Category: IGN

Sega is pointing to consumer expectations for “definitive editions” as one potential cause behind lower-than-expected sales for some of its recent games.

As spotted by GameBiz, the Sonic the Hedgehog and Persona company opened up about its performance throughout the last few months during a Q2 financial briefing Q&A session with shareholders yesterday. The conversation (via Automaton) saw Sega address the thought process behind why sales for its new premium and free-to-play games failed to meet expectations despite generally positive reviews from critics and fans.

Sega says a number of elements could be contributing to disappointing returns, including competition from other releases within the same genre, as well as launch prices. The gaming publisher also suggested gamers could be passing on purchasing games at launch due to an expectation they will eventually be able to purchase “definitive editions” of those same titles further down the line.

Definitive editions, which typically encompass video game re-releases with relatively minor visual upgrades and additional content, have become a popular tactic for publishers to utilize throughout the last decade. Sega is no stranger to the idea either, especially when it comes to Persona and Shin Megami Tensei developer Atlus.

The studio has a history of pushing re-releases for games like Persona 4 and 5, which received Golden and Royal versions a few years after their initial launches. There’s also Shin Megami Tensei V, which originally released in 2021 and went on to come to more platforms with its Vengeance counterpart in 2024. Atlus’ latest, Metaphor: ReFantazio, released for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S late last year.

Sega didn’t specifically call out any game or franchise when pointing to its definitive edition theory. The company also generally seems hesitant to directly place the blame on any one factor for now.

“While we haven’t been able to pinpoint a precise cause of [the lower-than-expected sales performance], we believe the problem also lies in our marketing, which wasn’t able to sufficiently convey the appeal of our games to users,” a Sega spokesperson told investors.

It’s unclear if Metaphor: ReFantazio or any other Sega series will receive a definitive edition or equivalent re-release in the future. For now, fans are eagerly awaiting any news Atlus may have to share about Persona 6. A Persona 3 remake, subtitled Reload, launched early last year, with Persona 4 Revival set to give its sequel the same treatment sometime in the near future. Sega is also continuing to roll out new content for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which launched in September.

If you’re hunting for the best offers this week, we’re actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Kirby has been so many different things since he first floated into our lives in 1992. Besides his dozens of transforming copy abilities, he’s been split into four differently-colored Kirbys, turned into yarn, warped into a ball we controlled on the DS touch screen, and so much more. And now that he’s hopped back on the Warp Star with the release of Kirby Air Riders on Nintendo Switch 2, we thought it was the perfect time to look back at the history of the pink puffball. Here are IGN’s top ten Kirby games of all time.

10. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror

Two iconic Nintendo heroes were split into four different versions of themselves on the Game Boy Advance: Link in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and Kirby in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. The latter is a 2004 GBA platformer that took advantage of the system’s link cable functionality to allow four players to adventure together, calling each other on a cellphone to regroup if they ever got split up. Just make sure the batteries don’t run out! And even if you played Amazing Mirror on your own, it stands out thanks to its lite Metroidvania setup. Rather than adventure through linear levels like pretty much every other Kirby platformer, Amazing Mirror’s branching paths let players explore levels in different orders at their own pace.

9. Kirby’s Dream Land 2

Before becoming an industry celebrity thanks to the Super Smash Bros. series, Masahiro Sakurai directed the humble Kirby’s Dream Land on Game Boy. Back in those days, Kirby was white instead of pink (at least on the North American box art), and he didn’t have copy abilities! But the 1995 Game Boy sequel, Kirby’s Dream Land 2, improved on everything the first game set up, bringing Kirby Adventure’s copy abilities into the fold, and introducing the iconic rideable animal friends like Rick the hamster. It’s a classic example of a bigger, better sequel, and our pick for the best game in Kirby’s original Dream Land trilogy, even though we really love the pastel art style of Dream Land 3 on Super Nintendo.

8. Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Kirby’s debut outing on 3DS took full advantage of the handheld’s screen, as Kirby: Triple Deluxe (a wordier way to say Kirby: 3D) sees Kirby platforming in the foreground and background in very unique ways. Its main hook is the Hypernova ability, which makes Kirby suck harder than he’s ever sucked before, essentially turning his stomach into a black hole. This is used in all sorts of clever puzzles, including one level where Kirby eats an entire train like it’s a light snack. It also introduced one of my favorite subgames in the series: Dedede’s Drum Dash, a rhythm game where Kirby’s best frenemy bounces to the beat in stages set to familiar Kirby tunes.

7. Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland

Kirby’s Adventure is an important entry in the franchise, as it’s responsible for introducing copy abilities. And it wasn’t just two or three; Adventure came out swinging with more than 20 different powers for Kirby to steal from enemies, setting the blueprint for every Kirby game to come. It also established both minigames and Kirby’s longtime rival, Meta Knight, as staples for the series. This NES classic got remade as Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land on the GBA in 2002, which we’re picking as the definitive version because of its improved controls and additional content it brought with it, like the bonus Meta Knightmare mode, where you can play the whole campaign as Meta Knight — another new wrinkle that would become commonplace in future Kirby games,. But shoutout to the NES Kirby’s Adventure cover, where Kirby is literally eating the box art and revealing the endless void that lies underneath.

6. Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Kirby’s Epic Yarn is probably the easiest game on this list – which is saying a lot, given the general approachability of almost all of the Kirby series – but it’s also one of the most charming. Developed by Good-Feel instead of series steward HAL Laboratory, Kirby’s Epic Yarn transforms the pink sphere into, you guessed it, yarn, completely changing the aesthetic and overall gameplay. There aren’t traditional copy abilities – instead, this Kirby simply morphs himself into a yarn submarine, car, or parachute as he travels with the adorable Prince Fluff through an arts and crafts-themed world. It’s relaxing, beautiful, and fits in right alongside the best Kirby games despite being so different.

5. Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Riders is only a few days old, but it’s already one of the all-time franchise greats. After more than two decades away, Masahiro Sakurai returned to the franchise he created to take another crack at Kirby Air Ride, which was a fun but somewhat underbaked experiment back on the GameCube. And Sakurai didn’t let any part of this second chance go to waste, creating a definitive sequel that feels like the ultimate realization of its simplistic one-button racing formula. Air Riders is packed with modes, unlockables, and tons of little details that show how much love and attention went into its development. The racing is frantic and fun, but the star of the show is still City Trial; the battle mode / collectathon hybrid that’s a wonderful throwback to local multiplayer modes from the N64 and GameCube days. Its unconventional controls aren’t going to be for everyone, but if you go along for the ride, you’ll find a fantastic Kirby game that’s brilliantly unique.

4. Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe

Return to Dreamland on Wii was the first traditional home console Kirby platformer since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (which we love but narrowly missed out on our top 10). It delivered the classic Kirby adventuring fans were craving, but introduced fun new copy abilities like Leaf and Water, had multiple well-hidden collectibles to track down in each level, tasked players with mastering every copy ability in its challenge rooms, and a lot more. Most importantly, it’s a blast in local multiplayer, allowing up to four friends to play the entire campaign together as either Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, or Bandana Waddle Dee. Return to Dreamland got a fantastic deluxe treatment on Nintendo Switch, adding a bonus epilogue and a ton of returning subgames from across the series, complete with dozens of achievements to chase, so we’ve gone with that version here.

3. Kirby Super Star Ultra

Sakurai is known for stuffing his games full of side modes that all build around the same gameplay foundations, and that tradition started in Kirby Super Star, the Super Nintendo classic that hosted a small handful of bite-sized adventures to run through. These were repackaged and expanded upon in the excellent DS remake, Super Star Ultra, which brought everything back and added even more, continuing the tradition of a Meta Knight campaign established in Nightmare in Dreamland. Super Star’s biggest strength, though, is its sheer variety: collecting every last treasure in The Great Cave Offensive, racing to eat more treats than Dedede in Gourmet Race, or infiltrating the Halberd as terrified crewmates discuss the best way to stop Kirby. Every mode offers its own flavor, and it all comes together to create the strongest game of Kirby’s early days.

2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Every game series takes a different approach when transitioning from 2D to 3D, and fittingly for this franchise, Kirby kept things delightfully simple by keeping its formula largely intact as it made the jump. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a fantastic realization of classic Kirby platforming in a 3D space. Kirby hops, floats, and dodges just like you’d think he would, and the upgradeable copy abilities work seamlessly. Its most memorable new addition is Mouthful Mode, which lets Kirby wrap his enormous mouth around a car, staircase, or even a vending machine, making for fun puzzle platforming that proves this isn’t just a retread of Kirby’s greatest hits. The Forgotten Land also takes some inspiration from the 3D platforming greats, such as Super Mario and Banjo-Kazooie, by sprinkling hidden collectibles and secret objectives across every level, and it’s a joy for completionists to hunt down every last Waddle Dee to send back to town.

1. Kirby Planet Robobot

The best Kirby game of them all is Kirby: Planet Robobot, an unassuming sequel to Triple Deluxe on 3DS that turned out to be his finest adventure. That’s largely thanks to the Robobot armor, a hulking mech suit Kirby pilots across the campaign, complete with its own unique copy abilities. While Triple Deluxe’s Hypernova and Return to Dreamland’s Super abilities felt more like gimmicks relegated to setpiece moments, the Robobot armor is seamlessly integrated into the stages, leading to fantastic puzzles with the most depth, variety, and challenge in the series, especially if you’re trying to collect everything. Robobot expands upon Triple Deluxe’s foreground and background platforming and features some of the coolest settings in the series, as a mechanized Planet Popstar is just a great idea that ties each world together. Robobot is an absolute treat, and we can only hope that Nintendo rereleases it on Switch or Switch 2 sometime soon so more people can experience the best Kirby game of them all.

There you have it – IGN’s top ten Kirby games of all time. Would you inhale this list, or spit it out? Are we leaving off your favorite? Drop a comment and let us know. For more Kirby, check out our review of Kirby Air Riders, or our Nintendo Voice Chat podcast that posts new episodes every Friday on the IGN Games YouTube channel and your favorite podcast app. And for everything else Nintendo, stick with IGN.

Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.

I probably could have held off on writing this until what I like to call “Black Friday proper“, on Nov. 28. But I’ve already seen several top offers fall into the shadow realm, never to return. And, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that my top Black Friday picks will soon meet a similar fate.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some brilliant offers up for grabs, with some of 2025’s best games dropping to $30 or less, while plenty of other big PS5, Xbox, and Switch releases from the past couple of years are also heavily discounted right now (at least for now).

