Resident Evil: Requiem is just a couple of weeks away, and while the first few trailers definitely made it look like a beautiful game, the Switch 2 trailer that debuted earlier this week, well, didn't. But, the way I see it, that's excellent news, especially for anyone on a budget gaming PC.

Ever since the RE Engine came to prominence starting with Resident Evil: Biohazard, Capcom has been impressing me with just how good it can make games look, without making them too demanding. Now, obviously, I haven't had the chance to test Resident Evil: Requiem performance yet myself, but just looking at both the system requirements and the Switch 2 trailer, it seems like Capcom is continuing this trend.

Capcom hasn't revealed what resolution and settings either of these spec sheets are targeting, but even if that recommended build is just for 1080p Ultra at 60 fps, the Nvidia RTX 2060 Super and Radeon RX 6600 are very attainable graphics cards. That's not to mention only requiring a Core i7-8700 or Ryzen 5 5500 and 16GB of RAM, which is a very low bar to clear.

What Kind of Performance Can I Expect?

Again, because Capcom hasn't revealed any specific settings that the system requirements are targeting, I can't say for sure, but from my time testing Resident Evil Village for TechRadar when it came out, I was able to get nearly 60 fps at 4K with an RTX 3060 – and the 3060 is very much not a 4K graphics card.

However, it's important to note that the requirements for Requiem are a bit heavier than they were for Village. The biggest difference is that instead of asking for a Radeon RX 5700 or a GTX 1070 for Village, Requiem is asking for an RTX 2060 Super or a Radeon RX 6600. And while the performance gap between these graphics cards isn't huge on its own, the key difference is that Requiem is recommending a ray tracing-capable GPU – Village didn't.

That makes a lot of sense, given the visual quality of some of the trailers that have come out for the game, but it may leave some folks with older GPUs out in the cold. It's very likely that with an older non-RT GPU, the game will look a lot like the Nintendo Switch 2 footage. The bright side here, though, is that the GTX 1660 and Radeon RX 5500 XT sneak in the minimum specs, so you'll still be able to play the game, it just might not look too great.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Equivalent

It's important to highlight that the Nintendo Switch 2 is able to run Resident Evil: Requiem, even if it wouldn't quite meet the system requirements if it were a PC. The Tegra T239 SoC in the handheld is roughly the equivalent of a mobile RTX 3050 – which is weaker than the desktop-class GTX 1660 Capcom is requiring. I wouldn't get too caught up in this detail, though.

Primarily, that's because the Nintendo Switch 2 is a console and every single unit will be running the exact same hardware. That means when Capcom was porting Resident Evil: Requiem over to the Switch 2, it was able to fine-tune the build to the exact hardware, likely finding optimizations that wouldn't be there for the PC version.

Still, just going by the Switch 2 trailer earlier this week, it does seem like Capcom just barely managed to squeeze the game onto the handheld. But even if it is rough, I'm looking forward to seeing just how well it runs on the Nintendo console.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

B&H Photo has one of the best deals right now on a 4K-ready gaming PC. For a limited time, pick up a Lenovo Legion Tower 5 RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC for $1,899 with free delivery after a $700 discount. Most RTX 5070 Ti prebuilts cost above $2,000 these days, so this is one of the lowest prices I've seen. The RTX 5070 Ti is our best reviewed Nvidia GeForce Blackwell card and has the chops to run games in glorious 4K at 60+fps.

Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,899

Scarlet opens in IMAX on February 6 and in wide release on February 12.

Hamlet is one of the most adapted stories of all time, and for good reason; there is something deeply human about the tale of a young man destroyed by the need to avenge the gruesome death of his father. More than 400 years after Shakespeare wrote the tragedy, in a much changed world, there’s still something relatable about the young Prince of Denmark’s obsessive, grief-driven vengeance.

But what is an adaptation for if not reimagination, recontextualization, and the addition of titanic dragons that rain literal lightning judgement down on those below? Scarlet – an animé adaptation of Hamlet from Oscar-nominated auteur Mamoru Hosoda – is not afraid to get playful with its source material, and the film is the better for it. Here, Hamlet is a girl named Scarlet (voiced by Mana Ashida). Still a medieval princess growing up in Late Middle Ages Denmark, Scarlet spends her youth as all young people should – playing in the dirt, and basking in a parent’s love.

However, for those who know anything about the source material, this innocence cannot last. When Scarlet’s father, the King of Denmark, is coup-ed by his own brother, Claudius, with the help of Queen Gertrude, Scarlet goes full Arya Stark. She trains as a swordswoman, driven by a furious thirst for revenge. Her plot is interrupted by her uncle’s own machinations, who poisons his niece with little fanfare before she can take him out herself.

Unlike Hamlet, which stretches the above series of events (or some variation thereof) over four-plus hours, Scarlet speeds through the aforementioned plot in the first 20 minutes or so. The film has other ambitions – namely, the exploration of the beautiful and deadly Otherworld, a mysterious desert land where dead from across the ages go before they pass on to somewhere else. Scarlet wakes up in this liminal space after her poisoning, and is no less focused on revenge; when she hears Claudius is also in this place, she sets out to kill him once again.

But the Otherworld is populated with other souls on their own journeys. Scarlet almost immediately crosses paths with Hijiri (Masaki Okada), a present-day EMT who seems set on helping everyone he meets in the Otherworld, even when they are trying to kill him. The unlikely pair journeys across the unforgiving desert, crossing paths with bandits and musicians, children and elderly. A massive, mountain-like dragon sometimes descends from the atmosphere to strike the unworthy down with storms of lightning.

If that last part sounds spectacular, it is, and this is a film that is worth seeing on a big screen if possible. From The Girl Who Leapt Through Time to the Oscar-nominated Mirai and Belle, Hosoda has proven himself a master at making the mundane feel epic and the fantastical feel real. The lightning giant is just one example of the visual grandeur of this animated world, which treats dynamic fight sequences, musical performances, and quiet, resilient moments trudging through a sandstorm as equally important.

Mamoru Hosoda doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the ambition of his themes. In its original form, Hamlet is a story with an intentionally claustrophobic court setting. The inward-looking nature of its powerful characters, most especially its youthful and actively grieving protagonist, places any of its observations about the nature of humanity on a very personal level. Even when we call it politics, it is about the interpersonal drama of the Danish court.

In Scarlet, our princess swordswoman is very much driven by the same toxic, murderous family dynamics as the film’s source material, but by expanding the setting to this Otherworld, Hosoda is also expanding its theme. When Scarlet is asked to reflect on the understandable selfishness of her suffering, it is done through interactions with people, communities, and civilizations from across time; dear Hamlet never had such a resource of scope. The result is a deeply personal story that, through the visual grandeur and texture of this land between life and death, resonates on a societal level too.

Scarlet has a deep empathy for its world, which is to say that it has a deep empathy for our world. This kind of gentleness can often be mistaken for a lack of realism, but Hosoda’s script is not unaware of humanity’s many cruelties. Rather, it suggests that we must fight anyway, in the small ways that we can, and that – maybe – across generations and centuries, something might come of it. Some viewers might find that thesis depressing, but I think there’s something hopeful about it; judging by the way Hosoda balances the film’s bloodshed with humanity’s potential for culture, caring, and community, I think the filmmaker might think so too.

The Strangers - Chapter 3 is in theaters now.

