Capcom will release the highly anticipated Resident Evil Requiem tomorrow. Powered by the RE Engine, it’s time now to benchmark it and examine its performance on the PC. For our benchmarks, I used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5 at 6000Mhz, AMD’s Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, RX 9070XT, as well as NVIDIA’s … Continue reading Resident Evil Requiem PC Performance Analysis→
Disney and WEBTOON have teamed up to create 'Mickey X F1 Racing to the Top!,' an original vertical comics series launching in March that aims to combine the creativity and imagination of Mickey & Friends and the excitement and drama of Formula 1.
'Mickey X F1 Racing to the Top!' will launch on March 6 during the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, and it will be available on WEBTOON's global platforms throughout the entire Formula 1 race season.
New episodes will drop during each race weekend, and the original story the comic will tell is inspired by the "high-octane thrills and teamwork of elite racing," and will see "Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy come together to help support a racing team in crisis, demonstrating the power of friendship and collaboration to overcome adversity."
"The Duckburg F1 fan club, led by Mickey Mouse, is invited to shadow a racing team to create a behind-the-scenes documentary," the official synopsis reads. "But when that team suddenly collapses at the very beginning of the season, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and friends step up to keep the project alive, filling key roles themselves and recommending Jun, a talented taxi driver chasing his lifelong dream of winning Formula 1, only to discover his teammate is his sister Lia, his ultimate rival who left him in the dust years before.
"Will Jun, with the help of Mickey Mouse, be able to overcome the old grudge, make peace with his sister and finally play as a team? It will be a long journey, to be covered at full speed on the Grand Prix tracks!"
The Scream series differentiates itself from other slasher series in many ways, beginning with its meta approach, but one other notable aspect is its lack of an ongoing villain. In 2022’s Scream (AKA Scream 5), Amber Freeman, discussing the movie-within-a-movie franchise used for much of the self-referential comedy, Stab, directly brings this up. Says Amber, “You know what the biggest problem with the Stab movies is? There's no Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. No bad guy to keep coming back!”
Of course, that’s never really been a problem for Scream as the concept is part of its baked-in formula. Rather than an ongoing killer, Scream has mostly stuck to the same ongoing heroine, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), along with other key characters like Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Each movie is a whodunnit, with a new killer donning the familiar Ghostface persona, complete with mask and robe, until their identity is revealed in the final act. Almost all of these movies have multiple killers too, working in tandem together, meaning as we go into the new Scream 7, there’s already been plenty of Ghostfaces to go around.
But which of them has stood out the most and ranks as the best? We’re here to help!
13. Jason Carvey (Scream VI)
Scream VI’s Jason kind of has to go last, if you include him at all, simply for accomplishing so little. Well, unless we also gave a ranking to his would-be partner, Greg, who never actually managed to fully become Ghostface, despite intending to.
Blackmore University student Jason (played by Tony Revolori) wanted to follow in the footsteps of previous Ghostface Richie Kirsch, with a new murder spree alongside his intended partner Greg that would “finish Richie’s movie” - as in commit new murders to inspire a crowd-pleasing new Stab movie. But on the very night Jason killed his first victim, both Jason and Greg found out the hard way that there were others with their own Ghostface plans who saw these two as an inconvenience to be quickly disposed of.
We didn’t learn much more about the full extent of Jason and Greg’s plans because they become the kind of pre-title fodder that any good Scream (and Stab) fan knows is usually there just to set the scene, not be the focus.
12. Ethan Landry (Scream VI)
You’re about to notice a logjam of Scream VI killers here at the bottom, which is funny, because Scream VI is a really good movie. And on top of that, the final showdown between that film’s heroines, Samantha (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), and these particular killers is awesome, with the Carpenter sisters taking out each of the Scream franchise’s first-ever Ghostface trio in satisfying and suitably intense ways.
But that makes it all the more glaring that the actual killer reveal is kind of a dud. Yes, it’s a fun idea to have it be the family of the previous film’s killer, Richie, but the characters chosen aren’t exactly the most exciting, particularly Ethan, played by Jack Champion. Though sorta-kinda part of the central friend group in the film, by virtue of being “Core Four” character Chad’s roommate, Ethan is kept at arm’s length, not interacting with the others as much except in a jokey manner. He’s the nerdy virgin and that’s about it. Though it is amusing how Chad’s sister Mindy continually suspects he’s Ghostface before it turns out she’s right, there’s not much more to him than that.
But man is it great when Tara literally twists the knife after she stabs him in the mouth…
11. Quinn Bailey (Scream VI)
Liana Liberato’s Quinn rates just above her brother for a handful of reasons, including her simultaneous moxie and restraint. First off, she’s just a likeable character. Introduced as the roommate to Sam and Tara Carpenter, she’s funny and quirky and the idea that she has a, ahem, healthy amount of sexual partners is treated in an amusing manner. As Quinn describes it, she’s not “the slutty roommate” - she’s just sex positive.
Also, kudos on her stellar dead-body acting when she needed to fake her own death. But most of all, she stands out for feeling like the only one of the family who has a more grounded (by Ghostface standards) attitude when she, her brother, and her dad are revealed as the killers. She genuinely seems angry and menacing and vengeance-minded the whole time, while her brother and father are going just a wee bit – okay a lot – bigger.
Quinn’s kill count is probably low, most likely limited only to franchise perennial Gale Weathers’ boyfriend, but her showdown with Gale is memorable, as she comes closer than anyone ever has to finally taking out the intrepid reporter. And on top of that, she’s the first-ever Ghostface to actually get Gale on the phone for a classic Ghostface phone call scene, and that’s something, dang it!
10. Wayne Bailey (Scream VI)
Take it down a notch, Wayne!
Dermot Mulroney is a good actor, but the decision to have him go so very big, performance-wise, when his character Wayne is revealed as the patriarch of a very twisted, homicidal family, briefly knocks the wind out of the sails in Scream VI. It doesn’t mesh with how Wayne had behaved up until that point and it also feels contradictory because Wayne doesn’t personally care about the Stab movies - he just wants revenge for Samantha Carpenter killing his son Richie. But he’s behaving like the wackiest Stab superfan we’ve ever seen.
Wayne rates above his kids though for being the mastermind of the New York City Ghostface killings and for how he used his position as a police detective to further all sorts of Ghostface shenanigans. This goes back even before the family began killing people to when he helped Richie buy artifacts connected to the previous Ghostface murders for his first born’s macabre shrine. He then was able to successfully fake his daughter’s death and cast doubt on Kirby Reed, implicating her as Ghostface (though we’re still not sure if the stuff about Kirby no longer being FBI was true or not?).
On the kill-count front, it seems likely he was the Ghostface who stalked Sam and Tara in that bodega, taking out three different victims back-to-back-to-back in an intense and uncharacteristic group-kill scene unlike any in the series. This included him using a gun, in what’s become a debated fan topic, since that makes him the only Ghostface to use a firearm while in their full masked persona.
