There's always an inherent pressure following up on an acclaimed piece of art, whether that's the Friends spinoff Joey, Homer's The Odyssey follow-up The Telegony, or the highly anticipated sequel to the 2023 action RPG Soulslike, Lies of P. Developer Nough Studio took home a handful of coveted awards in 2023 for the release and confirmed a sequel to be in development around the same time, and now three years later, the developer is feeling the heat to come up with something even better.

"Back then, attending an awards ceremony or standing on that stage felt like something that happened to other people," says narrative director Kwon Byungsoo in a new video from Nough Studio. "I used to think, 'I wish I could stand there someday.' Now I find myself thinking, 'we have to do even better next time. How much better do we need to be?'

"When we first started, we were building from a completely blank slate," says Byungsoo. "We kept asking ourselves just how far we could go. Now Lies of P is our starting point. The question now is how much more we can build from here."

I've played my fair share of Soulslikes over the years, but never enough to actually beat one. That's why I asked my FromSoft sickos at work to rank Lies of P on a scale of worst to best Soulslikes. It's the best that wasn't made by FromSoftware, I'm unanimously told. That's a high bar to clear with other acclaimed releases like Black Myth Wukong, Nioh 3, and Lords of the Fallen, but Nough is up to the task.

"There's definitely pressure, but for now we're trying to set that aside and return to the mindset we had while making Lies of P," says art lead Cha Byungjun. "We're trying to hold onto it."

It's hard to argue with the idea of following the same guiding light that led to such great success to begin with, but it does make me wonder whether the sequel will have the same level of innovation that refined the Soulslike genre in Lies of P. It's too early to say, but it seems the team is unified in continuing to push boundaries.

"When we were making Lies of P, there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation," adds director Choi Juwon. "But when I look at the team now working on our next project, everyone is seriously thinking about how we can do even better. They seem to be grappling with the same questions I am. So now, our drive to push ourselves further has only grown stronger."

Where's your favorite on our ranking of the best Soulslikes to play in 2026?

Some fans credit 2009 action role-playing game Demon's Souls with establishing many conventions now considered synonymous with its developer FromSoftware, like crumbling Gothic kingdoms, dark fantasy monsters, and challenging gameplay to make you cry like you've ingested a whole lemon. But before it became some discerning masochists' medieval horror of choice, Demon's Souls was an experiment by defunct Sony developer Japan Studio and FromSoftware.

Video game cut content kingpin Lance McDonald gives rare insight into these infant days of Demon's Souls with a previously lost prototype presentation Japan Studio put together in 2007, to show off at a conference called Gameshare 4. Company notes indicate the publisher introduced developer FromSoftware as the brain behind "real-time 3D classic" King's Field – the 1994 graveyard quest that's the true grandfather of Dark Souls – which emphasizes how much time has passed. This is decades before Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls itself.

The presentation also shows off the 2007-era "photorealistic quality" of Demon's Souls lorn wastelands and mad, mutated enemies, many of which didn't make it to the final version of the game – like a serpent knight with a squiggly neck and tall boots.

A video demo of Demon's Souls prototype' also shows an optional first-person perspective – like King's Field – that would have put your face right in the middle of bosses' formidable, scaly bellies.

Otherwise, Japan Studio distinguishes Demon's Souls from other RPGs by calling online games too time consuming – and the company literally includes a screengrab from that South Park World of Warcraft episode to demonstrate a "stereotype image for MMO RPG gamers" – and it calls exclusively offline RPGs limiting. It emphasizes the importance of Demon's Souls network connectivity and those ghosts the Souls games continue to proudly flounce around – those see-through phantoms of other players who were killed in battle, or who can be summoned to help you with your own problems.

So I'm struck by the clear parallels between this baby Demon's Souls and the games FromSoftware is still making. A piece of early concept art, for example, shows a luxurious grass field haunted by a large ring of stone in the middle, which looks so much like a Stonesword Key boss area in Elden Ring's verdant Limgrave.

Other concept art of a gnarled dragon stuck in a black pit glowing softly with red magma – Flamelurker, maybe – is reminiscent of several FromSoftware bosses from over the years, like Demon Firesage in Dark Souls.

According to McDonald, Japan Studio's notes emphasize that, while you may feel lonely in Demon's Souls' solitary journey, you are not alone because of all the other people playing, too. And after all this time, I think FromSoftware is still prioritize this heady mix of fear and belonging in its titles.

"Like watching the mona lisa being painted," agrees one comment on YouTube.

"If FromSoftware released the full Dark Souls design document, no one would be debating the lore": Creator of one of the highest-rated new roguelikes on Steam says hands-off storytelling was key.

The rapidly increasing cost of hardware globally, largely attributed to the proliferation of AI data centers and the ongoing RAM shortages, is "not a good thing," admits Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, but the issue could be mitigated by the takeover of low latency game streaming, he predicts.

Take-Two held its quarterly earnings call Friday morning (thanks, Kotaku), and Zelnick was asked to comment on the rising prices of hardware. He started by saying it isn't good for business, naturally, as the publisher's games still need machines to be played on, but he used the opportunity to transition into a somewhat bold prediction which, if proven true, would make expensive gaming consoles a premium option rather than a requirement to play games.

"With the advent of streaming – which we really do believe is around the corner in terms of having something that's low latency, and really works well for consumers – machines that weren't game machines before will become game machines," said Zelnick. "So, without regard to what happens in the console business, which is of consequence to us, of course, we see the overall install base as a practical matter growing materially."

"And if you believe in streaming," he says, "to be clear, we really do, and I'm happy to put a timeline on it. I think we'll be in commercial streaming mode in three years, and by commercial I mean low latency."

In Zelnick's view, game streaming isn't just a natural progression driven by exorbitant hardware costs, it's an opportunity for a publisher with some of the most financially profitable intellectual properties to expand even further into the mainstream. If one day, dedicated video game hardware isn't the necessary and expensive barrier to entry to most big games that it is today, Take-Two could touch markets that otherwise wouldn't be accessible.

"That can 10x the effective the install base," said Zelnick. "That doesn't mean we're going to 10x our revenue, and we wouldn't project that we would, because obviously your avid consumers already have access to video game machines. But I do think it creates great opportunity for titles that are broadly desirable even outside of core markets, and we do have titles like that, obviously."

Xbox, PlayStation, and PC already have plenty of dedicated cloud streaming apps, but they remain a relatively niche alternative to traditional hardware-reliant gaming primarily due to latency and stability issues. It remains an open question whether the tech will scale alongside inevitably bigger, more demanding games, but Zelnick is characteristically bullish. Ironically, Take-Two's own GTA 6 would undoubtedly be among the most challenging games to cram into the cloud format as it exists today, but we'll see how that changes in three years' time.

With GTA 6 digital only, Take-Two boss says discs "don't really make sense" – "if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally?"

Toby Fox's Deltarune has a Pokemon connection: the RPG's recent Chapter 5 features a character designed by artist Hitoshi Ariga, who created painfully cute Ogerpon, among other fan-favorite pocket monsters. However, Fox edited Ariga's notably Grass-type idea before letting it loose in the game.

Fox explains in a new blog post sharing his "Chapter 5 thoughts" and elaborating on Deltarune's newest characters and mechanics, like the bouncy platforming system. He also shares more information about Chapter 5's Netskie enemies capable of assuming the approximate shape and grin of a tricky fox. Deltarune fans knew Ariga helped design the mischievous creatures since he appears in the game's credits as a guest character designer, but Fox elaborates on the extent.

The developer writes in his blog, "Hitoshi Ariga is a Japanese artist who's most well-known for drawing the manga Rockman Megamix and designing a number of Pokemon, including the recently beloved Sneasler, Flutter Mane, and Ogerpon. However, did you know that he also drew the character sprites for many classic games, including Illusion of Gaia?!"

Ariga is indeed an accomplished artist – the designer has been involved in a range of video games since the early '90s, with titles like the ARPG Illusion of Gaia, as Fox noted, and Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis. He's been creating Pokemon since Pokemon X and Y in 2013, developing fan-favorite monsters like Aegislash since Generation 6, though he's been a Pokemon Trading Card Game illustrator since 2011.

"Anyway, he drew a bit of a fox character," Fox continues, "and then I made some modifications to it for the game."

The character sketch Fox attaches looks more than a little different from Deltarune Chapter 5's actual Netskie enemies, which are rooted to the ground and take the shape of an orange fox with a spread of nine violet tails.

Ariga's original design is much more of a Grass-type baby than that; its body lacks detail other than a few straight lines of wood grain, which scratch out a pair of slitted eyes and a mouth, and its ears and tail are made up of springy green leaves. I think you can sense Ariga's history with Pokemon in his character art – his Netskie would get along well with Leafeon and Deerling and their elegant forested bodies.

But Fox seemed to think this version of a Netskie was better suited for a brighter universe, as Deltarune accommodates dull neon hauntings best.

Deltarune creator Toby Fox says "there are no more wacky silly adventures" as Chapter 6 will finally deal with the RPG's "main mysteries."

Nothing will ever beat having physical games to hand, but having a home screen library of digital games has its perks. No, I'm not being paid by Sony to say that, nor do I think being able to instantly flick through artwork and pick out games using a controller is worth trading any sense of ownership, but I've just come across an invention that brings virtual game selection to an actual shelf.

Described as an "IRL Homescreen", retro console fan and gadget-maker almostinventor shows off a physical game collection with a digital selection twist. At first, I thought I was looking at AI nonsense, but the ensemble actually uses a projector paired with a rail system that's designed to make Wii game boxes glow upon being selected before being pushed forward with larger game art displayed underneath.

Effectively, you're getting a setup that looks like a digital library UI that lets you pick out games using a Wiimote or a controller, but exists in real life. Yes, there is something silly about the whole thing since you can just get up and use your eyeballs to look at spine labels, but if you're like me and struggle to both process what game boxes actually say when they're sitting in a row, be it in my collection or on a shelf, it's actually incredibly useful.

Visuals and mechanics aside, the IRL home screen is driven by a laptop connected to an ESP32-C3 Robot control board with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which then translates presses to specific vertical positions used to highlight boxes and engage the back rail mechanism. That does mean that the system isn't detecting game boxes and instead displays artwork and box glow based on positioning alone, but it's still an impressive approach.

The natural limits here are that the current setup is confined to just a small selection of boxed games within an IKEA KALAX unit. I imagine that adding more games to the row will come with accuracy caveats, as you'd need to reposition the projector so it can play the game art/startup animations while still being able to highlight the boxes, and multiple shelves should be more complicated.

If, like me, you have an absurd number of games on shelves, implementing this setup for the lot will be convoluted. I would love to see this proof-of-concept grow to that level, though, as it really would help fight the notion that Sony's decision to kill physical PS5 discs is a necessity for library convenience. Plus, it even has a slot-machine-style lever at the side that enables a randomiser, saving you from making pesky decisions before your session.

Everything from the presence of that ominous Wii music to the chirping Wiimote selection sound effect alludes to the IRL home screen being able to actively launch games. Those vibes in other videos appear to be faux for now, but I'm wondering if there's a way to harness homebrew apps to combine functionality so that backed-up games start up via physical selections.

I'll be keeping tabs on almostinventor's IRL home screen project to see where it's headed, and considering the creator has already shared experiement with using "the force" to select games using hand tracking, I suspect there's more to come.

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Check out the best retro handhelds for ways to take your classic games on the go.

It may have taken a little while, but Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has finally rectified a niggling problem around how food showed up in your inventory. The latest patch addresses the issue, quelling weeks of unrest from players who were growing weary of the annoyance.

The irritation lies in how the fantasy adventure automatically prioritizes your supplies. Regardless of what you're prepared and collected, low-grade items would wind up in the quick slot for fast usage to replace whatever you've just used. If you just finished a soup that buffed your health, it'd be replaced by some impractical vegetables rather the next hearty meal you were carrying, requiring you to manually place something more useful and nourishing in there instead.

Pearl Abyss has now stamped out this particular bug. "Fixed an issue where an unintended item was assigned to the quick slot after all of the assigned food had been consumed," read the patch notes.

And the crowd goes wild. Players within the community were quick to celebrate the change. "Rejoice the food has been fixed!!!" says an elated commenter on Reddit. Amusingly, the top-rated comment is someone complaining about seeing this complaint on every thread.

A solution that truly makes everyone happy. You can find complaints about this stemming back weeks and months, with players growing increasingly tired of having to rejig their quick slot during boss battles and other testy encounters.

It's definitely a bugbear, and likely something that's been in the queue for addressing for the devs for some time. The day is now here! And now there's one less thing to blame when you get stamped out by a big beasty. Time to get good.

Crimson Desert update overhauls the game's economy with 133 new trading posts and trade goods that change in price

A good Withered Knight build plays into this classes' strength, which is trying to apply as much burst damage as possible to panic enemies before they can retaliate. The Withered Knight is a slow and fiddly character to use from the selection of Mistfall Hunter classes, so all of its strengths come from trying to kill things as fast as possible before they can get the upper hand. To do that, you'll want to build it all out around the Wither ability, which lets you apply a mark to enemies and then execute them for extra damage. It's all about patience and care - making sure you don't miss and understanding that despite looking like a tank, this Withered Knight can get taken apart very easily.

How to play Withered Knight in Mistfall

The entire point of the Withered Knight is to do damage via a Withered ability. This is powered by light attacks that charge your sword with Judgment after three hits. This Judgment can then be used to add a Withered mark to an enemy, which is then Executed mainly by heavy attacks for extra damage.

If that sounds complicated, then all you're doing is charging your sword with basic attacks. placing that charge on an enemy and then detonating it for extra damage.

Because of this, all your skills and talents should be built around doing that as quickly as possible. For that reason, focus on the Greatsword for this build. The Knight's secondary weapon, the Polearm and Shield, has its uses, especially in a team, but generally doesn't do as much damage, and is more of a defensive playstyle which hampers the 'doing as much damage as you can' tactic you need to lean into. I also find it exacerbates all the Knight's problems, with having attacks that are easy to miss or leave you open.

Best Withered Knight Skills

To get the best out of the Withered Knight you're going to want to access the Greatsword Specialisation from the Weapon specialisation Talents. I'll explain more about that in Talents below but that will basically give you one extra skill for you Greatsword, but take one away from your Polearm. Using that you can then use these three weapon skills:

Greatsword weapon skills

• Radiant Retribution: This is a series of three quick wide slashes that will fully charge your sword with Judgement, ready to apply Wither. You can also use Radiant Retribution Enhancement Talent to increase the distance you can move farward whilew using it. It's a powerful option that can open a fight and charge your sword at the same time.
• Breakthrough charge: This is a two stage attack that starts with a dash, letting you close the distance on an enemy fast. It gives you an element of surprise, as well the ability to close distances fast.
• Parry: Because I'm playing down the Polearm here this will be one of your core defensive moves. This puts you in a defensive posture that will prevent you from taking damage for either five second or five hits. Any time after a parry you can also then trigger a swipe or dash attack to apply Wither to an enemy. It does lock you into a slow, defensive posture so be ready to cancel out of it if you misread a situation or change your mind.

