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Prices subject to change.

Looking to up your Instagram Story game? Camera Tools are a good place to start.

If you don’t know what Camera Tools are or if you are looking to change the position of camera tools, you’ve home to the right place. We’ve got all your questions surrounding camera tools covered.

What are Instagram Camera Tools?

Instagram camera tools are the toolbar options that pop up when you go to post an Instagram Story. The toolbar is made up of different functions that can help you post different types of Instagram Stories. It includes the Create mode, Boomerang, Layout, Hands-Free, Multi-Capture, and Level.

How to access Instagram camera tools:

1. Open Instagram

2. Tap on your profile picture in the upper left corner

3. Tap “Camera”

Tap Camera to access Camera Tools.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

4. The camera tools are found on the left side of the screen.

5. Tap the arrow to see the full list of Camera Tools

Tap the arrow to see the full list of Camera Tools.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

When you tap the arrow the full list of Camera Tools will be revealed.

The full list of Camera Tools includes Hands-Free, Multi-Capture, and Level.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

How to change the position of Instagram camera tools:

The camera toolbar is automatically on the left hand side of your screen, but you can change it to the right hand side of the screen in settings.

1. Tap the gear in the upper right corner of the Instagram Story screen

Tap the gear to access Instagram Story settings.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

2. Locate “Camera Tools”

3. Tap the white circle next to “Right Side”

Tap the white circle to change the orientation of Camera Tools.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

The blue circle next to Right Side indicates that Camera Tools will be on that side of the screen.

The blue circle indicates the orientation of the Camera Tools toolbar.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

4. Select “Done” in the upper right hand corner

Select Done.
Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

There you have it!

Human beings are perplexing creatures. We’re capable of developing vaccines to help fight deadly viruses in record time, sending billionaires into space, and creating all kinds of ever-improving smart technology, such as smart glasses. Yet when New Year’s Eve rolls around we can’t manage to get those plastic numerical party glasses right — and haven’t done for more than 12 years.

In 2019 I looked back on a decade of New Year’s Eve glasses and ranked them based on how dumb they looked. The glasses for 2010 — which featured two aesthetically pleasing zeros and easily turned the number one into a lens — looked the best. But in a surprise twist, the glasses for 2020 looked even worse.

You’d think creators would have taken advantage of 2020’s two zeros, or simply copied the 2010 glasses and transformed the second 2 into a lens, but they had to make things complicated. Yes, some 2020 glasses were visually acceptable, but others were nonsensical eyesores like these:

The two zeros were RIGHT THERE.
Credit: SCREENSHOT: P&F / AMAZON

Now novelty glasses creators spectacularly dropped the ball again with 2022’s frames. Here are some of the frames in question, with an extra zero added as a lens (to ring in the year 20220!), 2s placed on foreheads, and/or eyeholes so tiny you can barely see out of them. It’s pure chaos out here.

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Just mandating the manufacture of a single design each year — the one that makes the most sense — could end the insanity. In 2021, we could and should have just stopped with these:

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In humanity’s defense, the glasses didn’t always look pathetic. When celebratory eyewear was first conceived to ring in the year 1991, frankly, it slapped. Inventor pals Richard Sclafani and Peter Cicero made lenses in the holes of each 9 every year until 2000. When 2000 arrived, they sensibly used first and second zeros as lenses.

As Mel Magazine reported, 2000 was also the year that Sclafani and Cicero started getting serious competition. Rip-off designs started popping up around the world, and by 2009 the two friends decided to abandon their glasses-making endeavor. The competition was too heavy, but Sclafani also felt the designs would prove too challenging beyond 2010.

While the numerals themselves may not have made the art of designing glasses simple, some extremely straightforward years — such as 2020 — we just plain messed up. Had Sclafani and Cicero still been running the show, would our New Year’s Eve eyewear have been so hideous these past few years? I’d like to think not.

That pair had the original vision, and it’s clear that the novelty glasses posers of the world just can’t seem to see it.

Yes, 2022 is supposed to be a year of no expectations. We’re not expecting an end to the pandemic, or billionaires, any time soon. But this small thing we can at least control: Let’s build back a better set of glasses to ring in 2023.

December 31, 2021 is a dark day for the entertainment world. Beloved actor, comedian, and all-around national treasure Betty White had died at age 99.

White, who starred in popular television shows like Golden Girls, Hot In Cleveland, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as films including The Proposal, was preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.

On Friday, her agent and friend Jeff Witjas confirmed her death to People and said, “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever.”

That seems to be the sentiment shared across the internet. After news of White’s death, fans, friends, and fellow celebrities mourned the loss of her amazing talent on Twitter — and remembered what a spunky, lovable character she was.

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Welcome to AirFryDay, where — you guessed it — every Friday Mashable covers the latest trends, dispenses advice, and reviews recipes for your air fryer.

