Full spoilers follow for Primal Season 3, Episode 3, “Feast of Flesh,” which is available on Adult Swim now and debuts on HBO Max on January 26.

The thing about Primal Season 3 so far is that it’s doing a slow burn, really taking its time getting zombie Spear to where he’s almost certainly going – to find his family, or at the very least to find out what happened to his family. So if you’re down with a contemplative eight or nine minutes featuring a thinking zombie playing with a flying cricket-esque bug, then you’re in luck. But if that’s not your cup of tea, well… don’t worry, because the slow burns have also been sure to include plenty of goopy, head-smashing violence as well, and you get that in the last 10 minutes of “Feast of Flesh.”

But come on, the extended opening sequence this week which finds Spear happening upon a beautiful turquoise and violet cricket is something to behold. For the most part, Primal has left behind the dinosaurs so far this season, but creator Genndy Tartakovsky and his team have given us plenty of more “modern,” I suppose, animal life, like the lions, antelope type critters and birds from last week. And here the gentle animation of this little insect just munching out on a leaf while Spear watches it in amazement is, well, amazing.

Of course, Spear keeps getting those flashes to his past, which have become clear at this point to be of Fang, his old dino friend. But what is it in this cricket that has him so fascinated? Is it the bug’s color scheme, which partially matches Fang’s? Is it the memory of a wild beast fending for itself in the forest? Or does he feel an aching, a longing for the friendship he once had with such a creature?

The score by Tyler Bates and Joanne Higginbottom this week highlights the more whimsical nature of Spear’s frolicking with the cricket, whether he’s chasing it through the brush, finding that it’s landed on his arm and is staring directly at him, or realizing that it’s crawling onto his head (brain). By the time he saves the bug from being eaten by a reptile, we’re fully invested in this thing – and its connection to Spear. It’s a cute little guy, as is the entire segment, and it all serves to create a bond between the two… or at least we the viewer form a bond between Spear and the cricket in our minds. And certainly Spear feels it as well… Does the cricket, though? It’s hard to say.

As mentioned, the second half of “Feat of Flesh” does become more of an action-palooza, as Spear finds himself captured by – let’s face it – some hateful little flesh-eating monsters. They’re small, but there’s a ton of them, and by the time Spear awakens after being knocked unconscious (which apparently is a thing that can happen to a zombie of his variety), he’s been strung up upside down and had all the flesh eaten off of his right hand and half his arm. He’s also surrounded by the dangling skeletons of these creatures’ past victims.

Not surprisingly, his savior arrives in the form of his cricket friend. It’s funny how the insect first shows up unseen, doing its chirping thing; anyone who’s had a cricket get into their house knows how the flesh-eaters must feel in that moment. But soon enough the cricket takes to annoying the little mutants as it buzzes around them, giving Spear the chance to escape from his trap.

At this point, Primal could have gone one of two ways. Spear and the cricket defeat the mutants together and escape the cave, or the cricket gets smooshed and Spear takes his revenge. I gasped when the latter happened, even if I should’ve known it was inevitable. The look on Spear’s face when he sees his dead friend, and the animation of the thing in its death throes as its little legs twitch for their final time, is heartbreaking. Dammit, Primal made me fall in love with a bug.

This review contains full spoilers for this week’s episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Titled “Hard Salt Beef,” this week’s episode begins with Dunk’s quest to find a noble lord who can vouch for his dead master, the hilariously well-endowed Ser Arlan of Pennytree, so that he can participate in the Ashford tourney. The problem? No one remembers Ser Arlan.

Even after Dunk succeeds in finding someone who does – Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), a Targaryen who is actually a nice guy?! – it’s not until he sees the knights of the Great Houses clash at the tourney (which has big NASCAR and WWE vibes) that Dunk realizes he’s romanticized Ser Arlan, admitting to his squire Egg: “Do great knights live in the hedges and die by the side of a muddy road?”

The thrust of this episode is Dunk’s growing disenchantment with knighthood. The knights he’s encountered so far at Ashford have mostly been entitled and abusive jerks, not the chivalrous warriors of legend. At first the prospect of a member of the Small Folk like Dunk rising above his station seems possible, especially after meeting Ser Donnel of Duskendale; surely, if the son of a crabber can become a great knight, then why not Dunk? After Egg reveals that Ser Donnel isn’t some working class hero but a member of a prosperous and powerful merchant family, it’s the beginning of the end of Dunk’s pipe dream. “What chance do I have, truly?”

The knights’ casual dismissal of Ser Arlan isn’t just about them brushing off the deeds of a hedge knight, but a rejection of the values Dunk believes a knight should stand for. This gap between the ideal and the reality of knighthood appears to be putting Dunk on a collision course with the very men whose ranks he seeks to join. In the end, Dunk is so upset that none of the knights (except Baelor) remembered his mentor and father figure – he calls himself Ser Arlan’s “legacy” – that he vows to use the Ashford tourney to “show them what his hand has wrought.” If he can’t join ’em, he’ll beat ’em…or so he hopes.

