No need to dig through digital shelves this week; some sick deals have landed across all major platforms, with prices low enough to make your backlog quake in fear. Whether you're into lightsabers, loot, or just causing utter chaos as a goat, there’s something here to tempt all types of bargain hunters.

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In retro news, I'm celebrating S.W.A.T. 4's 20th birthday. My lasting memories of this Irrational Games shooter are of no checkpoints, having to abide by strict "baddies have to draw first" rules, and the randomisation of hostages and enemies (skill, numbers, arsenal, and morale). The spiritual successor to this, Ready or Not, is well worth targeting.

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Spoilers of course follow for The White Lotus Season 3 finale, “Amor Fati.”

Man, of course it wound up being Chelsea.

It’s become a tradition at this point for fans of Mike White’s HBO/Max series, The White Lotus. You spend the whole season trying to puzzle out who’s going to die, hoping certain characters won’t be the one(s) to get it, but in the end it’s the people who definitely didn’t deserve to go… who wind up going.

That’s not to say that any of the characters on The White Lotus actually deserve death. (Although some certainly need to face justice.) Sure, someone like Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff is hilarious but also awful, but often creator-writer-director White manages to evoke sympathy in us for even the seemingly most loathsome characters. (Patrick Schwarzenegger’s Saxon, the protein-shake-guzzling son of Victoria, is almost tragic in his final scene with Chelsea here, for example.)

But then there are the characters you love because they’re so, well, nice compared to most everyone else. And that’s where Aimee Lou Wood’s Chelsea came in this season. As the always smiling girlfriend of Walton Goggins’ troubled Rick Hatchett, Chelsea, in all her astrology reading, chipper chattering, and undefatigable love for Rick, seemed to have figured out something about the universe that evaded most of the other characters on the show. The episode title sums it up: “Amor Fati,” which as Chelsea describes it, means “you have to embrace your fate, good or bad. Whatever will be will be.”

Of course, Chelsea absolutely should not have been the one to take a stray bullet in the White Lotus finale, and of course that’s exactly what happened to her. Just as Murray Bartlett’s Armond was accidentally stabbed in Season 1 because of a dumb feud and Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya died in Season 2 in a ridiculous fall after she managed to take out all of her would-be assassins, Chelsea didn’t deserve to die. But she did. “Amor Fati.”

Anyway, while the big mystery of the season is always “who’s going to be murdered,” White basically showed his hand this time in the scene where Rick finally returns from Bangkok. He had headed there to try to put his inner demons to rest by confronting the man (Scott Glenn) who he thought had killed his father. Meanwhile, Chelsea had waited for him the past couple of episodes, fending off the advances of Saxon – despite being tempted otherwise at one point – because she loved him. The messed-up, kind of an a-hole (but not, and I quote Star-Lord, “100% a dick”) Rick seemed to barely notice her half the time in their relationship. But as Chelsea spotted him and ran to Rick on the beach, there was no denying that they were fated to be together. “At this point we’re linked,” Chelsea would later say, also during that Amor Fati chat. “If a bad thing happens to you, it happens to me.”

There’s something about the way White shoots that moment of Chelsea rejoining Rick on the beach. It’s just the one shot, which lasts about one second, of Aimee Lou Wood running towards the camera, but her joy at seeing him and his reaction to her cinched for me that she (and probably they) were doomed. She’s too pure to make it out of this place.

The actress telegraphed her fate a bit when IGN’s Michael Peyton spoke to her and The White Lotus cast at the start of the season: “Chelsea gone wrong could be Tanya. There is that overtrust. But she's got more robustness, so I feel like she wouldn't go down that route hopefully.” Uh, sorry Aimee…

By the climactic scene where the shoot-out teased in Episode 1 finally happens, we learn that Rick and Chelsea indeed are both killed. Chelsea catches that stray bullet – we don’t even see it happen, just her lying thereafterwards, and as Rick carries her body away, he’s shot from behind and falls into the surrounding pond. Both of their bodies float on the surface of the water, side by side, and yep, they’re together forever. Somehow, I think Chelsea would have wanted it that way.

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I’m not entirely convinced Dogubomb didn’t develop Blue Prince as a personal gift to me, specifically. This exceedingly clever puzzler mixes together a shortlist of my top game genres and concepts: First-person puzzling with a straightforward facade that hides a seemingly bottomless pit of secrets, roguelite runs that perfectly balance permanent improvements with the growth of your own skills, drafting mechanics that capitalize on the best parts of deckbuilders without the baggage that comes with actually being one, and even tile-based map building reminiscent of my favorite board game, Carcassone. Even if there are things in that pile of Tom Stuff that don’t excite you as much as they do me, the combination comes together beautifully. I’m still rabidly peeling back the layers of this onion after dozens of hours, but I’m already certain Blue Prince has secured its place as an all-time puzzle great.

You play as Simon, a teenage boy who has inherited the stately mansion of his well-respected and somewhat eccentric great uncle, but may only claim that inheritance if he can figure out how to navigate the ever-shifting halls of the estate in order to find a hidden 46th room. It’s a fairly simple setup at the start (apart from the whole M.C. Escher shifting house thing), and while there are plenty of helpful tips scattered around for you to find, you are largely just set loose to see what you can piece together for yourself. It’s a great foundation, because while you don’t always know what the next step may be, your goals are always clear enough that I never felt like I was just wandering around in the dark.

You probably will feel like you are wandering around in circles from time to time, though. The meat of Blue Prince is the drafting mechanic you use to explore the house: You start each day with a limited number of “steps” that are spent whenever you go through a door, and each time you open a new one you are given three options for which of the mansion’s many unique rooms will be on the other side. That means you are filling out the nine-by-five room floorplan differently every single time, connecting doorways and trying not to hit dead ends as you find helpful items and invaluable clues along the way. It may sound like nothing too outside the box, but it’s a real delight to slowly gain mastery over this system.

Some rooms are just simple hallways, while others play more varied roles that are split into colored categories based on type. For example, purple bedrooms often give you additional steps when entered, yellow shops can sell helpful items if you’ve picked up enough coins to buy them, and red rooms have negative effects (like obscuring your draft options) that could throw a wrench in your plans. Certain rooms may only appear when specific conditions are met, too, such as when you are drafting on the edges of the house or once you get deep enough in. It was fun to figure out which should be my go-to rooms early on in order to set myself up for success later, gathering items like keys to unlock doors or gems that can be spent to draft special rooms, and then using that prep work to make targeted dives toward a room or lead I was eager to hunt down.

The actual “puzzles” take on a variety of different forms within those rooms, but all of them are as entertaining as they are devilish to solve. Some have very straightforward math or logic problems, there are a few literal puzzle boxes to find, and others require a slightly more complicated combination of button pushes or lever pulls to solve whatever that room is doing. But fully self-contained challenges like that are side dishes to what Blue Prince truly has to offer, and the most interesting stuff feels closer to incredible first-person puzzle games like Return of the Obra Dinn or Outer Wilds. It asks you to really look at the world around you, take notes on what you find, and then use that knowledge to make connections where you can – and it does so in that expert way where something can feel completely cryptic at the outset and then brilliantly achievable when you finally crack it. That might mean looking through documents to find the combination to a safe, decoding why certain objects are where they are, or using the function of a specific room to get past an obstacle somewhere else.

That last part can lead to the only real point of frustration I found with Blue Prince, however, which is that the best-laid floorplans of house mice and men can come crashing down with a few bad draws. Don’t get me wrong, there are very real and effective ways to help mitigate the randomness of which rooms are offered to you – both in terms of learning what to prioritize and when you should or shouldn’t take risks, as well as in permanent upgrades I won’t spoil that can make future runs more consistent. But, plain and simple, sometimes you will need a room that lets you turn left, do everything in your power to set yourself up to get it (including collecting dice that let you reroll the rooms you draw), and still be as stuck as Zoolander when you’re ultimately given your options. Those bad breaks are infrequent, but it still stings when an otherwise-good run ends because you just never saw the room you were looking for.

(Tangentially, I also really wish you could save and quit mid-run without having to cut your progress short by ending your current day entirely, or at the very least that opening the menu stopped the in-game clock from ticking. Runs can often stretch over an hour, which makes dipping in and out of Blue Prince a hard proposition – though this is only really a problem since I was playing on a desktop PC, as consoles and even the Steam Deck would let you suspend it if you need to go do something else.)

Thankfully, any pain from that randomness is mitigated by the fact that there is just so much to discover here that a given run is rarely a waste of time. You may not have been able to draft that specific combination of rooms you were after or reach that certain square you wanted to, but odds are you still entered some new rooms along the way, and doing so almost always added to the growing list of mysteries I have jotted down across a pile of handwritten notes. “Beating” Blue Prince took me about 15 hours, and getting to that 46th room is absolutely a satisfying puzzle to solve on its own, but I also have far more goals now than I did when I first set out. There are safes to open, doors to unlock, books and letters to read, clues to decipher, and loads of lore to uncover.

It’s impressive how all of these optional puzzles are woven into and around the path of the “main” one – some are hiding in plain sight from the first minute, just waiting for you to realize they are important, while others drop an unassuming string of crumbs in your way that lead down a deep and unexpected rabbit hole when followed.

Blue Prince was an incredibly difficult game to talk about with friends who were also playing because the randomness of the drafting mechanic, combined with your own personal sense of curiosity, can send two players down very different paths. One time when I was around five hours in, I excitedly mentioned I’d unlocked something to a friend who had already played 40, only to learn they hadn’t even found that thing yet. And yet, this fractal abode doesn’t frustrate by randomly withholding things either, because clues can often be found in multiple forms or places; Once again, you’re always making progress toward something.

As you do get deeper, Blue Prince’s initially light-touch story also begins to shift more directly into the spotlight. Discovering more about both your character’s great uncle and the larger history of their family starts off as a little fun set dressing, but it eventually becomes as rich and compelling a reason to keep playing as any puzzle. The worldbuilding here is doled out with a patience I’m not used to seeing, with tons to learn about your relatives, the manor, and the nation it’s located in, but none of that is ever forced down your throat. That made anything I could glean about important historical events or complex geopolitics feel like a win that would almost always help me solve future mysteries, not just some “lore” to read about in books or letters and then move on from.

Still avoiding spoilers like laser tripwires in a Mission Impossible trap, that story and its themes smartly tie into your actions in a way few games are able to pull off so successfully. Piecing together the messy history of an extended and sometimes estranged family is rarely a linear process - Simon wanders through the house he has suddenly inherited finding bits of information told from conflicting points of view, and often in the entirely wrong order. Trying to make all of the right connections as he goes from a boy simply solving a fun puzzle so he can win a prize to one who understands the real reward this mansion holds reflected my own journey with Blue Prince, which is the sort of subtle brilliance you don’t see in many games.

Looing to upgrade your audiophile setup without investing too much money? For a limited time, Best Buy is offering a pair of the excellent KEF Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speakers for only $399.99 shipped. All three color options - white, black, and walnut finish - are discounted. These speakers normally retail for $600 and don't go on sale very often.

KEF Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speakers for $399.99

In the mid-2010s, three seasons of Daredevil introduced audiences to the underbelly of Hell's Kitchen for one of the best-reviewed Marvel series of all time, which why it was such a shock when Daredevil was cancelled by Netflix in 2018.

While Charlie Cox's Daredevil has made brief appearances in more recent, lighter MCU projects, namely She-Hulk and Spider-Man: No Way Home, few people expected the supe to get another instalment of his own solo show. Well, we were wrong. The hero has, in fact, been born again, and while he may returning be on the relatively chaste Disney+, Marvel has promised more grit and action than ever.

If you're wondering where to stream Daredevil: Born Again online or want a full look at the episode release schedule, check out the details below.

Where to Stream Daredevil: Born Again

Looking to upgrade the storage capacity of your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or ASUS ROG Ally? Here's a great deal on a very well-rated SanDisk memory card. Walmart is offering a 512GB Samsung ImageMate Pro Micro SDXC Card for just $21.53. An SD card adapter is also included. Despite the low price tag, this is actually one of the faster Micro SD cards we've seen. It's compatible with most gaming handhelds including the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally.

Note: Availability is based on region. Some zip codes might have more in stock than others.

512GB SanDisk ImageMate Pro Micro SDXC Card for $21.53

A monitor is the best gaming accessory to make the most of the stunning graphics and speedy refresh rates your gaming PC is capable of. What’s the point of investing in a rig with a top-tier graphics card and CPU if your display can’t keep up? That’s why we’ve found the best gaming monitors with crisp pictures and motion fidelity to play all the best PC games as intended.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Monitors:

Your gaming monitor should offer specs that match up with your PC; there’s no point in grabbing one of the best 4K monitors if games will be virtually unplayable with a GeForce RTX 4060 at that resolution. Likewise, pairing a Radeon RX 7900 XTX with a 1080p display is a waste. The best gaming monitors will show off all the capabilities of the rig you’ve invested in, delivering solid picture quality, speedy response times, and a host of gaming features. Of course, high refresh rates help frames remain silky smooth and those extra milliseconds could mean life or death for competitive gamers.

Whether you’re after a beastly future-proof option with a sharp 4K picture, OLED panel, and wild 240Hz refresh rate – like our top pick, the Gigabyte FO32U2 Pro – or you have a more modest setup that's better suited for a great budget monitor, we’ve got you covered. All our favorite gaming monitors have been thoroughly vetted by me and my colleagues and are ready to suit just about any need.

Looking for savings? Be sure to check out the best gaming monitor deals happening right now.

1. Gigabyte FO32U2 Pro

Best Gaming Monitor

If you want proof that OLED is the new mainstream for the best gaming monitors, just take a look at my thorough review of the Gigabyte FO32U2 Pro. This is a gorgeous 32-inch 4K gaming monitor with an extremely thin panel and one of the brightest displays I've ever had the pleasure of using. And while it is a bit on the pricey side, the best is never the cheapest option, and you'll be well rewarded for the money you invest in this gorgeous piece of kit.

This gaming monitor is extremely forward-facing, too. While most of the best graphics cards aren't really able to drive a 4K gaming monitor at 240Hz, the Gigabyte Aorus FO32U2 supports that high refresh rate anyways. That means even after upgrading your PC a few times over the next few years, you won't really need to buy an all-new gaming monitor for a very long time. Hell, this monitor supports DisplayPort 2.1 technology, which isn't even in most current-generation gaming PCs right now.

But even in the current day, the gorgeous OLED panel is extremely color accurate. Supporting up to 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, you'd be hard pressed to find any screen with better color representation, at least without forking over the cash for a display meant for creative professionals. Combine that with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits and a contrast ratio of 1.5M:1 and this will make any game, movie, or even your desktop seem like it's popping off of your screen.

Of course, because it's a flagship gaming monitor in 2024, it also comes with quality-of-life features like picture-in-picture and an automatic black equalizer that'll help you tune how your monitor looks. You can even download the Gigabyte Control Center, plug the monitor into an open USB port (in addition to your standard HDMI/DP port, obviously), and control image settings on your desktop rather than fiddling with an OSD.

This is a dream gaming monitor, and while it's a bit expensive, you're genuinely getting what you pay for.

2. AOC Q27G3XMN Mini-LED

Best Budget Gaming Monitor

The AOC Q27G3XMN Gaming Monitor offers true HDR gaming at a fraction of the usual price. That's because it uses a mini LED backlight to offer localized brightness and contrast all the way up to 1,000 nits. That means that you can enjoy gaming in HDR knowing that you're receiving a full-fledged experience and not the typical "HDR 400" or "HDR compatible" experience found elsewhere.

This monitor uses a VA panel for improved contrast even when you turn local dimming off. You could be forgiven for leaving it on, however, as it's the gateway to more vivid colors and deeper blacks, no matter what you happen to be doing. With 336 local dimming zones, it's able to pinpoint shadows and blacks far better than a traditional edge-lit gaming monitor. In fact, this is the reason why the technology has largely cost two, three, or even four times as much as this monitor.

Even without the mini-LED backlight, however, this would be a great monitor to choose for anyone on a limited budget. Its 27-inch frame is perfectly matched to its 1440p resolution, allowing it to offer crisp visuals and smooth, responsive gameplay. It's lacking some amenities like built-in speakers or a USB hub, but that can be forgiven for its generously priced panel and gaming experience.

With all of that in mind, AOC did make a sacrifice to get the price so low: local dimming zones. While 336 sounds like a lot on paper, flagship mini-LED monitors usually feature over 1,100. Its reduced zone count leads to noticeable blooming (glowing around bright objects on dark backgrounds). While this isn't always noticeable, especially when you're playing games, it's also not something you can ignore when it's there. You'll notice it every time, though many people do get used to it and find it doesn't bother them over time.

Even with some blooming to contend with, the AOC Q27G3XMN mini-LED gaming monitor is still a great pick that offers some truly impressive visuals its biggest competitors simply can't compete with. This monitor stands apart because of it and is well worth your consideration.

3. Acer Predator X34 OLED

Best Ultrawide Gaming Monitor

4. Dell Alienware AW2725Q

Best 4K Gaming Monitor

5. Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP

Best 1440p Gaming Monitor

People might be clamoring over 4K displays and 1440p has a home in the hearts of many gamers trying to balance visual quality with value, but 1080p monitors still have their place. The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM is a prime example where FHD fits in because, for less than $300, you get a screen that delivers an overclockable 240Hz refresh rate, a one-millisecond response time, and low input lag, which will see your games run as smooth as hot butter. FreeSync support and G-Sync compatibility also ensure your monitor and GPU are on the same team for visuals that look great without tearing.

The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM stretches its 1080p picture across a 27-inch screen, which is reasonable for the resolution. Although, you may do some pixel peeping in exchange for a more immersive viewing experience. Its IPS panel offers decent viewing angles and color reproduction, while the 400-nit brightness means you can use it in brighter spaces. It's been DisplayHDR 400 certified, but given a mediocre contrast ratio and no local dimming, HDR support shouldn’t be why you buy this monitor.

Some other quality-of-life boxes can get ticked off, too, with a height-adjustable pivoting stand, two HDMI ports, and one DisplayPort for ample connectivity opportunities. It's a monitor I consider a good value for the price. Its high refresh rate, ample size, and engaging picture make it a great pick for gamers on more limited budgets.

The Straw Hat Pirates’ sprawling adventure across the Grand Line has been a staple of anime ever since the late 90s, and with more than 1000 episodes, it’s fair to say that One Piece has had more than a few unforgettable moments. Narrowing down this list to just 10 of the best moments from One Piece was an extraordinarily difficult task, and some tough cuts had to be made, but regardless, here are our picks for the top 10 One Piece moments, as of episode 1088 of the anime.

Note of course that by the very nature of this feature, there are going to be major spoilers for One Piece. We are holding nothing back here, but we will inform you before each entry what episode the spoiler covers so you can skip the ones you haven’t come across yet.

10. Luffy’s Pain (Episode 377)

This moment is what solidified Zoro as the badass of the Straw Hat crew. With Luffy exhausted from his battle with Pirate Warlord Moria and the Straw Hats taken out by Warlord Kuma, Zoro is the only one left standing. Realizing he can’t win against Kuma, Zoro offers his life in exchange for Luffy’s. Kuma agrees, but only if Zoro can take on Luffy’s injuries as his own. This emotional moment is when Zoro’s bond with his crewmates solidified, proving that despite being a pirate hunter, he was willing to give up his life to spare theirs.

9. Red Leg’s Leg (Episode 26)

Sanji has one of the saddest backstories in all of One Piece. He just can’t catch a break. Young Sanji could care less about pirates, especially Zeff, who was stranded on a deserted island with him. Nonetheless, the subtlety of Zeff’s actions made for a heartwarming moment when Sanji finds out that Zeff sacrificed his leg so he could live. The fact that Sanji thought Zeff was a rotten, no-good pirate the entire time, only to find out that he’s one of the most selfless people he’s ever met is one of One Piece’s most memorable moments.

8. Arrival of the Worst (Episode 1015)

“Roof Piece!” It’s the term fans were throwing around leading up to the end of the epic Wano story arc. It was only a matter of time before this confrontation happened and, oh boy, did the anime step it up! Knowing fan expectations were high, Toei clearly went above and beyond for the episode. From the entrance of the Worst Generation to Luffy’s stroll past the Emperors and Kin’emon’s heartfelt plea, the emotions build in an incredible dramatic crescendo, accented with quick flashes of their journey up to that point as far back as Raizo’s safety and Pedro’s sacrifice. Finally, we see Luffy’s vibrant Red Roc punch with “We Are” booming in the background to accompany one of the biggest smackdowns in all of anime. In only about five minutes, the sequence makes us appreciate the long and winding journey Luffy has been on, and why it’s so special.

7. Ultimate Defeat (Episode 405)

The Saboady arc is jam-packed full of game-changing moments, but there’s one moment that helped define who the Straw Hats are that came at the hands of the stoic, overpowered Kuma. Up until this point, Luffy and the crew were able to overcome even the most difficult of challenges, but there was no escape from the utter devastation that took place on the archipelago. Even Luffy knew they didn’t have a chance, and he’s not one to give up so easily. As he watches his friends begin to disappear, he yells out in desperation to escape, not knowing it was futile. When he’s finally the last one standing, Luffy can’t help but cry in agony for not being strong enough to save his friends. It’s the first time we’ve seen our plucky protagonist so vulnerable. With the final disappearance of the Straw Hats, we were left in shock, and it was clear from this point on the crew would never be the same after suffering such a dreadful defeat.

6. Don’t Be Mad…(Episode 396)

We can’t talk about the previous moment without also mentioning the inciting incident that led to it. If there was a list for best, or at the very least, most cathartic singular punch in all of anime, this punch would be at the top. There isn’t a single person with a beating heart who watched Episode 396 that wasn’t begging Luffy to beat the heck out of Saint Charlos at Sabaody, and when he finally did, man did Luffy make it count. What makes this so special is the build-up and payoff. After spending the last few episodes learning why the Celestial Dragons are basically untouchable, and the serious consequences that come with laying a hand on them, it’s all the more shocking when Luffy strikes him down anyway without a second thought.

5. The Punch That Changed the World (Episode 483)

The battle between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates rages on as Luffy and Ace finally begin their escape. In a brief moment of desperation, everything changed. The sound of crying fills the air as Akainu’s magma fist plunges through the back of Ace, taking his life in front of Luffy. In Ace’s last heartfelt words, he thanks everyone for loving him as he dies on the battlefield. We feel the weight behind Ace’s death as we are stuck watching Luffy in disbelief, realizing that his life has forever changed.

4. A Funeral (Episode 312)

It may seem odd to be emotionally invested in an inanimate object like a pirate ship, but One Piece fans are built different. The “funeral” of the Going Merry had us shedding actual tears over a dying boat. The way the focus shifts from each crew member as they relive their own introduction to the Merry while somber music plays in the background is just so beautifully done. Then there’s the one-two emotional gutpunch of hearing the Merry’s disembodied voice saying, “I’m sorry, I wish I could have taken you farther.” followed by Luffy breaking down and apologizing for every little thing he ever did to the ship. It all adds up to one of the most heart wrenching moments in all of One Piece.

3. Luffy… Help Me… (Episode 37)

The scene featuring Luffy and Nami during the Arlong Park arc is one of the most defining moments for the Straw Hat crew. At this point, we’ve known Nami as a scheming, confident woman who can take care of herself, but her dire situation with the Arlong Pirates brings her to tears as her family and friends prepare to fight to the death. Seeing Nami drop to the ground in despair, screaming in anger as she attempts to cut her despised Arlong tattoo from her own flesh is as brutal as it is sad. It's at this moment that we see a different side of Luffy that’s calm and serious. With the last ounce of Nami’s stubbornness whittling away, she finally says to Luffy, “Help me”. With Nami at her lowest point, Luffy gifts her his treasured straw hat and exclaims, “Of course I will!” This moment has become one of the most iconic in the series because it encapsulates what makes it great and shows why it’s so beloved amongst fans.

2. The Return of a Legend (Episode 1071)

Though its place on this list might be controversial, Gear 5 was an event so big that it nearly broke the internet. It’s the perfect culmination of Luffy’s journey thus far. His delightful romp around Onigashima in Gear 5 was not only a joy to behold from an animation standpoint, but one that also marks Luffy’s all-important ascension into the fabled Joyboy – a moment that both tastefully encapsulates all that has occurred as well as foreshadows the coming epic of Luffy’s final steps in becoming the King of Pirates.

1. I Want to Live! (Episode 278)

This moment of payoff was a hundred episodes in the making. Ever since she left the Straw Hats without saying a word out of fear of losing her friends like she lost her family on Ohara, we had been waiting for Robin to do something, anything, to show some sort of resistance to the ruthless and weasley Spandam. That moment finally comes in episode 278, where, upon gazing at her captain and crewmates on the other side of Enies Lobby, and seeing that they’re willing to go to war even with the World Government if it means having her in their lives, Robin finally responds to Luffy in one clear voice. And that’s all that Luffy needed.

What were some of your favorite moments in One Piece? Let us know in the comments, and if you want more anime, check out our list of the top 10 anime of all time, along with our list of the biggest anime coming in 2024. And for everything else, keep it here on IGN.

Note: This ranking was updated on April 7, 2025. It was originally published on Feb. 27, 2020.

This list was written by Mitchell Saltzman, Mike Mamon, Jay Park, and Rosie Knight, a few of the biggest One Piece fans at IGN. Thanks for checking it out, and let us know in the comments which moments would make your top moments in One Piece list!

Path of Exile 2’s largest update yet, Dawn of the Hunt, adds a ton of new content and changes the game in many ways. IGN and Maxroll have teamed up to bring you lots of new, helpful guides and builds to take on the daunting swatch of new stuff that we will do our best to summarize here: Patch 0.2.0 brings more ways to play with the all-new Huntress Class along with 5 Ascendancies, Azmeri Wisps to chase, shiny new Uniques to hunt for, and a revamped endgame experience.

The Huntress

A new class joins Path of Exile 2’s roster of characters, the Huntress. This Azmeri lost everything when she used a Virtue Gem to defend her home. So now she wields new skills in addition to her trusty Spear. The Huntress is a Dexterity class that shares a starting area with the Ranger in the lower-right portion of the Passive Skill Tree. Spears have a mix of close-range melee strikes and long range projectiles with bonuses that incentivize the use of both. Create an elemental surface with Frostbolt, drop a Whirling Slash, and unleash a flurry of Twisters, before leaping back in to do it all again. Another new item class is Bucklers, a special shield with the ability to Parry regular attacks. When you Parry an enemy you put them off balance increasing the attack damage they take. Unlike Souls games, there is no Parry window and you can use the Parry to animation cancel other skills making it quite agile. However, each time you Parry your stun meter increases and when the bar is full you are heavy stunned for 2.5 seconds, which is likely to result in your untimely demise.

Dive deeper with Maxroll’s Dawn of the Hunt Megapost, or read on for more information.

New Ascendancies

In addition to the new Huntress class, Dawn of the Hunt adds 5 new Ascendancies to Path of Exile 2. After completing a Trial of Ascension, your Ascendancy further specializes your class by unlocking new synergies and catering to unique playstyles. The Huntress has 2 Ascendancies to choose from, Ritualist and Amazon, and the Warrior, Witch, and Mercenary each get one new option.

Ritualist

The Ritualist learned in the depths of the Wildwoods, that power is achieved through sacrifice. You can steal bonuses from Rare monsters, or sacrifice a portion of your own health for a random bonus. With Corrupted Life Force, you gain a skill causing nearby enemies to grow Volatile Blood Boils, slay them to infect surrounding foes with Corrupted Blood a powerful degenerative effect that deals Physical Damage. The Unfurled Finger Notable grants a third ring slot, this is especially potent when paired with Mystic Attunement and a high-end ring. Lastly, the Ritualist has a variety of charming bonuses making it easier to combat dangerous elemental effects.

Amazon

An Amazon strikes swiftly. Elemental Infusion consumes charges to add elemental damage to your Attacks, and Infused Avatar gives a chance for your projectiles to benefit from the infusion without consuming it. Critical Strike and Penetrate further scale damage, based on accuracy rating, which is particularly notable because Dexterity classes have easy access to accuracy. Defensively, Mystic Harvest opens up access to leech, a recovery layer usually limited to Physical damage, and Azmeri Brew makes Flasks far more versatile. Lastly, her Predatory Instinct and In for the Kill Notables grant massive bonuses against Wraeclast’s most dangerous foes.

Smith of Kitava

The Smith of Kitava wields the Devourer’s power to his own ends. This ascendancy is harder to nail down, as many of the bonuses like Temper Weapon, Maifest Weapon, and Fire Spell on Hit are the sort of thing you need to play with to truly understand. However, Coal Stoker and Forged in Flame provide some of the most powerful defenses in the game. With Coal Stoaker, you need to dedicate less of your suffixes to resistances, meaning there’s more of them to use for damage. Maximum resistance is incredibly potent, with even as little as +5% Maximum Resistance mitigating around 20% of the elemental damage you take. Lastly, there’s Smith’s Masterwork, the ability to forge yourself a custom chest piece at the cost of some Ascendancy points. How useful this is depends on where Living Weapon, Against the Anvil, and Heat of the Forge fall as you only get 8 Ascendancy points to distribute amongst all the passives. With that said many of the passives including, Dedication to Kitava, Support Straps, Flowing Metal, Molten Symbol, and Kitavan Engraving all have potential.

Lich

A Lich wields forbidden power, even at the cost of her soul. First, there are some fan-favorite nodes from the original Path of Exile in Rupture the Soul and Dominion Over Flesh. Being able to curse enemies to make them explode into piles of loot is always a good time. Soulless Form provides a unique way to solve mana by increasing your maximum life. It also splits damage between your life and energy shield which is useful when you have easy ways to recover both. Eternal Life further enhances this effect, because your life cannot change while you have energy shield any damage split to your life is ignored so long as you have energy shield active. Atziri’s Distain splits damage to your life allowing you to ignore even more damage. Then there’s Necromantic Conduit and Blackened Heart, a way to provide a significant damage buff to yourself or allies, and what better allies exist than the mindless dead bound to your command? Lastly, Crystalline Phylactery, Price of Power, and Eldrich Empowerment offer solid bonuses to a variety of builds.

Note: there is a slight error in the graphic, Blackened Heart should be the node after Necromantic Conduit and Dominion Over Flesh should be the node after Rupture the Soul.

Tactician

The Tactician never works alone. This is a support-focused Ascendancy for the Mercenary class. It provides a variety of bonuses focused on Auras and buffs. A Solid Plan is particularly noteworthy as it’s normally difficult to scale your Spirit without using Sceptres. With Suppressing Fire and Right Where We Want Them, you can Pin foes to prevent them from acting, adding another crowd control effect to your party’s toolkit. Unleash Hell! Is a unique skill that gives you personal artillery, summon them to unleash a barrage of withering fire onto the battlefield.

Azmeri Wisps

With each new league, comes a new league mechanic, and for Dawn of the Hunt it’s Azmeri Wisps. Follow the lights and slay any monsters they empower. Each Wisp enhances the rewards of any monsters it empowers while giving them a variety of lethal bonuses. For example, a Cat Wisp gives empowered monsters Critical Hit Chance, whereas a Sacred Wisp upgrades the monster’s tier, turning Rares into Unique Bosses! Each time you encounter a Wisp it seeks out a Rare or Unique monster to infuse, greatly increasing the creature’s strength and its rewards.

Rogue Exiles

You can encounter Rogue Exiles, NPC invaders who fight like players and even wield powerful items. If you’re able to slay them, you get all the items they’re wearing, but be warned, if they slay you they escape and take their riches with them. Rogue Exiles provide a different kind of challenge since their builds work like a player’s, with a wide variety of skill combinations on offer. These foes tend to be more agile than most bosses, but aren’t as tanky. Keep an eye on their Unique items as these can be extremely valuable, and may make the encounter much more difficult!

