Yes, in case you missed this news, it starts this week from 18th February 2026 and will run until 23rd February 2026. To join the fight, you’ll need to an active Switch Online membership. There’s also support for “arcade stick-type” controllers, which have been officially licensed by Nintendo.
If you’re looking for another arcade racing game to try out on Nintendo’s new hybrid system, Gameloft has this week released a Switch 2 Edition of its free-to-play racer Asphalt Legends.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrived as an almost complete package on Switch 2 at the end of last year. The only content missing from this portable version was the Claws of Awaji expansion — which had landed on other systems back in September — for which Ubisoft provided a vague ‘coming later in 2026’ release window. Well, the big Ubi has today been a bit more specific.
As revealed in the new Shadows Winter Roadmap, the expansion will launch on Switch 2 on 10th March. This paid DLC includes a whole new area to explore and storyline to follow, as Naoe and Yasuke head to the island of Awaji to track down a lost treasure. There are also new weapons and skins to unlock in the DLC, all of which can be carried back over to the main game to use as you please.
When we first started working on Death Howl, if you had told me we were building an “open world, soulslike deckbuilder,” I would have looked at you with a fair bit of confusion. It sounds like a recipe made out of components that don’t naturally fit together. Yet, as we prepare to bring the journey of Ro to a new audience on PlayStation 5 from February 19, I’ve been reflecting on how this genre blend came to be.
The truth is, the “soulslike” tag wasn’t part of the original design document.
A foundation of cards and tactics
At its core, Death Howl began as a prototype that I made as a school project back in 2015 after playing the unique and brilliant game called Dream Quest. I’ve always been inspired by Magic: The Gathering and the idea of traversing a world to collect materials for crafting power. Our initial goal was to create an alternative to the traditional roguelite deckbuilder – something that traded linear, “always-start-from-beginning” runs for a free-roaming open world.
We also looked at the character skill building where cards replaced traditional weapons and spells, with all combat taking place on a grid.
The accidental Soulslike
In general, we never intended to blend so many genres. At its core, Death Howl is an open world deckbuilder. But to achieve that vision, many different designs had to merge. We combined tactical, grid-based combat with deck building. We merged open world exploration with turn-based battles. And as the design evolved, other genre elements emerged organically – including soulslike mechanics.
Honestly, I wasn’t even especially familiar with soulslike games when we started. It was something that came about from testers telling us it felt like one.
Some elements were already in place. “Sacred Groves” – checkpoint locations much like the bonfires you might know from other games-allow you to heal, but they also respawn all enemies. We had designed these early on. But testers pointed to other traces of the genre in our game.
They felt Death Howl earned the soulslike label because of how it rewards pattern recognition. You need to observe enemy behaviors – learning to avoid the frontal charge of a boar, for instance – and embrace the punishing but fair loop of death and adaptation.
We made one key adjustment to fit our card-based structure. Instead of sending players back to the last checkpoint, dying in Death Howl returns you to the moment just before the encounter you lost. When Ro dies, she drops “Death Howls” – the currency earned from defeating enemies, used to craft new cards and upgrade abilities. These can be retrieved after respawning, much like souls in other games. This mechanic was perhaps the biggest direct inspiration we took from the genre once we became more familiar with it.
The rest emerged more indirectly. But embracing the soulslike direction as an overall concept helped us add even more layers to the experience.
For me, it’s still an open world deckbuilder. For others, it’s a soulslike card battler. Both are true.
Balancing the dark and the ethereal
Genre-blending is one part of Death Howl’s identity. The other is its mood.
The world of Death Howl is a spirit realm born from grief, distant memories, and the unknown. To capture that otherworldly feeling, we leaned into a “linocut” or woodcut art style-inspired by heavy metal t-shirts and old-school Scandinavian illustrations – all rendered in minimalistic pixel art.
This visual approach mirrors the gameplay in a way. Just as shapes emerge from deep shadows in our art, players must piece together the narrative of Ro’s quest to reunite with her son. The pixel art forces the viewer to imagine the details left in the darkness, creating space for their own interpretation.
