Here's a rare chance to pick up a massive, current generation, higher-end OLED TV at a bargain price. Amazon is currently offering the 2025 77" Panasonic Z85BA 4K OLED Smart TV with Amazon Fire TV for just $1,399.99 with free delivery. This is the lowest price I've seen for this particular model and ties the lowest price for any 77" OLED TV across all brands (the 77" LG B5 TV also dropped to this price in early 2025, but the Z85BA is a superior TV). The Amazon marketplace seller Beach Camera is an authorized Panasonic reseller with a physical retail storefront.

2025 77" Panasonic Z85BA 4K OLED Fire TV for $1399.99

Apple recently unveiled its newest budget smartphone - the Apple iPhone 17e - on March 2, with a release date set for March 11. Per the norm, the best way to score a deal on a preorder is through your preferred service provider. Total Wireless, a prepaid no-contract carrier owned by Verizon, has already listed the new iPhone 17e for preorder on its site. Better yet, there's a promotion going on right now that gets you this phone "on us" with no port-in or trade-in required.

Preorder the New Apple iPhone 17e On Us

No trade-in or port-in required

Preorder the Apple iPhone 17e smartphone through Total Wireless by Verizon and save the entire retail price of the phone ($599.99). You'll save $300 instantly and an extra $299.99 off in bill credits over 12 months when you sign up for a new line on the Total 5G+ Unlimited plan. Trade-in and port-in are not required and there are zero activation fees.

Total 5G+ Unlimited plan is Total Wireless' best plan. It costs $60 per month for a single line with AutoPay (plus taxes and fees). The plan gives you unlimited talk, text, and data including access to Verizon's highest tier 5G Ultra Wideband network. Other perks include Disney+ Premium (ad-free) subscription and unlimited mobile hotspot. International travelers can benefit from unlimited roaming to 30+ countries including Canada, Mexico, South Korea, China, Japan, and more.

This is a solid deal once you calculate all the fees

A standalone unlocked iPhone 17e costs $599 at the Apple Store. With this deal you're getting the iPhone 17e and one year of Total Wireless' best talk, text, and data plan for $720. In other words, you're only paying $120 ($10 per month) for one year of service, with Disney+ Premium thrown in for good measure. That's a great price no matter how you look at it.

Not only that, Total Wireless unlocks your smartphone after 12 months of active service, which means after this plan is up, the iPhone 17e is yours to keep and you can switch plans and even networks. As long as you are happy with Verizon's reception in your location (very important), you'll save money in the long run with this plan.

Apple iPhone 17e: Release Date on March 11

The iPhone 17e is Apple's newest budget iPhone improves upon its 16e predecessor with a more powerful A19 chip, a new C1X model that offers better cellular performance, MagSafe support (finally), and double the starting storage capacity (256GB vs 128GB). Other more incremental features include a more scratch resistant Ceramic Shield 2 display and improvements to the camera's Portrait mode. The 17e carries over the rest of the 16e specs like the 6.1" 2532x1170 (460ppi) Super Retina XDR OLED display with 60Hz refresh rate, 48MP main camera, and support for Apple Intelligence.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

If you're in the market for the biggest and baddest mobile desktop replacement at a not-so-otherworldy price, then check out this week's Best Buy deal. Right now you can pick up the Acer Predator Helios 18 gaming laptop equipped with an 18" display and RTX 5090 GPU for $3,499.99 with free shipping after a $1,000 instant discount.

There aren't very many 18" gaming laptops around, and even fewer that are equipped with the RTX 5090 mobile GPU. Of the ones that are available for purchase at the moment, this is currently the least expensive deal. In fact, this is the only model I've found with a price tag under $4,000. Take a look at its competition (and note some of these are sale prices):

• Alienware 18 Area-51 - $4,150
• Razer Blade 18 for $4,900
• Asus ROG Strix Scar for $4,500
• MSI Raider 18 HX for $4,400
• Lenovo Legion 9 for $6,050

Acer Predator Helios 18 RTX 5090 Gaming Laptop for $3,500

Today’s movie-focused Nintendo Direct has delivered the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie while revealing new members of its cast – including Donald Glover (Community, Solo, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Lion King) as Yoshi.

The trailer itself is relatively straightforward, putting the spotlight on Bowser Jr. as he begins his plot to save his papa from the Mario brothers. We see Princess Peach’s castle ripped from the Mushroom Kingdom as Bowser reclaims his spot as the ruler of the Koopa army before getting a first look at Super Mario Bros. 2 villain Wart, but the biggest surprises actually revolved around its cast.

Illumination’s Chris Meledandri made an appearance during the Nintendo Direct to put theories concerning Yoshi’s actor to rest by announcing that Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino) will play Mario’s green dinosaur companion in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. It’s a twist not many expected, even after the internet did its best to figure out the name behind the familiar voice featured in previous trailers.

Other new cast additions are Luis Guzmán as Wart, who gets just a few seconds of screentime in today’s trailer, as well as Issa Rae as Honey Hive Galaxy’s Honey Queen.

“Since September of last year, we’ve been taking various initiatives for the Super Mario Brothers 40th anniversary,” Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto said during the Nintendo Direct. “This movie will be the centerpiece of the anniversary. We hope you enjoy Mario and friends’ new adventure on the big screen.”

Today’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer expands its already large cast with a classic Super Mario Bros. 2 boss ahead of its April 1, 2026, release date. Previous have unveiled first looks at returning characters like Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, while also teasing appearances from newcomers, such as Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), Rosalina (Brie Larson), and Yoshi. Now that Wart has entered orbit, there’s still no explanation for one mysterious figure that many believe could be Star Fox leader Fox McCloud.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie comes to theaters in just a few weeks. In the meantime, you can read about a leak that has fans expecting to see another one of the biggest names from the Super Mario Bros. universe. You can also check out another leak that suggests the movie may include a cameo from a classic NES icon.

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).

Full spoilers follow for Primal Season 3, Episode 9, “The Hollow Crown,” which is available on Adult Swim and HBO Max now.

