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If you're planning on playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons for decades longer, just be aware that the game will seemingly stop functioning in 2061.

A Reddit post by user AdTrue4863 (spotted by Nintendo Life) seemingly shows that anyone who plays the game for another 39 years (or who does 39 years' worth of cheating by moving the internal clock forward) will be forced to set their Switch's clock back to keep playing.

Nintendo seemingly actually condones this form of time travel though, as the message actually tells players to restart Animal Crossing after setting a date between January 2000 and December 2060. Somewhat oddly, it therefore appears the game can't function outside of this 60 year period – it's not immediately clear why.

A new Animal Crossing game is likely on the way given the success of New Horizons though, so it's unlikely fans will need to stick to this version for that long. That being said, people are mostly playing older games this year, including Animal Crossing, so at least the option is there for those who love their islands enough to return for decades to come.

Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto has explained why fan-favorite monster Lagiacrus won’t be making a return in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.

Tsujimoto and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak director Yoshitake Suzuki spoke to IGN about the upcoming expansion, and detailed why Lagiacrus was passed over, even though “the desire is definitely there.”

“Unfortunately Lagiacrus is just a very technological…difficult monster to implement. It's very snake-like, its parts are all kind of touching the ground at different moments,” Tsujimoto explained. “So it's very like a writhing sort of ground-based monster.”

Tsujimoto continued to explain that the variety of terrain – and its many inclines and drops – in recent Monster Hunter games makes it especially difficult to implement monsters like Lagiacrus.

“We'd like to look back on it sometime, but just the technological difficulties, they are kind of daunting,” lamented Tsujimoto.

Lagiacrus was introduced as one of the first Leviathan monsters in Monster Hunter Tri as a flagship monster. Though there are other Leviathans in Rise, like Monster Hunter Generations’ Mizutsune and newcomer Almudron, Lagiacrus has a few additional design difficulties that the other Leviathans don’t seem to share.

A new randomizer mod for Elden Ring gives PC players the ability to completely change the way the game plays by changing the location of enemies, bosses, and even key items needed to complete the main quest.

Modder Matt Gruen announced the Item and Enemy Randomizer back in April, but in a tweet posted Monday, he confirmed that the mod is now "feature complete." Gruen promises a host of fixes and expanded features for the future, but for now, at least, it appears to be ready for everyone to dive into.

Item and Enemy Randomizer allows players to completely alter the game's overall layout by randomizing the placement of various elements like items and enemies.

Gruen shows this off with a short clip of one of the game's most challenging endgame bosses, Malenia, waltzing around the open fields of Limgrave – Elden Ring's first biome.

Elden Ring Enemy Randomizer is feature-complete for its first release, though it has many more fixes and features to go. You can customize it to create many different kinds of fun runs. Or you could choose to do... this. (late game boss spoilers)

Mod page: https://t.co/OVHRntXS7y pic.twitter.com/RNAXJY9nZx

As you might have heard, there was a new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer that dropped today. It included a look at three new Pokémon, some interesting new multiplayer features, and new NPCs.

But most importantly, it provided the internet the opportunity to make a lot of really good memes.

First off, there's a lot of meme love for the two new professor characters, Sada and Turo, who appear respectively in Scarlet or Violet depending on which version you have. Fans really seem to like their designs...perhaps a bit too much?

"OH NO THEY'RE HOT!" #PokemonScarletViolet pic.twitter.com/CUlg0kqV1B

— Aiden139 (@AidenRS139) June 1, 2022

yeah game freak DEFINITELY knew what they were doing with professors sada and turo #PokemonScarletViolet pic.twitter.com/DJx6qS6WSG

Xbox is kicking off Pride Month with the release of a new controller to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.

Last year, the company shared a vision for the controller and created and shared a limited batch of them with LGBTQIA+ players and creators around the world. The feedback was so positive, that this year, Xbox is making the design universally available via the Xbox Design Lab beginning June 9.

The new controller’s design features a top case design with 34 different community flags “in a fine, interwoven manner to celebrate the nuance, complexity, intersectionality, and strength of the many LGBTQIA+ communities.” Xbox has even created an immersive experience detailing what each of the 34 flags on the controller stands for.

A controller that represents you.

Launching June 9 we’re bringing the option to order the Xbox Pride controller to Xbox Design Lab. Customize and make it yours. https://t.co/5ZgnJcmIJ4 pic.twitter.com/eTOEXCa4Y1

It's a big day for Toby Fox soundtrack appreciators: the indie developer and composer behind Undertale is working on music for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Today, Fox shared a Tweet alongside the new trailer and announced that he had composed the game’s field theme. According to Fox, Game Freak arranged a draft of his composition into various versions that will play throughout the game.