Endgame Revamp

Dawn of the Hunt brings sweeping changes to Path of Exile 2’s endgame experience. The goal is to make mapping more exciting by providing players with more random encounters while reducing tedious busy work. You can now use up to 3 tablets in each Tower, this reduces the amount of busy work needed to enhance the nearby maps and maximize your loot. To balance this, fewer Towers spawn and they have been revamped to be more rewarding. Mechanics can spawn in Towers and they are guarded by a Unique Boss.

The Corruption mechanic has also been changed, you now choose between clearing each corrupted map, or rushing to the center to purify the cluster, changing the rewards, and unlocking the new purified map type. You can choose to farm the corrupted zones, slaying additional enemies in hopes of gaining currency and rare items. Alternatively, you could rush to the nexus to purify the zone in hopes of obtaining more Fraturing Orbs. This is a crafting currency that locks an affix on an item with 4 modifiers, making it unmodifiable by any means.

There’s a wealth of content to explore. In addition, Unique Maps present special challenges, each is difficult but rewarding. The Fractured Lake (pictured above) rewards you with exclusive base types that have more Prefixes or Suffixes than are normally possible. A Crystalline Cavern presents you with a room full of Essences to claim. Each one you defeat further empowers the boss, making the challenge at the end both more lethal and rewarding. Or you could explore the Feral Megaliths, a 10-round boss gauntlet that drops tons of loot and exclusive Runes.

Beyond just endgame content, crafting also got numerous changes. You can use Corrupted Essences to craft items with special effects. When encountering Rituals to the King in the Mists you’re now guaranteed an Omen, and Omen rewards are more common. If you explore Expedition you can now use your currencies to Recombinate items, merging 2 bases in hopes of keeping desirable affixes.

Patch Notes

It’s almost easier to talk about what didn’t change than it is to list everything that got tweaked, adjusted, or reworked for Dawn of the Hunt. When GGG said to forget everything you already knew about Path of Exile 2, they weren’t kidding. In particular, outlier builds like Archmage Spark Stormweaver and Attribute Stacking Hand of Wisdom and Action Monk saw heavy nerfs.

If you want to know more about the changes in patch 0.2.0 and have a strong constitution, check out the Patch 0.2.0 Patch Notes.

Path of Exile 2 Beginner’s Guide / Leveling Walkthrough

Whether you’re a veteran looking to improve or a new player trying to get into Path of Exile 2, Maxroll’s Comprehensive League Start Leveling Guide holds your hand with step-by-step instructions throughout the leveling process. This covers an efficient leveling path, how to get good gear, tips to increase your damage and defense, and how to solve common problems.

Maxroll Planner

Maxroll’s PoE2Planner is updated for Dawn of the Hunt and better than ever. You can now import your characters directly into the planner and share your build in just a couple of clicks. The PoE2Planner lets you quickly assemble the passives, items, and skills used in your build. You can also add more details like which bonuses to take from the campaign, outline a skill rotation or link to a custom loot filter on FilterBlade.

Start theorycrafting your own build on the Maxroll PoE2Planner!

On the other hand, if you’re looking for something to play, check out the Maxroll Builds section for planners made by the experts on Maxroll’s Path of Exile 2 team, or browse Community Planners for more builds put together by the community.

Builds

Dawn of the Hunt has brought a huge shakeup to the build meta! The increased difficulty nerfs to meta builds, and buffs to underperformers have resulted in a lot of changes. The Amazon, Lich, and Smith of Kitava have been absolutely dominating the meta during the first few days of the league. Here are a few of the builds being cooked up by the experts at Maxroll.

Amazon

Rake is a travel skill that easily rips through packs of monsters when combined with Stomping Grounds, with this planner from ZiggyD you can unleash carnage across Wraeclast. Rake has great mobility, decent single target damage and satisfying bleed pops thanks to Herald of Blood. As you keep progressing, you can continue scaling your build using Goratha's endgame Bleed/Rake Amazon.

The Amazon is also adept at using Crossbows, combine Glacial Bolt with Artillery Ballista to clear easily while also doing high single target damage. Because your Ballistae can attack enemies while you’re dodging mechanics this build is easy to use against bosses. Check out this planner from Palsteron on how to build a Crossbow Amazon.

If you’re looking for something different, grab a bow and bring winter to your enemies with Aer0’s Ice Shot Amazon! This build uses Ice Shot to clear and Freezing Salvo to unleash icy devastation on more difficult enemies.

Then there’s the good old explosive Gas Arrow. This was one of the most popular builds for bow leveling at the start of early access and it’s a great way to get your Amazon to maps. Check out Tenkiei’s Explosive Gas Arrow Amazon planner for some inspiration!

Lastly a more endgame build, Crouchung_Tuna’s Lighting Spear Amazon! This build captures the feel of a Diablo 2 Javazon by blasting everything on the screen with lightning. As an endgame build you need to be in maps to start playing it, so use one of the earlier planners through the campaign and then respec to this.

Lich

Chaos DoT, or damage over time skills like Essence Drain and Contagion excel at clearing the screen while providing consistent damage. This makes them the perfect choice to pair with the excellent defenses provided by the Lich Ascendancy. Check out this planner from CaptainLance9 to play your own Chaos DoT Lich.

Why fight alone when you can bring your own personal army to each battle? If that’s your preferred playstyle then HelmBreaker’s Minion Army Lich is the build for you. You get excellent defenses from Eternal Life and new Spectres provide you even more mindlessly loyal dead for your army. If you prefer infernal flame you can play a similar build on Infernalist.

Other Builds

Here are a few more builds on existing ascendancies:

• If you’re looking for a hand holdy Mercenary Grenade Leveling Guide. ZiggyD’s planner takes you through the campaign and into early maps.
• Stormweaver was one of the most popular builds in 0.1 and if you enjoy freezing your way through the campaign you can do so with this build from ZenM: Frost Bolt Cold Snap Stormweaver Leveling.
• Monk is fast and fluid, filling the screen with particle effects while dashing to the next pack to do the same. This build from Milkybk_ helps you find your center as you progress: Invoker Monk Leveling.
• The Smith of Kitava is Wraeclast’s ultimate tank, so if you’re looking to play hardcore this is one of your best bets. The Endgame HC Artillery Ballista Smith of Kitava build from Zizaran goes over everything you need to know to play this tanky artillerist.

With that said, Dawn of the Hunt is brand new and there’s still a lot to explore in the buildcrafting space so keep a close eye on Maxroll’s Builds for more ways to play.

On the Hunt

Dawn of the Hunt adds a lot of content and streamlines the mapping experience but the campaign is slower than it was before. The best players are already blasting maps and juicing towers but a lot of people are still making their way through the campaign.

It’s going to take some time for the dust to settle and for the meta to stabilize in Path of Exile 2 0.2.0 Dawn of the Hunt. If you want to know more about the best builds and most profitable currency strategies keep an eye on Maxroll’s Meta Section. Their Path of Exile 2 team is hard at work writing new Build Guides and sharing their Planners with the community!

This article was created by IGN Staff with help from the Maxroll Path of Exile 2 Team.

LEGO has a seemingly endless amount of sets. The toy company has collaborated with practically every major franchise and puts out a number of new builds each month. Unfortunately, LEGO doesn't just continue making every new set forever. Alongside every addition to the LEGO family comes the departure of several others. Sets get retired just as fast as new sets arrive to replace them. If there's a LEGO build you love, it could potentially disappear forever within a year if you don't pick it up before its expiration date.

While there are still ways to buy LEGO sets that have long been retired, your best bet is to pick them up while they are still available at major retailers and haven't been marked-up by resellers. Depending on the popularity of the set, you can sometimes find them at Amazon even months after LEGO removes them from its website. I've gathered some of those options right here to give you a chance to pick them up before they're gone forever.

Retired LEGO Sets Still Available at Amazon

Some really cool sets were retired near the beginning of 2025, including builds that have been consistently popular but have just outlived their shelf life. The LEGO Taj Mahal for example is one of the best LEGO Architecture sets we've ever seen come out of that line, depicting one of the seven wonders of the world. There's also the Sonic Green Hill Zone set that IGN actually had the chance to build back in 2022 when it first came out. It's a fun tribute to the iconic video game level from the series. It is one of our favorite Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO sets and is great for any fan of the franchise.

If you want to keep better track of what LEGO sets are retiring, I'd recommend checking out the Brick Economy website, which includes the full list. This is a great resource for collectors so they can keep tabs on any of the more expensive sets they have their eye on. One of the best times to buy a LEGO set at a discount is right before it gets retired.

Which LEGO Sets Are Retiring Soon?

It's fairly easy to find out what LEGO sets are retiring soon thanks to LEGO's "Last Chance to Buy" page that features all of them. Unfortunately, LEGO does not put the actual date that a set will be retired on this page, so it's hard to decipher when exactly each option will be officially removed. The safe assumption is that if it's on this page, it could be gone by the beginning of the month as the new sets become available.

Below I've gathered some of the most intriguing sets that are getting retired. There is a slew of Nintendo LEGO sets as well as some Star Wars and Marvel options worth a final look.

Tron fans have reason to be excited in 2025. Following a long dormant period, the franchise is racing its way back into theaters this October with a new sequel called Tron: Ares. The third Tron movie stars Jared Leto as the titular character, a program who ventures into the real world on a high-stakes yet very mysterious mission.

But is it safe to call Ares a sequel? Visually, this new movie is clearly cut from the same cloth as 2010’s Tron: Legacy. The newly released trailer makes that much apparent. And with Nine Inch Nails stepping in for Daft Punk, it’s obvious the electronica-heavy score remains as big a priority as ever.

But in other ways, Ares is looking less like a direct sequel and more like a soft reboot of the franchise. Where are all the surviving characters from Legacy? Why aren’t stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde returning for Ares? Why is Jeff Bridges of all people the one Tron veteran confirmed for the cast of Ares? Let’s take a deeper look at how Legacy set itself up for a sequel, and why Ares seems to be ignoring that setup.

Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn & Olivia Wilde’s Quorra

Tron: Legacy mainly revolves around the shared struggle of Garrett Hedlund’s Sam Flynn and Olivia Wilde’s Quorra. Sam is the son of Bridges’ character, Kevin Flynn, the CEO of telecom giant Encom who disappeared in 1989. In Legacy, Sam ventures into the digital landscape known as The Grid to find his father and prevent Kevin’s creation CLU from leading a digital army into the real world.

As Sam reunites with his father, he also meets Quorra. Quorra is a member of a race known as ISOs, digital lifeforms who appeared spontaneously in The Grid. Quorra is proof that life finds a way, even inside a computer simulation. In the end, Sam defeats CLU and returns to the real world with Quorra in tow. The world’s first digital lifeform has been transformed into flesh and blood.

Legacy’s ending lays a pretty clear path for a sequel. Sam himself is finally ready to embrace his responsibility as Encom’s largest shareholder. Rather than simply play annual pranks on the Encom board, Sam is prepared to lead the company into a brighter and more open-source future. Quorra is by his side, serving as living proof of the true wonders that await in the digital realm.

Legacy sets up an ongoing storyline for both Sam and Quorra. In fact, the home video release even includes a short film called “Tron: The Next Day,” showing Sam returning to Encom to begin shepherding the company into a new era.

But despite that, neither Hedlund nor Wilde seem to be returning for Tron: Ares. They’re both very conspicuous by their absence in the sequel. On some level, it’s not surprising that Disney would want to pivot to a different, more standalone direction for Ares. Legacy grossed $409.9 million worldwide on a budget of $170 million (not including marketing costs). If not an outright failure, it wasn’t quite the smash hit Disney was hoping for. Like 2012’s John Carter and 2013’s Lone Ranger, Legacy is one of a number of underperforming live-action movies from an era before Disney really started to lean on Marvel and Star Wars. The studio may have decided that Legacy didn’t strike enough of a chord with moviegoers that directly continuing the plot made much sense.

Still, as we’ve explored, Sam and Quorra are too central to the narrative of Tron to just completely ignore. Are we meant to assume Sam gave up on his mission to build a better Encom? Did Quorra grow tired of the real world and return to The Grid? The absence of these characters leaves a major void in the franchise, and we hope Ares finds some way of at least acknowledging Sam and Quorra’s importance, if not bringing them back in unannounced cameo roles.

Cillian Murphy’s Edward Dillinger, Jr.

Hedlund and Wilde aren’t the only Legacy actors whose absence in the Ares cast is baffling. There’s also Cillian Murphy, whose character was clearly being set up for much bigger things in a third Tron movie.

Murphy very briefly appears in an uncredited role in Legacy, playing Edward Dillinger, Jr., the son of David Warner’s Edward Dillinger from the original Tron. The younger Dillinger is introduced as the head of Encom’s software development team, and a fierce opponent of Sam’s commitment to free, open-source software.

It goes without saying that Murphy wasn’t cast just to appear in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo role. Dillinger was obviously intended to play a bigger part in a future sequel, where he likely would have become the main human antagonist, just as his father was in Tron. Dillinger’s role likely would have coincided with the return of the Master Control Program, the sinister entity that served as the main digital villain of the first movie.

Judging from the Tron: Ares trailer, the MCP itself may be back in play. Ares and his fellow programs are marked by glowing red highlights, which is the calling card of the MCP, just as CLU’s faction was orange and Tron was blue. That suggests a sinister undertone to Ares’ mission. We don’t know if he’s meant to be hero or villain. He doesn’t seem to understand much about his mission either. But if the MCP is back, why hasn’t Edward Dillinger returned, too? Why is Gillian Anderson’s new character suddenly the focus of the Encom board?

That said, we do know that Evan Peters is playing a character named Julian Dillinger, so at least it appears that the Dillinger clan has a part to play in this story. And it’s always possible that Murphy (who, again, wasn’t actually credited in Legacy) is still secretly returning for the new film.

Bruce Boxleitner’s Tron

Arguably the most baffling omission of all from the Tron: Ares cast is Bruce Boxleitner. If this is a Tron movie, where is Tron himself? In the original movie, Boxleitner played both Encom executive Alan Bradley and the heroic security program Tron. Boxleitner reprised the Alan role in Tron: Legacy, while it was eventually revealed that CLU’s bodyguard Rinzler was a reprogrammed Tron. When last we saw Rinzler in Legacy, he had fallen into the Sea of Simulation, which wiped away his new programming and restored the hero within.

Sadly, it doesn’t appear that Boxleitner is returning for Ares for either role. We can deal with Alan being written out of the picture, but is the plan really to make a Tron movie without its namesake? Or is it possible that Tron has been recast with a younger actor? Perhaps that’s who Cameron Monaghan is playing?

Whatever is going on here, we would hope that Ares intends to follow up on Tron’s open-ended fate from Legacy. This character deserves redemption after what he was subjected to by CLU. And a Tron sequel needs to include Tron in some capacity.

Why Is Jeff Bridges in Tron: Ares?

Perhaps the single most baffling announcement regarding Tron: Ares is the news that Bridges is returning to the franchise. Sure, he’s the most recognizable and bankable star among the Tron: Legacy cast, but there’s the little problem that both of his characters were killed off in that sequel. In the climax of Tron: Legacy, Kevin Flynn sacrifices himself to destroy CLU and give his son and adopted daughter the chance to escape back to the real world.

So why is Bridges of all people back for a third movie? It’s hard to say. We can briefly hear Bridges’ voice in the trailer, but there’s no indication of whether he might be playing a still-living Kevin Flynn or a version of CLU. Did Flynn’s digital archenemy somehow survive their shared death in Legacy? Did Flynn keep a backup of CLU handy? Or has Flynn himself somehow transcended the limits of flesh, achieving immortality in The Grid?

That’s a mystery that will no doubt be solved in Ares. We’ll also find out whether Ares himself is working with Flynn/CLU or carrying out the Master Control Program’s agenda. But whatever the film reveals, there’s no getting around the fact that it’s pretty weird to have a Tron sequel that resurrects Bridges’ character(s) but ignores all the important players who actually survived the events of Legacy. As much as we’re looking forward to Tron: Ares, the sequel also leaves us more than a little perplexed.

But, hey, at least that NIN score is sounding pretty swell.

In other Tron news, find out about the series return to the gaming realm with the Metroid/Hades hybrid Tron: Catalyst.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

If you're looking to build together a car emergency kit, two items you'll undoubtedly want to add are a tire inflator and jump starter. Right now a couple of AstroAI branded devices are on sale right now, although you'll need to be an Amazon Prime member to maximize your savings. Not only are they very reasonably priced, they're both completely cordless, which eliminates the need to plug it into an available cigarette lighte. They're also compact and pack in other features like USB charging, built-in flashlight, and more.

AstroAI L7 Tire Inflator + Tire Pressure Gauge for $19.99

A Minecraft Movie is now in theaters, and it turns out the team behind the film built their own Minecraft private server that was accessible to the whole cast and crew in order to make the movie as authentic as possible. In fact, Jack Black himself set out to prove he was a "real Minecrafter" and built a massive mansion on top of the highest mountain -- with an art gallery.

Having Minecraft so readily available was a huge help for the filmmakers when creating A Minecraft Movie, and producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson told IGN it fostered a feeling of "being in an indie game studio, where things are jamming and ideas are floating around everywhere." While they couldn't utilize every idea that came out of that as the "train was already moving," it did give them a chance to "add a little pizzazz" on top of the film and make it feel true to the game.

A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess added that Black, who plays Steve in the film, was all the way in on playing Minecraft and proving he could stand toe-to-toe with the best.

"It was so much fun," Hess said. "Jack was super-weirdly method with the game. He was in his trailer harvesting lapis lazuli and always building stuff. [He] was geeking out on the game and would come back with ideas. It was a constantly evolving thing where everybody was contributing in their own fun, unique way."

"I had an Xbox in my trailer and I did play because an actor prepares," Jack Black added with a grin. "So I got as many hours as I could on this Minecraft server, which had tons of props from all the different departments.

"The cast and crew on the server were building some insane structures and I wanted to stand out. I wanted everyone to know that I was a real Minecrafter, so I said I was going to find the biggest, highest mountain in this world and build a stairway to Steve and a mansion up on top of that hill. I had a basement in there with an art gallery and... I don't even know if it's still there!"

"It's up!" Ólafsson confirmed. "I kept it up and I extended it for a year. I popped up in there a couple days ago and I said, 'Wait, there's somebody online!' I went in, and there were these two security guards who worked the gate on set and and they're like, 'Hey, welcome!' I said, "You guys are still in here?' and they said, "Oh, yeah!"

While it remains to be seen if we'll ever see Jack Black's 'Real Minecrafter' Mansion, it's always a joy to hear what goes into making a movie and how these filmmakers brought the beloved game to life.

For more, check out our review of A Minecraft Movie, our explainer of the film's ending and post-credits scene, and how it had the biggest domestic box office debut in history for a video game adaptation last weekend.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

A Minecraft Movie has crashed into theaters and is already taking over the box office upon arrival. What's more, Amazon started offering preorders for a 4K steelbook of the new movie as early as last week. If you've seen the film and are hoping to pick up a physical copy to add to your collection, you can already place your order.

While the limited-edition steelbook does offer a 4K disc and some special features, it isn't the only option available. Walmart has recently launched its own exclusive Blu-ray collector's edition of the movie that is made to look like a Minecraft crafting table and it actually seems pretty awesome.

Walmart Exclusive Edition of A Minecraft Movie on Blu-ray

Dell announced the return of the venerable Alienware Area-51 gaming laptop back in CES 2025, and starting today it is finally available to order. It comes in two size variants: the 16" model starts at $3,199.99 and the 18" model starts at $3,399.99. As expected from Alienware's new flagship laptop, the Area-51 is equipped with current generation components, including the latest and greatest Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and NVIDIA Blackwell GPU. Orders are expected to ship out starting April 30, so get your reservation in now to prevent any additional delays.

The Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Sonos doesn't discount its popular speakers very often, so it's a wise investment to jump on a good sale whenever you see one. Right now, both Sonos direct and Amazon are offering one of Sonos' best speakers – the Sonos Arc soundbar – for only $599 after a hefty $300 off instant discount. This is the lowest price we've seen for the Sonos Arc and beats out last year's Black Friday deal by $100. In fact, this is currently less expensive than a refurbished Sonos Arc SL which isn't even equipped with a microphone for voice assistant functionality.

Sonos Arc Soundbar for $599 ($300 Off)

OK, roll with us on this one... Oscar Isaac might just be returning as Moon Knight, and in Avengers: Doomsday no less. Shocked? Us too, but there’s one particular recent development that is starting to make the theory seem plausible.

Earlier in the weekend, Star Wars Celebration’s official social media revealed that Isaac would no longer be making an appearance at the beloved convention in Japan this year “due to changes in his production schedule.”

Isaac's appearance at Star Wars Celebration was a headline-grabbing announcement back in February, sparking rumors of Poe Dameron's return to the galaxy far, far away. Rey actress Daisy Ridley appeared at Star Wars Celebration 2023 to announce she would appear in a new film, so fans were wondering if Isaac would do something similar here.

Naturally, Isaac's production schedule changes were not detailed, but considering Avengers: Doomsday is currently in production in London, it didn't take long for fans to put two and two together to come up with Moon Knight in Avengers.

He’s gonna be filming doomsday?

— James Young (@YoungJames34) April 4, 2025

Dooooomsday

— G the Gamer (@G_da_Gamer) April 4, 2025

Doomsday

— Taco John (@SWaddict_) April 4, 2025

That said, the theory is still just a theory. Marvel does like surprises, but the fact remains that Isaac wasn’t actually one of the many announced names in the Doomsday cast reveal. However, Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige did confirm that the livestream did not include the entire cast of Doomsday — “We revealed many, not all,” he said over a video call at CinemaCon — so we can dream, can’t we?

One six-episode season of Moon Knight was released back in 2022 starring Isaac, but Marvel has yet to announce a follow-up. Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, with a whole host of returning heroes and famous faces bringing the story to life as per the epic livestream.

Meanwhile, MCU fans have also turned their inquisitive gaze upon Robert Downey Jr’s hair after the Iron Man actor recently sent out a Doctor Doom-themed invitation for this 60th birthday party.

Last month's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal was heavy on veteran X-Men actors. Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all now set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, confirming the X-Men are in the film in a big way. Grammer famously played Beast in the Fox X-Men franchise before making his MCU debut via The Marvels' post-credits scene. Stewart played Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men films before appearing briefly in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati. McKellen, who played Magneto, has yet to appear in the MCU. Neither has Cumming, who played Nightcrawler, Romijn, who played Mystique, nor Marsden, who played Cyclops. It begs the question: is Avengers: Doomsday secretly an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?

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

Michael Sarnoski, director of A Quiet Place: Day One, is reportedly set to write and direct the live-action adaptation of Kojima Productions' Death Stranding.

Per Deadline, Sarnoski will write and direct the Death Stranding adaptation with A24 and Kojima Productions producing, alongside Square Peg. Sarnoski directed and wrote for both the A Quiet Place spin-off Day One and 2021's Pig, starring Nicolas Cage. He's also the writer/director for the upcoming The Death of Robin Hood, another A24 project.

Few details were given about what the live-action adaptation of Death Stranding would entail. The original 2019 game sent players out into the wasteland to try and reconnect a scattered America amid an extinction-level event, in a world haunted by nightmarish creatures and strange happenings. It's already good movie fodder before you factor in Hideo Kojima's cinematic tendencies.

Death Stranding also featured a star-studded cast that included Norman Reedus in the lead role of Sam Bridges, as well as Léa Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Guillermo del Toro, and Margaret Qualley. It'll be interesting to see if these actors reprise their roles for the live-action adaptation.

There's still more for Death Stranding in store though, as Kojima Productions recently confirmed Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will launch later this year on June 26, 2025 on PlayStation 5. The next game in the Death Stranding saga also picked up some more stars, including the likes of Luca Marinelli and Elle Fanning.

Hopefully this particular Kojima-linked project forges ahead, as the Metal Gear Solid movie is still reportedly being worked on despite slowing updates. With all the stars and cinematics though, Death Stranding certainly seems poised to make the jump to live-action.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

The final chapter of the My Hero Academia manga was published last August, and the final season of the anime will air later this year. That doesn’t mean the world of My Hero Academia is over though. New movies and spin-offs like My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will hopefully help fill the void with new storylines, characters, and Quirks.

The Vigilantes spin-off manga, written by Hideyuki Furuhashi with illustrations by Betten Court, is set five years before Deku's story starts. Of course, Bones Studio returns to produce the anime adaptation, and IGN's review of the first episode describes it as "a worthy spin-off of the popular superhero anime."

If you’re wondering where to watch new episodes of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, check out the details below.

How to Watch My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Online

If you're still catching up on the My Hero Academia timeline, Crunchyroll's free tier includes all seven seasons of the original series with ads. You can also watch My Hero Academia with a Hulu subscription.

My Hero Academia Season 8 Release Date

The final season of My Hero Academia is planned to air during the fall anime season later this year, most likely kicking off in October.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Characters and Voice Cast

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes features a range of new and returning characters from the original series. Here's some of the show's main voice cast in English and Japanese:

• Koichi Haimawairi/The Crawler voiced by Jack Broadbent and Shuichiro Umeda
• Oguro Iwao/Knuckleduster voiced by Jason Marnocha and Yasuhiro Mamiya
• Kazuho Haneyama/Pop Step voiced by Macy Anne Johnson and Ikumi Hasegawa
• Soga Kugizaki voiced by Joshua Waters and Kohsuke Toriumi
• All Might voiced by Christopher R. Sabat and Kenta Miyake
• Shota Aizawa/Eraser Head voiced by Christopher Wehkamp and Junichi Suwabe
• Hizashi Yamada/Present Mic voiced by Dave Trosko and Hiroyuki Yoshino
• Nemuri Kayama/Midnight voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell and Akeno Watanabe

Blythe (she/her) is an SEO Coordinator at IGN who spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.

If you’re a Minecraft die-hard, you might have seen one particularly sneaky Easter egg in the new film adaptation A Minecraft Movie — but all is not what it seems. According to Mojang Studios Senior Creative Director of Entertainment and producer on A Minecraft Movie, Torfi Frans Olafsson, that moment that seemed to be alluding to the 2010 Creepypasta story Herobrine isn't an Easter egg, but a mistake the visual effects team ran out of time to fix.

Warning! Spoilers for A Minecraft Movie follow:

For context, A Minecraft Movie has a scene that takes place at the Woodland Mansion where Henry (Sebastian Hansen) meets an Enderman who puts him in a state where he’s able to see a vision of Steve (Jack Black), except the character is verbally berating him as his eyes go white. Because Herobrine is characterized as Steve with white eyes, fans were convinced that the moment signified that there was a future for the Creepypasta story within the MCU (Minecraft Cinematic Universe, duh).

However, Olafsson has cast doubt on this assumption. "It’s super strange that all of their eyes were supposed to be purple but when it was rendered one of the characters eyes kept coming out white in the final rendered frames so we wound up keeping it like that, because the VFX studio ran out of time," he revealed on X / Twitter.

In the early Minecraft days, an anonymous poster on 4chan claimed they saw an in-game version of Steve with white eyes and weird powers showing up around the game. Following the post, a Creepypasta story surfaced, which “revealed” that the character anomaly was actually the spirit of a dead player.

If you're in the market for an awesome gift for the Dune fan in your life (even if that person is you), LEGO is offering its first ever big discount on the LEGO Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter. The set includes the dragonfly-like helicopter, as well as eight minifigures including Paul and Leto Atreides, Chani, Lady Jessica, Gurney Halleck, Liet Kynes, Duncan Idaho, and Baron Harkonnen.

The discount is only the second price drop we've seen on this set, but it has officially dropped to a new low on Amazon for the first time since its launch. The Ornithopter was released just last year alongside Dune: Part 2 hitting theaters and has been sitting at or near full price pretty much since then.

LEGO Icons Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter

A Minecraft Move just hit theaters over the weekend and is already seeing record-breaking success at the box office. This video game movie has had the support of various toy marketing campaigns from the very beginning, like Minecraft Movie LEGO sets as well as McDonald's toys targeted specifically at adults. But if you're in the market for a Nerf gun after seeing the movie in theaters, you also already have quite a few options.

Amazon is offering new discounts on a variety of Nerf Minecraft weapons based on actual Minecraft weapons. Each of these Nerf picks have the ability to shoot darts, even if they don't necessarily appear to be able to. They are also all fairly cheap compared to other Minecraft toys on the market right now.

The Best Nerf Minecraft Deals at Amazon Today

There are four Nerf Minecraft deals at Amazon right now, and almost all of them are at their lowest prices of 2025. The best deal within this list is the Minecraft Pillager's Crossbow, which has only recently droppped to its lowest-ever price of $19.99. This is one of the most affordable Nerf crossbows you can buy, and it also doubles as a wonderful Minecraft gift.

Outside of this blaster, there's also the Nerf Minecraft axe and hammer, which are each under $20 and at their lowest prices in 2025. While they don't function as effectively as a standard Nerf gun, they look awesome and are still able to fire darts.

The last Nerf Minecraft option that is on sale is the Sabrewing Motorized Blaster. Although it is arguably the coolest thing on sale right now, it is nowhere near its lowest price of 2025. It is, however, still priced below $20 and is the most enticing actualy Nerf Blaster on this list. It also has the largest dart capacity at eight darts.

Where to Buy Nerf Ammo

After you’ve secured a Nerf Blaster, grabbing some extra darts or rounds is always a good idea. If you’ve ever played with one of these before, you know that ammo goes missing way too quickly. Luckily, a range of nerf darts are on sale. Big 100 packs for an epic war with friends or smaller, ultra-cheap sets to replace a few missing darts are all discounted right now. Just be sure to grab the right ammo.

Here's your chance to get a massive, top notch OLED TV at one of the lowest prices we've seen, especially for a recent Samsung model. Right now, both Best Buy offering the 83" Samsung S85D 4K OLED Smart TV for just $1,799.99 with free delivery. This is such a big discount that even the next size down (77") at this price would have been a good purchase. This is an excellent TV to pair up with your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X since it has HDMI 2.1 inputs and supports 4K gaming at up to 120Hz.

83" Samsung S85D 4K OLED Smart TV for $1,799.99

Hulu has been around for a while and, for our money, it's one of the absolute best streaming services available. From great movies like Anatomy of a Fall and Prey to excellent television series like the Golden Globe-winning Shogun, Abbott Elementary, and The Bear there is always something awesome to watch. Oscar Best Picture winner Anora is also now available to stream on the service, so there's no better time than now to get set up with a plan.

Below, we've detailed all of the best Hulu deals and bundles so you can get started on your streaming adventures with its library right away. This includes the Hulu, Disney+, and Max streaming bundle, which starts at just $16.99/month and is currently the best value available for the streaming services following the Disney Plus and Hulu price hikes. To see even more streaming deals, make sure to check out our roundups of the best Disney Plus deals and the best Max deals.

How to Get The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max Streaming Bundle

The Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle can be purchased on any of the three streaming services and starts at $16.99/month for the ad-supported tier or $29.99/month for ad-free access across all three platforms. If you're looking to cut down on streaming costs and currently own all three of these, this is an excellent bundle to invest in. It'll save you quite a bit compared to what you'd pay for the three of them separately per month - 43% on the ad-supported plan and 42% on the ad-free plan.

Hulu deal for students — Get Hulu (With Ads) for just $1.99/month

If you're a student enrolled in a university (a US Title IV accredited college or university, per Hulu's website), you can sign up for Hulu (With Ads) for $1.99 a month. That's an excellent deal if you're a student, saving you $8 on the usual monthly price.

