It can be hard to find the right gift for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. If your significant other enjoys fun and satisfying projects, you might want to get them a LEGO set. You can even build it together. Here are some excellent LEGO choices for Valentine’s Day 2026.
Featured in this article
Here's a run-down of every set we've picked out for Valentine's Day. You can click through in the catalog above to check out the retailer listings, or read on to find more info about each one.
LEGO Botanicals Bouquet of Roses
If we’re looking for LEGO Valentine’s Day gifts, the obvious one is right here: the Bouquet of Roses. It’s a dozen brick-built roses, complete with leaf green stems (no thorns, though!) and four sprigs of baby’s breath. You can put them in a vase and leave them out all of February, or all year round.
LEGO Looney Tunes Sweetheart Tweety Bird
Tweety Bird is a beloved animated character from Looney Tunes. Cupid is the god of love. Put them together, and you get this Sweetheart Tweety Bird, who comes with wings and a bow and heart-arrow, plus a tiny bouquet of flowers with a heart. The whole model sits on a fluffy-looking base of clouds. Now that’s romantic.
LEGO Art Love
I love LEGO Art sets because they let you re-create famous works of art in a smaller brick format. This one in particular is a buildable model of Robert Indiana’s famous pop art LOVE sculpture.
LEGO Flower Wall
The latest addition to the sizable (and growing) LEGO botanicals collection, this cluster of flowers isn’t meant to be displayed in a vase or on a table. It’s made to be hung on a wall. It has pastel colors and a variety of flower types, making it a fine V-day present.
LEGO Roses
If you can’t justify the price of the Bouquet of Roses above, perhaps you might be interested in a set of two roses? They’re similar to the ones in the bouquet, but they have more leaves on then, and the design of the petals is different. Plus, this set is currently on sale at Amazon for 33% off.
LEGO Botanicals Bouquet of Pink Roses
Red roses are the more traditional ones to give for Valentine’s Day, but some people prefer pink. So LEGO has a set of 12 of those as well. Like the red ones, they come in various stages of life, so they don’t all look the same when built.
LEGO Botanicals Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet
If the roses look a little too same-y to you, perhaps you’d be interested in this Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet. It includes two pink roses, but also a bunch of other flower types, including orchids, ranunculus and a dahlia. This one has more color and texture, which is sorta cool.
IGN LEGO expert Kevin Wong had the chance to build this set last year when it first came out. You can check out his experience with the set in the slideshow below:
LEGO Botanicals Daisies
Finally, some people like daisies more than roses. If that’s your boo’s preference, you can get this set instead. Or, if that doesn’t work, you can check out our picks for the LEGO botanicals collection for a whole lot more options.
We've rounded up the best deals for Saturday, February 7, below. Don't miss your chance to save on these deals!
AMD Ryzen 9 9900X for $381.71
Amazon has the fantastic AMD Ryzen 9900X on sale today for $381.71, which saves you almost $120 off MSRP. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, "The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is an incredible processor, easily able to power through creative applications like Adobe Premiere and Photoshop. However, its gaming performance is a bit less impressive for the price, making it hard to recommend to dedicated PC gamers."
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 Limited Edition Blu-ray for $49.99
The conclusion of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is almost here, with the final cour, The Calamity, set to premiere this July. Today, you can score the limited edition Blu-ray of Part 3, The Conflict, for just $49.99. This set only released last month and features all 14 episodes of Part 3, plus a 72-page production booklet, the NYCC 2024 panel, creditless opening/endings, and more.
Octopath Traveler 0 for $39.99
Octopath Traveler 0 was easily one of the most overlooked RPGs of 2025. This massive game packs in a huge amount of content, with over 100 hours required to 100% the game. In our 9/10 review, we wrote, "Octopath Traveler 0 asks you to stick with a 100-hour journey, and it rewards you with the kinds of moments only lengthy RPGs can pull off with its overarching story, an intricate turn-based combat system, and a soundtrack that'll leave you absolutely floored."