There was a moment while watching The Strangers - Chapter 3 that I realized there really was just nothing going on under the hood. Not only in terms of this movie, but of this entire Renny Harlin-directed trilogy. Despite comprising over four hours worth of story over three installments following the same protagonist, very little has been narratively accomplished, and no core ideas have been thematically clarified. This realization came to me during a scene where Maya, our hero played by Madelaine Petsch, witnesses the main antagonist viciously murder someone she should theoretically care about. But she has zero reaction whatsoever. No tears, no anguished screams of “No!” or “How could you?”, just a blank stare as yet another one-note character is snuffed out in this exasperating excuse for a trilogy.

At the end of Chapter 2, Maya managed to kill Pin-Up Girl, one of the three main villains. Those villains would be the Strangers in question, a group of masked serial killers who like to knock on doors and chop up people with axes. Scarecrow, the leader and only male of the group, ended the last movie looking pretty upset about this turn of events, so you would think this movie would involve Maya and him speeding towards a thrilling battle to the death, right? Well, no, actually, that’s not what happens at all.

In fact, the first meeting between Maya and her main enemy involves him finally being unmasked, as they have a surprisingly calm conversation inside a chapel and acknowledge that they’ve each killed someone the other one cared for (Maya’s fiancé Ryan bit the dust at the end of Chapter 1). Scarecrow tells Maya to leave town, but this is a horror movie, so instead of doing the sensible thing, Maya sticks around for one more go-around with the bad guys before we’re finally free of this nonsense.

Setting aside that Maya has a perfectly good escape vehicle that she unceremoniously wrecks by not paying attention while she’s driving (really), or that the body count across three movies has gotten so high that you would think this town would warrant being declared a national emergency, there is simply nothing left to do with these characters within the scenario they’ve been established in. But Harlin and screenwriters Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland seem to know this, which is why The Strangers - Chapter 3 does involve a fresh conceit, that being that Maya is recaptured almost immediately after leaving the chapel since Scarecrow and Dollface have plans to turn Maya into the new Pin-Up Girl. You know, because when you kill a serial killer, you become a serial killer. That’s how it works, right?

At the very least, it’s the first novel spin this trilogy has had on the Strangers premise, but it doesn’t register because the characters involved are too thin to support it. In my review of Chapter 2, I remarked that Maya had become somewhat more textured by her experiences in the first two films, but Chapter 3 goes out of its way to give her nothing to do. She has virtually no dialogue outside of her first and final scenes, and while Madelaine Petsch felt engaged in the middle film when she was fighting and fleeing from her tormentors, here she spends almost the entire movie with a vacant expression that’s not informed by what’s going on around her. It’s as if everyone involved had grown tired of the whole deal after filming three films back-to-back, and while that’s certainly understandable, it doesn’t excuse the movie being as boring to watch as it appears to have been to make.

That lack of creative investment spills into every aspect of the production. New characters are introduced and promptly dispatched before we learn anything about them. Characters from the first two films who had Obviously Evil signposts over their heads are revealed to be obviously evil. There are more backstory scenes showing us the origins of Scarecrow and Dollface that don’t have any real bearing on the present day events. Even the kills in this one feel marred by fatigue. If you’re not going to bother getting us emotionally invested in your characters before killing them, at least make the kills appreciably gory so they can be enjoyed on a popcorn entertainment level. But this movie is weirdly low on blood despite having an absurd number of deaths; you’ll find much more blood (and a much better movie) if you check out Sam Raimi’s Send Help this weekend instead.

I don’t like slamming movies this way. I go into every one hoping it’s something I can enjoy on some level, and I'm an avid fan of the horror genre. But this is the worst installment in a trilogy of movies that I sincerely have nothing substantially positive to say about. While I was expecting a movie lacking in ambition or nuance based on its predecessors, Harlin and company have turned in a finale that is bereft of urgency, tension, or even baseline thrills. The Strangers - Chapter 3 may not be the worst horror movie I’ve seen in a theater, but it might be the laziest.

The director of Yakuza 3 Kiwami + Dark Ties has broken his silence on Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio's controversial hiring of Teruyuki Kagawa to play Goh Hamazaki, saying they needed someone who would make audiences think, "This guy's a creep."

This comes from an interview with Horii conducted by Japanese outlet GAME Watch, and independently translated by IGN. In the interview, Horii is asked directly about the decision to recast certain characters in Kiwami from their original Japanese actors. His general response as to why he recast both Hamazaki and Rikiya Shimabukuro is that while it would "certainly be safer not to recast them and avoid online criticism," the studio "felt there was no use being afraid."

Horii goes on to say that they based their decision on who they most wanted to see perform. When asked directly about Kagawa playing Hamazaki, this is what Horii had to say:

Hamazaki is a sleazy, persistent, and militant yakuza, right? Since he isn't an explosive character like Kanda, when we tried to think of someone who makes you go, "This guy's a creep," naturally it was Kagawa – that was the main factor. Kagawa's acting is fun to watch. Even when he's chopping a pig's feet off with a chef's knife, it has a slimy feel. That feeling permeates his performance, so it brings a freshness to the scene and made it feel really fun.

Kagawa's casting as Hamazaki has been met with anger from Yakuza fans due to the actor having been accused by multiple women of sexual assault, with one woman coming forward with what seems to be photographic evidence of the incident. In 2022, Kagawa admitted to and apologized for one of the incidents, but another of his accusers has said she received no apology.

Following the announcement of Kagawa's casting, Yakuza fans reacted in anger on social media, getting #REMOVEKAGAWA trending on multiple networks and creating a Change.org petition that at the time of this writing has nearly 10,000 signatures. Fans have accused RGG Studio of suppressing the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag and deleting comments referencing the issue on its official Instagram page. And a number of them have pointed out that Sega has recast actors for offenses in the past - Pierre Taki was recast in Judgment back in 2019 after he was arrested for cocaine possesssion.

Up to this point, neither RGG Studio nor Sega has offered official comment on Kagawa's casting, nor the accusations - Horii's answer is the first statement that's been offered on the subject. However, Sega did publish a trailer on its official YouTube after the wave of criticism, which introduced the Japanese voice cast and opened on a longer clip of Hamazaki. IGN reached out to Sega for additional comment ahead of this story, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

For today, we’re seeing the first price drop on the MTG x Marvel Super Heroes preorder, which is set to arrive in June. A whole slew of awesome 4K UHD movies are at their lowest prices ever on Amazon and will arrive just in time for Valentine’s Day, including The Purge: 5-Movie Collection and The Emperor's New Groove. Plus, Persona Reload 3 for PS5, the Razer Kitsune fight stick, and a slim 100W power bank are seeing nice discounts. Check out all the deals below:

TL;DR - Best Deals Today

First Preorder Price Drop for MTG X Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box

Persona 3 Reload for PS5 Hits New Low Price

4K UHD Movies Drop To Lowest Prices Ever

Skip going out and cozy up on the couch with your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day. A whole bunch of popular 4K UHD movies are down to their lowest prices ever on Amazon. You could do a proper marathon with the 7-film A Nightmare On Elm Street Collection or the 5 Purge movies. Otherwise, for something a *bit* lighter, grab Death Becomes Her or the RoboCop 2 Steelbook, while the whole family will love The Emperor's New Groove or Babe.