Hulu subscription tiers

Hulu: Bundle to Best

If you want a more affordable option when it comes to a Hulu subscription, you can't go wrong with a bundle, and Hulu has several to choose from:

• Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) — Hulu + Live TV (With Ads) is $82.99/month and includes Disney+ and ESPN+. It also gives you access to more than 75 channels with live TV and unlimited DVR functionality. The Hulu + Live TV plan also has a three-day free trial to test out the service.
• Hulu + Live TV (Ad-Free) — The ad-free version of Hulu+Live TV is $95.99/month and comes with ad-free versions of Hulu and Disney Plus, although ESPN still shows ads.
• Disney+, Hulu Bundle Basic — This is the most economic bundle. It will set you back $10.99/month and comes with subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu. It lets you stream on multiple devices at once and comes with ad-supported versions of both Disney+ and Hulu.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic — This bundle adds ESPN+ into the mix alongside Disney+ and Hulu, bumping up the price to $16.99/month. You can also download and watch select content on ESPN+ at this level.
• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium — This bundle is $26.99/month and comes with ESPN+ (with ads) and ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu. You can also download select content across all three streaming services.

What can you watch on Hulu?

There is a bonkers amount of shows and movies you can watch on Hulu. Let's start at the top and simply talk about the verticals on offer with the base subscription, because if we also talk about what is available via Disney+, ESPN+, or live TV, we'll be here forever. (You can also sync up Hulu with Max to gain access to things like Succession and House of the Dragon.)

Here's what you get:

• Network and Hulu Original television shows (AMC, Adult Swim, ABC, A&E, FX, etc.)
• Movies (HBO, Hulu Originals, anime films, etc.)
• Sports (NHL, Soccer, MLB, Auto Racing, NFL, College Football, PGA, Tennis, etc.)
• News (ABC News Live, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, 20/20, The View, etc.)

Hulu television

Hulu has some amazing shows, both those that are finished and many which are ongoing. For comedy, there are plenty of options to choose from, including New Girl, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, What We Do In The Shadows, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Broad City, Abbott Elementary, and so much more.

There are also some big Hulu originals to watch, including The Bear, The Old Man, The Handmaid's Tale, and Only Murders In The Building.

As far as animated fare, there are modern adult classics like Rick and Morty and Bob's Burgers, as well as Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. Anime staples like Cowboy Bebop are also available. And if you want to bring more youth-friendly fun, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Curious George are just a small sample of what Hulu has available.

The future of Hulu

Hulu isn't going anywhere. As a matter of fact, beyond it being awarded the best streaming service by us and receiving a 9/10 in our updated Hulu review, it was bought in full by Disney in November 2023 and the House of Mouse has created a one-app experience for those bundling Hulu and Disney+. With an FX partnership, Hulu is also home to those shows, including the latest drama miniseries, Shogun.

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

Original story from Brian Barnett.

With PS5 games getting bigger each year and SSD prices rising, we want to make sure you can find the best amount of storage for the lowest price possible. Here, we'll point you in the direction of some of the greatest 2TB SSD deals we can find at the moment, like this acer Predator GM7000 2TB M.2 SSD down to $125.99.

It's worth noting that you can't use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You'll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5's internal drive. We've gathered up SSDs that match or exceed these specs in the list below to make your search easier.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we'll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don't, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $8) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2025, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.

Predator M.2 2TB GM7000 SSD for $125.99

The following is a spoiler-free review of all seven episodes of The Last of Us Season 2. The first episode premieres on Sunday, April 13 on HBO/Max.

Season one of HBO’s The Last of Us was a superb retelling of the Naughty Dog game of the same name, both staying loyal to and enriching a beloved story. But season 2 struggles to replicate those qualities – it’s a bleak, abbreviated chapter whose key moments fall flat with too much regularity. It's by no means bad – in fact, at times it’s very good – it just kept me at arm's length, never letting me quite connect to its characters in the way that’s so crucial to The Last of Us Part 2. It's often a spectacle, crafted with skill throughout, but fails to live up to the thrilling heights of its source material or capture the heart of its first season.

If season 1 was about discovering love in the post-apocalypse, season 2 is about holding onto hate, and the more rugged production design reflects this: Fire engulfs snow, melting it away to reveal the fragility of the world these characters inhabit. Five years after Joel (Pedro Pascal) freed Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from the Firefly hospital, we see cities that have fallen apart at the seams, with cult-infused graffiti and showcases of mass murder seemingly on every street corner. It evokes the descent into hell that Ellie goes on, as everything, including the elements, turns against her, with rain pouring and darkness overwhelming sunlight with increasing frequency.

This show is dark in every sense of the word, with little aside from a few dad jokes and the occasional love song to lift the gloom. These moments that puncture through the misery and offer hope are always welcome, though, despite how deliberately eye-rolling the punchlines may seem. They’re at the crux of what makes The Last of Us still compelling, if flawed, television this time around.

I’m not envious of showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin. Adapting The Last of Us Part 2 and balancing its many reveals with moments of shocking violence and subtle revelations is a highwire act, indeed. Splitting the game into multiple seasons to adhere to a dual-perspective story that delivers its heaviest hammer blows in flashbacks was always going to be a challenge. For what it's worth, I love Part 2, even more than the original The Last of Us, but watching the HBO version has me questioning just how much of that is due to me being able to actively control its two leads, and just how much being part of this story is what makes it work.

Those coming in fresh may be as equally floored by the way the story is being told here, but I can’t say it fully works for me. I think this is largely due to some big early revelations emerging about newcomer Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). She’s a less compelling presence when she isn’t shrouded in mystery. As a whole, season 2 feels a little stop-start, a startling cadence where momentum quickly ramps up with one action scene after the next, before grinding to a halt with whole episodes dedicated to reflection and remembrance. And with only seven episodes to play with, it struggles to find its rhythm as a result.

Much like the first season and The Last of Us Part 1, season two keeps Part 2's larger plot intact. The same events still take place, albeit sometimes presented to us at different junctures, with some expanded upon to add context, but never to the extent that Bill’s story was woven into season 1. That’s not to say there aren’t frequent flashbacks – they’re often parsed out to give extra context to choices being made or emotions being felt. Pascal continues to portray Joel with an excellent, tearful humanity as he learns to live with his fateful actions in Salt Lake City. Ellie is all that matters to him now, and that’s expertly conveyed by Pascal’s eyes, which work overtime in numerous heartfelt conversations with his surrogate daughter.

The jumping back and forth in time is largely successful here, too, filling us in on fresh faces such as Jeffrey Wright’s Isaac – a deliciously performed character who is woefully underexplored in the game. But one episode that takes place almost entirely in the past doesn’t quite work, mainly due to where it falls during the season. The individual scenes are beautifully performed and often tugged my heart in several directions, but it just feels oddly placed in the series as a whole, grinding forward momentum to a halt at a critical point. It then hurtles towards its end in a slightly disorienting fashion, almost deliberately confusing us with fraying threads of subplots leading to other stories that are left dangling.

The quieter moments – Bill’s tragic romance, Henry and Sam’s doomed brotherhood – were my favourite in season one and, thankfully, the same can be said for its follow-up. The problem is they’re fewer and further between this time around. Little time is afforded for contemplation, or to form our own interpretation of the characters’ motives. Instead, everything is handed to us in quite an obvious manner, which is to the detriment of a story that should be slaloming through the grey areas of right and wrong. Catherine O’Hara’s therapist character seems mainly present to be a proxy for the audience, but rather than prod us in the right direction and make us think, she frustratingly delivers exposition dumps concerning the people of Jackson’s internal feelings, rather than letting us form our own assessments.

I fear the pendulum has swung too far from season 1’s scarce encounters with the infected. Hordes and literal avalanches of cordyceps-encrusted monsters descend regularly, especially in the season’s earlier episodes. At one point we’re treated to an almost Helms Deep-like battle sequence in which a flood of infected attempt to wipe out another pocket of humanity; the problem is, this event, although spectacular in its design and execution, overshadows what should be the pivotal moment of the whole season. The catalyst for the rest of its story is reduced almost to a sideshow. It’s a rare miss for a creative team that displayed such elegance in the way it weaved its biggest, most shocking moments into the fabric of season 1.

After a stop-start beginning, the show settles into more of a rhythm (albeit a breakneck one). A familiar feel of deadly road-tripping is resumed, with some of the game’s most threatening foes transferring over to add horror to every dark corner – and providing some of the season’s brightest highlights, too. The midpoint is where it feels most like season 2 is reliving the glory of its predecessor, compared to earlier episodes that strain to fit new characters and Joel and Ellie’s journey into the same spotlight. But The Last of Us gets back on the road soon enough, blending moments of pure horror and touching sentimentality gracefully – episode 4 proved my favourite of the bunch.

The pace skips along too breezily for a supposedly grueling suicide mission into an unknown warzone that’s told over the span of just seven episodes. What should feel like Martin Sheen's long ordeal in Apocalypse Now is presented more like a whistlestop tour of Seattle landmarks. Ultimately, the only hearts of darkness here belong to the many people who have chosen violence as a way of life – a reality seemingly inescapable for any citizen of post-apocalypse Seattle.

Tribalism is at the core of this season, and indeed the core theme that resonates through its source material. Seattle has its warring factions, and Jackson is a tribe all of its own. The problem is that Ellie has never been one for authority, stretching back to her FEDRA training days and subsequent betrayal of the fireflies at the hands of Joel. Personal ties are what powers her choices, and the internal conflict between selfishness and selflessness is keenly explored. This is aided by Ellie’s new friends Jesse and Dina, who are played fantastically by Young Mazino and Isabela Merced, respectively.

Gabriel Luna is the early episodes’ MVP. His Tommy is the rock of Jackson: tender but strong, and the cool to his often hotheaded and impulsive brother, Joel. But it’s the charismatic Merced who’s the star of the show in season 2. As Dina, she’s a great source of warmth and humour throughout – as much as can be found in this world, anyway. A fun (bordering on jarringly quippy) foil to Ellie, she gives as good as she gets but also stands strong in their many encounters with Clickers and other such threats. (And when the time comes, she knows to just run away, too.) Between this and Alien Romulus, she’s proven that she’s perfectly at home being chased by monsters.

Bella Ramsey was fantastic as a younger version of Ellie, but their performance in season 2 didn’t really sell me on the fact that five years have passed in the world of The Last of Us. Ellie just doesn’t appear to have matured, and it sits strangely next to the very mature content of season 2. Ramsey acts with more physicality, displaying impressive combat skills, but still behaves like a child in conversation. They’re great most of the time, but in the flashes of rage they’re asked to present, it feels slightly off – especially now that Abby is around: In the brief moments we spend with her, Kaitlyn Dever is a force. Ramsey mostly remains a strong interpreter of Ellie, and they’re superb at the precocious, cheeky side of the character, but upstaged by Dever in the show’s more heated moments – she’s simply able to deal a more ferocious shade of heat.

On a production level, The Last of Us remains a near-faultless display of prestige television. Beautifully shot, it captures both the scale of the depravity taking hold over nature and presents both the beautiful and horrific details that inhabit it. The lighting stands out in particular: Sentimental moments are drenched in warm sunlight, while horror is often (and appropriately) bathed in blood-red hues or hand-lit by the flame of stalking threats. At its best, the atmosphere sparks images of Ben Wheatley's thriller-come-folk horror masterpiece, Kill List, as it merges modern architecture with thoroughly medieval, violent practices – an ominous, cultlike religious group introduced in season 2 only adds to this air of doom.

But this is a story barely half-told, and as such is hard to evaluate. The further into Seattle we get, the more we’re getting scraps of things we won’t see in their entirety until later on. It could be that by the end of season 3, these seven episodes feel like an exciting piece of a greater whole. The problem is, this is television, and we’ll have to wait many months, if not years, for those gaps to be filled in. I fear, for all that makes season 2 worth recommending, it will leave a lot of people bewildered rather than intrigued. I ultimately respect the decision to largely stick with the game’s structure – it's part of what makes the steady reveal of its story and our evolving sympathies towards its characters such a masterstroke. I’m just wary that the effect hasn’t translated all too well here.

The weather may be getting warmer, but why spend your time outside when you can be inside building new LEGO sets? While there are some fun new sets dropping in April, there are a few on sale right now that have caught our eye as well. In particular, an adorable selection of Animal Crossing LEGO sets have gotten great discounts at Amazon.

These sets include K.K.’s Concert in The Plaza (down to $46.74), the Dodo Airlines Airport (down to $23.32), Leif's Caravan & Garden Shop (down to $25.49), and a Stargazing with Celeste set (down to $8.49). These deals can also be found at Target right now. Below you can learn a little bit more about each set, including what comes in each box and how many pieces they are.

Animal Crossing LEGO Sets on Sale

K.K.’s Concert in the Plaza LEGO Set

Fly With Dodo Airlines Airport LEGO Set

Leif’s Caravan & Garden Shop LEGO Set

Stargazing With Celeste LEGO Set

The first episode of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is now streaming on Crunchyroll.

My Hero Academia is nearing its conclusion, but its first seven seasons – with their focus on the heroes-in-training of U.A. High School – have only shown us a sliver of a fascinating world where most people have superpowers (a.k.a. Quirks) and some parlay their Quirk into a lucrative career. Enter My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, an adaptation of the manga of the same name written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court. This is both a spin-off and a prequel to the main show,, and it’s not only a worthy expansion of the My Hero Academia universe, but a dazzling anime whose visual style pays tribute to classic superhero comics.

The anime follows Koichi Haimawari, an 18-year-old with a desire to help people despite having a less-than-stellar Quirk. His power allows him to travel quickly across any flat surface – as long as he makes contact with that surface with at least three limbs. Unfortunately, he’s no Flash: at top speed, he only moves about as fast as a bicycle. In many ways, Koichi is like My Hero Academia lead Deku: Both are big-hearted optimists and admirers of the world’s greatest superhero, All Might. In others, he’s a different kind of superhero for MHA: An everyman. The premiere does a lot of work to establish Koichi’s relatability. Sure he has a Quirk, but it’s not one that’s useful for superheroics. He tries to help people, but cowers when things get too real.

Even in the first episode, it is clear Vigilantes is giving audiences a different perspective on My Hero Academia. This is not a show about big villains with grand schemes fighting the A-listers. Its concerns are smaller, like the frustration of a convenience-store work being robbed by a small-time vandal with Wolverine claws. These are the villains that aren't prioritized or even acknowledged by cops or heroes. It’s in line with the parent series: The best parts of MHA’s world-building involve the way regular people view hero society; in its earliest goings, it portrayed heroes as celebrities who sometimes cared more about endorsements than saving lives. Vigilantes promises to be a fascinating new spin on that idea, with a street-level view of a world where superpowers don’t just exist, but are common.

Without a doubt, the visuals are the main draw of the series so far. Director Kenichi Suzuki (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) and the animators at Bones Studio B (Mob Psycho 100) give Vigilante an art style that is distinct from the flagship series – even compared to other series adapted from manga, this one has distinctly comic-book-y aesthetic. The character outlines are thick, the shading is striking, and the colors pop. Every frame is vibrant; like the Spider-Verse movies, sounds effects are rendered as onscreen onomatopoeia. (“Bam!” “Pow!,” etc.). The first episode doesn't reach the level of epic action of My Hero Academia, but these touches make even small alley brawls feel unique and dynamic.

Vigilantes is its own, smaller-scale story completely unconcerned with top heroes and U.A. High School. But some familiar faces show up nonetheless. Fortunately, these cameos and guest appearances (in the premiere, at least) aren’t shoehorned in as reminders of Vigilantes’ roots. Instead, they’re just another example of the fully realized, lived-in world in which these episodes take place in.

Nintendo fans are presumably eager to get their hands on the Nintendo Switch 2. But one in particular seems a bit more eager than most, as he's already starting the line in front of the Nintendo New York store two months in advance to ensure he gets one.

YouTuber ChickenDog has started making the rounds as the "first" person to line up for the Nintendo Switch 2 at the New York store location. He started on April 5, two months before the planned June 5 launch of the new Nintendo console, and he said he plans to camp out and record updates as he does so.

First in line for the Nintendo Switch 2 gonna be camping out for 2 months can’t wait to see what happens throughout my journey! #NintendoSwitch2 #NintendoNYC #nintendostoreus pic.twitter.com/Vb7wrmk52y

— ChickenDog (@ChickenDog64) April 5, 2025

The "camping out" is a little more in the colloquial sense, as ChickenDog clarified in an update video that he has an AirBnB and hotel, as well as friends in the area, so he won't be braving the elements for two straight months. He's also got a crew of friends helping him hold the spot down when he's not physically there.

It’s raining for day 3 staying strong 💪 pic.twitter.com/lkFVycX2xW

— ChickenDog (@ChickenDog64) April 7, 2025

There's certainly a history of Nintendo fans camping out for big console and game releases, including a month-long wait for the Nintendo Switch. It seems like ChickenDog is looking to follow in those footsteps, waiting out the two months for Switch 2.

The YouTuber plans on recording and uploading content while he's out there, so head over to ChickenDog's YouTube if you want to follow all the updates day-after-day. Even without a tent or sleeping bag, waiting out for two months is a long, long time, so best of luck and some sunny skies to him.

Assuming ChickenDog stays the course, he'll need to hand over $450 just for a Switch 2, or $500 if he wants the Mario Kart world bundle. That is, unless the price goes up in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have already caused Nintendo to delay Switch 2 pre-orders.

For more Switch 2 info, check out our big Nintendo Switch 2 interview with Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen going over price, mouse controls, and more.

Image credit: ChickenDog / YouTube.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Microsoft has created a playable "interactive space inspired" by Quake II using AI, and it's sparked a vociferous debate online.

As spotted by PC Gamer, the demo is powered by Microsoft's recently announced Muse and the World and Human Action Model (WHAM) AI system, and "can dynamically create gameplay visuals and simulate player behavior in real-time," which means a semi-playable environment has been generated entirely through AI and without an in-game engine.

"In this real-time tech demo, Copilot dynamically generates gameplay sequences inspired by the classic game Quake II," Microsoft explained. "Every input you make triggers the next AI-generated moment in the game, almost as if you were playing the original Quake II running on a traditional game engine. Enjoy the experience, share your thoughts, and help shape the future of AI-powered gameplay experiences.

"This bite-sized demo pulls you into an interactive space inspired by Quake II, where AI crafts immersive visuals and responsive action on the fly. It’s a groundbreaking glimpse at a brand new way of interacting with games, turning cutting-edge research into a quick and compelling playable demo."

All that sounds pretty impressive, but the demo itself is... well, less so.

After The Game Awards boss Geoff Keighley shared a brief video of the demo in action on X / Twitter, hundreds of people responded, with few having anything positive to say.

Microsoft has created an AI-generated replica of Quake II that you can play in browser.

"Every frame is created on the fly by an AI world model."

Play it here:https://t.co/WGQymDOmsj pic.twitter.com/35MX5aHPbF

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) April 5, 2025

"Man, I don't want the future of games to be AI-generated slop," said one Redditor. "There will be a point where it will be easier to use AI, and then all the greedy studios will do it exclusively. The human element will be removed.

"And the worst part is gamers will buy it. They buy skins for 100 dollars. They will buy whatever you sell them."

"Microsoft's boast that they want 'to build a whole catalog of games that use this new AI model,' despite it not being clear if the current technique will ever even be capable of letting you turn around without moving to a random point on the map let alone come up with an original game, really typifies what's wrong with AI and the tech industry," added another.

"I had a better experience literally just imagining the game in my head," said another commenter.

Not everyone was so quick to dismiss it, however.

"I don't know why everything has to be doom and gloom," said a more cheery respondent. "It's a demo for a reason. It shows the future possibilities. Having an AI that is able to create a coherent and consistent world is crazy. But this cannot be used to create a full game or anything enjoyable. You cannot play this. Seems like a tool for early concept/pitching phase. This can also bring improvement in other fields in AI as what it is doing is impressive.

"This is not even a product yet but a demo showing how much they've improved from just a few months ago."

Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney had a rather different response:

pic.twitter.com/XidCvhLDTI

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 5, 2025

Generative AI is one of the hottest topics within the video game and entertainment industries, which have both suffered massive layoffs in recent years. It has drawn criticism from players and creators due to a mix of ethical issues, rights issues, and AI’s struggles to produce content audiences actually enjoy. For instance, Keywords Studios attempted to create an experimental game internally using entirely AI. The game failed, with Keywords citing to investors that AI was “unable to replace talent.”

Still, that hasn’t put off a number of video game companies from using generative AI in the development of their products. Activision recently disclosed the use of generative AI for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 assets as part of new requirements on Steam, amid a backlash to an "AI slop" zombie Santa loading screen.

And last month, Horizon actor Ashly Burch addressed a controversial AI Aloy video that leaked online, using it to call attention to the demands of striking voice actors.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

As Marvel Rivals Season 1 nears its final chapter, Season 2 quickly approaches, promising dozens of hero balance adjustments, new superpowered Team-Ups, and the introduction of Emma Frost and Ultron as playable characters. But as we eagerly await Season 2’s arrival, the fight between good and evil rages on with a slightly different meta. Since the publication of our Season 1 Tier list in late January, Netease Games has implemented the Marvel Rivals Season 1.5 or Mid-Season Patch Notes, which included over 20 hero balance changes, and they made even further refinements to hero balance just under a month ago.

Now, three weeks removed from the most recent hero balance adjustments, the community has had plenty of time to solve the meta and test a near infinite variety of team compositions. With the meta crystallized, standouts like Luna Snow and Hela continue to reign, some dominant characters like Mantis and Storm have lost a bit of luster, and other heroes like Groot and Winter Soldier have improved on their already stellar performance.

This Marvel Rivals Season 1 Tier list will rank all 37 Heroes in Marvel Rivals from S-Tier down to D-Tier, to help you decide which characters to pick in your end-of-season Competitive Matches. Your character selection in these final days is especially important because the arrival of Season 2 on April 11th also brings a rank reset that will drop your rank by 9 divisions, so let’s get on with our Marvel Rivals Season 1.5 Tier list:

Marvel Rivals Tier List

• S-Tier
  • Doctor Strange, Groot, Magneto, Hela, Namor, Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Loki, Luna
• A-Tier
  • Hulk, The Thing, Venom, Hawkeye, Psylocke, Storm, Cloak & Dagger, Mantis
• B-Tier
  • Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Magik, Spider-Man, Squirrel Girl, The Punisher, Adam Warlock, Rocket Raccoon, Jeff the Land Shark
• C-Tier
  • Peni Parker, Black Panther, Black Widow, Human Torch, Moon Knight
• D-Tier
  • Iron Fist, Mister Fantastic, Scarlet Witch

S-Tier

Doctor Strange

Early in Season 1, Doctor Strange was arguably the best tank in Marvel Rivals because of his versatility, ease of use, and fight-winning ultimate. Strange is a strong pick across all ranks, especially when paired with the ideal composition, but the 50 HP nerf he received in the mid-season patch, along with the rise of Magneto, has shifted the meta away from the Sorcerer Supreme in high ranks. Still, Strange just barely hangs on to his S-Tier title because most players understand how to play alongside him, his ultimate remains a threat against most comps, and his well-rounded kit performs well regardless of the game mode or map.

Groot

Despite only receiving a minor buff to his Thornlash Wall placement range in the Season 1.5 balance update, Groot has emerged as the tank with the most carry potential in the game because of his game-changing ultimate and his ability to isolate targets or block incoming damage with his walls. Groot’s early Season 1 partner, Moon Knight, has since received an ultimate nerf through a bug fix, but that doesn’t make Groot’s ultimate any less lethal. Pair Groot’s ultimate with Namor or Winter Soldier to decimate the enemy team regardless of the active support ults.

Magneto

Though Magneto had already earned an S-Tier rank at the start of Season 1, he’s emerged as one of the best, if not the best, Vanguard in Marvel Rivals. In the mid-season patch, Magneto received nerfs to his shield energy consumption and maximum duration but received a slight damage buff on his primary fire as compensation. However, Magneto’s improvement has more to do with his versatility as an enabler. Whether bubbling Venom on dives, Star-Lord as he pops his ultimate, or saving his backline, Magneto is the quintessential off-tank and excels alongside Groot, The Thing, Venom, Doctor Strange, and more. Plus, Meteor M is a great counter to ultimates such as Star-Lord’s Galactic Legend, and the projectile can still be thrown to secure eliminations through many support ults.

Hela

Hela was and remains the pick-or-ban Duelist. So long as her primary fire damage sits at 70, she’ll continue to two-tap headshot most squishies from range and take over your lobbies. As if that weren’t enough, her kit has mobility and crowd control, and she can dominate regardless of the composition, game mode, or map.

Namor

While Namor was placed in A-Tier in our previous tier list because of his ability to stave off flankers, he’s been bumped up to S because of his synergy with Groot’s ultimate and his Team-Up with Luna Snow. The Frozen Spawn Team-Up is even often the target of bans, where Luna is banned not only to avoid her ultimate but to enable a dive composition by weakening Namor. Meanwhile, pairing Namor’s Horn of Proteus ult with Groot’s ultimate unleashes enough damage to cut through most support ultimates.

Star-Lord

In the mid-season patch, Star-Lord received a buff to his Rocket Propulsion’s maximum energy, and though this undoubtedly helped his survivability, we admittedly underestimated his strength in our previous tier list. Star-Lord is heavily favored in 1v1 duels, he can chunk down tanks from range, and he’s only further enabled by the rise of Magneto. Magneto can bubble Star-Lord for added protection when popping his ultimate, or Star-Lord can call for a bubble as he uses Blaster Barrage to farm ult charge off a group of enemies. Very few Heroes can effectively deal with a good Star-Lord, his ultimate is still nuts, and he thrives in just about any situation.

Winter Soldier

Since getting buffs to the base health and bonus health he receives when using his abilities at the start of Season 1, the Winter Soldier has only further established himself among the best Marvel Rivals Duelists across all ranks. Bucky shoots projectiles the size of beach balls, his Bionic Hook can mean instant death to any kidnapped character, and his ultimate synergizes perfectly with Groot’s. Pop Kraken Impact to smash enemies imprisoned by Groot, and if you don’t instantly secure a kill, a couple of follow-up shots will almost certainly reset your slam to enable your team to dismantle your foes.

Wolverine

Wolverine has received no balance changes since the start of Season 1, but his ability to cut down tanks and kidnap targets remains uniquely invaluable. Wolverine can also deal with Groot if he’s not paired with Magneto or Invisible Woman, which elevates his stock in the current meta. Unfortunately, Wolverine’s biggest weakness is making it past the ban selection screen.

Invisible Woman

Invisible Woman was an S-Tier Strategist on arrival, and little has changed since because the only balance change she’s received is a slight ultimate cost nerf. Her ultimate grants extreme healing to all teammates within its radius, her push and pull allow her to repel divers or punish bad positioning, and she provides some of the most consistent healing and damage output in the role. Invisible Woman slots in well to just about any composition or Strategist pairing, and she can grant extra shielding to her fellow Fantastic Four members.

Loki

Though Loki was placed in A-Tier at the start of Season 1, the community has further solved this hero, and his true potential places him among the best Strategists in the game. Loki’s healing and damage are amplified by his clones, his Regeneration Domain lamp can save you or your teammates from incoming ultimates, and Loki’s copy is still broken, especially when there’s a Luna in play. Finally, don’t forget that Hela’s prevalence in the meta lets them abuse the overpowered Ragnarok Rebirth Team-Up.

Luna Snow

The frequency of Luna Snow’s ultimate was reduced in the mid-season patch, but it’s done little to remove her from the top spot in the Strategist role. Luna’s ultimate continues to provide 12 seconds of near invincibility if the enemy team hasn’t built a coordinated ult combo, her healing and damage output are excellent, and her freeze and Ice Arts provide plenty of survivability. Luna is an easy S-Tier, and she’ll likely retain the title until her ultimate receives major adjustments.

A-Tier

Hulk

Hulk’s Team-Up Anchor health bonus took a hit in the Season 1.5 patch, and though this undoubtedly impacted the length and effectiveness of his engagements, Hulk has fallen to A-Tier because other tanks get more value with less effort. Venom is better in true dive comps, The Thing is more effective when brawling, and Invisible Woman and Winter Soldier can easily disrupt his disengagements. Nevertheless, Hulk continues to be an elite Vanguard that is underutilized in the current meta.

The Thing

The Thing is the best tank in A-Tier, and he may even make a convincing argument for the final spot in S. The Thing’s Earthbound CC effect can make it near impossible to play certain Duelists, he’s immune to Invisible Woman’s pushes, and he pairs beautifully alongside a Magneto that’s generous with his bubbles. Still, The Thing suffers if Groot makes it past the ban phase, so be sure to communicate with your teammates to ensure your game isn’t miserable.

Venom

Bumped up to A-Tier in this tierlist, Venom is the best dive tank in Marvel Rivals. When paired with synergistic dive characters, Venom can slaughter enemy backlines if they’ve forgone a triple Strategist comp, and he pairs incredibly well with Magneto, who can bubble engages or disengages to maximize Venom’s uptime. Venom is also helped by his ultimate cost reduction in the mid-season patch and the Frenzied Arrival adjustment that now knocks enemies inward upon landing to set up follow-up damage.

Hawkeye

In the mid-season patch, Hawkeye received several buffs despite already sitting in A-Tier on our previous tier list. His base health was bumped up to 275, the cooldown of Crescent Slash was cut by three seconds, his ultimate now increases his bow draw speed, and its damage multiplier was increased. Hawkeye was already a formidable Duelist because of his one-shot potential, but his usage has surprisingly decreased toward the end of the season, likely because he still can’t match Hela’s hitscan firepower. But with Hela as a high priority ban, more people should be picking up the bow and selecting this A-Tier Duelist.

Psylocke

Psylocke’s only balance change in the mid-season patch was a buff to her Psionic Disc Team-Up with Magik, which improved the conversion ratio of lost health to improve her sustained combat potential. Still, her pick rate has unexpectedly plummeted in the current meta. Psylocke continues to be an A-Tier Duelist, and while she thrives in dive-centric compositions, she can also play on an off-angle to chunk down tanks and secure kills on low-health targets.

Storm

After being a terror toward the start of Season 1, Storm received nerfs in the mid-season patch, including a damage falloff nerf and a reduction to her personal damage amplification, but her ally damage amplification was slightly increased. Storm is still an excellent pick in most ranks, but her usage has seen a decline in large part because of the prevalence of Hela, Winter Soldier, and The Punisher.

Cloak & Dagger

Cloak & Dagger were a definitive S-Tier pick at the start of Season 1, but their ultimate received a hefty nerf in the Season 1.5 patch. The nerf increased the ultimate cost, its duration was reduced, and most importantly, Cloak & Dagger’s ultimate no longer stacks when the trails overlap. In a game featuring busted ultimates like Loki’s and Luna’s, this nerf has left Cloak & Dagger in a bit of an awkward spot. But because their neutral game is a reliable source of healing and damage, Cloak & Dagger are still a proficient Strategist in triple support comps or when chosen due to bans. With all this in mind, Cloak & Dagger just barely hold on to an A-Tier ranking, but they’re not far off from the Strategists in B.

Mantis

In Season 0, Mantis was praised for her consistent damage and ally damage amplification, but a nerf in the Season 1 patch has similarly knocked her down a tier. The nerf noticeably reduced Mantis’s movement speed, which has made it easier for divers and flankers to eliminate her. With that said, Mantis can still excel in triple support comps where she can focus on enabling her team, and she shines when paired with Adam Warlock for the Nature’s Soul Team-Up rez.

B-Tier

Captain America

Previously ranked in C-Tier, Captain America has since received several buffs to increase his survivability, reduce the time it takes to build his ultimate, and provide improvements to his iconic shield. These buffs have made Cap a viable pick in many situations, especially when you master the ebb and flow of engagements, but he’s still more likely to thrive in lobbies below Grandmaster.

Thor

Thor is another Hero in an awkward spot in the current meta because he essentially operates as a beefy Duelist that farms insane damage and can provide disruption in both the frontlines and backlines. Unfortunately, the nature of his playstyle and ultimate have the God of Thunder sitting on the bench behind the likes of Magneto, Groot, and The Thing. But make no mistake, Thor can be near unkillable in low elo lobbies, and his Team-Up with Hela only augments his power.

