If you loved Into the Spider-Verse’s unique animation style, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s upcoming The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines has plenty in store to surprise you.

The new comedy film, which focuses on an incredibly dysfunctional family as they fight off the robot apocalypse, utilized some of the talents from Spider-Verse in order to give the world a painterly look that blends similar comic book and action movie vibes. Miller took to Twitter Wednesday to explain how the new trailer does it.

I’m going to point out some details you may have missed in shots from #TheMitchellsVsTheMachines trailer to show how @michaelrianda & team created a film with such groundbreaking visuals. A thread! pic.twitter.com/hxNv2oGMLQ

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

Much like Spider-Verse, a lot of the beauty is hidden in the details. It makes sense, considering Michael Lasker, CG supervisor on Spider-Verse, was brought on as VFX supervisor on The Mitchells.

Miller points out that father Rick Mitchell’s fur collar is just brown painted squiggles rather than a realistic fur/hair simulation, something that Miller says is harder to pull off.

Look closely at the texture on the fur collar of Rick Mitchell (the dad)‘s jacket. Instead of super realistic detailed fur simulation, it’s a bunch of hand-painted squiggles. Which is actually much harder to pull off. pic.twitter.com/yiNDQf58Km

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

Inversely, some trees and bushes seen in the background of a suburban yard may look like watercolor paintings, but are in fact traditional 3D CG.

These trees are 3D CG but look hand painted: pic.twitter.com/4RrB9oJZCT

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

A lot of love for Spider-Verse’s character designs stemmed from how each character was highlighted like a traditional comic book character, with thick outlines. In The Mitchells, characters, environments, and even hair have hand-painted outlines to help define each character. Character Katie Mitchell’s hair is drawn with watercolor-washed shapes, then accented with thick lines throughout.

The characters themselves have subtle hand-painted outlines as well as the props and environments -even hair is made with watercolor washed shapes accented with linework. pic.twitter.com/2xkitHRer6

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

Katie’s design carries over into the overall world, too. As an indie filmmaker, her exaggerated personality gives life to comical 2D animations that spring up around her, such as the cartoon smiley faces that appear when her dad catches her in the air. It bears the most obvious similarity to Spider-Verse’s comic book “pow!” and “bagel!” animations.

Production Designer @lindseydraws had her team including @lilynishita & @AliceLemma draw 2D “KatieVision” around her to represent her worldview. Everything from little squiggles to more complicated cartoonery: pic.twitter.com/M5nnrFQ7k8

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

The titular machines that threaten humanity are also drawn with watercolor aesthetics, but are given a much more different color palette and drawn with a somewhat cleaner look to reinforce the idea that they’re a singular intelligence focused on one goal.

But even in the clean world of PAL everything still has watercolor textures and hand-painted outlines. Look closely at this robot: pic.twitter.com/8tBPa8vFpC

— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 31, 2021

There are sure to be some other animation tricks and easter eggs spread throughout The Mitchells vs. the Machines, so keep an eye out when it hits Netflix on April 30.   The film is directed by Gravity Falls’ Mike Rianda and stars Eric Andre, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson, along with guest stars like Chrissy Teigen and Conan O’Brien. Lord and Miller are both serving as producers. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/furby-phobe for IGN. Harvest him on Twitter.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Console Enhanced is the next-gen version of the popular MMO that is arriving on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 on June 8, 2021. The Elder Scrolls Online: Console Enhanced version will be free to all who own ESO on PS4 or Xbox One, and this new version cuts down loadtimes by half (on average), adds a 60 FPS Performance Mode, increases the draw distance by nearly double, and much more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/31/the-elder-scrolls-online-console-enhanced-preview-ps5-and-xbox-series-xs"] Those who wish for a "visual feast" in ESO will also be able to take advantage of native 4K at 30 FPS in Fidelity Mode. There will also be improved reflections, shadows, depth of field, ambient occlusion with screen space global illumination, updated antialiasing, and unlocked textures. ESO: Console Enhanced was announced during the Blackwood Chapter Preview Event that will allow players to "expose the daedric plots and tyrannical schemes consuming the region and [they] must discover their connection to the Prince of Destruction and his dreadful plans for Tamriel."