We’re all trash sometimes. I guarantee even the fanciest Michelin-starred chef has gulped down a raw Kraft single. Sometimes you’re hungry and you want a quick, melty mess of cheese. That’s well and good, and boy, do I have the recipe for when you’re feeling that way.

It’s a simple, vaguely grotesque (in a good way) recipe for grilled cheese in an air fryer. It involves truly stupid amounts of butter, Kraft singles, white bread, and string cheese. The final result will be gloopy and, you know what, kind of tasty in spite of itself.

The recipe comes from @babychrismom on TikTok and has racked up nearly nine million views. Here’s what their process looked like.

A perfectly fine looking grilled cheese.
Credit: Screenshots: TikTok / @babychrismom

Here’s what you need to know to make it.

Ingredients

• White bread

• Kraft singles or similar melty, processed American cheese

• String cheese

• Butter

Directions

1. Slap down a piece of bread.

2. Place enough American cheese to cover the slice. For me this was 1.5 pieces.

3. Take the string cheese and pull it apart into small strings.

4. Lay those strings on top of the slice of bread.

5. Cover the bread to make a sandwich.

6. Cover the top piece of bread with pads of butter. Like a lot of butter.

7. Air fry at 400 degrees for five minutes.

8. Flip the sandwich and cover the new top side with pads of butter.

9. Air fry for five more minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy.

The details

Let’s be clear: This is not gourmet stuff. It’s melty processed cheese and butter. But, in a pinch, I could see it being a great, fast lunch a parent might serve their picky child. Or it could be a great 1 a.m. drunk meal for an adult. Either way, this recipe has its uses.

I’m going to be honest, you do not need much direction here. It is a grilled cheese, except it’s air fried so you don’t even need to watch it on the stovetop. I did make my grilled cheese extra cheesy because if you’re in for a penny, you might as well be in for a pound. In total, I used three Kraft singles and one string cheese.

I did a cheese pull for a video accompanying this article and it was equal parts appalling and appealing. Processed cheese is specifically designed to melt so it pulled like crazy. I’m telling you the cheese freaking pulled. It went on forever. And then the weight of the congealed cheese made gravity do its thing and the gloop of cheese sort of…cradled. That was a bit unpleasant.

Here is a GIF of that moment. It’s, well, something you should eat drunk.

Via Giphy

This was not a perfect grilled cheese. Far from it. The recipe called for way too much butter. If you make this recipe, just use mayo or nonstick spray and it’ll probably turn out better. The bread didn’t get as toasted as I’d like. And I’d most certainly prefer real cheddar cheese or something else besides processed, melty stuff. If you used real cheese and maybe add some thinly sliced onions for bite? I think you’ve got a decent thing going. But that’s not what this recipe is.

A reminder: We’re making a grilled cheese in an air fryer. It’s a recipe designed for maximum ease. I don’t think it’s a coincidence it came from a TikTokker looking to help parents. Parents are overworked and tired and sometimes you gotta just make the easiest sandwich your kid will eat.

I have no children. So, will I ever make it again? Probably not. That is, unless I drink about 8 beers and I see some Kraft singles in the fridge. Then…well…I might just see this recipe in my future.

Like it or not, we’re headed into another uncertain year on good ol’ planet Earth. But if there’s one thing you can always count on — like you are trapped in your house and unable to leave for an indeterminate amount of time count on — it’s movies.

Dozens of exciting titles are expected in theaters and on streaming platforms in 2022, including but not limited to: Top Gun: Maverick, John Wick: Chapter 4, Lightyear, Jurassic World Dominion, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Black Phone, Legally Blonde 3, Halloween Ends, Mission Impossible 7, The Northman, The Flash, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Bob’s Burgers The Movie, Turning Red, and even Avatar 2. Better still, that’s just the tip of the iceberg as tons of projects delayed by the pandemic are planning to finally reach audiences next year.

With an avalanche of amazing stories coming our way, it’s tough to predict which films will win our hearts. But we were able to turn all that excitement into a selection of our most anticipated films. Y’know, just to help you plan ahead.

Listed in order of expected release, here are 10 movies to look forward to 2022.

1. Scream (Jan. 14)

Deadbolt the doors and hang on to your landline: the beloved Scream franchise is back in 2022. The fifth film in the scary-yet-spoofy slasher saga, confusingly titled just Scream, is set to get the Halloween (2018) treatment next year with the return of series icons Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, David Arquette as Sheriff Dewey Riley, and Courteney Cox as Gale Riley (nee Weathers). 

Helmed by Ready or Not co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, this Woodsboro homecoming sees a new crop of horror movie-loving victims fleeing from a new Ghostface. That’s well-trod territory. But as Dewey says in the spine-chilling trailer, which looks as dark as the series has ever been and then some, “Something about this one just feels different.” Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown and more also star.—Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Scream is in theaters Jan.14.