Iron Man

Early in Season 1, Iron Man was often only selected when paired with the Hulk for the Gamma Overdrive Team-Up that enhanced nearly all of his abilities. Iron Man’s has since received noteworthy damage buffs that have increased his viability without his green-colored pal. However, like Storm, Iron Man’s potency is greatly reduced by the excellence of Hela, Star-Lord, and Winter Soldier, who can handily take him down. This places Iron Man in B-Tier, but he bumps up to low A-Tier on maps with advantageous architecture.

Magik

On paper, Magik would receive a higher ranking because of the lethality of her combos and her elite brawl potential when paired with a supportive cast. Yet, Magik simply doesn’t play well into the S-Tier Heroes on this tier list, which relegates her into more of a niche role than she’s been used to. She can still farm against some team comps or on specific maps, and she grants Black Panther and Psylocke a powerful recall Team-Up to enhance their dives, but there are more prolific options in the Duelist roster.

Spider-Man

Since the Season 1.5 balance patch, Spider-Man has climbed up to high B-Tier. In the mid-season patch, his Web-Cluster uptime was increased, and his Suit Expulsion Team-Up with Venom was adjusted to provide invincibility for 1 second instead of granting 4 seconds of 50% damage reduction. This change alone has drastically increased Spidey’s pick rate and viability and arguably made him the best dive Duelist in this meta, particularly on console. But if you’re up against a reliable triple support comp or lack a Venom, you may want to consider swapping to a Hero that provides more value for less effort.

Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl remains on the lower end of B-Tier because of her ease of use, crowd control combos, and high burst damage. She’s far from the most reliable character in the game because securing kills can be inconsistent, but her impressive burst damage and improved ultimate can be irritating in lower elo lobbies.

The Punisher

The Punisher has always been a solid pick because of his reliable damage output, but he lacks the quick lethality and utility provided by some of the better Duelists on this list. Still, he’s the perfect character for new players because of his ease of use, and his Team-Up with Rocket drastically improves his effectiveness.

Adam Warlock

You may be surprised to see Adam Warlock in B-Tier because of his presence in pro play, where his passive, Team-Up, and ultimate abilities help keep his team in the battle. Soul Bond is also among the most powerful Strategist abilities in the game since it enables his team to survive many fight-winning ultimates. Unfortunately, Adam loses some of his luster in uncoordinated play, but he can still perform well in triple support comps or when paired with Star-Lord and Mantis.

Rocket Raccoon

The slippery Rocket Raccoon is among the most beloved Strategists in Marvel Rivals, and though we still have him in B-Tier, he’s definitely raised his stock within the tier. This is largely due to his Team-Up ability that enables The Punisher and further augments an already lethal Winter Soldier. Rocket’s rez, consistent healing, and movement make him a larger asset than we gave him credit for in the previous tierlist, but we remain unconvinced of his viability outside of triple support compositions because his ultimate doesn’t compare to the likes of Luna, Loki, Invisible Woman, and Mantis.

Jeff the Land Shark

In our Season 1 tier list, we gave Jeff the honorable badge of the worst Strategist in the game, even though many Jeff connoisseurs can turn the Land Shark into a seemingly unkillable pest. This placed him in C-Tier because we were unconvinced that the flanking Jeff playstyle was a viable one. We’re happy to report that we were wrong, as Jeff has carved a niche for himself in many triple support compositions, and he even earned some playtime in the Marvel Rivals Grand Finals. Though Jeff is still arguably the worst Strategist in the game, he’s far from a throw pick and thrives when picked in a composition that enables him to distract and eliminate unsuspecting enemies.

C-Tier

Peni Parker

Despite receiving an impressive buff to her Armor Expulsion Team-Up, Peni is still the worst Vanguard in Rivals. Though she likely farms in low elo lobbies where her mines can see a massive uptick in value, her ultimate is virtually useless, and nearly all of her abilities are comfortably outclassed by the other tanks. Thankfully, the Season 2 balance patch will increase her base HP by 100, and her primary fire will drastically improve because she’ll be able to deal critical damage, and her movement reduction when firing will get cut in half.

Black Panther

Black Panther received heavy-handed nerfs to his survivability in the Season 1 Patch, and he hasn’t recovered since. Black Panther’s viability is further damaged by the continued prevalence of triple support compositions in many ranks. This makes it far more difficult to pick off supports, and other divers like Spider-Man and Psylocke simply bring more to the table.

Black Widow

Though this may just be the most controversial ranking on this tierlist, Black Widow is moving from the depths of D-Tier to a niche C-Tier. Obviously, making the most of your Black Widow pick will be determined entirely by the consistency of your aim, but her magazine size has nearly doubled, and her ultimate has been improved. So, while Black Widow remains vulnerable to all the dive characters in the game and only thrives in compositions and maps that ensure long sightlines, she’s no longer an instant throw pick in lower elo lobbies.

Human Torch

Making his debut on our tier list, Human Torch is a mediocre Hero that’s sadly outclassed by his fellow flyers, Star-Lord, Iron Man, and Storm. Johnny received some damage buffs in the most recent balance update, but they’ve proven to be insufficient fixes, especially in a meta where his soft counters like Hela are dominating lobbies.

Moon Knight

Moon Knight was ranked in A-Tier on the previous tier list because of his ease of use and insane ultimate damage that paired perfectly with Groot’s ultimate. This combo still works in many situations, but Moon Knight’s ultimate was heavily nerfed by a bug fix that makes it far easier to survive. Pair this with the fact that his ankh gets little to no value in high-tier lobbies, and Moon Knight is, at best, a situational pick.

D-Tier

Iron Fist

Since our previous tier list, Iron Fist has gone through a bit of an identity crisis as Netease aimed to position him as more of a tank buster and less of a flanker. Iron Fist now deals damage based on the enemy’s maximum health, and he got a slight HP buff to improve his survivability. Still, his telegraphed engagements are easy to fend off with attentive supports, and he lacks the frontline presence needed to reliably take on Vanguards on his own. In the end, Iron Fist’s micro-rework is seemingly a failure, and he should only be selected by specialists who fully understand the Hero’s current limitations.

Mister Fantastic

On release, Mister Fantastic was marketed as a Vanguard and Duelist hybrid, and sadly, this identity continues to be his downfall. Sure, Mister Fantastic has impressive survivability for a Duelist, but you might as well select a Vanguard with more HP and frontline presence. Similarly, Mister Fantastic lacks the lethality of even the most average of Duelists, so selecting him can be hard to justify. Mister Fantastic sat at a niche C-Tier in our last tierlist, but he’s become one of the worst characters in the game.

Scarlet Witch

In Season 2, Scarlet Witch’s primary fire is being fine-tuned, her damage is being amplified, she’s receiving a new Team-Up, and she’ll move faster during her ultimate. Unfortunately, these balance adjustments won’t arrive until next Friday, so for now, Scarlet Witch continues to be a great pick in lower elo and a difficult one when you reach Diamond or above. She simply lacks the neutral firepower provided by most of the Duelist roster, and her ultimate is incredibly easy to avoid unless she pulls out some trickery alongside Doctor Strange.

Dio Lacayo is a freelance contributor with IGN who has an unhealthy obsession with platformers, Paddington, and Overwatch. And before you say anything, no, it's not a Jojo’s reference.

Minecraft is everywhere right now — including on your feed in the form of a few unfinished clips from A Minecraft Movie that have gone viral on social media. Two sneak peek videos of the new Minecraft film before it was finished have made their way around the internet, and it seems as though fans are getting a kick out of them following the film’s record-breaking opening weekend in the U.S.

Warning! Spoilers for A Minecraft Movie follow:

The first clip features Jack Black as Steve, the film’s central protagonist and Overworld expert, introducing his own personal Minecraft world to the viewers. Naturally, because Black is in the spotlight here, the clip features him dancing alongside cows and pandas of Overworld and it’s super silly.

GTFOH 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/2oYUBizgAe pic.twitter.com/X4pLsZLarz

— A.K.A. JLongb0ne (@JonsLongs) April 4, 2025

The second video focuses on a huge battle, showcasing Steve and Garrett 'The Garbage Man' Garrison (played by Jason Momoa, the film’s other lead) falling out of the sky together and landing in a body of water.

the unfinished CGI version of the minecraft movie might be the funniest movie i have ever watched pic.twitter.com/jToi57c5wo

— kooby (@iamkooby) April 6, 2025

The clips seem to be missing CGI and VFX elements, which give them this uncanny kids-show-on-a-soundstage feeling — a far cry from the effects-heavy final product of the film.

The Minecraft adaptation has been a smash hit, especially when it comes to younger theatergoers. The film’s “chicken jockey” scene — yeah, this one’s got big IYKYK energy folks, sorry — has incited major reactions among audiences to the point where the cops have been allegedly called to handle the mayhem in select screenings. Plus, the box office return has already been quite staggering, collecting a massive $301 million for its opening weekend. Needless to say, the kids have been, overall, loving this film.

IGN’s A Minecraft Movie review returned a 6/10. We said: “Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess puts a surprisingly specific and funny comic spin on A Minecraft Movie’s kid-friendly adventure, especially in its less antic first half.”

If you’ve seen the film, be sure to check out IGN’s A Minecraft Movie Ending and Post-Credits Scene Explained With Director Jared Hess and Minecraft's Torfi Frans Ólafsson.

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

If you're anything like me, you're constantly telling yourself you won’t buy more Pokémon cards while also keeping a mental checklist of which sets still have a shot at pulling something ridiculous. That’s exactly why I grabbed the Azure Legends Tin the second I saw it back in stock on Amazon for $29.99. Five packs for under $30 is solid, but two of those are Surging Sparks, and that alone makes this thing worth cracking open.

Pokémon TCG: Azure Legends Tin Has Two Surging Sparks Packs

My Favorite Surging Sparks Cards

I want more excuses to open Surging Sparks packs because pulling something like Pikachu ex (SIR) feels like finding a winning lottery ticket, except way cuter and slightly more legal. I think the art alone justifies framing it, and its ability to hang in top-tier decks makes it that much sweeter. I also love Latias ex (SIR) for finally giving me a reason to hunt down the matching Latios and live out my “twin dragons soaring through art” fantasy. And if you’re sleeping on Milotic ex, that’s your loss. It’s stunning, shuts down Tera Pokémon like a pro, and honestly deserves more hype.

My Favorite Stellar Crown Cards

I’m chasing Terapagos ex (SIR) like it's a gem-studded unicorn. It's visually ridiculous and feels like the set's “trophy card.” I think Bulbasaur (Illustration Rare) is perfect if you like your pulls with a side of nostalgia and Pidgey cameos, which I do. And Dachsbun ex (SIR)? It’s a bread dog. A literal loaf with glitter. I shouldn’t love it, but here we are. Don’t tell my competitive brain.

My Favorite Temporal Forces Cards

I open Temporal Forces hoping for Raging Bolt ex (SIR) and fully expecting disappointment, which somehow makes pulling it even better. It’s one of those cards that looks like it came straight out of a boss fight and hits just as hard. Iron Crown ex is another top-tier choice. It boosts Iron Hands ex damage, which basically means you’re stealing Prize cards like it’s a Black Friday brawl. And then there’s Walking Wake ex (SIR). In my opinion, it looks like a dream sequence in a prehistoric fever dream, and I mean that in the best way.

My Favorite Obsidian Flames Cards

I think it’s illegal to talk about Obsidian Flames without mentioning Charizard ex (SIR). It's the card everyone wants, including me, and somehow still feels special no matter how many versions of this dragon exist. I’m also a big fan of Pidgeot ex (SIR), which is basically the MVP of utility cards dressed like it walked out of an indie graphic novel. And then there's Cleffa (Illustration Rare) — a tiny cosmic marshmallow that looks like it wandered into a Studio Ghibli scene. I want five copies just to look at them.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted on April 3, 2025, prior to Nintendo’s announcement about delaying Switch 2 pre-orders in the United States due to the potential impact of tariffs. Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.

After getting hands-on with Nintendo Switch 2 at last week’s reveal in New York, IGN spoke with the hardware leads spearheading the development of Nintendo’s newest console. Kouchi Kawamoto and Takuhiro Dohta from Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning and Development Department, along with Tetusya Sasaki from Nintendo’s Technology Development Division, talked to IGN’s Brian Altano about the technology behind Switch 2, the classic Nintendo handhelds that have inspired them and the impact former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s legacy had on the development of the console.

IGN: Can you talk about the SOC system on a chip the Nintendo Switch 2 was running? Is it Nvidia Tegra? If not, can you reveal which graphics architecture it's based on?

Nintendo: I think you'll find a lot of the details in NVIDIA's information that they've shared.

IGN: One of the notes in the direct suggested to hit 4K in dock mode, upscaling may be required. What kind of upscaling is this system using? Is it using AI upscaling?

Nintendo: I think probably the main kind of easiest upscaling to use is the DLSS that Nvidia provides. So from that standpoint, I guess you could say this AI.

Nintendo: That said, we're planning on providing other options of upscaling through software and so ranging from something that uses AI to something that's not. I think you'll see that as time passes. And lastly, I'll add that even though there is upscaling, there's also the option to not upscale and just output natively. So that's also an option that developers can use.

IGN: What about ray tracing? Is that something that your team experimented with?

Nintendo: Just like DLSS, that's when we're kind of making the graphics of a game. We consider ray tracing as just another tool to do that – it's not that we're going to try to use ray tracing on everything, but really trying to figure out what types of graphics, what types of screens, what types of situations are best suited for ray tracing, and then trying to apply that. That's the approach we took when we did all of our researching and experimenting.

IGN: We saw that the switch two supports third party cameras. What about third-party mice?

Nintendo: You're talking about USB mice, things like that?

IGN: Yeah, not the animal!

Nintendo: [Laughs] It really depends on the game software with the structure. So if that software supports third-party USB mice, yes.

IGN: I have a six-year-old daughter. She took my Switch and I don't get to play it anymore. She also has dropped it a lot and it's okay. What have you done with Switch 2 to make sure that it can survive a kid dropping it on the floor or dropping it down the stairs?

Nintendo: Nintendo has made very sturdy devices through the ages and I believe that this time around as well, we've made something that will be sturdy.

Nintendo: Yeah, you can drop it a little bit. I don’t recommend it though!

IGN: I also have a Steam Deck and I like it, but the fan gets very loud when I'm playing high end games. It's almost distracting. What did Nintendo do to make sure that that was taken into account when designing the hardware for Switch 2?

Nintendo: When a fan is loud it really does affect one's gameplay, so that is definitely something we had in the back of our mind during the development of the Nintendo Switch 2. The system is made to adapt depending on the processing capability so I'm kind of curious to hear from the others here what their experience has been like.

Nintendo: When I was playing it it's not like, “Wow, there's a fan in there”. It hasn’t really gotten to the point where, even through development of the hardware, it has bothered me in any way.

Nintendo: The hardware team put quite a lot of effort into making sure the airflow was smooth. So a lot is coming in but there's a lot coming out, and as such the fan noise isn't too significant.

IGN: Nintendo invented the directional pad and it's been important for video games for my entire life. What did your team do to ensure that the Dpad on the Switch 2 was great for fighting games, puzzle games, platformers, all that fun stuff?

Nintendo: You may think that every time you see the directional pad that it's just the same button being reused, but the truth is we do make small adjustments and add small changes every time. I have people – our development and game development teams – try them out when we make a new one.

Nintendo: This is a more detailed point but for the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller directional buttons, we made it so that it's even more difficult to have mistaken input. Of course, it doesn't completely eliminate that possibility but it should reduce it.

IGN: I'm a big fan of Nintendo handheld systems and always have been since the original Game Boy. What are each of your personal favorite classic Nintendo handhelds?

Nintendo: I have fond memories for each of the systems that have come out but for me personally, I think the original Game Boy really has a special place in my heart. Part of the reason for that is that since then there's obviously new systems that came out, like the Game Boy Advance for example. But I just distinctly remember my mother with the original Game Boy playing Tetris, and that’s just burned into my memory.

IGN: Some of you worked with the legendary Satoru Iwata. Is there any specific part of his legacy that inspired the Nintendo Switch 2 design?

Nintendo: There are various aspects but what comes to mind first is the magnet connector. We originally didn't adopt it for the Nintendo Switch because it wasn't as secure as we would've liked. However, we put a lot of effort into this aspect and that has come to fruition.

Nintendo: It was Mr. Iwata's concerns about the magnets that meant it didn't come to fruition [for the original Switch]. So being able to actually address all of the issues and create something that probably would've met his standards is moving and meaningful.

IGN: I love it. I think I took the JoyCon on and off 20 times yesterday!

Nintendo: I actually have a question for you. You saw the footage of the JoyCon 2 snapping on and off. Was the impression you got from that footage different from actually snapping it on and off?

IGN: Yes. I thought it was going to be like a refrigerator magnet and it was going to be wobbly loose and instead it just goes ‘snap’ and clicks in. And I was like, “Oh, that feels really nice.”

Nintendo: I'm very relieved to hear that!

IGN: Yeah, they told me I had to stop doing it!

Brian Altano has been playing Mario Kart for 30+ years, and it's crazy that 10 of those years were spent with Mario Kart 8. We haven't seen Battle Mode for Mario Kart World yet, but he's still holding out hope that Block Fort can come back. Bring back Block Fort!

Currys have been hitting us hard with the discounts lately, but the UK retailer is back with not just giving us a deal on Nintendo eShop credit, but also offering 15% off gift cards for PlayStation, Xbox, Roblox, EA, Meta Quest, and even EA Sports FC points. When you use the discount code "PERKS15APRIL" at checkout, you'll get 15% knocked off the price.

Right now, you can grab the £50 Nintendo eShop digital gift card—the one featuring Bowser—for just £42.50. That’s a straight £7.50 saving, but the real win is that you still get the full £50 credit to spend however you like on the eShop, whether that’s on games, DLC, or a Switch Online subscription.

This kind of deal is a no-brainer if you’re already planning to pick up digital games in the near future, and it's especially useful with the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon (preorders are now live, by the way).

Plus, Switch 2 games are going to be cheaper when bought digitally (e.g. Mario Kart World, which has been confirmed to cost £75 physically in the UK, but £67 digitally), meaning you’ll get even more value out of your eShop credit compared to physical copies.

If titles like Donkey Kong Bananza or the premium-priced Mario Kart World are on your wishlist, stacking discounted credit now is one of the smartest ways to take the sting out of next-gen pricing when buying digitally.

When it comes to the discounts on other gaming gift cards, PlayStation £150 gift card is by far the best deal in the bunch, giving you a solid £23 discount, meaning you’ll only pay £127 instead of the usual £150. With that full £150 credit, you’re looking at a lot of value.

For example, you could use it to preorder Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for £69.99, and the Digital Deluxe Edition of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for £89.99. Together, that’s £149.98—so you’ll effectively save £22.98 by grabbing the card at the discounted price.

However, keep in mind that not every gaming gift card on Curry’s list comes with the 15% discount. Currys only seemed to have a limited number of each digital gift card available to sell, making the discount code fail if you add one out of stock item to your basket and try to apply it at checkout.

The way to tell if a gift card is still in stock is to look out for the "Get 10% off marked price" label under each item's price or the "DIGIWEEKENDER10" discount code underneath the title—part of Curry's other promotion which gives you a smaller discount of 10%.
If you see this two labels on a gift card you like, that means the product is available for you to apply the "PERKS15APRIL" code instead and get the larger 15% discount.

If you’re eager to grab the latest games or get ahead of some highly anticipated releases, it’s a good idea to act quickly and lock in this deal before it disappears.

Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted on April 3, 2025, prior to Nintendo’s announcement about delaying Switch 2 pre-orders in the United States due to the potential impact of tariffs. Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.

Nintendo has finally pulled back the curtain on Nintendo Switch 2, revealing the company's vision for its next-generation console and its games. But overshadowing dicussion around what the Switch 2 is capable of, the new gameplay mechanics in Mario Kart World, and OG Switch games that will find a new lease of life on Switch 2, is a backlash to Nintendo's pricing strategy.

We sat down with Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience Bill Trinen to talk about the big first-party reveals like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, the strategy behind pricing Switch 2 at $450 and Mario Kart at $80, the decision to release Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour as a paid digital product rather than a pack-in game, his excitement for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's mouse controls and Masahiro Sakurai's return to the Kirby franchise, and more. Plus, does Bill know what Switch 2 cartridges taste like? Read our full interview below to find out.

IGN: Congrats on finally unveiling Nintendo Switch 2. How does it feel to finally have it out there?

Bill Trinen: Well, it's just exciting to be able to get all the details out there. For us, the most important thing is that we really want people to recognize and understand that Nintendo Switch 2 is the true successor to Nintendo Switch, takes what you love about Nintendo Switch, and then builds on it with a whole lot of new features and new capabilities and new games that take advantage of those. And really takes what has evolved gaming with Nintendo into something that's a lot more social through things like GameChat, which takes what was the anytime, anywhere play of Nintendo Switch and makes it more all together, anytime, anywhere.

IGN: So you just mentioned GameChat, that was a huge part of your presentation yesterday. Why was now the time to finally introduce Nintendo voice chat, which is something that people have wanted on your consoles for a really long time?

Trinen: Well, I would say we've always looked at it from the perspective of, 'what is Nintendo's real strength and what are Nintendo's real values?' And for us, the most important thing is putting smiles on people's faces and doing it in a way that people can see and experience the smiles that they have with the people that are most important to them.

And certainly there have been other game systems with chat and things like that up until now, but what we wanted to do was to take something that could finally replicate that same room, couch multiplayer, couch co-op experience and joy, and bring that into an online space. And so for us, GameChat is why it's so important is the combination of being able to see their faces, being able to see what they're doing from a gameplay perspective and being able to feel like you've finally got a virtual space where you can have those same experiences that you might have in your living room. So that's why with the power of, I would say Switch 2, being able to finally execute that has been a big focus for us.

IGN: Cool. And we always knew if you did voice chat, it would be in the most Nintendo way, and just with the camera and the mic on the unit in the dock and you say, 'oh, don't worry the background noise won't get in.' It was a cool presentation.

Trinen: Good. And that's the nice thing is with the built-in microphone, it's like, yeah, you can just voice chat if you want and you can do that portably as well.

IGN: Well, let's talk about Donkey Kong Bananza. I love the title by the way, it's perfect. Although last night when I was scrambling to type my preview, it autocorrected to 'Bonanza' every time, and I was like, 'I’ve got to add this to my dictionary.' But I love the name and it's so exciting to see DK back in the spotlight after so long. And I noticed so many things just getting my hands on the controller for the first time. So when you guys got this game in at Nintendo of America, what stuck out to you the most? What was your favorite part about working on it from a localization perspective or anything else?

Trinen: Well, so I'll start with a really terrible joke, which is I like to call this the most groundbreaking game in video game history.

IGN: [Laughs] I used that in my preview today. I said, 'you have to break all the ground you can because you might make a groundbreaking discovery.'

Trinen: [Laughs] That's right. So for us, the number one thing that I think is probably just the most satisfying about this game is just DK the character. He's back, he's back in a big way. And DK is a character within the pantheon of Nintendo characters who has always been a bit on the more powerful side, wild at times, silly.

And all of that has just been thoroughly baked into this game. And as the character DK, you're able to use the power of his punches and you might attack an enemy in the environment, and that enemy goes flying and hits a wall and the wall crumbles and you see something there, and that then entices you to go in and start digging through the terrain to see what else you can find back there. And it just creates this incredibly rewarding cycle of destruction and discovery that is woven all throughout the game.

IGN: The discovery via destruction was a really cool cornerstone of this game from my time with it. I thought that was just really great. And the second that I started playing it, I just felt the DNA of Super Mario Odyssey and Mr. [Yoshiaki] Koizumi's team all over this in so many ways. Are they the ones that are working on this?

Trinen: It's a very good question. You'll have to stay tuned. We always like to start by showcasing the game and getting people focused on the gameplay, but we'll have some information to share about the developer in due time.

IGN: Okay. Can you tell me, is this internally developed? Because there hasn't been an internal Donkey Kong game since I believe Jungle Beat was the last one?

Trinen: Jungle Beat was the last one.

IGN: You had the NST (Nintendo Software Technology) do the Mario vs. Donkey Kongs, but...

Trinen: NST has done the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, but this is going to be a fun one.

IGN: So nothing more on that?

Trinen: Nothing more on that yet.

IGN: Okay. I had to try. Let's talk about Mario Kart World, because there's so much great stuff in there, but I think the cow is what's stealing everybody's heart. Did you expect that reaction? There's Akira memes about the cow, it's hilarious out there. Did you know the cow was going to be a big star?

Trinen: I would say perhaps not as big as the cow has become. Internally, certainly the very first moment that we saw the cow, everybody wanted to play as Cow.

IGN: When we were playing Knockout Tour yesterday, there were just like seven cows on the track.

Trinen: Well, that's the other thing that I just love about Mario Kart World is with the interconnected world of tracks, as I'm driving, you'll start something like Knockout Tour and you'll be driving across the continent. And what used to be the Mario Kart model was there's discrete tracks and you race on a discrete track and then you choose a different track and you race on a different discrete track.

And now what I find is I'm driving through, I'm starting in a new track and driving across the terrain and, 'Oh, I just happened to pass through Moo Moo Meadows and now I'm onto the next thing.' And it's just like for somebody that's grown up playing Mario Kart for so many years, just to be able to have that experience and piece it all together mentally into this big massive continent of racing has been a whole lot of fun for me.

IGN: It feels like a theme park of Mario Kart history, and I'm driving yesterday and going through all the different segments and then all of a sudden, 'Oh, I'm in the geyser tunnel from Dino Dino Jungle from Double Dash.' But I'm wondering, so right now it seems like the races, you start at one track and end up at another, and then the final lap is one loop around that final circuit you end up at. Not in the Knockout Tour, that's different, but is there a time trial or versus race mode that’s a way to just do three laps at this track? Or are you always driving interconnected between them when you're racing?

Trinen: You will have abilities to drive three laps on certain tracks. Obviously we've got a Nintendo Direct dedicated to Mario Kart World coming. I think you'll see a lot more on the game there, and I think a lot more that will hopefully surprise you and make you really feel like, 'Wow, there's a lot to this game.'

IGN: That will be really good to see. Because right now it looks great, it plays great, but I think the talk of the town is the price tag. This is an $80 game from Nintendo in the United States and $50 if you buy the Nintendo Switch 2 bundle. But I saw somewhere on your website that that bundle is only available for a limited time while supplies last. Can you just talk about the strategy behind pricing Mario Kart World this way?

Trinen: Well, I would say it's less about the strategy of pricing Mario Kart World, it's more just whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value? Mario Kart World, I think especially as you see from the Nintendo Direct, not to give you any hints or anything, but I did read your article this morning and I think you had mentioned that you didn’t find a lot to discover when roaming around. So I would say tune into our Mario Kart Direct to see what, maybe you'll be able to find out about that.

But honestly, this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there's still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they're going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they've ever had.

IGN: Okay. And to just stay on pricing for a little bit here. I'm looking at the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of games and some games are $70, some are $80. That's what it's looking like right now. And some are cheaper than that too. I don't think we know the U.S. price for the Welcome Tour yet, but I think we saw the Japanese price is around $10.

Trinen: Yeah, the U.S. price is $9.99 for the Welcome Tour.

IGN: $9.99. Okay, digital only.

Trinen: Yes.

IGN: I'm just wondering about the strategy behind pricing these Nintendo Switch 2 Editions at the combination of the Switch 1 retail price, usually $59.99, and then whatever that upgrade path is, like $10 for Breath of the Wild, making that a $70 game, or Tears of the Kingdom is an $80 game because it's $70 plus the $10 upgrade path. Can you just walk me through the strategy behind not offering any sort of discount for newcomers on Switch 2 and saying, 'Tears of the Kingdom is $80 now just like Mario Kart is?'

Trinen: Well, again, what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, 'what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?' What I would probably counter to some of that is that really what you're looking at is for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that's the physical price for somebody that has not bought the base game.

For somebody who has bought Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, the upgrade packs for those are $9.99. And if you happen to be a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, both of the Zelda upgrade packs are inclusive within that membership. So there's no additional charge for those. But I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what's the content, what's the value, and what's an appropriate price based on that.

IGN: Okay, thanks. And then the pricing for the console itself, too. A lot of people are talking about it — $450 in the United States, and we know there are definitely global economic factors at play. Can you share anything behind the strategy for pricing of the console? Was this something that was up to the wire where you didn't know what it was going to cost until recently? Can you share any insight?

Trinen: Can't really share insight into any of that. Obviously the cost of everything goes up over time, and I personally would love if the cost of things didn't go up over time. But I think any time you're building a new system that's got new features and new tech, there's costs associated with that. So again, we look at what is the experience on Nintendo Switch? What's the experience on Nintendo Switch 2? What are the new features that it offers? And certainly there's the cost of goods and things that factor into that, but we try to find the right appropriate price for a product based on that.

IGN: Last question on price, I promise. I played Welcome Tour on the show floor and I walked away and thought, 'this is a perfect pack-in game.' It shows what the console is, it shows HDR, it shows these new technologies Nintendo is embracing — in some cases for the first time — and I feel like it's a great showcase for the console. Was there ever any talk of making this a pack-in game, and why did you make the decision to price it as a separate digital product?

Trinen: It's an interesting product. We're actually getting ready today, we're going to be doing some Nintendo Treehouse Live segments and covering a lot of games in detail. That's one of them. And I think people will be able to see through Treehouse Live probably a little bit more maybe than you were able to see on the show floor. It's a pretty robust piece of software. There's a lot of great detail in there.

For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.'

IGN: Okay. I want to talk about some of the features of the Joy-Con 2 now because I was really impressed with the mouse functionality. I thought that it worked really, really well in something like Metroid Prime 4. I can see that being the preferred way for a lot of people to play that game. So what are your expectations for mouse controls? Are you hoping that third-party developers make great use of them? Do you think it can bring new types of games? Just talk to me about your feelings about the mouse.

Trinen: Well, personally, I'm really excited about the mouse control. I don't know what your experience with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was, the way that to me is probably my favorite way to play is I like to play split Joy-Con. I just like the freedom of having my hands not locked onto a controller like that. So I often like to play split Joy-Con and having the freedom to just seamlessly drop the mouse down for combat and then pick it back up for split Joy-Con, to me is something, number one, you can't do with any other console, you can't do on PC.

And it makes for a really great experience for the Prime series, particularly because the Prime series is the creator of the first-person adventure genre. And so in a series where you're doing a lot of exploration that's got some combat mixed in with it, that freedom feels right. Because for me, I feel like if I'm doing a lot of exploration, I want to be split Joy-Con. That flexibility to me is amazing.

I think the other thing that probably I'm hoping people are catching onto is that, yes, the Joy-Con 2 introduced mouse control, but they introduce mouse control in conjunction with the other technology within the Joy-Con. So whereas with a PC mouse, you're moving up and down and side to side and whatnot, with the Joy-Con, you've got the added ability to apply things like the angle that you're twisting the Joy-Con at, and having that also impact the play control with the mouse.

Or you've got two Joy-Con that have mouse control each, and that means two things. It means either you can have immediate two-player mouse control gameplay right out of the box with the Nintendo Switch 2, or it means, as we see with Drag x Drive, that you can do things with dual Joy-Con control, which hasn't been done before. And so my hope is really threefold. One, is that our own development teams continue to experiment with what they can do with the mouse to create creative new ways to use it.

I hope that we start to see third-parties that are then looking at opportunities with things like dual mouse control or combination of mouse plus motion control to evolve their gameplay. But I also do hope that when you look at PC developers, for example, if they want to bring a PC-based game to console, they have to spend a lot of time revamping the control scheme and adapting it to button controls. And so having the freedom of mouse control with the Joy-Con hopefully makes PC developers a lot more eager to want to bring their games to Nintendo Switch 2.

IGN: Well, my social team really wants to know. We don't have Switch 2 cartridges here. Do they taste like Switch 1 cartridges?

Trinen: [Laughs] I don't know yet.

IGN: You haven't done a taste test?

Trinen: I have not done a taste test. I keep hoping for pistachio flavor, but that's not happening.

