The United States military is facing a massive information crisis after top secret U.S. documents regarding the war in Ukraine were leaked through multiple Discord servers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the documents reportedly contain details about the war in Ukraine, U.S. allies, American penetration of Russian military plans, and more. Dozens of documents have surfaced so far with many bearing “Top Secret” or “Secret” labels, according to the report.
What’s even more surprising is the path the information took across the internet. The documents apparently first appeared in a small Discord server with mostly American users. The information eventually passed through a Minecraft Discord server, with screenshots obtained by BBC dating the posts to early March. The classified information continued to spread, making its way through 4chan, Twitter, and Russian social network Telegram, before U.S. officials launched an investigation last week.
According to investigative news site Bellingcat, the leak may have started on a Discord server called WowMao, which is run by the YouTuber of the same name. A member of the server posted over 30 documents across March 1 and March 2, predating their appearance in the Minecraft server by a couple of days. It wasn’t until April 7 that the documents were removed from the Discord server.
However, Bellingcat’s report notes that the leak also may have originated as early as January in a now-deleted Discord server known as Thug Shaker Central. However, the report noted that it’s impossible to verify the authenticity of these claims given that the server no longer exists.
The Minecraft server in question is called Minecraft Earth Map. On March 4, two users were apparently arguing over Minecraft maps and the war in Ukraine, prompting one user to write, “here, have some leaked documents” while posting 10 documents about Ukraine. It seems the documents sat in this server unnoticed by government officials for over a month.
WSJ’s report says the U.S. is assessing the damage of the leak, calling it “one of the most significant leaks of highly classified U.S. documents in recent history”. Defense officials have said some of the documents appear authentic, but others may have been altered. The original source of the leak is currently unknown.
Now, Discord is working with law enforcement to investigate the leaks. In a statement to Kotaku, a Discord spokesperson said in part, “It is Discord’s highest priority to ensure a safe experience for our users. When we are made aware of content that violates our policies, our Safety team investigates and takes the appropriate action, including banning users, shutting down servers, and engaging with law enforcement.”
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
In recent years, the trend of beating challenging video games using objects as controllers that are not normally controllers has only grown. We’ve seen people beating games with dance pads, the bongo drums from Donkey Konga, literal bananas, Rock Band guitars, and more. Well, add “ocarinas” to the list, because someone just beat The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by playing one.
Streamer gv_mimi, who goes by Mimi, is a variety streamer with a focus on Breath of the Wild challenges, speedruns, other Zelda games, and more. Since the beginning of March, they’ve been attempting to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by mapping notes to an ocarina and playing it, note by note, to make Link move around and fight enemies. Needless to say, not an easy feat:
But over the last month, Mimi has gotten pretty dang good at controlling Link with that thing, despite being limited by how fast they can breathe into the ocarina and the general clumsiness of making Link move in a 3D space with it. While at first they struggled to even fight regular enemies, Mimi slowly improved their skills, eventually tackling Breath of the Wild’s dungeons and bosses and finally, yesterday, defeating Ganon himself.
Mimi tried to take a victory lap today by going through the Master Sword trials “upside down”, but in a tweet a few hours ago had to ditch the idea because “everything else broke.” They’ve also polled their readers asking which instrument and game viewers wanted to see from them next, offering up not just the ocarina, but a melodica, a piano, a clarinet, a recorder, a trombone, and an otamatone. We’re rooting for Wind Waker with a trombone.
It’s unclear if Dark and Darker will ever see the light of day, but one fan is taking matters into their own hands by trying to recreate the upcoming game in Fortnite.
Reddit user fermelon recently revealed that they are attempting to recreate Ironmace’s game using Fortnite’s creation tool, posting a short clip of a work-in-progress version of the map. The gameplay shows a Fortnite character working their way through a very dark castle with nothing but a torch to light the way.
Commenters pointed out that the minimap displayed in the corner is a recreation of Dark and Darker’s minimap. No enemies appear in the gameplay clip, but it’s still an impressive recreation of Dark and Darker’s setting. Fermelon said they’re planning to share the island code as soon as Epic approves their creator application, so other Dark and Darker fans can check out the recreation for themselves.
