The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom final pre-release trailer hit earlier this week, and it was everything we hoped it would be: exciting, revealing, emotional, filled with surprises but never venturing too far into spoiler-territory. Some of us watched it multiple times, but regardless of how many times people watched, the sentiment was the same: May 12 can't get here soon enough.

Here's what IGN's top Zelda fans thought of the final trailer for Tears of the Kingdom.

Seth Macy

I thought the final pre-release Tears of the Kingdom trailer was unbelievable in both its effectiveness in building my hype levels to the breaking point, while also leaving me pondering the multitude of questions I still have. We saw more than we'd ever seen before, and every second was thrilling and exciting but we still have no idea how it all fits together.

And yet, that makes it even more exciting for me. It was a master class in how to show off a game in a satisfying way that doesn't spoil it or give too much away. I want more, dammit, but I also feel completely content with what we were shown. I've watched it more than once and every time I notice something else I didn't before. Tears of the Kingdom is my most anticipated video game, ever, and the final trailer has effectively made me even more excited. I can't wait to get lost in its world, delaying Link's quest to save Hyrule because I'm climbing a cliff I thought looked interesting, or spotted a structure in the distance while riding toward a story mission and decided to check that out instead.

It’s IGN talent vs. Influencers in a MLB The Show 23 co-op battle…with a twist!

To celebrate the start of the baseball season and MLB The Show 23’s revamped online co-op mode, IGN presents the IGN's MLB® The Show™ 23 Online Co-Op Crossplay Showdown. It’ll pit content creators Typical Gamer and GoldGlove against IGN talent Seth Macy and Jesse Gil, with IGN’s Clint Gage and Jeffrey Vega commentating on the gameplay LIVE in a TikTok simulcast.

But these MLBTS 23 co-op clashes won’t simply focus on which team is most dominant on the diamond. As the hardball happens on the screen, off of it the participants will be presented with some disruptive commentary from IGN’s Jeffrey Vega. What does he have up his sleeve? You’ll have to watch to find out!

What’s new with MLB The Show’s Online Co-Op Mode?

MLBTS 23’s upgraded online co-op mode features some key changes, the biggest of which is the mode’s Reward Path. It allows you to create a team with your friends so you can play against randomly selected opponents for a chance to earn in-game rewards (a.k.a. Packs). There’s also Ranked Co-Op, and a Penalty System that means if a user leaves a Ranked Co-Op game before it finishes, a penalty timer will appear. Offenders won’t be able to queue up for another game until the timer runs out.

Where to Watch IGN's MLB® The Show™ 23 Online Co-Op Crossplay Showdown

Blizzard is making a ton of changes to Diablo 4 based on feedback provided by players who participated in its two betas.

Combining this feedback with actual gameplay data allowed Blizzard to review and make changes to Diablo 4 in time for its official launch on June 6.

Minimizing backtracking

The first thing changing is dungeon layouts, with Blizzard saying one of the most common pieces of feedback it received was around backtracking within certain dungeons. Multiple dungeons have since been optimized to reduce this, including Caldera Gate, Defilied Catacombs, Derelict Lodge, Forbidden City, Hoarfrost Demise, Immortal Emanation, Kor Dragan Battacks, Maulwood, and Rimescar Caverns.

"Our primary goal with the layout changes was to reduce certain kinds of backtracking which detract from a player's experience," Blizzard said. Structure objectives that previously existed down side paths have now been repositioned to the main area, for example.

Dungeon events will also occur much more frequently in the final version, as Blizzard has increased the chance for an event to spawn in dungeons from 10% to 60%. Quality of life improvements were made too, such as removing the wait time when depositing an Animus, increasing movement speed when carrying Ancient Statues and equivalent items, and adding a mini-map ping to newly open doors.

One of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's more divisive elements appears to be making a return in Tears of the Kingdom. An upcoming commercial for Tears of the Kingdom leaked on Reddit yesterday, showing fresh boss footage and a new area.

But that's not all that was tucked away in this 30-second spot. An eagle-eyed fan on Reddit spotted a circle of rocks that will look all-too familiar to players who spent hours searching for Korok seeds in Breath of the Wild. That's right — it seems like the Korok hunt is back in Tears of the Kingdom.

In Breath of the Wild, players used Korok seeds tp upgrade the number of weapons, shields, and bows they could hold in their inventory. There were 900 Koroks spread across Hyrule's map for Link to hunt down. Koroks hid in a number of different manners, including rock patterns, magnesis block puzzles, flowers, trails of sparks, and more. It took true dedication to track down each and every one, only to be rewarded with a giant piece of poop.

Tears of the Kingdom appears to be shaking up a lot of returning elements from Breath of the Wild, so we'll have to wait and see if Nintendo has remixed the Korok hunt in any way. There's also a slight possibility that this circle of rocks spotted in the trailer could serve a different purpose.

Destiny 2 developer Bungie has revealed a hardened policy designed to deal with cheaters who use third party peripherals that “manipulate the game” to provide an unfair player versus player advantage.