As we enter the final stretch of Primal Season 3, the one thing that many fans have been hoping and praying for ever since the end of Season 2 seems to be maybe, just maybe, finally happening: Zombie Spear is now more or less resurrected as good old living Spear. When we got an episode literally called “The River of Life” last week, I guess I should’ve realized that Spear would in fact return to his human form. But of course, this being the world of Primal, the question still remains: Will Spear be allowed to have the happy ending that he so dearly deserves?

This week's episode, “The Hollow Crown,” continues to show what has become the almost mechanical combat that Spear has mastered in the volcanic pit. With each victory over some hulking, bizarre combatant, our hero is crowned once again by the increasingly disapproving elder who oversees the matches, and allowed to slurp down another cup of the mysterious fluid from the previously mentioned life-giving river. The thing is, zombie Spear was endowed with an immortality – or whatever you call a zombie that can't be hurt – that living Spear does not have (as made clear when he was injured during one of this episode's fights). If Spear is fully returned to life, can he really continue to keep defeating foe after foe if he is no longer just a hunk of dead flesh?

USB Type-C has become the standard for charging and data cables alike, so it's good to have extra on hand. Amazon is offering a two-pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C cables for just $5.60 after you apply coupon code "LISEN240W". That averages out to $2.80 per cable. USB-C cables typically go for about $10 each at your local big box store. Use these to charge or sync any device with a USB-C port, including your Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone 16, or even a laptop.

2-Pack of Lisen 6.6ft 240W USB Type-C Cables for $5.60

With today's rising demand for memory chips in general, even universally used memory products like MicroSD Express cards are difficult to find at decent prices. Fortunately, Walmart has got you covered, at least for the time being. Currently, you can pick up a 512GB Samsung ImageMate Micro SDXC Card for a very reasonable price of $39.98 with free shipping. An SD card adapter is also included. Note that this can be used as a memory card for most gaming handhelds including the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally, but not the Switch 2.

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

512GB SanDisk ImageMate Micro SDXC Card for $39.98

Woot, which is owned by Amazon, is offering a big discount on one of Anker's biggest and most powerful TSA-friendly travel-sized power banks. The Anker Prime A110A 26,250mAh 300W USB Power Bank is available for just $124.99 if you select the "bulk packaging" option (the retail packaging one is $139.99). Shipping costs an extra $5, but it's free for Amazon Prime members. This is for a brand new, not used item which normally retails for $230.

Anker Prime 26,250mAh 300W Power Bank for $125

LG direct is clearing out one its most popular portable speakers. The LG xboom Grab Core waterproof Bluetooth wireless speaker is currently on sale for just $79.99 (normally $140) with free shipping when you apply a $60 off coupon code "Grab60". This speaker still sells for well over $100 at retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart.

LG xboom Grab Core Waterproof Portable Speaker for $79.99

Humble has launched a new bundle packed full of great games in honor of the ESA Foundation’s Nite to Unite event. All the games are fav favorites, and have a $259 value, but Humble is giving you the chance to get all for just $10.

The games included are:

• Pentiment
• Mafia: Trilogy
• Horizon Chase 2
• Tetris Forever
• Far Cry Primal
• Dishonored 2
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions

IGN Entertainment is the exclusive media partner for this year's Nite to Unite fundraiser, which aims to support diversity and inclusion across the games industry.

"IGN Entertainment is thrilled to once again partner with the ESA Foundation for Nite to Unite," said Ziff Davis Gaming & Entertainment president Yael Prough. "This event is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when the entire gaming community comes together."

"Our partnership extends across our family of brands, including Humble Bundle, which, through its gaming ecommerce platform, has raised more than $272 million for over 34,000 charities worldwide."

Prough continued: "The ESA Foundation's impact on future generations of game makers is vital, and we're honoured to continue standing alongside them in that mission."

Humble is owned by IGN Entertainment, a subsidiary of Ziff Davis.

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.

Hard as it may be to believe, it's been 20 years since Marvel Comics kicked off the Civil War crossover. That series is easily one of the biggest Marvel storylines ever, featuring such bombshell developments as Spider-Man revealing his secret identity to the world and Iron Man becoming the victorious face of the Superhuman Registration Act. Now, two decades later, Marvel is celebrating that milestone by releasing a new Civil War series and a wave of stunning variant covers showcasing those epic hero vs. hero battles.

Starting in May, Marvel will debut a new five-issue series called Civil War: Unmasked. Written by Christos Gage (Battleworld), drawn by Edgar Salazar (The Last Wolverine), and colored by original Civil War colorist Morry Hollowell, Unmasked is set during the events of the original crossover and explores previously unseen conflicts from the battle over registration.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see cover art for Civil War: Unmasked #1, along with the many variant covers Marvel will be releasing to celebrate the 20th anniversary:

The Civil War 20th Celebration variant covers will include:

• The Amazing Spider-Man #28 by Rod Reis (May 6)
• Iron Man #5 by Mike McKone (May 6)
• Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant by Lucas Werneck (May 6)
• Captain America #11 by Leinil Yu (May 13)
• The Mortal Thor #10 by Ryan Stegman (May 13)
• Wolverine #20 by Aaron Kuder (May 13)
• The Amazing Spider-Man #29 by Greg Land (May 20)
• The Fantastic Four #11 by Ema Lupacchino (May 20)
• The Punisher #4 by Geoff Shaw (May 20)

“In 2006, I was a rookie comic book writer when a short delay in the production of the epic Civil War event limited series led to me being offered the one-shot Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War," gage said in a statement. "It was my first really high-profile project at Marvel, a big hit, and 20 years later, they still haven't managed to get rid of me! So it's a thrill and an honor to revisit that troubled time with Civil War: Unmasked, in which I have the privilege of joining with brilliant artist Edgar Salazar and trend-setting original Civil War colorist Morry Hollowell to reveal never-before-told stories from that milestone event!”

Civil War: Unmasked #1 will be released on May 6. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

In other comic book news, find out which series was selected as IGN's best comic book of 2025, and see which comics we're most excited for in 2026.

