Games like Balatro don’t come around very often. It’s the sort of experience that quickly burrows its way into your mind until you can think of little else, so you tell your friends about it, and then they tell their friends about it. Eventually, through the sheer power of word of mouth, a game that has seemingly popped up from nowhere is now one of the clear frontrunners for Game of the Year. We’re not even exaggerating, by the way; it really is that good. It’s destined to sit alongside the likes of Stardew Valley, Celeste, and Undertale as one of, if not the defining example of its respective genre, and frankly, we’re kicking ourselves that we didn’t catch wind of it sooner.
If words like ‘roguelike’ and ‘deckbuilder’ fill you with dread, we understand, but just bear with us on this. Balatro is a roguelike deckbuilder that’s built around the general concept of poker. The idea is that you need to utilise classic poker hands to build up your chips and beat the target score for each round (or, officially, ‘blind’). It sounds simple, and it genuinely is — you don’t even need any prior knowledge of poker hands because a quick tap of the ‘–’ button will bring up a handy list of every possible combination — but the challenge comes when the target chip number starts increasing.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! This weekly feature presents you with all the games that are arriving soon on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass! You can see more information about these upcoming games below and click on their profiles for more details (release dates may vary). Let’s begin!
Classified: France ‘44 is a new turn-based strategy game, set in World War II during the desperate months leading up to the Allied invasion of France in June 1944. Take charge of a special-ops team of Allied commandos and French resistance fighters. Recruit elite operatives to build your squad, then engage in a sweeping campaign of sabotage and destruction.
Embark on ever-rewarding scientific expeditions as you adapt to nature’s challenges and unravel the mysteries of uncharted lands. Lead research missions as you drive a variety of all-terrain vehicles through treacherous paths, using advanced technologies and high-tech tools to overcome obstacles. Build and manage your base and equip your vehicles with essential gadgets like drones or scanners to ensure your success in the wild. Hire a team of top-notch experts to improve your skills in the field, unlocking new possibilities for exploration.
Three young men in their early 20s reconnect after two years of forced isolation, hoping to rekindle their friendship; an exceptional bond that made the trio truly special! A mythological force well beyond the sum of its parts! Or so they think…
Red Barrels invites you to experience mind-numbing terror, this time with friends. Whether you go through the trials alone or in teams, if you survive long enough and complete the therapy, Murkoff will happily let you leave… but will you be the same? Pre-order now to get the Legendary Grizzly Hazmat outfit!
Take the role of an agile little blonde hero as he leaps and dashes his way to glory in 10 Seconds to Win! This is a precision platformer where you only have 10 seconds to complete each single-screen challenge. Run, jump, and air dash to avoid spikes, spinning saw blades and more as you try to reach a trophy cup on the far side of the stage.
An atmospheric point-and-click quest in which you play as a wise white cat. One day the artist saved a cat that was in trouble, and they began to live together. There were no signs of trouble until one day an evil spirit attacked the artist. After this, the artist became seriously ill and now the wise white cat must help his friend and save him from death.
Bounce over the strangely elastic heads of your opponents to advance. Swat characters clear across the map. Inspire teammates with an operatic blast from a guy with a giant speaker for a head. Command a squad of minions in this quirky turn-based strategy game for 1-4 players. Hex Gambit is a perfect game night staple: easy for new players to pick up, with tons of creative tactics to explore!
In Reveil, you’ll be immersed into a world designed with attention to detail, where the boundaries between reality and illusion become blurred. The setting is an authentically orchestrated environment inspired by the circus of the ‘60s, which soon takes on surreal features.
ABRISS is an atmospheric physics-destruction building game. Build structures from parts to let them crash into your targets. Unlock new parts, destroy more, witness entropy at its worst in digital-brutalist cityscapes.
A tactical roguelike featuring turn-based combat along with a “turn the camera” mechanic that also turns all monsters and projectiles, causing interesting outcomes like monsters walking into traps; or attacking one another.
Dr. Ralph Goodwin invented a miracle cure to heal the world from almost all types of diseases and he is going to present his elixir to the audience at a press conference the next day. But today his research laboratory was destroyed, and the elixir seems lost forever. His daughter Sara jumps into action, searching the laboratory for any clues about the whereabouts of the elixir. She was not prepared to uncover the dark events of her own past. Amid mad scientists and ruthless assassins, will you be able to find the elixir?
