Yesterday, Nintendo finally gave us our first look at Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, thanks to a Nintendo Direct and a brand new trailer. And while Yoshi — and some other Mario series cameos — stole the spotlight, there’s one piece of additional news that fans in certain countries can get excited about.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is coming out on 1st April 2026, two days earlier in the US “and many additional markets globally”. The new date was shown at the end of the trailer yesterday, with Nintendo confirming the news online.
Resident Evil Requiem, the series’ ninth main entry, arrives February 27 on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC.
Newcomer Grace Ashcroft joins recurring series hero Leon Kennedy as dual protagonists, investigating the zombie-overrun Raccoon City Hospital.
We experienced firsthand how each character leans into the series’ two distinct signature gameplay styles of survival and action.
The long-running Resident Evil series contains multitudes. At times it’s been about quiet menace, carefully weighing when to use each of the handful of bullets in your pocket as you try to explore and solve puzzles while avoiding terrifying and often unkillable monsters. At other times it’s been about kicking ass, tearing through hordes of zombies with grenades and shotguns. Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline entry, dares to ask: why not both?
Requiem pulls off this feat of being two games in one with dual protagonists: series newcomer FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft for the classic survival horror and recurring lead and one-man army Leon Kennedy for the action. I recently played a demo that gave me a taste of both — three hours from the beginning of the game, with a lengthy Grace section bookended by bursts of Leon-fueled frenzy.
By default, you play in a first-person perspective with Grace and third-person with Leon. This nicely reflects the different levels of situational awareness between a timid desk analyst and a battle-hardened field operative, and helps Grace’s sections feel appropriately scarier, but you are free to toggle the perspective for either character at any time from the menu, which is a nice accessibility touch (and, again, a way for Resident Evil’s developers to play with the series’ history of switching between the two).
Both characters show up in Raccoon City’s creepy old hospital on their respective investigations and briefly meet before being separated in different parts of the building to continue alone.
Grace Under Pressure
Suffice it to say: Grace Ashcroft is having a really bad time.
Amid all the horrors on show, the thing that stood out to me the most about my time as Grace was her ragged breathing. More a proxy for the player than a power fantasy, Grace is terrified to be in the hospital, and not qualified for this. Even in her default first-person, Grace’s timid character is present at all times through her panicked breathing and muttering.
In classic Resident Evil fashion, my time with Grace was spent searching through different wings of the hospital to solve puzzles and collect sun, moon, and star keys in order to unlock the main door out. Healing herbs, bullets, and limited-use melee weapons (as well as inventory slots) were all scarce, so I had to be mindful of when I used them, lest I end up in a bind with no options. She eventually unlocked crafting, allowing me to be even more strategic with my finite resources.
The zombies shambling the halls weren’t fully mindless, with their locations and actions showing that they still retained some imprint of their former lives, performing a hollow pantomime of their duties as doctors, nurses, janitors, etc. Some of them seemed sensitive to light, creating an opportunity for me to turn on a nearby light switch to draw one out of a narrow hallway he’d been blocking to turn it off, allowing me to sneak by.
There was also a hulking chef lumbering through the kitchen and surrounding hallways, looking for meat. At worst, bullets seemed to just annoy him, so the only real thing to do was stay out of his way. Unlike previous games with unkillable threats like Mr. X or Nemesis being more omnipresent throughout the game, Requiem seems to have a variety of more localized horrors. I first encountered — and had to sneak past — the chef in his own kitchen, and once I’d advanced further and opened a nearby shortcut, he was roaming a wider radius, but I never found him outside the general vicinity of where he started.
My colleague Joe described a different, nurse-like monster in Summer Game Fest demo of another section that I never saw, and then across the lobby in the medical wing I encountered yet another unkillable threat: a monstrously fat zombie with the proportions of a giant baby that jump-scared me by obliterating a door frame right next to me as I picked up a key item before crawling after me, smashing through the building around it and cussing up a storm about how hungry it is. It fully took up whatever hallway it was in, forcing me to reroute around it as I continued to navigate that wing.
In my time with Grace, the point was made very clear: approach all of this with caution, because brains will trump your limited brawn. The instances when I tried to brute force my way through a problem in this section — just shooting or shoving my way past everyone — were when my efforts were most frustrated. It rewarded observation and punished impatience.
Leon, the Professional
Leon, on the other hand, is here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, etc.
Resident Evil’s resident himbo is back, and where Grace spends her time in frightened lurking, he’s all roundhouse kicks and quips. “I think I want a second opinion,” he says dryly after slaughtering a room full of zombie medical staff that swarm him at the start of my session. As if to emphasize the over-the-top tone, the doctor had a chainsaw for some reason, which I naturally took and turned on them.
Leon’s sections feature way more enemies, because he’s way more capable of handling them. In addition to more plentiful guns, bullets and powerful kicks, Leon has a hatchet that, unlike Grace’s breakable knives, only dulls with use, and he can resharpen it at any time. When exploring areas that I’d already been through as Grace, I could use that hatchet to pry open cabinets, which typically seemed to be stuffed with ammo.