While the instrumentation doesn’t sound particularly Undertale-esque, bits of his signature musical style can still be heard in the trailer below.

I had the honor of composing the field music for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! After creating a concept sketch, Game Freak arranged it into many versions that you'll hear throughout the game. You can hear a bit of it in this trailer... https://t.co/dhjv4e9fQN

— tobyfox (@tobyfox) June 1, 2022

He’ll also be composing a few other songs for the games. This isn’t the first time Fox has composed a track for a Pokémon game — he put together a battle theme for 2019’s Sword and Shield, though today's news marks a bigger step into the world of Pokémon music for Fox. “This time, my music is not optional!!!” he said via a reply.

The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) has called loot boxes in games manipulative and exploitative in a report backed by consumer groups across Europe.

The conversation around loot boxes and their resemblance (or lack thereof) to gambling has been an ongoing discussion in recent years, especially in Europe where 20 consumer councils across 18 countries have now shown support for the NCC's report.

As reported by the BBC, one supporter of the report is the European Consumer Organisation, a consumer protection group that raises issues directly with the European Union.

"The sale and presentation of loot boxes often involve exploiting consumers through predatory mechanisms, fostering addiction, targeting vulnerable consumer groups and more," said the NCC's director of digital policy, Finn Myrstad.

The report itself said it's "obvious" that loot box systems in games are "predatory, manipulative, and exceedingly aggressive", especially because some of these games are targeted at children.

Activision Blizzard pulled the sale of Diablo: Immortal in Belgium and the Netherlands just yesterday (May 31) over the two countries' laws that require companies that sell loot boxes to have a gambling license.

By the name of the Emperor, it’s Warhammer Skulls again. For the second year in a row, Games Workshop has done an E3-style blowout showcase of its video game partnerships, both upcoming and ongoing. Below you can find every single thing announced at Warhammer Skulls 2022. The 13 main announcements include everything from brand new games, including a Warhammer 40,000 RPG, to updates on Total War: Warhammer 3 and Vermintide 2, as well as fresh details on Warhammer 40K: Darktide and Space Marine 2.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Announced

Someone has finally decided to make an RPG set in the Warhammer 40k universe! And that someone is Owlcat Games, the studio behind the rather good Pathfinder games. Rogue Trader is a classic-style RPG with all the usual genre staples; isometric camera, companions to recruit, turn-based combat, and a variety of enemies to kill and locations to visit. Little is known of the story or if a Black Library writer is involved, but your Rogue Trader protagonist is set to be joined by a Space Marine (a Space Wolf by the look of the key art), a Sister of Battle, and an Aeldari Ranger. No release date has been announced, but you can already buy a Founder’s Pack that guarantees access to the alpha and beta versions.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Announced

Konami revealed that it is working on brand new Bomberman projects just as the company prepares to close the servers for Super Bomberman R Online. The servers will be officially shut down on December 1.

"This service has continued to operate with the support of many users since its launch in May 2021, but due to various circumstances, we have decided to terminate the service on all platforms on December 1, 2022, at 01:00:00 (UTC)," Konami says on its own website.

"The 'Bomberman' series is moving forward with new projects. We hope to be able to inform you of this project soon," Konami continues. "Thank you for your continued support of the 'Bomberman' series."

Super Bomberman R Online has already ended the sale of Bomber Coins and Premium packs as of today, but those that were purchased beforehand can still be used until the servers close in December.

Super Bomberman R was a launch title for Nintendo Switch all the way back in 2017. The free-to-play online-only version, Super Bomberman R Online first launched on Google Stadia in September 2020. It then came to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One in May 2021.

In our Super Bomberman R review, we said, "Super Bomberman R’s multiplayer versatility and boss-filled story mode are laudable retreads of classic gameplay, but its depth and customizability are disappointing."

God of War PC received a new update yesterday, supporting AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2.0.

As mentioned in the brief patch notes, God of War PC's update v1.0.12 includes support for FSR 2.0 and is now available as a resolution-scaling option located in the display settings menu of the game. FSR 2.0 was released last month and is the next iteration of AMD's supersampling tech, which debuted last year.

As announced a few months back, FSR 2.0 offers better image quality compared to its predecessor, promising higher frame rates over the original iteration, and is aimed to compete more closely with Nvidia's DLSS 2.0.