A journey to PlayStation
Building Death Howl taught us that creating something unique often means combining elements that don’t obviously fit together. The result is a game that balances the calm of exploration with the intensity of turn-based combat, all wrapped in a story of resilience and loss.
As we bring this experience to PlayStation 5 on February 19, we’re incredibly excited for a new community to step into our Spirit World and discover its secrets. Whether you’re a deckbuilding veteran or a soulslike fan looking for a tactical twist, we hope you’ll find something here that resonates.
Death Howl is more than the sum of its genres-it’s a reflection of the creative journey that shaped it.
The Secretlab Presidents Sale has officially commenced and with it are a couple of different promotions that are running concurrently (some are stackable). For starters, you can save up to $139 off across Secretlab’s lineup of Titan Evo gaming chairs and Magnus gaming desks, including themed editions from One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Star Wars, Demon Slayer, and more. Secretlab’s highest-end gaming chair, the Titan Evo Nanogen, has also ben discounted.
In addition to these instant discounts, you can get extra tiered savings by hitting a certain order amount for each category. These should be stackable with the instant discounts, although some themes are excluded.
Extra $40 off Chair orders of $850+ with code “SLEV-MINCPRES26“
Extra $50 off Desk orders of $1,489+ with code: “SLEV-MINDPRES26“
$100 off all orders of $1,999+ with code: “SLEV-MINSWPRES26“
Finally, Secretlab’s Genshin Impact themed gaming chairs gets some love of its own. The Ninguang and and Xiao inspired gaming chairs are on sale as well, to coincide with the Lantern Rite event that’s going on right now in-game.
Save $50 off Secretlab Titan Evo gaming chairs
The Titan Evo is Secretlab’s most iconic and best selling chair. Over 70 different styles are currently on sale, with prices ranging from $529 to $634 after a $50 off instant discount across the entire lineup. It’s available in small, medium, and large sizes, which is great for smaller people because most gaming chairs sold here in the United States are huge. Discounted upholstery optioins include Neo Hybrid leatherette and SoftWeave Plus fabric.
Signature features include a solid steel frame with aluminum wheelbase, firm and supportive cold-cure foam upholstery, adjustable four-way lumbar system, full length backrest with 165 degrees of recline, full metal 4D armrests with magnetically attached PU cushions, and a memory foam headrest pillow. Check out our own glowing Titan Evo review.
Genshin Impact themed chairs see their first discount ever
Genshin Impact’s annual Lantern Rite in-game event is going on right now, coinciding with the actual Chinese New Year, which lands on February 17. In celebration of the event, Secretlab has discounted two Genshin themed chairs inspired by Liyue characters: Xiao, an anemo adeptus, and Ningguang, the geo-wielding Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing (she’s basically a royal). This is the first time a Genshin chair has gone on sale, so if you’re a Hoyoverse superfan, don’t miss it.
Secretlab’s flagship Titan Evo Nanogen is also on sale
The Titan Evo Nanogen Edition is Secretlab’s highest end chair and is rarely discounted. It normally sells for $799 at Secretlab direct, but both the white and black colors have been discounted by $50 during the Presidents Day Sale. If your budget can accomodate it, this is the best gaming chair. In our recent Titan Evo Nanogen Edition review, Chris Coke wrote that “the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen Edition deserves every bit of the overwhelming praise I’ve given… The Titan Evo Nanogen Edition is class-leading, and is hands-down the most comfortable gaming chair I’ve ever used.”
Sadly, Titan Evo Pokemon Edition preorders aren’t discounted
Secretlab’s recently announced lineup of Pokémon gaming chairs is, not surprisingly, still listed at full price. Even so, these chairs are so cool that they’re worth a mention. These chairs showcase one of three iconic Pokémon – Gengar, Pikachu, and Eevee – with ostentatious use of color, patterns, and figures. My personal favorite is the Eevee edition, with its detailed embossing of Eevee’s myriad evolutions; it also seems to be the top seller, since it’s already on its third wave of preorders.