2. Jackass Forever (Feb. 4)

For those who remember the first time that twangy theme song unleashed a band of buffoons with bravado and no shame, it’s dizzying to realize Jackass hit MTV over 20 years ago. Johnny Knoxville and his fellow jackasses were young men, doing foolish stunts that only got bigger when they leapt to the big screen in 2002. For their fourth installment, most of that cast is back along with director Jeff Tremaine, reunited for one final rodeo. So, of course, there’s a segment involving a rampaging bull. 

From John Wick: Chapter 4 to Top Gun: Maverick to Lightyear and Jurassic World Dominion, there’s a bunch of franchises with dashing leading men getting a flashy revival in 2022. But there’s a special kind of showmanship that you just need a jackass for. Yet for all the wild antics teased in the trailer, what hits hardest isn’t the giant-handed slaps in the face or the burst from a cannon barrel. It’s that swell of joy at seeing our old friends one more time.

And hey, don’t worry, buddies. As Jackass Forever star Steve-O assures, “Concussions aren’t great. But as long as you have them before you’re 50, it’s cool. And Knoxville’s 49. So, we’re good.” —Kristy Puchko, Deputy Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Jackass Forever is in theaters Feb. 4.

3. Moonfall (Feb. 4)

Writer/director Roland Emmerich has brought us such epic action movies as The Day After Tomorrow, White House Down, and Independence Day. So, when he looks up at the sky and wonders, “What if the moon broke orbit and headed straight toward the Earth,” you had us at “what if.” Add to that some secret NASA lore about an evil extraterrestrial dedicated to wiping out mankind, and yeah, we’re pre-ordering popcorn. 

While Earthlings scrambles to survive from the fast-approaching apocalypse, a former astronaut (Halle Berry) believes she has the key to unlock our survival. She’ll team up with the only people on the planet who believe her. One is a fellow astronaut (Patrick Wilson). The other is a conspiracy theorist (Game of Thrones’s John Bradley). Hey, you take what you can get.

With this premise and that cast, we won’t promise you this will be great cinema. We do predict this will be great fun.—K.P.

How to watch: Moonfall is in theaters Feb. 4.

4. Marry Me (Feb. 11)

Jennifer Lopez returns to resurrect the high-concept rom-com, and she’s brought a charming (but shaved since Loki) Owen Wilson along for the romp. Glamorous and gorgeous, she’s a pop star poised to marry her pop prince boyfriend (Maluma) before a sold-out stadium. But once the famous beau turns out to be a treacherous two-timer, Wilson is a single-dad who proposes by happenstance. The show must go on, so international icon Kat Valdez marries humble but big-hearted nobody Charlie Gilbert. Sure, it’s a publicity gambit. But could it turn into true love? 

On top of a wonderfully outlandish rom-com concept, Marry Me boasts appearances from stellar supporting players like Michelle Buteau, Sarah Silverman, and John Bradley. (Yep, a big year for Samwell Tarly.) Plus, it’s helmed by Kat Coiro, who has been blending heart and humor on a slew of superb TV shows, including Girls5eva, Dead to Me, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and The Mick as well as the upcoming She-Hulk. So, if you want a sense of how the tone of that much-anticipated MCU show could go, this charming rom-com is essential viewing. —K.P.

How to watch: Marry Me is in theaters Feb. 11.

5. Uncharted (Feb. 18)

After more than a decade in development hell, Uncharted is finally headed to theaters. This February, Zombieland (2009) and Venom (2018) director Ruben Fleischer will unleash a live-action movie prequel to the popular video game series. Tom Holland stars as franchise hero and treasure hunter extraordinaire, Nathan Drake. 

The action-packed trailer introduces us to Holland’s take on the character: a boyishly charming bartender not yet neck-deep in global adventuring. Mark Wahlberg appears as Nathan’s longtime partner Sully. Sophia Ali plays fellow adventurer Chloe Frazer, who doubles as a love interest in the games. Antonio Banderas rounds out the cast as a mysterious villain connected to the ancient fortune our heroes are hunting.—A.F

How to watch: Uncharted is in theaters Feb. 18.

6. The Batman (Mar. 4)

DC has a lot of promised pictures coming this year, including The Flash, Black Adam, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But our most anticipated of the lot is this reboot from Matt Reeves. He’s previously brought fresh life to The Planet of the Apes movies and the horror-hit Let The Right One In. Yet he made his boldest splash with the found-footage adventure Cloverfield. So, what surprises might he have in store with The Batman?

What we know: Robert Pattinson stars as its brooding Batman. Zoë Kravitz swaggers as Catwoman, while Paul Dano takes on The Riddler and Colin Farrell portrays the Penguin. The cast is stacked with heavy-hitters, also boasting Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Barry Keoghan, Jeffrey Wright, and John Turturro. So, aside from the stunts, spectacle, intrigue, and sex appeal teased in the trailers, we also expect nail-biting drama that will have any hardened hero’s heart quivering. —K.P.