Our next Chapter will take you on an adventure across Tamriel, from the walls of Leyawiin to the wilds of Blackwood. The #GatesOfOblivion adventure continues on all platforms this June. pic.twitter.com/6Y3GSoK5Ub

— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline) March 31, 2021

Although Blackwood is a standalone story, its events will further the overall Gates of Oblivion narrative that will continue to unfold throughout 2021. Also revealed is the all-new Companions System that will give players the option to choose between two new companions whose playstyle will be defined through selecting their gear and leveling up their skills. Blackwood Chapter will be released on PC on June 1, 2021, and will be available on consoles, including ESO: Console Enhanced, on June 8, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/27/the-elder-scrolls-online-gates-of-oblivion-blackwood-expansion-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Resident Evil: Racoon City has been delayed two months and will no longer be released in September.

IGN Prime has partnered with Telltale Games to bring you Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures! Enter the colourful world of West Wallaby Street with four brand new Wallace & Gromit stories!

• Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees – Wallace’s idea for accelerating his honey business’ growth with supersized flowers has unintended side effects.
• Episode 2: The Last Resort – Will the perfect holiday turn into the perfect crime?
• Episode 3: Muzzled! – Introducing Monty Muzzle – charitable philanthropist or canine conniver?
• Episode 4: The Bogey Man – Wallace & Gromit Take on the Country Club

Prime members Click here to get your Free PC copy of  Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures!   Not an IGN Prime member? No problem. Simply sign up and come back here to grab your game key. You can cancel with one click any time. Every month, the IGN Prime team provides members an opportunity to grab great games, exclusive betas, and other goodies picked by the Prime team.   

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Earlier this week the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit uncovered several names from the Epic Games Store initially believed to be the names of upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 content. In an email to IGN a CD Projekt representative confirmed that these names “are not DLCs for Cyberpunk 2077.” This begs the question, what are they? In a thread on the Cyberpunk 2077 subreddit, user u/PricklyAssassin shared images of a now-gone Add-on page for Cyberpunk 2077 in the Epic Games Store with a series of blank listings for what looks like Cyberpunk 2077 content. This add-on page apparently appeared on the Epic Games Store shortly after this week’s 1.2 patch but has since been removed. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-review"] The screenshots showed the following listings:

• Ripperdocs Expansion
• Body Shops Expansion
• Fashion Forward Expansion
• Gangs of Night CIty
• Body of Chrome
• Rides of the Dark Future
• The Relic
• Neck Deep
• Night City Expansion
• Expansion Pass

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Given CD Projekt’s confirmation that these aren’t names for upcoming DLC, this leads to a couple of different possibilities. The most likely being that these aren’t the final names for Cyberpunk 2077’s upcoming add-on content. The generic names like “Ripperdocs Expansion” and “Body Shops Expansion” seem to indicate that whatever CD Projekt Red has in store for Cyberpunk 2077’s upcoming DLC aren’t finalized yet. Even more specific titles like “Rides of the Dark Future” could be code names or placeholders before official titles are chosen. CD Projekt confirmed in its 2021 roadmap that aside from patches and a next-gen update, there are free DLCs in the works for Cyberpunk 2077. Before launch CD Projekt confirmed Cyberpunk would have a similar post-launch structure as The Witcher 3 with a mix of free, smaller DLCs and much larger paid expansions sold separately. The company reaffirmed the plan to release free DLC and paid expansions during their strategy update yesterday where the company also announced it would change its marketing strategy to prevent misleading customers. That said there was some confusion yesterday regarding comments from CDPR president Adam Kiciński who said plans for Cyberpunk 2077’s multiplayer mode are being reconsidered. Despite promising clearer marketing going forward, Kiciński's comments only created further confusion. Since CD Projekt won’t confirm what exactly these titles from the Epic Games Store are referring to, it remains speculation. All we know for sure is that Cyberpunk 2077 will get free DLC sometime this year, and we’ll likely hear more about it closer to launch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

