Category: IGN

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4.

It’s been a long time coming but Metal Gear fans finally have something concrete to look forward to. Although series creator Hideo Kojima has moved on to other projects, his long-beloved stealth action franchise is making a grand return to the forefront of gaming with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Now that we have our first look at Delta’s gameplay from the new trailer shown at the Xbox Games Showcase, we’re even more excited to get our hands on it. But for now, we want to take a look back at the original Metal Gear Solid 3, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year on November 17th, 2004.

Specifically, we’re going to talk about how MGS3 tells a more vital prequel narrative than most other franchises can match. What was at the time seen as a course correction from Metal Gear Solid 2’s lack of Solid Snake playtime and perhaps even a delaying action of paying off 2’s narrative threads to the eventual Metal Gear Solid 4, the benefit of hindsight has shown that MGS3 is a critical installment in the series’ mythology. Sure, it received great reviews on release, but why does the story not really work if you just played MGS1, 2 and 4 as a trilogy when they happen in chronological order? Let’s take a look at what makes MGS3 so essential.

A New Mission

After two games set in a “few years in the future” sci-fi setting, Kojima went in an entirely new direction with Metal Gear Solid 3. The mechanics and systems he used to create such iconic stealth action gameplay in MGS1 and 2 could have been iterated on to even greater success, but 3 made the bold leap of developing new ways to engage with the genre. From the camo index system where players had to adjust their disguise to match their surroundings, needing to hunt for food in the wild to keep up stamina, curing serious injuries in the field, and depriving players of many of the futuristic gadgets that were so helpful in previous games, MGS3 forced fans to rethink their strategies as they explored the Soviet jungle in pursuit of objectives.

The mission took players through a variety of exotic locations and exciting sequences, with the Shagohod chase in particular being one of the best action set pieces on the PlayStation 2. Yet if the Metal Gear franchise is known for anything gameplay wise besides stealth, it’s a penchant for creative boss fights against bizarre villains, and MGS3 has one of the best rogue’s galleries in the franchise. The Cobra Unit were incredibly expressive both in visual design and how they let the ways they fought give players an insight into their personalities instead of each one telling an elaborate backstory as they died. The bosses interacted with the new gameplay systems, such being able to use camo to hide from The Fury, or tricky players giving The Fear food poisoning using rotten food to quickly drain his stamina. The crown jewel of the Cobra fights was The End, which used a massive environment and all the game’s stealth mechanics to create a proper sniper’s duel that for some players went on for over an hour.

Kojima’s talent for merging story and gameplay reaches its peak in the game’s final encounter: the battle between Snake and The Boss. With only 10 minutes before the arena is bombed to smithereens, all of the skills players developed over the course of the journey, especially in regards to sneaking and CQC, are tested as they try to defeat Snake’s old mentor. The white flowers and trees of the arena matching The Boss’ outfit, the slow build up of the Snake Eater theme song as the timer winds down, and forcing the player to push the button to deliver the final shot during what appears to be a cutscene all coalesce to form one of the most artistically resonant final battles in game history. The design template Kojima used in previous games is expanded and refined into its purest form in MGS3, making the game a fitting prequel not just in story, but also in gameplay.

In Love and (Cold) War

Set in 1964, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is, at first glance, a back to basics take on the Metal Gear series. Snake is back in the lead role, albeit technically not the same one as previous games, with the protagonist instead being the original Snake, aka Big Boss, whose DNA was used to create the clones Solid, Liquid and Solidus. The setup is essentially classic MGS action but in the jungle, and with a 007-style spy thriller/romance angle added on top. The complicated philosophical concepts and labyrinthine bad guy plans from MGS2 are dropped for a more straightforward Cold War story about Snake trying to stop a nuclear war from breaking out, while also dealing with his relationships with his apparently traitorous mentor, The Boss, and his budding maybe-maybe-not romance with his spy companion EVA.

What some likely took as an artistic retreat from Kojima into less controversial territory has instead revealed itself over the years to be a conscious addition of key emotional context to what had become a sprawling multi-decade saga. Trying to connect all the various threads of MGS lore and the political machinations of dozens of characters and factions can be a dizzying prospect, but MGS3 cuts through the chaff and reminds the audience that these are stories not just about nations and lofty ideas but about characters, ones who MGS3’s script mines for a surprising amount of depth. At the center of it all is Snake, a man and soldier still holding onto the last of his ideals, only to lose all of it as he “succeeds” in the mission that would break both him and his hope in his country.

His battles with The Boss, who is revealed to not be a traitor but instead a patriot allowing her reputation to be destroyed in order to preserve world peace, shatter Snake’s faith in everything he’d ever been led to believe in. Meanwhile, his romance with EVA turning out to be a ruse to pilfer him of the Philosopher’s Legacy ruins his ability to put trust in anyone besides his fellow soldiers. These two relationships crumbling not only gives an answer as to why he eventually becomes Big Boss, the villain of the original two Metal Gear games on the MSX2, but also establishes that the recurring theme of soldiers being betrayed by their governments and wanting to build nations of their own that had been one of the central running motifs of the series, has a foundation that goes beyond the conflict fans were already familiar with. Even before Solid Snake was born, this was just a fact of this world, and cementing that world is what makes MGS3 so crucial to its immediate successor.

A Solid Circle

Besides telling its own story, MGS3 also adds important definition to the world of Metal Gear that helps solidify (hah) the plot threads that MGS4 would conclude. Sure, in timeline order, MGS4 is technically a sequel to MGS2. But when looking at the actual meat of plot and world-building, MGS3 is the game that most informs MGS4. We’re talking about more than basic stuff like learning about the Shagohod, which was the genesis from which Metal Gear technology would later develop, or introducing the character of Big Boss to series fans who never played the original two MSX games (which, let’s be honest, is most of them). MGS4 only works as an ending to the saga because of how it builds off of MGS3’s themes and characters.