Beyond just reframing previous areas by returning as Leon, what’s unkillable by Grace isn’t necessarily beyond Leon’s capabilities. “Sorry, but I’m not on the menu,” he smugly told one previously impervious hungry monster, after blasting it to death with a shotgun. It’s a common trope to encounter a boss earlier on in a game and be unable to defeat them, but here it’s nicely used to contrast the characters’ capabilities, giving a sense of cathartic revenge to Leon bullying something that had seemed so impossibly dangerous to Grace.
Leon’s sections were charmingly big, loud, and dumb, and a relieving change of pace from my tense exploration as Grace. The balance between two distinct tones and modes of play worked well in the limited context of the demo, each enhancing the other by contrast, and I’m excited to see how it pans out over the whole game. The Resident Evil series has ranged widely over the last 30 years, and Requiem’s developers have managed the impressive feat of a sequel that embraces all of it.
– This content may be made available at a later date.
– This costume will change Grace’s appearance only.
Resident Evil Requiem Deluxe Edition. Includes the full game and the Deluxe Kit. A must have for true survivors.
The Deluxe Kit contains the following content:
– Grace’s Costume: Dimitrescu
– Grace’s Costume: Film Noir
– Leon’s Costume: RE4
– Leon’s Costume: Apocalypse
– Leon’s Costume: Film Noir
– Screen Filter: Apocalypse
– Screen Filter: Film Noir
– Four weapon skins including S&S M232 Weapon Skin: Apocalypse
– Mr. Raccoon Charm
– DSO Emblem Charm
– Audio Pack: Raccoon City Classic
– Files: Letters from 1998
A new era of survival horror arrives with Resident Evil Requiem, the latest and most immersive entry yet in the iconic Resident Evil series. Experience terrifying survival horror with FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, and dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy. Both of their journeys and unique gameplay styles intertwine into a heart-stopping, emotional experience that will chill you to your core.
*The items in this set can be purchased individually. Please be careful not to purchase the same item twice.
– This content may be made available at a later date.
– This costume will change Grace’s appearance only.
A new era of survival horror arrives with Resident Evil Requiem, the latest and most immersive entry yet in the iconic Resident Evil series. Experience terrifying survival horror with FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, and dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy. Both of their journeys and unique gameplay styles intertwine into a heart-stopping, emotional experience that will chill you to your core.
*There are other bundles that include this product. Please be careful of duplicate purchases.
Another Nintendo Direct is coming this Thursday, January 29, dedicated to the company’s upcoming social sim game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.
Coming just days after a Nintendo Direct focused on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie which debuted our first look at Yoshi, Birdo and more, the next scheduled broadcast from the company will instead return to its games.
You’ll be able to tune in for more details on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 life sim game this Thursday at 6am Pacific, 9am Eastern or 2pm UK time. The stream is set to run around 20 minutes.
Living the Dream will be the third game in Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life franchise, which lets you oversee a community of Mii characters. While a relatively niche series in the West compared to its bigger brands, Tomodachi Life enjoys a strong following among its fans, and particularly so in Japan.
Now, the franchise will be getting its first dedicated Nintendo Direct, similar to how Kirby Air Riders was treated to its own presentation (and then a second!) last year.
The series’ first game, Tomodachi Collection, launched in 2009 for Nintendo DS (albeit only in Japan). Its 3DS sequel, Tomodachi Life, was then released worldwide and went on to sell a very respectable 6.72 million units.
While the status of same-sex relationships is yet to be confirmed (though may be this week), Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is already notable for finally allowing Mii characters to have ears. It only took 20 years.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Surprise! It looks like a 30th Anniversary Edition of Rayman is on the way.
Though not formally confirmed by Ubisoft, the unannounced game has popped up on the Australian Classification website, and it’s apparently coming to both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.
While the franchise is owned by Ubisoft, both the developer and publisher are listed as Atari, which has previously distributed physical editions of games and remakes. Sadly, the listing gives us very little detail on what to expect aside from confirmation that it has “very mild” violence (thanks, Gematsu).
We already knew that Ubisoft was set to celebrate all things Rayman as it got ready to mark the series’ 30th anniversary, promising last September that it was working on the “future” of the series. Though the official Rayman X/Twitter account had long been dormant, only resurfacing a handful of times in 2020, then once in 2021, in September it was resurrected to bring us up to speed on what’s happening in Rayman’s world.
“Rayman turns 30! Join us on our official channels to celebrate an incredible legacy,” the account exclaimed at the time, attaching a brief video. In the video, brand producer Loic Gounon — who has been working on the Rayman franchise since 2006 — revealed that “a very talented team at Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan are currently working together on the future of Rayman.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Though we’ve heard very little since, Highguard reemerged last week with the promise of a launch showcase that confirmed the January 26, 2026 release date. The showcase will offer a “full gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more.”
In Highguard, players will “ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythic continent,” although it has suffered from a degree of negativity online since that The Game Awards reveal.