That’s been massively helped by Walmart, which has stocked up on some of the best Black Friday discounts going this year. Yet, with retailers like Amazon and Best Buy still refusing to auto price-match most deals, once Walmart sells out, we likely won’t see some of these low, low prices again for a while.

So, writing this article, I am.

You might have already seen my $20 or less roundup, which is still packed with heavy hitters from the last few years, and perfect if you want maximum bang for your buck. Some are so good, they even feature in this article as well. But, I’ve also tried to keep things as fresh as possible for returning readers.

I’ve also got you covered if you’re looking for a more comprehensive roundup of the best video game deals for Black Friday. With that out the way, my advice is to snap up the following games up ASAP, cause once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

“GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION,” reads the X / Twitter post from the Zap Actu GTA6 account. The supposed gameplay clip of Rockstar’s upcoming surefire blockbuster is brief, but, if true, a shocking leak indeed.

Of course, it’s not true. It’s not a leak. It’s not even real gameplay. It’s yet another AI-generated GTA 6 “leak” video viewed by millions that remains live across social media, which seems unable to do anything about it beyond the odd community note.

The tweet below, published yesterday, November 25, has gone viral, securing 8 million views in just over 24 hours. Below it, a community note warns against its authenticity, but that appears to be doing little to dull its impact. And it is far from the only one. The same Twitter account responsible for this “leak” has published a number of similar clips in recent months, some of which which have a huge number of views, all in a desperate bid for followers and Discord members.

🚨🚨 GTA 6 ALERT – EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION 🚨🚨

A new and highly disturbing leak has just surfaced on TikTok before being taken down only minutes later — but the damage is already done. The video allegedly showed a real gameplay moment where the player is controlling Lucia,… pic.twitter.com/iSD4duGEPu

— Zap Actu GTA6 (@zapactugta6) November 25, 2025

Based on the replies, many Twitter users are taking these leaks at face value. It’s a problem GTA 6 has faced for some time now, which probably comes as little surprise given the intense excitement and thirst for new information on what is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time. But it is far from the only video game to suffer from this problem. Indeed, video games are not alone in this, either.

Last month, IGN reported on physicist Brian Cox, who went public with complaints about YouTube accounts that had used AI to create deepfakes of him saying “nonsense” about comet 3I/ATLAS. Similarly, Keanu Reeves recently hit out at AI deepfakes of the John Wick star selling products without his permission, insisting “it’s not a lot of fun.” In July, it was reported that Reeves pays a company a few thousand dollars a month to get the likes of TikTok and Meta to take down imitators.

In 2023, Tom Hanks warned fans that an AI version of his likeness was being used without his consent in an online advert for a dental plan. Last year, Morgan Freeman thanked fans who alerted him to AI-generated imitations of his voice online after a series of videos created by someone posing as his niece went viral. And in May this year, Jamie Lee Curtis was forced to appeal to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an Instagram post because she couldn’t get the company to pull an AI-generated ad that featured her likeness for “some bullshit that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse.”

What is the solution here? In July, YouTube was said to be preparing to update its policies to crack down on creators’ ability to generate revenue from “inauthentic” content, which is made easy to produce on a massive scale with generative AI. While propelled forward by the great YouTube algorithm, you’ve probably stumbled across a fake trailer or two. The hope was that YouTube would be able to crack down on the channels that pump out this sort of low-effort content, but a cursory glance at YouTube shows this has yet to happen.

Without legislation forcing content built by generative AI tools to include labels clearly marking it as such, or laws preventing deepfakes without permission, fans will continue to be misled by bad actors. And as generative AI technology improves, so it will become harder to distinguish between the fake and the real.

Can anything meaningful be done? Last month, the Japanese government made a formal request asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement after Sora 2 users generated videos featuring the likenesses of copyrighted characters from anime and video games.

Sora 2, which OpenAI launched on October 1, is capable of generating 20-second long videos at 1080p resolution, complete with sound. Soon after its release, social media was flooded with videos generated by the app, many of which contained depictions of copyrighted characters including those from popular anime and game franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, Pokémon, and Mario. Despite the prostetations of the Japanese, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared Sora 2 videos using copyrighted characters “interactive fan fiction.”

Zap Actu GTA6, meanwhile, doesn’t seem bothered by any potential backlash, and is posting even more fake GTA 6 “leaks.” Their latest, published just a few hours ago at the time this article went live, already had 220,300 impressions. In their Discord, which is slowly gaining new members, one person who joined today questioned everything they were doing, saying: “If it’s AI, that’s disrespectful to the fans, friend @ZapActu.” ZapActu has yet to respond.

If you’re hunting for the best offers this week, we’re actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch 2, is steadily building a library of amazing games, but which are the best? Well, here are what we think are the 15 most essential games to spend your time with on the handheld/home console hybrid.

As for our criteria, we’ve chosen not to go with just any game that is available on the Switch 2, and instead have selected only those that have been specifically created for Switch 2 and were not previously available on the original Nintendo Switch (well, with one single exception). Basically, we’re not counting upgrades of years-old Switch 1 games, such as Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, etc, but you will find the odd multiplatform in this list that’s arrived on Nintendo hardware for the first time

Does that make sense? I do hope so. Anyway, let’s get on with it and reveal our picks for the Top 15 Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games.