How to watch: The Batman is in theaters Mar. 4.

7. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Apr. 22)

If you love actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves (see Keanu Reeves in Always Be My Maybe), then get ready for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the script with Kevin Etten, this action-comedy is being billed as “the most Nicolas Cage movie ever.” 

Nicolas Cage stars as Nic Cage, a stupidly famous A-list actor who is deep in debt. So for $1 million, the living legend agrees to go to southern Spain for the birthday party of his biggest fan, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal). Once there, however, the “real” Nic Cage finds himself embroiled in a harrowing conflict with the kind of high-octane obstacles he usually only grapples with in movies. Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Neil Patrick Harris, and more also appear. —A.F

How to watch: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is in theaters Apr. 22.

8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6)

Marvel finished out 2021 with a bang, delivering the spectacular Spider-Man: No Way Home. In May 2022, the MCU will pick up where it left off with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness chronicling the fallout from all those reality-bending spidey antics and tying in at least some of what we saw during WandaVision. That’ll mean a lot of work for Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Wong (Benedict Wong), and Wanda Maximoff (Elisabeth Olsen) — at least based on that super trippy trailer.

Directed by OG Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi, Multiverse of Madness is the first of a number of exciting Marvel movies expected next year, including Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But as Phase 4 kicks off in earnest, we’ll also have to look at what’s new on Disney+. There’s more than what’s coming to theaters to theorize about the future of Earth-199999. —A.F

How to watch: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is in theaters May 6.

9. Nope (Jul. 22)

Credit: Universal Pictures

From writing and directing Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) to co-writing and co-producing Candyman (2021), Jordan Peele has become one of the most-watched horror auteurs in Hollywood. So it’s no wonder scary movie lovers are clamoring to get a glimpse of his highly-secretive next project: Nope. 

Excruciatingly little is known about the film, outside of an ominous poster showing a cloud floating over a village with what looks like a string of flags coming out of it. Hmmmm…hard to say what any of that means. But with Peele, you know it’ll be a hell of a reveal. Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya joins forces with Peele again, alongside fellow stars Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun.—A.F

How to watch: Nope is in theaters Jul. 22.

10. Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse – Part One (Oct. 7)

Sure, Spider-Man: No Way Home reveled in our love of Peter Parkers of every dimension. But before the MCU flirted with the multiverse, Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse did it with unmatched style and grace. In 2022, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) returns as a Spider-Man whose special powers not only include scaling walls and Spidey-sense, but also turning invisible and electrical jolts! Picking up from where the mid-credit scene left off, he’s reunited with his bud (and crush) from across the multiverse, Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld). Together, they’ve got a new mission that brings in Miguel O’Hara, the Spidey voiced by Oscar Isaac in the first film’s post-credits scene.

Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson team up to helm this sequel, which also promises the return of Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker and will introduce Issa Rae as Jessica Drew. We don’t even know who the big bad will be yet. But we’d follow this Spider-fam anywhere, diving off skyscrapers, free-falling across freeways, or racing down portals to neon-colored new dimensions. You name the place, we’ll be drop-jawed and swinging along for the ride.—K.P.

How to watch: Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse – Part One is in theaters Oct. 7.

You’ve heard of the copy and paste. But now, get ready for the drag and drop.

With iOS 15, iPhone users can now enjoy an entirely new way to essentially do the same thing as copy and paste, but with more finger deftness. Dragging and dropping is exactly what it sounds like: A method to select media and drag it from one app or browser tab to another.

We find it the most useful for selecting multiple images and dropping them into the camera roll, but you can use this tool to drag and drop anything from photos to links to tweets. Here’s how to do it.

1. Open up your desired media on the first app.

Whether you’re amassing puppy pics for your personal enjoyment or trying to save a tweet to your Notes app, navigate to your app of origin and pull it all up. Here, we searched for the cutest pups on the internet.

2. Press and hold on the first image or link you want to drag, then pull your finger down a little bit.

Via Giphy

Once you tap and hold on the media you want to move, the usual pop-up menu for sharing options will appear. Ignore that, and jerk your finger down the screen a little without letting go. This signals to your iPhone that you want to drag and drop, and your media should move with your finger in its own sort of icon.

3. If you want to drag multiple pictures at the same time, continue to tap on anything else you want to move.

Via Giphy

With the first image selected, use your other hand (or same hand, if your fingers are extra flexible) to simply tap on any other images you want to move in the same batch. We found this multiple media movement to work best with pictures. Dragging multiple tweets together didn’t work.

4. While holding your gathered media with one hand, close your first app and open the second with the other hand.

Via Giphy

The most important part here is to not let go of the finger holding all of the media you would like to drag and drop. If that finger lifts, whatever you’re trying to move will zoom back to its original app.

5. Once in the second app, simply let go of your finger.

Via Giphy

If you’re moving photos to your camera roll, you’ll see a green plus sign appear next to the pics you’re dragging and dropping. If you’re moving a tweet or link to your Notes app, make sure you open a new note before letting go. Once you lift your finger, your media should appear in its new location.

