Following a successful event back in February, IGN Fan Fest is back for the second time this year with our Fall Edition show, and it's happening today! Get ready for dozens of exclusive game trailers, interviews, clips, and reveals across games, movies, TV, and more. We're talking Predator: Badlands, Netflix's The Witcher, The Outer Worlds 2, Scott Pilgrim EX, Frankenstein, IT: Welcome to Derry, and so much more.
We have a lot of fun surprises in store for today, and we thought we'd gather all the biggest announcements and reveals right here and update this page live to ensure you don't miss a thing. So, be sure to keep refreshing during our show to stay on top of it all.
Now, you're probably wondering how you watch IGN Fan Fest 2025: Fall Edition and when it starts, and we're here to help you with that as well!
How to Watch IGN Fan Fest 2025: Fall Edition
You can watch IGN Fan Fest: Fall Edition on the following platforms. The special countdown show begins at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST. The main show kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST:
Resident Evil Survival Unit, the series' upcoming free-to-play smartphone strategy spin-off, will not require paid gacha mechanics to unlock its long list of characters.
Announced earlier this year, Survival Unit will let you form a team of fan-favorite characters such as Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, then take them out on progressively more challenging zombie hunts.
A long list of familiar faces are featured in the game, including some Resident Evil franchise deep cuts (and Barry Burton!). Now, developer Joycity has said it's designed the game to be enjoyed without paying, without the paid gacha mechanics seen in many other character-stuffed free-to-play mobile titles.
While you can pay to unlock certain characters earlier than you'd otherwise gain access to them, these microtransactions will be direct, so players can decide whether to pay for a specific hero, or not.
"Almost all of the game's content is accessible without paying, but if you want to obtain specific characters earlier than usual, that may require payment," Resident Evil Survival Unit developer Jun Seung Park told 4Gamer, translated by Automaton.
"During our internal playtests, we found that even without paying, you can enjoy the game fully long as you form groups and work together with other players."
Gameplay sees you building up a familiar-looking mansion as your base, where your characters will live and interact. You'll then head out onto survival missions against familiar Resident Evil foes, as part of a "global multiplayer experience." While missions are predominantly single-player, all player will work together to take down enemies in a concerted fight back against the Umbrella Corporation. A PVP training arena will also be included.
Described as "the world's first full Resident Evil for mobile," Resident Evil Survival Unit launches before the end of 2025 for iPhone and Android devices. If nothing else, it may help pass the time until Resident Evil Requiem arrives next year, on February 27, 2026.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The ROG Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally consoles have finally arrived, offering the power and portability of a PC gaming handheld with Microsoft's newly redesigned Xbox interface. Our reviewer liked the ROG Xbox Ally X very much, hailing it the new standard for handhelds moving forward. (We'll be testing the ROG Xbox Ally in the near future too – stay tuned.) While both Xbox Ally models come with a 65W charger and a stand, there are some other clever accessories available that'll let you get the most out of your new gaming machine. From storage upgrades to protective cases and useful docks, we've rounded up the best accessory options available right now.
We've been testing PC gaming handhelds like the Xbox Ally consoles for years, so we've got some good baseline recommendations for some of the most important accessory categories ready to go for launch – and we'll keep this article updated with our latest picks as we get new gear in for testing. But if you're itching to stock up on extras ASAP, these are the accessories we can vouch for with confidence.
Best Xbox Ally X MicroSD Cards
More graphically intensive games often come with hefty storage requirements that can soon outstrip the 512GB built into the Ally or 1TB built into the Ally X, but it's simple to add more storage using great value MicroSD cards. We've restricted our recommendations to cards that meet the A2 standard, as this is a good indicator of reasonable loading time performance. MicroSD cards are now available in sizes up to 2TB, with Samsung, SanDisk and PNY all represented amongst our picks.
Best Xbox Ally X SSD Upgrades
As well as inserting a MicroSD card, you can also upgrade the high-speed NVMe SSD built into the 512GB ROG Ally and 1TB Ally X with a bigger alternative. Asus has opted for a full-size (2280) socket here, so you're not limited to the physically smaller 2230 standard as was the case on the original ROG Ally and Valve's Steam Deck. We've opted for PCIe 4.0 drives that offer a healthy storage increase over the default drives, while also balancing price and performance.
Best Xbox Ally X Screen Protectors
As the Xbox Ally X and Ally share screens with the earlier Asus ROG Ally and Asus ROG Ally X, plenty of screen protector options are available. The DBrand tempered glass screen protector remains our top choice for its overall quality and idiot-proof application, but you've got plenty of cheaper alternatives to pick from should you prefer to stay under $10.