Save 38% Off the Chainsaw Man Season 1 Limited Edition Blu-ray
Chainsaw Man's first season only officially released on Blu-ray as of late last year, so while this release is pretty recent, you can save $30 off today at Amazon. The Limited Edition packs in all twelve episodes of Season 1, featuring both Japanese and English audio. Plus, you'll also get a lenticular slipcase, a 72-page booklet of production material, and on-disc art galleries.
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake for $49.99
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is an overhaul of the first two Dragon Quest games, recreating them in the gorgeous HD-2D art style while adding modern features and still remaining true to the originals. Today, you can score this game for $49.99 on PS5 at Amazon. If you're someone just jumping into Dragon Quest for the first time or a long-time fan, this is the ultimate way to experience two games that greatly inspired the whole genre.
Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for $58.99
Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 released for Nintendo Switch last Fall, and today, you can score this double pack for $58.99 at Woot! These two adventures are some of Mario's greatest, making this a must-own game for any Switch owner. Plus, there's a free update for Nintendo Switch 2 that enables 4K support.
Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles for $34.99
Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles is just $34.99 at Woot today. As one of the best Final Fantasy games ever, this remaster is the perfect way to experience the beloved classic with enhanced modern features like fast-forward, autosave, and more.
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Out Now
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is finally out now! This remake aims to streamline the experience of the original game, while offering a brand-new art style and modern gameplay features for players. If you've recently cleared through the HD-2D Erdrick Trilogy, this is a logical next game to jump to.
New Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con 2 Out This Week
Nintendo revealed the first new set of Joy-Con 2 earlier this year, which feature purple and green colors. These are set to launch this week, on February 12, alongside Mario Tennis Fever, so now's the time to secure a new pair if you're planning on heading to the courts together with friends.
Dracula hit US theaters this weekend, after already opening in some parts of the world last year (titled Dracula: A Love Tale in some markets), the latest in a long line of film adaptations of Bram Stoker’s classic novel which go back over a century at this point.
Written and directed by Luc Besson, this version is rather blatantly heavily influenced by Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It similarly extrapolates beyond what Stoker wrote by adding in the idea that Dracula’s prey, Mina, is the reincarnation of the woman he lost long ago, before he became a vampire. Like in the 1992 film, this Mina (Zoë Bleu) is drawn to Dracula (Caleb Landy Jones) when she meets him, and she eventually both remembers her previous life with him and actually wants him to turn her into a vampire so they can be together forever. In the midst of this, Mina’s fiance, Jonathan Harker (Ewens Abid), and others try to stop the Count and free her, whether she wants them to or not.
However, there are many places in the Besson film where the specifics change from both the novel, Coppola’s film, and indeed most versions of Dracula. This is an often wacky, heightened and offbeat interpretation of the story, with some additions that are sometimes amusing, sometimes baffling, and sometimes a bit of both.
Here are four of the most notable differences in Besson’s Dracula, including the details of Dracula’s ultimate fate…
The Biggest Changes in Dracula 2026
Beware the Perfume of Dracula
The range of Dracula’s abilities, and the abilities of vampires in general, is often different depending on who’s telling the story, but he is frequently depicted as able to enthrall or hypnotize those he’s in close proximity to, often setting them up to be bitten by him. Besson’s Dracula goes in a wild direction with this concept though, not making it an innate power of the vampire at all, but rather something he eventually can accomplish with… a magic perfume?
Yes, thanks to the help of a world-class perfume maker in Italy – who actually proclaims “Mamma mia!” at one point – Dracula has a perfume that bewitches anyone nearby who smells it. He wants this because he wants to draw pretty much every woman possible to him so he can try to find the one who is the resurrection of his beloved Elisabeta, who he believes he’s fated to discover.
This perfume is heavily featured in the film, including in a dance-filled (!) montage sequence showing Dracula attending one fancy function after another where the women all swoon and then break into heavily choreographed group numbers, as he’s continually disappointed that none of them are Elisabeta.
The perfume becomes such a focal point that it’s easy to assume it might be an important factor in the final act in some way... But that assumption would be wrong.
The perfume becomes such a focal point of the movie for a time that it’s easy to assume that it might be an important factor in the final act in some way - whether it is thanks to Dracula using it one last time, or another character getting ahold of it. But that assumption would be wrong.
What’s in a Name?