And that’s all it takes. Using the drag and drop method may shave off a few seconds when saving multiple images to your phone – or just feel kinda cool. Both reasons are valid!

While the powerful James Webb Space Telescope was stealing the spotlight this year by beginning its journey into deep space to take extremely detailed photos, its predecessor was still going strong.

The Hubble Space Telescope produced some jaw-dropping images of swirling galaxies, shining star clusters, and nebulae that channel the spirit of Thor’s colorful bifrost bridge this year. The James Webb Space Telescope is set to take spectacular images, but there are still so many Hubble photos from this year to gawk over.

Astronomers plan to study images from both the James Webb and Hubble telescopes even after the former is fully in place 1.5 million km from Earth. Since the James Webb Space Telescope is further away — Hubble orbits Earth at around 570 km — it will be able to peer further into the past, capturing sights from approximately 13 billion years ago, including the birth of the universe’s first stars and galaxies.

Here is just a small, and subjectively curated, collection of Hubble photos shared by NASA and ESA in 2021.

Amid this nebula’s massive stars and hydrogen gas is a mysterious gap called a “superbubble.”
Credit: NASA, ESA, V. Ksoll and D. Gouliermis (Universität Heidelberg), et al.; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Sixty-eight million light-years from Earth, the spiral galaxy NGC 1385, shines in a constellation named Fornax, which is the Latin word for furnace.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and th

Dying star CW Leonis is 400 light-years from Earth.
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, and Toshiya Ueta (University of Denver), Hyosun Kim (KASI)

A rare sighting of gas and dust colliding within what’s known as the Running Man nebula.
Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Bally (University of Colorado at Boulder), and DSS; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

See Also: How to track the James Webb telescope

Check out the Veil Nebula in all its glory. This detailed image captures only a portion of the nebula that is 2100 light-years from Earth.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay

In this photo of the “Lost Galaxy,” NGC 4535, the blue stretching out along the spirals signals younger stars while the yellow in the center denotes older stars.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and th

In the Cygnus constellation, also known as The Swan, around 5000 light-years from Earth, is a planetary nebula called Abell 78. “Although the core of the star has stopped burning hydrogen and helium, a thermonuclear runaway at its surface ejects material at high speeds. This ejecta shocks and sweeps up the material of the old nebula, producing the filaments and irregular shell around the central star,” according to NASA.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. GuerreroAcknowledgement: Judy Schmidt

Hubble captured this image of open star cluster NGC 330 in the constellation Tucana, also known as The Toucan. Scientists plan to get a better look at these stars, as well as the nebula in the bottom left (look for the red spot), with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Kalirai, A. Milone

Known as the “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye,” galaxy NGC4826 has a peculiar trait. The gas in its inner regions and outer regions rotate in opposite directions, and new stars form where the rotating gases collide.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST TeamAcknowledgement: Judy Schmidt

Look at the center of this image and you’ll see two bright spots: a pair of galaxies. Surrounding those two spots are four points of light. There’s also a faint fifth point in the center as seen by Hubble. All five points are actually the same quasar, a celestial object that emits a lot of energy. The quasar is further away from Earth than the enormous galaxies, which are causing light from the quasar to bend in such a way that it appears to multiply.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, T. Treu Acknowledgment: J. Schmidt

A side view of spiral galaxy NGC 3568, which is 57 million light-years from the Milky Way.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

Two galaxies 350 million light-years from Earth are seen in this gorgeous shot.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. HarrisAcknowledgement: L. Shatz

This glowing planetary nebula, NGC 6891, is located in the constellation Delphinus, also known as The Dolphin.
Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Hajian (University of Waterloo), H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University), and B. Balick (University of Washington); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

If all goes to plan, we can expect to see the first shots from the James Webb Space Telescope next summer. But before then — and even after — we’ll have more wonders from Hubble to study and adore.

Just like the year itself, the video games of 2021 seemed to come and go in a flash.

Finding focus was hard after a seemingly endless 2020. But the video games kept on coming, and our days were enriched by the best of them. Now, with 2022 firmly in our sights and a year’s worth of COVID-inflicted delays promising an incredible calendar ahead, fans of video games are preparing to indulge in a wealth of riches.

There are so many games we’re looking forward to in the new year that it’s impossible to assemble a comprehensive list. The mythic Norse adventures of Kratos will continue in God of War: Ragnarok. Harry Potter lovers will finally get to see if and how Hogwarts Legacy can captivate fandom in the face of the Wizarding World creator’s vile transphobia. And fans of the Arkham series will behold what it’s like when Rocksteady Studios targets superheroes for termination in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

It’s a jam-packed calendar is what I’m saying. But these are the releases that stand out the most to our games-loving team at Mashable.