Some notable differences between FSR 2.0 and DLSS 2.0 include the latter using machine learning, while the former's solution optimizes anti-aliasing based on temporal data. Additionally, unlike DLSS, which supports only Nvidia RTX cards, AMD's FSR is open-source, meaning it is compatible with both AMD and Nvidia GPUs, in addition to Xbox game consoles. However, the second iteration of FSR 2.0 does make a ton of optimizations for AMD cards, more specifically, the RX 6000 series, like the RX 6950 XT.

The Steam Deck is a powerful little handheld capable of playing a lot of amazing games. OK, well it’s not that little, but it makes up for its bulky size with sheer power and Steam’s seemingly endless library of software. For our Top 10 Steam Deck Games list, we wanted to set up a few parameters for our recommendations, including the kind of games it's capable of running, how well it runs them, and portability.

Sure, you can run games like Vampire Survivors or Tunic on it, and we've sunk our fair share of hours into each, but part of the spectacle is that the Steam Deck can run huge triple-A games on the go. There are a few caveats, of course. Some of these games are pretty massive in file size or require an initial internet connection, and even some mild tweaking in the settings to get running well, but hey, it wouldn’t be PC gaming without those things after all.

So, without further ado, here are our Top 10 Games for the Steam Deck!

10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Hideo Kojima's final Metal Gear Solid is an ambitious stunner, and the Steam Deck has no troubles at all running it in silky smooth 60 frames per second. And that is a very good thing, because the sandbox available to you is every bit as detailed and sophisticated as you can hope for.

While another Kojima game, Death Stranding, is heavily advertised as playable on Steam Deck, Metal Gear Solid 5's tactical espionage action could be the Kojima game worth checking out on the Steam Deck instead.

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus games for June 2022 are God of War, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.

Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, all three games will be made available at no extra cost to all PlayStation Plus subscribers on June 7.

God of War is the 2018 reboot of one of PlayStation's signature franchises that took the world by storm with its story-focused, third-person action. Follow Kratos as he deals with his troubled past and complicated future as he tries to raise a son while being attacked by half the gods and monsters of Norse mythology.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "God of War’s outstanding characters, world, and combat come together to form an unforgettable adventure."

Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is an online multiplayer game where teams of four ninjas compete against each other, bending the timeline of the Naruto anime and its follow-up Boruto to include a ton of fan-favourite characters.

Last but not least, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl brings another collection of characters together in a colourful fighting game that pits Spongebob Squarepants against Avatar's Korra and Nigel Thornberry.

In a world first, ROG has combined both game and hardware to give players a whole new gaming experience that bridges the gap between the virtual world and reality. In conjunction with the release of the brand new ROG Strix SCAR 17 Special Edition gaming laptop, powered by the latest Intel Core i9 processor, Republic of Gamers (ROG) has launched SCAR Runner, a free-to-play expansion for Citadel XV. The all-new first-person parkour game is available to download for free from Steam now.

The tandem release of both the ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE and SCAR Runner goes beyond any hardware and software launch before, as the two integrate in new and inventive ways. Players are able to find hidden clues on the chassis of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE gaming laptop itself that help them solve in-game puzzles. Uncovering these clues will require the use of a beady eye, or a UV light to reveal the invisible ink on the hardware.

The cover star of Madden NFL 23 is the late coach and commentator, John Madden himself. The legendary figure will appear on all three editions of the game.

The move pays respect to Madden, who died in December last year. The cover art for this year's digital edition also pays homage to the original John Madden Football game released in 1988 – you can see the old and new art side by side below.

While Madden appeared on every cover throughout the '90s his last appearance was in 2000, when the franchise switched to spotlighting NFL athletes instead of its namesake. This year, however, Madden will feature on each of the game's three covers.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will include four-player co-op in addition to its regular trading and battling multiplayer.

Announced on the games' website following the unveiling of its release date in a new trailer, Scarlet and Violet promise "a deeper experience with multiplayer gameplay".

"You will be able to explore the various locations of the region in these games with other players," the site reads. "You can discover new Pokémon and explore unfamiliar areas with your friends and family, opening the door to an adventure more previous and fun than ever."

While details haven't been offered – we don't know if there are specific multiplayer areas, for example – the move would seem to go hand-in-hand with the games' more open structure. Scarlet and Violet will be open world games, and players will be able to visit areas in any order, without the story gating progress. The trailer (above) seems to back this up as a feature of multiplayer, seemingly showing four players in a single game, exploring very different areas simultaneously.

It's not clear how traditional multiplayer elements like trading and battling will be be affected by co-op either. It seems very possible that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may allow players to join each other's games not just to explore, but also battle and trade in-person. However, we do seem to see remote trading taking place in the trailer, too.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18, as revealed in a new trailer. The game will feature a new open world structure, and four-player co-op for the first time.