Besides the title character, the Besson film includes two other major characters you’d expect in any Dracula adaptation, Mina and Jonathan Harker, who at least match the basic framework of their classic roles - Jonathan as a solicitor who travels to see Dracula on business, only to learn the truth about the Count, and Mina as Jonathan’s fiance, who Dracula sets his sights on.
Strangely though, every other supporting character is given a new name (or, in one noteworthy case, no name at all) even though it’s clear who they’re based upon or meant to be variations of. So basically, they pull a Half-Nosferatu. Most prominent in this regard is Christoph Waltz’s never-named “Priest,” a seen-it-all guy who’s got plenty of knowledge about vampires and is ready to hunt them. This is clearly the film’s version of the famous vampire slayer, Abraham Van Helsing, albeit with a career swap from professor to priest. Given his abundant screen time, the decision to never give him any name at all in the film is odd, though this Dracula’s got plenty of odd to go around.
Typically, Mina’s longtime best friend in the story, Lucy, is transformed into a vampire herself as the story progresses. In the new movie, Lucy’s replaced by Maria (Matilda De Angelis) in what is a more drastic change-up than others. Unlike the innocent Lucy, Maria is in fact already a longtime vampire, working for Dracula, who inserts herself into Mina’s life. Then, Maria is locked up in an asylum thanks to her unexplainable, violent and out of control behavior, as her Dracula-adoring ravings essentially turn her into a hybrid of Lucy and Dracula’s usual true believer, Renfield, who has no other corollary here.
Maria’s fiance, Henry Spencer (David Shields), meanwhile is a substitute for Lucy’s fiance, Arthur Holmwood, while Dumont (Guillaume de Tonquédec) swaps in for John Seward, though there’s no character taking the place of Quincey Morris, with this version dropping the idea of Lucy/Maria having three competing suitors before she ends up with Arthur/Henry. In the book and some film versions, Quincey plays a pretty big role in helping defeat Dracula, but as we’ll cover below, this version of the film goes in a different direction there, so he wasn’t needed…
Drac’s Little (Gargoyle) Buddies
In most versions of Dracula, if the Count isn’t alone in his castle as the story begins, he’s accompanied by his Brides, who are typically three beautiful vampire women who do his bidding (and usually make things difficult for Jonathan Harker during his stay there). Besson discards Dracula’s Brides, instead replacing them with another left-field choice in the form of a large group of diminutive gargoyles who are there to serve their master in any way he needs, whether it be serving food, helping trap his prisoners or, in the final act, battling a group of vampire hunters storming the castle with a skill set that seems Black Widow-adjacent in terms of martial arts prowess and spinning larger guys around with their legs.
During the course of the story, we never really get an explanation for who these guys are and how they connect to Dracula’s status as a vampire. But then, in the final moments, after Dracula dies, there is a visual reveal of their true identity, as they stumble out of the castle, now transformed into a group of bald little boys, which is presumably their original form.
Seriously, what’s up with these little gargoyle dudes?!
Of course, this still doesn’t truly explain things. Were these kids transformed into gargoyles all at once or one at a time through the years? And why are they only children? Their transformation back to human occurring after Dracula dies implies he personally had the power to change people into gargoyles, so did it only work on kids? And hey, why are they all bald?
Seriously, what’s up with these little gargoyle dudes?!
Dracula Ending Explained: Dead and Hating It
Unless you’re going to change things up radically, an adaptation of Dracula is going to probably end with Dracula being defeated and dying (even if there’s eventually a sequel that somehow brings him back). This version doesn’t stray from that, albeit with its own spin on how it plays out, involving Dracula making his own decision that he should die.
In the original Bram Stoker novel, Dracula is killed at the hands of Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris, while Universal’s iconic 1931 film version, starring Bela Lugosi, gave Van Helsing the honor of taking out the Count. However, Dracula simply allowing himself to be killed is not an entirely new idea, depending on how much the story leans into the tragic side of things for the character. In the Coppola film, Gary Oldman’s Dracula is very badly wounded – likely already fatally so – by Keanu Reeves’ Harker and Billy Campbell’s Quincey. So in the final scene, when he asks Winona Ryder’s Mina to “Give me peace,” and she tearfully obliges, it feels like he already wasn’t long(er) for this world.