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

If you’re a fan of multiplayer games that require you to observe the behavior of other players and figure out who is pretending to be something they’re not, then there’s an upcoming game for you to keep an eye on.

It’s called OCTOPinbs (the logo stylizes it as Octo P!nbs, that second word being “squid” reversed and flipped upside down), an action-focused social deduction game from developers Tri-Ace and Lasengle. It takes place in an alternate world where organisms evolved differently. Creatures that in our reality would be purely aquatic or terrestrial can live side-by-side in the same areas in this world. They’re capable of taking control of human-like husks and using them to walk around and live their lives.

Those lives were once peaceful. Each species was assigned a job, they worked said jobs without complaint, and had no conflict with each other. Then came the “artists,” beings capable of altering their form and blending in with other organisms. They became frustrated by the fact that everyone’s jobs were assigned based on their species and that nobody questioned it. In response, they decided to start setting fires as a form of protest.

That’s the backdrop of the game, where 3–10 players are placed in a multi-story building that’s on fire. At first glance, all players seem to be firefighters there to put out the blaze, but there’s a catch: Some players are actually artists, whose primary goal is to continue setting more fires. The firefighters are octopi, while the artists are secretly squids (hence the game’s name).

Player roles are decided at random when a new game begins, and the general gameplay loop is fairly simple: The artists set things on fire while trying to avoid detection by other players. The firefighters work to put out fires while also keeping their eyes open for any suspicious behavior.

While the general idea is pretty straightforward, artists have some tricks up their sleeves that complicate things a bit. For one, they can take on the appearance of any other player. That means they can make themselves look like a specific firefighter, then intentionally set a fire in front of other firefighters to create distrust and confusion.

Artists also have the ability to stick to walls and become transparent. So after pretending to be someone else, they can run away, stick to a wall, and evade the pursuit coming after them. They can’t stay that way permanently, though. The artists win by either filling the map’s fire gauge to 100% or eliminating all the firefighters. So they need to remain active and find a balance between setting fires, eliminating firefighters, and evading detection.

The firefighters win by either reducing the map’s fire gauge to 0% or eliminating all the artists. At this point, you’re probably wondering how “eliminating” players works. There are no timed rounds or meetings called to discuss what each player has seen; everything happens in real time.

Each player has HP, and you can attack other players with your fire hose or hatchet to reduce theirs. When someone’s HP hits zero, their body will weaken and they’ll be reduced to a slow-moving little octopus or squid covered by a helmet (pictured below). When in this form, they can be picked up and taken to a judgment box, which will eliminate them and also reveal whether they were a firefighter or an artist.

That means it’s possible for firefighters to mistakenly eliminate each other, making it more difficult to keep the fire at bay and making the artists’ job easier. It also means that even if someone has correctly identified an artist, they can fight back to eliminate the other player and keep themselves in the game.

Players who have had their HP reduced but didn’t get eliminated can replenish their health by destroying certain pieces of furniture that are marked on the map. However, if the fire spreads to the point that it consumes that furniture, it will create a flame monster that will impede the work of the firefighters. So you’ll need to be strategic about when you make use of that furniture. You don’t want to break it all too early and have no way to heal later in the game, but you also don’t want to leave it unbroken for too long and let it become a monster.

The furniture isn’t the only thing on the map you’ll need to worry about. As each game goes on, sections of the map will decay. Staircases and parts of the floor can give out, forcing you to find ways to jump between each floor to reach new fires. The number and size of floors can be adjusted depending on the number of players in each game.

That’s one of several customization options available to players. In addition to being able to change the floors, you can customize the look of your individual character, and you can choose how many artists are in each game. The developers recommend that a game with five players have two artists and a game with 10 players have four artists, but you can change the rules to increase or decrease that number, as long as there’s at least one artist.

OCTOPinbs is scheduled to launch in Spring 2026 and will be available on Steam, with the price to be announced at a later date. It will be available in several languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, German, and French. If you want to keep up with the latest news and updates, check out the game's official website, Steam page, or follow it on X / Twitter, TikTok, or Discord.

Happy 40th to Super Mario Bros., and in celebration of the big anniversary, the official 256GB microSD Express Card for Switch 2, along with a bunch of Mario games for Switch and Switch 2, have been discounted. Those aren’t the only deals worth checking out today. An awesome Corsair MMO gaming mouse has hit a new low price, score a Disney+ and Hulu for $4.99 a month, and big savings on a 26K mAh, 300W Anker power bank. Check out all the top deals below:

TL; DR - The Best Deals for March 9

$20.99 Off a 256GB Samsung MicroSD Express Card for Switch 2

Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless MMO Gaming Mouse Hits New Low Price

Disney+ and Hulu for $4.99/Month

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Hits New Low On Amazon

Mario Day Switch Game Deals

26K, 300W Anker Power Bank Up to 46% Off

MTG: Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box Back Down to Low Price

$100 Off the Apple Watch Series 11

Steelseries direct is offering a couple of excellent deals on one of its top rated gaming headsets. Right now you can pick up a blemished box Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro wireless gaming headset for just $250.99 with free shipping after you apply coupon code "WACKY12". The headset normally retails for $380.

Want a pristine box for gifting purposes? Alternatively, you can pick up a retail SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro bundled with a free QcK Vector mousepad for just $263.99 with free shipping after same coupon code "WACKY12".

SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless Gaming Headset for $250.99

A major shakeup to how shiny odds are handled in Pokémon Go has quietly made many species' coveted shiny versions harder to find.

That's according to fans who have been keeping a keen eye on the shiny chances for the nearly 1000 Pokémon species now available in Pokémon Go, using reliable crowd-sourced information gathered en masse from bot accounts to see the hidden impact of recent changes by developer Niantic.

Approached by IGN for comment on the changes, a spokesperson for Niantic said it did not discuss exact shiny odds as a matter of standard policy, despite the hunt for shiny Pokémon being a core reason that many players engage with the game.

At the start of the game's new season, Niantic advertised the fact that it would allow players to encounter the shiny versions of evolved Pokémon in the wild for the first time - a move which on the surface seemed like it would mean players would encounter more shiny Pokémon than before. (Previously, just a Pokémon's base species would normally be found in its shiny version within Pokémon Go, unlike in the main series games, with a small number of exceptions.)