“Works of nostalgia are cool, but most of the time they’re going to be other people’s work and they’re likely not going to give permission,” Sweeney said. “And we really urge everybody to think about what can we really do to create news genres or games and really very original things.”
As for Dark and Darker itself, it’s currently caught in a legal battle between developer Ironmace and video game publishing company Nexon. Nexon has accused Ironmace of using stolen assets and code in the development of the dungeon-crawling PvPvE game, which has led to delays for public playtests, content removals from the game’s Steam page, and drama surrounding a Dark and Darker GoFundMe campaign.
Creations like this are possible in Fortnite’s recently-revamped Creative Mode. The Unreal Editor for Fortnite — also known as Fortnite Creative 2.0 — runs on Unreal Engine 5 and introduces expanded modeling, textures, VFX, and more. Immediately after the creator tool was unleashed last month, multiple teams started hustling to release recreations of Fortnite’s original island.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
The Razer Edge 5G is the latest iteration of mobile gaming and takes it one step further by allowing games to play outside of WiFi range with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband Network.
We were so excited to learn more that we sat down with Kelsey Peterson, the gaming lead on the product marketing team at Verizon. One of the biggest takeaways from speaking with her is the Razer Edge 5G is made by gamers, for gamers. And at the same time, it’s not just limited to gaming. They wanted to elevate the mobile gaming space with a custom-built, next level tablet that would change the way you think about mobile gaming. Let’s get into it.
First thing to keep in mind: it’s not a mobile phone or an e-reader. It’s a tablet built like a PC for gaming but don’t worry, no driver updates here!
The second big thing is the Razer Edge 5G seamlessly takes gaming out of the home. You may be thinking to yourself, why now? Because, as Kelsey Peterson said, “We finally have a network with a capacity that can stream AAA games. It means I’m not limited to what my phone can support” which leads to potential that’s never been seen before.
The Razer Edge 5G will bring AAA console gaming to wherever you are as “5G Ultra Wideband is fast enough and reliable enough you can’t tell the difference between something that’s downloaded on the device and something that’s being streamed.” The Edge 5G provides TV-quality performance in the palm of your hand, with 2-way speakers with Verizon Adaptive Sound for more immersive, 3D surround sound. The display also comes in at just under 7” while also rocking an HDR AMOLED™ FHD+ panel and up to a 144Hz refresh rate to ensure your games look better and run smoother.
You know what else can’t be matched? The performance. The Razer Edge 5G runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon® G3x Chipset with cooling capabilities that actively cool the device as it heats, all while keeping the dive quiet with its tiny built-in fans. That cooling tech isn’t just ensuring that your graphics stay sharp, it’s also enabling you to game longer with up to 40% more battery life! All that combined with the device’s low latency means “you can see a night and day difference” during long play sessions compared to cloud gaming on a mobile phone.
So what about the games? They’ve got that covered, [with the Razer Edge 5G] “mobile gaming now means I have my entire Xbox library on there. I’ve got almost my entire Steam library through Steam Link or Nvidia GeForce NOW”. Peterson loves the ease at which she can play games, then pop the controllers off to use the tablet to stream her favorite video apps from the Android marketplace. With the Razer Edge 5G, you’re free to pause a game in one location then unpause it somewhere else! It’s akin to Netflix, pause your show, and sign in at a different spot- exactly where you left off. There’s no starting over or making additional accounts. And that’s true of the device overall- it’s about your games, your library, your way. The Razer Edge 5G can be a primary gaming device, and could easily be a partner device to your consoles or PC, taking those gaming experiences with you when you leave. All that power in your hands? It’s hard to believe. But thanks to HyperSense Haptics for complete control and total immersion, your hands will believe that power for themselves.
The Razer Edge 5G takes advantage of Verizon’s full 5G network as well as 4G LTE and Wi-Fi 6E. That means you can be connected no matter where you go. Visit Verizon.com for the latest pricing and promotions. For those who want to learn more, check out the product page!