Unusual for a collab, Secretlab opted to go with its Softweave Plus fabric instead of leatherette, and I for one am happy with that decision. Fabric ages more gracefully, feels softer, and doesn’t stick to your sweaty skin on hot days.
Save $30 off the Titan Evo recliner add-on (it’s worth it)
Also on sale for the first time, Secretlab’s new recliner add-on is $30 off for Christmas. This is a nice upgrade for anyone who already owns the Titan Evo chair. In our recliner add-on review, Chris Coke wrote that “while both comfort and value are subjective things, the recliner is able to take the Titan Evo and transform it from one of the best racing style gaming chairs to standing head and shoulders above the competition at its price point.”
Secretlab Magnus deals are also on sale, including Genshin
Not only are the Magnus and Magnus Pro discounted for Presidents Day, you also get the desk mat topper (your choice of style) free of charge. The Magnus is a traditional fixed-frame gaming desk while the Magnus Pro ups the ante with practical electric sit-stand functionality. Both desks feature a metal desktop surface, solid steel frame, and clever cable management, but the Magnus Pro has some unique features including a power cable that runs internally inside one of the telescoping legs and an in-line control panel. Check out our Magnus Pr0 review review for hands-on impressions.
Secretlab has the best “racing-style” gaming chairs
It’s no secret that we love our Secretlab gaming chairs. Three of the eight chairs in our best gaming chair roundup are Secretlab models. Of all the gaming chairs we covered in our “Budget to Best” roundup video earlier this year, my colleague Akeem Lawanson considered the Secretlab Titan Evo to be the most comfortable. No good chair comes cheap and Secretlab chairs definitely cost a premium, but we think the craftsmanship, materials, and customizability are worth it.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
It’s Presidents Day, which means all of those awesome weekend sales are likely expiring today. Be sure to grab all the deals at Best Buy, Amazon, and other retailers while you still can. Plenty of video games have been discounted, including Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater for PS5 and Donkey Kong Bananza for Switch 2. You can even grab an awesome espresso machine or some Jim Henson Steelbooks for cheap. Check out all the top deals below:
Save $10 on Donkey Kong Bananza for Switch 2
The Amazon-owned Woot has Donkey Kong Bananza for only $59.99 today. Prime members can even enjoy free shipping. This best game of 2025 runner-up is rarely on sale, so it’s nice to see about $10 taken off the price tag. Earning a rare 10/10 rating in our review, Logan Plant even went on to say, “Donkey Kong Bananza is a truly groundbreaking 3D platformer, with satisfying movement, powerful abilities, impressive destructible environments, and clever challenges that all come together in complete harmony to create Nintendo’s first Switch 2 masterpiece.”
Best Best Buy Presidents Day Deals
The Best Buy Presidents Day sale has some killer deals worth checking out. Everything from Apple products like the AirPods Pro 3 and MacBook Air to TVs and video games is seeing solid discounts for the holiday. However, the sale ends today, so it’s your last chance to score major savings on this wide range of products. If you’ve been in the market for some larger appliances, Best Buy’s Deal of the Day is definitely worth a look, as washing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers, microwaves, and electric ranges have gotten serious price cuts.
My favorite semi-automatic espresso machine I’ve ever reviewed, the Ninja Luxe Café 3-in-1 Espresso, Drip Coffee and Cold Brew Machine, is only $249.99 at the Amazon-owned Woot, and Prime members enjoy free shipping. It’s a refurbished model but comes with a 90-day limited warranty for added peace of mind. The same machine is going for $599 new or $449.49 for a refurbished model on Amazon right now, meaning you’re in for some epic savings.
I absolutely love this machine, as it’s great for beginners who are just getting into espresso. It automatically tells you of the ideal grind settings, grinds the perfect amount of coffee beans into the portafilter, and then brews a solid espresso. It can even steam and froth milk to your liking for coffeehouse drinks at home. It’s not only espresso, this machine also brews individual cups of drip coffee of various sizes; all that’s required is a grind size setting change.