So yeah, Wayne did a lot during his Ghostface stint, but did he need to be so Crazy with a capital C about it?!
9. Charlie Walker (Scream 4)
Among Scream’s many murderous partners, there’s pretty much always a Ghostface hierarchy where you can tell who’s the one who’s coming up with most of the plans and calling the shots. And in a couple of cases, that hierarchy gets underlined in a big way by an outright betrayal as it turns out one Ghostface was just the pawn of another. Such is the case with Scream 4’s Charlie, who found out the hard way that his partner Jill had no intention of sharing the falsified “We’re the only survivors!” spotlight with him when she stabbed and killed him.
Up until then, Rory Culkin’s Charlie had been a decent Ghostface. With Jill needing to play her pre-determined role as the seeming main target of this killing spree, it was up to Charlie to carry out most of the actual murders, which he embraced wholeheartedly. And there was a clever hiding-in-plain-sight aspect to making him part of a nerdy movie-loving duo alongside his pal (until he murdered him) Robbie, which gave him more cover than he might have otherwise.
Oh, and though it’s delivered through the ol’ Ghostface voice changer (as said by the ever-great Roger L. Jackson, who’s been the Ghostface alter-ego voice from the start), it’s technically Charlie who has one of the funniest Ghostface lines in the franchise’s history as he gets outright pissed off about being misidentified on the phone as Jill’s ex-boyfriend and yells “This isn’t fucking Trevor!” in exasperation.
8. Mickey Altieri (Scream 2)
Obviously Timothy Olyphant rules, and kudos to Scream 2 for giving one of Hollywood’s greatest modern cowboy types his first high-profile role. But as a Ghostface, Olyphant’s Mickey isn’t exactly a standout.
First and foremost is that he just isn’t in enough of the movie. He’s established early on as one of Sidney’s college friends, but his appearances are rather scattershot, and he rarely gets a moment to stand out - except for voicing his false (in retrospect, of course) suspicions about Sid’s boyfriend, Derek. When he takes off the Ghostface mask, there really isn’t much excitement behind it because of how the movie has sidelined him so much.
That being said, once he is revealed as Ghostface, he gets a couple of strong moments, including his diabolical treatment of Derek, who he pretends is his partner in front of Sid, only to then shoot and kill him. The fact that he made Derek’s last moments extra emotionally agonizing is pretty dang cruel, which gets him some points, because remember, Ghostfaces are bad people!
Also, he’s interesting as the only Ghostface in Scream movie history who wants to be caught as part of his endgame, excited by the prospect of a big televised trial where he’s going to blame the movies for corrupting him. It’s a nice change-up from the norm of wanting to frame someone, which helps him briefly stand out… Except that he was always a pawn in someone else’s game, as proven when he’s oh-so-casually betrayed by fellow Ghostface Nancy Loomis, who guns him down.
7. Roman Bridger (Scream 3)
Played by Scott Foley, Roman’s a tricky one because he’s got some clear trouble spots, starting with the fact that he’s Ghostface in the weakest Scream movie, Scream 3. Also, the big reveal about his identity and his role in past events is a massive retcon that is not always embraced by the fanbase. And on top of that, that reveal is predicated on him telling Sidney who he really is in a movie that never had these two characters meet a single time before he takes off his mask, so from her point of view, he’s just some random guy suddenly showing up to take the spotlight.
Of course, that random guy then quickly explains he’s the brother she never knew she had, the most recent Ghostface who’s been killing his way through Los Angeles, and the guy behind everything in this series, given he’s the one who first pushed Billy Loomis to kill Roman and Sidney’s mother prior to the events of the first film. That last point may be divisive, but it positions him as a key player in the entire series, like it or not.
And then there’s the fact that you have to give Roman some extra credit because he’s the only solo Ghostface in the entire series. He had no partner to rely on or to help cover for him, and was doing it on his own with even greater danger of being caught. That takes initiative!
And jeez, he killed the entire main cast of Stab 3, the movie he was the director of! Think about how crazy that is and how much that would be talked about for the rest of time among infamous Hollywood scandals.
6. Nancy Loomis (Scream 2)
There’s nothing like the love of a mother, which was proven once more when original Ghostface Billy Loomis’ mom Nancy took up her baby boy’s mantle and set out to get revenge on Sidney for killing her son.
As it turned out, Billy must have gotten all of his own natural diabolical serial killer prowess from Momma, because Nancy took to her new mission like a pro. She gave herself a makeover and a new identity as seemingly awkward, small-town reporter Debbie Salt, while simultaneously recruiting her accomplice Mickey on the internet and getting him inserted at Windsor College alongside Sidney. And Mickey was the perfect dupe for her, not realizing she never intended to let him get arrested and have the showy trial he dreamed of.
It seems likely Nancy let Mickey take on most of the actual killings at Windsor, but look, as much as it hurts when fan favorite characters are taken out, Nancy was the one who managed to get the drop on Scream’s first movie geek extraordinaire, Randy Meeks, after he dared disparage her Billy. And when you’re accomplishing that, and bringing the audience that much pain, it’s a notch on your bloody belt.
Plus, Nancy gave us Laurie Metcalf as a Ghostface, and who doesn’t enjoy seeing Roseanne’s Aunt Jackie get homicidal?
5. Amber Freeman (Scream 2022)
There’s an argument to be made for putting Amber above her partner, given that she committed most of the murders in the fifth Scream movie, one of which was an incredibly notable character, and that Scream 5 filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have speculated she was likely the one really “leading from behind,” despite how it might have appeared. However, that latter bit of pondering was never made canon, and she does suffer a bit from just feeling like part of the friend group for much of the film without a lot of moments of her own (an excised plot point about her and Tara Carpenter actually being ex-girlfriends might have both alleviated that but also made her too obvious a suspect).
Still, by the end of the film, we realize Amber is a particularly passionate and cruel Ghostface. And this includes the revelation that she’s the one who pulled off the fan-agonizing move of finally taking out the beloved Dewey Riley after he managed to survive so many other near-fatal attacks before. “It’s an honor” she declared while slicing Dewey open, underlining the significance of what she’s doing.
When she’s revealed as Ghostface, she also stands out for how much future Academy Award-winner Mikey Madison absolutely goes for it as this demented teenager, who mocks Gale and Sidney – though she’ll come to regret that – to their faces with how she killed Dewey, while prematurely declaring “Your story’s over!”
4. Richie Kirsch (Scream 2022)
In a film series that’s always been oh-so meta and self-aware both about the movie tropes it’s trafficking in and how the audience perceives them, along with how that changes through the years, Scream 5’s Richie got to be the avatar for the ugly side of modern fandom in a notably witty and wicked way.