15. PowerWash Simulator 2

PowerWash Simulator 2 is very much a sequel that abides by the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. A relaxing set of levels that are ever-expanding in size and complexity, scrubbing and soaking this new bunch of impossibly grimy vehicles, buildings, and furniture is the perfect way to spend a relaxing evening in with your Switch 2. It’s just good, clean fun.

14. Pokémon Legends: Z-A

With Legends: Z-A, it finally feels like Pokémon is really finding its feet when it comes to adapting the series’ classic template for a 3D world. Not just another monster-battling RPG, Z-A makes the bold decision to remove turn-based combat completely and replace it with a much more dynamic real-time system. It may take a little getting used to, but it is a genuine evolution of the now 30-year-old formula that is more than welcome. With improved performance thanks to the Switch 2’s superior power, the best way to play this latest Pokémon adventure is on Nintendo’s latest console.

13. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Koei Tecmo returns for another bite of the Hyrule Warriors apple, following up 2020’s Age of Calamity with Age of Imprisonment, which serves not only as a muso action spectacle, but also a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Its story may not reach the heights of the best of the Zelda series, but the satisfaction found in its combat is undeniable, and this time the hardware can keep up with the action. All that makes it one of the best Switch 2 exclusives so far.

12. Ball X Pit

Brick-breakers are practically as old a video game genre as you can find, but none have ever quite done it like this. Ball X Pit borrows from the kaleidoscopic pixel mayhem action of Vampire Survivors and translates that score-chasing sensation into a selection of superpowered balls of wild variety that can be bounced off against enemies until they all fall down and clear the path along its steadily scrolling screen. Throw a light bit of settlement management into the mix, and you’ve got one of the hardest Switch 2 games to put down.

11. Kirby Air Riders

A sequel to 2003’s Kirby Air Ride certainly wasn’t on our Switch 2 bingo card for this year, but perhaps even more surprising is that it’s genuinely great. Perhaps that shouldn’t come as a shock, though, due to legendary Kirby creator and Smash Bros. supremo Masahiro Sakurai being behind the wheel of this combative racing game that borrows as much from Smash as it does Mario Kart. Looking for a bit of chaos? Try out Kirby Air Riders on your Nintendo Switch 2.

10. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

A cosy combination of action-adventure RPG and life sim management, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time hits a perfect sweet spot for the Nintendo Switch 2 in the absence of a brand-new Zelda adventure or Animal Crossing town to spend time in. We’re going to bend our rules ever so slightly here, as it did first release on the original Switch and other consoles on May 21, 2025, before making its way to Switch 2 as a day one game with enhanced visuals, but we think it’s worth it to shout out a treat of a series that has been criminally underplayed.

9. Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World takes some risks as it barrels out of the confines of the series’ familiar circuit surroundings and out onto open roads for the first time. A mixture of colourful and expansive courses and open-world time trials and challenges, World changes up the Mario Kart methodology in the most impactful way since Double Dash hit the GameCube. A day one Switch 2 release, it’s destined to be one of the console’s most-played games for the rest of its lifespan.

8. Split Fiction

Hazelight Studios has become the go-to place for co-op games over the past few years thanks to A Way Out, It Takes Two, and, now, Split Fiction. You and a friend take control of authors Mio or Zoe, who dive in and out of sci-fi and fantasy worlds conjured from their creative imaginations. It’s a feast of varied gameplay design and a true test of teamwork. Available to play both online and locally, it’s a great fit for the Switch 2 and its pair of detachable Joy-Con controllers.

7. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

Being able to play CD Projekt Red’s dense and detailed sci-fi RPG on a Nintendo handheld seems like it should almost be illegal, and yet you can do exactly that. Now a far cry from the state it arrived in during the rockiest of launches, Cyberpunk 2077 has been retooled and refined into the fantastic open-world action RPG that it is today, with the vibrant Night City playing host to a tale of underworld revolutions and corporate-level betrayals. When you also throw in the magnificent Phantom Liberty expansion as part of this ultimate edition, then you’ve got one of the greatest RPGs of recent years in the palm of your hand, whenever and wherever you want it on Switch 2, even if it may not run quite as smoothly or look as stellar as it does on other platforms.

6. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake takes two classic RPGs and brings them into the modern age to beautiful effect. Both games are given a welcome facelift here, but successfully retain the retro magic that made them both so beloved when they were first released way back in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Nearly four decades on, they’ve never been more playable, and are among the best games you can now play on your Nintendo Switch 2.

5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

A remaster of 1997’s Final Fantasy Tactics, 2025’s The Ivalice Chronicles has recently become the definitive way to play one of Square’s most acclaimed RPGs. Its tactical battling system is as tight as it ever was, with some welcome tweaks only making it kinder to engage with, along with a graphical boost that still captures the charm of the PlayStation original. Now fully voiced-acted, its story full of intrigue and conspiracy is ready to be enjoyed by a whole new generation of players, and is a perfect fit to be enjoyed in the Switch 2’s handheld mode.

4. Deltarune

A chapterised follow-up to Toby Fox’s beloved cult-classic, Undertale, Deltarune picks up where its predecessor left off in terms of subverting the RPG genre and delivering something wholly singular. Heartfelt and often hilarious, its story captivates from start to finish, with its unorthodox approach to battling just one of the many ways it surprises through inventive gameplay systems. To say much more would be a spoiler. With more chapters still planned to be released as free updates, Deltarune promises not only to be one of the Switch 2’s best games right now, but long into the future, too.

