Astro Bot has once again won big at an awards show, this time securing five gongs at the 2025 BAFTA Games Awards, including Best Design, Best Family Game, and Best Game.
The BAFTA Games Awards — the UK’s independent arts charity celebrating excellence in games — took place overnight on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in London, UK. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Astro Bot, and Still Wakes the Deep led the charge with 11, eight, and eight nominations, respectively. Thank Goodness You’re Here! also received seven nominations, Black Myth: Wukong six, and Helldivers 2 was up for five awards.
Accepting the award, Astro Bot director Nicolas Doucet paid tribute to the game developers of the past, who paved the way for Sony-owned Team Asobi and other current studios to find success in the modern era.
Whilst Astro Bot was the night’s most-crowned game, The Chinese Room’s impressive Still Wakes the Deep secured three wins — including both performer awards — and Helldivers 2 won two BAFTAs.
BAFTA polled the public to discover that while games like GTA, Tetris, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Doom, and Half-Life 2did make the list, the top as ranked by the number of votes received was Sega’s 1999 action-adventure game.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Warning! Potential Mario Kart World spoilers follow:
As with the Donkey Kong snafu, the guilty images were removed speedily from the official website, but not before someone snapped them and posted them to Reddit, of course.
As the images are pretty fuzzy — and there’s no accompanying text — this is essentially all we know so far. With a little cross-checking, it looks as though a hidden Rainbow Road track will sit just below Princess Peach’s Stadium on the four-way intersection in the bay area (thanks, Eurogamer), although it’s unclear if it’s a secret track or some kind of unlockable extra.
“I would say it’s less about the strategy of pricing Mario Kart World, it’s more just whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what’s the content, and what’s the value?” Trinen said at the time.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Whether twiddling their thumbs during the decades since Commandos 3 or calmly hiding in a hedge waiting to knife a nosey Nazi in the neck on his next stroll past, if there’s one thing Commandos fans are known for it’s lurking patiently. Good things come to those who’ve waited, and Commandos: Origins fits that bill. Slow-paced, challenging, and consistently satisfying when all your plans come together, its brand of isometric stealth action is intact and has never looked better. I’ve sunk nearly 60 hours into it over the last week and a half just to see out the missions, and there are potentially dozens more hours available should I return to play through some of them again with the intention of leaving no stone unturned and no soldier unslain. The only major issue is the assortment of bugs I’ve had to become accustomed to in order to keep enjoying myself. Like a peskily placed German sniper, some of these I learnt how to avoid entirely, but there were others I just needed to find a way to neutralise.
For those of you who skipped basic training, Commandos is a classic series of real-time tactics stealth ’em ups set during the Second World War that goes all the way back to the late ’90s. Picture a crew of elite but generally crabby commandos crawling around on their bellies behind enemy lines, driven by a whole lot of mouse clicking, and you’re most of the way there. For a modern comparison, it’s a lot like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, only filmed exclusively from a drone (and without Guy Ritchie’s wit or Henry Cavill’s perfectly curled cookie duster). Or the BBC’s Rogue Heroes with 90% less swearing and 100% less AC/DC.
However, while its cheesy yet otherwise stony-faced approach may lack the outright humour of those crackling British Special Forces capers, Commandos: Origins is arguably the best version of the series’ concept to date. It’s a familiar yet modern experience for grizzled veterans, and also an intuitive and approachable one for new players who are ready to test themselves against a steadily escalating difficulty curve.
Where eagles stare
Like any great stealth game, Origins is as much a game about tactics as it is a salvo of deadly puzzles to solve. It essentially boils down to analysing every upcoming encounter, inspecting each enemy soldier’s vision cone, and finding a way to dispatch them that won’t bring the whole German army down on your squad’s heads. A large part of my time with Origins has been spent simply staring at the screen, surveying my prey like an ambush predator.
A large part of my time with Origins has been spent simply staring at the screen, surveying my prey like an ambush predator.
Each of the six commandos on your team has a set of unique tools and abilities. For the most part, Origins curates the characters available for each mission, tailoring the action for their skills. There are only two instances where all six soldiers will be on the same battlefield at once, which is kind of a shame because those are real highlights. That said, I probably would’ve played a huge amount of Origins exclusively using the Marine’s throwing knives and harpoon gun had I had the chance, so forcing me to expand my approach by sidelining him sometimes was probably wise and almost certainly kept things from becoming stale.
Speaking of sidelining, I actually don’t miss the inventory management of the previous games, though I feel like I wouldn’t have removed the ability to pick up and use enemy weapons for the Green Beret in particular. The argument here is that Origins is more about thoughtful stealth at all times – and less about spraying lead from scavenged MP40s at anything with a swastika on it. Thoughtful stealth, luckily, is empowered by the coolest part of Origins: Command Mode. Riffing on similar modes in the late, great Mimimi’s Desperados 3 and Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, Command Mode allows you to freeze time indefinitely and queue up individual actions for each of your commandos. Back in real time, they’ll execute those simultaneously on your say so. Nailing the timing on a set of Command Mode instructions is powerfully satisfying, whether it’s simply two crawling commandos stabbing a distracted pair of soldiers from the side, or a more complicated and elaborately choreographed ballet of harpoons, blades, and bullets.
It’s all quite a slow process to do well, but it’s a truly rewarding one when you figure out the solution to taking on what initially may seem like too many meticulously positioned soldiers to tackle. Maybe your first choice of target is impossible to kill quietly because he’s always in sight of one of his other comrades, and maybe that very squadmate is always in view of a third, and so on. But there’s fun in uncovering who should be the first domino to fall throat-first onto a Fairbairn–Sykes combat knife. Some enemies will leave their posts to investigate strange sounds, like the Sapper’s whistle or the Green Beret’s radio – or inspect the Driver’s burning packets of cigarettes. Some will only temporarily turn and face a distraction, giving you precious moments to slip by them. Experimenting with which routes and tools work best is a task that tapped into a compulsive part of my brain.
There’s fun in uncovering who should be the first domino to fall throat-first onto a Fairbairn–Sykes combat knife.
The opportunities are always there; it’s just on us to find them – and the fact that they’re not telegraphed or signposted makes every victory feel like you’ve outfoxed the developers. At one point I spotted a tiny gap in the view cones of four soldiers on a small set of stairs in the water. It allowed me to not only get behind them to wipe them out, but also to bring three other squadmates via boat to the rear of my main objective. Was that there on purpose? Probably, but maybe not. Leaving it ambiguous as to whether you’ve gone about an encounter in the precise way Claymore Game Studios surreptitiously left ajar for us – or succeeded with an unpredictable sequence of moves the dev team perhaps never saw coming – is just good design. Either way, the encouragement to explore every corner of the maps for the best opportunities is thoroughly baked in.
In large part, that’s because these levels are all exceedingly detailed dioramas, sprawling and dense, and every one feels like I’m playing a high-stakes game of toy soldiers on the kind of miniature map exhibits you might see tucked behind glass at a war museum. Missions take place all across Europe and North Africa, too, so the variety of backdrops is terrific – from snowy Scandinavia to lush, soggy fields and baking deserts.
The huge environments are also rendered entirely in three dimensions and you can enter buildings seamlessly, and the fact that I felt the need to say that should give you an idea of how long it’s been since we’ve had a proper Commandos game. You can make fine camera rotations in any compass direction, so getting the right angle to spot a gap in security is easy. That said, scrolling around too fast sometimes introduces a bit of temporary choppiness, but it’s a short-lived gripe. It’s otherwise great looking overall.
There is, unfortunately, some occasional clumsiness when navigating particularly complex, multi-storey structures. Over the course of the campaign I encountered a few enemies that appeared to be sharing a floor with me, but who were actually on a different level entirely and should’ve been hidden from view at that moment. I also had the misfortune of placing down a beartrap that became irretrievable because it wasn’t on the same platform I wanted to leave it, and being shot through a solid container that apparently wasn’t really there is never any fun. There were also occasional instances where my commands were being misinterpreted and my men were setting off to unintended areas and directly into enemy sight lines, due to an apparent disconnect between what floors are being displayed and what floor Origins thinks I’m clicking on. These aren’t major frustrations, though, and remedying them typically just required some minor zooming, or panning the camera slightly. That, or a quick reload to bring back the prematurely deceased.
Saving dyin’ privates
In the trial-and-error world of tactical games like Commandos, quick save is your friend – and Origins is no exception. The ability to pick up directly where you left off after doing something risky and/or stupid is what actually gives us the freedom to experiment with different approaches in the first place. Make no mistake, quick save well and truly saved my bacon (and quickly!) on many occasions – but, unfortunately, this essential feature also seems to provoke some of Origins’ most bothersome bugs.