IGN: [Laughs] I don't think that would turn away the kids. Okay, cool. Well, my last question here is that Kirby Air Riders was a huge surprise at the Nintendo Direct yesterday. And to see that is this secret project that Mr. [Masahiro] Sakurai teased earlier this year after wrapping up his YouTube series. Cool to see him come back to work with you guys again. Can you share any details further than that teaser we got in the Direct?

Trinen: Well, I believe Mr. Sakurai has said that there will not be any additional information on the game for quite a while. The team's working very hard on it. But for me, this was probably one of the most exciting announcements for a couple of reasons.

One, I'm always excited to see what Sakurai-san is working on. Two, he created the Kirby character and the Kirby franchise. And so it's great to see him come back to lead and direct a Kirby game again for the first time in a couple of decades. But I think more importantly, I've always felt that Kirby Air Ride on GameCube was a game that was ahead of its time and maybe not fully understood at the time that it came out.

And so I'm just really excited because there's a core group of people that played that game on GameCube that love it to death. And number one, I'm just happy because for them, this is such a big announcement and it's so good to see their excitement. But at the same time, I think that with where we are in the game industry today, I think we've got a real opportunity to introduce a much bigger audience to Kirby Air Riders. And I think people will finally really begin to appreciate just what I think is the genius of Masahiro Sakurai and what he created with that game.

IGN: Well, I'm in that core group. It's like one of my big childhood games. I love Kirby Air Ride, City Trial Free Roam. That's all I was doing, so I'm very excited. But thanks so much, Bill. We're super excited for June 5 and everything else that's coming on the way.

Trinen: Great. Thank you.

Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN's Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him on Bluesky @LoganJPlant.

Nintendo has insisted Mario Kart World justifies its shock $80 price tag in response to controversy over the $10 hike for some Switch 2 games.

Last week’s Nintendo Direct revealed the Switch 2 and launch title Mario Kart World, but it was not until after the showcase ended that the price for both products was confirmed.

The Switch 2, out June 5, currently costs $449.99 — although Trump’s tariffs, which have already delayed pre-orders in the U.S., may cause Nintendo to hike the price. The real shock, though, is that Mario Kart World costs $79.99 — $10 higher than the most expensive Nintendo-published game on Switch, Tears of the Kingdom.

It’s worth pointing out that Nintendo is bundling Mario Kart World with a Nintendo Switch 2 for $499.99, cutting the cost of the game by a huge $30 in the process. However, Nintendo has indicated this bundle is a limited-time offer, and it remains to be seen if the bundle holds at $500, given the uncertainty surrounding the tariff situation and Nintendo’s pre-order delay in the U.S.

But Mario Kart World isn’t the only Nintendo Switch 2 game to cost $80 — some of the Switch 2 Edition games announced during the Nintendo Direct also cost $79.99, such as Kirby and The Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed World, Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.

These Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games improve upon their original Switch versions in various ways. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, for example, gain additional support for the Zelda Notes service in the Nintendo Switch App that provides game help. They also have achievements on Switch 2.

IGN has plenty of reaction to Nintendo’s jump to $80 for the Switch 2 generation, including from analysts who have helped us understand why this has happened. But what does Nintendo have to say about it? IGN interviewed Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, to ask about Nintendo’s pricing strategy for Mario Kart World to find out.

We need to point out here that our interview with Trinen was conducted on April 3, 2025, prior to Nintendo’s announcement about delaying Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. due to the potential impact of tariffs.

In his response, Trinen insisted Mario Kart world justifies its price tag, and pointed to the upcoming dedicated Mario Kart World Nintendo Direct where fans will learn more about the game and what it has to offer.

“I would say it's less about the strategy of pricing Mario Kart World, it's more just whenever we look at a given game, we just look at what is the experience, and what's the content, and what's the value?” Trinen said.

“Mario Kart World, I think especially as you see from the Nintendo Direct, not to give you any hints or anything, but I did read your article this morning and I think you had mentioned that you didn’t find a lot to discover when roaming around. So I would say tune into our Mario Kart Direct to see what, maybe you'll be able to find out about that.

“But honestly, this is a game that is so big and so vast and you will find so many little things in it to discover. And there's still some other secrets remaining that I think as people end up buying and playing the game, they're going to find this to be probably the richest Mario Kart experience they've ever had.”

We also asked Trinen about the $80 cost of some of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games. While there is a $10 upgrade path for existing owners of these games on the Switch, and both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($69.99) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ($79.99) are available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, Nintendo is not offering any sort of discount to newcomers on Switch 2.

Trinen’s answer here echoed his Mario Kart World response, pointing to the value Nintendo sees in its games.

“Well, again, what I would say is that we just look at each individual game and we look at the content and the value of that game, and then we say, 'what is the right price for the value of this entertainment?' " he said.

“What I would probably counter to some of that is that really what you're looking at is for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that's the physical price for somebody that has not bought the base game. For somebody who has bought Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, the upgrade packs for those are $9.99. And if you happen to be a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack member, both of the Zelda upgrade packs are inclusive within that membership. So there's no additional charge for those.

“But I think overall, our general approach is really just focus on what's the content, what's the value, and what's an appropriate price based on that.”

What Trinen is saying here is that Nintendo believes its next-generation push is worth a price hike when you consider what the video games themselves have to offer. And that’s a point echoed by Piers Harding-Rolls, Research Director, Games at Ampere Analysis. He told IGN Nintendo has form when it comes to going high for the cost of its games.

"Nintendo has a bit of a history of pricing games higher than other platforms when coming to the market later than other platforms - in this case PS5 and Xbox Series,” he said.

“I remember back in the day N64 titles being more than PS1 titles for example. Some of that is related to cost of goods, but Nintendo also likes to follow its own approach and price based on its own appreciation of value."

As for the current $450 price tag of the Switch 2 itself, Trinen again pointed to value, but also highlighted the increasing costs associated with releasing a video game console.

“Obviously the cost of everything goes up over time, and I personally would love if the cost of things didn't go up over time,” he told IGN.

“But I think any time you're building a new system that's got new features and new tech, there's costs associated with that. So again, we look at what is the experience on Nintendo Switch? What's the experience on Nintendo Switch 2? What are the new features that it offers? And certainly there's the cost of goods and things that factor into that, but we try to find the right appropriate price for a product based on that.”

As IGN has reported, some Nintendo fans have expressed concern that they may be priced out of the next-generation if the company goes even higher than the already controversial prices for the Switch 2 and its games such as Mario Kart World due to the tariff situation.

What is increasingly clear, however, is that despite calls from the community for Nintendo to drop the price, the Switch 2 and its games are much more likely to get even more expensive than cheaper in the United States.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Amid the furore around the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World's $79.99 price tag, there is shock at Nintendo’s decision to charge for the console’s tutorial game, Welcome Tour.

Nintendo revealed Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour during its Nintendo Direct. It’s a game set to launch alongside the Switch 2 in June that offers a guided tour of the console itself in video game form.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is described as a "virtual exhibition" of the new hardware. Per Nintendo: "through tech demos, minigames and other interactions, players will get to know the new system inside and out in ways they may never have known about otherwise."

The Nintendo Direct showed footage of a small player avatar exploring a super-sized Switch 2, reading about the different features and facts about the console. It also includes mini-games such as Speed Golf, Dodge the Spiked Balls, and a Maracas Physics Demo.

IGN can now confirm that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour costs $9.99 and is a digital-only product. That’s significantly cheaper than other Switch 2 games, but IGN has already reported to the complaints from some Nintendo fans that Welcome Tour costs money at all, with many saying it should be Switch 2 pack-in, as DualSense tech demo game Astro's Playroom was for PlayStation 5.

IGN interviewed Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, at a recent Switch 2 preview event in New York, and asked him if Nintendo discussed making Welcome Tour a pack-in game, and why the company made the decision to price it as a separate digital product.

We need to point out here that our interview with Trinen was conducted on April 3, 2025, prior to Nintendo’s announcement about delaying Switch 2 pre-orders in the U.S. due to the potential impact of tariffs, and subsequent concern that Nintendo may raise the price of the console and its games further as a result.

Trinen said there’s more to Welcome Tour than it appears based on the showing during the Nintendo Direct and even during recent hands-on opportunities the media had access to. Based on what’s actually in the game, Nintendo decided $9.99 “is not an exorbitant price,” he continued.

“It's an interesting product,” Trinen began. “We're actually getting ready today, we're going to be doing some Nintendo Treehouse Live segments and covering a lot of games in detail. That's one of them. And I think people will be able to see through Treehouse Live probably a little bit more maybe than you were able to see on the show floor. It's a pretty robust piece of software. There's a lot of great detail in there.

“For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does.

"And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.' "

Welcome Tour is of course just one part of Nintendo’s next-gen push to become embroiled in controversy, and we’ve also got Trinen’s response to questions surrounding the company’s decision to go for $80 Switch 2 games, as well as going for $450 for the Switch 2 itself.

Be sure to check out IGN’s interview with Bill Trinen in full to find out more.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Streamer Valkyrae’s cameo alongside other famous content creators was cut from A Minecraft Movie, it was confirmed over the weekend. Addressing the situation, Valkyrae, real name Rachell Marie Hofstetter, told fans she would “much rather not have that 30 seconds than be sued.”

Last year, Valkyrae namechecked A Minecraft Movie star Jason Momoa when asked for her “worst celebrity or streamer experience.”

In a video interview, Valkyrae alleged: “I just saw him mistreat some of the crew. And it was pretty disappointing. It was after a very intense scene, and it was a very emotional scene, so maybe he was still in character. I don't know. But I just was surprised at how he treated some of the crew.

“He was just really mad at them that they weren’t doing something right. It was setting up the shot and stuff, and he was angry, like really mad, and like yelling. So I was like, man, this is not a good work environment. I would not be happy working under these conditions.

“I would have to say that was the worst celebrity thing I’ve seen.”

Fast forward to the weekend just gone and A Minecraft Movie’s record-breaking release, and Valkyrae’s cameo appears to have not made the cut, although some fans believe they have spotted a blink-and-you’ll miss glimpse at the streamer in the background of a certain shot.

In a livestream on Twitch, Valkyrae touched on the situation around A Minecraft Movie. She kept her cards close to her chest, dancing around the reason for her omission, but did confirm her cameo was meant to be 30 seconds long, and insisted its removal had nothing to do with Minecraft or the people behind it.

“Let’s just say I’m not gonna touch too much on it,” Valkyrae began. “But as much as you guys saw the other creators that were in it, would have been the equal amounts that you saw me in it, which is like 30 seconds. So it’s okay.

"I would much rather not have that 30 seconds than be sued. So it’s all good, okay? It’s all good.

“It really was a wonderful 10 days in New Zealand for that 30 seconds, and I’m really glad I got to visit New Zealand.

“I feel like things could have been so much worse, you know what I mean? That’s all I’m going to say about it, okay. That’s all I’m going to say.

“It’s not even Minecraft. It’s not even their fault. Don’t even worry. Don’t worry.”

IGN has asked Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.

While Nintendo's official UK preorders for the Nintendo Switch 2 aren't set to begin until April 8, the console is already proving elusive. Most major retailers—including EE, Argos, GAME, and Smyths—have gone live early, only to sell out fast. Scalpers have also started to list the console above RRP on eBay. There's turmoil in the US as well, where preorder delays and tariff concerns have muddied the waters.

But there’s some good news: Amazon UK has begun sending out its latest wave of preorder invitations for Switch 2. If you requested an invite, now’s the time to swing by the Switch 2 listings just below, and check your inbox—this could be your best (and possibly only) chance to lock in a launch-day console without the chaos.

Unlike the US, UK preorders and pricing remain rock solid, with no delays and no price hikes. For instant alerts on preorder drops, restocks, and bundle deals, make sure to follow @IGNUKDeals on Twitter/X or Bluesky so you're always first in line.

• See at Amazon
• See at EE
• See at Argos
• See at Currys

If you haven’t yet requested a preorder invite from Amazon UK, now’s the time to act. Stock is vanishing fast across major retailers, and Amazon remains one of the last places where you can still secure a Nintendo Switch 2—or the sought-after Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle—without resorting to scalpers or second-hand listings.

Amazon is continuing to accept invite requests and will be sending out invitations right up until June 5. The catch is invites aren’t guaranteed, they’re not based on playtime like Nintendo’s own system, and once you receive one, it expires after just 22 hours. That means speed is everything—delay too long and your shot is gone.

But the good news, there’s no upfront cost either, so Amazon won’t charge you a penny until your order is dispatched, making it a risk-free way to secure your console ahead of launch. While Some users have reported a June 7 delivery estimate, but Amazon support has confirmed this is just a system glitch—launch day delivery on June 5 is still locked in.

And if you're building your day-one kit, some key accessories are already up for grabs. A Switch 2 screen protector is currently 50% off, while a high-speed Samsung 256GB microSD Express card—fully compatible with Switch 2—is just £47.35, the lowest price we've seen. You can also preorder the new Switch 2 Camera for £49.99.

Switch 2 US Preorders Delayed Amid Tariff Uncertainty

In a surprise move, Nintendo has delayed the start of Switch 2 preorders in the United States, just days before they were set to go live. The decision comes in response to ongoing tariff concerns and what the company described as "evolving market conditions"—a direct reference to the revived threat of Trump-era import duties on electronics.

Preorders were originally scheduled to begin on April 9 in the US, but Nintendo has now put them on hold indefinitely. While no new date has been provided, the company has reassured fans that the Switch 2’s global release date—June 5, 2025—remains unchanged.

The official statement Nintendo shared with IGN: "Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”

For now, the preorder freeze applies exclusively to the US market. UK preorders remain on track, with no changes to pricing or availability. In fact, retailers like Amazon UK are actively sending out preorder invitations, all the while launch-day stock is already starting to dry up across major outlets.

Nintendo had announced that the Switch 2 is priced at $449.99 USD, while the Mario Kart World bundle—which includes the full game—is set at $499.99 USD. Mario Kart World will also be sold separately for $79.99 USD.

35% Off NSO Expansion Pack Memberships

GameCube games coming exclusively to the Switch 2's exclusive online library is one of the best features of the new console. To make those membership costs just that little bit easier, UK retailer ShopTo has NSO at 35% off right now, and there's an extra 5% when you use code SPRING at checkout. As you get your Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in, this is an absolute bonus bargain to consider.

While some Nintendo Classics catalogues are unlocked with the base online subscription, you'll also need the Expansion Pack to play GameCube titles on Nintendo Switch 2. What's more, while you can subscribe to a monthly model for just Nintendo Switch Online, the Expansion Pack is only available on the 12-month plan, so make a note when purchasing. So, if you're the only Nintendo Switch players in your household, you can buy the individual Online + Expansion Pack plan for £24.55 or the Family Membership for £43.55 with the promo code SPRING.

If you're looking for Blue Lock: Rivals codes, IGN has you covered! In this article, you'll find the latest active and working codes in April 2025, which you can redeem for free rewards in the Roblox Experience, including Spins, Cash Boosts, Cash, and more.

Working Blue Lock: Rivals Codes (April 2025)

Below, you'll find a list of active and working Blue Lock: Rivals codes that you can redeem for free rewards in April 2025:

• KING1.5M - 10x Lucky Spins, 10x Flow Spins (NEW)
• KINGREWORK - 5x Lucky Spins (NEW)
• GOALRUSH - 5x Flow Spins (NEW)
• KAISER2M - 9x Lucky Spins, 9x Lucky Flow

All Expired Blue Lock: Rivals Codes

The following Blue Lock: Rivals codes no longer work and can't be redeemed anymore as of April 2025:

• LUCKYCODE10
• KaiserFIX
• MIRO1MCCU
• KAISERSOON
• SHARKBOY
• NELISAGI
• SORRYDELAYGGS
• KURONATOMORROW
• KURONANOW
• FINE1M
• CHROLLOCAREPACKAGE
• CHROLLO4AM
• SORRY4DELAY
• 100KCHRO
• 10KDEVS
• 1BVISITS
• DONLORENZO
• 300KCHROLLO
• 1MEVENT
• 20KCHANNEL
• 40KCHANNEL
• CHROLLO100K
• 40KAGAIN
• THECODE
• 40KKUNIGAMI
• 200KSUB
• KUNIGAMIUPD
• THX40KAGAIN
• KARASU
• 200KSUB
• THX40KLIKES
• 50KTATLIS
• MONST3R
• THX30KLIKES
• DRAGON
• 60KFOLLOWERS
• 30KLIKES
• 20KLIKESPT2
• TRAILER20K
• THANKYOU
• 300KREO
• 35KCHROLLO
• 5KVID
• 20KCHROLLO
• 5KTATLIS
• MRSPAX
• CHRISTMAS
• HOORAY
• 1MLIKES
• AIKU
• 700KLIKES
• 400KLIKES
• 300KLIKES
• 250KLIKES
• 200CRAZY
• 150KWOW
• 100KLIKES
• 70KLIKES
• 600KCRAZY
• GAGAMARU
• THANKSGIVING
• 40KLIKES
• 6KLIKES
• 3KLIKES
• 1KLIKES
• FORGIVEME
• RELEASED

How to Redeem Blue Lock: Rivals Codes

Follow the steps below to redeem Blue Lock: Rivals codes and claim your free rewards:

1. Join the official Blue Lock: Rivals Roblox Community and "Like" the game on the official BLR game page. You cannot redeem codes without doing so first.
2. Reach level 10 in Blue Lock: Rivals.
3. Once you're at level 10, click on the blue CODES icon at the bottom of the screen to open the Codes menu.
4. Enter your code into the "ENTER CODE..." field.
5. Double-check it's inputted correctly and click the REDEEM button.

Why Isn't My Blue Lock: Rivals Code Working?

If your Blue Lock: Rivals code isn't working in Roblox, it's likely down to one of the three following reasons:

• The Blue Lock: Rivals code is expired and no longer able to be redeemed.
• There's a typo in the code.
• You're not the required level to redeem the code. You need to be level 10.

When inputting a Blue Lock: Rivals code into Roblox, make sure it's spelled correctly and that there are no accidental spaces either before or after the code. All the codes on this page have been tested by us and work at the time of submission, so we'd recommend copying and pasting codes directly from this article rather than typing them out yourself to avoid any errors.

Some codes require you to be at level 10 to be able to redeem it. If the code still doesn't work, it's more than likely expired and can no longer be redeemed.

How to Get More Blue Lock: Rivals Codes

The best way to get more Blue Lock: Rivals codes is to join the Blue Lock: Rivals Discord server. This way, you can set up notifications to be notified if new codes drop. Some codes are also released in the Blue Lock: Rivals Roblox Community, so make sure to check there periodically.

Additionally, we check for new Blue Lock: Rivals codes daily, so make sure to bookmark this article for the latest new codes for free rewards.

MCU fans are known for analyzing footage to within an inch of its life as they hunt for plot clues. Now, they have turned their inquisitive gaze upon Robert Downey Jr’s hair.

The Iron Man actor recently sent out a Doctor Doom-themed invitation for this 60th birthday party, and as you'd expect it popped up online. It shows the MCU star with slightly longer curly hair; this is not the haircut of Tony Stark, that’s for sure.

Photos of RDJ at the party itself show the actor sporting a similar curly hairdo, sparking speculation about how his version of Victor Von Doom will look in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom-themed birthday invitation featured him sporting a new curly hairstyle, a look he was also seen wearing two days ago.

Could this be an early glimpse at his portrayal of Victor Von Doom in ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAYʼ? pic.twitter.com/MltjPLCkoE

— Nexus Point News (@NexusPointNews) April 6, 2025

Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom-themed birthday invite showed him with a new curly hairstyle — the same look he had just two days earlier.

Possible first look at his take on Victor Von Doom in 'AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY' 👀 pic.twitter.com/YPJKhYNcRI

— MCU Film News (@MCUFilmNews) April 6, 2025

“He has this exact hairstyle right now in pictures,” redditor Overall_Affect_2782 said. “People are going to absolutely freak when it turns out this is his Doomsday look.”

“This is likely a fun little unofficial prototype version of the eventual look that we will see in Avengers: Doomsday,” added PhanStr.

Erik Voss of the New Rockstars YouTube channel suggested Marvel and RDJ may be taking Doctor Doom in an Oppenheimer-style direction, but from another universe.

“Doctor Strange? It’s Doom. I feel I have blood on my hands.” https://t.co/c7hhIL2v8U pic.twitter.com/ccD85JG1Uv

— Erik Voss (@eavoss) April 6, 2025

Others are unconvinced. “Based on this and the recent photos, I feel like Marvel just wanted Oscar Issac's hair from Moonknight to play Doctor Doom,” joked NerdyDadOnline.

“I’m laughing so hard that people think this is the legit design,” declared FewWatermelonlesson0.

Of course, this may all be nothing. It seems unlikely that RDJ would spoil Doctor Doom’s look in the MCU via a birthday party invitation. But now production on Avengers: Doomsday has begun in London, all eyes are on Marvel for secrets.

Last month's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal was heavy on veteran X-Men actors. Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all now set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, confirming the X-Men are in the film in a big way. Grammer famously played Beast in the Fox X-Men franchise before making his MCU debut via The Marvels' post-credits scene. Stewart played Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men films before appearing briefly in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati. McKellen, who played Magneto, has yet to appear in the MCU. Neither has Cumming, who played Nightcrawler, Romijn, who played Mystique, nor Marsden, who played Cyclops. It begs the question: is Avengers: Doomsday secretly an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?

Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. have teased they’re not done yet with the Avengers: Doomsday casting announcements, leading fans to believe other superhero stars could be on the way. Halle Berry, who played Storm in the Fox X-Men films, recently cast doubt on her chances of reprising the role.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

It looks like Nintendo Korea's website briefly gave away what sidekick may be joining Kong in the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza.

Though the image was quickly switched out with a less revealing one, it wasn't quite quick enough for ResetEra, which managed to grab a screenshot before the website was changed.

Warning! Potential Donkey Kong: Bananza spoilers follow:

In most key art associated with the game, we see Kong smashing a fist into the ground, throwing up a shower of rocks and rubble, with the purple, rock-like Odd Rock behind him. The image on the Korean website essentially showed the same, but with one key difference: Odd Rock is missing, and a young Pauline is holding on for dear life to Kong's necktie.

Are you tired of stressing about keeping up with the latest board games, the hottest new expansions, or being on the outside looking in when wanting to start a new hobby? We’ve all been there. The barrier to entry for many tabletop, card, and board games can sometimes be high, with some games’ starter kits starting well over $100. It can be intimidating to get into certain board games due to budget, and that’s a shame.

Whether you’re getting that special gamer in your life a birthday gift or hosting a casual game night with close friends, plenty of budget options exist that are sure to scratch that itch. And we’ve compiled some of our favorites right here!

TL;DR: These Are the Best Cheap Board Games

• Qwirkle
• Boss Monster 10th Anniversary
• The Chameleon
• Decrypto
• Say Anything
• Flip 7
• Codenames
• Targi
• Hand Games 21
• You’re Getting Old
• Coup
• Couch Skeletons
• Betrayal: Deck of Lost Souls
• Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
• Poop

Board Games Under $30

Qwirkle

Boss Monster 10th Anniversary Edition

The Chameleon

Decrypto

Say Anything

Flip 7

Codenames

Targi

Hand Games 21

You're Getting Old

Coup Card Game

Couch Skeletons

Betrayal Deck of Lost Souls Card Game

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza

Poop The Game

I’ve got today’s top deals lined up and honestly, it’s a bit of a vibe. There’s a handcrafted MainGear rig that looks like it belongs in a design museum and crushes modern games, a Pokémon TCG tin that leaves your pulls up to fate, and a Humble Bundle full of giant alien bugs and unapologetic chaos.

MainGear Custom RTX 5070 PC, Pokémon TCG, and a Skyrim Dragonborn Helmet

Waiting on Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders? I've found a great deal on a Sandisk 256gb Micro SD Express card too . Oh, and if you’ve ever wanted to cosplay as a Dovahkiin desk ornament, the IGN Store has something special. I think it’s a solid haul; useful stuff, actual value, no sketchy third-party sellers in sight (Although Amazon is getting a bit cheeky with their Pokémon TCG mark-ups). Let’s break it down.

MainGear North RTX 5070

Pokemon TCG: Azure Legends Tin - 5 Packs

Humble Bundle: Earth Defense Force Collection

SanDisk 256GB microSD Express microSD Card

Pokémon TCG: Shining Fates Collection Pikachu V Box

The Elder Scrolls Skyrim - Dragonborn Helmet - Replica

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet Shrouded Fable Elite Trainer Box

DC Studios boss James Gunn has confirmed an August 21 release date for Peacemaker Season 2 on Max alongside a few seconds of new footage.

In a tweet, Gunn said the Season 2 premiere is “one of my favorite things ever.” The new footage shows John Cena in action, at one point smirking to the camera as a fire rages in the background. Peacemaker is “a superhero now,” he’s told.

Counting the days until Peace on Earth. I just finished the DI & Mix on the Season Premiere yesterday and wow it’s one of my favorite things ever. DC Studios’ #Peacemaker Season 2 coming soon only on @StreamOnMax August 21. pic.twitter.com/df3yOcCsdn

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 7, 2025

Peacemaker Season 2 arrives after the July 11 release of Superman, the big movie kick-off for Gunn’s rebooted DCU. It will actually be the third entry in the DCU, coming after last year's Creature Commandos TV series and this summer's Superman.

The revamped cinematic universe from Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran moves away from the widely panned DC Extended Universe, headlined by Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Man of Steel, but some elements will remain.

Peacemaker is a key example of this, as Season 1 of the show arrived in the scrapped DCEU, while Season 2 arrives in the new DCU.

Gunn has said previously that "many strands will remain consistent as far as Peacemaker's story goes," though it remains unclear what will and won't make the jump from DCEU to DCU. He has confirmed all of Team Peacemaker return with the same actors, meaning John Cena in the leading role will be joined by the likes of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo.

Gunn has also said the show will canonically take place after the events of Creature Commandos and Superman, with the events of the latter even affecting Peacemaker.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Bungie is finally ready to show us more of its upcoming PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, with an all-new gameplay livestream slated for this Saturday, April 12 (or 13, depending where you are in the world).

Last week, the Destiny developer dropped a mysterious tweet that included a bizarre 15-second video that immediately set fans sleuthing as part of an "extensive alternative reality game."

Players realized that within the ASCII art was "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," and if they looked closely, they "notice[d] it's the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer."

Another added: "WHEN WILL HE RETURN ERROR ERROR ERROR HAS OCCURRED THE ENEMY RETURNED SYSTEM WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH EVACUATE THE BASE IMMEDIATELY ALL UNITS REPORT TO STATION INITIATE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 7 DATA LOSS IMMINENT GOOD LUCK, COMMANDER."

"Thousands of community members across the world worked together to unlock the gameplay reveal date for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon," Bungie said in a statement, before revealing this weekend's livestream is set for 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) pr Sunday, April 13 at 2 am JST (Tokyo) / 3 am AEST (Sydney) / 5 pm NZST (Auckland).

Marathon was revealed in May 2023 as a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, but with all its themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." Set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, Marathon will see players inhabit the bodies of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries who have been designed to survive the planet’s harsh environments. While exploring the lost colony that once inhabited the surface, players will search for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since the initial reveal, however, we've seen very little else. We did get a development update video in October that shed light on Marathon's mechanics, but the studio stressed how early in development the game was.

Since then, however, and the abrupt cancelation of live-service shooter Concord, Sony is rethinking its focus on live-service games. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki revealed the company was committed to launching just six of the 12 live service games it was working on by March 2026, with the shift signaling the cancelation of the The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie itself is not without controversy, too. It laid off 220 staff — that's 17% of its entire workforce — in July 2024, less than a year after 100 other layoffs at Bungie. Just a few weeks later, we learned former Marathon director Chris Barrett was allegedly fired after an internal misconduct investigation at Bungie. Barrett subsequently sued Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for more than $200 million.

To watch the Marathon reveal live, head on over to the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Drug dealer simulator Schedule I has continued its astonishing overnight success as one of Steam’s most-played games, and now it has its first "proper" post-launch update alongside patch notes revealed by its developer.

Schedule I version 0.3.4 is available to test on the beta branch, developer Tyler announced on the game’s Steam page. He said it will sit on the beta branch for a day or two before being released fully, but anyone can opt into the beta branch to test it.

“This beta doesn't quite contain 100% of the features coming in the full release,” Tyler explained. “I'll be adding a few more decorative objects tomorrow [April 8]. I wanted to get this beta out ASAP so that the new wall-mounted objects and pawn shop interface can be thoroughly trialled.”

Schedule I version 0.3.4 patch notes:

Additions

• Added Bleuballs Boutique interior and functionality.
• Added Pawn Shop interior and functionality. You can now sell pretty much anything (excluding product) to Mick at the pawn shop.
• Added wooden sign.
• Added metal sign.
• Added wall-mounted shelf.
• Added safe.
• Added antique wall lamp.
• Added modern wall lamp.
• Added grandfather clock.
• Added Ol' Man Jimmy's.
• Added Château La Peepee.
• Added Brut du Gloop.
• Added silver watch.
• Added gold watch.
• Added silver chain.
• Added gold chain.
• Added gold bar.

Tweaks/Improvements

• Improved phrasing for customer recommendation dialogue.
• Added some extra null checks and validity checks.

Bug fixes

• Fixed delivery destination dropdown overflowing outside of phone screen.
• Fixed player lists sometimes not clearing properly when exiting to menu.
• Fixed non-host clients sometimes not receiving 'on day pass' and 'on week pass' events.

Schedule I was the top-selling game on Steam upon launch, with more players than big hitters such as Monster Hunter Wilds, GTA 5, and Marvel Rivals after going viral across social media, Twitch, and YouTube. In the game you go from being a small-time dope pusher to kingpin, manufacturing and distributing a range of drugs throughout the grungy city of Hyland Point. You can expand your empire with properties, businesses, employees, and more.

It’s developed and published by TVGS, aka Australian indie developer Tyler, who has called Schedule I’s explosive launch “amazing but pretty overwhelming.”

“I never expected this kind of response!" Tyler said in a post on reddit. "At the moment I’m just trying to stay focussed and get patches out ASAP. Also looking forward to getting started on content updates as soon as all major bugs are patched.”

See IGN's Schedule 1 guide where you can learn all about the basics of mixing recipes and creating new blends to maximise profit, as well as how to access console commands, and the quickest way to jump into multiplayer co-op to take over Hyland Point with friends.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Video game companies across Japan have suffered a dramatic stock market plunge sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

White House officials signalled what they describe as specific reciprocal tariffs on roughly 60 of the "worst offenders" to go into effect on 9 April. Japan is one of the countries subject to these customised tariff rates, at 24%.

Trump's officials say these countries charge higher tariffs on U.S. goods, impose "non-tariff" barriers to U.S. trade, or have otherwise acted in ways they feel undermine American economic goals.

Tariffs are essentially taxes placed on the cost of importing certain goods. While it's possible for companies in the supply chain to simply eat these costs, more often than not these taxes are passed onto consumers. And unfortunately for gamers, rising prices are very likely to impact tech and gaming goods.

Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark index closed down 7.8%, the ASX 200 in Australia lost 4.2%, and the Kospi in South Korea ended 5.6% lower. The Shanghai Composite closed 7.3% lower and Taiwan Weighted Index lost 9.7%. The Hang Seng was down by 12.5% in afternoon trading.

Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, rounded up the decline in video game stocks based in Japan as the market opening in the morning of April 7. Nintendo was down 7.35%, Sony 10.16%, Capcom 7.13%, and Sega 6.57%.

It's Monday 10am in Japan where Japanese game stocks currently react to these insultingly dumb tariffs like so:

Nintendo -7.35%
Sony -10.16%
Bandai Namco -7.03%
Konami -3.93%
Sega -6.57%
Koei Tecmo -5.83%
Capcom -7.13%
Square Enix -5.23%

The mobile game companies do even worse.

— Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) April 7, 2025

Last week Nintendo shocked the video game world by announcing a delay to pre-orders of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S., blaming tariffs and the uncertainty they have caused across the world. The pre-orders were set to go live on April 9, but in the U.S. specifically they were postponed, with the June 5 release date said to be on-track. Pre-orders go live elsewhere on April 9 as planned.

Nintendo announced the Switch 2 at $449.99, with a Mario Kart World bundle priced $499.99. Mario Kart World itself is priced $79.99.

Nintendo Switch 2 comes with the following:

• Nintendo Switch 2 console
• Joy-Con 2 controllers (L+R)
• Joy-Con 2 Grip
• Joy-Con 2 Straps
• Nintendo Switch 2 Dock
• Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable
• Nintendo Switch 2 AC Adapter
• USB-C Charging Cable

Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad had warned that Trump's surprise tariffs on countries such as Vietnam, where Nintendo had shifted some of its Switch 2 manufacturing in anticipation of U.S. tariffs on China, might have caused a rethink.

"While the company has shifted some of its manufacturing to Vietnam to offset U.S. tariffs on China, the looming threat of reciprocal tariffs prior to the Switch 2 showcase will have also forced Nintendo to consider a higher price for the rest of the world," Ahmad said. "The reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam and Japan have come in higher than expected, and Nintendo will feel the impact of this if the tariffs go into full effect."

Nintendo fans and analysts are now concerned Nintendo will raise the price of the Switch 2 and its games even further, even as it suffers a backlash to its pricing following the console’s reveal.

There are question marks over Sony, too, which manufactures PlayStation consoles, including the $700 PlayStation 5 Pro. IGN has asked the company if it has any comment on the prospect of increased prices in the U.S.

Goldman Sachs now forecasts there is a 45% chance the U.S. will fall into recession in the next 12 months, up from a previous estimate of 35%. JPMorgan now sees a 60% chance of a U.S. and global economic downturn.

According to a report by the BBC, Trump has defended the tariffs, saying "sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something."

For more, check out everything announced at the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, and what the experts have to say about the Switch 2 price and Mario Kart World’s $80 price tag.

Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

LEGO announced earlier this year that we'd be getting new Minecraft Movie sets, and March 2025 was finally the time for them to be released into the world. There are four new Minecraft sets that you can now buy, with two of them featuring scenes from the new film. These new sets are added to an ever-growing list of LEGO Minecraft sets that have been accumulating over the years.

Each of the new Minecraft sets features minifigure mobs, but only two of the sets offer up a tiny Jack Black as Steve. You can currently purchase all of these sets from Amazon, LEGO direct, or any of the other best places to buy LEGO.

New LEGO Minecraft Sets Available Now

Although there are four new LEGO Minecraft sets coming out, the two that are associated with the movie are The Ghast Balloon Village Attack and Woodland Mansion Fighting Ring. Both sets give us an idea of what to expect from the upcoming film. The Woodland Mansion Fighting Ring depicts some sort of gladiator style battle with Jason Momoa fighting a baby zombie on a chicken. Meanwhile the Ghast Balloon Village Attack set reveals a marshamallow-like villain from the Nether.

The other two Minecraft sets that are releasing are The Parrot Houses and The Trial Chamber. For more like these, you can check out more of our favorite LEGO Minecraft sets.

When Does the New Minecraft Movie Come Out?

LEGO tends to release new sets tied to movie releases about a month before the actual release of the film. The new Minecraft sets are following the same timeline by coming out on March 1 seeing as A Minecraft movie is now in theaters this April.

Will There Be More Minecraft Movie Sets?

So far the two sets we've featured above are the only ones set to release alongside the film. It's possible this could change now that the live-action Minecraft movie is headed for success. Either way, there are new LEGO Minecraft sets released fairly consistently and we can likely expect more to release later this year, even if it isn't directly tied to the movie.

If you are looking to buy any less current sets, there are quite a few LEGO Minecraft deals happening at Amazon alonside the release of the new movie that are worth considering.

Looking for more new LEGO sets based on movies? Check out the new LEGO Harry Potter Knight Bus set that also just came out or dive into all of the new LEGO sets released in March.

The gaming gods are smiling on us this week, with wallet-friendly wonders across all platforms (and even the chance to preorder a whole new one). Collected below is a pixel-and-polygon-packed parade of discounts, and whether you're into high fantasy, interstellar chaos, or cowboy epics, these price drops are hard to ignore.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm using a Flame Lantern to light a 20-candle cake for The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. This Game Boy Advance must-own was technically a prequel to Four Swords (GBA, 2002) and Four Swords Adventures (GC, 2004), and you can reexperience it on a Switch today.

Aussie bdays for notable games

- Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA) 2005. eBay

- Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GC) 2005. eBay

- Pokémon Dash (DS) 2005. eBay

Contents

• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• PC Gear
• LEGO
• Headphones
• TVs

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

First up on Nintendo Switch, Bravely Default II (A$52) brings classic turn-based JRPG magic with a modern polish and an IGN 8/10. Meanwhile, Persona 5 Royal (A$66) adds new confidants and endings to the Phantom Thieves' stylish rebellion, and even has a cheeky nod to Lupin III hidden in its animation sequences.

Exciting Bargains for Xbox

Over on Xbox Series X, Red Dead Redemption 2 (A$20) is an epic so detailed that horse testicles shrink in the snow (amazing), while the mind-bending Metaphor: ReFantazio (A$77) channels the team behind Persona into a high-fantasy setting.

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (-78%) - A$20
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (-33%) - A$77
• Lego Harry Potter Col. (-35%) - A$39
• Lords of the Fallen (-71%) - A$30
• Sonic X Shadow Generations (-35%) - A$49

Xbox One

• EA Sports FIFA 23 (-95%) - A$5
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (-33%) - A$74
• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (-85%) - A$15
• Persona 3 Reload (-20%) - A$87

Expiring Recent Deals

• Star Wars Outlaws (-55%) - A$49
• Star Wars Outlaws Gold (-60%) - A$68
• Monster Hunter Wilds (-14%) - A$99
• Gotham Knights (-86%) - A$15
• Tekken 8 (-42%) - A$49
• TopSpin 2K25 (-76%) - A$29
• No More Heroes 3 (-44%) - A$43
• Monopoly 2024 (-51%) - A$24

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

On PS5, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (A$39) revives the concept of forgotten House of Mouse characters. Also, Helldivers 2 (A$49) serves up frenetic co-op mayhem with a wink and a satirical nod to Starship Troopers.

• Astro Bot (-24%) - A$84
• DualSense Starlight Blue (-17%) - A$99
• Space Marine 2 (-27%) - A$79
• Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (-61%) - A$39
• Helldivers 2 (-18%) - A$49
• Death Stranding 2 (-21%) - A$99

PS4

• Digimon World: Next Order (-84%) - A$14
• EA Sports FC 25 (-65%) - A$39
• Overcooked! All You Can Eat (-25%) - A$41

Expiring Recent Deals

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (-57%) - A$49
• Alan Wake 2 Del. Ed. (-36%) - A$77
• Granblue Fantasy: Relink (-58%) - A$36
• Sea of Stars (-32%) - A$36
• Tales of Arise (-67%) - A$34
• Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos (-60%) - A$28
• Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Ed. (-64%) - A$20
• Sleeping Dogs Def. Ed. (-38%) - A$25
• DayZ (-49%) - A$40
• F1 24 (-67%) - A$36

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Apr 1 with this subscription

• RoboCop: Rogue City | PS5
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | PS4/5
• Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth HM | PS4

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

On PC, XCOM 2 (A$5!) is still the gold standard for tactical chaos. My favourite factoid about it: the “missed 95% shot” meme was so prolific, Firaxis tweaked the RNG under the hood just to appease Reddit. For story-rich space mischief, Guardians of the Galaxy (A$14) delivers, and yes, Cosmo the dog actually has more dialogue lines than Groot.

• Logitech G Pro Wheel (-39%) - A$1098
• XCOM 2 (-95%) - A$5
• XCOM: Ult. Col. (-73%) - A$31
• SteamWorld Heist (-90%) - A$3
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (-85%) - A$14
• Sons of the Forest (-60%) - A$18
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (-75%) - A$23

Expiring Recent Deals

• Logitech G705 Wireless (-32%) - A$92
• Minecraft Legends (-100%) - FREE w/Prime
• Mafia III: Def. (-100%) - FREE w/Prime
• Session (-100%) - FREE w/Prime
• Deus Ex: Invisible War (-100%) - FREE w/Prime
• Mortal Shell (-100%) - FREE w/Prime
• Legacy of Kain Defiance (-100%) - FREE w/Prime

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Laptop Deals

• Apple 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch (-12%) – A$2,197
• Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (-36%) - A$879
• Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen7 (-27%) - A$1,018

Desktop Deals

• HP OMEN 35L Gaming (-10%) – A$2,799
• Lenovo ThinkCentre neo Ultra (-25%) - A$2,249
• Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q (-35%) – A$629

Monitor Deals

• LG 24MR400-B, 24" (-30%) - A$97
• Z-Edge 27" 240Hz (-15%) - A$279
• Samsung 57" Odyssey Neo Curved (-22%) – A$2,499

Component Deals

• MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi Motherboard (-41%) – A$229
• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (-7%) – A$876
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB (-35%) – A$82
• Kingston FURY Beast 16GB (-30%) – A$48

Storage Deals

• Seagate One Touch Portable HDD (-24%) – A$228
• Kingston 1TB USB 3.2 SSD (-17%) – A$115
• SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO (-63%) – A$29
• SanDisk 32GB Ultra SDHC (-53%) – A$9.90

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Legit LEGO Deals

• Jedi Bob’s Starfighter (-37%) - A$38
• Star Wars N-1 Starfighter (-36%) - A$32
• Harry Potter Mandrake Set (-35%) - A$65
• Captain America: Civil War (-34%) - A$99

Expiring Recent Deals

• Pink Flower Bouquet (-41%) - A$59
• Sunflowers (-41%) - A$14
• Cherry Blossoms (-41%) - A$14
• Lotus Flower (-41%) - A$14
• Insect Collection - A$127

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Hot Headphones Deals

Audiophilia for less

• Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro (-49%) – A$179
• Sony WH-CH520 Wireless (-27%) - A$73
• SoundPEATS Space (-25%) - A$56.99
• Technics Premium (-36%) - A$349

Back to top

Terrific TV Deals

Do right by your console, upgrade your telly

• Samsung S95D 77" OLED 4K (-19%) - A$6,499
• LG 43" UT80 4K (-23%) - A$693
• Kogan 65" QLED (-50%) – A$699

Back to top

A Minecraft Movie had a massive opening weekend at the box office and sparked pandemonium inside theaters, with popcorn being thrown, wild "CHICKEN JOCKEY!" screams, and even reports of police being called. But some are saying their experience was ruined by the chaos.

Social media was flooded with videos showing overly enthusiastic cinemagoers screaming lines from the movie, openly filming with their phones, throwing popcorn, and clapping rowdily.

One phrase in particular has risen to the top of the social media pile: "CHICKEN JOCKEY!" Jack Black, who plays Minecraft's famous playable character, Steve, says the line in the movie, and videos of screenings that took place over the weekend show it is sending teens delirious.

The line is said during a scene in which Black and Jason Momoa face a cuboid Minecraft chicken who is ridden by a baby zombie in a boxing ring. Black’s Steve declares "CHICKEN JOCKEY!" after the baby zombie falls from a crate onto the chicken; a reference to the video game itself, where certain baby zombie characters are sometimes found riding a chicken.

Given these fans had already seen the chicken jockey scene via a Minecraft trailer released in February, they were primed for release when they saw the movie in the cinema. And now, the chicken jockey line has taken on a life of its own, going viral on social media which in turn is fueling even more intense reaction.

the minecraft movie is truly one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen but the universal reaction to “chicken jockey” im seeing made it all worth it. pic.twitter.com/0mxgliSYEp

— ollie 🧡🤍🩷 (@ollie_twt) April 5, 2025

One person who filmed the reaction, X / Twitter user @ollie_twt, described the scenes: "the people behind me took their shirts off as well as the ones in the front that were standing. That was by far the loudest theater I’ve ever been in and it was awesome."

Happened to overhear a Chicken Jockey moment pic.twitter.com/TUvwMqrZRq

— Loke🌻 (@InsaneLoke) April 5, 2025

One TikTok video viewed by IGN shows a person carrying another on their shoulders, mimicking the chicken jockey itself. Another video, below, shows a teen standing ready to throw two popcorn buckets' worth of popcorn over the audience during the chicken jockey scene.

@theeggyhippo CHICKEN JOCKEY! 🗣️🔥🔥🔥#minecraftmovie #chickenjockey #chickenjockeycinemareaction #minecraft #movie ♬ original sound - TheEggyHippo

Another shows similar popcorn-throwing scenes:

@eddie_vikings13 #chickenjockey #minecraftmovie #fyp #viral @Brennan ♬ original sound - eddie_vikings13

There are even reports of police being called to eject members of the audience, and complaints from theater employees who have taken to social media and online forums to say people throwing drinks and popcorn makes their jobs even harder.

@salesmenpod This whole night was surreal and one of the most unforgettable movie experiences I’ve ever had. . . #minecraft #movie #minecraftmovie #chicken #jockey #chickenjockey #fyp #viral #reaction #funny #meme #moviereview #featureme #clips #comedy #video #videogames #games #game ♬ original sound - Salesmen: After Hours

While it’s clear a significant portion of the Minecraft movie audience is loving all the chaos, there are a number of fans who have expressed frustration that their experience was ruined by all the shouting and clapping.

I need to know, are there people who actually enjoy watching a movie like this? pic.twitter.com/v9NSSe0sqd

— Andrew (Toycat) (@ibxtoycat) April 5, 2025

Then there are the bemused audience members who aren't in on the joke. Parents taking their young children, friends and family members who aren't as... online as the rest of us.

@ickysnotbubble_ the audience was so hype 🔥 #minecraftmovie #minecraftmoviememe ♬ QKThr - Aphex Twin

Warner Bros. will no doubt be delighted by the virality of A Minecraft Movie, of course, as it heads into its second weekend. It’s already secured an incredible $301 million during opening weekend. Could it eventually beat The super Mario Bros. Movie as the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time?

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The weekend is officially here, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for April 6 below:

Save on LEGO Super Mario

Deck-building games are among the newer innovations in the ages-old hobby of playing card and board games. Like many fresh ideas, the concept of a deck-building game is startling in its simplicity. Card games where you build a custom deck before you play have been around a while. In a deck-building game, though, you build the deck while you play. Starting with a hand of currency cards, you cash them in for other, more interesting cards, and make a deck on-the-fly you think is good enough to win.

It wasn't just gamers who got bowled over by the brilliance of the concept: It was designers, too. Gaming was soon awash in copycat games, many of limited interest. Since then, the mechanic has seen redeployment into other genres of game with mixed results, but there are loads of awesome examples. These are the best deck-building board games out there right now.

TL;DR: The Best Deck-Building Games

• Slay the Spire
• Heat: Pedal to the Metal
• Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Star Wars: The Deck-Building Game
• Dune: Imperium
• The Quest for El Dorado
• Cubitos
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg
• Tyrants of the Underdark
• Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
• Dominion
• Aeon's End
• Clank! Catacombs
• Undaunted: Normandy

Slay the Spire: The Board Game

Heat: Pedal to the Metal

Lost Ruins of Arnak

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game

Dune Imperium

The Quest for El Dorado

Cubitos

The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Tyrants of the Underdark

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game

Dominion: 2nd Edition

Aeon's End

Clank! Catacombs

Undaunted: Normandy

A Minecraft Movie has enjoyed a record-breaking start at the box office, leapfrogging The Super Mario Bros. Movie to secure the biggest domestic debut in history for a video game adaptation.

The Xbox game adaptation starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, the latter of whom also starred in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, smashed box office expectations with an enormous $157 million at North American theaters. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which for now remains the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, enjoyed $146 million domestically during its opening weekend in April 2023.

A Minecraft Movie added $144 million via the international box office for a global opening weekend total of $301 million. A Minecraft Movie reportedly cost $150 million to produce before global marketing costs, so it may already be profitable for Warner Bros.

A Minecraft Movie is of course based on Mojang's Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. The Microsoft-owned sandbox remains one of the most popular video games in the world, and has movie tie-in DLC to capitalize on the film’s launch.

IGN’s A Minecraft Movie review returned a 6/10. We said: “Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess puts a surprisingly specific and funny comic spin on A Minecraft Movie’s kid-friendly adventure, especially in its less antic first half.”

If you’ve seen the film, be sure to check out IGN’s A Minecraft Movie Ending and Post-Credits Scene Explained With Director Jared Hess and Minecraft's Torfi Frans Ólafsson.

Meanwhile, Disney’s live-action Snow White looks set for disaster status after a disappointing opening weekend box office. It’s now up to $168.4 million globally ($77.5 million domestic and $90.9 million international), and with a reported $250 million production budget, a Mufasa: The Lion King-style sleeper hit comeback may be beyond it.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

New video game hardware announcements can become somewhat predictable. With each new generation of consoles you can expect to see near-certain staples like better graphics, faster load times, and new takes on beloved, plumber-and-turtle-oriented franchises.

Even Nintendo, which has done this consistently across several generations, from the N64 analog controller, tiny GameCube discs, wacky Wii motion controls and Virtual Console, the Wii U tablet screen, and the Switch’s built-in portability, has delivered these improvements with the Switch 2.

But being Nintendo, the company again unveiled a few genuine shockers during the Switch 2 Direct.

It's 2025 and we finally get online play.

When I was four years old in 1983, my babysitter used to roll footballs at me like Donkey Kong rolling barrels at Mario. I would jump over them, making a Donkey Kong sound effect in the air, then grab a toy hammer and smash them like Mario. That’s how long I’ve been a Nintendo fan. So I say this from a place of long-suffering experience: it’s going to be impossible to talk about this awesome reveal without revealing a little loving bitterness.

Nintendo, as we all know, does not really play online well. Satellaview and Metroid Prime: Hunters aside, Nintendo has barely scraped the surface of what’s possible with a unified multiplayer platform like those created by Sony and Xbox. It’s never as easy to find and talk with friends on a Nintendo platform. Even the Switch required a separate app for voice chat.

Shockingly, change appears to be here now. During the Direct, Nintendo unveiled GameChat, and it looks... really neat?! It's a four-player chat that supports noise suppression, video cameras for showing friends’ faces, and screen sharing across consoles, allowing you to keep an eye on up to four different displays inside a single screen. We know from the new Switch 2 accessibility features page that GameChat also supports text-to-voice and voice-to-text, allowing players to communicate multiple ways.

Now we haven’t seen what, if any, unified matchmaking interface might tie into this just yet. But it’s already a big step, and I’m hoping it means the last nail in the coffin for the abominable friend code forever.

Miyazaki is bringing new blood exclusively to Nintendo

When I saw the first frames of this trailer, I thought I was seeing Bloodborne 2. The ambiance, the character design, and the environments all screamed the FROM Software house style. Thanks to Eric Van Allen at IGN, I now know that I was watching footage from The Duskbloods, a multiplayer PvPvE game designed by the softly-smiling monarch of video game masochism, Hidetaka Miyazaki.

I do not know where this man found time to direct a Nintendo-exclusive game. I’m starting to think that he may never leave his office nor sleep, much like one of his own confused, hollowed characters wasting away in the high tower of some gothic prison. But I’m grateful. FROM doesn’t really miss anymore, so I’m anticipating a tasty treat.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

Speaking of people who need a vacation, apparently Super Smash Bros. director Masuhiro Sakurai has moved on from Smash to a new Kirby game? Did not see that coming. Get that man a nap!

The original Kirby's Air Ride was, to put it bluntly, a pleasant-looking but aggressively unfun Kirby racer for GameCube. But Sakurai has made no secret of his deep affinity for Nintendo’s round, pink elder god, and it’s practically a certainty that a Sakurai-helmed take on the franchise will be a far more refined and enjoyable experience.

Control issues

It was almost a throwaway moment, but the Pro Controller 2 sounds genuinely Pro this time around when Nintendo announced the Pro Controller 2 has an audio jack now, which is another feature that’s welcome about a decade later. More importantly, they’ve added two mappable extra buttons. I LOVE customizable buttons, so this tiny surprise actually tickled me pink.

No Mario?!

This one genuinely shocked me. Near as I can tell, a lot of Nintendo’s Mario makers have been locked up in a secret bunker for years working on his next 3D adventure, which I assumed would be the big summer game for Switch. I was very wrong. Turns out the Odyssey team is the force behind Donkey Kong Bananza, the captivating new 3D platformer with a focus on destructible environments. Nintendo is once again playing against expectations as it so often does, trusting hardcore fans to flock to Donkey Kong’s biggest game in generations and saving Mario for another day.

Switch will also launch with extensive third party support and Mario Kart World. While World looks like a system-seller, I figured it would be timed as a Christmas-window family game. Nintendo usually leans on Mario, Zelda, or both to sell to their biggest fans during a console’s first year. But Nintendo is looking at Mario Kart 8’s record sales with confidence, betting their most popular party game, alongside Bananza, will help move enough Switch 2 units to make launch a success.

Forza Horizon x Nintendo was not on my bingo card

Open-world Mario Kart is here, whether it be for good or for ill. I’m betting on good, as the zany physics, weird vehicles, and combat mechanics of Mario Kart should lend themselves well to navigating between and across tracks battling friends and sewing chaos. The short look we got seems to indicate a continuous world a la Bowser’s Fury, but much larger and supporting myriad drivers.

It’s very expensive

The Switch 2 costs too much. I get that everything is expensive right now, as tariffs go up, the yen goes down, and American inflation reignites. But $449.99 USD is a hefty price by any standard, and Switch 2 is the most expensive launch in Nintendo’s 40-plus US sales history. In fact, Switch 2 costs $150 dollars more than its predecessor’s launch price, and is $100 dollars more than the next-most-expensive Wii U. Successful Nintendo consoles and handhelds have often relied on lower prices as a differentiator, but Switch 2 will be looking to succeed without a price advantage.

Jared Petty is a former IGN editor who likes writing about how wonderful and silly video games are. You can find him at Bluesky as pettycommajared.

Moza’s R3 PC Wheel and Pedals bundle is a competitively priced and compelling pit stop for any newcomer looking to dip a leaden foot into simming. Also, it’s an ideal, ready-to-race package that will rev the engines of anybody who dreams less of shaving PBs on a track and more about shredding POS cars in Wreckfest 2.

That’s pretty much what I decided to throw my Moza R3 at. I took a lovely, metal-twisting holiday away from my usual MO of testing Direct Drive wheels with hypercars and perfect lines. Was that an unorthodox test bed? Kinda. But I maintain that the Wreckfest series is a low-barrier gateway racer that can create serious rally addicts eventually.

Better than that, though, it’s just big gobs of fun with physics a-go-go and punchy force feedback aplenty.

While the 3.9Nm thrumming in this wheelbase doesn’t exactly redline with its peak power, it’s still a solid and stylish DD unit that hums along like a finely tuned machine. Unlike its clunkier, noisier gear-and-belt-driven rivals at the entry level, the R3 is whisper-quiet and ridiculously compact in comparison. Better yet, the bundle is extremely mod-friendly, so upgrading your ride down the road is a cinch—no need to swap out the whole chassis.

Moza R3 – Design and Features

The Moza R3 Racing Wheel and Pedals bundle is a full-throttle, plug-and-play racing system. Inside the box, you’ll find Moza’s new 3.9 Nm R3 wheelbase, a 280mm PC-compatible steering wheel, a set of SR-P Lite pedals, and a separate table clamp is also included. Believe you me, you’re going to need that last bit of kit once the FFB gets going. Nothing jerry-rigged or half-arsed is going to hold this sucker down when the cars start cartwheeling.

Said clamp is made entirely of steel and is rigid as hell—quite sturdier than the plastic alternatives, and it has a generous 50mm of clamp space. Via the chaos of Wreckfest 2, I certainly gave that rigidity a run for its money. Thanks to a beefy desk and a straightforward system of four mount holes to secure the R3 wheelbase, this setup holds up well under the stresses of force feedback.

Weighing in at just 2.29 kilos and measuring a compact 120mm high, 135mm wide, and only 93mm long (excluding the steering shaft), the R3 is a pocket rocket of a wheelbase. Its boxy, industrial design gives it a serious motorsport aesthetic—far more race-ready-looking than some of the older, plastic clamshells that are out there competing.

Heading below the equator, we have the R3’s pedal set, which is only an accelerator and a brake. If you’re searching for a clutch experience—and that’d make perfect sense for OG muscle cars in Wreckfest 2—you can make an extra pit lane purchase of a third pedal. Prices seem to be reasonable for that, and I know from experience that Moza’s ecosystem is all about easy installation.

Beyond that, these metal pedals feel a heck of a lot more robust than some of the plastic-heavy alternatives on the market. Resistance comes from springs rather than a load cell, so while they’re not championship-grade, they should be more than enough for entry-level sim racers. There’s also a surprising degree of adjustability, with pedal pads that can be repositioned higher or lower, and the entire pedal units can be moved left or right.

Moza R3 x Wreckfest 2: Performance

With 3.9 Nm of peak torque, the R3 isn’t exactly a torque monster, but it’s right in the slipstream of other entry-level contenders with similar price pricepoints. It’s also perfect for some low-stakes, throw-around fun in a physics-heavy (yet nonetheless arcade-y) title like Wreckfest 2.

I’m not going to lie to you, though; I did need to do some tinkering to make Wreckfest 2 speak correctly with the R3, at least initially. However, thanks to the ever-changing landscape of Early Access, a few hotfixes meant I no longer had to constantly rebind/reverse my pedals in Moza’s (usually quite capable) Pit House software. Everything works pretty much as it should now, and, obviously, support will only get better as yet more fixes roll out.

Lazarus brings together some of the most celebrated names in not just anime but all of entertainment. The completely original sci-fi series is helmed by none other than Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichirō Watanabe, though critic Ryan Guar's review of the first five episodes states that Lazarus is far from a Cowboy Bebop revival. The animation was led by Mappa Studio (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen) alongside Sola Entertainment (Tower of God), while Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick movies, designed the action sequences.

With so much hype (and a little bit of mystery), it isn't surprising that Adult Swim picked up the anime to air new episodes in the U.S. at the same time as Japan. If you’re wondering how to watch new episodes of Lazarus online, check out the details below.

Where to Stream Lazarus

New episodes of Lazarus will be available to stream on Max (instead of Crunchyroll or Netflix) the day after they broadcast on Adult Swim. That means new episodes of Lazarus will arrive on Max every Sunday. Max subscriptions start at $9.99 and can be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu.

According to a Warner Bros. press release, subbed versions of Lazarus episodes will air and arrive on Max 30 days after the dubbed episodes.

How to Watch New Episodes Live

Lazarus is airing simultaneously in Japan and the United States. In the States, you can watch new dubbed episodes of Lazarus live on Adult Swim during its Toonami block on Saturday nights. Aside from cable, Adult Swim is included in live TV subscriptions like Hulu + Live TV (which offers a three-day free trial).

Lazarus Episode Release Dates

The first season of Lazarus will include 13 episodes total. Each episode will air live on Adult Swim before arriving on Max. Note that episodes air at midnight (technically Sunday), but are part of Adult Swim's Saturday block, which is why that date is used. Think of it as you'll be staying up, not waking up, to watch new episodes.

Assuming it won't have a mid-season break, here's what I predict the episode release schedule will look like for Lazarus Season 1:

• Episode 1: "Goodbye Cruel World" - April 5 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: April 6, 2025
• Episode 2: "Life in the Fast Lane" - April 12 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: April 13
• Episode 3: "Long Way from Home" - April 19 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: April 20
• Episode 4 - April 26 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: April 27
• Episode 5 - May 3 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: May 4
• Episode 6 - May 10 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: May 11
• Episode 7 - May 17 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: May 18
• Episode 8 - May 24 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: May 25
• Episode 9 - May 31 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: June 1
• Episode 10 - June 7 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: June 8
• Episode 11 - June 14 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: June 15
• Episode 12 - June 21 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: June 22
• Episode 13 - June 28 (12am EST/9pm PST)
  • Streaming: June 29

What Is Lazarus About?

In a rare move for the anime industry, Lazarus is entirely original. No manga inspiration here, so no reading ahead to find out what happens. Here’s the official plot synopsis from the Lazarus website:

Lazarus Voice Cast and Characters

Lazarus was created by Shinichirō Watanabe. Here's the main voice cast in Japanese and English:

• Mamoru Miyano (Japanese) and Jack Stansbury (English) as Axel
• Makoto Furukawa (Japanese) and Jovan Jackson (English) as Doug
• Maaya Uchida (Japanese) and Luci Christian (English) as Christine
• Yuma Uchida (Japanese) and Bryson Baugus (English) as Leland
• Manaka Iwami (Japanese) and Annie Wild (English) as Eleina
• Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese) and Jade Kelly (English) as Hersch
• Akio Otsuka (Japanese) and Sean Patrick Judge (English) as Abel
• Koichi Yamadera (Japanese); David Matranga (English) as Dr. Skinner

We’re nearing the end of the 2025 Men’s March Madness Tournament. In perhaps one of the least interesting outcomes of all time, all four top seeds made it to the semi-finals. So, if you happened to base your entire bracket on the number 1, congratulations!

With the rest of the tournament playing out over the next couple of days, it might not be worth picking up a new subscription or cable plan. But that shouldn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun. With the magic of free trials, here’s how you can watch the March Madness Final Four games online for free.

How to Watch the Final Four Games for Free

The weekend is officially here, and we've rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for April 5 below:

Pre-Order the Dan Da Dan Season 1 Blu-ray for $24.49

Streaming has gone from being a cheaper alternative to cable, to an actually worse version of cable. The price of streaming services has skyrocketed since the early days, and content has been haphazardly strewn across different subscriptions. Not only that, each of the streaming services are continually raising prices on consumers. If you find yourself subscribed to Netflix, Max, Hulu, Paramount+, and Disney+ all at once you're probably paying way too much for streaming right now.

Thankfully there are some options to cut down on your budget without just canceling your access to everything. There are ways to bundle services together, free trials, and streaming alternatives out there you can take advantage of. Below I've gathered a quick list of ways I've found to save money and still watch an endless stream of quality entertainment on the daily.

Bundle Services Where You Can

Rejoice, fellow Nintendo fans. On Wednesday, the clouds parted, the sun rose, and the divine spectra; hand of Miyamoto reached down from the sky to grace us with Nintendo’s newest handheld carnival of joy, the Switch 2. After years of speculation, we finally have a clear look at the mysterious console hybrid.

Sadly, while sleek, compact, and powerful, the rumours are untrue. The Switch 2 does not in fact pack a tiny little Reggie into every GPU. But after we spent an hour during the Direct glued to every word: dissecting it, screenshotting every image, poring over captured video for tiny clues to its form and function, we can finally apply something besides guesswork and give you some solid facts, including all the ways it leaves its beloved predecessor in the dust.

1. Switch 2 packs in a lot more raw graphical power than Switch

This is probably the least-surprising revelation as practically every next-gen Nintendo console has been significantly improved over its predecessor (yes, even the Wii). Still, when released in 2017, Switch was hardly a cutting-edge powerhouse in comparison to Sony and Xbox consoles, and eight years later it noticeably struggles under demanding games. Nintendo and its partners were increasingly running up against the limitations of the hardware.

This week we saw elements on display promising us a vastly improved experience: handheld resolutions up to 1080p, docked up to 4K, both with HDR, and framerates extending up to 120 fps. It’s a welcome upgrade that should allow a wider variety of games to come to Switch 2. We may already see some of the fruit in EA’s decision to host soccer and football games on Switch 2, and 2K’s intention to do the same with wrestling and basketball.

Third parties revealed all manner of current-gen games to give us some idea of the Switch 2’s increased capabilities, and what we saw was encouraging: a console/handheld capable of handling Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6, and other demanding software. And what Nintendo showed of their new first-party offerings was simply gorgeous.