Have your Razer Edge 5G and a game in mind? Then you have what you need for a brand new mobile gaming experience, wherever you are.
Microsoft’s already-impressive Xbox Design Lab is expanding even further, as the company announced a ton of new colors for its high-end Xbox Wireless Elite Series 2 controller.
Available starting today, the Elite Series 2 controller now has the choice of 16 main colors, 12 face button colors, 17 accent colors for the paddles and D-pad, and 25 accent colors for the rest of the controller. The new expansion starts at a price point of $149.99.
Some of the new colors include Garnet Red, Glacier Blue, and Deep Pink, along with new options like black-out ABXY buttons. You can take a look at some of the new colors for yourself in the image below.
Microsoft has also highlighted the Inspired By collection, where game studios have taken a shot at designing an Xbox controller inspired by classic Xbox characters and franchises.
In our review of the Elite 2 controller, we said, “Microsoft has delivered a fancy controller with some handy tweaks to the original. It comes with a decent number of extras to add value, but the experience suffers from faults that shouldn’t be present in this price range, especially when the original Xbox Elite controller is now cheaper and has almost the same functionality but without the issues.”
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
The developer states that the technology is capable of accurately simulating light throughout any given scene, taking into account the characteristics of emissions from an unlimited number of sources to create faithful shadows, reflections, and global illuminations.
As a result, the full set of new features are extremely GPU-intensive, and will only be available on a limited number of NVIDIA cards.
At launch, Cyberpunk 2077’s Ray-Tracing Overdrive mode is available for PC players sporting the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series (4070 Ti and up), and can also be run at 30 fps at a resolution of 1080p on NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3090. PC players who have other ray-tracing capable cards will be able to render fully path-traced screenshots via the game’s photo mode.
Patch 1.62 also saw the implementation of NVIDIA’s artificial intelligence-based DLAA anti-aliasing mode, along with support for the Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.1 performance improving upscaling technology. Check out the official Cyberpunk 2077 blog for a full list of the updates and relevant PC specifications.
CDPR has branded the release of the new features as a “Technology Preview”, to reflect the fact that the developer is expecting the resource intensive graphics features to have significant “issues” at launch.
“It pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in technology,” read the update blog. “However, because it is so new and fundamentally different from what we’ve been using so far, we know it’s not going to be perfect from the start and players might experience some issues – that’s why we’ve decided to call it a ‘Technology Preview’”.
The new graphics options are switched off by default. However, players with the requisite hardware will be able to switch to the Ray-Tracing: Overdrive preset – or enable the Path Tracing feature alone – via the graphics menu. CDPR has also stated that it is committed to improving the feature moving forward.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
The snowball of games delayed out of 2021 and 2022 has settled in 2023, coalescing into the most exciting games lineup of the decade so far. 2023, arguably, marks the proper start of the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation with Unreal Engine 5 support building and an increasing number of developers dropping support for last-gen hardware.
Each of the three console manufacturers has at least one blockbuster release scheduled this year — Starfield for Xbox, Spider-Man 2 for PlayStation, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo — complemented by a generation-best third-party lineup that includes Hogwarts Legacy, Resident Evil 4, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Street Fighter 6, Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 16, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Hades 2, and Mortal Kombat 12.
The first quarter of 2023 is now behind us, and already the year has lived up to its lofty expectations: 20 games have received a review score of 8 or higher from IGN, including two 10s. Click through the gallery below or continue scrolling for our list of the best-reviewed games of 2023 so far.
This list only includes standalone software; despite qualifying scores, expansions/DLC (e.g., Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania) and hardware (e.g., PSVR2) are not included. This list will be updated weekly as new releases receive qualifying review scores.
Review Score: 8 (“Great)
These games leave us with something outstanding to remember them by, usually novel gameplay ideas for single-player or multiplayer, clever characters and writing, noteworthy graphics and sound, or some combination thereof. If we have major complaints, there are more than enough excellent qualities to cancel them out.
Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart is a deeply ambitious, highly imaginative, and consistently impressive atompunk-inspired attempt at picking up where the likes of BioShock left off – something it’s done with a lot of success. It certainly makes missteps, chiefly with an irritating leading man and a self-indulgent habit of using the same tired tropes it tries to make fun of, but this stern, superpowered, and stringently solo shooter has worked its way under my skin despite these flaws. Atomic Heart didn’t always blow me away, but it definitely has the ticker to punch well above its weight. – Luke Reilly
Company of Heroes 3 Multiplayer
It doesn’t have the bells and whistles that you might consider standard in a competitive RTS in 2023, but the core experience of Company of Heroes 3 is what really matters. What I’m saying here is that CoH3 has heart – it has that special something where moving your units to outplay opponents doesn’t just look pretty or mean you’ve played more hours and memorized the metagame, but genuinely out-thought the other player. A combination of interesting army design, good maps, and RTS fundamentals means I’m confident that playing Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer is going to be a fixture of my time off for years to come. – Jon Bolding
Have a Nice Death
Have A Nice Death is a punishing but satisfying roguelike with some diabolically tough boss fights. The darkly dorky setting and office humor lend it more than enough charm to make me want to discover more of its world. But it’s made significantly more frustrating than it probably needs to be by very stingy long-term progression and limited defensive abilities in comparison to its huge array of fun-to-use offensive weapons. When I wasn’t feeling the discouraging void inside dragging me down, I was reveling in the hundreds of ways I could make these visually and mechanically memorable undead wish they never lived at all. – Leana Hafer
Meet Your Maker
Meet Your Maker is an awesome action game that beautifully executes on a terrific concept. It’s missing some depth in its tools of destruction, has some bugs and wonkiness, and its thin story is a big ol’ nothing burger, but as a starting point for another live-service game from the team that brought us Dead By Daylight, it’s extremely impressive. Running through dungeons to best whatever unknown deviousness your fellow player has left for you is a great time, limited only by what the community can concoct, and building your own bases is the ultimate reward for your hard work that never stops being hilarious. As someone who loves a good heist and relishes any opportunity to watch others fall before my evil genius, Meet Your Maker has been hard to put down. – Travis Northup
Resident Evil Village VR
Resident Evil Village VR is far more than just a gimmicky afterthought, adding enough improvements and tweaks to justify fans of both the series and virtual reality reliving Ethan’s not-so-great European vacation one more time. While the controls be a little cumbersome as you take the time needed to master them and the VR perspective can cause a few awkward viewing angles, this is still a very enjoyable return to an already great game. – Taylor Lyles
Sons of the Forest (Early Access)
Sons of the Forest takes everything its predecessor did well and does it a little bit better. And considering how much I enjoyed the original, I can easily recommend this strong follow-up. Exploring a huge, beautiful, deadly island through the changing seasons is a treat on its own. The new base building mechanics could entertain me for days without ever touching the main story. And to top it all off, we have smarter and more unsettling enemy behavior paired with thoughtfully improved combat. It’s already great, and it’s still in Early Access. With some healthy performance optimization and shining up of an impactful but sloppy ending, it could become incredible. – Leana Hafer
Wild Hearts
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force is using Wild Hearts to flirt hard with Capcom right now. But using a beloved game as the template for a new one isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and Wild Hearts manages to introduce plenty of fun new ideas to the Monster Hunter formula while recapturing it well enough to stand proudly alongside the series that so clearly inspired it. The way it simplifies and streamlines things makes for a slightly shallower package, but its karakuri building adds a fresh new way to interact with the map in its place. And while its lower monster variety is certainly disappointing, I’m still having enough fun that I’m excited to party up with some friends and dive back into both challenging endgame fights and fanciful karakuri decorations alike. – Tom Marks