For instance, loading a save you made while one of your commandos was climbing a wire – or perched high on a climbable pole – appears to leave the poor bastard marooned on an invisible level above the map, fruitlessly crawling or moonwalking into oblivion. The solution, naturally, is to simply resolve to never save while one of your men is climbing anything. That wasn’t the end of my issues, though. After another reload I noticed my Marine was no longer in his boat, but walking on water back to the marker I’d placed. This bug eventually resolved itself, but one where my Sapper simply disappeared off the map and became unselectable did not.
That kind of issue could’ve become game-breaking, but Origins – seemingly aware that it has a few technical landmines for you to step on – keeps a queue of several quick saves. For the most part, if something goes awry, there’s a strong chance you’ll have a slightly older save you can revert too. In this instance, though, I’d sadly filled all my saves without noticing my Sapper was no longer present. The only solution was restarting the mission entirely, which was over an hour lost.
One weird issue, and one I can’t tell whether it’s related to the quick saves or not, is the occasional instance of enemies falsely detecting one of your commandos in a bush they’re no longer hiding in – and getting locked in an alert state about it. They’ll subsequently circle it and blast it to hell to no avail. It wasn’t so bad because I was able to either skirt around it or totally exploit it by stabbing all the soldiers while they were busy slaughtering the unfortunate shrubbery, but it definitely wasn’t supposed to happen.
I wouldn’t necessarily call the enemies smart overall, and it would’ve been nice if they displayed a little more of the initiative we see in other modern stealth games. Instead of callously ignoring dead bodies after an alert phase resets, for instance, they might want to drag their kaput companions off to a predefined location, à la Hitman. They make up for their dim bulbs by being extremely dangerous, though – and they’re just unpredictable enough to keep you on your toes when you think you’ve got their patterns figured out. They won’t inspect the nearest hiding places in the same order after a reload, for instance, so you’d better have a backup plan – or at least make sure nobody’s climbing a telephone pole when they come looking.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is set to release for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on September 5. In it, you strap yourself into an Arsenal mech and fly through an open world on your way to battle various enemies and create your very own loadout. It’s available to preorder in two different editions (see it at Amazon). In fact, this is one of the very first Switch 2 games available for preorder since preorders the Switch 2 itself have been delayed in the U.S. Read on for more info.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion – Standard Edition
The limited edition costs $30 more than the standard edition, but it comes with the game itself, plus the following extras:
3 Flight Tag Keychains
Original Soundtrack CD
Full-Color Art Book
3D Acrylic Diorama
3 Emblem Patches
Outer Box
What is Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion?
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a followup to the 2019 original Daemon X Machina game that was released on Switch and PC. This sequel is also helmed by Kenichiro Tsukuda, a producer for the Armored Core series.
Titanic Scion is all about speccing out your Arsenal mech to turn yourself into a fast-flying killing machine. It takes place in an open world, where you’ll blast your way through enemies, picking up the weapons and equipment they drop in order to expand your arsenal and abilities. Customization is key, so you can direct your abilities to your own particular play style. You can play solo or co-op with up to two friends online.
Other Preorder Guides
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
For a limited time, Amazon is offering the wildly popular and well-reviewed Monster Hunter Wilds game for PlayStation 5 for just $57.95, which is an 18% discount off its $70 list price. This is the best deal we’ve seen for the PlayStation 5 edition that isn’t reserved for just Amazon Prime members.
18% Off Monster Hunter Wilds for PlayStation 5
It’s easy to see why Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s best selling IPs. This open-world game offers dozens of hours of exploration, exciting combat, excellent creature design, a satisfying grind for better loot, and most importantly, cats! According to How Long To Beat, the main story takes 17 hours, with another 13 hours to tackle all of the sidequests. Completionists should expect to spend a whopping 90 hours to reach 100% and attain that Platinum Trophy.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
NetEase has published Marvel Rivals Season 2 update patch notes ahead of its April 11 release date.
Details on how the Version 20250411 update will change the Marvel game were published on its website today. It comes with a laundry list of changes as NetEase introduces diamond-plated X-Men regular, Emma Frost as Marvel Rivals’ newest playable character.
Headlines for the Season 2 patch include content that NetEase had largely already covered before today. That includes new Domination map Krakoa, X-Revolution and Blue Sapphire costumes for Emma Frost, a brand-new battle pass, a nine-division rank reset for Competitive players, and the added ability to gift cosmetics to other players. Marvel Rivals Season 2 has more than new content in store, however, as the team behind the hero shooter has also detailed many other setting changes for players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S.
PC players can now take advantage of what NetEase is calling “an experimental feature” called Switch Shader Compilation Mode. The option allows players to – in theory – make Marvel Rivals run smoother by compiling shaders only when launching Marvel Rivals for the first time after an update. The team warns that you may run into issues depending on the power of your PC, so more tweaks for this experimental feature are sure to arrive in the future.
Marvel Rivals Season 2 console changes include several sensitivity adjustments that should make aiming and movement a bit easier to tailor to your liking. All platforms will also benefit from a variety of fixes to notification-related issues as well as problems related to a few maps, modes, and heroes. For example, players should find that they’re clipping through areas less with the upcoming update, while Captain America’s shield has also been fixed and should now reflect projectiles more reliably.
Marvel Rivals Season 2 launches April 11 for players on all platforms. While it will introduce Emma Frost (and Ultron with the mid-season 2.5 update), the soon-to-be-released update also marks the beginning of a new era for NetEase as it shifts its post-launch plans to account for speedier content releases. As explained last week, players can expect to receive at least one new hero every month as seasonal drops are shortened from three to two-month periods.
Marvel Rivals Season 2 Version 20250411 Update Patch Notes
Greetings, Rivals!
We trust you’ve received your exclusive invitation to the illustrious Hellfire Gala! The excitement is electric as everyone gears up to head to Krakoa for this extraordinary event! So, don your finest attire, and let’s dive into the thrilling new content and captivating surprises that await you!
1. New Content
1.1 All Platforms
Heroes and Costumes
1. Emma Frost makes her dazzling debut in Marvel Rivals!
2. New Costumes: Emma Frost – X-Revolution & Blue Sapphire!
Maps and Modes
1. Get ready for an all-new Domination map – Hellfire Gala: Krakoa.
2. Map Rotation Update: Hellfire Gala: Krakoa will enter the Competitive pool, while Yggsgard: Royal Palace and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya will be retired from ranked play. Tournament maps will align with the competitive mode, while Quick Match and Custom Game will still feature all maps without rotation.
3. Optimized the settlement logic for substitute players in Quick Match battles: victories will count normally, while losses will not affect combat history or scoreboard.
Battle Pass and Season Events
1. Unlock a dazzling shiny new Battle Pass featuring 10 brand new sets of heroic costumes!
2. The season event Cerebro Database has officially launched; participate to earn the free costume Mantis – Flora Maiden.
3. This season also brings exclusive bonus seasonal rewards: Complete 9 matches to receive the free costume Scarlet Witch – Chaos Gown.
4. An all-new Twitch Drops event is here! This event will gift players the Namor – Will of Galacta costume, nameplate, spray, and emote. (Stay tuned to official announcements for details!)
5. The mission system has been revamped: new weekly missions and rewards have been added, and the balance of daily and challenge missions has been adjusted while maintaining the overall Chrono Token distribution. The proportion of hero-specific missions has also been reduced.
Ranked
1. Rank Reset: based on your final Season 1.5 rank, ranks will be demoted by 9 divisions. For example, if you ended Season 1.5 at Diamond I, your Season 2 journey begins at Silver I.
2. New rank rewards are in! A dazzling new costume for reaching Gold — Emma Frost – Golden Diamond, along with new Crests of Honor for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and Top 500.
3. The minimum level required for new players to participate in Competitive has been adjusted to 15. (If you have previously completed at least one valid competitive match, you can still join Competitive in Season 2.0 even if you are below level 15.)
4. Pick/ban will now come into play starting from Gold III rather than Diamond tier.
5. When a team includes players from Eternity or One Above All, only solo or duo queuing will be allowed.
6. Currently, the score you earn per Competitive match is determined by both the outcome and your individual performance. After Season 2.0 launches, we will be increasing the weight of individual performances. The better you perform, the more points you will earn in victory, and the fewer points you will lose in defeat.