Withered Knight Polearm and Shield weapons skills

Because I'm using the Greatsword Specialisation from the Weapon specialisation Talents you'll only have one weapon skill for your Polearm and Shield. depending on what you want these are the best two options - what you pick depends on if you want something offensive, or something defensive. That said, the Sacred Bulwark is probably the best overall if you're playing in a team.

• Sacred Bulwark: This creates a large magical barrier that blocks attacks and enemies from passing through, so it's great to provide cover for a team. However, while you can fire the barrier forwards for damage and knockback, you're immobile while h9olding it. Making it of limited use on your own.
• Javelin Thrust: This lets you throw your spear at an enemy and then pull yourself to them and apply Wither. It's a good option for increased mobility and traversal and probably the talent you want if you're playing solo. Thorn Guide, which does something similar on the Greatsword, only moves you and applies no damage or affects, which is why this is the better option.

Withered Knight Talents

Obviously there's a lot of Talents to chose from and you can unlock more as you level up but these are the essentials for me to get the class powered up quickly.

• Weapon Specialisation
  • Greatsword Specialisation - this will give you a third Greatsword weapon at the expense of a Polearm one.
• Greatsword: Core Archetype
  • Crime - This is a critical skill you can't afford to miss out as it prevents a Withered mark being consumed when you Execute it. That means you can keep Executing a Withered enemy. It slightly reduces damage over all but that's offset by the ability to keep laying on burst damage.
  • Bad Karma - This unlocks after Crime and lets you apply a series of debuffs when Execute extends Wither's duration. Firstly it'll affect and enemies movement speed, then increase its vulnerability, and finally it case health loss over time. Paired with Crime it increases your damage and affects on the enemy
• Greatsword: Radiant Retribution Enhancement
  • Long Range - This increases the displacement range of the Radiant Retribution weapon skill, letting you attack from further away.

There are obviously a lot more Talents you can use but these are the core ones you want to build off. Legacy in the Greatsword: Core Archetype section is good way to claw back health in a fight, for example, while Dominance in the Greatsword: Breakthrough Charge Enhancement section gives you a moment of Super Armor to negate stagger at the end of that attack - useful if you use it to charge into a crowd. Defensive Shift, from Polearm and Shield: Sacred Bulwark Enhancement is also useful if you chose that skill as it gives the ability to move around slightly instead of being locked in place.

Withered Knight affixes and effects

The main thing to focus on in terms of addition to affixes and effects - via Victory wine and gear - is anything that increase your Burst Affix. This increases your damage from Executing Wither, making it vital for this class. Other good options include Valour to increase your attack generally, while Tenacious and Aegis increase your health and defence respectively.

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Former Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age dev Mark Darrah says that Baldur's Gate 3 is a great sequel mostly because it's so different to the original games.

Speaking to FRVR, Darrah, who was a programmer on Baldur's Gate and its sequel, says that one of the biggest strengths that Larian has when it came to Baldur's Gate 3 was that the game isn't "super literal in terms of what a sequel should look like." However, there have been plenty of games in the time since Baldur's Gate 2 that have been a bit more spiritual successor in their approach. For example he explains, "Pillars of Eternity feels like an Infinity Engine game. It's not. I played it and I'm like, 'wow, this feels very much like a spiritual successor to a Baldur's Gate or an Icewind Dale or something like that.'"

He adds, "I can't fault anything it does in terms of being true to that inspiration, but the reality is that the industry has moved on so much since then that I was like, oh yeah, this is a really faithful adaptation of that and it turns out that I didn’t actually want that anymore."

Darrah notes, "Larian is, they are, Baldur’s Gate 2 and Baldur’s Gate 1 flavored, but they're also Divine Divinity flavoured." He explains that Larian has been flavored by the CRPGs it worked on and that were released in the huge amount of time between the releases of Baldur's Gate 2 and 3. Darrah adds, "So I think it's a great sequel. I think they did what is the right thing to do given that large of a gap.”

For example, he explains, "If you inject Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age Origins and draw that line, then it leads pretty clearly to a game like Baldur’s Gate 3." With that in mind, he adds, "So the sweep of that arc obviously includes Baldur’s Gate 3, because otherwise we wouldn't be here, but it's not as obvious because the gap is so large."

Larian reveals 10 Baldur's Gate 3 endings and scenes that almost nobody has seen, including the worst fates the RPG can give Lae'zel and Astarion.

Smart glasses have an understandably bad reputation at the moment, but the newly unveiled Viture Pro 2 XR glasses aren't for recording strangers in the street with hidden cameras. They're more like a stylish VR headset built into a pair of sunglasses, specifically for projecting a small, private gaming display in your line of sight.

Viture has launched the new $299.99 glasses, which the brand boasts are the "lightest, thinnest, and most eye-comfort-focused" model yet to celebrate their fifth anniversary. The glasses weigh just 63g, which is 15g lighter than the brand's One XR glasses I have hidden away in my office, and unlike that older pair, the Pro 2 is available alongside a $99 Mobile Dock Mini to introduce compatibility with the Nintendo Switch 2.

XR glasses are very niche. Unlike the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, these pricey peripherals aren't something I'd insist everyone add to their setups. If you have a Nintendo Switch 2, I assume you already have a TV or gaming monitor to use alongside it, and the privilege of having a private screen only you can see isn't going to benefit everyone. Yet, I'm glad to see a new 'budget' pair available that's compatible with Nintendo's newest machine. I use the term 'budget' pretty liberally here, as while it's more affordable than the older Pro Pair, I can't pretend $299 isn't a lot to pay for an accessory like this, particularly when it costs almost as much as the Switch 2 does - or as much as a Meta Quest 3S before its recent price hike.

Like the rest of the XR glasses on the market, the frames project a Sony Micro-OLED display before the wearer's eyes. This Viture Pro 2 is equipped with a display with 1,600 nits as opposed to the 1,000 nits of the older Pro model, and utilizes the brand's new UltraClarity 3.0 tech to help increase image sharpness.

Using my older Viture One XR glasses to play my Steam Deck or watch movies in bed so I don't wake up my partner with the handheld's bright screen is something he very much appreciated, and so I'd be intrigued to see how this pair handles the Switch 2. Especially when my older pair could be a bit of a battery drain. According to the Viture Pro 2 press release (via PR News Wire), the included Mobile Dock is powered by a 10,000 mAh battery, which is enough to keep the handheld (and the glasses) juiced up simultaneously, which is a nice bit of reassurance.

The Mobile Dock comes packaged with a detachable adapter and a magnetic mount, which are designed to attach to the back of the console. It's worth noting that while the glasses are compatible with a range of USB-C devices from the get-go, it's this dock that opens it up to Switch 2 players, as it's a battery and USB-C hub in one. Basically, if you were in the market for the Pro 2 glasses, you'll have to grab this extra (or the older Viture Mobile Dock) to carry on creating your ridiculous Pokemon Pokopia builds at 3 a.m. without waking up your sleeping fiancée in bed beside you.

The mini dock alone costs $99, which does drive up the cost of the brand's cheapest frames to $398 in total. However, if you grab them straight from the Viture online store, you can get a $20 discount, taking your total down to $378 instead. That dock might take a little longer to arrive at your door, though, as the website states it's currently on backorder and is expected to ship this September. At least in the meantime, you could still use the glasses to watch movies at your own discretion before getting your Pokopia or Mario Kart World on.

Without testing these for myself quite yet, I can't comment on the image quality and whether it'll be significantly better than your current setup. But if you were in the market for a pair of glasses, this option is now available to you, and at a price that's cheaper than the brand's previous releases, so long as you pick them up in time.

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Looking for cheaper Switch 2 add ons? Check out the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases for budget-friendly options.

I won't lie, I was expecting the Anbernic RG SP to land with an unsavoury, but the GBA SP clone is making big impressions with its pre-order price tag. While even the cheapest portables are taking a battering thanks to AI component demand, this clamshell is holding onto a sub-$60 MSRP that's actually lower than its predecessor.

I should caveat that the Anbernic RG SP is sitting slightly lower at $57.99 due to "early bird" discounts. Normally, the retro handheld will set you back $64.99, and that's if you order directly from Anbernic. Still, even that full MSRP is respectable since it matches the RG35XXSP from two years ago, and it demonstrates the portable maker is trying to keep prices steady.

Yes, we are talking about low handheld specs that, logically speaking, should be outside the RAMageddon blast zone, but that's sadly not how this works. Even the modest Super Pocket, Blaze's Evercade cart-wielding portable, fell folly to price hikes last month, and it comes armed with just 256MB of DDR RAM and a quad-core ARM chipset.

There are multiple layers to the AI-fuelled debacle surrounding component demand that's rooted in all production rather than specific parts, so no device is really safe. Therefore, it's worth commending Anbernic for keeping the RG SP under $60, as its rivals aren't faring quite as well

For instance, Ayaneo Pocket Advance pre-orders just landed, and I'm not opposed to its $89 price tag by any means; it will eventually jump up slightly higher to $109. The GBA clone is technically new, but it's pretty similar to the previously released Pocket Air Mini in terms of specs, and it landed for a lower introductory price. That would suggest there's something narrowing the margins that will lead to slight price increases, even if they are pretty small.

Ultimately, I think it's worth rooting for the handheld makers actively keeping prices sensible right now, and Anbernic is one of them. Yes, it does dabble with higher-end hardware, with the Anbernic RG Cube serving as an example of a more premium portable, but it seems to be making the right calls by focusing on its core affordable offerings that helped it ascend as a renowned brand in the first place.

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Swing by the best retro consoles for emulation machines, authentic remakes, and more.

EA could never really understand Dragon Age or why people would even want to buy games in the fantasy series, according to a former BioWare producer, which probably explains the years of reported corporate intervention that led to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Ex-BioWare producer Mark Darrah – who had a hand in everything from the original Baldur's Gate games, almost the entire Dragon Age series, and Anthem – recently spoke about the beloved but troubled franchise in an interview with FRVR. And, as you might have been able to guess, EA was always a little confused by Mass Effect's fantasy cousin.

"I think you see it in the way that EA interacted with the two franchises," Darrah says. "I think that if you are not a person who plays CRPGs, it's very hard to look at a game like Dragon Age or a game like Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and understand why anyone would want to play this nerdy piece of garbage. Whereas they look at something like Mass Effect and go, 'OK, it's a Star Wars game.' Like, I get it, even that might be too nerdy for me, but I get it."

2008's Dragon Age: Origins was in development before the publisher eventually scooped up BioWare, but past that point, EA supposedly saw the series as "too niche, too backwards, too old-school."

Mass Effect was an action game with cover-based shooting – from afar, it looked close enough to Gears of War or other shooters that were popular from that era, but Dragon Age was a different story. A high fantasy world full of complicated politics and a game that mixed real-time action with CRPG tactics was apparently less palatable to EA execs.

"You can blame some of the things where Dragon Age has always seemed to be in this perpetual state of flux, a lot of that coming from pressure from EA because people don't understand why people would want to buy this hardcore, tactical thing," Darrah explains.

While Dragon Age: The Veilguard came out after Mark Darrah's tenure at the studio, EA's misunderstanding of the franchise seemingly affected that game's production as well. The story goes, Dragon Age 4 reportedly started life as a smaller scale, more focused RPG that was eventually put on pause, before restarting development as a live-service multiplayer game. It was again rebooted one last time into what we now recognize as The Veilguard, a game that didn't meet the publisher's sales expectations. Layoffs at the storied studio followed shortly after its launch.

Dragon Age is "unlikely" to continue at EA, says former lead David Gaider, but if you gave him the keys to the RPG he'd take it somewhere "dark" and "do things that will make people upset."

After months of silence on press tours, premieres, and red carpets, Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Sadie Sink has finally spoken about playing Jean Grey in the MCU.

In an interview with Variety, Sink not only confirmed the obvious (she is appearing in Jake Schreier's X-Men movie), but also her early conversations surrounding the psychic mutant's future.

"The more I've gotten into it and researched, what makes them special is that they are all incredibly flawed and maybe have done bad things. That makes them more compelling, complex characters and a more complex hero if they don't start out that way. And they have to find their relationship to their powers," Sink said.

"So, knowing Jean's struggle will be important in the future of her character and where she goes, just makes her really well-rounded, which I'm excited for."

Despite those talks with her upcoming director, Sink – a self-confessed X-Men newbie – is still none the wiser about where Jean is heading next after audiences witnessed her on a bus during the course of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending.

"I don't really know yet, to be honest," Sink said. "And when I say 'I don't know,' I mean I really don’t know."

Sink will soon be joined in the MCU by fellow X-Men castmates Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Kit Connor as Scott Summers, AKA Cyclops.

The X-Men movie is currently undated, though Avengers: Doomsday is out on December 18, with Secret Wars to follow in 2027.

For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies heading your way very soon.

+1 Speed Monkey Escape codes will help you to level up quicker, as you attempt to navigate obstacles and clear increasingly difficult courses to get wins. While every step you take will make you faster, there are ways to make that process even more efficient to improve your progress.

There are promos that will give you a free spin of the prize wheel, while others add potions to your inventory that can be consumed to temporarily double your speed or your wins in this Roblox experience. If you're climbing the walls (in a good way), then these are the codes for +1 Speed Monkey Escape and how to redeem them.

If you're looking for some general promos that can be used in all of your experiences, then check out the Roblox promo codes.

All +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes

The following +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes are currently available:

• 80MVISITS – 2x Speed Potion (30 Mins)
• CODESYAY – Free Spin
• 50MVISITS – 2x Speed Potion (10 Mins), 2x Wins Potion (10 Mins)
• STREAK – Streak Boost

There are a handful of codes for +1 Speed Monkey Escape at the moment, for a selection of different rewards. Some, like the Streak Boost or Free Spin, are applied immediately when the code is redeemed, while potions are deposited into your Backpack so they can be activated at a time of your choosing.

How to redeem +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes

In order to redeem +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes, you must first join the 100% ALGO SHOT Community. If you haven't done that already, a pop-up will prompt you to do so during the next step.

There are two routes available, so either tap the Shop icon and scroll all the way to the bottom of that menu, or hit the Rewards icon followed by the Codes icon to go directly to the entry screen, then enter the promo in the text box and press the Redeem button. Codes for +1 Speed Monkey Escape are not case-sensitive, so all you need to do is use the correct spelling.

Expired +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes

• No expired codes

As they are a relatively recent addition, there are currently no expired +1 Speed Monkey Escape codes to be aware of. As always, this situation is unlikely to last for too long, so make sure that you claim all of the active codes listed earlier while you still can.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Each Pokemon has their favorite Pokopia flavors, and knowing which foods fit these categories is essential when feeding fussier Pokemon and trying to increase environment levels throughout your world.

Some Pokemon will ask for any food and are pleased whatever you place in front of them. However, others will ask specifically for something spicy or bitter, for example, and only the right foods will satisfy them. For those occasions, you'll want this Pokopia food guide to hand.

