A post on the official Japanese Twitter / X account for the upcoming game Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy received a reply from none other than veteran developer Akitoshi Kawazu, who surprised users by revealing new information about the inspiration behind a Final Fantasy II character.
Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy is Square Enix’s upcoming free-to-play mobile game, slated for a 2026 release. Featuring cel-shaded graphics, Dissidia Duellum takes beloved Final Fantasy characters from throughout the RPG series’ history and transports them to modern Tokyo, where they take on monsters in 3vs3 battles. Two teams of Final Fantasy characters will race to fight their way through roaming monsters to beat the boss faster than the opposing team. The game will also feature voiced story segments.
Dissidia Duellum will not only let you put protagonists like Cloud, Squall, and Lightning in your party, but a whole host of other characters are also making a return, some in the form of special abilities. The official X account recently revealed that Minwu, a character from 1988’s Final Fantasy II, will be lending power to your party with his teleport ability.
Veteran dev Akitoshi Kawazu, battle designer for Final Fantasy I and II as well as the key creator of the SaGa series, responded to this post with some insight into Minwu’s original inspiration. In his post, Kawazu revealed that Minwu was modelled on Wu Qi, a real life military general and philosopher from China's Warring States period. He explained that when Minwu’s name is written in kanji characters, it contains the same character for Wu as Wu Qi (rendered as 呉 in Japanese, and 吳 in traditional Chinese). For the Japanese release of Final Fantasy II, Minwu’s name was written phonetically in katakana (a script used for foreign loan words) just like the rest of the game’s cast of characters, so the reference to Wu Qi was not apparent to players.
In Final Fantasy II, Minwu is a white wizard from Mysidia who temporarily joins your party. He serves the Flynn royal family in exile as an advisor when the Palemecian Empire’s attack forces them to flee. He plays a key role in organizing rebel forces and the quest for the Ultima Tome.
Another reason Minwu’s inspiration is not readily apparent is his physical appearance. With his turban and dark skin, he does not visually resemble Wu Qi. However, his strategic role as an advisor plus his loyalty to the Flynn royal family and Princess Hilda does bear some resemblance to Wu Qi’s appointment as the head of Chu State and his fealty to King Dao. Sadly, both meet tragic ends.
Kawazu’s comment attracted many appreciative responses from other users. “It makes me extremely happy to receive new information about FFII in this day and age. Thank you,” said one commenter. Others were eager for more insight into the 37-year-old game: “I wonder if there are any behind-the-scenes revelations or inspirations for other Final Fantasy II characters?”
Dissidia Duellum is scheduled to launch on iOS and Android in 2026. Those in Canada and the U.S. can sign up for the closed beta in November to get a sneak peak at the game.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto has insisted "AI would never be able to make" Silent Hill f, responding to comments made by former Konami developer Hideo Kojima that "remakes and sequels will be made by AI" in years to come.
In a new interview, Hideo Kojima cautioned against the industry's preoccupation with remaking or expanding existing franchises, suggesting it was creatively "dangerous" not to explore new things, and suggesting "in the future, remakes and sequels will be made by AI." And it's kicked up quite the discussion on social media.
Okamoto disagreed with Kojima's claims, however, saying that while AI could perhaps "put together" a sequel inspired by the Silent Hill universe, Konami's creative "bold choices" — such as to switch the setting to Japan, or employ Ryukishi07 as writer — were made by human developers.
In response to a Twitter / X post about Kojima's comments, Okamoto said: "It would be quite difficult for AI to replace works that take a significant departure from the original path of the series, like Silent Hill f.
"AI may be able to put together a project for a sequel that takes place in the Silent Hill universe, but things like changing the story’s setting to Japan or getting Ryukishi07 on board as a writer are the kind of bold choices AI would never be able to make,” he added (thanks, Automaton).
Silent Hill f is indeed a departure for the series as we know it, taking us not to the titular town but instead to 1960s Japan, where we follow Hinako Shimizu, a teenager struggling under the pressure of expectations from her friends, family, and society. It's out now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S and has sold 1 million copies since its debut at the end of September. Our Silent Hill f review returned a 7/10. We said: "Silent Hill f presents a fresh new setting to explore and a fascinatingly dark story to unravel, but its melee-focussed combat takes a big swing that doesn’t quite land."
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
While Battlefield 6 Support, Assault, and Recon classes work together to win matches, some Engineer fans have been caught using their time becoming in-game artists instead of capturing objectives.
The days following the launch of EA and Battlefield Studios’ long-awaited sixth numbered entry in the franchise have seen players coming together to share cinematic action movie-like moments they’ve experienced. As jets soar overhead and tanks roll through buildings, it’s the Engineer class that has found perhaps the most creative use of their gadgets.
The repair tool has been used to leave drawings for friendly and enemy squads for years, but Battlefield 6 has presented an opportunity for players to revisit the time-honored tradition. The Engineer gadget, which is supposed to be used to repair — or even damage — tanks, helicopters, and other armored vehicles, leaves behind burn marks wherever it’s pointed. In the hands of the right Engineer, the gadget makes for a handy pen for drawing, and Battlefield 6 players aren’t letting that go to waste.
Those on the way to capture or hold an objective may notice drawings from those who have found a more artistic way to enjoy Battlefield 6. These range from simple illustrations, such as the iconic “Cool S” or a smiley face, to time-consuming recreations of characters like digital pop star Hatsune Miku and Dragon Ball Z’s Vegeta.
"Meanwhile on the Battlefield," one player jokes, "Where are the engineers?" "Cut to a flaming tank," another adds.
Are detailed pictures easy to draw? No. Do time-consuming drawings keep Engineers from helping out their team? Probably, but that doesn’t mean others can’t enjoy them, too. Some players are even using the Engineer repair tool’s drawing ability to find new ways to play Battlefield 6 — including striking up a match of tic-tac-toe.
An Engineer focused on completing their Dragon Ball drawing is an easy target depending on where they choose to leave their work. Funnily enough, though, the artist behind the Vegeta drawing says not every Battlefield 6 player is looking for an easy kill.
"What was really cool is that an enemy saw me drawing and decided to let me be," they say, leaving a heart emoticon. "I'm going to go back in today and try something else. I don't know how many marks I get before they start disappearing so that's why I stopped drawing more of the hair but I'll try to go further."
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Luigi's Mansion is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch Online library. Debuting on October 30, the GameCube classic arrives just in time for Halloween, and means the entire trilogy, along with Luigi's Mansion 2 and Luigi's Mansion 3, is now playable on Nintendo Switch 2.
Luigi's Mansion released way back in 2001 and sees Luigi win a creepy old mansion. It's all very exciting right up until his brother Mario mysteriously disappears, leaving Luigi to rid the mansion of Boos and ghouls in order to find the missing Mario.
Luigi’s won a mansion! The bad news is that it’s crawling with ghosts… 😱
As yet there's no word on how the classic game will make use of Nintendo Switch 2's most hyped features, including its new mouse controls, but we do know it'll be playable for Switch 2 owners who subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription-based online gaming service for the Nintendo Switch gaming platform. Memberships include online functionality, allowing you to compete or cooperate with friends, as well as a collection of classic Nintendo games spanning four decades, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and, most recently, the new GameCube library. A free seven-day trial is also available.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
James Gunn has officially ruled out his fledgling DC Universe building towards Darkseid as the “big bad.”
In a joint interview with a number of YouTube channels that focus on Easter egg breakdowns of superhero franchises, Gunn said that because director Zack Snyder had intended — and even briefly featured — Darkseid as the DCEU’s overarching enemy, and because of the character’s similarity to Marvel’s Thanos, the DCU was looking elsewhere.
The suggestion that Darkseid might have been the DCU’s “big bad” emerged after the ending of Peacemaker Season 2.
Warning! Spoilers for the end of Peacemaker Season 2 follow:
Season 2 ends with Peacemaker trapped on Salvation, a planet in another dimension that acts as a prison for metahumans. In the DC comics, Planet Salvation has acted as a Parademon training ground, watched over by Darkseid himself. But this isn’t what Gunn is going for here. In fact, Darkseid isn’t the enemy Gunn’s DCU is building towards either. And there are various reasons for this, he said, including the fact Darkseid made an appearance in Zack Snyder’s DCEU, and also the character’s similarity to Marvel’s Thanos, who was the main villain up to Avengers: Endgame.
“First of all, there's Kirby's whole world which he created which is totally fascinating,” Gunn began when asked what he thought of Darkseid as a character. “So, that's a huge part of it. It's the New Gods in general that is to me so interesting, which we're dealing with with Mister Miracle. And I have the screenplay that I haven't read yet on my shelf right now. So there's that aspect of it.
“And then there are aspects of Darkseid in Thanos, who are obviously very similar. They look very similar. And because of that — to give you probably more of an answer than you expected — using Darkseid as the big bad right now is not necessarily the thing. For a lot of reasons, because Zack did it so cool in his way, and because of Thanos in Marvel.”
