Are you tired of searching every nook and cranny in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for hidden collectibles? You can change that by obtaining secret map upgrades by completing challenging exploration puzzles, Jedi Meditation Chambers, and complex Rumors. These map upgrades will display all unfound Seed Pods, Chests, Upgrades, Databanks, and Treasures on your Holomap.
While map upgrades are worthy of seeking out, understanding exactly how to get to collectibles will still bring its challenges, so be sure to check out our Collectibles Guide, where you’ll find detailed descriptions for locating all Cosmetic Chests, Stims, Databanks, Essences, and more, that can be found across the planets of Coruscant, Koboh, Jedha, and Shattered Moon.
Before continuing, please keep in mind that the following guide will contain minor spoilers, such as mission names, locations, and unlocked abilities, so proceed with caution.
While exploring the Phon’Qi Caverns, you’ll discover a terminal at the very bottom of the cavern that BD-1 can slice to unlock the Chests map upgrade. This upgrade will uncover all unfound Chests, Stim Upgrades, and BD-1 Upgrades on your Holomap.
Prerequisites: Plant all ten species of plants and unlock all gardening plots.
Location: Plyoon’s Saloon, Koboh
After recruiting Pili Walde, the Gardener from Jedha, you’ll unlock the ability to start planting the Seeds you have discovered throughout your journey. Once you have planted all ten species of Seeds and unlocked all available gardening plots, BD-1 will be able to access the terminal that’s found by the water feature, which will no longer be covered in vines. Upon interacting with the terminal, you’ll unlock the Seed Pods map upgrade.
You can learn more about the requirements to unlock all plots in our Gardening Guide.
Location: Alignment Control Center, Untamed Downs – Koboh.
Upon completing all seven Jedi Meditation Chambers, make your way to the Untamed Downs and enter the Alignment Control Center, where you’ll find that all the mysterious computer screens have now turned green. Opposite these screens, have BD-1 slice the newly unlocked terminal, where you’ll gain access to the Upgrades map, which will display all unfound upgrades on your Holomap.
After completing all three ruin puzzles on Jedha, you’ll unlock the ability to access the Central Ruins, where you’ll find an elevator leading to the Wayfinder’s Tomb.
Inside the tomb is a terminal BD-1 can slice, earning you the Treasures map upgrade, which uncovers all unfound Priorite Shards, Jedha Scrolls, and Datadiscs on your Holomap.
After defeating Lank Denvik during the main mission, Nova Garon – Locate the Traitor, head right of his desk, where you’ll find a terminal that BD-1 can slice.
Upon doing so, you’ll unlock the Databanks map upgrade, which will display all unfound Databank entries on your Holomap.
It’s an incredible feeling when you’re fully immersed in an open world game. Whether it’s the vast wild west or sprawling magical worlds, there’s so much to take in and explore and interact with. This year will see the arrival of even more exciting new ones to play in as well, from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Starfield. But jumping into a new open world game often requires you to set aside an abundance of time to work through it, and if you don’t have 50 hours to devote to a new save, it helps to know about shorter open world games to play that won’t take up too much of your time.
In this list, we’ve collected the top 12 shortest open world games, according to How Long to Beat, to help you find something quick to get through. To complete their main stories, these games range from a little over an hour long to around seven hours. They offer a wide variety of experiences as well, from short and sweet indies to stellar action-packed expansions for games you already know and love. Starting from the shortest open world game on How Long to Beat’s site, here’s our list of the 12 shortest open world games to play in 2023.
Time to beat: 1h 20m, on average, for the Main Story
Platforms: Available on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita (Note: sadly not on PS Store)
If you’ve got an hour to kill and are looking for something simple to pass the time, look no further than Proteus. This game just requires you to roam around, listen to the sounds of the world around you, and watch the season’s change. Our review called it a, “a joyous experiment in exploration from start to finish – even if it is a very, very short-lived one.” They also explain that there’s “a beauty in Proteus’ unmatched simplicity,” which makes it a great fit for those who just want to sit back, relax, and take in its pixelated scenery. It’ll only take you a little over an hour to complete as well.
In a similar vein of simple (and very, very short) open world games, Copoka is a little indie that takes you on a journey where you play as a bird flying around a city. You can also listen in on the conversations unfolding in the city below, but it’s mainly for flying around and exploring. Its main story only takes around an hour and a half to complete, or two hours if you feel like completing it in full, so you can easily cross it off your list in an evening.
From playing a bird to playing a lynx, Shelter 2 has you playing as a mother lynx trying to protect her babies in the snowy wilderness. It boasts a lovely art style and a big open world to roam around in, with a main story that’ll take you about two hours to complete. If you want to be a completionist with it, though, it takes (on average) upwards of 13 hours to accomplish everything in it.
Have you ever wanted to be a photographer for dogs? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be? And thankfully, Pupperazzi gives you the opportunity to do just that. Roam around its open world and take pictures of all the sweet pups that you come across while building your career along the way. It’s a quick play as well, only taking a little over two hours on average to finish its main story, so you can easily spend an evening perfecting your photography skills while petting cute dogs. Perfect, right?