3. Hollow Knight: Silksong

It was also going to be difficult to live up to the hype that built up during Hollow Knight: Silksong’s long, long development, but somehow, developer Team Cherry didn’t disappoint. Hornet’s snaking metroidvania world is littered with unwelcoming locations filled with even less inviting enemies and pesky platforming, but it is one that also begs to be explored. Yes, it’s punishing, but equally as rewarding, with secrets lurking in hidden corners and behind every challenging boss fight. The satisfaction found throughout is nearly unparalleled on the Switch 2.

2. Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza finally gives Nintendo’s most famous ape a 3D platformer that can proudly sit alongside its Mario counterparts. In turn, it also gave Switch 2 owners one of the very best games to play on their new consoles. A delectably destructive smashathon, DK Bananza borrows elements and ideas from Super Mario Odyssey, but breaks them down and reshapes them into a Donkey Kong context brilliantly. With numerous worlds begging to be sculpted in your image, and hundreds of precious bananas to be uncovered, platformed, and puzzled their way to, it’s a real showcase for what this new generation of Nintendo can look like, while never once forgetting to root itself in that decades-old wild creativity.

1. Hades 2

A Switch 2 console exclusive, Hades 2 somehow manages to improve on its masterful predecessor as developer Supergiant Games evolved the idea of its narrative-led roguelike action to God-tier levels. Melinoë’s journey to the depths of the underworld and the heights of Mount Olympus is layered with detail, whether it be in its intricate weapons and skill systems, or the majesty of its striking art direction that pops both on a big TV screen or on the Switch 2’s handheld display. The peak of its genre, Hades 2 is hard to tear yourself away from, and, simply put, the most fun you can have on your Nintendo Switch 2 right now.

And those are our picks for the best Switch 2 games that you can play right now. What have been your favourites so far? Let us know in the comments! Hungry for more Nintendo? Then check out our list of the Top 100 Best Nintendo Games of All-Time.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

NBA Jam has remained one of the most iconic basketball video games since its release in the ‘90s, but Tim Kitzrow, the actor behind its announcer, says he only made “like $800-and-change” when recording his lines.

The voice behind “boomshakalaka” opened up about his history as a sports gaming voice actor during a recent conversation with The Escapist. Kitzrow’s career includes voicework for NFL Blitz, MLB Slugfest, and even themed pinball machines, but it’s his work on the over-the-top NBA video game that many believe has stood the test of time.

While many lines from his play-by-plays likely still ring in the minds of ‘90s gamers who dropped coins into the original arcade experience, it’s “boomshakalaka” that is remembered by most today. Despite its staying power, Kitzrow looks back at the string of syllables as more of “a gift from the gods” than a carefully considered quote.

“A fellow in the studio, John Carlton, was listening to Sly & The Family Stone,” he explained. “The song I Want to Take You Higher. The chorus is ‘boom shaka-laka-laka, boom shaka-laka-laka’.”

Kitzrow continued: “He goes, ‘Hey Tim, say boomshakalaka’. Now, me being a basketball guy – I watched every game on TV with Marv Albert – I’d never heard anyone say ‘boomshakalaka’. I’m just trying to get the reference, like, ‘What the hell are you talking about? This is not a basketball term.’ I said, ‘What is this?’ He goes, ‘Just say boomshakalaka… like that.’”

Now, 32 years later, boomshakalaka is still the kind of celebration basketball fans love to quote. At the time, though, Kitzrow’s work on NBA Jam seemed like any other voice acting gig. Without an agent and his pinball work usually netting “a few hundred bucks at best,” he says his work on Midway’s sports video game seemed like any other job.

“It was $50 an hour,” Kitzrow said. “Same as the pinball. I’d go in, do a couple of sessions – maybe 15 hours total – and that was it. I wasn’t smart enough, savvy enough to know the business, to go, ‘Gee, these games make a lot of money, maybe I should make more than $50 an hour.’”

It wasn’t until after NBA Jam launched to tremendous success that Kitzrow realized he may have been denied an easy layup.

“When the game came out and I found out it made a billion dollars, that’s when I realised I’d made like 800-and-change, maybe something like that,” he said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m probably being underpaid. I might want to raise my rate.’”

NBA Jam went on to receive numerous re-releases on various platforms. The series eventually saw releases from Acclaim Entertainment and EA, too, including 2003 and 2010 reboots, in addition to its Midway run.

Kitzrow returned to provide his work as one of the most excited announcers in games in many of the offshoots as they arrived through the years. He also managed to bring back some of his most iconic lines for a sports-themed Easter Egg in Bethesda Softworks’ Rage 2. Next, football fantasy fans can expect to hear him in Mutant Football League 2, which leaves early access with a full launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S December 10.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

The creator of the original Thomas the Tank Engine mod for Skyrim has now put Thomas in Morrowind, apparently in defiance of legal pressure from Mattel.

Really Useful Cliffracers, a recently released mod for Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, replaces cliff racers (flying creatures found in Vvardenfell) with Thomas the Tank Engine. It’s the work of modding superstar ‪Trainwiz‬, who created the infamous 2013 Thomas the Tank Engine mod for Skyrim that spawned a meme that endures to this day.

Recent comments from ‪Trainwiz‬ both on Nexus Mods and social media suggest that Thomas the Tank Engine owner Mattel has applied legal pressure, but Trainwiz‬ has modded Thomas into Morrowind anyway.