PS5 Video Game Discounts on Amazon
While Amazon’s Presidents Day sale continues today, a whole batch of PS5 games are on sale. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 are only $30, while games like Silent Hill f, Civ VII, Double Dragon Revive, and more are at thier lowest prices ever. If you’ve been waiting to grab any of these games, now is a great time to buy.
New Low Price on the Razer Kishi Ultra
One of our top phone controllers has hit its lowest price ever on Amazon. The Razer Kishi Ultra is just $62.99 when you clip the coupon on Amazon. With a retail price of $159, that’s nearly 60% off. Working seamlessly with all the top smartphones, including Android and iPhones, and even some smaller tablets, this controller is ideal for gaming on the go. Pro-grade controls flank either side of your device. From HD haptics and solid ergonomics to Hall Effect triggers and programmable buttons, there’s a lot to love, especially at its current discount.
Need a new TV? Well, the LG Presidents Day TV sale is happening now. You can save up to 40% on select OLED TVs, which are perfect for those after incredible contrast, vibrant colors, and near instantaneoues response times. A few LG QNED models are also discounted, and while you won’t get the individual pixel lighting of an OLED, the LCD panel still looks incredible. The majority of these displays also make for great gaming TVs.
Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal Limited Edition Steelbooks Hit New Low Price
Unfortunately, Amazon’s BOGO 50% off select movies deal has expired, but there are still some awesome discounts happening now. As a big Jim Henson fan, I was particularly excited to see The Dark Crystal: Limited Edition Steelbook and Labyrinth: Limited Edition Steelbook for over $13 off each. That’s the lowest price I’ve seen. Physical media collectors will want these fun fantasy films featuring unbelievable puppetry, and each Steelbook comes with loads of bonus content, too
The Art of Borderlands 4 Is Almost Half Off
The Art of Borderlands 4 is a stunning oversized coffee table book. Inside, you’ll find 224 colorful pages featuring line art, concept art, sketches, and commentary on the development of the latest installment in the Borderlands game series. It’s a great statement piece for anyone who’s a fan of the iconic looter shooter, and it’s at its lowest price ever on Amazon. You can get this fun-to-flip-through hardcover book for just $28, which is almost half off.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for $39.88
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is on sale today for $39.88 at Walmart. This massive RPG adventure released in 2025, offering a massive open world to discover and explore. Using giant machines called Skells, you can traverse throughout Mira and soar high into the skies in this sci-fi epic.
AirPods Pro 3 for $209.99
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are on sale for $209.99 today. These are the latest in the Pro line, and they’re packed with upgrades over the 2nd generation. There’s an in-earbud heart rate sensor to track your heart rate while exercising, and the entire earbud has been redesigned for better fit, sound isolation, and comfort.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for $39.88
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch, and you can pick up a copy today for $39.88 at Walmart. If you played Donkey Kong Bananza on Switch 2 and are searching for another adventure with DK and friends, Tropical Freeze is an amazing choice.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 Limited Edition Blu-ray for $49.99
The conclusion of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is almost here, with the final cour, The Calamity, set to premiere this July. Today, you can score the limited edition Blu-ray of Part 3, The Conflict, for just $49.99. This set only released last month and features all 14 episodes of Part 3, plus a 72-page production booklet, the NYCC 2024 panel, creditless opening/endings, and more.
Alienware Gaming Desktop PC for $1399.99
Desktop PC components have continued to climb in price thanks to demand for datacenters and AI, but you can score a solid prebuilt Alienware desktop PC this weekend at Best Buy. You can save $400 off this PC, which includes a 5060 Ti 8GB, 1TB of storage, 32GB of RAM, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is one of the best Zelda games on Nintendo Switch. This Presidents Day weekend, you can score a copy of the game at Walmart for $39.88. If you’re playing on Nintendo Switch 2, you can play the game at 60FPS with a higher frame rate in both docked and handheld modes.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora From the Ashes Edition for $29.99
Avatar has taken over the world once again with the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the Avatar saga thus far. If you’re itching to experience more of Pandora, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora from Ubisoft was a sleeper hit that’s on sale this weekend. This edition of the game features both the base game and its expansion, which is perfect for new players.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Danielle is a Tech freelance writer based in Los Angeles who spends her free time creating videos and geeking out over music history.