Highguard is set to launch across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Confirmation of its release time comes from SteamDB, which of course relates only to the global Steam launch, but it is likely Highguard will go live simultaneously across all platforms.
Highguard global release times:
Depending on where you are in the world, Highguard is set to go live on:
Monday, January 26, 2026:
PST (San Francisco):
10am
CST (Austin, Mexico City):
12pm
EST (New York):
1pm
GMT (London):
6pm
CET (Paris):
7pm
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
JST (Tokyo):
3am
CST (Beijing):
3am
AEST (Sydney):
5am
NZST (Wellington):
7am
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Baldur’s Gate 3‘s shift from early access to full release came with heap of tweaks and changes as Larian finalised their huge RPG. Naturally, this meant certain bits or plans not making it into the final cut, and if you’ve come to long for any of those after playing them initially or hearing about them, then odds are a new mod is right up your alley. It’s also really cool if you, you know, just want more BG3.
This comes via key financial data (thanks, RPG Site) in which Age of Imprisonment is listed with a note stating ‘Over 1 million copies sold worldwide’ when translated. Seems pretty clear to us!
A reliable leaker has revealed Sony’s main PlayStation Plus Monthly offering for February, more than a week before it becomes available.
Boxing game Undisputed will headline next month’s lineup, according to Dealabs‘ billbil-kun, who says that the liscensed punchup title will be the month’s main game available. So, while other titles are expected, Undisputed will be February’s main addition.
Undisputed is expected to become available on February 3, for PlayStation Plus subscribers across all tiers from Essential upwards. As ever, it should remain available for a month, until March 3. We’ll follow up with February’s other PlayStation Plus Monthly games whenever Sony announces them.
January’s PlayStation Plus Monthly games are of course currently still available to claim, including Disney’s Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Core Keeper and Need for Speed Unbound.
Originally launched in October 2024 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, Undisputed is notable for being the first major licensed boxing video game in over a decade, since the EA-published Fight Night Champion.
“Developer Steel City Interactive’s approach to boxing in Undisputed is on the right track, but there’s a long road ahead of it,” IGN wrote in its Undisputed review, which returned a 6/10 score.
“Its emphasis on realism, preparing for fights using RPG-like mechanics, and creating an adrenaline-filled experience in the ring are significant building blocks. Still, the fluidity of its gameplay animations and reactiveness of its commentators don’t come close to living up to the high bar that was set by the Fight Night series back in the late 2000s, and its realistic fighting can be a little dull if you’re in the mood for a KO instead of a TKO.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The Stop Killing Games campaign have revealed the final signature count for their European Citizens’ Initiative, dubbed Stop Destroying Videogames. According to the folks behind the campaign, the European Union have been able to verify that 1,294,188 of the petition’s nearly 1.5 million signatures are the real deal, putting it above the one million signature goal required for EU politicians to look into the issue of server shutdowns rendering online-only games impossible to play.
With Lorwyn Eclipsed now out, our attention will soon sharply be turning to the next Magic set of 2026, which is also the first “Universes Beyond” release of the year: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
And, if you’re already sold on meeting up with cardboard versions of the Heroes in a Half Shell, their friends, and their foes, then good news – Amazon is once again discounting booster boxes, which are now down to their lowest ever price, and even lower than a previous best we saw just a couple of weeks ago.
Now down to just $124.99, and containing 30 of your finest Play Boosters (each containing 14 cards), this is a certified $84.71 in savings compared to its original $209.70 list price. That’s also just over $4 for each booster ($4.17, to be precise), which is more than a couple of bucks off what you’d usually pay when buying them individually.
In comparison, the market price for these is still sitting around $139, according to data at the trusted resale marketplace TCGplayer. While this will likely continue to drop (fallen 45.71% in the past three months), you’re certainly ahead of the trend if you pick up the preorder at Amazon right now.
Also, just a heads up, as it’s important for those looking to buy: Amazon doesn’t charge until dispatch (so your card won’t be charged until closer to release on March 6. Plus, the retailer also has a preorder price guarantee, so if it drops even further or somehow goes back up in price, you can be absolutely certain that you’re paying the lowest price possible.
This is also even better than the deal we saw just before Christmas, and now even lower than the next best price at Amazon from earlier this month ($148.20). Although it does make you think, is the discount indicative of Wizards of the Coast’s expectations for the set? Let’s hope not!
In December, the price dropped to $159.99, bringing the Universes Beyond box of Play Boosters to around the standard price of a Universes Within box, but dropping even further to just $125, this seems like a mighty good deal for what is already looking like a very popular set.
We saw similar drops for Spider-Man, which would be a little worrisome if Avatar hadn’t got the same treatment – and that set was great. For more on Magic: The Gathering, check out the wild ride that is the game’s 2026 set lineup, as well as our guide to buying the first set of the year, Lorwyn Eclipsed, which just launched, and already has some mighty impressive cards that are racking up a tidy price on resale.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor, and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
This article also contains contributions from Lloyd Coombes. Lloyd is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