A PC version of Death Stranding 2 looks set for an announcement soon, after a listing for the game was spotted on the Entertainment Software Rating Board website.

Gematsu reported that the publisher listed on the PC rating for Death Stranding 2 is Sony Interactive Entertainment. The PC version of the first Death Stranding game, which arrived eight months after the PlayStation 4 release, was 505 Games.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launched exclusively on PlayStation 5 in June this year, so we could be set for a similar timeframe for the expected PC version, or perhaps a little sooner this time. Perhaps the port will be announced at next month’s The Game Awards.

Death Stranding launched on PS4 in November 2019, then hit PC in July 2020. The Director’s Cut came out on PS5 in September 2021, with a PC version following in March 2022. Mobile versions followed, as did a version for Xbox Series X and S in November 2024.

IGN’s Death Stranding 2 review returned a 9/10. We said: “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is a triumphant sequel that emphatically delivers on the promise of its original.”

It’s a busy time for developer Hideo Kojima and the world of Death Stranding. Earlier this month, an all-new original animated series based on Death Stranding was announced for Disney+. Death Stranding Isolations’ story will be told through “a traditional, hand-drawn 2D animation style,” with some of Japan’s top “animation talent at E&H production […] working to bring the series to life.”

Elsewhere, there’s a Death Stranding live-action movie in the works, which Kojima and director Michael Sarnoski have confirmed will tell a new story instead of retelling the events of the games. In other words, those hoping to see some of Death Stranding’s real-life movie stars reprise their roles for the live-action film may be out of luck. There’s also a separate Death Stranding animated film called Death Stranding: Mosquito.

And away from Death Stranding, Kojima is busy working on a number of new projects, including horror game OD for Xbox Game Studios. He revealed the first trailer for it last month, sparking speculation that it is connected to P.T. in some way. The mysterious game will star Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ Sophia Lillis and Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, with the trailer showcasing Lillis’ character in a spooky house, lighting candles before meeting a malevolent figure.

And then there’s Physint, the upcoming PlayStation action-espionage video game often described as a spiritual successor to the Metal Gear series.

If you’re hunting for the best offers this week, we’re actively rounding up the strongest Black Friday deals on video games, tech, and more. You can find all our top picks and price drops in our full Black Friday hub, or check out our relevant pages for PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox deals.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

A handful of fun Lord of the Rings board games are on sale at Amazon as part of its Black Friday sale. Most of these are Amazon Lightning Deals, meaning they’re only available while supplies last. You can save between 15% and 30%, depending on the game you pick, and they vary in play style from hours-long campaign style games to shorter sessions for a quick game night.

The Lord of the Rings Board Games On Sale For Black Friday

Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition is a classic with an iconic skin. This version of the popular board game comes with maps of Middle-Earth locations like Gondor, Mordor, and more, making you feel like you’re actually doing battle with hordes of orcs. There’s also The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth card game and the Spreading War Expansion, two very in-depth campaign games that’ll definitely make you lose a few hours.

For a little quicker and lighter, the Duel For Middle-Earth strategy game has players choose between the Fellowship or Sauron in an epic battle that only takes about 30 minutes to complete. In our hands-on review of the game, we said “Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth deserves to be lauded for presenting such an exciting and varied game off the back of such an accessible setup.”

I’d also recommend the Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking game we reviewed earlier this year. This roughly 20-minute experience takes you through the story of the first book, using cards to either progress or avoid peril. In our hands-on review we mentioned “Its simple rules and working together gameplay make it great for families, but its twists on the trick-taking formula and storytelling beats make it deserve a much wider audience.”

Whichever game you decide to try out, it will offer plenty of replayability for dozens of hours of board gaming.

More Lord of the Rings Gifts

If you’re not that into board games, we also have a detailed Lord of the Rings gift guide to look through, perfect for holiday shopping for that special Middle-Earth fan in your life. We cover everything from LEGO sets and Magic: The Gathering cards, to jigsaw puzzles and the massive Deluxe Illustrated Editions of all the books. Or if you’re looking for something a little different, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Soundtrack on vinyl is part of the Amazon’s popular buy 2, get 1 free deal on vinyl and CD’s, books, movies, and more.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

When I fired up Cricket 26 for the first time and hopped into a quick five-over game to get my eye in, I was pleasantly surprised by how substantially smoother it all seemed in contrast with the messy launch state of 2023’s Cricket 24. Cricket 26’s lighting and player models all really pop, the inputs feel far snappier, and the fielders all seem like they actually know there’s a game being played – unlike the dawdling doofuses in Cricket 24 who all seemed to stand around with their hands in their pockets. Then my match between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals crashed at the change of innings. At which point I reloaded it, and it crashed again. And again. In fact, the longer I played Cricket 26, the more obvious its numerous technical flaws became, to the point that I’d have to say that my experience with Big Ant Studios’ latest has been a bit like playing on a cricket pitch in Perth – the grass looks greener on day one, but it’s not too long before the cracks start to show.

Still, there’s no question that when it works, Cricket 26 presents a much more enjoyable representation of the sport than Cricket 24 was ever capable of. Batting, in particular, feels far more responsive and natural – whether you’re using the arcade-style button controls or the more intuitive dual-stick setup. For the first time in a long time with this series, I feel like I’m able to consistently direct my strokes where I actually intend them to go, unlike Cricket 24 which often felt a bit predetermined in the way I’d keep knocking off-drives straight to the same cover fielder no matter where I aimed or how well I timed it.