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s combat plays very differently from Team Ninja’s own Nioh games – more in the mold of Sekiro than Dark Souls – and yet it manages to excel and falter in just about the same areas. When it comes to the clashing of melee weapons, Wo Long is among the best in the genre, full stop. Its action is fast and thrilling, the options for taking down its ferocious enemies are many and immensely rewarding to master, and its deflection-heavy combat is one of the most satisfying since Sekiro. All of those strengths outweigh an overbearing loot system, poor storytelling, and even a disappointing lack of variety in enemies. If not for that, Wo Long might’ve been one of Team Ninja’s greatest achievements – as it is, it’s simply a great one. – Mitchell Saltzman
WWE 2K23
Whether you want to experience a TV-inspired story of young wrestling talent rising to glory, chop your way to the top at your leisure, take a guided tour of the most humbling moments in the career of one of the greatest to ever do it, or some other more nerdy diversion, WWE 2K23 is worth pinning down. It’s at least incrementally better in almost every way from last year’s entry in that combat feels more rewarding, flexible, and consequential. Where it overachieves, like in MyGM, it starts to finally restore the feeling that we could be on the ramp watching a new golden age of pro wrestling games make its glorious entrance. – Jarrett Green
Review Score: 9 (“Amazing”)
We enthusiastically recommend that you add these games to your to-play list. If we call a game Amazing, that means something about it seriously impressed us, whether it’s an inspired new idea or an exceptional take on an old one. We expect to look back at it as one of the highlights of its time and genre.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
You know you’ve just played something special when you’re left with a bittersweet feeling while the credits roll. As I closed the book on Bayonetta Origins, I kept thinking about how it was an absolute joy through and through. From its impressive, fantastical story moments full of childlike charm to its clever platforming puzzles and satisfying battles, this is a superb action-adventure where every piece comes together to create a wondrous playable storybook. Its wild dual-character concept doesn’t really evolve much once you get the hang of it, and maybe its conclusion could have done more to leave a lasting impact. But it’s a journey I’ll cherish all the same, and one that’s been brought to life through a beautiful art style, stellar voice performances, and an outstanding soundtrack. Bayonetta Origins puts a neat little bow on an iconic franchise, and I’m glad we got to see that there was so much more to our beloved witch. – Michael Higham
Dead Space Remake
With its stunningly redesigned spaceship, smartly and subtly enhanced story, and spectacularly reimagined action scenes, Motive Studio has managed to successfully breathe new life into the seminal sci-fi horror universe of Dead Space. Despite the fact I’ve returned to the 2008 original several times over the years and found it to hold up fairly well, my latest journey through the darkened hallways of the USG Ishimura still managed to consistently surprise me and pull me into Isaac’s plight far more than ever before, while still satisfying my desire to butcher undead astronauts with an enjoyable arsenal of wildly unsafe mining tools. It’s clear that this superb Dead Space remake has been a labour of love for the team at Motive Studios, who’ve very carefully balanced innovation and renovation with preservation, and to their credit the end result is undoubtedly the definitive way to experience – or re-experience – one of the best survival horror shooters that Capcom never made. – Tristan Ogilvie
Fire Emblem Engage
It’s no small feat that Fire Emblem Engage is able to tell a simple-but-fun story that celebrates the vast history of its series in a way that doesn’t rely on prior knowledge of that legacy. Building the perfect team of diverse characters and pairing them with the Emblem Rings of past heroes allows for tons of customization and strategy, and blasting through the enemy ranks with their special powers is always immensely satisfying. Both its main and side missions provide a good deal of challenge, and clever twists and obstacles offset a reliance on overly familiar mission objectives. Couple all that with a suite of quality-of-life improvements that immediately feel vital and Fire Emblem Engage proves itself worthy enough to be counted alongside the legacy it honors so well. – Brendan Graeber