LEGO Vincent Van Gogh The Starry Night and Sunflowers Drops to New Low Price

Grab a Razer Kitsune Arcade Controller for 39% Off

Score a 20,000mAh 100W Slim Power Bank for Just $39.99

EXIT: The Game - Adventures on Catan Is Only $11.10

Pokémon Mega Evolution Phantasmal Flames Booster Bundle Hits New Low

MTG: Lorwyn Eclipsed Commander Deck Bundle is $120.67

Disney Afternoon Collection for Switch Preorder

Octopath Traveler 0 Hits New Low On Amazon

It's not easy being The Sentry. Bob Reynolds may be the most powerful hero in the Marvel Universe, but he's also got a dark side that cancels out every good deed The Sentry does. To make matters worse, Bob has spent more time dead than alive over the past 15 years. But things are finally looking up for the Golden Guardian of Good in 2026. Not only is he returning to the big screen in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, The Sentry is also starring in a brand new series written by none other than co-creator Paul Jenkins.

IGN had the chance to speak with Jenkins via email to learn more about the new book and his thoughts on The Sentry's MCU debut. First, check out an exclusive preview of the first issue in the slideshow gallery below, then read on to learn more:

The new volume of The Sentry is significant not just because it revives the popular hero after his death in 2020's King in Black, but because it's Jenkins' first Marvel project in well over a decade. In fact, one of his last Marvel assignments was exploring the fallout of The Sentry's first death in 2010's Sentry: Fallen Sun. We asked the writer what made now the right time to finally return to the Marvel fold.

"Well, there’s certainly never a bad time to return," Jenkins tells IGN. "But in all seriousness, I had consulted on the Thunderbolts* movie, and that led directly to me reconnecting with C.B. [Cebulski] and some of the folks at Marvel. Sentry was gaining an entirely new set of fans, and it seemed like a good time to explore a new series. It feels wonderful to be back working with a publisher who has meant so much to my career. I love to write comics, and I really missed working with so many of my friends in this business. While I’m here, I should definitely give a shout-out to our editors, Mark Paniccia and Lauren Amaro - people don’t realize just how difficult this job really is. I was an editor for maybe five or so years before I became a freelance writer. So, huge thanks to those guys for being amazing. It’s great to be back."

As for Thunderbolts*, we were curious how Jenkins felt about seeing one of his most famous creations come to life on the big screen. Jenkins reveals that the film captured the most important element of the character - his vulnerability.

"I was lucky enough to interact with the director and actor, and I was so thrilled by the way Jake Schreier and Lewis Pullman handled the character," Jenkins says. "Jake truly understood the point of Sentry - it has never been about how powerful he is, it has always been about how vulnerable he is. Jake was very gracious to chat with me at the premiere’s after party, and I had a chance to talk with Lewis as well. He’s so perfect for this role because he brings the right amount of vulnerability to Bob. In both cases, Lewis and Jake knew this was all about Bob, and the Sentry and Void are sort of side-effects."

Mobile games have existed for decades, but the market has grown immensely in recent years. So we decided it’s time to figure out which mobile game you think is the best of all time with a March Madness–style bracket, presented by our friends at McDonald’s and their limited-time Hot Honey sauce, which will make your faves more perfect.

The bracket is made up of 32 entries divided into two categories. On one side are classics like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Doodle Jump, and Candy Crush. On the other are modern hits like Genshin Impact, Balatro, Fortnite, and Roblox. But which game deserves to be crowned as the GOAT? Only you can tell us that.

The bracket will pit games against each other 1v1, with the winner of each matchup moving on to the next round. All the matchups in each round will be done at the same time, with voting conducted through polls on the bottom of the page you’re currently on as well as IGN’s Instagram stories. If you come back to this page on the dates listed below, the polls will be updated to the latest round and you can vote again.

🗓️ Voting Dates

First Round: Feb. 6

Sweet 16: Feb. 10

Elite 8: Feb. 12

Final 4: Feb. 18

Championship: Feb. 20

Winner Announced: Feb. 24

Isometric open-world zombie survival sandbox game HumanitZ first entered Steam Early Access in September 2023. In the more than two years since then, it’s gotten 18 major updates and countless patches. And now, it’s reached a new milestone: It’s out of Early Access, and Version 1.0 includes a visual and structural overhaul on top of all the previous improvements.

HumanitZ takes place in a zombie-ravaged world with an emphasis on long-term progression and player choice. You can scavenge ruined cities, build bases, and try to outlast the zombies (known as Zeeks) and potentially other survivors (if you so choose). The whole game can be played solo, but there are also optional co-op, PvE, and PvP modes available on dedicated and player-hosted servers.

There’s a variety of environments across the open world, including big city streets, suburbs, farms, and forests. And you can mold those environments to suit your needs and help you survive, with several options available to you.

For example, you can raid a city, clear out the Zeeks, and claim an abandoned building to then turn into a fortified base using the building and crafting systems. Or you can stay away from the city and use farming, hunting, fishing, and foraging to create a self-sustaining homestead. Or you can constantly stay on the move, surviving off the resources you gather and never putting down roots.

These choices are all viable, but come with different levels of risk. Cities tend to be packed with necessary resources but are also crawling with Zeeks, leaving you with very little room for error. While building up your farmstead will see fewer Zeeks but runs the risk of sapping you of resources before it becomes self-sustaining. And you’ll never be able to completely avoid danger. Zombies and other hostile NPCs are constantly roaming the open world, so even if you choose to stay away from the city, you have to remain vigilant.

This focus on player choice has always been at the core of HumanitZ, with extensive updates and fine-tuning during Early Access. Version 1.0 has continued to build on those ideas with a broad round of refinements, upgrades, and new content. The most obvious example is its graphical overhaul, with fully remastered maps, upgraded lighting, new character models, and updated environments. There are also several gameplay improvements, including new skill trees, the ability to multiclass, more diverse zombie types, special ammo, new equipment, new vehicles, and countless other new additions.

And while HumanitZ will always be an open-world sandbox, there are optional quests that can provide guidance to those of us who like a bit more structure. These quests will lead you to new areas (some of which were previously undiscoverable), where you can learn the lore behind the zombie outbreak and the horrors it’s inflicted. These quests won’t force you down a linear path, they’re just there to give you some guide rails if you want them, and they can be ignored or done at whatever pace you want.

You can choose how hard the experience is, too. Difficulty can be tuned across everything from season length and day-night cycles to Zeek respawn rates, companion health and damage, airdrops, and dynamic AI events. You can also turn on permadeath, meaning that if you die once, your game is over and you’ll have to start over again from the beginning. And for you masochists out there, you can opt into the new afflictions that add a persistent debuff and long-term consequences on top of all those modifiers, cranking the difficulty up as far as you dare

And while Version 1.0 signals a major milestone in HumanitZ’s development, it’s far from the end. The dev team has made it clear that you can expect post-launch support, with patches and updates to add new content and address player feedback. You can find HumanitZ on Steam now, where you can also read the patch notes and see all the details of everything that was added and refined in the Version 1.0 release. To keep up with the latest news and updates, you can also follow the game on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Discord.

The development team behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have been given the status of Knight under the French Order of Arts and Letters, in recognition of their significant contribution to the country's art and culture.

French studio Sandfall Interactive revealed the news this week via a post on LinkedIn, which included photos of the proud team wearing medals bestowed upon them by the French Ministry of Culture.

While somewhat similar to a British knighthood, the French Order of Arts and Letters does not allow holders to add a "Sir" to their names. Still, it is prestigious form of recognition awarded to just 200 people worldwide each year, for their work creating something of outstanding cultural significance.