All Pokopia flavors and the basic foods

There are six different Pokopia flavors, and each of the berries, vegetables, and other ingredients belong to specific flavor profiles. When a Pokemon asks for a certain flavor, you'll need to give them food from that category, which isn't always as obvious as you'd think (since when were carrots spicy?!).

So, to help, here's every Pokopia and the basic ingredients that fit their profile:

• Neutral
  • Leppa Berry
  • Lum Berry
  • Watermelon [DLC]
• Bitter
  • Rawst Berry
  • Potato
  • Seaweed
  • Sea Grapes [DLC]
• Dry
  • Chesto Berry
  • Wheat
  • Mushrooms
• Sweet
  • Pecha Berry
  • Bean
• Sour
  • Aspear Berry
  • Tomato
• Spicy
  • Carrot

Meals that you make with these ingredients also fit the flavor profiles above, but the cheapest and most resource friendly way to appease Pokemon hunger is with the basic ingredients listed above.

Mosslax offerings

Once you've awoken Mosslax in Pokopia, you can place offerings on their shrine to increase your rewards. For example, offering dry food grants increased feather drops from Ho-Oh and Lugia. You can offer food to Mosslax once per day, with the effects lasting for that day only. These are the best foods to offer Mosslax for each reward:

• Neutral: increases friendship with other Pokemon faster.
  • Vibrant hamburger steak
    • Combine a bean, a potato, any salad, and any other ingredient in a frying pan.
• Bitter: improves your chance of finding rare items.
  • Bitter hamburger steak
    • Combine a bean, a Rawst berry, a Lum berry, and any other ingredient at a frying pan.
• Dry: increased Lugia and Ho-Oh sightings.
  • Crushed-berry salad
    • Combine a leaf and a Chesto berry at a cutting board, while accompanied by a Pokemon with the Crush specialty.
• Sweet: makes it easier to find ancient artifacts.
  • Fluffy bread
    • Combine wheat, a Pecha berry, and any other ingredient at a bread oven.
• Sour: improved stock appears in shops.
  • Flavorful soup
    • Combine fresh water, an Aspear berry, and any hamburger steak at a cooking pot.
• Spicy: increases the chances of Pokemon turning up at habitats.
  • Crouton salad
    • Combine a leaf and any bread at a cutting board.

With this knowledge, you'll be able to increase your rewards and keep Pokemon happy and well-fed. If you're using this to improve Pokemon homes and therefore the overall Pokopia environment level, but need any more advice on doing so, then our separate guide has all the information you need.

Meanwhile, if you aren't sure how to find any of the ingredients listed above, we've got guides on getting hold of Pokopia wheat and Pokopia tomatoes.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The video game industry's finest film critic has seen Christopher Nolan's latest epic, and he is a fan. I'm talking about the one and only Metal Gear mastermind himself, Hideo Kojima, who's provided his thoughts on The Odyssey on Twitter.

"Rather than simply watching the screen, I felt as though I was there the entire time," he says of his viewing experience. "It was more than watching it, I witnessed it."

Like any good Letterboxd devotee, he caught the blockbuster in 70mm IMAX. I, sadly, had to settle for regular projection due to the dearth of IMAX options in Scotland. Forgive me, Kojima. Anyway, he mentions that it reminded him of the Cinerama screenings when he was a child, and how that contrast to his CRT television at home blew his mind.

"I already knew the story well, having grown up watching the 1954 Kirk Douglas version and several black-and-white adaptations, but this was an entirely different experience," he writes. "For me, it was an Odyssey unlike anything I had ever experienced."

He gives a shout out to the cinematography of Nolan and his longtime collaborator, Hoyte van Hoytema, in how it makes the production feel remarkably intimate – along with the use Nolan's "meticulous interwoven timelines," a staple of the director's films like Inception and Oppenheimer, too.

"Together, these elements elevate one of the world's best-known classical epics into an intimate, deep human drama," Kojima says. "It was magnificent."

I think he liked it. The Odyssey has proven to be another hit for Nolan, scoring him his biggest opening weekend ever. Kojima saw it at the David Keighley theatre at IMAX's base in Los Angeles, an invite-only cinema. Alas, Japanese fans will have to settle for public viewings when it opens there in September.

The Odyssey IMAX 70mm screenings are being extended until the release of Resident Evil in September due to constant sell-outs.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has launched to mixed reviews on Steam thanks to a string of issues with the PC port.

Arc System Works has been pretty consistently beloved as far as fighting game developers go, so when the news hit that the Guilty Gear developer was taking on Marvel after the Marvel vs Capcom series had been dormant for so long – especially after Arcsys' Dragon Ball FighterZ ended up being a better MvC than Marvel Vs Capcom infinite – people were excited. And from early reactions, it seems to have gone down a treat… just not on PC.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls did have some issues on PC during its open beta period last month, with Arcsys saying it had implemented some performance fixes for the full game. Whatever those fixes were, they haven't moved the needle: one look at the Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Steam store page and you'll find that the game currently sits at a "Mixed" reception after 1,565 reviews.

First off, the game requires a PlayStation Network login, and much like the time Helldivers 2 had this implemented, this means that the game is not available in a number of countries that don't have PSN coverage.

Players who are able to play are also reporting a number of technical issues. Users on the fighting game subreddit say they've experienced micro-stutters and dropped frames online, which then affects PS5 players who have crossplay enabled.

On top of that, players wanting to experience the new game on Steam Deck, or a PC running SteamOS or Linux, have found they're blocked from even launching the game. Looking at the reviews, this is a major issue for some, with one user saying, "This game is aggressively hostile to Linux players for absolutely no reason. Not only is there a precedent of every (non Riot) fighting game working on Linux, there is precedent of ArcSys games working great on Linux, as well as Sony published games working on Linux."

PC has become a major part of the fighting game scene, so a rough port is a major shame. Over on the Marvel Tokon Twitter account, ArcSys has acknowledged the issues, saying, "We're aware that some PC players are experiencing performance issues. The team is actively investigating these reports. Please keep your feedback coming in, it helps."

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is already the highest-grossing movie of the year, and could beat Star Wars: The Force Awakens' all-time record at the US box office

Baldur's Gate 3 just celebrated its third anniversary. If you're anything like me, that milestone is enough of an excuse to dive back into Larian Studios' smash hit RPG for another go around the Sword Coast. The challenge is finding a new way to go about it.

Something I've always loved about Baldur's Gate 3 is how flexible its foundations are. Your imagination is the only limit to how you build a character, set up your party, and approach combat, exploration, and story progression – though I'm no stranger to finding clever ways to cheese my way out of sticky situations if plans go awry.

With all those lessons learned, I've settled on something I've never done before: A no-weapons run of Baldur's Gate 3, to see how the world reacts when you aren't approaching all that it has to offer with the sharp edge of a sword (or a quiver of smokepowder arrows). Will it be a joyous way to play, or a disaster that inadvertently gets my character and favorite companions killed?

We're going to figure that out together. Over the next four weeks we'll be exploring a full playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 as part of the GamesRadar+ RPG Club, and I want you to join me on this journey and share your own experiences. As for my own, it begins where it always does: with character creation and some difficult Act One decisions.

Quest Log

Look, ma, empty hands!

If you're joining us on this no-weapons run through Baldur's Gate 3, you have to know that picking a suitable race is paramount. Ignoring any Baldur's Gate 3 race that offers passive melee perks, or seems otherwise overloaded with weapon and armor proficiencies, the list of options is narrowed considerably.

I ultimately decide upon a Halfling for the Lucky and Brave racial bonuses, a decision which will give me a shot at re-rolling critical fail dice rolls later down the line – not to mention an advantage on certain saving throws.

As for my class and subclass, it's draconic-bloodline sorcerer all the way. Sorcs are some of the most powerful beings in the Forgotten Realms and have little to no need for melee action. With elemental magic given a boost per-level in my chosen lineage damage-type (in this case, lightning), I can already tell that having all of these spells at my disposal from the off is going to be a huge boon. Then, it was time to hop out of my pod and into the fire.

The first thing I do is unequip protagonist Zeraphina's melee and ranged weapons. She looks defenseless and squishy without them, poor mite, but I soon run into Lae'zel, who also gets her tools of the trade stripped away. The imps barely make a dent in our ranks (which lacks the presence of Us, the intellect devourer, since Zeraphina lacked the strength or dexterity to extract him from the skull. Oops.)

By the time we free Shadowheart and I do away with her tools as well, I'm feeling confident about this no-weapons run challenge. I've managed to defeat Commander Zhalk on the nautiloid before, but since his loot is a powerful greatsword and I have no use for it on this run, I let Zeraphina and Lae'zel distract the cambion while Shadowheart dashes for the crashing ship's controls.

The lanceboard is set

Landing on the beach, I dust myself off. So far so good: I have full health and a few spell slots intact, and once I link back up with Shadowheart, I set off to gather my buddies.

As I go, I'm already thinking about how I'll need to respec some of them to suit my challenge. Shadowheart, being a cleric, is still useful to me in her current class. Astarion is next on my checklist – a rogue, soon to become a spell-slinging College of Glamor bard since I'll have no use for his devastating weapon sneak attacks this time – followed by evocation wizard Gale and a very sulky Lae'zel (whom I actually bother to track down this time).

Lae'zel is a greatsword-wielding fighter, which also has no place in my current challenge. Gale actually doesn't need an immediate respec, since wizard's don't rely on weapons anyway, so he can thank Mystra for my great benevolence in keeping his wizardly ways untouched (for now).

But before I can actually assign new classes to my new friends, I need to find me a bone man – aka, scribe of the dead Withers. He's the only way I can respec in BG3, and after so many playthroughs, I know exactly where to find him.

Greased lightning

I have Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale with me for my trip to the Overgrown Ruins, but my strongest allies are grease and candles.

Paired with Gale's ice knife spell to create small patches of frozen, slippery terrain, the hostile looters are left wide open to a host of other attacks. Shadowheart and Gale are very useful already, proving they don't need to be re-classified, but I do find myself at a loss with what to do about arcane trickster Astarion when he's not picking locks or disabling traps.

Here is where I feel the loss of his sneak attacks most. He's got a backpack full of grease bottles already though, and throwing them at looters makes them fall comically prone every so often. I especially enjoy having him extinguish nearby torches, hide in the shadows, and toss firebolt cantrips (or candles) into puddles of grease beneath foes, dealing critical damage to prone enemies.

The fun really starts when we make our way into Withers' crypt. I go around to each of the not-suspiciously-laid-out-at-all entombed skeletons to steal their tools off them in the hopes that it makes the incoming fight a little easier. Alas, they immediately spring to life and dole out the Silence spells as soon as I touch the button to open Wither's chamber.

I prioritize keeping Shadowheart far from the Silence orbs, hitting the skeletons with Sacred Flame in the vain hope that the cantrip actually works and disrupts their concentration. Gale and Zeraphina have some proximity spells they can use, and I send Shadowheart some looted spell scrolls to help dole out some damage from afar. Astarion is still on his grease-hide-firebolt kick, though he is the first to go down, and I ultimately end up using my first precious revivify scroll to bring the vampling back to un-life. It's a slow, agonizing battle, and by the end, my whole party is hanging on by a few HP apiece.

With Withers on-side and having returned to camp to long rest, I have enough coin to respec two characters at this point. Astarion is perfectly suited to bardhood, I decide after hearing his Vicious Mockery quips at the gates to Emerald Grove, and having another healer would be incredibly useful already. Meanwhile, Lae'zel makes a fabulous monk. Her high strength modifier makes unarmed wallops absolutely lethal, and I already have high hopes for her specific gear build.

But before I think that far ahead, I go right on and recruit Wyll Ravengard to the fold. He'll have to rebrand as the Eldritch Blast of Frontiers, though, because that rapier gets yoinked out of his noble hands immediately. I toy around with changing up his warlock subclass, much as it pains me to play around with the game's canon, but I settle on opting for the Pact of the Chain class feature. Who knows, maybe this time I'll remember to actually use his out-of-combat-only summon?

Next, I need my barbarian. On the way to finding Karlach, I pick up the Ring of Flinging from the vendor in Emerald Groves. It applies 1d4 extra damage to all thrown objects, including improvised weapons (aka, goblins, chairs, you name it), so this item has been a non-negotiable early game pickup for me in every BG3 playthrough to-date. I have grand plans for tavern brawler giant Karlach to make good use of it eventually, since the tavern brawler feat boosts Strength and doubles its modifier when dealing unarmed and throwing attacks too.

I've got a long road ahead

My party is really taking shape, with each new battle forcing me to think outside the box when it comes to creative damage dealing. If I'm not hoarding candles, grease bottles, and other throwables, I'm taking the time to reposition companions before battles.

I'm even all-out skipping whole areas I don't think are worth it given my current restriction – saving Counsellor Florrick in Waukeen's Rest would be pointless (unless you're focusing on Wyll's story), as the reward for doing so is a choice of weapons.

I'm also using the ever-flexible rules of D&D to my advantage in finding smart workarounds for incredibly challenging battles. Did you know that casting mage hand in the Hag's lair to lower Mayrina's cage, casting Longstrider on your party, and jumping down to the exit door without triggering the final battle against Auntie Ethel is totally possible? Me neither, but I was able to slip away for a long rest before returning to finish the job with zero problems at all.

Next week, I'll delve into how playing with no weapons impacts my journey to Moonrise Towers, specifically when it comes to choosing my route carefully to pick up specific gear. Until then, stay safe out there, and don't forget to stockpile those candles!

• Big Walk is perfect if you want mind-bending puzzle design combined with the joy of hanging out with friends.

Here's the 60-second pitch for why you should play Big Walk this weekend: Big Walk is, if you'll pardon the horrifying combination of words, thoughtful "friendslop" – if such a thing exists. It is the perfect sort of game to goof around with friends, kicking objects into the distant dark or firing flare guns haphazardly into occupied buildings. It's also the perfect sort of game to challenge your intellect and ability to collaborate. It is both, if you want it to be, and despite the fact that it sounds like the two flavors would combine into mush, Big Walk makes it work from the moment you hit the tutorial area.

Why play it today?

• With Untitled Goose Game, developer House House made such a tremendous splash that anything it decided to do next would have seen the same level of massive scrutiny. Big Walk is the next evolution.

Thankfully, rather than return to the same exact well, House House has expanded beyond the small town of Untitled Goose Game (literally and figuratively) to produce what might be my favorite gaming experience of the year so far.

It's tough to explain exactly why Big Walk works so well without getting into the mechanical details of how you solve puzzles, but the shortest possible version is: the game does nothing to help you. There are no explicit signs or instructions; you have to figure it out for yourself.

And figure out how you're even going to figure it out! Without names for objects, you have to collectively decide what to call everything before you can even talk about using them. It's a bit like having to build a language as the very first puzzle, which is fascinating in practice.

Time commitment:

If you're curious how long it takes to beat Big Walk, the exact amount of time will vary depending on how frequently you can actually get multiple players together. You can expect to roll credits on Big Walk after somewhere between 12 and 15 hours, though it really depends how much goofing off you do. Expect to spend several long sessions just working on puzzles. Or, alternatively, many bite-sized co-op sessions.

