Resident Evil Requiem includes numerous Easter eggs and unlockable extras, but none seemingly as complex as 'The Final Puzzle.'

Warning! Resident Evil Requiem puzzle spoilers follow:

As with other recent Resident Evil games, Requiem includes a list of challenges which add completion points to your playthrough score. At the bottom of the list is the appropriately-named 'The Final Puzzle' — which is proving to be something of a headscratcher.

IGN has a work-in-progress guide to The Final Puzzle where significant progress has been made through the challenge's convoluted early stages, which feel more complex than anything seen in any other Resident Evil game to date — and, seemingly, with still some way left to go.

Exactly what the final outcome or reward for the challenge might be remains unknown — but as the game continues its launch around the world, the hunt for answers here will undoubtedly become a major point of community focus.

The game's own description for the challenge offers only the vaguest of hints, to "Let the sweet pair hear the voice." The mechanics of the puzzle, or at least its first part, appear to rely on players picking up or examining a variety of objects throughout the game to determine fragments of a code.

Requiem's trail of clues relies on players picking up a specific severed hand which, if obtained, can also be scanned later on to provide a hidden RNA code in a blood sample analysis machine. Other items also hide their own codes, providing (with a bit more puzzling work) a version of that RNA sequence that can be plugged into a safe that features buttons labelled with a Star, Sun and Moon.

After that... well, it's here the trail has gone cold, though likely not for long. We'll be keeping an eye on further progress made throughout the next few days, as players uncover further steps. For now, however, it's just fun to see that the game hides this kind of puzzle.

For a far more granular look at each step to-date, IGN's work-in-progress guide to The Final Puzzle is right here. We've also logged how long Resident Evil Requiem takes to beat, and tracked Resident Evil Requiem's global release times.

"Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation," IGN wrote in our full Resident Evil Requiem review, which returned a 9/10 score.

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

Amazon’s Woot store has been known to offer a bunch of deals in the past, but it might just have outdone itself this time around with its brand new "Video Games For All!" sale.

Not only is the retailer offering discounts on games like 2025 hits Monster Hunter Wilds and Pokémon Legends Z-A, but it’s got a handy "LEVEL20" discount code that makes them even cheaper. But, there's a limited time left to take advantage, as the promo code will expire by 11:59 PM CT on February 27.

That LEVEL20 promo code makes games like Monster Hunter Wilds just $13.59 (just wow!). Perfect for testing out the latest performance enhancements on all platforms and taking on the latest endgame content.

Legends Z-A, on the other hand, is just $35.92 on Switch 1. IGN's Rebekah Valentine gave the game an 8 out of 10 in her review last year, saying “Pokémon Legends: Z-A finally feels like Game Freak hitting its stride in Pokémon’s 3D era, with a fun setting to explore, a well-written story, and a total battle system overhaul that works surprisingly well.”

You can upgrade to the Switch 2 version digitally as well for just $10 after making your purchase, making this a certified bargain.

It’s not just newer titles, either. Elden Ring, heralded as one of the greatest games of all time (IGN awarded it a 10 out of 10 in our review), is just $15.99 on PS5 with the discount code as well.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is getting Switch 2 features next month, got a 9 out of 10 review score from IGN, is down to $37.59 with the promo code.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are just $47.19 for the pair, while if you’ve not played Breath of the Wild yet, it’s $35.19. That's just the tip of the iceberg as well, as there's some unbelievable discounts all round.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

It doesn’t sound like Scream 7 is the end for the horror franchise — Neve Campbell, who plays protagonist Sidney Prescott, already has a “great” idea for Scream 8, and it will be made as long as Scream 7 is a success.

Speaking to Deadline, Scream 7 writer and director Kevin Williamson confirmed that he and Campbell started discussing Scream 8 as they worked on this new movie.

“When you’re sitting on the set at 3am in the morning, you’re like, ‘Well, what would Scream 8 be about?’ And you just start spit-balling,” Williamson said. “And Neve had this great idea, and everyone seemed to run with it So yeah, if this movie works and people want it, we’re here for the fans. So, if they want it, we’ll certainly give it to them.”

Early indications are that Scream 7 is set for box office success. The Hollywood Reporter said Scream 7 is projected to debut with a 3-day total that lands between $40 and $45 million at the domestic box office, up on prior projections.

Earlier this week, Campbell confirmed that she skipped 2022’s Scream 6 because her salary offer didn’t reflect the 25 years of dedication she felt she gave to this story. “When I made that decision, I just didn’t think I could live with myself walking on set,” the actress recently told CBS Mornings in an interview about Scream 7. “I just didn’t feel right. I just knew that my value to this franchise was bigger than what had been offered. For me, I needed to make that choice.”

According to Variety, Campbell secured a nearly $7 million deal for Scream 7, whereas Scream mainstay Courteney Cox was paid $2 million.

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

Marvel Rivals players are asking NetEase Games to take action after the emergence of an unofficial bounty website triggered fears that it could harm the community it’s supposedly trying to protect.

Fans of the hero shooter sounded the alarm when third-party site Intlist.org went live on February 22. Established by Marvel Rivals content creator and X/Twitter user EchoRivals, its official Discord page says the goal is to give players an avenue to name those who intentionally sabotage or “throw” multiplayer matches and “put a price on their head.”

Tired of griefers getting away with it? 🚨

I built @IntlistOrg - post a bounty on any thrower. The community queues in, claims it, and earns 80% of the pool. 💰

⚡ Free to post
🎮 6 games supported
💵 Payouts via PayPal

Portion of proceeds may go toward community tournaments -… pic.twitter.com/cipHg3WhnJ

— Carson (@EchoRivals) February 23, 2026

“Put a bounty on griefers & throwers,” the first post on its X account says, promising a system that offers an 80% payout for those who successfully throw matches in retaliation. “Someone queues in, throws it back, gets paid.”

Intlist allows any player to post bounties related to disruptive behavior across seven games: Deadlock, Overwatch, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Dota 2, and, of course, Marvel Rivals. The site has done its best to sell the pitch as a simple solution to a common issue, but as Marvel Rivals fans have pointed out, there a number of concerns going unaddressed.

