IGN

Universal Studios Japan has released an area map for its forthcoming Super Nintendo World area, themed around characters from the Mario games and their universe of spinoffs. Starting today, the park has been inviting selected Club Universal members and annual pass holders to experience the new area firsthand ahead of its February 4 2021 opening.

Super Nintendo World is the most complex area at USJ to date. We had already seen glimpses of the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge and Yoshi's Adventure rides (and IGN Japan previously published a video showing the inside of Bowser’s Castle); now USJ has shared some details of the menu at the Kinopio Cafe (Kinopio is the Japanese name for Toad), which includes a Bacon & Cheese Mario Burger, Piranha Plant Caprese and Question Block Tiramisu. Merchandise to be sold at the 1Up Factory Shop includes Mario themed hoodies, moustachioed glasses and gloves, as well as the cute Tokotoko Mario toy shown off by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto during his video tour of the park released last weekend. Check out images of some of the food dishes and merchandise below.

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* Images provided by Universal Studios Japan, ©Nintendo

Silent Hill and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has shared some details of the upcoming debut game from his new studio, which will be a horror-themed action-adventure, aiming for a 2023 release, that will appeal to Toyama's fans.

Toyama's Bokeh Game Studio was founded on August 13 and announced publicly in December. Speaking with IGN Japan, the acclaimed developer explained that he is working on “an action-adventure game that will appeal to fans of my previous work”. He explained that the game will include “battles and story elements” in the kind of richly authored worlds you might recognize from his games at Sony’s Japan Studio and Konami.

When pressed on whether this new title will lean more toward the horror themes of Silent Hill and Siren or the cuter anime-styled paranormal setting of Gravity Rush, he explained, “If anything, this will be more of a horror-oriented game. But we will focus on making this a broader entertainment experience, rather than a hardcore horror game.”

While Toyama has been a first-party Sony developer for the past 20 years or so, he said that this new game will be a multi-platform release. “We are developing with PC as the lead platform, but we hope to release the game on as many console platforms as possible,” he said.

The console wars are over.

If you’ve ever wondered what Mario’s goomba-covered overalls smell like, UK retailer GAME says it has an answer.

GAME announced it’s getting into the video game-themed perfume business with two new unisex scents: “Eau de Plumber” and “FPS” (or First-Person Scent).

According to the product description, Eau de Plumber (which is careful to avoid any actual Mario branding) features “deep earthy notes of toadstool, balanced with high notes of peach and daisy, and mid-tones of grass lands.”

“This brand-new unisex fragrance is lovingly crafted for the busy gamer on the go. Significant other kidnapped by giant reptilian tyrant? Rushing from one side of town to the other with a strict time limit of 300 seconds? Eau De Plumber has you covered and brings a whole new meaning to words ‘toilet water’.”

FPS, shaped like a grenade, is an obvious ode to the first-person shooter genre. GAME describes it as “best appreciated from thirty feet away and slightly gunpowdery and is a celebration of the nation’s love of popular FPS games,” which is certainly a way to sell cologne.

• Little Nightmares – January 1–31
• Dead Rising – January 16–February 15
• King of Fighters XIII – January 1–15
• Breakdown – January 16–31

It may have originally come out in 2018, but Among Us took 2020 by storm, and it's deserving of that spotlight. Innersloth has made the tense, multiplayer fun of in-person cloak and dagger games like Mafia and Werewolf work on PC, mobile, and consoles with a flourish. And the great times I've had slaying, lying, and sleuthing my way through its charming sci-fi world got me wondering why it took so long for this sort of game to catch on. There are still a few technical hitches to be worked out, just like the fussy engines on the Skeld, but that hasn't kept me from coming back to it again and again in my down time.

'Tis the season for free rewards, fan-favorite LTMs and plenty of snow-filled holiday cheer

IGN's Game of the Year 2020: Hades

Hades is a one-of-a-kind rogue-lite that sets the bar for creatively combining wildly different genres and using their strengths to complement each other in unexpected ways. Satisfying, twitch-based combat combined with the Rogue-lite potential of breaking the game through a lucky pull of boons and power-ups leave you feeling like a god. Above all that, though is how Hades ties narrative progression to its gameplay loop. Failed runs, player choice, and built up relationships are authored moments that feel unique to your playthrough in a way that no game before it has even attempted to come close.

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Hades was also our pick for the best action game of the year! Check out the Supergiant dev team's reaction to winning below, or more, check out our full Hades review here.

Whether it's welcome additions to navigation in next-gen consoles or impressive suites of accessibility options in AAA video games, improvements in video game and hardware accessibility have been particularly evident in 2020.

This is our winner for the most noteworthy advancement in accessibility this year.

Winner: The Last of Us Part 2

The panel of judges who voted in this category are Steve Saylor, Courtney Craven, Grant Stoner, Ian Hamilton, Stacey Jenkins, and Greg Haynes. Check out their work at Can I Play That? and Blind Gamer with Steve Saylor. 