So, we can rule out Planet Salvation heading towards Darkseid and the Final Crisis storyline from the comics. That prompts another question: if Darkseid isn't the DCU's "big bad," who is?
It'll probably be some time before we find out. But it does look like Man of Tomorrow, the 2027 follow-up to Gunn’s Superman, will see Brainiac enter the fray. Indeed, Superman and bitter rival Lex Luthor look set to put their differences aside (temporarily) to fend Brainiac off.
That reference to Mister Miracle, by the way, is the adult animated series based on DC’s 12-issue comic book series from Tom King and Mitch Gerads. It’s the second adult animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios following Creature Commandos Season 1. Season 2 is currently in production for HBO Max. Other recent series greenlights from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation include Starfire!, My Adventures with Green Lantern, and DC Super Powers.
Earlier this month, during a roundtable Q&A with press ahead of the Peacemaker Season 2 finale, Gunn was asked if he was planning a Peacemaker Season 3. The answer was loud and clear.
“No, this is about the wider DCU and other stories in which this [the ending of Season 2] will play out right now,” Gunn replied. “So that doesn't mean that there won't be. I don't want to… never say never. But right now, no. This is about the future of the DCU.”
So if there’s no Peacemaker Season 3, what’s Gunn’s plan for Peacemaker himself? Gunn revealed that the conclusion of Season 2 sets up Peacemaker, played by John Cena, to take on a broader role in the DCU moving forward.
“He's really important to me,” Gunn said of the character. “Peacemaker is an important character. And I said from the beginning when we took on this job, it's about really propping up and maintaining and repositioning the big diamond properties that DC has, the Batmans and Wonder Womans and Supermans, and then creating diamond properties out of the smaller characters like Peacemaker.”
Will Peacemaker himself appear in 2026 DCU film Supergirl or 2027’s Man of Tomorrow? “Well we’ll have to see,” Gunn teased. “That's a secret!”
The DCU is set to continue in 2026 with the aforementioned Supergirl and a Clayface movie, alongside a Lanterns TV show. 2027 will see Man of Tomorrow. Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2, which is part of the separate 'Batman Epic Crime Saga,' is due out October 1, 2027.
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.
Apparently, it’s becoming tradition for Gen V to wrap up each season with a gory massacre on the campus of Godolkin University. This time around, we’re seeing the seeds of Thomas Godolkin’s (Ethan Slater) pledge to “cull the herd” bear fruit, as Marie (Jaz Sinclair) and the gang make one last, desperate stand against the bloodthirsty dean. If the scope of the finale isn’t quite as huge as it could have been, the episode nonetheless serves as a fitting capper to an overall enjoyable sophomore season. It even works as a solid series finale, should it come to that (but we’ll get there).
Assuming you didn’t figure out the big Cipher/Godolkin twist ahead of time, you’re probably still reeling from the reveal that Hamish Linklater’s character was nothing more than a puppet for the true villain of the season. That was certainly a great way to ramp up the tension in Episode 7, and that twist helps give the finale an early momentum it doesn’t squander.
Again, the scope of this episode turns out to be a bit smaller than expected. Given how Episode 7 ended, I half-expected this chapter to open with Godolkin continuing to lay psychic waste to the students he so clearly despises. Instead, Godolkin’s murder spree is confined to the handful of students attending his seminar later in the episode. It’s almost as if there was a fear of letting the pot boil over too much and then having to explain why Antony Starr’s Homelander isn’t showing up to intervene.
Ultimately, the quieter, more intimate approach works to the show’s benefit. The early focus on Godolkin and Susan Heyward’s Sister Sage helps paint a vivid psychological portrait of a man who can’t help but become his own worst enemy. Early on in this episode, Godolkin has truly won; he got exactly what he wanted by tricking Marie into healing him. He’s free to be with Sage and reclaim his place in the upper echelons of Vought International. He has everything, yet he can’t stop himself from being tripped up by this foolish obsession with separating the wheat from the chaff. Godolkin is arrogant enough to believe that he knows better than the smartest person in the world, and we see where that gets him in the end.
Half the fun of “Guardians of Godolkin” is in seeing Slater really sink his teeth into a role that had been Hamish Linklater’s up to this point. Slater succeeds in making this feel like the same character without simply echoing Linklater’s performance; the sardonic wit and cold menace are there in full effect, but tinged by a certain degree of manic abandon. Again, this is what happens when Cipher gets a taste of what he craves and loses the plot. Even Sinclair gets a fun scene where she gets to play Marie possessed by Godolkin.
Thankfully, Linklater isn’t totally relegated to the background, even if he’s effectively now playing a completely different role as Doug. Linklater gets two great scenes – one which gives us a taste of just how awful it is to live as Godolkin’s meat puppet, and the other that provides an added bit of closure for the late Chance Perdomo’s Andre. I wish Doug were given more to do beyond those two scenes; given everything he’s endured, it feels like the character deserved better than to be abruptly killed off by Black Noir.
As for Sage, the series continues to make inspired use of the character in her recurring guest role. We get to see a very different side of Sage here, where she’s in love and clearly out of her depth because of it. There’s a great vulnerability to Sage during her bedside chat with Godolkin, followed by a wounded sense of grief when she visits Sean Patrick Thomas’ Polarity and realizes that her boyfriend has squandered everything they worked for. As much as Godolkin is his own worst enemy in this episode, he probably still would have won the day if not for his all-seeing lover.
The final showdown between our heroes and Godolkin doesn’t disappoint. If Godolkin’s killing spree proves surprisingly contained, there’s still a macabre glee in watching him lay waste to his class and then promptly force them to dance for his amusement. It’s equally satisfying to see how integral God U’s weakest and lamest students are in toppling the almighty dean, proving Sage’s point that the most dangerous enemies are the ones with nothing to lose. And Godolkin’s final death scene is every bit as gory and disgusting as fans of the series have come to expect – a fitting end for a guy who got way too high on his own supply by the end.
With that, it’s worth digging into the final scene a bit, and the question of whether there’s still a future for Gen V. I certainly wasn’t expecting Season 2 to close out by so directly laying the foundation for The Boys Season 5, but that’s what happens, as Erin Moriarty’s Starlight and Jesse T. Usher’s A-Train both stop by to formally invite Marie and her friends to join “the resistance.” It’s a great way of capping off Season 2 and acknowledging that these characters are ready to join the big leagues now; plus, a good NiN needle drop never hurts.
But should we take this to mean that there’s not going to be a Gen V Season 3? Are we effectively watching the series finale here? Possibly. It’s really a question of what state this universe is going to be in by the end of The Boys Season 5. Will there still be a Vought, much less a Vought-sponsored superhuman college? How many of these characters will still be alive by then? As much as I’d love to see more Gen V, this isn’t a bad way to cap off the show…if that’s indeed the goal. This finale closes out one era and opens the door to an exciting crossover; if nothing else, fans are certainly going to be rewarded for having watched this spinoff when The Boys finally makes its return.
“I think if we don’t embrace it, I think we’re selling ourselves short,” said Juinio, who recently vacated her role as director of product development at Santa Monica Studio after 10 years and two hugely successful God of War games. “AI is a tool, and something that will augment us. At least for right now, that’s how I see it. It’s going to evolve whether you’re onboard with it or not, so I want to be at the forefront of helping to guide how that goes and how we use it.”
Juinio went on to compare the use of generative AI to the procedurally-generated content that's been a part of games development for decades now, pointing to SpeedTree – a tool for generating trees in real time – which was used as early as 2002 for the foliage in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. She also recalled a time when animators were pushing back against motion capture and the use of procedural generation to blend animation frames rather than key them by hand. Both procedurally generated assets and animations have long become standard practices in games development, and Juinio seems just as confident that generative AI will also find its place.
“Personally, I’m super positive,” said Juinio. “Like [Glen Schofield said in his keynote address], this is the next big technological advancement that’s coming. In fact it’s here already, and I think as leaders in the video game industry it is on us to figure out not just can we do it with AI, but should we? And it’s a case-by-case type of decision making process and what's true for game X might not be true next year for game Y.”
When asked if she thought the increasing adoption of generative AI might help mitigate the swelling costs of AAA-games development, Juinio was clear that the use of AI in games development is unlikely to be the be-all end-all solution to the post-pandemic pattern of regular studio closures and the bursting of the blockbuster game bubble.
“I wouldn’t necessarily put it into an either/or kind of scenario in that way, because to me the size and scale and beauty of the game isn’t the main thing,” said Juinio. “At its heart, the game [needs] to be fun. [Ideally] at its heart the story is fantastic, it’s human, players connect to it, and it’s fun to play.”
“And yes it looks beautiful, and yes the music is immersive. But the music could be really immersive and the gameplay could be not good, or the story [might] not be engaging, and I don't think it would resonate with players as much. And so at least for right now, I don't see AI replacing the fun gameplay that is at the heart of a game like God of War.”
Although Juinio seems adament that generative AI in games development is here to stay, she also remains confident that it will never be able to rival the heart and soul that can only come from a human touch, and that the adoptance of AI will only be a positive if there's an equal amount of investment made into developers to help them get the best results out of it.