The idea that the conflicts between soldiers and their governments that led Big Boss and other Metal Gear villains into wanting to establish some version of Outer Heaven are cyclical across history only sells if we’ve actually seen that conflict, well, across history. The reveal that EVA is the one who gave birth to Solid and Liquid and truly did love Big Boss despite her betrayal would come out of nowhere without us becoming invested in her in MGS3. And without getting to know them when they were young and charismatic, the twist that the Patriots, the ultimate villains of the entire Metal Gear saga, were in fact the mission support team who helped the original Snake (and by extension, the player) in the 1960s wouldn’t register as such a tragic gut-punch.

Sure, there are worthwhile prequels that fill in lore gaps or recontextualize aspects of plot or character: Rogue One, Andor, Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, and Furiosa to name a recent few. But what makes MGS3 stand out from the pack is that in most other cases, later stories in the timeline work perfectly well on their own without the prequel material. Metal Gear stories set after MGS3, such as MGS4, MGS5 or Peace Walker, don’t really function dramatically without knowing the story from MGS3. Nothing that happens in MGS3 is a “bonus”; it is the beating heart of a saga Kojima had been telling across numerous games since 1987. It is the connective tissue that brings the original MSX games, the early Solid series, and the final entries together into a single whole. That it’s also an excellent title on its own terms, full of some of the series’ most exciting action set pieces and strongest character work, only further cements its status as the greatest prequel ever made.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.

Scalpers can get in the bin, as Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree Collector’s Edition is back in stock and on sale right now at trusted UK retailer The Game Collection. These are still incredibly popular, meaning this is extremely time-sensitive as they could sell out. but we couldn’t just sit by and not shout about it. The Collector’s Edition is down to £203.96 at the moment for PS5 and Xbox using code DAYLIGHT15. This is the best preorder deal in the UK right now, and over £26 off the list price of £229.99.

This promo code is applicable across the whole of eBay, but preorders for one of the most anticipated DLC expansions of all time certainly caught our eye, especially as it’s for the Collector’s Edition. But, the DAYLIGHT15 code will expire by June 17 at 11:59 PM, so there’s a limited time left to secure this offer. If they are out of stock by the time you’re reading this again, make sure you’re following @IGNUKDeals on Twitter/X for immediate updates for when they come back.

So what’s included? Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (base game not included), a Figurine of Mesmer the Impaler (46cm), an exclusive hardcover artbook (English), and a Digital Soundtrack. This sounds perfect for any big fans or collectors out there, so there’s no like the present to get your order in. Plus, we likely won’t see a better deal than this before the release on June 21.

In case you slept on this game when it first came out, we liked it rather a lot. In our review, the first ever 10 we’ve given a FromSoftware game, we said: “Throughout it all, while the fundamentals of combat haven’t changed much from what we’ve seen before, the enormous variety of viciously designed enemies and the brutal but surmountable bosses have brought its battles to a new level. Even with all the threads I didn’t manage to tug on my first playthrough (of what I’m sure will be several), what I was treated to can easily be held amongst the best open-world games I’ve ever played.”

It was also recently announced that Elden Ring has sold 25 million units ahead of Shadow of the Erdtree. In a post on X/Twitter, the colossal 25 million units sold milestone was revealed alongside a thank you to fans who have purchased the game. Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco announced the game crossed 23 million units sold in March 2024, meaning it’s grown another two million in less than three months. This all comes ahead of what will likely be another sales boost for the game too when its only expansion Shadow of the Erdtree launches.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

After being delayed for over a year, Lollipop Chainsaw RePop, the remake of the 2012 hack-and-slash game, will release on September 25 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Developed by Dragami Games, Lollipop Chainsaw RePop follows Juliet Starling, a high school cheerleader and descendant of a family of zombie hunters, as she and the disembodied head of her boyfriend fight off the zombie apocalypse with her trusty chainsaw. While RePop won’t see the return of its original director and writer duo, Goichi “Suda51” Suda and James Gunn, Dragami Games CEO Yoshimi Yasuda assures fans that the remake will live up to fans’ expectations.

RePOP FIRST TRAILER now available!
RePOP FIRST TRAILER 配信のお知らせ
First Trailer https://t.co/XUFNN9UbWM#LOLLIPOPRePOP#ロリポップチェーンソーRePOP pic.twitter.com/ImnrAbEuQG

— 安田善巳 Yoshimi Yasuda (@yasudaD5) June 14, 2024

“RePOP is a definitive version of the game which leaves the story unchanged, with the focus on quality-of-life improvements and additional gameplay content,” Yasuda wrote in a tweet.

Key among RePop’s updates from the original are shortened load times and heightened resolution and frame rates. More specifically, the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions of RePoop will support 4K resolution and 60 fps, while the Switch will support full HD resolution and 30 fps. Other quality-of-life updates include an auto-quick time event feature, improved camera responses, and a streamer mode for music.

Lollipop Chainsaw Repop was first announced back in 2022 before being delayed from summer 2023 to summer 2024. In a follow-up tweet to the game’s release date and trailer, Yasuda revealed that players will have over 30 outfits to fashion Juliet in RePop. While all of the original game’s costumes will be available in RePop, Juliet’s copyrighted ensembles – like her Deadman Wonderland and Highschool of the Dead anime costumes – won’t be coming along for the ride.

