You might want to jump on a PC upgrade sooner than later. Prices of prebuilts are expected to go up this year because of the inflated demand for DDR5 RAM and production cuts on Nvidia's graphics cards.

For this week only, Best Buy just dropped the price on the powerful iBuypower Y40 Pro gaming PC, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X processor and RTX 5080 graphics card, to just $2,109.99 shipped. Although this system was a bit cheaper during Black Friday, it's currently the lowest price I can find for a prebuilt RTX 5080 gaming PC.

iBuypower Y40 Pro RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $2,110

Walt Disney World has revealed a wonderful new look at what to expect from the Most Magical Place on Earth in 2026, and it includes exciting updates to Frozen Ever After, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Soarin', and more, The Magic of Disney Animation, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets, the return of Cool Kids' Summer, and a ton of other experiences to look out for.

There is a lot planned for Walt Disney World in the coming months, so we thought, with the help of Disney Parks Blog, that we'd create a Walt Disney World 2026 Guide that will help you plan your trip or learn what's new and in the works. And yes, we will be updating this guide throughout the year as new details are revealed!

Be sure to let us know what you are most looking forward to and to check out our Disneyland in 2026 Guide!

Disneyland has revealed an exciting look at what it has planned for 2026, including the ongoing celebration of the resort's 70th anniversary, new experiences for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Soarin', the long-awaited arrival of Bluey, and some great events and festivals to plan ahead for.

With the help of Disney Parks Blog, this Disneyland in 2026 Guide will be a place to see all the fun headed to Disneyland this year. It's still early, so we will be updating this as more details are revealed, but this should give you a good idea of what to expect at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Oh, and be sure to let us know what you are most excited for and to also check out our Walt Disney World in 2026 Guide!

Extend the battery life on your Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Apple iPhone 17 for a rock bottom price. Amazon is currently offering the Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for just $11.21 after you clip a 49% off coupon on the product page. This is the best price right now for a 10,000mAh power bank from a popular and reputable brand. You better hurry though because this type of deal usually hits its redemption limit in just a few hours.

Iniu 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank for $11.21

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 last year and 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.

DirecTV Stream

Best overall for NBA games

The short-term outlook doesn't bode well with regards to GPU pricing. PCMag and other outlets have reported that Nvidia may cut back production on its consumer graphics cards by up to 30%-40% due to the demand of DRAM and Nvidia's shift in focus to supplying AI data centers. As a result of the dwindling supply, GPU prices are expected to rise in 2026.

Fortunately if you're thinking of upgrading your PC right now, it's not too late to get a current generation GeForce graphics card at retail pricing. Select variants of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5070, and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB graphics cards are currently available at Walmart and Amazon without any markup, but who knows for how long.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Graphics Card for $749

Matt Firor, the former studio head and founder of ZeniMax Online Studios, has confirmed his resignation from the company as a direct result of the cancelation of the studio's unannounced game, Project Blackbird.

In a LinkedIn post today, Firor reflected on the last year and confirmed his departure back in July, which had already been rumored after he stepped down from his leadership role last year. "Project Blackbird was the game I had waited my entire career to create, and having it canceled led to my resignation. My heart and thoughts are always with the impacted team members, many of whom I had worked 20+ years with, and all of whom were the most dedicated, amazingly talented group of developers in the industry."

Firor also made clear he is not involved in any of the projects that have been started by former ZeniMax Online members who were laid off from the company around this time. He added that he is advising some of them "informally" and confirmed they were "in good hands."

He concluded by stating that while he doesn't know what he'll do next, he's currently both advising some projects and startups unofficially, as well as investing in some small teams. "But I have not yet seriously contemplated spinning up a new development studio."

Project Blackbird was an unannounced MMORPG that was in development at ZeniMax Online Studios, but was canceled by Xbox in the summer of 2025 as a part of the layoff of hundreds of individuals at Xbox Game Studios, and thousands Microsoft-wide. Blackbird would have been a brand new, sci-fi IP that had been in development since 2018. In July, sources speaking to IGN told us that the project was going well and was about to move into full production with Xbox's approval to scale up the team. Blackbird's cancelation led to the layoffs of every member of the team.

Firor founded ZeniMax Online Studios under ZeniMax Media in 2007 after 10 years at Mythic Entertainment, where he was a founding employee. There, he oversaw the creation of The Elder Scrolls Online, which launched in 2014 and continues to be supported, with the most recent major expansion Gold Road releasing in January 2024. Firor was also in charge when parent company ZeniMax Media was acquired by Microsoft in 2021.

Following the cancelation of Blackbird, ZeniMax Online Studios remains in operation, continuing work on The Elder Scrolls Online under the leadership of Joseph Burba, a 13-year veteran of the studio.

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

Jack Black has revealed his regret at turning down the role of Syndrome in The Incredibles, admitting he shouldn’t have been so difficult and just accepted the part.

Speaking on Capital Breakfast's Christmas day show to promote his new movie, Anaconda, Black said he thought Syndrome was a one dimensional character and asked for a rewrite, which writer and director Brad Bird declined.

“I was offered — and I do regret it, saying no — I was offered Syndrome in that fantastic movie, The Incredibles,” Black revealed. “One of my favorites of all time by the way. And I said no, because I was like, ‘Er, Brad Bird, never heard of him. This character that you’re offering me is a villain but he’s kind of one dimensional. I’m interested but I’d like to see a rewrite. Will you add some dimensions to this character?’ And he was like, ‘You’re done. Get out of here.’"