The knights aren’t the only people Dunk encounters in this episode who are nasty to him, with everyone from a stable boy to Lady Gwin demeaning him (“You’re big and stupid!”). People have called Dunk dumb his whole life, as he recalls to Egg, but, well, he is a big dope. That’s part of Dunk’s charm; he’s simple yet sweet, and is especially good to horses. He has a kind heart, and credits Ser Arlan with raising him to know what’s right.

As he peels back the layers of his seemingly simple-minded hero, Peter Claffey continues to impress as the lovable doofus Dunk, while Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg smartly plays his cards close to the vest as a squire who behaves like he has something to hide. Their banter is among the highlights of this episode, particularly Egg’s response to Dunk’s observation that he’s always been called stupid. It was also sweet to see how Egg helped Dunk when he was struggling to articulate what sigil he wants the puppeteer Tanselle to paint on his shield.

Speaking of Egg, it’s curious how fast he hightailed it back to camp once he spotted the Targaryens riding into town, not to mention that he knows more about knights and the Great Houses of Westeros than a kid his age probably should…

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Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree for $20.37

Nintendo has revealed a new trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie during this weekend's surprise Nintendo Direct, showing off Yoshi and several other classic characters making their big screen debut.

Hosted by the legendary creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto, the short presentation began quickly with an extended look at Mario and Luigi motorbiking over the desert, as seen in the movie's previous trailer. The duo head to a location familiar to anyone who's played Super Mario Odyssey, an inverted pyramid in the Sand Kingdom.

Tasked with unblocking a rogue Warp Pipe, Mario and Luigi power up with Fire Flowers and head into the darkness. As Mario's infamous underground music plays, the brothers reach the blocked pipe which has something inside... It's Yoshi! Who talks!

Yoshi gets a full reveal

Rather than the tough-looking enemy the brothers were expecting to find, Yoshi is shown to be initially fearful of Mario and Luigi, though later shots in the trailer make clear that the diminuitive dino quickly becomes part of the gang.

If you've watched the previous Super Mario Bros. Movie, you'll know that Yoshi's appearance had been expected following that film's post-credits scene, which featured a green Yoshi egg beginning to crack open. Today's trailer also gives us our first sense of how Yoshi will sound, as he is able to mumble a few words as well as his calling out his name.

The trailer then continues with a montage of shots featuring Mario and Peach infiltrating a lava-filled area that looks like a Bowser's Castle level. We also see a Toad gobbled up by an enormous Cheep Cheep, who is saved by Luigi wearing the classic Frog Suit Power-Up.

Here's Yoshi, as seen in new artwork for the movie:

2025 marks 40 years since Akira Toriyama’s ground-breaking Dragon Ball manga first hit shelves in Japan. The Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri was held in Japan over the weekend to celebrate the global manga, anime and video game phenomenon. Taking up the huge Makuhari Messe event space near Tokyo, the event featured everything from exclusive merch, live game contests, and specially-curated exhibits of original artwork. The main stage was packed with exciting announcements about where the series is headed after the death of series creator Akira Toriyama, including two new anime TV series, a new game and a “massive” new DLC for Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero.

Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol Anime

The event kicked off with a brief talk between Son Goku’s Japanese VA Masako Nozawa and Dragon Ball series executive producer Akio Iyoku, followed by the premiere of a special video marking the 40th anniversary of Dragon Ball. Featuring music specially composed by Hans Zimmer, the film celebrates the evolution of Dragon Ball over the years, from Toriyama’s original manga drawings through to its various anime adaptations. The end of the video revealed a brand new anime series, Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol, prompting excited clapping from the audience.

Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol will adapt the Moro or Galactic Patrol Prisoner Arc (Chapters 42 to 67) of the Dragon Ball Super manga. It follows on from the Universe Survival Arc of the Dragon Ball Super anime, which aired between 2015 to 2018. Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol is currently in production, and fans will have to wait until 2027 to see Son Goku and Vegeta battle it out against Moro.

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Octopath Traveler 0 for $42.99

The Harry Potter books are some of the bestselling novels of all time. Now that it's been almost 30 years since the first book was published, you can enjoy the story in pretty much every form. There's the Harry Potter movies, multiple audiobooks, and a ton of different video games to dive into. But for those just looking to read the original books in a new way, there are also multiple illustrated editions that are great for collectors.

Deciding which illustrated edition set to buy is slightly more complicated than it should be, however. There's the illustrated editions and then there's the interactive illustrated editions, both of which have yet to be fully completed. I have experience buying both as gifts, so I'm here to give you a quick rundown of the differences and what to expect from each series.

The Harry Potter Illustrated Editions

First up, there's the standard illustrated editions. These are illustrated by Jim Kay and began back in 2015. The pictures are vibrant and really do capture the essence of Harry Potter in a way that the movies never really could. There's a nice mix of story and images as you flip through the pages that make these great for reading to kids or just enjoying as an adult fan of the franchise.