1. Forspoken

Being excited for the next installment in a favored game franchise is one thing, but there’s a different kind of hype that comes with anticipating something new. No one in the audience knows exactly what to expect from Square Enix’s upcoming new title Forspoken, but the few glimpses Square has shown of its Black heroine, Frey, and the magical world of Athia have been enough to pique some serious interest. 

One of Forspoken’s most promising innovations in the “open world” is its flying parkour system. This freshens up the genre mainstay of easy, satisfying movement by combining super-fast running-and-tumbling acrobatics with zippy powers of flight. Another highlight is its magic combat, which appeared in previews to be thrillingly fluid. Finally — and this seems like a small thing but totally isn’t — Frey will be the first video game protagonist to use the power of a good manicure to defeat her enemies; fingernail art is just one of the ways players will customize the star of Forspoken‘s magical talents. That’s just objectively awesome. —Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation 5 and Windows on May 24.

2. Trek to Yomi

Credit: Devolver Digital

If the cinematic samurai flair in Ghost of Tsushima felt like your shit, just wait until you see Trek to Yomi. This Devolver Digital-published indie action game springs to life with an eye-catching black-and-white aesthetic, delivering visually arresting landscapes that feel ripped from the frames of an Akira Kurosawa classic.

At this point, we actually don’t know much about how it plays, but Trek to Yomi serves up what sounds like a genre-appropriate samurai adventure: A young samurai named Hiroki is forced to step up and defend his people after his master is killed. Trailers have shown that story playing out in the context of two-dimensional sword combat game, which is set in a vividly detailed 3D world. It’s a promising start that leaves us hungry to learn more. —Adam Rosenberg, Senior Entertainment Reporter

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows sometime in 2022.

3. Horizon: Forbidden West

In a medium often overrun with recycled ideas and huge franchises, games like Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) stand out. The PlayStation exclusive action/adventure stars Aloy, a gifted warrior and huntswoman in a fascinating setting that incorporates elements of pre-industrial civilizations and futuristic technology in the form of mechanical fauna (aka robot dinosaurs). Aloy’s compellingly original journey made Zero Dawn a hit, and after a handful of understandable delays the next part of her story is finally coming. 

Horizon Forbidden West promises to improve on Zero Dawn’s shortcomings. Melee combat, which amounted to swinging a stick and hoping for the best in Zero Dawn, is now a core part of Aloy’s action repertoire with special attacks and a more in-depth set of tactics to employ. The sequel is also overhauling the first game’s limited array of options for getting around the world by making the entire map explorable instead of relying on set climbing paths. Throw in the huge upgrade of an entire underwater world to explore on the Pacific Coast and the possibility of visiting post-apocalyptic San Francisco, and Horizon Forbidden West should be at the top of every open-world game fan’s hype list for early 2022. —A.N.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation on Feb. 18.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2

If you’ve spent any time around video games in the past five years, you’ve noticed the mountains of praise that have been heaped upon The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild since its March 2017 launch. You know all about its open-ended structure that lets players rush to the final boss straight after the tutorial, a bold inversion of what Zelda had been for decades prior. You also know about the intricate physics systems that still produce goofy trick videos on a regular basis. And you might be wondering: How the hell will Nintendo follow up a game that tons of people (yours truly included) declared to be one of the greatest games ever made?

Nintendo’s been working hard in the lab on an answer to that question and we’re supposed to see what they’ve come up with by the end of 2022. In typical Zelda fashion, we hardly know anything about the game that’s officially called Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We know some dark business has gone down in the catacombs beneath Hyrule, putting Princess Zelda in danger, suspending Hyrule Castle creepily in the sky, and giving Link a creepy demon arm with time-bending powers. Oh, and if the first one wasn’t Studio Ghibli enough for you, the sequel takes place among gorgeous-looking floating sky islands situated high above the first game’s map. 

Whether the new Breath of the Wild simply iterates upon the first or totally subverts our expectations a la Majora’s Mask after Ocarina of Time, it’s tough to think of any game more hotly anticipated in 2022 than this one. —Alex Perry, Tech Reporter

Where and when you can play: Coming to Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022.

5. Somerville

Credit: Jumpship

For the gaming diehards in the audience, here’s what you need to know: Somerville is the work of Jumpship, a studio founded by Playdead co-founder Dino Patti. Playdead, of course, is the studio behind the brilliant and beautiful indie games Limbo and Inside (both of which are still very much worth playing).

What we’ve seen of Somerville so far suggests that it treads a path similar to the one Patti’s been on since the Playdead days. But that isn’t the case. Game director Chris Olsen, also a Jumpship co-founder, warned over the summer against pinning too much speculation to the visual similarities between Somerville and Playdead’s hits. The idea for this game started with the film industry veteran, and while he’s been quick to stress that it’s a team effort, the pushback on Playdead comparisons suggests that defining Somerville won’t be possible until we can actually play it. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to Xbox and Windows sometime in 2022.