Here, Dracula ends up having a big change of heart about turning Mina into a vampire and having her become one of the undead alongside him, having already been reluctant to do so when she asked him to bite her. When his castle is attacked by a whole platoon of soldiers gathered by Henry, Dracula efficiently wipes out anyone that he comes across. He spares Jonathan, though he does kill Henry, basically giving Henry the death Quincey has at this point in the original story, where he dies helping take out Dracula.
But when Dracula and Van Hels… Um, when he and Priest come face to face, Priest doesn’t attack him and they don’t battle. Instead, they simply talk. And basically Priest says, "Dude, come on, you should let me kill you" and Dracula goes, "You know what? Fair."
Okay, it’s not quite that, but it’s not too far off. Essentially, Dracula comes to agree that his damned life is no damn life at all and he doesn’t want to condemn Mina to it too. His death will free her from completing the change into a vampire that she’s going through, and so he allows the Priest to stab him with a metal (not wooden) stake. This doesn’t immediately kill him, and in one more echo/twist on the Coppola film, he then spends his final moments with Mina.
In Coppola’s movie, he was looking like his old, decrepit version when he’s dying, only to transform into his younger self in his very last moments. Here, it’s basically the reverse, as he goes from youthful to becoming the visually older Dracula as he’s dying, even as Mina holds him and weeps for him. The Priest told Dracula he could redeem himself in God’s eyes through his sacrifice, and by saving Mina from a cursed fate, and he looks to be proven correct. Because after Dracula dies, he first turns to dust (a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s staked vamps) before his ashes fly up into the air, out the window and up into the sky.
In the midst of this, Jonathan walks in and sees Mina crying over the ashes and wisely leaves the room. Because when your fiance is crying over a dead vampire’s dusty remains, she’s probably not too focused on how you’re doing at the moment.
What do you think of the changes to this new version of Dracula? Let’s discuss in the comments, and vote in our poll too!
Magic: The Gathering is continuing where it left off in 2025, rolling out a whopping four crossover sets under its Universes Beyond branding in 2026: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel Super Heroes, The Hobbit, and Star Trek.
That’s quite the mix, but at a time when fans are crying out for some consistency and continuity, Wizards of the Coast is about to make the same mistake it made with last year’s marketing cycle.
In short, it feels like it can’t wait to get Secrets of Strixhaven out of the way, forgetting why many people play Magic in the first place.
Magic’s Universes Beyond Sets Shouldn’t Come At The Cost Of Its Own Identity
There’s a running joke that Magic crossovers are the worst thing about the game until it’s a franchise you love, and as a longtime fan of Peter Parker’s adventures, I admit I bought into the Spider-Man hype last year.
It was easy to do, too, since Wizards started revealing cards and products super early, trampling over the Edge of Eternities set in the process. The rest, as they say, is history: Spider-Man was inarguably Magic’s most disappointing set of at least the last year (maybe longer), and Edge of Eternities was much more well-received but invariably didn’t get its chance in the limelight.
While I was hoping that Wizards would take some lessons from it, we’re now entering a 2026 roadmap with seven full sets planned. Lorwyn Eclipsed is great, and only just launched, but that’s January’s set. Preorders are now live for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Secrets of Strixhaven, and even Marvel Super Heroes.
That last set, by the way, is around five months from launch. While I appreciate that a company needs a line on a graph to go up to show success by bringing in new players, it’s starting to feel like Wizards of the Coast is trampling on Magic’s own legacy in its desperation to talk about crossover sets.
Lorwyn Eclipsed should be a celebration, a chance to return to a beloved Plane full of classic creature types, and instead, we’re getting close to the Turtles landing on store shelves. Looking past Strixhaven to a Marvel crossover, this early (and with the taste of the Spider-Man set still lingering), is just a bad look.
Please, Wizards - don’t let Secrets of Strixhaven suffer the same way Edge of Eternities is. It’s almost unavoidable with such a packed release calendar, but if you can’t pay enough time to your own universes, the ones that have captivated players for over three decades, does that not tell you a change is required?