Some have already called out how a widely used bounty website could cause a domino effect that sees not only griefers punished but everyone else, too. One Reddit user calling attention to the issue says they’ve already seen an increase in sabotaged matches for every kind of player, warning that “now every game is people throwing each other’s games.”

“Something tells me throwing the game of someone who throws already is not going to annoy anyone but the four unfortunate randoms on the team,” another popular reply from a fan says. “I do not see the point of this like at all.”

The Intlist account replied to the criticism above: “Collateral damage is an unfortunate reality of war.”

pic.twitter.com/LJJX8xQEgw

— Viper4K (@Viper4K) February 25, 2026

Another matter brought to the table by fans online revolves around how the community defines who is and isn’t sabotaging matches, as well as Intlist’s verification process. The primary purpose of the site was already facing scrutiny at launch, as players suspected there may be too few safeguards to keep well-meaning players from falling victim to retaliation through the bounty system. Reports that notable Marvel Rivals content creators like Jay3 had joined the list of offenders only added to these concerns.

Meanwhile, as of the publication of this story, Intlist has been pulled offline as the team backing it teases that “something big is coming.” Discord messages from EchoRivals paint a clearer picture, explaining that the site was locked down after they “detected unauthorized access to our database from a single bad actor.”

“A limited number of email addresses tied to bounty posts were exposed,” the post adds. “No passwords, payment info, or plaintext IP addresses were compromised - we don't store any of those. The site is temporarily offline while we lock everything down - we were not taken down, one person just decided to ruin it for everyone temporarily. We're also working on some upgrades while we're at it.”

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s long-awaited Techmarine update is out now across all platforms as part of patch 12.0. It adds the new Techmarine class, a new melee weapon, a new Operation, DLCs, and balance updates.

The Techmarine is the big draw here. The new playable class — the first to hit the explosive third-person action game since launch — has a unique Servo-Gun ability that locks onto enemies in a line of sight and automatically fires at them while the Techmarine continues fighting in melee or range. It also has access to the new Omnissian Axe, which can deal massive damage to both a single target with its standard attacks and to surrounding enemies with its finishing heavy attacks.

“We hope you will really like the new class,” game director Dmitry Grigorenko said in a post on publisher Focus Entertainment’s website. “We've tried to make sure that this class plays differently from the rest.”

A number of changes were made based on feedback from the recent PTS, outlined in the patch notes below. “We've tried to address most of it, but there are some big changes that we didn't have time to implement,” Grigorenko explained. “There will be more improvements and perks reworks in upcoming patches.”

Elsewhere, patch 12.0 heralds the addition of Space Marine 2's first voice pack, which costs $4.99. This is not included in the Season Pass (and thus has upset some players who believe it should be part of the premium DLC package). It includes 450 re-recorded voicelines and a unique Space Marine Head cosmetic for each of the following Space Marine chapters: Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Black Templars.

Resident Evil Requiem has finally arrived, ready to provide you with hours and hours of survival horror action, in which you can test your mettle as both Grace Ashcroft and Leon S. Kennedy. Much like its modern predecessors, Requiem boasts a reasonably stacked campaign, but just how long is it? Here, we’ll let you know exactly how many hours it took different members of the IGN team to finish the game, and what they prioritised doing with that time.

How Long is Resident Evil Requiem?

• Our fastest player finished the game in 4.5 hours.
• Our “slowest” player finished the game in 16 hours.

Everyone plays games differently, so read on for more details about how everyone played, how long it took to reach the credits, and how much extra time players spent exploring. Once you've finished the game yourself, be sure to submit your times on our sister website, How Long To Beat, and see how your time compares!

Jesse Gomez - Senior Video Producer

Completion Time: 8 hours and 59 minutes on Standard (Modern) / 4 hours and 38 minutes on Insanity.

Shy of just under nine hours, my first playthrough of Resident Evil Requiem consisted of meticulously hunting down every single Mr. Raccoon collectable, reading as many files as I could (I missed just three of the 75 available to find), and relishing in the blood-soaked glory of Leon's vast, yet costly arsenal.

If I wasn't so engrossed by exploring every nook and cranny of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and beyond for secrets, I'm sure I could’ve shaved an hour or two off my playtime. For my second playthrough, though, I cut that time practically in half. I dove into a run on Insanity difficulty right after hitting credits and, armed with knowledge of objectives and environment layouts from my first playthrough, I blitzed through it all in just over four hours and a half hours. Such speed does come with some hiccups, though; to Grace's dismay, I did get munched on a few times by the many monstrosities that stalk the care centers' halls.

Dale Driver - Associate Director, Video Programming

Completion Time: 16 hours on Standard (Modern)

I hit credits 16 hours into my playthrough of Resident Evil Requiem after choosing what I assume to be the “good” ending! I played through the game on the standard modern difficulty; the hardest option available out of the gate that doesn’t demand you deal with Ink Ribbons taking up inventory space.

I was quite thorough during my playthrough, making sure I got all the antique coins and all the safes' codes, and generally trying not to leave anything behind. When I got to Raccoon City later in the game, I spent a decent amount of time revisiting the classic locations and soaking up the nostalgia.

I did have an advantage that many first-time players won’t have, which I assume might have cut an hour or two from my playthrough. I’d previously played through the majority of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center section for IGN’s preview of Resident Evil Requiem, so when it came to that section I already knew what I needed to find and where it was hidden. That certainly sped up the early hours for me.

So far, I’ve only finished the game once, but I definitely plan to dive back in for an Insanity run and see what I missed!

Tristan Ogilvie - Senior Video Editor + Reviewer

Completion Time: 10 hours on Standard (Modern)

It took me just over 10 hours to roll credits on Resident Evil Requiem, however that was to arrive at the shorter and what I consider to be the worse of its two possible endings. Man, I hate that ending so much! So, I immediately reloaded my save game to play through the other, better, ending, which added close to another 30 minutes onto my playtime.

I opted to play Requiem on the Standard (Modern) difficulty setting, mainly because I didn’t want to be restricted to using ink ribbons in order to save my game during Grace’s sections like you are on the Standard (Classic) setting. As the parent of two young kids who are liable to disrupt me at any moment and for no good reason, I need to have the ability to save my game without any restrictions.

However, I am now playing a second time through on Standard (Classic) and taking my time with it a bit more. I’ve still got a number of small things like notes and Mr. Raccoon bobbleheads to track down, as well as a few areas here and there tucked away in the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center that I didn’t fully explore the first time through.