“At the end of the day you still need game developers to come up with the ideas,” said Juinio. “The story of God of War is very much a human story that is based on human experiences.”
“At least as of today, I don’t see that going away.”
Earlier this month the makers of Battlefield 6 stated that there was currently no way to implement the use of generative AI into the daily work of its development team, despite regarding the burgeoning technology as “very seducing”.
The LEGO Disney line is one of the most popular themes you'll find in 2025. There's currently a broad range of sets available based on animated classics and Pixar movies that appeal to both kids and Disney adults, but they are anything but cheap. So when a popular LEGO Disney set gets a big discount, it's usually worth mentioning.
Target is currently having a 20% off LEGO sale on a bunch of sets, but hidden within that is this Up House set that is actually almost 50% off its retail price. This is one of biggest discounts we've ever seen on this build and Amazon has already sold out its stock at the same price. If you're looking for an affordable Disney gift to grab ahead of Black Friday season, this one's worth a look.
LEGO Up House Sale at Target
Our LEGO expert Kevin Wong had the chance to build this set back when it was first released for Disney's 100th anniversary, and generally enjoyed putting it together. The one complaint he had is that the build itself lacked the amount of detail we've come to expect from a commemorative Disney set that is meant to be displayed. The front of the house looks like you'd expect the house from Up to look, but it's actually open in the back and doesn't include all of the Easter eggs you'd expect to find within its interior like you'd see from something like the LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle set. At 598 pieces, it's something you can easily put together in an afternoon. And at its current price, many of the minor flaws can be easily ignored.
In addition to the house itself, you get three minifigures: Carl, Russel, and of course Dug the dog. With an age rating of 9+, this Disney LEGO set is a worthy pick for a wider variety of Pixar fans. While not quite a true adult LEGO set, it looks cool enough to earn a place on your shelf or desk. And thanks to the open back and collectible minifigures it can also work as fun playset for kids.
Should you wait for Black Friday to buy?
With Black Friday sales coming up soon, it can be hard to decide when the right time to buy actually is. While it's true that November is overall the best time to buy LEGO sets, it isn't necessarily the right time to buy every set. With that in mind I think this set is worth picking up at this price. It's certainly possible we could see a steeper discount during Black Friday, but LEGO deals are often determined by how much stock retailers hold at any given time and Amazon has already sold out.
Woot! (which is owned by Amazon) is offering rare deals on the latest Nvidia RTX 50 series graphics cards. Currently there are several Factory Reconditioned MSI GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards on sale at below MSRP. These all come with a 6-month MSI warranty. Amazon Prime members get free shipping, the rest of us pay just $5 for the delivery fee. From past experience, these listings have very limited inventory, so the deals will probably sell out quickly. If you've been waiting for a discount on one of these GPUs, this is a good opportunity to pick one up at no markup.
Factory Reconditioned MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPUs
The RTX 5070 Ti offers the best bang for your buck if you're looking to run the latest games in 4K resolution at high frame rates. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super but with the advantage of DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation and newer, faster GDDR7X VRAM. Check out our Nvidia Geforce RTX 5070 Ti GPU review.
Factory Reconditioned MSI GeForce RTX 5080 GPUs
The GeForce RTX 5080 is one of the fastest cards on the market, bested only by the $2,000 RTX 5090 and the discontinued $1,600 RTX 4090. This is a phenomenal card for playing the latest, most demanding games in 4K resolution at high settings and ray tracing enabled. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU review.
Factory Reconditioned MSI GeForce RTX 5070 GPUs
Compared to the previous generation GPUs, the RTX 5070 performs comparably with the RTX 4070 Super. Although the generational performance uplift isn't as great as we'd like, the RTX 5070 is still an excellent card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, especially if DLSS 4 is supported. Check out our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU review.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Choosing a tablet is tough, we know. Apple’s side alone has a variety of options, and it’s not always clear what’s so different between them. Unless you’re versed in all the jargon, the difference between a "Liquid Retina display" and a "Ultra Retina Tandem OLED with Pro Motion" isn't exactly obvious. There are also major differences under the hood, with Apple currently offering devices featuring an older A16 chip at the low end and an exceedingly fast M5 chip at the high end.
Android tablets only widen the field, of course. Where Apple tends to trim off the older tablets in its stable, the Android tablet market will still readily show you devices you shouldn’t have bought when they were new, let alone years later. And just like Apple’s devices, there’s a considerable range of hardware options that go from severely underpowered to total overkill – at which point a Windows tablet could make more sense. What makes Android tablet shopping even more complicated is the software support. Apple keeps its tablets running on the latest operating systems for a long time, but how long any given Android tablet will stay up to date is a much harder question to answer.
After looking at the market, considering all the tablets we’ve tested, and weighing what actually makes sense when purchasing a tablet, we’ve narrowed down a handful of the best options that strike the right balance.
TL;DR – These Are the Best Tablets:
1. iPad (11th Generation)
Best Tablet
Apple has made finding the ideal iPad for most people quite easy over the years with its base-tier iPad generally being quite affordable while offering excellent performance and build quality. Even against competition from the Android side of the market, which has generally struggled with decent low-cost tablets, the base iPad stands out. And with the most recent 11th generation, Apple keeps the simplicity of choice going.
This new model is a very minor iteration on the 10th-gen iPad we had recommended previously. It makes very simple changes, like the shift from a 10.9-inch display to an 11-inch one, though the resolution remains unchanged. The display also continues to be 60Hz with a 500-nit peak brightness. Fortunately, none of this makes it a bad display. It even supports the Apple Pencil, albeit the same 1st-generation Apple pencil that the earlier model supported.
The internal upgrades are better. For one, the 11th-gen iPad finally does away with 64GB of base storage. It now starts with 128GB, providing a huge boost to the space you’ll have for apps, games, media, and digital creations. The chip inside also gets a bump from the dated A14 Bionic to the more recent A16 (though Apple is currently on the A19). In all, the 11th Gen iPad brings a bigger screen, more storage, and a more recent CPU all packed into a tablet that hasn’t changed its physical footprint.
Over the years, Lenovo has shown it knows how to make a solid more affordable tablet. You won’t have to settle for a terrible display or laggard performance here. The Lenovo Idea Tab Pro puts effort in all the right places.
For $279, you’re still getting a tablet with a metal frame and back, and a sharp, large display. The 12.7-inch display offers a 2944x1840 resolution, keeping the pixel density high. The screen is a basic LCD panel – sorry, no OLED – but provides a decent 400-nit brightness and runs at a smooth 144Hz. It also supports stylus input, and Lenovo includes said stylus in the box so you’re ready to doodle and annotate right away.
You won’t be getting flagship-tier performance, but the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 inside the Idea Tab Pro isn’t bad. It’ll keep up with everyday browsing, run streaming apps, and run light games just fine, though you won’t be firing up Genshin Impact at max settings. Perhaps more critically, the tablet supports Wi-Fi 6, so you can tap into fast networks and enjoy quality streaming. With the tablet’s large battery, you can also count on it to keep you online for long stretches.
Another big get for a low-cost tablet is software support. The Idea Tab Pro comes with Android 14 out of the box and will get updates to Android 16, and it will receive four years of security patches. That’s not mind-blowing, but getting any support like this on cheaper tablets isn’t always a given.
3. Redmagic Astra
Best Tablet for Gaming
Gaming calls for a slightly different tablet than other tasks. While some of the bigger tablets can surely still handle games, actually holding them in your hands for lengthy sessions will emphasize one of their biggest shortcomings: their weight. The Redmagic Astra is tailor-made for gaming, sitting at a more tidy 370g, less than two average smartphones. In that footprint, it manages a 9-inch OLED display that’s excellent for gaming. The panel is sharp at 1504x2400 with a 165Hz refresh rate. The color and contrast rips along smoothly in everyday operation and games alike.
To make the most of a display like that, you need powerful internals, and that’s another key aspect of the Astra. It fits the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset I’ve seen working wonders in 2025’s top Android devices. While the Astra sadly doesn’t push the Snapdragon 8 Elite as hard as it could, it still offers excellent performance that’s a solid step above the earlier Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Better still, it delivers consistent performance. In 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light Stress Test, the Astra offered some of the most consistent performance I’ve seen. This is a demanding test that sees a lot of heat build up in even the best devices, and many of those will see their performance drop by anywhere from 30-50% in running it. The Astra, meanwhile, only saw its performance dip by 5.5% thanks to its capable internal cooling system.
That exceptional speed means fast-running games with their settings maxed out and no descent to slow frame rates after a half hour of gaming. I think it will be some time before Android games can bring this device to its knees, and even then, it’ll only be the most demanding new games. Now we can just hope that the PC emulation software Redmagic is working on eventually finds its way onto the Astra and Redmagic’s gaming phones.