Gaming in 2026 feels like a mad scramble to get what you need and not much else, lest you have to pay over the odds for it. The Lenovo LOQ 15 AMD Gen 10 feels like an entry-level gaming laptop very much of its time. Its modest processor and GPU aren’t going to blow you away, but its hardware and overall design might just be what you need to get gaming at 1080p, without breaking the bank.

Lenovo LOQ 15 – Design and Features

The LOQ 15 isn’t about to win design awards. Just like its predecessor, the Lenovo LOQ 15 has a clean design without the extra frills that more expensive gaming laptops seem to require these days. . It’s functional, with a solid feel to it and the ability to smoothly and easily close the lid one-handed.

The port selection includes a USB-A, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, on the right-hand side, and a couple of extra USB-A ports and an HDMI output on the rear. There’s also an Ethernet port if you want to play games where stable Wi-Fi isn’t readily available. There’s no high-speed USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 or 5, but unless you’re planning on transferring RAW image files or UHD video from an external device, that’s not likely to be something you’ll miss. Three USB-A ports are plenty for a keyboard, mouse, and webcam, or other external device, and the USB-C port is great for recharging your phone or connecting external storage devices. Keeping the majority of the connections on the back ensures the cables are tucked out of the way too.

Though the onboard Wi-Fi 6 is hardly cutting-edge, it’s plenty fast for everyday office work and gaming.

At just over 5 pounds, the LOQ 15 isn’t the most portable laptop, but it’s lighter than most gaming laptops and it’s not a chore to carry around – I can’t see it causing much strain being carried around in a backpack either. It’s big enough that I probably wouldn’t want to game on my actual lap, but it’s portable enough that gaming on a train or plain table isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Lenovo cites RAM and storage upgradeability as a benefit for this laptop, and indeed it is. It’s just a shame RAM is so expensive that actually doing so anytime soon in a budget gaming laptop seems unlikely. The 16GB is fine for most games, but there are some AAA games that demand 32GB for anything beyond low settings, so you may find some experiences limited until you can upgrade.

The model I reviewed comes with a 512GB SSD, which is fine for indie libraries, but while testing a handful of AAA games I often found myself having to uninstall something just to install the next game – though that’s something most people won’t have to deal with. The 1TB model isn’t a big cost upgrade, just adding an extra $100 if you customize the build yourself, so before AI-inspired shortages send that northwards, grab the larger model while you can.

The display is reasonably bright at 300 nits, and its 144 Hz refresh rate is welcome for more casual games and esports – though don’t expect this laptop’s entry-level GPU to be putting out triple digit frame rates in AAA games.

The keyboard is a real contender for one of my favorites in recent memory, with a solid feel and satisfying light click-clack as you type away. There’s 1.5mm of travel, and none of the keys feel crammed together. One of the advantages of a laptop this size is you can let your fingers roam a little more, and Lenovo takes full advantage of this with its keyboard design. There’s only white backlighting, but as long as I can see the keys in the dark, I’m not too concerned with what color they are.

Audio is what you would expect from a more affordable gaming laptop with a mere pair of 2W speakers. There’s basically no bass to speak of and at higher volumes there’s a distinct drop in clarity. The support for Dolby Atmos is a welcome addition if you’re movie watching, but you are 100% better off listening through headphones as you’ll find the experience much improved.

The Lenovo Legion Space software the laptop ships with is somewhat useful, in that it can help you manage power profiles for the laptop’s various components, and it gives you an insight into their utilization, temperature, etc. It’s a handy tool but one that likes to radiate from the taskbar with notifications aplenty every time you boot it up. I don’t need it, I doubt most users do, but it’s there.

What I really wish wasn’t, was the McAffee antivirus trial which had almost expired by the time I got the laptop up and running. I feel like I’ve been haunted by trials of this antivirus for 30 years and they’re still coming. Windows Defender is plenty for most - and anyone who wants more, will want to choose their own. “Free trials,” like this, are more annoying than anything else.

Lenovo Loq 15 – Performance

As much as looks are important for a gaming laptop, performance is still king. That’s not to say that I went into this expecting the Lenovo Loq 15 to be the kind of gaming laptop that dominates the competition; It’s an entry level gaming laptop, after all. But for an affordable device with entry-level components, it was perfectly capable of playing everything I threw at it.

All tests were conducted at 1080p resolution, with maximum settings, and where available, with DLSS set to quality.

In synthetic tests the Lenovo LOQ 15 put out perfectly serviceable numbers. It’s around 30% slower than the Alienware Aurora 16X we reviewed recently, but costs 40% less, and its real-world gaming results are even more impressive.

In Call of Duty Black Ops 7, the Lenovo laptop managed 78 frames per second which looks buttery smooth on the 144Hz high refresh rate display. Cyberpunk 2077 was naturally more demanding, but we still managed to get 49 fps with ray tracing at Ultra settings. We were even able to achieve a playable 32 fps when using RT overdrive, which for an entry-level mobile GPU like the RTX 5050 feels like an impressive achievement.

Unfortunately we couldn’t get the benchmark to finish with Frame Generation enabled - it just crashed towards the end of the benchmark every time I tried running it. Hopefully, it’s just a weird anomaly on our test system, it remains an option for improving performance even further despite the sky-high detail settings.

Metro Exodus: Enhanced continues to be a demanding game for even modern GPUs and the Lenovo LOQ 15 was only able to manage 37 fps there. Very playable, but not the smoothest of experiences when the action picks up. Total War: Warhammer III was much more playable, though, with 84 fps on average for a very smooth gaming experience, despite using Ultra settings.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is one of the newest games in our benchmark list and it shows: The game looks utterly gorgeous. Even on an RTX 5050 we were able to manage 38 fps without frame generation, and 66 fps average with it enabled. I did encounter a strange blocky artifact in the benchmark for this game during testing, but it wasn’t present in the main game itself, so I’m taking that as a weird quirk of the benchmark than any real issue – one worth mentioning just in case, though.

All of that gaming power does come at the slight cost to noise levels. When plugged in and on high performance mode, this laptop does get rather loud and I wouldn’t want to game on it without headphones. But that’s hardly a huge ask. And if you don’t mind taking a slight hit to performance and playing in more balanced power modes, the noise levels are no way near as distinct.

General performance in Procyon was decent – comparable to some other AMD laptops we've reviewed recently like the Razer Blade 16, despite its newer and higher-end CPU. However it’s very clear Intel holds an advantage in these kinds of benchmarks, so consider that carefully if you’re primarily interested in this laptop for general office work.

Battery life, unfortunately, wasn’t amazing. It’s not terrible, lasting just over five hours in our Procyon battery test. But that’s more comparable to high-end gaming PCs with more powerful processors and big, hefty GPUs. The Lenovo LOQ 15 has a small battery, and that helps keep weight and size down, but it’s not the kind of machine you’ll use on the go for a full day of work or play.

I found the Lenovo LOQ 15 AMD a pleasure to use day-to-day. It’s light enough, and I particularly appreciated that despite being an entry-level laptop when it comes to gaming, it’s far from entry-level in style and design. The lid opens and closes easily with one hand, the design is sleek whilst still giving little nods to its gaming chops, like the honeycomb air intake grills on the underside.

The somewhat limited battery life wasn’t an annoyance day to day, but getting a little battery anxiety around a full work day on a brand new laptop isn’t ideal. This is one laptop you’ll want to keep the charging brick handy if you’re planning a long session.

