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Save a Whopping $1,700 Off the Powerful Lenovo Legion Tower 7i GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming PC

For this weekend only, Lenovo is offering a massive $1,700 discount on the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 gaming PC equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K processor and RTX 5080 graphics card, now just $2,149 shipped after coupon code "WEEKENDPOWERUP". This is easily the best deal I've seen for a Legion Tower RTX 5080 gaming PC and over $500 less than the previous lowest price. The RTX 5080 graphics card will play even the latest games at 4K resolution with high settings and ray tracing enabled.

Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 RTX 5080 Gaming PC for $2,149

The Legion Tower 7 is Lenovo's top-end desktop computer, boasting a well-ventilated chassis with a mesh front panel housing six total 120mm fans (including three fans for the 360mm liquid cooling system) and an 850W 80Plus Gold power supply. This particular configuration features an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K processor, GeForce RTX 5080 16GB graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz of RAM, and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor has a max turbo frequency of 5.7GHz with 24 cores and a 40MB L2 cache. According to Passmark, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a better gaming chip than the previous generation's Intel Core i9-14900K.

The RTX 5080 is the second best Blackwell graphics card, surpassed only by the $2,000 RTX 5090. It's about 5%-10% faster than the previous generation RTX 4080 Super, which is discontinued and no longer available. In games that support DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation exclusive to Blackwell cards, the gap widens. This is an outstanding card for playing even the latest games at 4K resolution with high settings and ray tracing enabled.

Why Choose Lenovo?

Lenovo Legion gaming PCs and laptops generally feature better build quality than what you'd find from other prebuilt PCs. For desktop PCs in particular, people like the fact that Lenovo does not use proprietary components in its computer systems, so they're easier to upgrade with off-the-shelf parts. Although we haven't yet reviewed the new 2025 models, we have reviewed last year's Legion 7 desktop and really liked its build quality and performance.

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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Save Over $800 Off the Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming PC with AMD X3D CPU and RTX 5070 Ti GPU

For this weekend only, Lenovo is offering this outstanding deal on a Legion gaming PC deal. Right now you can order a pre-configured Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D GeForce RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC for just $1,699 after coupon code: "WEEKENDPOWERUP". Free delivery is included. This CPU/GPU duo can run even the latest and most demanding games with high framerates at up to 4K resolution.

Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,699

The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming PC is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB M.2 SSD. The processor is (air)cooled by a robust 120mm tower heatsink and fan combo. A total of six 120mm RGB fans and a sensibly designed 30L midtower chassis keeps your components quiet and cool. An 850W 80PLUS Gold power supply provides plenty of power. The case offers toolless entry and most of the components are non-proprietary, so they are easy to swap out or upgrade yourself down the road.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is still an outstanding gaming CPU

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D has an established reputation of being one of the best gaming CPUs available. It's a slightly older model that has been replaced by the newer Ryzen 9 98000X3D, but it is still one of the best gaming CPUs you can get today. According to Passmark, the 7800X3D's gaming performance surpasses that of the latest generation Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. The 7800X3D is also more efficient than the 9800X3D, which means it will consume less power and produce less heat (and thus less noise because your fans don't need to spin as fast).

The RTX 5070 Ti GPU Has Excellent 4K Gaming Performance

Of all the Blackwell cards released thus far, the RTX 5070 Ti offers the best bang for your buck, especially when pitted against the previous generation GPUs. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super and marginalizes the RTX 5080, which is only about 10%-15% faster but costs 33% more. Like all Blackwell cards, the RTX 5070 Ti supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. It also has 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM same as the RTX 5080, making it suitable for AI.

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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NHL 26 Review

It might not have the audience of football, baseball, or soccer, but to its proud fans there’s something truly special about hockey. It’s the cold air of the arena, the weight of the puck against your stick, and the feel as your skate glides across the surface of the ice. To their credit, the developers at EA Vancouver seem to get all of that, and it’s led them to create an enjoyable NHL simulation that has earned a dedicated audience. That dedication, however, has increasingly been tested in recent years as the series has failed to truly move forward in any meaningful way. EA Sports NHL 26 continues this dynamic with a game that nails most of the elements that make hockey special, but it never feels like the kind of significant jump over what’s come before that might make buying yet another version exciting rather than obligatory.

If you’ve played a hockey game from EA at any point over the last few years, you have a good idea of what to expect from NHL 26. The lynchpin of the series is Franchise mode, which allows you to take the team of your choosing on a season-long quest to hoist the Stanley Cup. It’s basically the default mode, showcasing what the series is best known for and it still does that all pretty well. Individual games are fast, the controls are intuitive, and EA Vancouver has spent years refining a formula that mostly works. Granted, there are very few other hockey games available right now, and those that do exist don’t have the official NHL players or teams; that lack of competition might be what leads the developers to play things so safe and leave so much unchanged year to year. To be fair, it’s hard to fault them too much for not fixing what isn’t broken.

However, this situation has created an unfortunate trend for the series that’s made each year’s version feel like baby steps, and NHL 26 continues to focus more on smaller tweaks than on substantial changes. As a result, it’s easy to miss adjustments made beyond mirroring the big roster changes we’ve seen over the offseason, such as Mitch Marner being on the Golden Knights after leaving the Leafs, and Matt Dumba appearing on the Penguins following his Dallas departure. As of this writing, EA Vancouver seems to have done a pretty good job making sure everything is up to date, including representing the Utah Mammoth with their new name, uniforms, and arena (following a season under the temporary “Utah Hockey Club” label). Lastly, PWHL has been updated to add the women’s league’s two new teams from the 2025-2026 season, though that mode feels completely unchanged beyond that.