That’s not to say that scoring runs has become too easy, however, and I’ve found myself playing down the wrong line and getting beaten on the inside and outside edges of the bat, which also feels far more true to life. Even on the default difficulty setting, batting in Cricket 26 has provided an absorbing challenge for the most part. I’m yet to feel the need to dig deep into the menus to painstakingly fiddle with the various timing and physics sliders in an effort to make it feel more realistic like I did with Cricket 24, which takes a lot of the trial and error out of the experience.

Bowling, on the other hand, hasn’t changed quite as much but it still feels engaging. I had hoped that the wobble seam delivery would have been added to Cricket 26, especially given that it’s become such a common variation these days that Pat Cummins has basically made it his stock ball, but sadly that’s not the case here – and the floaty knuckleball that a number of Indian pacers have added to their arsenals over the past decade or so hasn’t been included either. However, while the delivery types themselves remain the same, there has been some added nuance introduced in the form of the effect of wind on the ball. An arrow on the edge of the pitch map indicates the direction and strength that a gale is blowing, and that can be used to enhance the amount of swing on a delivery (or if you’re batting, how much further a lofted shot will travel should you aim it downwind). It’s a thoughtful addition that brings some extra strategy to each ball you face or deliver.

There’s clearly been a lot of work put into player animations too, especially as far as unique bowling actions are concerned. It’s great to see Nathan Lyon’s signature right-handed flick to the side as he leaves the top of his mark, or Mitchell Santner’s shark fin-like front hand carving through the air above his head as he’s about to release the ball. Some of these unique bowling actions aren’t just for show, either – I’ve found facing Jofra Archer to be noticeably more awkward than other fast bowlers, not just because of his speed on the ball but also the way he seems to lumber in so casually before suddenly exploding through the crease. It’s kept me more conscious of making subtle adjustments to my shot timing as the opposing team rotates from one bowler to the next.

Elsewhere, fielding has been substantially overhauled, although certain frustrating quirks still remain. There’s now much less of a delay between a fielder gathering the ball and making a return throw, and there are some new catching animations that see them diving and sliding around in a more agile fashion than they ever did in Cricket 24. However, the slow-motion runout system almost always makes me throw to the opposite end that I intended, and wicketkeeper behaviour is erratic. One moment they’re stubbornly refusing to swipe the bails off during a genuine stumping chance, the next they’re taking a superhuman catch around their ankles down the leg side. Yet, by and large, Cricket 26’s fielders display a level of alertness that more closely resembles the real thing, and it’s nice to see them run in pairs for relay throws or dive towards the rope for a tap-back.

Un-urned

Given that it’s been branded as ‘the official game of the Ashes’, you’d think that Cricket 26’s special mode dedicated to the freshly reignited Australia-England rivalry would have been given extra attention from the developers to ensure that it really capitalised on what has been one of the most hyped test series in recent memory. However, there appears to have been about as much thought and effort put into it as England’s approach to batting on day two of the recent first Ashes test. Sure, you do get to play all five test matches in the series in all of the relevant Aussie venues, including a day-night pink ball test at the Gabba, but there really is little else here to distinguish the mode from just building a series yourself using the tour creator that returns from Cricket 24.

There are no practice matches to play for the touring side, although given English coach Brendon McCullum’s ‘it will be alright on the night’ philosophy for player preparation, perhaps that’s true to life. Instead, the build up to each of the five matches in the series goes like this: you press a button to travel to the city hosting the match, complete a fairly modest and non-tailorable training minigame that involves bowling precisely three deliveries and a handful of batting strokes, select your final 11 from your squad of 16, mindlessly spam your way through painfully generic answers in a press conference, and then play the match itself. Repeat that four more times and you’re done.

There is a team confidence meter to maintain, and optional match objectives to complete as well, but it all feels a bit nebulous. Team confidence fluctuates depending on match results, success or failure in the training minigames, and your responses to press conference questions, but it’s all applied so inconsistently and absolutely none of it seems to have a measurable effect on anything. I failed my first training session and my team confidence took a dive, meaning I went into the opening test at Perth with my Australian team seemingly flagging at 55% confidence. It clearly didn’t make much of a difference, though, since I still ended up smashing England inside three days.

The pre-match press conferences are particularly hard to engage with, given that the questions you have to field are often factually incorrect. I kept getting asked about how I felt about securing a draw in a previous match, even though I’d won it, or I’d be asked to reflect on my performance at a certain venue even though I hadn’t played there yet. It feels less like facing a press room full of proper sports journalists and more like being punked by a crowd of teenage TikTok pranksters.

Successfully completing optional match objectives also gives team confidence a boost, but these goals seem to veer wildly from the realistic to the ridiculous. In one match I was tasked with scoring 64 combined runs with the tail, which was tricky but ultimately attainable, while in another my objective was to bat at above eight runs an over, which is an insane demand for a test match innings. You could field a team of 11 Harry Brooks and still struggle to score at that rate. You couldn’t field a team of 11 Brendan Doggetts, though, or even a single Brendan Doggett for that matter, given that he’s disappointingly absent from Australia’s Ashes squad in Cricket 26 despite making his international debut last week.