Additionally, Niantic said it was permanently boosting the shiny chance of all Pokémon found in eggs and in raids, meaning that players who regularly hatch creatures or raid (and who pay to do so more frequently) would also likely be rewarded with more shiny creatures.

But what Niantic did not mention was that, seemingly, it had balanced these changes against a general flattening of existing shiny odds which had long given a boost to rarer species. Within Pokémon Go, fans are aware that the game's base shiny rate is 1/512, though certain species have had a longstanding "permaboost" to 1/64. This includes uncommon species such as Chansey and Onix, as well as those which debuted via eggs or raids such as Rockruff, Sandile and Mawile.

In the past, the trade-off here has been that some species which are harder to find (or which don't typically spawn in the wild at all outside of certain in-game events) were more likely to be found shiny, as the chance of finding them at all was more remote. This was also the case with evolved Pokémon that could be featured in Mega Raids (the only main exceptions to the game's previous lack of shiny evolved Pokémon in the wild).

Now, according to player-sourced data, almost every Pokémon found in the wild has that same base rate of 1/512, whether it's a common Pidgey, an uncommon Charizard, or a member of the Legendary Lake Trio. The only exceptions look to be leftover errors on Niantic's part, rather than any general rule.

In a vast thread on the changes posted to top Pokémon Go fan reddit The Silph Road by user ch33psh33p, the move away from tying shiny odds to specific species is suggested to really only benefit "junk Pokémon in eggs and raids" that previously would have been set as 1/512. This is because many desirable creatures here (Drampa, Duraludon, Honedge, etc.) were already boosted, meaning that change has mostly acted as a nerf to those rare species' previously boosted odds in the wild.

With shiny odds officially kept opaque, and more than a little uncertainty over how specific species are actually meant to be handled, fans are once again calling for more clarity from Niantic, particularly when it comes to spawns of the ultra rare Lake Trio and Galar Legendary Birds, which appear to have had their shiny rates flattened alongside everything else.

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

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be pushing 80 these days, but the iconic action movie star could well be entering one of the busiest periods of his Hollywood career. Schwarzenegger has revealed that 20th Century Studios is currently developing Conan 3, Commando 2, and a new Predator movie, with an eye for him to star in all three.

As reported by Variety, Schwarzenegger dropped this bombshell at a panel at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. The actor revealed that he's been in talks with Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg about reprising the role of Dutch from 1987's Predator. Meanwhile, there appears to be new movement at 20th Century Studios with both Commando 2 and the long-in-development Conan 3/King Conan movie.

“They did an additional Predator and the director has been doing a great job of that. Now, he wants me to be in the next Predator. We’ve talked about it,” Schwarzenegger said at the convention. “As a matter of fact, Fox Studios has kind of rediscovered Arnold. They’ve come to me and said, ‘We want you to do Predator, we just got a script for you to do Commando 2.”

Schwarzenegger also revealed that the studio has “just hired a fantastic writer/director who did Tom Cruise’s last four movies to write and direct King Conan.” Presumably, Schwarzenegger is referring to Mission: Impossible veteran Christopher McQuarrie.

All in all, it’s looking like Schwarzenegger could be keeping very busy in the years ahead, as the actor prepares to return to three of his biggest action franchises. Trachtenberg seems to have a deep-seated interest in bringing Schwarzengger back to the Predator fold, as ScreenRant recently reported that 2025’s Predator: Badlands nearly featured a cameo of Dutch in the same scene where Amber Midthunder’s Naru reappears. Now it appears that the two are in talks for a more substantial Dutch appearance in the next Predator movie.

On top of that, fans could be in for sequels to both 1985’s Commando and 1982’s Conan the Barbarian. Conan 3 has been trapped in development hell for decades at this point, with the project being alternately known as King Conan, King Conan: Crown of Iron, or The Legend of Conan. Reportedly, the movie sees Schwarzenegger’s aging barbarian on the throne of Aquilonia, building on the ending of the original film and ignoring the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer.

While there’s no guarantee that any of these projects will materialize (we’ve certainly been burned by Conan 3 rumors before), this is definitely an exciting time for Schwarzenegger fans. Let us know which of these three sequels you’re most excited for by voting in our poll and posting in the comments below:

As if this weren't all enough, Schwarzenegger may also be returning to another opular Hollywood franchise. Back in 2021, we learned that he signed on to star in a Twins sequel called Triplets, with Danny DeVito also reprising his role and Tracy Morgan cast as the pair's long-lost other brother. However, there's been little movement on the project since, and the death of director Ivan Reitman likely set the project back.

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

If you're hoping to stock up on some new board games for your collection this year, it's worth having a look at Amazon. Right now, and for a limited time, the retailer has an excellent offer going on where you can get a $10 Amazon credit after spending $50 on select board games.

That's certainly a nice bonus on top of picking up some new games. There's some great picks to choose from in Amazon's selection as well, including Pandemic, Azul Summer Pavilion, and quite a few more. Below we've gathered up just a few of our favorites included in this offer, but if you're curious to see everything that's available, check out Amazon's sale page here.

Get $10 Amazon Credit When You Spend $50 on Select Board Games

If you're curious how and when this promo credit will pop up in your account, Amazon notes that it will be automatically added to your account 30 days after your chosen board game (or games) have shipped. An email will notify you when it's available, so make sure to keep an eye out for it.

As for some of the games included in this offer, there's quite a few we think very highly of. Both Pandemic and Azul landed on our lists of the best beginner board games, which is good news if you're just starting a collection at home, and the best classic board games. If you're looking for a game that you and your partner can play together, 7 Wonders Duel even earned a spot in our list of the best board games for couples.

If any of these have caught your eye, this is a great opportunity to pick up some new board games to play this year while getting a little extra spending cash for Amazon. You can even put that credit towards more board games, if you want. What's better than that?