“Our community has grown increasingly frustrated by a form of cheating that uses third-party peripherals with the intent to manipulate the game client,” read a post on the Bungie website spotted by GI.biz “These devices are plugged into a computer or console, where they can, for example, execute simple scripts or trick the game into giving you extra aim assist.”

Bungie made a point of not naming the creators of the offending hardware, but stressed that it would hand out restrictions, warnings, and bans to individuals who use “external aids” specifically designed to “gain an advantage over other players”.

These aids include “programmable controllers, keyboard and mouse adapters, advanced macros, or automation via artificial intelligence” that improve a players ability to control the game by, for example, reducing weapon recoil or increasing aim assist.

However, the Destiny 2 developer stressed that it's trying to balance protecting its community from cheaters while making sure that the maximum amount of people can play the game. To this end the policy notes that “simply using an accessibility aide to play Destiny 2 where a player could not play otherwise” would not be a violation of the policy.

Like its predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a game packed full of massive, striking environments and memorable creatures. It seems only fitting that the game receives an art book that delves deeper into the design and evolution of such an ambitious Star Wars project.

IGN can exclusively reveal The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the latest in Dark Horse's ever-growing lineup of video game-themed art books. Check out the cover art below:

The Art of Star Wars: Jedi Survivor is a 192-page hardcover book featuring a mixture of concept art and developer commentary on the game. The art featured within ranges from early concept designs to final renders of the games environments, characters, weapons and ships.

In addition, Dark Horse will be releasing a Deluxe Edition version of The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The Deluxe Edition includes additional bonuses like metallic printed elements, a protective slipcase and a folio with an exclusive lithograph print.

The standard hardcover is priced at $49.99, while the Deluxe Edition is priced at $99.99. Both versions will be released on December 12, 2023 in bookstores and December 13 in comic shops.

Dark Horse also recently revealed The Art of Octopath Traveler, which will also hit stores in December.

What's the wettest ever film? Cardy, Jen, and Mat are here to answer this and other pressing questions this week. Tears of the Kingdom looks good, doesn't it? Let's talk about that. So does Final Fantasy 16. Let's talk about that, too. Immortals of Aveum could be good. Evil Dead Rise has lots of blood in it. Beef (the meat) also has blood in it, but we're talking about the Netflix show which is very good and also has a little blood.

Got a game for us to play, or ever traded in a bunch of bananas for a game? Drop us an email: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 692: Zelda and Final Fantasy Look Good Innit

• IGN UK Podcast 691: The Mario Movie vs Tetris: Which is Better?
• IGN UK Podcast 690: Dunjackets & Dadragons
• IGN UK Podcast 689: The Big Resident Evil 4 Chat
• IGN UK Podcast 688: What is the Best Shape of Doughnut?
• IGN UK Podcast 687: The Build-a-Horror Movie-Workshop

A good strategy game is ultimately one about choice. Which units to create, where to allocate resources, which strategies to implement. The right decisions lead to victory, while the wrong ones force you to adapt and adjust or else suffer bitter defeat. I found myself at the crossroads of these decisions time and again as I played Minecraft Legends, Mojang and Blackbird Interactive's simplified take on an action-RTS. It doesn’t always do a perfect job opening the door of this often intimidating genre to a wider audience, but the way it largely manages to streamline things without losing most of those important tactical moments is what makes Minecraft Legends work.

Simplicity is one of Minecraft Legends greatest strengths. Evil Piglins from the Nether are invading, because that's what evil Piglins do, and it’s your job to build up the forces needed to drive them back. You’ll do that by exploring a procedurally generated continent for resources, allies, and secrets to discover, destroying Piglin bases and defending friendly settlements from the invaders as you do. There are no levels, and the minimalistic story is mostly just cutscenes announcing the arrival of larger Piglin forces. Once you’ve cleared all the Piglins out, victory is yours, and you can start another run from scratch on a brand new map.

As if the final trailer dropping today wasn't enough, a new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom TV spot seems to have leaked on Reddit, and it includes new footage of a boss and an area we haven't seen before.

Spoiler warning: If you're trying to avoid seeing anymore information about Tears of the Kingdom before it comes out, stop here!

The leaked commercial, which was posted on Reddit a few hours ago, intersperses people playing Tears of the Kingdom in various settings and reacting to it, with gameplay footage. There are several new clips we haven't seen yet, including link walking across some thin, broken beams from sky island to sky island, and using "ascend" to sneak up on some enemies.

But the real gold comes later in the trailer. After seeing a three-headed dragon that looks suspiciously like a Zelda 1 boss make an appearance earlier today in the official trailer, we get confirmation that this is, in fact, Gleeok. A Flame Gleeok, to be precise, hinting that there may be other varieties (ice, perhaps?) elsewhere in the world. Notably, Link is fighting Gleeok on the Bridge of Hylia, meaning that Tears of the Kingdom may have a somewhat Skyrim-like aspect to it where dragons can just swoop down and start fights with you.

A brand new PlayStation State of Play has arrived and it was focused entirely on Final Fantasy 16. We already know it is set to be released on PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023, so this presentation was all about learning more about the game's world, spectacular Eikon battles, combat, base camp, and more.

We are here to break down all the big news from the State of Play and hopefully give you even more reasons to be excited about Final Fantasy 16.