It’s time to dust off your overalls and hitch on your toolbelt in Manic Mechanics – a chaotic couch co-op game where you and up to three fellow grease monkeys pay a visit to the car-obsessed Octane Isle. No two games are the same as you work your way through 30 unique garage levels, each one more challenging than the last.
A retro arcade racer that puts you in the driving seat as you take control of your own motorsport team and compete at thrilling and iconic racing circuits around the world from the 1980s to the present day. Upgrade your car, choose your race perks and pit strategy, and battle a grid of CPU opponents and ever-changing weather conditions to win the championship and unlock the next decade of racing!
In Sokobalien, you take on the role of a fearless alien determined to create a farm of epic proportions. Your mission is to push cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens, ensuring that the UFO beams abduct them. Be prepared for increasingly complex challenges as you will need to use your strategic skills and problem-solving abilities to overcome obstacles and achieve success.
Climb into the driver’s seat of your car and your business, transport passengers across Barcelona and grow your company! After arriving in the city with nothing but a car and a dream, drive around the busy streets and transport passengers while offering them impeccable service across 286 miles (460 km) of roads in a large area of Barcelona reproduced at 1:1 scale.
Top Racer Collection brings back the 90s classics in one incredible package, bringing together three iconic games from the renowned racing franchise. The Top Racer Collection features classic titles such as Top Racer, Top Racer 2, and Top Racer 3000.
You have been hired to solve the mystery of a missing caretaker and a scary female ghost that has been seen in the Waterfront gallery. On arrival you start searching for the ghost but slowly but surely are being pulled into her own world. Before you know it, you find yourself in a crazy world that represent the thoughts of the dead woman. However, you are determined to find her, figure out why she can’t leave the world of living and finally bring her peace. Will you be able to succeed?
Stolen Realm features an innovative turn-based combat system where simultaneous turns allow every team to take their actions at once, creating quick combat encounters that blend the tactical depth of titles like Divinity: Original Sin with the thrill of a fast-paced action RPG. Every battle scales based on the number of players involved, so you can easily jump in and out of the game even in the same playthrough!
This ninja master is back in action and this time he’s bringing a friend along. Help them complete their missions while they take the art of the ninja to a whole new level.
WWE 2K24 boasts a star-studded roster featuring WWE Legends like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Undertaker, and Andre the Giant, alongside current WWE Superstars “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Rhea Ripley, and Roman Reigns, whose larger-than-life entrances and signature moves are heightened by ultra-realistic graphics.
A top-secret government laboratory experiment went wrong, and now invading aliens have infested the military base. Time to clean things up! Grab your weapon, recruit a friend, and start blasting wave after wave of alien scum into oblivion.
Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are two masterfully made retellings of the classic PlayStation RPG from 1997. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Remake project and continues where the previous title left off, hopefully bringing answers to questions posed with it. Not only is this new sequel a nostalgic experience for veterans of the 90s original, but Square Enix has crafted it to be another perfect spot for newcomers to join Cloud and the gang.
Regardless, the Remake project is bursting with intriguing stories, colorful characters, and rich lore. Here, we’ll reflect on the story so far, how Final Fantasy VII Remake differs from the original, and some of the mysteries it left us with.
Spoiler warning for Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Where we left off
Final Fantasy VII Remake took us down memory lane, beginning with Cloud’s first mission alongside the eco-terrorist group Avalanche and ending with the team leaving the steel skies of Midgar. But throughout this story, things happen differently from the original 1997 FFVII, following the constant theme of the antagonist Sephiroth’s proposed defiance of fate.
This is further showcased by characters facing off against Whispers, ghost-like creatures that fight the characters to ensure they don’t deviate from the initial timeline. However, the Whispers fail at many points of the story, resulting in certain characters being depicted in a different way than the original game. One of those characters is Cloud’s brother-in-arms, Zack Fair.
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Who is Zack Fair?
He’s standing equal to Cloud in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth game art, but who is this mystery man? Zack is one of the most essential characters in the series mythos, being the hero who kickstarts the legend of the title’s headlining character, Cloud Strife, before the events of the actual game. In the prequel game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the original 1997 game, Zack Fair acts as a big brother and inspirational figure to Cloud. This fellow Soldier stood as a pillar to a girl with whom he had a fateful encounter, Aerith Gainsborough, and witnessed Sephiroth’s fall from grace.
