↩ Accueil

Vue normale

index.feed.received.today — 19 avril 20253.3 🎲 Jeux English

Star Wars Zero Company gets first in-engine trailer, coming to PC in 2026

19 avril 2025 à 10:05

Electronic Arts has announced that Star Wars Zero Company will be released in 2026, and shared its first in-engine trailer. So, let’s take a look at this new Star Wars game, shall we? Star Wars Zero Company is a single-player turn-based tactics game, developed by Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment. In this game, you will … Continue reading Star Wars Zero Company gets first in-engine trailer, coming to PC in 2026

The post Star Wars Zero Company gets first in-engine trailer, coming to PC in 2026 appeared first on DSOGaming.

Hayden Christensen Is Officially Returning as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka Season 2 - Star Wars Celebration

19 avril 2025 à 07:52

It was just revealed at Star Wars Celebration that Hayden Christensen will officially return as Anakin Skywalker in Season 2 of Ahsoka.

While we didn't learn much about what role Anakin will play in Season 2, it will undoubtedly be exciting news for fans that Ahsoka's time with her former master has not yet come to an end.

Christensen stopped by the Ahsoka panel at Star Wars Celebration and shared what it was like returning to the character.

"It was a dream to get to do," Christensen said. "The way they conceived how to do it was brilliant in getting to explore the World Between Worlds. I thought it was all really exciting."

Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni then joked that he had to find a way to work with Christensen/Anakin again and had to "invent entire dimensions to make it happen."

Christensen also shared that he and the team had many conversations about what else Anakin was up to during the Clone Wars.

"All of this had been presented well in the animated world, but I was really excited to do that in live action," Christensen said. "As much as I love the traditional Jedi robes I wore during the prequels, it was exciting to get to see Anakin with a new look."

Later in the panel, Filoni talked about how their shared work experience with George Lucas helped form a bond when determining how to bring back Anakin. This let them fill in each other's gaps in knowledge and let them create a really full interpretation of the character.

"I always have George's voice in the back of my head saying, 'faster, more intense!'" Christensen added.

For more, check out why Ahsoka delivers such a powerful testament to Anakin Skywalker's legacy, the first look at Rory McCann as Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka Season 2 and all the biggest news from The Mandalorian & Grogu and Andor panels.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

First Look at Rory McCann as Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka Revealed at Star Wars Celebration

19 avril 2025 à 07:12

Star Wars Celebration has given us our first look at Rory McCann as Baylan Skoll in Season 2 of Ahsoka. For those unfamiliar, McCann is taking over as Baylan following the death of Ray Stevenson.

While we have yet to see McCann in action, the Ahsoka panel at Star Wars Celebration gave us a first-look image that you can see below.

Stevenson, who was also known for his work in Thor, RRR, Punisher: War Zone, Rome, and more, passed away from a brief illness three months before the premiere of Ahsoka. For many, Stevenson's portrayal of Baylan was the series' high point so far.

Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni shared that losing Ray was obviously one of the biggest challenges in developing Season 2, especially since he was "the most beautiful person on screen and off."

Filoni and the team then revealed a bit more about what we can expect from Season 2, including that Hayden Christensen will return as Anakin Skywalker alongside Admiral Ackbar, Zeb, Chopper, and more.

In our review of Ahsoka's first season, we said it "struggles in its early episodes as the series works to get viewers up to speed on characters and concepts introduced in Dave Filoni’s animated Star Wars shows. But once the actors and cosmic plots are really given time to shine, Ahsoka finds a wonderful mix of rich lore, humor, and big battles that make it feel like classic Star Wars while also forging a path to something new."

For more, check out where Ahsoka ranks on our list of the best Star Wars Disney+ live-action TV shows and our explainer of the ending of Season 1 of Ahsoka.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Star Wars Celebration: Everything Announced at the Andor Panel

19 avril 2025 à 03:12

We’re on Day 2 of Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan, and IGN has all the details on the Andor: Season 2 panel happening right now! Stars Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Adria Arjona, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Alan Tudyk, and creator Tony Gilroy were on hand to tout the new season, which launches its first episode on Disney+ on April 22. (Andor Season 2 will make its broadcast debut on ABC and FX on Wednesday, April 23, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.)

Follow along below for live updates:

Diego Luna Says to Watch Rogue One After Andor Season 2

Diego Luna took the stage to inform the fans in attendance that Season 2 is “so big in every possible way. Everything matters so much because we’re getting close to Rogue One. We have all the characters from Season 1 plus many new characters. Many familiar faces you might be expecting. It’s going to be intense.”

Luna added, “Then when you finish watching the season, you should go to Rogue One because you're going to see (it as) a different film.”

Gilroy said that with Season 1’s storyline, “we took a whole year to do the whole season. Season 2, we’re going to do 4 years in one season. Each three episodes represent one year. We’re dropping them three a week. It’s basically like dropping a movie every week. We try to find the most important three to four days (story-wise) in each year to land on.”

Andor Season 2 Will Be "More Ambitious"

Executive producer Sanne Wohlenberg said this season is “wider, larger, more ambitious. Our extraordinary team really outdid themselves.” The second season boasts 140 sets across 7 stages. 2 backlots, 700 costumes for principals, 150 creatures, 30 droids ad 4100 VFX shots!

Gilroy said that “we’ll follow everyone you like and love. Cassian’s at center, but there’s a chorus all around him. We will tell every story full out. We go all in on all of them all the way.”

“For Mon Mothma, we start somewhere, this season takes us to whole new worlds. Whole new characters. We start in Chandrila. We start with a wedding and all the complications that brings.
Then we drive and we reach. For Mon, in particular, we see her have to work under the eyes of the Empire. We go to some dark places this season. She must step out of the shadows and risk everything to speak some truth.”

Deep Diving Into Andor Season 2 Characters

As for Dedra Meero’s arc this time around, Denise Gough said, ”We found out where Dedra comes from in this season. A little bit about maybe what makes her who she is. Things get real strange. Just to be part of this thing, every character is so fully drawn. I’ve never been part of such an ensemble. Dedra really shows herself this season. It wasn’t so much girl boss. It was much more fascist this season.”

Kyle Soller said the relationship between Dedra and his character Syril Karn is “really weird." Syril starts out the season feeling really good about himself. Promotion, new friends, on a new planet. Flexing the small amount of power he has in his little pocket of the Empire. Trying to flex this [Soller then pointed to Gough].”

Soller added, “It’s an amazing relationship because them coming together and opening themselves up to each other ultimately forces them into extreme situations that they never anticipated. So it’s pretty spicy.”

“When we first meet Bix in season 2, she’s left her home,” said Adria Arjona. “She’s really trying to reconstruct herself. Coping with everything that happened with Dr. Gorst. You get a sneak peek into this special relationship that starts forming (with Cassian). In this season, you really get to see these two characters come together.”

K-2SO Is Back on the Screen!

Andor Season 2 sees Alan Tudyk reprise his role from Rogue One as the droid K-2SO. Tudylk said: ”I always held up hope that K-2SO would return. I really wanted it to happen. I held out for my own spinoff, K2-Fast, K2-Furious. But Tony is a better writer. He has made an amazing show. We get to see how K and Cassian meet and the birth of K-2SO will be seen this season. It’s beyond anything I could have hoped. It feels like a very important series and it’s great to be a part of.”

K-2SO and Tudyk’s absence was keenly felt by Luna. “I missed Alan badly. It was seven very tough years. I was laughing the moment i saw him back in his very tight suit. We spent a lot of time in a cockpit. He’s the most generous and nicest partner you can have in a scene. He was always finding a way to make it more interesting, more fun. As an actor, that's beautiful. I never knew it was going to be so much fun. K is a character that has a soul. Alan took the character to another level. It was nice and awful to see how that character gets born.”

The Andor panel then concluded with an exclusive treat for the fans there: the screening of the first episode of Season 2! (Look for IGN’s review next week.)

For more Star Wars Celebration coverage, find out the latest on The Mandalorian & Grogu, the Ryan Gosling-starring Star Wars: Starfighter (and when it happens on the timeline), Star Wars Outlaws, and the new Darth Maul animated series.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender Omnibus Boxed Set Has Dropped to a New Low Price on Amazon

19 avril 2025 à 00:45

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the greatest cartoons of all time. The story of Aang and friends has been adapted into a movie, a live-action series, and multiple video games. But the end of that story isn't actually the end of the story. There have since been a series of graphic novels that continue Aang's journey after the fall of Firelord Ozai and before the start of The Legend of Korra.

There have been five Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels released since the end of the animated series, and a new box set was just released that features all of them. Not only that, Amazon just recently dropped the price down to $83 in a historic new low.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Omnibus Boxed Set Sale

The ATLA graphic novels were written by award winning cartoonist Gene Luen Yang and feature artwork from Gurihiru. The stories were created in collaboration with the original creators of the beloved Nickelodeon series and act as a bridge between the end of The Last Airbender and the start of The Legend of Korra. The newly released Omnibus features the complete stories of the following:

  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Rift
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - Smoke and Shadow
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender - North and South

With the current sale on Amazon, this new release is the most affordable way to purchase the entire series. This set had already gone on sale several times during its preorder period, but this new discount is the first time it's dropped this far below its normal retail price. If you love the ATLA series and haven't already read the continuation of the story, this price cut makes it a great time to do so.

See more Avatar: The Last Airbender stuff:

Are There Any Other Upcoming ATLA Stories?

Fans will be happy to know that new episodes from the Avatar universe are definitely on their way. Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko recently announced a new series called Avatar: Seven Havens, which will be a 26-episode, 2D animated series following a young Earthbender who is the next Avatar following Korra.

In a press release, Nickelodeon says Seven Havens will be set in a world “shattered by a devastating cataclysm. A young Earthbender discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra - but in this dangerous era, that title marks her as humanity’s destroyer, not its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she and her long-lost twin must uncover their mysterious origins and save the Seven Havens before civilization’s last strongholds collapse.”

Avatar Studios is also producing a new full-length movie based on Aang that will release in January 2026. Early in April the official title of The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender was announced for this movie.

Get in on the Best Audible Deal of the Year

19 avril 2025 à 00:40

Here's your best opportunity to sign up for an Audible membership at a stellar price. Starting now and running through April 30, you can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. Premium Plus is Audible's highest tier plan and normally costs $14.95/mo. As a additional subscription perk, you get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months and you get to keep them indefinitely.

Both new and currently expired Audible customers are eligible

Anyone who doesn't currently have an active Audible membership should be eligible. That includes new subscribers as well as existing members whose subscriptions have since expired. There's always a small your-mileage-may-vary disclaimer with these types of promotions, but fortunately it's easy to check if you qualify: log into your account, and if you see the $0.99/mo banner right on Amazon's Audible page then you're eligible for this promotion.

3 Months of Audible Premium Plus for $0.99 per Month

Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks. These include all-time classics like Frank Herbert's Dune, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), The Witcher, The Sandman Series,and The Lord of the Rings.