The Epic Battles of Eikons and Clive Rosfield

The State of Play gave us another big glimpse at the combat of Final Fantasy 16, including the showstopping battles between Eikons, which some may know as Summons from previous games like Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Titan, Bahamut, Phoenix, Garuda, and more.

These epic Eikon battles change up the combat in a big way, and can be anything from a "3D scrolling shooter" to a "heavyweight wrestling match." The scale of these battles is also unlike most anything we've seen in a Final Fantasy game, and some of the bigger Eikons like Titan Lost make others like Ifrit, who look massive in comparison to Clive, look like little action figures.

The battles themselves will surely be one of the big ticket items in Final Fantasy 16, but Eikons play such a huge part outside of these showcase battles. For example, many of the skills Clive unlocks will be earned through these Eikons as you encounter them. You will be able to unlock and upgrade these skills via ability points and will help turn Clive into a magical powerhouse that uses the best parts of the Eikons.

With a new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trailer today, there's plenty to dissect and speculate about. Alongside the new mechanics, we've now also seen a handful of familiar characters and locations that can help us make comparisons to Breath of the Wild in terms of when it takes place, and what state Hyrule is in. And it looks like, based on the latest trailer, that Tears of the Kingdom is happening at least a few years after Breath of the Wild.

Warning: Plot spoilers for Breath of the Wild follow below the trailer!

It's already been clear from past gameplay showcases and trailers that Tears of the Kingdom features a changed Hyrule. Sky islands appear to have been ripped from the ground, giant chasms are opening up, and other landscape changes have occurred since we last played. But it's been hard to tell thus far exactly how much of that is geography/weird Ganon magic, and how much of the changes we've seen are just normal passage of time. But there are a few clear clues in the latest trailer that make it obvious at least a few years have passed since Breath of the Wild, and those clues are given to us by Link's friends from the last game.

I'm specifically talking about Sidon, Riju, and Tulin - three characters we met in Breath of the Wild who also show up in this trailer. Our glimpses of them are short, but they're enough to indicate to us that all three characters have aged meaningfully since the last game. The most obvious of the three is Riju, who has grown significantly taller and more muscular since her last appearance, and also seems to have cut her hair.

Jeez oh man. That Tears of the Kingdom trailer, right? Rockets, mechs, hot Ganondorf, Prince Sidon, swimming, Link in a flying squirrel suit, and of course, the new best friend of the Tears of the Kingdom community: Bucket Head.

If you somehow missed Bucket Head during the trailer, I can't blame you. Take a look again; he crops up at roughly 3:12 in the trailer:

Still missing him? Let's check in with the community for a closer look.

Not enough people talking about the best new character from the new #TearsoftheKingdom trailer Bucket Helmet Guy pic.twitter.com/vNybpvhynX

— 🗡🛡Hylian Hero🏹💣 (@HylianH3ro) April 13, 2023

There he is! Who is he? We've never seen this man before. He's just a regular dude, weaponless, who figured he needed some armor for whatever epic battle he and Link and the others were about to go into, and grabbed the nearest object for a helmet. I'm so proud of him, and it looks like Tears of the Kingdom fans are too:

Bucket Blight Ganon is my new favorite character pic.twitter.com/CWfRXUWeFz

There’s been an undercurrent these past years when it comes to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Not that any Zelda fan would skip out on a sequel to one of the best, or at the very least biggest, Zelda games of all time. But there was a sense that after each new Tears of the Kingdom reveal everyone was looking at each other asking, “And?”

Today, Nintendo delivered the “And” and much more with a nearly four-minute trailer full of breathtaking details. But more importantly, potential. Each of the previous trailers revealed a small snippet of Tears of the Kingdom — focusing on specific elements like the darker tone, or the sky — but never synergizing them in a way that made players feel like they were actually seeing something new. In the end, each new trailer was a reminder that we were simply heading back to the world of Breath of the Wild with a few adjustments. The popular criticism was to call the sequel “DLC.”

The first few Tears of the Kingdom reveals have relied heavily on a sense of mystery. Why is Link dressed the way he is? What happened to his arm? Where’s Zelda? Is that shriveled corpse Ganon? Nintendo seemed intent on focusing on the sequel’s dark atmosphere to attract the interest of players, but a dark Zelda sequel is nothing new thanks to follow-ups like Majora’s Mask, Twilight Princess, and even The Adventure of Link.

Nintendo finally shared the trailer Zelda fans have been waiting for: An extended look at Tears of the Kingdom that rivals Breath of the Wild's legendary release date trailer. This was our final glimpse of the highly-anticipated sequel before its launch next month, and Nintendo didn't hold back. From the confirmation of Ganondorf's return to some exciting lore implications for longtime Zelda fans to hints at new gameplay mechanics, there are a ton of secrets hidden in the four-minute trailer.

Here are 20 things we noticed from the best Tears of the Kingdom trailer so far.

Guess Who's Back, Back Again: The Demon King Ganondorf

Ganondorf is officially returning in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. If you've been following the other trailers, it's seemed clear that Link's longtime nemesis would take center stage in the Breath of the Wild sequel, but we now have confirmation. The trailer included an awesome new rendition of Ganondorf's theme music, as well as a closer look at the King of Evil himself. Can we please get an amiibo, Nintendo?