Tournament Updates
1. The second season of the Marvel Rivals Championship is here! The champion, runner-up, and third-place nameplates have been upgraded to dynamic designs, showcasing your hard-earned glory! This season features adjusted rank requirements and a revised sign-up phase. For all the details, please refer to the Marvel Rivals Championship rules.
2. The global tournament regions have been enhanced! North America (NA), Europe (EU), and Asia (AS) have now transformed into the Americas (AMERICAS), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and the Pacific (PACIFIC). This upgrade allows for a more compatible and organized classification of server nodes across various regions.
3. A new faction search function has been added for the Knockout Stage.
4. The Tournament Overview page has been revamped! Players can now quickly access core tournament information in a visually engaging manner, with detailed explanations of each process and the specific rules for advancement and elimination in various tournament formats.
5. Introducing a new custom feature for the Marvel Rivals Championship nameplate emblem! Players with a Championship Emblem can now customize its display in Career – Customize.
6. A new Tournament Room option has been introduced in Custom Game, featuring additional tournament-related functionalities.
7. In the Custom Game – Tournament Room, we’ve added a pause function. The room host and authorized players can now initiate a game pause.
8. In the Custom Game – Tournament Room, an “Away” feature has been added. Non-host players can set their status to away, making it visible to others in the room.
Faction Updates
1. Introducing the all-new Faction Recruit and Seeking Factions system! Factions and players can now use this system to form their dream squads and prepare for various in-game tournaments.
2. A fresh batch of faction emblems has been added! Players can freely switch emblems in the faction details interface.
3. New reporting functionality for factions has been implemented. Players can report inappropriate custom content for factions, including names, abbreviations, and announcements.
General Updates
1. A new gift feature for friends has arrived! Now you can gift cosmetics to your friends.
2. The Career Overview page now supports the selection of specific hero forms.
3. Rank leaderboard display has been added to Career.
4. Real-time voice chat has been optimized! An interface prompt now appears when you activate voice chat using push to talk.
5. In Custom Games, spectators can now temporarily exit during matches, enabling them to rejoin the action anytime.
6. A new room host transfer function has been introduced. The current host can right-click on other players to transfer host privileges.
1.2 PC
Graphics and Settings
1. We’ve introduced an experimental feature: Switch Shader Compilation Mode. When activated, shaders will only compile the first time you launch the game after a new version or graphics driver update. This feature can significantly reduce memory usage and minimize in-game stuttering. —Especially on systems with 16 GB of RAM or less.
However, if you’re using a CPU with less threads in combination with AMD FSR3 Frame Generation, you may notice occasional additional stutters with this feature enabled.
*Please note: This is an experimental feature. If you encounter any issues during use, our support team is standing by ready to assist.
2. We’ve added support for AMD FSR 4, using an AI-accelerated upscaling algorithm to deliver image quality improvements over AMD FSR 3.1. (Available exclusively on the AMD Radeon™ RX 9000 series graphics cards)
1.3 Console
⦁ New Vertical Deadzone Sensitivity Settings: Players can now customize the additional acceleration sensitivity after reaching the vertical deadzone.
⦁ Additional Sensitivity Acceleration Delay Settings: Players can tailor the delay time for acceleration to kick in after reaching the deadzone.
⦁ Character Movement Stick Deadzone Settings: Players can set the maximum and minimum deadzone values for the joystick controlling character movement.
⦁ Trigger Deadzone Settings: Players can now define the trigger depth required for activation.
⦁ New Player Initial Settings Feature: First-time players will receive a reminder of default sensitivity settings, vibration, and trigger effects upon entering the game, making their introduction as smooth as a Super Hero landing.
⦁ Focus Memory Optimization: The focus feature has been upgraded to intelligently remember the last position on the screen.
2. Fixes and Optimizations
2.1 All Platforms
General Updates
⦁ Resolved numerous issues related to notifications.
⦁ Rectified various text errors.
⦁ Fixed an issue in Custom Game where spectators would incorrectly exit the room after a match.
⦁ Fixed a rare occurrence where settings would reset to default upon restarting the game.
Maps and Modes
⦁ Fixed terrain issues that could cause characters to become stuck or clip through odd locations.
⦁ Resolved various issues including floating broken objects, collision errors, etc.
⦁ Addressed several sound issues on maps.
⦁ Resolved a rare issue in Custom Quick Match, where on the Empire of Eternal Night: Midtown map, spawn room transfer could sometimes not work correctly.
Heroes
⦁ Captain America’s Shield Bounce: Resolved an issue where Captain America couldn’t ricochet enemy projectiles while moving backward. Now, the Sentinel of Liberty can send those pesky projectiles flying no matter which way he is moving!
⦁ Spector Sightings: Fixed a glitch that sometimes caused abnormal camera angles after being revived by Adam Warlock’s Ultimate Ability. No more wobbly views for our heroes—everyone deserves to enjoy their epic returns in all their heroic glory!
⦁ Namor’s Super Soldier Shenanigans: In Hydra Charteris Base: Hell’s Heaven – Super-Soldier Factory, Namor’s Ultimate Ability could occasionally fail to deal damage when targeting the raising pillars. This issue has been resolved, ensuring the Sub-Mariner delivers his Giganto impact!
⦁ Winter Soldier’s Time Warp: Addressed an issue where Bucky would sometimes descend before ascending while unleashing his Ultimate Ability in unstable network conditions. Now, the Winter Soldier rises to the occasion without any time-traveling hiccups—no need for a Doctor Strange intervention!
⦁ Cloak & Dagger’s Form Flaw: Fixed an issue where Cloak or Dagger sometimes left their character model lingering for a brief moment during form switches. Now, they’ll slip into action smoother than a stealthy shadow.
⦁ Iron Fist’s Floating Fumble: Resolved a rare glitch where Iron Fist could end up floating indefinitely. The Immortal Weapon is now back on the ground, delivering justice and martial arts mastery without any unintended levitation!
⦁ Wolverine’s Ferocious Leap: Fixed a rarely occurring issue where Wolverine’s Feral Leap could leave him stuck in an abnormal state, unable to finish the move. Now, Logan can unleash his claws with confidence, ensuring his foes don’t get a second to breathe!
⦁ Claws and Consequences: Resolved a rare occurrence where being hit by Wolverine’s Feral Leap could render all abilities unusable. No more claw-induced chaos—heroes can now fight on without fear of losing their abilities mid-battle!
2.2 PC
Graphics and Settings
⦁ Fixed an issue where the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card renders with excessively low brightness in certain scenarios.
2.3 Console
⦁ Fixed a rare issue where raw mouse input settings unexpectedly affected controllers, potentially causing crosshair drift.
⦁ Fixed an issue in console matches, where there was a chance that button prompts were displayed as keyboard and mouse inputs.
We will continue to vigilantly monitor game bug issues and fix them as fast as we can. Stay tuned for ongoing content updates and keep an eye on the official channels for the latest news!
Marvel Rivals Season 2 Hero Balance Adjustments
VANGUARD
Captain America
Steve will undergo some adjustments to his survivability, leading to a slight decrease in his overall resilience.
– Reduce base health from 675 to 650.
– Reduce the shield value of Living Legend from 400 to 350.
Doctor Strange
The Sorcerer Supreme will see a reduction in his offensive capabilities, limiting his battlefield control.
– Decrease Daggers of Denak damage per projectile from 18 to 16.
– Reduce the Maelstrom of Madness conversion ratio of Dark Magic to damage from 1.3 to 1.2.
Hulk
The Green Goliath will boast enhanced maneuverability and improved survivability upon entering combat.
– Increase base movement speed from 600 to 650.
– Reduce cooldown time for Indestructible Guard from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
– Decrease minimum charge time for Incredible Leap from 0.7 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
Magneto
The Master of Magnetism will experience a slight decrease in the frequency of his Ultimate Ability.
– Increase energy cost for Meteor M (Ultimate Ability) from 3100 to 3400.
Peni Parker
Peni will receive enhancements to her primary attack damage efficiency and a boost to her survivability and combat capabilities.
– Cyber-Web Cluster now has a chance to crit; reduce movement speed penalty while firing Cyber-Web Cluster from 40% to 20%.
– Increase base health from 650 to 750.
The Thing
The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing will see a slight reduction in his damage reduction effect.
– Decrease Embattled Leap’s damage reduction effect for himself and teammates from 30% to 25%.
Thor
The Mighty Thor will receive an increase in survivability.
– Increase base health from 525 to 600.