Honestly, all of this is moot anyway - I’m part of the problem. I’ve pre-ordered some Marvel Superheroes products, and you can bet your Bilbo Baggins that I’ll be first in line for The Hobbit.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
If you're looking for DTI codes, IGN's got you covered! In this article, you'll find a list of all the active and working Dress to Impress codes in February 2026 that you can redeem for free rewards and bonuses in DTI, including outfits and accessories like hats, bags, and jewelry.
Active Dress to Impress Codes (February 2026)
Here are all the active Dress to Impress codes in February 2026 and the free rewards you get for redeeming them:
SWEETHEART (was only redeemable between February 15 and February 16, 2025 at 8AM PT)
YEAROFTHESNAKE
NY2025
WINTERUPDATE(was only redeemable between 8 AM - 11 AM PT on Saturday, 14 December!)
4BILLION
CHOOPIE10K
THEGAMES
EYELASHES
REWARD4CLASS1C
Roblox Gift Ideas
How to Redeem Dress to Impress Codes
Follow the steps below to redeem Dress to Impress codes and claim free rewards in DTI:
Open the Dress to Impress Roblox Experience.
Click on the handbag icon on the left-hand side to open the DTI Codes menu.
Enter your code in the "Type here..." field.
Check for any spelling mistakes or errors.
Click the checkmark icon to redeem the code.
Why Isn't My Dress to Impress Code Working?
If the code you're trying to redeem in DTI isn't working, it's likely because of one of two reasons:
The Dress to Impress code is expired
There's a spelling mistake in the code
When inputting a DTI code in Roblox, make sure it's spelled correctly (for example, a capital I isn't a lowercase l, 0 and not O, and vice versa) and that there are no spaces before or after the code. We'd recommend copying and pasting codes straight from our article to ensure they're correct as we've tested and verified that the codes on this page are working ourselves.
If your DTI code still isn't working after checking for typos, it's more than likely expired and can no longer be redeemed in Dress to Impress.
How to Get More DTI Codes
To get more Dress to Impress codes, the best way is to join the official DTI Discord server. While we check for new codes daily, the quickest way to know about new Dress to Impress codes is to follow the Roblox experience's official Discord server where updates are posted in real time.
We currently don't know of any upcoming DTI codes now that the two-year anniversary codes have been released. We'll update this article once we find out more information on new Dress to Impress codes.
What is Dress to Impress in Roblox?
Dress to Impress is a popular dress-up Roblox Experience available on PC, console, and iOS and Android mobile devices. In it, you put on your best outfit to complete a specific theme and walk the runway in a bid to earn votes from other players and become a top model. As you gain votes, you gain ranks and can access more clothing and accessories, so make sure you're truly dressed to impress! Also, for toy lovers and collectors, you can now pre-order a mystery pack of 2 Dress to Impress minifigures right now for $30 at Walmart.
Meg Koepp is a Guides Editor on the IGN Guides team, with a focus on trends. When she's not working, you can find her playing an RPG or making miniatures.
Modder ‘Fandera’ has released a new cool mod for The Witcher 3 that adds a new questline for Ciri, as well as a new region to explore. Inspired by The Witcher 4 Cinematic Reveal Trailer, the mod adds the Kingdom of Kovir and Poviss region to the game. The story focuses on Ciri not as … Continue reading The Witcher 3 Got a New Questline for Ciri and a New Region→
This article contains some spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3.
So, HBO is turning Baldur’s Gate into a TV show. On its own, that’s quite an exciting proposition: a big-budget, live-action series set in Dungeons & Dragons’ most iconic city? Yes please. But the project’s announcement, which came courtesy of Deadline, contains a line that immediately had me burying my head in my hands.
“The Baldur’s Gate TV series will be a continuation to the games,” says the report, “telling a story that takes place immediately after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, as the characters — old and new — are dealing with the ramifications of the events in the third game.”
The ramifications of what events, exactly? The defeat of the Netherbrain? Or perhaps the enslavement of it in the name of the Absolute? Or Gale’s choice to turn into a magical nuclear bomb, sacrificing himself to save the city? These are just three of the many ways Baldur’s Gate 3 can end, and that’s before we consider the dozens and dozens of choices that you make on the way to that conclusion. There are approximately 17,000 variations of the game’s final cutscene. How could a TV show possibly “deal with the ramifications of the events of the third game” when every single player has their own version of events?