Best Xbox Ally X Gaming Headsets
The Xbox Ally handhelds are designed to be played wherever, so we've selected a quartet of headsets that are also fully mobile. The Arctis GameBuds are our top pick, offering low-latency and high-quality USB-C or Bluetooth audio in a convenient pocketable package, but you could also consider full-size options that are cheaper (the wired HyperX Cloud III) or more expensive (the on-ear Turtle Beach Atlas Air wireless headset and the luxurious Arctis Nova Pro Elite). In general, the more you expect to play these consoles on the go, the more we'd recommend a headset that is light, wireless, and has great ANC.
Best Xbox Ally X Cases
Cases are one of the more model-specific categories, so it's slightly slim pickings at present. That said, these are the best options available thus far, including a classic Tomtoc case that we've used and recommended for other gaming handhelds and a rare bespoke case from CoBak.
Best Xbox Ally X Docks
The Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally come with a redesigned Xbox interface that should make it easier than ever to stay away from the full-fat Windows 11 interface, but at some point, you're probably going to need to spend some time there to install and set up your non-Xbox games, tinker with settings, or otherwise use these handheld gaming machines more like a regular Windows laptop or desktop. When that time comes, a dock is absolutely indispensable, allowing you to connect a keyboard,mouse, monitor, and other peripherals while also keeping the console charged and ready to go. Docks are also great for turning the Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X into couch gaming machines, though you'll need a gamepad or other controller as well. This dock from Jsaux is our top pick at present, offering HDMI 2.1 compatibility, gigabit ethernet, three full-size USB ports, and 100W of pass-through charging.
Best Xbox Ally X Portable Chargers
Battery life is always going to be a concern on the Xbox Ally handhelds, even with the improvements found in the new streamlined version of Windows they sport – and their modern AMD Ryzen Z2 series processors. Having a portable charger on hand can go some way to alleviating battery life anxiety though, with this particular example from Anker giving you an extra 20,000mAh to play with. That should pretty much double your expected battery life, and with up to 65W of output to a single port, the console will recharge even if you're playing a graphically demanding game at the same time.
Best Xbox Ally X Controllers
If you want to use the Xbox Ally X or Xbox Ally with your TV in a more traditional console experience, then you'll need to pick up a gamepad or two. A huge variety of controllers will work here, including standard Xbox Series controllers in Bluetooth mode, but we like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 as it comes with a convenient USB-C wireless dongle for lower latency and offers better durability than the first-party Microsoft alternative thanks to its TMR joysticks and Hall Effect triggers.
Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing, and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing Battlefield 6.
X-Men actor Evan Peters has said he'd love to return as Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff, and now Marvel fans have taken up the call.
Peters played the character in four films during the classic Fox era of X-Men movies, beginning in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Years later, in a surprise twist, Peters then returned to the world of Marvel for WandaVision, playing a character that was initially introduced as a fresh incarnation of Pietro, Wanda's brother.
But Evans' return was ultimately revealed as a misdirect (albeit a pretty funny one), with his character's name subsequently revealed to actually be Ralph Bohner (yes, really) — a fakeout that remains a contentious issue among fans. Now, as some of his former X-Men co-stars return for Avengers: Doomsday, Evans has said he wants one more go at Quicksilver (for real) — and Marvel fans are on his side.
"I would love to come back and do Quicksilver again," Peters said, speaking to IMDb. "I think it was such a fun character and there's a lot more to explore, and I always sort of played it like a little guest spot.
"You know, he pops in and he pops out, is kind of what it was," he continued, "so I'm always curious to see what it would really be like to explore that character and the backstory."
After two appearances as Ralph Bohner (the character popped up again in WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along), fans now say that Evans should return as the real Pietro Maximoff — and in so doing, retcon Bohner at the same time.
"Will still never understand why he wasn’t brought back as Pietro for WandaVision," Marvel fan DerredFuture wrote on reddit. "It was such an easy concept to incorporate as well. All they had to do was make Agatha use the Darkhold to get him from the X-Men universe and then she could’ve controlled him afterwards, changing absolutely nothing yet still satisfying fans."
"I think a lot about how in interviews they said 'We don't see a reason why Quicksilver from a different timeline would be here, we never intended for anyone to think that would be a possibility' and then the very next year Professor X jumped out of the Fox movies in his big dumb hover chair," added Short_Condition_1079, referencing Patrick Stewart's reappearance as Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Some have suggested a full Ralph Boener retcon could be easy to pull off, as the character could be revealed as being an alternate universe Quicksilver all along, albeit one still deeply under the spell of Agatha's magic.
Others have picked up Peters' suggestion that there is more to explore with the character, especially as Avengers: Doomsday is also set to feature Ian McKellan's Magneto — canonically, Pietro and Wanda's father.