It’s easy to miss adjustments made beyond mirroring the big roster changes.

Though Franchise mode seems to be the most popular single-player mode in EA’s yearly NHL games, I really enjoy the customization options and the general approach to the sport found in the narrowed focus of Be a Pro. As someone that grew up playing hockey, there’s something that feels really authentic about focusing on controlling an individual player. There’s a greater need to consider line changes, playing in position, and setting up CPU-controlled characters.

So I was pleased to find that some of the bigger changes this year can be found here, but I’ve found that they aren’t all positive. Some of the biggest improvements come from cutting out what hasn’t worked: NHL 26 has finally dropped the often-mocked and frequently repeated “pricey pond hockey” opening scene that appeared across multiple games. You’ll no longer see the same repeated cinematic sequence with an agent talking about how you’re so passionate about hockey that you’re playing pond pick-up with a bunch of kids. Instead, you’re dropped right into the player maker. And mercifully, EA has also scaled back on the frequent coach meetings from past Be a Pro modes, but the catch is that the replacement might be even more monotonous: press conferences.

NHL 26 has finally dropped the often-mocked and frequently repeated “pricey pond hockey” opening.

The idea of taking part in press conferences is actually kind of neat, and the initial questions help to shape your on-ice personality. The hockey press will ask questions like your approach to free agency, and choosing one option will improve your likeability with teammates, while the other helps your brand. However, the execution gets dull fast once you’ve taken part in several in a row. That might be a little too real: I’ve attended real-life NHL press conferences, and the questions from sports journalists really can be as groan-inducing as they are here sometimes. How do I feel about not winning the division? How do you think?

On top of that, the impact from press conference responses on player stats often feels unfair. At one press conference, I was asked about modeling my career around a specific player, with multiple options to choose from. I apparently picked the wrong one, and it immediately led to a decrease in my brand stat. Even worse, NHL 26 doesn’t always make it clear what answers will have a negative impact on your brand or the feelings of management, so a seemingly innocuous response can have an unforeseeable consequence.

A smart change, though, has made NHL’s most intimidating mode more approachable for me. Putting together a team built out of NHL greats in Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) takes a lot of time and effort. It can also take some real currency, though you are awarded with daily freebies that can help shape a decent team without paying extra. I still don’t necessarily want to take my team up against the passionate players who dominate online with a combination of skill and large wallets, though; sometimes you want to play without the pressure of competing with real people. So it’s a welcome change that for NHL 26, EA has replaced last year’s HUT Squad Battles with a new offline Cup Chase mode that offers a chance to build up a team and try them out in a full single-player campaign with multiple difficulty levels. I was grateful to have the chance to jump into games using my custom team without having to worry about getting schooled by people fiercely protecting their online rankings. And anybody that wants to do so can take that team online just as they normally would in HUT.

I was grateful to have the chance to jump into games using my custom team without having to worry about getting schooled by people fiercely protecting their online rankings.

Online or off, though, NHL is feeling increasingly behind the annual sports game pack graphically. That’s despite the fact that last year, NHL 25 marked the first game in the series to abandon PS4 and Xbox One and shift focus to current platforms. But NHL 26 still doesn’t feel like it’s really pushing PS5 and Xbox Series X|S to the fullest. The ice itself pops on the screen nicely, and there are lots of impressive details, including wear to the surface as a game progresses, but just about everywhere else is a letdown. The character models are rough, with players, coaches, and fans often looking pretty ugly relative to what we’ve seen in other recent sports games. There are also some weird choices and oversights that are holdovers from past games, like team logos getting cut off on specific screens. Crowd reactions also feel stuck in the past, with awkward celebrations that would be right at home on PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

Thankfully, I found the audio much more enjoyable. The menus have some great new songs this year, including tracks from groups like Wet Leg and The Hives. I never would have thought of “Catch These Fists” as a hockey song, but it fits undeniably well. In the games themselves, EA Vancouver continues to replicate the authentic sounds of each rink, with team-specific cheers and organ sounds. The commentary is also pretty faithful to the current NHL viewing experience; it feels like watching a nationally televised game, offering the same chatty play-by-play that you’d expect to hear on TNT. That said, I was grateful for the option to toggle it off when it got repetitive.

Possibly the worst audio in NHL 26 belongs to Macklin Celebrini, though. The San Jose Sharks forward can be heard offering career advice in Be a Pro mode, and it’s clear not all hockey players are cut out for acting.

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Save Over $1,100 off the Lenovo Legion 5 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC, Which Uses a Laptop Processor

Lenovo just dropped the price on a Legion Tower gaming PC to lower than what I saw during the Labor Day sale. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC is down to just $1,659 after you apply coupon code: "WEEKENDPOWERUP". Free delivery is included. Curiously, this gaming PC is equipped with a laptop processor. This CPU/GPU duo can run even the even most demanding games in 4K resolution at 60fps and beyond.

Lenovo Legion RTX 5070 Ti Gaming PC for $1,659

The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming PC is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, 32GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB M.2 SSD. The processor is equipped with a 240mm liquid cooler, which is a rare upgrade for a Legion Tower 5 series PC. An 850W 80PLUS Gold power supply provides plenty of power. The case offers toolless entry and most of the components are non-proprietary, so they are easy to swap out or upgrade yourself down the road. The exception in this particular case is the CPU and motherboard.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is normally a laptop CPU

According to Lenovo's spec sheet, this PC is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU on a customized Intel HM870 mATX motherboard. The 275HX is traditionally a laptop-class CPU, and it's important to note that laptop CPUs are (permanently) soldered onto the motherboard. Unlike a desktop CPU, a laptop CPU cannot be upgraded. If you do plan on swapping the CPU for something better in the future, then you'll have to stick with a gaming PC equipped with a traditional desktop CPU. If you don't intend on swapping the CPU, then you'll get excellent performance out of this chip. According to Passmark, the Ultra 9 275HX is roughly comparable in gaming performance to the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF. It also has more cores (24 vs 20) for better multi-core performance.

The RTX 5070 Ti GPU has excellent 4K gaming performance

Despite the fact that the CPU is a mobile chip, the RTX 5070 Ti is a desktop-class graphics card with 16GB of RAM and 1,406 AI TOPS. Unlike the CPU, the GPU can be user upgraded.

Of all the Blackwell cards released thus far, the RTX 5070 Ti offers the best bang for your buck, especially when pitted against the previous generation GPUs. It performs neck-and-neck with the RTX 4080 Super and marginalizes the RTX 5080, which is only about 10%-15% faster but costs 33% more. Like all Blackwell cards, the RTX 5070 Ti supports DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation. It also has 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM same as the RTX 5080, making it suitable for AI.

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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FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE is coming to PC in 2026

KOEI Tecmo has just announced an official remake of FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly. This game will come out on PC in early 2026, and below you can find its debut trailer. FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE is a full remake of the second game in the famous horror series. This Japanese horror classic, … Continue reading FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE is coming to PC in 2026

The post FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE is coming to PC in 2026 appeared first on DSOGaming.

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Dragon Quest VII Remake Coming to PC in February 2026 with Denuvo and Full PC Requirements

Square Enix has announced a remake of Dragon Quest VII, called Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. This remake will come out on PC on February 5th, it will use the Denuvo anti-tamper tech, and we’ve gotten its PC requirements. So, let’s take a look at them. In Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, the characters designed by famous … Continue reading Dragon Quest VII Remake Coming to PC in February 2026 with Denuvo and Full PC Requirements

The post Dragon Quest VII Remake Coming to PC in February 2026 with Denuvo and Full PC Requirements appeared first on DSOGaming.

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The Best HBO Max Deals for September 2025

Max is officially back to being HBO Max. Even though the name has changed (returned?), the library is still full of great films and shows to watch. HBO Max is home to some incredibly high-quality watches, including House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, and Sinners. You can tune in to Season 2 of Peacemaker, which will of course be joined by the new Superman later this year.

If you've been hoping to start up an account to dig into that library, we're here to help. We're keeping track of the best price for HBO Max subscriptions, along with any deals as they appear. Let's get into what's available right now.

Our Top Pick: The Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Streaming Bundle

There are no active discounts available for HBO Max, so your best bet for savings (assuming you're already on the hook for more than one subscription) is by checking out some bundles.

Our favorite streaming bundle includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max. The deal can be purchased through any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately per month – 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

To learn more about how to get started with this bundle as a new or existing subscriber, head to our guide on how to get (or switch over to) the Disney+/Hulu/HBO Max streaming bundle.

Students Get 50% off HBO Max Basic With Ads

If you're a student, you can score the HBO Max Basic With Ads plan for just $4.99/month. That's 50% off the usual price, which is a very nice deal to take advantage of. In order to get the discount, you'll need to verify your student status with UNiDAYS, then you'll get a unique code that you can use to redeem the discounted plan.

Subscribe to HBO Max

If you're just looking to sign up for a HBO Max subscription, there are a few different options to choose from:

Both tiers allow up to two concurrent streams and offer Full HD resolution. The Standard tier allows users to download shows and movies to watch on the go, too.

HBO Max also has an additional Premium tier, which offers 4K UHD resolution and Dolby Atmos sound alongside four concurrent streams. The details are as follows:

There is currently no HBO Max free trial available as of July 2025, so you'll need to be a paying subscriber to access the service.

What's Streaming on HBO Max?

HBO Max features a wide variety of programming. New additions to HBO Max in September include a spread of anime films coming out of a new deal with GKIDS, the Tim Robinson comedy Friendship, the latest season of Rick and Morty, and Warfare.

Otherwise, the service includes shows from brands like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and the Magnolia Network. Of course, one of the big draws of HBO Max is HBO Originals like The Last of Us, Succession, Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, and more. It also includes DC's slate of movies and shows like The Batman and Peacemaker, as well as other popular Warner Bros. films like Mickey 17 and Sinners. Plus, HBO Max continues to house popular streaming series like Friends, Full House, and the Harry Potter movie collection.

Back when it was still called 'Max', we gave the streaming service an 8/10 in our review, stating that, "For all its problems and an app that still runs a little too heavy, the extensive selection of well-curated choices make Max a worthwhile investment for cinema and TV lovers."

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.

Original article from Logan Plant.

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Nioh 3 Looks Set to Level Up from Nioh 1 and 2 – IGN First

With just two games, the Nioh series has already cemented its place among the best of the soulslike genre, thanks to its uniquely fast-paced action, deeply customizable builds and playstyles, thrilling boss battles, and a certain fluidity to its combat that feels like Team Ninja’s own signature touch. Based on my five hours of hands-on time with a new preview build, the upcoming third installment is shaping up to continue that trend of excellence, staying true to the core of what has always made the series so successful, but shaking up just enough to challenge veteran players to rethink how they approach its many difficult combat encounters.

Much like Nioh 2, Nioh 3 is shaping up to be an iterative sequel that doesn’t change much about the core systems that were established in Nioh 1; instead adding brand new layers on top of that core to reinvigorate the combat system and force players to engage with it differently. Nioh 2 did this by adding in burst counters and yokai shifts, and Nioh 3 does this primarily by giving the player two styles that they can shift between on the fly: Samurai and Ninja style.

When I first played Nioh 3, back when it was offered up as a limited time demo, I was a little unsure of how I felt about this split. Samurai style, after all, is basically just the way you’d normally play Nioh, minus the ability to use Onmyo Magic; while Ninja Style just felt like a much faster and DPS oriented stance that comes with the substantial drawbacks of no longer being able to use Ki Pulses to regain your stamina, and no longer having the three sword stances to switch between, which are both two staples of Nioh’s gameplay. Not to mention that having two different styles means nearly twice as much inventory management, since they both have their own completely separate sets of gear, and if there’s one game series that already has more than enough inventory and loot management, it’s Nioh.

During my playtime, something clicked with me with regards to Samurai and Ninja style.

While loot remains an issue, during my playtime, something clicked with me with regards to Samurai and Ninja style. Not only did I gain an understanding of what each style was good for and when I should swap to one versus continuing with the other, but more importantly, I got a grasp of the sheer amount of options that having two hot swappable styles each with their own equipment loadouts and skill trees brings to the table.

While in Samurai style, you of course have access to the three stances – high, medium, and low – and all of the skills that come from each of those stances. You also are able to to use Ki Pulses to restore spent stamina without having to wait for it to recharge, making it great for sustained offense where you’re able to kind of just plant your feet down and stand and fight against a tough enemy. There’s also a new Arts Proficiency Gauge that fills up as you deal damage and successfully guard, but decreases whenever you get hit. Once it’s full, you’re able to use a powered-up version of your heavy attack, which adds a nice little reward for playing well with a careful balance of offense and defense.

Ninja style on the other hand lets you go absolutely wild. Your dashes go crazy far and are super fast compared to the dodges in Samurai style; instead of stances, you’re able to equip up to three ninja tools; you’re able to very quickly dash to an enemy’s backside to deal extra damage; and most of the weapons take advantage of the fact that Nioh 3 adds a jump button, allowing you to even punctuate your ground combos with a jump cancel, letting you tag on even more damage with air combos. On top of all of this, for both styles, you also have your guardian spirit transformations, guardian spirit skills, Soul Core skills, it’s just a lot of tools to take with you into every battle.

Of course, all of these added options in Ninja Style come at the aforementioned cost of not being able to use Ki Pulses to restore stamina, so I did find myself having to rein in my lust for aggression – it is still a stamina-driven soulslike after all – but I felt a level of creative freedom in combat expression that I typically feel in a good character action game, and I eagerly anticipate getting my hands on the full game and seeing what a high-level character can do once the skill trees start getting maxed out.

Soul Cores also return in Nioh 3, but they’re a bit different this time around. They still appear as random drops from enemies and will let you use that enemy’s signature attack, just to give you yet another option when it comes to how you choose to dispatch your foes. However you have two choices of how to equip them. When you rest at a shrine, you can put them in your Onmyo Box in either the Yin or the Yang position. The Yin position is what I just talked about, you’ll gain some stat increases and the ability of the monster to use in combat. But if you place a core in the Yang position, you’ll instead be able to get spells and items added to your inventory that will refresh every time you rest at a shrine. One of the Soul Cores had a fairly underwhelming skill, but when I equipped it in a Yang slot, it gave me invisibility scrolls that I could use to sneak past tough enemies. It’s a wonderful change to an already excellent system, and I can’t wait to mess around more with it in the full version.

The other big new tentpole feature for Nioh 3 is the addition of non-linear open field-type levels, complete with sidequests, a variety of points of interest with unique challenges and rewards, and wide open environments rife with opportunities for exploration. This is in contrast to Nioh’s typical linear levels with the occasional optional branches off the beaten path that ultimately loop back around. I got to experience one of these in my hands-on time – the frozen region of Kamigamo – and while Nioh 3 doesn’t seem to do anything surprising with its more open level design that hasn’t been done before, the shift was a refreshing change of pace. Right away, the first thing I did was a combat challenge called a Crucible Spike. This was a sealed-off combat arena with multiple waves of enemies that I had to defeat in order to proceed. Clearing the Crucible Spike improved my Spirit Force, which is a new resource that governs your usage of Spirit Skills, and also gained a new spirit skill for one of my guardian spirits.

Every time you complete one of these points of interest, your exploration level will increase, and each time it increases, you’ll get an extra bonus.

And that’s really what makes me excited about these open field levels, because these Crucible Spikes, along with other types of points of interests, are strewn all over the map, the challenges are fun, and the rewards are great – which is all the incentive I need to seek them out. Every time you complete one of these points of interest, your exploration level will increase, and each time it increases, you’ll get an extra bonus, from more icons being revealed on your map to give you some direction on where to explore, you may get an added stat bonus while you’re in that specific area, or you may get skill points to spend on your Samurai or Ninja skill trees.

All in all, Nioh 3 is shaping up to be exactly the same kind of iterative step above its predecessor that Nioh 2 ended up being. The style switching between Samurai and Ninja is an excellent addition that adds new layers of depth to an already stacked combat system, and the new open fields offer up even more incentive to explore than ever before, with fun challenges, mini bosses, and secret treasures to discover in every corner. It all ran incredibly smoothly as well, making me forget for a moment that this game is still a ways off, with a planned release in early 2026.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Sets Switch 2 and Xbox Release Date With Magic Cards Included in Some Pre-Orders

Square Enix has announced a Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade release date of January 22, 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X | S.

An announcement for the long-awaited port arrived as part of today’s September 2025 Nintendo Direct. It came with a trailer, promising to bring the first chapter in Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barret’s story to the new Switch console, as well as Xbox platforms like Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud, just after the new year kicks off.

Square Enix’s port will bring Final Fantasy 7 Remake to more platforms nearly six years after its original launch on PlayStation 4 in 2020 and a little less than five years since its Intergrade upgrade launched for PlayStation 5. However, players on Switch 2 and Xbox take advantage of more than just the Yuffie-centered add-on story, Episode INTERmission, when Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade arrives in January.

A digital limited early purchase bonus will also be available until January 31, 2026, and grants access to the original Final Fantasy 7 at no extra charge. Those who pre-order on Xbox will be able to play the 1997 JRPG classic the instant their purchase is locked in, while Switch 2 players will have to wait until the January 22 release date.

Switch 2 players, specifically, can also take advantage of a unique offer that lets them in on the recent craze surrounding the Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy crossover. Those who pre-order a physical version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade for Switch 2 will net a Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy Play Booster.

Limit Break

Players revisiting Cloud and Sephiroth’s story or playing it for the first time will also notice Square Enix has included what it is calling a new “Streamlined Progression” setting. This will appear in-game in the form of five new options to make the experience easier for players if they choose to utilize them. Available options include HP that is always full, MP that is always full, a Limit gauge that is always full, an ATB gauge that is always full, and 9999 damage for every attack.

Director Naoki Hamaguchi shared a statement regarding the decision to offer streamlined gameplay options for new platforms, explaining that the team wanted to “allow the game to cater for individual players’ different lifestyles and play styles.”

“I feel that the way people enjoy content has become more flexible these days,” Hamaguci adds, “as we see with video streaming platforms, and that people also want the same thing from games, with options to tailor the experience based on the time they have and their levels of interest. I have also had personal experiences where I wanted to play something with the limited time I have but gave up because of the time it takes to level up characters or traverse the game.

“That’s exactly why I think that the Streamlined Progression feature is very effective - to give players smooth access to the story.”

Square Enix also confirms that the entire Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy will eventually make its way to Switch 2 and Xbox platforms, as well as PS5 and PC. While we wait for the rest of the story to unfold, you can read up on everything announced at the September 2025 Nintendo Direct here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

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Critter Kitchen Board Game Review

Sandara Tang has been working in board game art for some years now, but in 2022 she got sole responsibility for illustrating Flamecraft, and her cozy, charming, yet detailed style helped the game become an instant hit. Now she’s been given an even closer fit for her talents in Critter Kitchen, a game where teams of anthropomorphic animals run a kitchen, competing to create the best dishes to please the punters and, ultimately, a rarefied food critic.

There's a good deal of mechanical variety in here, as there’s some worker placement, some push your luck, some second-guessing, and some optimization, and they all hang together in a cohesive, thematic whole.

What’s in the Box

Critter Kitchen is one of those games with a lot of little bits that you’ll need to sort through and set up before each play. You start with the central board, which is really just a bifold information tracker and card organizer, onto which goes the wooden round marker and above which goes a variety of cards from three different decks, indicating the objectives, food critic, and scoring bonuses available during your game.

Beneath the main board there are boards for the different locations you can visit, which vary with the number of players. Each player also gets a deck of matching location cards, three cardboard plates, and a big critic’s plate, as well as a player screen behind which they can hide their growing stack of ingredient tokens. There are a lot of these, all of which must be punched out and stored in the provided drawstring bag, from which they’re pulled and assigned to locations during play. The final location, The Chef Academy, also has an associated deck of additional chefs for hire, each of which comes with a punch-out token to represent them in play.

Wooden pieces come in the form of three chef tokens for each player, cut and printed to resemble the animals they represent, a mouse, lizard and boar respectively, alongside a chef’s hat token to use on the priority track.

The art, throughout, is superb. There’s really no reason, mechanically, why Critter Kitchen should involve animal chefs rather than human ones, but it is a great excuse to showcase Tang’s delightful art. The cutesy style won’t be to everyone’s taste but if you can get into it, it’s very evocative, making the game’s setting, Bistro Bay, come to life with nothing more than an alliterative name and some incredibly charming, characterful illustrations of its denizens.

Rules and How It Plays

Given the slightly fiddly setup, it’s perhaps a surprise to find that the game runs fast and smooth once play gets underway. One player, labelled the Maître d', spends a moment at the start of each of the seven rounds to fill the shops with tokens drawn from a bag, indicating what can be found there. Mostly these are cooking ingredients that have a quality rating between 2 and 7, but there are also spice tokens that double the value of the matching ingredient, and rumors, which let players find out more about the hidden final scoring requirements. The final location, The Chef Academy, also gets a random “Zous Chef” card.

Given the slightly fiddly setup, it’s perhaps a surprise to find that the game runs fast and smooth once play gets underway.

Each player then secretly chooses a location for each of their three chefs by assigning them a face-down location card from their hand. Each chef has a rating between 1 and 3, with lower values going first but being able to purchase fewer items. When all the cards are assigned, they’re revealed, and the matching chef piece goes on the matching location. You then scan through the locations from left to right, and the chefs in that location from 1 to 3, picking which items from the stock that you want to take back to your kitchen.

This phase of play is an absolute riot. Shops generally only have three items available, so if a 1-value chef and a 3-value chef get assigned to the same shop, the 1-value chef gets first pick of the stock, and the 3-value chef only gets to take two items home. In a crowded field, or if one of the shops has a particularly tasty draw, this means there’s a real risk of a higher value chef going home empty handed although they get a consolation soup – a 1-value ingredient that can be used as a wildcard in place of any other – instead.

Assigning your chefs is thus a tense tightrope walk of trying to prioritize what you need and what you can risk, while second-guessing what other players might do, then praying things work out for you when everyone reveals their cards. The tension doesn’t stop there, though. Sometimes, a player won’t pick what you expect and you get something you wanted but were expecting to lose. Sometimes the queue-based tie-break mechanism kicks in, when two chefs of the same value sit on the same spot, and the player who wins goes to the back of the queue, meaning ties in later shops might work out in your favor. It’s all crossing fingers and biting lips right up until the last two shops in the chain.

The penultimate location is the Midnight Market, where you can’t see what’s on offer until you resolve the location. It’s a risky proposition as it’s not only hard to predict who might be there, but can also be a great way for a 3-value chef to snag some unbelievable bargains, or can lead to them trudging home with a bagful of grot. The final shop is the Chef Academy, where you can grab the unbelievably useful Zous Chef, who acts as a whole extra chef for you next round, with a handy bonus ability to boot.

Competition for the Zous Chef can become fierce, but in a clever twist, any ingredients left over from previous shops get sent to the academy, meaning there’s often a grab-bag of other stuff to pick up here. So you can always assign slow chefs here in the hope they’ll come away with something, but they risk picking up dross and have almost no chance of getting that super-helpful Zous Chef. In Critter Kitchen, every chalice is potentially poison by the time you get there. But while other players often upset your well-laid plans, the hidden location selection means it never feels cruel or targeted, giving the game plenty of interaction without too much negativity.

In Critter Kitchen, every chalice is potentially poison by the time you get there.

What you’re carrying home from this mad dash to the markets are ingredients that you’ll use to serve up three meals after rounds 3 and 6, and then a final plating to please a food critic in round 7. The ingredients needed for the first two scoring intervals are revealed one turn at a time, adding a delicious frisson of uncertainty to proceedings. You’ll get a smattering of points depending on the quality of ingredients you plate up but the bands are wide: a total of 6 quality is enough to get you one point, but 21 quality gets a whopping four. That makes the decisions around what to throw in and what to keep much more difficult, as does a limit on the number of items you can carry over after each plating round.

Most of the points come from the critic’s plate. This needs all seven types of ingredient, and the player with the highest quality in each type gets a point. The critics themselves are represented by a card that offers a specific bonus: you’re recommended to start playing with the mouse critic, for example, who gives extra points for the best cheese course. Once that’s all been assigned there’s an extra tranche of points from the total quality of ingredients you’ve used in your critic plate, then you tally up everyone’s final total to see who’s won.

Scoring rounds take a little while, as everyone figures out what ingredients they want to use, but other than that the game ticks along at a very pleasing pace because of the way your chef locations are decided simultaneously. And despite the apparent chaos of this round, it manages to strike a balance between strategy and excitement: you’ll be rewarded for prioritizing well just as much as you’ll be thwarted by failing at mind-games and second-guessing your opponents. Similarly, the slow reveal of objectives and rumors can sometimes feel frustratingly random, but really helps to keep up the tension and tempo of play.

Where to Buy

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Dragon Quest VII Reimagined: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is set to release February 3, 2026 if you buy the more expensive editions, or February 5 for the standard Edition. It’s coming to PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A from-the-ground-up remake of the original PS1 game, the remake brings the epic RPG adventure to modern platforms with modern visuals and storytelling. It’s available in several editions, all of which are detailed below. Let’s dive in.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined - Standard Edition

PS5

Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo Switch

Xbox Series S|X

PC

The standard edition just comes with the game itself, plus the preorder bonus (detailed below). It’s also worth noting that physical editions for Switch 2 are Game-Key Cards, and don’t contain the game on the cartridge.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined - Digital Deluxe Edition

In addition to the base game, here’s what digital extras you get with the deluxe edition:

  • 48 hours early access
  • Luminary’s Livery costume set
  • Road of Regal Wretches battle arena content
  • Jam-Packed Swag Bag - assortment of helpful items
  • White Wolf Costume

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined - Collector’s Edition

The Square Enix Store-exclusive collector’s edition comes with the following physical and digital extras:

Physical Items

  • Steelbook Case
  • Ship in a Bottle Figure
  • Smile Slime Plush

Digital Items

  • Luminary’s Livery costume set
  • Road of Regal Wretches battle arena content
  • Jam-Packed Swag Bag - assortment of helpful items
  • White Wolf Costume

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Preorder Bonus

Preorder Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, and you’ll receive a couple of in-game items to help you on your way. Here’s what you get:

  • Trodain Togs
  • Seed of Proficiency x3

What Is Dragon Quest VII Reimagined?

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a full remake of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, a JRPG that first launched in 2000 for the original PlayStation console. It’s previously been ported to Nintendo 3DS and mobile platforms, but this is, as the title suggests, a full reimagining of the game.

DQ7 is a famously long game, with an average of 75 hours to complete the main story in the 3DS edition, according to Howlongtobeat, with a completionist time of 130 hours. The PlayStation version has even longer completion times.

The game is a traditional single-player JRPG that has your unnamed character and a team of adventurers sailing around, traversing islands, and completing quests to help people out on each one.

As for the art, Square Enix wrote in its announcement, “The character designs, originally crafted by world-renowned manga artist Akira Toriyama, have been reimagined into a charming 3D art style using dolls actually created in the real world.” That’s wild. The graphics look great, though, almost toy-like in that Link’s Awakening remake sort of way.

Other Preorder Guides

Feel free to check out everything else announced during today's Nintendo Direct, including a new Super Mario Galaxy bundle for Nintendo Switch.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

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Every Pokémon Game on the Nintendo Switch in 2025

Often cited as one of the world's most valuable media franchises, Pokémon is a household name that's been a Nintendo staple since the Game Boy. The beloved series is home to hundreds of amazing creatures you can catch in-game or collect as trading cards, with each new generation bringing loads more to discover. Every console released by Nintendo has had plenty of Pokémon games released for it, and the Nintendo Switch is no exception.

Pokémon Day brought tons of new announcements about what's next for the franchise. Below, we've compiled every Pokémon game that has been released on Nintendo Switch and the information we have on a number of upcoming Pokémon games releasing on the Switch 2.

How Many Pokémon Games Are There on Nintendo Switch?

In total, 12 Pokémon games have been released for the Nintendo Switch. This includes the mainline games for the 8th and 9th Pokémon generations as well as plenty of spinoffs. For the sake of this list, we've counted mainline entries with two versions as a single release. We also don't include the Pokémon games offered through Nintendo Switch Online, but you can check out that list below.

What Pokemon Game Should You Get in 2025?

If you're wondering which game is worth picking up on the Switch in 2025, my recommendation is Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It's not going to give you that OG Pokémon game feeling, but that's what the older generation games are for. Instead, Legends: Arceus introduces more action and RPG elements to the Pokémon series, offering the freshness of open areas to explore, more control over encounters, and plenty of polish for the handheld.

All Pokémon Games on the Nintendo Switch (in Release Order)

Pokkén Tournament DX (2017)

Pokkén Tournament was originally released for the Wii U in 2016. A year later, Nintendo and Bandai Namco prepared a deluxe version of the game for Nintendo Switch, adding new characters and updated visuals to take advantage of better hardware. This three-on-three battle system is a blast to play with friends both in person and online.

Pokémon Quest (2018)

Pokémon Quest turns all your favorite Pokémon into miniature cube form. This free-to-play Switch game features a fun and simple combat system where you send Pokémon on expeditions. Equip different abilities to your Pokémon to handle all types of encounters.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! & Let's Go, Eevee! (2018)

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! & Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! are remakes of the beloved 1998 Pokémon Yellow. These titles were the first mainline Pokémon games ever to release on a home console, since none made it to the Wii U. Set in the Kanto region, all 151 original Pokémon appear with varying forms from previous mainline installments. With heavy accessibility features, these remakes were a great first step for the series on Nintendo Switch for newcomers and veterans of the series.

Pokémon Sword & Shield (2019)

Pokémon Sword & Shield marked the first installment in the series to feature aspects of an open world. Dubbed the Wild Areas, these regions allowed for free traversal and battles with wild Pokémon. Gyms also made a return for the first time since X & Y. Additionally, Sword & Shield introduced the eigth generation of Pokémon, which included Dynamax and Gigantamax forms of previous Pokémon.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (2020)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of the 2005 titles Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team & Blue Rescue Team. Surprisingly, this is the first Pokémon spinoff remake ever, with development handled by Spike Chunsoft. The gameplay consists of completing jobs in different dungeons and unlocking new Pokémon along the way.

Pokémon Café ReMix (2020)

The other Pokémon release of 2020 was Pokémon Café ReMix featuring similar gameplay to other puzzle games like Disney Tsum Tsum, which requires you to connect Pokémon together to solve puzzles. In Pokémon Café ReMix, you and Eevee own a café and must serve the Pokémon who come for food or a little drink. This charming service game is free-to-play via the Nintendo eShop.

New Pokémon Snap (2021)

After more than 20 years, the Nintendo Switch is the console that finally received a sequel to Pokémon Snap. Developed by Bandai Namco, you traverse around different biomes and areas with an on-rails camera to capture pictures Pokémon in the wild. You can unlock new courses by taking good pictures in New Pokémon Snap, leaving for a sizeable amount of content to unlock and discover. You never know what you might find during each session!

Pokémon Unite (2021)

This free-to-play game marked Pokémon's first entry into the MOBA genre. You command and control a team of five Pokémon in head-to-head battles against other players online. There's a solid amount of Pokémon to choose from, so you can adjust your team to best fit your needs. Pokémon Unite went on to be featured in different esports tournaments, with multiple championships held for the game.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (2021)

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl are remakes of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, which originally released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS. As the fourth generation of Pokémon, Diamond & Pearl feature a wide variety of Pokémon to battle against and discover. The remakes feature a new chibi art style that was created to stay faithful to the original titles while still remaining fresh.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus (2022)

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is often praised as one of the best Pokémon games available on the Switch. This original title takes place far in the past, somewhere in the Hisui region. With a focus on exploration, you can freely walk all around the map to capture Pokémon, explore different environments, and so much more. Pokémon can be spotted wandering around all over the map, which requires you to be strategic if you're looking to avoid battle.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet (2022)

The latest mainline Pokémon games officially kicked off Generation 9, bringing along an entire new approach to gameplay and world design. In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, an open world awaits with freedom to explore wherever your heart takes you. The DLC pass, titled The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, is now wrapped up, making it a perfect time to check out Scarlet & Violet.

Detective Pikachu Returns (2023)

One game and one movie later, the sequel to Detective Pikachu is finally available on Nintendo Switch. Tim's father is missing, and it's up to Detective Pikachu to solve the case! This sequel features new puzzles and investigations, where you can investigate scenes and use your notebook to get to the bottom of the mystery. If you're a fan of both Pokémon and mystery games, this is a great game to consider.

Available Pokémon Games With Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack

The Nintendo Switch Online subscription service has additional Pokémon titles if you're looking for more after completing the Nintendo Switch library. Here are the five Pokémon games you can play with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership:

  • Pokémon Trading Card Game
  • Pokémon Snap
  • Pokémon Puzzle League
  • Pokémon Stadium
  • Pokémon Stadium 2

Upcoming Pokémon Games on Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the next mainline game launching on Nintendo Switch. The game is set in Lumiose City, within the Kalos regions. Tepig, Totodile, and Chikorita are familiar starting Pokémon, from Gen 2 and 5, but will be getting new Mega evolutions. "Rooftop parkour" and new battle mechanics also indicate an increased focused on real-time action.

In the April 2025 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo confirmed that Pokémon Legends Z-A will release simultaneously on both Switch systems, with the Switch 2 edition featuring enhanced graphics and better framerates. Nintendo more recently announced a Nintendo Switch 2 bundle featuring Pokémon Legends Z-A, which will release on the same day as the game itself, October 16. The game is now up for preorder.

Pokémon Pokopia

While we may not be getting a new Animal Crossing game (yet), Nintendo just announced a new Pokémon spin-off game that looks pretty darn similar. Pokémon Pokopia makes you a Ditto with a human appearance, who must work and learn from local Pokémon to build a new community on a small island. The game is set to launch on Switch 2 next year.

Pokémon Champions

Yep, there's more. Game Freak and The Pokémon Company have also announced Pokémon Champions, a new battle game in the spirit of Pokemon Showdown. Coming to mobile devices and Switch, you'll be able to battle with Pokémon you've trained in other games through the Pokémon Home app.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

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Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Switch Is Up for Preorder

Here’s some good news for anyone with a soft spot for the Wii and its library: Nintendo is releasing a bundle of Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Switch on October 2. As with nearly every original Switch game, it will be fully playable on Switch 2 as well. The reason for the souped-up ports is because these games are the basis of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which hits theaters April 3, 2026. The game collection is available to preorder now (see it at Walmart) either in physical or digital form. Read on for details.

Preorder Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

Physical

Digital (eShop)

There are no special editions to be found here. The games are all you get. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 is available in physical form, or in digital form on the Nintendo eShop. If you choose to go the digital route, you can buy them together for $69.99, or individually for $39.99 each.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 Preorder Bonus

As yet, Nintendo has announced nothing in terms of preorder bonuses for the game. If it does at some point in the future, or if any retailer decides to offer a bonus of its own, I'll add it here.

What Is Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2?

These are ports of Nintendo Wii games. Super Mario Galaxy hit the waggly platform in 2007. The sequel arrived on the same console in 2010. Both games were incredibly well received: IGN gave Super Mario Galaxy a 9.7/10 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 a 10/10.

Both games have gotten some upgrades and improvements in their transition to the new platform. They have improved resolution (up to 4K on Switch 2), a better UI, and a new in-game music player. You also have the option to play using standard controls, or using the Joy-Cons in a more Wii-like manner with motion controls.

In addition to the improvements, Rosalina's in-game storybook is also getting new pages. We’ll have to wait until the game comes out to see exactly what they’ll include.

The crux of the original games is that Mario is sent into space, where he runs and jumps around on planetoid-like environments. Each one has its own gravitational pull, so you can run all around the spheres, making for some interesting platforming challenges. They really are superb games.

Other Preorder Guides

Check out everything else that was announced in the most recent Nintendo Direct or our ongoing list of upcoming video game release dates.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.

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