High on Life 2 is our IGN First “cover story” game for December, which means we’ve got exclusive coverage all month long. We’ve already posted plenty of new gameplay, and today we’re thrilled to announce one of High on Life 2’s brand-new weapons: Say hello to the Flint Turtles, flame-spitting reptiles who can be wielded like flamethrowers or tossed like fire-belching sentries.

Take a look at some footage of the Flint Turtle in action in the video below, and for more exclusive High on Life 2 coverage – don't miss our first weapon reveal of Travis.

High on Life 2 will be released on February 13, 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S – including launching on day one into Xbox Game Pass.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

As usual, there were a bunch of horror movies to check out in 2025. The genre never has a lack of new contributions, thanks in part to its relatively low bar of entry for up-and-coming filmmakers, as well as to audiences’ never-ending appetite for stuff that will thrill them. Some of these new horror flicks of 2025 were great, some were good, some were just OK, and plenty were, shall we say, not great at all.

There were sequels like The Conjuring: Last Rites, Final Destination: Bloodlines and Five Nights at Freddy's 2. There were fresh new concepts like Weapons and Sinners (more on those two below). And there were dog POV ghost stories too! (Actually, even Steven Soderbergh got into the ghost point-of-view party with Presence this year.)

Oh, and let’s not forget Stephen King adaptations. The author’s legacy was present on the big screen throughout the year (and the small screen as well with Welcome to Derry), from Osgood Perkins' fun adaptation of The Monkey to Francis Lawrence’s intense The Long Walk and, most recently, Edgar Wright’s non-horror spin on The Running Man.

But what was the best horror of the year? Read on…

Runner-Up: 28 Years Later

It hadn’t actually been 28 years since the last movie in the series (just 22), but the return of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, who gave us the original tale of the Rage Virus back in 2003, was certainly a cause for celebration. However, rather than return to Cillian Murphy’s Jim for this sequel, we were instead introduced to a new batch of (wildly different) characters in the strange new world that has evolved since folks started gettin’ angry and spittin’ up blood at each other. As IGN’s Tom Jorgensen said in his review, “28 Years Later is as potent and timely an exploration of cultural strife as the original, and Danny Boyle and Alex Garland tug at the heartstrings with bloody, deadly skill.”

Runner-Up: Bring Her Back

The Philippou brothers, Danny and Michael, may have started as YouTubers, but their 2023 debut feature Talk to Me left an eerie mark on the horror genre. And so their follow-up film was always going to be a “do they really have what it takes” test. And you know what? It turns out they do. The supernaturally tinged Bring Her Back is anchored by Sally Hawkins’ performance as a foster mother who takes in the teenage Andy (Billy Barratt) and his sister Piper (Sora Wong) after their father dies. Not surprisingly, Hawkins’ Laura is not quite what she seems, and the resulting scares, blood, and chills prove that the Philippous are here to stay.

Runner-Up: Sinners

Frequent collaborators Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan reteamed (again) for Sinners, taking a step into the horror genre along the way with a tale of vampires, generational sin, and Black history. The Fruitvale Station/Creed/Black Panther team gave us a picture filled with blood and pointy fangs, yes, but also one packed with emotion and sexiness and, by the way, amazing performances across the board – and in particular by Jordan in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore. Said Eric Goldman in his review for IGN, “Other frequent Coogler collaborators like cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and costume designer Ruth E. Carter do remarkable work bringing the brothers’ world to life. Sinners also puts music to beautiful use, as we’re reminded that vampirism is but one way to achieve immortality.”

Runner-Up: Together

Writer-director Michael Shanks made his feature-length debut with this body horror flick about a young couple who, well, learn that being together sometimes means changing… Real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco star as the girlfriend/boyfriend duo who perhaps should actually not be together anymore, but old habits die hard… and sometimes in increasingly horrific, hilarious ways, as Together shows us. Siddhant Adlakha sums it up in his IGN review: “What if you literally couldn’t be separate from your partner? Together answers that question with an obvious metaphor that Alison Brie and Dave Franco turn into a hilarious action-body-horror blast.”

Winner: Weapons

Writer-director Zach Cregger followed up his 2022 hit Barbarian with this creepfest about a town where 17 school children inexplicably all disappeared from their homes at the same moment one night. Told through different “chapters” which relay the various characters’ points of view, Weapons cleverly keeps the audience guessing as to what’s really going on even as our loyalties and feelings about certain characters are subverted: For example, Josh Brolin’s angry dad, who shows up briefly in Julia Garner’s school teacher’s “chapter” to blame her for the kids’ disappearance, comes across as hostile and in the wrong… until we join him in his own chapter and are suddenly on his side.

As with Barbarian, Cregger is willing to delve into the truly weird and surreal. But it works better in Weapons in so far as – without giving too much away if you somehow haven’t yet heard what the film’s twists are – the more supernatural aspects of the story are believable in this world. And they’re also horrifying at times, which is why Weapons is IGN’s Best Horror Movie of 2025!

Read our Weapons review.

What do you think? Was Weapons the best horror movie of the year? Should it have gone to Sinners or another of these titles? Let’s talk in the comments, and don’t forget to vote in the poll above. And don’t forget to check out all our IGN Awards for 2025 across film, TV, gaming, anime, and comics!

With the Switch 2 having launched in June, 2025 marked the beginning of a whole new console generation for Nintendo. The more powerful hybrid console has seen an extremely busy first six months, filled with excellent first-party games, surprising third-party ports, and highly-anticipated indies. And even deep into its ninth year, the original Switch provided its players with plenty to do, too, with the long-overdue arrivals of Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles X, and a few cross-generation Nintendo games that made it to both Switches.