Video game adaptations are all the rage these days — so why not add another cool one to the list? The Last of Us and Alien: Romulus star Isabela Merced is set to star in an upcoming film adaptation of the hit Sega franchise The House of the Dead.

The adaptation was previously announced with Paul W.S. Anderson at the helm, which is definitely a good sign for any video game adaptation. Anderson is responsible for the original Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil films, as well as the fourth, fifth, and sixth installments in the Resident Evil franchise — so it makes a lot of sense that he would want to delve into the 1997 game and bring it to life on screen.

“The House of the Dead is a game I have loved for many years, and I’m beyond thrilled to be bringing this to the big screen with such an exciting talent as Isabela at its heart,” Anderson said in a statement. “We envisage this as the start of a tentpole franchise which can explore the rich world and lore that Sega has created over a whole series of films.”

Free-to-play open-world RPG Neverness to Everness (NTE) just launched a new closed beta test, called the Co-Ex Test, that’s playable on PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile. It showcases the improvements developer Hotta Studio has made in the months since the last closed beta, including vehicle updates, new minigames, and gameplay tweaks. And alongside the beta, they announced that pre-registration is available now on the App Store and Google Play.

The Containment Test beta in July added a requisition system that allows you to commandeer vehicles across Hethereau, the giant metropolis where NTE takes place. And now, that system has been refined. New types of vehicles have been added, including muscle cars, supercars, and sportbikes, and the physics of all vehicles have been improved. Handling is tighter, while collisions and the exterior damage they cause are more realistic.

There are also a lot more ways to interact with vehicles. Characters can join you as passengers, and they’ve gotten new riding animations. And you can honk the horn and jump out of a vehicle before it’s come to a stop. You can also pop tires, knock out windows, and damage vehicles to the point where they explode.

You can requisition vehicles whenever you want, but causing excessive damage or disturbing public order will activate NTE’s multi-level wanted system, which has also seen some changes. As your wanted level rises, there will be escalating consequences. Police officers and bots will pursue you, and they’ll get more aggressive as your wanted level increases.

Previously, if you were apprehended by police officers, you simply paid a fine and were immediately let out. Now, you’ll be sent to a detention facility, where you have more options for how to get out. You can still pay the fine to leave immediately, but now you also can try to stage a jail break, which obviously comes with some risk. Or you can work off what you owe, which basically amounts to cleaning up the facility. It’s the slowest option, but it costs no money and comes with no danger. So you’ll need to weigh what’s most important to you: speed, danger, or cost.

Hethereau is almost constantly plagued by reality-defying anomalies, and the main story will see you working as an unlicensed Anomaly Hunter to investigate these weird occurrences and figure out how to stop them. But in between these story beats, you’ll be able to take part in leisure activities and hobbies.

You can buy a home to return to after a long day, or you can buy and customize a car and race against street crews or against other players in multiplayer. The Co-Ex Test added new activities and hobbies too, including fishing, games of Mahjong, a musical rhythm game called Super Sound (which you can see below), and a shop management sim mode.

Fishing is the most in-depth addition, with a total of 76 different types of fish spread across designated fishing spots in the city. Each district of Hethereau has its own spots, and different fish are located in different bodies of water. So you’ll need to venture across the city if you want to catch them all. Whatever you catch can be sold for tokens, which can then be traded for fishing-related items or fons (the in-game currency). And as you catch different fish, you’ll earn additional rewards for filling up your fishing log.

If you like being able to take over a shop and manage its day-to-day operations to improve it, then Owner’s Selection is the mode for you. You can find shops in the open world available for purchase. Once you buy one, you’re in charge of improving its popularity and business level. You do this by hiring staff, decorating the shop, and stocking products. As the shop’s popularity grows, its level will rise and you’ll earn increased profits.

There’s also a new dungeon-style extraction mode called Pink Paws Heist that you can access at any time once you’ve unlocked it at Tycoon Level 18. In it, you’ll gather resources and either fight or avoid patrolling anomalies to find your way to an exit. You’ll get points based on which resources you successfully extract with, and those points can be traded for currency, upgrade materials, and other goodies.

The Co-Ex Test will last until February 20, and public signups are closed, but you still have the chance to win access. Go to this site before February 13 and link your PWG account, then tune in for Twitch Drops livestreams that will run until February 13 at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. During the livestream, you’ll have the chance to directly receive access to the beta. Good luck!

Once the beta test ends, Hotta Studio will take player feedback and implement it into later versions. A final release date for the full version of NTE has not been announced yet, but we do know it will be available for free on PC, console, iOS, and Android with cross-progression across all platforms. For the latest news and info, you can follow NTE on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Discord.

Magic: The Gathering has begun showcasing its Marvel Super Heroes set, and while it’s a way off just yet (launching in June), the Marvel Super Heroes Gift Bundle is likely to be popular.

The box follows on from prior gift bundles, but is it worth the MSRP of $89.99? Why is it already spiking in price in some secondary markets? All will be revealed below.

In case building your own rig is too much work right now or simply not a priority for you, you can always opt for a top-tier prebuilt gaming PCs. You'll miss out on the satisfaction of building your PC from the ground up, but all that time you saved skipping research, waiting for components to arrive, building your machine, and inevitably troubleshooting when something goes awry can be spent actually playing PC games.

The half-baked prebuilt systems of yesteryear are no more, cutting far fewer corners for a long-lasting gaming PC that can take on all the action you throw its way. With the latest and greatest graphics cards and processors becoming pricier than ever, you may even save money by opting for something from Alienware, MSI, or HP. Plus, most options are easy enough to open up to upgrade components down the road, including our favorite gaming PC, the Legion Tower 7i.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming PCs:

Buying a gaming PC is a bit more involved than a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S. You’ll need to determine the types of games you want to play and how you want to play them – even great budget gaming PCs won’t be running Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest settings. Finding the proper processors, storage, memory, cooling, and other hardware and ensuring all the components work well together can make or break the rig. Luckily, many manufacturers take care of a good chunk of that guesswork so you don’t bottleneck the system.

One thing to keep in mind is that RAM prices are extremely high right now. This is thanks in large part to AI data centers scooping all of it up, according to a post from Bontech Labs, which has led to prices of memory going up significantly. This hasn't significantly impacted the price of prebuilt gaming PCs yet, but as PC builders start working through their existing inventory, I'd expect that to change.

Whether you're looking for something more affordable for indie games, want a compact option to save space in your studio apartment, or are after a top-tier rig to tackle the action in 4K, we’ve got you covered. One of the five pre-built gaming PCs we’ve selected will align perfectly with your needs.

What's Going on With Gaming PCs Right Now?

Gaming PCs, and the parts that make them, have been steadily increasing in price for the last few years. However, in the last few months, RAM has been particularly affected due to the increased demand from datacenters, thanks to the AI boom going on right now. It's at the point where 32GB of DDR5 RAM will set you back around $450–$500, as opposed to just $90 six months ago.

That'd be bad on its own, but the exponential price increases aren't ending at more expensive memory. SSDs have also doubled in price, and high-end graphics cards like the RTX 5090 are more expensive than they've ever been. And we can't count on Nvidia releasing its mid-generation RTX 5000 Super cards to breathe new life into that market.