The upcoming animated film adaptation of Batman: The Long Halloween has revealed its voice cast, including Supernatural's Jensen Ackles in the starring role as Batman. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, joining Ackles is well-known video game voice actor Troy Baker as The Joker, and the late Glee actress Naya Rivera as Catwoman, having completed her work on the role before her death last July. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/11/batman-soul-of-the-dragon-review"] Other voice actors in the cast include Transformers star Josh Duhamel (Harvey Dent), Twilight's Billy Burke (James Gordon), Lost's Titus Welliver (Carmine Falcone), stage and film actor David Dastmalchian (Calendar Man), Amy Landecker (Barbara Gordon), Julie Nathanson (Gilda Dent), Jack Quaid (Alberto), Fred Tatasciore (Solomon Grundy), and lastair Duncan (Alfred). Frances Callier, Greg Chun, Gary Leroi Gray and Jim Pirri will also voice unspecified roles. Superman: Man of Tomorrow and Voltron: Legendary Defender veteran Chris Palmer will direct a script by his fellow Man of Tomorrow colleague Tim Sheridan, with producers including Jim Krieg, Kimberly S. Moreau, Butch Lukic, Michael Uslan, and Sam Register. Batman: The Long Halloween was announced last year as a part of a series of four DC Universe films coming in 2021, two of which encompass the two-part Long Halloween. The other are Batman: Soul of the Dragon (which is out, and which we found "shallow but entertaining") and Justice Society: World War 2 -- the latter of which recently saw a number of new images revealed. It's currently planned to release in the summer of this year, and will be based on the 13-issue comic arc of the same name that follows Batman's pursuit of the Holiday Killer, a serial murderer who kills a new person each calendar holiday. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Sony has revealed that Oddworld: Soulstorm, Days Gone, and Zombie Army 4: Dead War are the PlayStation Plus games for April 2021. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, all three games will be available for download beginning Tuesday, April 6, and PS Plus subscribers will have until Monday, May 3, to add the games to their libraries. All three games will be available to download on PlayStation 5, but Oddworld: Soulstorm will not be available for PlayStation 4 subscribers. The game also won't be available to subscribers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

Days Gone and Zombie Army 4: Dead War are your PS4 PlayStation Plus games for April, with Oddworld: Soulstorm also available for PS5: https://t.co/WlVLGGMOQg pic.twitter.com/nRH2euYAn1

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 31, 2021

Oddworld: Soulstorm is actually launching the same day it's available for PS5 PS Plus subscribers. It was shown in Sony's February 2021 State of Play, which is when it was given its April 6 release date. If you're excited for this game to drop next week, be sure to check out this 12-minute gameplay video featuring developer commentary from Oddworld creator, Lorne Lanning. Days Gone was originally released in 2019 as a PlayStation 4 game, but has since been given a PS5 update that allows the game to run at 60 FPS with a dynamic 4K resolution. You can check out our thoughts on the game in IGN's Days Gone review. If you're a PS5 PS Plus subscriber, you already have access to Days Gone as part of the PS Plus Collection. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/25/days-gone-review"] Zombie Army 4: Dead War was released last year and you can read our thoughts on the game in IGN's Zombie Army 4: Dead War review. If you're excited to jump into this game next week, check out this Dead Zeppelin trailer and then check out this video featuring co-op campaign gameplay running at a 4K resolution and 60 FPS. You have until April 5 to claim March's PS Plus offerings, which includes Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Farpoint VR, Remnant: From the Ashes, and Maquette. Oddworld: Soulstorm, Days Gone, and Zombie Army 4: Dead War will be available to download the following day on April 6. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Microsoft has announced that 16 backwards compatibility games from the Xbox Game Pass library have been added to the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, including Oblivion, Morrowind, and Fallout: New Vegas. The 16 games are from across the original Xbox and Xbox 360 libraries, and includes some classic Microsoft first-party games as well as Bethesda games recently added to Game Pass as part of the publishers acquisition by Microsoft. All of them can now be played on Android devices, streamed via the cloud. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/12/xbox-game-pass-play-20-iconic-bethesda-games-trailer"] The backwards compatibility games playable on Xbox Cloud Gaming are:

• Banjo-Kazooie
• Banjo-Tooie
• Double Dragon Neon
• Fable II
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Jetpac Refuelled (touch controls enabled)
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Viva Piñata (touch controls enabled)
• Viva Piñata: TIP (touch controls enabled)

Xbox Cloud Gaming is available as part of Xbox Game Pass, so if you’ve been playing these games on your Xbox using Game Pass, you can simply carry on playing through the cloud on your phone. Earlier this month Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media was completed, and brought with it a whole host of Bethesda games to Xbox Game Pass. It means you can now play fan favourite Elder Scrolls game, Oblivion, on the go, or literally walk down the Vegas strip while walking down its future destroyed variant in Fallout: New Vegas. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

CD Projekt yesterday performed an extremely public self-reckoning (if not apology) for the messy messaging of Cyberpunk 2077. The company made clear that it will change its policies on marketing, to avoid misleading and disappointing players, many of whom were left confused by the intended final version of Cyberpunk 2077 after years of updates. Unfortunately, while doing so, it managed to confuse investors and consumers alike about a whole new issue. As part of a Strategy Update presentation, CD Projekt president Adam Kiciński explained that the company had 'reconsidered' its plans for a Cyberpunk 2077 multiplayer component mode – but failed to fully explain what the upshot of that reconsideration will be. While we knew that the company had previously been working on a AAA Cyberpunk multiplayer experience alongside the single-player game, it was never clear whether that was a standalone game, an expansion of the existing game, or a hybrid of the two (in the vein of GTA Online, for example). In previous earnings calls (transcribed by Seeking Alpha), Kiciński has made clear that a spearate team was making multiplayer, and that, "we [at CD Projekt] think about it as a standalone product," – but crucially never went as far as saying it would be released as a standalone project. Kiciński's comments yesterday don't clear that up, neither do they actually specify what's now happening to that project. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cyberpunk-2077s-multiplayer-is-being-reconsidered"] "Previously we hinted that our next AAA would be a multiplayer Cyberpunk game," he explained, "but we have decided to reconsider this plan given our new more systemic and agile approach. Instead of primarily focusing on one big online experience or game we are focusing on bringing online into all of our franchises one day." That tells us something has changed, but not exactly what. Cyberpunk multiplayer may have been delayed, it may have been cancelled, or it may be being retooled. Further, CD Projekt has now committed to adding online experiences to its future games, and says it's building technology to make sure that all of its single-player RPGs come with some kind of multiplayer connnectivity. What it hasn't said is whether that tech is close enough to use in Cyberpunk 2077 at some point – or if whatever the multiplayer mode was going to be could use that tech in some way. Equally, the messaging could mean we'll be waiting for a future Witcher or Cyberpunk sequel to see its online experiments. The result of all of this is that people are deeply confused about what exactly has happened (and what will happen) to Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer – social media is filled with opposing takes on the meaning of those comments, questions about what's happened, and complaints from those who profess to have bought the game at least in part because of a promised multiplayer mode, and who are upset they may now not see it. Asked for clarification, CD Projekt Red told IGN that the statement above was "all we have to say." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cd-projekt-red-will-work-on-cyberpunk-and-witcher-games-simultaneously"] That stance, and the confusion it's causing, became extremely clear during an Investor Q&A that followed the Strategy Update. In a short session, no fewer than five separate CD Projekt investors asked for clarification on what the plans for Cyberpunk multiplayer were. None got what they had come in looking for. The closest to an explanation came early on from Kiciński, who touched on the company's philosophy for multiplayer going forward, without directly explaining how that would be applied to Cyberpunk 2077: "Regarding online, we are changing our approach. We want to have online in our future games, definitely, but step-by-step. We are working on specific features, enhancing our single player, but we are not working on releasing the next game [as] a big online experience. So we'll be enhancing our single-player games with online experiences." "The only change is that we continue to work on [online] not as a main production line but as a supportive production line together with our single-player productions. But we believe that our ideas, once they will be revealed, will be very exciting for gamers as an extra experience in our world which fits our single-player games." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cyberpunk-2077-update-12-the-biggest-changes-and-updates"] That haziness about the actual ideas behind all this led to a number of follow-up questions from investors. Matthew Walker of Credit Suisse put it perhaps most bluntly, when asking about the specific wording used in the original announcement: "I don't think I'm the only person on the call who is somewhat confused by this definition about 'online' vs. 'multiplayer'." He added: "I appreciate you don't want to reveal all your plans, but this is a pretty important thing that people have been waiting for, for quite a long time." No plans were revealed in response. This cuts to the heart of the issue. It's absolutely understandable - and admirable - that CD Projekt would want to alter its marketing approach, and provide more accurate updates over a shorter period of time before release. But this works for projects that haven't yet been announced, whereas Cyberpunk's multiplayer mode has been announced, and been discussed (at least obliquely) for years at this point. To go silent on a project fans are excited for – and investors have budget sheets pointed at – seems counter-productive. Asked for the fifth and final time about the mode in the Q&A, Kiciński (who sounded audibly tired at this point), replied more directly: "We are not ready to talk about any details," adding later, "I know it's hard for everyone, but we are trying to change our approach to talking about the future. We are more focused on how we work, less focused on our release plans." The problem CD Projekt faces is that its many interested parties are very focused on this particular release plan. The lack of concrete information, and the addition of more confusion, is yet another moment in a long, baffling campaign during which those who are most invested (in some cases literally) in Cyberpunk 2077 seem to be those left most without the answers they want. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