RePOPの衣装数は３０着と大幅にアップ！
しかも版権物を除いてオリジナル版衣装は全て登場!!
新衣装では、サムライや忍者、着物ドレスなど和風衣装に注目です!!!#ロリポップチェーンソーRePOP#LOLLIPOPCHAINSAWRePOP pic.twitter.com/3DWGpO5NH5

— 安田善巳 Yoshimi Yasuda (@yasudaD5) June 14, 2024

In our original review of Lollipop Chainsaw, we gave the game a 5 out of 10, saying, “Lollipop Chainsaw doesn’t even attempt to differentiate itself from the genre, and most of what it does try new in the realm of its characters and writing ultimately ends up taking away from an incredible-on-paper action game.”

Despite our reservations about Lollipop Chainsaw, the game has garnered cult classic status among gamers with an affinity for the hack-and-slash genre. Hopefully, RePop will resonate with players the same way the original game did.

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.

Nostalgia is one of the most powerful, over-weaponized forces in the video game industry. But it also opens up avenues for cool takes on classic ideas. Hearkening back to PS2-era action platformers, Akimbot already seems like a great example of nostalgia done right. Full of homage to classics from that era like Ratchet and Clank, I had so much fun jumping, shooting, and air-dashing through an early version of Akimbot’s first level.

As it turns out, action-platformers are French indie studio Evil Raptor’s bread and butter. 2021’s Pumpkin Jack was a cult hit among platforming fans when it hit back in 2020, and if my half-hour demo with Akimbot is any indication, it seems like it’s poised to scratch the same itch with a charming world, responsive platforming controls, interesting character designs, and well-designed levels. I just wish my demo was longer.

You’ll play as Exe, a tacit, mysterious robot with some platforming and combat chops. Shipset, your considerably more talkative, floating companion, used to work as an accounting bot who grew tired of his job and broke out, seemingly throwing a grenade behind him and angering all the wrong people. Starting in a spaceship, imprisoned by intergalactic mobsters, our lead duo breaks out after their traveling prison crash-lands on a tropical beach planet.

This opening cutscene did a great job of setting up both the odd couple-like dynamic between the leads and Akimbot’s overall tone. The quippy and charming cutscenes felt like watching a favorite Saturday morning cartoon that never was. Exe and Shipset continued chatting after I set out, continuing to flesh out the characters. Thankfully, their bickering evolved quickly enough that it never got annoying.

While Akimbot nails the look and aesthetic of the PS2 era, it is undoubtedly a modern game. Gorgeous lighting and particle effects paint the beach planet with ray-traced warm, chill, inviting vibes. From what I could tell, the quality of life is all there too; I didn’t find any of the occasionally frustrating clunkiness that so often keeps platformers from that era from aging well.

Exe, meanwhile, controls like a dream. He deftly jumped from platform to platform, with movement options that felt immediately natural to me as a big fan of 3D platformers. I had so much fun just messing around with his moveset – like the double jump and air dash he’s got from the get go – as I learned how to make the most of a jump. His air dash ends with a little extra air time and height, and once I figured out how to perfectly time my second jump at the apex of that dash, I started really cooking with Exe’s moveset. Soon, I was clearing multiple platforms at a time with relative ease.

Even his melee abilities give some extra oomph to his movement. While using his slashing melee attack on the ground is satisfying enough in its own right, doing it midair lets him perform a spinning, rising attack that adds yet another means of catching some extra height. The movement was far and away my favorite and the most exciting part of Akimbot. In fact, based on what I’ve played so far, I have a feeling Evil Raptor is going to really stretch what’s possible with Exe’s moveset as the game progresses. Even in Akimbot’s first level, which is pretty easy by most standards, I found ways to have fun and push my own abilities. To me, that’s the hallmark of a good 3D platformer.

Don’t get me wrong, though, the shooting also feels really good. Once you get a hang of Exe’s movement, Akimbot presents you with a choice between four different guns. I went with the all-around option: a pair of semi-automatic pistols that crack with just the right amount of punch as their bullets connected with my mechanical foes. I also picked up a more traditional machine gun along the way, which also felt great as I dispatched far-off foes during an on-rails sequence. I also found options to upgrade and level up each of these special starting weapons. I didn’t get to dive too deep into that, unfortunately, but it’s nice to see that there’s going to be some tangible progression for each gun.

Akimbot’s movement and shooting both get high marks based on the demo I played. Now we just need to see what Evil Raptor manages to accomplish with the moveset it’s created. But if the first level is any indication, Akimbot’s sure to be a hit with 3D platforming fans.

WIth over 50 party games split between developer Jackbox Games’ 10 different Jackbox Party Packs, players have increasingly requested a more unified way to switch between their Jackbox games. If these games are in different packs, players often need to remember which pack a game is in, close their current pack, and launch the next one. Now, after years of player requests, Jackbox Games is finally developing a way to see all of its games in one place.

Today in a post on its website, Jackbox Games announced the Jackbox Megapicker, a game library that lets players view, sort, and launch their games from different Party Packs in one location.

“With over 50 games, more and more you are saying that it takes a lot of effort to switch between packs to find all of the different games you want to play,” the post reads. “Enter The Jackbox Megapicker: a free product exclusive to Steam, where you can view your game library, sort and filter the games you love, and quickly launch an evening of fun.”

The Jackbox Megapicker is headed to Steam as an exclusive this July.

Jackbox Games mentioned that more details will be revealed on its website and in an upcoming Reddit AMA. The team also encouraged players to request features for the Jackbox Megapicker via social media.