4. OnePlus Pad 2
Best Android Tablet
I’m not convinced there’s any Android tablet worth spending $1,000 on – sorry, Samsung, but at that price you can get a competent 2-in-1 Windows machine that will have clearer longevity (like the Asus ProArt PZ13). On the other hand, many of the cheaper options raise a lot of concerns. The OnePlus Pad 2 is neither a shoddy budget Android tablet nor an unreasonably expensive one, and it brings a ton to the tablet. It pulls on its flagship-killer roots to provide a tablet that won’t leave you wanting for much more.
First, it comes packing a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was the flagship chipset from Qualcomm for mobile devices until very recently and has yet to be supplanted in tablets. This gives the OnePlus Pad 2 excellent performance, and 12GB of memory helps it keep up with the multitasking you’re liable to get up to on a tablet.
The OnePlus Pad 2 packs in a sizable 12.1-inch display with a 2120x3000 resolution. It may only be an IPS panel, but it offers a 900-nit peak brightness and 144Hz refresh rate. That makes for easier visibility and smoother motion across the board. That 144Hz refresh rate can also help in the inking experience since the OnePlus Pad 2 works with a stylus that also charges while magnetically attached to the tablet.
The OnePlus Pad 2 even gets decent treatment where software is concerned. OnePlus launched on Android 14 and promised three years of OS and four years of security updates. In a market of tablets launching on outdated operating systems with next to no promise of updates, it’s refreshing to see an option that’s not destined to be outdated right out of the gate.
While the OnePlus Pad 2 launched at $550 and still proved a good value at the price, it has more often been running for $450 from OnePlus lately and usually includes a free accessory, like the folio keyboard case.
5. iPad Pro (M4, 2024)
Best Tablet for Creative Work
When I first opened the iPad Pro, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Apple was branding it as a permanent workstation replacement, but it still wasn't running Finder or the desktop applications I would want in that kind of device. Not long after, however, it became one of my go-to daily devices. The Tandem OLED display alone is enough to get most people hooked, even if the price tag might make you wince.
Though the chip's power has been usurped by the iPad Pro with the M5 (which we'll get to testing soon), the iPad Pro with an M4 is packed with an 8-core CPU clocked at 3.49GHz, which is accompanied by a 10-core GPU that will make easy work of any game you throw at it. Just keep in mind the amount of RAM you get depends on the storage configuration you go with. As long as you get a 1TB model, you're getting a respectable 16GB of RAM, but the 512GB and 256GB models will have to make do with half the memory. If you're not planning to use the iPad Pro for heavy creative workloads, this is going to be a non-issue. After all, iPadOS isn't exactly known for being super memory-intensive. If you're doing a lot of work in Photoshop or Premiere, you're going to feel it, though.
Artists will also want to pair this tablet with the Apple Pencil Pro (or one of the myriad Apple Pencil alternatives out there). With a stylus in hand, the iPad Pro becomes an incredible creative powerhouse, even with the limits that come with working with what's essentially a souped-up version of iOS.
6. Onyx Boox Go 7
Best for Reading
There are all kinds of great reading tablets that can do a lot more beyond turning pages on ebooks, but if you’re looking to really focus on text, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better e-reader than the Onyx Boox Go 7.
The compact and lightweight design of the Boox Go 7 is a great match for reading, being a much better stand-in for a physical book than the large and weighty tablets that try to suggest they’ll work just as well for reading. At just 6.9oz, the Boox Go 7 is lighter than plenty of smartphones, making it a viable option for extended one-handed use. Physical buttons for turning pages on one side of the tablet (which also provides a handy grip) also make flipping through books more convenient – no covering up the screen with your thumb – and it can flip orientations.
Of course, the big advantage of the Boox Go 7 is its e-ink display, packing a sharp e-ink Carta 1300 that provides a 300ppi pixel density for crisp text. As nice as it can be to have some color added to e-ink displays, it comes with a big hit to the black-and-white contrast and overall brightness, which can make it harder to read. If you prefer a bit of color and don’t mind the trade-off, Onyx also offers a color version of this tablet. Either way, you’ll also get the advantage of a very low power draw while you’re reading, making it likely you’ll be able to get through a whole book before needing to recharge (or numerous books depending on how fast you read).
Where the Onyx Boox Go 7 sets itself apart from competitors like Amazon and Kobo is in its use of Android as its operating system. It comes with a specially tuned version of Android to work better with the e-ink display, and you still get access to the Play Store and the wide range of apps available to Android. You won’t be installing all the latest games or streaming your favorite movies on this tablet, but you can read your favorite websites in the browser, do some studying with Duolingo or Anki, and load up just about any ebook library you want, including the Kindle or Libby app. Onyx’s native e-reader app also supports a ton of formats, letting you load your own collection of ebooks onto the tablet’s built-in storage. Boox devices also have a superior default sleep screen to both Kindles and Kobos; instead of rotating ads for the latest romantasy slop or affiliate companies, Boox's tablets rest on sketched designs.
7. Boox Tab X C
Best E-Ink Tablet
If you’re looking for an e-ink tablet, the Onyx Boox Tab X C that we reviewed is simply the best you can get right now. This is no casual e-reader with a plain black-and-white display, ultra-low refresh rate, and processing speed just fast enough to turn the pages of a digital book. The Boox Tab X C sports a large 13.3-inch E-Ink Kaleido 3 display. This includes a 3200x2400 black-and-white layer and a 1600x1200 color overlay, giving you the crisp low-power e-ink for reading and a splash of color on top to make the tablet far more versatile than typical e-ink tablets. Whether you’re browsing websites, reading comics, or annotating ebooks, that extra color comes in handy. The Boox Tab X C also has a fast enough refresh rate to feel smooth in most uses, though you probably still won’t want to game or watch videos on it.
Another big plus for the Boox Tab X C is that it runs on Android and not some proprietary e-reader OS. This means you can load up just about any app you want. Your favorite note-taking apps, your favorite ebook or comic library apps, and your favorite browsers should be right there in the Play Store ready to go.
With the big screen it provides, the Boox Tab X C can work as a great productivity aid. You can pair with a keyboard to write up documents and enjoy the extra long battery life it offers, or you can load up PDFs to both read and mark up with a stylus without needing to deal with scaling.
All of this capability comes built onto solid hardware. The tablet runs on a potent Snapdragon 855 chip, which is far more mighty than you’ll find in most e-ink devices. It’s also tucked into a classy, aluminum design.
8. iPad Air (2024)
Best Thin and Light Tablet
Apple put together a wonderful little package with the 2024 iPad Air. It upgraded from its predecessors with a thinner design, an improved selfie camera, and a newer chip under the hood. You can snag the iPad Air with either an 11- or 13-inch display, and beyond a corresponding adjustment to resolution, most of the specs of the two tablets otherwise remain the same. Either option gets you an Apple M2 chip backed by 8GB of memory. In our testing, we found this provided ample performance for everyday uses, like streaming movies and browsing, and it even held up for extended gaming sessions in Zenless Zone Zero. The thin design of the tablet can result in some heat build-up, so be mindful of that if you’re looking to do serious gaming.
The new design of the iPad Air trims its depth down to just 6.1mm, which is even thinner than an iPhone 17 and barely a half millimeter wider than the supremely slim iPhone Air. Between that and the tablet weighing just a hair over 1lb, it’s exceptionally portable. It’s also boasting a quality build with an aluminum frame and back – not that I’d expect any less from Apple.
The display on the iPad Air isn’t as bright as some of its competition, hitting 500 nits, but it offers a wide color gamut that looks great for TV and movies. It also works well with the Apple Pencil Pro, providing smooth inking for drawing and note taking. And, for those looking to incorporate the tablet into a broader device ecosystem, you’ll get the benefit of a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port on the bottom of the tablet, supporting faster data transfers and DisplayPort output.
While there’s a newer model with an M3 chip, the M2 model is still going to be plenty for most and can occasionally be found at a discount. (The iPad Pro will still be the more sensible option for anyone who really needs top-level specs.) Of course, if you find the M3 iPad Air at the same price or better than the M2 model, you shouldn’t hesitate to choose it instead.
How to Choose the Right Tablet for You
Budget
Figure out how much you can stomach to spend on a tablet. Looking to just stream shows and scroll socials? A cheap slate should suffice. However, you'll need to up your spending if you’re after a productivity tool that performs similarly to a laptop. You can even slap a keyboard onto some tablets, essentially turning them into detachable laptops, albeit with the limits of their hardware and operating system.
Design and Display
You'll want an option that’s lightweight but still durable for on-the-go use. A sizable, crisp, and responsive display ensures the best user experience, while OLED panels are a more premium option with deep blacks and richer colors over their LCD counterparts. Maybe you'd like none of the above and prefer something easier on the eyes like e-ink.
Internals
You don’t want a sluggish device that leads to you reaching for your smartphone or laptop instead. To prevent that from happening, a solid processor and at least 4GB of RAM is a must. For gaming or creative work, upgrading those specs can make a world of difference. Beyond that, you’ll want to ensure your software is up to date. Android OS is in its 16th generation, while iPadOS 26 is Apple’s latest.