A leaked document reveals how Amazon recruited a number of ambassadors to defend the online reputation of the company and its CEO, Jeff Bezos. The Intercept published the internal document uncovering the secret project, which Amazon allegedly conceived in 2018 under the codename "Veritas." The 10-page dossier shares details of how the company handpicked employees, specifically those with a "clean HR record" and "great sense of humor," and then trained them to confront critics on social media and online forums in a "polite, blunt way." "To address speculation and false assertions in social media and online forums about the quality of the FC [Fulfillment Center] associate experience, we are creating a new social team staffed with active, tenured FC employees, who will be empowered to respond in a polite—but blunt—way to every untruth," reads the program summary. "FC Ambassadors ('FCA') will respond to all posts and comments from customers, influencers (including policymakers), and media questioning the FC associate experience." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/amazons-jeff-bezos-to-step-down-as-ceo"] As part of the training program, Amazon ambassadors were provided with examples of how to push back against criticism. Several of the draft responses, appearing on p.8, address negative remarks about worker conditions at Amazon fulfillment centers, as well as comments of condemnation from Senator Bernie Sanders, a longtime critic of the company, while others defend Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos. In one example, Sanders is described as having "tweeted about Jeff Bezos' wealth, promoting debate in the reply thread." An Amazon ambassador could then join the conversation, with a reply in support of Bezos, as per the example provided: "Everyone should be able to enjoy the money they've earned/saved. It's theirs. They should be able to do with it as they please. That includes Jeff Bezos." Another section of the document advises ambassadors on Twitter handle structures, with each employee required to create an account with a handle that takes the format of "@AmazonFC[Name]," though the document suggests that an emoji could also be added, "to give personality." Due to the near-identical formatting, some social media users believed that they were automated "bot" accounts. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/19/amazon-prime-video-review-2019"] Users with the "@AmazonFC[Name]" handle may need to widen their search to include Andy Jassy later this year, as the current chief executive of Amazon Web Services (AWS) is set to become Amazon's new CEO after Bezos announced that he would be resigning from the position during the third quarter of 2021. Bezos will transition to become the executive chair of Amazon's board. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.