The Jumanji, School of Rock, and Kung Fu Panda star continued: “And I learnt a valuable lesson. Because then the movie came out and it was one of the best movies ever made. I was like, ‘Why was I being so difficult?’”

The role of Syndrome, Mr. Incredible's obsessed fan turned supervillain, went to Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl, Mallrats). Pixar’s The Incredibles came out in 2004 and enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim, making over $630 million at the global box office. The Incredibles did so well it spawned a sequel, with The Incredibles 3 confirmed to be in the works. Anaconda, meanwhile, is now up to $88.4 million at the global box office.

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.

The regular NFL season may be over, but now we're headed into playoffs territory. If you're hoping to stream games online this year, it is once again unnecessarily confusing. There is no single place where you can watch every NFL game live, and it gets even more confusing when you start factoring in some streaming exclusives coming later this year.

If you're looking for the best way to watch as many NFL games as you can this season, you're likely going to need to be subscribed to multiple streaming services. I don't think anyone's happy about that, so the best alternative is doing some solid math on what you're most interested in watching.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Streaming Services for NFL Games

For those who are only looking to watch the occasional game, most of the popular sports streaming services should do the trick. You can also get some games through other streaming services depending on the day. I'd recommend checking out the NFL website for an up-to-date schedule of games to find out where you can stream each one.

Fubo

Best Option for Most People

Super Meat Boy, the hard-as-nails platforming classic where dying dozens of times per level comes as standard, has now been played from start to finish in a perfect run.

It's been 15 years since Super Meat Boy originally released for Xbox 360, and it has taken all of those 15 years for someone to pull off this frankly astonishing feat.

Step up shredberg, a Nintendo speedrunner with a particular soft spot for Super Meat Boy, who livestreamed his deathless completion of the game just before the end of 2025. The achievement quickly drew congratulations from Edmund McMillen, the game's co-creator, who dubbed shredberg as "awesome" for being the one who finally managed it.

For anyone who's played and struggled with Super Meat Boy over the years, particularly its later levels which simply look impossible when you first see them, it's hard to not watch the full video of shredberg's run and be impressed at the calm way he leaps, slops and slides around each level just pixels away from sawblades, meat grinders and explosions.

"Let's go," shredberg said calmly, upon completing Super Meat Boy's final level after more than 2000 attempts and over 1000 hours of gameplay. "Let's go dude! I cannot believe it, I've been doing this too long. I got to go to work tomorrow.

"I'll be honest, I'm not going to say I wasn't nervous, because I was very nervous at the end there... but I was way more nervous just in Dark Cotton," he continued, referencing an earlier level. "Once I got past Dark Hell 2, I was relatively fine. I got super nervous whenever I had any minor slip-up."

"I'm going to be emailing everyone," shredberg added. "Kotaku, IGN, CNN, Chef's Illustrated, they're all going to hear about it. I will unironically email IGN."

Over the years, Super Meat Boy has launched on every major console from Nintendo Switch to PlayStation Vita, though no one else has managed this feat — something many players thought was impossible. A sequel to the game, Super Meat Boy Forever, launched in 2020. Next up for the series is Super Meat Boy 3D, due for launch early this year.

And for shredberg? The second he completed his run, one viewer had a suggestion for what he should play next. "I have to play Silksong now?" shredberg said, reading the inevitable comment. "Yeah... I'm so glad it's over. Not even in a 'this wasn't even fun' kinda way, because it was. But, man."

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

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is getting a 4K steelbook alongside its 4K UHD and Blu-ray release, and eager fans don't have to wait too long to get their hands on it. Preorders are already live, with the film's physical release set for February 17 this year. That's just a little over a month away, which isn't too bad of a wait at all.

Below, we've broken down where you can preorder the standard 4K, Blu-ray, and limited edition steelbook right now. There's also a two-film collection that's available to preorder, if you're hoping to have the first and second film together as one package. Alongside that, we've also detailed the bonus features that come with this physical release, which include behind-the-scenes footage, featurettes on how the animatronics were brought to life, and more.

Preorder Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

• 4K UHD (non-steelbook): Amazon | Walmart
• Blu-ray: Amazon | Walmart

The steelbook sets you up with a copy of Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (feel free to check out IGN's review) on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and digital. It also features a slightly different cover to the standard 4K and Blu-ray, with just Freddy peeking through the curtain on the front, while the 4K and Blu-ray covers feature red backgrounds with multiple animatronics coming through the "2" cut out in the middle.

Preorder Five Nights at Freddy’s 2-Movie Collection

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 4K/Blu-Ray Bonus Features

• Employees of the Month: The Cast
• Bringing Freddy & Friends to Life
• Mangle Mayhem
• High-Strung: Hanging with the Marionette
• Sensory Overload: Exploring the Sets

For physical media collectors, there's plenty more to look forward to as we start up 2026. To see what other physical releases are still to come with year, check out our breakdown of upcoming 4Ks and Blu-rays to plan ahead for what's releasing in the coming months.

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

Critics’ biggest night has finally arrived — and they told us exactly how they felt about the biggest and best films and TV shows of 2025 at the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards. Critical engagement with art is such a necessary quest, as it tends to bring something to the public consciousness that expands both viewers perspective on the work and how the work itself functions in our cultural landscape, so their yearly picks truly say something about the state of visual art in the now.

