 2020.

New Halo announced at Xbox E3 2019

In typical Xbox fashion, we’ll be getting Project Scarlett in 2020 in tandem with a new Halo release. Phil Spencer noted that the original Xbox was announced 18 years ago alongside the first Halo entry, and its continuing that trend with Project Scarlett and Halo Infinite.

Watch the Xbox E3 2019 briefing

Minecraft is be the best selling game of all time and represents a huge chunk of Microsoft’s gaming efforts across cloud, cross-platform services, and merchandising. And at 10 years old it’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Creators of all types have made careers producing videos, mods, and other types of content for Minecraft, which remains one of the biggest games on YouTube in terms of viewership. It has made history as the first ever game with cross-platform play between Xbox, Nintendo, VR, mobile, and PC platforms, owing to its re-written Bedrock Engine, powering cross-platform experiences. Soon, Minecraft will also take on augmented reality, in the form of Minecraft Earth.

At this point, Minecraft is a game that needs no introduction. A lot of the things I bring up here will be old news for the Minecraft faithful, too. But for me, as a lapsed player of the old Java version, returning to find out what Microsoft has been doing with modern Minecraft has been an incredible experience, and I felt like sharing. If you’re an OG Minecrafter that’s been away for a while, here’s why it might be worth jumping back in.

A platform for adventure

While I have dabbled in the Bedrock Edition here and there, it was the recent Village and Pillage update that got me re-addicted to the game. Village and Pillage added deeper settlement systems to the game, where new types of villages could be raided and ransacked by evil “illagers.” On our particular Realm seed, the illager spawns have been relatively rare, but we have triggered at least one raid, which plays out similarly to a huge Horde-style battle, with villagers running indoors to hide.

I defeated my first raid in Minecraft 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/WtF3a3XpyN— Jen Gentleman 🌺 (@JenMsft) June 2, 2019

Minecraft’s creative aspects are a great way to relax, but some of the newer, more adventurousaspects have surprised me as a platform for tense, exciting co-operative fun. The Nether, Minecraft’s twisted Hell-like otherworld, has been in the game for quite a long time, but I recently had my first foray into its lava-blasted world. Emerging unscathed with all the loot I acquired, including armor for my trusty steed, tons of Blaze rods for making potions, and Ghast tears for various spooky things, was quite a nerve-wracking challenge.

An undersea shipwreck, will there be treasure?

The Nether is pretty difficult to navigate for a newbie like myself, with lava pitfalls all over the place, floating eldritch horrors, and swarms of horrifically mutated pigs that make me question Minecraft’s “kid-friendly” designation. Raiding the place was a blast, and by no means the only adventure I’ve had the past few weeks.

I’ve also had the chance to experience some of Minecraft’s newer biomes, including polar-style glaciers, taigas filled with gigantic trees, and swamps full of slime monsters. Perhaps the most exciting, for me, so far has been the abandoned mine shaft, which was added years ago, showing just how much I’ve been missing out on. I came upon an abandoned mine shaft while digging beneath the Helmsdeep-inspired survival base I’ve been making, uncovering a vast warren of spooky tunnels, brimming with monsters, precious ores, and minecart chest loot. The mine shaft system generated there seems to intersect with various other caves and crevices too, making me wonder just how big it is. After a couple of weeks, I’m still finding new tunnels and pathways in the darkness, which typifies the quintessential Minecraft fantasy in my book.

There are still tons of experiences I haven’t dabbled with yet too, including The End dimension, where the Ender Dragon dwells. I’m yet to find an Illager outpost and trigger a raid of my own, too. I’m just on the edge of being ready to craft water breathing potions to explore some of the undersea biomes added in Update Aquatic, as well as the oceanic temples filled with monsters I’ve never seen. There’s so much to do, so much to see, all without getting creative.