6. Stray

After too many delays, we have to believe that 2022 is the year for Stray‘s dystopian future adventure where you play as a cat. This one actually graced our “most anticipated” list for 2021 before getting bumped out of the year. So let’s let the words of Mashable pal Kellen Beck speak for why we’re excited:

“If you came out of 2020 wishing for a better cyberpunk game, Stray might be the answer. Set in a futuristic, neon-lit city seemingly populated entirely by spindly robots, you play as a cat looking to find a way home. Honestly, not a ton is known about this one at the moment. But with Annapurna Interactive publishing and the basic premise summing up as ‘cyberpunk cat simulator,’ there’s already an awful lot to like.”

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation and Windows sometime in 2022.

7. Starfield

It’s been so long since we got a proper sprawling fantasy landscape to explore from Bethesda Softworks, the studio and (now Microsoft-owned) publisher behind Skyrim and the rest of the Elder Scrolls series. Starfield appears to follow a similar path, but with one notable exception: It’s set in outer space.

This is a new setting for Bethesda’s traditionally high fantasy-oriented creative endeavors, but one that’s been rumored and buzzed about for years. We still haven’t gotten the kind of long and detailed look at Starfield that would speak to what the game actually is, but Bethesda’s pedigree as the studio behind the Elder Scrolls games and post-2008 Fallout series tells us all we need to know to get our hype levels set to maximum. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to Xbox and Windows sometime in 2022.

8. Dying Light 2

Credit: Techland

Dying Light was a real surprise in 2015. The zombie apocalypse action game, which is played from a first-person perspective, sets players loose in a vast world overrun by the walking dead. With nightfall bringing out the more dangerous threats in the mix and an impressive arsenal of zombie-obliterating tools, as well as a free-flowing sense of movement rooted in parkour, this seemingly formulaic undead outing managed to stand out.

Dying Light 2 promises more of the same, but better: The world is said to be four times larger than its predecessor. The story is more malleable to the decisions you make, and a renewed focus on crafting promises a more customizable and play style-specific array of weapons and tools on which to lean. Techland, the game’s developer, has faced reports of toxic workplace struggles in recent times. But appearances suggest that sincere efforts have been made to improve behind the scenes. Here’s hoping, because Dying Light is a great time and this sequel could stand out as an early 2022 favorite, if a happier workplace is reflected in a polished final release. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows on Feb. 4.

9. Gotham Knights

Batman is dead and his friends want answers.

Gotham Knights picks up after the apparent death of the Caped Crusader, with a foursome of familiar vigilantes — Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood — teaming up to take on a mysterious criminal syndicate known as the Court of Owls. Fans of WB Games Montreal’s 2013 hit Batman: Arkham Origins will see similarities in Gotham‘s approach to crimefighting action. But this one appears to diverge from previous Batman adventures.

Trailers have shown the heroic foursome as complementary fighters, who each bring a different array of skills and abilities to the mix. That’s important because Gotham Knights is built for cooperative play, giving two players a chance to team up and take on the Court of Owls together. There are also loot drops with Diablo-style color-coding, meaning you get to gear up with more potent tools as the fight against Gotham’s criminal underworld intensifies. It looks like a refreshing new direction for Batman fans raised entirely on a diet of Arkhamverse games, and we can’t wait to see how it all comes together. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows sometime in 2022.

10. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Lego games are a known quantity at this point, right? You get a retelling of whatever franchise saga, punctuated by a cheeky but decidedly wholesome and family-friendly sense of humor.

If nothing else, we’re expecting the humor to carry through in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. But teases so far suggest an evolved Lego game for series steward TT Games. The Skywalker Saga ropes together the story from all nine mainline Star Wars movies. But don’t make the mistake of assuming it’s a collection of the older games based on each of the three trilogies.

This is a wholly new creation with a stretch of levels devoted to each movie and a vast Lego-fied galaxy far, far away for players to explore in between. Combat with both a blaster and lightsaber is more complex than it’s been before. Outer space is a vast untamed frontier for new exploration. Plus, multiple familiar planetary locales promise to do similar for on-the-ground wandering. We won’t know for sure until we can play it, but this sure sounds like a Lego game, leveled up. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation, Switch, Xbox, and Windows/Mac in spring 2022.

11. Sifu

Credit: Sloclap

Fans of games that put a front-and-center focus on hand-to-hand combat should definitely add Sifu to their list. This one comes from the French studio Sloclap, the developer of the martial arts game Absolver. So there’s plenty of familiarity on that team already with building enjoyable and approachable action that depends entirely on hands and fists.

Sifu also brings aspirations for a compelling revenge story as a kung fu student sets out on a quest to avenge the murder of his family at the hands of five deadly assassins. A game like this is always going to live and die by how well it plays. But Sloclap’s experience with the genre and promising looks at Sifu so far suggest there are plenty of reasons to be confident. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation and Windows on Feb. 8.