The trailer (below) shows off a lot of the new mainline Pokémon game's world, and introduces two new legendary monsters, Koraidon (who appears in Scarlet) and Miraodon (in Violet). "These two Pokémon are said to have powers that far surpass those of other Pokémon," reads a description on the Pokémon website, "but details about Koraidon and Miraidon are still shrouded in mystery."

We'd already gotten a look at the game's starters – the Grass Cat Sprigatito, the Fire Croc Fuecoco, and the Water Duckling Quaxly – but this trailer reveals a number of new regular monsters too, including a teary-eyed truffle pig called Lechonk, a grass/normal type based on an olive called Smoliv, and Pawmi, a new electric mouse Pokémon.

Killing monsters just never gets old in the Diablo games. The feel-it-in-your-bones punch and kinetic energy of combat has always been one of the series’ strongest attributes, and Diablo Immortal proudly continues that tradition on iOS and Android devices (and PC, though that version isn’t available at the time of this writing). It also looks set to continue the tradition of near-neverending gameplay, in which the meaty campaign is just a starting point, giving way to dungeons to run, higher-difficulty levels to ascend, and endgame systems in which to take part.

My verdict on whether it succeeds on all those fronts will be some time coming, however, as the early access review version I’ve spent the last week playing was really only a taster. After all, it’s hard to judge a game with MMO aspirations amongst an extremely limited pool of players and an impending progression wipe ahead of launch. Even so, after playing a Demon Hunter (one of six classes at launch) up to level 50, Diablo Immortal has done a great job of scratching my demon-slaying itch. So stay a while and listen to my thoughts so far.

Microsoft's latest Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One update finally lets users reveal hidden achievements on the console and official app.

These secret achievements, which are usually veiled by developers to prevent spoilers, would previously tell users "the more you play, the more likely you are to unlock it". For achievement hunters though, this usually meant just looking it up on another device.

As announced on Xbox Wire, the June update smooths out this issue, as users can now choose to reveal the hidden achievement, unveiling details including its title, description, and how much Gamerscore will be awarded.

The achievement can be hidden again or kept open, and this feature will be simultaneously added to all Xbox consoles and apps on PC, mobile, and so on.

Xbox was lagging behind a little with this feature as PlayStation received the option to reveal hidden trophies a few years into the PS4's lifecycle, in 2016. Microsoft first added Achievements to its games in 2005 when it released the Xbox 360, and the designer behind the system (alongside Game Pass and other features) departed the company in April.

The June update also makes downloading updates more efficient on Xbox, as game patches will apparently now be detected more reliably and downloaded more quickly than before.

A co-founder of Pokémon developer Game Freak is leaving the studio to join The Pokémon Company – moving away from developing the games and looking at the franchise more widely.

Junichi Masuda will begin his new role as chief creative fellow and use his "deep understanding of the Pokémon brand to develop new services and products".

Masuda co-founded Game Freak and programmed and composed music for the original Pokémon Red and Green (and later Blue) games before directing later entries, starting with 2002's Ruby and Sapphire. He has since directed, produced, or had significant influence over practically every subsequent entry, making him one of the most important members of the Pokémon games franchise.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the long-known-about sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, has finally been announced. We discuss what we want to see out of Respawn's upcoming next-gen sequel. Plus: lamenting the very serious reason for the latest Xbox exclusive to get delayed, I gush over Ninja Gaiden as the entire series hits Xbox Game Pass, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. In honor of my 10th anniversary at IGN, check out one of my favorite pieces in my decade here: Podcast Unlocked 201, featuring original Xbox creator Seamus Blackley, Xbox 360-era boss Peter Moore, and current Head of Xbox Phil Spencer:

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

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

Game producer Shinji Hashimoto announced today that he has retired from Square Enix after almost 30 years with the company.

Hashimoto started at Square Soft in 1995 and was the brand manager for both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises.

"Thank you, everyone. I will retire on May 31st (Tuesday) today. During my tenure, I am very grateful to all of you in various fields," Hashimoto announced on Twitter. "From now on, I would like to support you as a Square Enix fan. I'm really thankful to you."

皆様、お疲れ様です。本日5月31日（火）をもちまして定年退職することになりました。在職中は多方面の皆々様方々には大変お世話になりました。これからは、一スクエニファンとして応援させて頂きたいと思います。本当にありがとうございました。 pic.twitter.com/yIj89uvh8x

— shinji hashimoto (@shinjihashimot3) May 31, 2022

He also posted a video message on Twitter, saying that he enjoyed his time traveling across the world and attending different kinds of events. In recent years, however, he stopped going to them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While he would have liked to visit everyone in the wake of announcing his retirement, he had to opt for a video message instead.

