STACK #254 December 2025

CONTENTS

ISSUE 254 DEC

GAMING 6 Take 5/Charts/Q5/Wham, bam, game exam! 8 Samus it ever was! Metroid Prime 4: Beyond preview 10 Marvellous! Cricket 26 Q+A 12 Get over here! Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection preview 14 Play like a Pro! Razer Wolverine V3 Pro/ Raiju V3 Pro controllers 16 SitRep: Buro x PowerA Sentinel Ergonomic Gaming Chair 18 Sweet streams! Elgato Stream Deck Mini Discord Edition 20 Our 10 favourite games of 2025 22 What’s out this month? MOVIES & TV 24 Intro/Take 5/In development/Trivia/Filmmaker’s Signature/Bob J’s Film Buff Bafflers 26 Merch of the Month/Charts/Socials 28 Hangin’ tough: Caught Stealing/Nobody 2 30 A haunting goodbye: The Conjuring: Last Rites /King Sized Stakes: The Long Walk 32 1923: Season Two - Closing the chapter/ Streaming spotlight! Morning Wars 34 Hop along! Ryan Corr on Kangaroo/Best foot forward! Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale 36 Wolf Creek at 20: Interview with John Jarratt and Greg McLean 37 What’s out this month? 38 Reel Classics: New from Imprint 40 New to 4K 42 Our 10 favourite movies of 2025 43 Anime/Christmas hits for everyone! 44 Hottest prequels from the Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale/ Best legacy sequels from the Blu-ray 2 for $30 sale 45 Festive treats from the Christmas Crackers sale/ Binge-worthy bangers from the Gifts Galore sale! MUSIC 46 Take 5/My first album/ STACK exchange 50 Christmas cracker: Kylie Minogue’s Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped) 51 Spirit world: Bring Me the Horizon’s That’s the Spirit 10th Anniversary Edition 52 New albums from Alison Wonderland + Olivia Rodrigo 54 New albums from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds + The Darkness 56-57 What’s out this month? 58 Vital vinyl: The Cruel Sea, Three Legged Dog - 30th Anniversary Edition Coloured Vinyl 60 Our 10 favourite albums of 2025 TECH FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 3 Yesteryear’s top tech/Editor’s choice/DYK? 6-28 100 great tech gift ideas for Christmas 30 Fly your way with the DJI Neo 2 drone 32 Audio-Technica AT2040USB Hypercardioid Dynamic USB Mic/Audio-Technica AT2020USB XP Cardioid Condenser USB Mic reviews 34 What you need to know about Microsoft Surface Copilot+ PCs 36 Our 10 favourite tech devices of 2025 38 New tech at JB this month

2025

WELCOME

When you think of Nintendo, first thoughts most likely turn to Mario and his friends, or perhaps Donkey Kong, Kirby, or even The Legend of Zelda . She may be a little less known, even a little less iconic, but there’s a Nintendo character who’s been around for almost 40 years now who often gets overlooked in Nintendo thought, and that’s Samus Aran. Incredibly, she’s been kicking butt since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1986. This month sees the much-anticipated return of Samus, starring in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond . It’s the latest entry in the spin-off series that introduced a first person perspective to the heroine’s world, and more of a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving. For Switch 2 players, it also delivers cool mouse control, as well as a greater visual experience compared to the standard Switch version. So, this month we take a look back at the rich history of Samus, as well as letting you in on some of the cool stuff to expect when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hits the shelves. Game on! Amy Flower, Games Editor

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Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Tech Editor Scott Hocking

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones, James O’Connor Contributors Jeff Jenkins, Billy Pinnell, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Stuart Coupe, Trista McConville, Michael Caverzan

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson

Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Movie & TV Editor Glenn Cochrane Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando

Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

RATINGS GUIDE

Parental guidance recommended

Recommended for mature audiences

Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accommpanied by a parent or adult guardian

Restricted to 18 and over

General

Disclaimer STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Copyright Scribal Custom Pty Ltd, 2025 All rights reserved. All material appearing in this publication is copyright unless otherwise stated or it may rest with the provider of the supplied material or advertisement. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of advertisements or information. Whilst care has been taken in the research and preparation of this publication, the publishers, writers or anyone else associated cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, injury or hardship arising from the content contained herein or reliance therefrom, howsoever caused, and it remains your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any such content. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher or the editor. By the very nature of this publication, things change daily and we cannot take responsibility for any changes or inaccuracies that occur subsequent to going to press.

DECEMBER 2025

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