In the original Final Fantasy VII, Zack meets an untimely end protecting an incapacitated Cloud from a barrage of Shinra troops. The ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake showcases an opposite fate for the fallen Soldier, depicting him carrying an injured Cloud to Midgar after successfully defeating these Shinra troops, shrouding the diverging timelines of the Remake project in even more mystery.
An intermission between remakes
Final Fantasy VII Remake: Episode Intermission is an extra DLC episode for Final Fantasy VII Remake. This title takes place between Remake and Rebirth, serving as an introduction to one of Rebirth’s new party members, Yuffie Kisaragi. Fellow Wutain ninja, Sonon Kusakabe, accompanies her as they infiltrate Shinra to steal the ultimate materia and restore glory to Wutai.
Of course, nothing is that simple. Sonon meets his end, sacrificing himself to save Yuffie during the mission. The young Wutain is left to leave Midgar on a Chocobo to find allies to help her on her new mission to take down Shinra. She doesn’t know that she’s on a direct course to cross paths with our main heroes of Cloud and company.
This new addition doesn’t just add a new character but also the new Synergy Ability mechanic featured in Rebirth. Characters can now Synergize, which lets them team up to attack an enemy simultaneously with team attacks to stylishly rack up extra damage.
How the story continues in Rebirth
In Rebirth, our party goes from freedom fighting against Shinra to pursuing Sephiroth who seeks power that would doom the world. Not only have the stakes evolved, but the gameplay has, too. Rebirth introduces a much larger world outside Midgar to the Remake’s universe, giving players a much more non-linear adventure.
There are tons of quests, side content, and other World Intel objectives to tackle in various open, explorable regions. Characters can ride atop unique Chocobo types that excel in different biomes to quickly travel from place to place. Along with these additions, new playable characters join the party, like Yuffie, Red XIII, and Cait Sith, which means FFVII Rebirth is bursting with content to discover.
The iconic story continues in a big way with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Enter a larger reimagined Final Fantasy world on PlayStation 5 today.
Spoiler Warning: This interview contains some spoilers for the ending of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as well as some of the major changes from the original. You have been warned!
Heading into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, fans had only one question on their mind: What was going to happen to Aerith? Final Fantasy VII Remake had upended the classic story, seemingly leaving the door open for all manner of changes, including to one of the biggest twists in gaming history. But if director Naoki Hamaguchi felt pressure to get the moment right, he isn’t saying it.
“In terms of whether there was pressure or stress around the scene, it was actually more so that within Nojima-san’s initial scenario we had this direction that was pretty set from his initial scenario. And so that was kind of quite solidified early on,” Hamaguchi tells IGN.
According to Hamaguchi, the anticipated finale for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which launched yesterday on PlayStation 5, didn’t inspire much internal debate. Instead, the development team mostly focused on executing on director Kazushige Nojima’s vision as best they could. “More of this kind of sense of determination as a team to best convey this based on Nojima-san’s scenario,” Hamaguchi says.
Early returns have been mostly positive. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth currently sits at 92 on Metacritic and is enjoying strong word-of-mouth. But despite awarding it a 9 in our review, we weren’t the biggest fans of how it wrapped up, writing, “It does fumble the execution of its ending, getting caught up in the mess of its multiple twisting timelines, but new moments and the overarching journey manage to evoke a deeper sense of reflection in spite of that.”
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s ending is indeed confusing, its vague nature bound to inspire lorehounds within the fandom. For Hamaguchi and his team, though, the confusion may be a feature more than a bug.
“HD games take quite long to develop…it’s not as so that we can release the final title the following year or anything like that. Of course, it takes a bit more time, so it is our intent and hopes that there will be many thoughts and conjectures and sort of guesses as to what this exactly means. And we do hope that players will kind of think about this and consider this up to the following title,” Hamaguchi says.