Rocksteady has officially delayed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to February 2, 2024, quite a few months from its previous May 26, 2023 date.

The developer announced the news on Twitter today, writing in a statement, "We have made the tough but necessary decision to take the time needed to work on getting the game to be the best quality experience for players."

"Thank you to our amazing community for the continued support, patience, and understanding," the statement goes on. "There is much more to share in the months ahead and we look forward to seeing you in Metropolis next year."

pic.twitter.com/iycWye9X42

— Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (@suicidesquadRS) April 13, 2023

It's only the most recent delay for Kill the Justice League, which was previously set for a 2022 release before being moved to Spring 2023.

Joseph Staten just left Microsoft. Technically it didn’t really change anything when talking about the future of Halo compared to when he left Halo developer 343 Industries to return to his previous role at Xbox Publishing back in January. That came amidst the layoff-fueled shakeup at the studio that saw many senior leads leave either at that time or in the past year since Halo Infinite first shipped. And yet somehow, his complete severance from Microsoft feels a bit more somber for this longtime Halo fan, because it means that he’s unlikely to have much, if any, influence on the future of the franchise – which he still could’ve from his Xbox Publishing perch.

And so while it’s fair to wonder where Halo is heading from here – I’ll get to that in a bit – I wanted to take the opportunity to express my gratitude for someone that had a major hand in creating some of my favorite games of all time. Staten was a Bungie “Grizzled Ancient,” the studio’s internal term for someone who’d been at the company for a long, long time. This is the man who wrote the original Halo trilogy. You remember, the near-perfect first game – the one whose memorable campaign and characters single-handedly turned the Xbox into a major player in the console space – the smartly told and shocking sequel that had you playing as The Arbiter for part of the adventure, and the trilogy capper that gave Master Chief and friends closure and meaning while still leaving a glimmer of hope that Spartan-117 might one day return. “Wake me… when you need me.”

Minor spoilers ahead for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!

Following the final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has revealed where players will begin their journey as Link in the sequel to 2017's Breath of the Wild.

If you visit the official page for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you will be treated to some new facts about the upcoming Switch exclusive that is set to be released on May 12, 2023. One of the most intriguing tidbits comes under the section titled, "the sky," as it confirms where the game will begin.

"Link begins his journey on one of the many mysterious floating islands that have suddenly appeared in the skies high above Hyrule. It’s there our hero will have to gain new abilities before returning to the surface world to begin his epic adventure," Nintendo wrote.

It's interesting that we won't be able to go to the surface right away, but that should help the game feel fresh and new and hopefully appease those who have thought Tears of the Kingdom looks too much like the original since it does once again take place in the Hyrule seen in the original.

However, according to Nintendo in the next section, "the sky isn't the only thing that's changed in Hyrule."

"Familiar locations have been dramatically transformed, with new towns, dank caves, and mysterious gaping chasms springing up across the world—all waiting to be explored," Nintendo wrote.

Ubisoft’s XDefiant is an upcoming free-to-play first person arena shooter that, if I’m being honest, I didn’t originally feel interested in at all. I had no real connection to any of the factions from different Ubisoft games showcased in XDefiant, and the gameplay didn’t capture my interest. However, I got to play for about an hour in a closed preview event and I was surprised to find that I was wanting to get more playtime in after the servers closed down.

An hour isn’t really a lot of time to give a full preview in any game, so this is just a first impressions piece I wanted to share with you all. I had actually played XDefiant in 2021 with one of Ubisoft’s extremely NDA-ed closed tests, and this was a huge change up from that iteration. It’s a great sign to see that Ubisoft has taken feedback seriously and made some major changes.

In my opinion, XDefiant really didn’t have a sense of identity when the first closed test opened. I couldn’t figure out what the game was trying to do or how the game was supposed to feel. There was no real guidance on how to play the game or who the characters were. But loading into XDefiant now, there’s more structure to it.

Factions

Let’s start with Factions. There’s no story or narrative on why these agents from each Faction are in XDefiant. In speaking with Safy Saada, Creative Director, I was told that there’s no underlying story or reasoning for these characters being in XDefiant. They were merely inspirations.

Each Faction is really just like selecting a class with different Abilities and Ultras (ultimates). There were five Factions available in this closed beta and I detailed their abilities and class-specific traits below:

Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 30. It's the first console release in the RTS series' 17-year history.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Company of Heroes 3 will include a custom interface specifically designed for consoles and a tactical pause feature that freezes the action so players can explore the battlefield and queue up actions "without the pressure of doing it all in real-time," according to developer Relic Entertainment. The feature is also found in the previously released PC version.

Company of Heroes 3 comprises two single-player campaigns, one set in North Africa and another in Italy, as well as the series' staple multiplayer mode. We reviewed the two components separately when they were released on PC in February: We awarded the Company of Heroes 3 single-player a 6 and the Company of Heroes 3 multiplayer an 8, calling the latter's combat and faction design "stronger than ever."