Needless to say, we’ve had some seriously good projects come our way in the last year, including the Ryan Coogler period horror breakout Sinners. As you might’ve expected, the film — which stars Michael B. Jordan, Miles Catton, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, and Wunmi Mosaku — ended up winning the most awards for a film this year. Interestingly enough, though, it actually tied with Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein for that title.

Both films went home with four awards, and as far as acting goes, both films took home big prizes. Jacob Elordi snagged the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monsters, while Catton took home the Best Young Actor/Actress award for his excellent breakout as preacher boy Sammie. Coogler was also recognized for his writing, being awarded for Best Original Screenplay, while his casting director, Francine Maisler, was recognized for Best Casting and Ensemble.

As for the other big hits of the year, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another also got its fair share of praise, going home with three awards including both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Anderson. The film was also recognized in the Best Picture category, which had some steep competition in it.

There were also a couple of one-off wins that truly felt sweet. Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme was only recognized once, but it was a big one. Star Timothee Chalamet took home the award for Best Actor for his work in the title role, which could be a precursor for the upcoming Academy Awards, but who can say just yet. But perhaps the best and most satisfying one-off win went to Amy Madigan for her haunting portrayal of Aunt Gladys in Weapons, which took the world by storm when the film was released over the summer.

On the TV side, it should come as no surprise that Netflix’s tragic miniseries Adolescence was the big winner with four awards, including Best Limited Series. It also snagged three acting awards for Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, and Erin Doherty, all of whom won the same awards for their work at the 77th Primetime Emmys.

Beloved medical drama The Pitt and breakout comedy The Studio both tied for second place on wins, each going home with three awards a piece. The Pitt won Best Drama Series and two acting awards for Noah Wiley and Katherine LaNasa, all of which the series won at the Emmys as well. The Studio took home Best Comedy Series, with Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. Rogen and the show also won at the Emmys, but Barinholtz’s win was a first (and only his second nomination for the series).

You can check out the full list of winners from the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards below.

BEST PICTURE

• Bugonia
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Jay Kelly
• Marty Supreme
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams
• Wicked: For Good
• One Battle After Another — WINNER

Week 18 of the NFL regular season ended after that Ravens/Steelers banger and the playoffs kick off this coming weekend. Instead of paying for expensive tickets and fighting the crowds, why not put that money into a big, gorgeous TV set so you can watch from the comfort of your home. If you've missed out on all of the (now expired) OLED TV deals during Black Friday, here's a new deal that just popped up and runs for this week only.

Woot, which is owned by Amazon, is offering a 65" Samsung S90D 4K OLED Smart TV for just $1,079.99 or a 77" model for $1,497.99. Both TVs cost only $5 to ship, although Amazon Prime members can get free delivery. These are brand new TVs with a 1 year Samsung warranty. The S90D is one of Samsung's more premium OLED TVs featuring a quantum dot OLED panel for brighter, richer colors. It's comparable to LG's C-series OLED TVs.

Samsung S90D 4K OLED TVs on Sale at Woot!

Anime just keeps getting bigger. It was reported to be a $19+ billion industry in 2023, so we can only imagine where it's at in 2026. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to watch anime without paying a dime. While you might have to skip out on the occasional Netflix original anime, there's something for everyone in the hundreds of anime series and movies out there for free.

If you watch anime, you probably know that there are plenty of what we'll call "risky" anime sites, most of which ride a legal gray line or head straight into piracy territory. This list is limited to free anime sites we know for sure legally acquired their streaming licenses.

Whether you want to see what the hype's about with Solo Leveling (which recently won Anime of the Year), are planning a Naruto marathon, or want to dive into classics like Sailor Moon, here are the best sites to watch anime for free.

Crunchyroll

Watching sports used to be simple. You’d just flip on the TV, and chances are, you’d catch the big game. Today, though, navigating the world of sports streaming is a far more complicated affair. From regional blackouts and extra paywalls to figuring out which service holds exclusive rights to the games you want to watch, it’s a maze that leaves fans scrambling now in 2026.

With so many streaming services broadcasting live sports, figuring out where to watch and what's worth subscribing to can be a challenge. Luckily, we've done the heavy lifting for you. Below, you’ll find a list of the best sports streaming services for live games, matches, and fights, tailored for every type of fan.

TL;DR — These are the best streaming services for sports

Hulu + Live TV

Best Streaming Bundle For Sports

Walmart has dropped Battlefield 6 to just $40 for both PS5 and Xbox in the 2026 New Year sales. That's almost 50% off, and pretty close to its outstanding Black Friday deal I was raving about not so long ago ($35 for a limited time only).

If you're looking for a traditional boots-on-the-ground multiplayer shooter to play in 2026, this is it, and it's the best price we're likely to get on it right now. Snap it up ASAP, as I don't see this deal lasting the rest of the week, especially since Walmart is already indicating that stock is running low.

A new year is upon us, and if you're looking for some new games to stock up on to keep you busy in these early months, Amazon is the place to look.

Though the holidays and their seasonal sale events may be behind us, the retailer is kicking off 2026 with some worthy video game deals. This includes a 50% price drop on Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 for PS5 and Xbox.