"I'd love to have him in Doomsday/Secret Wars being a family with Magneto and Wanda (and maybe even Polaris)," teacup_tiger wrote, referencing the X-Men character Polaris who is yet another child of Magneto.
As yet, however, there's been no suggestion that Peters will return as Quicksilver for Avengers: Doomsday, which has already wrapped its principal filming. (There's also been no word of Ralph Bohner returning in next year's VisionQuest, the third and final Disney+ series that's now being billed as completing the WandaVision "trilogy".) But perhaps there's still a chance for Avengers: Secret Wars?
Image credit: Jason Mendez/Getty Images for ReedPop.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
A couple of days ago, Steam hit a new all-time record with over 41 million concurrent users. This comes seven months after the previous record of 41 million concurrent users. A lot of people may assume that this was due to the Steam Next Fest event. However, I believe that BF6 was mainly the game … Continue reading Steam has hit a new all-time record with over 41 million CCUs→
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a fascinating little device. Because while it’s being sold as a sort of handheld Xbox, it’s more of a sequel to last year’s incredible Asus ROG Ally X. But the Xbox side of it can’t be ignored, because it’s the first device to launch with support for the new Xbox Full Screen Experience. This allows the handheld to boot straight into the Xbox App within Windows, without loading Explorer or any of the non-gaming-related background tasks that typically load when you boot up Windows 11. In a lot of ways, this partnership feels like Microsoft’s response to the rise of the SteamOS, and for the first time since the Steam Deck came out in 2022 it might actually have something that’s as easy to use.
So while I would hesitate to call the Xbox Ally X an ‘Xbox’ – no matter what Microsoft’s marketing claims – it does feel like a clear evolution of handheld gaming PCs, and a sign of what’s to come once the Full Screen Experience launches for all PCs sometime in 2026. Either way, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is the new benchmark for handheld gaming PCs for the foreseeable future.
Design
Ever since the Steam Deck came out, most handheld gaming PCs have looked similar to each other. They’ve been essentially rectangles with a big screen in the center and controller buttons on the sides. The Xbox Ally X also fits this, but with a twist: two jutting plastic grips meant to emulate an Xbox controller.
The result is a handheld that looks like you took an Xbox controller, stretched it out and then slapped a display in the middle. At first, I thought this looked silly – and it does – but after using the device for about a week, I can see the vision. Despite the Xbox Ally X weighing more than the original Ally X, it’s even more comfortable, and that older handheld was no slouch, either.
That’s because the weird controller fits more naturally in my hands, and avoids the problem some other handhelds run into, where they start to dig into my hands after a little while. Even after doing a marathon session in Cyberpunk 2077 to test the battery – more on that in a bit – I didn’t really feel the need to put the device down.
The Xbox Ally X is slightly larger than the original, measuring 11.42 inches long, 4.76 inches tall, and 2 inches thick at its thickest point. It’s also slightly heavier, weighing in at 1.58lb compared to 1.49lb on the 2024 Ally X. That doesn’t seem like a big difference, but I can definitely feel it when I lift both consoles at the same time – the Xbox Ally X feels heavier.
Despite the larger size, the two devices have nearly identical button placements, save for a few radical changes. For one, the Armoury Crate button is now on the left side of the display, and pressing it brings up the Asus Control Center tab, but within the Xbox Game Bar. On the right side of the display, what used to be a button that focused the Armoury Crate app is now a library button, which just brings you to the library section of the Xbox app.
That Armoury Crate button on the left is an odd one, though. While, yes, it does open to the Control Center within the game bar, there’s now a larger Xbox button directly to the left of it that also brings up the Game Bar. Then, it’s just a simple task of hitting left on the D-Pad to enter the Control Center. Asus could have just trimmed an entire button here and it would have been fine.
This also means that there is no button that directly brings up Armoury Crate anymore, with it instead being an option in the Control Center. That adds an extra step to the process of updating drivers and such, but it does mean you won’t accidentally open Asus’ settings app when you’re trying to pause your game anymore.
The rest of the buttons are what you’d expect on any controller, and they feel excellent across the board. The triggers, in particular, are a standout. Not only are they Hall Effect, but they have the same Impulse Trigger tech as first-party Xbox controllers. In games that support it, this makes the triggers give feedback when you do certain things, just like they do when you’re playing games on the Xbox Series X. For instance, in Forza Horizon 5, the triggers will give haptic feedback when you first start accelerating and when you brake, simulating the friction you might feel if you were actually driving a car. There aren’t many games that actually do support this feature on PC, though, so don’t expect it in every game you play.
However, while the triggers feel great, I did run into a manufacturing problem on the unit I received, where the left trigger would slide out of place when I pressed it, leading to it scraping up against the chassis. Asus did swap out the unit, and the new one is working perfectly, so it could very well have been an isolated incident, but it’s something to be aware of.