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

If you're seeking chart-topping gaming performance, then Alienware's biggest and most powerful prebuilt desktop computer should be high on your list. For just a few more days the Alienware Area-51 AMD Ryzen 9800X3D Edition RTX 5090 gaming PC has dropped in price from $5,650 all the way down to $4,649.99, a savings of $1,000. Alternatively you can upgrade to the 9950X3D CPU for an additional $300, which comes out to $4,949.99. These are both competitive prices considering the fact that most RTX 5090 prebuilts are currently selling for $5,000 or more.

Alienware Area-51 Ryzen Edition RTX 5090 Gaming PC

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the best gaming CPU for most people

...but you can also upgrade to the 9950X3D for a reasonable price

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered to be one of the best gaming processors on the market and outperforms any Intel or AMD non-X3D chip in games thanks to AMD's 3D-V-Cache technology. It only has eight cores, but that makes no difference in gaming since most games can't utilize more than eight cores (if that) anyways. That's why its gaming performance is nearly identical to the pricier 9900X3d and 9950X3D.

Now if you regularly use your PC for non-gaming applications that actually do benefit from as many cores as possible, then you can upgrade to an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D 16-core processor, which doubles the core count while offering similar gaming performance, for an additional $300.

The RTX 5090 is the most powerful graphics card ever

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although with this generation Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in hardware-based raster performance. If you want the absolute best performance for your gaming PC, there is literally no other option from any other brand.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood has said he doesn’t want anyone else playing Frodo “as long as I’m alive and able,” with his involvement with 2027 movie The Hunt for Gollum all but confirmed.

Speaking to The Times, the 45-year-old actor danced around his as-yet-unconfirmed appearance in next year’s The Hunt for Gollum, but admitted he felt similar to Ian McKellen, who recently said he couldn’t see anyone else playing Gandalf.

“It hasn’t been officially announced, but at a convention last August, Ian sort of let the cat out of the bag,” Wood said, referencing last year’s Lord of the Rings panel at London's For the Love of Fantasy fan convention.

“So there is a good chance. I’m not able to officially say anything until it’s announced, but I will say I’m thrilled with the prospect of another film. It’s always a little nerve-racking when people talk about new movies for a world like Middle-earth. Everyone gets a little protective and hopes it retains its level of integrity, but this story is fun, thrilling. There is a genuine feeling of getting the band back together. “I’m just excited.”

Then, referencing McKellen’s feelings on playing Gandalf again, Wood said: “I certainly wouldn’t want anybody else to play Frodo either as long as I’m alive and able. And I can also recognise what fun that is going to be — when you are in the cinema and you see the hat turn around and it’s Gandalf. Because I’m also a fan, and excited to see how it all comes together.”

This isn’t the first time Wood has spoken about The Hunt for Gollum. In October last year, he said the film, set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, had a great script and production team behind it.

While some have debated the need for a Smeagol spinoff, especially after mixed reactions to The Hobbit movie trilogy, Wood piled praise on plans for The Hunt for Gollum, which will reunite The Lord of the Rings director and scriptwriters Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens with Gollum actor Andy Serkis, who is set to both star in and direct the film.

"I know a great deal about it," Wood said at the time. "I've read it [the script]. It's really good. There are some wonderful people involved. The thing that is so exciting is that it is really getting the creative band back together.

"The brain trust behind Lord of the Rings, Fran, Peter, Philippa, they are heavily involved," he continued. "And then, the same production designers. It is going to be shot in New Zealand. So, it is going to carry with it such continuity with so many people who are a part of Lord of the Rings, and I am really excited about that. It feels like getting that old machine up and running again with all of the right people."

It has now been more than 20 years since audiences first saw both characters sail off from the Grey Havens at the end of Return of the King. With Hunt for Gollum set several years prior to this, it remains to be seen whether some form of digital de-aging will be used. Indeed, Legolas actor Orlando Bloom has previously expressed interest in also returning, though suggested "AI would have to come into play."

To date, only Serkis himself has confirmed he will appear in the film, though Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen has said he is also open to returning. The Hunt for Gollum is due to begin filming in New Zealand next year, ahead of its release on December 17, 2027.

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

Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has warned fans over screenshots that supposedly show him confirming (or at least, strongly hinting) who Leon S. Kennedy has picked as his long-term partner.

Unlockable concept art found in Requiem confirms that the series' most eligible bachelor is now married, while the game's ending sequence subtly seems to show Leon putting his wedding ring back on at the conclusion of his time in the field.

It's a detail that has drawn huge interest from fans, and particularly those who believe Leon has wed one of two potential love interests from earlier games: either Ada Wong, or Claire Redfield. Exactly who he has married, however, Requiem leaves frustratingly unclear.

In the hunt for clues, fans have been contacting Requiem director Nakanishi via his social media accounts, requesting more information. Last week, a collection of screenshots purportedly showing Nakanishi responding to these queries was then posted online - with victory claimed by Team Ada.

"Requiem doesn't make it clear, but if you've played the previous games, you should get an idea!" reads one response supposedly by Nakanishi. "You already know the answer, don't you?" he also allegedly replied, to a fan who asked if Leon and Ada had tied the knot.

I saw so many people messaging Nakanishi about Leon’s marriage. I know it might not be the right thing to do,but I can’t hide how happy this makes me.After all these years,all the waiting, all the debates we can finally say it. Congratulations,Mrs Ada Wong Kennedy pic.twitter.com/FYpGvh20Bj

— Ada Wong (@urfavadawong) March 4, 2026

Now, however, the matter has been muddied once again - this time by Nakanishi himself, who in an Instagram story (spotted by Kotaku) said he had been "called out for screenshots of edited messages." Seemingly, it was now Team Claire's turn to cheer.

But what's unclear here is if Nakanishi is referring to "edited messages" to mean that the messages supposedly written by him were deliberately faked, or whether he's simply referring to the collage of messages now being passed around social media as being edited together.

The only person who can clarify the matter further is Nakanishi himself, but alas the director has apparently declared he is going into "hermit mode" - presumably to avoid the topic altogether. He's not the only one, either. Speaking last week, Leon's English-language voice actor Nick Apostolides held back from answering his thoughts on who Leon had married, as "half the fans would want to hang me" if he did.