At the end of March, Relic released the first major update for Company of Heroes 3 on PC, adding new challenges, cosmetics, quality-of-life updates, and gameplay tweaks for both single- and multiplayer.

Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.

EA Originals' upcoming "first person magic shooter" Immortals of Aveum launches on July 20, 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via the EA App, Steam, and Epic Games Store.

Immortals of Aveum puts players in the shoes of Jak as he joins the Order of the Immortals and becomes part of mankind's endless war over magic.

The game is solely single player, and will play like a first person shooter but with magic abilities instead of guns, somewhat similar to Ghostwire: Tokyo that was released last year. A trailer has also been released.

Immortals of Aveum is naturally set in a fantasy universe and promises a visceral, cinematic, story-driven campaign with fast-paced action and spell-based combat that defies FPS conventions.

The game is being created by new AAA developer Ascendant Studios, which was co-founded by creative director of the original Dead Space and multiple Call of Duty campaigns Bret Robbins.

"I'm incredibly excited to finally show the world Immortals of Aveum. It's been a five year journey for us at Ascendant, and I'm so proud of the team and their commitment to making something great," said Robbins, who is also CEO and game director.

"We set out to create a cinematic, thrilling shooter set in a new fantasy world, with fast and fluid combat and an epic story. I can't wait for everyone to play it."

Any fan of first-person shooters has handled a wide variety of digital weaponry in their gaming career. We’ve fired historical weapons while storming the beaches of Normandy, shot modern guns in modern warfare, and used futuristic blasters in sci-fi shooters. One thing we don’t often do in FPSes, though, is cast spells. That will change with Immortals of Aveum, a magic shooter that replaces mechanical weapons with magical abilities. In a recent hands-off preview, I got a look at this upcoming shooter, and I’m intrigued to see more.

Pitched as a “single-player, story-driven, magic shooter,” Immortals of Aveum appears to live up to that tagline, based on what I saw. The combat shares many ideas with the military shooters we know and love. You can cast spells that act as long-range rifles, shotguns, grenades, and the like. But since it’s magic that fuels your capabilities, you also have access to additional moves you won’t find in traditional shooters.

Say the Magic Word

For instance, the Lash spell lets you pull distant enemies close using what looks like a rope made of blue plasma. Then you can cast the Shatter spell to slam them with a wall of spikes. If you’re feeling overwhelmed in combat, you can use a Blink spell to teleport out of harm’s way. It all happens quickly, and you can chain together your attacks and abilities in combos.

FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki has been named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2023 following the release of the smash hit open world action RPG Elden Ring in February 2022.

Time publishes a list honouring the 100 most influential people each year who, in the opinions of the magazine editors, were most responsible for shaping the year.

As noted by VGC, Miyazaki is only the second video game developer to be selected for the prestigious list, following in the wake of Time’s 2007 selection of Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto.

The 2023 list included big names, such as American Gods author Neil Gaiman, Disney CEO Bob Iger, U.S. President Joe Biden, footballer Lionel Messi, Elon Musk, and MrBeast. Accompanying each entry is a written tribute, often penned by a well regarded contemporary in the influencer’s field.

Miyazaki’s entry was authored by Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, who lauded the developer’s masochistic yet rewarding approach to game design.

“That’s why Elden Ring — [Miyazaki’s] massively popular 2022 hit — is a great ambassador for video games, and the unique feelings they can effect in the player, feelings that a passive medium like TV can never re-create,” explained Druckmann.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is bringing back more familiar (albeit scary) faces as a classic Zelda enemy looks to be a boss in the new game.

As revealed in the new Tears of the Kingdom trailer, that already revealed a ton of story details and gave fans their first look at Ganondorf, Gleeok is rearing its heads for the first time in 16 years.

Though a two-headed version last made an appearance in 2007's Phantom Hourglass, the three-headed Gleeok shown in the new trailer (below) hasn't been seen since The Legend of Zelda, as in the very first game in the franchise that launched in 1987.

In this third of four Redfall hero profiles, Remi doesn't care to share much about herself and her partner Bribón other than they were part of the crew that assisted civilian evacuations after the vampire attack began. See their teamwork showcased in the exclusive trailer above and see what tools you'll have at your disposal if you play as Remi by taking a peek at the details of her kit below.

• Power 1: Siren – Command Bribón to distract nearby enemies, making himself a target and absorbing damage.
• Power 2: C4 Charge – Toss an explosive device that sticks to targets and surfaces. Once armed, press the action button to detonate.
• Ultimate Ability: Mobilize – Create a rallying point where you and your allies are healed over time.

Like Jacob, Remi doesn't have an explicit movement ability. However, her C4 Charge can be used to propel her higher after a jump. It's also important to note that all players can interact with Bribón for some extra encouragement.

First-person shooting in VR has been done before. Even multiplayer PvP first-person shooters in VR are not a new thing. But – and I say this as someone who plunked down $550 of his own money on a PSVR 2 on launch day – the PSVR 2 needs anything and everything it can get its Sense controllers on in its dry early days of existence. And so Firewall Ultra – a plussed-up version of 2018’s Firewall: Zero Hour for PSVR 1 – was something I was happy to jump into. What I found was an enjoyable, reasonably fast-paced competitive FPS that’s still pretty rough around the edges, but managed to not make me nauseous.