The answer, of course, is that showrunner Craig Mazin must decide what choices are “canon.” One half of the duo behind The Last of Us’ HBO adaptation must now set certain events in stone in order to create a baseline to build his story upon. But to decide upon a canon series of events for Baldur’s Gate 3 is not the same as, for instance, determining which of Mass Effect 3’s trio of concluding options would be the starting point for what comes next. It’s not a simple case of how the story ends, but everything that happened on the 100-hour journey up until that point, too.
The entire picture of Baldur’s Gate 3, the story any one player lived, is the result of hundreds of decisions, ranging from the tactical to the emotional to the completely unaware. For some, Minsc and his miniature space hamster, Boo, are vital parts of the story. Yet many won’t even know who he is, having passed by and never recruited him to their party. There are those for whom Shadowheart’s escape from the Church of Shar is a defining moment, yet others will have found an equally defining pathway in encouraging her to embrace the dark goddess. And for those players of a more chaotic leaning, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the tale of an unstoppable serial killer that greedily succumbs to their own Dark Urge, tearing limbs off wizards and letting goblins slaughter refugees. The game is less a single story with a handful of different outcomes, and more like hundreds of character threads that are entwined like rope. A rope that grows thicker and longer with every romance (steady now), argument, betrayal, and surprise you experience. To unravel all that and find a single golden thread for television seems at best foolhardy, at worst impossible.
Anyone who wants a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3 wants a follow-up to their own experience, not Craig Mazin’s.
None of this is to say that the show is guaranteed to be bad, or of poor quality. Considering Mazin’s prior work – in particular, Chernobyl – and HBO’s track record with fantasy programming, there’s every chance that Baldur’s Gate will be a fantastic show, at least when viewed in isolation. But it’s difficult to create that isolation when the project is explicitly a continuation of the journey so many of us undertook for hundreds, sometimes even thousands of hours. And because of Baldur's Gate 3's unrivalled branching RPG design, we have all become deeply attached to our own versions of this world and its characters.
It should be said that details of how the show will be structured are still incredibly thin. It will feature a group of new protagonists, so we don’t know to what extent the now-famous party of heroes and antiheroes that make up Baldur’s Gate 3 cast will feature. By being a “continuation to the games”, could it merely exist in a world where the Netherbrain once existed, and tales of heroes’ journeys to defeat it are muttered in the city's streets like mythical tales? Or will meetings with the likes of Wyll, Astarion, Lae'zel be little more than fleeting encounters, kept somewhat shapeless in an effort to remain relevant to most players’ memories of them? It creates a dilemma: purposefully keep things vague and potentially undercook the history of this world, or pick a defined canon that could alienate large portions of your viewership?
Television adaptations are, of course, designed with more than one eye on wider markets. HBO wants people who have never played Baldur’s Gate 3 to become invested in its world. But that begs the question: why a direct sequel? Why take place immediately after a story that a portion of your audience has no investment in? If half your audience has no attachment to those events, and the other half will almost certainly have experienced a different version of the events you’re building upon, who is winning here? Anyone who does want a sequel wants a follow-up to their own experience, not Craig Mazin’s.
Baldur’s Gate won’t be the first show to tackle this problem. Just this year, the second season of Fallout told a story set after the events of Fallout: New Vegas, an RPG that also concludes with a number of very different, world-defining options. But Fallout has made a number of smart choices. Firstly, it’s not a sequel to the game; it’s just set in the same universe, and thus isn’t trying to continue the plot of New Vegas. Secondly, it’s set over a decade later, and purposefully leaves the events during that time a complete mystery. And so the show’s depiction of the game’s characters and factions doesn’t have to join the dots. Did you hand the Vegas Strip to the Legion in your playthrough? Well, in the 15 years since, they’ve succumbed to infighting and have fallen from their mighty position. You don’t need to know how it happened, it just did.