One major note about these editions is that there are currently only five available. The Order of the Phoenix was the last book illustrated by Jim Kay before he decided to leave the project in 2022. It wasn't until recently that the publisher announced that the sixth book was being taken up by a new illustrator, Levi Pinfold. The Halfblood Prince Illustrated Edition is set to be released on October 6, 2026. You can currently preorder it for $54.99.

The Harry Potter Interactive Illustrated Editions

Alongside the normal illustrated editions, there are also the interactive illustrated editions. The first one of these was published back in 2020 by MinaLima. The interactive element here refers to papercraft hidden within the pages. These are essentially illustrations that spin, open up, or can be played with in some way. I own the first three of these and have really enjoyed playing with the interactive elements, but it's clear that they aren't built for heavy use. The illustrations and papercraft here are delightful, but you'll likely start to experience some wear and tear after a few read-throughs. This is doubly true if younger kids are involved.

Similar to the Jim Kay editions, the interactive illustrated editions hit a bit of a hiccup after design studio MinaLima announced they would no longer be working on these books Scholastic continued on with the project and released The Goblet of Fire just last year with a new illustrator and designer. Although we don't yet have a release date for the next book in the series, we do know that work is continuing.

Bonus: Hogwarts Library Illustrated Collection

Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed set is here, with plenty of pricey cards for you to keep an eye out for. Still, if you’re looking to build a typal deck, or just want to find out a little more about the creature types in Lorwyn Eclipse, then this is the page for you.

Below are some of our favorite cards from the set, from Goblins to Elementals, to Giants, Treefolk, and much more. Planning to build a deck around any of these? Let us know in the comments!

Lorwyn Eclipsed Bestiary: All Creature Types Explained

Kithkin

Google search is certainly something these days. Between AI overviews, shopping carousels, and a heck of a lot of spam, it can feel like you don’t have a lot of control over what pops up in your browser. The reality is, Google now looks different for everyone, but even a tailored algorithm won’t always get you where you want to go.

To give users a direct say in their search results, Google rolled out “Preferred Sources” in August 2025. This specifically affects what publishers or sources are appearing in the “Top Stories’ section on Google. If you want more IGN in your life, here’s how you can make us a preferred source for you. The same steps apply to any other website.

How to Set a Preferred Source in Google

The easiest route is logging into a Google account and heading directly to https://www.google.com/preferences/source. This will bring you to a page in your Account Settings called "Source Preferences." Simply type in the homepage URL for your favorite publisher, in my case, IGN.com, and it will be automatically added to your preferred sources and appear more often in Top Stories carousels.

Riftbound, the League of Legends trading card game, is set to launch its next expansion, Spiritforged, in the West on February 13. Like Origins before it, there are a handful of different products you can buy to crack packs and build out your collection.

Riftbound: Spiritforged - Where to Buy

But also like Origins, getting your hands on sealed product was tough, with stores and even Riot's own merch store selling out fast. With Spiritforged, you can pre-purchase these products on TCGplayer, although at significant markups, so just keep that in mind.

Riot's online merch storefront still has each item at MSRP, and will likely resupply their preorder stock soon, even if it's currently sold out, so be sure to check back often and sign up for a Riot account.

Otherwise, as always, one of the best ways to buy any TCG product is through your local game store, and Riftbound is no different. Be sure to utilize the official store locator to find shops in your area and support local businesses.

Spiritforged has four main products with its upcoming launch, with a total of 221 new cards to play with. You can get individual booster packs, each containing 14 cards to bolster your collection; you'll receive seven commons, three uncommons, one rare, one foil of any rarity, another random foil or rare, and either one token or Rune card.

One booster pack is currently going for $14.75 on TCGplayer. Then you can pick up a booster box, which is a sealed box of 24 booster box. With boxes, drop rates aren't entirely random. One in three boxes will contain an alternate art Overnumbered edition, while one in 30 will contain an ultra rare signed version. From here, you can purchase a booster display case, which is a collection of six booster boxes, if you can stomach the price.

For newer players, you can two preconstructed Spiritforged Champion decks. Fiora and Rumble are the Champion decks this time around, featuring a 56-card prebuilt decks focused on their respective mechanics. You'll receive their Legend card, their corresponding Chosen Champion cards, their Signature Spells, three Battlefields, and a Spiritforged booster pack.

Riftbound: Origins - Where to Buy

Still enjoying cracking Origins packs? If you're able to find them in stock, there are a handful of different product to get your hands on before Spiritforged drops.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Let me start by saying that I’m borderline blown away by what I’ve seen from the Fable reboot so far. New Fable developer Playground Games already had my trust – this is a studio that has produced nothing but one open-world masterpiece after another – but after learning a lot more about what the team has in store for its resurrection of one of Xbox’s biggest franchises, I’m even more bullish about where they’re going with it. Playground has turned the ForzaTech engine into a medieval British postcard, combat is multilayered, a thousand NPC townsfolk are waiting to be romanced, co-parented with, divorced from, and landlord over, and there are chickens abound just waiting to be kicked.