I’m too much of a coward to tackle the game a third time on the Insanity difficulty setting, however if Capcom ends up adding a Mercenaries mode to Requiem at a later date I’ll come charging back harder than a zombie chef with the smell of blood in his nostrils.

Matt Purslow - Executive Editor of Features

Completion Time: 11 Hours on Standard (Modern)

I completed Resident Evil Requiem in exactly 11 hours. And, if you’re planning to do a pretty “regular” playthrough, I expect you’ll clock up a similar playtime. While I didn’t scour every last corner, bookshelf, and drawer for the most fiendishly hidden treasures and lore drops, I was reasonably thorough in my exploration of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center and the locations that await beyond it. I scavenged enough currency to buy a healthy selection of upgrades, ensuring both Grace and Leon were well equipped for the dangers they faced, but by the time credits rolled there were still guns that could be further modified and stats that could be improved. I unlocked some safes, but there are still several left to crack in a second playthrough. I read plenty of documents, and so learned many of the story’s extra details, but there are still mysteries to be solved by finding the papers I missed.

11 hours is pretty typical for a Resident Evil game, but relatively slender compared to many of today’s massive, RPG-style games, and so a second playthrough is certainly on the cards. I not only plan to gather what I missed, but also play with the opposite perspectives of Requiem’s default set up – I’m excited to see what exploring Rhodes Hill as Grace in third person is like, and taking on Leon’s sections as a first-person shooter. That’ll surely clock up another dozen hours.

Brian Altano - Executive Producer

Completion Time: 12 Hours on Standard (Classic)

It took me around 12 and a half hours to beat Resident Evil Requiem on the Standard (Classic) difficulty setting, in which Leon can save the game infinitely at pretty much every save station, while Grace needs to find (or craft) limited, finite ink ribbons, just like in the classic Resident Evil games.

I’m a huge fan of the series and I had a hunch I’d like this game, but I didn’t expect to practically adore it. I found myself exploring every inch of it for secrets, collectibles, easter eggs, and more. Ultimately I missed a few on my first run through the game, but then immediately started a second and third playthrough after initially rolling credits the first time in an effort to find everything.

There are some really fun post-game options tied to beating the campaign with specific parameters (like finishing it without using a single healing item), plus a couple of other little challenges I’m excited to try. There’s one specific Mr. Raccoon bobblehead I definitely wouldn’t have found without the help of IGN’s guides guru, Brendan Graeber, so if you’re a completionist who doesn’t want to miss anything on your first trek through the story, be sure to give our walkthrough a look. Then there’s the unlockable “Insanity” difficulty that I absolutely can’t wait to repeatedly get my butt kicked in.

All in all, I’ll probably put about 40 hours into Resident Evil Requiem, a number that will only go up if Capcom decides to add a Mercenaries mode and additional story DLC post launch. I really love this game!

Magic: The Gathering will kick off its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set this weekend with a prerelease window before launch next week, but the notoriously elusive Collector Boosters are now back in stock at Amazon.

Not only can you find a box in stock (which in itself is a small miracle), but it’s discounted down to $424.93. That nets you twelve packs - it's pricey, but potentially worth it.

Save on MTG Collector Boosters For The New TMNT Set

For those new to the game, Collector Boosters offer the rarest cards in the Ninja Turtles-themed set, and are ideal for anyone looking for unique art treatments.

Will you get ‘better’ cards? No, not necessarily, but you’re more likely to find cards with higher resale value, hence why they cost an MSRP of $37.99 per pack. For anyone looking to play Magic, the aptly-named Play Boosters are a better bet.

While Play Boosters aren’t as cheap as they were last week, there are other TMNT products on sale.

Magic: The Gathering's TMNT Collector Booster Box preorders are in stock at Amazon... again! (Out March 6)

Currently down to $424.93 (was $455.88) https://t.co/oB0o5M55gO

This is the best deal we've seen on these since preorders first kicked off, I'd snap them up ASAP #ad pic.twitter.com/qDWQZd496G

— IGN Deals (@IGNDeals) February 26, 2026

The newest Commander Deck, ‘Turtle Power’, is down to $59, saving you $10 off the MSRP, while the Bundle of nine Play Boosters is $63.99, down from $69.99. It also includes a promo card and 30 lands from the set.

Draft Night, which includes a series of boosters to play a draft match and a Collector Booster to use as a prize, is down to $94.99 from $119.99.

For more on Magic’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle crossover, check out a card that pairs nicely with Warhammer 40K Necrons (what is Magic in 2026, eh?), and our early thoughts on the Commander precon, Turtle Power.

Amazon also has a great deal on Play Boosters for the game’s current set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, which you can find right here.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.

February 27 is a special day in the Pokémon calendar, commemorating the release of the very first Pokémon games in Japan. Known to fans around the world as ‘Pokémon Day’, 2026 will be a special 30th anniversary celebration as well.

To celebrate, The Pokémon Company has recently dropped a 30th Anniversary Pokémon Day TCG Collection, featuring a specially stamped foil Pikachu promo card, a metallic coin featuring the 30th anniversary logo, and three booster packs from Phantasmal Flames and Mega Evolution.

Season 4 of Bridgerton ends with a bang. And that bang was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor when the final twist of the final episode was revealed. It seems there’s a new Lady Whistledown in town, and she promises to bring her readers (and the rest of us) “so much fun.”

Look, it may seem like an easy task, revisiting an updated version of the show’s central mystery (and one that didn’t appear in Julia Quinn’s books at that). But if that mystery keeps Julie Andrews (long may she reign) on our screens even a minute more than she would have been otherwise, sign me up. The finale shocker and its cliffhanger question – Who is Lady Whistledown? – is indicative of a leveled-up batch of episodes that elevates Season 4 of the Netflix regency drama from ho-hum to fantastic.

While Part 1 of the Benedict Bridgerton-centric season was at times plodding and frustrating, Part 2 takes off like a rocketship and doesn’t let up until the credits roll. It kind of makes one wonder (Dearest Gentle Reader) why Netflix insists on splitting up the seasons. But regardless of the rationale, the four new Bridgerton episodes are worth the wait.