Using this method, Fallout (sort of) successfully ensures no one New Vegas ending is cemented as canon. Every outcome could have happened, but the result of your choices may not have endured for the 15 years between the game and the show. Larian Studios, the developer of Baldur’s Gate 3, understood the benefit of this kind of time gap; its gargantuan RPG is set more than a century after the events of its predecessor, ensuring it’s not restricted by the conclusion of Baldur’s Gate 2 and has space to create its own story. By starting immediately after the events of BG3, the show won’t have this luxury. It has to make a choice. It has to invalidate thousands of playthroughs. It can’t be the sequel to your experience of Baldur’s Gate 3.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The real lesson to learn from Fallout is that video game adaptations thrive best when they are decoupled from existing stories. So the big question is, why is this not just a Dungeons & Dragons show? You can set a D&D show in Baldur’s Gate. You can call a D&D show “Baldur’s Gate”. You can even include characters and reference (certain) events from Baldur’s Gate 3. But to purposefully shackle yourself to continuing the story of that game, rather than freely exploring its world, feels like purposefully rolling a critical fail on the first round of combat.
Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.
In January 2025, we informed you about a Next-Gen HD Texture Pack for Fallout: New Vegas. And that pack got even better. Modder ‘Montisz’ has released a new version of it, as well as an add-on for the Tales of Two Wastelands. For those who did not know, Tales of Two Wastelands is a mod … Continue reading Fallout: New Vegas’ Next-Gen HD Texture Pack Got Even Better→
It turns out the “Mal Reynolds” who issued Steam game Void War with a DMCA takedown was not a troll who also happened to be a huge fan of Firefly. It was actually Warhammer 40,000 owner Games Workshop, which took issue with an image of a shoulder pad.
Last month, IGN reported on Void War, a strategy game dubbed ‘FTL in a Warhammer 40,000 skin,’ after it was pulled from Steam. At the time, its developer, Tundra Interactive, suggested it may have been on the receiving end of a nuisance DMCA takedown from a troll claiming to be Games Workshop.
Void War is often compared to both indie darling FTL and Warhammer 40,000, Games Workshop’s tabletop wargame set in the grim darkness of the far future — and it’s easy to see why. The gameplay looks incredibly similar to Subset Games’ hugely popular 2012 ‘spaceship simulation roguelike-like,’ and the aesthetic is very Warhammer 40,000. The voidships look like Imperial Navy Vessels. Some of the characters look like Space Marines. There’s an actual Psyker that’s called a Psyker. There are “Imperial Shrineworlds.” There’s even a mention of “Imperial astrogation authorities.”
Following the takedown, IGN asked Tundra Interactive for comment, and it responded with something quite unusual. It said that it had received a takedown notice from Valve stating that Games Workshop itself had claimed copyright infringement. But here’s what made this one odd: the claiming information came from Games Workshop’s public-facing infringements inbox and the name “Mal Reynolds.”
Mal Reynolds is a name that will be instantly familiar to Firefly / Serenity fans, because that’s the name of the main character, played by Nathan Fillion, in the beloved but short-lived sci-fi show. At the time, it was thought that it was unlikely that Games Workshop would have someone on its books named Mal Reynolds. But, well, it turns out Games Workshop really was behind the takedown, according to Tundra Interactive.
Tundra Interactive told IGN that Games Workshop eventually replied to the developer to confirm it was their notice, and that the concern was limited to a specific shot from one of the trailers on the Steam store page that it said could give the impression that Void War was associated with Games Workshop. The company specified that the element in question was “the oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim.” And, well, yeah, that Void War trailer did indeed have an image of a character who looked a lot like a Space Marine, complete with "oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim."
Tundra Interactive told IGN that it disagreed with Games Workshop's assessment here, but in order to get Void War back on Steam and to avoid a drawn out DMCA fight, it pulled the trailer. It may re-upload it in the future after making an adjustment, but its priority is getting back to work on Void War, the developer insisted. And, to that end, Void War is now back on Steam.
Here’s Tundra Interactive’s statement in full to IGN:
To recap, the initial takedown was triggered by a DMCA notice attributed to Games Workshop. At the time, we could not independently verify the submitter beyond the name and contact email Valve included. The contact email was GW's public infringements inbox, and the name listed was “Mal Reynolds,” which is also a fictional character from the sci-fi TV show Firefly.