Armchair-man of the Board

So the Ashes mode is more slapdash than fierce clash, and Cricket 26’s only other new mode of note, the management career, is equally as half-baked. To be honest, I’m typically not one to dabble in the front office side of sports simulations, so perhaps I’m not best equipped to evaluate this series’ first crack at allowing players to run a cricket club. However, after investing several hours into this fairly superficial squad management sim let’s just say I’m unlikely to become a convert any time soon.

There’s just not an enormous amount to it. You don’t get to manage the budget for player salaries, or hire a coaching staff, for example. You basically just pick your team and either play the matches or simulate them, not unlike the existing player career mode minus the training minigames and net sessions in between. It also seems a shame that there’s no option to watch a generated highlights package when you simulate the result like you can in the Football Manager series. Unless you want to be fully hands-on with each match, your only exposure to the team’s performance is via static scorecards and text-based match reports that pop up in your email inbox, which feels pretty dry.

If you do opt to play the games yourself, there doesn’t appear to be any management options during a match that make it feel any different to the general gameplay featured elsewhere. You can’t, say, run tactical team instructions out to the middle with the 12th man during a drinks break, or send a substitute fielder on because your ageing opening batsman injured his back playing a golf tournament the day before the game. Strangely enough it also doesn’t seem to factor in the unavailability of players with national team duties either. I was able to steer the NSW Blues to the top of the Sheffield Shield, largely because the likes of Australian test team stars Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc were inexplicably available to be picked for every match of the domestic summer.

Cricket 26’s management career just feels underdone and, in some aspects, partially broken. You can adjust training schedules for each of your players, like assigning them recovery sessions to reduce fatigue or team bonding sessions to boost their individual morale meters. However, I struggled to really get a feel for the impact of these options given that the training section of the management menu often just completely failed to load. I also encountered a bug that would cause Cricket 26 to crash everytime I tried to finalise my line-up. The irony that the design of Cricket 26’s dedicated management mode appears to have been somewhat mismanaged certainly isn’t lost on me.

Elsewhere, Cricket 26 possesses most of the same feature set as Cricket 24, from the largely unaltered player career mode to the microtransaction-riddled card collecting of Pro Team – with the latter featuring a new mode called Centurian. At the time of writing this just has a ‘Coming Soon’ message posted on it, leaving me completely in the dark as to what it might actually entail. The robust suite of customisation tools for everything from players to bats to stadia remain present and useful, while the actual number of licensed teams stays more or less the same. On the upside, all but one of the 10 IPL teams are now officially included, but on the downside you still need to rely on the talents of community creators to import Indian and South African squads into Cricket 26, and New Zealand’s Dream11 Super Smash competition has seemingly been ditched entirely.

Patches Fix Matches

In every area in which Cricket 26 excels, though, the shine is regularly taken off it as though it’s been polished with a piece of 60 grit sandpaper pinched from David Warner’s kit bag. It feels exhilarating to setup a batsmen by pushing a few straight balls across him before pulling the trigger on a hooping in-swinger than cannons into his pads, but it’s infuriating to slave away in search of a wicket only to watch a thick edge sail into the keeper’s gloves and have it given not out for no clear reason, with no option to challenge the umpire’s decision (at one point, this happened to me three times in the space of one over). It’s satisfying to swivel-pull a short ball into the crowd for six, but absolutely deflating to hook it down to deep backward square and get caught on the boundary, only to watch the fielder very clearly step on the rope, and still be given out anyway.

I like that matches can now be affected by rain and outcomes can be decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method, but so far my only exposure to it came when I was a mere three overs into the first innings of a T20. Without warning, the game was abruptly called off due to rain and my team was declared the winner – even though I was the only one who’d had a chance to bat. This is not to mention the regular crashes I’ve experienced during the 20 hours or so I’ve invested into Cricket 26 on the PlayStation 5 so far, or the many UI glitches – like the scoreboard for The Hundred that seems to be a placeholder hastily cobbled together in MS Paint. Or the many unrealistic AI behaviours, like bowling a bunch of short stuff in the opening over of a test – or indeed opening the bowling with one of its batsmen.

Meanwhile, and as has long since become customary with Big Ant’s cricket games, the in-game commentary is about as accurate as often as a broken wristwatch. I welcome the presence of cricket luminaries like David Gower and Adam Gilchrist to bring their insights to the game, but not when it seems like they’ve been blindfolded and spun around in a circle before they entered the commentary box like they’re playing a verbal game of pin the tail on the donkey.

In spite of these issues, I find myself far more invested in Cricket 26’s future because the core experience out in the field is such a major step up from the previous game that I’m willing to live with the noticeable rough edges. Assuming that Big Ant can stamp out most of the bugs, this could yet turn out to be one of the best cricket simulations the Aussie developer has ever produced. Yet even though the developer does have a track record of providing plenty of post-release support to its cricket games – and there have already been four patches for the PlayStation 5 version in the first week since launch – it’s hard at this point to be confident that it will rectify all of my complaints. As if to justify my slight pessimism, I fired up Cricket 24 this week to compare it side by side with Cricket 26, only to discover that Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett’s facial textures had disappeared completely. I know the English batting order has a tendency to lose their heads, but this is ridiculous – and then my test match crashed before I could even bowl a ball. To be clear, that’s after more than two years of post-launch patching.