Years after the first Party Pack was released in 2014, Jackbox Games saw a spike in popularity after its party games became a social distancing staple in 2020. Jackbox’s next Party Pack is Jackbox: Naughty Pack, its first adult-focused Party Pack (despite most people’s use of… already naughty answers in text-based games like Quiplash) that it announced at ID@Xbox in April. While it doesn’t yet have a release date, it’s due out this year.

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, and they’re currently developing a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

When it’s time to unplug, shut off the TV and reduce screen time, board games always have your back when it comes to scratching that lingering escapist itch and drive to continue playing. Luckily, there exist countless board game tie-ins to some of the most popular video games around, and we’ve collected some of our favorites here. Whether you’re looking for a long-term campaign or a quick to setup party game, these board games will let you continue living in these worlds when you need a break from technology.

TL;DR Video Game Board Games

• Fallout
• Slay the Spire
• Bloodborne
• Resident Evil 2
• Pac-Man
• Tetris
• Dark Souls the Board Game: Tomb of Giants
• Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game
• The Oregon Trail

Fallout

• Players: 1-4
• Age Range: 14+
• Play Time: 2-3 hours

Fresh off the release of Amazon’s Fallout series, now is the perfect time to explore the Wasteland right at your own kitchen table. To start, you’ll choose from various scenarios which will determine the map setup. Similar to the beloved open-world RPGs by Bethesda, tabletop players will uncover the map, build upon numerous skills, fight irradiated enemies, interact with different factions, and complete quests, all while battling for influence over the Wasteland. Very immersive and detail-oriented, this game is great for long-term sessions.

Slay the Spire

• Players: 1-4
• Age Range: 12+
• Play Time: 45 minutes

Probably the one video game on this list most deserving of a board game tie-in, Slay the Spire takes after its digital roots by having players take on the role of one of the provided heroes and go on a Roguelike deck-building climb through the Spire. Like the video game, players will choose from a number of different rooms each with their own characteristics that will affect their game; encounters, where you’ll fight regular enemies, elites, where you’ll fight even stronger ones, events, campfires, treasure, the merchant, and finally the boss. By the nature of Roguelikes, Slay the Spire is sure to give players hours of enjoyment as they try different characters, builds, and items each time.

Bloodborne

• Players: 2-4
• Age Range: 14+
• Play Time: 60-90 minutes

The Bloodborne board game sees players take on the role of Hunter as they fight to vanquish the evil stirring within Yharnam. As a campaign board game, Bloodborne offers players endless replay value, as no two sessions should be too alike with its modular map tiles. Featuring hundreds of various cards, tokens, and game pieces, this macabre adventure will test players’ skill and decision making as they uncover the secret to the unyielding plague and fight to stop it. Immersion is at the forefront here, and the game’s highly detailed miniatures ensure that you truly feel in their shoes.

Resident Evil 2

• Players: 1-4
• Age Range: 12+
• Play Time: 90-120 minutes

The success of the Resident Evil 2 tabletop adaptation paved the way for Steamforged Games to create similar experiences covering both the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis’ stories. However, much like the video games, Resident Evil 2 is arguably its best entry. Faithful to the source material, the game has players work cooperatively as they take control of either Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield as they fight their way through hordes of zombies to make their escape in multiple available scenarios. Collect weapons, healing items, and keys as you navigate the environment, evade the undead, and solve puzzles. You can even use the iconic ink ribbons and typewriters to affect your sessions!

PAC-MAN

• Players: 2-5
• Age Range: 10+
• Play Time: 30 minutes

From Buffalo Games, the arcade classic makes its triumphant tabletop return. Enjoyed in both cooperative or competitive modes, the player in control of Pac-Man aims to navigate the maze, chow down on pellets, and collect fruit while the players controlling the ghosts do their best to avoid or catch Pac-Man. Played on four metal tiles that make up the game board, it requires some initial assembly and setup, but repeat games are quick and easy to get started. The electronic Pac-Man figure even makes his iconic “waka waka” sound!

Tetris

• Players: 2-4
• Age Range: 8+
• Play Time: 20-30 minutes

Also made by Buffalo Games, Tetris is a competitive head-to-head game where players maneuver, rotate, and drop their tetriminos to get the highest score. Just like the video game, the next up piece is on full display, represented by a card, so players can plan their strategy accordingly. You earn points by completing lines, matching pieces to symbols on their tower, and completing specific achievements. Quick setup and play time makes this a great pick for parties and younger players.

Dark Souls: The Board Game – Tomb of Giants

• Players: 1-3
• Age Range: 14+
• Play Time: 90-120 minutes

Originally envisioned as content for the original Dark Souls board game Kickstarter campaign, the Tomb of Giants core set is a standalone adventure that’s great for newer players, and got its namesake from the infamous location familiar to players of the video games. Each player starts the game by choosing a class and gear, then starts navigating the catacombs, taking on skeleton archers, or resting at the bonfire. Actions are limited, so choose wisely. This game is very faithful to its source material, with its punishing combat and RPG elements that shine from the level up system. Tomb of Giants also features new playable characters and over a hundred new cards, all compatible with existing Dark Souls board game products.

Cuphead: Fast-Rolling Dice Game

• Players: 1-4
• Age Range: 8+
• Play Time: 30-45 minutes

Much like its digital counterpart, Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game is an extremely fast-paced cooperative game where the object is to take out all the bosses using dice-heavy mechanics to deal damage. Setup is a breeze, as the structure of the boss deck never changes. The game begins with each player picking one of the four available characters: Cuphead, Mugman, Ms. Chalice, or Elder Kettle, and is then played through multiple rounds consisting of five phases, where players will set up their attacks and take on the boss. Rounds are timed, so pick your dice rolls carefully! Cuphead sports high replay value in that you can reup to beat your score and upgrade your abilities that carry over to future runs. See our Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game review for more info.

