If you imagined Jaws told from the point of view of Amity Island’s squirrelly mayor, only replace the shark with a ghastly curse that unleashes ghosts, sea hags and a soul-eating fog upon unsuspecting tourists, then you’d have something a lot like Widow’s Bay on Apple TV. Matthew Rhys plays the mayor of an island 40 miles off the coast of New England. He wants tourists to kickstart the economy, but the locals — particularly a crusty old seadog played by the great Stephen Root — know it’s not safe. Rhys and Root are very funny, and the series really finds its sea-legs once it shifts from a monster-of-the-week format to broader, more ambitious storytelling. In fairness, you could just read me the cast list and I’d watch this thing (Rhys! Root! Jeff Hiller! Dale Dickey! A couple of delightful surprises later in the season!) but it is a lot of fun.
The world of Crimson Desert (available on several platforms) is so vast that I’ve hesitated to dive in, despite it being the kind of game I historically love — an open world action/adventure with role-playing elements. Another big reason I’ve resisted: The reported difficulty of its boss fights (I’m on record as a hater of boss fights, and the notion of spending my precious time on brutal, interminable, throw-the-controller-across-the-room, Elden Ring-esque combat encounters holds no appeal to me at all.) But the latest patch has introduced difficulty levels, so I’ve proudly, nay, defiantly, exultantly set my default to Easy and dipped a toe in. So far, it’s a gorgeous, immersive game that’s walking me through a series of very familiar quests to learn the basic mechanics. I’m hours away from riding a dragon or strapping into a mech suit, but for now, I’m perfectly happy to collect peonies, pet dogs and ride my little horsey, lookin’ at the scenery. | 