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From the return of a cult favorite Mario series and some exceptional indie action, 2020 has been a great year for Switch owners.

One game, however, became a legitimate social phenomenon – this is our pick for the best Nintendo console exclusive* of 2020.

Winner: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Not only was it exactly the kind of game everyone needed at the onset of an isolating pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the laid back and comfortable town building simulator to the next degree with a level of customization unlike any that had come before it. New Horizons allowed players to shape their island getaway down to every last square inch, whether you wanted a bustling town filled with hand-crafted roads and parks, or a laid back island paradise full of waterfalls and bamboo forests.

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The new crafting and customization system let players not only decorate their dream house, but also welcome new villager friends to perfectly placed homes with as dazzling a front yard as you could dream up. And even though time spent at the airport will never not be a hassle, New Horizons' ability to accommodate groups of players made for the perfect showcase of your hard work of making the perfect island community.

Winner: Call of the Sea

Call of the Sea harkens back to mystery tales of old, telling the story of a mysterious island, a missing husband, a cursed disease, and a woman on a quest to connect them all together. Not only is the tale compelling from start to finish, Call of the Sea's logic puzzles are JUST tough enough to solve without beating your head against a wall, but still feel immensely satisfying – at the end of most of them, you feel like a bonafide genius, but it's all in the game's sly design. By the time you've finished this compact (but compelling) journey, you'll just want to start it all over again, hoping something of its ilk comes to fill the void before the black ooze takes over.

Call of the Sea also won IGN's People's Choice for the best Xbox console-exclusive game of the year! For more, check out our full Call of the Sea review here!

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From strategy to VR and even a highly-detailed flight simulator, there was a wide range to choose from on PC this year.

We saw a diverse crop on PC this year, but one stood head(set) and shoulders above the rest. This is our pick for the Best PC-Exclusive Game of 2020.

Half-Life Alyx

Despite hopeful trends and breakthrough products like the Oculus Quest 2 bringing down the price-point, VR remains a “sometimes food” for most gamers. To us, that makes what the Half-Life: Alyx team did even more impressive. Beyond being a stellar gaming experience, Alyx represents a vote in the future of Virtual Reality on the PC, and a high watermark for the form. We can only hope that more exciting, engaging, terrifying games like Alyx make their way to PC in the near future, and likewise that the player base for such experiences continues to broaden. Alyx is one of the rare VR games that stands on its own as a great game, regardless of immersion level. It’s not an exercise in new tech, it’s a masterclass in game design, and demands the most from our PCs. With beautiful environments and models, top-tier voice-acting and crisp gameplay mechanics all rendered in the virtual space, Alyx deserves all the credit for pushing our PCs to perform new and astounding tricks for our amusement.

VR always brings a different experience to the table with the realism of playing games in a 3D environment, and the lineup this year is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

From fighting among the stars to in-your-face survival horror and even being the Marvel star himself, there were some great VR games in 2020 - but only one could be the best.

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx feels, in many ways, like a state-of-VR demonstration. It took what shined about physics-based combat engines like Boneworks, the stellar storytelling and atmospheric abilities of the Valve creative team, and the learnings of countless VR experiments in traversal and engagement and seamed it all together into what feels like the most complete and truly AAA VR gaming experience to date. Terror, tension, humor, scale, spectacle, character – Alyx has all the hallmarks of a full-on interactive experience, with a combat system that feels challenging but fair and a variety of play styles required to persevere through each memorable segment. Very little in the VR realm has felt as satisfying as smoothly reloading a weapon in this game. Alyx’s wild ride through this dystopian future not only gave us a solid Half-Life game, it put real energy behind pushing VR technology forward in a way that only an outfit with the resources and pedigree of Valve can muster.

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For more, check out our full Half-Life: Alyx review!

See Half-Life: Alyx on Steam

Whether reliving classic adventures or exploring bold new landscapes, it's been a great year for PlayStation fans.

From long-anticipated game releases and the launch of the PS5, this is our pick for the best PlayStation exclusive of 2020.

Winner: The Last of Us Part 2

Debuting early in a year of fantastic PlayStation exclusives, The Last of Us Part II remains a standout blend of rich storytelling and insanely satisfying gameplay. The level of polish here is incredible; every frame of every cutscene and each gameplay encounter have been so meticulously crafted that it's impossible not to appreciate the level of care put in by Naughty Dog. From the small-but-important details - like the near-flawless blending of character animations – to the marvelously open-ended stealth and combat encounters, to its brilliant story that constantly forces characters to reckon with the consequences of their actions, every moment of this long-awaited sequel is striking. The Last of Us Part II is easily one of the best games the PS4 has to offer – not just of 2020, but of the entire generation.

The Last of Us Part 2 was also IGN's People's Choice pick for this year's best PlayStation exclusive! Listen to Neil Druckmann's reation to winning, and for more, check out our full Last of Us 2 review here!

Ghost of Tsushima

My Dad Works At Nintendo!