Nintendo itself published a whopping 16 games in 2025 – spread across new Switch 1 and 2 games and enhanced Switch 2 editions of older games – and along with the higher volume of third-party support brought on by a new console, it’s a crowded field to choose the best of the best from this year. But ranking things is what we do at IGN, so here are the Nintendo Switch games we went bananas for in 2025, starting with the honorable mentions…

Honorable Mentions

Our staff voted for a wide variety of games, but not all of them can make our shortlist of the top five Nintendo Switch games of the year. They still deserve a nod, though, and we start with Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, a Switch 2 launch game for the cozy gamers that combines chill action RPG systems with life sim mechanics. The Pokemon series wasted no time debuting on Switch 2 with Pokemon Legends: Z-A, a cross-generation release in the more experimental Legends subseries. It shook up the formula by introducing a more action-focused battle system in an adventure set entirely within Lumiose City. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was another strong entry in the Zelda spinoff series, with flashy action that remixed Tears of the Kingdom’s abilities in clever ways. And while it arrived too late into the year to have been included in our ballot, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here, eight years after it was first teased at E3 2017. I reviewed it, and it turned out great, with highs that rival the best moments in the whole series. Now, let’s move on to our four runner-ups…

Runner-Up - Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World had a lot of expectations placed on it. Its predecessor, Mario Kart 8, established itself as the definitive kart racer over the course of the Wii U and Switch years, and it was tough to see how Nintendo would improve upon it in a sequel. On top of that, World was also the flagship launch game for Switch 2, meaning it had the responsibility of leaving a strong first impression of the generation to come. While it feels like Mario Kart World is still living in 8 Deluxe’s shadow, at least for now, it’s still a fantastic game in its own right. It’s a gorgeous showcase for Nintendo’s new console with its vibrant, exaggerated art style, and its tight controls are the most polished of any entry in the series. Plus, its frankly enormous soundtrack is an absolute treat for longtime Mario fans, with catchy remixes of tunes drawn from across the entire franchise, from old Mario Kart games, to platformers like Yoshi’s Island.

The implementation of its open world is uneven overall, but its miles and miles of interconnected roads allow for World’s standout new mode: Knockout Tour. This tense cross-country race eliminates the bottom four drivers at designated cutoff points, leading to moments where you lean forward in your seat and press the A button even harder in an attempt to will your kart across the finish line. It’s a brilliant evolution of Mario Kart that will no doubt be a staple on family game nights for years to come. And we can’t end this without shouting out Cow, the new playable character who stole our hearts.

Runner-Up - Kirby Air Riders

Switch 2’s first-party lineup featured a couple of fascinating risks in its first six months: instead of a 3D Mario, we got a 3D Donkey Kong. And instead of starting work on a new Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai instead directed Kirby Air Riders; a surprise sequel to a niche GameCube racer that no one saw coming. Air Riders turned out to be fantastic – Sakurai truly gave the Smash Ultimate treatment to Air Ride – and it’s hard to imagine a better realization of this formula. It’s overflowing with wildly different modes, meaningful unlockables and achievements to chase, and a borderline absurd amount of customization. There’s an extreme level of polish and attention to detail throughout every pocket of Air Riders that makes the whole thing shine brightly. Its unique – and admittedly somewhat limited – one or two-button control scheme isn’t going to be for everyone. But if you meet Air Riders on its own terms and click with it, you’ll find a cult classic in the making that’s unlike many other triple-A games out there.

Runner-Up - Hollow Knight: Silksong

This year, both generations of Nintendo Switch got two long-awaited metroidvania sequels that were, in hindsight, probably announced far too early: Metroid Prime 4, and our next runner-up, Hollow Knight: Silksong. While Prime 4 has some visible scars from its troubled development, Silksong somehow managed to arrive sparkling like a masterpiece whose artists just didn’t want to stop adding more to it. As IGN’s reviewer Tom Marks put it, “The whole world may have been waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong’s cocoon to finally crack open, but it sure doesn’t seem to have been burdened by that pressure. This excellent sequel to an all-time great has more than managed to live up to the high expectations I had set for it, standing as both a smart continuation of the original Hollow Knight and a fantastic game of its own.” Silksong may not be developed by Nintendo, but it feels right at home on Switch 2, because of both its obvious debt of inspiration to the Metroid franchise, and the fact that the first Hollow Knight really took off after it was ported to the original Switch in 2018.

Runner-Up - Hades 2

The first Hades was a runaway success – it even won IGN’s Game of the Year award in 2020 – so it’s remarkable that Supergiant Games managed to outdo itself with a sequel. Hades 2 is an incredible refinement of the innovative story-driven roguelite blueprint laid out by its predecessor. As IGN’s reviewer Leana Hafer said, “There is no one out there doing what Supergiant does as well as it does, and this exceptional action roguelite is some of this team’s best work on nearly every level (which is an astonishingly high bar to clear)... The art is breathtaking, the characters are captivating, the combat is fast, fun, endlessly varied, and tactical, and the music is spectacular.” Just like the first, Hades 2 launched in 1.0 as a Nintendo console exclusive (alongside its PC release), giving Switch 1 and 2 players one of the year’s very best. Hades 2 is also one of only two games this year to score our highest rating on IGN: a 10 out of 10 masterpiece. But the other game that scored a 10 also happens to be a Nintendo game…

Winner - Donkey Kong Bananza

The safe option would have been to release a new 3D Mario game in the Switch 2’s launch window. But Nintendo made a bold move instead, choosing to bring one of its original mascots back in-house for the first time in 20 years. The result is Donkey Kong Bananza: an ambitious, masterful 3D platformer that brilliantly redefines one of gaming’s oldest characters while simultaneously paying loving tribute to every era of the great ape. DK and Pauline’s journey to the planet core was the Switch 2’s first essential adventure, and our staff’s pick for the best Nintendo game of 2025.

Few games feel as satisfying to play as Bananza. DK’s moveset is fast, expressive, and powerful, and the way the meticulously designed breakable world is structured around his destructive toolkit is incredibly impressive. Just ripping a chunk out of the ground leads to so many dynamic options: you can throw it, swing it, double jump, or even surf. Romping around each detailed sublevel and hunting for hundreds of well-hidden collectibles as the world crumbles before you is a blast. It’s always exciting to see what new twist the next layer’s terrain will bring, and Bananza’s focus on platforming by way of destruction is a completely fresh idea that pushes this genre in groundbreaking new directions.

Bananza also takes clear inspiration from Nintendo greats like Breath of the Wild in the way it approaches player freedom. Not only can you tear every level down to the studs, Bananza is ready for almost any sequence break you throw at it. Did you skip a layer’s challenge entirely by cleverly platforming around it? Pauline will comment on it when you’re diving to the next area. Nintendo doesn’t stop you from playing how you want, always allowing for a rewarding amount of flexibility, but it’s bold enough to also let you know the development team thought of all these tricks first.

Donkey Kong has gone through so many phases and stewards: from Shigeru Miyamoto’s legendary arcade original, to Rare’s classic Donkey Kong Country trilogy, to Retro’s fantastic revivals. But with Bananza, Nintendo finally brought Donkey Kong home again and kicked off a brand new era that’s hopefully just getting started. Donkey Kong is Nintendo’s king of 2025.

What was your favorite Nintendo game this year? Let us know in the comments! For more IGN awards, check out our pick for the best Xbox game of the year. And for a deeper dive on Nintendo’s 2025, check out our pair of year-in-review episodes of the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast over on the IGN Games YouTube channel or your favorite podcast app.