Amazon has some excellent deals on Disney Lorcana cards today, and in particular, you can currently pick up a Booster Display set of Azurite Sea for just $90.50. That’s a significant 37% drop from the list price of $143.99, and one of the best deals we’ve ever seen on the booster set.
That includes 24 Packs with 12 cards in each, so that’s a total of 288 cards, with each pack guaranteeing at least six common and three uncommon cards, alongside two cards of rare, super rare, or legendary rarity, and finally 1 randomly selected foil card amongst these.
But, it’s also worth noting that this is a limited-time lightning deal at Amazon, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. At this price, I wouldn’t be surprised if fans snap these up as soon as possible, as there’s still plenty of trading potential in Azurite Sea.
Otherwise, there are loads of other great Lorcana deals to check out at Amazon this week as well. That includes the Gateway Board Game down to just $16.30 – 35% off, and it is basically the perfect way to start playing Lorcana, or even teach you and a friend how to start off on one of the most promising new TCGs in recent years.
My other favorite in the sale is on the Azurite Sea Stitch Collector’s Gift Set, which includes six collector cards and four Booster packs of 12 additional game cards in each. That’s down to just $33.94 right now, and another tidy drop from the $49.99 list price.
Robert Anderson is IGN’s Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
Creative Assembly have just detailed Total War: Warhammer 3’s first character pack, these being “smaller, focused content drops built around a single character with their own unique feature, supported by a handful of exciting new units”, priced (in this case) at £3.99, $4.99 or €4.99 apiece.
In the magazine business, the back page is where you’d find all the weird goofs that we couldn’t fit in anywhere else. Some may call it “filler”; we prefer “a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag”.
We don’t have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to our semi-regular feature, Back Page.Today, Kate celebrates the approaching Chinese New Year with a look at the finest equines in video games…
Star Wars: Galactic Racer developer Fuse Games has said its racing adventure will feature a “good mix” of new faces and classic characters from a galaxy far, far away, following the reveal of Phantom Menace returnee Ben Quadinaros.
“There’s going to be a good mix of familiar faces and new characters,” Crimmins said. “Obviously we want to get that mix right, so no matter what kind of Star Wars media you’ve engaged with, whether it be a movie or game, there’s a bunch of familiarity in there when it comes to the space. Otherwise it wouldn’t feel like an authentic Star Wars experience.
“So there’s both familiar faces and new characters,” Crimmins continued, acknowledging Sebulba and Quadinaros. “We can’t talk about who exactly they are just yet though, sorry.”
Who else might appear? While less well known, it’s possible that other participants seen in Episode 1’s podrace might appear, alongside Sebulba and Quadinaros. The Boonta Eve Classic had 18 participants, though poor Ratts Tyerell died during the race, while Anakin Skywalker… well, we all know what happened to him.
“We’ve seen racing as an activity and as a sport in Star Wars has been around in many forms, right?” Fuse Games founder and CEO Matt Webster said at another point, going on to potentially hint at racers from other parts of Star Wars being included. “Episode 1’s podracing we all know and love, Bad Batch’s riot racing in Season 2 was just awesome. Star Wars Resistance has got the Aces and low-altitude starfighter racing.”
Galactic Racer is set sometime after Return of the Jedi, so anyone could potentially put in an appearance. It seems unlikely we’ll see Luke Skywalker, who was quite busy doing other things during this period, but who knows? He sure knows how to race a speeder bike across Endor.
Last week brought our best look yet at Star Wars: Galactic Racer, though we delve much deeper into its clever two-tier boost system, environmental effects, and how the game will let you nuture rivalries and interact with characters on foot in our big Star Wars: Galactic Racer interview that you can go read right now.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