Gran Turismo 7 VR
Gran Turismo 7 is the same amazing simulation-focused racer it always has been, but playing in a PlayStation VR2 headset has elevated it in ways I wasn’t expecting. Driving its intense and alluring races in VR adds such a high level of tactility that you can physically feel the tweaks you make to your car, demystifying a lot of the otherwise intimidating optional customization for the average player. It also looks stunning, making up for flat menus and the lack of interactivity in its cabins with impressive lighting and audio alike. If you’re buying a PlayStation VR2 headset anyway, and you had to buy just one game to keep you busy for an indefinite amount of time, make it this one. – Gabriel Moss
Hi-Fi Rush
I swear Hi-Fi Rush could be a premier cartoon series. It’s got best-in-class animation, endearing heroes to cheer for, and villains you love to hate, all wrapped in good-natured humor. But on top of that everlasting charm, it turns a dynamic rock soundtrack into its greatest weapon, putting meticulous detail into syncing the beat to all aspects of the experience. It gives combat a uniquely satisfying momentum that other stylish-action games don’t offer, even when the platforming and targeting system drop a couple notes along the way. Hi-Fi Rush is a memorable journey that marches to the beat of its own drum and without a doubt stands among the action greats. – Michael Higham
Hogwarts Legacy
In nearly every way, Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter RPG I’ve always wanted to play. Its open-world adventure captures all the excitement and wonder of the Wizarding World with its memorable new characters, challenging and nuanced combat, and a wonderfully executed Hogwarts student fantasy that kept me glued to my controller for dozens of hours. It’s certainly weighed down by technical issues, a lackluster main story, and some poor enemy variety, but even those couldn’t come close to breaking its enchanting spell over me. – Travis Northup
MLB The Show 23
After a somewhat disappointing 2022, it’s amazing how far forward Sony San Diego has pushed MLB The Show 23. It seems like every element has received attention, whether its the improved scouting in the Franchise mode, updates to match the current MLB rulebook, or a vastly more helpful practice mode. This remains a gorgeous showcase for baseball, with some of the most lifelike sights and sounds to behold in a sports game. It remains to be seen if Sets and Seasons in Diamond Dynasty will frustrate in the long run, but the crowning achievement this year is the Negro Leagues mode. This playable piece of baseball history is a triumph, presented with care, grace, and attention to detail. It’s courageous and bold, like the pioneers it highlights, and it’s astonishing to experience something so affecting from a baseball game. If for nothing else, that alone makes MLB The Show 23 a must-play. – Justin Koreis
Pizza Tower
Pizza Tower is a very special 2D platformer that transcends its inspirations and becomes something even greater. It’s a short ride, and it’ll be most appealing to those who are keen to restart levels in an effort to improve their score, but even if that’s not you, there’s a ton to like here. It is one of the most straight up fun and refreshing platformers I’ve played in recent memory, sporting an unforgettably unique art style, excellent animations, immensely rewarding platforming, wonderfully creative level design, a joyful sense of humor, and one of the best soundtracks of the year so far. Move over Wario, Peppino Spaghetti is-a number one now. – Mitchell Saltzman
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is full of charm and nostalgia alike, with cutesy versions of my favorite Final Fantasy characters and excellent remixes of the iconic songs that accompanied them. The light RPG mechanics, coupled with traditional rhythm mechanics, is easy enough to get into and deep enough to entertain fans of both. It’s a little bit of a letdown that there isn’t any storyline for your party of heroes to follow or another hook to keep me playing beyond beating my own scores in Endless mode, but its impressive tracklist makes Theatrhythm Final Bar Line an enjoyable way to listen to and play along with the most memorable songs from the Final Fantasy series. – Jada Griffin
Review Score: 10 (“Masterpiece”)
Simply put: this is our highest recommendation. There’s no such thing as a truly perfect game, but those that earn a Masterpiece label from IGN come as close as we could reasonably hope for. These are classics in the making that we hope and expect will influence game design for years to come, as other developers learn from their shining examples.