The journey to Rebirth and beyond
Whenever the third part of the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy releases — whether it’s called Remembrance or something else — it will mark the conclusion of a journey that has now spanned close to a decade and two separate console generations. It stretches as far back as the PlayStation 3, when Square Enix released what was then considered a beautiful tech demo featuring Cloud that sparked fevered calls for a remake, which were finally answered in 2020 with the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
The first game was directed by Tetsuya Nomura, one of the key architects of the original Final Fantasy VII. When it came time for Rebirth, he handed the reigns to Hamaguchi, who had grown up playing Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII before finally joining Square Enix in 2006. As a child, he loved manga and was impressed by how Square’s RPGs were able to capture a similar range of depth and expression. He entered the games industry as a programmer, making him in some ways the opposite of Nomura, who has defined the look and feel of multiple generations of Final Fantasy games through his art.
Where Yoshinori Kitase, Nomura, Nojima, and Motomu Toriyama worried about the creative direction of the story, Hamaguchi was tasked with logistics. He talks about being in charge of the “structure of the game” — the meat and potatoes elements like the combat and the open world — and managing the overall development. Meanwhile, it was Nomura who came up with the “Rebirth” subtitle, which like Remake has something of a double-meaning (“I think having played the game, you will understand what Rebirth means to this title,” Hamaguchi says)
“Nomura-san is an extremely creative individual,” Hamaguchi goes on. “And since he was one of the creators involved with the original fan of Fantasy VII, he was vital in understanding the elements that were the most appealing and continue that were beloved from the original title and how we can best express this in a way that would make that kind of impact today as well. He has this immaculate sensibility in that way and his opinions were very vital in the development. He is a creator that I have massive respect towards.”
In his time at Square Enix, Hamaguchi has worked on numerous Final Fantasy releases stretching back to Final Fantasy XII. What makes Rebirth different, Hamaguchi says, is that its nature as a sequel means that it’s easier to take into account critical feedback and rework elements that don’t work quite as well. Rebirth was also able to retain between 80 and 90 percent of the developers who worked on Remake.
Asked if the team took any lessons from Final Fantasy XVI, which was being made at roughly the same time, Hamaguchi demurs, noting that the nature of development means that it can be difficult to suddenly change the direction of a game’s design.
“It is very often so that,even if there are other titles in which the timelines of development align or overlap, it can be pretty challenging to actually implement things from another title into our own simply because the overall structure is already constructed or determined early on,” Hamaguchi says. “So yeah, looking at the Active Time Lore or some of the cinematic elements of expression they deployed in Final Fantasy XVI, there were certainly a lot of elements that were inspiring or very intriguing…but it was quite difficult to implement.”
The grand finale
With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth now complete and in the hands of fans, Square Enix can look ahead to the final part of the trilogy, which based on the current pace of development may not be finished until roughly 2028. If that winds up being the case, Final Fantasy VII Remake’s grand finale may well be a PlayStation 6 launch title if Sony’s comments about the PS5 being in the “latter stage” of its life cycle are anything to go by.
As for what the third part will entail, we do have some hints. Notably, Hamaguchi says that Cid’s home Rocket Town, which doesn’t appear in Rebirth, may be in the next game. “So as for Rocket Town, this was also not a part of Nojima-san’s original structure…And considering that how we introduce the character, Cid, for the Remake series this time is arranged a bit differently, Nojima-san, Nomura-san and I were all aligned with this decision to consider this for the next title.”
Fans are very delighted to see some of the characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles that they have really loved and enjoyed
According to Hamaguchi, Rocket Town was also cut at least in part to focus on Gongaga, a previously-optional area that gets more prominence in Rebirth. “Considering that in the original the Gongaga area was optional for the players, we wanted to delve into this and express this more in depth for Rebirth. And so that was also an additional consideration for this as well.”
Unsurprisingly, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII works also figure to play a role of some kind in the third game. Orignally a collection side-stories and spin-off games, Square Enix has hardly been shy about including characters and story beats from its various works, even going so far as to feature elements from the much-maligned Dirge of Cerberus in the Intergrade DLC. Ahead of Rebirth’s release on February 29, the 2005 movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children briefly returned to theaters for a special showing.
Hamaguchi has said that the next game’s script is still in development, so plenty can change. However, he does tease still more potential additions from Compilation.