Alongside Fable’s big coming-out party at the recent Xbox Developer Direct, I also spoke with game director Ralph Fulton about the choices the studio has made with this revival, so there’s lots to discuss. But first, if you’ll permit me, a quick Fable history lesson…

How We Got Here

Right out of the gate in the early 2000’s, Fable was always fantastic, even if its early days on the original Xbox got a little extra scrutiny because its director at the time, legendary strategy game developer Peter Molyneux, made crazy promises about players planting acorns that would grow into full-sized trees over the course of the campaign. But while that lofty systemic boast never came to be, the game that Lionhead delivered was nevertheless a rich, textured, uniquely British fairy tale that players could meaningfully affect change in, whether their good deeds manifested a literal halo over their heads, their sheer evil caused actual horns to sprout from their skull, or they got married to a townsperson and lived a whole other life outside of the bigger-picture quest within the world of Albion.

Lionhead arguably perfected the formula in the Xbox 360 sequel, adding a dog who’d be by your side throughout the story, and Fable 3 tweaked it further still while making the questionable-in-hindsight decision to move the timeline forward by 500 years, thereby changing the entire look and feel of Albion. And then Microsoft royally screwed the franchise up by trying to turn it into a 4v1 multiplayer game that cost the studio its entire existence (that’s a story for another day), and since then the franchise has been dormant for over a decade.

Enter Playground, who produced smash hit after smash hit in Microsoft’s Forza Horizon driving series. Fulton told me that Playground was looking to expand and build a second team after Forza Horizon 3, "I don't remember who said the word Fable first, but as soon as I heard it, I was like, ‘That has to be it. That fits so perfectly.’ It's a series that we adored here and still do.

"And the conversation went from there and it went pretty fast. I think everybody felt... certainly I know the folks we spoke to on the Xbox side felt really strongly that if a studio were to start working on Fable to pick that up, it had to be a British studio. And the fact that we had this great working relationship, the fact that we were making this game [Forza Horizon] that was increasingly important and successful, and had this ambition to scale and to grow, it went pretty fast after that."

A Bit of the Old, a Bit of the New

The studio’s adoration for the series shines through in the gameplay it’s shown so far. There are Hobbes and Balverines to slay, swords to wield, and spells to cast, sure. And the humor and British charm look to be there – look no further than a chicken spell wearing off, reverting the target back to their original form but still flapping their arms and clucking. Or the chicken armor. You even start the game as a child.

But where Playground is winning serious points with Fable fans like me so far is in its commitment to the game within the game: the town-management aspects baked into Fable’s urban areas. You’ll be able to buy property – literally all of it, if you can come up with enough gold, apparently – and become a beloved landlord or a loathed slumlord. Not to mention a kind boss or a horrible boss, should you purchase any businesses. You can also date and marry all of them, have kids with them, and should it come to it, get divorced. There are also jobs to partake in, like blacksmithing.

Where the new Fable breaks from the old one is in the morality. No longer will it be so black or white, Fulton told me. You won’t manifest that halo or sprout those horns. Instead, individual people in each city or town will form their own opinion of you based on how you treat them, meaning you could be a “rich twat” (in Fable’s own words) in one town while getting hailed as a saint in another one. Better still, one of my least favorite aspects of modern role-playing games, procedurally generated content and all of the generic, time-filling tedium it brings with it, is nowhere to be found in Fable. Instead, Fulton told me that every NPC is a unique, handmade, and fully voiced character. That is so refreshing these days that it gets me extra excited to talk to as many of them as I possibly can once I get a build of Fable in my hands.

Clever Fairy Tale Misdirection

That goal to make each hero’s story unique extends to the larger world of Albion too. Remember the 2023 teaser trailer that introduced us to Dave, a giant? It turns out that the whole setup for the new Fable isn’t a Jack and the Beanstalk story. Instead, Dave is an “egotistical gardener in a rural village” who finds a magic growth formula. You’ll then have to decide how to deal with him: will you spare him – hopefully this means find a way to return him to normal size and befriend him – or slay him, which will see his giga-corpse splayed over a hill just outside of town for the rest of your campaign, negatively impacting surrounding home prices in the process?

And so if Dave’s foray into gigantism is merely a quest, perhaps that means this Fable isn’t as much of a departure from the originals, lore-wise, as that video had led me to believe. In fact, I point-blank asked Fulton whether or not this is a true reboot or if this Fable is in some way connected to Lionhead’s originals, and he had quite a telling answer for a supposed non-answer. He told me, “I'm going to avoid that question, Ryan. And I'll tell you why. We touch very lightly on story in the Dev Direct piece, but honestly, what we really wanted to do is come out and speak to the detail in the game and answer all those questions that people inevitably have about the game we haven't answered before. We're going to talk more about story later in the year, so I'm not going to say yes or no to that particular question just yet.

