‘Metaphor: ReFantazio’ 

With its mix of social division, political wheeler-dealing, tragedy and personality-forming insecurities, there was arguably no more of-the-moment game in 2024 than this Japanese RPG set in a medieval fantasy realm inhabited by an array of tribes, where discrimination runs wild and chaos has set in following the death of the king, the exclusive possessor of Royal Magic.  

‘Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’ 

The ninth mainline entry in the “Like a Dragon” RPG series was the best yet. It took the action to Hawaii, where Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu team up to help the former reunite with his mother, who is living with cancer. The revamped combat system was a triumph, resulting in free-flowing fighting that always seemed to offer something unexpected. 

‘Astro Bot’ 

This joyous cute-as-you-like PS5 platformer was both nostalgic and wildly inventive, with callbacks to numerous PlayStation characters from the console’s 30-year history. Easily accessible for even novice gamers, but tricky enough to satisfy the most adept, and filled with personality and humor, “Astro Bot” was a great reminder of why video games deserve to be considered art. 

DUBAI: Jordanian Romanian shoe designer Amina Muaddi celebrated a major fashion moment this week, taking to Instagram to share her excitement over Beyonce wearing her custom Yigit pumps in a teaser for the star’s NFL Christmas Day Halftime Show on Netflix.

Muaddi shared the video on her Instagram Stories. In the clip, the music icon can be seen wearing the satin heels in black and adorned with studs.

In the clip that Beyonce also shared on her Instagram account, the music sensation was seen holding a banjo, a stringed instrument often linked to folk, country, and bluegrass music. She wore a wide-brimmed black hat paired with sleek sunglasses, a colorful patterned cape featuring red and blue hues, and a rhinestone-adorned top. The outfit was completed with black gloves and a black skirt. 

“I’m sending you big joy and love on this cowboy Christmas Eve. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, in my city HTX,” Beyonce wrote to her 313 million followers, referring to Houstan, Texas.

In another teaser posted last week, the singer also chose Amina Muaddi heels — the Begum glass pumps.

The “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer will headline the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans game’s halftime show on Dec. 25, after the Kansas City Chiefs play the Pittsburgh Steelers will play earlier in the day. Both games will feature a special pre-game performance of “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey.

Beyonce seems to be a fan of part-Arab designer Muaddi. During the singer’s Renaissance World Tour last year, she was spotted in Muaddi’s creations on stage on a number of occasions.

“I’m so happy to be part of this queen’s historic tour. Every time I see her on stage I’m in complete awe of her — the ultimate supernova. Grateful to @beyonce and her team of incredible creatives for these @aminamuaddiofficial moments on stage,” Muaddi wrote on Instagram at the time. 

Muaddi launched her eponymous footwear line in August 2018, approximately one year after departing from her role as co-founder and creative director of luxury footwear label Oscar Tiye. 

The shoemaker’s eponymous label’s distinct pumps, sling-backs, mules, boots and sandals in an array of vibrant colors and holographic designs have since garnered a loyal checklist of famous fans, including Dua Lipa, Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber Baldwin.