The Oregon Trail

• Players: 2-6
• Age Range: 12+
• Play Time: 30-45 minutes

Dying of dysentery has never been so fun. In this quick to setup and play card game, players work together to make it to Oregon without perishing. Sessions are relatively quick, as you will die hard and fast from the various Calamity cards waiting to spell your doom. Oddly challenging and very luck based, you win by making it to the end of the Trail by playing fifty trail cards. One downside is that if a player dies on the first turn (which is more common than you’d think), they have to sit out that entire session until the party either wins or all die. Regardless, it’s a great recreation of the source material and is sure to steal a few laughs.

For deeper dives into specific board games, check out our Aeon’s End buying guide, as well as our surprisingly huge buing guide for Carcassonne, one of the earlier board games to bring serious gaming depth to the populace.

Discord integration on PS5 is about to improve, as Sony announced today that it is rolling out an update allowing PS5 users to join a Discord call directly on their console.

Sony and Discord announced PS5 integration for the app last year, but before today’s announcement, users who wanted to join a Discord call from their PS5 had to manually transfer the call to their console via the Discord app on a mobile device or computer. This new update now streamlines the process, requiring just your PS5 rather than two devices.

You’ll soon be able to join Discord voice chats directly from your PS5 console 🎧 The update is gradually rolling out over the coming weeks, starting in Japan/Asia: https://t.co/kcJtWAYOLB pic.twitter.com/KGOFSauZvH

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 13, 2024

A new PlayStation Blog post notes that the update will “gradually roll out over the coming weeks,” with Japan/Asia PS5 owners getting access to the features first, and Europe, Australia/New Zealand, the Middle East, and the Americas to receive the update in that order.

Beyond PS5 integration, Discord has also partnered with Microsoft to offer Discord in various ways on Xbox gaming hardware. The partnership first started in 2022. More recently, in August 2023, Microsoft announced that the partnership expanded to allow Xbox users to stream Xbox games directly to Discord.

Discord enhancing the PS5 experience comes less than a month after the company announced it wanted to pivot its focus from being the all-purpose messaging app to doubling down on its gaming-centric roots, whether it is players using it as a form of communication or developers leveraging the app as an supplemental communication tool with players.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Helldivers 2’s highly anticipated 01.000.4000 patch is finally here, bringing with it a mass of gameplay tweaks, balance updates, and fixes to the popular co-operative shooter, along with invite-only lobby creation, and a big change to the galactic map.

Today’s update seed the introduction of a number of buffs for the game’s weaker stratagems in an attempt to increase their viability, including the Orbital Gatling Cannon, which is now capable of softening up heavily armored targets. Others were tweaked to make their performance more consistent, such as the Eagle 110mm rocket pod stratagem.

The update also makes the supply lines that connect worlds visible on the galactic map, allowing players to see where an invading faction is launching an attack from. Super Samples have also been made available during ‘extreme’ difficulty 6 missions, which will give players who are uncomfortable playing at higher difficulties the opportunity to upgrade ship modules using the resource.

Extreme weather events have also been adjusted on some planets, making fog less dense, and the paths of fire tornados more random, which will hopefully prevent them from transforming extraction points into a burning hellscape. Artificial lighting surrounding human outposts has also been adjusted to make it less distracting to the player, who also now has the option of hiding in large patches of vegetation to make themselves less visible to enemy patrols. On that note, patrol spawning has been rolled back to how it worked prior to patch 01.000.300 following feedback from the community.

Invite only lobbies have also been introduced, alongside a slew of fixes that address UI issues, crashes, and gameplay bugs, including one that allowed players to throw an infinite number of grenades by pressing the quick grenade button after closing the stratagem select menu. The devs have also remedied a bug that allowed the shuttle to take damage during extraction at the end of a game.

Arrowhead’s mysterious game master – known only as Joel – recently handed down a new major order to Helldivers 2 players on the behalf of Super Earth that came with a serious moral dilemma. Players have been given the choice of saving the world of Marfark, which would unlock the MD-17 Anti-Tank stratagem, or of protecting the planet Vernen Wells, which would net them zero stratagems but would ensure the safety of the digital civilian survivors that are trapped inside a childrens hospital. With two days left to go, it would seem that the overwhelming majority of players have opted to save the children, with Vernen Wells currently sitting on a 41 percent liberation rating, relative to Marfark’s 0.14 percent.

This week has also seen the release of the new jungle-themed Viper Commandos premium warbond, which adds new armor and weapons to Helldivers 2, while also introducing the first cosmetic skins that can be used to customise hellpods, exosuits, and extraction shuttles. Arrowhead recently announced that it had chosen to “focus on quality over quantity” when it comes to upcoming warbonds, opting to slow its release cadence in order to ensure more time to polish designs prior to release.

Check out the patch notes below for a full list of all the changes introduced in the new update.

Helldivers 2 update 01.000.400 patch notes in full:

Overview

For this patch, some of the major areas of interest are

• Visible Supply Lines & Attack Origins in the Galactic War.
• Stratagem, weapon, planet, and enemy balancing updates.
• Various crash fixes, stability improvements, and other updates.
• Invite-only lobby creation.
  The right most option in the Lobby settings. Currently only localized in English. Additional languages coming in the next patch

Balancing

Goal with stratagem balance changes this patch:

With these balance changes we wanted to buff up some of the weaker stratagems to make them more viable and add more possibility for variety in the loadouts. We also changed a few to make them more consistent, but the goal was to keep a similar or higher power level.