Other features
Things like long battery life, great-sounding speakers, crisp cameras, and stylus support can help improve your experience on a tablet. You may even want to consider getting a 5G tablet that can connect to your cellular network when you’re not on Wi-Fi.
Tablets FAQ
Are iPads better than Android tablets?
No; they're not worse either. Both types of tablets have plenty of solid models to choose from. It’s more a matter of personal preference. If you already have an iPhone and/or MacBook, it makes sense to grab an iPad for seamless integration into your Apple ecosystem, including the ability to double as a second screen for a MacBook. iPads are known for their smooth user experience along with their wealth of apps and games, but the pricing is more restrictive.
Tablets running on Android OS come from various manufacturers using a wide variety of components and different versions of the Android operating system, meaning performance and the experience is all over the place. But there’s a wider selection of slates, from ultra-cheap to high-end. It’s just important to do your research, as there are some duds. The selection of apps optimized for an Android tablet is also more limited. Still, almost all Android apps should function fine, just not as well as on your phone.
Should you buy a tablet with cellular network support?
Most will find that a tablet with cellular network support is unnecessary unless you’re constantly on the go with no way to connect via Wi-Fi. Adding that extra line to your cellular plan can be expensive, and your smartphone can usually work as a Wi-Fi hotspot for your tablet when you’re in a pinch. However, should you decide you’d like cellular network support, many of our picks come in 5G versions; just know you have to make that decision up front.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra.
Mark Knapp is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything electronics and gaming hardware. He has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry with bylines at PCMag, Reviewed, CNET, and more. Find Mark on Twitter @Techn0Mark or BlueSky at @Techn0Mark.
Audible's holiday promotion for 2025 is now live. Through December 16, new and returning Audible subscribers can sign up for three months of Audible Premium Plus for just $0.99 per month. You will need to be logged into your Amazon Prime membershp to see this promotion. After the three months is up, your subscription will convert to the standard $14.95/mo, so make sure to cancel beforehand if you don't want to continue with the service. You also get a free audiobook of your choice for each of those three months that you get to keep indefinitely even after your subscription expires.
3 Free Months of Audible Premium Plus
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks.
Premium Plus includes other perks as well. Every month Premium Plus members get to pick one audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely, even after the membership expires. Also, Premium Plus members can get 30% off any additional audiobooks they wish to purchase in addition to exclusive limited-time discounts.
If you were already planning to purchase a couple of audiobooks, then it makes more sense to pay less than $3 to get three audiobooks you get to keep indefinitely and enjoy all the benefits of Audible Premium Plus for three months. This deal only pops up a few times per year, so don't waste your "first-time subscriber" eligibility status on a short 30-day trial.
Catch up the the latest novel releases, audiobook style
Several best-selling new and recent releases are available in an audiobook format and part of Audible's Premium Plus subscription plan. Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games novel, is narrated by Jefferson White, who you may already know from Yellowstone where he played Jimmy Hudstrom. The audiobook has a listening time of about 12 hours and 48 minutes. Stephen King released his Never Flinch crime novel in May 27 and it's also available as a nearly 15-hour long audiobook narrated by veteran Jessie Mueller. If you're a fan of Brandon Sanderson, check out Wind and Truth, book five of the popular The Stormlight Archive series. It was released in December of 2024 and runs an epic 63 hours long.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
After cutting cable, one of the first things you'll likely be searching for is a way to watch live sports. For NBA fans, there are plenty of options to catch games without a traditional cable plan, though you may need to get creative. NBA streaming rights are always changing hands, but currently, there are three main channels you'll need to access: ABC, ESPN, and NBC. However, starting this year through the 2035-36 season, the landscape will change once again, as NBC and Prime Video will exclusively air select games.
In the meantime, we've rounded up the best streaming services for you below to ensure you don't miss a single NBA game this season and the next. With the official NBA season kicking off today, you'll likely want to catch a few games at home as soon as possible.
DirecTV Stream
Best overall for NBA games
As of right now, DirecTV Stream is the most comprehensive option for NBA fans who want to cut the cord. While each of their signature packages features the trio of channels needed to watch all major NBA games (ABC, ESPN, and TNT), the best value is the DirecTV Choice package as it also includes access to NBA TV. With this package, you'll have access to over 125 channels including every major nationwide game and a great selection of regional sporting events based on your location.
If you're a diehard sports fan, DirecTV now offers standalone Genre Packs, including the MySports pack, which is priced at $69.99 per month—cheaper than each of the standard bundles. This pack includes over 20 sports-focused channels, such as ESPN, TNT, FS1, NBA TV, and NFL Network, plus an ESPN Unlimited subscription for even more sports content.
ESPN Unlimited
Best for ESPN and ABC Games
Earlier this year, ESPN launched a new service called ESPN Unlimited. The main difference between this service and its predecessor, ESPN+, is that it actually grants you access to all of the ESPN channels without the need for a live TV service. Since it is owned by Disney, that means you'll also get access to any of the games that play on ABC as well. That means you'll get access to all of the games except the ones on TNT.
You can currently get a standalone subscription to ESPN Unlimited for $29.99 or bundle it with Disney+ and Hulu for the same price (for a limited time). With the most recent Disney+ price hike now in effect, this is the only bundle that didn't get a price increase for 2025. You can also choose to add NFL+ premium to that bundle, making this one of the best new services for NFL games as well.
Hulu + Live TV
Best Streaming Bundle With NBA Games
Hulu + Live TV is a great option for sports fans who also want to indulge in great TV series and movies as it features over 95 channels plus the Disney Bundle as part of its monthly subscription price. It checks all the boxes for NBA fans with ABC and ESPN included (they are Disney-owned, of course), plus the remaining games on TNT.
In addition to having access to everything in the Disney+ and Hulu libraries, Hulu + Live TV also grants you access to ESPN Unlimited which unlocks additional exclusive sporting events (like UFC and college sports), original programming, and more. There is also a three-day free trial of Hulu + Live TV available for new subscribers if you want to test out the service at no cost.
Sling TV
Best Value
If being able to catch every major NBA game for the lowest possible price is your only priority, then Sling TV is your answer. Sling TV's Orange plan will get you access to most nationally televised NBA games as it features ESPN and TNT as part of its 35-channel lineup. However, the primary reason Sling TV is a less expensive option is that it excludes local channels, such as ABC. Instead, Sling recommends you pair your subscription with a TV antenna (sold separately) to receive your local channels.
If you'd rather not worry about an external antenna, Sling TV's Blue plan does include local channels like ABC, NBC, and FOX in select markets. You'll need to enter your zip code on Sling's website to verify which (if any) local channels are available to you with this plan. If you do happen get ABC in your area, you can bundle Sling TV's Orange and Blue plans together for $60.99 per month to enjoy every NBA game. There's also the company's free service, Sling Freestream, which lets you watch some older games at no cost.
NBA League Pass
Best For Out of Market Games
NBA League Pass is a fantastic option for NBA fans...of out of market teams. The NBA's flagship service features live coverage of every game (excluding nationally broadcast and your local market games) through the NBA app or NBA.com. Nationally broadcast games (like those on ABC, ESPN, or TNT) are available to stream on-demand three hours after they air, while locally televised games are available three days later.
Additionally, NBA League Pass features condensed recaps of every game, access to NBA TV's 24/7 live stream, full game archives dating back to the 2012-13 NBA season, and much more. NBA League Pass is available as a monthly subscription or you can choose to prepay for the entire season.
NBA Streaming FAQs
Can You Watch Live NBA Games For Free?
Sort of. If you have a TV antenna installed, you can watch games airing on ABC over the air. All other NBA games require either a cable subscription or a mix of select streaming services.
Which NBA Streaming Services Have Free Trials?
Currently, you can score a five-day free trial of DirecTV Stream and a three-day free trial of Hulu + Live TV if you want to catch some upcoming NBA games. As of this writing, Sling TV and ESPN Unlimited don't offer free trials, but both have limited time offers to save on monthly subscriptions. NBA League Pass doesn't have a direct free trial, but if you add it through an existing Prime Video subscription, you'll get seven days free.
Matthew Adler is a Commerce, Features, Guides, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
One of the most popular affordable men's wallets on Amazon is even less expensive today. The Travelambo minimalist men's slim leather wallet with RFID blocking technology is down to a mere $4.99 after you apply a 50% off coupon code "H4H4W3KH". All colors are eligible for the discount. If you're ok with not dropping a load on designer brand names, then this wallet offers great functionality in a compact size at a practically throwaway price.
RFID Blocking Men's Slim Leather Wallet for $4.99
The Travelambo is a minimalist wallet that measures 3.3" x 4.1" and only 0.12" thin. It's made out of "genuine" leather, which I assume means not vegan (aka usually vinyl), and features a simulated carbon fiber weave design. It has slots for up to 6 cards, including one slot with a clear window for your photo ID. The wallet features RFID blocking technology and "has been tested for 13.56MHz frequency in which credit cards, debit cards, driver license, and ID cards operate".
