A failed assassination attempt only gives the populist candidate more fuel for his fire — a new momentum that surges him to the top of the most important election the world has ever seen. This could describe the 2024 election in the United States of America, but instead it is part of the plot for the Japanese role-playing game Metaphor: ReFantazio, released in October but written long before the ticket of either American political party was set.

“While we did not depict contemporary political arguments or their context in this game, we wanted to provide an element that would make each player think about the heroism of influential figures in a fantasy world, as people entrust or are entrusted by others with their anxiety or concerns,” Metaphor creative director Katsura Hashino tells Inverse. “We made elections an important element of the story because we wanted to portray the complexity of modern society and how people’s choices affect it.”

In a year packed with incredible video games, it’s the dedication to tackling lofty ideals and issues that make Metaphor the most important game of the year. Metaphor never shies away from touching on real, deep-rooted societal problems, deftly reflecting those through the lens of a grand fantasy world. Metaphor is a defining piece of art that’s going to be talked about for years to come

When Christopher Nolan announced his latest movie would be an adaptation of the ancient epic poem The Odyssey, film fans started getting excited for 2026. The year may still be a while off, but the release schedule is already packed: Dune 3, Avengers: Doomsday, Supergirl, and Mike Flanagan’s Clayface will all be released during that year. However, there was yet another superhero movie that, until recently, was part of this illustrious 2026 club: The Batman Part II, the sequel to the 2022 movie The Batman, was scheduled to premiere on October 2, 2026.

However, that’s all changed now, posing a major issue for Matt Reeves’ Batverse — and repeating the worst pattern from the first Batman movie.