The past few years have felt like an embarrassment of riches when it comes to RPGs, and so expectations were high going into 2025. Thankfully, the last 12 months certainly lived up to such a bar. While that's good for gamers, it made things more than a little tough when whittling down our list of the best role-playing games of the year, especially because we had a wide variety of RPG styles that satisfied different tastes.

Avowed gave us some of that Obsidian magic in a fantasy world that was tighter and more focused than many of its contemporaries, resulting in a game that didn’t feel as overwhelming as typical open-world RPGs. Deltarune’s new chapters elevated the ongoing Undertale-adjacent saga to new heights with increasingly clever gameplay twists and sharper narrative chops. And if you had 100-plus hours to spare, Octopath Traveler 0 offered a stunning conclusion for an unforgettable journey to cap off the year.

The definition of RPG is fairly free-flowing these days, so you’ll see games with elements of the genre in our other award categories. But we made careful considerations for games with RPG mechanics at the forefront of their gameplay, along with deep stories, for this particular list. However, there can only be five games and one winner, so the IGN team voted and deliberated on which games would make up this year’s list. We believe the genre is in good hands with the games we picked, and the game we've chosen as the Best RPGs of 2025 is something very special.

Runner-Up – Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter

The Trails series, part of the larger Legend of Heroes franchise, has been gaining more and more traction over recent years. But it’s tricky to recommend as it now numbers 13 entries, all of which are part of a continuous timeline. Remake Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter helps rememdy that problem, as it went right back to the beginning to create one of strongest and sharpest games in the series – and now, it’s the easiest one to recommend.

Trails revolves around a deeply developed world with captivating geopolitical drama at its heart. 1st Chapter does such a good job of painting that broad picture, which is seen in detail through the eyes of its two leads, Estelle and Joshua. As budding Bracers (a peacekeeping guild) whose father is a legend in the guild, they're perfect conduits to provide a pretty intimate understanding of the world's various regions and how they feed into the larger story. The turn-based battles feature a fantastic blend of action combat and the series’ unique positioning system, which creates a gameplay flow that ushers you through this expanded version of this classic RPG. The true magic of Trails lies in the multifaceted stories from multiple perspectives, but it all starts here in Trails in the Sky, and this remake is a terrific representation of that.

Runner-Up – Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake

Square Enix has done excellent work in revitalizing the Dragon Quest games of yore, and Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake is the best example yet. The high-definition pixel art makeover is more than just a sensible way to pretty-up these classics, it also lets them stay true to the spirit of their original look without the weird pixel smoothing effect of past remasters. These Remakes also retain the turn-based combat system and characters without sacrificing the distinct spirit of the original games from all those years ago (frustrating difficulty spikes and all), but even then, quality of life improvements make sure they’re still enjoyable in a modern sense. Combined with the DQ3 HD-2D remake, these games complete the "Erdrick trilogy" of Dragon Quest games, and you can see how the series pioneered the genre, especially with the second entry’s emphasis on characters and storytelling. This package is one of the best examples of modernized nostalgia – faithful to the originals and approachable in today’s gaming landscape. And it’s some of the best role-playing we experienced this year.

Runner-Up – The Outer Worlds 2

When it comes to RPGs and letting players dictate how they interact with the world, Obsidian is one of the best studios to do it. The Outer Worlds 2 improves on the first game in almost every way, from punchier gunplay to much deeper role-playing systems. The options you have to build your character and make pivotal choices have a larger impact on what you can do in combat, but also create specific avenues for how quests play out. We keep pointing to the Flaws system, which was present in the original, but has been expanded in unpredictable, creative ways by giving you some serious pros/cons to consider based on your playing habits. However, the much more expansive areas, smarter level design, and dynamic combat encounters make sure the actual gameplay experience is a significant leap over the first game. And you can’t have an RPG of this style without choice and consequence at the heart of the story, and Obsidian reminds us with The Outer Worlds 2 that it still has the chops, even in a post-Fallout: New Vegas era.

Runner-Up – Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an investment that pays back multiple times over in its 120-hour runtime. It’s a commitment - a slow-burn game you have to want to live in. But it’s also an action-packed cinematic adventure that proves to have an emotional range that the original didn’t. You might be just "some guy" as Henry, yet that role often lets you see the world for what it is, whether you’re doing seemingly mundane activities or the pivotal story quests where your choices matter. What this game does better than most, though, is first-person melee combat, a tough thing that even the mighty Elder Scrolls franchise has struggled with for so long. It is intricate, skill-based, and stays engaging even as you get deeper into the furthest corners the campaign. Although developer Warhorse Studios arguably tries to bite off more than it can chew at times, you’ll find the quality writing and great combat leads you to a satisfying conclusion. This sequel might pick off where the first ended, but jumping into Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 regardless of your experience will open you up to a rare RPG that deserves its flowers, 2025 or otherwise.

Winner – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Suprise, surprise – the Best RPG of 2025 is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and for good reason. The folks at development team Sandfall Interactive drew direct inspiration from Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy 10 and Persona 5 (their words, not ours), and made the kind of game they wanted to play. We know there’s still a huge appetite for good turn-based RPGs, and Clair Obscur is further proof of that, but it’s the mechanics built into the combat system that makes it stand out. The active timing inputs keep you engaged in each fight, and recognizing attack patterns so that you may parry and inflict damage on an enemy turn is some of the most satisfying stuff we’ve experienced in a turn-based system. Each party member plays uniquely and has their own unique gameplay gimmick, as to represent a Job or Class, but there's then the Picto/Lumina system that lets you stack on perks and wild buffs – at some point it feels like you’re breaking the game. However, the toughest challenges ensure the game pushes back on you to really test your mastery and understanding of its more intricate mechanics. It’s one of the best combat systems we’ve seen in a good long while, and it keeps that momentum throughout its story and optional content.

But Expedition 33 wouldn’t be a true homage to JRPGs without a melodramatic and heartwrenching story. While it immediately hits you with the theme of time wiping away swathes of people – friends and loved ones disintegrating before your eyes – it grows into a meditation on grief and how it changes people, seen through the eyes of fully formed characters who change alongside each other. Whether or not you want intricate systems, fun combat, or deep stories from your RPGs, Clair Obscur delivered all of that in a way that won the hearts of us here at IGN.

For more of our end-of-the-year celebrations, be sure to check out our list of awards and nominees, which is being updated daily in the lead-up to our official Best Game of 2025 announcement.

Michael is the tech reviews editor at IGN, but regularly contributes to games coverage with reviews, features, and news.

Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem trailer that revealed Leon S. Kennedy also featured yet another familiar face from the series' past, fans believe.

Blink and you'll miss it, but the trailer also includes a blonde female character speaking to Leon over comms, who fans believe is none other than Sherry Birkin — and, listening to the voice performance, they may well have a point.

Sherry first popped up in Resident Evil 2 (where she met Leon for the first time) but more recently featured in Resident Evil 6. Compare Sherry's voice actress from Resi 6 to the dialogue heard in Capcom's new Requiem trailer, and the two sound remarkably similar, if not identical. Take a listen via the fan comparison embedded below.

The character speaking to Leon is most likely Sherry Birkin, the voice is the same as hers in Resident Evil 6, the hair color is exactly the same, and she also works in the same organization as Leon, DSO.#REBHFun pic.twitter.com/mYXTGAfYYa

— Waleed (@Waleedx2007) December 15, 2025

Capcom has remained coy about confirming Sherry, perhaps to give Leon his moment in the spotlight, but there seems no reason it couldn't be her. After all, Resident Evil 6 showed her working for the Division of Security Operations, the FBI-like government agency that also employs Leon. And with Leon involved, it seems straightforward enough that Sherry is also along for the ride.

Despite Leon's recent confirmation, and Capcom's subsequent explanation that the floppy-haired fan favorite will feature in around half of the game, Requiem is said to still hold plenty of mysteries.

This week, as Resident Evil fans peer closer at Leon's reveal trailer and celebrate the Resident Evil 4 star entering his "hot uncle" era, there has also been concern over a nasty-looking mark glimpsed on the hero's neck. Is it a zombie bite, or new infection? Could Capcom really bring Leon back just to kill him off, rather than let him retire in peace? Whatever's going on, Capcom has said Leon holds "a big secret" — hopefully Sherry can help him out.

Last week also brought word of yet another returning Resident Evil character who will apparently also make an appearance, Rosemary Winters. A product listing for Requiem's Deluxe Edition that was leaked by GameStop mentioned the inclusion of extra costumes for the character, who Capcom has so far not mentioned at all.

There's still a couple of months to go until Resident Evil Requiem releases on February 26, 2026, and until then, Capcom has certainly given fans plenty to discuss. Is there anyone else from the series' past that you'd like to see pop up?

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

For LEGO fans, the holiday period is a nice time to focus on building new sets. If you're on the hunt for something new to work on, Woot is here to help. The Amazon-owned online retailer is offering a $30 discount at the moment on the incredible LEGO Icons The Lord of The Rings: Rivendell set, dropping it to its lowest price yet at $469.99.

Save $30 on The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell LEGO Set

This is one of our favorite Lord of the Rings LEGO sets and one of our favorite LEGO sets overall, so whether you're looking to grab it for yourself or to give as a gift over the holidays this year, now is a great time to make a move on it. Keep in mind that this deal at Woot is only live for six more days or until it's sold out, so you'll want to be quick.

The LEGO Rivendell set is no small undertaking, either. It comes with a whopping 6,167 pieces that form a detailed recreation of Rivendell. It's packed with 15 minifigures as well, including nine of the Fellowship: Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. The other six minifigures are of Gloin, Arwen, Elrond, Bilbo, and two elves. Given its huge size and amount of detail, it's a set that's recommended for adults as well.

If you're curious what it's like to take on this massive set, have a look at our Rivendell We Build. Writer Kevin Wong said that it's "a beautiful but fragile set" highlighting that, because of how delicate it is, it's definitely meant for adults. He continues on to say that "the designers sacrificed sturdiness for incredible aesthetics. But for most adult LEGO fans, that's a worthy trade."

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

2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas celebrates its 25th anniversary this year — and with that, the cast has been reminiscing about shooting the project, particularly highlighting an on-set incident where star Jim Carrey shut down a scene in which his young costar Taylor Momsen was moments away from being hurt.

“I remember when we were shooting the scene coming down the mountain on the sled. It was this real sled that was up on a giant spring that was being controlled and moving from side to side, very aggressively,” Momsen revealed to Vulture in its oral history of the making of the film.

She continued: “Jim is leaning over and being extravagant Jim. There was a moment where I almost fell out of the sled, and he freaked out. He called cut and started checking in on me. I was having a great time. I was laughing; I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I just almost fell very high off the ground."

Steven Spielberg’s next sci-fi thriller, Disclosure Day, has a debut trailer and a release date: June 12, 2026.

The mysterious new movie is created and directed by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, and stars Oppenheimer and A Quiet Place’s Emily Blunt as well as Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple), and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).

A film by Steven Spielberg. Disclosure Day is in theaters 06.12.26. pic.twitter.com/ziKewjQLvF

— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) December 16, 2025

The trailer revolves around a shocking global secret that looks set to be revealed to the world's public all at once. We see Emily Blunt struggle to deliver the weather report live on air, her voice slowly transforming into a creepy clicking noise. It sounds like this could be about aliens, but we don’t see any in the trailer.

What we do see are a lot of very concerned people doing strange things while hooked up to machines. Eyes change, and we see people perform actions using these machines that are then mirrored by others. Is this a movie about mind control? Meanwhile, we see a crop circle emerge in real time, and in one shot, a woman miraculously turns into Emily Blunt’s character.

It looks like Disclosure Day will deal with some big, existential questions normally reserved for philosophy debates. And there's a clear religious theme here. The trailer asks: “Why would He make such a vast universe, yet save it only for us?” Well, perhaps in Disclosure Day, He didn’t.

The tagline is:

If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people.

We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.

David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, wrote the screenplay based on a story by Spielberg.

Image credit: Universal Studios.

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.

Home Alone director Chris Columbus is part of a truly solid crop of American directors who excelled in the comedy space in the 80s and 90s — but he isn’t quite as fond of the comedic efforts that came after his work in the Home Alone franchise. In fact, he recently went as far as to call the other installments “really bad.”

"It's been revisited with really bad sequels," Columbus said while speaking at a screening at the Academy Museum recently. "Sorry to insult anybody, but they've completely f***ed it up. It started with Home Alone 3 and then it just went downhill from there; Home Alone 3 is sort of the best of the bunch of the bad movies."

He didn’t name drop any of the other titles specifically, but after Home Alone 3, there were three more sequels featuring different protagonists: 2002’s Home Alone 4, 2012’s Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, and 2021’s Home Sweet Home Alone. For Columbus, a big part of the problem was in the wirework, which gives a “false sense of the stunt" and makes the franchise’s classic stunts look unnatural.

That said, we could have a really great Home Alone sequel — if 20th Century Studios would just listen to original star Macaulay Culkin, who recently had an excellent idea for a legacy sequel film that he shared during a show on the A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour.