The top of the device is where you’re going to find all the ports. Two USB-C ports are on the left side of the device, one of which is USB 4.0. On the other side you’ll find a MicroSD card reader and the power button, the latter of which doubles as a fingerprint sensor for Windows Hello, and a headphone jack. This is the same configuration found in the original Ally X, and while I’d like for a USB-C slot to be on the bottom of the device, the Xbox Ally X is still a flexible device.
Cooling is handled just like most other modern handhelds. Intake fans suck cool air through the fun-shaped vents on the back of the device, then spit out the hot air through vents on the top. This is effective at dissipating heat, though when the device is plugged in and is set to the “Turbo” performance mode – which happens by default – the processor will get warm, reaching up to 80°C in demanding games. For the most part, I didn’t notice this temperature beyond just watching the performance overlay, but I will say that after some long gaming sessions the display was noticeably warm to the touch, but not so much that it’ll burn you.
Display
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X has a 7-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for Freesync Premium, AMD’s Variable Refresh Rate tech. This is the same exact panel found in last year’s Ally X, and that’s not a bad thing. Because while it’s not as beautiful as the Lenovo Legion Go 2's 8.8-inch OLED display, its modest resolution makes for a perfect pairing for the Z2 Extreme.
Colors look bright, especially when the brightness is turned up a bit. The display supports up to 500 nits of brightness, and even when I had it dimmed for battery testing, I had no problem using the handheld in a variety of settings, including a brightly lit room.
The 120Hz refresh rate also falls a little short of the Legion Go 2’s 144Hz refresh rate, but not by much. Even then, there aren’t many games that you’re going to be running at 120fps, especially if you’re trying to play higher-spec games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Plus, the variable refresh rate makes sure that even when the frame rate drops – and it will drop – things stay as smooth as possible. I don’t think I could recommend a handheld without some sort of variable refresh rate these days.
The Xbox Full Screen Experience
While the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is an excellent handheld gaming PC in its own right, what really makes this device special is its software experience. Asus’ partnership with Microsoft nets it the first implementation of Xbox Full Screen Experience, which won’t be available for other Windows devices until early 2026.
The unit Asus sent me was running on a slightly older version of Windows 11, but through some updates, it was able to get to the point where Microsoft is claiming the device will ship when it hits store shelves. Once I ran it through all the pre-launch updates, I reset the device to go through the intended setup process – and it was awesome.
On previous Windows handhelds, you’d have to go through the same Windows 11 setup procedure as you would on a laptop – only without a keyboard and mouse attached. And because during the setup the controller was essentially there for looks, you’d have to rely on just the touch screen. With Xbox FSE, you can go through the whole setup rigamarole with the controller – from signing into your Microsoft account to setting up your Wi-Fi.
Through this process I discovered my favorite thing about this software change. Windows’ touchscreen keyboard is now usable with a controller by default, rather than needing to tap your fingers on the screen. Even if this version of Windows only had this change, I’d consider it a win. Luckily, though, there’s a lot more to it.
Once you’re through the setup process, the handheld boots into the Xbox app. Of course, Game Pass is front and center, and that’ll be great if you use that service. But if you hit left on the D-Pad then scroll down, you’ll get to the Library page. From here, you can go to "My apps," and then install third-party stores.
Once you’re in this page, Steam is pre-installed, so you just need to launch it, which will open it in a new window, but won’t take you out of the Full Screen Experience. Likewise, if you install Battle.net, Epic Games Store or GOG Galaxy, you’ll be able to go through those setup processes without ever having to interact with the desktop. However, it is limited to those apps. In the week or so I’ve spent with the ROG Xbox Ally X, I haven’t found a way to add new apps to this library page, so you’ll need to get to the desktop to download literally any other program.
Luckily, getting to the desktop is easy. You can just swipe up from the bottom of the display and tap “Windows Desktop,” it’ll give you a little pop up warning, and then you’ll be on the desktop almost instantly. It’s good that it’s so easy to get to the Windows Desktop, because you’ll still need it to download Windows Updates or any non-gaming software you might need, like Discord.
Once you’ve done your business on the Windows Desktop, you can get back to the Full Screen Experience by hitting the Xbox button, scrolling over to the cogwheel, and then down to “launch Xbox Experience.”
There are still a couple of kinks Microsoft needs to work out with the Xbox Full Screen experience, however. Sometimes you have to hit a button on the gamepad a couple times to get it to start navigating the app. I’ve also had a couple problems where going into Task View – by holding down the Xbox button for a couple of seconds – and hitting the X button to close an app just doesn’t work right away. These are bugs that can get patched out in a future build, though.