And, if you feel like leaving the world of dog photography behind, perhaps you’ll be interested in a game like Sludge Life, where you play as a tagger named Ghost. In this game, your open world playground is a polluted island that’s yours to explore and make a name for yourself. The main story will only take around two and a half hours to complete, but if you feel like completing all that Sludge Life has to offer, it’ll take you close to five hours.
For when you get tired of Sludge Life’s pollution, you can find fresher air in Grow Home. This is a sweet and short little game where you play as a robot named BUD (which stands for Botanical Utility Droid) who’s on a mission to save his home planet. Upon release, our review stated that it’s “not particularly long, or dense, or even deep,” but it’s “completely comfortable in its own skin, and that makes it a joy to play.” It won’t take too terribly long to complete, either, as the main story runs for a little over two and a half hours, while getting 100% will take you about eight hours.
If you long to explore more planets, Lost Nova follows a young adventurer named Mia who crash lands on an alien planet and finds her ship in need of repair. Throughout the game, you’ll explore the planet, make new friends, and salvage materials, craft, and trade to repair your ship. To complete the main story, you’ll need just over three hours, and if you want to see all that Lost Nova has to offer, it’ll take you around seven hours.
If adorable characters win you over easily, you’re sure to love the titular Lil Gator from Lil Gator Game. This ridiculously cute adventure game sees you roaming around and exploring a small island where you can make new friends and beat up cardboard baddies that get in your way. It was even our Game of the Month on IGN Plus in March! It’ll only take you around three and a half hours to complete the main story, but if you feel like going for a full 100% playthrough, it’ll take you a little over five hours.
If you crave an open world game with a lot more action than Lil Gator Game, look no further than Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. This standalone expansion for Far Cry 3 is one wild ride, with our review at the time explaining that, “Nobody in their right mind would create something as wonderfully absurd as Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – so I’m glad someone in charge at Ubisoft is at least a little nuts.” In this game, play as Sergeant Rex “Power” Colt and save the world. It’ll take you just over four and a half hours for the main story and roughly nine hours to complete everything.
While not as action-heavy as Far Cry, No Straight Roads: Encore Edition still offers some exciting gameplay. This little game drops you into Vinyl City, where you’ll form a rock band to take down the EDM Empire, NSR. It also features rhythm-infused combat that’ll keep you on your toes as you battle each district’s boss. The main story will take you around five hours to complete, and going all-in on this battle of the bands for 100% completion will take you around 24 hours.
In keeping with the action genre, Retro City Rampage DX has plenty to offer but in 8-BIT form. This game parodies games like the Grand Theft Auto series and comes complete with a full Story Mode, over 60 missions, over 40 arcade challenges, and much more. It’s a big world to explore, but won’t take up too much of your time. The main story only takes around five and a half hours, while 100% completion will take around eighteen and a half hours.
This remake of 2005’s Shadow of the Colossus is a fantastic, must-play open world game for those wanting something short and thrilling to dig into. It was awarded a 9.7 from us upon release, with our reviewer calling it “outstanding” thanks to “improved controls, performance, and sheer graphical beauty.” Its main story will only take you just over seven hours to complete, but if you want to go in for a full completionist playthrough, it’ll take you roughly twenty six hours.
Best Reviewed Short Open World Games
While it’s rare for games to reach as high as Shadow of the Colossus’ 9.7, there are other games on this list that still earned high review scores. Proteus, for instance, earned an 8.5 from us and was praised as “a beautiful getaway from gaming traditions.” Grow Home is another that earned an 8.8 due to its “charming personality, feel-good physics, and satisfying controls”.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon also earned high praise from us in the form of an 8, with our reviewer calling it “a nutty, hilarious shooter you deserve to play.” The expansion remains one of the best Far Cry games and beloved in the franchise as well, making it well worth your time to play.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
It may be hard to believe, but The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is only a few days away and will finally bring the long-awaited sequel to 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to Switch owners worldwide. However, we know the wait for May 12 is still a tough one, so we thought one of the best ways to make that a bit easier was to have you help us decide what the best Zelda game of all time is before we jump into Link’s latest adventure.
Do you think The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time deserves the top spot? How about its sequel Majora’s Mask? Maybe Breath of the Wild rose above all others to claim that special place in your heart? We’ve selected 18 of the best The Legend of Zelda games to “Face-Off” against each other two at a time, and you’ll have to make the tough choice between them to help us crown a winner worthy of the Triforce. Will you choose Skyward Sword over A Link to the Past? Twilight Princess over the original? The choice is yours…
Oh, and there is a very good chance we will bring this Face-Off back after we’ve all had some time to dive deep into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to see how it stacks up against the rest, as it will be fun to compare how the results differ!
(And don’t forget, you can pass on a Face-Off round if you don’t know a character by just hitting “skip” at the bottom of the page.)