Even though he's leaving Square Enix, he'll still continue to enjoy video games and play Square Enix titles. Additionally, Hashimoto says that if anyone spots him in public at events, he'll be happy to take photos with them.

Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki is making a new game for Apple Arcade and it's a rail shooter entitled Air Twister. The new game will be coming to the iOS gaming service on June 24 of this year.

Developed by Suzuki's studio YS Net, Air Twister is billed as an "endless shooter" starring a young woman named Princess Arch, who is fighting off a group of enemies invading her home planet.

It uses a swipe shooting mechanic to target and fire at enemies flying around the screen as Princess Arch soars through the skies of her planet, passing through fields of giant mushrooms or through archipelagos of floating islands.

One of the most striking things about the trailer for Air Twister is its music, which is done by Dutch New Age composer Valensia. The result in the trailer is something like what would happen if you crossed Nier Automata's battle themes with a 70s rock opera, which is a fascinating choice for a rail shooter where everyone's riding giant swans and giant flappy whales are dragging air balloons attached to...floating...houses? Sure!

Suzuki's most recent work was Shenmue 3, which he unveiled in 2015, successfully Kickstartered, and released in 2019. Previously, he worked at Sega on franchises such as Virtua Fighter, OutRun, Outrigger, Virtua Cop, and of course, Shenmue. He also somewhat famously worked on Space Harrier, which Air Twister has clearly taken several cues from.

It’s been over thirty years since Nintendo released its Power Glove, but the infamous controller hasn’t quite faded into oblivion yet. A YouTuber recently crafted a nifty new use for the glove: compatibility with the Switch.

In a new video, tech YouTuber Will It Work? shows off his newly modded Power Glove, which has been revived and now works with the Nintendo Switch (save for a bit of latency and a few remapping issues).

As explained in the video, two essential pieces of hardware made this impressive mod possible: the USB NES RetroPort, which turns devices like the Power Glove into USB game controllers; and the ConsoleTuner Titan One, which allows the Switch to recognize external devices like the Power Glove as controllers.

Thanks to these two pieces of hardware and a bit of tinkering, Will It Work was able to configure the Power Glove as a simplified Switch controller — hand movements correspond to joystick motions, thumb movements correspond to the A button, and index finger movements correspond to the B button.

He briefly dives into Pokemon Legends: Arceus to demonstrate the controller's movement capabilities. Of course, the highlight is his brief foray into Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, though to get this game to work properly, he had to write a script to get the A button to hold to allow auto-acceleration as well.

Microsoft has announced that June 2022's Games with Gold are Aven Colony, Project Highrise: Architect's Edition, Super Meat Boy, and Raskulls.

As revealed on Xbox Wire, the four Games with Gold offerings will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Aven Colony and Super Meat Boy available starting on May 1.

Aven Colony is a single player city-building game set on an alien planet called Aven Prime, with the player tasked with building humanity's first extrasolar settlement. First released on PC and later reworked for consoles, the settlers will need fed, watered, and generally kept happy, even amid the bizarre conditions and landscapes of Aven Prime.

Also available on June 1 but only until June 15 is Super Meat Boy, a chaotic platformer known best for its fast-paced and addictive gameplay loop. IGN said it was amazing in our review 9/10 review, as "Super Meat Boy is one of the best modern platformers around. It's infuriating, exasperating, and arduous, but it's also delightful, thrilling, and hilarious."

We've just gotten a glimpse at the first gameplay from Sonic Frontiers, the upcoming 'open zone' 3D Sonic game – and you'll see much more in this month's IGN First.

The footage was revealed on Twitter, showing off Sonic running across a lush world, high-speed combat, a boss battle, and more. You can see it below:

Enjoy this small preview of Sonic Frontiers, and tune in all June long for the @IGN First cover story for more world-exclusive reveals! pic.twitter.com/iZhaFtSwio

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) May 31, 2022

Our IGN First - featuring a month of content about Sonic Frontiers - will begin tomorrow, June 1 at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern / 5pm UK.

After a tease last summer, Sonic Frontiers was officially announced last December, promising "a huge leap forward for the franchise, delivering an evolved gameplay experience that can be enjoyed by longtime Sonic fans and action-adventure enthusiasts alike."

Konami's eFootball won't be getting PES's beloved Master League mode until 2023, and fans will have to pay for it.

eFootball's official Twitter account revealed its plans for the game going forward, including a breakdown of what's free and what isn't, and detailing what's coming this summer, winter, and then next year.