I really wish Microsoft could find a way to work in critical applications like Windows Update to the Full Screen Experience, because the Xbox Ally X is at its best when you don’t have to think about the desktop at all. And it’s not just because it’s easier to launch games or the slightly better gaming performance – though those are huge benefits. Instead it’s the little things: No pop up notifications or having programs launch after you boot that you’ve forgotten to disable at startup. In so many ways, this Full Screen Experience feels the way PC gaming should feel, especially for folks that don’t like digging through a labyrinthine operating system. Microsoft is close to something as good as SteamOS, it just needs a few updates to get over the finish line.
Performance
Last year, the Asus ROG Ally X was exceptionally good because it took the Z1 Extreme and stretched it further than other handhelds were able to. The Xbox Ally X does basically the same thing with the Z2 Extreme.
Even without the Full Screen Experience, the Xbox Ally X is a powerful little handheld, delivering 42 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 and 76 fps in Forza Horizon 5 – both at high settings, without ray tracing and with upscaling set to ‘Quality.’ That’s already good performance, but when I tested those games in the Full Screen Experience, performance improved to 44 fps and 77 fps, respectively. That’s not a huge bump, by any means, but in the case of Cyberpunk 2077, that’s a 5% boost to performance by just booting into the Xbox app.
However, that performance difference seemed limited to actual games. In 3DMark, whether I benched it in the FSE or in Desktop Mode, I saw basically no difference. For instance, in the Steel Nomad test, I got 606 points while in the FSE, and 603 points outside of it – that’s within the margin of error.
What’s more impressive, though, is how it compares to the Lenovo Legion Go 2, which uses essentially the same chip. In 3DMark, the Xbox Ally X is between 3-6% faster, with the biggest difference in the Night Raid test, where Asus’ handheld gets 33,793 points to Lenovo’s 31,685. Admittedly, the smallest difference was in the most demanding test, Steel Nomad, where the Ally X only beat the Legion Go 2 by 3%. But that’s still a huge win, considering the Legion Go 2 with the Z2 Extreme is $350 more expensive.
When it comes to actual games, though, it was always going to lean in Asus’ favor just by virtue of it having a lower resolution display – even if it’s a small difference (1080p on the Xbox Ally X vs 1200p on the Legion Go 2). But in Forza Horizon 5, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 only managed 65 fps to Asus’ 77. That’s an 18% improvement. And in the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, the Ally X beats the Legion Go 2 44 fps to 37 fps – another 19% gap.
Even when unplugging the Xbox Ally X, which automatically sets it to a 17W performance mode, I was able to get a solid 30 fps at high settings in Cyberpunk 2077 throughout my battery rundown test, only really dropping when entering Dogtown. The Xbox Ally X isn’t going to be as powerful as a gaming console that you need to plug in and connect to your TV – and expecting otherwise out of a portable device like this would be silly. However, with how well it plays even demanding games like Cyberpunk without making them look muddy makes the Xbox Ally X the handheld to beat right now.
Battery Life
Any handheld gaming device is going to struggle with battery life. There’s only so much battery you can put into such a small chassis, and if you want a powerful chip, it’s going to suck up as much power as it can. But despite that, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is a resilient little thing.
In the PCMark10 battery test, which simulates a variety of office tasks, the Xbox Ally X lasted about 9 hours and 48 minutes. That’s not bad, but it is shorter than the Legion Go 2, which lasts 10 hours and 52 minutes in the same test. However, that test needs to be run in desktop mode, and isn’t really indicative of how most people will probably use the Ally X.
When I set a stopwatch and started running down the battery with Cyberpunk 2077, the story changed. The battery lasted 2 hours and 34 minutes, beating the Legion Go 2 and even tying with the Steam Deck OLED, which has a much lower-power chip powering it. We’re still in the realm of handhelds only lasting a couple of hours while playing games, but a two and a half hour session playing a demanding game is nothing to shake a stick at.
Price
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X’s price is kind of the elephant in the room. At $999, not only is it more expensive than the $799 ROG Ally X, but it’s twice the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 or the Steam Deck. Everything is getting more expensive lately, and while the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is certainly guilty of this – it’s actually pretty reasonably priced compared to other similar devices that’ve launched in the last year.
For instance, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 starts at $1,099 with a weaker processor, with the Z2 Extreme model costing as much as $1,479. Then, the MSI Claw A8, which hasn’t even launched in the US, is out in the UK right now for £850 which is around $1,135 – and likely more once tariffs are worked into the equation. Handhelds are getting more expensive, but for devices with the Z2 Extreme, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is actually one of the most affordable right now. Plus, those other devices aren’t launching with the Xbox Full Screen Experience, which will put the Xbox Ally X on another level until Microsoft releases it for other Windows gaming PCs sometime next year.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Gen V Season 2, Episode 7!