12. Elden Ring

What would you say to brutally masochistic Dark Souls-style gameplay in a world with the historic depth of Game of Thrones? You don’t have to imagine the possibilities here; it’s already happening.

Elden Ring marks an unlikely-but-nonetheless awesome collaboration between Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and From Software, the studio behind the Souls series. By all appearances so far, it’s shaping up to be exactly what it sounds like: An engrossing fantasy story that unfolds around the hacking and slashing of exceptionally deadly foes. The real question with this game will be whether or not it can strike a balance between the extreme difficulty of From games and Martin’s widely beloved writing.

Some people will love Elden Ring no matter what. But we’ll have to wait and see if this becomes the first From game that anyone can pick up, play, and enjoy. —A.R.

Where and when you can play: Coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows on Feb. 24.

It’s the last week of 2021 and TikTok is still weird.

This week TikTok saw discourse about making Instagram casual, time traveling, and a comeback of the 1971 song “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes).”

Here are the final TikTok trends of 2021.

TikTok asks, is casual Instagram worth the hassle?

Since the start of the pandemic, the way young people post on Instagram has shifted away from perfectly posed photos. This change is in part due to people being stuck inside having less to post about, but it’s also a result of the TikTok trend encouraging users to “make Instagram casual again.” Now, photo dumps and blurry photos that scream “I’m not trying too hard” reign supreme. On the surface this trend appears to be making Instagram more real, but this week several TikTokkers voiced their discomfort with the trend.

TikTok user @chrisidek posted a video impersonating an “influencer on the brink of the snap.” In the video he says, “now not only do I have to post a photo of myself, but also aesthetic first person photos that look like I took them on accident curating the perfect photo dump.” The video has nearly 1 million views and garnered over 200,000 likes. The comments are flooded with people agreeing. One comment reads, “posting on instagram is so stressful.” Another is “instead of just posing for a photo now i gotta make it look like i didn’t know it was being taken.”

One comment on @chrisidek’s video, “casual instagram is an even greater performance,” inspired another TikTokker @cozyakili to make a video where he thoughtfully explains how posting casually on Instagram is a performance. His video was posted on Wednesday and already has nearly 1 million views and over 200,000 likes. In the TikTok he likens posting casually on Instagram to reality television as both are hyperreal performances. Check out his analysis below.

Both @chrisidek and @cozyakii put the irony and disconnect of casual Instagram into words which allowed their followers to understand the pressure surrounding this new style of posting on Instagram.

POV: ur the first pilgrim i see when i travel back in time

What would be the first thing you would show a Pilgrim if you travelled back in time? TikTok users have been sharing their answers in this wacky trend. Each video has the text “POV: ur the first pilgrim i see when i travel back in time” and has someone walk on screen with their laptop and press play on whatever piece of media they think is essential for a Pilgrim to watch.

The trend allows TikTok users to share what pieces of media are most important to them. In one video @jillianlovesharry shows the imaginary Pilgrim Harry Styles’ “Lights Up” music video. In another @benipad plays an iconic Broad City scene. The trend is fun because users are paying homage their favorite media while understanding how absurd it would be to live in such a time. It’s an acknowledgement of how nonsensical modern culture would appear to someone from another time period.

Good choice.
Credit: TikTok / jillianlovesharry

This trend is similar to the meme format that circulated on Twitter this year where you name an aspect of modern culture that would kill a Victorian child on sight. But unlike that meme, this trend isn’t violent, instead it’s celebration of the chaos of our cultural moment.

The Social Network is now fodder for thirst traps

Speaking of absurd, the Andrew Garfield renaissance has reached the point where TikTok users are posting thirst traps set to his iconic “Sorry I left my Prada at the cleaners” monologue in The Social Network. The 2010 Oscar Award winning film about the founding of Facebook isn’t exactly an obvious choice for thirst trap source material, but alas this is the world we are living in. One example is @grantmarshall’s thirst trap that La Brae actor Jack Martin hilariously reacted to.

She ain’t got no money

The 1971 Edington Lighthouse song, “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” is getting a second life thanks to a new TikTok trend. TikTokkers are posting photos and videos of themselves to the lyrics, “She ain’t got no money / Her clothes are kinda funny / Her hair is kinda wild and free / Ohhh but love grows where my Rosemary goes.” The snippet of the song is groovy and the videos are celebration of personal style and self-love.

The trend was started by @exhibitionbuffalo on Monday. Her original video featured short clips of her exuding happiness in fun outfits. It got over 847,000 views and over 207,000 likes and became the blueprint for this joyful trend. There are now over 5,000 videos following the trend.

The original “Love Grows (Where my Rosemary Goes)” TikTok
Credit: TikTok / exhibitionbuffalo

It isn’t every day that there’s a sweet and sincere TikTok trend and it’s not a bad trend to end the year on.