Richie’s motivation for going on a murder spree, along with tricking a woman into thinking he loved her when he really intended to frame her for his crimes? Well, there was a sequel to a movie he loved that he really hated!Who could blame him after that!?
Richie’s plan is to orchestrate a new Ghostface murder spree built around a “story” he thinks will make for a great Stab movie. Then the producers of the franchise will base the next Stab movie on these murders, course-correcting after the loathed Stab 8 dared to stray too far from the formula.
We’re all familiar with how nasty things can quickly get these days when fans feel “betrayed” by a new installment of a franchise they love failing to meet expectations, with some of the most intense folks sounding particularly… heated. From earnestly asking how fandom can possibly be perceived as toxic to the fact that the fictional movie that set him and Amber off was a sequel to a long-running franchise directed by freaking Rian Johnson, the commentary Richie embodies regarding where things can go with overly “enthusiastic” fans in the modern era is very on the nose, and also very funny and perfect for a Scream movie. Richie plotted an intricate murder spree because he's the biggest, most loyal Stab fan ever, and this is how he’ll fix the movies he loves so very much.
Another reason Richie works so well as a Ghostface is that Jack Quaid makes for the perfect seemingly sweet, dorky boyfriend type you hope truly has his girlfriend Sam’s best interests at heart, making it all the worse when he stabs her and reveals the truth. “I know, it’s a bummer it’s me!” he tells her. Which it is, which is also why it’s great.
3. Stu Macher (Scream)
Stu’s just the best! He’s so fun and goofy and likeable in that manner we’ve come to expect from the man portraying him, Matthew Lillard. Well, okay, he is an awful murderer too, but nobody’s perfect.
Ultimately, Stu is clearly the follower in his Ghostface partnership with Billy, who’s calling the shots and personally motivated when it comes to why the first-ever Woodsboro murder spree happens. But you can’t deny Stu didn’t embrace his role with gusto. He was all in, serving as both a perfect sidekick and partner, fully immersed in all of the murder, manipulation, and movie trivia phone calls that came with the territory. Lillard makes Stu a funny, quirky presence throughout the film, but it's his performance in the film’s big reveal sequence and ensuing showdown with Sid where he really gets to shine, as we see just how gleefully deranged and nearly Joker-esque he can be. It’s the kind of Big Crazy Killer vibe that other Ghostfaces are often living in the shadow of.
Oh, and he allowed himself to get grievously injured by Billy as part of their plan to look like the survivors at the end. Of course, Stu didn’t end up reacting so well after Billy stabbed him, which is where that whole likeable/disarmingly funny thing takes center stage again (including some healthy improv-ing from the intrepid Mr. Lillard). Because yes, Stu has other memorable lines like “It’s a scream baby!” and “It was fun!” but his most relatable moment is probably yelling “You hit me with the phone, you dick!” at Billy, along with becoming a blubbering mess and crying “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me!” when he believes Sidney is going to be able to successfully get them arrested. That might not make for a scary Ghostface moment, but it sure is an entertaining one.
2. Jill Roberts (Scream 4)
We know, we know, how can Stu not be number two when he’s so funny and Matthew Lillard is so great!? All of which is absolutely true, but we’re ranking Ghostfaces here and in the Ghostface realm, Stu wasn’t a mastermind. And when it comes to those who took the reins in the Ghostface dynamic, Emma Roberts’ Jill stands tall, despite her short stature.
Jill is as demented a Ghostface as you’ll find, coldly willing to kill all of her high school friends, her cousin Sidney Prescott, and even her own mother in order to achieve her ultimate goal. And that particular goal, to be famous for the sake of being famous, is another time Scream has stood out for shrewdly parodying a particularly online mindset. In fact, Scream 4 feels somewhat ahead of its time in this regard, because Jill’s motivations already worked in 2011, but eerily feel even more part of our zeitgeist these days as we’ve seen so many more people attract huge followings for the most random or inexplicable of reasons.
Jill has one of the best Ghostface reveal sequences ever, both because of her proclamation of why she’s doing what she’s doing – “I don’t need friends, I need fans!” standing out as her most iconic and oft-quoted line – and for how she goes about setting the scene to look like the only survivor of another massacre. Jill may be “remaking” what Billy and Stu did, but she’d doing it in her own impressive manner, from how coldly she kills both her ex-boyfriend Trevor and her partner and secret lover Charlie in order to frame them, to brutally stabbing Sidney. Frankly, she was so close to getting away with it too if she’d just made sure Sid was dead.
But the biggest feat of all is seeing her on her own go about causing all the brutal damage she needs to sell her lone-survivor scenario. From using Trevor’s dead hand to scratch her face and yank out her hair, to bracing a knife against a wall to deeply stab herself, to throwing her entire body through a glass table, Jill is fully committed, just not in the way she should have been if she’d gotten proper psychological testing.
1. Billy Loomis (Scream)
Let’s face it: Billy’s got to be number one. He was the first! Sure, Roman was the one who pushed him into killing Maureen Prescott, but Billy kept going after that with a much larger murder spree thanks to his own psychotic initiative. And presumably he was the one who came up with the whole “let’s wear this cool mask and call people with horror movie trivia questions” thing when the Ghostface murders really kicked in, though perhaps Stu helped with some brainstorming.
In so many ways, Billy really set the template for a Ghostface, which included his cruelly close relationship to Sidney prior to the murders and how diabolical it was that he was pretending to be a loving boyfriend while also the one killing her mother, her friends, and ultimately planning to kill her. And he took it to the next level of manipulation, leaning into and using that he knew he’d be seen as an obvious suspect before getting Stu to fake it so it seemed he himself was attacked, stabbed (and, for a moment it appeared, even killed) right in front of Sidney, both briefly making it seem like there was no way he could be the killer – and make her feel terrible for ever suspecting him – and then making it all the worse when he revealed he actually was the killer moments later.
His impact on the series has been profound, with later killers like Nancy and Roman turning out to be either related to him or directly connected to him. And then things went even further when the fifth and sixth movie introduced a new heroine, Samantha, who was his secret daughter, setting the stage for Skeet Ulrich’s Billy to become the first Ghostface to ever return onscreen in later installments of this supernatural-free series, albeit through Sam’s visions of him.
In Scream VI, when the shrine to all of the Ghostfaces is revealed, it’s Billy’s robe and mask that stands at the center, given an extra bit of reverence above the others. Which is fitting for the guy who first reminded us that we all go a little mad sometimes.
But who do you think is the greatest Ghostface of all time? Vote in our poll, and let’s discuss in the comments!
With Housemarque's new game Saros on the horizon, now is a great time to boot up the developer's previous release, Returnal. If you haven't added this one to your library yet but have been waiting for a good time to grab it, this is your chance: Amazon's dropped its price to $29.83 (see it here).