When we last left our favorite very large 18th century British family, second son Benedict (Luke Thompson) had asked his maid-cum-paramour Sophie (Yerin Ha) to be his mistress (even though she was the woman he had unknowingly fallen in love with at a masquerade ball). Erstwhile Lady Whistledown Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) was finding it difficult to suss out her place in society now that her secret identity had been revealed. Matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) was navigating a new relationship, and quiet Francesca (Hannah Dodd) was trying to find peace with her husband’s cousin.

Amazon will no longer publish UK developer Maverick Games’ yet-to-be-titled open-world driving game, reports The Game Business.

“As part of our strategic evolution to focus on projects that leverage Amazon’s unique strengths and scale, including the recent re-launch of Luna and our Tomb Raider franchise partnership with Crystal Dynamics, we have decided to release Maverick Games from their publishing agreement with Amazon Game Studios,” the company explained in a provided statement.

“We have tremendous respect for the Maverick Games team and the compelling narrative-led driving experience they’re creating. This decision allows Maverick Games the flexibility to find a publishing partner whose strategic priorities are better aligned with bringing their game to market. We’re proud of what we accomplished together during our partnership and wish them every success in the future.”

Fortunately, this does not mean the end of the road for the project itself, with Maverick Games co-founder Mike Brown confirming on social media that development is continuing to progress strongly and plans are in place to share information about the game later this year.

Maverick Games was founded in 2022 following the departure of a number of staff from Forza Horizon developer Playground Games. At that time, former Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown was joined by producer Tom Butcher, technical director Matt Craven, technical art director Gareth Harwood, audio director Fraser Stachan, and art director Ben Penrose. It was revealed in January 2023 that the team was working on a “premium open-world game for consoles and PC.”

If you're looking for a more elegant charging solution for your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch, then Amazon has a limited time deal that's totally worth your consideration. Right now the Iniu 3-in-1 Qi2-certified wireless charging station has dropped in price from $35.99 all the way down to $18.35 after you clip a 49% off coupon code. I actually have this exact model and highly recommend it. I use it every evening on my nightstand next to bed and I also bring it along on extended trips because it folds away so neatly.

Iniu 3-in-1 Charging Station for iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods

From portable gaming handhelds to smartphones, our lives rely on portable, untethered electronics, and it can't hurt to always have a charger on hand. Amazon is currently offering a Baseus Picogo 100W USB Type-C wall charger for just $21.99 after you apply coupon code "76CRAZVA". You don't need to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal. This diminutive adapter can fast charge even the most power hungry handheld gaming PCs like the ROG Xbox Ally X.

Baseus Picogo 100W USB-C Wall Charger for $21.99

The attorney general of New York Letitia James is suing Valve, alleging the platform illegally promotes gambling to children.

This comes from a press release issued by the attorney general's office today, which states that following an investigation, the office of the attorney general "found that Valve’s video games, including Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2, enable gambling by enticing users to pay for the chance to win a rare virtual item of significant monetary value."

"In Valve’s most popular game [Counter-Strike 2], the process resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item. The randomly selected virtual items have no in-game functionality but can be sold online for money, with one item reportedly being sold for more than $1 million. The lawsuit alleges that Valve has made billions of dollars luring its users, many of whom are teenagers or younger, to engage in gambling in the hopes of winning expensive virtual items that they can cash in on. With this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to permanently stop Valve from continuing to promote illegal gambling in its games and to pay disgorgement and fines."

The lawsuit itself describes both the mechanics of how loot boxes work in all three games, as well as the ways in which users can "cash in" virtual items, either by selling them on the Steam Community Market, or by connecting their accounts to third-party marketplaces, the latter of which the attorney general's office says it found Valve "facilitates and even assists." The attorney general's office argues that Valve's loot box model is "quintessential gambling, prohibited under New York's Constitution and Penal Law." Gambling is illegal in New York with only some exceptions, which the attorney general says are all irrelevant here.

The question of whether loot boxes can or should be regulated as gambling has been ongoing for more than a decade, with different countries issuing various regulations around them over the years. China, South Korea, and some other countries require companies to disclose odds on receiving certain items in very specific ways. In Australia, the presence of loot boxes automatically nets a game an M rating (not recommended for children under 15, albeit not legally restricted), and anything with simulated gambling gets an R18+ rating, meaning it cannot be sold to minors. Belgium has attempted to ban them entirely, though it is apparently struggling to enforce this.

The New York lawsuit aims to permanently stop Valve from promoting gambling features in its games, make full restitution to consumers and give up all profit its made from this practice, and pay fines for violation of New York laws. If successful, this case could have significant ripple effects on the rest of the industry, as companies are forced to confirm to an increasing array of different loot box laws in different regions.

“Illegal gambling can be harmful and lead to serious addiction problems, especially for our young people,” said Attorney General James in a statement. “Valve has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults alike illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes. These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal, and my office is suing to stop Valve’s illegal conduct and protect New Yorkers.”

IGN has reached out to Valve for comment.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Editor's Note: This article is sponsored by ONNIT Alpha BRAIN.

Competitive PC and console gamers know that your mental state is just as vital as your skills and equipment when it comes to winning. If you’re not focused, a mispress or panic input could lead to your demise, especially in esports, where mere milliseconds matter most. Sure, getting enough sleep and breaks can help, but sometimes you just need a boost of focus during those extended gaming sessions and pivotal game moments.

If you haven't heard of ONNIT Alpha BRAIN yet, it's a nootropic designed to help you get past cognitive fatigue by supporting focus, memory, and clarity. From serious gamers to athletes, this brand is growing to gain international attention. (Apparently Joe Rogan is a fan.)

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Samsung Unpacked has come and gone. Thankfully, your trusty team here at IGN has the inside scoop on some fresh Galaxy devices Samsung Australia is about to drop. From today (February 26), you can pre-order your devices before the March 11 release date hits. You’ll have the new Galaxy S26 or Galaxy Buds right as they hit the shelves.

Skate developer Full Circle has announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of staff as it aims to “better support” the “long-term future” of its free-to-play title.

Publisher EA revealed its “reshaping” plans with a blog post on the studio’s website. No detailed information about the number of affected employees or their roles was given, with the message only stating that “making changes to our team structure” means that “some roles will be impacted.”