The reviews are quite good on Amazon, with nearly 14,000 reviews giving it an average 4.5 star rating. Some of the reviews point out that they've owned this wallet for several years and it has held up functionally, albeit with wear and tear. For just $5, I'd call that a pretty great return on your investment. It would also make a great stocking stuffer.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Hot on the heels of Ninja Gaiden's own 2D revival with the excellent Ragebound, Double Dragon Revive comes off more like a tribute band for the series rather than a proper reunion tour. It doesn't play the hits how you remember it, instead putting its own spin on things – from how it looks, to how it sounds, to how it plays. All of those aspects not only fail to live up to my admittedly mild expectations for a new Double Dragon, but after hours of its out of tune meandering, started to cement the idea that maybe we should put a little more distance between attempts to revitalize this series.
Even though I've been playing these games for most of my life it's sort of jarring how straightforward Double Dragon Revive is. Side scrollers of this arcadey, "belt scroll" variety have found a lot of ways to spice up the “punch your way to the right” recipe, and Revive seems interested in keeping as much of that new seasoning away from its plate as possible. It's a basic protein packed with eight non-branching levels, accompanied by starchy combat that's filling but has barely any sauce.
Picking up any of the four playable characters is simple and intuitive, with normal attack strings that can be mashed out on one button alongside special attacks and hyper blows that can be used to punctuate these combos, or in some instances extend your offense into wall bouncing juggles. All of these actions are unique to each fighter. Well, Billy and Jimmy Lee have distinctions that don't translate into mechanical differences, but former damsel-turned-headkicker Marian and ninja frenemy Ranzo have attacks that are a little more flashy and utilitarian. I rarely felt it necessary to use more than basic combo loops on Normal difficulty, though. As long as an enemy didn't have an annoying shield or hyper armor protecting them as they wound up a big attack (something ubiquitous in the later levels), they were reliably vulnerable to a good old fashioned fist to the face.
There are limited options for those who do want to attempt to style on these street thugs, but they all rely on bouncing enemies off of walls to keep them in the air long enough to string more hits together as they come down. It often felt like enemies kind of just went wherever they wanted after a launch or a throw as opposed to where you directed them to go, making a laborious task out of trying to set up simple combo extensions, jamming enemies into background environmental hazards that take them out of the fight instantly, or taking advantage of the super powerful wall strike and wall crash options.
It rarely felt necessary to use more than basic combo loops on Normal difficulty.
There's no air combos to be had either, so chasing a launched bad guy skyward only allows you a single, disappointing smash down to earth so you can wait for them to stand up and let you hit them again. Everyone can get a free hit on downed enemies, if you can finagle the finicky button prompt to do so that is unresponsive and unreliable. If there's the right kind of wall around – the right kind being the one they decide is right based on no reliable context clues – you can do a super sized air dropping attack, but even getting the wall kick off that's required to get the requisite height is a dice roll.
Everyone has powerful, screen clearing finishing blow attacks that are charged up by all the fisticuffs, with boosts given when you make a timely dodge, counter an enemy’s big attack, or grow your combo meter. But no playable character, not even with Ranzo's cool explosive kunai or Marian’s charging knee, can make Revive’s combat feel special, or even interesting, across long stretches of time. It took me around three hours to finish my first playthrough, and I lost interest well before then, with three more playthroughs after that, one for each playable character.
That said, enemy variety is at least diverse and effective at making you use the small menu of options you have. As levels progress, old bad guys show up to mingle with the newer ones to form a sort of street thug gumbo that can get a little spicy towards the end of your run. It’s largely a numbers game, with you often getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming blows from all angles. I liked the little brain puzzle of having to identify the most dangerous threat to take out first, or needing to figure out the most efficient way to wrangle as many folks as possible into a big attack, but it wasn’t beguiling enough for me to forget that the process of breaking these dudes down was still rather dull. Even the array of limited use weapons, though strong tools usually worth the effort to grab if things get hairy, are your standard fare knives, two-by-fours, sledgehammers, etc.
As the challenge escalates, some of Revive’s jank becomes an enemy of its own. Small things, like the direction of your character sometimes defaulting to the opposite direction inexplicably, stops being a quirk to work around and starts being the reason you drop a combo or get punished.
Enemy variety is at least diverse, but breaking dudes down is still rather dull.
Bosses break the monotony up a little bit, introducing slightly more engaging stage hazards and pattern mechanics, like Linda, who you need to shake off of the pillars she’s hiding on top off before you can attack her directly. These get pretty brutal towards the end, though, specifically the chapter seven boss, which has to be the most aggravating fight I’ve maybe ever played in one of these games – truly a test of endurance against a ceaseless onslaught of the most cheating cheaters Revive has to offer.
There’s not a lot of flash visually, either. Most character models look good, but the fire, wind, and dragon effects that come from their limbs when channeling their chi looks a step behind in quality. Camera work and sound design come together adequately to make big hits feel good and all that jazz. The sound track is decent, with a handful original riffy rockouts and remixes of old series jams that sound good in the moment but sort of leave your head immediately after they end. Overall, Double Dragon Revive lacks the visual identity that the 16-bit Double Dragon Gaiden and even pastel-punk Double Dragon Neon have, let alone its peers like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound from this year.
The stages you bash your way through run a much broader gamut. A colorful Japanese pagoda-style tower with a fun little perspective shift mid-way through is simple but much more stirring than a non-descript highway level, even if there is a wrestling ring at the end of it. Some of these zones require some platforming that I was never happy to see but in mercifully short bursts. It’s a bit of an eye-roll that most of these stages are just takes on series staple locations without much novel flair added this time around, but it’s truly disappointing how many of these locations are just bland and lifeless.
And not to be one of those “the story in this beat 'em up sucks” sort of freaks, but I mean, it does. It's less that the plot is nonsense, the characters are bland, and the writing is lousy and more that Revive lacks the confident and chaotic energy that is necessary to sell this sort of thing to begin with. The post-apocalyptic villain of Neon was a gang-leading demon knight straight out of a heavy metal album cover named Skullmaggedon. The gang struggles in Gaiden made that version of New York City feel like Gotham City, complete with goons color-coded and themed after their outlandish bosses. By comparison, Revive is just a completely tame and underwhelming take on returning villains Willy and Raymond, who used black magic and the military industrial complex to experiment on people and make the Sousetsuken kid’s lives worse.
Dell is offering a new deal this week on one of its highest-end Alienware gaming laptops. The Alienware 16 Area-51 16" gaming laptop, equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and RTX 5080 mobile GPU, has been marked down to $2,699.99 with free delivery after a $750 discount. New for 2025, the Area-51 is Alienware's highest-end gaming laptop. It's pricier than other RTX 5080 equipped laptops (less so with this deal), but that's because the build quality and performance exceeds most of its competition.
Alienware 16 Area-51 RTX 5080 Gaming Laptop for $2,699
The Area-51: new color, curvy design, metal construction, and upgraded cooling
The Alienware Area-51 is a considerable upgrade compared to the previous generation's Alienware m16. For starters, it's clad in anodized aluminum for both the lid and bottom chassis and features a unique iridescent finish that sparkles in direct lighting. The frame is made of a durable and lightweight magnesium alloy. Cooling has been upgraded with generous amounts of copper and a new thermal interface. Dell claims that it can handle up to 240W TDP without raising acoustics.
Design-wise, the Area 51 has a sleeker, more contoured shape compared to previous models, with rounded edges and soft corners replacing the traditional squared off design. The hinges are internally positioned so that they're near invisible. There's a transparent window on the undercarriage to show off the internal components. There's also plenty of RGB illumination, although most of it can be turned off if you don't like that sort of thing.
The GeForce RTX 5080 mobile GPU is better than the RTX 4090 mobile
The Alienware Area-51's aggressive cooling allows it to accomodate the RTX 5080 mobile GPU without throttling it. The RTX 5080 is roughly 15%-20% more powerful than the RTX 4080 that it replaces. In fact, it's even more powerful than the RTX 4090, which was the previous generation's flagship card. You'll be able to play any game at frame rates of 60fps or higher on the 1600p display. You could even enable ray tracing in most games, something that was unheard of in laptops just a few years ago. The general consensus is that upgrading from an RTX 5080 (mobile) to RTX 5090 won't yield significant performance gains relative to the huge price difference.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Game publishers have been cooking for charity! As part of gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2025, the first ever Charity Cook-Off was held in Bangkok on October 13, with 10 contestants from the game industry flexing their kitchen skills for Chef Willment Leong, the hot-tempered celebrity chef who hosts Hell’s Kitchen Thailand.
The event was livestreamed in support of two charities, one global and one local: Doctors Without Borders, and the Bangkok Community Help Foundation.
Among the lineup of contestants was… me! Representing IGN Japan, I felt the pressure to bring the spice, doing my best to replicate Chef Willment’s signature menu that blends the Western dish salmon confit with a Thai twist – green curry cream sauce, crispy chicken skin crust, handmade ailoi, poached egg and rocket salad.