In his concept, his original character, Kevin McAllister, is an adult father. "I'm working really hard and I'm not really paying enough attention and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me and then I get locked out,” Culkin explained. “He won't let me in… and he's the one setting traps for me.”

Honestly, we think he might be onto something, so 20th Century, you should listen up. The original Home Alone is available to stream now on Disney+.

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

Nintendo recorded more than 30 minutes of extra conversations featuring Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's chatty companion characters that don't currently appear in the game.

The voice lines have now been datamined and uploaded to YouTube (thanks, VGC) where fans can listen in to long stretches of cut Metroid Prime 4 banter, recorded for the Galactic Federation troops Samus encounters.

Specifically, these conversations would have played out at Base Camp, between much-maligned mechanic Miles MacKenzie, and later NPCs such as the robot VUE-995, Private Armstrong, Sergeant Duke and Corporal Tokabi.

Listening in to the conversations, these are all non-essential chats that add to each character's backstory and personality. Most are designed to be humorous, such as the chats between hulking mech VUE-995 and Private Armstrong talking about working out, getting a tattoo-like custom paint scheme, and Armstrong's love of dogs. Armstrong even discusses her pet pooch back home, named Bowser.

Speaking with Sergeant Duke, VUE-995 is told he needs greasing up, as the other troops are complaining that he's squeaking. As a group, the team also discusses eating jerky. (There are no voice lines featuring Samus, for obvious reasons.)

It remains to be seen whether this dialogue is ever used for anything, or made available in-game via a future update. (Perhaps it's being saved for the launch of a New Game Plus mode?) Alternatively, the fact the dialogue has been cut could be a sign that Nintendo knew its cheery marines might come across as an odd fit in Metroid Prime — a series known for its themes of isolation, with a famously silent protagonist and little to no other dialogue.

Notably, Nintendo held back all mention of these characters' presence until a pre-release preview just a month from the game's launch date. Their inclusion then became a focal point of discussion among fans, and part of the game's critical consensus upon release.

"It doesn't take psychic powers to see the ideal vision Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was aiming for," IGN wrote in our Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review. "It tries to mix the excellent Prime formula with a character-focused story and a large hub world to explore. It doesn't quite reach that ambitious goal, with an outdated open desert area that mostly feels like padding and a cast of characters that provide both a handful of memorable moments and too much chatter at times."

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

Larian has confirmed that its upcoming role-playing game, Divinity, is indeed turn-based following speculation from the developer's fans.

Following the announcement of Divinity at The Game Awards, fans had wondered if it would follow 2023’s Baldur’s Gate 3 and prior games in the Divinity series by offering turn-based combat, or mark a significant shift for Larian and move to more action game-oriented combat. Confirmation that it is sticking with turn-based comes from a Bloomberg interview with Larian boss Swen Vincke.

“This is going to be us unleashed, I think,” Vincke said. “It’s a turn-based RPG featuring everything you’ve seen from us in the past, but it’s brought to the next level.”

Vincke took part in a round of interviews with the media following the announcement, and spoke to IGN in an interview of our own on what to expect from Divinity. Key points he made in our interview include:

• Divinity is a single-player game with cooperative multiplayer, as with Baldur’s Gate 3
• Larian has been working on Divinity for two years already, and it is now in full production.
• Larian owns Divinity, so it is free from the Dungeons & Dragons shackles it built Baldur’s Gate 3 with.
• Divinity is “bigger” than Baldur’s Gate 3.
• Divinity will “most likely” use early access prior to full launch, as Baldur’s Gate 3 did, but Larian is undecided.

Check out IGN’s Divinity interview with Swen Vincke for the complete lowdown. We've also got comments from Larian on Divinity's gruesome
reveal trailer, which was not designed to shock the audience. And be sure to check out everything announced at The Game Awards 2025 for more, as well as the winners list in full. And if you’re wondering what all this Divinity business is about, check out our handy explainer here.

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.

Ahead of the hotly-anticipated launch of Fallout Season 2 on Prime Video, a Samsung executive has discussed the optimal TV picture settings for watching the show — and even got Bethesda development chief Todd Howard asking questions of his own.

Optimal settings became part of the discourse around Stranger Things Season 5 after co-creator Ross Duffer called on fans of the Netflix series to turn off what he described as “garbage” TV settings because they “destroy the color” and present an image that is “not the filmmakers’ intent.”

So in a recent interview with Kevin Beatty, Head of Product for Samsung Gaming, Interactive Experiences, and Emerging Tech (Bethesda and Xbox recently announced a partnership with Amazon and Samsung to stream Season 1 for free on Samsung TV Plus), we asked him for his optimal picture settings recommendation for watching Fallout.

Bethesda chief Todd Howard was in the same interview, and he got pretty excited about the question. “I look this stuff up,” he said. “I want to know as well. This is the best question!”

Replying, Beatty pointed to HDR10+, the High Dynamic Range (HDR) format that uses dynamic metadata for scene-by-scene or frame-by-frame adjustments to color, contrast, and brightness. It's supported by major brands and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, where Fallout Season 2 kicks off today, December 16.

“... HDR10+ and with AI processors now we are upscaling these things,” Beatty said. “And so, these are actual capabilities that exist in every single line that you're buying off the shelf, that is going to improve the experience when you're watching it on Amazon Prime.”

Determined to find out more, Howard asked a question of his own:

“No, but legit, backlight 20 or 11? I sit there and mess with it.”

Beatty responded: “Oh, well, I think it depends on the lighting of your room.”

At this point in the interview we’re told HDR10+ does this automatically. “Yeah, but sometimes it clicks it on and off,” Howard countered. “It's not the fault on your TV, I'm just saying.”

Beatty added: “I think it also depends on your room though, right? If you're in a room that is well lit versus completely dark…”

At this point Howard made one thing very clear: “Not dynamic mode though, you turn that off. That's for stores.”

In Ross Duffer’s TV settings post, he expressed particular disdain for what he called the “worst offender of all: TruMotion, aka smooth motion, “or the dreaded soap opera effect.”

Then, Duffer added: “whatever you do, do not switch on anything called ‘vivid’ — because it’s going to turn on all the worst offenders, it’s going to destroy the color, and is not the filmmaker’s intent.”

We put Duffer’s comments to Beatty, and while he didn’t want to respond to them directly, he did say he understood where Duffer was coming from as a creative.