I played several 4v4 matches – one side of attackers, trying to hack a laptop, and the other side as defenders – across two maps: Oil Rig and Social, the former being pretty self explanatory and the latter styled after a Silicon Valley social media company’s pre-pandemic office. You can customize your weapon loadout ahead of each match (though not ahead of each round), with the usual assortment of assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and even a combat knife that you can press R1 on the Sense controller to flip around.

The final trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom finally gave us a proper look at the King of Evil: Ganondorf.

The three-minute look at the Breath of the Wild sequel was packed with new enemies, bosses, returning characters, and hints at some of the changes Hyrule has undergone in the time since the original.

Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Evil, Returns

After teasing the character for years, Link's nemesis Ganondorf finally shows up in this trailer. We first see him early on in the trailer, staring directly into a blood moon. Then, later on in the trailer, a new rendition of Ganondorf's theme kicks in, and we see the iconic villain from the front. Nintendo of America also posted official art of the mighty Demon King.

“Do not look away. You witness a king’s revival…and the birth of his new world.”

The mighty Demon King, Ganondorf, returns in The Legend of #Zelda: #TearsOfTheKingdom. pic.twitter.com/JuBCVQ1Wjk

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 13, 2023

The trailer also revealed a mysterious new character with dark skin and long white hair. We don't know who this is yet, but their facial expression was very sinister. They very closely resemble the character seen in the wall painting from the very first Tears of the Kingdom trailer.

The loveable and charming cast of Disney characters has a particular way of venturing into different genres of games, such as sprawling RPGs or a life-simulation, and making it feel all their own. Now, Mickey Mouse and friends land in the realm of an arcade racer, where they'll compete to see who's the top driver.

Disney Speedstorm sees Disney icons tear through various racing tracks and circuits inspired by the well-loved cartoons and films from across 100 years of the company. I got to spend some time diving into the opening hours of Disney Speedstorm ahead of the early access launch on April 18, and so far, it’s been shaping up to be a fun Disney twist on a kart racer. Unfortunately, some elements overcomplicate what is an otherwise enjoyable twist on arcade racing action.

When it comes to fundamentals, Disney Speedstorm nails the fast pace and satisfying moment-to-moment action of a kart racer. While on the tracks, you'll tear into the asphalt with your chosen driver and their modded-out vehicle, drifting into tight turns, grabbing boosts, and using weapon pickups like bombs and perspective-skewing debuffs to cut down the competition.

It also comes packed with tracks that pull from both classic and modern Disney. Along with levels that reinterpret Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters Inc., and Mulan into visually stunning and thrilling racing levels, there's even one inspired by the original Steamboat Willie cartoon, which was a favorite track that I got to play.

Final Fantasy XVI is coming to PS5 on June 22, 2023. It will be a PlayStation 5 exclusive for at least six months, after which it may come to PC and/or Xbox — but Square Enix has made no announcement to that effect so far. FF16 will be available in several editions, including a collector's edition; you can see the pricing and contents of each below. Without further ado, my fellow RPG fans, let’s get to it.

Final Fantasy XVI Standard Edition

• Get it at Amazon - $69.99
• Get it at Best Buy - $69.99 (free steelbook case)
• Get it at GameStop - $69.99
• Get it at Walmart - $69.99
• Get it at PS Store (digital) - $69.99

At most retailers, the standard edition of Final Fantasy XVI just comes with the game itself, plus the preorder bonus (see below). But if you preorder from Best Buy, you’ll also get an exclusive steelbook case for free along with it.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, taking place in the same version of Hyrule, though with numerous changes. It's set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023. Release day is getting closer and closer, and we've even gotten an in-depth look at gameplay during a recent online presentation.

This is the first Nintendo Switch game that costs $69.99, both in physical and digital form, putting it in line with MSRP for many PS5 and Xbox Series X|S games. In addition to the game, you can also preorder a new Link amiibo, as well as a Zelda-themed Switch OLED console, plus accessories. And, in addition to the standard edition, a collector's edition will also be available, featuring an art book, pins, and more -- but it's currently sold out. There's a lot to cover, but we have all the details you need below.

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Sony has announced that a brand new PlayStation State of Play is on the way today, April 13, that appears to be solely focused on Final Fantasy 16 ahead of its exclusive launch on PS5 on June 22, 2023.

This guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the show, including when it starts, a list of places you can stream the State of Play live, and what you can expect.

Final Fantasy 16 PlayStation State of Play Start Time

The Final Fantasy 16 PlayStation State of Play will take place on Thursday, April 13, at 2pm PT/5pm ET/10pm BST. If you live in Australia, that translates to Friday, April 14, at 7am AEST. We don't know exactly how long the State of Play will be, but it promises more than 20 minutes of new Final Fantasy 16 gameplay.

Where to Watch the Final Fantasy 16 PlayStation State of Play Today

If you’re interested in watching the State of Play broadcast yourself, we host the stream here and across our many channels like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the Final Fantasy 16 PlayStation State of Play today, April 13:

Long gone are the days of Rare-developed Nintendo exclusives, but founder Tim Stamper still has pieces of gaming history from the studio's early years. In a few short video clips, Stamper revealed development footage from Project Dream, along with other snippets from N64 classics.