2. Switch plays GameCube games. Switch doesn’t

The little purple lunchbox that could finally comes to Nintendo Switch Online, exclusively available on Switch 2. Nintendo has effectively drawn a fence between online experiences on Switch and Switch 2, and that means that from this point forward those who want to play some of Nintendo’s best retro games are going to have to shell out for better hardware. Sure, it’s only three games right now, but those three games are absolute bangers: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and, holy crap, Soul Calibur 2, complete with Link.

Okay, seriously. Soul Calibur 2 is incredible. If you’ve never played it with a friend you are in for such a treat.

3. Switch 2 recognizes the existence of the Internet

When humanity later reviews and catalogues the glorious day in video game history, the opening chapter won’t be about how Mario Kart is now like Forza Horizon, or about Donkey Kong’s return in Bananza, or even about the announcement of the until-now secret project called Duskblood. Instead, the book will open and perhaps also close with the most significantly un-Nintendo thing to happen this week: easy integration of online features commonly available on other platforms.

The company that brought us Friend Codes now graces us with GameChat, a feature-rich communication and visual sharing feature set for Switch 2. A noise-cancelling mic picks up your voice and shares it with friends. An optional desktop camera allows you to share your face, both in window-corners and in compatible games like Mario Party. You can also share screens across consoles remotely. It’s much of what we gave up on asking Nintendo for years ago... a simple, straightforward tool for playing with friends. I’m looking forward to seeing how it actually plays out.

If you have a Nintendo Switch (or plan to get a Nintendo Switch 2), you’re probably familiar with Nintendo Switch Online. Beyond being essential for accessing multiplayer features and playing online with friends in popular games, it’s also one of the best ways to enjoy over four decades of classic Nintendo games, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and (with the upcoming launch of the Nintendo Switch 2) the new GameCube libraries.

If you haven't tried Nintendo Switch Online yet, don't worry—we've got you covered. Below, we’ll walk you through how to activate the free trial, explain the different subscription tiers, share pricing details, and more.

Does Nintendo Switch Online Have a Free Trial?

Yes, Nintendo offers a seven-day free trial for Nintendo Switch Online, giving you access to online play for your Nintendo Switch (and eventually Nintendo Switch 2 games), cloud backup for your save data, select game soundtracks on Nintendo Music, and a library of over 100 NES, SNES, and Game Boy games.

825 Forest Road is now streaming on Shudder.

Writer and director Stephen Cognetti is ready to be known as more than the “Hell House LLC Guy.” Unfortunately, his latest movie won’t help him accomplish that goal. 825 Forest Road ditches the found-footage Halloween scares of Cognetti’s directorial debut and its sequels for a more traditional approach to horror. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as engaging or inventive as those four (and counting) trips to the cursed Abaddon Hotel. 825 Forest Road is a tangle of feeble lore, jumbled storytelling jumps, and an upsetting mannequin who’s scary, but can’t quite escape the shadow of the terrifyingly mobile clown dummies that stalk the Hell House movies.

The ingredients of his past success are all in place: 825 Forest Road brings a malevolent force and unsuspecting victims to the central location of the title. Chuck Wilson (Joe Falcone), his seamstress wife Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyea), and his artistic younger sister Isabelle (Kathryn Miller) leave tragedy behind to make a fresh start in the small town of Ashland Falls. But Ashland's darkest supernatural secret eventrually comes a-knocking at Chuck's front door: Her name is Helen Foster (Diomira Keane), and untimely deaths are her calling card. Cue the stock possession-horror thrills as the trio’s spacious yet surprisingly affordable home is infested by a vengeful spirit that Helen eventually channels into Maria's disturbing antique mannequin, "Martha."

There’s no visual imagination to be found in 825 Forest Road. Ashland Falls is portrayed like any other humble American community, no different from the settings of the 50 other scrappy little haunted-house movies you’ll see this year. The character Cognetti brought to Hell House LLC's monstrous attraction doesn’t extend to 825 Forest Road, either – with its architectural stuffiness and generic production design, the house might as well be an unoccupied model in the middle of a new housing development. And without the found-footage hook, the filmmaking lacks pop, sucking the life out of Chuck's residential nightmare.

Cognetti also miscalculates the durability of his storytelling, splitting 825 Forest Road into three repetitive chapters focused on a different member of the family. We follow Chuck, Irene, and Maria as they interact with Helen throughout the same sorta-spooky events, but the momentum is choppy at best – nothing revealed along the way is thunderous enough to be rewound multiple times. Cognetti struggles to bring his concept to life, whether it's Helen's underbaked backstory or the counterintuitive motivations that peg Chuck's crew as mindless cannon fodder. A few valiant efforts are made to prop up the exposition – like introducing the town's underground paranormal discussion group – but if the devil's in the details, he's on vacation.

I'll admit: Martha the mannequin – with her crackly, papier-mâché complexion and habit of turning up where you least expect her – makes an effective antagonist. As Helen taunts the befuddled residents of 825 Forest Road by puppeting Martha around the house, Cognetti calls back to his nerve-shredding usage of Hell House LLC's bald-and-painted clown prop. The ghastly figure makes a good jump scare (when she’s not a shoddy digital effect), but 825 Forest Road is never scarier than when Martha gains mobility, scampering about like one of Donna Beneviento's Resident Evil Village minions. So much of 825 Forest Road is a struggle, but not when Cognetti reminds us why Hell House LLC garnered a ravenous following addicted to blood-pumping terrors. If only the Martha material had a more powerful, lingering effect.

The rest of 825 Forest Road stumbles through the motions. The performances are a serviceable crop, but the cast doesn’t give you anything that'll stay seared in your memory. Cognetti recycles a few tricks from his Hell House LLC experiences, but they're less impactful without the intimacy found-footage can provide. Then there's the death blow of the final act, an anticlimax that fades to black at the worst possible moment. The kernel of an idea in 825 Forest Road never puffs into something tastier – it’s the hardened shell at the bottom of Cognetti’s bowl of savory found-footage frights. Perhaps the upcoming Hell House LLC: Lineage will prove a better method of closing the door on this chapter of his career.

LEGO has been rolling out new LEGO Lord of the Rings sets at a leisurely, hobbit-like pace of late. In 2023 we got a stunning Rivendell set. Last year, LEGO released a huge set of the Sauron’s iconic Dark Tower, aka Barad-dûr. And now, finally available for anyone to buy (exclusively at the LEGO Store), is a lovely, peaceful set based on The Shire – specifically, the hillside residence of Bilbo and Frodo in Bag-End.

LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Shire

You'd think pulling together a "best video game movies" list would be fairly easy given the meager amount of qualifying flicks... so we made it a bit more challenging with a Top 10! The question you should have now isn't "Oooh, which movies made the cut?" but instead "Wow, there are actually 10 decent movies based on video games?"

Yes, effectively translating games to film has always been one of Hollywood's biggest challenges, even as games became more and more story-focused, acting like long-form movies in their own right. It's understandable why old school cabinet games and platformers, with scant narratives, would be tough to adapt but modern games come almost automatically assembled for the big screen. How hard is it to make an Uncharted movie when the Uncharted games feel like movies? As it turns out? Super gd difficult.

So games-to-movies is still a heck of a nut to crack, apparently, but in recent years we've been seeing some marked improvement. (And we didn't even cheat by including all three Sonic the Hedgehog movies... though maybe we should have!)

And a note: This list is made up of movies that are based on real games. It does not include movies that are about video games (The Wizard, Pixels) or the many movies that feature a made-up game (Free Guy, Ready Player One, Wreck-It Ralph, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, etc.).

With A Minecraft Movie landing on our doorstep this week, here's our Top 10 Video Game Movies of All Time!

10. Street Fighter (1994)

Our official crap entry here, since we have to admit that some video game movies are brilliant schlock, is the goofy guilty pleasure of 1994’s Street Fighter. Look, most video games at the time were either platformers or fighting games so… not a lot of narrative was unfolding. And Street Fighter was kind of exactly what you wanted from a Street Fighter movie.

Popping up right toward the end of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s heyday (he’d still have the underrated Peter Hyams’ movies Timecop and Sudden Death to unleash), Street Fighter has now meandered over into beloved cult movie territory, with a crazed cast that included Ming-Na Wen, Kylie Minogue, Wes Studi, and the late great Raul Julia (in what would be his final film role). Written and directed by screenwriter Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard, The Running Man, Richochet), Street Fighter was transformed into a Van Damme vehicle, making Colonel Guile the central character and guaranteeing a ton of roundhouse spin kicks.

9. Rampage (2018)

This is most definitely the best movie you could have whipped up based on the 1986 arcade game featuring Godzilla and Kong-esque monsters, and their best pal -- a giant Werewolf -- climbing buildings, eating people, swatting planes, and then reducing said buildings to rubble. For 2018's Rampage, however, the battle lines were a little different. It was Lizard and Wolf vs. Ape and... Rock.

Yes, Dwayne Johnson re-teamed with director Brad Peyton (following Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and San Andreas) for a smash-em-up disaster flick all about mutant beasts tussling in, and subsequently leveling, Chicago.

8. Uncharted (2022)

Asked in the intro: How hard could it be to make a good Uncharted movie? Putting aside, of course, how hard it is to make any movie, in general.

The Uncharted games not only play like action movies, with eye-popping interactive cutscenes that are basically stunt spectaculars (one of which even wound up kinda/sorta in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning), but the games themselves were also influenced by classic action-adventure flicks like the Indiana Jones films.

The choice to have stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg played aged-down versions (that's Hollywood, baby!) of hero Nathan Drake and mentor Victor "Sully" Sullivan soured some fans of the game franchise while also robbing the film of Uncharted's heart and lived-in appeal, but the action was decent (particularly the third act set piece) and there was enough charisma on set to allow this mixtape of Uncharted characters and lore to persevere.

7. Resident Evil (2002)

With overall quality up for spirited debate, the single most resilient video game movie franchise is the Paul W. S. Anderson Resident Evil series. Spanning two decades, with six movies, Resident Evil became the little Umbrella Corporation engine that could with its own brand of cheese-tastic action and horror.

Representing the entire run -- and even the more recent Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City reboot in 2021 and the separate Netflix series in 2022 -- is the 2002 original, featuring The Fifth Element's Milla Jovovich as amnesiac heroine Alice, who joins up with a band of warriors to battle the sinister Umbrella Corporation and the scourge of the zombie-creating T-virus.

Mixing up various parts of the first two Resident Evil games, this first movie nicely set the stage for 25 more years of RE films. With 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead reboot helping popularize zombie horror at the start of this century, Resident Evil found itself in a sweet spot being able to pull from games filled with undead monsters and tons of dystopian lore.

Oh, and the franchise isn't done reinventing itself either, as a brand new version from Barbarian's Zach Cregger is slated for 2026.

6. Mortal Kombat (2021)

With this list we're trying to strike a balance between old and new when it comes to video game movies, honoring old adaptation attempts and previous big swings while also saluting the newer grittier and grounded reboots. 2021's Mortal Kombat, which gets a much-buzzed-about sequel in 2025, hit all the right notes when it came to world building, bone-crunching action, and occasional wit. It took the iconic, pivotal fighting game and gave it a new sheen, showcasing our heroes' quest to save Earth from Outworld hostiles while using the revenge story between Scorpion and Sub-Zero as the film's... er, spine.

But we'll also throw some love to Paul W. S. Anderson's original 1995 adaptation. Yes, before he cracked the Resident Evil code, Anderson had a nice '90s hit with the first Mortal Kombat movie - a fun, campy crash course in throwing a fighting game up on the big screen.

5. Tomb Raider (2018)

And here's another legendary game franchise that has been running for so long we've gotten into reboot territory. So much so that the Tomb Raider movie from 2018 was based on an entirely different rebooted game series -- the Survivor Trilogy -- than the previous two Angelina Jolie films, which had big action directors at the helm in the form of Simon West and Jan de Bont.

The new Tomb Raider, starring Ex Machina's Alicia Vikander, was a thoughtful, exciting reworking of the 2013 game, the first of the new trilogy, and included the island of Yamatai adventure that helps transform young Lara Croft from an aimless heiress into globe-trotting adventurer. Or, survivor, if you will, as this origin story portrays Lara as a scrappy, skin-of-her-teeth type more than a confident action hero.

A sequel was in the works for a while until COVID delays stalled everything up so much that MGM wound up losing the film rights to the game franchise in 2022. Such a pity. Trinity's definitely behind this.

4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

The less said about the original Super Mario Bros. film from 1993 the better, though it is a fascinating study from a blockbuster disaster standpoint. And the film's now wandered into "so bad it's good... but it's still bad" territory. Overall, it was a live-action miscalculation of epic proportions.

That first attempt to bring Mario and Luigi was so abysmal that it basically stamped out all future tries. Nintendo essentially stopped licensing its characters for movies. Almost 30 years later, the Super Mario curse was broken with a vibrant, delightful animated film that basically printed money at the box office. The Mario Bros. world was just too ridiculous and disjointed -- plumbers, princesses, mushrooms, Bowsers -- for live-action and needed to thrive in a cartoon environment. This fantastical story needed a fantastical presentation. And while the casting of Chris Pratt as Mario became a sticking point for the internet, no one ultimately gave a s***. Everything worked here.

3. Detective Pikachu (2019)

The live-action/animation hybrid Detective Pikachu was a clever, heartfelt dive into the vast world of Pokemon, with Ryan Reynolds voicing a smart, sleuthing Pikachu who teams with Justice Smith's forlorn former Pokemon trainer, Tim, who's the only person who can hear this particular Pikachu talk. Together they investigate the death of Tim's estranged father in Ryme City. This energetic, offbeat take on the unique game world led to box office gold, making Detective Pikachu the highest-grossing video game movie of all time (at the time). Great character arcs, surprising story twists -- the film clearly understood the assignment. As of now, a sequel is supposedly still "in the works."

2. Werewolves Within (2021)

The least-watched film on this list for sure, and based on the least-known game on the list (a VR game for Oculus Rift from 2016), Josh Ruben's Werewolves Within is a hilarious, freaky monster mystery starring Sam Richardson (Veep, The Detroiters) as a new park ranger in a small town full of feuding citizens who are either being bumped off by their own neighborly rivals or... a gruesome beast stalking from the woods. Filled with funny, accentuated by co-stars Milana Vayntrub (our lost Squirrel Girl), Michaela Watkins (Heart Eyes), and George Basil (Severance), Werewolves Within is a great watch and a must-add to all Spooky Seasons marathons.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

We already told you that the Sonic movies weren't taking up three spots, so here stands Sonic the Hedgehog 3 -- the best of the three movies to date and also the rep for the new Sonic franchise as a whole. The Sonic the Hedgehog movies have gotten better with each installment, with the series as a whole having truly perfected the way to bring Sega's bonkers console-launching speedy platformer to life with animation and live-action.

It's high-octane family fun that managed to find the perfect voice for Sonic in Ben Schwartz, balancing snarky and sweet. It's also responsible for bringing Jim Carrey out of blockbuster retirement, gifting a whole new generation with his incomparable comedic antics. It feels like a modern cinematic miracle that we've now managed to get Sonic and Mario up in movie theaters in big, successful ways. And Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was the deepest, most effective movie so far. The chemistry between Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in the film is spot-on and Keanu Reeves voicing Shadow was impeccable casting.

So what are your favorite video game movies? What would you have liked to have seen represented here? Vote in our poll and let us know below!

And if you're looking for all the Upcoming Video Game Movies and TV Shows, follow the link. Or, if you're in the mood for something a little more analytical, check out our Dream Video Game Movies and TV Shows Wishlist, and also this op-ed about why it might be so dang hard to make a good video game movie.

There’s a purely primal pleasure in stacking things up and then watching them fall down: witness how it’s one of the earliest activities children learn to play by themselves. And however much we might grow up and think of ourselves as mature, sober citizens, you can still get a frisson of that pleasure by organizing a closet, or watching a tower block demolished. So why not go the whole hog and indulge that secret pleasure with one of the very best dexterity games on the market?

TL;DR: These Are the Best Dexterity Games

• Junk Ark
• Catapult Feud
• Nekojima
• Catacombs and Castles
• Klask
• Barbecubes
• Jenga
• Crokinole
• Dungeon Fighter
• Jungle Speed
• Kabuto Sumo
• Drop It
• Hamster Roll
• Looping Louie
• Rhino Hero

Junk Art

Catapult Feud

Nekojima

Catacombs and Castles

Klask

Barbecubes

Jenga

Crokinole

Dungeon Fighter

Jungle Speed

Kabuto Sumo: Bug Wrestling

Drop It

Hamster Roll

Looping Louie

Rhino Hero

Originally launched as a free service to rival Xbox Live in 2010, PlayStation Plus has evolved significantly since its humble beginnings in 2010. The current iteration of PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based service for PS5 and PS4 users that is mandatory for online play, but also features additional tiers that add benefits such as a catalog of downloadable games, cloud streaming, and more.

While Sony used to offer free trials for new users to its online service, PlayStation Plus does not currently offer any free trials.

Can You Get PS Plus For Free in Other Ways?

Although PlayStation Plus doesn't offer free trials to everyone, certain countries or regions may occasionally have access to a limited-time free trial according to Sony's website. Unfortunately, Sony doesn't reveal exactly who these free trials are for or when they are available, so you'll need to keep your eyes peeled. PlayStation also occasionally has free multiplayer events with no PS Plus subscription required, although these are often unpredictable.

PlayStation does have occasional deals on PlayStation Plus subscriptions, however, they are often only available for new or expired members. Come on, Sony, share the love!

What PS Plus Alternatives Have Free Trials?

There really isn't a direct replacement for PS Plus as it's required for online play on PS5 and PS4, but there are some alternatives with free (or close to free) trials that offer a catalog of games to stream, if you so desire. However, most (if not all) of these alternatives require either a different console, a PC, or a mobile device to use the service.

1. PC Game Pass (14 Days for $1 - $11.99/month

Many of the best gaming keyboards I’ve reviewed in recent years are tenkeyless – ones that lop off the number pad to save desk space that also deliver high performance and fancy features. But I still want full-sized functionality on my keyboard, which is why I love the 96% layout where you still get all of the essentials with all of it crammed into a slightly more compact board with no gaps between keys or wasted space. They are tougher to find, however. And for that, I rode out the original Keychron K4 as my main until I spilled a drink over it and destroyed its mechanical switches. It was a solid keyboard that had everything I wanted at the time, but now it’s been updated with Hall Effect magnetic switches, and the results are fantastic.

The Keychron K4 HE has been outfitted with Gateron double-rail magnetic Nebula switches and the frame has a slightly different trim, but it’s still the simple and sleek keyboard I’ve always loved. While it doesn’t have anything like an OLED control screen on the likes of a SteelSeries Apex Pro or Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro 75, I don’t mind because sometimes it’s about getting the basics right, and offering that at a reasonable price.

Keychron K4 HE – Design and Features

I received the special edition of the Keychron K4 HE that comes in a cream white color scheme with wood grain along the side of the aluminum frame and a couple of gold keycaps for a pleasing accent. The OSA profile double-shot PBT keycaps are nice to the touch and have rounded edges for a softer overall look. There is RGB backlighting and a dedicated RGB key at the top-right to cycle through built-in RGB effects like breathing, waves, ripples, wheel, or just a single static color. But since the keycaps on the special edition don’t have transparent legends, it only really seeps through between the keys (the standard edition does have transparent keycaps so I would recommend going with that model if it matters to you). It’s bright enough to come through vividly even if it doesn’t light up the key lettering.

The 96% layout tickles a certain part of my brain and I like how neat everything looks despite being crammed together. There’s no wasted space, but that does mean I reach for the wrong key sometimes, like hitting home key instead of delete when working. Because it’s truncated in the way it is, you save a lot of deskspace without sacrificing the full suite of keys – side-by-side with my tenkeyless SteelSeries Apex Pro, there’s only a one-inch difference in width. The functionality I get back in return is very much worth it, and I find myself using the number pad often again for work or mapping additional actions/macros in games like the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.

There aren't going to be groundbreaking high-tech features here, or even simple things like easily accessible dedicated media keys, which are things I find useful, but at least you don’t necessarily lose that functionality since those are combined with other keys via the FN key. It is nice, however, to have 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity to give it a little extra versatility. The connection toggle is on the left side of the frame along with a Windows/Android-MacOS input toggle – the buttons are smaller than I would prefer, but it’s one of those set-it-and-forget-it kind of situations.

Keychron K4 HE – Software and Customization

There's still a decent amount of customization on account of having magnetic switches, and they’re very easy to tinker with. Boutique manufacturers like Keychron have moved toward having web-based configurators as opposed to downloadable suites that bigger manufacturers use. (I get that Razer, Logitech, Asus, etc. do that to get you in their ecosystems.) You simply go to the Keychron launcher site, select your keyboard from the Connect menu, and you immediately have access to a full set of customization options.

From here, you can set the actuation point on a per-key basis anywhere between 0.2mm and 3.8mm and in increments of 0.1mm – and having a short actuation point is crucial for competitive gaming performance. You also have more nuanced features like one-key multi-command, which lets you map different inputs to various distances along the keystroke. And there’s the analog gamepad feature that allows you to simulate specific sensitivities of controller inputs on a keystroke. Hall Effect switches are great for performance alone, but it’s this kind of versatility enabled by magnetic technology.

It’s pretty much expected for magnetic keyboards to have features like Rapid Trigger and LKP (last keystroke prioritization), the latter of which is the contentious SOCD (simultaneous opposite cardinal direction) input. We cover this with each magnetic keyboard since it’s becoming more commonplace and different companies call it something different. It certainly has its uses cases, but if you’re not aware, SOCD (or LKP in this case) lets you hold one key and register an opposite direction every time you hit it, and re-register the key you're holding every time you let go of the other. You can counter-strafe (or jiggle strafe) at inhuman speed, making you a much harder target. Be aware that you will get kicked from Counter-Strike 2 matches, for example, if you exploit SOCD like LKP.

Looking to upgrade your mouse, too?

There can be no doubt that The Hunger Games is one of the best young adult series' out there, and one I have personally invested a lot of time into. There have been a total of four Hunger Games books so far and all of them have been made into movies. Not only that, the latest book, Sunrise on the Reaping, just released and it is already an instant best seller. Suzanne Collins doesn't miss.

Similar to other popular young adult novels, The Hunger Games has been slowly getting the illustrated treatment. Just last year the first illustrated edition was launched featuring art from Nico Delort. The illustrations themselves are gorgeous and detailed, making the first illustrated edition a worthy collectors item for any fan of the series. There is also already an illustrated edition of the second book, Catching Fire, in the works and both of them are currently on sale on Amazon at their lowest-ever prices. The first book has dropped all the way down to under $20.

The Hunger Games Illustrated Editions Deals on Amazon

I feel like we've earned a reprieve today from the news chaos of tariffs and Nintendo Switch 2 pricing, so here's something fun (?) for your Friday: IGN played Mario Kart World at a Nintendo event in New York this week, and confirmed that yes, the new Cow character can in fact eat burgers and steak (and many others things as well).

If you're wondering what on earth we could possibly be talking about, allow me to point you to the recent announcement of Mario Kart World, which included the introduction of the Moo Moo Meadows Cow as a playable racer. The Internet, of course, is thrilled about this, already coming up with dozens of memes and fanart of the adorable Cow that, until recently, was nothing more prominent than a fun background character in a single Mario Kart track.

However, as news of Cow spread throughout the land, fans began pointing out a potential, erm, problem, with another element of the Mario Kart World reveal. In the Nintendo Direct 2 trailer from Wednesday, Mario eats a burger. Burgers are (typically) made of beef. Would Cow, whose people are ostensibly a source of beef, consume beef herself? Fans really wanted to know.

Well at the Nintendo preview event, we found out. You see, the food items we saw in the trailer are obtainable in Mario Kart World at Yoshi's diner locations scattered across courses. They function like a drive-thru, allowing racers to drive up and grab a bag of take-out just like they would an item box. There are a lot of different food items that can be inside, including burgers, steak kebabs, pizza, and donuts.

And yes, Cow can eat them all.

Yes, Cow CAN eat steak in Mario Kart World. pic.twitter.com/qN5PZ9IIM4

— IGN (@IGN) April 4, 2025

During our session we also saw Cow eat a number of other items, including the burger. We're still a little hazy on what these items are actually doing for Cow — other racers change costumes when consuming them, but Cow doesn't seem to experience any effects. Could she be eating beef just because she enjoys it? Is there a secret power-up she gets from burger consumption that we just don't know about yet because Nintendo hasn't revealed it? Or perhaps are these veggie burgers and Beyond meat kebabs?

IGN reached out to Nintendo to try and clear all this up, but we haven't heard back yet. I'm sure it's because they're busy at their New York event, and not because this is an unhinged question to ask their PR about. Yeah, that's probably it.

Anyway go check out our preview of Mario Kart World, the video version of which features an appearance by our friend Cow.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Gaming fans are feeling the heat after Nintendo announced its Switch 2 U.S. pre-order date was delayed as a direct result of the newly announced tariffs posed by the Trump Administration.

Wednesday morning, Nintendo fully unveiled its hybrid console sequel alongside plans to open pre-orders come April 9 — news that Donald Trump would soon implement sweeping tariffs across the globe arrived just hours later. It was a moment of whiplash that the industry is still struggling to come to grips with, and now, two days later, the average gaming fan is already feeling the impact.

“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” Nintendo said in a statement shared with IGN. “Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”

I really hate being right. I kept telling folks that things can literally change tomorrow. People kept yelling at me that the tariffs won't affect us...aight man 😒

— JG (@UTxJGTheDon) April 4, 2025

46% tariff on Vietnamese imports announced now.

Nintendo Switch 2 are produced there…

It’s so fucking over. pic.twitter.com/5N1iAMI2Jm

— Pory (@pory_leeks) April 2, 2025

they’re gonna make it even more expensive pic.twitter.com/5Y8FL9FZF6

— Just Some Bread (@garliclessbread) April 4, 2025

“Wait a minute… are you saying we have to pay the tariffs??” one Reddit user commented. “Who could have possibly foreseen this?!”

While pre-order timing for other territories, including the UK, remains unchanged, Nintendo didn’t mince words when it came to how tariffs will affect those in the United States. However, changes to a release schedule, even when it comes to something as simple as pre-order timing, signal that Nintendo has more on its mind than it has revealed thus far.

There were fears that Nintendo’s proposed $450 Switch 2 price and $80 games might be too big of an ask pre-tariffs — a movement aiming to get Nintendo to lower its price plans already began shortly after that initial reveal — but the struggle for affordable games is just getting started. While some analysts had suggested Switch 2 prices were calculated with potential tariffs in mind, Nintendo’s announcement today suggests those numbers have room to increase.

So then

Those WERE the pre tariff prices

Yeah the Switch and Mario Kart bout to be 650 after taxes

— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) April 4, 2025

Americans checking the updated Switch 2 prices after complaining about the old ones https://t.co/fsC60LU5YE pic.twitter.com/t4RwqXia8J

— imonlyhereforpikmin (@onlyhereforpkmn) April 4, 2025

Nintendo hasn’t announced when or if its Switch 2 prices will change, but there is plenty of reason to worry they will shift in a more expensive direction. What began as a wave of frustration aimed at the current Switch 2 price has now evolved into an ocean of people who, of course, are still angry, but now they are just hoping they’ll be able to afford the new console.

“This unironically frustrates me so much,” another Reddit user added. “The switch 2 was already going to be quite expensive (compared to the OG) but I was still okay with paying the extra money for it. The games were another blow. Was too expensive already but whatever. But this? Huge tariffs Plus Sales tax Plus tariffs on the games???

“I don’t want to pay 130$ for a damn copy of a game or 600$ for the new Switch. I genuinely (think) this will impact the amount of people able to buy into all of this. I shouldn’t as an average person be priced out of this, yet I probably will be. Augh…”

I feel bad for all my US followers. If you thought the Switch 2 price was expensive before. It looks like its going to get even worse due to new tariffs.

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 4, 2025

We've spoken to other industry analysts who acknowledge that these unprecedented tariffs have gamers and game-makers walking into uncharted territory and that there's no telling what exactly will happen with the Switch 2. While some believe we could soon see a price increase, others aren't so sure, but all agree that the industry will no doubt feel the impact of the Trump Administration's wide-reaching tariff plans.

The Switch 2 is Nintendo’s latest groundbreaking console, but a suddenly increased price could be just the start of what’s to come. We spoke with Entertainment Software Association (ESA) spokesperson Aubrey Quinn to learn more about how Trump’s unprecedented tariffs will impact video game fans moving forward. As many have already feared, the ESA says there’s no reason to believe the damage will stop at Nintendo.

It does not stop at Nintendo Switch 2 btw.

-PC parts like CPU's and GPU's are gonna go up

-Laptops going up

-Anything Tech related is going up.

Next PlayStation and Xbox gonna require a blood sacrifice.

— Mightykeef (@MightyKeef) April 4, 2025

The prices of your consoles, tech, and pretty much every daily necessity are about to go up.

There's a good chance Nintendo is about to announce a price hike for the Switch 2. Do not be surprised if Sony and Microsoft follow suit.

PC market is already screwed. https://t.co/M40UFMyRH5

— KAMI (@Okami13_) April 4, 2025

The Nintendo Switch 2 is priced at $449.99 at the time of this piece’s publication. For more, you can read up on how we think it’s original price announcement impacted how players felt about the Switch 2 Direct. You can also click here to see the full launch lineup so far.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor 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).

At CinemaCon this week, Amazon MGM had a notable array of star-driven upcoming films to tout that are opening in theaters (before streaming) over the course of 2025 and 2026, including Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson in Mercy and Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry in Crime 101. And while it might take awhile before we see James Bond again – though executives promised newly-hired producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman are hard at work developing the next film – it was clear the studio has especially high hopes for Project Hail Mary.

Despite opening a full year from now, in March 2026, Project Hail Mary was the film Amazon MGM opened their presentation with, showing an extended preview for the film. Based on Andy Weir’s book of the same name, Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing, all of whom were in attendance (it was Lord’s second appearance of the week, since he’d also been at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation to announce Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’s new 2027 release date).

Lord and Miller are known for funny and eclectic projects like 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie and the Spider-Verse films (the latter of which they write and produce, with others directing), but the footage indicates Project Hail Mary has a different vibe to it from their previous work. The story follows Gosling’s mild-mannered school teacher turned astronaut, Ryland Grace, whose knowledge and skill leads him to be sent into space on a mission to save humanity, when it’s discovered that the Earth’s sun is one of many stars that are dying.

There was certainly a good amount of humor to be found in the footage, as Ryland panics over what he’s being asked to do, declaring at one point: “You have the right stuff! I have the wrong stuff!” But overall, it felt more subdued than their broader comedies, or even the heartfelt yet frequently very funny Spider-Verse movies, appearing to have a more poignant and awestruck overall feeling, as Ryland goes on his incredible mission to the far reaches of space - leaving Gosling at one point sporting long hair and a bushy beard.

The big added element here is screenwriter Drew Goddard, whose credits include projects like Cloverfield and Cabin in the Woods. But most notably, when it comes to this film, Goddard wrote the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for The Martian, which was also adapted from a book written by Andy Weir. And there’s definitely a similar feel between that film and Project Hail Mary, with its science-friendly, warm-hearted and witty look at a man alone in space…

…well, alone at first. Because as the footage teased at the end via a quick shot of a strange hand reaching out, Ryland comes to encounter an alien he names Rocky, who Miller noted “is trying to solve the same problem” in order to save his people. The footage concludes with Ryland sending a message back to Earth in which he declares “So… I met an alien! He’s kind of growing on me. Not growing in me. …Which was a concern for a while.”

Miller described Project Hail Mary as “the biggest challenge we’ve taken on,” with Gosling saying “It’s an insanely ambitious story that’s massive in scope. It seemed really hard to make and that’s kind of our bag.”