– Increase base movement speed from 600 to 650.
DUELIST
Black Widow
Natasha is receiving optimizations to her shooting experience.
– Added a new effect where Black Widow can directly shoot after releasing the second kick of Edge Dancer and after using Electro-Plasma Explosion (Ultimate Ability).
Hawkeye
We’re improving Clint’s mobility while drawing his bow, enhancing his combat capabilities, and increasing the threat of his Ultimate Ability.
– Reduce the slow effect while charging the bow from 30% to 20%.
– Increase both instances of damage for Hypersonic Arrow from 50 to 55.
– Decrease energy cost for Hunter’s Sight (Ultimate Ability) from 3700 to 3100 and improve the bow draw speed increase from 1.35x to 1.5x.
Hela
The Goddess of Death will see a reduction in mobility while slightly enhancing her offensive power.
– Increase cooldown time for Astral Flock from 12 seconds to 15 seconds.
– Increase Spell Field Damage of Piercing Night from 30 to 35.
– Decrease cooldown time for Soul Drainer from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
Human Torch
Johnny’s attack feedback and survivability are being improved to enhance his impact across various combat scenarios.
– Reduce attack interval for Fire Cluster from 0.6 seconds to 0.5 seconds; the launch timing of the primary attack projectile has been advanced.
– Increase the cooldown for Flaming Meteor from 12 seconds to 15 seconds, but add a new effect: After releasing Flaming Meteor, immediately gain 75 Bonus Health, which will start to falloff 3 seconds later at a rate of 30 per second.
Iron Man
Iron Man is seeing improvements to his mid-range combat effectiveness.
– Slightly reduce Iron Man’s hitbox size.
– New feature: Gain 100 Bonus Health activating Armor Overdrive or Gamma Overdrive that will start to falloff 5 seconds later at a rate of 30 per second.
Iron Fist
Lin Lie will see an increase in his combat effectiveness against Vanguards, a slight improvement to his mobility, and a slight reduction to his survivability when first entering the battlefield.
– Reduce the Bonus Max Health gained from Harmony Recovery from 150 to 100, but slow the falloff rate of that health from 25 per/s to 15 per/s.
– Lower fixed damage of Yat Jee Chung Kuen from 10 to 9, but increase the percentage damage of the enemy’s Max Health per strike from 1.7% to 2.1%.
– Decrease the cooldown for K’un-Lun Kick from 12 seconds to 10 seconds.
Mister Fantastic
We’re enhancing Reed’s capabilities while making some balance adjustments to his ultimate energy charge rate, adding additional control ability, and optimizing the release experience of his Ultimate Ability.
– Increase base health from 350 to 375.
– Boost the damage of Stretch Punch from 60 to 65 and from 75 to 80 while in Inflated state.
– Flexible Elongation New Effect: Enemies within range now suffer a 35% slow effect; reduce Flexible Elongation cooldown time from 10s to 8s.
– Reduce the Elasticity gained from Elastic Strength (passive ability) from 30 to 20, while the Elasticity provided by Stretch Punch is increased from 5 to 8. After entering the inflated state, the Bonus Health provided to self has been reduced from 450 to 400.
– New Feature: When Mister Fantastic uses Brainiac Bounce (Ultimate Ability), immediately gain Bonus Health equal to that gained when entering inflated state.
Moon Knight
We’re optimizing Marc’s Moon Blade projectile bounce feedback while improving maneuverability, Ultimate Ability, and survivability.
– Increase Crescent Dart projectile speed from 120m/s to 150 m/s.
– Moon Blade New Effect: Gain 25 Bonus Health with each enemy hit, up to a max of 100. 3 seconds after the Bonus Health stops increasing, it will start to falloff at a rate of 20 per second.
– Speed up Moonlight Hook pull startup time after hit from 0.4 seconds to 0.15 seconds.
– Extend the duration of the Hand of Khonshu (Ultimate Ability) from 3.5 seconds to 4.5 seconds, and increase the number of talons generated during this period from 14 to 18. Additionally, the fall speed of the talons has been slightly enhanced. A new damage falloff mechanic for the spell field has been added, beginning at 1.5 meters from the center and reaching a maximum reduction of 70% at 5 meters.
Scarlet Witch
We’re reducing Wanda’s survivability but increasing her threat level against Strategists and Duelists while optimizing her Ultimate Ability release experience.
– Remove Chaos Control percentage damage while increasing fixed damage from 60/s to 80/s.
– Increase Chthonian Burst projectile damage from 35 to 40 and spell field damage from 35 to 40.
– Increase the cooldown of Mystic Projection from 8 seconds to 10 seconds, and reduce Phased state time from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds.
– Rework the slow effect of Reality Erasure to start at 1.5 seconds instead of starting immediately, with a linear increase to a 35% slow over 3.5 seconds.
Star-Lord
We’re reducing Peter’s damage output and the efficiency of his Ultimate Ability charge rate.
– Reduce Blaster Barrage damage from 80 per second to 75. Introduce a new damage falloff mechanic, starting at 4 meters and maxing out at 80% reduction at 8 meters.
Winter Soldier
We’re lowering Bucky’s threat level against Vanguards and reducing the margin for error in his Ultimate Ability.
– Increase the cooldown time for Bionic Hook from 8 seconds to 12 seconds.
– Reduce base damage of Kraken Impact (Ultimate Ability) from 100 to 80, but lower the culling threshold from 20% of maximum health to 15%.
Wolverine
We’re tuning Logan’s Rage acquisition rate and slightly lowering his control intensity over enemies:
– Increase Rage gained from Savage Claw hits from 7 to 10, while Rage gained from Berserk Claw Strike has been decreased from 7 to 5. Reduce Rage gained from Feral Leap from 20 to 10, and from Vicious Rampage from 20 to 15. However, Rage gained from taking damage has been increased from 3 to 5.
– Reduce the time an enemy is knocked down after impact from Last Stand (Ultimate Ability) from 1 second to 0.75 seconds.
STRATEGIST
Adam Warlock
We’re slightly reducing the frequency of Adam’s abilities and adjusting the healing provided by his Ultimate Ability after reviving teammates.
– Increase the cooldown for Soul Bond from 30s to 40s.
– Karmic Revival (Ultimate Ability) now restores 30% of a fallen ally’s maximum health instead of a fixed 100 Health.
Cloak and Dagger
We’re optimizing the logic of this dynamic duo’s Ultimate Ability
– After activating Eternal Bond (Ultimate Ability), the duration of the first three healing zones will no longer be calculated separately; instead, they will remain active until the duration of the final healing zone ends, at which point all will be removed together.
Invisible Woman
We’ll be fine-tuning Susan’s protective capabilities to create a more strategic gameplay experience.
– Decrease the shield value of Guardian Shield from 300 to 250.
Loki
To balance Loki’s influence in matches, we’re making a small adjustment to the frequency of one of his key abilities.
– Increase Regeneration Domain cooldown from 25 seconds to 30 seconds.
Mantis
To emphasize strategy over speed, we’re modifying Mantis’ health and buff mechanics.
– Reduce base health from 275 to 250.
– Effects of Healing Flower and Allied Inspiration can be stacked, up to a maximum of 16 seconds.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket’s healing abilities will see some adjustments to enhance team survivability while balancing his mobility.
– Decrease the healing area of Repair Mode spheres from 70 health/s to 50 health/s, but add a new effect of one-time healing of 55 health to allies hit. Projectile speed reduction increased from 4.5 m/s to 7 m/s.
– Extend cooldown for Jetpack Dash from 6 seconds to 10 seconds; reduce dash distance from 10 meters to 8 meters.
– Reduce C.Y.A. (Ultimate Ability) damage boost from 40% to 25%, but add a new effect: during the ability’s duration, linked allies will receive an additional 100 Bonus Health points per second, capping at 150. After breaking the link, this bonus starts to falloff after 1 second at a rate of 75 per/s. Additionally, increase the energy cost from 3700 to 4000.
TEAM-UP ABILITIES
NEW:
Arcane Order (Doctor Strange – Scarlet Witch)
This mystical duo is set to enhance their powers!
– As the Team-Up Anchor, Doctor Strange gains a maximum health increase of 100.
– Scarlet Witch unlocks a new magical Mystic Burst ability through her team-up with Doctor Strange.
Stars Aligned (Captain America – Winter Soldier)
A classic partnership now with added strength!
– As the Team-Up Anchor, Captain America gains a maximum health increase of 100 and a 5% boost in damage output.