For the most part, pre-built gaming PCs have been insulated from these price increases, but I don't think that's going to last much longer. It's only a matter of time before major PC manufacturers like Lenovo have to restock and memory, and when that happens, you can bet the prices are going to go up accordingly. This is also the reason the Steam Machine was recently delayed. If you've been in the market for a gaming PC, I'd suggest either pulling the trigger on a pre-built soon before things get any worse, or waiting for prices to stabilize. You might be waiting a while for the latter, though.

1. Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10

Best Gaming PC

2. Asus ROG G700 Gaming PC

Best Gaming PC for the RGB Lover

3. iBuyPower Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop

Best Budget Gaming PC

4. Asus ROG NUC

Best Mini Gaming PC

5. Maingear Rush Artist Series

Best Boutique Gaming PC

How to Choose a Gaming PC

Prebuilts are the most surefire way of getting into gaming and arguably the most cost-effective hardware you can buy. With a system, you’re not only getting the hardware inside, but time savings of having to track down the best processor to best RAM for your system and putting it all together yourself and praying it actually boots up correctly.

Prioritize the GPU

Just like building your own PC you want to make sure you’re spending your money where it’s needed most. Firstly, you should prioritize getting the graphics card you need for the gaming monitor or the gaming TV you’re gaming on. There’s no need for anything better than an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti if you’re just playing games on a 1080p display.

Likewise, you should only need an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 processor with at least four cores to play most modern games comfortably at any resolution.

Think about how comfortable you are with swapping out parts

System memory and solid-state drives can be the biggest money sink for any system. Those comfortable with upgrading their system after it arrives should choose a configuration with the smallest storage and RAM capacities possible, as buying these components yourself can often be more cost-effective.

If that last suggestion resonates, perhaps a barebones system is what you seek. Those can be much cheaper since they come with all the major hardware – such as the CPU, GPU, and power supply – installed, but they usually lack storage, memory, and an operating system as a trade-off.

Consider a boutique builder

Lastly, if you want more control over what exactly is going into your build, go with a boutique PC builder. Origin, Maingear, DigitalStorm, Falcon Northwest, PC Specialist, and many more companies offer excellent PC building services that let you pick exactly which components go into your gaming PC. From there, they build your system with the sort of cable management some can only dream of while ensuring it all works properly out of the box.

In case this all sounds a little overwhelming to you, NZXT has its own PC building service called BLD. Instead of picking every part that will go into your PC, you chose the games you’ll actually play and the service gives you several configuration options that will be able to run the games for a smooth experience.

Similarly, iBuyPower offers an Easy Builder service that operates in very much the same fashion. Users can select games that they play from a small pool that includes Fortnite, GTA V, Apex Legends, WoW, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Battlefield V. From there, users can select whether they play at a 1080p or 1440p resolution, as well as their budget, and the system will spit back a few configurations to choose from.

Prebuilt PCs also come with several features and pieces of software you might find convenient. Many gaming PCs in this category come with some sort of overclocking support and even a one-click button to boost your system's performance. Of course, it's easy enough to download a piece of overclocking software like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision X. Additionally, your machine may come with system monitoring software that makes downloading and updating drivers a breeze.

Gaming PC FAQ

Should you buy a gaming PC or a gaming laptop?

Unless you’re looking for an all-in-one portable package, a gaming PC is usually better than even the best gaming laptops. With a desktop, it’s much easier and less expensive to upgrade parts, and they tend to last longer before going obsolete. Read more about gaming PCs vs. gaming laptops.

Is it easy to upgrade your prebuilt gaming PC?

It depends. Most PC manufacturers have figured out users absolutely hate proprietary parts. While you might still find no-name motherboards installed into the heart of your PC, they should all at least fall in line with the standard size and layout of Mini ITX or Micro ATX motherboards. The best gaming PCs should allow you to easily swap out the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage on your system with just a few simple tools or just a screwdriver.

Better yet, systems that tout tool-less upgradability don't require you to undo screws or anything to replace any of the major components. One of the things you'll likely find on most modern chassis are thumbscrews, which can be removed after a few quick twists with your fingers rather than a screwdriver. Additionally, tool-less SSD and hard drive caddies make expanding and replacing your storage just a little bit easier.

Should you buy a gaming PC or a console?

When comparing a gaming PC vs. console, there appear to be more similarities than differences these days, but one still comes out on top: the gaming PC.

Not every aspect of a gaming PC beats consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Consoles are much easier to use. You’ll also find that even the most expensive consoles are cheap compared to a quality gaming PC with a good graphics card, although there are good budget GPUs. There are some great handheld gaming PCs and mini PCs that are more affordable, but they’re better for indie games or older cross-platform console titles.

Where a gaming PC pulls ahead is in its gaming library, peripherals, upgradeability, and overall performance. There’s no denying that there are a massive amount of PC games, and of course, a gaming PC has cross-platform compatibility with popular console titles. Beyond gaming keyboards and gaming mice, you’ll find a wealth of other peripherals, from racing wheels to controllers, that all work seamlessly with a PC. You can also enjoy better visuals and a higher performance ceiling, and it’s easy to upgrade components. That makes a well-equipped PC the clear winner.

Can you find a good gaming PC for under $1,000?

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to find a great gaming PC for under $1,000. You just need to manage your expectations. Less powerful hardware will usually come in these ultra budget-friendly desktops, meaning gaming performance is more limited. Even still, you should have no problem running many of your favorite games in 1080p or sometimes even 1440p at respectable frame rates. Your PC may struggle during more graphically intensive games running at their top settings, but the savings you enjoy might be worth the trade-off.

Should you build your own gaming PC?

Building your own gaming PC has many benefits. First and foremost, you get to customize your PC to your own specifications, including only the components you want and need. Rather than purchasing a prebuilt desktop that may not be tailored to your requirements, you can select all of the individual parts that make up a gaming PC.

However, you will need some knowledge of how to build PCs, or at least be able to closely follow an in-depth YouTube video. This is where things get a little tricky. If you’ve never built a custom gaming PC before, you will need to do some research. From understanding how each component interacts with each other, to how to hold a stick of RAM or a CPU so you don’t damage it, there’s quite a large learning curve.

If you do decide to build your own gaming PC, you will likely find that you can save some money over the long run compared to buying a prebuilt machine. Choosing your own parts means you can keep an eye on sales and offers to get the best deal possible.

But building a gaming PC isn’t for everyone. If you aren’t rigid on the specifics and don’t have a particular build in mind, it can be less troublesome to let someone else do it for you. You also get the added reassurance that the PC will be professionally built, and there’s no chance your warranty can be void.

After you've scored an awesome gaming PC, be sure to grab the best gaming accessories for the ultimate PC battle station.

Jacqueline Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN. When she's not helping her friends and family buy computers, you can usually find her tinkering with her own PC.

Image Credit: Annalee Tsujino is a multi-disciplinary designer and illustrator. Check them out on Instagram @antsu_illustrations.

If you’ve been itching to jump into a racing game lately, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can get you going fast on a track. What’s even better is it’s dropped below $40 at Amazon, with each of the deals on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch hitting their best price, so now is a great time to scoop it up.

To break down the specific deal prices, the PS5 version of the game is now on sale for $35.05, a 50% discount, and the Xbox Series X and Switch copies are both down to $39.99, making for savings of 43% and 33%, respectively. Check them out below before the deals are all gone.

Save on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds at Amazon

Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the world's premier trading card game, is as popular as it's ever been. Aside from the cards themselves, longtime Magic players know that there are countless accessories and other goodies to enhance your experience.