A platform for creativity

The essential Minecraft “digital Lego” experience not only remains intact but seems to have pushed far further than I could have imagined, even without considering the vast array of mods and add-ons that can enhance the experience. As someone playing using only a basic texture pack, I have been blown away by some of the new options for creation, but even more so when looking at creators on YouTube and subreddits like /r/detailcraft and /r/minecraftbuilds for inspiration.

We’re playing on a dedicated Realm, rented from Microsoft for around $7 per month. It allows up to ten concurrent players onto the server at any one time, allowing you to build together, craft together, slay monsters together, and so on. As a survival realm, resources aren’t infinite as they are on creative mode, where players can build endlessly to their heart’s content. Some of the creative mode stuff I’ve seen has been truly crazy, but there’s something satisfying about making large structures with the added danger of creepers lurking around, ready to blow up your stuff.

I’ve been crafting a Helmsdeep-inspired castle wall, with plans to carve homes and buildings out of a large cliff face behind it. We’ve also been building large skyways to link parts of the map across powered rails, monorail-style. There are tons of small and large homes of all types dotted around the map, created by our small community, and it’s always fun to walk around and see what people have made.

Some of the new features like leashes and campfires, which seem simplistic enough, have led to a vast array of new creative ideas out of the Minecraft community. Campfires can be used in chimneys to create the effect of rising smoke, while leashes can be tied to wooden posts and buried chickens (sorry chickens) to create realistic-looking rope bridges. The beauty and genius of Minecraft’s low-poly visuals is that the lack of detail on items allows them to perform multiple functions, with your imagination filling in the gaps. With higher fidelity graphics, a campfire would always look like a campfire, but in Minecraft, it can also be any sort of wooden detail when you douse the flames.

What does the future hold?

Had expected them to blow up in a line, lol. Wanted to build a moat. <.< #TNTproblems #Minecraftpic.twitter.com/f3YZsw9Gwa— Jezcraft⛏️ (@JezCorden) May 18, 2019

We already know about Minecraft Earth hitting smartphones in the near future, as well as Minecraft Dungeons, which look as though it’ll condense Minecraft’s adventuring gameplay into shorter, more focused Diablo-like sessions. But what else does the franchise hold for Microsoft?

We’ve heard that the teams building Minecraft experiences is among the largest as Redmond, up there with Halo in terms of employees. We’ve also heard that Microsoft has even more Minecraft-related standalone projects in the works, beyond Dungeons and Earth, as well as the typical heavy updates for its Java and Bedrock Editions that fans have come to know and love. The long-awaited 4K Super Duper Graphics pack is still reportedly in the works, although it has been heavily delayed to accommodate emerging graphics tech like ray tracing. I’ll try and find out more about that at E3 2019.

One thing is for certain: Minecraft is not slowing down, nor is it going away. As Microsoft’s biggest recreational property outside of Xbox itself, the $2.5 billion purchase from 2014 has proven to be a huge win for Redmond, and I’d argue it has been a big win for Minecraft fans too.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have another section of wall to build, and a ton more to learn.

The iconic techno venue Berghain in Berlin, Germany — considered a mecca of dance music — has been brought to life inside the game of Minecraft.

With exceptional attention to detail, one player has completely recreated the dance landmark, thus bringing a unique and rarely seen night life experience to countless others from all corners of the earth. The only thing that seems to be missing is the steady thumping of music and the doorman that decides your fate.

The aesthetic of Berghain, even in virtual form, is beyond astounding. This person obviously dedicated an insane amount of time to the project, allowing players to access the elite establishment anytime they so desire — even without a passport or a flight.

To tour Berghain via Minecraft, watch below.

Berghain Minecraft Tour

Berghain on Minecraft

Someone’s made a version of Berghain on Minecraft and it’s incredibly detailed.

Posted by Mixmag on Tuesday, June 4, 2019

“Minecraft” celebrated 10 years last month, but a special anniversary map is still available for players to enjoy, according to a news post on the official website for the game posted Saturday.