Considering it usually comes with a price tag of $69.99, this deal saves you 57% on the game overall. It's also just a few dollars away from its lowest price point at the retailer of $24.70. That's not too bad at all. Plus, there's still plenty of time before Saros is released, so the timing of jumping into Returnal couldn't be better. You've plenty of time to get a feel for Housemarque's style of roguelike shooter before jumping into the studio's new take on that formula.
Returnal for $29.83
It's not just the discounted price that makes Returnal worth adding to your library, though. We're very big fans of it, regardless of price. IGN's Mitchell Saltzman said in his review back when it was initially released that the "moment-to-moment gameplay of Returnal is sublime, with a great selection of weapons that each have a wide variety of interesting possible traits, meaningful strategic decisions that can either keep a run afloat or doom it to sink, and punishingly challenging yet rewarding gunplay that is consistently exhilarating."
There's even a selection of PS5 games on sale for $30 or less right now, if you want to see even more game deals in Returnal's discounted price range. And lastly, if you're hoping to play Saros this year, check out our Saros preorder guide to secure a copy so you're ready to start it up on release day.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
In the run-up to Resident Evil Requiem’s release this week, the official Japanese X account for Resident Evil has come up with a quirky way to promote the game. On Tuesday, it made a joke post that Resident Evil’s nefarious pharmaceutical company Umbrella Corp. was filing a lawsuit against the real-life Nissin Noodles over their similarity to Umbrella Noodles.
Umbrella Noodles have appeared in several Resident Evil games. They were an item in 2003’s Resident Evil Outbreak and, more recently, showed up on posters around Raccoon City in the Resident Evil 3 remake. Umbrella Noodles’ packaging is a spoof on the red and white lettering of Nissin’s Cup Noodles, a cheeky Easter Egg for players who noticed. Real-life Japanese food company Nissin was founded by instant noodle inventor Momofuku Ando in 1948. After putting the world’s first instant ramen on the market in 1958, Nissin has been selling their Cup Noodles ever since 1971.
However, on February 24, Resident Evil’s official X account posted an announcement that Umbrella Corp. had submitted a complaint to the Raccoon City District Court, alleging that Nissin’s noodles significantly infringe upon Umbrella Corp.’s intellectual property rights regarding Umbrella Noodles. It’s worth noting that even if Umbrella Corp. were a real company, it set up shop in 1968 with an initial focus on biological weaponry, meaning that it’s unlikely it developed Umbrella Noodles before Nissin’s offering!
However, if there’s one thing S.T.A.R.S members can attest to, it’s that Umbrella Corp. does not give up easily. The official Japanese Resident Evil account then escalated the drama by posting a video featuring an Umbrella Corp. scientist apologizing to those who accidentally purchased “imposer” Nissin Noodles instead of Umbrella Noodles, and explaining how Nissin "copied" the recipe.
As evidence, they allege that they were able to recreate Umbrella Noodles from Nissin Cup Noodles with a 99.9% success rate, simply by adding entrails and a herby, mostly basil-based sauce to Nissin’s product (although it made Umbrella employees who ate it a little itchy... probably best not to ask where those entrails are from). Sharing the video, Nissin clapped back with, "However you look at it, you're the ones doing the copying!"
Adding even more hot water to the situation, Japanese shoppertainment company Yume Group (who last week released a bizarre ultra-limited edition of Resident Evil Requiem bundled with exercise equipment, which sold out almost instantly), launched the over-the-top Umbrella Noodles/Resident Evil Requiem ad below. A terrified Grace Ashcroft comes across the Japanese infomercial duo casually munching on and singing the praises of Umbrella Noodles (the ad notes that Umbrella Noodles are not a real product, although Resident Evil Requiem is a real game).
Soon after, the official account for Nissin Cup Noodles reacted, sharing the ad with a, “What the hell is this?”
The fake lawsuit and sudden focus on Umbrella Noodles sparked much amusement from Japanese-speaking commenters. “No way can Umbrella beat Nissin. You think a Tyrant can stop a cheese alien?” joked one fan, referencing the mascot that sometimes appears in Nissin Cup Noodle commercials (like this one from 2001). “Umbrella Noodles are delicious, yeah? Although a huge eye’ll appear on your shoulder the day after you eat them,” quipped another.
Given all this sudden focus on Umbrella Noodles, it seems likely that they will pop up in Resident Evil Requiem too. Perhaps Leon and Grace will be able to find Umbrella Noodles in Resident Evil Requiem and chow down on them as they explore the ruins of Raccoon City.
"Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation," IGN wrote in our full Resident Evil Requiem review, which returned a 9/10 score.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
Writer and director Damien Leone has issued an update on horror movie sequel Terrifier 4, addressing what he called “speculation and false information” doing the rounds online.
In a post on Facebook, Leone confirmed that the Terrifier 4 script is “very close” to completion, and that pre-production is set for this spring. However, there’s still no official release date.
“This is the most precious script I’ve written for many reasons, but it’s also the most challenging,” Leone explained. “There’s a lot of material to tackle and a lot riding on this one, not just creatively but emotionally.
“We’ve built something special together over the years. The cast and crew who have been here since the beginning deserve a finale that honors their dedication, and the fans who’ve championed this franchise deserve something unforgettable.
“In all honesty, I’m thrilled with the way it’s turning out and confident it will deliver. I will officially announce when the script is complete on my social media pages which also means we’ll be moving into pre-production. If you don’t see it coming from or confirmed by me, then it’s not official.
“Thank you for your patience. I promise it will be worth the wait!”
It’s worth noting that Leone calls Terrifier 4 the “finale” here, confirming plans to end the franchise with the fourth entry.
Terrifier began life in full-blown movie form in 2016, and revolves around demonic serial killer Art the Clown. 2022’s Terrifier 2 was a box office success (check out IGN's Terrifier 2 review here), and Terrifier 3 followed in 2024, bringing in even more money from theaters (here's our Terrifier 3 review).
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.
As with other recent Resident Evil games, Requiem includes a list of challenges which add completion points to your playthrough score. At the bottom of the list is the appropriately-named 'The Final Puzzle' — which is proving to be something of a headscratcher.
IGN has a work-in-progress guide to The Final Puzzle where significant progress has been made through the challenge's convoluted early stages, which feel more complex than anything seen in any other Resident Evil game to date — and, seemingly, with still some way left to go.
Exactly what the final outcome or reward for the challenge might be remains unknown — but as the game continues its launch around the world, the hunt for answers here will undoubtedly become a major point of community focus.
The game's own description for the challenge offers only the vaguest of hints, to "Let the sweet pair hear the voice." The mechanics of the puzzle, or at least its first part, appear to rely on players picking up or examining a variety of objects throughout the game to determine fragments of a code.
Requiem's trail of clues relies on players picking up a specific severed hand which, if obtained, can also be scanned later on to provide a hidden RNA code in a blood sample analysis machine. Other items also hide their own codes, providing (with a bit more puzzling work) a version of that RNA sequence that can be plugged into a safe that features buttons labelled with a Star, Sun and Moon.