If you're still negotating Requiem's monsters as well as Leon's love life, IGN's Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don't miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.

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

Smallville's Kristin Kreuk is not only the star of one of the most successful comic book TV shows of all time, but she's now making the jump to writing comics with a new gothic horror series called Black Star.

IGN can exclusively debut the first preview of Titan Comics' Black Star. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:

Black Star is a five-issue series co-written by Kreuk, Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue), and screenwriter Eric Putzer, and illustrated by Joe Bocardo (Nightwalkers). Here's the official logline for the series:

Amidst skirmishes between two warring factions in the early nineteenth-century fur trade, Dashiell Carlyle discovers he has magical abilities… and that he's not alone. Thrust into a secret order with designs to use their magic to build a new and better world, Dashiell discovers that their utopia may come at a horrific cost.

It's a violent world: gritty, bloody, and dark. But that's balanced with a sense of discovery and awe. The storytelling’s propulsive, and the morality grey. It's The Revenant meets Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It's a love letter to a frozen corner of the world that few know. It's weird. And wonderful. And something wholly its own.

EA has laid off an unknown number of individuals from across its Battlefield teams, including workers at Criterion, Dice, Ripple Effect, and Motive Studios, IGN understands.

Individuals are being informed that the layoffs are taking place as part of a "realignment" across the Battlefield studios, as the team continues its ongoing, live service support for Battlefield 6 following launch. All four studios will remain operational, though the layoffs seem to be impacting a variety of teams across multiple studios and offices.

IGN asked EA for comment on total number and types of roles impacted, as well as for the specific reasons for the layoffs. An EA spokesperson told IGN: "We’ve made select changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams around what matters most to our community. Battlefield remains one of our biggest priorities, and we’re continuing to invest in the franchise, guided by player feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs."

Battlefield 6 was the best-selling game of 2025 in the United States. It sold a "record shattering" 7 million copies in three days and was the best launch ever for a game in the franchise. While its campaign received a bit of a mixed response from critics including us, we gave its multiplayer an 8/10 at launch.

However, the months since Battlefield 6's launch have seen the game begin to struggle from patch to patch. Fans have criticized a number of updates due to reasons ranging from cosmetics to movement, and three months in, Steam reviews have fallen to "Mixed" from a "Mostly Positive" start. Major issues reported include criticism of heavy monetization, use of generative AI for in-game cosmetics, and fewer content updates than expected. The criticism was heavy enough that the teams delayed the start of Season 2 to allow more time to implement community feedback. EA recently published a three-month roadmap for its expected updates.

Steam concurrents have also dropped significantly following Battlefield 6's big launch, when it hit a huge 747,440 peak. Steam concurrents are now, typically, in the tens of thousands. For example, Battlefield 6 hit 67,000 peak concurrent players on Valve's platform yesterday. Of course, Steam numbers do not paint the whole picture of a game's popularity or success, given Battlefield 6 is also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. But they do give us a sense of where a game is at, and in Battlefield 6's case the drop-off may have been more dramatic than EA had expected. Meanwhile, the free-to-play Battlefield battle royale, Redsec, has had problems of its own, with a 'Mostly Negative' Steam user review rating for recent posts.

These layoffs come just months after the unexpected death of Battlefield franchise head Vince Zampella in a car accident. They also come as EA is preparing to be acquired by an investor group composed of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for approximately $55 billion. However, the acquisition has not yet closed (it's expected to close in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year, or April, May, and June of this year). IGN understands internally, EA is stating that the layoffs are unrelated to the acquisition.

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

MAR10 Day is coming up tomorrow, March 10 (get it?), and already we're seeing some very fun deals and preorders pop up. If you're a big fan of Mario Kart World and looking to up your racing game, HORI is releasing a new Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Mini for Nintendo Switch 2 that's now available to preorder for $79.99.

Unfortunately, it won't be released in time for MAR10 Day tomorrow, but it's set to come out not long after on March 23. Head to the link below to preorder this racing set for your next Mario Kart match.

Preorder HORI Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Mini for Nintendo Switch 2

It’s hard to even know where to start with an RPG as deep as Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. I reviewed both Monster Hunter Stories in 2017 and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin in 2021 and, maybe unsurprisingly, so much of what I said about the first two carry over into my thoughts on the third. Monster Hunter Stories 3 has so much to do, all of it is rewarding, and I adored the every one of the 75 hours I happily sunk into it. Smart changes have also made it easier than ever to dig into all its different systems without watering them down in the process, making for a beautiful package that feels like a logical evolution of an already great series.

Twisted Reflection is another turn-based monster collecting RPG spin off of the long-standing, beloved (to me, for the last 22 years and counting) Monster Hunter series. Rather than only hunting monsters to turn their parts into cool outfits and weapons, here you’ll hunt them with other monsters by your side called Monsties (monsters who are your besties, of course). Like Pokemon, you can have up to six Monsties in your party and switch between them in battle, but unlike Pokemon, you fight alongside them using the weapons and armor that are iconic to the Monster Hunter series. Twisted Reflection hasn’t innovated on this particular formula much, but it’s a fun enough one that it really didn’t need to.

The most immediate changes are to your main character. First, you play as an adult rather than a child this time, which shifts the overall tone towards being somewhat more mature. Second, the protagonist has their own personality and dialogue – that’s right, for the first time in the series, your Felyne side-kick isn’t doing the talking for you. I know the Stories series is generally geared towards a younger audience, but Navirou’s over-the-top comedic puns and one-liners fit for a children’s show were always just a little too much in the first two games. Your new Palico, Rudy, is much more sensible and helpful, and he’s still humorous without acting like an over-the-top cartoon mascot. (Sorry Navirou.)

Your hero isn’t just some nobody, either. They’re a full-fledged ace Rider and captain of the Rangers – basically an environmentalist group that focuses on research and protecting the ecosystems in the kingdom of Azuria. This premise works so well with the actual gameplay mechanics, which have you taking out Invasive Species and reintroducing Endangered Species to the ecosystem. Oh, and you are also the princess/prince of your kingdom.