The map, made by Blockworks, is a celebration of all things “Minecraft,” the popular sandbox-style game which allows players to craft their own worlds. The map is completely free, and gives players a brief tour of “Minecraft’s” history. It starts in a special golden minecart, and players are taken stop by stop through the various updates “Minecraft” has had over the years.

“Hop into the golden minecart and you’ll be zipped along a powered rail down memory lane,” the news post explained. “You’ll get a brief tour of each of our updates over the years! It’s a fast paced treat through the past of ‘Minecraft’…”

After the guided tour, players are left with a puzzle to solve to unlock a virtual “Minecraft” museum. The museum has plenty for players to learn about the history of the game.

The free map is available for “Minecraft” on Xbox One, Windows PC, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, and even “Minecraft” Java.

For those who can’t get enough “Minecraft,” be sure to check out the upcoming AR game “Minecraft Earth.”

Microsoft’s E3 presentation today gave us a new trailer for Minecraft Dungeons, which will be a dungeon-crawling game where players will be able to team up with friends to take on new challenges.

The trailer showcased a variety of locales, from forests to lava-filled castles. We also saw a bunch of enemy hordes that players will take down in the search for loot. Players will accordingly be able to equip all sorts of weapons and armor, and will have levels, enchantments, and various stats to boot. In addition to standard weapons like hammers, fans will also be able to use magic. There will also be a wide variety of customization options to help players personalize their characters. Overall, the game seems to be way more action-oriented than the base Minecraft experience, but unlike Diablo, it will have more of a family-friendly appeal.

Minecraft Dungeons will be out in spring 2020 for PC, consoles, and Xbox Game Pass.

The Minecraft Team showed off some new gameplay for its Minecraft: Dungeons action game. This adventure takes the blocky setting and applies it to a Gauntlet-style four-player cooperative game that is launching in the spring of 2020.

You can watch the trailer above, which shows off the isometric-view and hack-‘n’-slash action. Players can equip new weapons and magical abilities. And all of this works for local cooperative play or online over Xbox Live.

If you’ve been feeling a little bored with your world-building adventure in Minecraft but you don’t want to ever stop digging and building and fighting in your blocky, pixelated world, you’ve got something big to look forward to in 2020. Majong has just unveiled the upcoming release of an entirely new title, set within the realm of Minecraft — Minecraft Dungeons.

Fight your way through an all-new action-adventure game, inspired by classic dungeon crawlers and set in the Minecraft universe! Coming to PC, consoles and Xbox Game Pass in spring 2020. Sign up to learn more! ↣ https://t.co/Yp6rAX7o44 ↢ pic.twitter.com/XitfPycQZN— Minecraft Dungeons (@dungeonsgame) June 9, 2019

If you’re wondering what Minecraft Dungeon even is, it’s a stand-alone action-adventure game designed with the classic dungeon crawler in mind. Players traverse all new lands, fight all new baddies, and solve all-new puzzles to unlock new items, weapons, spells, and more.

It’s an all-new action-adventure game inspired by classic dungeon crawlers, where you’ll constantly discover new weapons and items that will help you defeat a ruthless swarm of new-and-nasty mobs. You’ll fight or flee through canyons, swamps and – of course – mines!

You can brave the dungeons alone, or team up with friends. Up to four players can battle together through action-packed, treasure-stuffed, wildly varied levels, all in an epic quest to save the villagers and take down the evil Arch-Illager!

As you wander through various dungeons, you’ll fight mobs and loot their corpses. Of course, no good dungeon crawl is complete without a couple of nice, fat chest of treasures along the way.

You’ll be able to personalize your character, including picking your favorite fighting style. Then, hit the ground running as a tank, ranged fighter, healer, or fighter.

You won’t be fighting alone in Minecraft Dungeons (unless you want to, of course). It’ll support four-player multi-player local and online gaming. Between you and your buddies, you’ll be sure to make it to the mob boss in no time. As long as one of your party members is still alive, they can resurrect everyone and continue the game.