Bonus points were awarded for adding a videogame twist, so my dish was populated by cute little edible Pokémon and a Mario-themed salad.
Here’s the full list of contestants:
Adorapixel - Gordon Van Dyke
Powell Group - Jay Powell
Raw Fury - Johan Toresson
Miniclip - Govind Cacciatore
Wired Production - Leo Zullo
Joystick Venture - Ivan Carrillo
IGN - Daniel Robson
PlayPark - Jham (Sattra Viriyacharoentham)
AGP - Lili Zang
Poki - Romy Halfweeg
The event was hosted by gaming investment company Agora Gaming Partners and gamescom asia organizer Koelnmesse. It was held in the professional-grade kitchen of Dusit Thani College, as seen on cooking shows like Netflix’s The Maverick Academy. The college also provided volunteer assistants – my assistant Tia was awesome, and helped make sure I didn’t set fire to or slice off anything important.
As game media, we often review creations made by game companies, so it was a thrill to be on the other side and have the judges rate my cooking! Cooking under pressure, surrounded by cameras and under a tight time limit in an unfamiliar kitchen, was an experience I’ll never forget. I didn’t win (my salmon was a little pink), but I didn’t embarrass myself horribly either, and I was especially proud of my attempt at green curry cream sauce – I’ll tinker and perfect that recipe at home for sure.
A digest video will be published soon, but you can check out the archive of the full livestream here right now.
Ever thought of replacing your gaming headset with a pair of earbuds? Amazon has dropped the price of the Steelseries Arctis Gamebuds from $199.99 all the way down to $127.99 shipped after a hefty 36% off instant discount. This is by far the best deal I've seen (the previous lowest price being $160) and this earbud is our front-runner for the best dedicated gaming earbuds of 2025. This particular model is compatible with PlayStation 5 and PC.
Steelseries Arctis Gamebuds Down to $127.99 (was $200)
I don't see as many gaming-specific earbuds as I do gaming headsets. In fact, this is Steelseries' first product release in the category. What makes this earbud more gaming focused is that it can be paired with a mobile app (for console, you use the Steelseries GG software for PC) preloaded with over 100 different audio presets customed tailored to specific video games and genres. Each earbud contains a 6mm neodymium magnetic driver that can simulate bass and spatial audio effects. Also, the Gamebuds connects to your PS5 or PC over a fast and reliable 2.4GHz wireless networking with the included USB Type-C dongle. No headset is complete without a built-in microphone, and the Gamebuds has a decent one, although not nearly as good as an extendable boom mic.
The Gamebuds can be used outside of gaming, of course. Like any good pair of in-ear buds at this price point, the Gamebuds features Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and active noise cancellation. Three different sized eartipsa are included for a more customized fit. The battery life is below average at 10 hours, but a charging case is included that extends playtime to 40 hours before needing to recharge.
I have a pair of these myself and quite like it. I prefer these over standard headphones on hotter days, because my ears sweat profusely when I use traditional over-ear headsets. Not so with these Gamebuds.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Gearbox has said the hotly anticipated Borderlands 4 patch that will finally dull crit knife builds is delayed again and will now launch alongside the Horrors of Kairos mini-event.
Borderlands 4’s 'Day 30 Update' was set to launch last week but was delayed to early this week. Fans had wondered when it would turn up after another no-show today, prompting developer Gearbox to say it’s now due out alongside Horrors of Kairos, which runs from October 23 to November 6.
The question now is when exactly the patch will be released. Horrors of Kairos is down to start on October 23, but it may end up releasing at some point between then and November 6.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
Gothic first-person shooter Painkiller first graced our screens in 2004, and it built a cult following thanks to its fast pace, dark atmosphere, weapon arsenal, and intense combat. Now it’s back with a modern reimagining with the same name from developer Anshar Studios and publisher 3D Realms that’s out now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
If you’re not familiar with Painkiller, the central concept is you play as someone trapped in Purgatory because of your previous transgressions, but you get a mission to redeem yourself and earn your way into Heaven. In this reimagined version, that mission is simple: stop the fallen angel Azazel and his three children, the Nephilim.
While that’s the explanation for the setting, this isn’t a narrative-focused game. It’s all about action, all the time. So really, your mission can be summed up in even simpler terms: kill as many demons and horrors as you can, in whatever brutal way you choose.
You’ll always have a three-person team, which you can form by teaming up with people in online co-op or by playing offline with bot teammates. Between missions (called raids here) you’ll return to a hub area called Purgatory’s Crossing, where you’ll choose your loadout before jumping into the next raid. That starts with picking one of four characters: Ink, Void, Sol, or Roch, each of whom has a unique perk. Ink has better health restoration, Void does more weapon damage, Sol has higher ammo capacity, and Roch has increased max health.
Regardless of who you choose, speed, agility, and weaponry are the primary focus of combat. You’ll start the game with the classic Painkiller weapon, which will be a permanent part of your loadout on every raid. Its alt fire mode, called the Shredder, can shred enemies (hence the name) and also acts as a grappling hook. You can use it on designated grappling points to traverse biomes quickly, or you can use it directly on enemies. Be careful of using it on tougher enemies though, they’ll retaliate if they’re not stunned first.
In addition to the permanent Painkiller weapon, you can take two other weapons with you on every raid, which you can switch out in the hub area. You’ll get your first two weapons automatically during the prologue, while the rest can be unlocked in the order you choose. There are six selectable weapons in total (not counting the Painkiller), each of which has a main firing mode and two alt fire modes that you can swap between before each raid.
So that’s 18 firing modes, and you can unlock upgrades for each weapon that modify how it works, bringing that total up to 72 different attack types. You unlock things by gathering ancient souls from finishing raids, which can then be spent in the hub area. You can use them to unlock new weapons, alternate shots, or upgrades, so your loadout will consistently evolve as the game goes on.
The Painkiller weapon isn’t the only one that fans of the series will recognize. The Stakegun and Electrodriver also make their return, and they’re the two starting weapons you’ll unlock in the prologue.
The Stakegun can impale enemies and launch different types of grenades as alternate shots, and just like in the original game, you can combine these two capabilities if you’re skilled enough to pull it off. The range of the primary stake shot is longer than the grenades, so you can fire a grenade and then hit it with the stake in mid-air to carry the grenade farther.
The Electrodriver is for dealing with larger groups. It has electric shock attacks that stun enemies, and it can fire a set of bouncing shuriken that can ricochet around corners or past enemy shields. Combo those two together, and you have a recipe for clearing out hordes of enemies quickly.
Not all of the weapons are returning classics. The new Handcannon is a powerful handgun focused on hitscan precision. If your aim is on point, it has very high DPS potential. You can also modify it with a scope to turn it into a sniper-style weapon if you so choose.
On top of weapon modifications and alt fire options, you can also customize gameplay with tarot cards that enhance your abilities. You use gold collected in raids to unlock new cards in the Tarot Lottery in the hub area, and you can select cards to activate before you start a new raid. That card’s benefits will stay active for the entire next raid, then be used up, but you can use ancient souls to replenish one if you want to reuse it.
There are currently 44 tarot cards, and they can have a wide range of effects. Some are passive and always active, others react to particular enemies, and others require certain conditions to activate. For example, Angel’s Torment allows you to one-shot kill any regular enemy that’s thrown in the air. Demon’s Payload spawns explosive barrels when you kill a large demon. Crimson Cadence gradually heals you as long as you keep your combo count above a certain threshold.
Other tarot cards affect your teammates, so you and your allies can try to find synergies that combine together well. For example, Harmonic Torment allows you to share your health with allies and Revenant’s Veil causes enemies to ignore you while you’re reviving downed teammates.
This is just a taste of the different types of weapons, modifications, and tarot cards available. The rest you’ll have to discover for yourself. Painkiller is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. If you want to learn more, you can check out the game’s official website or follow it on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Apple TV — no, not Apple TV+, remember the rebrand — finally announced the premiere date for season 3 of its beloved dramedy Shrinking. It feels great to have a date on the books… but make no mistake, fans will still have to wait a bit for their next appointment.
The show is set to return on January 28 with a super-sized one hour premiere episode. From there, episodes will air on a weekly basis every Wednesday through April 8, which will be the season finale.
Jason Segel and Harrison Ford lead the show’s cast, which also includes Christa Miller, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell and Ted McGinley. This season, series cocreator and former Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein will return to the show in a guest star role. Damon Wayans Jr, Cobie Smulders, and Wendie Malick will also guest star this season, in addition to Jeff Daniels and Michael J. Fox.
“I said, ‘You did a show about Parkinson’s, and you didn’t call me?’” Fox explained of talking with Ford about getting on the series in a recent interview with People. “And he said, ‘Oh, you want to do it?’ And I said, ‘I’d love to do it.’ So he said, ‘Let me think about it, see what I can do.’ So he went to work on it and came up with this concept, it’s really good.”