With 2026 in full swing with an unprecedented year of seven mainline releases, it can be confusing or overwhelming to shop for that special Magic player in your life. Luckily, I've curated some of the best gift ideas to look for, including preorders for upcoming expansions like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Secrets of Strixhaven.

As a competitive player of 10+ years, these are products I've had and would buy for my personal use, so rest easy knowing that these suggestions aren't without extensive trial and error.

Top Magic: The Gathering Gifts

Magic has been around for over 30 years, but thanks to the recent crossover sets with other IPs, what Wizards of the Coast (WoTC) has dubbed Universes Beyond, its audience has grown monumentally. Properties like The Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Assassin's Creed, and more have all received the MTG treatment, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set releasing as the next crossover expansion. The next Universes Beyond set is Marvel Super Heroes, which is already extremely popular, and comes out after Secrets of Strixhaven, the game's upcoming in-universe set. Both of these upcoming sets are available to preorder now.

Sealed Product

Magic: The Gathering sets are released every few months, and with them come various sealed products to help supplement your collection. You have booster boxes, collector boosters, starter kits, commander decks, the list goes on. I recommend starting with bundles of the most recently released sets, or looking back to expansions like Edge of Eternities. They make great gifts, as they include nine booster packs, an alternate-art promotional card, extra land cards, a spindown life counter, and the box itself is a great storage solution for extra cards.

Card Sleeves

You have all these fancy new cards, what are you supposed to put them in? Card sleeves are the perfect solution not only for protection but for easily shuffling. Ultimate Guard and Ultra PRO are some of the best MTG accessories brands around, but Dragon Shield sleeves are my go-to recommendation as a gift for dad. The Ultimate Guard Katana sleeves are great, too. The matte sleeves are crisp and feel great in your hands. No matter what you pick, make sure you get standard size sleeves, not Japanese card size -- Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are much smaller than Magic cards!

Deck Boxes

Your cards are now sleeved up and ready for battle. Now you need a reliable deck box. Here, you can't go wrong with Ultimate Guard's sturdy options. I'm a big fan of the Flip 'n' Tray myself, as it can hold a fully sleeved deck, sideboard, and tokens, along with a built-in dice compartment. For larger storage solutions, there are massive boxes that can hold up to 500 loose cards. All Ultimate Guard options come in a handful of different colors, and the Ultra PRO boxes sport some great official MTG art.

Playmats

Playmats are a must-have for any Magic player, since playing without one can make it hard to pick your cards up off the kitchen table. Usually made of the same material as a standard mousepad, many people (myself included) like to use mats featuring art of their favorite cards or of their proudest Magic accomplishments. You can even buy blank white playmats if you find yourself at a Magic Con and want to commission your favorite artist to make it look snazzy!

Dice and Counters

Keeping track of Planeswalker loyalty, +1/+1 counters, or Finality counters are a massive headache without an efficient way of doing so. Luckily, a set of D6 will set you right. Some more unique cards, like Qarsi Revenant, give other creatures ability counters that are hard to keep track of, so I highly recommend a set of ability counters to go along with your accessories arsenal.

Binders

If you have rare or valuable cards you don't want to store in a bulk storage box, binders are the way to go to keep them nice and pristine. You can get various sizes and colors from both Ultimate Guard and Ultra PRO, but the Zipfolio from Ultimate Guard is my go-to for expensive singles. These fit great in your backpack for when you're heading out to your local Friday Night Magic

Other Accessories

These suggestions are just scratching the surface of what these accessory makers have to offer. There are countless other sleeves, boxes, and mats to pick from, so pick your favorite Magic player's favorite for a great gift. Other accessories I recommend are lifepads; some Magic players prefer to write their life totals down and take notes instead of using the MTG Companion app or a spindown counter.

Dry erase tokens are great for cards with copy abilities. A playmat tube is a great storage solution to keep your mats dry and safe, and the Ultra PRO land station is a good way to sort your basic lands or have lands ready for your booster draft night.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Way back in the year 2000, Nintendo launched a series of "Funtastic" colors for the N64, with bright, translucent neons in shades of Jungle Green, Ice Blue, Grape Purple, Fire Orange, Watermelon Red, and Smoke Black. However, there were a few other colorways that were prototyped, but never made it to market.

Analogue has revived those colors and are launching them as limited edition variants of the Analogue 3D. The five colors are Extreme Green, Atomic Purple, Ocean, Ghost, and Glacier – several of which could be found on other Nintendo hardware over the years, such as limited edition controllers and Game Boy variants. Analogue says that it spent more than a year color matching these to the original prototype colors that were never released.

The limited edition colors of the Analogue 3D will go on sale in "highly limited quantities" on February 9th at 8am PT for $299.99, and will begin shipping the following day. Alongside this, 8BitDo is also launching a limited edition run of the 8BitDo 64 Bluetooth Controller in matching colors. The controller will go on sale at the same time as the console, for $44.99, and will be shipping in April.

It’s that time of the month again when I share some of the best new books to keep an eye out for, and there are plenty of great releases to add to your TBR (to be read) list or bookshelf in February.

From Matt Dinniman’s new standalone to Brandon Sanderson, Uketsu, Taylor Adams, and more, I’ve tried to pick a range of genres and mix of stories - as always - with something for everyone. And you never know, some of the picks might just get you out of your usual comfort zone.

These are the new books that you won’t want to miss in February.

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman

Insomniac Games, the developer behind PlayStation's beloved Spider-Man games and the upcoming Wolverine, just dropped a teasing hint at another Marvel hero who fans now think is likely to appear.

In a post on Twitter/X, Insomniac Games shared an image of Wolverine extending his claws and turning to face... someone, alongside the caption: "'Claws?' What's that, some kind of fancy lawyer lingo?"

The line is a fun pun on Wolverine's blades, and the kind of clause a lawyer might include in a legal contract — but which lawyer? Well, Marvel fans will know there's only one legal representative who'd likely seek out Wolverine when he's in another one of his moods.

"Claws"? What's that, some kind of fancy lawyer lingo? #WolverinePS5 pic.twitter.com/vgw9Od8jHO

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) February 5, 2026

Of course, fans have immediately taken the tease to be a nod at the appearance of Daredevil, otherwise known as Matt Murdock, as played by Charlie Cox in the Daredevil TV series and a swathe of other projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Fans have long been expecting Daredevil to make an appearance in one of Insomniac's Marvel games, too, after numerous references to the character in the developer's Spider-Man titles.

A sign outside Nelson & Murdock's office appeared in Spider-Man 1, and was noted by fans as having been removed in Spider-Man 2 and replaced by an eviction notice. A post-launch Spider-Man 2 patch then re-added the Nelson & Murdock sign, hinting at some kind of story for the character being in the offing — something the game's director Bryan Intihar even commented on in late 2023, teasing: "Stay tuned."

Further references to the character have teased Murdock and Jennifer Walters apparently starting a legal firm together, and included other Daredevil-themed locations such as Josie's Bar and Fogwell's Gym. Clearly, the character has been on Insomniac's mind for some time — perhaps Wolverine is where we'll finally see him?

As you would expect, replies to Insomniac's latest post have immediately picked up on the studio's apparent Daredevil hint, and responded with numerous gifs of Charlie Cox in his iconic red suit. Well, why not.