Although the seriously expanded library is the main draw of the Audible Premium Plus membership, there are some other nice perks as well. Every month Premium Plus members get to pick one audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely, even after the membership expires. Also, Premium Plus members can get 30% off any additional audiobooks they wish to purchase in addition to exclusive limited-time discounts.

If you were already planning to purchase a couple of audiobooks, then it makes more sense to pay less than $3 to get three audiobooks you get to keep indefinitely and enjoy all the benefits of Audible Premium Plus for three months. This deal only pops up a few times per year, so don't waste your "first-time subscriber" eligibility status on a short 30-day trial.

The newest Hunger Games audiobook just released

Sunrise on the Reaping is the newest Hunger Games novel, and it's also available as an audiobook. The book will be narrated by Jefferson White, who you may already know from Yellowstone where he played Jimmy Hudstrom. The audiobook has a listening time of about 12 hours and 48 minutes. It's free to listen with an Audible subscription.

Looking for more free trials? Check out the best streaming services with free trials.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro Review

19 avril 2025 à 00:29

My standing desk was the most expensive purchase I made for my office when I had to start working from home. Whether it’s gaming or working at my computer, the constant sitting was beginning to take its toll on my lower back, and that made it ideal to switch to a standing desk. And if you find yourself looking to transform your workspace, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is a good choice, designed with the user in mind. From its built-in cable management to its ability to preset your perfect desk heights, not to mention how easy it is to assemble, it’s an investment worth making.

Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro – Putting It Together

The instructions for the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro show the number “2” with two people holding a box. So, it was easy to assume that I needed someone else to help me move the two boxes the desk came in (57lbs for the desktop and 85lbs for the frame) up a flight of stairs. And, I did. But from there, outside of one of the pages marked with the same two-person icon when you need to unpack the desktop and when the desk needed to be flipped upright, there were no other demarcations for two people on the other pages.

I am 5’4” and I don’t usually struggle when it comes to picking up and assembling things around the house. However, assembling the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is solidly a two-person job, if you want to hit the suggested 15 to 30 minute assembly time.

Admittedly however, I like to make everything hard for myself and that means I put the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro by myself and was too stubborn to ask for help once it was upstairs. This made my solo assembly time just about 45 minutes. This was due in large part to trying to balance the two legs of the frame and move the heavier elements while holding another element upright.

The truth is, though, as hard as it was to manage putting together the base without a large wingspan myself, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is very simple to assemble. This is thanks to the detailed instructions that took the time to include diagrams of every piece of hardware, desk part, and tool used (which was just an Allen wrench).

Additionally, the decision to package each of the hardware pieces in individual plastic bags allows for you to easily remove the specific part you need for each step, reseal the bag, and ultimately not have any mistakes of mixing up parts or misplacing them. It’s clear that a lot of thought was put into the instructions, which focus on delivering visual and numbered text instructions as well, that help guide people through the process versus the meme that Ikea’s barebones instructions have become.

If you find yourself looking to transform your workspace, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is a good choice.

While maneuvering the desk’s heavier parts is difficult to do alone, the actual nuts and bolts of assembling the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is as easy as can be, making the sub-30-minute completion time an honest representation if you have either the strength, wingspan, or another person to help.

Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro – Desktop Surface

The Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro’s surface itself is designed so that you don’t need to use a mousepad or desk mat while working. The desktop itself is sleek and smooth and fairly durable. The HDF wood has a powder-coated finish that easily allows the mouse to glide on the surface and helps you keep a minimalist aesthetic. But what really matters compared to the lower-end SmartDesk 5, which is made with MDF wood, is that HDF wood has a higher water resistance and, because it’s denser by nature, makes it more durable. We can all only avoid a spilled drink for so long, making this a solid feature. Additionally, one of the easily missed functional design choices is that the edge of the desk is rounded, allowing you to rest your forearms without applying direct pressure from a hard edge.

However, not using a pad underneath your mouse feels awkward to me. This feature is something you can do, but not necessarily something I’d recommend. Though what you use your desk for specifically will dictate how much mileage you get before adding your desk mat back in.

During the workday while I’m head-down in spreadsheets and other tasks, it’s perfectly fine as a capable desk for the work environment. However, my post-work gaming sessions helped highlight the difference in terms of ease-of-use and functionality. A personal choice more than anything else, the surface texture that eliminates the need for a mousepad at the very least makes it easy for you to achieve that clean girl desk aesthetic you see on Instagram that prioritizes simplicity over clutter – or in my case a giant desk mat with obnoxious anime print on it.

If I have one large critique, it’s that the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is short when it comes to its side-to-side length, which limits what you can do with it. I have a three-monitor setup that could barely fit on the desk, and that also left little to no room for my filing storage. Because of this, I decided to use it as a work station for this review, housing only my 32-inch monitor, laptop, keyboard, mouse, and laptop dock. While I’m let down by the length of the desk, which only comes in at 53 inches, the depth is something to highlight. At 29 inches, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro’s depth allows for desktop management without needing to mount your monitors for more space. And while I was using it as a workstation with one monitor, it was ideal, even if my gaming setup was too much for it to handle length-wise.

Need a better chair, too?

Check out our roundup of the best gaming and office chairs!

Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro – Cable Management

The cable management system is where the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro really shines. Under the desk surface, there is a built-in hook and cable tray that swings down when open and is held in place by two bolts. When you open it and let it swing back, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro has a space dedicated to hold the desk’s power brick and a surge protector. But what’s smart about this design is the addition of metal dowels that allow you to wrap cords around to tuck them neatly into place. When you’re done organizing, you’ll just pull it back up and bolt it shut – all doable with your hands.

I am notorious for having bad cable management, so much so that I am no longer allowing myself to set up electronics in the house alone. Under my current desk, I’ve done my best to just shove cables into any small wedge and tie them off in precut holes in the furniture itself. And still, it’s a hellscape, to say the least. When I set up my Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro, I was still in a cable-ridden hellscape, don’t get me wrong. But instead of a chaotic web of black and white cords that would have been in plain view, the panel system allows me to hide my shame in peace.

Additionally, because the built-in hook and cable tray is large, you’re able to house multiple cables of varying sizes, and this ultimately deals with the biggest issue I have experienced using every standing desk whether in an office or at home. The length of the cable dictates just how high you can raise the desk before you yank something out of the wall or off of the desk itself, but the size of the tray allows you to house nearly everything, and at the very least, prioritize the shortest cables, helping mitigate this fear. Because they’re stationary in that spot, you can raise the desk as high as you want without worrying about cable restrictions.

The Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro also comes with a set of zip ties and a row of silicone cable clips to help you keep things organized. The reason this is interesting is that when I ordered my original standing desk, I needed to choose several add ons like a powerstrip, cable management supplies, and even add on the thin ledge attachment that I could clip below to house a powerstrip. The Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro, however, doesn’t try to make organization a “premium” feature, it’s simply part of the whole product, and that goes a long way.

Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro – Desk Height

When it comes to adjusting the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro height, you can preset three heights that work for you. My choices were dictated by my sitting height, my standing height, and the height I need when walking on my underdesk treadmill. The in-desk design of the keypad makes it seamless and allows the user to have effortless control. Even if you don’t create saved height profiles, the fact that there is a number display means that you can keep track of the height settings that works for you.

Additionally, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro features anti-collision which stops the motor and prevents the desk from continuing to move if it detects harsh contact, and it’s meant to prevent damage and accidents. This feature can also be adjusted to your desired sensitivity, so while the recommended setting is 1, you can adjust it to your desired sensitivity. That said, the anti-collision is extremely sensitive, and anything above a 1 setting gets frustrating really quickly. While it’s not a feature I find too much use for, those in a home office who often have children or extremely curious pets will find this valuable.

To cap it all off, the Autonomous SmartDesk 5 Pro is really quiet. The whirring of the motor I heard whenever I lifted my old desk is gone. And while it wasn’t always distracting and a rather small element to call out, the near-silent motor is another feature dedicated to adapting to buyers’ lifestyles and usage needs.

What to Watch This Weekend (April 18-April 20)

18 avril 2025 à 23:43

Entertainment has hit critical mass over the last decade, with more shows and movies being produced and released than ever before. It’s impossible to keep up with everything hitting the digital space, whether it be Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) or a traditional streaming network. With that in mind, we figured it was well past time for us to whip up a little something to help you keep up (and catch up) with all there is to watch in the big, wide world of digital viewing. And thus, the Streaming Rewind was born!

We’ll update this list at the end of each week so you can check out what you may have missed, and what’s coming up on the weekend. We’ll keep it a mix of popular releases and noteworthy lesser-known titles to help you find what’s worth taking the risk on as well as dive into a few things that we loved and why we loved ‘em, or just break down a show or movie that left us with some opinions. Sometimes, we’ll even have guest entries from other members of the IGN staff. If you’re not interested in all that and just want to see a bulleted list of what’s out there, pop on down to the New and Noteworthy and ICYMI sections.

Captain America: Brave New World (Digital and Demand)

While it would have been nice if Sam Wilson got his own Captain America movie rather than the Thunderbolt Ross/Red Hulk movie we actually got, Captain America: Brave New World smashes its way onto digital and demand this week if you’ve been waiting on catching up with the latest chapter of the MCU. Though it’s one of the weaker entries to the franchise, it still features strong performances from Anthony Mackie (Cap), Carl Lumbly (Isaiah Bradley), and Harrison Ford (President Ross).

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Comes to a Close (Disney+)

Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again has come to a close. Though Season 1 had to be frankensteined a bit behind the scenes with multiple creative teams being brought in to salvage the project, they managed to deliver a relatively connected and engaging new entry into the live-action Daredevil pantheon. Things come to a close with the city of New York and its subsequent heroes on their backfoot, but never forget that the arc of the universe bends towards justice.

The Woman in the Yard (Digital and Demand)

While The Woman in the Yard was met by a mixed reception, I found Jaume Collet-Serra’s exploration of grief and depression engaging. While it definitely should have ended about three minutes earlier than it did, Danielle Deadwyler grabs the audience’s attention as Ramona, pulling us along with her flawed character as she faces off against Okwui Okpokwasili’s Woman in the wake of her husband’s death.

#1 Happy Family USA (Prime Video)

The animated #1 Happy Family USA is a weird one, but it’s worth giving a few episodes a watch to see if you’re on its wavelength. Co-created by and starring Ramy Roussef as the voice of Hussein, the series follows a Muslim-American family as they navigate life in America post-9/11. The juxtaposition of normal teen life like having a crush on your hot teacher or just figuring out who you’re going to be crashes against the Hussein family reality of fearful neighbors, FBI surveillance and all of the ugliness that came along in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy – all depicted through a comedic lens.

New and Noteworthy This Week:

  • Captain America: Brave New World, April 15 — Digital and demand
  • The Woman in the Yard, April 15 — Digital and demand
  • Government Cheese, April 16 — Apple TV+
  • #1 Happy Family USA, April 17 — Prime Video
  • The Rehearsal, April 20 — Max

ICYMI:

If you had too much going on last week, here are some of the notable things that premiered or debuted on streaming and digital that you may have missed.