“What I would say is with this being a reboot, it felt really imperative for us to clear the space, to tell a story that we want to tell within Albion, which is why this isn't a sequel, for example. This isn't necessarily connected to the original timeline or events or characters, but we do share lore and some of that originating lore of the Fable universe is really important to our story.” Make of that what you will…

My Big Concern

So Fable seems to have the look, the humor, the moral choices, the quintessentially British charm. Playground, to put it simply, seems to understand the assignment here. And the studio, as I mentioned earlier, absolutely gets the benefit of the doubt from me on account of its impeccable track record since its inception. What, then, am I worried about? There is one thing, and it’s a key part of Fable: combat.

To be clear, I’m not in any way judging Fable’s combat based on what we’ve seen so far. How could I? I haven’t played it for myself yet! However, for as talented as Playground is, it’s never made a game with combat before. It’s not that all of the delightful town-management and NPC relationship stuff suddenly means nothing if the combat doesn’t deliver, but Fable will have a big problem if battling Balverines isn’t a blast.

Oh, and I suppose I’ll be honest and share one actual disappointment with what I’ve seen of Fable so far: the fact that horses seem to be your only four-legged companions. After the big reveal was decidedly dog-free, I asked Fulton about the decision to ditch the dog, and he admitted, "There are some folks on the team that were relishing me getting this question because I cut it a while back. You know what? For development reasons, right? I don't need to go into any more detail than that, except to say there are a substantial number of people on the team who have yet to forgive me for that decision." Now, I know full well that game development is extremely difficult and that Fulton probably has a very defensible reason for not moving forward with Fable 2’s signature feature – it stung a little extra when he told me that Fable 2 was his favorite of Lionhead’s original trilogy – but as a player I’m still allowed to be bummed out by it. Here’s hoping it’s first on the new features list for the sequel, should we get that far.

Things Are Looking Up

On the whole, though, I am truly, genuinely excited and optimistic about the new Fable. I’ve long felt that – particularly in Playground’s hands – Fable has the highest ceiling (in terms of game quality and finally delivering Xbox – and PlayStation, as it turns out – a PlayStation Studios-like Game of the Year award-contending single-player game) of anything currently in Microsoft’s massive first-party games portfolio.

And though we don’t yet have a specific release date to count down to, Playground is promising that we’ll be playing it this Fall – which basically means “before November” since it’d be patently stupid to try and relaunch this franchise after the better part of a decade in development right up against the incoming game industry meteor known as Grand Theft Auto 6. Here’s hoping that the new Fable lives up to its sky-high potential.

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

In case you didn't already know, UFC fights are no longer going to be following a PPV model. All future fights are going to be available via a Paramount+ subscription in 2026 and beyond, starting with UFC 324. Getting access to the upcoming showdown between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett is easier and cheaper than it's ever been.

The streaming model is quite a bit different than it was for previous PPV fights via ESPN's streaming service. Any of the Paramount+ plans will get you access to the fight live (or on demand afterwards), with the most affordable option being $8.99 per month. Paramount just recently increased prices in January, but it's still way more affordable than the original PPV model.

How to Stream UFC 324 for Free Online

A new lawsuit filed by shareholders of Hasbro against the company and its directors alleges that company leadership has mismanaged Magic: The Gathering by overprinting sets of cards, thereby devaluing existing ones. It also, quite notably, claims that Hasbro leadership "concealed the true reason" that its widely-criticized, incredibly expensive Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Set was pulled from sale within an hour of its initial release.

The lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island earlier this week, is filed by shareholders Joseph Crocono and Ultan McGlone against Hasbro CEO Christian Cocks, a number of fellow company directors, and Hasbro itself. The lawsuit alleges breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, waste of corporate assets, gross mismanagement, abuse of control, and violations of the Exchange Act.

Specifically, the shareholder plaintiffs claim that, under Cocks' leadership, Hasbro has been printing far too many Magic: The Gathering sets, thereby reducing the value of existing sets. This complaint probably sounds familiar to avid Magic players, as Wizards of the Coast has been printing significantly more sets per year than it used to. This handy chart made in 2022 by jacobwillson2727 at Only on Tuesdays helps illustrate the problem, and it's only gotten worse in the years since:

We now have our hands on the Nintendo Switch 2, a new console from one of the biggest names in gaming. Alas, a new console is only as valuable as the library of games you can build on it.

Thankfully, Nintendo hasn't been shy about planned releases over the next year, which include a mix of Switch 2 exclusives, third-party releases, and the benefit of backward compatibility with any games still launching on the original Switch. Without further ado, here are all of the new Switch 2 games we can look forward to in 2026.

All Upcoming Switch 2 Games With Release Dates

Dispatch (January 28, 2026)

One of the best games of 2025 is promptly making its way to both Switch and Switch 2. The episodic adventure game developed by AdHoc Studio puts you in charge of a task force of "rehabilitated" super villains, which happens to consist of an incredibly stacked cast. IGN's 9/10 review describes the full season as "a true spiritual successor to the Telltale Games of the 2010s," highlighting the game's blend of TV and gaming elements.