We are looking into the stratagems more to see if there are any other stratagems that might need some buffs or changes to make them more viable. We also want to be better at explaining what our goals are with the changes, please see the linked blog post for more information.

A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry

• Decreased spread
• Prioritize larger targets
• Increased target distance from 75 to 100m
• Decreased Rockets per salvo 2 to 1 (to get a better ammo economy)
• Increased explosion radius from 1m to 4m
• Decreased explosion armor penetration (Explosion can no longer damage heavy armored enemies. The projectile still has enough AP to damage heavily armored targets.)
• Increased projectile damage from 200 to 300

A/MG-43 Machine gun sentry

• Reduced cooldown from 180 sec to 120 sec.

A/MG-43 Machine gun Sentry, A/G-16 Gatling Sentry, A/MLS-4X Rocket Sentry, A/AC-8 Autocannon Sentry, A/M-12 Mortar Sentry, A/M-23 EMS Mortar Sentry:

• Increased durability* from 0% to 80%

E/MG-101 HMG Emplacement

• Increased rotation speed by 100%

MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield

• Increased explosion damage from 250 to 350

MD-I4 Incendiary Mines

• Increased explosion damage from 150 to 210

Orbital Gatling

• Increased fire rate by 25%
• Increased rounds per salvo from 30 to 60
• Increased armor penetration (Can damage heavy armored enemies)
• Decreased cooldown from 80 sec to 70 sec

Orbital Precision strike

• Decreased cooldown from 100 sec to 90 sec
• Decreased Spawn/Call-in time from 4 sec to 2 sec

Orbital Airburst Strike

• Decreased cooldown from 120 sec to 100 sec

Eagle 110MM Rocket Pods

While these changes may look like a straight up nerf, that is not the intention. Please see the blogpost for more information.

• Improved targeting
• Increased projectile armor penetration (now does 100% damage to heavily armored enemies instead of 50%)
• Decreased projectile damage 600 to 250 (to compensate for the improved targeting and the extra damage from the increased armor penetration.)
• Decreased explosion armor penetration (explosion can no longer damage heavily armored enemies)

Eagle Strafing Run

• Increased uses from 3 to 4
• Increased armor penetration, can now damage heavily armored enemies.

GL-21 Grenade Launcher

• Increased explosion damage by from 350 to 400

MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun

• Increased projectile damage from 100 to 150
• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 23% to 33%
• Decreased fire rate from 450/750/900 to 450/600/750
• Decreased reload time from 7 to 5.5 sec
• Increased stagger strength

MG-43 Machine Gun

• Decreased reload time from 4 to 3.5 seconds
• Increased max amount of Magazines from 3 to 4

MG-43 Machine Gun, A/MG-43 Machine gun Sentry, A/G-16 Gatling Sentry and EXO-45 Patriot Exosuits Gatling

• Increased projectile damage from 80 to 90
• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 7.5% to 25%

AR-23 Liberator, M-105 Stalwart and AX/AR-23 “Guard dog”

• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 10% to 23%

AR-23C Liberator Concussive

• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 23% to 35%

BR-14 Adjudicator

• Increased magazine capacity from 25 to 30
• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 10% to 20%

AR-61 Tenderizer

• Increased projectile damage from 60 to 95
• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 10% to 17%
• Decreased ammo capacity from 35 to 30
• Decreased number of magazines from 10 to 8
• Increased stagger strength

PLAS-101 Purifier

• Increased projectile armor penetration to be the same as the explosion
• Decreased explosion damage falloff

CB-9 Explosive Crossbow

• Increased explosion armor penetration to be the same as the projectile
• Increased demolition strength (Can destroy Bug holes and Bot Fabricator buildings)
• Added medium penetration tag

R-36 Eruptor

• Increased total damage from 420 to 570 damage per shot

R-63 Diligence

• Increased projectile damage against durable* body parts from 10% to 25%

* Some enemies have durable body parts that receive only a portion of base damage from projectiles

Other

• Updated Recoil stance modifiers: We made changes to the recoil stance modifiers to make them more consistent and also reward being prone more. Almost all of them will improve the recoil and only a two have been made worse (and only by 10%).

See the blogpost for a more detailed description.

Gameplay

General

Removed operation modifier AA-Defenses: Reducing the stratagem slots by 1

• We want to look over the operation modifiers in the future. Right now there are too few of them which become repetitive and the ones we have do not create variety or promote different playstyles. For now, we removed this one because it only encourages the players to bring the best stratagems and does not promote variety

Disabled the Retrieve Essential Personnel defend event mission for the time being

• This is to give the mission the proper attention and care that it deserves as it is now deemed not fun enough or performing as we want it to.

Super Samples

• Super samples now spawn on difficulty 6. The reason for this change is that we feel that their existence only on difficulty 7+ forced some players to play the game on a harder difficulty than they wanted to comfortably play on. We do however still want a gating of them but a less punishing one.

• The SEAF Artillery stratagem is no longer blocked by stratagem jammers or Ion Storms, and is available after the mission timer ends and the destroyer leaves close orbit.

• Enemies in melee range of the gates in the Evacuate High-Value Assets mission will now attack it more consistently.

• Added the ability to chat from in-game menus and mission loading screen.

• Updated some first person crosshairs to improve readability.

Social

• Invite-Only lobbies are now supported

Armors

• New armor passive Peak Physique (+50% melee damage, +30% weapon ergonomics)

Planets & Hazards

Spike Plant

• The spike plant that appears on certain planets has been reworked.
• No longer causes bleed or stamina drain if hit by the plant explosion or spikes.
• Now “pops” three times sending spikes everywhere, dealing increased damage.

Fire Tornados

• Fire tornados have had their behavior changed, they should no longer feel like they actively respond to player movement, and should move more randomly.
• While a fire tornado storm takes place, enemy vision is reduced. Player vision is unaffected.

*Fire tornados being more random should result in more variance in situations players find themselves in. Tornados are significantly less likely to pile up and overlap on extraction points or objectives, and will generally be a bit easier to deal with.

Tremors

• Tremors have had their spawning tweaked to be slightly more random.
• Tremors have had their epicenter size and effect range increased.

*These changes should result in more situations where enemies away from the player get stunned, as well as reducing how consistently the player has a tremor occur next to them.

Ion Storms

• Added additional VFX for Ion Storms.

Visibility

A lot of planets have had their fog amounts tweaked to be a bit less harsh and dense, to provide less fatigue from constantly fighting on planets with bad visibility. We still intend there to be foggy planets with worse visibility, but the balance was a bit off.

• Desert planets such as Erata Prime, Chort Bay, Hellmire, and similar.
• Highlands planets such as Varylia 5, Matar Bay, Oshaune, and similar.
• Artificial light sources have had their intensity rebalanced and reduced across the board to fix situations of lights completely blinding the player.

Unexploded Hellbomb

• The unexploded malfunctioning hellbombs that can sometimes be found on planets will now explode immediately if hit with strong explosions or heavy weaponry. They will still have the same delay if hit by small arms fire or weaker attacks.

Vegetation

• Vegetation that’s large enough to slow the player now has an extra function. When inside the vegetation helldivers will be harder to detect, reducing their detection range by enemies. This effect stacks with other detection reducing effects such as nighttime, being crouched or prone, or things such as the scout armor passive.

Enemies

Acid Effect

• The acid effect applied by hunters, bug mines, etc. now allows you to sprint while under the effect and slows you by 30% instead of 50%. Duration has been increased from 3 to 4 seconds. These changes are intended to make it less punishing for players to be slowed while fighting the Terminids, This allows us to use it in more places without making the experience very punishing, for example the Bile Spewers.

Armored enemy balance

• We have toned down the amount of heavily armored enemies like Bile Titans, Chargers on higher difficulties and instead spawn more hordes of smaller enemies, the difference should be quite noticeable and the amount should be at least 30% less than before during bug breaches. We have also toned down slightly how many Hulks that spawn for the Automatons. Our intent is to ease up on the demand of anti-tank weapons and by having more of the other enemies give a better incentive for the group to bring stratagems and weapons that take care of hordes.

Patrols

• Patrol spawning is now back to how it worked before patch 01.000.300 with some slight tweaks so that the levels are less empty if you are far away from important locations with enemy presence.

Stunning

• Medium and large sized enemies now don’t get stunned as easily. This will not affect the stratagems that stun, and will mostly just affect how easily the Pummeler can stun larger enemies

Terminids

Bile Spewer and Nursing Spewer

• Spewers will now get slowed if they lose their legs.
• Spewer puke now applies the acid effect.
• Spewer puke now can only damage helldivers up to 4 times per second and the helldiver cannot take damage multiple times from the same projectile. This should reduce instances where you are instantly killed by it.

Bile Titan

• The Bile Titan’s head is slightly less durable against weaker anti-tank weapons. It’s not a large change, and will mostly matter for weapons like the railgun.
• The Bile Titan’s puke can now only damage the helldiver 4 times per second and the helldiver cannot take damage multiple times from the same projectile. The damage is still very deadly so running through their puke is not recommended. Their puke now also has a bigger spread.

Charger Behemoth

• The Charger Behemoth is now joining the battle on higher difficulties, it can now also take more damage than before. This enables us to spawn fewer chargers but still retain the difficulty.

Chargers

• Will now only show bleedout effects from the body if the bleedout state has started. It can still show bleedout effects from the mouth without having started the bleedout state.

Automatons

Hulk Scorcher

• The Hulk’s flamethrower now does less damage and cannot damage helldivers more than 4 times per second. In addition, the helldiver cannot be damaged multiple times by the same flame projectile. This should reduce instances where you are instantly killed by it.

Automaton Tanks

• The Tank armor value on the front has been lowered to be the same as the non-vent sections on the rear of the tank. The intent was initially that it was supposed to be more armored in the front, but the visual language did not show that.
• The vents on the back of the Tanks turret still has the same armor value as before, but will check for explosion directions correctly now.

• The damage of exploding automaton jump packs has been decreased by 50%, it will still set you on fire though.

Galactic War

Introducing Supply Lines & Origin of Attacks

Supply lines were previously not shown on the Galactic War map to reduce clutter and improve readability. However based on the feedback from our community we have made an implementation showing them on the map. This solution tries to maintain the general readability while still exposing the system to players in game.

You will now also be able to see which planet an attack is originating from, potentially allowing for the community to stop the attack at its source. We have also updated visuals in the sector and planet info pop-ups.

Fixes

• The FAF-14 Spear targeting has been reworked and should now function much better. However it has lost the ability to target Automaton Spawners, this is not intended and will be fixed in the future.

Intense Heat and Extreme Cold environmental modifiers will now affect the Quasar Cannon’s reload speed and will show correctly in the HUD.

• Reload speed on Cold planets -2.5 sec
• Reload speed on Hot planets +2.5 sec
• The radar pulse that detects enemies on the mini-map is now visible.
• Most of Automatons weapons have now gotten tighter limits to how much the projectile they shoot can deviate from its weapons muzzle angle. What this means is that situations where devastators shoot sideways and similar should be fixed.
• The weapons of the Exosuits are now allowed small adjustments in the angle they fire their projectiles versus their muzzle angle. This should make their weapons more accurate.
• Ballistic shield now collides with grenades.
• The unblock button should no longer disappear from the social menu.
• Blocked players can no longer join the blockers lobby through recent players.
• Fixed a bug where enemies killed, missions played, and missions completed stats would not be properly displayed in armory.
• Fixed issue where the player can throw an unlimited amount of grenades by pressing the “Quick grenade” button right after closing the Stratagem menu.
• Helldiver now also switches to the last active weapon when out of grenades, fixing the issue where they would be holding a stratagem ball without the stratagem menu being open.
• Fixed some text overlap in various locations.
• The burning effect applied to the player when a combat walker dies is now a normal burn. The intent is that you should be able to escape it alive. But you will be on fire so hit the ground!
• The extraction shuttle can no longer take damage preventing extraction. New high grade materials directly from Super Earth R&D have been utilized.
• On PC you can now navigate the super credits menu with “WASD” keys
• Fixed an issue where sample count in missions were incorrectly displayed
• Levels no longer generate with blocked areas preventing player progression.
• Your Ships bridge is no longer cast in perpetual shadow.
• Reduced situations where blue stratagems would bounce when placed next to the detector tower.
• The warbond menu now displays correct emote & victory poses in the thumbnail.
• War Medals cap is now displayed in the UI.
• Fixed a bug where the Helldivers armor could appear invisible for other players.
• Refined player reporting UI.
• Fixed issue where Helldivers could be launched into the air if close to a Bile Titan or Factory Strider corpse.
• Fix for Factory Strider sometimes spawned an extra model after being destroyed.
• Reduced situations where helldivers could spontaneously die while walking into seemingly walkable valleys on some planets.
• Fixed rare issue on arctic planets where players could spontaneously die close to large bodies of water.
• Fixed Pelican-1 sometimes leaving immediately after any player gets onboard.
• Fixed bug where helldiver could get stuck in grenade idle state after throwing grenades
• Fix Superior Packing Methodology not working for other peers.
• Recent Players list will now include hot-joining players.
• Relaxed disconnection policy for PC users.
• Fixed an issue where previous sessions’ player names might not be saved correctly when restarting.
• Defend event attack origin now visualized when hovering the planet with the defend event or the attack origin planet.
• Implemented outlines for previously poorly readable texts.

Crash Fixes

• General crash fixes.
• Fix for a crash that could occur when applying wounds to multiple enemies.
• PlayStation Only: Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause a crash when switching between Quality and Performance mode.
• Fix for a crash when a player leaves after all their railguns have exploded.
• Fix for crash that could occur when rejoining a previous session
• Fix for crash that occurred when trying to throw a snowball in ADS mode
• Fix for potential crash when loadout is aborted during hotjoin.
• Fix for rare crash linked to leaving a session while aiming a weapon.

Known Issues

These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.

• Sending friend requests via friend code in game currently does not work.
• Players may be unable to be joined or invited to the game.
• Players added to the ‘Recent Players’ list will appear in the middle of the list.
• Players may experience delays in Medals and Super Credits payouts.
• Spear targeting is unable to target Automaton Spawners.
• Enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions.
• Arc weapons sometimes behave inconsistently and sometimes misfire.
• Most weapons shoot below the crosshair when aiming down the sights.
• Plasma Punisher is unable to shoot out of the shield generators.
• Stratagem beam might attach itself to an enemy but it will deploy to its original location.
• Helldiver may be unable to stand up from crouching when surrounded by enemies.
• “Hand Carts” ship module does not reduce Shield Generator Pack’s cooldown.
• Bile Titan sometimes does not take damage to the head.
• Charger’s butt does not take damage from explosions.
• Players may become stuck in the Loadout when joining a game in progress.
• Reinforcement may not be available for players who join a game in progress.
• Planet liberation reaches 100% at the end of every Defend mission.
• “Raise Flag of Super Earth” objective does not show a progress bar.
• Mission count in the Career tab is being reset to zero after every game restart.
• Some weapons’ descriptions are out-of-date and don’t reflect their current design.
• BR-14 Adjudicator has incorrect recoil values

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

Elden Ring has sold 25 million units ahead of its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree launching on June 21, 2024, developer FromSoftware has announced.

In a post on X/Twitter, the colossal 25 million units sold milestone was revealed alongside a thank you to fans who have purchased the game. Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco announced the game crossed 23 million units sold in March 2024, meaning it’s grown another two million in less than three months.

This all comes ahead of what will likely be another sales boost for the game too when its only expansion Shadow of the Erdtree launches.

『ELDEN RING』の世界累計出荷本数が2,500万本を突破しました。本作をプレイしてくださった皆さん、本当にありがとうございます。 pic.twitter.com/E9mTgNtRfS

— FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr) June 12, 2024

The downloadable content is set to add a wealth of new content to the beloved role-playing game. Just like previous FromSoftware games Dark Souls and Bloodborne, however, accessing the DLC isn’t as simple as selecting it on a menu, as players must tick off a handful of obscure feats beforehand, including beating an optional boss.

The new map, story, bosses, and items are sure to add more intrigue to the almost mythical status of Elden Ring though, which proved somewhat of a cultural phenomenon when it launched in 2022. Players sought out a ton of different ways to interact with the game, such as using a Fisher Price toy or the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit controller to play it, and someone even made a working VR version.

Many are therefore waiting with bated breath for the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, which will likely add hundreds, if not thousands, of new secrets and story threads to be discovered. In fact, even its release date announcement drew hoards of players back to the Elden Ring.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: “Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.