The opening area of the campaign for Styx: Blades of Greed shows promise and the potential for creative stealth gameplay as a tiny but mighty creature in spaces designed for much larger beings. Extinguishing torches to create safe passages, cutting chandelier chains to crush groups of guards, and popping out of goblin-sized tunnels to assassinate enemies from behind is just kind of Styx’s thing. And now, the third entry in the series has sharpened its blades considerably. If you already liked Styx: Master of Shadows, Styx: Shards of Darkness, or any of the series’ obvious inspirations – such as Thief, Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed, et cetera – you’re in for a treat when Styx: Blades of Greed launches on February 19 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of goblin life, it’s worth noting that the preview session ran through a cloud streaming service, which, unfortunately, experienced considerable latency issues that made the caliber of precision platforming necessary to progress through Styx: Blades of Greed feel more like piloting a drone on another continent than stepping into the boots of a little green fellow. Split-second timing defines Styx's gameplay loop, making input delay a serious obstacle when it appears. Fortunately, after massively downgrading bitrate settings to get this zeppelin flying, the early areas uncovered a beautiful and compelling high-fantasy world with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.

On first boot, there’s an initial accessibility menu with thoughtful implementation, which is always nice to see. Options for deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia colorblindness modes appear alongside adjustable color vision deficiency severity, color spectrum shifting, and controller vibration settings. It takes less than a second to skip through, but matters enormously to players who need it.

After a decently paced and informative opening cutscene, a subsequent tutorial layers in movement mechanics gradually. Running, jumping, double-jumping, and power sliding are all properly introduced and explained as the playable zone starts opening up, which is great because the tutorial itself doesn’t overstay its welcome. The B button executes a slide that allows players to slip under obstacles or cover ground quickly, while pressing RB after a jump triggers a cool little dash that propels Styx upward along walls. The preview build also included advanced saves that showcased grappling hook and glider mechanics in the Turquoise Dawn environment, which are available later on in the campaign. That said, our session focused primarily on the opening hours centered around The Wall, a sprawling human settlement built on the side of a mountain.

Styx: Blades of Greed commits earnestly to its high-fantasy roots, and its environments carry substantial detail to help players establish a sense of place in its immersive world. For instance, its opening zone features ornate dwarven architecture covered in ramshackle human structures and detritus, illuminated by atmospheric lighting that casts long shadows across vast industrial spaces. You’ll also travel between even larger locations on a sweet zeppelin in classic Warhammer or World of Warcraft fashion. A deep level of consideration went into the way this world functions, and playing as a goblin within it provides a distinct perspective that makes Styx both unique and interesting.

You’ll find zeppelin crewmates like the dark elf Djarak and human pilot Helledrin to be well-written, which adds dimensionality. Meanwhile, the world is sprinkled with fun side-interactions throughout. Random guards can be overheard making offhand comments about eating goblins and turning them into pies, which would be darkly humorous if they weren't actively trying to murder our boy Styx. Besides some minor NPCs that sound like they're reading lines off scripts, using jarring modern American accents that clash with this vibrant fantasy setting, Styx: Blades of Greed’s voice acting broadly delivers solid performances, particularly during the cutscenes that act as connective tissue between the first few playable areas.

Dead Zeppelin

Styx: Blades of Greed is one of those games where trial and error are key gameplay elements, and you’ll probably die a lot while figuring out the best strategy to get through each challenge. Falling too far will kill you instantly. Likewise, walking into environmental traps like energy-spewing fissures, laser grids, and explosive vents will end your runs immediately. If you find yourself caught in direct combat, enemies kill in two or three hits. Death physics can, at times, create unintentionally comedic moments that add to the fun. For instance, when Styx flops around like a ragdoll after a mistimed jump sends him plummeting off a ledge.

That’s all perfectly fine because autosaves are extremely frequent, and death here is almost overly forgiving. Respawns rarely throw players back more than a minute or two, meaning death is more of a teaching tool than a setback. Each failure reveals something about enemy patrol patterns, environmental hazard placement, or ability limitations. In this way, Styx encourages methodical approaches and keeps everything good and fun, keeping its pacing steady even during some of its harder encounters.

What became clear after the first hour is that Styx: Blades of Greed rewards patience and observation in addition to twitch reflexes. There’s a solid selection of abilities to unlock as well, including Invisibility, which is activated by holding RT and pressing A and can prove invaluable when slipping past large groups of enemies. The climbing mechanics do sometimes feel janky, which could be a side effect of those aforementioned cloud streaming service issues – but animations also look unnatural, moving Styx up surfaces faster than what seems physically plausible.

Still, the stealth systems show a clearer mix of promise and limitations. On a positive note, light and shadow both matter significantly. Enemies spot Styx more easily in illuminated areas, while darkness provides cover. Players can extinguish torches with the Y button, creating safe passages through otherwise dangerous zones. Silent kills require careful positioning – like approaching from behind or above – but when executed properly, stealth is mechanically rewarding. Styx: Blades of Greed’s satisfying death animations convey a brutal elegance to grabbing an enemy, bringing them to their knees, and ending them with a quick throat stab, goblin-style.

Even so, the enemy AI typically often came up short in intelligence in the preview build. Guards sometimes get stuck on geometry or fail to react logically to obvious threats. In one notable instance, an enemy watched Styx kill his companion, then promptly turned around and stood facing a door, waiting to receive a knife in his gullet. This inconsistency in tone and mechanical depth is disappointing at times, undermining the tension Styx works so hard to establish with its thick atmosphere, slick stealth action, and excellent worldbuilding. There are times when enemy guards feel genuinely threatening, using ranged weapons with alarming accuracy even when Styx hides in supposedly safe spots like rooftops, or easily scrounging him out of simpler hiding places like cupboards and barrels. And then there are times they seem to forget they’re guards altogether, making it way easier to simply walk to the next zone like Boromir would walk into Mordor if he were a real Son of Gondor.