Stamper has taken to Twitter to showcase development cartridges from the past, posting footage from unseen N64 titles – kind of. The clips include canceled projects or games that would live on through other iterations, like Dream 64 and Twelve Tales: Conker 64.

In the series of posts, Stamper shared a photo tagged as Dream 64 and Banjo-Kazooie featuring Captain Blackeye, a pirate who would later show up in the Banjo games. The image includes a SNES and N64, with the latter holding a development cartridge labeled "Latest Version of Dream 64" dated November 21, 1996.

"So it's true," Stamper wrote. "Dream 64 does exist after all…!"

The Rare Founder also added a 15-second peek at Dream, which he noted "was probably for the Nintendo Shoshinkai show [in] 1996". It again includes Captain Blackeye, whose voiced lines harken back to Stamper's earlier tweet with "so it's true then, the Nintendo 64 treasure does exist after all."

If you're a Resident Evil 4 fan or are at all following the game online, you might have noticed some goofy art over the last month involving the character Ashley looking strangely rodent-like. Turns out, it's a fantastic and hilarious trend that caught on upon the release of Resident Evil 4's recent remake, where fans are drawing Ashley from Resident Evil 4 as a little tiny mouse obsessed with cheese. And it rules.

It all started with this tweet:

What if you booted up resident evil 4 remake and Ashley was just a tiny mouse, what would you do. pic.twitter.com/WNF0UNvKdQ

— Mora (@Agrimmora) March 24, 2023

The artist, @Agrimmora on Twitter, followed up by explaining that "I saw a joke drawing that depicted ashley with big ears and this came to my mind, i never got past the boulder chase scene as a kid."

This is pretty cute and funny, but it gets better: the Resident Evil 4 community has fallen in love with her. It's been almost three weeks since the initial tweet, and Twitter is still awash in mouse Ashley art...or "Moushley" art, as she's come to be called.

The Library of Congress has selected Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. theme to be the first video game track enshrined in the National Recording Registry.

In a blog update from the US Library of Congress, the research institution named the Super Mario Bros. theme one of its 25 recordings to showcase and preserve within its National Recording Registry. Every year, the library selects a small collection of audio sampling the "range and diversity of American recorded sound heritage in order to increase preservation awareness."

Though the National Recording Registry has built its selection of over 600 recordings since established in 2002, Mario's beloved theme is the first video game song added to the library. The iconic Nintendo tune joins a wide range of other historical musical picks, ranging from Mariah Carey's perpetual Christmas hit to Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee's chart-topping Gasolina.

Commenting on the significance of the registry for the Library of Congress update, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden explained their mission and selection process.

AEW Fight Forever, the officially licensed All Elite Wrestling game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ Nordic, is supposed to be out this year. But a series of comments from AEW leadership and the game's developers have left fans confused as to the game's actual development status.

The confusion can be traced back to February when AEW wrestler and executive vice president Kenny Omega said on the Swerve City Podcast (via WrestleZone) that "the game has been done," but was currently in limbo trying to get an ESRB rating finalized. This was then reiterated by AEW president Tony Khan during a media scrum following pay-per-view event AEW Revolution:

"I can't say the exact release date," he said. "There's a lot of things that go into that, and I don't want to step on anybody with that. It is coming very soon. The game is finished."

All of this sounds pretty definitive, but THQ Nordic senior community manager Per Hollenbro has recently taken to Twitch and Twitter to debunk this. On Twitter, he wrote that AEW Fight Forever is "doing really well" but is "not 100% yet," and called discussion that it was done "just another rumour on Twitter."

I mean if you want an unfinished game sure we could release now 😆

The game is doing really well and is getting there, but not 100% yet, so yea just another rumour on twitter I fear 😔

Diablo 4 will have a seasonal model much like its predecessor, and it seems like there will be a lot of content for players to tackle.

In an interview with PC Gamer, associate game director Joe Piepiora revealed the length fans can expect to complete each season's battle pass.

"Right now, the battle pass, when you're figuring in completing the season journey alongside doing other content in the game, you're looking at roughly 80 hours worth of time invested to complete the entirety of the battle pass," Piepiora said. "To level a character to level 100 could take a little longer than that based on how you play."

The interview also shed some light on how the battle bass system will work. Each season, you'll start with a new seasonal character that begins at level 1. Working through season-specific objectives will move you along the battle pass as you level up your character to level 100.

Like most games with live-service elements, the battle pass will have one free track for all players, and a premium paid track with cosmetic rewards. Piepiora said players who aren't interested in the endgame seasonal grind can skip it altogether and return when a story update happens without being left behind.

The associate game director also emphasized that Diablo 4 isn't designed to make players feel "that they must play forever," saying the game is an action RPG first rather than an MMO.

"I really should have explored more of the map." That was what I was thinking as waves of xenomorphs hurled themselves at my squad. They’d taken cover behind a large map terminal and, with the help of the three turrets I’d placed at the edges of the room, had mowed down the first few waves. My ammo counters were running low, but we were holding. Then the xenomorphs came out of the air ducts behind me. Game over, man.