Minecraft Dungeons is coming to a variety of platforms, including Windows, Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It’s not going to be ready until sometime in 2020, but you can sign up for updates at Mojong’s Minecraft Dungeons portal.

“Minecraft Dungeon” is set to launch in Spring 2020, it was announced during Microsoft’s E3 conference on Sunday.

Developed by Minecraft creator Mojang, “Minecraft Dungeons” is an action-adventure game inspired by classic dungeon crawlers. The game, which was first revealed during Minecon Earth in 2018, allows for up to four player co-op and both local and online play.

In “Minecraft Dungeon,” players can unlock dozens of unique items and weapon enchantments to unleash devastating special attacks, and explore treasure-filled levels as they quest to take out the evil Arch-Illager. You can check out the new gameplay trailer above.

E3 2019 is coming to Los Angeles on June 11 through 13, and we’ll cover all the highlights of the event here at Variety as well.

Microsoft just unveiled Minecraft Earth, bringing the augmented reality (AR) world of Pokemon Go and combining it with the social creativity of Minecraft. Players will be able to go adventure using their phones, be it Android and iOS, obtaining rare blocks, building huge structures, and collecting unique mobs for their own personal build spaces.

As a free-to-play game, Minecraft Earth raises the specter of some of gaming’s most predatory monetization practices on mobile phones. Thankfully, Microsoft doesn’t seem to be going down the same route other games have.

Speaking to Executive Producer Jesse Merriam, we learned that Minecraft Earth will have some form of funding model but it doesn’t sound as though it’ll be aggressive.

Minecraft is a game that lets players create basically anything they want, assuming that player has the time to do it. It also has Redstone, a resource that allows players to move, power and manipulate blocks in various ways. Combine this with the predictable and simple physics of Minecraft and you end up with some satisfying machines.

Over on the Minecraft subreddit, the community is making wave machines using different elements of Minecraft. For example, here’s a really cool wave machine using decorative armor stands.GIF: Sabinn16 (Reddit)

This one uses minecarts and would make a great screensaver if I used still used screensavers. 
GIF: Nathanie512 (Reddit)

Another player created one that looks like water using lapis lazuli and  reprogrammable command blocks.

A more colorful creation uses various sand blocks in different shades to create a rainbow wave. Perfect for Pride Month.GIF: inadequatetacos (Reddit)

While these machines have become popular recently, they aren’t exactly new. People have been making these types of machines for years in Minecraft. One large one was created back in 2011 using sand blocks and like the newer ones, it is very satisfying to watch.

If we ever get a Minecraft theme park, maybe we this could be an attraction? Everyone jumps into a minecart and rides the wave.

Minecraft developer Mojang has announced that support for Minecraft: Story Mode is ending, and that players will have until June 25th, 2019, to download their episodes. The game’s delisting follows the disappearance of other games created by Telltale Games, which abruptly shut down last year.

Mojang says that because of Telltale’s closure, the game will no longer be supported as of June, and that players who purchased it will need to make sure to download it before it’s taken down for good. The game is the latest of Telltale’s creations to be pulled from stores: at the end of May, Kotaku reported that games such as Tales from the Borderlands was no longer available on Steam, and that storefront Good Old Games announced that it would no longer be selling Telltale’s games.THE GAME IS THE LATEST TELLTALE CREATION TO BE PULLED FROM SALE FOLLOWING THE STUDIO’S CLOSURE

Telltale Games announced the story-driven game back in 2014 and launched it in 2015, bringing a traditional narrative to the sandbox game through a series of episodic games that Telltale became known for. The game was available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android, and iOS.

The game followed Jesse (voiced by Patton Oswalt), who, along with his friends, have to find the Order of the Stone, to prevent the destruction of their video game universe. At the time, Telltale’s director of creative communications Job Stauffer noted that the game was inspired a bit by classic films from the 1980s, like Ghostbusters and The Goonies: There was something magical about that generation of film before the PG-13 rating became commonplace that bred an incredible body of inspiration for us.”

The game ran for two seasons (Season 1 ran for eight episodes, and Season 2 ran for five episodes) between 2015 and 2017, and last year, Telltale Games signed a deal with Netflixto bring its games to the streaming service, and a five-episode season of Minecraft: Story Mode debuted in November.

Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders is a shaderpack that adds the kinds of effects we normally associate with ray-tracing— like light that’s able to bounce off other objects—to ol’ blocky-ass Minecraft, and do it while you’re playing in real-time.

It’s not technically ray-tracing (he’s actually using path-tracing), but the effects are still incredible. Here are some examples of it in action:

And here are some screens showing it off on some more traditional areas:

You can download what you need by pledging $10 over on Sonic Ether’s Patreon page. Just know that the effects here are software-based, so you’ll need a decent PC to get a good framerate.

As old as Minecraft is, I’ll never get tired of appreciating just how good it looks when people put the effort in. I know a lot of games can get modded to Hell and back and look great, but there’s something about the distance blocky ol’ Minecraft has to travel to get there that makes it particularly special.

Case in point: this absolutely stunning house, made by umsoea using all kinds of tricks like shaders and custom textures. The architecture is definitely helping sell the whole thing here; a modern house like this is naturally blocky, removing one of the great obstacles Minecraft builds tend to have before they can look “real”.

But neither that fact, or the framerate (it’s…bad) can take away from just how good this looks. This wasn’t built for smooth gameplay and digging underground, this was built to marvel at, and I’ve been doing a lot of that today.

You can find links to download the stuff you need for this here.

Ever since its original debut way back in 2009 (if you can believe it), Minecraft has become a global gaming phenomenon, attracting millions of fans, young and old alike, to its incredibly addicting gameplay and easy-to-learn creation tools. Due to how popular it has become, Minecraft has become home to tons of high-quality merchandise items over the years. Here are our favorites.

Best adult shirt:Pig Riders Adult T-Shirt

Staff favorite

The Pig Riders Adult T-Shirt for adults is the perfect way to show your Minecraft spirit. The design is cool, yet not overly flashy in any way. In addition, it’s made out of 50% cotton and 50% polyester, which ensures a nice balance between comfort and shrink-resistance.$10 at Minecraft

Best youth shirt:Midnight Chase Youth T-Shirt

The Midnight Chase Youth T-Shirt features an awesome-looking design with iconic Minecraft characters like Steve, zombies, and a creeper, and it’s made with 100% ring-spun cotton for maximum comfort.$15 at Minecraft

Best Xbox:Minecraft Xbox One S

This 1TB Xbox One S model comes with an awesome-looking Minecraft skin that’s reminiscent of the dirt blocks you see in-game. It comes with a sweet creeper-themed Xbox One controller, too.$335 at Amazon

Best Xbox controller:Creeper controller

This is the same controller that comes with the Minecraft Xbox One S, but it’s sold separately. The sickly green creeper color looks super cool, and the controller also comes with textured grips for enhanced comfort and Minecraft font on the buttons.$58 at Amazon

Cute Xbox controller:Pig Xbox controller

The Pig Xbox controller features the iconic face and color of the adorable pigs you can find in Minecraft, and like the creeper-themed controller, the grips are textured and the ABXY buttons have Minecraft font on them.$60 at Amazon

Best costume:Steve Youth Costume

This Steve costume is a fantastic way for your little one to dress up Minecraft-style. It offers a boxy and easy-to-wear suit and a large, 10-inch mask that fits comfortably over a child’s face.$33 at Minecraft

Best baseball cap:Creeper Rush Cap

The Creeper Rush Cap is the best baseball cap-style hat available officially for Minecraft, featuring a sleek black-and-green look with three creepers on the front. In addition, it’s also got an awesome mesh back that helps keep your head cool in high heat.$20 at Minecraft

Best beanie:Creeper Stripe Beanie

The Creeper Stripe Beanie shares the same sleek black-and-green look as the Creeper Rush Cap, and its got a 100% acrylic knit construction that will keep the head warm in the cold.$20 at Minecraft

Best wallet:Spider Jockey Bi-fold Wallet

This neat little wallet features a cool design that will remind players of their spider-riding adventures, and it doesn’t look overly crazy style or color-wise, which is great. Additionally, it has a translucent ID slot and five slots for various card types.$20 at Minecraft

Best backpack:Creepy Creeper Backpack

The Creepy Creeper backpack is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a new backpack. Its creeper-themed design is super cool, and it also has enough room inside for a full 17-inch laptop, books, and plenty of various other items.$30 at Minecraft

Best lunchbox:Dirt Block Lunchbox

The Dirt Block Lunchbox is a roomy 8.5-inch container perfect for holding your lunch throughout the day, and its design features a detailed rendition of the iconic Minecraft dirt block.$15 at Minecraft

Best plush:Grand Adventure Creeper Plush

The Grand Adventure Creeper Plush is a soft and fluffy 16-inch tall plush made out of polyester fibers, meaning that it’s both fun to play with and comfortable for children to snuggle with in bed.$30 at Minecraft

Best action figure:Mining Steve Action Figure

The Mining Steve Action Figure is a fully-articulated, 5-inch action figure of the iconic Minecraft character Steve. In addition to the figure simply looking awesome, you can even make Steve swing his pickaxe, adding play value into the mix.$15 at Minecraft

Best LEGO set:LEGO Minecraft: The End Battle

The LEGO Minecraft: The End Battle set depicts the famous “final boss fight” of Minecraft, offering buyers Dragonslayer, Ender Dragon, and Enderman figures to build. They’ll also get a code to unlock the Dragonslayer skin in-game.$20 at Minecraft

Runner-up LEGO set:LEGO Minecraft: The Melon Farm

The LEGO Minecraft: The Melon Farm set depicts a dangerous encounter between a creeper and Steve, his pig steed, and a villager. You also get a chest and a handful of food item pieces for setting up a diorama.$30 at Amazon

Best interactive toy:Light-up Adventure Sword

The Light-up Adventure Sword is an awesome handheld toy that looks like the sword from the game. It also lights up and makes cool sounds thanks to its triple AA batteries, with the first set of these included in the box.$35 at Minecraft

Best book:Minecraft Graphic Novel Volume 1

The Minecraft Graphic Novel is a new story that features protagonist Jack and his friends attempting to challenge and take down the infamous Ender Dragon. It’s got 88 pages, so there’s plenty of fun reading to be had here.$10 at Minecraft

Best bedding:Creeper Full Bed in a Bag

This 76-by-86-inch set features a full-sized comforter, fitted and flat sheets, and pillowcases make the perfect bedding set for any young Minecraft player. The design looks awesome, and the whole package is made out of warm polyester material and fill.$75 at Minecraft

If we had to choose

There’s a ridiculous amount of officially-licensed merchandise out there for Minecraft, and chances are, there’s something out there that will suit your needs or desires no matter what they are. If I had to choose one for myself, though, I would go with the Pig Riders Adult T-Shirt, as I think the design is really cool, yet not overly crazy as to draw unwanted attention to me while I’m out-and-about. Plus, you can get it at a fantastic price, which you often can’t say about brand shirts.

People looking for something for the kids to play with should check out the Light-up Adventure Sword for its cool electronic effects that add plenty of play value, as well as the design and shape which is accurate to the swords you see in the full game. If you;re picking something up for someone who loves to read, then the 88-page adventure story within the Minecraft Graphic Novel will be perfect due to its neat take on the Minecraft art direction, as well as the fairly large size of the story overall.