Stick 'em Wiv Knives

Direct combat in Styx: Blades of Greed feels deliberately awkward, which makes thematic sense: Styx is a small goblin, not a warrior. But this creates frustrating moments when stealth fails. To fight, you must manually draw your dagger by pressing into the right stick, which feels incredibly clunky, creating vulnerable moments during frantic situations. Enemies can much more easily block your attacks, interrupt strikes, and deal significant damage, slaying you in just a few hits; by the time combat starts, you’re basically already dead unless you can run elsewhere and hide.

There is a dodge mechanic here, and enemies do telegraph attacks with a blue flash before striking – but timing feels inconsistent, especially when fighting multiple opponents in confined spaces. The camera compounds these issues by obscuring key details in tight quarters, frequently clipping through geometry while players attempt to track Styx and the enemies he’s trying to fight off. This game clearly wants its problems solved through stealth, not brute force. This would be fine if some of the challenges didn’t end up feeling more punitive than strategic, with far too many enemies to outsmart and not enough breathing room to outmaneuver them.

It’s good, then, that each area typically includes at least one scripted environmental interaction that allows real creativity if you manage to weave it into your strategy. In one tavern, you can cut chandelier chains to crush the group of enemies waiting below, but you’ll need to have already snuck past or incapacitated a whole other group of foes to use this opportunity efficiently. Most of the time, there are opportunities to lure guards into explosive barrels or turn off lights to make an easier path for yourself. These moments highlight what Styx does well: rewarding clever observation and planning over reflexes and combat skill.

About an hour into the session, Styx’s seemingly robust progression systems started becoming available, giving the moment-to-moment gameplay a sense of depth that rewarded exploration beyond surviving to the next story beat. There’s a decent system for item crafting in the field. This feels similar to A Plague Tale in that you’ll collect raw materials in the environment that enable the instant creation of distractions and limited-use weapons. Craftable glass bottles break on impact and distract nearby enemies. Whistles lure guards toward specific locations. Acid traps eliminate both enemies and their bodies, removing evidence quickly and efficiently – a real boon if you can’t find enough time to hide a body in a nearby container before a passing guard catches up to you. Bolts provide ranged silent kills, though the physics feel janky and slow since bolts fly in straight lines and enemies slump over in basic ragdoll animations that lack the cinematic flair the rest of the game strives for.

Styx can equip up to four of these items at once in his quick slots, creating opportunities to switch up loadouts depending upon the situation. The crafting system requires gathering uncommon materials such as iron ore and cloth scraps scattered throughout each level.

Speaking of progression, it’s cool to see experience points accumulate from exploration and successful encounters, eventually unlocking skills in two categories: Amber skills, which lean defensive, and Quartz skills, which feel more aggressive. During the preview session, there were eight unlockable skills visible in the character menu. We only got a chance to try Invisibility and Clone Decoy, but the in-game menu shows some intriguing options that open up further into the story. A few that stood out included Time Shift for super-speed movement, Mind Control for possessing enemies, and Flux Blast for sending out waves of energy and knocking back enemies. The Clone Decoy move is particularly versatile; you throw it down at a location of your choosing, and it makes noise to distract enemies. It seems like with upgrades, multiple clones can remain active simultaneously, making it worthwhile to pump extra points into it if that’s your thing.

Granted, this framework suggests meaningful customization over the course of Styx’s estimated 20-hour campaign. Being able to specialize Styx's abilities based on preferred playstyle – whether that be pure stealth, aggressive elimination of key targets, or a hybrid approach – could add some decent replay value if the system is ultimately as robust as it feels during these early hours.

We spent roughly two hours with Styx: Blades of Greed, and it already looks like a potentially great high-fantasy stealth action game that understands what made the first two entries in its franchise work while expanding upon their scope. The Wall is a breathtaking zone, demonstrating Styx’s impressive environmental storytelling. Standing upon rooftop vantage points and looking outward, you can see the rolling mass of buildings clinging to the mountainside connected by precarious bridges, fires dotting the darkness below, creating a sense of lived-in verticality that excites us for the rest of the campaign.

Even in its current state, though, significant questions remain. Particularly around whether the enemy AI improves beyond its early inconsistencies, whether the grappling hook and glider feel good in later zones, or whether the narrative delivers on its setup as Styx leads a zeppelin crew in pursuit of valuable Quartz and away from the pursuing Inquisition that’s set out to hunt him down. The technical rough edges and combat frustrations can't be ignored, but they also don’t obscure the feat that Blades of Greed attempts and largely seems to nail.

Simply put, we’re excited for the rest of it. This is already shaping up to be a memorable third entry to cap off the Styx trilogy, and hopefully it will become the next great methodical stealth game in the vein of classic Thief and Dishonored.

A Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fan has discovered hidden name explanations for the game's enemies and other characters buried within the game's files, which give an intriguing look at some of their origins.

The descriptions — some of which even include links out to Wikipedia — were discovered by reddit user Responsible-Race-575 and appear to have been intended for development staff translating the game's text into other languages.

Of course, Clair Obscur is developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive and is heavily influenced by French language and culture, and the explanations here look to be an attempt to ensure as much of the game's original references make it through into other languages. So, how much did you spot?

Some of the name references are straightforward. A note for the Nevron enemy Potier explains that its name simply means "potter", because "it's an enemy that uses pots." Fair enough. The trumpet-wielding Troubadour, meanwhile, uses the same name as that of a French minstrel or composer. Makes sense.