“So while I can’t comment on the sort of exact contents of the third title now, of course, whenever we present characters that have originally appealed and appeared in a Compilation title for Final Fantasy VII, we’ve seen very positive feedback. Fans are very delighted to see some of the characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles that they have really loved and enjoyed. So I hope that we can continue to touch on these. But at the time, in terms of the storyline, nothing is set in stone,” Hamaguchi says.
For now, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth seems like a win for Square Enix, earning more positive word-of-mouth than the series has seen in years. The real test will be whether it’s able to defy the odds and sell more copies than its predecessor, which sits at about 7 million units. Outside of its extremely popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy has been trending downward for a while now (granted, Final Fantasy XVI differed from its peers in that it was a platform exclusive), and direct sequels tend to see diminishing returns.
One way or another, Hamaguchi says he plans to see Square Enix’s ambitious Final Fantasy VII Remake project through. “At the end of Remake, I had a pretty lengthy discussion with Kitase-san surrounding this and that I would be devoted to this project for the next 12 years or so. I think we both had reached the consensus together and had some very good discussions around that. And so with that, I feel very much committed, and with the Remake series, as well as Rebirth, I feel very much confident about bringing it into this world. So I have this resolve for the Remake series and concluding the trilogy.”
This week, Helldivers 2 has seen a glut of gameplay leaks showing off officially unavailable stratagems, including of the upcoming mechs and, more recently, of a vehicle reminiscent of Halo’s famous Warthog. But what’s going on here? The community has a number of explanations.
Amid claims developer Arrowhead is randomly letting select players call in these unannounced stratagems, or jumping into the live game itself to test these new features, a perhaps more likely explanation has emerged: it’s the work of cheaters.
The devs are evidently enabling strats for select folks to try. Brilliant marketing tbh. These aren’t leaks. 🤣 https://t.co/uCzqbHOomj
Five days ago, redditor stodal posted a list of game file names they uncovered while digging through the game’s innards. It included reference to a potential third alien faction dubbed the Illuminate, mechs, the ability to call in AI-controlled soldiers, weapon customisation, new weapons, something called ‘ship bowling’, and even names of upcoming enemies.
Now, as more and more gameplay videos showing apparent leaked footage emerges across social media, the community is pointing the finger at cheaters who are working around Helldivers 2’s anti-cheat to unlock the use of some of these normally unavailable features in live lobbies.
Overnight, redditor Old-Improvement7331 said a player joined their game and had access to mechs and a vehicle for faster travel. “I can only assume he was cheating due to being able to spawn mechs for everybody from the party,” Old-Improvement7331 said. Posting screenshots of the incident, Old-Improvement7331 said they gave a mech a go, saying it “definitely” made the game easier.
A growing debate about datamining equating to cheating within Helldivers 2 has also emerged, which in turn sparked a response from redditor Flighterist, who provided useful context for what’s happening. Apparently unavailable stratagems such as the vehicle are already in the game itself, but not officially enabled. Knowing this, some players are going into the files of the game to unlock their use in any lobby. Flighterist warned more of these types of videos will emerge in the coming days as more players unlock mechs and the like.
The question now is whether Arrowhead will take action to prevent this from happening, or whether it is even able to. Cheating has been a problem for Helldivers 2 ever since the game came out earlier this month. This week, IGN reported on how cheaters were using hacks to add infinite ammo, increase speed, and, perhaps most worrying, obtain hundreds of samples from missions.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty to be getting on with (officially!) in the world of Helldivers 2, including the ongoing galactic war against the bugs and bots. As revealed this week, Arrowhead employs a “game master” who runs the Helldivers 2 campaign like a D&D dungeon master.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Warning: this article contains full spoilers for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original Final Fantasy 7.
The story of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is pretty easy to follow… until you get to the end, that is. Much like its predecessor, the final chapter of Rebirth heads into weird, uncharted territory, and it can all become a bit confusing. To save you from befuddlement, we’ve studied the ending and the storylines that lead up to it over and over to make sense of it all. And where we can’t make sense of it, we’ve theorised on what it means. Read on for all those answers, but be warned: it’s all spoilers from here on out, for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original game.
Zack and the Multiverse
In the finale of Final Fantasy 7 Remake it was revealed that there are two timelines; the one in which the main events of the game unfold, and a second reality in which Zack Fair survived the attack by Shinra guards. Rebirth goes one step further and reveals there’s not two realities, but multiple. Infinite numbers of them, in fact. Yup, welcome to the Final Fantasy 7 multiverse.