After that... well, it's here the trail has gone cold, though likely not for long. We'll be keeping an eye on further progress made throughout the next few days, as players uncover further steps. For now, however, it's just fun to see that the game hides this kind of puzzle.
"Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation," IGN wrote in our full Resident Evil Requiem review, which returned a 9/10 score.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Amazon’s Woot store has been known to offer a bunch of deals in the past, but it might just have outdone itself this time around with its brand new "Video Games For All!" sale.
Not only is the retailer offering discounts on games like 2025 hits Monster Hunter Wilds and Pokémon Legends Z-A, but it’s got a handy "LEVEL20" discount code that makes them even cheaper. But, there's a limited time left to take advantage, as the promo code will expire by 11:59 PM CT on February 27.
That LEVEL20 promo code makes games like Monster Hunter Wilds just $13.59 (just wow!). Perfect for testing out the latest performance enhancements on all platforms and taking on the latest endgame content.
Legends Z-A, on the other hand, is just $35.92 on Switch 1. IGN's Rebekah Valentine gave the game an 8 out of 10 in her review last year, saying “Pokémon Legends: Z-A finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokémon’s 3D era, with a fun setting to explore, a well-written story, and a total battle system overhaul that works surprisingly well.”
You can upgrade to the Switch 2 version digitally as well for just $10 after making your purchase, making this a certified bargain.
Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are just $47.19 for the pair, while if you’ve not played Breath of the Wild yet, it’s $35.19. That's just the tip of the iceberg as well, as there's some unbelievable discounts all round.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
It doesn’t sound like Scream 7 is the end for the horror franchise — Neve Campbell, who plays protagonist Sidney Prescott, already has a “great” idea for Scream 8, and it will be made as long as Scream 7 is a success.
Speaking to Deadline, Scream 7 writer and director Kevin Williamson confirmed that he and Campbell started discussing Scream 8 as they worked on this new movie.
“When you’re sitting on the set at 3am in the morning, you’re like, ‘Well, what would Scream 8 be about?’ And you just start spit-balling,” Williamson said. “And Neve had this great idea, and everyone seemed to run with it So yeah, if this movie works and people want it, we’re here for the fans. So, if they want it, we’ll certainly give it to them.”
Early indications are that Scream 7 is set for box office success. The Hollywood Reporter said Scream 7 is projected to debut with a 3-day total that lands between $40 and $45 million at the domestic box office, up on prior projections.
According to Variety, Campbell secured a nearly $7 million deal for Scream 7, whereas Scream mainstay Courteney Cox was paid $2 million.
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.
YouTube’s ‘Beyond Dreams’ has shared a video, showcasing Battlefield 6 running at 8K with Reshade Ray Tracing. Battlefield 6 came out without any native Ray Tracing effects. So, by using Complete RT, PC gamers can enhance the game’s visuals. Complete RT is one of the best Reshade Mods. It adds Ray Tracing Restir Global illumination, … Continue reading Take a Look at Battlefield 6 at 8K With Reshade Ray Tracing→
Marvel Rivals players are asking NetEase Games to take action after the emergence of an unofficial bounty website triggered fears that it could harm the community it’s supposedly trying to protect.
Fans of the hero shooter sounded the alarm when third-party site Intlist.org went live on February 22. Established by Marvel Rivals content creator and X/Twitter user EchoRivals, its official Discord page says the goal is to give players an avenue to name those who intentionally sabotage or “throw” multiplayer matches and “put a price on their head.”
Tired of griefers getting away with it? 🚨
I built @IntlistOrg - post a bounty on any thrower. The community queues in, claims it, and earns 80% of the pool. 💰
⚡ Free to post 🎮 6 games supported 💵 Payouts via PayPal
“Put a bounty on griefers & throwers,” the first post on its X account says, promising a system that offers an 80% payout for those who successfully throw matches in retaliation. “Someone queues in, throws it back, gets paid.”
Intlist allows any player to post bounties related to disruptive behavior across seven games: Deadlock, Overwatch, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Dota 2, and, of course, Marvel Rivals. The site has done its best to sell the pitch as a simple solution to a common issue, but as Marvel Rivals fans have pointed out, there a number of concerns going unaddressed.
Some have already called out how a widely used bounty website could cause a domino effect that sees not only griefers punished but everyone else, too. One Reddit user calling attention to the issue says they’ve already seen an increase in sabotaged matches for every kind of player, warning that “now every game is people throwing each other’s games.”
“Something tells me throwing the game of someone who throws already is not going to annoy anyone but the four unfortunate randoms on the team,” another popular reply from a fan says. “I do not see the point of this like at all.”
The Intlist account replied to the criticism above: “Collateral damage is an unfortunate reality of war.”
Another matter brought to the table by fans online revolves around how the community defines who is and isn’t sabotaging matches, as well as Intlist’s verification process. The primary purpose of the site was already facing scrutiny at launch, as players suspected there may be too few safeguards to keep well-meaning players from falling victim to retaliation through the bounty system. Reports that notable Marvel Rivals content creators like Jay3 had joined the list of offenders only added to these concerns.
Meanwhile, as of the publication of this story, Intlist has been pulled offline as the team backing it teases that “something big is coming.” Discord messages from EchoRivals paint a clearer picture, explaining that the site was locked down after they “detected unauthorized access to our database from a single bad actor.”
“A limited number of email addresses tied to bounty posts were exposed,” the post adds. “No passwords, payment info, or plaintext IP addresses were compromised - we don't store any of those. The site is temporarily offline while we lock everything down - we were not taken down, one person just decided to ruin it for everyone temporarily. We're also working on some upgrades while we're at it.”
EchoRivals insists their intention is only to address problems that have plagued the competitive gaming community for years — Marvel Rivals included. Like so many other online games, the comic book character-filled spinoff has seen a consistent flow of reports of griefing activity since its launch in late 2024. The real-world story known as the Kingsman drama also seemingly led to an influx of reports of thrown matches recently, as less serious players have attempted to spoil fair play in the name of a quick joke.
“I see a lot of throwers in general now who die a couple times and then say they’re just playing for the vibes while AFKing or throwing,” one Reddit user said earlier this week, referencing events related to the Kingsman drama.
“I stopped playing the entirety of Season 6 because it just became so unbearable. Can’t believe people are still doing this stupid s**t a month later.”
Intlist targets players across a variety of experiences, but the site has expressed specific interest in Marvel Rivals. One of its posts goes as far as to promise to “gladly shut down” if NetEase bans nefarious players and fixes its Engagement Optimized Matchmaking (EOMM) — a tactic the studio has denied using in the past.
Many are calling for the website to be removed as they fear how it could affect all players, while others argue that something must be done to combat griefers. However, it seems almost everyone in between is asking the developers to step in.