– Winter Soldier unlocks the devastating Stellar Impact ability through his team-up with Captain America.
Mental Projection (Emma Frost – Psylocke/Magneto)
A powerful trio that connects minds and abilities!
– As the Team-Up Anchor, Emma Frost gains a maximum health increase of 100.
– Magneto receives the Magnetic Resonance ability through his team-up with Emma Frost.
– Psylocke receives the Soul Resurgence ability through her team-up with Emma Frost.
ADJUSTED OR REMOVED:
Ammo Overload (Rocket Racoon – Winter Soldier)
A slight change for this battle-hardened hero!
– Winter Soldier loses the Infinite Grit ability he once had through his team-up with Rocket Raccoon.
Chilling Charisma (Luna Snow – Namor)
Things are heating up as synergies change!
– Namor has lost the Frozen Spawn ability from his team-up with Luna Snow.
Dimensional Shortcut (Magik – Psylocke)
A temporal reconfiguration for these powerful souls!
– Psylocke has lost the Psionic Disc ability previously attained from her team-up with Magik.
Gamma Charge (Hulk -Doctor Strange/Namor)
Changes in synergy for these heavyweights!
– Doctor Strange loses the Gamma Maelstrom ability previously gained from his team-up with Hulk.
– Namor now gains the Gamma Monstro ability through his team-up with Hulk.
Metallic Chaos (Scarlet Witch – Magneto)
A disconnect in family synergy!
– The Team-Up Anchor enhancement effect for Scarlet Witch has been removed, along with the Metallic Chaos Team-Up Ability.
– Magneto loses the Metallic Fusion ability he had through his team-up with Scarlet Witch.
Voltaic Union (Thor – Captain America/Storm)
A shift in electrical dynamics for this trio!
– The Team-Up Anchor effect for Thor has been removed, along with the Voltaic Union Team-Up Ability.
– Captain America loses the Charged Aegis ability from his team-up with Thor.
– Storm loses the Charged Gale ability gained from her team-up with Thor.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
There’s drama in the PC gaming, meth cooking world, and it’s all about whether or not the latest Steam craze, Schedule 1, is getting sued by the publishers of Drug Dealer Simulator, Movie Games. After some review bombing of its titles Movie Games has now come forward to clarify the situation, stating that currently, there is no lawsuit against the creators of Schedule 1.
Movie Games suggested that the confused reports were probably the result of attempts to translate the news from the original Polish source of the information, but added that it was investigating the similarities between the games.
“Due to repeated opinions that Schedule I is very similar to DDS, we were obliged to request a legal analysis from an intellectual property specialist. It has indicated that there might have been an infringement by the Schedule I developers in relation to Drug Dealer Simulator,” said Movie Games spokesperson Michal P (AKA Movie Games head of marketing Michał Puczyński) in a Discord post on Sunday.
“Now we are obliged to follow up further, but we are yet to contact the Schedule I developers. Our goal at this point is discussing the situation with them and we have an open approach.”
Drug Dealer Simulator was released in 2020 and like Schedule 1, focuses on the mechanics of producing and selling illegal substances. While the subject matter is similar, Drug Dealer Simulator leans into a more realistic look while Schedule 1 has a look that screams “what if I designed Rick and Morty while having a nervous breakdown?”
Michal P went on to assure gamers that “it is not our intention to prevent TVGS from selling or developing their game.” He also made clear that Drug Dealer Simulator’s developers, ByteRunners, had no role in the decision to investigate.
“Overall, our goal is to support all devs, but we need to consider our legal obligations if law specialists determine that there are grounds to claim infringement. We even contacted TVGS via email just before the release, when the game was already huge, and wished them all the best – but that was before that legal analysis. Back then no one expected it to be needed, not to mention that it would bring these results.”
So good news for Schedule 1 addicts who, at least for now, go back to growing Coca Leaves for completely innocent reasons.
Rachel Weber is the Senior Editorial Director of Games at IGN and an elder millennial. She’s been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, and French Bulldogs. Those extra wrinkles on her face are thanks to staying up too late finishing every sidequest in RPGs like Fallout and Witcher 3.
After eight years, the Nintendo Switch is approaching its final days, and from its ashes will rise the Switch 2. But before you put away your Switch in the closet for one last time, you should make sure you haven’t missed your chance to play some overlooked gems.
While everyone with a Switch has probably played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and, of course, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there are dozens of other Switch games that still shine bright on Nintendo’s hybrid console that you may have heard of, but didn’t get around to play.
We get it, time is limited, budgets might be tight, and there are too many games. But go back and check out these Switch games before the Switch 2. You won’t regret it.
20. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
An origin story for everyone’s favorite demon-slaying witch, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a gorgeous puzzle platformer presented in a beautiful storybook art style. But fans of Bayonetta’s action combat will still find classic, button-mashing combos here too. Ultimately, Bayonetta Origins is a worthy addition to the series that may have been overlooked given its prequel nature and drastically different art style.
19. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
The Dynasty Warriors/musou-genre is a perfect template for all manner of crossovers, including The Legend of Zelda. While The Age of Calamity might not be considered canon to the events of the beloved Breath of the Wild, there’s something incredibly gratifying about taking on the role of either Link or any of the other Breath of the Wild Champions and defending Hyrule from thousands of invading enemies. If you’re a fan of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom but haven’t ventured into Age of Calamity, it’s worth a trip back in time.
18. New Pokemon Snap
For years fans have dreamed of a long-awaited sequel to the Nintendo 64 title Pokemon Snap. And they got their wish in 2021 with the New Pokemon Snap for the Nintendo Switch. It’s very much a situation where New Pokemon Snap gives you more of everything you loved in the original, from more Pokemon to take snapshots of to plenty of secrets hidden throughout the various biomes you’ll traverse. While the original N64 Pokemon Snap game has its diehard fans who no doubt eagerly played the sequel, new fans deserve to check out one of the most beloved and unique Pokemon spinoffs ever.
17. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
After 13 games, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first fully 3D Kirby game in the entire series, and it takes full advantage of the additional dimension. While Kirby is still able to suck in enemies and objects to gain their powers, the new 3D environments are fully explorable, letting Kirby roam free for the first time. This makes new abilities like turning into a straight-up car especially useful for exploration. While Kirby has always been a reliable mainstay in the Nintendo stable, it’d be a shame to let the Switch era pass without playing one of the best Kirby games in the series.
16. Paper Mario: The Origami King
There’s a reason why the Paper Mario sub-series is so beloved. Between the charming art style and the puzzle RPG style gameplay that departs from the platformer action of the mainline Mario games, the Paper Mario series is for anyone who has a soft spot for unique aesthetics. And thanks to a fully explorable open world, The Origami King might be one of the most beautiful Paper Mario games in the whole series. While combat isn’t as satisfying as past games, The Origami King makes up for it with visual splendor.
15. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
We’ll scream it from the treetops until everyone finally listens – Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of the best 2D platformers of all time, and more people need to play it! It’s not for the faint of heart though, as Tropical Freeze’s fast-paced platforming challenges will test even the most hardened Super Mario players. You’ll frantically climb up crumbling icebergs, bounce across jiggly cubes of jello, and do so much more on DK’s quest to retake his home island. It’s rare – and extremely fun – to face this much difficulty in a Nintendo game, and Tropical Freeze makes it worth your effort by pairing its challenge with gorgeous graphics, an amazing soundtrack, and incredibly tight controls. All platformer fans owe it to themselves to try out this modern run-and-jump masterpiece.
14. Fire Emblem Engage
The most successful Fire Emblem game of the Nintendo era was Fire Emblem: Three Houses, but you shouldn’t overlook the second Switch game, Fire Emblem Engage. Narratively, Engage isn’t as cohesive as Three Houses, but it makes up for it by bringing back fan-favorite characters from past Fire Emblem games through “the multiverse.” What’s more, tactics RPG fans will likely find Engage is actually more of a throwback to old-school SRPGs, with smaller maps for tighter combat situations and a difficulty that can ramp up to punishing levels if you’re feeling like you want to really test your strategic acumen.
13. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
A Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem crossover but set in the backdrop of Japan’s idol music culture? Sign me up. While this might not be what anyone might have expected when it was announced Atlus would develop a Fire Emblem SMT crossover, the poppy, colorful mashup that we got deserves your time thanks to a breezy mix of Fire Emblem and SMT RPG combat and a bubblegum art style that’s worth the trip, despite the localization toning down some of the heavier themes around fame and fan culture.