As someone who is already expert in their field, your character wouldn’t need someone to show them the ropes. But what about you as a new player? To get around this dilemma, Twisted Reflection handles its tutorial cleverly by making you the one who is teaching a newbie to the rangers, Thea, which is done seamlessly, painlessly, and quickly - though I do question if it’s enough for completely new players. It doesn’t waste much time before getting you to the real action, too – if you don’t get too distracted when the first map opens up for you to explore, of course, which happens very quickly. (At least unlock the Rite of Channeling before going off script, that’s my advice.)

All of these differences were so welcome and refreshing. Though the previous Stories games absolutely touched on emotional topics, the tone feels like it has shifted from a goofy Saturday morning cartoon to one more like Avatar: The Last Airbender. That said, the story itself isn’t as profound as that comparison. It tells another slight twist on what I’ve come to expect from Monster Hunter: Something bad (this time, the Crystal Encroachment) is causing monsters to run amok, you must face the affected monsters (this time, Feral Monsters) and save the region from whatever is causing it. There’s at least a more apparent impact on regular people and some bigger-picture political turmoil that’s interesting, but I wish Twisted Reflection had spent a bit more time fleshing that part out.

And while it’s not groundbreaking, I still enjoyed the story. There are moments here and there that caught me by surprise, made me tear up, and even rewarded me for being a long-time fan with references and cameos from the predecessors without shoving them in my face. I won’t spoil anything, but some of those even had me shouting enthusiastically as I played.

Exploring the Vast World

Another benefit of being an ace Rider from the very beginning is that you start with a fully-grown Rathalos as your partner, which means you immediately have the ability to fly around Twisted Reflection’s semi-open world. “Flying” is more like “gliding,” but it works well thanks to a generous number of updrafts around the map and certain high places you can fast travel to whenever you want.

Riding your Monsties around is just plain fun in general, and switching between them while riding is completely seamless. Each monster can have multiple Riding Actions, too, including the aforementioned Flying and things like Swimming or Climbing. There are also less movement-oriented options like Roaring, which stuns monsters in the overworld so you can ride right by them, and Breath Attacks, which can knock monsters over or out of the air! Having multiple Riding Actions per monster made it much easier to put together a team so I could explore fully, even early on. It’s a big improvement over Stories 2, where I felt pigeonholed into picking monsters based primarily on Riding Actions.

Variable Battles, Fluid Tactics

The battle system in Twisted Reflection is much more intricate than a lot of other turn-based RPGs I’ve played. Monsters have three attack types – Power, Speed, and Technical – that work like rock-paper-scissors, plus elemental weaknesses and resistances on top of that. Your Rider then also has three weapon damage types across six weapons to choose from, all of which have different mechanics. Monster parts can be targeted individually and are weak to specific weapon damage types, and you can switch freely between three weapons in battle in order to best exploit those weaknesses. It sounds like a lot, but the variety I knew I’d encounter encouraged me to always have a spread of upgraded weapons on hand, which kept battles fresh throughout.

This is all very similar to Stories 2’s battle system, but it’s been expanded upon. For example, you just about always have a whole crew of allies and their Monsties to choose from when deciding who will accompany you, each of whom has different strategies and items at their disposal. Your Kinship Gauge is now separate from your Stamina, so you can use skills without taking away from your “ultimate attack”– an amazing change, especially as someone who likes to rock the stamina-eating Hunting Horn. Enemy monsters now also have a Wyvernsoul Gauge – weapons and attacks have different damage values for Wyvernsoul, and depleting it will stun and then stagger the opponent, essentially skipping their turn. That smartly adds another layer of strategy beyond just choosing the best part to attack with the best weapon for the job, as sometimes targeting Wyvernsoul instead is the strategy that ensures your party will survive.

It’s a lot to think about, but it means the battles don’t ever become a simple race to spam your basic attacks. Though they take a while to get through, fights rarely felt too long for me, especially since you can double the battle animation speed. And just when battles began to feel like a little bit of a chore, I was able to start one-shotting weaker monsters in the overworld, which still granted materials and experience points without having to play through an overly easy fight. The fact that I never felt like I needed to grind for the sake of grinding helped a lot in keeping me from getting tired of combat. Instead, doing missions, tackling some optional tasks, and following my natural curiosity to fight every new monster at least once kept me leveled appropriately.

The Perfect Ouroboros

Twisted Reflection’s story and exploration are the driving forces that introduce mechanics and locations to you, but the loop of den diving, hunting, and upgrading is where it really shines. The various systems are all interconnected perfectly to create an ouroboros of a gameplay loop that feeds into itself, with micro-dopamine hits every single step of the way. I spent nearly 20 hours in the first area alone because I wanted to do everything I could before moving on, and just about everything I was really into was technically optional. But maybe that’s why it was so easy to get engrossed – nothing was spoon-fed to me or forced down my throat. Instead it simply introduced me to how things worked and then said, “Go forth.” And go forth I did.

If you don’t know Monster Hunter Stories, it works a bit differently than most traditional creature collectors. Instead of finding a monster in the overworld or in a random encounter, and then having to catch it or make it drop something, you instead search inside dens for eggs. There are multiple layers of “gacha” in this Stories system, with den spawns, eggs inside those dens, and the skills Monsties hatch all being somewhat randomized, but it all works incredibly well rather than feeling obnoxious.

Each microclimate across the large, open maps is inhabited by specific monsters, which are the species you can then find inside the eggs there. There are three rarity levels of dens to find in the overworld, which lead to three rarity levels of eggs. The eggs you “pull” from the nests inside the dens have patterns to identify the species, but hatching them into Monsties is the only way to learn what genes they have, which determine their active and passive skills. The rarer the egg, the better the three-by-three gene board that Monstie will be born with is.

Tally that all up and you have four different moments of randomized excitement. It’s an incredibly well-implemented variable reward system, which is a concept fittingly used in actual animal training as well (and to keep people doomscrolling on certain social media apps. Oops.) It might sound like that much randomization would be annoying – what if you only want one specific Monstie? But in my experience, I never had to spend very long to find what I was looking for, and the other things I picked up along the way made it feel like I never wasted my time.