“The teammates affected are talented colleagues and friends who helped build the foundation of skate.,” Full Circle said. “Their creativity and dedication are deeply ingrained in what players experience today. This decision is not a reflection of their impact and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition.”

The post mentions that tens of millions of players have played the free-to-play Skate reboot since it launched as an Early Access title for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S September 2025. Today’s restructuring is said “to better support skate.’s long-term future and focus the team on the things that matter most to you.” EA and Full Circle sign off by assuring fans they will work with the community as they “move faster, listen more closely, and deliver consistently” as development on Skate continues.

“To our departing teammates: thank you. skate. exists because of your hard work and dedication to the craft.”

Full Circle’s restructuring is only the latest in a string of layoffs and game cancellations at EA. Following layoffs impacting around 670 workers in early 2024, the Battlefield and Madden publisher cut 300 additional jobs across the company in April 2025. That move alone saw the cancellation of a new project set in the Titanfall universe at Respawn Entertainment, as the studio accounted for around 100 of the affected roles at the time.

EA went on to end remote hiring and push employees to return to the office the following month. The closure of Cliffhanger Games, the studio behind the now-cancelled Black Panther video game, then arrived just weeks later. September 2025 then saw the company announce it had accepted a $55 billion acquisition offer from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake.

Full Circle will continue development on Skate as it works to secure its long-term future. As detailed in a separate post last week, the free-to-play skating revival will soon launch into Season 3. The rest of its roadmap includes the promise of additional features, cosmetics, game modes, and more.

IGN reached out to EA for comment regarding the restructuring at Full Circle, but was pointed back to the note shared by the studio in lieu of further comment.

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).

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) has announced that he will publish a video tomorrow revealing the two new marriage candidates coming to the game in patch 1.7.

I made a video for tomorrow's 10-year Stardew Valley Anniversary, it will "premiere" tomorrow at 11am PST.
In the video, I comment on some pre-release footage, and reveal the 2 new 1.7 marriage candidates at the end.
See you in the chat https://t.co/di6uAhYADr

— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) February 25, 2026

In a post on Twitter/X, ConcernedApe shared the following message: "I made a video for tomorrow's 10-year Stardew Valley Anniversary, it will 'premiere' tomorrow at 11am PST. In the video, I comment on some pre-release footage, and reveal the 2 new 1.7 marriage candidates at the end. See you in the chat." He included a link to YouTube, where the video will appear tomorrow.

Tomorrow is indeed the 10th anniversary of Stardew Valley, which we celebrated earlier this month with an interview with ConcernedApe himself, during which he revealed that two new marriage candidates were coming with the planned 1.7 update. This is significant news for Stardew fans. There have been no new romantic relationships added to the game since its early days, and fans have long hoped for the opportunity to marry other villagers such as Robin, Sandy, the Wizard, or Marlon. We do not know at this time whether these will be existing characters with new dialogue and relationships, or if two new characters are being added, though fans suspect the former.

We also spoke to ConcernedApe earlier this month on a number of other celebratory topics, such as why there isn't a Stardew Valley TV show, and the one secret left that the Stardew Valley community has yet to find. You can read our full, in-depth interview with the creator right here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Ever since Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight’s reveal at gamescom 2025, one of the hottest topics surrounding it has been the surprisingly small number of playable characters on its roster. But developer TT Games promises that there’s a very good reason for this.

Over the past decade or so, Lego games ranging from DC and Marvel superheroes to Star Wars and Harry Potter droids and wizards have included unlockable playable character numbers stretching into the hundreds, but in the upcoming Legacy of the Dark Knight, that total at launch is just seven. Those that made the cut include the Bat family and a few friends: Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Jim Gordon, Talia Al Ghul, and Catwoman.

IGN recently spoke to the head of the TT Games development team, Jonathan Smith, to find out why this number has been reduced so drastically by comparison. “We're taking these individual characters on a journey,” Smith explains. “So you are constantly upgrading and developing new skills and opening up new abilities for each of those characters. Within the Bat family, as well, we really wanted to focus on making those characters really unique, making their personalities come across and their abilities very distinct.”

For example, Batman can throw batarangs and use his grapple to assist in combat as well as solve puzzles, but Catwoman can utilise her rangy whip and call in the help of her kittens by triggering a laser pointer on a target. Those same cats can also be directly controlled by the player to grant access to small vents and distract unsuspecting guards with a delightful “meow”.

While the focus is seemingly on a deeper gameplay experience this time around, with a Rocksteady Arkham-influenced combo-based combat system leading that charge, fans of old-school Lego games shouldn’t fear too much, as Smith promises there will still be plenty to collect across its open world and movie-inspired levels.

“The story is more focused on a tighter roster of characters that are now more differentiated with much deeper gameplay,” confirms Smith. “So they work well in partnership with each other, and we then want to give you lots and lots of options to see the full range of what those characters can be by giving you more than a hundred different suits to collect. So you still get that moment in the Bat Cave where you've got all the different suits from all the different characters arrayed in front of you, colorful and glorious. You're still compelled to want to complete that collection.”

For more on Bat Suits, take a look at every one confirmed to be in Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight so far, and if you want to know a lot more about the game, check out more from our interview with the studio as part of IGN Fan Fest 2026.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

Rockstar's most recent GTA 6 delay might mean a longer wait for the year's biggest launch, but it also brought relief to other developers previously set to release games in the same timeframe.

That includes TT Games, the storied British studio behind numerous LEGO titles such as LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Harry Potter, and the promising-looking LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.

Due to launch for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 29 (with a Nintendo Switch 2 edition to follow on later), the open-world Gotham action adventure is now set to launch within days of Rockstar's previous GTA 6 date — May 26.

TT Games made its Legacy of the Dark Knight release date announcement last December at The Game Awards, a month after Rockstar's latest GTA 6 delay was made public. (GTA 6 now looks to have a seemingly-final launch date, with marketing set to ramp up this summer ahead of its long-awaited arrival on November 19.)

"We knew we wanted to come out in spring of this year," TT Games Head of Production and Strategic Director Jonathan Smith told IGN in a recent interview, discussing the "space" now opened up by GTA 6's delay to this holiday.

"Look, I want to play that game [GTA 6], but we're also really glad to have some space for people to play Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. We're giving you an open city and a fantastic experience for all players. Which I thoroughly recommend."