Like the name suggests, a Face-Off pits two things against one another and you decide which one is the superior of the two. In this case, you are voting to determine what the best game in The Legend of Zelda series is. It’s possible to see certain games multiple times, so you can keep voting for your favorites to ensure they get ranked higher than the rest. IGN’s resident team of Zelda experts pre-selected 18 games for you to choose from. These get randomly paired up and each time you pick a winner, it’s tracked.
How Is the Winner Determined?
When voting ends on May 11, the day before The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrives, we’ll tally up the total number of “wins” and “losses” each Zelda video game has and create a ranked list based on your choices that will go live on May 12. The game that won the most match-ups will be crowned the “winner,” and in the event of a tied number of “wins,” the game with the least “losses” will take the top spot. If you continue to keep voting for your favorite game, they’ll have a better chance of ranking high on the list. You can vote as many times as you want until the Face-Off closes.
How Do I Know When I’ve Clicked Through Everything?
It’s difficult to know when you’ve seen every Zelda video game included because they are matched randomly, and there are many possible match-ups. Playing until you vote for all your favorites or ensuring that certain games don’t get in the winner’s circle are different options you can take with a Face-Off. By deciding the winner throughout all these match-ups, you’re ensuring that your picks for the best Zelda video game will have a fighting chance to reach the top of the list.
Which The Legend of Zelda Video Games Have You Included?
The list of games from The Legend of Zelda series we’ve chosen all come from the mainline Zelda games we all know and love. This includes everything from the original back in 1986 to 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on all platforms, but it does not include separate entries for remakes/remasters. This means Ocarina of Time for N64 and Ocarina of Time 3D for 3DS are all the same entry, so you can consider all of that when you make your vote! We’ve also not added spin-offs like Age of Calamity: Hyrule Warriors, games where Zelda characters show up like Super Smash Bros., or the hilarious Philips CD-i titles like Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. We wanted to focus this Face-Off on the main series so we can truly see what IGN’s audience believes is the best Zelda of them all.
Warning: Spoilers follow for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a tailor-fitted exit for James Gunn from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (should DC be his new forever home). It’s the “Gunniest” Guardians of the Galaxy film (review) as the interstellar outfit sees Gunn’s trilogy come to a close, arguably the most individually-voiced Marvel film down to the universe’s first uncensored F-Bomb. Gunn injected every ounce of himself into the Guardians trilogy, from soundtrack to screenplay to Baby Groot’s motion capture, and found the best version of characters he emphatically adores, since each film allows a bit more of his background telling comically bleak stories into the DNA of the Guardians films. Pound for pound, the Guardians trilogy is one of the best character-focused substories in the MCU — and that’s wholly thanks to freedoms that allowed Gunn to be himself with minimal interference.
From Peter Quill’s thievery set to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love” at the beginning of the first Guardians of the Galaxy to Vol. 3’s bittersweet finale set to Florence + The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over,” Gunn puts a premium on cinematic personality through songs. What other Marvel film generates excitement around filmmaker-selected mixtapes before a movie releases? Gunn’s ability to accentuate his story’s impact by picking the perfect backing track adds another layer of depth to his cosmic rock operas, because Gunn’s thinking about how every piece fits his Guardians puzzle. Tracks on Gunn’s at-home playlists become the rhythm behind Quill’s antics, Drax’s beatdowns, and deeply emotional confessions like he’s writing scenes to fit pre-selected needle drops, not vice versa.
James Gunn Cares a Lot
Music is just one ingredient that makes up Gunn’s special sauce. There’s a consistency to the Guardians’ evolution, from unlikely prison-break unions, to battles against Celestials that bring them together, to rescue missions that cause teary goodbyes. The complaint that Marvel movies feel churned out of a machine is nullified by the Guardians trilogy, written (with co-writers) and directed by Gunn. No one’s better at making us fall in love with misfits than Gunn, never losing Drax, Gamora, Rocket, or Groot in the shuffle of Quill’s continued battle to save the galaxy instead of confronting his mamma and papa issues. Unlike lesser superteam movies that fail to elevate all their members, Gunn wants you to love each Guardian as much as he loves them, especially his personal favorite, Rocket Raccoon.
Unlike lesser superteam movies that fail to elevate all their members, Gunn wants you to love each Guardian as much as he loves them.
His wacky-yet-weighty signatures are subtler in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Gunn’s tasked with creating an origin story worthy of the MCU limelight for superheroes without the mainstream recognition of Captain America or The Hulk. It’s the most neatly tucked and uniform of his Guardians films, minus a dance-off distraction or Groot’s violent skewering-and-slamming of Ronan’s Kree guards as they charge down a hallway. Guardians of the Galaxy is Gunn playing nicely in Marvel’s sandbox, because it’s enough that Vol. 1 is the MCU’s first foray into “Cosmic Marvel.” Gunn knows the spectacle is inherent as Ronan brattily threatens Thanos or we speed around in Quill’s Milano spacecraft. The sights, the sounds, they were MCU unseen back in 2014.
Gunn’s attention to the little details sets his films apart, starting with Vol. 1. Quill’s dedication to his battered walkman and sentimental mixtapes opens the character like a pop-up picture book. The messiness of Rocket and Drax’s alcohol-soaked fight outside The Collector’s den reveals background trauma. The quieter conversations and bonding moments outside Nova Corps fleets zipping around Kree fighter crafts above Xandar echo loudly throughout all three films. The foundation that Gunn lays for his Guardians in Vol. 1 is impeccable, allowing for durable storytelling arcs to ruin and revitalize heroes who have no idea what to do with conditional love. Gunn never gets distracted by the grand spectacle in Guardians of the Galaxy, always ensuring the Guardians themselves are the main focus.
There’s no more prominent beneficiary of Gunn’s character building than blue-meanie slash secret softy Yondu — not Quill’s father, but damn sure his daddy. Quill and Yondu banter about how the Ravager captain kidnapped an Earth boy and threatened cannibalism daily, which plays for jokes on the surface, but that’s a cover as Gunn sneaks father-son compassion under Yondu’s supposedly callous motivations. Again, little touches like Yondu’s dashboard tchotchkes or the approving smiles Quill doesn’t see lead to the waterworks flood at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that’s one of the most beautiful celebrations in the entire MCU. Gunn’s stealthy development of Quill and Yondu’s parent/child fondness hits like Ronan’s hammer as Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” plays over Yondu’s fireworks-filled Ravager funeral, rendering even the stoniest watcher an emotional wreck.
He Takes (and Lands) Huge Tonal Swings
What’s impressive is how Gunn does this in an immensely sillier Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Baby Groot’s opening credits boogie to ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky” not only doubles down on Quill’s groovy introduction from Vol. 1 but tonally prepares audiences for even more Gunn. The twisted prankster who thinks it’s funny to have Baby Groot sever and steal a Ravager’s toe. The childlike jester who includes scenes out of rejected Looney Tunes cartoons, like when Rocket sends Ravager hordes bouncing into the air like they’re made of Flubber. The hallucinogenic 700 hyper-jump gag that leads to Baby Groot puke, a Hallmarky father and son catch scene between Quill and Ego, Rocket’s continued obsession with stealing bionic body parts — Vol. 2 is Gunn embracing his Scooby-Doo past, approaching the Guardians as Saturday Morning staples.
Through it all, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is richly rewarding as a character study amidst all the gags and goofs. Quill and Gamora’s will they, won’t they is brimming with warm romantic gazes; meanwhile Mantis bursts out sobbing in a tragic display after reading Drax’s blood-dashed memories. Rocket’s admission as King Asshole after Yondu’s pep talk is simple yet impactful as the mutated mammal learns to be vulnerable. Yondu’s pure face-turn earns cheers, and his proud declaration that he’s Mary Poppins is more than just a throwaway laugh. Kraglin — even Yondu’s second hand — tugs our heartstrings as Quill gifts the now deceased Yondu’s Yaka Arrow weapon, and Kraglin’s voice touchingly squeaks a sobering “thank you.” Gunn makes a single line, the littlest of little things, feel so gigantic.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the full circle of Gunn’s career that started with a mentorship under cult horror figurehead Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Studios. All the darkest humor within Gunn — prevalent in scripts from Tromeo & Juliet to The Belko Experiment — pushes as far as it can under Marvel’s oversight. Adam Warlock’s inability to understand the difference between some light hostage punishment and laser-beam evisceration is hilariously inappropriate for the MCU, and yet wholly par for the filmmaker’s catalog. The High Evolutionary is one of Marvel’s most detestable bastards, and his animal war machine armies are nightmare fuel (even when voiced by Judy Greer). Gunn explodes innocent Counter-Earth inhabitants, finds humor in material that will stir questions inside younger MCU fans that their parents might fret about answering, and confidently embraces his fullest form in a way that suits the O.G. Guardians’ swan song. Gunn’s all-in, and Marvel’s ability to let Gunn be himself is what drives this trilogy capper home.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Is Full-Force Gunn
Where Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 align more with Gunn’s safer comedy leanings, Vol. 3 isn’t afraid to let his nastier tendencies in scripts like Super or Slither find a home. Dare I say there’s comparable heartbreak to Elliot Page’s fate in Super as Young Rocket tries to spring Lylla and the others from their cages? The High Evolutionary’s gorily disfigured face is something I’d expect to see in a Rated-R zombie flick (it makes Red Skull look like an America’s Next Top Model winner). Yet Gunn still acknowledges what his Guardians deserve at the end of the day and doesn’t pull a no-hope ending like his Dawn of the Dead remake script. Even Drax gets his due, as his companions finally recognize his true calling as a corny-as-heck father, not a vengeful berserker bred to vanquish enemies with an insatiable bloodlust. Gunn channels his compassionate caretaker mojo and reaches deep into his bag of tricks, but stops before entering the abyss of cynicism and societal failures found in some of his harsher horror features — his Guardians fight for the future we all deserve.
As Gunn-ho Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 becomes, it never loses that thread of humanity that endears the Guardians and helps us feel their connection. Flashback sequences where Rocket is subjected to The High Evolutionary’s soul-crushing animal abuse are the tear-jerker moments you’d expect. Quill’s rage-fueled devotion to an injured Rocket, Gamora’s not-so-soft deflections of Quill’s lovesick pleas, the whole “last hurrah” sting of watching characters split for their betterment yet not wanting the Guardians to change — Gunn doesn’t get lost in selfish indulgences. Gunn never stops caring about the Guardians through every tonal embellishment and diversion. Each movie in the trilogy remains a character piece at its core, no matter how easy it is to boil Gunn’s signatures down to borderline juvenile humor and chart-topper music video sequences where baddies get embarrassed.
Gunn made these Guardians films for the outcasts, the misunderstood, and the broken among us, never conceding his vision.
Gunn fires on all cylinders for the most complete trilogy imaginable. Guardians of the Galaxy is his Star Wars. He lets us ride shotgun with wild-card protectors who mostly need protection from themselves, and lets their flaws lay naked. There’s no current sub-franchise run in the MCU that’s had me openly cry in every entry outside the Guardians — an ode to Gunn’s innate ability to tell affecting stories with characters others might turn into freakshows. Payoff is everything in these Guardians movies, and Vol. 3 nods endlessly to its previous entries. To finish it all with us being able to understand Groot because we’re all one big family with the Guardians now? If that doesn’t sock you, stick your heart in an incinerator because it’s frozen solid.
Ant-Man might make me laugh. Captain America: The Winter Soldier may thrill me. They’re proficient at playing to singular strengths. James Gunn’s Guardians movies are just a different breed that lets you belly laugh, shed tears, howl with excitement, and feel a rainbow of experiences all in one sitting. “We are Groot,” the Ravager funeral, the Guardians’ salute to Rocket — Gunn knows precisely how to meet swelling story highs with a tidal wave of meaning. Over three films, the Guardians have become the unsung heroes of the MCU thanks to the man supporting their imperfect perfection. Gunn made these Guardians films for the outcasts, the misunderstood, and the broken among us, never conceding his vision. As it turns out, Gunn’s emphatic individuality is the secret weapon these underdog Guardians needed to show the MCU how it’s done.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is getting an official launch event livestream and Nintendo Treehouse: Live with gameplay on May 11, the day before the game is finally released to the world.
Nintendo announced the news that will hopefully make the wait for May 12 just a little bit easier on its website, and it confirmed the livestream will begin at live.nintendo.com at 6:45pm PT/9:45pm ET on May 11. That time translates to 2:45am BST/11:45am AEST on May 12.
“Get ready for a livestream on 5/11 starting at 6:45pm PT, beginning with a Nintendo Treehouse: Live presentation featuring gameplay from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” Nintendo wrote. “Following Nintendo Treehouse: Live, stay tuned in for more livestream content counting down to the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!”
It may be hard to believe, but we are now less than a week away from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, that also means that spoilers have begun leaking onto the internet. So, be safe out there, friends!
On the bright side, you can now preload the game digitally to be ready for launch day and we recently got a hands-on preview of the latest entry in the beloved franchise and have plenty of content to keep you busy until then.
In our The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hands-on preview, we said, “What truly caught me off guard with my time playing Tears of the Kingdom wasn’t just how much there was to do – and there was certainly tons – it was just how much creative freedom I had as I attempted to take on every corner of it so far.”
Hogwarts Legacy has finally arrived on PS4 and Xbox One consoles and there’s never been a better time to dive into the wizarding world. There is a lot to explore in Hogwarts Legacy and there are a ton of secrets hidden throughout the castle and beyond. If you’re just getting started with the game, there are plenty of resources to help you make the most of your magical adventure.
Our extensive Hogwarts Legacy Wiki guide dives into walkthroughs, locations, and beginner tips for just about everything. To help you with your playthrough, we’ve gathered the best tips, guides, and secrets you need to know about.
Choose the Right Hogwarts House
This may seem like a no-brainer for fans of the Harry Potter series who have known their Hogwarts house for years, but the house you choose can affect the storyline of the game. Each house is obviously associated with a different characteristic, but they also come with access to a common room and additional dialogue options from characters in your house.
The main difference between the houses in the game is that each one has a different quest leading up to a meeting with Richard Jackdaw. Check out our guide to choosing your Hogwarts house for more info.
Attend Your First Classes Before Exploring
The map in Hogwarts Legacy is enormous. Even just exploring Hogwarts Castle can be a seemingly endless endeavor. Because of this, it can be incredibly easy to get distracted very early on. Because your completion of the main story quests is directly connected to learning spells and unlocking additional areas, it’s best if you work your way through the storyline before wandering off.
Prioritize Getting a Broom
Although there isn’t any Quidditch in Hogwarts Legacy, that doesn’t mean there isn’t broom flight. There is nothing more satisfying than zipping around Hogwarts on an enchanted broom. Unfortunately, however, you don’t start the game with a broom right away. You’ll need to progress to the Riding Lesson quest to learn the basics before being able to purchase a broom of your own.
One of the coolest things about Hogwarts Legacy is just how big the map is. You could spend an entire day wandering around Hogwarts Castle and still find things you missed before. That also means that keeping track of where everything is located is essential to the game. With many collectible-based quests in the game, it is extremely helpful to have a map that tells you where all of the different items are located across the map.
When you first start the game, you will have 20 gear slots available. While this is fine for a while, you’ll find as you continue exploring that 20 is not nearly enough gear slots. There is a seemingly endless amount of gear lying around Hogwarts and even underwater. And unfortunately, once your gear slots are full you’ll need to remove items or sell them before you can collect any more.
Once you start to get the hang of combat in Hogwarts Legacy, the fights start to get a lot easier. One of the best ways to improve your combat prowess (and make it a little more custom) is to take advantage of the various talents and abilities available.
We recommend taking a look at our guide to the best talents to unlock in each of the 5 categories. Whether it’s additional spell sets or higher spell damage, it’s worth thinking about the talents will aid your playstyle the most.
Max Out the Alohamora Spell
Although there are quite a few secrets hidden in plain sight throughout Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, you’ll notice pretty early on that there are a lot of locked doors as well. To gain the spell Alohamora and start unlocking locks, you will need to complete The Caretaker’s Lunar Lament quest. This requires you to find 9 Demiguise moons in Hogwarts castle.
The first iteration of Alohamora will allow you to unlock level 1 locks, and you will need to find even more Demiguise Statues to move on to level 2 and 3. With a maxed out version of the spell, you’ll be able to open any locked door you encounter and the secrets within.
Find All Three Hogwarts Secrets
There are plenty of hard-to-find Field Guide pages throughout Hogwarts, but those aren’t necessarily secrets. There are in fact 3 secrets hidden behind puzzles within Hogwarts Castle that you can find and solve.
With The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just one week away from release, there has never been a better time to finish playing Breath of the Wild. For some folks that may just mean finishing the main story and collecting everything, but there’s more to Breath of the Wild than the base game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild DLC is an expansion pass that offers multiple DLC packs. Each pack includes special armor and items as well as additional DLC sidequests that continue your journey as Link. If you’re wondering whether or not you should pick up the expansion pass before diving into Tears of the Kingdom, here’s a quick rundown of what comes with it.
The Master Trials – DLC Pack 1
The first DLC in the Breath of the Wild expansion pass has a variety of benefits. The Master Trials DLC comes with two additional modes: Master Mode and the Hero’s Path Mode. Master Mode allows you to increase the tier of enemies you face and make combat all that more challenging. Whereas Hero’s Path Mode allows you to see where you’ve been so you can identify Korok seeds and Shrines you might have missed.
Outside of the additional modes, the main draw of this DLC is the Trial of the Sword quest. This is a challenge mode where you must survive a gauntlet of multiple enemy-filled levels. With 51 total levels, it is the most challenging trial in the game, but it ends with a power up to the Master Sword that is worth it.
This DLC pack also comes with 8 new clothing items (such as Majora’s Mask), a Travel Medallion that allows you to travel to locations outside of shrines, and a Korok Mask that shakes when you’re near a Korok seed.
The Champion’s Ballad – DLC Pack 2
The second DLC pack focuses less on additional modes and more on the expansion of the storyline. The Champions Ballad DLC features a new questline that can only be started after you complete the main quest to free the Divine beasts. After a mysterious voice beckons to link to challenge the Divine Beast Tamer’s Trials, he must prove himself by defeating enemies, solving new Shrine quests, and even challenging an all-new dungeon. Additionally, Kass the bard will be continuing his quest to complete the unfinished song.
Outside of the new quest, this DLC pack also comes with 9 additional clothing items hidden in treasure chests across Hyrule. It also comes with Ancient Horse gear that allows you to increase the number of spurs equipped as well as call your horse to you now matter how far away it is.
Where to Buy the Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass
The best way to get access to the Breath of the Wild DLC content is to purchase it directly from the Nintendo eShop. The expansion pass combines both DLC packs for $19.99, so you get access to all of the additional content listed above.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrives on May 12. You can already preorder the game ahead of time to make sure you can play it on day 1. Check out our hands-on preview of the game below:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom isn’t out for another week, but it’s now officially available for preloading. As of today, Nintendo Switch users who preordered Tears of the Kingdom digitally can now preload the game a week early as expected.
Of course, it still won’t be playable until the game officially unlocks, but preloading it now might help you jump back into the world of Hyrule a little bit earlier — as GameSpot pointed out, the file is 16.2GB.
Some fans have reported difficulty with getting the preload to begin, but it appears there’s a simple solution. According to Twitter user @PhantomxKairi, canceling the preorder and preordering again should prompt the preload to begin correctly.
My digital version of Tears of the Kingdom is now preloading on my Switch! For those who don’t see the preload yet (I used a NSO game voucher) cancel the preorder and preorder again, download will pop up! Can’t wait for May 12th <3 #Zelda#ZeldaTearsoftheKingdom#NintendoSwitchpic.twitter.com/gkAysxpXo0
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
Phil Spencer has accomplished a lot of great things during his nine-plus years as Head of Xbox. Under his leadership, Xbox has made incredible strides in:
Accessibility: If Xbox isn’t the industry leader in this, they are at the top of any list, both on the software side and the hardware side.
Game preservation: Backwards compatibility was Spencer’s first major initiative when he took over the business, and it’s been such a success that it’s been normalized across the industry.
Hardware power and reliability: The Xbox One S, One X, Series X, and Series S have all been quiet, powerful workhorses that haven’t suffered a single widespread issue, making the Xbox 360’s Red Ring of Death and Xbox One’s underpowered launch unit distant memories.
Value proposition: Xbox Game Pass, regardless of how you slice it, has been a resounding success for gamers.
Cloud gaming: The xCloud initiative – now a bundled feature within Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – lets you play your Xbox games from just about any device in any location.
DEI and culture: Microsoft and its studios now have more women and people of color in leadership roles and on development teams, taking noticeable steps to normalizing diversity in an industry whose customers come from all walks of life.
Unfortunately, though, Spencer has one notable black mark on his legacy: exclusive blockbuster games. Xbox has continually disappointed over the past decade in this most important area of all. It’s not that Xbox hasn’t had anything – it isn’t a zero-sum game, after all – but this generation was supposed to be a fresh start for Microsoft; a chance to win back the Xbox 360 customers it lost to Sony and the PS4. And so much of the groundwork had already been laid: the purchasing of many new first-party studios, the gamer-first Smart Delivery feature, and the aforementioned backwards compatibility and Xbox Game Pass initiatives.
Is Phil Spencer too nice to ever fire anyone who’s not getting the job done? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that the buck ultimately stops with him.
Is this Spencer’s fault? That’s difficult to say, but I’d lean towards no, because the fact of the matter is that while video games, like sports, are part of a multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry, winning and losing in the video game business isn’t as plainly black and white as it is in sports. If your favorite team loses year after year, you trade players, sign new ones, and eventually fire the head coach/manager and/or the general manager. You can’t apply that same binary logic to Spencer, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty, or anyone else in the world of games. Success is measured in a million different ways – many of which the public isn’t privy to. But it’s still fair to look to leadership and look at their track record as well as what those around them say about them.
Anecdotally, anyone I’ve ever talked to about Phil Spencer has expressed nothing but praise and admiration. So if he’s not the problem, what is? Is he surrounded by “yes men” who are afraid to ever disagree with him? Is Spencer himself too nice to ever fire anyone who’s not getting the job done? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that the buck ultimately stops with Spencer. He’s held the job longer than any of his predecessors – the people who built Xbox from the ground up into a major player in the multi-billion-dollar video game industry. And to his credit, he was a key part of that foundational success, working his way up before taking over what is now XGS in 2008. He earned his shot at the big chair, and by all accounts (including my own), he’s an incredibly nice person in addition to someone who worked his way up the ranks. And he’s got the receipts to show that he’s a hardcore gamer just like the rest of us – something that can’t be said of the heads of the other console makers.
Still, that steady flow of big blockbuster games continues to be a problem. In the Spencer Era, Lionhead shut down after an ill-fated attempt to turn Fable into a 4v1 multiplayer game, sending a pillar Xbox franchise into a decade-plus-long hibernation from which it has yet to emerge. Crackdown’s resurrection was a flop. Scalebound suffered a very public cancellation. 343 Industries has been plagued by inconsistency and inefficiency, causing (among other things) Halo Infinite to miss its launch alongside the Xbox Series X and S consoles. The Initiative is five years old and its Perfect Dark reboot is absolutely nowhere in sight (and worse, reportedly plagued by development issues). Xbox gamers have been locked out of major third-party games like Street Fighter V as well as both Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Physical first-party releases for the many gamers who still purchase their games that way are few and far between.
And now comes the unexpected faceplanting of Redfall, a promising new property from Arkane, a studio with a tremendoustrackrecord up until now. It also happens to be the first Xbox-exclusive release from Bethesda since Microsoft acquired them in 2020. Redfall was already delayed nearly a year, with Spencer tweeting at the time, “These decisions are hard on teams making the games and our fans. While I fully support giving teams time to release these great games when they are ready, we hear the feedback. Delivering quality and consistency is expected, we will continue to work to better meet those expectations.”
With Phil’s own words from a year ago in mind, it makes Redfall’s launch even more disappointing. To his credit, he took “full responsibility” for Redfall’s disappointing launch this week, also admitting that IGN was lied to regarding the IGN First gameplay video we posted last month that drew a hugely negative reaction, telling Kinda Funny, “I’ll even go back to the Redfall videos on IGN showing the game running at 60fps on PC at that point, knowing the game was going to run at 30fps at launch on console. We have to be transparent about what we’re showing, that what we’re showing is representative of what our console customer – our most committed customer to our brand, financially committed – what they’re gonna see, what they’re gonna play, and that transparency just has to get better.”
For many Xbox gamers, Redfall is the latest nick in a death by a thousand cuts.
Redfall may just be one game, and as such isn’t really what my frustration or any other Xbox owner’s frustration is about. For many Xbox gamers, it’s the latest nick in a death by a thousand cuts. It exhausted any last bit of patience and goodwill they had remaining, which now puts an incredible burden on Starfield. Fairly or not – and it’s definitely not fair to Todd Howard and the Bethesda Game Studios development team, but it is what it is – everything is now riding on Starfield. And by that I mean, any chance Xbox has to rehabilitate its sticky “Xbox has no blockbuster exclusive games” reputation. If Starfield falters or disappoints in any way come September 6 – in short, if it isn’t a 10/10 video game that defines what the platform can accomplish – then it may be that consumer confidence ends up being permanently lost. Worse, perhaps, is the likely downstream effect of Redfall’s straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back stumble: it may understandably rattle any Xbox gamer’s faith in Starfield – or any big Xbox games – being able to stick its desperately needed landing in the first place, which will only add more pressure to a studio whose incredible open worlds aren’t exactly known for their lack of bugs, especially at launch.
Why do these mistakes keep happening to Xbox, but not to Sony or Nintendo? Is talent an issue? Seemingly not – the revolving door at 343 Industries aside, there have been few high-profile departures at Xbox studios new or old. Only The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson, who left to take over the Diablo franchise at Blizzard in 2020, and Shinji Mikami, who recently exited from Tango Gameworks, come to mind.
Is it resources? Again, by all accounts the answer is no. Double Fine was given plenty of extra time (and thus money) to help Psychonauts 2, once a crowdfunded game on a shoestring budget, reach its full fantastic potential. 343 had who knows how many tens of millions more dollars poured into it when Microsoft (wisely) decided not to try and force it onto store shelves alongside the Xbox Series X in November of 2020. Rare was given the time and long leash to turn Sea of Thieves from the bare-bones concept it launched as into a fully fleshed-out live-service game with millions of players. Bethesda Game Studios was given an extra 10 months of development time on Starfield after Todd Howard had confidently called his release-date shot of 11/11/22 a full 18 months early. The fact is, Microsoft is a trillion-dollar company that should not and apparently is not pinching pennies with its projects.
But speaking of money, is it complacency? Are studios taking their foot off the gas after getting their big Microsoft payday? Playground was acquired by Microsoft in 2018 and then raised its own high bar again with Forza Horizon 5, taking home IGN’s Game of the Year award for 2021 in the process. More recently, Tango’s literal-surprise hit Hi-Fi Rush does not seem like the work of a team that’s simply going through the motions.
Could it be timing? Is the timeline associated with making great games just so misaligned with expectations that the only way to ship something to satisfy increasingly frustrated fans is to rush these games out? Perhaps Xbox leadership saw Redfall’s likely outcome early on and chose to cut bait so the talented team at Arkane Austin could sooner move on to a new project and get a fresh start. Maybe they felt like they simply had to get something out there as soon as possible, given the ever-increasing pressure from fans to deliver some kind of big first-party exclusive.
In the end, it’s probably not Spencer’s head that should be on the chopping block. Or any single person’s, for that matter. Instead, the collective Xbox team must do better. Because the bottom line is that Xbox fans – customers who’ve spent many hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the Xbox ecosystem and been nothing but patient – are tired of being told, “The great games are coming!” year after year. And they deserve better than what the Xbox Series generation has delivered so far.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
PixelOpus, the small Sony Interactive Entertainment-owned studio best-known for its work on Concrete Genie, appears to be shutting down.
In a tweet posted today, PixelOpus said that the studio’s adventure “has come to an end” while thanking its fans. The tweet read:
Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end. As we look to new futures, we wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate players who have supported us, and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart. We are so grateful!
Dear friends, our PixelOpus adventure has come to an end. As we look to new futures, we wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the millions of passionate players who have supported us, and our mission to make beautiful, imaginative games with heart. We are so grateful! ❤️? pic.twitter.com/rQO2Cgvhnq
Pixel Opus senior environment artist Bob Archibald appeared to confirm the news, tweeting, “I like to think that with #ConcreteGenie – we made the world an ever-so-slightly better place… and not too many games these days have the chance to try and do that. I will always be grateful for my time building imaginative worlds with this incredible team. <3.”
I like to think that with #ConcreteGenie – we made the world an ever-so-slightly better place… and not too many games these days have the chance to try and do that. I will always be grateful for my time building imaginative worlds with this incredible team. <3 https://t.co/F4Rk5Y0mf9