Barbasucette is a combination of the French words for beard ("barbe") and lolipop ("sucette"). Licornapieds is the smushing together of unicorn ("licorn") and 'with feet' ("à pieds").

If you hadn't guessed already, the annoying Petank enemy — a fast-moving ball on legs that likes to run away — is a reference to the French boules game Pétanque. Finally, it's confirmed that Gestral fighter Ono Puncho is indeed a reference to anime hero One-Punch Man (and Sandfall even provides a Wikipedia link to details of the anime for further explanation).

My favorite note is the one for a gestral named Limonsol, whose name is simply explained as an "inside joke." No further detail is provided, other than a request that the name to be transliterated. Why Limonsol? Putting my detective hat on for a moment, I wonder if this could be a reference to the French energy drink Nocco, which comes in a Limon Del Sol flavor. Nocco is, of course, the name of another prominent gestral character. Cheers to that.

Still after more from Clair Obscur? One final update to the game arrived in December with new challenges and boss fights, and you can catch up on the full patch notes for Expedition 33's final update here. Already though, of course, fans are already speculating what might come next, Sandfall has teased that Clair Obscur is a "franchise name."

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

So, you're ready to ditch cable and embrace the future of streaming. Live TV streaming services make for a great replacement, allowing you to watch your favorite TV shows, movies, and live sports without being tied to a long-term contract. The best part? You can stream at home or on the go from your mobile phone or tablet. Plus, streaming services tend to be much more affordable, with no extra fees or hardware to worry about.

But with so many options out there, you might not know where to start. Don’t worry—we’ve done the heavy lifting and narrowed down the best live TV streaming services for you to try in 2026.

DirecTV Stream

Best Cable Alternative

Netflix has announced One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the show’s fifth and final season.

Due out on Netflix on January 12, the film follows the cast, creators, and crew as they bring the final season to life — and say goodbye. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 is directed by Martina Radwan, who commented:

“I’m endlessly grateful to the Duffer Brothers for trusting me with a front-row seat to this incredible journey. Spending a full year on set with them was a true privilege — and an absolute thrill. Being able to get close and watching them bring this beloved show to life in real time, was pure joy. I only wish I could travel back in time and document Seasons 1 through 4. From the cast to their long-time collaborators, everyone welcomed me with remarkable generosity, openly sharing their personal and collective experiences from a decade of creative filmmaking. The Duffers always push boundaries and inspire everyone to be better, including myself. Their process and the show represents everything I love about filmmaking.”

The trailer, below, teases the film, which touches on the Duffer Brothers' internal discussion around the fate of Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. This is something the pair have discussed in detail in various post-release interviews.

One last time. Watch the never-before-seen behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Stranger Things 5. Premiering January 12. pic.twitter.com/5FNvTNlvuz

— Netflix (@netflix) January 5, 2026

The Duffer Brothers also issued a comment: “Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, we dreamed of becoming filmmakers — but Hollywood felt impossibly far away. Everything changed when we watched the behind-the-scenes documentaries for The Lord of the Rings — on-the-ground films that showed the real nuts and bolts of how a massive production actually gets made. We saw how stressed Peter Jackson was and thought: yep, that’s the dream. With the decline of physical media, that kind of behind-the-scenes storytelling has largely disappeared. We wanted to bring it back.

"One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things Season 5 — beautifully captured and directed by Martina Radwan — is our attempt to do just that. If you love Stranger Things, or if you’re simply curious how a major Hollywood production comes to life, this one’s for you.”

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings also influenced the Season 5 finale. Last week, the Duffer Brothers said the lengthy Season 5 finale epilogue and its end credits were inspired by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

“We thought about [The Lord of the Rings] Return of the King a lot, just in terms of the length of the epilogue,” Matt Duffer told Deadline. “I always defend the Return of the King epilogue, but I’m one of those hardcore Lord of the Rings fans, to the point where I’ve watched all extended editions in a row on a single day. If you do that, the epilogue feels absolutely perfect and not long at all. In fact, if it felt shorter, it would feel absolutely distressing.

“I think, Stranger Things, if you watch Season 5 all the way through, it’s going to feel great. You just want to spend extra time with these characters. Anyway, that was sort of the reference for the epilogue. Then we love the credits at the end of Return of the King. So that was the initial idea, and they were these very simple illustrations.”

Stranger Things may have come to an end, but we’ve got plenty more on the show, including the Duffer Brothers explaining why the demogorgons didn’t help Vecna out in the final battle, and first details on the live-action spinoff.

Image credit: Netflix.

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.

“Anime Souls” is a term often used to describe the original Code Vein. And while that is a very simple but fair descriptor – it is after all one of the very few soulslike games with an undeniably anime aesthetic – it also doesn’t really describe what was actually cool about the 2019 action RPG. For instance: the emotional storylines of your companion characters, delivered in these excellent sequences where you relive their most tragic memories; the phenomenal score by the wonderful Go Shiina; the flexible Blood Code system that allowed players to switch up their stats and playstyle without having to respect their whole character while also being able to pick and choose skills from other “classes.” There was certainly room for improvement in the core combat and level design, but it had great ideas, and would benefit from some refinement and iteration.

And that’s what Code Vein 2 seems to be all about: Refinement and iteration. Based on the three or so hours that I’ve played, Code Vein 2 felt familiar, but altogether much more confident and focused on the strengths of the original, while also getting off to an immediately more interesting start thanks to a brand new story with some intriguing time travel twists.

Like the first game, at the heart of Code Vein 2’s plot is a catastrophe that occurred many, many years ago. This time around, it’s known as the Resurgence, a calamity that corrupted everything it touched and gave rise to a new being known as a Revenant. Somehow, the Revenants managed to seal the Resurgence, but the victory was short-lived, as soon after, the Resurgence… well, surged again. This led to a battle that became known as the Upheaval, in which several heroes gave their lives to seal the Resurgence once again. One hundred years later, that seal is weakening, causing existence-erasing explosions all over the world, and this time, the means to save everything exists not in the present, but in the past.

And thus the stage is set for Code Vein 2’s time-hopping story that sees the nameless protagonist teaming up with Lou Magmell, a Revenant with the power to jump back and forth through time as they link up with the heroes of the past to try and find a way to stop the imminent world-ending threats of the future.

It’s a pretty good hook! As someone who never really got invested in the world of Code Vein 1, outside of learning more about my companions, I was pretty happy that I was immediately invested this time around. I looked forward to seeing how the heroes of the past fought back against the Resurgence and what ultimately brought about their fates. I got a chance to ask Code Vein 2’s director, Hiroshi Yoshimura, if he looked to any specific sources of inspiration with regards to their interpretation of time travel, or the rules that govern it, and he said, “I wouldn’t say there’s one film or work in particular, but one golden rule that we had within the development was that once the player has observed or seen something happen within the game, then that becomes truth, or that becomes locked in the sense that it can’t be overturned.”

Thicker Than Blood

On the gameplay side of things, much of the core of Code Vein 1 is still intact in the sequel. It’s still a stamina-governed combat system with a big focus on special abilities tied to various Blood Codes, which essentially determine your class or playstyle. Switching to a new Blood Code changes your stats, defense, and your max Ichor, which is essentially the mana that powers your special abilities. One of the interesting new twists of Blood Codes is that they also now come with a series of traits that can dramatically affect how you approach combat. For example, traditionally, the way combat works is you attack an enemy to inflict stacks of bleed, and then use a special technique known as a jail attack (previously known as “Drain Attacks”) to collect that blood, which then gets converted into the Ichor that you use to use your special skills.

But if that doesn’t sound like your style of play, you could instead use Josée’s Blood Code, which lets you gain Ichor simply by attacking, but that boon comes with a catch. If you gain more than your maximum Ichor, you take a significant chunk of damage. This was my preferred method of play, as it meant that I didn’t have to fish for opportunities to use my jail attacks to regain my Ichor, and it helped me be extra vigilant about using my abilities regularly so I didn’t end up overflowing with Ichor. Of course, my attention would occasionally wane, and this would occasionally be the death of me, but regardless, I appreciated the added twist to the gameplay.

In fact, pretty much every aspect of Code Vein 2’s combat is more customizable than before. While Drain Attacks used to be tied to your Blood Codes, they’re now got their own equippable slot in your inventory, and there are a ton of different types. You’ve got the returning Ogre claw for a fast and short ranged option; Hounds for a powerful two-hitting mid-range attack; Stinger to nail enemies from afar; and then you’ve got a handful of completely new attacks like Ivy, which caused spikes to emerge from the ground and can be placed by charging the attack and moving the targeting circle; Bat, which causes you to grow wings and sends out a swarm of bats, and Reaper, which is a scythe that can be swung around to hit enemies in an AOE.

In addition to Jails, you can also equip powerful subweapons known as Bequeathed Formae, and you can also choose a Defensive Formae as well.. With regards to the Bequeathed Formae, I only got to see two of these in my demo: a Battle Axe known as Idris’s Conceit, and a Longbow called Statesman’s Longbow. I opted more for a strength build throughout most of my demo time, so I primarily used the Battle Axe, and it certainly was a difference- maker in fights where I would get swarmed by enemies. All I needed to do was create some space to account for the lengthy windup, and boom. Once it hit, it would create a temporal field that slowed everything down, making it easy to clean up the survivors.

As for the Defensive Formae, you’re able to basically choose whether you want a standard block, a parry, or a dodge, with a couple of others thrown in there with some slight differences in how they perform. Im a huge fan of all these changes, as they allow even finer tuning of a build to your personal preference without becoming too overwhelming or complicated.

The Big Question

One of the most common things that always gets discussed anytime there’s a new soulslike in town is how difficult it is, so let’s talk about it. For the most part, I got through this demo without much issue. Granted, this was a provided save, so it’s hard to say how things would have been if I got to this point on my own playthrough with my own loadout, but Bandai Namco was very generous in giving us a wide selection of weapons, Blood Codes, and jails, and I never felt like I was particularly under- or overlevelled.

Code Vein 2 also smartly lets you decide on whether you want your companion to follow you and participate in combat like an AI coop partner, or whether you’d prefer to have them be assimilated into you, providing you with specific buffs, but without giving you the benefit of another body to deal damage or distract enemies. It’s a great trade-off that allows Code Vein 2 to maintain the companion element that makes it such a distinct soulslike in the first place, while also allowing players who enjoy tackling these challenges as a solo player to do so without feeling like they’re being severely punished.

Where the difficulty really turned up several notches was in the two boss battles that I got to experience. These were true tests of skills and reflexes and took nearly half of my allotted three hours of playtime, and that’s without even delivering the final blow against the second one. The first boss could simply wipe out my health with just one or two hits, while also afflicting me with the acid status effect, which would deal damage over time. My windows to punish were very small, making me opt for a strength-oriented build so I could land a powerful and chargeable overhead slash with my greatsword to make the most out of those opportunities. Eventually, I prevailed, only to be hard stuck against the second boss. This boss was fast, had an extremely dangerous second phase that I didn’t get to see enough of to really learn its new attacks, and had the nasty habit of electrifying the floor and inflicting bind on me, which would paralyze me long enough for the boss to land another free attack.

Despite the difficulty spike, I loved both these encounters, and while I'm a bit salty that I couldn’t finish the job at the preview event, I’m looking forward to the runback once I get the full game in my hands and can attempt the boss with my own personal build. Overall, Code Vein 2 is shaping up to be a marked improvement over the original in just about every area. We’ll see if Bandai Namco is able to stick the landing when this soulslike sequel releases on January 30, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit

Red Dead Redemption 2 fans are searching for answers to a newly-discovered mystery that's been hidden within Rockstar's cowboy sequel since its original release.

After more than seven years, a group of Red Dead aficianados recently realized they'd stumbled on something no one had reported previously — a series of mysterious spiderwebs that began spawning on eight telegraph poles throughout the game's vast world, each during a specific hour of the night.

Two weeks on, more clues have now been found, and it's become clear that this is a deliberate secret included by Rockstar within the game, which players are now rushing to uncover the full meaning of.

Similar to Red Dead Redemption 2's quest involving dreamcatchers (and a familiar spiderweb mystery in GTA 5), players discovered in late December 2025 that these newly-found spiderwebs contain a feather which can be shot free — though the webs themselves only appear for one hour of in-game time each night.

An initial video on the mystery by Rockstar fan channel Strange Man credits this discovery to a trio of fans, goldenplaysterraria, pariah87 and u/FL4VA-01, while comments on the video from others say they've checked and discovered this secret really has been there since the game's original launch — all the way back in 2018.

Fast forward to last week, and a fresh update detailed a second phase of the mystery's unravelling. Here, players discovered that the various spiderwebs lead to one central web that contained a cryptic direction in its web design: "N" and a symbol for another telegraph pole. Heading north (as directed by "N") leads to another wooden pole which, once found, can be shot at to reveal yet another direction under its bark.

All of that brings us pretty much up to date, and up to a new video published just yesterday which details where the mystery is at now. Currently, players are following one final cryptic telegraph pole message that depicts a final direction, and the symbol for a guitar.

Where is this all leading? Players are not sure, but the sense is that there's definitely more to this mystery to solve. Players are now hurriedly searching the Fort Wallace location — which holds the nearest guitars to the mystery's most recent clue — and are mapping every other guitar found in the game, in case it sparks some new revelation.

With this secret having existed for so long, there's little chance that Rockstar itself is teasing anything big or new at the end. (Though, what a way to reveal single-player DLC this would be!) For Red Dead Redemption 2 fans, though, this is an exciting moment — something new to ponder at last in their beloved game, as the wait for news of a re-release or new content stretches on.

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

The X-Files is back in the conversation after all 11 seasons were made available to stream for free — sparking an influx of newcomers and veterans rewatching and reappraising their favorite episodes and moments from the series.

Mulder and Scully’s spooky sci-fi adventures were made available on free streamer Pluto TV last week, with 218 episodes including the 2016 revival on demand and on a 24/7 linear channel dedicated to the series. This has fueled renewed interest in one of the most popular TV shows of the 90s from fans, who are — as they did 30 years ago — venturing online to discuss its various plot twists.

As a veteran X-Files fan myself, I’ve enjoyed seeing newcomers express their delight in watching the show for the first time, getting to grips with its overarching alien abductions and government cover-ups storyline, as well as its classic ‘Monster of the Week’ episodes.

“We just finished episode one of season one and...wow! We loved it,” said one fan. “It even looks and sounds better than modern TV shows, I suppose because it was shot on location and not on sets. But it just feels better acted, as well as looking better. If going back in time to enjoy TV is going to be even HALF as good as this experience, then that is what we will be doing from now on! I want to believe.”

Veteran fans are expressing their jealousy at those experiencing the X-Files for the first time, knowing what is to come — and issuing warnings for the occasional spoof episode in which David Duchovny’s Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Scully let their hair down. “Mulder and Scully are quite the comic duo when they want to be,” one fan told a newcomer.

i love when im watching the x-files and they causally drop some of the most cinematic shots in history pic.twitter.com/Y3UgO10zuq

— nika⸆⸉ 🦔🍁 (@guiltyasScout) January 4, 2026

Of course, fans are re-ranking their favorite episodes as well as monsters (no spoilers here!). They’re also wondering whether the series would have been better off ending before its divisive ninth season. And there is of course plenty of healthy… debate about the rights and wrongs of poor old Krycek.

It’s worth remembering that X-Files was one of the first shows with an online “fandom,” with its reaction culture perhaps foreshadowing the future of the internet. X-Files promoted theorycrafting, in-jokes, and memes. There were plenty of hoaxes, the odd backlash, and… shipping. The fandom became as big a part of the experience as watching the show itself, laying the groundwork for 30 years of discourse.

And perhaps the X-Files will get to do it all over again. Ryan Coogler, the director of Creed, Black Panther, and Sinners, is currently working on an X-Files revival for television, and Gillian Anderson has expressed her interest in reprising her role.

“We intend on having both Monsters of the Week and the overarching conspiracy,” Coogler recently said of X-Files. “I’m grappling with that. But that's what I'm doing now. Panther comes after that. I’m blessed to be working on things this cool.”

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.