12. Astral Chain
Astral Chain is one of those experiences that you need to play to truly understand its greatness, though anyone who has played any of Platinum’s other action games will at least have an idea of what to expect. The combat is fluid and flashy and has enough variance when swapping between the summonable living weapons (called “Legion”) to keep things interesting from start to finish. Meanwhile, the bosses are challenging enough to test your mastery over each of these unique Familiars. Outside of the high-octane combat, you’ll be exploring the cyberfuturistic world and investigating incidents and solving cases. And then there is a whole Astral Plane to explore that is filled with platforming, battles, and puzzle challenges to overcome, and which feel almost like old-school dungeons from other Nintendo franchises. The only thing keeping Astral Chain from being more widely recognized is its exclusivity to the Switch.
11. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
While Rabbid Peach might have turned heads as a funny meme, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is no joke. This strategy RPG that combines the world of Mario and Ubisoft’s Rabbids is pure fun thanks to the action-focused combat that lets you combine different characters and upgrades for some massive combos. Whether you’re a Mario fan who’s never played a Rabbids game, or more rare, the Rabbids fan who never played a Mario game, these two unlikely flavors turn out to be pretty great together.
10. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Unlike Paper Mario: The Origami King, The Thousand Year Door is a ground-up remake of the beloved GameCube release. But as it’s one of the most beloved Paper Mario games in the whole series, its redone visuals, music, and gameplay improvements mean it’s now one of the best Paper Mario games of all time. Come for Mario’s swashbuckling treasure hunt to save Peach and the town of Rogueport, but stay for all the charm and gameplay excellence the Paper Mario franchise is known for. If you’ve never tried out one of Mario’s paper-based spinoffs, this is where to begin hands down.
9. F-Zero 99
F-Zero fans weren’t sure how to feel when the series’ long-awaited return after 20 years of dormancy was a 99-player battle royale, but F-Zero 99 surprised us all and – thanks to a healthy amount of post-launch content updates – has turned into a top-tier entry. Racing against 98 players is exhilarating, and even though some of F-Zero’s trademark precision is gone, it’s replaced by the thrill of slamming into your opponents to devastate their health bar while taking careful precautions to preserve your own. And strategically planning when to use the faster – but limited – Skyway can lead to incredible comeback finishes that get your blood pumping. F-Zero 99 wasn’t the game anyone was asking for, but it was somehow the one we needed to get the series back on track.
8. Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Pikmin 3 was such a delight when it was released; it had been nine years since Pikmin 2 and many fans wondered when the franchise would make a return. Thankfully it did and though it wasn’t the massive upgrade like we eventually got in Pikmin 4, the game looked great and was a fun addition to the franchise that expanded it in important ways. Pikmin 3 introduced two new Pikmin types (Rock and Winged), better controls of your non-Pikmin protagonists (all of which were new to the franchise), and a solid amount of extra content to sink our teeth into. This was all made even better with Pikmin 3 Deluxe on Switch, which added even more content, co-op for the story mode, and the Piklopedia, which was notably absent in the original release. Pikmin 3 in general is also one of the funnier entries in the franchise as the three leaders you control all have distinct personalities, and it was always a treat to see how they would describe Citrus Lumps (Oranges) or Cupid’s Grenade (Cherries). Pikmin 3 Deluxe may not be at the top of most Pikmin fans lists but it is still worth exploring to collect fruit and make that sweet sweet juice. No Pikmin collection would be complete without it.
7. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
It makes sense that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was one of the first games Nintendo brought over to the Switch from the Wii U. This is a delightful, ingenious little puzzle platformer where Captain Toad must reach the end of the level without being able to jump. The reason? His backpack is too heavy. It’s not the most complex platformer, but every level is a delightful brain teaser, and great to play in short bursts and on the go. A perfect Switch game, basically. While the Wii U was full of overlooked gems in its own right, this is one of its biggest treasures that made its way to the far more popular Switch, and where it deserves its own recognition.
6. Game Builder Garage
No one talks about Game Builder Garage and it’s such a damn shame. If something like this had existed when I was a kid, I would have devoured it, throwing myself fully into its interface and creating gobs and gobs of bespoke games to play and show off. Nintendo basically built a simplified game engine to teach people, well, how to build games. It’s right there in the name! But it’s not a coding tutorial, nor is it a simple level-editor like Super Mario Maker. You progress through Game Builder Garage by completing charming lessons on building different types of games and what those types of games involve, basically building algorithms with the charm of a Nintendo-created interface. If you’ve ever installed a game engine on your computer only to throw your hands in the air after a few YouTube tutorials, buy this game. Play it through. Build a few games in it. Then move onto something bigger. You’ll be ready.
5. Xenoblade Chronicles Series
Across four games, Monolith Soft has created some of the biggest, most beautiful open worlds ever realized on the Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles 1, 2, and 3, as well as the spinoff Xenoblade Chronicles X, are what happens when you take old-school Japanese RPG sensibilities and marry them to modern-ish technology. The results are sweeping, operatic stories about warring civilizations, ancient gods, cool robots, and cooler swords, with a breathtaking open world to explore fully. Combined, the Xenoblade games will likely take hundreds of hours to finish… and it’ll be worth every minute.
4. Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is the perfect counterpart to The Forgotten Land, which we already celebrated on this list. While The Forgotten Land is a 3D adventure primarily focused on single player, Return to Dreamland Deluxe is one of the pink puffball’s strongest 2D outings, with the best multiplayer the series has ever seen. Tearing through levels and enemies with four Kirbys on screen is a blast, and Return to Dreamland’s huge amount of levels and collectibles to find will keep you and your friends entertained for a long time. It might be the best way to introduce new gamers to platformers too, as you only fail if player 1 dies and players 2-4 can seamlessly drop in and out at any time. The Deluxe Switch version also adds an entirely new epilogue and a wide selection of returning subgames from across Kirby’s history, complete with achievements to chase and costumes to unlock.
3. Ring Fit Adventure
Unlike some of the other games on this list, Ring Fit Adventure was a best-seller for Nintendo. The question though is how many of you stuck with it through the very end and not just until you forgot about your New Year’s resolution? Well you better get back to it, because while it’s an ingenious way to get active, the actual RPG-element of Ring Fit Adventure is no joke. Using the fitness ring to venture forth and defeat a “bootilicious” evil dragon sounds absurd, but Ring Fit Adventure does its absolute best to keep you engaged every literal step of the way. Power up your character and your body in Ring Fit Adventure if you haven’t already.
2. Metroid Dread
The Nintendo Switch has quietly become the home to Metroid games. Between older Metroid games available on Nintendo Switch Online and a splendid remaster (more on that in a moment), Samus rules the Switch. Nothing showcases this more than the Switch’s original Metroid game, Metroid Dread. A throwback to the older, 2D Metroid games, this 2.5D search-action game breathed new life into the series by reminding fans just how scary these games can be, thanks to the terrifying E.M.M.I. machines that hunt Samus relentlessly through the claustrophobic corridors of Dread, earning the name and more. While Metroid might not immediately come to mind as an overlooked franchise, consider that Metroid Dread — while one of the best-selling Metroid games in the series — has only sold 3 million copies, which is less than games like 1-2-Switch.
1. Metroid Prime Remastered
With Metroid Prime 4 looking increasingly likely to be Nintendo Switch’s swan song (and maybe even a Switch 2 launch title), what better time to check out where it all started? But make no mistake, Metroid Prime Remastered on Switch isn’t just a simple re-release. The graphical overhaul needs to be seen to be believed.
Metroid Prime is one of the best video games of all time. Anyone who says different is just trying to get a rise out of you. Locked away on GameCube (and eventually the Nintendo Wii), this absolute classic seemed like it was destined to live on only in our fondest GameCube memories. But then one day, out of the blue, Nintendo said to us all “friends, today you can play a remastered version of one of our most incredible and important games, and you can play it on your Nintendo Switch.” And wow, did they ever hit it out of the park with this one. It’s not just some up-res version of the GameCube version, or even the Wii version. It’s a proper remake, graphically upgraded to modern standards with tweaks to the controls and gameplay to make it feel right at home on the Nintendo Switch. Better still, unlike so many modern remakes, it was only $39.99! Unheard of in an era where games from the last generation get a shiny coat of paint and a $70 price tag. Everything that made the original special made its way to the modern era expertly. The sense of isolation, exploration, and tension all made the leap to HD brilliantly. And yet Metroid Prime Remastered was by all accounts a sales disappointment. Really, I’m just disappointed in you for not having played it. Yes, you.