Going hands-on with the game last year, IGN came away impressed, saying that "LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight was the Arkham Game you've been waiting for."

For much more, be sure to check out IGN's full Fan Fest preview describing how Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is balancing old and new to celebrate the best of the caped crusader's many exploits — plus new footage of the game — and check out more detail on why the game has a smaller roster of just seven playable characters.

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

“We want to keep that Lego idea of ‘fun’ modern, relevant, and up to date, and not get stuck in the past”, says Jonathan Smith, Head of Development Team at TT Games.

It’s a tricky balance. For well over a decade, Lego games were the definition of consistency. You always knew what you were going to get: a series of puzzle and action-filled levels navigated by a wide roster of multiskilled licensed characters. But Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks set to distance itself from that formula, at least slightly. This is a new chapter in TT Games' history, one that blends a reverence for all things Batman — including, notably, Rocksteady’s Arkham games — with a deeper gameplay experience that was first experimented with by 2022’s Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

“With Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, we made a couple of really significant changes that fans really appreciated”, Smith states. “In particular, getting closer to the character, having a really immersive camera system, and then just starting to make the combat experience or some of the core gameplay systems deeper and richer than they had been before”.

“We don't want to lose the accessibility and immediacy, but that showed that we could add layers to that and make environments that were really big and broad and really deep and rich and rewarding,” Smith explains. “We've just gone further with Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and then also found aspects of the Batman character and the Batman story, and in Gotham City, that have really worked well with that aspiration to get deeper. To be even more authentic in our treatment of Lego, in our treatment of the story, in our treatment of the characters.”

Characters, and in particular, the number of playable ones, have been a big talking point ever since this Lego Batman’s reveal. Fans of the series had become accustomed to rosters stretching into the hundreds in previous Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and Harry Potter Lego projects, but in Legacy of the Dark Knight, that number has been stripped down to just seven.

It’s all in service of depth, says Smith. “We're taking these individual characters on a journey,” he explains. “So you are constantly upgrading and developing new skills and opening up new abilities for each of those characters. Within the Bat family, as well, we really wanted to focus on making those characters really unique, making their personalities come across and their abilities very distinct.”

One of those characters is Catwoman, who we got a brand new look at in action as part of IGN Fan Fest. TT Games is aiming to present the “essential version” of each Bat hero and villain, so naturally, Batman’s feline foe/friend channels all eras of her screen depictions, ranging from Julie Newmar’s ‘60s TV show thief to Zoe Kravitz's modern revenge seeker. Across the game, we’ll see glimpses of all of her incarnations, just as we’ll see her skillset grow beyond what we’ve seen in the films as the story progresses.

Tools at Catwoman’s disposal include a whip that can not only damage enemies, but aid in solving puzzles thanks to its flexibility (just don’t ask me how Lego plastic can be quite that bendy, I’m not a materials scientist). She’s also armed with a very handy laser pointer that can quickly summon a sharp-clawed kitten to scratch a Joker goon’s face to ribbons, or allow you to directly control a tamer four-legged friend to distract guards with a meow or crawl through vents to help unblock paths. Of course, she’s also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, which remains largely consistent across each of the playable characters and is rooted in a punch, dodge, and parry system that TT Games isn’t afraid to say is influenced by Rocksteady.

“To make an essential, really cool Batman combat experience, of course, we honor, and we look to, and we draw upon the definitive work that Rocksteady did to bring that character to life,” explains Smith. “We want a really fluid combo-based combat system. We want very dynamic encounters.”

That doesn’t mean that Legacy of the Dark Knight is fully pushing into action game territory, though. This is still a game that wishes to cater to all ages and audiences, so many of those old-school, adventure-focused Lego game staples are still to be found.

“The story is more focused on a tighter roster of characters that are now more differentiated with much deeper gameplay,” confirms Smith. “So they work well in partnership with each other, and we then want to give you lots and lots of options to see the full range of what those characters can be by giving you more than a hundred different suits to collect. So you still get that moment in the Bat Cave where you've got all the different suits from all the different characters arrayed in front of you, colorful and glorious. You're still compelled to want to complete that collection.”

Trying to appeal to everyone’s desires is often a risky strategy. Introducing an extra layer of complexity to combat, as well as character progression across a much-shrunk roster of heroes, could appeal to those looking for more of an action-heavy, “traditional” Batman game that the absence of an Arkham game has left a void for, but could risk alienating those who loved the joyful nature of the Lego games that TT built its reputation on. That’s not something that Smith is worried about, though.

“On the contrary, what we find with all our Lego games is that the more we can draw upon different aspects of a character, the wider we can make our gameplay, the more appealing it is to us as players, and to younger players and older players,” he answers. “There's something about Lego that just translates well for everybody. So the more we can put into that, we don't find that it misses the mark for anyone at all. It just brings more to the party.”

The Bat party will truly get started when Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on May 29, 2026, with it coming to Nintendo Switch 2 at a later date.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight developer TT Games has shared a positive-sounding update on whether suits from the Dark Knight's brooding Ben Affleck era will be included in the game.

While the game's character roster may be limited (and we've also got more detail on why that is, too), LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will feature an enormous wardrobe of 100 Batsuits to celebrate the character's long history.

Already, there have been confirmations of Bat-clothes as worn by Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton and Adam West — but what about Ben Affleck, who portrayed the character in a handful of movies through the DCEU era, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

Batfleck's Batsuit has been a key question among fans of the Caped Crusader, and one that IGN was keen to ask TT Games Head of Production and Strategic Director Jonathan Smith when we recently got a chance to find out more about the promising-looking LEGO Batman game.

"We draw upon everything across the history of the franchise into this game," Smith said when questioned specifically about references to Ben Affleck's incarnation of the character and the DCEU era overseen by director Zack Snyder. "So yeah, you've got suits and moments and vehicles that everyone will recognize from across all movies," Smith continued.

While the majority of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's Batsuits are being kept under wraps for players to find, TT Games has already shown off around a dozen through early trailers. We've listed everything that fans have spotted so far below, along with further details if we have them.

Other than Batfleck, are there are there any other suits you'd like to see?