“I was mentioning to Todd, I came from Disney prior to Samsung, and so worked really closely with a lot of the creators, and so there is absolutely a bias on, this content has to look this good, and it has to have this type of color variation and sensitivity,” he began. “I think it really depends. I can't comment on necessarily Stranger Things 5, of what works best, but I would say though that HDR10+ generally speaking will improve it the most.”

And on Duffer’s comment on TruMotion specifically, Beatty replied: “Yeah. I could see where he's probably coming from, where he thinks that it's adding creative flexibility on top of what he's trying to come up with. And these are settings that people can turn off, if they want.”

Fallout Season 2 starts tonight, December 16, on Prime Video after Amazon brought the release date forward by a day. Check out IGN's Fallout Season 2 Episodes 1-6 review to find out what we think of it.

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.

For the Animal Crossing fans looking for new dialogue or major overhauls to what exists in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you may not want to hold your breath for the 3.0 Update or the Nintendo Switch 2 version. The announcement for anything new for the five-year-old game was already a delightful surprise (especially after Nintendo previously said they were done with major updates years ago), but there don't seem to be many secrets or surprises beyond what was shown in the reveal trailer. IGN was invited by Nintendo to get a hands-off look at what's coming to ACNH on January 15, 2026, and the roughly 25-minute demo confirmed certain ACNH fan factions' excitement and disappointment: namely, this one is for the decorators. That being said, as someone who does love decorating in Animal Crossing, this update is an exciting reason for me to play more regularly again.

The Switch 2 version's three main features aren't all that interesting, though the speed and graphical updates are pleasing. In the demo, I saw and had it confirmed that the Switch 2 exclusive Megaphone tool is limited to calling residents who can actually hear. So, it won't impact anyone inside a building, which makes it less useful for tracking down a particular character. Then, the final major benefit to playing on Switch 2 is being able to play with up to 12 people total in multiplayer, though that hinges on everyone in the session playing on a Switch 2. I feel lucky I know even three people still playing, leaving this update as the least impactful.

The hotel is by far the biggest change out of everything. It was explained that, like other facilities in ACNH, the hotel is something you'll unlock. Since it's tied to the pier, it cannot be moved and getting it is not optional. I didn't see what's involved in building the hotel, but once it's there, it'll receive season-appropriate decor like other facilities. Inside is the welcoming site of Kapp'n's family. The main activity you'll do in the hotel is decorating rooms similar to the Happy Home Paradise DLC, with the key difference being that you have a list of room themes to choose from (such as Ranch Room, Skyscraper Room, and plenty more) and are free to do what you will with it… or skip using a theme entirely and freestyle the design.

If you use a theme, you're provided a selection of items that match. Though unlike HHP, you're not required to use any specific items even if you do opt to use a theme. Then, when you're done, you'll receive a reward of the new hotel currency, tickets, once per day. You can keep decorating the eight guest rooms, but you won't receive any extra currency. Tickets can then be spent at the hotel gift shop that has hotel-related items along with new furniture, most of which I did not get to see. The other way to earn tickets is by crafting requested items for Kapp'n. The new bulk crafting feature wasn't shown in my demo either.

Tourists who stay in the hotel can roam your island in the customizable outfits displayed in the hotel, which helps to clearly identify them. Unfortunately, there wasn't much interaction with tourists in my demo. The one conversation with a tourist didn't make it clear whether or not they can be invited to stay on the island, though it was mentioned in the demo that if the visitor is convinced, they could potentially become a resident.

The four new characters coming to ACNH with 3.0 (two from Splatoon, two from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) weren't present in the demo, though the items that get added to ACNH after scanning one of their respective series amiibo were. It was clarified that to get one of the new Splatoon or Legends of Zelda characters and the associated special items, all you need to do is scan any one amiibo from their respective franchise, rather than any specific amiibo. The items looked great peppered around the item, and it seems most of the items are interactive.

For those looking for even more decorating, Slumber Islands await. We unfortunately again didn't see much of the special Slumber Island space beyond what was shown in the reveal trailer. This feature requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. With that, you'll get access to three island save spots and can create a small, medium, or large island, with the large size being close to being the size of the normal island. The Animal Crossing community has come up with some amazing island designs over the years, and the Slumber Islands feature is primed to encourage even more of that. Whatever you've collected will be available on the Slumber Islands, and anything you do or use in the dreams won't impact your main island. It was confirmed during the demo that there won't be any new additional custom design save slots, though, so players will need to get creative with what's already available if custom designs are a key part of their island design process.

Our demo didn't show Resetti's new suite of cleanup services, all the new items coming with the hotel, or how much it costs to upgrade storage. There wasn't a chance to ask the developers questions either, so it's still unclear whether we should expect any other ACNH updates beyond this. I'm eager to see the patch notes whenever Nintendo releases them to see if there are any secret small quality of life updates or item updates for holidays (will we get a 2026 balloon arch for the New Year's event?), but, as I mentioned earlier, I'm skeptical we'll see any major changes other than what's been announced. Even still, I'm enjoying having a reason to return to my island and get it cleaned up for future tourists.

Miranda Sanchez is the executive editor of guides at IGN and a member of Unlocked. She's a big fan of stationery, reading, and bouncing between forever games. You can sometimes find her on Bluesky.

Three years ago, I sat down to watch Avatar: The Way of Water with one big question on my mind: Could James Cameron deliver a sequel to his 2009 blockbuster that’s worth a thirteen-year wait? Three hours and twelve minutes later, it was abundantly clear that yup, dude’s still got it.

Earlier this month, when I sat down to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash, I had a lot more questions. A couple were about loose ends from the previous film, but my more pressing queries were about the film itself. Would a new Avatar film after just three years pack as much of a punch as one that benefited from a middle schooler’s lifetime of anticipation? Also, Cameron’s made some of the best sequels of all time, but what does a James Cameron threequel look like? Well, three hours and seventeen minutes later, I didn’t have quite as definitive an answer to either of those questions… but I did have one huge smile on my face.

Avatar: Fire and Ash picks up immediately after the events of The Way of Water. Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the rest of the Sully family are mourning the loss of their eldest son, Neteyam (played by Jamie Flatters in The Way of Water). They’ve finally been accepted into the Metkayina clan, but aside from the looming threat of retaliation from the RDA, there are a couple factors preventing them from properly settling down. For one, Jake’s favorite form of grieving involves preparing for war with the humans, an interest the Metkayina clan doesn’t share. Two, they have a kid who can’t breathe. Their adopted son, Spider (Jack Champion), still needs a rebreather to survive in Pandora’s atmosphere, and they only have one backup battery – which, to put it lightly, is stupidly risky. So, Jake makes the unpopular call that Spider should go live with other humans, and to soften the blow, proposes that they make a family vacation out of it by hitching a ride with the nomadic airborne Tlalim clan, aka the Wind Traders.