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Prime has been one of my favorite games for decades, but I’m still shocked that its bones are so strong. 21 years later, in 2023, Metroid Prime Remastered had to do so little beyond modernizing the controls and updating the graphics to become one of the best games you can buy once again. This ultimate solo mission is a respite from the noise of hint-giving companions and lengthy cinematic cutscenes that make up much of today’s single-player games. Those things have their place, but Metroid Prime Remastered shows that you can tell a story and create a grand adventure by building an amazing world and creating unique and fun tools to explore it with. I strongly encourage you to delve into Metroid Prime Remastered, and get lost. – Samuel Claiborn
Resident Evil 4
Whether you’re a fan of the original or a newcomer with a hankering for some action-heavy horror of the highest quality, Resident Evil 4 is like a parasite-riddled Spaniard: a total no-brainer. Its combat is friction-free but no less stress-inducing thanks to its ferocious cast of creatures, its story rapidly shuttles through a series of action scenes that are diverse in structure but uniformly unwavering in intensity, and its world is rich in detail and full of fun and often snarling surprises. Its improvements over the original are too numerous to list, from simple quality-of-life changes to completely overhauled boss fight mechanics, and with the exception of the disappointingly diminished personality of the merchant, the team at Capcom has barely put a foot wrong. Whaddaya buying? Only the most relentlessly exciting Resident Evil adventure of all time that’s been rebuilt, refined, and realised to the full limits of its enormous potential. A wise choice, mate. – Tristan Ogilvie
What’s your pick for the best game of 2023 so far? Let us know by voting in the poll or dropping a comment below!
Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.
Media Molecule has announced that it is ending live support of Dreams. From this September, no more updates will be provided for the game, and many community events will be concluded.
In a post to the Dreams website, Media Molecule explained that live support will end on September 1, 2023. Along with the end of any updates, the studio is also bringing events such as DreamsCom, All Hallows’ Dreams, and the Impy Awards to a close.
“We’re very proud of Dreams and grateful for the way you, the community, have embraced all it has to offer,” said Media Molecule in the post. “Whilst we’ve always had the desire to build on the foundation of Dreams and expand the experience, when reviewing our plans we were not able to define a sustainable path. We made the decision to change the studio product strategy. This is obviously disappointing to many people inside and outside of Mm, however we are incredibly excited for what will come next.”
The studio made it clear that Dreams will still be available after September 1, and players will continue to be able to play, create, and share with others. The game will also remain available to purchase.
“Although this is challenging news we do have a few more updates on the way, including the much anticipated Tren, and a significant improvement to animation and our last Create mode update,” the developer promised.
While active development on Dreams will finish, it does seem as if Media Molecule intends to support Dreams in other ways in the future. The post promises that “We will continue to share and celebrate creations in Dreams with the wider world on our social channels, our streams, Impsider roundups and more.” In-game curation will continue, ensuring that the most interesting creations are promoted to the community.
This change comes as Media Molecule works to “shift our focus to an exciting new project.” What that new project is has yet to be detailed; “we’re not ready to talk about at this stage, but stay tuned for more information in the future.” The studio has confirmed that the project is not Dreams 2, nor part of the Dreams IP.
Before the end of live support, Media Molecule will be migrating its servers in late May in order to “preserve the security and stability of Dreams.”
Since its launch in 2020, Dreams has been home to a huge variety of weird and wonderful creations, from an incredible Avatar: The Last Airbender game, to an amazing recreation of PlayStation Home, to an absurdly realistic train station. Despite its live support coming to an end, it will no doubt remain a home for its fantastically creative community for a long time to come.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, is constructing a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet that’s big enough for King Kong to try out.
Announced on Twitter, the museum’s upcoming Donkey Kong arcade game will stand at nearly 20 feet tall, making it the largest playable Donkey Kong arcade game in the world. The Strong Museum also said that Nintendo of America provided input on the project.
What’s even better is that this gargantuan version of Donkey Kong will be available for guests to play via a smaller, human-sized control panel located at the base of the machine. We can only wonder if the bigger buttons on the machine itself also work to control the game. Donkey Kong is coming to the museum on June 30, and you can check out what the machine will look like for yourself below.
As part of our June 30 expansion, The Strong will create the world’s largest, playable Donkey Kong arcade game. The game will stand nearly 20-feet tall and will be available for guests to play! Thank you @NintendoAmerica for providing input on the project.#DonkeyKong#Arcadepic.twitter.com/xQhsRVvCib
Donkey Kong will be a part of the museum’s 90,000 square-foot expansion dedicated to the history of video games, the museum announced. It’s about 370% bigger than the original, and it will run on a motherboard from an original Donkey Kong cabinet.