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Batsuits

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold (from the Brave and the Bold animated series)
• Golden Age Batsuit (inspired by Detective Comics #27, unlocked via pre-launch WB Games account signup)
• Rainbow Batman (as seen in Detective Comics #241)
• The Dark Knight (Christian Bale's outfit from the second Christopher Nolan movie)
• The Batman (Robert Pattinson's suit from his 2022 movie)
• The Serials (inspired by 1940s black and white Batman films)
• Batman '66 (Adam West's costume from his classic TV series)
• Batman Forever Sonar Suit (as worn by Val Kilmer in Batman Forever)
• Batman: The Animated Series (inspired by the 1990s cartoon)
• Batman '89 (Michael Keaton's suit from the 1989 Batman movie)
• 2025 Batsuit (based on the minifigure used in recent LEGO toys)
• And many more...

For much more, be sure to check out IGN's full Fan Fest preview describing how Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is balancing old and new to celebrate the best of the caped crusader's many exploits — plus new footage of the game.

Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

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

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As part of IGN Fan Fest 2026, series creator Genndy Tartakovsky stopped by the IGN studio to talk all about the return of Primal, the challenges in resurrecting its main character Spear.

"What really gets amped up in the third season, I think, is the, really, the emotional stakes," Tartakovsky told IGN. "I think they're even bigger than anything that we've done. Because you're invested already in the character, there's a stress and anxiety right at the beginning. That's the feedback I've been getting back from people that watch it and that's great. The dream is to have people care for your characters."

One of the big challenges was bringing back Spear, who fans might remember met an unfortunate end at the hands of a Viking chieftain. Tartakovsky explained the decision to bring him back.

"Basically, I thought, at the end of Season 2, that was kind of it and I wanted Primal to be kind of everlasting," he said. "And so I feel like I'm finished with it, but then after I take a little break, I realized, 'Oh no, it's still so fresh.' And then the response is really strong, and then you start to think about, I just spent 20 episodes getting to create these characters, and for people to really like them. And then I kill one off, and then it's the end of the show.

"I realized it's too early, and what do I do now? Basically this idea popped up. Initially, the idea's almost like a joke but as I started to think about it, all these amazing story elements and emotional elements came out. For everything that I've ever done, I've always just trusted my gut, and my instincts said 'this is good.' I talked to the team and pitched it to everybody, and everybody was on board."

Watch Tartakovsky talk more about Spear, ideas he had for an anthology series, and who would survive in the world of Primal between Dracula, Samurai Jack, or Dexter, in the video above.

This is just the latest news from IGN's Fan Fest 2026 – check the schedule to see what else is coming and to keep up to date on all the latest from the worlds of entertainment and games.

Rachel Weber is the Head of Editorial Development at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, Red Dead Redemption 2, and her Love and Deepspace boyfriends.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection’s release date is right around the corner, and IGN had the chance to speak to the developers in depth about a brand new locales trailer released at IGN Fan Fest. We’ve got never-before-seen concept art of the three main bases in the game – Azuria Castle, Sheparden, and Galyad – and insightful commentary from director Kenji Oguro, art director Takahiro Kawano, and lead game designer Daisuke Wakahara.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is shaping up to be a beautiful game, which is wholly supported by the diverse scenery you’ll encounter on your journey as an environmentalist Ranger. The Monster Hunter Stories 3 team allocated a lot of time and research into making the locations enjoyable for players, and their attention to detail shows. You can watch the new locales video with commentary direct from the developers above, or, if you’d like to immerse yourself in the scenery with no commentary and a few bonus scenes, check out the trailer below.

Azuria

If you’ve played the free demo version of Monster Hunter Stories 3, you’ve seen Azuria. This land features fields, forests, and picturesque mountains on the horizon with a castle town on a lake, lending a classic storybook backdrop.

“In the design process, we wanted to make the stereotypical fantasy castle type of design to depict how peaceful Azuria is, and to depict the beautiful nature of the world of Azuria and the castle itself,” Kawano said.

The team had some real-world inspiration that made its way into the concept art for the surrounding area of Azuria and its castle, specifically, a Spanish castle called Alcazar de Segovia. This wouldn’t be the first time the castle has inspired a creator – as part of its 100th anniversary, The Walt Disney Company revealed in 2023 that it was the inspiration for Snow White’s castle. A magical locale, indeed.

Kawano also described how the wing-like flags represent the wings of Rathalos to signify the special bond Azuria has with the endangered species. The town even has a runway of sorts for monsters to take flight, something uniquely logical for the Stories series, where Riders form bonds with monsters called Monsties and, as the name suggests, ride them.

The attention to detail in the scenery carries into the connection of Twisted Reflection's story as well. The main catalyst of the plot in Stories 3 is the “Crystal Encroachment,” a phenomenon with unknown origins affecting both the environment and monsters, but the crystals it leaves behind is used by the residents of Azuria and elsewhere as a source of light.

Sheparden

Sheparden is the second locale the protagonist and the rangers will visit, and if you’ve played a certain entry in the regular Monster Hunter lineup, you may recognize the lush environment.

“One key feature of [Sheparden] is that monsters from Monster Hunter Rise inhabit the area around it,” revealed Kawano. “So based on Monster Hunter Rise, as you may have known, it has a very Eastern, Asia-like taste. So Sheparden and the surrounding area is also designed after that art style.”

You might also notice a structure at the base of the stairs to the village elder’s place inspired by Japanese torii gates, clearly recognizable as orange, angular arches. Right beneath that torii gate are masks stuck into the ground, which represent the graves of the former elders of the village, explained Kawano.

Another Sheparden detail the team had to consider is that this village is not built for Riders the way Azuria is. As such, there aren’t stables – so Ratha, the protagonists’ Rathalos, is stuck into a very small space that’s part of an unused residence.

Galyad

Galyad is a bustling, prosperous town surrounded by desert and relatively desolate lands compared to Azuria and Sheparden. It’s covered in decoration, stones, and jewelry, somewhat fueled by the residents’ successful trade of Egg Quartz. Kawano described that as you get deeper into the city of Galyad, you might discover a boundary between the prosperous residents and the not-so-fortunate residents, and find slum-like areas.

The city’s architecture and design is actually inspired by Mediterranean regions and even has a Lagiacrus fountain in the city center. It's especially interesting given the desert environment – Lagiacrus is, after all, a Leviathan monster known to inhabit the water.