Sephiroth explains that “when the boundaries of fate are breached, new worlds are born.” And so when Cloud and the party defeated the Whisper Harbinger in the finale of Remake, they created the reality in which Zack survives.
But Rebirth demonstrates that even the smallest decisions can create new worlds. Towards the end of Zack’s storyline, he has to make a choice: will he save Biggs, Cloud, or Aerith? His choice creates three branching realities. Each unique universe is identified by its version of Stamp, a dog mascot who pops up everywhere. In the main reality, Stamp is a beagle hound wearing a helmet. In the second reality created at the end of Remake, the one that’s home to the majority of Zack’s story, Stamp is a border terrier with a cap. The version of Zack who goes to save Biggs creates a world where Stamp is a bulldog with a bucket hat, while the version who chooses Aerith manifests a reality where Stamp is a corgi with a collar. Follow the dogs, and you’ll know the reality you’re in.
While these different realities are the stages for different stories, Rebirth does suggest that everyone has a destiny that’s hard to outrun. In the realities where Zack chooses to save Cloud and Biggs, both versions of him are hunted down by squads of Shinra soldiers – echoing the way he died in the main reality. We see this with an alternate version of Aerith, too, where it’s implied that Sephiroth will always hunt her down. This, along with the return of the Whispers (the arbiters of fate we met in Final Fantasy 7 Remake) suggests that the party didn’t totally break the concept of destiny in Remake, and that there’s still a canon path that the multiverse expects its inhabitants to tread.
Homecoming
So what’s the deal with these multiple realities? Well, unsurprisingly Sephiroth wants to mess it all up. In the original Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth’s plan was to cause a meteor to collide with the planet. The impact would cause the world’s spiritual energy, known as Lifestream, to leak out, which Sephiroth could then absorb to fuel his ascent to godhood. Rebirth’s version of Sephiroth plans something similar, but his goal is now greater than becoming a mere god. He wants to rule over infinity – to lay claim to the entire multiverse. To do so, he plans what he calls a ‘Homecoming’, the union of the multiverse’s many realities.
Sephiroth explains that all worlds are doomed to fade from existence. We see this in a couple of instances, with the skies of some realities torn asunder. When these worlds die, they apparently return to the “planet’s embrace”. Essentially, it’s the Lifestream on a multiversal level. Sephiroth doesn’t speak plainly about his plans for this convergence of realities, but since he still seeks the meteor-summoning Black Materia, it’s logical to assume he wants to unite the multiverse and then obliterate it. If absorbing the Lifestream of one reality can make him a god, then absorbing the Lifestream of multiple realities would likely help him achieve that whole ‘King of Infinity’ ambition.
Aerith’s Fate
For Sephiroth to destroy the multiverse with meteor, he’ll need to ensure nothing stands in his way. And so that means killing Aerith, the last of the Cetra and the only person capable of using White Materia to pray for Holy, a magical barrier that will protect the planet. And so that’s exactly what he does.
But let’s rewind, because there’s a lot that happens leading up to Aerith’s death. As revealed in her trial in the Temple of the Ancients, Aerith was given the White Materia by her dying mother. But across the events of the first game, her every encounter with the Whispers sapped the White Materia of the knowledge and memories that power it. By the time Aerith left Midgar, it was nothing more than an empty, useless globe. As such, if Aerith is to protect the planet, she needs a new White Materia.
Thankfully, the multiverse means there are multiple Aeriths, each with their own materia. Through the guise of a dream, an alternate Aerith pulls Cloud into her reality – a world where the sky is crumbling and there’s no hope of salvation. This version of Aerith gives Cloud her White Materia and sends him back to his reality, just before Sephiroth arrives to stop her. Returned to the main reality, Cloud gives Aerith this new White Materia, putting destiny back on track.