Aside from all the grieving, Fire and Ash looks and feels very similar to The Way of Water in the early part of the film. While that’s by no means a bad thing, it’s initially lacking in the spectacle, novelty, or for lack of a better word, “newness” I was hoping for from another Avatar. However, that quickly changes with the arrival of the Wind Traders. The Avatar movies have always been a visual feast, but an armada of vessels suspended from enormous flying jellyfish-like Medusoids pulled by cephalopodian Windrays literally and figuratively blows the more familiar imagery out of the water, especially in 3D on a huge screen.

Cameron has always had a flair for large-scale spectacle, but I was equally impressed with the shots of the Wind Traders hocking their wares. In terms of narrative or action, nothing particularly exciting takes place in these shots, but they’re so densely packed with detail, activity, and stuff that I sat forward in my seat. If you’re not as impressed by baskets and gourds at a Na’vi swap meet as I am, don’t worry, the Fire Nation shows up soon enough.

They are the Mangkwan clan – a ruthless and quite literally godless group of Na’vi led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), who is one of the highlights of the film. Chaplin’s performance is properly terrifying, and her whole crew looks and acts more like denizens of Mordor than Pandora. Varang has no qualms about breaking Eywa’s laws, and is extremely eager to get her hands on human weapons. And you know who has access to a lot of those, and a similar penchant for torching Na’vi villages? Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Naturally, they hit it off like gasoline and an open flame.

When Quaritch showed up in the first film, I didn’t think he was anything to write home about. Lang gave a decent enough performance as an extremely hateable badass, but when it was announced that he was attached for all four sequels, it didn’t move the needle for me. His performance in Fire and Ash, however, has elevated him to one of my favorite villains in recent memory, especially in his scenes with Chaplin. The two of them don’t chew scenery – they devour it like a five-course meal.

Another character who unexpectedly grew on me was Spider, which is good, because he’s basically the linchpin of the whole film. In The Way of Water, he’s introduced as the annoying neighborhood kid who’s always hanging around, somewhere between The Simpsons’ Milhouse Van Houten and Eli Cash in The Royal Tenenbaums. In Fire and Ash, Spider is part of the family, and I found Champion’s performance to be fully endearing, resembling the combination of earnestness and obnoxiousness that Cameron brought out of Edward Furlong’s John Conner in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Speaking of which, Cameron has given us some of the most badass moms in movie history. Neytiri definitely kicks some ass in The Way of Water, but it pales in comparison to one particularly explosive sequence that puts her right up there with Ellen Ripley in a Power Loader or Sarah Connor racking a shotgun one-handed. Zoe Saldaña has always been a highlight of these films, but she’s in top form here.

My one hangup about Fire and Ash, if you can even call it that, is that it gave me a sense of déjà vu. Some of the visuals and story beats tread very close to those in the previous films, to the point that it almost felt like deleted scenes or alternate takes intercut with new material. But, looking at Cameron’s past work, it’s safe to assume this is a feature and not a bug. George Lucas once described the Star Wars prequel trilogy’s relationship to the original by saying, “it’s like poetry, they rhyme.” I would argue that Cameron’s sequels have a tendency to amplify and echo; rather than taking a familiar concept, theme, or visual and presenting it as a flipped mirror image, his sequels take something we know and present a grander, more operatic version. “Once more, with feeling,” as the saying goes. Fire and Ash is the first “Part 3” he’s ever done, so I wasn’t sure how it’d shake out. Does it get louder? Does it rhyme? Does it do something completely different?

Watching The Terminator and Terminator 2 back to back, they both open on tandem time travelers, escalate into shootouts and truck chases, then culminate in factory showdowns. Alien and Aliens both feature a crew investigating a distress signal on LV-426, taking some casualties, and misreading a motion tracker with terrifying results before featuring a tense final sequence in which a flamethrower-toting Ripley rescues a loved one before blowing a xenomorph stowaway out of an airlock. In both cases, these similarities are obscured by better effects, incredible action sequences, great characters, and the delightful twist that unlike in the first film, where a scary android character tries to murder the heroine, this time the android is her friend instead.

The Way of Water didn’t subvert Avatar as much as it did submerge it. Jake’s training sequence and rite of passage to join the Omatikaya clan in the first film happened all over again, underwater with the Metkayina. But The Way of Water does have its share of little twists too, In the first film, Jake earned the Omatikaya’s respect by bonding with the vicious killer pterodactyl everyone fears and respects; in the second, Jake’s son is shunned when he bonds with a huge murderer whale that they all fear and hate because of complicated politics, like, one time. In both cases, the big cool animal shows up in the final battle and saves the day.

This is a spoiler-free review of Fallout Season 2’s first six episodes, which start streaming weekly on Prime Video from December 16.

Amazon bet big on the weird apocalypse when it decided to turn Fallout into a TV show. With its kitchy “atompunk” visuals, near-overwhelming amounts of lore, and b-movie violence sitting as equals next to rich conspiracy plots and complex character work, it had every chance of baffling general audiences… and ran the classic risk of annoying the game’s loyal fanbase with even the smallest changes to the established fiction. But that bet paid off. And what do you do when you win big? You go to Vegas. Or, at least in the nuclear wastes of tomorrow, you go to New Vegas – the setting of what many consider to be the best game in Fallout’s long history.

With such a move comes risk again: it’s no easy thing to create something that can stand up to the reputation of one of the greatest RPGs of all time. But while showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet don’t hit the jackpot immediately, this second season quickly finds its identity, and it’s a more authentic adaptation of New Vegas than I ever expected. The writing team has shaped this year’s story around competing factions and figureheads, the game’s flagship feature, making for a tinderbox of a season that’s overflowing with warring tensions, difficult decisions, and backstabbing betrayals. I’ve only been able to watch six out of the total eight episodes ahead of the season’s premiere, but even if the conclusion turns out to be less appetising than a 200-year-old box of Yum Yum deviled eggs, this will still have been a largely worthy follow-up to one of the most surprising success stories in video game TV.

At its core, Fallout Season 2 is once again focused on the journeys of three people. The quests of Ella Purnell’s Lucy MacLean and Walton Goggins’ The Ghoul have combined, and together they trek across the Mojave wasteland and into New Vegas itself in search of their respective families. It’s a road trip that takes a little while to get into gear – across the first couple of episodes the duo finds themselves in overfamiliar territory – but when things do step up, the resulting character development is strong. That’s particularly true of The Ghoul, who now needs to wrestle with his hollowed-out sense of morality in the face of potentially being reunited with the people he loves. Lucy’s evolution is a little more typical of this kind of fish-out-of-water scenario, as she’s forced to adapt to a more ruthless world while trying to hold onto her humanity, but Fallout’s distinct personality keeps this all very entertaining – there’s violence and drugs aplenty for our wide-eyed heroine to contend with this year.