Importantly, you’re getting much more than just those hits of excitement out of this cycle, too, even if some are only tangentially related. For example, it’s satisfying to pick up materials while exploring on the way to a den, which both grant my party experience points and can be used for crafting. I’m also likely casually hunting some monsters as I go, which will drop materials for weapons and armor. And if I defeat a new monster, that’s new equipment to look forward to!

Once you hatch an egg, you’re not only getting a Monstie for your collection or party, you’re also unlocking its gene skills for every Monstie you have. Genes can be freely moved between Monsties and rearranged as many times as you like using the Rite of Channeling at any camp. The ability to rearrange is important because if you match three of the same color or type of genes on the board, you’ll trigger a “bingo” bonus that buffs your Monstie in different ways. This process is a big change from Stories 2, which would consume your host monster upon transferring a single gene. You also couldn’t rearrange genes – with so many layers of commitment, and as someone who’s chronically indecisive, that system was practically torture. Twisted Reflection instead welcomes you to experiment as much as you want.

Those old gene restrictions would have also been at odds with the new system of Habitat Restoration, which has you reintroducing extra Monsties to the wild. First you must dispose of a Feral Monster in the area so you can set up a camp there, which are both relatively challenging and quite rewarding to beat. Each camp you unlock also increases the stat bonus a Monstie gets when it’s hatched from an egg from that map. And once camp is set up, you can release monsters back into that specific area – the more of a species you release there, the higher their ecosystem rank will rise, up to S-Rank.

To add even more complexity to your team building, S-Rank Monsties hatch with all three of a given map’s Environment Skills, which are especially advantageous as they don’t take up space on the gene board. Alternatively, you can send existing Monsties on an “Excursion” to different locations and they’ll come back with that region’s Environment Skills if its species is S-rank there, not to mention it will swap to that region’s stat increases regardless of its rank. That even applies to Ratha, the Rathalos permanently stuck in your party, who can gain the S-Rank environment boons even if there are no Rathalos to be found in a certain location. Hatching high rank monsties is also the only way to gain access to some powerful genes, noted as Egg Skills – yet another welcome carrot that encouraged me to engage with the Habitat Restoration system.

I became pretty obsessed with getting Monsties up to S-Rank both for the above mentioned boons, and also because a Monstie at at least A-Rank gets an additional element dictated by the area--changing its color. This system was scrapped in Stories 2, and I’m so happy it’s made its way back to the series. It’s like being able to create your own personal shiny Pokemon. This method to change a Monstie’s color is also much less convoluted than it was in the original Monster Hunter Stories, and is seemingly more advantageous as it keeps both the original and new element. I love this idea even more when I think about just how different everyone’s teams will be. I find it so common for people to end up with such similar parties in RPGs based on strength alone, but this system encourages more experimentation.

But wait, there’s more! A handful of Invasive Species have posted up in what were once Endangered Species nests tucked away in semi-hidden locations. If you repel them, you can get your hands on an Endangered Species Egg, reintroduce it to a habitat of your choice, and then meet certain requirements to get one or two more mutated species out of it.

Repelling an Invasive Species is easier said than done, though. The setup requires you to sneak around its territory to collect clues that might help you figure out how to make it run. The tutorial Invasive Yian Garuga needed me to topple it by breaking its legs, for example, to make it retreat. That’s probably the simplest of the Invasive Species mechanics. They’re all a different puzzle to solve, requiring you to figure out and execute a solution before the Invasive Species can one-shot your whole crew enough times to wipe you out.

I loved both searching for these hard-to-find monsters and challenging them, but I must admit I had to resort to taking screenshots of the tips as I found them. To my knowledge, there’s nowhere to check these clues after you pick them up for the first time. I also made the mistake of fighting these battles at 2x speed at times, causing me to miss important cues, like how the color around an Invasive Seregios temporarily changes when its roaring. Luckily, failing gifts you with a hint, but these weren’t nearly as detailed as the clues found in the den or your companions’ commentary.

The “Endgame”

After repelling an Invasive Species, you can try to actually slay it inside the Endangered Species den, but that’s very clearly meant to be an endgame activity – that’s made apparent by the fact that they’re level 50 when repelling them and level 75 when trying to slay them. The Calamitous Elder Dragons – at least the Namielle in Azuria – are also level 75. I was only level 65 when I completed the story, so that should give you a sense of how challenging these are meant to be. It’s also neat that they show up so early on. The Invasive Species arrive whenever you happen to find them, which can be as soon as you enter a new map, and the Elder Dragons have a random chance to spawn after battling at night.

Like during the rest of Twisted Reflection, none of my time felt wasted even if I spent 15 minutes getting absolutely bodied by an Elder Dragon. If I did well enough, I could repel it, meaning the next time it’ll come around pre-weakened. And even if I didn’t leave a scratch on it, those fights still rewarded me with a single Elder Dragon material. You only need three of these to make the first level of an Elder Dragon’s armor or weapon! That’s a very nice boon to rock in the early and mid game, and it’s cool to have these challenges motivating you to get stronger. And when I finally did slay an Elder Dragon, I felt truly accomplished – just like in regular Monster Hunter. It even makes it so Monsties hatched in the slayed Elder Dragon’s region get a stat increase!

However, these late-game monsters – and, of course, completing the Monsterpedia by hatching and mutating all of those endangered species – are the only endgame to speak of. I was a bit disappointed that nothing changes at all after the credits roll. While the previous Monster Hunter Stories had PvP, and even multiplayer dungeons in Stories 2, there’s nothing like that in Twisted Reflection. At least, not yet – I’m assuming (hoping) we’ll get a free title update at some point. But even if there isn’t, it still took me a good 65 hours to finish Twisted Reflection’s story, and I’ve spent 10 more hours so far happily finishing up side content after that – and I’ve enjoyed it that entire time, though I have one final Elder Dragon still waiting to be slain, a handful of Invasive Species to put to rest, and more than half the side quests left.