Along with the reveal of this big arcade cabinet, Donkey Kong is currently co-starring in the biggest movie in the world: The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll notice Donkey Kong got a redesign from the version of the character we’re used to seeing in Donkey Kong Country and Super Smash Bros. Shigeru Miyamoto said the redesign actually was supposed to give DK “a comical personality and design reminiscent of the original character” seen in this very arcade game.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
We’re excited to announce the star-studded celebrity gaming series Lost Odyssey is returning to the physical table after two years of virtual webcam games for one of the biggest events yet! The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War™ & Penny Dragon present Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe — an actual play game event showcasing the World Premiere of the brand new Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game. You can catch the Extra Life trailer featuring Elijah Wood here in case you missed it!
Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe was filmed in front of a live audience during this past year’s LA Comic Con. Partnered with Fathom Events and Legion M, the game and charity campaign will be exclusively previewed in front of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 20th Anniversary Extended Edition release on April 13th and 19th in theaters nationwide.
You can catch the entire game on April 13 (Thursday) at 11am on IGN.
How to Watch the World Premiere of the brand new Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game
If you want to tune in, we’re hosting the video right here on IGN.com and on our accounts across all major platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Facebook. Here are some of the places where you can watch the stream online:
LOTR fans can anticipate narration by Elijah Wood at this event and a tabletop roleplaying experience like no other. The showcase will be starring game master Kate Welch (Acquisitions Incorporated), alongside players including:
Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil)
Reggie Watts (The Late Late Show with James Corden)
TJ Storm (Godzilla, Deadpool)
Luke Gygax (GaryCon, GaxxWorx)
The Dark Lord Sauron himself, Sala Baker (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
You also won’t want to miss behind-the-scenes and a first look at the teams who made the event possible, all driving people to support Extra Life for Kids.
More About Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe
The game supports Extra Life for Kids, a program of Children Miracle Network Hospitals.
The original story for this one-shot set in the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E system was created by lifelong LOTR & Tolkien-verse fan and game master Kate Welch, with showrunners DiMuccio & Miller bringing the game to life with the teams of Lost Odyssey and Mind’s Eye Tribe Action Actor’s Academy.
Within the actual play, audiences will see original music performances, stunt choreography, and the introduction of an original villain from Lost Odyssey lore who was teased back at the end of their first ever live show in 2019, Lost Odyssey: The Book of Knowledge. One pandemic later, the story continues…
What Is The Extra Life Marketplace?
Powered by eBay, The Extra Life Marketplace is a space where gamers and collectors can explore, play, and bid on all kinds of gaming gear, exclusives, and collectibles, with 100% of the proceeds from every sale going towards Extra Life for Kids.
By adding #UNITEFOREXTRALIFE into the title of a product listing and setting 100% of the sale profits to go to Extra Life, eBay will pull items into the Marketplace page so that anyone, anywhere can add to the shop to help the cause. Visit the marketplace now at: lostodysseyevents.com
Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe is presented by The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War™ (an officially licensed mobile strategy game based on the iconic trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien, developed by NetEase Games) and Penny Dragon (an indie TTRPG publisher with books packed with original content, art, narratives spanning elemental fantasies to sci-fi epics). Brought to you from sponsors including Free League Publishing (Creators of hit TTRPGs like ALIEN The Roleplaying Game, Blade Runner The Roleplaying Game, The One RingTM, and of course the new The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game), Magpie Games (Avatar: Legends, Root The Roleplaying Game, and Urban Shadows), Spidermind Games (creator of the new technologically advanced, Dragon Eye Dice), Miniature Market (the online gaming superstore), DUST (a diverse platform for visionaries across the sci-fi community), GaxxWorx (veteran-owned company focused on creating well-designed and fun games and gaming accessories for everyone), and Syrinscape (the app that brings immersive sound effects and music to your tabletop roleplaying games, offering unique soundscapes that will elevate your game at home), many of whom’s games and products, you can get in the Ext.