After over a week of no response, Games Workshop eventually replied to our email and confirmed the notice was theirs. They said their concern was limited to a specific shot from one of the trailers on the store page, arguing that certain elements could create the mistaken impression that Void War is associated with Games Workshop, specifically what they described as “the oversized convex shoulder pads with a metallic rim.”
All of the artwork in the trailer is original work created by our artists. While we disagree with their assessment, the simplest way to get the game back up and avoid getting bogged down in DMCA process was to remove that trailer and move on. We may re-upload an updated version later after we find time to adjust that shot, but for now our priority is shipping content and finishing multi-language font support so we can finally deliver proper translations.
Thanks for your patience, and thank you for the overwhelming support. o7 commanders.
All’s well that ends well? Perhaps. Certainly this case shows that Games Workshop and “Mal Reynolds,” who I’d love to meet one day, are keeping a close eye on video game characters and their shoulder pads. Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise, given Games Workshop's history of stringent IP protection. Be warned! The Inquisition is always watching.
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.
FED Fitness, one of Amazon's biggest marketplace sellers of fitness equipment, is hosting a Valentine's Day Sale on its own site, with prices lower than what you can get from Amazon. Currently there are two coupons: a 15% off code "FEDLOVED15" and a stackable 5% code "IGN" for a total of 20% off sitewide.
This sweetens the deal on top of already reasonable retail pricing compared to brands like Peloton, Bowflex, and NordicTrack. FED's product selection is pretty diverse and includes adjustable dumbbells, power towers, folding treadmills, rowers, ellipticals and more. We all know how heavy fitness equipment can get, but fortunately all orders ship free from FED Fitness.
DB1 52.5-Pound Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair)
There's no need to pay $500 for the Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbells when there are equally well-built options at a much lower price point. For a limited time, FED Fitness is offering its own DB1 Adjustable Dumbbells (52.5 pounds each or 105 pounds total) for about $315 with free delivery.
Each FED Fitness DB1 dumbbell is adjustable from 5 pounds all the way up to 52.5 pounds. The adjustment mechanism works similarly to the Bowflex SelectTech series; you turn a dial in 2.5 or 5 pound increments which locks in a specific combination of plates that add up to the desired weight. Unlike traditional free weights that take up a decent chunk of space, these adjustable dumbbells are neatly contained in a compact package that measures just 16" square.
Flybird WB6 Foldable Adjustable Weight Bench
The Flybird WB6 weight bench would make a great complement to the dumbbells. It's 96% pre-assembled out of the box so you can set it up in just a few minutes. This robust bench boasts a maximum weight capacity of 880 pounds and plenty of adaptability options, including 120 degrees of incline for the set back, 25 degrees of incline for the seat cushion, and 86 degrees of incline for the leg rollers. The bench also folds completely flat for compact storage.
Sportsroyal PT4 Assisted Power Tower
The Sportsroyal PT4 is FED's highest end and most feature-rich power tower, yet it still comes in at under $300 after coupons are applied. It's the perfect way to work on your pull-ups, dips, and leg raises. If you can't do several pull-ups in quick succession, this power tower will help you get there thanks to weight assistance for pull-ups and dips. The counter-balance is provided by a nylon rope system; each rope offers 22 pounds of weight and they can be added or removed to adjust the total amount of resistance. This pull-up machine also offers ample adjustment options to cater to different sizes.
Yosuda TM2 Foldable Brushless Treadmill
Foldable and Easy-to-Assemble
Nothing beats the convenience of a treadmill when you're trying to get your steps in. FED's Yosuda TM2 model goes a step further by offering a steel unibody z-frame design that can fold flat and easily stows away when you're not using it. The 1.25HP brushless motor is smooth and silent and offers a top speed of 8.7 miles and up to 18% motorized incline. The 18" wide track has shock absorbing pads to keep your joints in check, since running is harder on your knees than other forms of cardio. Many people shudder at the thought of installing a treadmill, but fortunately FED states that the Yosuda TM2 assembles in eight easy steps with a grand total of just 14 screws. Talk about a relief!
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.
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