  • Novocaine, April 8 — Digital and demand
  • Mickey 17, April 8 — Digital and demand
  • The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6, April 8 — Hulu
  • Black Mirror Season 7, April 10 — Netflix
  • Hacks, April 10 — Netflix
  • Yellowjackets Season 3 Finale — Showtime
  • Doctor Who Season 2, April 12 — Disney+
  • The Last of Us Season 2, April 13 — Max

The Best LED Strip Lights to Add a Little RGB to Your Life

18 avril 2025 à 23:30

The best LED strip lights can truly transform any space, softly illuminating any area, be it your office, desk, or kitchen. If you really want to make an impact, RGB lights can enhance your gaming PC setup. Whether you’re looking to add a subtle glow under your cabinets or create a vibrant RGB light show in your gaming room, the possibilities are endless.

TL;DR – The Best LED Strip Lights:

Just like smart light bulbs, LED strip lights are savvy investments that can help you save money in the long run. By pairing your lights with a compatible sensor or lighting up smaller areas with fewer LEDs, you can optimize energy usage and reduce your electricity bills. With a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors available, you can easily find the ideal option to complement your space. Plus, many LED strip lights come with user-friendly apps that allow you to customize the lighting effects to suit your specific needs and preferences. (Here's where to find them in the UK.)

1. Philips Hue Bluetooth Smart Lightstrip Plus

Best LED Strip Lights

The Philips Hue strip is an ideal place to start building out your rooms of smart lights. It comes coiled with a little more than 6.5 feet of adhesive-backed lights to work with, but that can be connected to additional Hue strips for up to 32 feet of lighting or cut down to size without ruining the circuit. This kit is great for pretty much any situation – wrapping around walls, attaching to a TV stand, under a table, etc. – and a special coating on the strip hides the individual bulbs, creating a single string of light.

Like other Hue products, the lights can be controlled from your smartphone, other smart home assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit via Bluetooth, or a smart light switch. The pre-programmed color scenes were made to suit nearly any situation, from early morning wakeup calls to late-night parties, though they can easily be tweaked in-app. They look especially great when a good chunk of the provided strip is installed (and along with Hue products in other light sources in the room); when it's cut short, the segments of light with four-color scenes look a little disjointed. These are expensive, but absolutely worth recommending.

2. Wyze Light Strip Pro

Best Budget LED Strip Lights

For a super affordable light strip loaded with versatility and control, the Wyze Light Strip Pro is the way to go. It can automatically set color temperatures based on the time of day, has a microphone built-in to sync with your music, and offers a vacation mode to deter intruders. Best of all, this 16.4-foot strip costs under $40 and offers 16 customizable segments to display 16 of the 16 million RGB colors and tunable whites available simultaneously.

Installing the Wyze Light Strip takes adhesive and clips included in the kit. You can cut the epoxy-coated strip at specific points to fit for your desired location, though, unfortunately, you can’t (re-)connect strips. Set it up with the Wyze app and connect it toAmazon Alexa and Google Assistant, making the strip easy to adjust using your voice.

3. Corsair iCUE Lighting Node

Best LED Strip Lights for PC

For decking out your gaming PC with some cool lights, the Corsair iCUE kit is a solid choice. With four light strips, a Lightning Node Pro RGB controller, and the iCUE software, you can freely adjust and change the colors for each of the 40 individual LED lights. If you want an extra bright setup, you can add up to 12 Corsair individually addressable RGB LED strips to the two RGB lighting channels provided with this kit.

A USB 2.0 plugs directly into your motherboard as its power source, and the iCUE software comes with tons of effects, animations, and presets to choose from. You can sync the lights with Corsair gaming keyboards, PC fans, or other peripherals to create a vibrant and dynamic environment. The main drawback is that it isn't smart-home compatible.

4. Elgato Light Strip Pro

Best LED Strip Lights for Streaming

The Elgato Light Strip Pro is made for people who are into game streaming. When connected to Elgato’s Stream Deck, you have an easy-to-use central command for changing your lighting setup to fit the mood of whatever you're doing or synchronize it to the action of your game. In addition to the Stream Deck, you can always make changes on your PC or your phone.

At over 6.5-feet long and extendable up to 32 ft, Elgato's light strip offers 2,000 lumens of light in full RGB and white colors that are flicker-free. It's also super thin, can be cut to size, and comes with a super sticky adhesive.

5. Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights M1

Best LED Lights for Gaming Setups

The latest version of Govee’s strip lights support Matter and can be extended up to 32.8 feet. The bright colors are incredibly immersive, whether you want to add additional lighting to your home or gaming setup. Using the Govee app, you can control the lights when you’re at home or away, and customize them with over 64+ scenes that sycn with other Govee lights in your home. The Govee RGBIC LED Strip Lights M1 feature 60 LEDs per meter, resulting in bright and colorful lights wherever you decide to put them.

6. Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite

Best LED Strip Lights for TV

While the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite is an improvement over Govee’s T1 camera, it isn’t quite as good as the T2 kit. However, it is significantly cheaper. And for that reason, it offers better value for money for anyone looking to invest in a starter TV light set up. Using an upgraded fish-eye camera, the 3 Lite achieves accurate color matching, so your TV’s lights sync well with what you’re watching.

Still, Govee’s TV lights all come with the rather invasive camera that you must place on top of your TV. As long as you’re OK with this, the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite offers a reasonably affordable way to enjoy a more immersive experience when you’re playing games, watching movies, or TV shows. Using the Govee app, you can customize the lighting and add up to seven sub devices.

7. Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles and Mini Triangles Smarter Kit (17 Pack)

Best LED Strip Accent Lighting

Add custom lighting to your home easily and enjoy rhythmically immersive lights that are easy to put together with the Nanoleaf Shapes Triangles and Mini Triangles Smarter Kit (17 Pack). There are different shapes available, including hexagons and mixed shapes – whatever floats your boat.

The modular design means you can easily expand your Nanoleaf Shapes, mixing and matching with other kits. Once installed, you can customize the lights using the Nanoleaf app with as many color options as you could possibly imagine. Unlike some accent lighting, the Nanoleaf Shapes kit really does stick well with little issue, making setup simple and longevity basically guaranteed.

8. Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip

Best Smart LED Strip Light

The Nanoleaf Essentials Lightstrip plays nice with other smart-home products and smart assistants for easy light adjustments. It’s Thread compatible for speedy response times, though you’ll need a Thread Border Router. Nanoleaf Essential devices, as well as Razer Chroma products, seamlessly sync for a uniform lighting experience.

This 40-inch light strips doesn’t come with a starter kit, so you’ll want to purchase that first if you don’t have one, giving you a controller to change the lighting locally and Bluetooth to make adjustments on your phone or tablet. Once you’ve got that, the Nanoleaf Essentials light strip emits adjustable white and RGB light and can expand up to 10 meters. Beyond creating dynamic scenes, it’s possible to mirror the lights of a TV or monitor for a more immersive viewing experience, while a circadian lighting feature helps maximize productivity or lull you into a more restful sleep.

9. Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro

Best Outdoor RGB Strip Lights

If you want to go all out and decorate your entire home in LED strip lights, the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro are the best available. They cost a small fortune, but they are worth it in every sense. These IP67-rated waterproof lights work with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Matter, and feature 75 scene modes so you can light up the street, no matter the weather or season.

With 100 feet(!) of lights, these LED lights can also be cut to fit your home perfectly. Use the included controller, your voice, or the Govee app to control the lights, set schedules, customize colors, and more.

How to Pick the Best LED Strip Lights

Depending on what kind of vibe you want to create, you’ll want to focus on the brightness and color temperature of your chosen lights.

Brightness is measured in lumens; this allows you to gauge how bright the lights will be. Generally, higher lumens mean brighter lights. When it comes to color temperature, LED strip lights come in different options like warm white, cool white, and daylight. The color temperature can significantly impact the mood and ambiance of your space, so think about the atmosphere you want to create.

If you prefer a consistent color throughout, single-color LED strips might be the best choice for you. On the other hand, if you want the flexibility to change colors, RGB strips are an excellent option. RGB strips offer a wide range of colors and can be controlled with a remote or even a smartphone app, giving you ultimate control over your lighting.

One of the biggest things people overlook when picking the best LED strip lights is the length of the light strip versus the size of the space they're looking to fill. Measuring your space first will help you determine the appropriate length and ensure the strip fits perfectly in your chosen location.

Strip Light FAQs

Do LED strip lights use a lot of electricity?

No. LED lights draw much less electricity than standard lights or bulbs. While you might not use strip lights to light your entire home, they're fantastic for accent lighting and creating an ambient environment.

Can you cut LED strips?

It depends. Some LED strips can be cut without ruining the circuitry and others cannot. You should carefully read the product information before doing so. If the LED strips you purchase can be cut, the product will explicitly indicate the specific lines you need to cut along.

Do LED light strips get hot?

LED light strips can get a little warm to the touch, but certainly not as hot as a standard light bulb.

Where to Get the Best LED Strip Lights in the UK

Brian Barnett writes reviews, wiki guides, deals posts, features, and more for IGN. You can get your fix of his antics on Twitter (@Ribnax) or check out his show on Twitch (The Platformers).

Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Graphics Card Is in Stock at MSRP for Amazon Prime Members

18 avril 2025 à 23:25

If you've been waiting for one of the more affordable Blackwell cards to come back in stock at a reputable retailer, here's your chance to pick one up at list price. Amazon currently has the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Windforce OC 12GB Graphics Card exclusively for Amazon Prime members for $609.99 with free shipping. This is an excellent GPU for gaming at up to 1440p with high framerates and supports the latest DLSS 4 technology.

Note that the suggested launch price of a GeForce RTX 5070 card is $549.99. There are a few models at that price point but they have been extremely hard to find in stock. This Windforce model is priced higher because it's an OC version. That said, this is currently the lowest price you'll find for a standalone 5070 GPU.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 Windforce OC GPU for $609.99

Compared to the previous generation GPUs, the RTX 5070 performs comparably with the RTX 4070 Super. We wish there was a bigger generation improvement in raw performance, but the RTX 4070 Super was already an excellent card for 1080p and 1440p gaming. It also came in at a launch price of $599.99, which is only $10 less than the price of this Gigabyte 5070 model. None of this even matters anymore because it's impossible to find an RTX 4070 Super GPU for sale (at least at this price). The RTX 5070 does look and perform better than the RTX 4070 Super in games that support DLSS 4 and multi-frame generation, and it's a more future-proof card that will improve with driver optimizations.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

These Recently Retired LEGO Sets Are Still Available at Amazon, But Not for Long

18 avril 2025 à 19:20

LEGO has a seemingly endless amount of sets. The toy company has collaborated with practically every major franchise and puts out a number of new builds each month. Unfortunately, LEGO doesn't just continue making every new set forever. Alongside every addition to the LEGO family comes the departure of several others. Sets get retired just as fast as new sets arrive to replace them. If there's a LEGO build you love, it could potentially disappear forever within a year if you don't pick it up before its expiration date.

While there are still ways to buy LEGO sets that have long been retired, your best bet is to pick them up while they are still available at major retailers and haven't been marked-up by resellers. Depending on the popularity of the set, you can sometimes find them at Amazon even months after LEGO removes them from its website. I've gathered some of those options right here to give you a chance to pick them up before they're gone forever.

Retired LEGO Sets Still Available at Amazon

Some really cool sets were retired near the beginning of 2025, including builds that have been consistently popular but have just outlived their shelf life. The LEGO Taj Mahal for example is one of the best LEGO Architecture sets we've ever seen come out of that line, depicting one of the seven wonders of the world. There's also the Sonic Green Hill Zone set that IGN actually had the chance to build back in 2022 when it first came out. It's a fun tribute to the iconic video game level from the series. It is one of our favorite Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO sets and is great for any fan of the franchise. And the last, very noteworthy, LEGO set on this list worth pointing out is the Loop Coaster. It is the largest LEGO set on this list at a whopping 3,756 pieces and sets at about three feet high.

If you want to keep better track of what LEGO sets are retiring, I'd recommend checking out the Brick Economy website, which includes the full list. This is a great resource for collectors so they can keep tabs on any of the more expensive sets they have their eye on. One of the best times to buy a LEGO set at a discount is right before it gets retired.

Which LEGO Sets Are Retiring Soon?

It's fairly easy to find out what LEGO sets are retiring soon thanks to LEGO's "Last Chance to Buy" page that features all of them. Unfortunately, LEGO does not put the actual date that a set will be retired on this page, so it's hard to decipher when exactly each option will be officially removed. The safe assumption is that if it's on this page, it could be gone by the beginning of the month as the new sets become available.

Below I've gathered some of the most intriguing sets that are getting retired. There is a slew of Nintendo LEGO sets as well as some Star Wars and Marvel options worth a final look.

Star Wars: Starfighter - What We Know About the Movie's Plot and Timeline

18 avril 2025 à 22:21

Easily the biggest news to come out of Star Wars Celebration 2025 was the reveal that Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy is directing Star Wars: Starfighter, a new standalone, live-action film starring Ryan Gosling. Starfighter is shaping up to be the next Star Wars film released after 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, with production starting this fall for a May 28, 2027 release.

But beyond those basics, we know very little about the plot of Starfighter right now. Lucasfilm only revealed one crucial detail - the film is set about five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That places Starfighter further down the Star Wars timeline than any Star Wars movie or series to date.

What do we know about this period of Star Wars lore? Not a whole lot, frankly. That said, we can certainly speculate based on how The Rise of Skywalker ends and how the pre-Disney Legends universe handled this era. Let’s take a closer look at the big questions that linger after The Rise of Skywalker and how Starfighter may address them.

The Star Wars: Starfighter Games

First, we’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on the fact that Star Wars: Starfighter shares its name with a short-lived series of games from the PS2/Xbox era. The original Star Wars: Starfighter was released in 2001, followed by the sequel Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter in 2002.

The new movie might share a name with these two games, but we wouldn’t expect it to borrow much, if at all, from the games in terms of plot. The original Starfighter game is set during Episode I, showcasing some of the other heroic pilots before and during the Battle of Naboo. Jedi Starfighter, meanwhile, takes place during Episode II, focusing on Jedi Master Adi Gallia and Nym, a pirate character introduced in the first game. The new movie is set many decades after the two games, making it very unlikely it’ll adapt plot points from either one.

That being said, it’s always possible that the Starfighter movie could take a page from Jedi Starfighter in terms of its ship-to-ship combat. Jedi Starfighter was notable for introducing Force powers into the mix, allowing Adi to supplement her ship’s traditional weapons with abilities like a Force shield, lightning, and a shockwave. Could the movie do something similar? Is Gosling’s character a Jedi and a hotshot pilot? It’s certainly possible, and it would be one way of spicing up the fight scenes in the movie.

The Fate of the New Republic

The Rise of Skywalker may end with a final victory over Emperor Palpatine and his Sith Eternal, but the movie doesn’t really give us much insight into the state of the galaxy after the Battle of Exegol. The fate of the New Republic after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens remains unclear. In the first chapter of the Sequel Trilogy, we see the First Order unleash its Starkiller Base superweapon, destroying Hosnian Prime and killing off the heads of the New Republic in one fell swoop. Most of the Sequel-era Star Wars projects have focused specifically on the conflict between Leia’s Resistance and the First Order, meaning we don’t have much insight into what became of the New Republic after its leadership was lost.

It’s possible that the New Republic still exists in the time of Star Wars: Starfighter, but we’d imagine it’s been greatly weakened. As it is, the Republic was already struggling prior to the rise of the First Order. As seen in the novel Star Wars: Bloodline, the New Republic government is eventually racked by conflict between Populists (who believe individual member planets should remain sovereign) and Centrists (who favor a stronger government and a larger military). That conflict may well carry over as the New Republic struggles to regroup and rebuild.

It also remains to be seen if some remnants of the First Order still persist five years after Palpatine’s defeat. Certainly, it’s not as if the Empire was wiped away after the Battle of Endor. It took years of fighting until the Rebellion finally conquered the Empire, and even then, they had the Imperial Remnant and Grand Admiral Thrawn to worry about. We may find that some traces of the First Order remain and have rallied around a surviving figurehead following Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’s death.

All of this is to say that there’s likely to be a power struggle in the galaxy during the era of Star Wars: Starfighter, leaving ample room for the sort of epic space battles fans have come to expect.

And that’s not even getting into the galaxy’s pirate problem. As seen in The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, piracy is a real threat in the chaotic years after the Empire’s fall. As the New Republic struggles to establish a foothold, many pirates and smugglers take advantage of the lawlessness on the fringes of the galaxy. We have to assume that this problem has only grown in scope after The Force Awakens.

All of this is to say that there’s likely to be a power struggle in the galaxy during the era of Star Wars: Starfighter, leaving ample room for the sort of epic space battles fans have come to expect. Gosling could be playing a New Republic pilot fighting to restore law and order to a chaotic galaxy. In that sense, Starfighter could potentially be a replacement for Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron movie. Gosling’s character could also be a homegrown defender of a world trying to defend itself without the Republic’s protection. For all we know, he could be an ex-First Order trooper like John Boyega’s Finn.

Given that Starfighter is being billed as a standalone movie, we don’t necessarily see it being the one to establish the next overarching Rebels vs. Empire or Resistance vs. First Order-style conflict for the franchise. More likely, it’ll explore the lingering fallout of the conflict in The Rise of Skywalker, centering around a villain taking advantage of the current power vacuum in the galaxy.

Rebuilding the Jedi Order

Luke Skywalker began the New Republic era with high hopes, seeking to rebuild the Jedi Order that Palpatine destroyed and mentor a new generation of Force-sensitive pupils. For a while, his plans worked. We see Luke building his new Jedi Temple in The Book of Boba Fett, and we know from various books and comics that Luke established a decent-sized school over the years.

Unfortunately, it all went to hell when the Skywalker family curse struck. Corrupted by Supreme Leader Snoke/Palpatine and spurred on by Uncle Luke himself, Ben Solo lashed out and destroyed Luke’s temple, killing many students in the process. He then joined up with the Knights of Ren and became Kylo Ren, chief enforcer of Snoke’s First Order. His Jedi Order in shambles, Luke retreated to Ahch-To to live out the last of his days as a cranky, milk-guzzling hermit.

So what’s become of the Jedi? Many died in Ben’s attack on the Temple, but we can’t imagine all of them were killed, any more than Order 66 successfully purged every last Clone Wars-era Jedi. There’s still the question of what’s up with Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano and if she’s alive and active during the Sequel era. Don't forget, her voice is heard among the Force ghosts at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, but Dave Filoni has also hinted that Ahsoka isn’t dead.

We know that Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker is setting out to rebuild the Jedi Order (again) and carry on Luke’s legacy. That’s going to be the focus of the New Jedi Order movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. However, that film is set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, putting it a full decade after the events of Starfighter.

It remains to be seen whether Starfighter will address the current state of the Jedi at all. It may depend largely on whether Gosling’s character is Force-sensitive or not. If he is, we could see Ridley playing a small role in the film as Rey reaches out to this promising pilot. But if not, it may be that Starfighter is like Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story - the rare Star Wars film that mostly ignores the Jedi in favor of ordinary heroes.

Are the Sith Still Around?

Just as we’re waiting to see what the state of the Jedi Order is post-The Rise of Skywalker, there’s also the question of whether there are any Sith characters still active in the galaxy. That movie cemented Ian McDiarmid’s Palpatine as the central villain of the entire Skywalker Saga, revealing he cheated his apparent death aboard the Death Star and was the secret hand pulling Supreme Leader Snoke’s strings. But with Palpatine dead and gone for real now (presumably), is there anything left of the Sith? Or did this ancient order finally die out along with him?

If the classic Expanded Universe is any indication, Palpatine won’t be the last Sith Lord. The various Star Wars Legends novels chronicled many conflicts in the years and decades after Return of the Jedi. Meanwhile, Dark Horse’s Star Wars: Legacy comic dealt with the rise of Darth Krayt and his army of Sith loyalists more than a hundred years after the events of the movies. There are always those hungry for power and ready to be seduced by the Dark Side.

This is definitely not the last time the galaxy will be threatened by a villain skilled in the ways of the Dark Side, whether or not they specifically call themselves Sith. As much as the Prequel movies hammer home the idea that the Sith follow the Rule of Two, the Clone Wars animated series showed us that Palpatine had multiple Dark Side rivals, including the Nightsisters of Dathomir and his former apprentice, Maul. It stands to reason that there are other players out there who might see an opportunity now that Palpatine is gone. Maybe he had another apprentice. Maybe there are surviving members of the Knights of Ren. Maybe another of Luke’s pupils has turned to the Dark Side.

Again, though, the real question is whether Star Wars: Starfighter is going to dive into any of this. If Gosling isn’t playing a Jedi character, there may be no reason to touch on the current state of the Sith in Starfighter. We may have to wait for the New Jedi Order movie or Simon Kinberg’s Star Wars trilogy instead.

Could Poe Dameron or Other Sequel Trilogy Characters Return?

Star Wars: Starfighter features a brand new lead character and is set in a period we haven’t seen in the movies or shows yet. It’s also a standalone movie, meaning we shouldn’t necessarily expect tons of familiar faces to show up and fight alongside or against Gosling’s character. Still, this is Star Wars. The movies rarely waste an opportunity to throw in cameos and callbacks. If we got a Darth Maul cameo of all things in Solo: A Star Wars Story, then surely someone from the Sequels is bound to show up in Starfighter, right?

Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron seems like the most likely candidate. He’s probably the best pilot in the galaxy now that Han Solo is dead, and he’s a decorated hero who survived many run-ins with the First Order. We have to assume Poe has some part to play in rebuilding the galaxy and restoring the New Republic, meaning he’s in a great position to lend a helping hand in whatever predicament Gosling’s character finds himself.

We could also see everyone’s favorite Wookiee making a return appearance. What is Chewbacca up to these days? Is he still Rey’s copilot, or have they parted ways now that she’s focused on rebuilding the Jedi? What if Gosling’s character, through a twist of fate, finds himself piloting the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca? It would certainly be comforting to have that tether to the Skywalker Saga movies.

There’s also room for Boyega to return as Finn, especially if the film specifically deals with a conflict involving remnants of the First Order. Finn was frustratingly underutilized in The Rise of Skywalker, but that film did hint that he’s become a bit of a folk hero to those Stormtroopers deserting their posts and rebelling against the First Order. Has Finn continued to seek out like-minded soldiers and help them overcome their conditioning like he did? What if Gosling’s character is one of those troopers?

And then there’s Rey. As we’ve already discussed, whether or not she appears in Starfighter may largely depend on whether Gosling’s character is revealed to be a Jedi or not. Lucasfilm clearly has plans for Rey going forward, but Starfighter may not be part of those plans.

Which surviving character from The Rise of Skywalker would you most like to see in Star Wars: Starfighter? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know in the comments below.

For more on the future of the Star Wars franchise, find out why Lucasfilm needs to stop announcing movies and just make them, and brush up on every Star Wars movie and series in development.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

The Mandalorian & Grogu's Sigourney Weaver on Grogu Stealing Her Heart and More - Star Wars Celebration

18 avril 2025 à 22:13

Sigourney Weaver was a big part of The Mandalorian & Grogu panel at Star Wars Celebration 2025 and IGN had the chance to speak with her about her new character, how she hadn’t watched an episode of The Mandalorian before being cast, how Grogu stole her heart, and even if she thinks Grogu is more powerful than a Xenomorph.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is set to be released in theaters on May 22, 2026, and we hope this interview will help with the wait and give you some insight into one of the newest characters to join that beloved galaxy far, far away.

IGN: Sigourney, thank you so much for joining us! We were thrilled to see your character in The Mandalorian & Grogu panel, and it looks like she was maybe wearing a Rebel pilot uniform? What can you tell us about your character at this point?

Sigourney Weaver: Well, she was wearing a rebel pilot uniform, and that's how she came up. And now, of course, she's still a pilot and is one of the people working to protect the New Republic. She's actually out in the Outer Rim where there are vestiges of the Empire, so she needs someone like the Mandalorian and his faithful companion.

Sigourney Weaver's Love of Grogu

IGN: We heard that your love of Grogu was one of the reasons you decided to take on this role, so what was it like to actually work with him?

Weaver: Grogu is very mischievous. I'm sure that won't surprise you. It's funny because, in every scene with Grogu, there were several puppeteers who each helped him do a different thing. However, no matter how many puppeteers were around him, all I saw was Grogu. I still think he's real.

IGN: You’ve worked with a lot of different kinds of aliens in your career, from Xenomorphs to Na’vi. What was it like working with those in comparison to Grogu?

Weaver: He's definitely the cutest. I mean, if Xenomorphs are somewhere here and Slimer is over here, Grogu is way over the line. I think the Japanese call it Kawaii!

IGN: So, you said in the panel that you hadn't seen The Mandalorian before you started working on this. That means I have to ask, what was it like finally watching all those episodes?

Weaver: I feel so lucky because Jon Favreau wasn't like, ‘You've got to start watching this!’ I was just thrilled to do it and work with Jon on a Star Wars project. And even from the first episode, I felt that it was a great concept. It was a really good old Western with a few surprises, and I just found it charming and a great way for me to kind of re-enter the Star Wars world because there've been different projects and I get confused about what goes where.

So, this was a great sort of standalone story that kept building and building, and I found Din Djarin and the little fellow to be wonderful characters alongside great bad guys like Werner Herzog. The whole time, I was like, ‘What was he going to do to the little creature?!’ We don't even want to think about it.

IGN: Love it. Now, looking forward, you're certainly in the footage that we saw this morning. We saw you sharing a scene with Grogu and him using his Force powers to try to steal… was it like a dish of food or something?

Weaver: Yes. It's a little bowl of snacks that were mine, and he's doing his little Force gestures, and I'm just lucky I got them back. I had to be quite forceful.

IGN: Speaking of which, do you get to see Grogu use his Force powers in all their glory in this movie?

Weaver: Well, he's always trying to do something. So, to the extent that I get to be with him, I get to sort of see what he does when he's more relaxed at the home base. However, I feel like Grogu was sort of transitioning from a little learning creature to someone who has real skills. And indeed, he is the apprentice now, and I felt that I could see a big difference between that in the series.

It shows there's a way in for everybody back into Star Wars, and you can keep it going. It goes in all directions. It's quite an amazing thing. 

IGN: I'm still very interested in how you came to this project and your experience with Star Wars in general, dating back to the very first movie. Going through all of what we've seen so far. Do you have a favorite movie from the series?

Weaver: Yeah. I think Rogue One. I really liked Felicity Jones's character, and I'm glad that was the one I saw because I think of my generation as a member of The Rebellion. I saw the other ones quite a while ago and, I mean, it was wonderful to watch them again because you're kind of going back to your childhood. It shows there's a way in for everybody back into Star Wars, and you can keep it going. It goes in all directions. It's quite an amazing thing.

Who Is More Powerful: A Xenomorph or Grogu?

IGN: Last question. Who is the most powerful being in the universe? Grogu or a Xenomorph?

Weaver: Well, it’s not that I don’t believe in him, but I’m afraid it’s a Xenomorph.

IGN: Why do you think that is?

Weaver: Because he can’t help himself. He just has to take over and destroy and promote his group. And, what I know and remember of Yoda is that he is too wise to do all of that. He’s not a destructive being. He’s on the side of good and I think Grogu is too, obviously.

IGN: And he’s just too cute to be all that threatening, right?

Weaver: Well, listen, if he stayed with Werner Herzog, who knows what he would have become?

For more, check out our recap of all the biggest moments from The Mandalorian & Grogu panel, including that Ryan Gosling has officially been cast in 2027’s Star Wars: Starfighter film.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Barnes & Noble Has Some of the Best Deals on LEGO Sets Ending This Weekend

18 avril 2025 à 22:00

Here’s some good news for LEGO fans: Barnes & Noble, a company typically known for bookselling, is running a big sale on LEGO sets right now. You can save 25% off a whole bunch of sets, including some super popular ones among the IGN audience. That includes the lowest price yet on the Dune Ornithopter set, which is detailed and huge and comes with a bunch of awesome minifigures.

Save 25% Off LEGO Sets Today

The Ornithopter deal may be the cream of the crop in the sale, but there are plenty of other excellent prices on sets to go around. Some of the Star Wars LEGO sets are really cool and rarely get discounts. My personal favorite of these is the New Republic E-Wing vs. Shin Hati's Starfighter set, which has you build two fighter ships that can duke it out in zero gravity. Another (more modestly priced) set is BARC Speeder Escape, which is also pretty neat.

A handful of Disney LEGO sets are also on sale. One cool one is a set celebrating the company’s 100 year anniversary that has you piece together stylized versions of classic Disney characters’ faces, from Dumbo to Jasmine. There’s also a Disney castle in the LEGO Friends series, as well as a mood cube situation from Inside Out 2.

The sale ends on April 21, so you have the weekend to make your choices if you want to pick any up. If you’re interested in other kids of sets, check out our picks for the best LEGO Architecture sets, as well as the best LEGO Technic sets.

See more of our favorite LEGO Star Wars sets as well

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Save $1,800 Off the Excellent 75" Sony Bravia XR X93L 4K Mini-LED Smart TV

18 avril 2025 à 22:00

For a limited time, Walmart has dropped the price on an excellent higher-end Sony TV. Right now you can pick up a massive 75" Sony Bravia XR X93L 4K Mini-LED Smart TV for just $1198 with free shipping. That's $2,000 off one of the best Sony non-OLED TVs and hundreds (even thousands) of dollars cheaper than getting a 75" OLED TV. It's also sold and shipped by Walmart direct, not a marketplace vendor.

75" Sony Bravia XR X93L 4K Mini-LED Smart TV for $1198

The Sony Bravia XR X93L was released back in March of 2023. This was the second highest end non-OLED TV in Sony's lineup at the time, right behind the X95L (which was only available in an 85" screen size in the United States). The X93L incorporates Mini LED technology, which excels in HDR content. LED-backlit panels, like its name suggests, consists of an array of LEDs that can independently turn on and off, thus improving black levels and contrast ratio. In a Mini-LED panel, the LEDs are smaller and more numerous, which allows for finer control of brightness levels within the same scene.

The X93L also makes a great gaming TV. It has four HDMI ports, two of which are HDMI 2.1 spec. HDMI 2.1 enables 4K output at up to 120Hz refresh rate, which is perfect for current-generation consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The new Switch 2 will be capped at 60fps in 4K when docked, so you don't need HDMI 2.1 for that system.

If you're an Android smartphone user, then you'll appreciate the fact that Sony uses the tried and true Google TV smart interface. It's simple, it works, and you can even use your Android device as a remote.

For more options, check out the best TVs for gaming.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

New Superman Behind the Scenes Images Provide Fresh Looks at Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr., Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, and More Heroes and Villains

18 avril 2025 à 21:14

With the release of a new behind the scenes video today for "Superman Day," Warner Bros. and DC Studios have provided fans with a bunch of fresh new imagery from James Gunn's upcoming movie. That includes new looks not just of David Corenswet's Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor, but also various other heroes and villains from this summer's impending blockbuster.

You can watch the video at the top of the page here, but also check out the slideshow of images below for some highlights, including Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr. (last seen in animated form in Creature Commandos), and much more:

There's also plenty of footage of Gunn directing the film, including the scene from the trailers where Superman is, shall we say, down on his luck and face-down in the snow near the Fortress of Solitude. We get a good look at the Daily Planet crew (Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant), lots of cool Superman poses, and Gunn high-fiving one of Superman's robot pals.

Superman will be released on July 11, 2025, and is the first live-action movie in Gunn's new DC Universe. For a rundown on all the upcoming DC movies and shows in the works, follow the link. And vote in our poll below to let us know what you think of the Superman roster so far...

How to Increase Your Chance of Getting a New Nintendo Switch 2 Console on Day One

18 avril 2025 à 21:00

Nintendo has officially unveiled the Switch 2 in a 60-minute Nintendo Direct. While preorders were originally set to open in early April in the US, tariff-related uncertainty caused Nintendo to delay the preorder date to April 24. During the delay, Nintendo kept the price of the Switch 2 console and games the same, but raised prices on most Switch 2 accessories.

However, Nintendo said the tariffs won't affect the Switch 2's launch date, which is still scheduled for June 5, 2025. The upcoming console will cost $449.99 alone, or $499.99 bundled with Mario Kart World (a game that will retail for $79.99 if bought separately).

If you’re hoping to secure a Switch 2 on day one, you’ll have a few options (assuming you're ready when they go live and there's enough stock to go around). Nintendo is offering a registration system through My Nintendo Store, where invites to purchase will be sent out on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will go to Nintendo Switch Online members with at least 12 months of paid membership and 50+ gameplay hours as of April 2, 2025.

All major retailers are also expected to open up preorders on April 24, 2025, as well. With demand expected to be high, here are some key tips from the IGN commerce team to improve your chances of getting a Switch 2 at launch.

1. Follow IGN Deals

Even though we know Switch 2 preorders are supposed to go live on April 24, that doesn't mean they'll go live everywhere simulatneously. While Target has announced preorders begin at 12am ET, other retailers could push preorders live at any time on the 24th.

Plus, when a major piece of gaming hardware goes up for preorder at a retailer, there’s no telling how long it will be available. We’ve seen sought-after hardware sell out in seconds. The best and most reliable way to know when a listing goes live is to follow IGN Deals on X or Bluesky and keep an eye on those accounts in real time. (Wario64 and CAG are also reliable sources of real-time information).

From now through the launch on June 5, 2025 and beyond, we’ll keep followers posted on any preorder news. And when preorders do go live, we'll post links the moment they become available.

2. Log Into Your Retailer Accounts

There’s no point in clicking a live preorder link early if you’re not logged in. The precious seconds it takes to enter your login name and password could make the difference between you getting a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch and not. The retailers below are all likely to have Switch 2 preorders, so create an account if you have to, and make sure you’re logged in and ready before Switch 2 preorders go live.

Note: It doesn't look like Amazon will get the Switch 2 in stock at all. For whatever reason, Nintendo and Amazon have been on the outs for the past couple of years, with Amazon not getting any first-party Nintendo hardware or software in for preorder. We'll update this if that changes for Switch 2.

3. Have Your Credit Card Saved in Your Account

The next step is to make sure your credit card info is entered in at the above retailers so you don’t have to type numbers with your excited fingers as everyone else on the planet buys a Switch 2 before you can.

Don't Despair if You Miss Out at a Retailer

With big ticket items like the Switch 2, the preorder links rarely go live at the same time across all the retailers. Often, Best Buy's link goes up first, followed a few minutes later by GameStop and Walmart. Amazon is usually the wild card of the bunch, sometimes going live hours (or even days) later. So if you miss the chance to preorder from one retailer, stay tuned to see if others will have Switch 2 preorders in stock a little later.

There's even a chance a given retailer will get additional preorders after its initial stock has run out. And even if you miss out preordering at all of the retailers, local brick-and-mortar stores may get stock on launch day. And failing that, even if stock is scarce at launch, Nintendo will catch up with demand at some point, so remain steadfast.

4. Avoid Switch 2 Scams and Resellers

Anytime a hard-to-buy piece of gaming hardware goes up for preorder, out come the opportunists. You can bet shady sites and resellers on eBay will be primed and ready to capitalize on this moment. Some sites will make their original Switch stock seem like Switch 2 stock. Others will take their actual Switch 2 preorders, crank the price sky high, and re-sell them at a massive profit. If you fail to secure a Switch 2 preorder at a legit retailer when they go live, please don’t pay large sums of money to these people looking to make an easy buck. It’s almost always better to wait until more stock becomes available at a site you trust.

Switch 2 Nintendo Direct Recap

In case you missed it, here's the full rundown of what was announced at the latest Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on April 1st:

Highlights from the stream included:

  • The new Joy-Con offer new features like mouse control. The right Joy-Con also includes a new C button that will work with the new online feature called GameChat.
  • GameChat will be free until March 2026 for all Nintendo Switch 2 users, but it will require a Nintendo Switch Online members after. There is a new feature called GameShare that will let users share a game with friends who don't own a compatible game so they can play together.
  • The Switch 2 will have red game cartridges, 256 GB of internal storage that can be expanded with microSD Express cards, spatial 3D sound, and more.
  • Mario Kart World Direct will take place on April 17 at 6am PT/9am ET
  • Nintendo Switch 2 First-Party games include Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and more.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.

Where You Can Buy the Original Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Ahead of the Switch 2 Release

18 avril 2025 à 17:30

Nintendo revealed all of the juicy details about the Switch 2 during its April Direct and we have since been waiting for preorders to go live in the U.S. The price of the new console wasn't too much of a surprise, but the reveal of the cost of first-party Switch 2 games at launch was definitely an eyebrow raiser. Most notably, Mario Kart World is going to cost $80 on its own at launch. In addition to that, Nintendo is launching a new line of Switch 2 accessories that have gotten similar price increases compared to the original Switch. They've even gotten more expensive since the original announcement.

The only Switch 2 accessory I was concerned about was the new Switch 2 Pro controller, which is now priced at a whopping $85. I already have multiple Switch Pro controllers at home and would prefer not to have to buy a new version. Thankfully, Nintendo confirmed in its developer interview that the original Switch Pro controller will be compatible with Switch 2.

Where You Can Still Buy Switch Pro Controllers

While many folks will choose to opt for the newer Switch 2 Pro controller, it's not going to be necessary for most games. If you already have a Switch Pro controller, you should be fine holding onto that so you can save $80 to spend on new games. If you don't already have a Pro controller and are planning on buying the Switch 2, the standard Switch Pro controller is still a cheaper option right now at $69.99.

It's possible these older controllers could sell out before the Switch 2 arrives to make room for the newer controller. Amazon already has a signifcant lack of stock and is currently only offering third-party alternatives. Alongside compatiblity for the regular Switch Pro controller, Nintendo has also stated that the original Joy-Con controlllers will also be compatible – though we generally recommend the Switch Pro controller over Joy-Con for most games.

When Will the Switch 2 Pro Controller Be Available?

If the only accessory you really care about getting your hands on is the new Switch 2 Pro controller, you're going to have to wait until the console launches. The new controller will be officially available alongside the launch of the Switch 2 on June 5. You should be able to preorder the new console starting on April 24, which is likely when the official accessories will also become available for preorder. The Switch 2 Pro controller will only be compatible with the Switch 2, however, so you won't be able to use it on the standard Switch.

Listings for the Switch 2 Pro controller have already started to go live at Walmart and Best Buy, but with no preorder date shown. Walmart also includes listings for the Switch 2 games you'll be able to preorder soon.

Looking for more info about the new Nintendo console? Check out our guide to everything announced at the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.

index.feed.received.yesterday — 18 avril 20253.3 🎲 Jeux English

Get a Lisen Car Charger with Retractable USB Type-C and Lightning Cables for Under $15

18 avril 2025 à 20:40

Need a handy USB charging solution for your car but don't want to deal with a rat's nest of pesky cables in your glovebox? For a limited time, Amazon is offering this Lisen 69W Retractable Car Charger for only $14.94 after you apply coupon code "12ZYRGF8" during checkout. This little car charger plugs into a standard 12V vehicle socket and can charge any iPhone (including both new and legacy models). It comes with retractable cables so you don't have to supply your own cable.

Lisen 69W Retractable Car Charger for $14.94

The Lisen 69W car charger is relatively compact, measuring in at 5.9" x 2.64" x 1.38". It plugs into a standard 12V vehicle socket and can be rotated for optimal positioning. That's especially handy if your 12V socket is right next to your gear selector. There are a total of four ports. Two of the ports - a USB Type-C port and a Lightning port - are retractable cables that pull out to about 2.5 feet. They're useful for pretty much any Apple iPhone model, since you have a USB Type-C cable for the newer iPhone 15 and 16 and the legacy Lightning cable for the iPhone 14 and older.

Note that although the charger is marketed as 69W of charging, that is the total charging output across all four ports. The charging output of each individual port is as follows:

  1. USB Type-C retractable cable: 30W (PD)
  2. Lightning retractable cable: 12W
  3. USB Type-C port: 15W
  4. USB Type-A port: 12W

If you have an Apple iPhone with USB, then the USB Type-C port with PD will charge it at its fastest rate. ChargerLAB has shown that the maximum charging rate caps at about 30W, even for the Pro Max model.

Lisen 96W Retractable Car Charger for $14.99

Alternatively, the newer Lisen 96W Retractable Car Charger is also on sale for $14.95 after you apply coupon code "40275KAM" during checkout. Technically this is a better deal since it is a newer 2025 model with a higher 96W power rating (and more powerful individual outputs as well), a digital display, and a smaller footprint. So why did we put this deal second? For one reason or another, this item has fewer reviews and is marked "Frequently Returned".

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

The Best LEGO Disney Sets in 2025

18 avril 2025 à 05:59

The Disney/LEGO partnership goes back a long way, and it encompasses a wide variety of sets. Some of these are meant to appeal mostly for kids. Others are bigger and more complex builds meant for display rather than play, and can easily be appreciated by adults. In any case, here are the 10 best LEGO Disney sets that you can buy in 2025. To make this guide specific and helpful, we are classifying "LEGO Disney" as the sets inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Parks.

Best LEGO Disney Sets in 2025

LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle

We built this set for its launch, and we loved looking at all the little, thoughtful details packed into every inch. In addition to the expected minifigures, there's the entire roster of magical household objects. There's a ballroom, a dining room, a study, and the infamous West Wing. The castle is perfect for re-enacting and posing classic scenes.

Dumbo

It's hard to get cuter and more precious than this BrickHeadz model of Dumbo. Just look at those big ears. That tiny trunk. Those sparkling eyes. Get this if you need a little display for your work desk or your car dash.

Mini Disney Sleeping Beauty Castle

If you want a Disney Parks castle, but you don't have an extra $400 lying around to afford the big one, give this smaller, miniature version a try. Note: this is a model of the the original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle out in California. It's pinker, shorter, and stouter than the Cinderella's Castle in Florida, which typically gets all the attention.

LEGO The Nightmare Before Christmas

We reviewed this set for its launch, and it has the perfect amounts of whimsical and weird. It's three builds in one – Halloween Town Hall, Jack Skellington's House, and Spiral Hill – rendered in Burton's trademark, off-kilter style, with impossible-looking, angled walls. They're perfect display pieces for a delightful Halloween or a morbid Christmas.

LEGO Disney and Pixar ‘Up’ House

IGN built this set for its launch, and although it's a bit smaller than you might have hoped, it's got the right price point at $60, and it's got some beautiful details in the living room space. Just manage your expectations – this is more a keepsake than a 'definitive edition' – and you'll be happy with what you get.

Walt Disney Tribute Camera

You build a vintage movie camera, and it comes with a film reel which contains LEGO-ized stills from Disney's classic and modern canon. It also includes five Minifigures: classic black-and-white Mickey Mouse, classic black-and-white Minnie Mouse, Dumbo, Bambi, and of course, Uncle Walt himself.

Stitch

Brightly colored and extremely cute, this LEGO Stitch wears a Hawaiian shirt and comes with two accessories: a flower tucked behind its ear and an ice cream cone in its paw. Its ears are articulable, and even though the age range is 9+, an adult would have a great time building and displaying a set like this one.

Young Simba the Lion King

Nearly a foot tall, this recreation of a young Simba has a big smile and a rounded, cute appearance, with its haunches coiled like he's ready to pounce. It reminds me a bit of those composite mosaic photos, where when you look closer at one, you realize that it's hundreds of little pictures that combine to form a large image. Similarly, this build is such a good fascimile that it looks seamless from a distance. It's only when you get closer that you see its LEGO.

Snow White Castle

We built and photographed this set for its launch. It is fun to build, and the final result is detailed, colorful, and well-designed, with Minifigures of all seven dwarfs. Thanks to the high piece count, both the exterior and the interior of the cottage remain faithful to the movie that inspired it, and are perfect for staging classic scenes. It even made our list of the best LEGO sets you can find right now.

Disney Castle

This is a massive model of Walt Disney World's Cinderella's Castle in Orlando, Florida, and it's been updated from its prior iteration. The latest set uses pink hued bricks, instead of gray or white ones, for its upper spires. This happened to the real castle in 2020, when the Disney Imagineers decided to give the castle a facelift ahead of its 50 anniversary. The set comes with eight Minifigures: Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White, Prince Florian, Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Rapunzel, and Flynn Ryder.

How Many LEGO Disney Sets are There?

According to LEGO's official store, 69 LEGO Disney sets are available for purchase as of April 2025, across multiple age groups and skill levels. Give the entire catalog a look if none of these sets do it for you.

LEGO and Disney: A Perfect Match

LEGO and Disney are a terrific match, in the sense that both companies cast a wide, welcoming net. Disney is not in the business of making children's entertainment; Disney is in the business of making family entertainment. That distinction is crucial, because the implicit intent is for everyone, regardless of age or maturity, to enjoy Disney at the level they are cognitively able.

A small child might like the bright colors and funny characters. An older kid might like the subversion of expectations. And an adult might enjoy Disney as a piece of nostalgic Americana, through which they can revisit their childhoods. Disney is cross-generational, because it appeals to everyone through common, shared experiences.

And LEGO, meanwhile, has nostalgia built into its very ethos. The "System" – the idea that every new brick fits with the old bricks from 50-60 years ago, ensures that bricks and sets and models can pass down, constituting a hobby that moves from parent to child. And now that LEGO, like Disney, is directly appealing to adults as much as kids, the company is more successful than ever.

In related news, check out our picks for the best LEGO Marvel sets (Disney acquired Marvel in 2009), as well as the best LEGO Star Wars sets (Disney acquired Star Wars in 2012). And in semi-related news, take a look at our picks for the best LEGO sets for kids.

Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He's also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.

Oblivion Remastered vs Original Early Graphics Comparison

18 avril 2025 à 20:21

YouTube’s ‘Cycu1’ has shared a video that compares the upcoming remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with its original 2006 version. This early graphics comparison is based on the leaked screenshots that surfaced online a few days ago. Now the cool thing here is that Cycu1 used identical scenes under the same weather conditions. … Continue reading Oblivion Remastered vs Original Early Graphics Comparison

The post Oblivion Remastered vs Original Early Graphics Comparison appeared first on DSOGaming.

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Review

18 avril 2025 à 18:43

Warning: this review contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again season 1.

Daredevil: Born Again brings back Matt Murdock as the costumed protector of Hell’s Kitchen after an overly long absence and does a mostly solid job of capturing what made the original 2015-2018 Daredevil series on Netflix so good. Essentially acting as a fourth season of that show, Born Again has the same excellent lead actors, gritty drama, and hardcore fight scenes that the series made its name on, and all of that works as well as ever when it’s firing on all cylinders. However, there are times during its nine-episode run when it’s clear that this revival is missing a few of the key ingredients that made those first three seasons such standout superhero TV. Much like the Man Without Fear swinging from New York City rooftops, Born Again has its ups and downs, but thankfully in the end it manages to land on its feet.

Reprising their roles as hero and villain are Charlie Cox’s charming and guilt-ridden Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, who speaks with an imposing voice as coarse as a limestone boulder and stands just as tall as one. Born Again offers a fresh spin on their classic rivalry that supercharges the story with an endless supply of juicy drama. The shocking assassination of Murdock’s best friend Foggy Nelson causes him to give up being Daredevil and fully dedicate himself to doling out justice with his lawyering skills instead of his fists, but hanging up the horns for good proves impossible when Wilson Fisk makes a surprise return and becomes the new mayor of New York City. (There was a time when a convicted felon winning a major political office might’ve seemed unrealistic, but today it’s maybe a tad on-the-nose.)

An early scene between the pair has them taking stock of the other’s new status quo and delivering veiled threats about what might happen should they slip back into their old ways. Though they’re just sitting in a cafe, it may as well be an active battlefield. Born Again is at its best when it pits these bitter enemies against one another as lawyer and mayor with the vigilante and villain just under the surface, forcing them to pursue their ambitions in new ways, all while struggling with their true selves starting to bubble up. Even during a rough patch of mid-season episodes, this marvelous core remains rock solid.

Even during a rough patch of mid-season episodes, this marvelous core of Murdock vs Fisk remains rock solid.

There are several other highlights of the early episodes worth mentioning: Clips from BB Urich’s people-on-the-street social media news show, The BB Report, give us a rare glimpse at how the common people of the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel about all the crazy superhero happenings in their city. That adds a much-needed personal texture to a world where bystanders are usually little more than collateral damage. A standalone episode in the middle of the season about Murdock cleverly foiling a bank robbery (without becoming Daredevil) is a pure delight from start to finish, even if it occupies a precious slot in a short season without moving the main plot forward. And as Murdock’s new love interest, Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), becomes dangerously entwined in his life, her therapist skills ensure she’s always ready with a piercing commentary on his masked persona (without even knowing she’s doing it). Meanwhile, Fisk reuniting with his beloved wife Vanessa and contending with the crime lords he left behind to enter politics leads to some of the season’s most vicious moments that feel ripped from your favorite mob movie.

It’s a good thing Born Again has such a sturdy foundation, because it allows the overarching story being told across the entire season to remain strong even while it frustrates with how reluctant it is to give starved fans the full-blown return we’d waited so long for. Murdock spends almost half of the season without actually suiting up, and when he finally does there are a few action scenes where Daredevil is briefly rendered in unconvincing, Gumby-like CGI. That’s a worrying error to make on a show that originally earned acclaim for its impressive, mostly practical fight sequences, but fortunately it’s not too pervasive; most of the fight scenes are appropriately intense, crunchy, and extra violent compared to what Disney+ has served up in its Marvel TV era. In fact, the season starts with a jaw-dropping brawl between Daredevil and Bullseye that should by all rights go down as one of the best superhero/supervillain fights the MCU has to offer.

The season starts with a jaw-dropping brawl between Daredevil and Bullseye that's one of the best the MCU has to offer.

Fans of the Netflix Daredevil series will definitely be feeling the absence of Murdock’s two closest allies, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. With Foggy dead and Karen’s grief causing her to move away, a new cast of supporting characters are introduced, but they’re a hit and miss bunch that can’t fill the hole left by two thirds of Nelson, Murdock & Page. The aforementioned Glenn and BB (Genneya Walton) are great, as is the blunt Commissioner Gallo (Michael Gaston), who stands as the sole example of a law enforcement officer with integrity by standing up to Fisk and his detestable boot-licker Danny Blake (Michael Gandolfini). Then we have Murdock’s detective ally Cherry and Fisk’s right-hand man Buck, who are so forgettable that you may not know who I’m referring to even if you’ve seen the show. And while there was plenty of potential in the murderous mural painter Muse, who was the threat of a two-episode arc, he wound up being as developed as a rough pencil sketch.

Looking at the season as a whole, it sticks out that the first and last two episodes are a cut above the rest in quality. They’re shot with more style and creativity, and they’re scripted and executed so well that it almost feels like they’re from a different show. Turns out there’s a good reason for that: Born Again was given a massive creative overhaul midway through production that resulted in new episodes being shot. That may explain the uneven nature of the season, where it starts with a banger, meanders through the White Tiger- and Muse-centric episodes, and then springs back to life for a big finish. It’s impossible to know how it would’ve gone without that reworking, but from where we’re sitting on the outside looking in, the final result got the job done despite a bit of a patchwork feel.

It ends on a very, very high note that inspires confidence season two will be more consistent.

A big part of that is that, for all its flaws, it at least ends on a very, very high note that inspires confidence season two will be more consistent in that regard. In particular, a return appearance from Jon Bernthal’s Punisher in the finale injects the story with an extra big dose of adrenaline and chaos, treating us to another polarized team-up with “Red” and showcasing the chemistry between Bernthal and Cox. Even when Frank Castle is not on screen throughout the season, his presence is felt thanks to Fisk’s anti-vigilante squad of brazenly corrupt cops appropriating his skull symbol—a commentary on a misguided real-world practice that the show tackles head-on.

You know things are bad when the Punisher shows up, and, indeed, the last episode leaves Daredevil on what may as well be his own personal Hell on Earth, all thanks to Mayor Fisk enacting his master plan. It’s a doomsday scenario so uniquely tailored to Matt Murdock’s character with its mix of legal maneuvering and criminal masterminding that it’s a little less preposterous that a super-powered Avenger doesn’t swoop (or swing) in to save the day than it might’ve been.

Save $1,000 Off the Lenovo Legion 7 Intel Core i9 RTX 4080 Super Gaming PC

18 avril 2025 à 18:20

For this weekend only, Lenovo has dropped the price of its powerful Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super gaming PC to $2,346.99 after coupon code: "EXTRAFIVE". In our recent Legion Tower 7 review (the sample we received wasn't as powerful as this one), Jacqueline Thomas wrote that "The Legion Tower 7i is an incredibly powerful gaming PC, especially for the money you’re likely going to be paying for it. If all you want is a powerful, upgradeable machine without having to go through the trouble of building it yourself, it’s hard to find many gaming PCs better than this one."

Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 RTX 4080 Super Gaming PC

The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 is equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GPU, 32GB of DDR5-4000MHz RAM, and a 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD. The unlocked 14th gen Intel Core i9-14900KF Raptor Lake "Refresh" CPU boasts a max Turbo clock of 6GHz with 24 cores, 32 threads, and a 36MB cache. It's still one of the most powerful Intel CPUs available (in many cases it even beats out the new Intel Core Ultra 9 285K). The processor is cooled by a 360mm all-in-one liquid cooling system that rivals many enthusiast setups.

The RTX 4080 Super is Nvidia's second most powerful RTX 40 series card. You'll be able to handle any game in 4K at high frame rates, even with ray tracing enabled. It's 5-10% faster in performance than the RTX 4080 thanks to its higher base clock speed, higher CUDA core count, and higher memory bandwidth. It trades blows with AMD's most powerful GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, but the RTX 4080 Super pulls ahead in ray tracing performance and where DLSS 3.0 is supported.

How does the RTX 4080 stack up against current cards?

Although the GeForce RTX 4080 Super is a generation old, it's still one of the most powerful cards out there. It handily outperforms AMD's new RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs and Nvidia's RTX 5070. It's pretty much identical in performance to the RTX 5070 Ti and loses only about 10% to the RTX 5080.

Alternative: Lenovo RTX 4070 Ti Super Gaming PC for $1985

Lenovo is also offering another Lenovo Legion Tower 7i configuration, this time equipped with an RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card and 1TB SSD (rest of the specs remain the same), for $1985.49 after coupon code "EXTRAFIVE" is applied. That's about $350 less than the 4080 Super configuration and a better deal if you plan on gaming at 1080p or 1440p.

The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super is a great card for gaming at any resolution, from 1080p all the way to 4K. At 1080p and 1440p you'll be able to achieve 144fps or beyond in most games, so it pairs best with FHD or QHD monitors with high refresh rates. 4K is a much more demanding resolution, but you should still be able to run most games at a consistent 60fps. Compared to the new Blackwell cards, the RTX 4070 Ti Super is significantly more powerful than the RTX 5070 and only about 10%-15% less powerful than the RTX 5070 Ti. The RTX 4070 Ti Super also has the same amount of VRAM as the RTX 5070 Ti and 5080, although it does use older generation GDDR6 instead of GDDR7.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma FAQ Suggests Some Physical Switch 2 Cartridges Will Be Playable on Switch 1

18 avril 2025 à 18:02

To cap off two weeks of questions, confusion, and occasional answers about Nintendo Switch 2 pricing, pre-orders, DLC, Switch 2 Edition upgrades, controllers, and more, here's another weird scenario to add to the pile. According to an FAQ from Marvelous on the upcoming game Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, at least some Nintendo Switch 2 physical cartridges will be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 1.

This comes from this Marvelous FAQ, which includes the following:

What is the physical "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition"?
The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a red 64GB game card that includes, in full, the Nintendo Switch game and the Upgrade Pack.
There’s no need to download the full game: simply insert the card into either a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 console, and the correct version will launch automatically.
Like most modern titles, there may be small updates or patches available at launch to provide minor fixes and improvements, but rest assured: the complete game is on the game card, ready to play from day one.

This suggests you can purchase the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Guardians of Azuma, and slot it into a Nintendo Switch 1 to play the Nintendo Switch 1 edition of the game if you so choose. If this is indeed the case, this is the first time we're hearing of the ability to play certain Switch 2 cartridges on the Switch 1.

We've known for a while that most Switch 1 games will be compatible with Switch 2. We also know that games that are exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 (Mario Kart World, for instance), or Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of Switch 1 games (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition, with all the upgrades), won't be playable on the Switch 1. But the question of whether you can just take Switch 2 cartridges and plug them into the Switch 1 to get the Switch 1 version of the same game has been up in the air so far. Some players have spotted an image in the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour that suggested a tiny "notch" in the plastic of Switch 2 cartridges might prevent that from being the case, but whether that notch is preventative or not remains to be seen.

It's also unclear as to how exactly many games this will apply to. We know that first-party and some third-party physical Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games will include both the base game and the Switch 2 Edition upgrades on the cartridge, while other third-parties may choose to release Switch 2 Edition games as download codes in physical packaging. Additionally, some boxed Nintendo Switch 2 games will not actually have the game on the cartridge, but instead will contain a game-key card that will allow you to download the game once you insert it.

So essentially, when you purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 boxed game at retail, you might be getting any of the following:

  • A physical Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive game cartridge that only works on the Switch 2
  • A Nintendo Switch 2 Edition game that has a Nintendo Switch 1 version on the cartridge, as well as a Switch 2 upgrade, that may or may not be playable on both Switch 2 and in its base version on the Switch 1
  • A game-key card that doesn't have the game on it, but allows you to download the game in question (and may or may not also be usable on the Switch 1 as well)
  • A physical box with a download key for the Switch 2 that may or may not work on the Switch 1 as well

If all this has your head spinning, you're not alone. It's been a confusing ride trying to sort out what, exactly, you'll be purchasing when you buy boxed Nintendo Switch 2 games, and Nintendo has been hesitant to step in and clarify things just far. We reached out to Nintendo for comment on Marvelous' FAQ, specifically asking if it's true that some Switch 2 cartridges will be playable on Switch 1 and if so, which. We'll update this story if more information surfaces.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders: Here's What You Need to Know

18 avril 2025 à 17:44

Update: Switch 2 preorders in the US will go live on April 24.

Nintendo said "Retail pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 will begin on April 24, 2025. At launch, the price for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will remain as announced on April 2 at $449.99, and the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle will remain as announced at $499.99. Pricing for both physical and digital versions of Mario Kart World ($79.99) and Donkey Kong Bananza ($69.99) will also remain unchanged at launch."

Target has announced preorders will go live at 12am Eastern Time on April 24, which means you'll likely have to be online then to have a chance at getting one. Other retailers haven't gotten into specifics about when their links go live, but we'll update this article if/when that changes.

Nintendo previously announced that Switch 2 preorders in the U.S. would open on April 9, but with the delay, the new date is now TBD. Meanwhile, preorders in the U.K. are already live. The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to launch on June 5, 2025, at a retail price of $449.99 (subject to change), and £395.99 in the UK

A Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle will also be available for $499.99, including the console and a download code for Mario Kart World, both launching on June 5. For those purchasing Mario Kart World separately, Nintendo has set the price at $79.99. Preorder listings for various Switch 2 launch titles have already started appearing at major retailers like Walmart.

Preorder Listing Pages

You can currently register your interest with Nintendo to be notified about preorders for Nintendo Switch 2 and accessories from My Nintendo Store. Invitations to purchase will be sent via email on a first-come, first-served basis, prioritizing users with a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online membership and at least 50 gameplay hours as of April 2, 2025.

Once priority users receive invites, remaining eligible registrants will be considered. Invitations are non-transferable and valid for 72 hours. Purchases are limited to one system and one of each accessory per account. All major retailers are also expected to open up preorders on April 9, 2025, as well.

Nintendo Switch 2 Includes:

  • Nintendo Switch 2 console
  • Joy-Con 2 controllers (L+R)
  • Joy-Con 2 Grip
  • Joy-Con 2 Straps
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Dock
  • Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable
  • Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter
  • USB-C Charging Cable

You can catch up on everything from today's Nintendo Direct right here, and read our full guide on how to secure your preorder for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Switch 2 microSD Express Cards

It was also confirmed that the Switch 2 will only be compatible with microSD Express Cards. This means that you won’t be able to bring your old standard microSD storage cards over when you pick up the console this summer. Albeit, some Switch 2 game sizes are looking smaller than expected.

Still, this means that you won’t be able to bring your old storage cards over when you pick up the console this summer. To eventually expand your storage, you'll need to check out the cards that SanDisk and Lexar have listed on Amazon, and that we've linked to below, alongside GameStop, which is producing its own line of cards. This currently includes 128GB ($44.99), 256GB ($49.99), 512GB ($84.99), and 1TB versions ($149.99). Note: These cards have also already started to sell out at various retailers.

Switch 2 Game Preorder Listings

The games that are featured in these listings are a mix of brand-new and Switch 2 upgrades. The most popular new games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World are listed here, but there's also the Switch 2 edition of Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

Some of these games will arrive on the Switch 2 launch date of June 5 if you preorder them, but there are more to come at a later date. Donkey Kong Bananza doesn't come out until July 17, about a month after the launch of the new console.

Nintendo Switch 2 Prices:

Why is everything so expensive? Asked Rebekah Valentine in her column for IGN. And it's a fair question. Since its reveal, the conversation surrounding the Switch 2 has transfomed into a headache inducing question of price. Not only for the system itself, but also for the games and accessories you're going to need alongside it as well.

  • Nintendo Switch 2 by itself: $449.99 USD
  • Nintendo Switch 2 with Mario Kart World bundled in: $499.99
  • Mario Kart World by itself: $79.99
  • Donkey Kong Bananza: $69.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller: $79.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Camera: $49.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Controller pair: $89.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip: $34.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Strap: $12.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Wheel pair: $19.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set: $109.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector: $34.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 All-In-One Carrying Case: $79.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter: $29.99
  • Switch 2 microSD Express Card: $44.99 (128GB), $59.99 (256GB)

Follow IGN Deals for Switch 2 Preorder Updates

When a major piece of gaming hardware goes up for preorder at a retailer, there’s no telling how long it will be available. We’ve seen sought-after hardware sell out in seconds. The best and most reliable way to know when a listing goes live is to follow IGN Deals on Twitter/X or Bluesky (IGN UK Deals on Twitter as well) and keep an eye on those accounts in real time. When preorders go live, we'll post links the moment they become available.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Senior Editor, Commerce, for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

Nintendo Switch 2 Accessory Prices Have Gone Up, and Fans Are Feeling the Price Bump

18 avril 2025 à 17:38

Nintendo has confirmed the pre-order date and price for the Nintendo Switch 2 console and its accessories. While the console's price hasn't changed, the cost of accessories has shifted across the board, and initial reactions indicate this might change early adopters' pre-order plans.

The price of the Nintendo Switch 2 is still $449.99 for the base model, and $499.99 for the bundle with Mario Kart World. The kart racer remains a $79.99 standalone game, while Donkey Kong Bananza will cost $69.99.

When it comes to accessories, though, prices have broadly gone up across the board. Here's a point-by-point rundown:

  • Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller - $84.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Pair - $94.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip - $39.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Strap - $13.99
  • Joy-Con 2 Wheel Set - $24.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Camera - $54.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set - $119.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case & Screen Protector - $39.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 All-In-One Carrying Case - $84.99
  • Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter - $34.99

In the announcement on its site, Nintendo confirmed Switch 2 accessories would "experience price adjustments from those announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions." For the big ticket items, like a pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers, a Switch 2 Pro Controller, or a camera, a $5 bump seems to be the common thread. The Switch 2 Dock Set, meanwhile, got a $10 bump, up to $119.99 from its previous $109.99.

As fans were quick to note, an additional pair of Joy-Cons is now a fairly expensive proposition. A Joy-Con 2 Pair is now $5 short of a triple-digit price tag, and prospective Switch 2 buyers certainly seem baffled by the expense.

Alongside the complaints about pricing, though, there are frequent reminders that many Switch 1 accessories will still be compatible with the Switch 2. As detailed on its support site, several accessories can be paired with the Switch 2, including the original Joy-Con controllers and the Nintendo Switch 1 Pro controller. The former cannot be directly attached, but both can be wirelessly paired. Others, like the Super Nintendo and N64 controllers, will still be pairable and playable with compatible games.

Still compatible bbyyyy pic.twitter.com/lbPJiF1ARO

— Pokmar (@Pokmar03) April 2, 2025

Many users are posting about Switch 1 accessory compatibility, or even talking about utilizing third-party controller options. While these won't have all the same functionality as a Switch 2 controller, including the C-button or waking up the console, that might be worth saving the extra cash for some Switch 2 buyers.

The price may still fluctuate in the future, as Nintendo warns in its announcement: "Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions." But as the prices seem a little high for some, it's some comfort to know that those with a Pro controller still around can make use of it on the Switch 2.

Preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 go live on April 24, 2025.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

❌