These are our favorite Switch games that we think more people should check out before the coming of the Switch 2. Heck, with the Switch 2’s backward compatibility, it’s probably the best time to try them now and pick up the journey when the Switch 2 is released.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably also told yourself this would be the month you don’t buy more Pokémon cards. Same. And yet here we are, staring down another lineup of Elite Trainer Boxes and tins like they’re life choices we already regret but will definitely make again.
Scarlet & Violet sets keep dropping bangers, both visually and competitively, and unfortunately for our wallets, some of these boxes are actually worth ripping open.
Pokémon TCG: Azure Legends Tin – 5 Packs
This one’s weirdly solid. You get five booster packs from a really good mix of sets — Surging Sparks, Stellar Crown, Temporal Forces, and Obsidian Flames — and one promo featuring either Kyogre, Dialga, or Xerneas. It’s basically Pokémon’s version of a loot box, and yeah, I bought two. Between the chase cards across the included sets (Pikachu ex, Terapagos, Raging Bolt, take your pick), the odds of hitting something fun are actually decent. I don’t even like tins, and I’d still grab another one.
Pokémon TCG: Stacking Tin (Q1 2025) – 3 Packs, Stickers (Random Design)
I wasn’t expecting much. I bought it for the sticker sheets and the vague promise of a Surging Sparks pack. And it delivered. Three packs, one of which might cough up something like Pikachu ex or Latias ex, and a tin I now use to hold exactly nothing. I can’t even be mad. There’s a tiny chance you’ll pull a Milotic ex or Ceruledge ex if you get lucky with the packs, and if you don’t? Well, you paid twenty bucks to roll the dice and got some vaguely useful storage in return. That’s more than I can say about half the cereal I’ve bought this year.
Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet: Paradox Rift: Elite Trainer Box – Roaring Moon
I got this one for the sleeves and stayed because Roaring Moon ex is basically what happens when a Pokémon decides it’s done playing fair. If your goal is to end games in one violent swing and look great doing it, this is your guy. Paradox Rift doesn’t have as many chase cards, but the ones it does have— like Iron Valiant ex and Groudon— feel like they were drawn by someone who knows we’ll all stare at these like cave paintings in 30 years.
Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet: Temporal Forces: Elite Trainer Box: Walking Wake
The Walking Wake Elite Trainer Box comes with a full-art Flutter Mane and nine more Temporal Forces packs to roll the dice again on the best art of the Scarlet & Violet era. This version leans into the ancient side of things, and I picked it up mostly to increase my odds of pulling Walking Wake ex. Is it playable? Debatable. But it looks like it wandered out of a dream I had after eating too much sushi. With vibrant blues and prehistoric drama, the vibe alone was worth the price. Also, the sleeves are clean, and I pretend I care about those.
Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet: Temporal Forces: Elite Trainer Box: Iron Leaves
Iron Leaves ex pulls off the rare combo of being both playable and beautifully drawn. It looks like it’s mid-leap out of a sci-fi anime, which is exactly the kind of energy I want from my pulls. The other heavy hitters — like Iron Crown ex and Gouging Fire ex — either hit like a truck or look like they’re about to. Raging Bolt ex steals the show, though. It’s loud, dramatic, and perfectly balanced between “meta staple” and “thunder god cosplayer.”
Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box
Shrouded Fable can quietly slip in cards like Houndoom (the kind of illustration that makes you lower your voice in reverence) and Persian, which looks like it’s plotting something appropriately cinematic. The promos and sleeves are nice, but I really wanted this box for the Illustration Rares that don’t just look cool — they tell a story. Fezandipiti ex, for example, is the Swiss Army knife of support attackers, and Cassiopeia is straight-up character drama in a foil rectangle. The art direction in this set is borderline pretentious, and I mean that as a compliment.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Path of Exile 2’s largest update yet, Dawn of the Hunt adds a ton of new content and changes the game in many ways. IGN and Maxroll have teamed up to bring you lots of new, helpful guides and builds to take on the daunting swatch of new stuff that we will do our best to summarize here: Patch 0.2.0 brings more ways to play with the all-new Huntress Class along with 5 Ascendancies, Azmeri Wisps to chase, shiny new Uniques to hunt for, and a revamped endgame experience.
The Huntress
A new class joins Path of Exile 2’s roster of characters, the Huntress. This Azmeri lost everything when she used a Virtue Gem to defend her home. So now she wields new skills in addition to her trusty Spear. The Huntress is a Dexterity class that shares a starting area with the Ranger in the lower-right portion of the Passive Skill Tree. Spears have a mix of close-range melee strikes and long range projectiles with bonuses that incentivize the use of both. Create an elemental surface with Frostbolt, drop a Whirling Slash, and unleash a flurry of Twisters, before leaping back in to do it all again. Another new item class is Bucklers, a special shield with the ability to Parry regular attacks. When you Parry an enemy you put them off balance increasing the attack damage they take. Unlike Souls games, there is no Parry window and you can use the Parry to animation cancel other skills making it quite agile. However, each time you Parry your stun meter increases and when the bar is full you are heavy stunned for 2.5 seconds, which is likely to result in your untimely demise.
In addition to the new Huntress class, Dawn of the Hunt adds 5 new Ascendancies to Path of Exile 2. After completing a Trial of Ascension, your Ascendancy further specializes your class by unlocking new synergies and catering to unique playstyles. The Huntress has 2 Ascendancies to choose from, Ritualist and Amazon, and the Warrior, Witch, and Mercenary each get one new option.
Ritualist
The Ritualist learned in the depths of the Wildwoods, that power is achieved through sacrifice. You can steal bonuses from Rare monsters, or sacrifice a portion of your own health for a random bonus. With Corrupted Life Force, you gain a skill causing nearby enemies to grow Volatile Blood Boils, slay them to infect surrounding foes with Corrupted Blood a powerful degenerative effect that deals Physical Damage. The Unfurled Finger Notable grants a third ring slot, this is especially potent when paired with Mystic Attunement and a high-end ring. Lastly, the Ritualist has a variety of charming bonuses making it easier to combat dangerous elemental effects.
Amazon
An Amazon strikes swiftly. Elemental Infusion consumes charges to add elemental damage to your Attacks, and Infused Avatar gives a chance for your projectiles to benefit from the infusion without consuming it. Critical Strike and Penetrate further scale damage, based on accuracy rating, which is particularly notable because Dexterity classes have easy access to accuracy. Defensively, Mystic Harvest opens up access to leech, a recovery layer usually limited to Physical damage, and Azmeri Brew makes Flasks far more versatile. Lastly, her Predatory Instinct and In for the Kill Notables grant massive bonuses against Wraeclast’s most dangerous foes.
Smith of Kitava
The Smith of Kitava wields the Devourer’s power to his own ends. This ascendancy is harder to nail down, as many of the bonuses like Temper Weapon, Maifest Weapon, and Fire Spell on Hit are the sort of thing you need to play with to truly understand. However, Coal Stoker and Forged in Flame provide some of the most powerful defenses in the game. With Coal Stoaker, you need to dedicate less of your suffixes to resistances, meaning there’s more of them to use for damage. Maximum resistance is incredibly potent, with even as little as +5% Maximum Resistance mitigating around 20% of the elemental damage you take. Lastly, there’s Smith’s Masterwork, the ability to forge yourself a custom chest piece at the cost of some Ascendancy points. How useful this is depends on where Living Weapon, Against the Anvil, and Heat of the Forge fall as you only get 8 Ascendancy points to distribute amongst all the passives. With that said many of the passives including, Dedication to Kitava, Support Straps, Flowing Metal, Molten Symbol, and Kitavan Engraving all have potential.
Lich
A Lich wields forbidden power, even at the cost of her soul. First, there are some fan-favorite nodes from the original Path of Exile in Rupture the Soul and Dominion Over Flesh. Being able to curse enemies to make them explode into piles of loot is always a good time. Soulless Form provides a unique way to solve mana by increasing your maximum life. It also splits damage between your life and energy shield which is useful when you have easy ways to recover both. Eternal Life further enhances this effect, because your life cannot change while you have energy shield any damage split to your life is ignored so long as you have energy shield active. Atziri’s Distain splits damage to your life allowing you to ignore even more damage. Then there’s Necromantic Conduit and Blackened Heart, a way to provide a significant damage buff to yourself or allies, and what better allies exist than the mindless dead bound to your command? Lastly, Crystalline Phylactery, Price of Power, and Eldrich Empowerment offer solid bonuses to a variety of builds.