The only content listed for 2023 so far is Master League - a mode that fans were already surprised to see missing from the game's official launch - but it's not the only content that will cost players money.

Paid Content
- The number of teams that can be used in leagues and club teams will be expanded and distributed as additional paid content by the end of 2022
- Master League will be available as additional paid content during 2023

— eFootball (@play_eFootball) May 31, 2022

"The number of teams that can be used in leagues and club teams will be expanded and distributed as additional paid content by the end of 2022," the tweet said.

Also on the schedule is the Lobby Match mode, that lets players create rooms online and play matches with their Dream Teams, which is expected this summer as a free update.

Cross-platform support across consoles and PC will be available later in winter, as well as "some editing functions", though the tweet didn't explain what these would be.

In an age where games are increasingly serious in tone, it’s quite a breath of fresh air to play a foul-mouthed alien who can throw people a mile in the air and probe enemies to death. Destroy All Humans 2 Reprobed is a remake of a PS2-era classic that reminded me that not everything needs to be high art – sometimes running around just zapping hippies with a laser blaster in a sardonic 1960’s San Francisco hits just the right spot. The cheesy, lowbrow dialogue, over-the-top voice acting, and wanton destruction are all extremely faithful to the original, and all of that has a very strong junk food charm that’s novel in this day and age.

There’s a simple purity in this absurd and irreverent open-world adventure that had me destroying Alcatraz island using a lethal flying saucer or tracking down the villainous hippie known only as Coyote Bongwater. And while Reprobed’s story was mostly used as a vehicle for crass jokes and setting up ludicrous scenarios for me to run rampant and yank human brains right out of earthling heads for the heck of it, I have to respect how much silliness and entertaining shenanigans is prioritized above all else. That has a unique, shameless allure that jives amazingly well with the derisive tone of this chaotic spoof.

Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC on August 30, and players who preorder can play a spin-off today.

The spin-off, called Destroy All Humans: Clone Carnage, is a standalone multiplayer game that lets two players team up in couch co-op, or four players when online.

Clone Carnage comes with four modes - Rampage, Armageddon, Race, and Abduction - across six maps and can be downloaded immediately if players digitally preorder Destroy All Humans 2: Reprobed. Alternatively, you can buy it separately for $12.99

The remaster, on the other hand, is the more traditional Destroy All Humans open world, adventure game experience set in the swinging '60s. Players can explore Bay City, Albion, Takoshima, Tunguska, and the Moon either solo or in split screen co-op.

While the original Destroy All Humans 2 was first released in 2006, a remaster of the first game was released in 2020 which led many to speculate if the sequel would receive the same treatment.

Somewhat oddly, PlayStation accidentally leaked the existence of the new remaster in September last year when it tweeted the announcement ahead of THQ Nordic's official reveal during its 10th anniversary stream.

Developer Stunlock Studios has revealed that V Rising has sold over 1.5 million copies and has reached a milestone of 150K concurrent players within the first two weeks since its release.

1,500,000 Vampires awaken! Power Overwhelming! pic.twitter.com/S2VqsQ6lvA

— V Rising (@VRisingGame) May 31, 2022

With millions of players now invested, the development team has said it will now look at the feedback provided during the game's ongoing early access period in order to move forward with the full release.

“Our mission will be to find out what is most important to our players and how to take V Rising to the next level. We currently plan to work on more extensive updates rather than run for frequent smaller patches and minor changes," said marketing director Johan Ilves in a blog post. "It’s too early to tell when the first bigger V Rising content patch will arrive, as we will give it the time to make sure it brings something new to the experience. This will require more patience from you as a fan!"

He continues, "Meanwhile, we will do our best to make sure the first content update will be worth waiting for."

If you missed out on preordering one of the Elden Ring Figuarts Minis from Tamashii Nations when we first announced them, you're in luck. There's still plenty of time left to secure your Raging Wolf or Melina Elden Ring figures. Preorders close June 22, but if we run out before then we'll have to close the preorder window. And no one wants that.

Elden Ring Figuarts Minis

The Raging Wolf is based on the armor set and one of the most iconic in a game filled with iconic gear. Melina is, of course, your guide in Elden Ring, and the first NPC you meet when you start up a new game.

Check out the gallery below to see some high-resolution images of the Elden Ring Figuarts Mini figures now available in the IGN Store:

Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. You can find him hosting the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast.