From the beginning, all the biggest mysteries in Gen V Season 2 have revolved around Hamish Linklater’s Dean Cipher. Who is he, really? Is he truly a supe, and if so, how do his powers work? What is Cipher’s connection to the burned man hidden away in his lavish home? At long last, the penultimate episode has given us the answers to these burning questions, and our minds are blown.
Let’s break down exactly what we learn about Cipher in “Hell Week” and why the real enemy of Season 2 was hiding in plain sight the whole time.
Cipher’s Powers Revealed
Episode 7 sees Jaz Sinclair’s Marie Moreau and friends flee the relative sanctuary of Stan Edgar’s hidden bunker to return to the God U campus. Marie is determined to confront Cipher and end their conflict once and for all. Moreover, she’s determined to do so without putting her friends in danger, even if she has to force them to remain on the sidelines. But with Annabeth (Keeya King) seeing visions of Marie bathed in blood, they’re not about to quietly stand by.
As for Cipher, he spends Episode 7 teetering between giving up and abandoning his plans and nearing total victory. Having fled Polarity’s home and returned to campus with the burned man in tow, at one point Cipher contemplates killing his charge and calling the whole game off. But ultimately, he gets exactly what he wants when Marie tracks down the burned man (whom we learn is indeed Thomas Godolkin) and does the impossible. She heals his burns and restores him to full health. And that’s where things go off the rails.
It quickly becomes clear that something is amiss when Cipher drops all pretense of being a demented, ruthless college dean and begins begging for his life. He claims to be Doug, an ordinary man finally free of the ever-present voice in his head. That’s about the time when it becomes clear that “Cipher” was never the one in charge. Godolkin is the one with the mind-control powers. All along, Godolkin has been controlling Doug like a puppet. Godolkin’s entire plan was to manipulate Marie into curing him so he could finally walk free again and stop living vicariously through Doug.
Godolkin’s entire plan was to manipulate Marie into curing him so he could finally walk free again and stop living vicariously through Doug.
Looking back at the opening flashback scene from the Season 1 premiere, we can infer that Godolkin gained superhuman powers when he was caught in the lab fire. He gained the ability to control others (along with some degree of immortality, it seems), but that didn’t save him from getting horrifically burned, Darth Vader-style. In the decades since, Godolkin has been confined to a hyperbaric chamber, forced to carry on his work using Doug as a proxy.
In hindsight, a lot of scenes involving Godolkin make more sense now. We can certainly understand why Cipher deigned to take care of a helpless burn victim for so long, and why he referred to Godolkin as his “father.” This also resolves the mystery of whether Cipher is a supe or not. Doug isn’t. He’s just a guy through whom the real supe can pour his power and will. Meanwhile, Doug is so helpless that he can do nothing but sit and blandly smile when Godolkin makes him stab his own hand to prove a point.
That Cipher/Sister Sage sex scene also makes more sense now, as Sage was clearly performing for Godolkin’s benefit. And now we understand that Godolkin was actively contemplating suicide in this episode, up until the moment when Marie’s return offered him the salvation he craved. God U’s student body, and the world at large, might have been much better off if Marie had simply stayed hidden.
What Will Happen in the Gen V Season 2 Finale?
Cipher may have turned out to be one huge red herring of a character, but his larger plan remains intact. Godolkin made it clear in Episode 6 that he views much of the superhuman community with contempt (not to mention his lingering jealousy of anyone with the freedom to walk around and enjoy life under their own power). He wants to “cull the herd,” eliminating the supes with unimpressive powers so that the strong, worthy few will remain.
As we see in the final scene of Episode 7, Godolkin is wasting no time in carrying out that mission. He forces the “Bondage Baby” to choke himself, the first in what will surely be a campus-wide massacre to put even Season 1’s finale to shame.
Clearly, Marie and her friends will have to track down and confront Godolkin before he can murder dozens, if not hundreds, of students. But as we’ve already seen, fighting Godolkin is easier said than done when he can turn anyone in the room into his personal bodyguard. Marie made the mistake of trying to go it alone, and look where that got her. She played right into Godolkin’s hands. She’ll have to quickly learn to rely on her friends, even if it means putting them in harm’s way.
Then there’s the lingering issue of Annabeth’s visions. We haven’t seen that loose end pay off just yet. Is Annabeth seeing her sister’s inevitable death? Or are these visions teasing some new development with Marie’s rapidly evolving powers?
There’s also the question of what role, if any, Linklater will play in the finale. Now that the truth behind Cipher stands revealed, is there still a place for Doug in all of this? Given how prominently Linlater has been featured in Season 2, it seems hard to imagine him completely stepping out of the spotlight in Episode 8. Doug deserves some sort of payback for everything he’s endured.