Needless to say, it was a great opportunity for the Back to the Future actor to be unapologetically himself on set considering the limitations placed upon him by his illness. “It was the first time ever I got to show up on-set, and I didn’t have to worry about am I too tired or coughing or anything,” Fox told the outlet. “I just do it. It was really good, because for the moments when I say, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this,’ then I say, ‘Well, I’ll just deal with how I can’t do it in the scene.’ And you get through it.”
Ford was also particularly excited to have the iconic actor guest star this season and show the world he’s still got it.
“Michael’s courage, his fortitude and his grace, more than anything else, is on full display. He’s very smart, very brave, noble, generous, passionate guy, and an example to all of us, whether we’re facing Parkinson’s or not,” Ford told People. “You cannot help but recognize how amazing it is to have such grace… Parkinson’s is not funny. And I want to get it right. It’s necessary to be correct with what we do in respect of the challenge that Parkinson’s represents, and that we don’t use it for its entertainment value.”
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
Netflix is making various films and TV series based on Catan, the world-renowned multiplayer board game.
In Catan, players take on the roles of settlers who try to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. It carries the tagline: “Trade. Build. Settle.”
According to Variety, Netflix has secured the global rights to Catan, and plans to release various projects in both live-action and animation. There’s talk of film and scripted and unscripted TV. All projects will be produced by Darren Kyman from Asmodee (which recently split from Embracer), Pete Fenlon of Catan Studios, and Guido and Benjamin Teuber, the sons of Catan inventor Klaus Teuber.
Teuber first published The Settlers of Catan in Germany in 1995. It would go on to become one of the biggest board games ever, selling over 40 million copies. He died aged 70 in 2023.
Benjamin and Guido Teuber, co-CEOs of Catan GmbH, offered the following comment: “When our father Klaus Teuber first introduced Catan 30 years ago, he imagined an aspirational world where people would gather by trading, building and settling together — both at the table and beyond it. This collaboration with Netflix marks an exciting new chapter in that journey. For three decades, Catan has connected families and friends around the world. Now, we’re thrilled to see it inspire storytelling on a global stage — staying true to our father’s vision of creativity, strategy and human connection.”
There’s no release window for any Catan projects, nor any details on what those projects will be. But it’s clear Netflix sees huge value in projects based on board games and video games, following a string of successes. Indeed, Netflix struck a deal for the rights to Monopoly from Hasbro Entertainment earlier this year.
Photo by Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images.
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.
It’s been a big year for Stephen King adaptations, with the release of Oz Perkin’s The Monkey back in February and Edgar Wright’s take on The Running Man hitting theaters next month. In between those two releases, we got Francis Lawrence's adaptation of one of the most bleak Stephen King stories out there: The Long Walk.
Starring David Jonsson and Cooper Hoffman, The Long Walk follows a group of teenage boys who must continuously walk across the United States, or else risk execution. If you’ve been interested in checking out the particularly gruesome movie in the comfort of your own home, I’m happy to report that The Long Walk is now available online through PVOD platforms like Prime Video.
The Long Walk Is Now Available on Digital
The Long Walk arrives on digital just over a month after its initial release in theaters. The film has grossed over $50 million globally, over double its reported budget of $20 million. Perhaps more notably, The Long Walk currently holds one of the highest average Rotten Tomatoes score for any Stephen King movie.
Here’s what Tom Jorgenson had to say in his review of the movie for IGN: “Anchored by strong performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, The Long Walk overcomes the repetitive nature of its story to deliver a timely and powerful condemnation of normalized violence… with some seriously brutal, R-rated violence.”
4K and Blu-ray Out November 25, No Word on Streaming Release Date
A DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K steelbook edition of The Long Walk are all up for preorder with a release date of November 25. While you may have to wait a couple more weeks, I always think it’s worth noting that physical releases are pretty much the same price as digital purchases that you don’t really get to “own.”
Unfortunately, we still don’t have any confirmation about a streaming release date for The Long Walk, but we do know the movie will eventually land on Starz, which has an ongoing “first dibs” streaming agreement with distributor Lionsgate. Recent Lionsgate releases like Ballerina and Freaky Tales landed on streaming around three months after releasing in theaters. Assuming we see a similar timeline, The Long Walk should be streaming on Starz some time this December.
Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
Marvel star Elizabeth Olsen has said she’d “jump at” the opportunity to play Scarlet Witch again.
Olsen last played Scarlet Witch in live-action form in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She subsequently reprised the role for this year’s animated series Marvel Zombies, but that was voice work only, and she recorded her lines some years ago.
Ever since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ release, fans have speculated about Scarlet Witch’s potential return, particularly with Avengers: Doomsday set to come out next year, and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, set to follow in 2027.
While her return to the MCU has yet to be confirmed, in a new interview with InStyle, Olsen suggested she was now ready to play Scarlet Witch once again.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said of making MCU movies. “We're grown people behaving like children on a playground. We're flying. We're shooting things out of our hands. And it’s a character that I've gotten to return to so many times over 10 years. It’s good to put her down and then I miss her and I want her back. I'd jump at the opportunity to be in her shoes again.”
Olsen pointed to “the consistency of a community and a job, which is hard to find,” as one of the reasons she loves the Marvel universe.
Warning! Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Agatha All Along Season 1 follow.
But if that return to the MCU does happen, it apparently won’t be in Avengers. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Olsen insisted she wouldn't be in London for the filming of either Doomsday or Secret Wars. Was that yet another example of a superhero actor misdirect?
The big question, of course, is whether or not Scarlet Witch is still alive following the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She was asked, flat out, in the interview with InStyle. Her response: “No idea.”
“The only thing I’ll say about the movie is this: we love villains who think they’re the heroes of their own stories,” Joe Russo said. “That’s when they become three-dimensional and they become more interesting. When you have an actor like Robert Downey, you have to create a three-dimensional, well shaped character for the audience. That’s where a lot of our focus is going.”
Avengers: Doomsday is currently set to arrive in theaters May 1, 2026 and Secret Wars arrives about a year later in May 2027.
Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.
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.
There’s plenty going on in Crimson Desert’s open world. From puzzles to castle sieges to blowing up enemies with a battle robot, there’s a wide range of activities to get stuck into. But from what we’ve seen so far, the real show stoppers are the boss battles. As part of this month’s IGN First, we’ve already shown you two new ones: the Golden Star mechanical dragon, and Fortain, The Cursed Knight. But there’s still more to see. Today, we’re showcasing three brand new bosses: Muskan, Walter Lanford, and Kearush the Slayer. You can see protagonist Kliff duke it out with all three in the video above.
The trio demonstrates a chunk of Crimson Desert’s enemy scale – Walter Lanford and Muskan are both human, but the former is pretty regular in size, while the latter is an eight-foot powerhouse. And then there’s Kearush, a massive, gorilla-like beast who's actually one of Crimson Desert’s smaller monsters.
Those “weight categories” help distinguish each boss, but each is defined by their ability set. Muskan is a fierce pugilist, only providing you a few seconds of reprieve while he charges up his powerful punches and dive kicks. He’s not afraid to fight a little dirty, with sweeping kicks knocking your legs from under you, and choke slams sending you sputtering to the floor. When his fury meter maxes out, he’s able to unleash a chain of blows that repeatedly launch you into the air, so learning how to avoid his lighting-fast fists is the name of the game.
Walter Lanford may be no bigger than you are, but he’s arguably the most sophisticated of the three bosses we’re showing today. Armed with a shotgun, he’s able to fight effectively at range. Dodging the wide-spread projectiles is key, but get your timing right and you can actually deflect his blasts back at him. Should your reflexes not be quite that sharp, you can spin up a magic barrier that collects incoming bullets and fires them back where they came from. Walter’s weak to grapples, so getting in close is vital – thankfully you can use the “deflect light” skill, typically used to find hidden items, to temporarily blind him and close the distance. You’ll need to act fast, though, as Walter’s armed with smoke grenades that can help conceal his rapid getaways.
Finally, Kearush the Slayer is a monster with no less than three health bars - a fight-extending trick that multiple foes across Crimson Desert’s campaign can pull. There’s a Hulk-like intensity to this fight, with Kearush being able to climb the walls and unleash clumsy-but-destructive leaps in his attempt to turn every bone in your body to dust. As a larger creature, you’re able to clamber onto his back and stab away, Dragon’s Dogma-style, but be careful - he’s more than happy to fall back-first from a great height, so let go of those shoulders before you’re forced to cushion his landing.
All three of these fights only reinforce my feeling that the bosses are going to be the real stars of the show in Crimson Desert. Every one I’ve faced so far across multiple hands-on opportunities has had a unique twist, a clever mechanic, or simply an exciting moveset that kept me on my toes. I’ve fought a powerful knight who I crushed with fallen masonry columns. I’ve faced off against an antlered snow beast who could cause avalanches that froze me in my tracks. And I’ve clambered up the side of a giant walking mountain, Shadow of the Colossus-style, seeking out its weak points in a battle of endurance. And I hope these are only just the start. I can’t wait to see what Crimson Desert’s most ambitious showdowns are made of.
Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.
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