How long has it been since the release of the last truly great tennis game? Allow me to put it into some perspective: when Top Spin 4 came out in 2011, Ash Barty was a teenager still playing junior tennis tournaments. Cut to the present day and she’s won three grand slams, reached the women’s world number one ranking, and retired from the sport altogether -- and still the wait continues for a high quality serve and volley simulation to emerge as the heir to Top Spin 4’s throne. Matchpoint - Tennis Championships is the latest contender, and although it may be slightly lacking in terms of licensing and customisation, it certainly seems to have a lot of potential where it really counts -- out on the court.

Matchpoint just feels good in the hand. The controls are uncluttered and feel extremely responsive, and it only took me a couple of matches on the default semi-pro difficulty to get a good handle on balancing the energetic dashes and pivots of my player with the more subtle steering of the shot reticle. Each point played is also satisfyingly fluid; developer Torus Games claims that over 1,300 unique motion-capture animations are being employed and it shows, there’s a seamlessness between shots that imbues Matchpoint’s rallies with a level of realism that’s been lacking in other tennis games in recent years.

Square Enix is officially bringing Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song to Eurpoe 30 years after it was released in Japan.

The classic JRPG was originally released on SNES in Japan, but was later remade for PS2 and released in North America. That remake version is now being remastered for modern systems and is coming to PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile this winter, marking the game's first official release in Europe since the original launched in 1992.

Minstrel Song follows eight different characters as they travel across the land of Mardias and the remaster includes upgraded graphics, new quality of life features to making playing more comfortable, and even new gameplay elements.

The "Glimmer" and "Combo" systems from previous games will also be in Minstrel Song Remastered alongside new illustrations and a soundtrack from composer Kenji Ito.

An announcement trailer on Square Enix's YouTube channel also shows two minutes of gameplay and cutscenes from the game, giving fans a look and listen at the aforementioned graphics, art, and music.

In our 6/10 review of the remake, IGN said: "Fans of the SaGA series will be delighted by the countless hours of gameplay, endless replay value and vast array of choices at their fingertips, while newcomers will likely be overwhelmed and frustrated with the lack of direction and character development."

The landscape for video game psychological horror changed forever in 2014 when P.T., the interactive teaser for a Silent Hill game that never came, arrived on the PlayStation Store. Since then there’s been an overwhelming amount of similar games released, ranging from direct clones to the creatively inspired. Fortunately, from what I’ve seen so far of Madison — the latest horror game in this unnerving lineage — has just enough unique ideas to creep terrifyingly into the latter.

Much like P.T., Madison is a first-person psychological horror set within the now-familiar surroundings of an oddly designed home, its rooms tormented by general horribleness. You play as Luca, a helpless and terrified protagonist exploring his now haunted family home armed only with a Polaroid camera.

Diablo: Immortal will no longer be released in Belgium or the Netherlands due to lootboxes being illegal in both countries.

The long-awaited mobile (and now PC) game finally arrives on June 2 but developer Activision Blizzard cancelled the launch in the two European countries just days before their release date.

As reported by gamesindustry.biz and confirmed to Eurogamer, Diablo Immortal will not be available there due to "the current operating conditions in these countries", as Belgium and the Netherlands both deem lootboxes to be gambling and they're therefore illegal.

"Diablo Immortal will not be available in Belgium or the Netherlands, and will not appear on Battle.net or the Belgian and Netherlands App or Google Play Stores," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.

The ban was placed in 2018 and is essentially only intended to affect loot boxes that have contents which can be sold for money.

One of our favorite Nintendo Switch deals is back, and it's the greatly appreciated free SD card promotion. That's right, with any purchase of the Nintendo Switch 12-month family plan from Best Buy, you'll also be getting Nintendo Switch 128GB SD Card, absolutely free. That means you're paying just $34.99 for what is basically $70 worth of gear - that's a great deal.

The Switch Online family plan gives you access to online play on Nintendo Switch for up to 8 Nintendo account holders. You also get access to the NES and Super NES libraries, which is worth the price of admission alone.

Switch Online 12-Month Family Membership + Free 128GB SD Card

You don't need to do anything to be applicable for this deal, just add the 12-month Family plan into your cart at Best Buy and the retailer will sort the rest for you, automatically adding the SD card as well at no extra cost.

Some more deals to check out at the moment include the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which has dropped to just $54.99 at Amazon right now.

While the PlayStation Days of Play sale is also still popping off at the moment, which top deals like DualSense Controllers for $59 in all colors for a limited time (that's 20% off overall).

Warhammer Skulls is returning in 2022 for another week-long event filled with brand-new reveals, updates, deals, and a celebration of video games set in the Warhammer universe. This week-long Warhammer party will begin on June 1 with an announcement showcase and it will be filled with world premieres, new trailers, sneak peeks, and more.