And what of Marie’s powers? Now that she’s finally reached the level Cipher always envisioned for her, what happens next? Is she truly powerful enough to rival Homelander? Will she factor into the final conflict between Billy Butcher, his scattered team members, and Vought in The Boys Season 5? A lot depends on how the Gen V Season 2 finale plays out. Whether this series itself even has a future may well depend on how much of the school remains standing following the final battle with Godolkin.
In short, the stakes have certainly risen leading into the Season 2 finale. We’re still reeling from the big Cipher reveal, as past scenes from Season 2 suddenly take on new meaning and significance now that we know the true villain lurking behind it all. Check back next week for our full-spoiler review of Gen V Season 2, Episode 8 and our breakdown of the ending.
Destiny 2’s recent Edge of Fate expansion marked the game’s seventh mainline annual expansion, and if there’s one thing that’s never been clearer, it’s that Bungie’s MMO/loot-shooter is tough for new players to get into.
Sure, the game isn’t in its best state right now ahead of the Star Wars-themed Renegades in December, but it’s still one of the best-feeling shooters.
If you’ve ever wanted to become a Titan, Hunter, or Warlock but felt you missed your chance, there’s good news: Green Man Gaming has bundled together every expansion for charity.
The Destiny 2: Expansion Bundle includes every major Destiny 2 expansion released to date, with tiers including Edge of Fate and even the upcoming Renegades, which supports the Bungie Foundation.
The combined value of the bundle tallies at $274.92, with a series of tiers. The top tier, Legend, includes the Year of Prophecy Edition of Destiny 2, which would normally cost $79.99, as well as all prior expansions, for $35.
The Vanguard tier includes Edge of Fate and earlier expansions for $18, while the Guardian tier offers older expansions up to The Final Shape for $8.
Finally, the Ghost tier is just $5 and includes the Beyond Light and Shadowkeep packs, as well as The Final Shape. Given I’ve spent thousands of hours in Bungie’s sci-fi universe, I certainly recommend playing through, especially at this price.
“Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate isn’t the worst expansion the looter shooter’s been given, but it’s a major step back from The Final Shape in almost every regard, mixing content that’s simply more of the same with a few experiments here and there that don’t always work out.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
The set offered four Commander decks themed after Pirates, Vampires, Merfolk, and Dinosaurs, with the latter–the cheekily titled Veloci-Ramp-Tor–proving to be a fantastic precon that shot up in price as demand surged.
The headline inclusion here is that Dino deck, which uses Pantlaza, Sun-Favored’s ability to essentially keep dinosaurs landing on your side of the board.
The Naya (Red, Green, White) deck is incredibly cohesive and easy to play with for novices, leading to it selling for $60-80 on its own a lot of the time.
That’s not to say that the other included decks aren’t of value, too, but even they’ll often set you back somewhere between $40 and $60 each, meaning this 30% saving on every deck is an absolute banger. Even at TCGPlayer, you're looking at around $135 resale for all four decks, so this is a great buy by any metric.
Blood Rites is all about powering up vampires with sacrifice, while Explorers of the Deep doles out counters and pulls lands. Finally, Ahoy Mateys lets you bring pirates back from the dead, while also stealing some of your opponents’ cards.
Each deck also includes a Collector Sample Booster, which has two cards in foil or borderless treatments. They’re not the reason to buy the decks, of course, but it’s a nice inclusion.
Honestly, this bundle could be ideal if you’ve got a group of friends that want to start playing right out of the box - these precons are ideal for a first foray into Magic: The Gathering or Commander (its most popular format).
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
Gearbox developers have been addressing disgruntled Borderlands 4 players who have questioned the need to nerf overpowered builds in the mostly single-player looter shooter, saying it’s necessary to preserve the challenge and encourage build “diversity.”
Borderlands 4 is rife with overpowered builds that cause massive damage, even to the game’s toughest bosses on the hardest difficulties. The most infamous of these is the crit knife, which Gearbox has said it’s aware of. But there are many others.
The nerf sweep set to hit Borderlands 4 has sparked a debate within the game’s community about the rights and wrongs of balance changes such as these in single-player games. With no PvP component, Borderlands 4 is mostly about solo players — and occasional groups of co-op players — farming bosses for loot that makes their build ever so slightly better each time.
Builds based on the crit knife, for example, can essentially delete bosses even on Borderlands 4’s toughest difficulty, making farming for loot a trivial endeavor. Some believe there’s nothing wrong with such overpowered play because players aren't competing with others in any way. Others argue it’s bad for the game.
Of course, this debate isn’t isolated to Borderlands 4. I’ve seen it crop up over the years in countless loot games, from Diablo to Destiny. But it always presents a tricky balancing act from developers who want to keep their players happy while also sticking to their guns in their response.