I wasn’t sure what to make of Aliens: Dark Descent when I sat down to play it at Focus Interactive’s booth at PAX East. Alien has a dodgy track record no matter the medium, and aside from 2003’s Aliens vs Predator: Extinction, the franchise has tended to focus more on action than tactics or strategy. I shouldn’t have worried. Dark Descent is attempting something new, but what it’s going for fits the franchise perfectly.

Aliens: Dark Descent is a real-time, squad-based tactical action game. Instead of controlling a single Colonial Marine, you’ll find yourself commanding a whole squad. If you’ve seen Aliens, imagine that you’re Lt. Gorman, sitting in the APC and issuing orders, then watching your squad carry them out. You’ll control the whole squad at once, with commands automatically carried out by the marine best equipped to execute it at the time based on their equipment, attributes, or positioning.

Sony has announced its PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue additions for April 2023, bringing a mixture of first-person shooters, sports, and horror with titles like Doom Eternal, Riders Republic, and The Evil Within.

According to the PlayStation Blog, over a dozen games join the April offerings for Plus Extra and Premium members on Tuesday, April 18. On May 15, Game Catalog will remove a handful of other titles, including Marvel's Spider-Man, Resident Evil, and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2.

Among some of this month's standout games are first-person shooters Doom Eternal and Wolfenstein 2. IGN gave both titles 9/10 review scores, calling Doom a "modernized reboot a breath of fresh air for the genre" and Wolfenstein 2 a "fantastically written and acted story."

Sporty PVP sandbox Riders Republic and Shinji Mikami's survival horror nightmare The Evil Within add a little more variety into the mix, plus the ultra-vibrant murder mystery Paradise Killer is always worth a spin. Check out the full list below.

Today marks exactly one month until the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on May 12. To celebrate, Nintendo is giving us a brand new trailer for the game.

The final pre-launch trailer for Tears of the Kingdom will debut tomorrow, Nintendo has announced. The next look at the highly anticipated Breath of the Wild sequel will air Thursday, April 13, at 7 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. ET / 3 p.m. in the UK. Nintendo said the trailer will be roughly three minutes long.

Join us on April 13th, 7 a.m. PT to watch the final pre-launch trailer for The Legend of #Zelda: #TearsOfTheKingdom, livestreamed on our YouTube channel. The trailer will be roughly 3 minutes long.

▶️ https://t.co/cwlMFlzLAb pic.twitter.com/pTht2yUaTc

Sports gamers unite! It’s time to vote in IGN's Best Sports Video Games Showdown Contest! We’ve created a seeded, elimination tournament featuring the 32 greatest sports video games of all-time across four ultra-competitive regions: Traditional Sports; Arcade Sports; Racing/Fighting; and Wildcard. Only 2 games remain and it’s up to you to decide which one will win it all!

Fan Voting: March 29th 10am PT to April 13th 12am PT

Want a chance to win a $100 to the digital games store of your choice? Visit https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between March 29th 10am PT - April 13th 12am PT and make your predictions on which sports video game will win each bracket matchup. Ten (10) people who enter will win a $100 gift card to the digital games store of their choice. Visit https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ for sweepstakes details.

Relevant Dates:

• Giveaway Entry Period: March 29th 10am PT - April 13th 12am PT
• Round 1 "Round of 32" Fan Voting: Completed
• Round 2 “Sweet 16” Fan Voting: Completed
• Round 3 “Elite 8” Fan Voting: Completed
• Round 4 “Final 4” Fan Voting: Completed
• Round 5 “Championship” Fan Voting: April 12th 10am PT to April 13th 10am PT
• Winner Revealed: April 15th at 11:59pm PT

Introducing Our Finalists

Mario Golf World Tour (2014)

Franchise's Lifespan: 1999-2021

IGN Score: 8.6

IGN Review Blurb: “Mario Golf strikes an excellent balance of risk and reward.”

Mario Kart 8 (2014)

Franchise's Lifespan: 1992-Present

IGN Score: 9.3

Bethesda has revealed that Redfall will be launching on Xbox consoles capped at 30 FPS Quality mode and that a 60 FPS Performance mode will come to the game at a later date.

Revealed on Redfall’s Twitter account (below), the game will run at 30 FPS in 4K on Xbox Series X and at 30 FPS in 1440p on Xbox Series S.

Bethesda didn’t specify when it will add the 60 FPS Performance mode but it’s definitely coming after launch. It’s also unclear why Performance mode won’t be available right away.

Redfall is launching on Xbox consoles with Quality mode only:
Xbox Series X: 4K 30 FPS
Xbox Series S: 1440p 30 FPS
60 FPS Performance mode will be added via game update at a later date. pic.twitter.com/NLaGsMbwdW

— Redfall (@playRedfall) April 12, 2023

Redfall also received backlash from fans recently after Bethesda revealed it would also launch with an always online requirement. However, Arkane said it's working on a solution to reverse the decision.

Director Harvey Smith also said that a PS5 version of Redfall was in development before Microsoft merged with Bethesda, and the former came in and wanted the team to prioritize Xbox and PC platforms.