“Galyad used to be an ocean port city that was floating on top of the ocean,” Kawano explained. “So all the jewelry and the decorations were based off of the Mediterranean sea theme, but desertification has caused the city to lose all the water and it is currently barren, sandy. So that is the reason why there's a difference between the decorations and the actual cityscape itself.”

Monster Hunter 3: Twisted Reflection Q&A

Of course, I had to take advantage of the time I had speaking with the Monster Hunter 3: Twisted Reflection developers, so I asked a few questions unrelated to the new trailer I thought might be interesting. We got into the game's more mature protagonist, the weapon availability, the habitat restoration mechanic, and dual-element monsters.

The interview below has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

IGN: I'd say habitat restoration is one of the biggest new gameplay mechanics in Monster Hunter Stories 3. Can you describe the inspiration behind building the system and why you included it?

Kenji Oguro: The first reason we wanted to implement this feature into Stories 3 is because of the protagonist. He or she is the captain of the Ranger Corps and their objective is to protect and preserve the environment. So we wanted to express the preservation of the environment, not just only in the storyline, but in the actual gameplay cycle itself.

Tthe second reason we implemented habitat restoration is to expand on the Monster Hunter Stories series formula, where deepening bonds with the monsters is very important. In the previous entries, you would collect monster eggs from dens, hatch them, and raise them, but the places where you could get those eggs were very limited and were the same across all players. But for Monster Hunter Stories 3, by implementing this habitat restoration feature, every player will have their very own environment. So your environment and my environment might differ a lot.

By restoring the monster populations and sending them off back to the wilds, you might be able to find some rare eggs with dual-element monsters, as well as Deviant Monsters. [Deviant Monsters] are popular monsters from the previous Monster Hunter mainline series games. You might be able to find eggs of the Deviant monsters by raising the ecosystem rank within the habitat restoration feature. We wanted to reward players for helping to protect the environment and restoring the endangered species and growing their population in the world by providing rare monsters that might hatch from the eggs.

IGN: In the first Monster Hunter Stories, changing a Monstie’s element worked differently, and was achieved by swapping genes to change their stats. Can you tell us the reason behind changing this method to the new one?

Kenji Oguro: In the first Stories game, when you change the genes of the monster and get a dual-element monster, the element that monster possesses completely changes. So that might end up as a disadvantage for a player if you get the wrong combination. But for Stories 3, the team wanted to expand the user's options more and also make habitat restoration more unique. So they implemented habitat restoration and by raising the ecosystem rank and getting the rare eggs, you are rewarded with the dual-element monster.

For Stories 3, the dual-element monster will retain their original element. So if the original monster has a fire element, they will keep the fire element, and on top of that, they'll get their second new element. So in the combat, players might want to keep the original fire element and get a new element on top.

This gives players an advantage and more options when they are forming their parties. Usually for RPG games, players tend to go for the strongest character or strongest monster with the highest stats and abilities. But developing Monster Stories 3, with the dual-element feature, you get special monsters with different appearances. One of [my] favorites is the Velocidrome imbued with the dragon element. So you get a pitch black Velocidrome, very badass. And that was [my] favorite monster within the development cycle.

After finding [my] favorite dual-element monster, [I] found that, "Hey, maybe I can just play with my favorite monster instead of focusing on the stats or the ability skills." So that's one of the ways that the players can enjoy the game. It's not just going for the strongest, most powerful monsters, but instead finding a true partner that you love and want to bond with.

IGN: I played the Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections demo, and I did notice that the Long Sword was added to this game. It hasn't been in Monster Hunter Stories yet. But I didn't see the Sword and Shield in my bag. Can you tell me if the Sword and Shield is in Monster Hunter Stories 3, and why you decided to add the Long Sword?

Daisuke Wakahara: So first off, we implemented the Long Sword because the Long Sword itself throughout the Monster Hunter series is very popular amongst hunters and riders. However, we did have some trouble implementing the weapon itself into the RPG formula in the previous games. But in Monster Hunter Stories 3, we were able to come up with a formula to have the Long Sword join the weapon roster.

And in terms of Sword and Shield, unfortunately, it is not going to be included in Monster Hunter Stories 3 this time around. The reason why we came to this decision is because we had to carefully think about the weapon balance.

When looking at the overall weapon roster for Stories 3, we have Slash, Blunt, and Piercing weapon types. And having both Long Sword and Sword and Shield would change the roster to go towards the Slash weapon types a little too heavily, so we had to take out the Sword and Shield from the roster, unfortunately.

IGN: The main character this time around is more of an adult than the previous protagonists in the Monster Hunter Stories series. Can you tell me why you made that decision to make the protagonist more mature this time around?

Takahiro Kawano: We wanted to differentiate this with the previous entry stories, Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2, where the focus was on a child growing into a young adolescent. We decided to start the story off with a full-grown adult as the elite rider. So in terms of the setting for Monster Hunter Stories 3, the protagonist actually starts off already grown up as a prince or a princess of Azuria, and is an elite rider.

IGN: Is there anything else you want to say to the fans watching before we let you go?

Takahiro Kawano: As you've seen in the video, we put a lot of effort into the background character designs for Monster Hunter Stories 3. So we’d like to have the players have fun and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the characters in Monster Hunter Stories 3.

Daisuke Wakahara: Thank you to all the players for supporting the Monster Hunter Stories series from the first title. You'll be surprised at how much the Monster Hunter Stories series has evolved throughout Stories 2 and the newest entry, Monster Hunter Stories 3. We are very confident in this game and that any player can enjoy it as an RPG title. So even if you haven't tried out the Monster Hunter Stories series yet, we highly encourage new players to try out the Monster Hunter Stories series.

Kenji Oguro: [I’ve] played through Monster Hunter Stories 3 10 to 20 times during the development process. And every time I go through the gameplay, there's something new that the player can find. I’m very surprised that there's many, many cards up the development team’s sleeves. So we highly encourage you, the players, to have fun with the game.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on March 12, 2026. You can play a free trial right now featuring a huge portion of the first area, Azuria, and continue your progress in the full release.

Casey DeFreitas is Deputy Editor of Guides at IGN, and is a first fleet Monster Hunter. Catch her on Socials like Bluesky @ShinyCaseyD.