“What is the problem with these interactions in a mostly single-player experience? There's no pvp where it gives an unfair advantage,” asked one player on social media.
“Nerfs in a single-player experience is a s***-ass take and all of the ones asking for it should be ashamed, is that people can't have fun? It's not like this is a COD sweatfest where everyone is whining about how OP that weapon is or some shit like that,” said another frustrated player.
Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins has responded to the complaints, pointing to the game’s upcoming Invincible boss, which the developers want to present a challenge.
“We have future content like the upcoming Invincible that we want players to find challenge/accomplishment in,” Timmins explained. “If we balanced that content around bad gear, it would remove build diversity, forcing players into specific builds using said gear.”
Specifically on the crit knife, associate creative director Grant Kao said this particular, hugely popular build “diminishes playstyle variety,” and confirmed changes are planned.
“We will be adjusting it,” Kao said. “The crit knife’s potential output diminishes playstyle variety. The gun builds that use the crit knife have other options and will have more options coming soon.”
Timmins then chimed in on the crit knife, saying: “Our intent is always to expand the number of builds, so any adjustment we make is in service of that goal.”
“They can't release Invincibles in a context where absurdly overpowered stuff that one-shot bosses exist,” said redditor LascarCapable. “Otherwise people will just gravitate towards the few builds that can do it, the same pieces of gear, and everything else will be irrelevant. Also, it would make the game a borefest; it's funny five minutes to one-shot bosses, but beyond that point it just removes all the fun of the main gameplay loop.”
With a game like Borderlands 4, which has billions of guns and enormous scope for varied builds, fans will always find ways to generate enough damage that makes a mockery of boss fights. The question for Gearbox will be how it manages those builds, while taking care not to come across as the fun police.
This is something Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has struggled with as it works to maintain the challenge in its explosive co-op shooter while also preserving the fun. It’s fair to say the studio hasn’t always got it right, leading to discontent within its community and, on occasion, apologies from its developers.
All eyes are now on Gearbox to see what changes it has in store for not just Borderlands 4’s crit knife build, but any build it believes relies on an “unintended interaction.” A major patch is expected soon.
And we recently reported on comments from Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford, who said if more developers better understood why gamers love making decisions about loot, "We'd have good competitors."
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Things get weird but not weird enough in the slow burn slog, The Astronaut, which stars Kate Mara as a NASA astronaut who violently returns to Earth with no recollection of what happened and only a mild panic about a necrotic bruise spreading its way across her body.
The Astronaut is a rather toothless mystery about a poor woman stuck in a remote safe house as part of a cosmic quarantine, while she begins to see shadow beings stalking her, objects floating in front of her, and alarming black lesions appearing on her skin. We stick with Mara's Sam as she very boringly underreacts to terrifying circumstances in the off chance that they're only in her head. All of this leads to a strikingly benign "twist" that just leaves you going "huh, okay."
The Astronaut doesn't go far enough, one way or the other. It frustratingly resides in the soft, safe middle, which is probably the most offensive way to use the talented cast and the few millions spent on production. It's not body horror, nor is it enjoyable family fare; it's thriller-lite, which sadly represents so much of the streaming landscape (though The Astronaut landed a theater run for Spooky Season).
First time writer/director Jess Varley has a good eye for visuals and effectively creates a couple moments of nice tension, but the end reveal is thin. It's risky to make a movie that's heavily dependent on a twist, because that sucker better be worth it, right? And taking your time with the paranoia build only allows the viewer more opportunities to try and solve the puzzle on their own. If the ace up your sleeve isn't even close to being as imaginative as what we can concoct, your third act is going to fizzle. You also don't want your movie to feel like the bulk of it was awkwardly reverse-engineered from the twist, and unfortunately that's definitely how The Astronaut feels.
The Astronaut is largely a one-woman show, though Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna are also on hand as Sam's adoptive father and estranged husband, respectively. Young Scarlett Holmes plays Sam's daughter Izzy, representing the idea of Sam being split between her two life passions: her family, and space. For the sake of keeping mystery levels high, no one exhibits clear communication here, never going the extra mile and saying that extra sentence or two that we want them to say. It's clear, though, that Sam's interstellar ambitions have split her family apart, and that her drive to get sent back to space is so strong that she willfully ignores telltale horror movie signs of galactic chicanery.
There's nothing egregiously bad about The Astronaut; it's just limp, and not in execution, but in underwhelming themes and ideas. Keeping things simple in the sci-fi landscape can be a boon if executed properly, but this film feels too cautious. It's not out to challenge sensibilities or present anything new, and so when you have a space flick with ultimately nothing to say, you have something to actually mourn.
There's nothing egregiously bad about The Astronaut; it's just limp, and not in execution, but in underwhelming themes and ideas.
Connexion
PC Gamer
IGN