Due for release this during the latter half of 2026, Marvel's Wolverine remains somewhat under-wraps — though we finally got a decent look at the game during last September's State of Play broadcast. In late 2023, leaked footage and other development details hit the internet following a high-profile hack of Insomniac data, which also included details of an array of future and canceled projects.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

If you’ve been keeping up with all things Tomb Raider TV series, we’ve got an exciting piece of news for you. Fans can catch the very first glimpse of Sophie Turner’s Lara Croft in action with a new video that has surfaced from the set of the show — and yes, she’s got her dual pistols on lock.

In the short clip, which has been posted to both YouTube and social media, Turner can be seen in costume walking through the woods. According to the upload of the video, the rainy footage was captured in Surrey, England. Turner is rocking a more weather-appropriate outfit (complete with what appears to be a tactical vest) in this clip than the standard shorts-and-tank-top look Croft is known for, but her two leg holsters remain present.

First on-set look at Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series for Amazon Prime Video! pic.twitter.com/Asow96tphW

— Infinity Tomb Raider (@infinityTRaider) February 6, 2026

Amazon released their first official image of Turner as Croft on January 15, which exemplified the classic Lara Croft we’ve all come to know and love from the days of the original 1996 video game. The costume was era appropriate, down to the red glasses and double leg holsters. This short clip of Turner trudging through the woodsn — despite the fact that she’s not doing all that much in the particular scene they’re shooting — only doubles down on that notion.

Alongside Turner, the cast for the series — which will be written and showrun by creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge — is totally stacked. Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Bill Patterson, Martin Bobb-Semple, Jack Bannon, John Heffernan, Celia Imrie, Patterson Joseph, Sasha Luss, August Wittgenstein, and Juliette Motamed will appear in various canon roles and others crafted specifically for the show.

Tomb Raider cast:

The following cast are confirmed in canon roles from the Tomb Raider video game franchise:

• Martin Bobb-Semple is Zip. Zip is Lara Croft’s long-standing tech support and friend.
• Jason Isaacs is Atlas DeMornay. Atlas is Lara’s uncle.
• Bill Paterson is Winston. Winston is the long-standing Croft family butler.

The following cast are confirmed for roles to the Tomb Raider universe:

• Jack Bannon is Gerry. Gerry is Lara’s personal pilot and snack collector.
• John Heffernan is David. David is an exhausted government official who finds himself tangled up in Lara's unusual world.
• Celia Imrie is Francine. Francine is the Head of Advancement at the British Museum, focused solely on raising funds and glasses of champagne.
• Paterson Joseph is Thomas Warner. Thomas Warner is a senior government official brought in to clean up an almighty mess.
• Sasha Luss is Sasha. Sasha is a fierce, deeply competitive new adversary of Lara’s.
• Juliette Motamed is Georgia. Georgia is a devoted, by-the-books curator at the British Museum, dedicated to the ‘proper’ preservation of history.
• Sigourney Weaver is Evelyn Wallis. A mysterious, high-flying woman who is keen to exploit Lara's talents.
• August Wittgenstein is Lukas. Lukas is an illegal raider who shares history with Lara in more ways than one.

Despite the fact that they’re clearly in production on the series, we still have yet to get an official release date from Prime. Hopefully fans will get word on when to expect this series in the coming months. We did get confirmation, however, of two new Tomb Raider video games at December's The Game Awards. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the first game in the series, is due out at some point in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam. And the brand new game Tomb Raider: Catalyst is due out at some point in 2027. Alix Wilton Regan will now play Lara Croft in both games, replacing Camilla Luddington, who portrayed Lara Croft in the Survivor Trilogy.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

The Disney Afternoon Collection is getting its own physical version for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 later this year. For eager fans who can't wait to jump into it for a good nostalgia hit, preorders are now live for the collection on original Switch for $29.99 and on Switch 2 for $39.99. While there's still a few months to go until its physical version is released - May 29 is when you'll have to mark you calendars for - it looks like it's well worth the wait.

Disney Afternoon Collection (Switch)

Disney Afternoon Collection Bonus Items

Buying the physical version of Disney Afternoon Collection on Nintendo Switch also nets you two sticker sheets, three collectible cards, and eight retro milk caps. For fans, it looks like quite a delightful assortment to have alongside the game.

Games Included

Here's a list of all the games included in this Switch and Switch 2 version of the collection:

• DuckTales
• DuckTales 2
• Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers
• Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
• Darkwing Duck
• TaleSpin
• Bonkers
• Goof Troop

What Is The Disney Afternoon Collection?

The Disney Afternoon Collection originally released back in 2017 and included DuckTales, DuckTales 2, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2, Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin. At the time, our review from IGN's Samuel Claiborn said it "resurrects a few NES classics (and some not-so-classics) with a great rewind button." This new release of the collection for both Nintendo Switch consoles adds in two bonus games alongside the original lineup: Bonkers and Goof Troop.

For the original games, it also includes some quality-of-life updates, and there are additional features included, such as a rewind feature. It also includes access to soundtracks, a behind-the-scenes gallery, along with boss rush and time attack modes.

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Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.

Hollywood stars Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith and singer Lewis Capaldi all star in Taylor Swift's new music video for a truly unusual reason.

The line-up were all guests alongside Swift when the global pop superstar appeared on the BBC's Graham Norton chat show late last year, promoting her latest album The Life of a Showgirl.

During the show, Gleeson's dance moves in The Office spinoff series The Paper were mentioned, and Gleeson himself joked that he'd love to appear one day in a Taylor Swift music video. And it was at this moment that Swift formed the idea for Gleeson to indeed star in the video for her next single, Opalite — and be joined by everyone else on the chat show that night, including Graham Norton himself.

Four months later, Opalite's music video has released today via Spotify and Apple Music, showing Swift and Gleeson becoming a couple (who do dance!) after spraying themselves with the magical Opalite love chemical.

Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy narrates an introductory commercial on the Opalite product, while Tron: Ares actresses Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith cameo as a singer and fitness instructor that Swift watches on TV. Capaldi plays a photographer taking a picture of the couple who then joins them in the photos. Finally, Graham Norton plays a Opalite rep giving out free samples, who risks wrecking Gleeson and Swift's budding romance.

Post-song, the video concludes with an explanation of what's going on, with clips from the BBC's Graham Norton show of the cast, acting as a credits reel. We even see the moment Swift gets the idea for the video itself, following Gleeson's quip about his dancing.

"I remember thinking I got ridiculously lucky with the group I was paired with," Swift wrote on Instagram today, where she shared a series of behind the scenes photos. A week after the show aired, Swift says that Domhnall received an emailed script for the music video where he was playing the starring role.

"I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too. Like a school group project but for adults and it isn’t mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90’s with us and help with this video."

Swifties will likely spot several of her Eras Tour dancers also making cameo appearances.

After launching both The Life of a Showgirl and her Eras Tour documentary series on Disney+ at the end of last year, 2026 had been expected to be a quieter year for the singer. Not quite yet though, it seems.

Image source: Taylor Swift.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Lorwyn Eclipsed marks the first Magic: The Gathering set of the long-running card game’s 2026 release schedule, and while the set as a whole is great, its pair of Commander Decks is worth a mention, too.

We've got a deep dive into each, how they play, and what they include, but now Amazon has slashed the price on the Dance of the Elements precon. Better yet, a bundle of two of each deck is reduced, too, which makes each deck around $30, a sizeable saving off the list price of at least one deck.