Starsand Island (February 1, 2026)

There's never a shortage of cozy vibes on Switch, which continues with Starsand Island, a Starew Valley-esque simulation sandbox game. Escape from the city to harvest crops, go fishing, protect local ruins, and, of course, befriend all your new neighbors in the countryside.

Deus Ex Remastered (February 5, 2026)

Announced at the September State of Play, the iconic action RPG originally developed by Ion Storm is getting a new remaster in 2026, bringing the game to modern-gen consoles. Rick Sanchez didn't hold back the praise in his 9.4 review for IGN back in 2002: "Deep story, awesome graphics, and intense fun. You must play this game!"

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (February 5, 2026)

Dragon Quest is really going at it with the remakes. It started with HD-2D remakes of the first three games, and now we’re skipping a few installments to go straight to Fragments of the Past. This next ‘revamp’ goes for “Reimagined,” and features a pretty substantial overhaul of the graphics and gameplay from the original JRPG released in 2001.

Mario Tennis Fever (February 12, 2026)*

Mario Tennis is making its return with the first new release since 2018’s Mario Tennis Aces. The sports game will continue the more recent tradition of a Story Mode alongside Tournament, Trial Towers, and Mix It Up modes, all while featuring a whopping 38 playable characters.

Stella Montis is known for its cold, suffocating halls and cutthroat Raider encounters, but Arc Raiders players can’t get enough of the real-life Stella Montis hotel.

Yes, there is a real-world hotel located in Italy that just so happens to share a name with one of the most brutal locations game developer Embark Studios has to offer. Thankfully, the luxurious hotel Stella Montis won’t have guests looking over their shoulders for loot goblins, and instead features spots for hiking, biking, skiing, and relaxation. It’s for these reasons – and maybe more likely just for the bit of it all – that Arc Raiders players are slamming the forest getaway with dozens of five-star reviews.

“Great place,” one seemingly earnest review starts. “But I do recommend travel solo for this hotel. Any group bigger than 2 has very high chance of meeting rats in the lobby. Hotel has a medical section which is a hot spot for dead bodies.

“Also while you are here please try to be friendly to other guests.”

The first connection to the real-life Stella Montis seems to have arrived shortly after Embark initially teased the new map in an October 13 blog post, two weeks before launch. In what was likely an attempt to try and connect the dots before an official reveal, one Reddit user was able to track down the hotel and post about it (above), assuming the new Arc Raiders map could be inspired by a real place.

It’s not clear if the sleek metal walls of the video game map are actually named after the Italian inn, but the coincidence was more than enough for fans to latch onto. A review left by a user with the name Bad Wolf seems to be the oldest mention of Arc Raiders, at least on Google, with almost every reply that followed focusing on blueprints, Bastions, “rats,” and Shredders.

“I love this place, tons of drawers that gives me epic loot and even Venator blueprint if you have the correct hotel keycard,” another review says, “but be careful about the moving balls that burn you and the vase like robot thingy that would shred you to pieces. The only complain is the raiders with strange red outfit that screams ‘Goop’ crawling in the corner waiting for you to pass by, bring smoke, tagging, and trigger nades just in case.”

Despite Stella Montis’ crushing difficulty and brutal Arcs, almost every Google review from an Arc Raiders player awards the hotel with 5/5 stars – though there are a few outliers. One user left a 3/5, warning of Shredders, while another from this week stuck with a 1/5, complaining of feeling “very sweaty after leaving.” Meanwhile, the company behind the hotel has yet to comment on its newfound connection to a popular video game or the fans who have suddenly become enamored by it.

"Free Loadout Stella Montis go crazy," one reviewer adds. "Love this place, always leave with 3+ blueprints. Remember to search the containers in the cargo docks, they have some goop."

Arc Raiders launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S October 30, 2025. Although it doesn’t seem like there are any plans to add a skiing expansion to the game, Embark has recently laid out its roadmap for the first four months of 2026. Meanwhile, the studio says it's still doing its best to combat widespread reports of cheaters.

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

Best Buy is offering yet another great deal on a preowned gaming laptop, this time one that's light enough to double as your daily driver. While supplies last, you can pick up an open box "excellent condition" Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5060 gaming laptop for just $1,016.99 with free shipping. If you were to get it new, it would cost $1,450. These preowned laptops are Geek Squad verified and sometimes still have all or some of their original warranty.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 RTX 5060 Gaming Laptop for $1,107

Open Box - Excellent Condition

Are you shopping around for a new TV to watch the football championship games and the big game itself? Well don't forget that a big, gorgeous picture is incomplete without some equally big, impressive sound to back it up, especially when it comes to sports games. Sonos doesn't have a sale running right now, but that doesn't mean you have to pay full price.

The Sonos online store hosts a Recertified section that takes a modest discount off your favorite soundbars, speakers, and headphones. Sonos refurbished products go through rigorous testing; they come with all accessories, manuals, and documentation and are reshipped in "pristine" packaging. Sonos includes the same 1-year warranty as new.