CinemaCon is an event aimed at movie theaters, and as the group were touting the big screen visuals of the film – despite them stressing none of the effects were final, what we saw looked quite good even this early – Miller remarked: “Movies are meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible with the weirdest-looking novelty popcorn bucket possible!”

Also starring Sandra Hüller and Milana Vayntrub, Project Hail Mary opens March 20, 2026.

For more CinemaCon coverage, here’s we learned about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Thunderbolts, Predator: Badlands, Superman, Mortal Kombat II, Resident Evil, Spider-Man: Brave New Day, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, John Wick 5, Jurassic World Rebirth, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Masters of the Universe, The Beatles, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, TRON: Ares, and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is a generation older than the new Blackwell 50 series GPUs, but this doesn't change the fact that it's still one of the most powerful cards out there, eclipsing the GeForce RTX 5080 or RTX 4080 Super or the Radeon RX 9070 XT or RX 7900 XTX. Only one GPU performs better - the RTX 5090 - and you'll need to use up a lifetime of luck to find one that isn't marked up by hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

Because the RTX 4090 has been discontinued, it's getting harder to source as well. Fortunately, Dell still sells a Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC configuration that can be equipped with a 4090 GPU. Not only is it one of the few RTX 4090 prebuilts still available - Lenovo and HP no longer carry them - it's also one of the more reasonably priced ones.

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC for $2,999.99

It’s been a wild news roller coaster for U.S. gamers this week. It began with the celebratory full reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 in all its glory and games, followed closely by audience dismay over its $450 price tag and $80 for Mario Kart Tour, only for everyone to reel once again this morning as Nintendo announced it would hold off on pre-orders for the system until it could assess the impact of the Trump Administration’s sudden, sweeping, unprecedented tariffs on just about every nation in the world.

We’ve written elsewhere about why the Nintendo Switch 2 cost so much to begin with, and what impact the industry’s trade association thinks these new tariffs are likely to have on games writ large. But right now, the real question on everyone’s minds is, what’s Nintendo going to do? When pre-orders do open, will the Nintendo Switch 2 be even more expensive?

Normally, when there are questions to the tune of “what is going to happen with video games?”, I go ask a panel of expert industry analysts. While they can’t literally predict the future, most of the time, they have a pretty solid consensus understanding, backed by evidence and data, of what’s most likely to happen, and I turn around and write about that. I’ve already done it twice this week.

But for the first time since I started interviewing analysts on such topics, every single analyst I spoke to was effectively stumped. Several had guesses one way or another: Nintendo will raise the price, or won’t. But every single one of them heavily caveated their response with an emphasis on the chaos of the moment. This has never happened before, it’s all happening very fast, and absolutely no one can accurately predict what Nintendo, Trump, or anyone will do tomorrow, next week, or months down the road.

So with that rather astonishing disclaimer in mind, here’s what all the analysts I spoke to did say:

Sky-High Switch

With everyone I spoke to taking their best wild guesses on what was going to happen, I ended up with a pretty divided panel. On the side of “Nintendo will raise prices” was Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games. Though he says he at first thought it was too late for Nintendo to raise prices after it had announced them, this delay has changed his mind. At this stage, he doesn’t think Nintendo has much of a choice.

“It is very difficult to predict, but Nintendo will likely take a few days to run simulations and then announce hikes, not only for the system itself but also games and accessories,” he said. “I hope I am wrong but if sustained, these sky-high tariffs leave them no choice. Would you be surprised now to see Switch 2 hit US$500 for the base model? I wouldn't.

“What I also want to add is this: Why on earth did Nintendo not wait for the US to fix their tariffs first and then decide on pricing during a Direct a few days later? This made no sense.”

Mat Piscatella, senior analyst at Circana, heavily caveated his opinion (as did basically everyone else) with a reminder that this is all unprecedented and unpredictable. But ultimately, he too came down on the side of games prices generally, including Nintendo prices, likely going up. But how much, and on what is anyone’s guess. “Based on the conversations I'm having, the breadth and depth of the tariffs surprised everyone, not just consumers,” he said.

Piscatella told me that Nintendo likely had some assumptions in mind about what the tariffs would be when it set the price originally. But when the actual tariffs came in on Wednesday, it was probably much higher than Nintendo, or anyone, anticipated.

“Every reasonable and responsible business that relies on international supply chains will be reevaluating its US consumer pricing at this point. They have to.

“Some territories and regions globally have historically been subject to higher pricing than other parts of the world when it comes to video games. The US could certainly be joining that group because of these tariffs. The haphazard and chaotic nature of the tariffs and their announcement obviously has many scrambling to navigate the fallout.”

Manu Rosier, director of market analysis at Newzoo, also predicts that hardware prices will increase, though he suggests software will likely not be impacted in the same way.

“While physical versions might be subject to tariffs, the growing dominance and lower cost of digital distribution would likely limit any broader effect,” he said.

“Regarding hardware, however, the situation is more sensitive. If a 20% tariff—or any substantial increase—were to be introduced, it’s unlikely that companies like Nintendo would absorb the additional cost by cutting into their margins. In such cases, the burden could shift to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.”

Holding the Line

On the other side of speculation, again with a heavy dose of telling me how unprecedented this is and how no one really knows what will happen, I find Joost van Dreunen, NYU Stern professor and author of SuperJoost Playlist. He acknowledges that a price increase on the Nintendo Switch 2 is possible, especially given the high tariffs on Vietnam. But he thinks the company will try very, very hard to avoid that.

"I believe the volatility from the Trump tariffs was already considered in the Switch 2's $449.99 pricing,” he said. “Given the first Trump administration's impact, Nintendo, like other manufacturers, has since restructured its supply chain to mitigate such geopolitical risks. Historically, Nintendo has aimed for a launch price around the $400 mark, adjusted for inflation, suggesting that the current price already reflects an anticipation of potential economic challenges stemming from ongoing trade disputes.

“Nevertheless, the unpredictable nature of these tariff decisions—exemplified by the recent situation in Vietnam—injects a significant amount of uncertainty into the market. This could compel Nintendo to find ways to absorb or offset additional costs, especially when initial product margins are typically narrower. While I expect Nintendo will strive to maintain the $449.99 price point, the external economic pressures may eventually force a reassessment if the trade landscape deteriorates further."

Piers Harding-Rolls, games researcher at Ampere Analysis, agrees, saying that Nintendo runs the risk of consumer backlash if it raises prices further:

“The extent of the tariffs and its impact on Vietnamese exports are really bad news for Nintendo,” he says. “The company is now in between a rock and a hard place, having already announced the launch price. I have already suggested that the pricing would stay as announced until 2026 at the earliest but then might be adjusted if the tariffs stay in place. This delay in pre-orders is to give the company more time and it will be hoping some sort of solution will be found over the next few weeks. This is a pretty fluid situation after all. Nintendo will not want to change the price having announced it, but I think everything is on the table now. If the pricing does change, it will impact the brand and the US consumer’s view of the product at launch. I don’t think that will put off loyal fans, but it might put off broader consumers who will take a wait a see approach. That’s particularly important during its first holiday season.”

Living in Unhinged Times

Finally, I spoke to Rhys Elliott, games analyst at Alinea Analytics. Elliott joined the first camp of analysts in predicting higher prices on both Nintendo hardware and software due to Trump’s tariffs. He also pointed back to his comments in my previous analyst piece, where he spoke on Nintendo announcing cheaper digital editions of Nintendo Switch 2 games in certain markets. “It seems the lower prices in other markets were to nudge Switch 2 buyers to digital, as I mentioned my comments to IGN about Mario Kart World’s pricing. Nintendo might have wanted to do something similar in the US, but the tariff situation is so chaotic that Nintendo was in ‘wait and see’ mode — and decided to hedge its bets to see if it needed to offset the tariffs.”

Elliott went on to project a rather grim picture of what will happen to the games industry more broadly as a result of the tariffs, with his predictions in line with what a spokesperson from the Entertainment Software Association warned me of earlier this morning on the same topic. He says that the tariffs will result in a “weaker, poorer nation”, with consumers ultimately paying the price. Here’s the rest of Elliott’s take on this:

“Some manufacturers – Nintendo included – have been shifting their manufacturing to non-tariff-impacted markets,” Elliott says. “And even if companies can afford to switch up (no pun intended!) their supply chains, who knows which markets will get tariffs next – as recent news supports. Companies cannot just lift up their whole supply chain and move everything to the US. It’s just not logistically possible. Under current law (I can’t believe I have to qualify this, but here we are), Trump would not be in power anymore by the time such a move would be completed – for Nintendo and other manufacturers. We are living in … there’s no other word for it .. unhinged times driven by an unhinged man (and other forces).

“These extreme tariffs will also be bad for consumers in the US but are positive for the US administration’s populist façade. Policies that lead to higher prices for everyday people amid a cost-of-living crisis are deplorable. They're bad for gamers and the games business. I won’t comment on the real reason for the US tariffs, but ‘a much stronger, much richer nation’ is not it.

What’s more, time and time again, data has shown that tariffs harm the economy. Comparative advantage is a core principle of international trade theory. Basically, consumption and economic well-being are stronger when countries focus on producing goods they can efficiently produce (at the lowest cost compared to other goods) – and trade for goods they are less efficient at producing. The trade war flies in the face of these core economic principles.”

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

FragPunk is a 5v5 tactical hero shooter featuring 13 unique playable characters, known as Lancers. Each Lancer is equipped with at least three otherworldly Abilities, so whether you want to slide around the map with an electric guitar modified into a shotgun, teleport your entire team to quickly rotate to another site, or heal your allies after a narrowly won gunfight, there's a Lancer for you.

FragPunk's hero roster is mostly well-balanced at the moment, allowing all Lancers to thrive in optimal situations or when handled by players who recognize a character's weaknesses and leverage their strengths. But that doesn't mean all Lancers are created equal. While some may flourish on Attack or Defense, or when combined with specific team compositions or Shard Cards, others stand above the rest and provide consistent value no matter the circumstances.

Determining the best characters in the current meta is especially important in FragPunk because many of the game's Lancers must be unlocked using Gold, FragPunk Coins, or Lancer Trophies. So before you spend your hard-earned Gold on the worst character in the game, this FragPunk tier list will break down every Lancer and place them in a tier from S to B based on their ease of use, versatility, and consistency of value:

FragPunk Tier List

S-Tier Characters: Nitro, Hollowpoint, Pathojen, Spider, Kismet

A-Tier Characters: Serket, Broker, Zephyr, Sonar, Corona

B-Tier Characters: Jaguar, Axon, Chum

S-Tier: Nitro

Nitro is a Lancer limited only by your imagination, and her lack of mobility options. Nitro’s Chug Chug deploys a remotely-controlled combat drone that can dish out 20 damage per projectile, but the drone's greatest strength is its ability to gain intel while Nitro hides in relative safety. Nitro's The Wall ability enables you to create unique and unexpected sightlines, climb onto otherwise inaccessible areas, block incoming damage, and force enemies to reveal their location as they spray to destroy these surprisingly sturdy shields.

Nitro’s Mr. Pewpew sentry turrets can monitor most doorways and entry points, and they can also be used as a sneaky offensive tool. Use them to guard flanks, or when you know an enemy is expecting your advance, toss a turret in line of sight of your foe. This will force them to either accept the incoming damage from the turret, or they'll turn to destroy it, opening up a brief window for you to peek and gun them down.

S-Tier: Hollowpoint

Hollowpoint is a gifted sniper that provides players with a supercharged railgun that can one-shot enemies to the body in medium-range duels, or one-tap enemies to the head from just about anywhere. Hollowpoint's Meteora railgun is also a great recon tool because aiming down sights detects enemies in the field of view, even if they're an invisible Zephyr. The value of Hollowpoint's Meteora simply cannot be overstated because it essentially acts as a second primary weapon, and as a free sniper rifle that disregards the Shard Clash rule that prevents you from selecting a weapon type after two deaths using them.

Hollowpoint's Smoke Screen is among the best vision control abilities in FragPunk because it's forward-moving, goes through walls, pings all enemies hit by the screen, and can be stopped at will to block off sightlines. Lastly, her Paparazzi trap is especially useful because it attaches to enemies and exposes them until they remove it by holding their interact key for a brief time.

S-Tier: Pathojen

Since this tier list is focused on highlighting the Lancers that provide consistent value regardless of your team composition, weapon, or Shard Cards, Pathojen's AOE healing field all but automatically places her in S-Tier because it's the only healing ability in FragPunk. While many Shard Cards can grant healing, increase your team's Max HP, or reduce incoming damage, Pathojen's Emotional Rescue ability bypasses the RNG Gods and ensures your team can restore their HP no matter what.

On top of that, her Shroom Wall is a respectable defensive tool that grants cover, creates blockades in narrow chokepoints, and completely blocks off doorways. Finally, Pathojen's Killer Queen ability forges a triggered or manually activated trap. Killer Queen is perfect for slowing enemy advances, it can be used offensively by tossing it toward unsuspecting enemies, and don't forget to place one on planted Converters to ensure enemies can’t defuse for free.

S-Tier: Spider

Spider may be the most controversial S-Tier pick on this list because his strongest ability, Teleporter, relies heavily on team coordination to extract maximum value. But because the Teleporter facilitates creative plays, safe disengages and full team site rotations, Spider’s potential is simply too high for a lower ranking. Meanwhile, Spider’s Spirited Away trap is a demoralizing ability that teleports enemies to the spot where the skill was initially cast. Catching an enemy with Spirited Away almost guarantees an easy charged knife kill or one-tap, but be sure to communicate with your team when teleporting more than a single target because you’ll likely require the follow-up.

Spider Trap is also an excellent defensive gadget that nearly covers an affected enemy’s entire screen for roughly three seconds while slowing them. Hide Spider Traps near choke points leading to your teleporters to prevent enemies from camping your TP.

S-Tier: Kismet

Kismet is an elite offensive Lancer in large part because of her Walk on the Wild Side ability that makes her invisible and invulnerable for a brief period. Walk on the Wild Side is the only movement ability in FragPunk that provides both invisibility and invulnerability, but you won’t be able to see enemies for its duration. Still, it allows you to sneakily cross wide-open sightlines or long corridors, before getting to cover. Walk on the Wild Side can also be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card, when cornered or low on HP.

Hello, Goodbye provides a short-range scan that penetrates walls, and though you may be unimpressed by this ability’s range initially, its effectiveness increases as you familiarize yourself with maps and common enemy angles. Kismet’s final ability, Misery Angel, is a complimentary one that can damage enemies regardless of intervening barricades. Misery Angel is a surprisingly lethal threat that deals close to 100 damage and has a large blast radius.

A-Tier: Serket

Serket is an all-around offensive threat that provides intel, can teleport, has a forward moving smoke, and an AOE crowd control tool. Serket’s movement ability, Station to Station, casts a controllable beacon that you can teleport to for a limited time, or cancel to remain in the cast location. When controlling the beacon, any enemies in your line of sight will appear as sandstorms. On paper, this ability may seem broken, but the beacon has a low health pool and can quickly be destroyed. So while the area Serket can cover will decrease as you climb the ranks, even spotting a single enemy’s location is incredibly advantageous.

Serket’s Gold Dust Woman releases a dust tornado that moves forward and slows enemies caught in it. The tornado can also be manually stopped to temporarily block a sightline. Serket is also equipped with a projectile that pulls enemies toward the center. When caught, it’s very difficult for enemies to escape the pull, but landing it consistently has a bit of a learning curve. Outside of throwing it toward enemies you know are pushing through a corridor, Dilemma can also be used to pull enemies from behind cover before quickly lining up a shot. Though Serket may be a few steps behind her S-Tier castmates, she’s just one beacon HP or speed buff away from joining the elite Lancers.

A-Tier: Broker

Like Serket, Broker is another Lancer on the cusp of reaching the S-Tier ranking because of his excellent area denial, smoke, and explosive abilities. Broker’s Goddard’s Vengeance ability allows him to wield a rocket launcher that instantly kills enemies hit directly. While hitting a target dead-on may become more inconsistent in high-rank lobbies, it’s almost guaranteed to inflict a staggering amount of damage and the rocket can also be used to swiftly dismantle a defensive setup. So even if you don’t get your one before being eliminated, Goddard’s Vengeance will ensure one of your enemies leaves the gunfight battered and bruised.

Broker’s Smokestack Lightning is inarguably one of the most versatile smokes in FragPunk because it’s thrown and casts smokes along the flight trajectory, even after bouncing off walls. Though Smokestack Lightning is an insanely useful ability that can be used to cover or obscure just about any area of the map, the prevalence of recon abilities can quickly detect your push. Broker’s final ability, Cherry Bomb, is great for denying space, and though the bombs are easily destroyed and avoided, the info gained when enemies fire at or run through the bombs makes it worthwhile.

A-Tier: Zephyr

Were it not for the pervasiveness of traps and recon abilities in FragPunk, Zephyr and her stealthy kit would undoubtedly be S-Tier. Zephyr is an elusive Lancer whose Midnight Rambler ability grants temporary invisibility, at the cost of becoming unable to fire weapons without decloaking. Her second ability, Fade Away, casts a large zone that allows Zephyr to remain invisible indefinitely, so long as she doesn’t exit the zone or shoot her firearm. These two abilities used in concert can be incredibly lethal on sites, but her loud footsteps and traps remain a constant liability.

Thankfully, Zephyr has a built-in escape strategy in the form of her Get Back teleport beacon. Place a beacon before going for a stealthy backstab or aggressing on a site, and if your invisibility is running out, teleport back to quickly disengage.

A-Tier: Sonar

Sonar’s character design is deeply rooted in gathering information for you and your squad, but we’ve bumped her down to A-Tier because of her lack of mobility and reliance on team follow-up. Sonar’s Echolocation deploys a sensor that scans for moving enemies every few seconds. Though Echolocation is an undoubtedly powerful recon ability, it can be gamed by walking between the sensor’s scans. Nevertheless, at a minimum, Echolocation will slow enemy pushes and make their movements easier to predict.

Sonar’s Sonic Surge is another recon tool that launches a charged-up sonic wave that exposes all enemies hit and knocks them back. Because Sonic Surge can travel through walls, it’s amazing at gathering intel on enemy setups. Finally, Sound of Silence dampens your footsteps and the steps of surrounding teammates for a very brief period. The shortness of this ability’s timer makes it near useless in solo queue, but when on a coordinated squad, the silent pushes can be fight winning.

A-Tier: Corona

Corona’s kit is arguably one of the most harmonious in FragPunk because all of his abilities are meant to be used in concert. Corona’s Fast Lane is a quick dash that allows you to swiftly reposition between cover, but it’ll often be deployed just after casting Hothead. Hothead transforms Corona into a flash that briefly blinds all enemies looking at this Lancer. Corona players will time their Hothead flash, dash into line of sight, and blind all nearby enemies.

While this combo can be round winning, it tragically leaves Corona in no man’s land unless he has team follow-up. Corona’s last ability is Ashes to Ashes which creates a spell field that damages enemies, and grants Corona damage reduction and increased movement speed while in the zone. Though Corona sits in the A-Tier, he’s one of the best 1v1 duelers in FragPunk, making him a major asset in overtime matches.

B-Tier: Jaguar

Despite receiving a buff in a recent balance patch, Jaguar remains a B-Tier Lancer simply because there are Lancers that outmatch each of his abilities. Jaguar’s Live Wire trap deals an impressive amount of damage but not enough to secure kills, and it doesn’t reveal enemies unless you also use his I Can See for Miles skill. I Can See for Miles detects the number of enemies directly ahead, enemies on critical HP, or opponents affected by Live Wire or Electric Avenue.

Electric Avenue summons a cage around enemies scanned by the cast ability, but again, you’ll only be able to see the enemy inside if you use I Can See for Miles. Electric Avenue also lacks agency because it’ll automatically surround the nearest enemy in range. This isn’t always advantageous as teams can strategically bait your push before entering or exiting the cage.

B-Tier: Axon

Axon is one of the most aggressive Lancers in FragPunk, but like Zephyr, his kit is heavily reliant on the enemy team being distracted or lacking recon traps. Axon’s Electric Guitar deals a hefty, yet inconsistent amount of damage, but you’ll need to get into close-range engagements for it to be effective. Sticky Fingers are Axon’s grenades which can stick to targets or bounce off the environment, making them decent when you know an enemy’s precise location, but they rarely get value otherwise.

Axon’s final ability, Super Freak, is unquestionably the most niche in FragPunk because it makes him immune to flashes. While many believe Super Freak becomes near useless when facing off against a squad with no blinds, that isn’t necessarily the case. Super Freak can still get value if you throw flashes and quickly swing toward your enemy to blind them without getting flashed yourself. Despite Axon being one of the more fun and high-octane Lancers in the cast, a skilled marksman like Hollowpoint will decimate him on maps with long sightlines, so stick to running him on maps with tight flank routes.

B-Tier: Chum

To be clear, Chum is still a perfectly viable pick in B-Tier, but his reliance on his bestie Chomper places him at the bottom of the list because Chomper can be destroyed relatively quickly. Chomper is a deployable friend who can patrol a given area, enter Explosive Mode to chase down enemies, or enter Smoke Mode to release a controllable stream of smoke.

Chomper enters Explosive Mode when fed Chum’s Explosive Bait trap, and enters Smoke Mode when fed Smoke Bait. Smoke Bait can also be thrown to create a smoke cloud when the projectile hits the ground. Smoke Mode Chomper can be rather effective, but you’ll become vulnerable while controlling him, so be sure to get coverage from your teammates. Lastly, Chum’s lack of mobility options make him one of the easiest Lancers to isolate unless you keep Chomper by your side and limit your playmaking.

For more FragPunk guides, check out our explainer of FragPunk's ranked mode, plus How to Get Ultimate Material, and How to Slide in FragPunk!

Warning: this article contains basic plot spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

This year’s CinemaCon has been especially eventful, including the reveal of the title of Tom Holland's next Spider-Man movie and an extended look at James Gunn’s Superman. CinemaCon has also given us a closer glimpse of Marvel’s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Along with finally seeing Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer in action, this new Fantastic Four footage dropped a major bombshell. Vanessa Kirby’s Susan Storm is pregnant.

Anyone familiar with the Fantastic Four comics will know that this is a big deal for the team. Marvel Studios is about to introduce arguably the most powerful mutant in existence. And maybe his super-genius sister for good measure? Let’s take a closer look at why Sue’s pregnancy has major implications for the MCU and the Marvel movie multiverse.

The Children of the Fantastic Four: Who Are Franklin and Valeria Richards?

There’s a reason the FF are known as “Marvel’s First Family.” They’re a loving (if somewhat dysfunctional) family first and a superhero team second. That family element only becomes all the more pronounced once Reed Richards and Susan Storm become parents. In the comics, Reed and Sue currently have two children. Their elder son Franklin was introduced in 1968’s Fantastic Four Annual #6. Franklin’s younger sister Valeria followed in 2002's Fantastic Four #54.

As you might expect from parents whose bodies were inundated with cosmic radiation, Franklin and Valeria are both far from ordinary children. Franklin is easily one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. He has the ability to warp reality and matter at will, a power that even allows him to create entire pocket dimensions out of nothing. This power also manifests in other ways, giving Franklin everything from telepathy and telekinesis to the ability to project his consciousness across the astral plane.

Essentially, Franklin is the one being on Earth whose power is so great it rivals that of cosmic entities like the Celestials and Galactus. And he’s destined to only grow more powerful with age. The FF have met multiple adult versions of Franklin from the future, suggesting that he’ll one day grow to become an immortal defender of the entire Marvel Universe.

That’s a tough act to follow, but Valeria has never had much trouble holding her own in the Richards clan. She doesn’t have any superhuman abilities (not yet, at least), but her mind more than makes up for that. Despite her young age, Valeria is every bit as brilliant a scientist as her father. She’s a skilled inventor and an integral member of the Future Foundation, a team spearheaded by Reed that brings together the most brilliant young minds in the Marvel Universe.

As they’ve grown older, Franklin and Valeria have begun to take a more active role in the Fantastic Four’s adventures. They even have their own superhero codenames (Franklin is Powerhouse and Valeria is Brainstorm). Whatever the future holds for the Marvel Universe, Franklin and Valeria will be there to shape it.

LEGO has recently released a brand new set to its LEGO Disney line for 2025. Unlike many of the other LEGO Disney sets we've seen from this collaboration, the newest addition is targeted more at adults than kids. The massive LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle is a whopping 2,916 pieces of pure Disney magic filled with little scenes from the classic film.

This isn't the first adult LEGO set from Disney, but it certainly is a break from the norm when it comes to LEGO castles. Usually these types of sets come with a lot fewer pieces and more play-friendly elements, but the Beauty and the Beast Castle was meant to be displayed in all its glory. If you're an adult fan of the animated movie and LEGO, this set was meant for you.

The LEGO Beauty and the Beast Castle Is Now Available

The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been revealed, and while it brings huge improvements over the original console, it doesn’t exist in the same vacuum that the original handheld did. With the introduction of devices like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally X, a ton of handheld gaming systems out there can play AAA PC games on the go.

So, while the Switch 2 will automatically have a niche carved out for being a system that plays, well, Nintendo games like Mario Kart World, anyone that’s buying a Switch 2 to play multiplatform games will have to reckon with devices like the Steam Deck – especially with the Switch 2’s $449 price tag.

Now that Nintendo has given a sneak peek into the hardware that’s running its new console, we can take a look at how exactly it will run, and whether or not its 4K promises are more than empty words.

Nvidia’s Custom Chip

The SoC (System on a Chip) that runs the Nintendo Switch 2 is probably the most important part of the console, but it’s the thing we know the least about. We do know that it’s a “custom Nvidia processor” that supports DLSS and ray tracing, but beyond that, neither Nintendo nor Nvidia have revealed any specifics. Luckily, there are a ton of leaks that suggest the Nintendo Switch 2 is using the aging Ampere graphics architecture behind the RTX 3080.

Going all the way back to 2023, there were leaks suggesting that the Nintendo Switch 2 would be using the Nvidia Tegra T239 SoC. This APU uses 8 ARM A78C cores, combined with an Nvidia Ampere GPU with 1,536 CUDA cores. Napkin math puts that at 12 Streaming Multiprocessors, which would be significantly smaller than even the smallest Ampere GPU – the RTX 3050 for laptops. However, assuming Nvidia didn’t nerf the Ampere SMs in the T239, each SM would have four Tensor Cores and an RT core, making for a total of 48 and 12, respectively.

To be fair, the Steam Deck is using a custom AMD APU that’s built on 8 AMD RDNA 2 GPU cores, which is smaller than what Nintendo is offering here. But, you have to keep in mind that the Steam Deck has a lower resolution display, and pumps more power into it. Plus, AMD Z2 processors are coming out over the next year, with the Z2 Extreme featuring 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores, which will be a huge upgrade. Though, systems with that chipset are going to be much more expensive than the Switch 2.

That small of a GPU basically makes 4K gaming an impossibility natively, but because the Tensor Cores are there, DLSS is going to be a major factor in how the Nintendo Switch performs when docked – assuming this is the SoC that’s actually in the system. However, with so few Tensor Cores, even upscaling to 4K is going to be a stretch in everything but the most lightweight games.

Instead, most games are likely going to target 1080p, even if they don’t natively render at that resolution. There are games like Donkey Kong Bananza that do seem to be rendering at a native 1080p resolution, according to Digital Foundry’s hands-on demos. However, third-party games like Cyberpunk 2077 seem to be relying heavily on upscaling, with native resolutions as low as 540p. I wouldn’t expect the Nintendo Switch 2 to ever be able to handle Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K, even with DLSS, though Nintendo will definitely have better luck with any game it can get running natively at 1080p.

The Ampere cores in the rumored T239 also have RT cores, which should theoretically allow for ray tracing in Nintendo Switch 2 games. Though, again, this will be heavily constrained by the processor’s 12 RT cores. Ray tracing will be possible, but don’t expect any jaw-dropping implementations of the technology, and especially don’t expect it in games like Cyberpunk 2077.

Even with RT cores, ray tracing is an extremely expensive workload for the GPU, and the T239 is limited by more than just its small SM count – power is a huge limiting factor, too. I spoke with Richard Leadbetter over at Digital Foundry, who told me that the entire system likely consumes as little as 10W, including the display, the SoC, and the mainboard. We won’t know exactly what the T239’s actual TDP (thermal design power) is until someone finds a way to measure it, but it likely leaves only 5-6W for the SoC itself – a third of the power of the Steam Deck’s AMD APU.

However, while the Nintendo Switch 2 might not be able to produce the same amount of power as a handheld gaming PC like the Asus ROG Ally X, that doesn’t mean there won’t be gorgeous games running on the system. After all, games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza look stunning, and it goes to show how clever Nintendo developers are at getting the most out of the hardware in the Switch.

After all, the original Nintendo Switch was powered by the Nvidia Tegra X1, which was built on the now-ancient Maxwell graphics architecture and only packed 256 CUDA cores. Ampere is orders of magnitude more efficient than Maxwell even on its best days, and there are six times more cores in the Switch 2’s GPU. The Nintendo Switch 2 should be way faster than the original console, which bodes well for cross-generation ports like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Battery Life

While a total system power budget of 10W means the system isn’t quite as fast as it could be, it does mean the battery will have a much better time keeping up. Nintendo has come out and said it should last around 2 hours at a minimum. That’s less than was quoted for the original Switch, but that shouldn’t be too surprising, due to its higher-resolution display and more powerful processor.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 5,220mAh battery, a large step up from the 4,310mAh battery in the original console. That’s a sizable jump, and if its battery has the same voltage of the original Switch, that would equate to around 19Whr. That’s a smaller battery than the Steam Deck, which is probably why Nintendo quotes a similar battery life to the Steam Deck, despite its less power-hungry processor.

Nintendo probably could have put a more powerful battery in the Switch 2, but its decision likely came down to size constraints. There’s only so much battery that’ll fit while retaining the same thickness as the original Nintendo Switch, after all.

The Display

The most striking difference at first glance between the Switch and Switch 2 is probably going to be the display. While it doesn’t have the OLED screen that made the Switch OLED such a marvel, the display is bigger and has a higher resolution. The Nintendo Switch 2 sports a 7.9-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1920x1080 with HDR 10 support. The display is also fast, supporting variable refresh rate up to 120Hz. That’s honestly a bit overkill considering the silicon powering the thing, but it does mean that older games or indie titles will feel extremely smooth – assuming they have unlocked frame rates. 120Hz is also a useful refresh rate for games that target 40fps since that makes for a clean ratio that won’t result in excessive stuttering.

Nintendo hasn’t released any information about the brightness of the display, but the HDR 10 certification means it needs to at least have a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, so it’s going to be a bright screen. We don’t know exactly how color performance will turn out either, but Nintendo does claim that it supports WCG, or Wide Color Gamut.

The display is probably going to be the thing that lifts the Nintendo Switch 2 above its competitors. The Steam Deck LCD has an 800p display with a peak brightness of 400 nits, and it doesn’t support WCG. The Steam Deck OLED does offer a much nicer display, but it’s still an 800p display. The Nintendo Switch 2 screen is also a huge upgrade over the original, which had a 6.2-inch, 720p LCD display.

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 a Worthy Upgrade?

In a vacuum, the Nintendo Switch 2 is massively better than the original Nintendo Switch. It’s leagues faster, has a screen that’s bigger, brighter and sharper, and has Joy-Con that you don’t have to wrestle with to disconnect. The only problem is that the Switch doesn’t exist in a vacuum anymore.

There are a ton of handheld gaming systems out there now, and while most of them are more expensive than the $449 Nintendo Switch 2, they likely offer a better gameplay experience in multi-platform games. The real appeal of the Switch 2 is going to be Nintendo’s catalog of first-party games, just like with the original console. Nintendo is known for making great games that make the most of its – relatively – weak hardware. If you’re the type of gamer that falls in love with Nintendo games, then the Nintendo Switch 2 makes a lot of sense. However, if you’re just going to get this thing to play Cyberpunk or Elden Ring on the train, there are better gaming handheld options out there.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra