Entertainment
Lesbian Medieval Game Not On Anyone’s Modern Agenda
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
1348: Ex Voto will be a lesson in humility for years to come. For those not yet aware of this game, consider yourself fortunate. In the lead-up to the game’s launch, the social media page for 1348 Ex Voto was active on X, claiming that there were now 250,000 wish lists on Steam. It was released digitally on March 12, 2026, on Steam and PS5, with a scheduled physical release for later this year. Those numbers ultimately did not pan out, with the game peaking at around 420 players on launch day.
Immediate Gameplay Issues
The most recent update from Sedleo Games, producers of the game, was on March 18, 2026, with a public announcement that they have heard feedback from those who played the game and were working towards numerous fixes to solve some of the game’s many problems. For a company that was so vocal about its game, the silence that has followed in the wake of the game’s lack of success or acclaim is a fitting and karmic ending.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. Two weeks before the game’s launch, the demo was released, and it did not go well. At that time, the wish list total was roughly 100,000, with only a few hundred playing it. Criticisms include clunky combat, poor animation and shading, stuck NPCs during combat, and multiple button presses for the character to perform an action. Commentators began to question if the game was ready for release at this point, floating the idea that the digital release should be delayed until the release of the physical edition.
Many felt that they had backed themselves into a corner after their social media picked a fight with another upcoming title, A Knight’s Path. This game, from another independent studio, said they would have pretty characters, players could only play males, and would not include any “modern agenda.” To a company like Sedleo Games, this had crossed an intolerable line, and the infamous social media dispute between the two companies unfolded in front of the entire audience for both games.
Needless to say, it was divisive in splitting fans into two very distinct groups. The 1348: Ex Voto social media account asked its audience to put the game’s launch date “on their modern agenda”. It seems that their target audience misplaced their agendas as they did not show up at all for the game’s launch, evidenced by such poor launch numbers and ratings. Its social media activity has dropped to zero, other than the post that they were working to fix the game.
A Massive Disconnect
The game’s poor showing has led to a wider conversation about the use of Steam charts and other public-facing metrics to critique game performance. There were several high-profile cases of journalists and developers calling gamers “chuds” and other less flattering terms for disapproving of the slop put in front of players, who are just expected to mindlessly consume it and then gratuitously praise it.
This argument has also been made for the recently released Marathon, from Bungie Studios, the creator of Halo. Gaming journalists are getting mad that Steam charts have been used to critique the game to support commentary that the game is not as good as they claim it is. They do not tolerate differences of opinion; only toxic positivity, with no room to critique each other, as the norm.
It’s not just in gaming but the wider entertainment industry as well. With how badly Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is performing, journalists and reviewers keep telling us it’s awesome and everybody loves it. And in both gaming and TV, we’re being told that negative critique is “being mean on social media” and would get those games, movies, or shows canceled.
Toxic Positivity (noun) — the compulsive insistence on optimism at the expense of reality, in which negative emotions are dismissed, suppressed, or reframed into forced positivity, often invalidating genuine human experience.
If that is what it takes for these companies to take the gripes of their fans seriously, then more companies need to lose more money than they already have before this lesson is apparently learned. The makers of 1348: Ex Voto just found out the hard way.
Entertainment
Adam Sandler's Underrated Disaster Is Secretly A Classic
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
For men, one of the most difficult tasks on this planet is picking out a good date movie. This seemingly simple task is made nearly impossible because the two parties are into completely different films. For example, maybe he likes action movies and stoner comedies. Meanwhile, she likes indie dramas and period piece Oscar bait. How can you pick something both will enjoy? Simple: get yourself a movie with a little something for everyone!
To this day, the best date movie is 50 First Dates (2004), a vintage Adam Sandler film that pairs him up yet again with Drew Barrymore, his most affable onscreen partner. It wasn’t exactly a critical hit, but audiences way back when enjoyed how this film managed to combine some deeply deranged comedy with genuinely emotional storytelling. If you’re ready to watch a perfect date movie with your girl (or maybe just cry some manly tears on your own), then you need to stream 50 First Dates for free on Tubi!
Thanks For The Memories
The premise of 50 First Dates is that a quirky marine veterinarian living in Hawaii falls in love with a local art teacher. They hit it off really well, but there’s one enormous problem: she has amnesia so severe that she always forgets what happened the previous day, which would normally make a relationship impossible. However, this wacky vet decides that he can solve this problem by doing something most men would dread. Namely, making her fall in love with him again, each and every day!
The cast of 50 First Dates is relatively small, but it’s full of really big names, including Dan Aykroyd (best known for Ghostbusters) and Sean Astin (best known for the Lord of the Rings movies). There are a few surprising actors in the cast (like Maya Rudolph), and at least one very unsurprising one: Rob Schneider, who is the apparent lifetime beneficiary of the Adam Sandler jobs program. Speaking of which, Sandler turns in one of his better performances as an amiable doofus, and he has powerful enough chemistry with a quirky Drew Barrymore that you can easily buy the two of them as the most adorkable couple on the island.
Too Cool For The Critics
Relative to its budget, 50 First Dates earned quite a bit of Hawaiian pork. Against a budget of $75 million, this quirky rom-com earned $198.5 million. That wasn’t enough scrilla to warrant a sequel, though the film leaves a complicated legacy involving both a stage musical adaptation and (somewhat inexplicably) a Thailand remake that is scheduled to premiere later this year.
When 50 First Dates came out, reviewers decided it was quite the frustrating cinematic vacation. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 45 percent, with critics complaining that the film had too much gross-out humor for their liking. However, they did begrudgingly acknowledge that Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have an amazing chemistry that often elevates otherwise mundane scenes.
A Sexy Chemistry Lesson
For me, the chemistry is more than just a saving grace. It is, in many ways, the only reason to watch 50 First Dates. That’s not a slam against the movie, whose Hawaiian backdrop leads to some genuinely breathtaking shots. But this is a romantic comedy, and as any film buff knows, a rom-com is only as good as its lead couple. Fortunately, Sandler and Barrymore (who also shine in films like The Wedding Singer) bounce off each other in such a natural way that their onscreen affection is downright infectious.
Plus, as I mentioned before, the film is great for couples with different tastes who want a film they can both enjoy. Those who enjoy typical bro comedies will enjoy the film’s humor, which embraces grossout gags without getting as unhinged as, say, The Waterboy. At the same time, the film functions surprisingly well as a romance in which the last two people you’d ever expect to fall in love find joy in each other’s arms. Trust me, fellows: if you like Jackass and your gal likes Bridgerton, 50 First Dates is the hilarious and heartfelt compromise you’ve been looking for.
Bound For Laughs
Finally, for better or for worse, this is an Adam Sandler movie, and he has spent a lifetime transforming himself into the McDonald’s of cinematic comedians. Like McD’s, he’s the same in almost every comedy, which is great for fans of films like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison who are looking for a bit of guilty pleasure entertainment. In 50 First Dates, he does nothing to really change up the brand of goofball humor that originally made him a star. But that won’t matter a bit to Sandler fans who are happy to watch the actor follow a very familiar, very funny formula from beginning to end.
Will you remember 50 First Dates for the rest of your life, or will you be stuck reliving the moment when you hit the back button and bail out? The only way to find out is to stream the movie for yourself on Tubi. It’s the perfect film for couples, and one that you can stream completely for free. If nothing else, that means you’re halfway to every man’s romantic dream: a cheap date night!
Entertainment
One Of The Most Classic Sci-Fi Stories In History Is A Blockbuster Epic, Free To Stream
By Shanna Mathews-Mendez
| Published
When Orson Scott Card first conceived of a short story about a gifted kid in a futuristic battle with alien forces, he could not have imagined the scope this work would eventually take on. Today, almost 50 years later, the film adaptation of that original work, Ender’s Game, is streaming free on Plex and Tubi.
The central theme of the story asks: How far would you go to win a war you didn’t start?
Ender’s Game began as a short story, first published in 1977. The short story did so well that Card developed it into a full-length novel, Ender’s Game, released in 1985.
The book is named for the main character, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a supernaturally gifted young boy enlisted to help win the war between Earth and the aliens. Card also said he chose the name because of how close it comes to “endgame” in chess.
The novel was hugely popular, winning multiple awards, including the Hugo and the Nebula. For decades, Card was sure his work could not be developed into a film because the entire experience takes place in Ender’s head. After much deliberation, debate, and discussion, he finally agreed to the version we have now.
So, we can take the word of the author and the reception by critics. Even the U.S. Marines have declared that the book stands as an excellent example of what kinds of decisions are necessary when in the midst of war.
While the movie Ender’s Game, directed by Gavin Hood, follows the book quite closely, it must leave some things out. However, more than edits, the primary change readers of the book who watch the film will note is that the on-screen version of this story makes Ender, played here by Asa Butterfield, a much more sympathetic figure.
In Ender’s Game, the novel, Ender exerts decisive force over perceived bullies from a very young age, which catches the attention of higher-ups in the military. His reasoning is that it is better to take extreme measures now to prevent conflict later.
It must be acknowledged that Ender is only 10 years old when he kills two different people. Whether he needed to kill them or not is up to the reader to decide. In the movie, we see only one death, and it is portrayed as much more accidental.
Despite the changes to the story and the softening of the tone, Ender’s Game was praised for its exceptional cast. In addition to the rising star Asa Butterfield, it includes Viola Davis, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, and Harrison Ford as Colonel Gruff. Author Orson Scott Card even makes a cameo, well, his voice does.
While the film received mixed reviews, it has a mostly positive following and has already become a cult classic since 2013. It’s certainly worth watching, but of course, as in most cases, you should read the book as well.
When you’re ready to take on this heavy material, you can stream Ender’s Game on Tubi. Just be prepared to have a conflict of conscience.
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Adam Sandler's Underrated Disaster Is Secretly A Classic
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