Sonos Era 100 Smart Speaker for $179

If Animal Crossing: New Horizons' 3.0 update earlier this month wasn't enough for you, don't worry, there's a new hype train you can board. IKEA just recently posted a TikTok with some very familiar sights and sounds, and it has us hoping for a furniture collaboration soon.

As spotted by Polygon, the official TikTok page for IKEA France posted a video two days ago that very much seems to be teasing something Animal Crossing-related. In the video, a very distinctively Animal Crossing leaf floats down from the ceiling of an empty room, before a hand cursor clicks on it and turns it into furniture, cycling through four different types of IKEA furniture (two bookcases in different styles, a dresser, and a couch). The video description, via TikTok's translation from French, reads, "We still don't accept cash bells. #ikea #animalcrossing"

@ikeafrance On n'accepte toujours pas les clochettes en caisse. #ikea #animalcrossing ♬ son original - IKEA France

The background music, while not identifiable immediately as any specific Animal Crossing theme, certainly has the correct xylophone and according sounds going. And the sound effects of clicking and cycling between furniture are 100% straight from Animal Crossing. To me, that reads that whatever's going on here at minimum has Nintendo's blessing.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another are reportedly getting more 70mm IMAX showings after both managed to secure a long list of Oscar nominations heading into the 2026 Academy Awards.

Fans of two of the biggest movies of 2025 will have a reason to return to special IMAX showings in the near future, Variety reports. It’s unclear when the genre-defying vampire movie and the Leonardo DiCaprio-led action thriller will get 70mm release dates, but the site says the former is expected to premiere during its Oscar run, with the latter set to arrive “in the coming weeks,” too.

Sinners, which was shot with 70mm film, shook moviegoers with its tale of music and blood-sucking villains set in a 1930’s Mississippi when it premiered last April. Its IMAX victory lap follows its history-making presence at yesterday’s Oscars ceremony, where it managed to walk away with a record-breaking 16 nominations, securing its place as the most nominated film of all time. Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, and Wunmi Mosaku-led film is up for numerous acting roles, as well as Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Achievement in Sound, and more.

Trailing closely behind was One Battle After Another, which is driving to the 98th Academy Awards with a still-impressive 13 nominations. PTA’s latest has also certainly earned its place among the competition thanks to standout performances from DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti in a tale about an ex-revolutionary faced with a relentless and threatening face from his past. It’s up for Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing, Best Picture, and more.

The Oscars, set to take place March 15, 2026, seem set to be set up for quite the blood bath as moviegoers hop to see their favorite filmmakers called to the stage to deliver their speeches. As two of the night’s most-nominated movies head back for 70mm showings, it will surely only encourage new and old fans to tune in ahead of their big night. There are, however, only limited number of IMAX theaters that support 70mm across the globe, so if you’re interested in attending any of the aforementioned showings, you’ll want to make sure you grab your tickets fast.

Meanwhile, another Oscar contender, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, is also set for a nationwide IMAX release ahead as award season gets into gear. Variety’s report adds that Brad Pitt’s F1 movie could also secure a 70mm release. For more, you can read our 9/10 Sinner review, where we said the Coogler flick “expertly blends plenty of vampires and music into a compelling story about twin brothers.” You can also check out our 10/10 One Battle After Another review, which saw us praising the movie as a “masterpiece.”

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

If you're in need of at-home printing but you don't want to deal with the upfront cost of buying a printer or the hassle of purchasing ink cartridges when they run out, then HP is offering a plan that might be perfect for you.

HP's All-In Plan is a convenient service that leases you a printer for a low monthly fee. Never run out of ink or printing supplies. You’re always ready to print with ink and optional paper delivery before you need it. There are several plans to choose from, with each offering a different printer and print allotment depending on your needs. The monthly print allotment is flexible, rolls over and can easily be updated on a monthly basis if needed.

We’ve made it to Friday, and there are some awesome deals to check out as we head into the weekend. The most exciting discount I’ve seen is that Best Buy has dropped the price of the AirPods Pro 3 by $50 today-only. You can also get a bunch of Ultra Pro TCG gear 50% off from Best Buy. Other notable deals include $600 off a great gaming monitor and a healthy discount on a Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS). That’s not all, so below I’ve highlighted some of the top deals for today:

TL;DR: Best Deals Today

Save $50 on the Apple AirPods Pro 3

Score 46% Off a 27" Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 4K 240 Hz Gaming Monitor

Score 50% Off Ultra Pro TCG accessories

If you’re looking to grab some new accessories for your favorite trading card games, today is the day. Best Buy has knocked up to 50% off (or more) Ultra Pro accessories, including MTG: Final Fantasy and Pokémon items. From card binders and deck boxes to tons of awesome playmats, these accessories will give your TCG setup a nice upgrade.

Phantasmal Flames' Booster Bundle Is $44.99 on Amazon

Save 21% on the Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS)

Score Almost 50% Off a Jackery HomePower 3000 Portable Power Station with DC-DC Alternator Charger

Score Over $10 Off A LEGO F1 Model Car Kit

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin Box Set Is Lowest Price Ever

Get a 100W GaN USB-C Charger for Only $15

Queen’s Blood fans, it's time to celebrate. The addictive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth card game is making a “powered-up” comeback for the final chapter in Square Enix’s remake trilogy.