Note: there is a slight error in the graphic, Blackened Heart should be the node after Necromantic Conduit and Dominion Over Flesh should be the node after Rupture the Soul.
Tactician
The Tactician never works alone. This is a support-focused Ascendancy for the Mercenary class. It provides a variety of bonuses focused on Auras and buffs. A Solid Plan is particularly noteworthy as it’s normally difficult to scale your Spirit without using Sceptres. With Suppressing Fire and Right Where We Want Them, you can Pin foes to prevent them from acting, adding another crowd control effect to your party’s toolkit. Unleash Hell! Is a unique skill that gives you personal artillery, summon them to unleash a barrage of withering fire onto the battlefield.
Azmeri Wisps
With each new league, comes a new league mechanic, and for Dawn of the Hunt it’s Azmeri Wisps. Follow the lights and slay any monsters they empower. Each Wisp enhances the rewards of any monsters it empowers while giving them a variety of lethal bonuses. For example, a Cat Wisp gives empowered monsters Critical Hit Chance, whereas a Sacred Wisp upgrades the monster’s tier, turning Rares into Unique Bosses! Each time you encounter a Wisp it seeks out a Rare or Unique monster to infuse, greatly increasing the creature’s strength and its rewards.
Rogue Exiles
You can encounter Rogue Exiles, NPC invaders who fight like players and even wield powerful items. If you’re able to slay them, you get all the items they’re wearing, but be warned, if they slay you they escape and take their riches with them. Rogue Exiles provide a different kind of challenge since their builds work like a player’s, with a wide variety of skill combinations on offer. These foes tend to be more agile than most bosses, but aren’t as tanky. Keep an eye on their Unique items as these can be extremely valuable, and may make the encounter much more difficult!
Endgame Revamp
Dawn of the Hunt brings sweeping changes to Path of Exile 2’s endgame experience. The goal is to make mapping more exciting by providing players with more random encounters while reducing tedious busy work. You can now use up to 3 tablets in each Tower, this reduces the amount of busy work needed to enhance the nearby maps and maximize your loot. To balance this, fewer Towers spawn and they have been revamped to be more rewarding. Mechanics can spawn in Towers and they are guarded by a Unique Boss.
The Corruption mechanic has also been changed, you now choose between clearing each corrupted map, or rushing to the center to purify the cluster, changing the rewards, and unlocking the new purified map type. You can choose to farm the corrupted zones, slaying additional enemies in hopes of gaining currency and rare items. Alternatively, you could rush to the nexus to purify the zone in hopes of obtaining more Fraturing Orbs. This is a crafting currency that locks an affix on an item with 4 modifiers, making it unmodifiable by any means.
There’s a wealth of content to explore. In addition, Unique Maps present special challenges, each is difficult but rewarding. The Fractured Lake (pictured above) rewards you with exclusive base types that have more Prefixes or Suffixes than are normally possible.A Crystalline Cavern presents you with a room full of Essences to claim. Each one you defeat further empowers the boss, making the challenge at the end both more lethal and rewarding. Or you could explore the Feral Megaliths, a 10-round boss gauntlet that drops tons of loot and exclusive Runes.
Beyond just endgame content, crafting also got numerous changes. You can use Corrupted Essences to craft items with special effects. When encountering Rituals to the King in the Mists you’re now guaranteed an Omen, and Omen rewards are more common. If you explore Expedition you can now use your currencies to Recombinate items, merging 2 bases in hopes of keeping desirable affixes.
Patch Notes
It’s almost easier to talk about what didn’t change than it is to list everything that got tweaked, adjusted, or reworked for Dawn of the Hunt. When GGG said to forget everything you already knew about Path of Exile 2, they weren’t kidding. In particular, outlier builds like Archmage Spark Stormweaver and Attribute Stacking Hand of Wisdom and Action Monk saw heavy nerfs.
Path of Exile 2 Beginner’s Guide / Leveling Walkthrough
Whether you’re a veteran looking to improve or a new player trying to get into Path of Exile 2, Maxroll’s Comprehensive League Start Leveling Guide holds your hand with step-by-step instructions throughout the leveling process. This covers an efficient leveling path, how to get good gear, tips to increase your damage and defense, and how to solve common problems.
Maxroll Planner
Maxroll’s PoE2Planner is updated for Dawn of the Hunt and better than ever. You can now import your characters directly into the planner and share your build in just a couple of clicks. The PoE2Planner lets you quickly assemble the passives, items, and skills used in your build. You can also add more details like which bonuses to take from the campaign, outline a skill rotation or link to a custom loot filter on FilterBlade.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for something to play, check out the Maxroll Builds section for planners made by the experts on Maxroll’s Path of Exile 2 team, or browse Community Planners for more builds put together by the community.
Builds
Dawn of the Hunt has brought a huge shakeup to the build meta! The increased difficulty nerfs to meta builds, and buffs to underperformers have resulted in a lot of changes. The Amazon, Lich, and Smith of Kitava have been absolutely dominating the meta during the first few days of the league. Here are a few of the builds being cooked up by the experts at Maxroll.
Amazon
Rake is a travel skill that easily rips through packs of monsters when combined with Stomping Grounds, with this planner from ZiggyD you can unleash carnage across Wraeclast. Rake has great mobility, decent single target damage and satisfying bleed pops thanks to Herald of Blood. As you keep progressing, you can continue scaling your build using Goratha’s endgame Bleed/Rake Amazon.
The Amazon is also adept at using Crossbows, combine Glacial Bolt with Artillery Ballista to clear easily while also doing high single target damage. Because your Ballistae can attack enemies while you’re dodging mechanics this build is easy to use against bosses. Check out this planner from Palsteron on how to build a Crossbow Amazon.
If you’re looking for something different, grab a bow and bring winter to your enemies with Aer0’s Ice Shot Amazon! This build uses Ice Shot to clear and Freezing Salvo to unleash icy devastation on more difficult enemies.
Then there’s the good old explosive Gas Arrow. This was one of the most popular builds for bow leveling at the start of early access and it’s a great way to get your Amazon to maps. Check out Tenkiei’s Explosive Gas Arrow Amazon planner for some inspiration!
Lastly a more endgame build, Crouchung_Tuna’s Lighting Spear Amazon! This build captures the feel of a Diablo 2 Javazon by blasting everything on the screen with lightning. As an endgame build you need to be in maps to start playing it, so use one of the earlier planners through the campaign and then respec to this.
Lich
Chaos DoT, or damage over time skills like Essence Drain and Contagion excel at clearing the screen while providing consistent damage. This makes them the perfect choice to pair with the excellent defenses provided by the Lich Ascendancy. Check out this planner from CaptainLance9 to play your own Chaos DoT Lich.
Why fight alone when you can bring your own personal army to each battle? If that’s your preferred playstyle then HelmBreaker’s Minion Army Lich is the build for you. You get excellent defenses from Eternal Life and new Spectres provide you even more mindlessly loyal dead for your army. If you prefer infernal flame you can play a similar build on Infernalist.
Other Builds
Here are a few more builds on existing ascendancies:
If you’re looking for a hand holdy Mercenary Grenade Leveling Guide. ZiggyD’s planner takes you through the campaign and into early maps.
Stormweaver was one of the most popular builds in 0.1 and if you enjoy freezing your way through the campaign you can do so with this build from ZenM: Frost Bolt Cold Snap Stormweaver Leveling.
Monk is fast and fluid, filling the screen with particle effects while dashing to the next pack to do the same. This build from Milkybk_ helps you find your center as you progress: Invoker Monk Leveling.
The Smith of Kitava is Wraeclast’s ultimate tank, so if you’re looking to play hardcore this is one of your best bets. The Endgame HC Artillery Ballista Smith of Kitava build from Zizaran goes over everything you need to know to play this tanky artillerist.
With that said, Dawn of the Hunt is brand new and there’s still a lot to explore in the buildcrafting space so keep a close eye on Maxroll’s Builds for more ways to play.
On the Hunt
Dawn of the Hunt adds a lot of content and streamlines the mapping experience but the campaign is slower than it was before. The best players are already blasting maps and juicing towers but a lot of people are still making their way through the campaign.
It’s going to take some time for the dust to settle and for the meta to stabilize in Path of Exile 2 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt. If you want to know more about the best builds and most profitable currency strategies keep an eye on Maxroll’s Meta Section. Their Path of Exile 2 team is hard at work writing new Build Guides and sharing their Planners with the community!
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This article was created by IGN Staff with help from the Maxroll Path of Exile 2 Team.