Play Big Walk if you love:

Skip Big Walk if you want:

One thing to know:

Big Walk is a multiplayer-only video game, so that means you'll need at least one other friend to play, and puzzles actually scale up as more players are added. Never fear, however; while more than four players can play at the same time, that's roughly the extent of where the puzzles scale and even then it's more about managing the number of players rather than overall difficulty. You'll be fine.

A moment you'll remember:

The first time it grows dark on the island in Big Walk is perhaps the first real magic moment. Unable to see anything at any real distance, it quickly becomes apparent how important light is – and how to spot the roaming eyeballs of your compatriots in the dark. It's an early lesson that pays dividends throughout, and one I am constantly reminded of.

The final verdict:

Despite the obvious comparison to other games in the "hang out with friends and be silly" genre, Big Walk stands alone. The puzzle design and deliberate brick-by-brick learnings required to complete them feel more in tune with Portal or Myst, which is about the highest compliment I can give. Big Walk wastes no time, and every moment I played is one I now cherish. If that sounds hyperbolic, please understand: Big Walk earns it.

So, where can you play it?

Big Walk is now available on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2, but as a reminder: it's multiplayer-only, without couch co-op, and requires at least two people to play. It's also part of August 2026's PlayStation Plus Essentials, if you're subscribed.

How to get started with Big Walk:

I would actually recommend going into Big Walk with as little knowledge as possible about what to expect. But if you're the type that needs to know more before committing, and you're looking for where to start with Big Walk this weekend, we've got you covered.

Have your say:

If you're looking for something in a similar vein, both Overcooked 2 and Peak feature in our best co-op games ranking and are regularly part of game nights among friends.

Getting certain Pokopia paint colors - specifically black and white - is no straightforward task, and the game also never tells you how to get them. Then there's other colors, like green, yellow, and pink, which may be obvious depending on a random draw when you started your game, otherwise you might have a tough time getting them.

Whichever color you're after, this Pokopia paint guide will tell you how to get it, so read on - and make sure you've got Smeargle around!

How to get Pokopia paint

To get Pokopia paint, you need to give berries to Pokemon with the Crush Specialty. They'll get to work on the berries, turning each single berry into five bowls of paint after a short time.

If you aren't sure which Pokemon have the Crush Specialty, take a look at our separate guide or use the Pokedex filter in-game.

Here, though, are the base Pokopia paint colors and the berries that require crushing to obtain them:

Other colors then require combining the colors above. For example, if you want lime green paint, you'll need to combine green and yellow paint. This can either be done directly with Smeargle or by crafting Paint Balloons at a workbench. There's more on how to paint further down this guide, but you'll get this recipe after meeting Smeargle in Bleak Beach.

How to get all Pokopia berries

The trouble with all of this is that, while there are plenty of Leppa and Chesto berries about, other berries are slightly harder to come by. Luckily, one seed for each rare tree can be found somewhere in the world, so try not to misplace it when you find it. You'll also get one type of tree randomly assigned to your save game when you start playing Pokopia for the first time, which cannot be changed. This tree will be found in certain places, like the orchard in Withered Wastelands. If you're unlucky, your tree might be Chesto or even Leppa, but you can get any of the other types, too.

Whichever berry you're looking for, though, there's one surefire way of getting the tree you want - and it'll even be ready to harvest right away.

To get every type of berry, head to the developer Dream Island, take a photo of each tree with your in-game camera on Object Mode, then 3D print each tree back at any Pokemon Center.

This way, you'll always have access to as many berry trees as you need, as long as you have one Rare Pokemetal for each single tree you want to print. Upon printing, your fully grown tree will be ready to plant.

If you need to know how to get to this Dream Island, check out our separate guide to accessing the Pokopia Developer Island, which has lots of other stuff you can 3D print, too.

Black and white Pokopia paint

Black and white Pokopia paint, meanwhile, works slightly differently. Since these colors don't come from any berries, you have a chance of getting white or black paint back from Pokemon every time they make you any other paint, at the same ratio of the paint they've made you. For example, if you get ten green paint, there's chance you may also get ten white paint, too. For this reason, it's best to always hand over the maximum amount of berries possible.

Do keep in mind, though, that certain berries result in either black or white paint, as follows:

Again, you're never guaranteed black or white paint, so you'll just have to keep crushing berries with your fingers crossed and you'll get some eventually.

How to paint in Pokopia

There are two ways to paint items and buildings in Pokopia. The first is to craft Paint Balloons at a workbench and throw them at items or blocks. The other is to talk to Smeargle and ask them to paint items or blocks for you.

Either way is simple for painting items, but using paint balloons is probably the best, as you won't need to find Smeargle or take the item to them. Just make sure the correct item is highlighted before throwing the balloon. You can take items to Smeargle if you want something a little more complicated, though, including patterns.

However, when it comes to painting buildings, things are a bit trickier. To paint a building without a color in its name, such as the City Den or a Sand Hut, ask Smeargle to follow you to the building, where they will ask if you want to paint it. However, if you want to paint other buildings, like the yellow, pink, and orange huts, it's bad news.

You can paint these buildings, but you'll need to paint each block individually, which takes a lot of time and paint, as one balloon paints one block. You may find you'd rather destroy the building, take the blocks to Smeargle, and get them to paint the blocks, as Smeargle paints ten blocks for the same paint cost as you can paint one. The downside with this is that you have to rebuild the building from scratch.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Team Asano is remaining hush-hush about whether Octopath Traveler 3 is in production or not, but the developer knows how much fans want another sequel in the HD-2D prognosticator. It's just that a hypothetical Octopath Traveler threequel would need to be ambitious enough to justify its existence.

That's according to series producer Tomoya Asano, speaking to Dengeki Online in a celebratory interview for the Octopath Traveler series' eighth anniversary. (thanks for the translation, Automaton!)

While Asano's not saying much about the game's potential existence, he does recognize how much fans seem to want the series to continue almost 10 years on from its start. "We genuinely feel [fans' expectations], I just wanted to convey that," he says, though he's not able to share anything more concrete.

Should a Octopath Traveler 3 finally come to fruition – assuming it's not already in the oven – Asano says the developers feel they "cannot simply release something half-baked." A continuation of the franchise would need go all out. "If we're going to do it, we're going to push the limits."

Asano likely can't reveal anything about what's brewing in Octo Land, but he does hint that something is probably in the works, regardless: "Keep looking forward to what comes next."

Octopath Traveler first ushered in the era of HD-2D RPGs back in 2018, carving a road for everything from Dragon Quest's recent remakes to the upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance. Octopath Traveler 2 then continued the series' excellent turn-based fights and eight-sided narrative in 2023. And last year's Octopath Traveler 0 most recently adapted a mobile spin-off to insert town-building and eight-character combat to the series' formula.

What's next? 16 active party members? Even more branching story threads to pull on and juggle at the same time? A still-hypothetical Octopath Traveler 3 would have a daunting road ahead of it.

In the meantime, see if Octopath Traveler lands on our ranking of the best JRPGs.

As discussions continue about the price of GTA 6, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has explained that the company's goal isn't to maximize prices.

Speculation was rampant for a long time as to how much Rockstar Games would be charging for GTA 6, and some were even worried that it would end up as high as $100. However, we finally got the answer back in June when GTA 6 pre-orders opened up that Take-Two was going with the $80 price point that Mario Kart World breached last year when the Nintendo Switch 2 launched. But just like Nintendo, that $80 didn't suddenly become the new standard price for releases from the publisher.

During an investor Q&A, Zelnick is asked why GTA 6 was given the expanded price only for NBA 2K27 to announce it will be releasing at the standard $70 price when it launches in September. Zelnick explains: "We've said this many, many, many times. Our goal is to deliver way more value to consumers than what we charge them." He adds that "the real cost of a AAA video game is a whole lot lower today than it was 20 years ago."

He explains, "to say that we expect that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be an incredible bargain as experiences go is a gross understatement, because Rockstar Games is known for over delivering." He cites that it's been 13 years after the launch of GTA Online and it's still bringing "record-setting engagements at times." Zelnick adds that the engagement is "our goal" and that "our goal is not to maximize price."

Zelnick also acknowledges that "given the hype around this title, I mean, I think we could have made any number of other pricing choices," but adds that "our focus is on delivering way, way, way more value than what we charge for something." And while "pre-orders are exceptional," he notes that "one thing we certainly don't do is take a victory lap before we run the event" as pre-orders can be cancelled.

Granted, analysts expect that GTA 6 will unsurprisingly have a strong launch, with it expected to make up to $5 billion within its first week.

After claiming GTA 6 devs have crunch "built into" their contracts, union says "first meeting with Rockstar management" was "a step in the right direction."

When I saw that GTA 6 was heading back to Vice City and the fictional state of Leonida, my first thought was whether a certain Back to the Future mod would find new life here.

Back in 2009, while I was using my PlayStation 3 to play games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Infamous, and the train level in Uncharted 2 on repeat, I'd also be going to my PC to find out what else I could do in Back to the Future: Hill Valley. Released in 2008 for the PC port of GTA: Vice City, the first version of this mod let you drive the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future trilogy, and almost twenty years later, it's still being worked on.

In 2026, you can switch on the time circuits, key in a random date, hit 88 miles an hour, and travel in time, leaving your five-star wanted level in the dust. Other features include instant time travel from one time period to another with no loading times, flyable DeLoreans, a playable Time Train from the third movie, and more. With work ongoing to port the mod to GTA: San Andreas, I spoke to the team about how the mod began and what could be next for it.

"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything"

BTTF: Hill Valley 0.2g is the most recent update, released in November 2024, which now lets players customize their own DeLorean time machine vehicle, control it with a remote, and even travel to a strange dimension if your car gets damaged. The release also marks it as open source, meaning anyone can take the code and make the mod their own. It's easy to install the mod if you own the original PC version of Vice City from 2003, not the Definitive Edition – just be aware of the potential for random bugs.

The team consists of a mix of community members who have joined, left, and rejoined the BTTF: Hill Valley project since its 2008 beginnings. Two members, developers who go by Carlos85G and Delorean88us, recall the mod's early days. "It started as a small six-hour time-jump mod in GTA: Vice City, promoted in a thread at the now-defunct BTTF.com forums," Carlos85G says. "The original creator said he was in the process of making some new maps and trying to integrate the storyline from the movies." Neither can say for certain who started it, but the goals of the mod have remained to this day.

"I remember the mod initially letting players travel 6 hours forward in time, which would clear wanted levels; and it grew from there," Delorean88us says. "People started offering help, and a team was formed. Soon after, we began creating new models, effects, and after that, everything is history."

Working with an engine from 2002, which was much improved over GTA 3, has led to challenges. "Coding space for free-roam features was a big deal back then. Any new feature required trade-offs: Flying meant a helicopter or the seaplane had to go," Carlos85G explains. "New animations meant borrowing one of the map props and repurposing it! I think the biggest one was the effects and animations, because everything had to be calculated programmatically."

The project took a step forward when Vice City could be taken apart, allowing the team to change previously inaccessible parts of the game. "As time moved on and Vice City was reverse-engineered, we were able to change core systems, like adding a new flight model for the flying DeLorean, having seamless animations on the vehicles, adding our own sound engine to the game," Delorean88us says. "At this point, it turned from what we can do with the commands that came with the game, to what we could do with the game engine to expand the mod further."

Archer, who's been in charge of the mod's sounds, has been able to come up with innovative ways of keeping everything faithful from the movies. "Over the years, I was able to get better at getting the movie sounds. Going from the DVDs to the 4K releases, I'd clean up old sounds - and I'm still refining all the sound effects. I want them to be the best they can be - sound is important. The Time Machine wouldn't feel like itself if you didn't hear its engine, or the explosions when it travels through time," Archer says. "My favorite part was working on the interior sounds. For first-person mode, we had to record and design all the sounds for each of the buttons and windows. Plus, most of the interior sound effects were recorded inside a real DeLorean."

"Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one!"

With the original PC version of GTA: San Andreas still having a huge modding community to this day, players have always wondered when feature parity between the Vice City version of BTTF: Hill Valley and this game will be made. Work is ongoing to port it to GTA: SA, for one simple reason. "For me, it's because San Andreas has a bigger map and was more fun to have a flying time machine in than Vice City's flat map," Delorean88us says.

Carlos85G agrees, saying that the mod in San Andreas could be seen as an expansion. "Our main focus has always been, and will still be, Vice City because of the warm look and '80s setting; however, we recognize that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has a richer map and a bigger modding community, so we'd like to expand some of the features found in the VC mod into this newer game." He also notes that it's something players have been wanting for a long time. "Some people have asked for it for a while, and we have even seen some of our concepts translated into this engine; so we'd like to make something, as little as it is, that fits well in this platform."

With plenty of team members having left and rejoined throughout the years, Carlos85G also explains how it's been to manage this turnover. "It's been both a delight and difficult. We have had some amazing modelers, coders, mappers, and artists in our ranks, but progress is slow, and everybody has a say in how their assets are handled. It's hard to find people passionate enough about the franchise and accuracy and, also, willing to contribute their free time and labor for the goal."

If you're new to the BTTF: Hill Valley mod or a longtime player, you'll see how much love and passion has been put into this, despite the ever-changing team. You discover new and exciting ways of exploring Vice City, whilst also offering a lot of fun, especially if, like me, you play the soundtrack in the background as you play.

With GTA 6 coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles later this year, it seems inevitable that the game will come to PC, which could mean a new generation of mods. But could BTTF: Hill Valley fit into this in a full-circle moment?

Two developers, Mini-Me and DragonKing, weigh in. "Probably. It depends on how quickly modding tools become available and what (new) possibilities they offer. Also on how much developer Rockstar Games keeps locking down the game to prevent modification," Mini-Me says. "Especially with the GTA Online part for GTA 5, Rockstar Games has increased efforts to prevent modification of the game, i.e. through encryption of game data, so time will have to show whether Rockstar Games will again make it harder with the next installment."

DragonKing gives another reason why Hill Valley may not come to GTA 6. "One of the reasons we stuck with Vice City as long as we have is the 1980s aesthetic. While it would look better in GTA 6 with the realistic graphics, it just lacks that charm, plus none of us are spending $100 on a game for a garage."

So whilst the chances of seeing the mod on a potential GTA 6 PC port are currently up for discussion, the future of BTTF: Hill Valley is safe for the foreseeable future. If you've got the original PC version of Vice City, install the mod and discover why Tommy Vercetti doesn't need roads.

If you've got a SteelSeries headset and a Windows-powered gaming rig, it's likely you take your pair's compatibility for granted - I know I do. Yet anyone who's made the Linux leap over the years doesn't always have the same smooth sailing, as compatibility with the best gaming headsets isn't as straightforward.

Functionality can differ when using SteelSeries headsets on Linux-powered operating systems, from battery status reporting to wireless issues, but open-source developers like Sriman Achanta are on top of it. As brought to my attention by Phoronix, Achanta has developed a patch set to drop alongside the upcoming Linux 7.3 kernel merge window that provides improved driver support for a long list of 14 SteelSeries-branded headsets, including the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X and SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2.

This isn't the first time Achanta has provided support for SteelSeries headsets. The developer dropped a patch for the then-mainline Linux kernel in December 2025 (the core program that powers different Linux-based operating systems, including SteamOS as found on the Steam Deck) that helped improve the existing HID-Steelseries driver.

At the time, the HID-Steelseries driver only supported battery monitoring for the Arctis Nova 1 and Arctis Nova 9 headsets, but Achanta's patch introduced support for over 25 different SteelSeries pairs. It didn't just help with battery monitoring but, according to Achanta, the patch brought "full feature control including sidetone, auto-sleep, microphone controls, volume limiting, and Bluetooth settings."

Some of SteelSeries headsets can be pretty pricey, with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite costing $599.99 / £599.99. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2, which is included as part of this new driver patch, is $199.99 at Amazon, so it's nice to know that owners of the pair can get their full money's worth and better compatibility when the latest patch drops.

If you are thinking of leaping to Linux, I recommend checking out the Hardware for Linux website. It's a collective put together by Linux users to help determine how equipped your tech is to make the change and help you get to the bottom of any errors your hardware might be dealing with.

• View all SteelSeries gaming headsets at Amazon

If you're hunting for a new pair, I've rounded up the best PC headsets for gaming, the best PS5 headsets, and the best Xbox Series X headsets worth checking out.

After appearing in the trilogy of Star Wars prequels, Natalie Portman says "no director" wanted to work with her.

Quotes from a 2014 piece in New York Magazine have recently resurfaced thanks to Far Out Magazine. There, Portman recalled the fallout from playing Padme Amidala in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.

"Everyone thought I was a horrible actress," Portman said. "I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me."

The Phantom Menace grossed over $1 billion dollars upon its release, but Episode One, and the subsequent movies in the trilogy, were widely panned by critics – and used as shorthand for unnecessary prequels thanks to its melodramatic twists, middling CGI, and move away from what made the original Star Wars trilogy so popular.

A separate 2008 interview in The Independent also saw Portman recall a negative backlash to her stint in the Star Wars prequels, but had a measured approach to her performances.

"With almost every performance, I feel like I've failed on some level," Portman said at the time. "But I also think it's very human to feel that when you mess up, you get more out of it than when you succeed."

Thankfully, Portman soon turned her career around with acclaimed performances in 2003's Cold Mountain and 2004's Closer, the latter of which netted her a Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The 2010s proved more of a success for Portman, with the actor winning Best Actress for Black Swan. She even dipped back into franchise waters as Jane Foster in Thor and Thor: The Dark World, before reprising the role for a (seemingly) final time in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Portman is next appearing in Good Sex, the Lena Dunham-directed romcom, alongside Mark Ruffalo.

For more, check out the rest of 2026's biggest movie release dates.

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick says that over 90% of the company's sales are digital, so physical discs for games like GTA 6 "don't really make sense for the consumer." Also, considering you have to "register online to play" in most cases anyway, "who cares if you download digitally?"

A lot of people, I imagine, but anyway. As part of Take-Two's latest financial briefing, an investor takes the opportunity to ask Zelnick about Sony's controversial decision to end disc production and its potential impact on the publisher's plans. While Zelnick declines to comment directly on Sony's decision, he offers some thoughts on how Take-Two is approaching the current state of physical media.

"Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed, as it's already a digital business," he says. "So, in certain instances, especially if it's a big game, discs – and note I said discs – don't really make sense for the consumer.

"Also, in most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same and it's much more convenient. So that's where the world is going in our opinion, and I think Sony understands that. We certainly understand that."

While Zelnick appears pretty down on physical media, though, he goes on to stress that it doesn't mean Take-Two and the various game studios it owns are unlikely to ditch it entirely.

"That doesn't mean that we won't have physical editions now and then," he continues. "I'm sure we will in the same way that there's still vinyl in the recorded music business, but in other instances it just won't make sense."

The topic of physical media has been ringing around the industry of late. A large part of that comes down to Take-Two-owned Rockstar itself, which announced that boxed versions of GTA 6 will essentially be a code in a box at launch. That said, Nintendo's game-key cards certainly had their moment, and Sony's announcement that PlayStation discs for new games won't be available beyond January 2028 has been the biggest talking point on the topic lately. Hence the investor question.

As a result, the question has been put to other publishers and developers, too. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation lead Naoki Hamaguchi recently told us that conversations about what the RPG's offering will look like are still ongoing.

Similarly, Capcom also mentioned in an investor Q&A that the Resident Evil maker isn't that worried about what happens with physical, as 90% of their sales are digital, much like Take-Two.

On the whole, it paints a bleak picture for the future of physical media, as players' clear preference for digital is evident in the sales data, and publishers mostly offer a collective shrug at the topic. Still, the backlash is fierce, and movements like Stop Killing Games aim to ensure that the ownership issues that come with digital aren't merely brushed away. Watch this space.

Here's how to watch the GTA 6 extended look later this month.

You can put aside your fears of another GTA 6 delay, for now – Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is very confident that Rockstar Games is going to hit its release date of November 19, 2026.

After having been delayed a handful of times already and not really pulling back the curtain at all, GTA 6's November release date has been called into question by fans basically ever since it was announced. Even a former Grand Theft Auto 5 developer said he wouldn't be shocked to see the Rockstar juggernaut move once again, but it's not something the developer's parent company is worried about.

In today's Take-Two financial call, chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick reiterated that the company expects to grab net bookings of $8-8.2 billion in its 2027 fiscal year, "which reflects both ongoing positive trends in our business and our high degree of confidence around the November 19 release of Grand Theft Auto 6."

The head of Rockstar Games' owner repeatedly mentions GTA 6's November launch throughout the rest of the call, too: "Looking ahead, fiscal 2027 is on track to be a milestone year for our company, led by the release of Grand Theft Auto 6." There you have it.

Of course, anything is possible in game development (and the world at large) so it's not entirely impossible for GTA 6 to be pushed back again, but all signs are pointing toward the mammoth open world making it in time for November.

GTA 6 pre-orders are already open, for instance, and An Extended Look at the game is debuting on Netflix later this month. One would think a studio wouldn't kick off a big marketing push three months before launch if another delay was looking likely, after all.

After claiming GTA 6 devs have crunch "built into" their contracts, union says "first meeting with Rockstar management" was "a step in the right direction."

Better late than never, even when it comes to overdue mechanical changes in video games. A huge update to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands added an option the community's been requesting since launch, and fans are rightfully stoked.

Just yesterday, the Last Rites update hit Ghost Recon Wildlands. Part of the 25th anniversary celebrations for the series, this introduces a new mission and a wealth of changes to the shooter, including several much-requested tweaks.

One such change is that you can select only having one primary weapon without being in ghost mode. Previously, players had to have two, regardless of their loadout selection or strategic approach, a choice that was wasteful at best and cumbersome at worst.

Hopes for this stretch right back through the strategic shooter's history. You can find Reddit threads dedicated to the subject going back eight years, and there are others on the likes of GameFAQs, with fans asking whether or not such a thing is possible.

Well, it finally is. "First thing I adjusted. This update is absolute fire so far!" says one player on Reddit. "Ubisoft gained some respect from me with this," another adds.

Being a nine-year-old game, Wildlands doesn't get many updates these days. In fact, it's been years since Ubisoft rolled out a substantial patch for the release, making this a very welcome surprise.

To make it even better, both Wildlands and its sequel, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, have free weekends going right now, August 7 through August 10. Perfect opportunity to enjoy the spoils of being able to select how many primary weapons you can carry - and the rest of the game too, I suppose.

Gears of War: E-Day's Steam player peak has already passed the series' all-time record, and it's still only in limited beta

Gaming laptops with 8GB RAM are threatening to return to the shelves as the supply chain crisis wears on, but now Microsoft's own documentation is seemingly stepping away from high-memory configurations. The brand has removed its 32GB RAM recommendation for high-end PC gamers looking to run the most demanding games, deleting posts that championed the upgrade for the best gaming laptops. The URL previously pointing to a guide to optimizing your setup (Wayback Machine) now simply lands on the help desk.

Originally spotted by Windows Latest, the quiet retcon comes after Microsoft announced plans to drop a Surface Laptop with just 8GB RAM earlier this year. However, it also lines up with an increase in older gaming laptops appearing at retailers like Newegg and Best Buy with only 8GB to their name.

Of course, that Surface isn't designed to handle your Steam library but it is indicative of a wider shift towards low-memory releases in both the productivity and gaming space. The RAM's gone, but the demand your games place on your system certainly hasn't.

At the time of writing, Best Buy has over 40 gaming laptops listed with just 8GB RAM under the hood, with more mainstream brands running from $745 to $1,249.99. If you're looking to play modern titles, that's going to be money down the drain.

PC gaming has ballooned in cost over the last year, with RAM shortages and inflated SSD prices increasing rates for both manufacturers and consumers. It's why last year's gaming laptops can offer better value for money, though even those older rigs are seeing their own upcharges these days. To keep those costs lower, brands are wheeling out 8GB RAM configurations in lower end models, think the HP Victus, MSI Thin A15, and Asus TUF range.

The problem is Windows chomps through that memory by itself, leaving even less for your games to work with. Most releases from the past few years require at least 16GB to run smoothly, and in some cases, at all.

You can sacrifice your GPU, play on lower settings with fewer bells and whistles. You can drop down a CPU generation. You can even skrimp around a 512GB SSD. But, unfortunately in the current landscape, RAM isn't a sacrifice worth making. If you really want the latest releases to look their best, that 32GB is still necessary for certain scenarios.

While it's still considered a luxury, and far from a necessity for casual play, anyone running larger, more complex strategy titles or burning through a library of mods, will benefit by moving beyond 16GB. While I generally recommend most players opt for this middle ground, you'll find most RTX 5070 Ti-and up machines offering additional memory for better future-proofing.

Microsoft isn't going hell for leather here, it's far from recommending 8GB for your new rig. Its quiet removal of that 32GB power-mark, though, is a little shifty. After all, its original documentation was correct - 32GB is the sweet spot for a future-proofed system in 2026, whether it be laptop or desktop. As that memory supply is squeezed, though, it simply doesn't want you to know that.

So what does it mean for your next gaming laptop?

In short, big spenders should still be aiming for 32GB RAM, despite Microsoft's awkward silence on the matter. On the other end of the spectrum, while it's unlikely mainstream brands will launch 8GB RAM gaming laptops en masse next year, it's worth taking a cautionary approach when hunting cheap gaming laptop deals.

There are four-figure machines out there that appear to be solid deals when on sale but skimp out on your memory, always double check that you're getting at least 16GB. If you're making sacrifices to keep that price tag low, opt instead for IPS displays, less storage, or even a downshift on your GPU. After all, running something in 1080p with reduced textures is always better than not being able to run it at all.

• See all 16GB gaming laptop deals at Best Buy

I'm hunting down all the best Asus gaming laptops and the best Razer laptops on the market, or take a look at the best Alienware laptops available.

First it was a green light and then, suddenly, a red light: David Fincher's English-language Squid Game show is already dead at Netflix.

As per The Playlist, sources close to the streamer say the Squid Game project – whether it was a remake or a continuation of the lore of the series is unclear – won't be going ahead. Instead, there are loose plans for more regional spin-offs for different countries.

All this comes after the Squid Game season 3 ending appeared to set up an America-set spin-off.

There, Lee Byung-hun's Front Man traveled to America to give Gi-hun's winnings to his daughter. While in a car, he sees a recruiter (played by Cate Blanchett) playing ddakji with a prospective player – a stark warning to viewers that the games still exist worldwide, continuing to take advantage of a desperate and needy population in various cities around the globe.

As recently as last November, Squid Game: America was listed with a 2026 filming start date.

Of course, things have changed. Fincher is now directing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, starring Brad Pitt, at Netflix.

Netflix is keeping the Squid Game flag flying with its ongoing reality show, Squid Game: The Challenge.

There's plenty of attention on the streaming service later this month, too, thanks to the premiere of the Grand Theft Auto 6 extended look on August 27. For more on that, check out our guide on how to watch the GTA 6 extended look.

Then, fill out your watchlist with our curated list of the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies.

I assumed we already had our fill with cheap Nintendo Switch bundles in the UK for the time being, but I'm very happy to be proven wrong.

Yesterday, Nintendo unveiled that you can now build your own custom Switch 2 bundle in Europe starting from £395.99 and select between the console, a Switch 2 game, a membership for Nintendo Switch Online, and the best part - add an accessory of your choice entirely for free.

It's not just run-of-the-mill accessories included, but you can pick up a cute Gengar controller and even a 256GB Switch 2 SD card. This accessory is the main benefit here, as otherwise everything you can select is available for its usual price, so if you were already hoping to pick up the handheld along with an NSO subscription, this bundle feels like a bit of a no-brainer.

Nintendo has laid out this custom bundle process in a really straightforward way. Once you get to the accessory selection step, there's a huge range of Hori Gengar and Mimikyu goodies available, including the Vault Case that I reviewed earlier this year. Officially licensed Pokemon products typically come with an inflated cost compared to other accessories, so adding one of the items to your bundle is a great way to circumvent that.

• Join GamesRadar+ Deals on WhatsApp for our top daily discounts

The once £30.99 wired HORIPAD Turbo controller doesn't cost a penny, but you don't have to stick to the Pokemon-covered extras if you don't want to. Nintendo has included plenty of Hori's more subtle peripherals, including the Cozy Pink and Cozy Green versions of the gamepad. You're basically free to choose whichever accessory your heart desires from the list, but if you want to know the one I'd pick (particularly if you're after the biggest saving), it's going to be either the SanDisk or Samsung microSD Express Card.

The official SanDisk and Samsung models are the most expensive accessories on the list. If you want to save the most, it'd make the most sense to grab the priciest item for free, and it just so happens that ensuring you have one of the best microSD Express Cards in your setup is kind of a big deal, at least in my eyes anyway.

The Nintendo Switch 2 only comes with 256GB of onboard storage, and that can fill pretty fast if you're using it to play AAA releases. Final Fantasy 14 is finally available on the console, and the MMO requires 117GB of space to download, which is almost half your available storage spent on one game. By choosing either of these cards, you'd be automatically equipping your gaming handheld with double the storage at no additional cost, and I feel like that's far more important than picking up a cute Pokemon controller.

The neat thing about this 'Build your own' bundle is that the choice is entirely up to you. Just, if it were me, I'd personally choose either of those SD cards, but as someone with a soft spot for Hori's official Pokemon products, I entirely understand if you can't turn down the Gengar's menacing face on the case or the wired controller. Not to mention, Hori's Eevee Cottage Core controller is also in the midst, and I find it difficult to not pick up the pad when playing Pokopia as it's so cute, even when I have better feature-full controllers at my disposal.

Whatever you do, just don't double up and add Pokopia as your game of choice if you've already selected the Switch 2 bundle it comes with, and avoid the Hori Piranha Plant camera. Not only is it prone to discounts at UK retailers, but it only supports a 480p image quality. Unless you want to look like big, blurry blobs in compatible Switch 2 games, you're better off sticking to an at least 1080p compatible USB-C webcam instead. And you might have one of those just lying around already.

While this custom bundle is not available in the US, anyone after a Switch 2 across the pond can instead grab the Choose Your Game bundle for $499 at Amazon which includes the console and a download code for either Pokemon Pokopia, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Mario Kart World.

• Build Your Own Nintendo Switch 2 Bundle at Nintendo

New to Switch 2? Check out the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases while you're here.

While there is no Manaphy habitat in Pokopia just yet, you can still get this adorable Mythical Pokemon to move into Bubbly Basin - after all, they are the one that started it all.

With the Pokopia Bubbly Basin DLC installed, your attention will be directed to an island off of Bleak Beach which seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Here, you'll find a washed up Manaphy, who'll get your started on the Bubbly Basin storyline before disappearing in search of a home for themselves. If you think this means you need to build a habitat for them, you'd be wrong, but you can still get them to move into your underwater paradise.

I've tried to avoid spoilers as best as possible, but there are some ahead, so be warned.

How to get Manaphy in Pokopia

To get Manaphy to move into Bubbly Basin permanently, simply complete the area's storyline by increasing the environment level to 3 and then building the Ocean Temple as requested by Popplio, Professor Tangrowth's underwater replacement.

I'll let you watch it play out from here, but, just like the base game areas, completing the main storyline results in the appearance of a Legendary - or, in this case, Mythical - Pokemon. From this point on, Manaphy will appear in their new home at all times, but you can't build a new habitat to move them elsewhere. For now, at least.

When it comes to building the Ocean Temple, you're going to need some specific materials, including the Pokopia Ocean Door, Seashell Fencing, and Shiny Pearls, and our guides can help you find them.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Blaze just officially answered whether the Evercade can run DOOM, as a new collection is coming on October 30. Better still, the original boomer shooter, its sequel, and a bunch of mission packs and Deathmatch levels will arrive alongside a special edition Evercade Nexus handheld that looks like it's from the bowels of hell mars.

Available to pre-order today at 10 pm EST / 3 pm BST (UK), the Evercade Nexus DOOM Edition will set you back $249.99 / £199.99, so slightly more than the vanilla version. But, you will be furnished with a bunch of demonic delights, including the new collection cartridge, a Mars red case, a cartridge keychain, a double-sided poster with the shooter's OG artwork, and a bonus comic.

Of course, the DOOM retro handheld itself is also dressed up in demon-infested, space facility attire, complete with hazard warning trim and UAC logos. The cursed caveat here is that the portable is limited to 3,000 units, so you'll have to strafe straight to Blaze's Funstock when the gates open today.

Dropping this new DOOM handheld is a bummer if you've already pre-ordered the vanilla or Rare edition Evercade Nexus, though, and I've already noticed a few buyers query whether they can switch their pre-orders. I doubt there's a system in place for anything like that, but at least the collection is available on its own.

On its own, the DOOM Evercade collection will set you back $29.99 / £24.99, but it's already sold out at Funstock US. Hilariously, you can still grab it as a double pack alongside the Banjo Kazooie collection for $59.98, which feels like a DOOMslayer and Isabella-level team-up, if I do say so. If you are just looking for the boomer shooter, it should hit Amazon at some point before October 30.

I'm not remotely short of ways to play DOOM, and I've just finished building an MS-DOS PC specifically for playing '90s shooters with authentic Soundblaster audio. On top of that, I've been hitting up the GBA version on a custom Game Boy Advance with microswitch shoulders for strafing, and yet, I'm still itching to try this Evercade version.

Perhaps it's the sheer volume of DOOM included on the cart, as it includes the aforementioned six extra mission packs, including The Plutonia Experiment from Final DOOM and No Rest for the Living. The split-screen local multiplayer helps drive home the experience I was originally looking for with the PS1 version, negating the need for two consoles, games, and a link cable.

Sure, DOOM on the Evercade might not feel technically impressive given the platform now has 3D romps like Banjo Kazooie (check out the Super Pocket Rare Edition for more on that), but gaining the grandaddy of first-person shooters is still an accolade. Blaze's handheld and retro console ecosystem is becoming a physical gaming force to be reckoned with, and it could gain a massive player base once the big dogs in the industry become all-digital.

• Evercade consoles at Amazon
• Evercade games at Amazon

Swing by the best retro controllers for wireless buttons that still feel authentic.

As Atreyu takes to the stage in Amsterdam, the metalcore five piece have no idea what to expect. 28 years into their career, they’ve toured the world and played everything from gargantuan European festival stages to grimy dive bars. Yet tonight they find themselves playing a career first – a Magic: The Gathering convention.

With the 1,500 capacity afterparty venue packed to the rafters with Atreyu fans and Magic Con attendees alike, once the first notes of bruising opener ‘Dead’ ring out, any doubts of the gig’s legitimacy fade away. As booster packs for one of the best card games rain down from the stage like confetti, circle pits open unprompted and fans crowd surf while ripping open packs of cards. The unholy union of metalcore and Magic: The Gathering has received its booster-strewn blessing.

“If our usual shows are a 10 out of 10, that was a 15 out of 10,” beams Atreyu bassist, Porter McKnight. With no barrier separating the audience and the band, the joyous gig saw fans soaring onto the stage and opening boosters while Porter inspected their pulls mid-riff. While the rest of his bandmates' constant grins speak for themselves, for the MTG-obsessed Porter, tonight’s show wasn’t just a fun performance – it was a dream come true.

“I didn't know what kind of crowd we were going to get – whether they would be many Atreyu fans or just convention-goers – I just knew we were going to do our thing, make it a safe space, and have fun,” reflects Porter, “What I didn't expect was circle-pit Magic, crowd surfing and opening packs on stage... that show will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Discovering the card game at a young age at a sleepover in rural Alabama, Porter tells me that Magic was his “first love”, beating music to the punch. “The art, the themes, and the way the game is played immediately got me,” recalls Porter, “Each color has its own style, feeling, and environment. Seeing all this cool art and being immersed in this magical world stirred something deep inside my soul as a creative person.”

Porter and his childhood friend only had a limited number of cards and no internet – so they’d make up the rules for the complex card game as they went, imagining stories and synergies for their cool-looking collection of creatures. Yet once Porter picked up his bass, deckbuilding took a backseat. While Porter briefly played again at college, as Atreyu kicked into gear, the band became his focus and he swapped tapping lands for tapping frets.

Years later, however, Porter’s two passions unexpectedly collided. “Four or five years ago an awesome band from Slovenia called Within Destruction was opening for us,” says Porter. “Their drummer was very shy and we never really talked beyond friendly hellos. Our drum tech asked me, 'What's that game you play on your iPad?...Magic Arena? …I think their drummer is playing it over there.'It turns out he competes and is so good.”

With the musician introducing Porter to Commander decks, the once-intimidating world of warlocks and wards suddenly clicked. With Magic’s artwork pulling from dark fantasy, depicting skeletons, dragons and demons, it’s easy to see why there’s such an overlap between metalheads and the card game. Yet Porter still believed that meeting another Magic-loving metal head was a fluke, until he played the UK’s biggest metal festival in 2024.

“At Download Festival about two years ago, I met Tuck, the bassist from Fit for a King,” recalls Porter, “He was wearing a Magic hat, and I complimented it…. And he told me, 'I'm in this group, 'Metalcore Magic.' and it's the wildest group chat! The number of bands on it could sell out a world tour."

With the WhatsApp group boasting members of I Prevail, The Ghost Inside, We Came as Romans, Currents, Neck Deep and Don Broco, Porter suddenly discovered a travelling network of fellow Magic nerds. “I meet up on tour with people from Metalcore Magic all the time….," beams Porter, “I've found it brings people together in a physical, off-screen way that we rarely get in this digital age.”

While it’s not uncommon for bands to bond on tour, once the shows come to an end Porter admits that so too do most of their friendships. Yet thanks to this group chat, these bands have a shared passion that extends beyond a 12 date tour. “I've existed in the metal and hard rock community for a while, which brings people together through shows and meeting fans – but this is a different level of connection,” says Porter. “It forces you to sit down face-to-face with people and connect. As an introverted person who needs an activity to socialize, having a shared love for this game builds an instant bond. It's cool as fuck."

It’s something I see playing out in real time as I bump into a smiling Rob Damiani of Don Broco at Atreyu’s Magic Con gig. “[With] Don Broco – I didn't know Rob personally, but we were both at Rock am Ring [festival] in June…He recognized me from the Metalcore Magic chat, so we hung out,” says Porter. “Later, when Don Broco played in Cologne, I drove an hour and a half to a sweaty game store during a heatwave… and we played Magic for four hours with local fans and the store owner. Now we're genuine friends.”

A day later at a bustling Magic Con, Porter and his bandmates host a packed signing session where hundreds of fans queue up to meet the band and buy exclusive Atreyu-themed playmats. “People were bringing packs to the signing today asking, 'Can you sign the pack you gave me at the show?' or 'Can I open this with you?',” beams Porter. “ I loved that.”

As well as squiggling over fans’ cards, Porter is also an artist in his spare time, inspiring him to design his own set of custom Magic cards that correspond to the artwork and theme of each Atreyu album. “Each one is a 'game changer' card that vastly influences play, so they are functional and usable,” smiles Porter as he proudly shows me his cards, “but they also thematically connect to the feeling of each album.”

As grinning fans stream out of a sweaty venue and thousands of players pack into the bustling convention center the next day, it’s hard not to be won over by the sheer joy this hobby exudes. The camaraderie I witness among Magic fans undoubtedly mirrors the passion that unites a roaring crowd of strangers as their favorite band takes the stage. “Music is the universal language – it’s deeply embedded in the human soul. When you meet someone who loves the same music, you share an instant bond talking about those songs,” Porter says. “Magic operates similarly, but instead of just sitting and listening to an album, you actively engage in a shared universe for hours. You can go to concerts with friends, and you can play Magic together – one shouldn't exist without the other.”

“Music and Magic mesh in perfect synergy,” Porter concludes, “Last night's show was living proof—it was one of the best shows of our career. Magic is better played with music, and apparently music is better played with Magic, too."

Plenty of cool new sets are on the way to MTG, from brand-new settings to crossovers like Star Trek. To get a heads up on what's coming, check out our guide to everything announced at Magic Con 2026.

• See the latest MTG sets at Amazon

Pocketpair head of publishing and communications John "Bucky" Buckley has explained why there aren't many reviews for Palworld after the game had its full release last month.

In response to a post about the low number of Palworld reviews on Metacritic in comparison to recent releases like Halo: Campaign Evolved and Beast of Reincarnation, Bucky notes that "we didn't send out press keys in advance," which was the case for the other titles.

As for why this is, he explains: "We weren't really thinking about critic reception at all, and we wanted the content of 1.0 to remain a secret and unspoiled right up to release so...we kept it all pretty close to our chest!"

Bucky says that "if we had gone the more traditional route and prioritised critic reception," then "we probably would have sent out press keys a month or so in advance." However, Bucky says that "Palworld 1.0 was very much for the fans, not for the industry."

Obviously, people are still free to review the game after it officially releases, but Bucky acknowledges that Palworld is "a game that requires a fairly significant time investment" adding, "I can't fault media for not wanting to put the time in post-release. No harm!"

As for future games however, Bucky does say that "maybe we'll try play the press/media game a bit more in future with Palfarm or something," while calling it "a side of the industry we aren't too experienced in."

Ultimately, Palworld has also been out for multiple years in early access, and is very much a known quantity which could also add to the lack of reviews for the full version when it released earlier this year. And in the end, it didn't really matter much in the long run as the game experienced a massive boost in concurrent players on Steam upon the release of 1.0.

"A lot of these things are actually not made by us," Palworld lead explains following card game launch and MMO reveal.

James Gunn has moved fast to quash rumors that The Batman 3 will be filming back to back with The Batman 2.

After a fan asked on Threads whether the DC Studios co-CEO could "confirm or deny" the reports, Gunn plainly responded, "I can deny."

The excitement around back-to-back sequels entering production under Matt Reeves appeared to stem from Batman on Film founder Bill Ramey posting a Batman logo with 'three' written in Roman numerals on Twitter. Some even went on to report the post as more than a rumor.

Ramey later clarified, "My intention behind posting the picture was true: Bangin’ the drum for a THE BATMAN PART III. However, if you’re a fellow Batman fan and a fan of Matt Reeves’ SAGA, I apologize if you felt misled. Honestly, not my intention."

So, we're only getting The Batman 2 – for now. The DC sequel (part of the 'Elseworlds' umbrella, so not part of the DCU) is currently filming.

Robert Pattinson once again returns as the Caped Crusader, flanked by familiar allies in the shape of Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and trusty butler Alfred (Andy Serkis).

Newcomers include Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, and Charles Dance, although speculation has run rife about who exactly each actor will be playing. For Stan alone, the rumor mill has mentioned everything from Harvey Dent to Victor Zsasz.

The DCU, meanwhile, is gearing up to launch Lanterns – a HBO murder mystery starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler – later this month. A Clayface movie follows in October, with Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow hitting cinemas next July.

For more, check out the upcoming DC movies currently in the works.

Atlus' Persona series sold a million copies during the three months of Sega's last financial quarter. Hype for Persona 4 Revival (coming next February) and Persona 6 (coming sometime after) might have had something to do with the continued sales momentum, of course, but the series is also home to some of the best JRPGs ever made. Becoming evergreen sellers comes with the territory.

Publisher Sega recently published its financial results for the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year, which runs from the beginning of April to the end of June 2026. The Like A Dragon franchise sold well over 600,000 copies in that frame, Sonic the Hedgehog neared a million copies sold, but Persona remained king with more than a million copies sold across all games in the series.

Those stats seem especially impressive considering the high-schooling, demon-slaying series didn't see a new game release during those three months. Persona 3 Reload was ported to Switch 2 last October, but there hasn't been a totally new entry in the franchise for a couple of years now.

Last we heard, earlier this summer, Persona had sold a whopping 30 million copies combined, with Persona 5 making up an absurd chunk of that pie.

Probably not coincidentally, Sega's last quarter took place during the reveal of Persona 6 and a deep dive into Persona 4 Revival, so the series was likely front and center in the minds of the JRPG-loving public. Now's a good a time as any to jump into the series for the first time or catch up on the classics you might have missed, after all.

Persona's momentum in general bodes well for Atlus since Persona 4 Revival doesn't launch until February, 2027, and we've been warned to not expect much from Persona 6 until after the remake comes out, either.

Are you prepping for Persona 6, too? Find out where to start with our picks of the best Persona games, ranked worst to best.

During the Bubble Basin storyline, flat Pokemon Stunfisk will ask you to find a special rug for them, presumably to decorate their home. All they'll tell you is that the rug design features lots of underwater Pokemon, and that it can be found in house in the Bubbly Basin town.

This doesn't give us much to go on, so if you're struggling to complete this request, I've already found the Ocean Pals rug and can tell you exactly where to do the same. So, read on for the exact location of the Pokopia Ocean Pals rug - and a bonus rug to boot.

Pokopia Ocean Pals rug location

The Pokopia Ocean Pals rug is found in a Pokeball, itself found inside a very dilapidated and well-hidden house in the very northwest corner of Bubbly Basin, just behind the play area.

This particular house is hard to find as it's hidden on its own in a cave, seemingly having been buried in all the Pokopia chaos. There are two easy ways to find it:

• Head over the bridge to the play area, and the house can just be seen through some cracks in the cliffs to the left of the slide, behind some Star-Speckled Rocks.
• Head above water when you reach the play area, where you'll find half of the house above ground. Drop down to find the other, sunken, half.

Once you find the house, it's pretty easy to find the Ocean Pals Rug, as it's inside the only Pokeball in the home. With the rug in your inventory, head back to Stunfisk and give it to them to complete your request.

There is another lovely fish-friendly rug found in the town as well, the Swampert Squad rug. If you're trying to give this rug to Stunfisk and it's not working, that's because you've got the wrong one - though it's an easy mistake to make.

Alternatively, if you haven't yet found this blue Pokemon-themed rug, it's in the Pokeball just to the right of the bridge before you cross over from the main Bubbly Basin area. Be careful not to lose it, though, because while no Pokemon has asked for it yet, there's no saying someone won't in the future!

For more Bubbly Basin guides, I've got you covered with help finding the Pokopia Ocean Door recipe and the Windup Inkay toy, as well as how to get the incredibly useful Pokopia Portal Pods for improved storage!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

It's looking likely that we could be getting another look at Kingdom Hearts 4 this month. The franchise is set for a retrospective showcase at D23, and some potential panelists have been revealed, increasing the odds that the latest installment will be part of proceedings in some capacity.

The Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel will take place on August 15, and thanks to the D23 app, we now know three possible participants (thanks, Kingdom Hearts Insider). Haley Joel Osment will be at the event, an expected presence since he's the voice of protagonist Sora as well as the villain Vanitas.

He's being joined by David Gallagher, the voice of Riku, another unsurprising attendee. But the third person listed is an exciting one: Tai Yasue, the co-director of Kingdom Hearts 4.

Now, Yasue also co-directed Kingdom Hearts 3 and a bunch of the spin-offs, including Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance, making him a tenured voice on the property's development, but it's convenient he can speak to the upcoming sequel, too. This could be the first time we hear a lead dev speak on Sora, Donald and Goofy's next misadventure, if it happens, but I should note they're all just listed for D23 in general and not tied to any specific showcase.

Thus far, we've just two trailers. And though it's exciting, it's been difficult to fully contextualize (Kingdom Hearts being obtuse, shocking right?), so it'll be helpful to get some insights into where the narrative is going and what roles some of the characters will be playing.

There's no release window yet for the next mainline installment, and I wouldn't expect one at D23. A showcase handled specifically by Square Enix is much more likely for that information, but we may get a little more footage alongside whatever the panelists can tell us. We've come a long way from sealing the darkness in Wonderland and the Deep Jungle, and the road forward continues unabated.

Canceled Kingdom Hearts spin-off's intro apparently leaks online and not even veteran fans understand what's going on: "Why does it look like Pacific Rim but with Keyblades."

After months of radio silence, The Legend of Zelda movie has finally revealed the actor playing series villain Ganondorf. And fans now think we got our first glimpse of the King of the Gerudo last year in leaked set videos.

As noted by @farourage on Twitter, a widely shared set video from The Legend of Zelda's New Zealand shoot appears to feature the actor Uli Latukefu, who we now know is playing the treacherous Ganondorf. Intriguingly, Ganondorf appears to be casually walking around a forest with Bo Bragason's Zelda and Dichen Lachman's Impa. Have his true, Triforce-snatching intentions yet to be revealed at this stage in the movie? Check out the original video below.

If the video does in fact feature Latukefu's Ganondorf, it's certainly a more grounded take on the character, who's traditionally depicted with a long mane of red hair and, in recent games like Tears of the Kingdom, with bulging pectorals on display. Latukefu's Ganondorf, however, appears to have closely cropped hair, though in some videos it does appear to be red, at least.

Either way, fans seem (mostly) thrilled to have a morsel of new information on the movie, which releases in just over 8 months, and until yesterday had only two confirmed cast members in Benjamin Evan Ainsworth's Link and Bragason's Zelda. Alongside Latukefu and Lachman, Deadline's report also claimed that Mass Effect star Yvonne Strahovski will play a "Queen character" (almost certainly the Queen of Hyrule). Sam Neill, who died last month, was also revealed to be part of the cast, though precisely who he's playing is something of a mystery. Fingers crossed he's voicing the Deku Tree.

Despite this influx of casting news, The Legend of Zelda movie is still something of a mystery. We still don't know precisely which game the movie is adapting (the costumes in the first look suggest Breath of the Wild). Though we do know that Ainsworth is something of a newcomer to the series, as he told us he was too young to play Breath of the Wild when it released.

The Legend of Zelda movie releases on April 30, 2027. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies.

The first leg of Gears of War: E-Day's beta has only just clawed its way out of the ground, and it's putting up some strong Steam numbers already.

The Gears of War: E-Day open beta's first portion runs from August 6 (yesterday) to August 10 on Xbox Series X|S consoles and PC, and it seems to be doing quite well right out of the gate.

According to SteamDB, the beta managed to get 14,331 players chainsaw-gunning and wall-hopping at the same time, and we haven't even reached its first weekend where multiplayer games usually balloon.

Mind you, that's already the best Steam concurrent player peak the series has ever seen. Last year's re-remastered Gears of War Reloaded reached just under 5,000 concurrent Steam players, strategy gem Gears Tactics hoarded 7,351 players together, and the previous record holder Gears 5 peaked with a little over 10,000 people.

It's also worth noting that the Gears of War: E-Day beta is currently in early access, meaning it's only available to players who have pre-ordered the game or Game Pass Ultimate subscribers (who wouldn't have access to the Steam version, anyway). Putting up the series' best numbers before the general public's had a chance to shotgun chunks of meat off subterranean alien bugs is a very good sign for the prequel's prospects.

The full E-Day open beta goes live for everyone from August 13 to August 17. Both betas let folks try out Gears of War's PvP Versus mode and its sprawling 12-player Horde mode that throws waves of increasingly bloodthirsty enemies into wide open maps.

Gears of War: E-Day comes out in full on October 6 on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass Ultimate.

Burying EA, Gears of War: E-Day devs say there's no "pride and accomplishment" grind, just "old-school" unlocks from playing the game.

Tom Holland's younger brother helped contribute to one of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's most memorable and low-key scenes.

The moment in question saw Peter Parker – in full Spider-Man costume – hanging out with MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon). Peter and Ned even spend the day building a LEGO Star Wars X-Wing set, with MJ sketching them.

But that wasn't a member of the art crew or even Zendaya putting pencil to paper. Instead, as revealed on an Instagram reply chain (H/T Pop Culture News), Paddy Holland was the one who drew the piece.

Away from Spider-Man's crimefighting and swinging around New York, the quieter moment amid the hunt for Sadie Sink's Jean Grey stood out as one of Spider-Man: Brand New Day's emotional highs – especially as it deals with the fallout from Spider-Man: No Way Home's memory-erasing spell.

As mentioned on Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast, Tom Holland revealed that scene was rewritten and reworked on the day of filming.

This isn't the only time one of Tom Holland's brothers have left their mark on a Spider-Man movie, meanwhile.

In No Way Home, younger brother Harry Holland made a cameo as a bicycle thief. Tom Holland later revealed the stunt-laden sequence was 'revenge' for Harry mocking his complaints over hanging upside down for a day of filming. That'll teach him.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now in cinemas – and breaking box office records.

For more, check out our breakdown of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending and our collection of Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs.

A GTA 6 extended look is officially dropping later this month, and if you don't want to miss a single second of the premiere, then this handy guide on how to watch the GTA 6 extended look is here to break down when and where you can see it so you can catch it the minute it drops.

After a groundswell of rumors and speculation about the possibility of someday seeing GTA 6 trailer 3, Rockstar finally confirmed in an official press release that we're going to get to see more of GTA 6. Not only that, but to shake things up from previous GTA 6 trailers, the studio also revealed an unexpected collaboration with Netflix, which will see the game's next reveal drop on the streaming service first.

As one of the biggest and most anticipated new games for 2026, it's exciting to see Rockstar really start to ramp up with a new major look in just a matter of weeks' time. So, if you're looking to get ready for what's to come, read on as I give you the lowdown on the GTA 6 extended look.

How to watch GTA 6 extended look

GTA 6 trailer 3 release date

The GTA 6 trailer 3 release is now officially set for August 27, 2026.

We're looking at the extended look as trailer 3 in all but name here, and it's great to see we now know when we're finally going to see more GTA 6 goodness very soon. Rockstar is keeping quiet on what we can expect to see, but we're betting this could be our first proper glimpse of GTA 6 gameplay after previous trailers showcased the setting and the dual protagonists, Lucia and Jason.

If you want a recap of the previous reveals, our GTA 6 trailer and GTA 6 trailer 2 breakdowns are here for you.

How to watch the Netflix GTA 6 extended look

You can tune into the Netflix GTA 6 extended look on August 27 at 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm BST here if you have a subscription to the streaming service.

With Rockstar gearing up for GTA 6's release date in November, the studio announced a "first-of-its-kind partnership with Netflix", meaning that subscribers of the streaming service will get the opportunity to see the GTA 6 extended look first.

"The anticipation and fandom around Grand Theft Auto 6 is unprecedented," Brandon Riegg, VP of Nonfiction at Netflix, said at Tudum. "[W]e're honored that Rockstar Games has partnered with us to debut the next part of the Grand Theft Auto story with Netflix members first".

It's yet to be revealed how long the GTA 6 extended look runtime will be, or how in-depth it will go, but we'll be keeping our eyes open for any further updates from Rockstar in the lead-up to the premiere.

How to watch the GTA 6 extended look on YouTube

While the next GTA 6 reveal is dropping on Netflix first, it will also be going live on Rockstar Games' official YouTube channel on August 27 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT / 2am BST (August 28).

That means that if you don't have a Netflix account to tune into its initial premiere, you can watch the extended look on YouTube six hours later. With the previous trailers raking in an impressive number of views over the years since they debuted, it'll be interesting to see if GTA 6 trailer 3 reaches the same dizzying heights of view counts.

While you wait for more GTA 6, look back on the series with our ranking of the best GTA games.

Former Dragon Age series producer Mark Darrah says fellow game developers should "absolutely" listen to player feedback, but when it comes to identifying solutions to problems, he says it's best to look elsewhere.

"Of course you should listen to people that are playing your game," Darrah says in a new YouTube video titled 'Why 'Listen to the Community' is Bad Advice'. "Except it's more complicated than it sounds, because people don't talk with one voice, because the loudest voices in your community don't always represent the majority of your players, and because players don't always know exactly what they want."

Immediately upon watching this video, I was reminded of a similar sentiment expressed by Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson, who said recently in his own YouTube video that surveying players can yield valuable information about problems, but not necessarily solutions. Darrah seems to agree wholeheartedly, stressing the value of community feedback but warning against letting it guide development.

"So I don't get completely canceled, let's start by saying developers should absolutely listen to their communities," says Darrah. "Players are incredibly valuable sources of information. They tell you when they're frustrated. They tell you where they're frustrated. They tell you what they like, what they don't like. They tell you where they feel like the game is unbalanced, where they feel like they're not getting a fair shake from the multiplayer systems in your game. They tell you where they're getting lost and confused. They also give you a great insight into how they're actually playing the game as opposed to how you wish they were playing the game.

"A lot of times they're going to identify problems way faster than even the best QA team possibly can, because there are so many more of them," adds Darrah. "If you ignore them completely, you're making a game in a vacuum. This is a complete mistake.

"Players are really, really good at identifying problems. What they're a lot less good at is identifying solutions. They're not developers, they're game players. They know they don't like something, but the solution they may come up with may not be the best."

Darrah then lists a number of ways players might identify a pain point but misidentify the problem at its heart. "If they're saying this enemy AI needs to be smarter, it might be that the AI is bad, [or] it might just be that the creatures are dying too fast and the balance is off," he says. "It might be a simple mistake in pathfinding. The feedback that this class is boring or these enemies need to be smarter isn't useless. It's incredibly valuable. It's giving you a window into what they're feeling. You need to understand and pick apart that feedback and understand the problem underneath the solution."

Another issue with listening to player feedback is that it's generally "not a monolith," meaning any given player base is going to have people all across the spectrum from casual to hardcore, from people who play games for the story to math nerds who just want to watch numbers go up.

"Especially if you're a studio that's been around for a while, you've built up a pretty deep relationship with one of those groups, and then a weaker relationship with a couple of others, and there are some groups which you are never talking to at all," says Darrah. "Those hardcore players, they want more math, they want a crunchier system, they want realism, they want complexity, but that's going to potentially make the systems unconsumable by other players."

I've long recognized this as a potential issue with Diablo 4, a game I love dearly but whose online communities and discourse I can't relate with because I don't play the game nearly as much as they do. It very much depends on the season, but it seems like Blizzard allocates a disproportionate amount of development resources to making sure the top commenters on r/Diablo4 are happy, when I reckon those folks make up a tiny portion of the overall player base. That leaves more casual players like me and my wife feeling a little left out of the conversation, although great expansions like Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred compensate for that very periodically.

"You need to remember that your community is a bunch of different groups, and when you are in a conversation that seems to be unified by your community, take a step back and ask, 'Is this actually all of the community, or have we built up a very special relationship with a specific part of the community and we are listening to them to the exclusion of other groups?'" Darrah says.

"Most of your players aren't talking to you at all. Most people buy a game, play the game for a while, maybe really enjoy it, and then finish it and move on. They're not yelling about the game on Reddit, or tweeting about what they want, or engaging with the community, or making YouTube videos. Most people aren't terminally online."

Ultimately, Darrah says the trick is to "get as many different data sources as you can, get the feedback from the community, but do playtesting, put telemetry in, look at what's actually happening with sales of other games to try to figure out what the reality is versus what the community is telling you."

Darrah's final piece of advice for developers navigating community feedback is to "remember your vision." As a creative myself, I've always been intrigued by the fact that games are one of the very few creative mediums where the artist so often takes cues from the consumer and actually changes the art based on feedback.

If a movie or TV show comes out and the viewers don't like that a character dies, the director doesn't go back and make them survive. As much as Game of Thrones fans protested over the disastrous eighth season, it remains streaming on HBO Max exactly as it first premiered (trust me, I've had the displeasure of re-watching it). Of course, games, especially online multiplayer games, are a whole different beast with continual updates, limited-time modes, seasons, and the like, but the principle remains: should developers be twisting their visions to suit the desires of gamers? Darrah says no.

"If you get the best suggestion form your community but it violates the vision of your game, it's not actually the best suggestion. Not every suggestion is going to line up with what the game is trying to be, and that's OK. And there will be more games for those players to experience, and they may get that feature in a game in the future."

"We try to lean in on the things where our idea of what Starfield should be aligns with the feedback that's coming in from folks who get the game": How community feedback helped Bethesda shape Starfield's biggest updates

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav doesn't seem too concerned with Supergirl's box office failure, as he has full confidence in what DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are cooking up next.

"We have Clayface coming up soon, which looks terrific," Zaslav told TheWrap, when asked directly about the critical and box office failure of Supergirl. "We got Lanterns launching in the next few weeks on HBO, which Casey [Bloys] and Sarah [Aubrey] are super excited about. So DC feels very good, and we have a robust pipeline, and Peter and James are hard at work."

Supergirl had a pretty rough go this year, and only made $125 million at the global box office against its budget of $170 million. The film currently sits at a 54% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, though the audience score is at a much higher 76%. There's also some speculation that the film's screenwriter misinterpreted the ending of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic on which the movie is based, not to mention all the kerfuffle about the deeply strange needle drop during the final epic battle scene. Despite all the chaos, leading lady Milly Alcock will appear again as Kara Zor-El in the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, which is set to hit theaters in 2027 (and I'm stoked to see her return).

Next up for the DCU is Lanterns, a True Detective-style take on the adventures of Lantern Hal Jordan and his trainee John Stewart, and the horror movie Clayface, which tells a Cronenberg-esque origin story about the goopy Batman villain.

Supergirl is out in theaters now. For more, check out our Supergirl review and our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows.

Studio Reset is confident you'll never find a AAA studio making something like its upcoming supernatural mystery game, The Eventide – and its developers would know. The new indie company is made up of BioWare veterans who've worked on games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, and The Eventide leads remind GamesRadar+ in an interview that AAA gaming is prone to too much worrying to really luxuriate in the misty X Files vibes they're cultivating.

"Because we are indie, we can take these sort of creative risks that maybe were not available to us in larger companies," says Studio Reset creative director Kaelin Lavallee. "And that's not a knock against larger companies. They have their place and they can do what they do, and they do it well, but at the end of the day, there's a little bit more risk aversion there." So, Lavallee, art director Francis Lacuna, and design director Kris Schoneberg all agree: The Eventide is a creative opportunity they never had before.

A press release describes the paranormal investigation game as "neon-noir." Players will assign two agents with their own unique skills to each strange case that passes their desk in a grungy, but colorfully lit Canadian city.

"As the unseen hand guiding the agency's operations," the press release explains, "players will assign investigators to a growing backlog of unexplained incidents scattered across the city. Each agent brings their own background, beliefs, expertise, and way of seeing the world."

You can get former detective Sam "Brass" Hingle in on a case that requires social discretion, for example, or have cryptozoologist Evelyn "Eve" Atwood put her unconventional biology skills to work.

The game, made in Unreal Engine 5, will purportedly mix "supernatural mystery, mature narrative themes, fixed-camera 3D exploration, agent-driven investigation, and a word-based deduction system to create a detective fantasy around case files, redacted truths, and the uncomfortable space between what happened and what people are able to understand," the press release continues.

This smudgy game made up of frowning characters in long coats sounds like mystical, cigar-puffing fun. Lacuna tells GamesRadar+, "I don't think in any of my previous experiences working on big, multi-million-dollar projects, they would ever greenlight an aesthetic that I am interested in achieving here."

"Like, this painterly [visual] effect would not exist," Lacuna continues, noting, "It exists in the indie world, in the space. It does not exist in the AAA space, and I think that that for me is a great opportunity."

"AAA can throw money at a problem," Lavallee adds, cutting a deeper line between Studio Reset and its developers' BioWare past. "Money, people, and it'll get sorted out. Is it the right solution? Is it the most fun result? Debatable. We can't do that. It's just us" – a team prioritizing creative freedom over all else.

Mass Effect 3 dev demanded answers from the RPG's writing team when she realized her alien husband was hooking up with the Normandy’s most mysterious soldier.

Solo developer YuWave makes a simple pitch with Demon Lord: Just a Block, an action-strategy roguelike about navigating a blocky world filled with enemies that only move when you do. "One developer. One computer. One game. One year," they say on Steam. Behind the game's cute, pared-down world is a classical fantasy story that makes smart use of hands-off narrative to steer players through seven chapters and three endings, and with nearly 2,000 Steam reviews averaging 96% positive, this approach has been a hit so far.

"If FromSoftware released the full Dark Souls design document, no one would be debating the lore anymore," YuWave tells me. I agree with their assessment that Demon Lord: Just a Block is a "gameplay-first experience," but in my experience that's often where you'll find some of the most interesting video game narratives – stories designed more as scaffolding, something to be prodded by players rather than carefully conveyed.

"It creates story-driven goals," YuWave says of this approach. "Just like Hades, players aren't just pushing through levels in each run, they are also progressing the game to meet more NPCs and discover more advanced storylines."

I'd call Hades an interesting point of comparison, as a heavier narrative throughline was a major point of praise for Supergiant's own critically acclaimed roguelike – that, and the way that narrative weaves the mechanical tropes of the genre into a lush interpretation of mythology. Demon Lord: Just a Block, then, wants to have a similar effect on players, but through markedly lighter exposition.

"It eliminates lengthy, tedious dialogue," YuWave says of "fragmented, anecdotal" writing. "I firmly believe players are here to have fun, not read a boring novel. Short, punchy text is the key to keeping players immersed in the gameplay without constant interruptions." As someone who loves reading and gaming, but will still instantly skip a huge text log in a game if my brain is in exploration mode, I find myself nodding along.

YuWave stuck to a rule with text for this game: no more than 10 exchanges per scene, and no more than 50 characters per line. Their thinking is that, while this limits how much detail or exposition you can fit into each moment, "it actually makes players remember the characters’ personalities much more vividly," perhaps because they're more attentive to storytelling that doesn't stall gameplay.

This approach also aids exploration, YuWave reckons, as story fragments found and collected by players may reveal a hidden path or "a whole new way to beat the game."

"The entrance to the true ending has always been there, you just lacked that narrative knowledge to activate it," they tease.

The success of Demon Lord: Just a Block has given YuWave a platform for sustainable work as a solo indie dev after a few years grinding away in the mobile games sector.

"It's way beyond my wildest expectations," they say of their Steam debut.

"Receiving players’ recognitions and appreciations, I realized the game has turned into a collaborative work between the creator and players. First and foremost, I will definitely keep releasing regular, ongoing updates for this game - both major content drops and minor updates (new biomes, weapons, mechanisms), plus quality-of-life patches. I want to work with the community to make this game the best it can be."

After earning $1 million on Steam from a game that took 4 months to make, stunned devs end up in Valve's coveted "chocolate tier."

As if the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence wasn't already scary enough, an indie developer says it managed to leak a very specific detail from their upcoming game from private documents.

Over on Reddit, solo game developer Klub Kofta Studio, whose flagship game is the aquatic tower defense title Operation Octo, shared a harrowing Discord interaction they had with a player about an upcoming update. Klub Kofta attached screenshots of the conversation in which the player asked Google's Gemini AI questions about the game and received "surprisingly obscure info that should not be available for a small indie game like mine."

That in and of itself isn't shocking, but Google's AI chatbot was also talking about future content leaks gleaned from conversations on the game's Discord. This was "super impressive," said Klub Kofta, who inadvertently revealed an upcoming creature casually referred to as Tripod Fish when they drew it while playing an online party game called Gartic Phone. Discord users were able to decipher that Tripod Fish was coming to the game based on the drawing, but the exact name of the creature was never revealed publicly, according to Klub Kofta. Google Gemini was able to figure it out regardless.

"Out of curiosity, I chimed in and asked the player to ask the AI about future contents in my game," explained the solo dev. "Somehow, the AI spitted out the exact & highly specific character name 'Vantage Tripod,' which I had never mentioned to anyone. As far as I know, the only place where the info exists in a digital form is inside one of my own Google Docs, and this was NOT me speaking to the AI! (The player even asked the questions in incognito)."

"The scarily accurate & very specific name 'Vantage Tripod' was never written anywhere except in my own Google Doc," they added.

I'm hesitant to theorize on how this all could've happened considering it's just one unverified account, but Reddit users speculated that Google automatically opts in users to allow Gemini to scan Google Drive files to train its AI. I couldn't verify that claim after some digging, but if Klub Kofta's story is true, it carries some deeply disturbing implications about online privacy in the age of AI.

One Reddit user who called the story "unsettling" suggested some alternate possibilities, including scanned Discord conversations between server members, but Klub Kofta insisted the creature's name was never revealed anywhere outside of their private Google Drive.

"Even the discord server members have never learned this specific name. I'm certain I'd kept it a secret, and a search history on Discord (as shown in the screenshot) indeed reveals that the keyword had never been said up until this point," said the dev.

"The character name has never made it into serialized data in the game yet, so the one Google Doc where I kept future character names & descriptions was the only source of information I can think of."

Forget hackers, with just a few months until GTA 6, Rockstar better be real careful about who's talking to AI chatbots.

"It creates lesser games": Indie game studios are supposed to love generative AI, so why do the 25 devs I spoke to avoid it?

Kit Connor is reportedly set to star as Scott Summers aka Cyclops in the MCU's upcoming standalone X-Men movie.

According to Deadline, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and director Jake Schreier met with "a number of candidates" and "ultimately landed on Connor last week."

In addition to being one of the founding members of the X-Men, Scott Summers is the romantic partner of Jean Grey, who will officially be played by Sadie Sink (after making her debut as the ultra-powerful mutant in Spider-Man: Brand New Day). This marks three X-Men members that have been cast, including scream queen Samara Weaving as Emma Frost.

Because the X-Men haven't even been formed yet in the MCU, we can infer that the standalone movie will focus on the creation of the team as the young mutants enroll at the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The only seemingly odd thing here is that Weaving is 34, while Sink and Connor are 23 and 22, respectively. This may very well be because Emma Frost is already the headmistress of her own mutant academy when Scott, Jean, and co. are enrolled at the Xavier School. We love comic-book accurate writing and casting.

Connor is best known for starring in the hit Netflix queer coming-of-age series Heartstopper, as well as Alex Garland's action thriller Warfare. He's also set to star in the upcoming Elden Ring movie.

X-Men is eyeing a tentative 2028 release date. You can keep up to date with everything the MCU has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

The live-action Legend of Zelda movie has reportedly found its Ganondorf in Australian actor Uli Latukefu.

Deadline reports that Latukefu has been cast to play the Zelda movie's main antagonist across multiple movies, which supports rumors claiming Nintendo and Sony plan to make a trilogy out of the live-action adaptation.

Latukefu is best known for playing Dwayne Johnson in the NBC sitcom Young Rock and Byamba in the Netflix drama series Marco Polo. He joins a cast led by The Haunting of Bly Manor's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who will play lead hero Link, and Renegade Nell's Bo Bragason, who will play Princess Zelda. This is the first new casting since Ainsworth and Bragason were revealed as the film's leads.

The movie will be the first official live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda universe on the big screen, although plot details are unclear at the moment. At the very least, fans can expect young adventurer Link to embark on a perilous journey to save Princess Zelda from the evil Gerudo warlock Ganondorf, a common theme from the games.

There are actually two main villains in the Zelda universe, Ganon and Ganondorf, who are the same entity in different forms. For a more in-depth explainer on Ganon vs. Ganondorf, you know where to click.

The Maze Runner trilogy director Wes Ball is at the helm with a script from Derek Connolly (Detective Pikachu) and T.S. Nowlin (The Maze Runner). The movie was originally supposed to hit theaters on March 26, 2027 but was delayed to May 7, and ultimately pushed forward to April 30.

For more, check out our guides on upcoming video game movies and the best Zelda games.

A lot is wrong with the games industry, if you haven't noticed, and a lot of its issues can be traced back to the same place: studio executives prioritizing the shareholders at the reins of publicly traded companies. Indie giant Devolver Digital, which went public in November 2021 and has seen its share value nosedive since, is the latest company to learn this firsthand.

Devolver plans to go private again, and its reasoning offers a clear and timely explanation of how shareholders hobble, hollow out, and otherwise hurt companies, and especially game companies.

An announcement posted to Devolver Digital's investor relations page confirms that the company has proposed to be delisted from the UK's AIM market. The proposition will be voted on at a September 8 general meeting.

But it's the "Reasons for the Cancellation" that really stand out. Devolver went public on the back of, among other games, Fall Guys, an enormous hit that injected a ton of cash into the company. "Since then," Devolver says today, "the global video games industry has undergone a period of significant disruption and volatility, characterised by widespread layoffs for studios and publishers, platform rationalisation and substantial impairments across the industry."

Devolver's directors also "believe that the Company's share price does not reflect the true market value of the Company and that the stock market has not rewarded the Company" for its successes.

But it's not just rough times that drove Devolver to this decision, though the company says it does stand to save about $1.6 million annually by going private. Devolver quietly spells out how the shape of a publicly traded company conflicts with the needs of games and the people who make them, indirectly explaining how games further clash with the inherent toxicity of any business model built around securing infinite growth in a world of finite resources.

For example, "As a publicly-quoted company, Devolver has faced the ongoing challenge of delivering growth in line with market expectations despite those difficult sector conditions, resulting in a valuation disconnect that does not take account of the lifetime and long-tail revenue delivery inherent in the video games business."

This reads like a very nice way of saying that shareholders want their money, and they want it fast. The problem is that games are not fast, and if you try to make them fast, they probably won't be very good.

On this point, Devolver says the nature of video game development butts heads with constant demands for growth.

"Development timelines can be unpredictable, and, as a result, financial performance can vary significantly between reporting periods and may not follow a linear progression," it says. Again, you can't ship massive, revenue-boosting hits every three months.

"The Board feel this irregularity has not been readily compatible with the requirements of the market for semi-annual reporting with an emphasis on predictable, sequential growth," Devolver adds.

It's when math isn't meeting shareholder demands that corners tend to get cut. Make no mistake: shareholder expectations are a primary factor in a lot of obviously unfinished games being released (to squeeze into a fiscal target) or in developers being laid off (to reduce reported costs, even after a successful launch).

Abolishing shareholders (and private equity) would not instantly solve all of the games industry's problems, but if you size up all those problems, you'll find that many distributaries come from this river. Several publicly traded game companies have, of course, found success, but behind them is a graveyard of companies and games that were ground to bits trying to get a line to meet arbitrary milestones. Devolver's bid to go private is one of the best summaries I've seen of the situation in some time.

Here's a key line from Devolver that seems to echo the threat of cut corners: "Consequently, the Company has at times faced increased pressure to deliver short-term market expectations that do not necessarily reflect the underlying long-term value creation potential of its portfolio and development pipeline." (This is also where enshittification comes from: squeezing more money out of the same stuff by sacrificing quality or displacing values.)

A Devolver spokesperson minced no words in a comment to GamesIndustry: "Being private will allow the Devolver Digital team, especially the finance, legal, and executive team, to singularly focus on the long-term health of the company and less on satisfying the requirements of the public market, which have nothing to do with being a successful game publisher."

We won't get "the next FromSoftware" or "another Remedy or Larian" at this rate, warns veteran dev: "We have to change that."