Polygon spoke with director Naoki Hamaguchi about the progress of development on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 and touched on the topic of one of the more popular virtual pastimes of 2024. He says he plans to double down on the card game when its next installment finally launches, promising to “expand” what was seen with its Rebirth launch.

“Queen’s Blood is a very popular and beloved minigame, and I believe a lot of people are still wanting something like that,” Hamaguchi said. “I want to expand on Queen’s Blood so that we are enhancing it, and giving you a more powered-up version of it when you see that third installment… Queen’s Blood is still going to be available in the third installment. We just want to expand on it.”

The director declines to share exactly what a spruced-up version of Queen’s Blood will look like, but it’s easy to imagine an expansion of new cards and new side-quests shaking up the gameplay. However, Hamaguchi’s comments suggest players may be in for a somewhat substantial upgrade.

Hamaguchi adds that the original Final Fantasy 7 mini-game featuring snowboarding is also coming back for Remake Part 3. He teases that “it’s not going to be just a simple snowboarding minigame,” adding that it will be incorporated into the story and its themes, but stops short of providing more details.

The Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy is jam-packed with a variety of mini-games to keep Cloud and company’s fight against Sephiroth from getting too serious, but most fans are just looking forward to seeing how the retelling will finally finish its story. Hamaguchi and the rest of the Square Enix team is far from ready to share a release date, but he says development is at least “coming along very smoothly.”

“We have set a schedule for ourselves, and I believe we are tracking on time for the milestones we have set,” Hamaguchi adds. “So I’m really thankful for the development team and I have so much respect for them working on this project. I believe that at this point the game is playable, technically, but we are still trying to polish it so it is at a quality where we can deliver it to our players.”

It’s a round of positive updates for Final Fantasy Remake Part 3, which arrives just shy of the two-year anniversary of the launch of Rebirth. Released February 29, 2024, for PlayStation 5, we placed the RPG sequel at number two on our list of the 15 best video game remakes of all time. Although its sales may not have met expectations, Hamaguchi told fans in the past that the trilogy will get a proper finale.

Square Enix has had a lot of luck when it comes to Final Fantasy cards in recent history. Despite the overwhelming number of mini-games present in Rebirth, Final Fantasy 7 fans largely took to Queen’s Blood, all 145 of its collectible cards, and the strategy is added to the overall experience. In the real world, Magic: The Gathering fans spent 2025 obsessing about its Final Fantasy-themed set, which included dozens of references to not only Final Fantasy 7 but all 16 mainline entries, too.

For more on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, you can read about how Square Enix nearly resized Cloud’s iconic Buster Sword for the remake. You can also see why fans shouldn’t worry about any story content being cut for the future entry while fans pass the time with the recently released Nintendo Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.

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

Prebuilt gaming PC prices are on the rise for 2026, but iBuyPower - one of the more popular and well known system builders on the market - is softening the blow by offering a month end Clearance Sale which takes up to $400 off select systems along with a coupon code "CLEARANCE" that stacks on these tiered discounts:

• 5% OFF Custom Desktops over $999
• $100 OFF Ready to Ship Prebuilt PCs over $1999 Code
• $50 OFF Ready to Ship Prebuilt PCs over $999 Code

This sale runs through this weekend only and ends on January 26. iBuypower offers free standard shipping on all configs, however can also get a slight discount by choosing a slower shipping service. All systems are covered by a three year labor and two year parts warranty. Below are the best deals sorted by GPU.

iBuypower Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming PC for $1,899

iBuypower RTX 5060 Gaming PC for $1,049

Highguard has reemerged after going dark following its much-discussed reveal at the end of The Game Awards last month, with a launch showcase that reaffirms it really is coming out next week.

Due out January 26, Highguard ended The Game Awards 2025 with its reveal trailer, and it gave fans a look at the new free-to-play PvP raid shooter from some of the creators of Respawn's Apex Legends and Titanfall. Players will "ride, fight, and raid as Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythic continent."

Some had wondered what was happening with Highguard given developer Wildlight Entertainment failed to follow up its The Game Awards reveal with any new trailers or even more detailed information about how it works. It’s fair to say that some felt Highguard did not warrant the coveted big finish slot at The Game Awards — the biggest video game reveal show in the world — and it has suffered from a degree of negativity online since. With the likes of Sony's disastrous live-service PvP shooter Concord still fresh in the memory, some have even declared Highguard "dead on arrival."

Here’s the official blurb on the launch showcase:

Tune in on Monday, January 26 at 10am PT for an in-depth look at Highguard direct from the studio, featuring a full gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more.

It looks like Wildlight is trying to replicate the hugely successful launch of Apex Legends, which publisher EA released in 2019 with little pre-release marketing but heavy involvement from streamers on its actual release date. Highguard is set to launch across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.