After having been a close companion of Lucy in Season 1, Aaron Moten’s Maximus spends most of his time with the Brotherhood of Steel this year, which significantly shifts the faction’s role in the story. Now in control of the Cold Fusion relic, the Brotherhood is a major player throughout the entire season, rather than just the backdrop for Maximus’ story. In fact, the ruthlessly ambitious aims of Elder Cleric Quintus (Michael Cristofer) threaten to overshadow Maximus’ own development within the first couple of episodes, and remain central to the plot as the season unfolds.

That’s not to say Maximus is demoted from his protagonist status. The brewing conflict between the Brotherhood’s uneasy alliance of members acts as a stage upon which he can be both part of a greater power-armoured ensemble as well as a lead character – he’s kept in line as one of Quintus’ dogs in the season’s opening act, but as a visitor (Kumail Nanjiani) from Boston’s Commonwealth chapter of the Brotherhood shapes him, he’s able to shape the faction in return. Maximus may feel a touch more like a cog in a greater machine this time, but he’s clearly the largest gear.

While Lucy and The Ghoul’s journey is very clearly the season’s central throughline, and Maximus’ struggles with the Brotherhood is the parallel support beam, the show’s scope has undeniably expanded beyond the trio that defined the first season. Now structured more akin to Game of Thrones, there are multiple other concurrent storylines that make Fallout feel like the story of the wasteland itself as much as it is the tale of its key characters. All of this does make for a very packed season, and there are inevitable casualties.

There’s no clearer example than the interconnected vaults 31, 32, and 33, which remain a consistent part of the show despite Lucy’s distant departure. Each bunker now has its own storyline, the most pressing of which is the unfolding conspiracy of 31 and its army of frozen Vault-Tec middle managers, discovered in last year’s finale by Moisés Arias’ Norm MacLean. But while it feels significant, that story fights for space against the seemingly inconsequential plotlines unfolding in vaults 32 and 33. An intriguing mid-season reveal suggests maybe better things are still to come and that we haven't been totally wasting our time, but this is outweighed by a lot of trivial baffoonery. I do very much like Fallout’s comedic approach to its clueless vault dwellers, but it so far feels like this was a joke best left in Season 1.

Out on the surface, there are further stories that deal with the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion, two significant factions from the New Vegas video game. While the Legion is notably well realised and both groups are elegantly woven into Lucy and The Ghoul’s larger journey, long-time fans who have been waiting 15 years to see more of these factions may well be disappointed that they have, at least within the context of the first six episodes, little bearing on the overall plot, and are only in the spotlight for a single chapter. There’s also no attempt to choose which one of New Vegas’ many endings is “canon”, although I’d argue it was a wise decision to not get tied up in all those details. The narrative solutions Wagner and Robertson-Dworet have devised to sidestep such a problem are strong, and the Legion’s current situation in particular feels like it’d make an exceptional questline in a theoretical New Vegas 2. The NCR gets dealt a weaker hand, but that’s made up for by the way they’re utilised as part of The Ghoul’s story – these factions are used to enrich the journeys of the main characters, rather than be significant players themselves.

There is one New Vegas figurehead that does get to take the spotlight, though: Robert House. The new antagonist of the pre-apocalypse flashbacks, he’s played to slimy perfection by Justin Theroux. Fallout keeps its cards close to its chest with regards to House’s motives, and while fans will already know what his deal is, the involvement of The Ghoul’s former self, Hollywood star Cooper Howard, means there’s still plenty of original, unpredictable material interacting with the established lore.

In my review of Season 1, I wrote that I found Maximus to be Fallout’s most compelling lead, as his deep flaws made him the show’s most complex character. That continues to be true in Season 2, where Maximus’ weaknesses see him crushed and manipulated by a number of other forces, and his attempt to find some kind of a redemption arc is one of the strongest throughlines. However, I suspect by the time the finale’s credits roll, The Ghoul will have ascended to become my favourite of the season. He’s given much more depth this time around, with rare-but-vital flashes of vulnerability. There’s a stronger sense of connection between The Ghoul and Cooper, emphasised by the smart crosscutting of scenes across the timeline that help draw parallels and establish contrast between the man he was and the monster he’s become. Goggins is, as before, exceptional at portraying both sides, but he’s particularly strong during the flashback sequences, where he’s forced to wrestle with his wife’s involvement in the looming apocalypse, and how he could play a role in stopping it… if only he gives into a more violent path.

While Goggins is on track to be this year’s undisputed headliner, everyone pulls their weight. Particularly enjoyable this time around is Kyle MacLachlan as Hank MacLean, whose larger, quirkier role allows him to be very, well, Kyle MacLachlan. Any details about his activities in the Mojave wasteland are strictly off-limits in a spoiler-free review, but there’s a lot to dig into from as early as the first episode, with fascinating links established between him, Lucy, and a number of other characters.

While characters remain Fallout’s most valuable triumph, all the efforts that go into building the world around them continue to be top-shelf in this second season. The initial excitement of seeing the video games’ iconic designs rendered in live-action has admittedly worn off, but it’s still great to see the many newly realised places and creatures. Much has been made of the Deathclaw, which was teased during the credits of Season 1’s finale, and the big, bullish brute doesn’t disappoint. But there are other, even nerdier joys - among them the old T-45 power armour and the television-faced Securitron robots, both lovingly built by an incredibly talented prop department. There’s similar skill demonstrated by the set builders, too, with locations like the Lucky 38 casino and Dino Dee-lite Motel appearing exactly as you remember. They’re not just authentically realised, but smartly employed to create a bond between show and game: I certainly got a kick out of seeing Lucy metaphorically wear the beret of New Vegas’ beloved marksman, Boone, by making a sniper’s nest in the mouth of the motel’s giant model T-Rex, Dinky.

As with the first season, Fallout likes to effectively wink into the camera whenever it’s doing something video game-y, and there’re multiple good examples of that across these six episodes, such as Lucy walking herself through options A, B, and C when faced with a sticky situation, all of which translate to the different branching pathways of a choice-driven RPG like Fallout. Previous video game adaptations have failed at paying homage to their parent medium – see Halo’s bizarre first-person battle sequences – so it’s great to see Fallout continue to successfully remould its foundations into a new format.