Of course, as we well know from the original Final Fantasy 7, that destiny involves being impaled on Sephiroth’s sword. And, perhaps as expected, that’s exactly what happens. But it’s more complicated than that. We see Cloud deflect Sephiroth’s blade, saving Aerith from the killing blow. We even see moments of her alive in Cloud’s arms. And yet, she still dies. As far as I can tell, there’s no concrete answer to what’s exactly happening here. The burst of rainbow colour in this scene suggests another branch of fate (this motif is used in other scenes in which the multiverse is crossed or adjusted) and so this could be Cloud catching a glimpse of a reality where Aerith survives. Meanwhile, the tiny green lights around Aerith ‘alive’ in his arms points to her spirit communicating via the Lifestream, offering Cloud a moment of reassurance from the beyond. But the glitch editing in this sequence suggests it could all just be a result of Cloud’s degrading mind. As hinted at throughout the entirety of Rebirth’s story, Cloud’s body is gradually breaking down, causing him to be something of an unreliable narrator. We’ll return to this topic a bit later if you want to know more.
Aerith’s death is immediately followed by an incredibly long, multiphase boss battle. And in the final phase, none other than Aerith arrives to help defeat Sephiroth. While Rebirth features multiple versions of Aerith, it seems that this is actually our Aerith… well, her spirit form, at least. Following Sephiroth’s defeat, we see Aerith fade away in those little green lights – a sure sign that she’s returned to the Lifestream. But while she’s returned to the planet, that doesn’t mean she’s gone forever.
Promises
The final cutscene shows the party mourning Aerith’s loss. Yet, in almost all of these scenes, Aerith is clearly standing among them. Sadly, she’s not miraculously alive – this is just her spirit. But while the majority of the party cannot see her, Cloud can. Not just that; he can even talk with her.
In Rebirth’s final moments, Aerith makes a promise to Cloud. “I’ll put everything I’ve got into my prayers. I’ll stop the meteor.” Cloud makes his own promise to stop Sephiroth. This is an echo of the original game’s ending, in which it’s hinted that Aerith’s spirit protects the planet using the Lifestream while Cloud defeats Sephiroth in battle.
Over in another reality, Zack also makes something of a promise to himself. Sephiroth explained that worlds unite and part, and Zack witnessed this when his reality overlapped with Cloud’s, allowing them to fight Sephiroth Reborn together. Their worlds are now separated, but Zack wonders if they could be reunited once more. It’s a spark of hope for him, as in his universe Cloud is terminally ill from mako poisoning and Aerith is in a long-term coma following the disaster in Midgar. If his world can merge with another, then there’s a chance he can be reunited with healthy versions of Cloud and Aerith once again.
Reunion
While the ending suggests that Aerith will be able to stay by Cloud’s side as a spiritual guide for the rest of the journey, it’s not all roses for our spikey-haired protagonist. He’s the only person able to see the tear in his reality’s sky, perhaps as a result of having travelled across multiple worlds himself. More ominously, it could be related to Cloud’s mental connection to Sephiroth.
As Cloud discovers he has the Black Materia in his pocket, his mind glitches for a moment. He mutters “the reunion”, and fits the apocalyptic materia into his Buster Sword. What all this means will almost certainly be covered in the final game of the Remake trilogy, but if you want more context now, we need to look at the full events of the original game. As hinted to in Rebirth’s Shinra Mansion basement scenes, Cloud was experimented on by Professor Hojo, who injected him with Jenova cells. The robed figures seen all throughout Rebirth are also victims of the same Jenova trials. The Reunion of which both they and Cloud speak is the reunion of Jenova’s cells – a ritual triggered by Sephiroth himself from a crater far in the north. That’s where the robed men are headed, and that’s why Cloud miraculously knows that Sephiroth is north; he’s being subconsciously summoned to the Reunion. You can probably now see why Sephiroth wants Cloud to keep that Black Materia safe…
Shinra vs. Wutai
The other significant reveal in the finale is that Glenn Lodbrok is actually a puppet of Sephiroth. As revealed earlier in the game, Lodbrok is attempting to reignite the war between Shinra and Wutai. In a public address he blames the murder of several Wutai soldiers on the company, as well as the emergence of the Weapons from the mako reactors. But the reveal that Lodbrok is actually a manifestation of Sephiroth lays clear the whole purpose of the conflict: it’s a ploy to distract Rufus Shinra.