We will be carrying the stream and IGN’s Max Scoville and YouTuber Bricky will be hosting the official post-show right after the livestream. As usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the stream, including when it starts, a list of places you can watch it with us, and what you can expect to see.

Warhammer Skulls 2022 Announcement Showcase Start Time

Warhammer Skulls’ announcement showcase will kick off the Warhammer festivities on June 1, 2022, at 10am PST/1pm EST/6pm BST. If you live in Australia, that translates to June 2 at 3am AEST.

Following the showcase, IGN’s Max Scoville and Warhammer Expert Bricky will be hosting the official post-show to break down all the biggest moments.

Where to Watch Warhammer Skulls 2022 Announcement Showcase

If you’re interested in watching Warhammer Skulls 2022, we’ll be hosting the show here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch it with us:

Remember those debates with your friends over who would win in a fight between God of War's Kratos and Halo's Master Chief? Well, now you can see the two video game titans duke it out thanks to a PC mod for God of War 2018.

The mod was originally created by Marcos RC, and the footage takes the first boss fight from the game, replacing The Stranger with Chief himself. You can check out a snippet of the brawl below, or watch the entire thing play out on Marcos RC's YouTube page.

We finally have a Master Chief vs Kratos battle. This is such damn cool mod. #Halo #HaloInfinite #GodofWarPC pic.twitter.com/vSSyd6nhAA

— Kidskull (@Kidskull51) May 29, 2022

Due to the nature of the original boss fight, Chief doesn't rely on any of his iconic weapons, instead opting for hand-to-hand combat. So, I guess the jury's still out on who would win if both characters were fully equipped.

It's always a pleasure when we get to offer you a Star Wars deal here. Even more so when it involves everyone's favorite little droid, BD-1. So heads up, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order fans: LEGO is making an adorable BD-1 set.

Star Wars fans have been waiting for quite some time for LEGO to start making these, so you don't want to miss your chance to snap one up. The set costs $99.99 and is due for release on August 1. If you want to guarantee yourself one, then t's up for preorder at all the regular LEGO retailers (see it at Amazon).

It's highly recommended that you put yourself in a preorder as the popular LEGO Star Wars kits quite often sell out super quickly on release

Preorder LEGO Star Wars BD-1

• Also at Best Buy
• Also at LEGO Store

This exciting news comes on the heels of the announcement of the Fallen Order sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The sequel means that fans of Fallen Order are likely to see a lot more of the cute little droid in the future.

What better way to get yourself in the mood than by grabbing a BD-1 LEGO set on preorder. I mean, come on, just look at the little fella, you wouldn't want to leave him sat on a warehouse shelf now, would you?

More Star Wars Preorder Deals

The Blitzball minigame from Final Fantasy 10 is now, weirdly, an official part of Star Wars canon.

The fantastical sport - which is essentially underwater hockey played by the inhabitants of Spira in Final Fantasy 10 - is mentioned in Star Wars: Brotherhood, a novel focusing on the adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars.

As spotted by GamesRadar, author Mike Chen shared a series of Easter eggs from the novel on Twitter (below), revealing that he is a huge fan of Blitzball and therefore included it in the novel.

#6: There's a reference to a sport called Blitzball played in a local lake. Blitzball is basically underwater hockey played as a minigame in Final Fantasy X. As a former NHL writer, I freaking loved Blitzball and spent hours winning leagues. pic.twitter.com/uad4uIMcrA

— Mike Chen - LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME is out now! (@mikechenwriter) May 17, 2022

It's only a fleeting reference, but the sport is mentioned as something played in a local lake. Chen confirms this isn't a coincidence and comes straight from Final Fantasy, saying he's a big fan of hockey and therefore loved the minigame.

Update: This deal has now expired, but you can still find plenty of amazing PlayStation deals during the Sony Days of Play sale going on right now, including DualSense Controllers for $59, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves for $29.99, and more. The original story continues below.

The summer sales season has officially begun with Memorial Day now upon us. While most people tend to associate the best Memorial Day sales with household items and clothing, you can find some really great gaming and tech deals if you're savvy enough.

We've been doing our best to round up those deals for you here, and there are bargains to be had on everything from headsets to TVs to console accessories. Let's check out our favorite Memorial Day gaming deal right now, including The Last of Us Part 2, which has now dropped to just $10 at Best Buy.

Pick Up The Last of Us Part 2 for Just $10

If you still haven't got round to playing the second instalment of the groundbreaking The Last of Us games, then now is your chance to grab it at a discount price.