“People resorting to soft doxing is kinda wild,” one fan argued. “I dont understand why [NetEase] refuses do to anything when they can clearly code a bare minimum system to pick up lord farmers. Profits. Its for profits thats why.”
“Because what we need in games is more throwers and not a system that rewards positivity instead,” another X user said sarcastically.
Marvel Rivals is currently in the midst of Season 6, which added Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone as playable characters. NetEase has yet to address any long-term plans to deal with players looking to ruin the fun for others.
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).
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s long-awaited Techmarine update is out now across all platforms as part of patch 12.0. It adds the new Techmarine class, a new melee weapon, a new Operation, DLCs, and balance updates.
The Techmarine is the big draw here. The new playable class — the first to hit the explosive third-person action game since launch — has a unique Servo-Gun ability that locks onto enemies in a line of sight and automatically fires at them while the Techmarine continues fighting in melee or range. It also has access to the new Omnissian Axe, which can deal massive damage to both a single target with its standard attacks and to surrounding enemies with its finishing heavy attacks.
“We hope you will really like the new class,” game director Dmitry Grigorenko said in a post on publisher Focus Entertainment’s website. “We've tried to make sure that this class plays differently from the rest.”
A number of changes were made based on feedback from the recent PTS, outlined in the patch notes below. “We've tried to address most of it, but there are some big changes that we didn't have time to implement,” Grigorenko explained. “There will be more improvements and perks reworks in upcoming patches.”
Elsewhere, patch 12.0 heralds the addition of Space Marine 2's first voice pack, which costs $4.99. This is not included in the Season Pass (and thus has upset some players who believe it should be part of the premium DLC package). It includes 450 re-recorded voicelines and a unique Space Marine Head cosmetic for each of the following Space Marine chapters: Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Black Templars.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Techmarine update 12.0 patch notes:
NEW FEATURES
New Class: Techmarine
We are introducing a new playable class: the Techmarine! This mighty technician specialises in crowd control and area defense, handling multiple combat tasks simultaneously. This is primarily possible with his Servo-Gun ability. When activated, it locks onto enemies in a line of sight and automatically fires at them while the Techmarine continues fighting in melee or range. Furthermore, the Servo-Gun allows executing Gun Strikes without interrupting other actions.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Fixed “Furious Gun Strike” prestige perk not activating properly.
"Revive Surge" prestige perk has been replaced with "Indomitable": “You become Invulnerable to Damage while activating Tarantula Sentry Gun”
“Chained Headshots" prestige perk now correctly increases headshot damage.
"Volatile Sentry" prestige perk damage boost increased from 40% to 1000%.
"Replenishing Salvo" perk cooldown reduced from 90 to 75.
Fixed “Lethal Perimeter” perk, it now correctly reduces the energy per shot for all types of Servo-Guns.
"Arc Cleave" perk damage bonus decreased from 25% to 20%.
“Explosive Enfilade” perk now works with Sanctified Wrath equipment.
"Augmented Tarantula" perk's damage boost increased from 25% to 30%.
"Augmented Tarantula" perk now correctly increases the turret's ammo.
"Methodical Destruction" perk now correctly debuffs enemies.
"Designated target" perk now correctly debuffs enemies.
"Omnissian Axe Deflection" perk duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds.
“Explosives Adept” perk damage increased from 20% to 35%.
"Lethal Perimeter" perk using 50% less energy per shot instead of 20%.
Servo-gun damage now correctly scales with difficulty.
Precision Servo-gun damage reduced by 10%.
Bolter Servo-gun cooldown reduced by 20%.
Game Director’s note:
We hope you will really like the new class. We've tried to make sure that this class plays differently from the rest. Thank you for your feedback on him from PTS. We've tried to address most of it, but there are some big changes that we didn't have time to implement. There will be more improvements and perks reworks in upcoming patches.
New Weapon: Omnissian Axe
With the Techmarine class, you will also get the chance to try out its signature weapon, the Omnissian Axe! This weapon is capable of dealing massive damage to both a single target with its standard attacks and to surrounding enemies with its finishing heavy attacks. And as a starting heavy attack, you can perform a powerful charge attack that can hit all enemies in its path.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Improved responsiveness of Omnissian Rush attacks.
Sweeping Whirl damage increased by 100%.
The third light attack in the combo now correctly breaks the enemy's guard.
"Armour Siphon” perk now activates properly.
Fixed the amount of HP which taken when using the "Iron Surge" perk.
"Executioner" perk duration increased to 5 seconds.
Added an energy explosion effect for "Explosive Strike" perk.
"Mighty Blast" perk second explosion deals correct damage.
"Expose" perk is now correctly applied.
"Cleaving Strike" perk no longer triggers environmental hazards explosions.
New PvE Content: Tarantula Sentry Gun
Techmarines can also locate and activate Sentry Turrets in PvE missions. These Tarantula-type emplacements offer automatic suppressive fire support against nearby enemies. Sentry Turrets have limited ammo and would go into standby mode after running out of it, but a Tech Marine can re-awaken them to restore their supplies.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Fixed double HP and damage scaling by difficulties.
Increased spawn rate of turrets by ~50%.
Added more potential spawn areas for turrets.
Increased range of turret outline for better visibility.
Game Director’s note:
Rest assured that turrets are still going to be very effective.
Sentries (along with lots of other cool stuff 😉) will be added in Siege in the next big content update.
New PvE Map: Disruption
Space Marine forces have been deployed to the Hive City of Avarax. Their initial mission is to reinforce the overwhelmed Cadian defenses against a massive Tyranid swarm. Subsequently, they will join a Dreadnought to eliminate Thousand Sons forces that have penetrated the city's lower levels.
New PvE Equipment: Restorative Stimms
The Restorative Stimms, a new PvE healing Equipment, has been added, encouraging aggressive playstyles. Upon use, it restores an initial small amount of health, then a large amount of Contested Health over a period of time.
New Customisation Feature: Shared Heads for PvE / PvP Characters
Added an option to pick any face for PvE and PvP characters in Armour Customisation. Class restrictions no longer apply (i.e you can equip Assault’s head on the Heavy)
New Tech Feature: Siege Host Migration
Supported Host Migration for Siege Mode: If a server crash occurs, the game will continue on a new server from the last saved state.
New Feature: VO Selector
Added an option to pick and customise voices for PvE and PvP characters. You’ll find the Voice Selector in the “Edit Armour” menu of the Armouring Hall.
New Battlefield Conditions
21 new Battlefield Conditions have been added to expand the variety of daily and weekly Stratagems.
Custom Stratagems Mode for PvE
Players can now create private matches with any combination of Battlefield Conditions. This allows players to customize their games, set their own Stratagems or simply enjoy some light-hearted carnage (note that all rewards will be disabled in Custom Stratagems mode).
New Heroic Items
Added 3 Heroic Weapons:
Argent Edge (Combat Knife - Fencing type)
Ultima Ratio (Omnissian Axe - Fencing type)
Deathwatch (Heavy Bolt Rifle with Grenade Launcher)
Carcharodons Chapter Pack (Unlike the other Cosmetic Packs, the Carcharodons Cosmetic Pack does not add a new Heraldry page to unlock the cosmetic items. Instead, the armour pieces will be automatically unlocked and added to your armour sets once you purchase the pack.)
Not included in any Season Pass:
3 Custom Heads + VO for PvE/ PvP Characters. (Space Wolves / Blood Angels / Black Templars)
GAMEPLAY AND BALANCING TWEAKS
PvE Perks
Tactical
Balanced Distribution: Both negative and positive effects are increased from 10% to 15%.
Kraken Penetrator Rounds: All bolter weapons now deal 50% more damage with body shots.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Kraken Penetrator Rounds now correctly apply to bolter rounds only.
Game Director’s note:
We hear your feedback regarding bolters doing too little body damage.
This behavior is kind of intentional. The reason is that Space Marine 2’s engagement distances and recoil are extremely low, while average enemy size is rather big. It's very difficult to completely miss your enemies. This is why the only skill element of ranged combat is to aim for the head, and this is why head shots are so important for bolt weapons.
That being said, I agree that we've overtuned headshots way too much, especially with how different perks and multipliers stack with each other. We will reduce the gap between body shots and head shots. But it's not going to be as easy as applying this perk by default to everybody.
We need to adjust base damage of all bolter weapons and then adjust damage sensitivity on all enemies and do it case by case. So, a big overhaul is coming in this area rather soon, but do keep in mind that aiming for the head will remain the proper way of using bolters.
Sniper
Efficient Readiness: Now the effect lasts 5 seconds after deactivation.
Ambush: Now forces stagger to the enemies.
Vantage Point: Added an indication when ready.
Assault
Squad Cohesion: Effect is increased from 10% to 15%.
Hammer of Wrath: Is now a Prestige Perk replacing “Commendation”.
Commendation: Removed.
Strong Strike: New perk, taking the original place of “Hammer of Wrath”: “Hitting an enemy with an attack after a Jump Pack Dash restores Jump Pack Ability Charge by 1. Cooldown 10 seconds.”
Winged Fury: Now works with all stances of Power Sword.
Firearms in PvE
Bolt Rifle
Base damage is increased by 10% for versions:
Drogos Reclamation - Beta (Artificer)
Ophelian Liberation - Beta (Relic)
Bolt Carbine (Marksman Version)
Base damage is increased by 11% for versions:
Drogos Reclamation Marksman (Artificer)
Ophelian Liberation Marksman (Relic)
Inferno Pistol
Gunstrike damage is increased by 22%.
Volkite Pistol
Gunstrike damage is increased by 9%.
Sanctified Wrath Reliquary
Bonus to Melee Damage is increased from 25% to 35%.
Effect duration is increased from 15 to 20 seconds.
Melee in PvE
Damage of all Artificer and Relic Balanced type melee weapons was increased by about 15% on average.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Heroic Chainsword and Power Sword damage increased by 10%.
PvP
Fixed restoring armour by hitting an enemy for Power Axe.
Fixed issue with 3rd attack in Power Sword combo dealing too much damage.
Blindness effect from Shock Grenade is decreased from 2 sec to 1,5 sec.
Rewards
Siege Mode: Rebalanced rewards for waves completion first 5 waves grant less XP, while later waves grant more XP.
Stratagems: Hard difficulty Stratagems no longer grant XP.
Gameplay QoL
Contested health no longer fades away during grab animations
Rebalanced melee attacks that have multiple attacks: Now they restore contested health with each strike instead of just the first one.
Slightly adjusted hitboxes of a few melee attacks so they would connect more easily against large enemies.
Fixed an issue where Bolt Sniper Rifle and Las Fusil would miss their targets at extremely long range. Aim Assist at such distances has also been slightly increased.
Improved properties of bullet magnetism for Chaos enemy NPC: Chaos Spawns , Rubric Marines, Tzaangors, Terminators. Making them slightly easier to headshot at medium and long ranges.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Jump Pack dash can be used to cancel any player melee animation.
Improved controls responsiveness after using Jump Pack Dash attacks.
CUSTOMISATION
Added and updated a few Champion parts to the Custom Armour Set pieces:
Added Ultramarine Champion Tabard to Tactical
Added Imperial Fist Champion Tabard to Tactical
Added robes to Dark Angels Champion Bulwark's chest
Added Dark Angels Champion shoulder pads to Heavy
Updated White Scars Champion chest on Tactical to include belt accessories
Added Black Templars Champion shoulder pads to Heavy
Added Blood Angels Champion shoulder pads and backpack to Bulwark
Added the option to switch and apply Heroic Weapons skins to other weapons (not applicable to special weapons i.e combi-weapon).
Lots of minor customisation fixes for both Loyalists and Chaos.
🟡 Changes from PTS:
Added 4 more shared customisation slots.
Added missing unlock conditions for Power Axe skins in PvP.
LEVELS
Lots of minor fixes with level geometry.
ENEMIES
Lots of minor fixes with animations.
GENERAL FIXES
Fixed: The plasma weapon perk "Fast venting" reduced the cooling by ~7.5% instead of 15% as announced in the tooltip.
Fixed a bug with the Heroic Heavy Bolt Pistol not interrupting enemy reinforcements with body shots.
Fixed a bug with the Controller Aim Assist strength depending on camera FOV.
Lots of minor bug fixes.
Lots of minor localisation bug fixes.
Lots of minor UI and sound fixes.
TECH
Crash fixes and general stability improvements.
Memory optimisations.
Minor performance improvements.
Minor loading times optimization.
General connectivity improvements.
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.
Resident Evil Requiem has finally arrived, ready to provide you with hours and hours of survival horror action, in which you can test your mettle as both Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy. Much like its modern predecessors, Requiem boasts a reasonably stacked campaign, but just how long is it? Here, we’ll let you know exactly how many hours it took different members of the IGN team to finish the game, and what they prioritised doing with that time.
How Long is Resident Evil Requiem?
Our fastest player finished the game in 4.5 hours.
Our “slowest” player finished the game in 16 hours.
Everyone plays games differently, so read on for more details about how everyone played, how long it took to reach the credits, and how much extra time players spent exploring. Once you've finished the game yourself, be sure to submit your times on our sister website, How Long To Beat, and see how your time compares!
Jesse Gomez - Senior Video Producer
Completion Time: 8 hours and 59 minutes on Standard (Modern) / 4 hours and 38 minutes on Insanity.
Shy of just under nine hours, my first playthrough of Resident Evil Requiem consisted of meticulously hunting down every single Mr. Raccoon collectable, reading as many files as I could (I missed just three of the 75 available to find), and relishing in the blood-soaked glory of Leon's vast, yet costly arsenal.
If I wasn't so engrossed by exploring every nook and cranny of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and beyond for secrets, I'm sure I could’ve shaved an hour or two off my playtime. For my second playthrough, though, I cut that time practically in half. I dove into a run on Insanity difficulty right after hitting credits and, armed with knowledge of objectives and environment layouts from my first playthrough, I blitzed through it all in just over four hours and a half hours. Such speed does come with some hiccups, though; to Grace's dismay, I did get munched on a few times by the many monstrosities that stalk the care centers' halls.
Dale Driver - Associate Director, Video Programming
Completion Time: 16 hours on Standard (Modern)
I hit credits 16 hours into my playthrough of Resident Evil Requiem after choosing what I assume to be the “good” ending! I played through the game on the standard modern difficulty; the hardest option available out of the gate that doesn’t demand you deal with Ink Ribbons taking up inventory space.
I was quite thorough during my playthrough, making sure I got all the antique coins and all the safes' codes, and generally trying not to leave anything behind. When I got to Raccoon City later in the game, I spent a decent amount of time revisiting the classic locations and soaking up the nostalgia.
I did have an advantage that many first-time players won’t have, which I assume might have cut an hour or two from my playthrough. I’d previously played through the majority of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center section for IGN’s preview of Resident Evil Requiem, so when it came to that section I already knew what I needed to find and where it was hidden. That certainly sped up the early hours for me.
So far, I’ve only finished the game once, but I definitely plan to dive back in for an Insanity run and see what I missed!
Tristan Ogilvie - Senior Video Editor + Reviewer
Completion Time: 10 hours on Standard (Modern)
It took me just over 10 hours to roll credits on Resident Evil Requiem, however that was to arrive at the shorter and what I consider to be the worse of its two possible endings. Man, I hate that ending so much! So, I immediately reloaded my save game to play through the other, better, ending, which added close to another 30 minutes onto my playtime.
I opted to play Requiem on the Standard (Modern) difficulty setting, mainly because I didn’t want to be restricted to using ink ribbons in order to save my game during Grace’s sections like you are on the Standard (Classic) setting. As the parent of two young kids who are liable to disrupt me at any moment and for no good reason, I need to have the ability to save my game without any restrictions.
However, I am now playing a second time through on Standard (Classic) and taking my time with it a bit more. I’ve still got a number of small things like notes and Mr. Raccoon bobbleheads to track down, as well as a few areas here and there tucked away in the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center that I didn’t fully explore the first time through.
I’m too much of a coward to tackle the game a third time on the Insanity difficulty setting, however if Capcom ends up adding a Mercenaries mode to Requiem at a later date I’ll come charging back harder than a zombie chef with the smell of blood in his nostrils.
Matt Purslow - Executive Editor of Features
Completion Time: 11 Hours on Standard (Modern)
I completed Resident Evil Requiem in exactly 11 hours. And, if you’re planning to do a pretty “regular” playthrough, I expect you’ll clock up a similar playtime. While I didn’t scour every last corner, bookshelf, and drawer for the most fiendishly hidden treasures and lore drops, I was reasonably thorough in my exploration of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and the locations that await beyond it. I scavenged enough currency to buy a healthy selection of upgrades, ensuring both Grace and Leon were well equipped for the dangers they faced, but by the time credits rolled there were still guns that could be further modified and stats that could be improved. I unlocked some safes, but there are still several left to crack in a second playthrough. I read plenty of documents, and so learned many of the story’s extra details, but there are still mysteries to be solved by finding the papers I missed.
11 hours is pretty typical for a Resident Evil game, but relatively slender compared to many of today’s massive, RPG-style games, and so a second playthrough is certainly on the cards. I not only plan to gather what I missed, but also play with the opposite perspectives of Requiem’s default set up – I’m excited to see what exploring Rhodes Hill as Grace in third person is like, and taking on Leon’s sections as a first-person shooter. That’ll surely clock up another dozen hours.
Brian Altano - Executive Producer
Completion Time: 12 Hours on Standard (Classic)
It took me around 12 and a half hours to beat Resident Evil Requiem on the Standard (Classic) difficulty setting, in which Leon can save the game infinitely at pretty much every save station, while Grace needs to find (or craft) limited, finite ink ribbons, just like in the classic Resident Evil games.
I’m a huge fan of the series and I had a hunch I’d like this game, but I didn’t expect to practically adore it. I found myself exploring every inch of it for secrets, collectibles, easter eggs, and more. Ultimately I missed a few on my first run through the game, but then immediately started a second and third playthrough after initially rolling credits the first time in an effort to find everything.
There are some really fun post-game options tied to beating the campaign with specific parameters (like finishing it without using a single healing item), plus a couple of other little challenges I’m excited to try. There’s one specific Mr. Raccoon bobblehead I definitely wouldn’t have found without the help of IGN’s guides guru, Brendan Graeber, so if you’re a completionist who doesn’t want to miss anything on your first trek through the story, be sure to give our walkthrough a look. Then there’s the unlockable “Insanity” difficulty that I absolutely can’t wait to repeatedly get my butt kicked in.
All in all, I’ll probably put about 40 hours into Resident Evil Requiem, a number that will only go up if Capcom decides to add a Mercenaries mode and additional story DLC post launch. I really love this game!
Modder ‘Zzyxzz’ has released a new cool mod for Fallout 4 to improve its dismemberment system by bringing an engine-level gore overhaul. This is a mod that a lot of Fallout 4 fans will love. So, let’s take a closer look at it. The Dynamic Dismember System Mod transforms combat into something far more reactive … Continue reading Fallout 4 Got a Dynamic Dismember System Overhaul→
Magic: The Gathering will kick off its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set this weekend with a prerelease window before launch next week, but the notoriously elusive Collector Boosters are now back in stock at Amazon.
Not only can you find a box in stock (which in itself is a small miracle), but it’s discounted down to $424.93. That nets you twelve packs - it's pricey, but potentially worth it.
Save on MTG Collector Boosters For The New TMNT Set
For those new to the game, Collector Boosters offer the rarest cards in the Ninja Turtles-themed set, and are ideal for anyone looking for unique art treatments.
Will you get ‘better’ cards? No, not necessarily, but you’re more likely to find cards with higher resale value, hence why they cost an MSRP of $37.99 per pack. For anyone looking to play Magic, the aptly-named Play Boosters are a better bet.
While Play Boosters aren’t as cheap as they were last week, there are other TMNT products on sale.
Magic: The Gathering's TMNT Collector Booster Box preorders are in stock at Amazon... again! (Out March 6)
Amazon also has a great deal on Play Boosters for the game’s current set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, which you can find right here.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
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