As noted in the scene between Rufus and Glenn, it was Rufus’ fathers dream to discover the Promised Land; a place overflowing with mako energy where he could build the city of Neo Midgar. After President Shinra was killed, Rufus continued his father’s work, tailing Aerith in hope of discovering this fabled place. But Sephiroth also wants to find the Promised Land – in the original game he needs its abundance of energy to use the Black Materia and summon meteor, and presumably that remains true in Rebirth. And so by creating the manifestation of Glenn Lodbrok, Sephiroth can brew a conflict between Wutai and Shinra that will distract Rufus away from the Promised Land. Rufus works it all out and guns down the robed man who took Glenn’s form, but it seems like it’s too little too late. The Shinra Resistance Committee is ready for war, and it looks like it’ll all get messy in the final game of the trilogy.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
There are moments where Sons Of The Forest matches the sublime paranoia of Subnautica. There’s that same lurching, exquisite tension as you delve deeper and deeper into darkness where you are not welcome, supplies dwindling, footfall echoing, monstrosities skittering about in the black. On my most intense plunge into one cave, I groaned aloud as the path I was praying must be the exit twisted back on itself, sending me first down a rope, and then into a long slide down, down into the earth, back into the spindly clutches of pale, bifurcated mutants. When I finally saw the sun again, I could have cried.
It’s still a bit wonky, but the full 1.0 release makes the Forest a fuller, livelier and more inviting (or else alluringly off-putting) prospect for a wander – even, as in my case, a wholly solo one. Consider this your cue to peel open some skin pouches.
The Simpsons is, somehow, still a thing in 2024. Regardless of what we might think of its overall quality, however, there’s no denying that the cartoon is able to pull off some truly weird and wacky crossovers.
While presumably not an official crossover by any means, the show has recently strayed into the realm of Mario Kart with a bizarre dream sequence in which Lisa, Homer, Milhouse, and more partake in a race on what appears to be a take on the racing franchise’s Rainbow Road (thanks, Eurogamer).
As the video games industry violently contracts to ensure shareholder satisfaction at the cost of making thousands upon thousands of people unemployed, Skylanders studio Toys For Bob have announced they’re splitting from Activision Blizzard and Microsoft to go independent. Good for them, but maybe too late for some. Earlier this month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that it seemed Activision Blizzard were closing Toys For Bob’s California headquarters and laying off 86 people. Still, the new independent Toys For Bob say they’re working on something new and “exploring a possible partnership” with Microsoft.
Valve has pulled a handful of fake Steam listings for Helldivers 2 that were different games, potentially even cracked games, disguised as the hugely popular co-op shooter to fool people into spending money.
Helldivers 2 community manager Twinbeard posted a warning on the game’s Discord that shone a light on the scam.
“There are unfortunately two (three now?!) fake games being marketed as Helldivers 2 on Steam at the moment,” Twinbeard said. “THESE ARE FAKE. They are not made by Arrowhead but they claim to be. We do not know what they contain, but they are not affiliated with us in any way.
“Our legal department is on it and we hope Valve will remove the products as soon as possible.
“The only two genuine copies are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2: Super Citizen Edition. BOTH OF OUR GENUINE GAMES WERE RELEASED FEBRUARY 8TH. All remaining Helldivers 2 games are fake.
“People posting as us trying to scam people is obviously very sad and frustrating, and for that as well as for security reasons we urge you to stay clear of them. Again, the only two Helldivers 2 products we market are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2 Super Citizen Edition. (I haven’t had time to check the details on the fake store pages yet since I just got up.)
“Additional information will follow if or when there is any new information.”
Thankfully, Valve did pull the fake Helldivers 2 listing, per an update this morning from Twinbeard: “All fake store pages now seem to have been taken down by Valve, who acted very swiftly after we reached out. We´ll assess everything in due time. Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone who DM:ed or pinged me/us about the fake pages and games. Together we stand.”
While Valve moved quickly to stamp out the scam Helldivers 2 pages, it appears the problem is not isolated to Arrowhead’s shooter. Palworld community chief Bucky tweeted to say there had been a “wave” of fake games that suddenly appeared on Steam today, a development they called “quite concerning.” According to Bucky, Steam took down a fake Palworld listing almost immediately after developer Pocketpair got in touch. “Hope no one was tricked into buying it!” Bucky said.
Valve is now facing questions over how these listings were able to make it onto Steam in the first place. The hope is of course that the high-profile nature of the fake Helldivers 2 Steam listings will cause Valve to close whatever loophole was exploited here.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
