From soaring with dragons to facing off against Sephiroth and Aang, Magic: The Gathering has a packed year ahead. 2025 marks the first full cycle under Wizards of the Coast’s new release strategy, which splits the calendar evenly between the more classic Magic-original sets and the wildly popular "Universes Beyond" crossovers.

Most of the year’s main sets (aside from Avatar: The Last Airbender) are already available to preorder or buy on Amazon. That said, please also consult your local game store to find out when they're accepting preorders as well.

MTG: 2025 Release Calendar - At a Glance

Here’s your set-by-set guide to what’s dropping in 2025, breaking down release dates, when you can get your hands on everything, where you can preorder, and even includes a running list of every Secret Lair drop so far this year. We're starting off with a quick glance over the 2025 release calendar, but let's jump into a more in-depth look as well.

• Innistrad Remastered: Jan. 24, 2025 (Out Now)
• Aetherdrift: Feb. 14, 2025 (Out Now)
• Tarkir Dragonstorm: Apr. 11, 2025 (Out Now)
• Final Fantasy: Jun. 13, 2025
• Edge of Eternities: Aug. 1, 2025
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Sept. 26, 2025
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Nov. 21, 2025

Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy - Jun. 13

In television, nothing good can ever stay dead — and in a year that's seen new projects from universes as disparate as The Office and Buffy the Vampire Slayer re-enter production, beloved 2000s hospital sitcom Scrubs is next.

It's been 24 years since Zach Braff's character, junior doctor JD, first began his time at Sacred Heart Hospital. Now, Braff has agreed to reprise the role in ABC's upcoming Scrubs reboot, which is expected to feature a mix of new and returning faces.

If this concept sounds familiar, it's because ABC tried the idea before as part of Scrubs' ill-fated ninth season that featured Braff and other series regulars handing over the baton to a new, younger cast. The idea was not popular, and the season was canned after just nine episodes.

Randy Pitchford has addressed the backlash to his controversial Borderlands 4 $80 ‘real fans’ tweet after someone ran it through a Handsome Jack AI.

Pitchford sparked the backlash in responding to a fan who had expressed concern about the prospect of paying $80 for Borderlands 4, saying: “if you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

Here’s the exchange:

"Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk, a lot of gamers aren't gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag. You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher."

And here's Randy Pitchford's response:

"A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen."

The response to Pitchford’s tweet has been mostly negative. “I am going to pirate Borderlands 4,” said one X / Twitter user. “Please stop. Just apologize and move on. This isn't fair on your developers. If you care about them, just do the right thing dude,” added another. “Randy we are begging you to stop. BL4 had so much hype and it’s being ruined in a day. Let people want to like and support the game and all the amazing people who made it,” said one commenter.

While Pitchford has yet to apologize directly for his comments, he did point to a recent answer he gave on-stage at PAX East on Borderlands 4's price, saying: “If you want the truth, here it is.”

And now, Pitchford inched closer to an actual apology after Borderlands streamer Moxsy tweeted dialogue from a Handsome Jack AI prompted by a user called Duke_Newcombe who fed it Pitchford's original tweet.

(Handsome Jack is the main antagonist of Borderlands 2 and self-appointed dictator of Pandora.)

Ohhh boo-hoo, $80 for Borderlands 4? Let me break out the world’s tiniest violin—crafted from Eridium and oiled with the tears of whiny Vault Hunters.

Listen, cupcake, you’re not buying a game. You’re investing in a premium, galaxy-shattering experience personally engineered to blast your sad little dopamine receptors into orbit. You think quality loot and chaotic mayhem just code itself? You want guns that sprout legs, sing sea shanties, and explode into loot goblins without paying top dollar? Grow up.

Back in my day, I built an entire moonbase with my own two hands (and a metric ton of disposable Hyperion interns), and you’re crying about spending a few bucks more to virtually murder skags with style? Puh-lease.

But hey, if $80 is too steep, there’s always a solution: just don’t buy it. More legendary drops for the rest of us, and fewer mouth-breathing freeloaders clogging up my loot pools. Win-win.

Stay broke, hero.

•⁠Handsome Jack President of the Galaxy, CEO of Hyperion, and your personal nightmare

Google has launched an advanced AI video generation tool capable of creating Fortnite gameplay clips that look almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Veo 3 launched this week and has already raised eyebrows for its dystopian ability to create life-like video clips from simple text-based prompts and include realistic-sounding audio.

Other generative AI programs, such as OpenAI's Sora, have been doing similar for some time — but the ability for Veo 3 to include lifelike audio really is a remarkable, if chilling, step forward.

Veo 3 users are still testing out what the tool is capable of, but within two days have begun producing Fortnite gameplay with a fake streamer commenting over the top. The quality is good enough that, while scrolling on social media, you'd think it was a legimate clip from YouTube or Twitch.

Technically, Veo 3 should not be infringing on anyone's copyrighted material — and it's safe to assume Fortnite developer Epic Games did not sign this one off. But clearly the AI tool has had access to the millions of hours of Fortnite gameplay posted online, and is now able to reproduce a convincing representation on command.

One clip, showing a streamer celebrating as they win a match using only their pickaxe, was apparently created within Veo 3 using a text-based prompt of nine words: "Streamer getting a victory royale with just his pickaxe".

Uhhh... I don't think Veo 3 is supposed to be generating Fortnite gameplay pic.twitter.com/bWKruQ5Nox

— Matt Shumer (@mattshumer_) May 21, 2025

In writing this prompt, Veo 3 has not been told specifically to create Fortnite gameplay. Still, it understands from the context what game the user is referring to.

Veo 3's abilities throw up all sorts of questions, and far more pressing ones than simple copyright concerns. The ability to create footage like this undoubtedly aids users looking to fool others with disinformation, and in so doing undermine trust in legitimate footage.

"I can not tell if this is real or not," reads one reply. "We're cooked," reads another.

"The only way this is possible is if Veo 3 was trained on an enormous amount of Fortnite content," a third reply reads. "Wouldn’t be surprised if everything that gets uploaded to YouTube is now being trained on despite copyright laws."

IGN has asked Epic for comment.

For a better look at what Veo 3 is capable of outside of video games, here's a clip of the algorithm creating a fake news report on an automobile trade show that doesn't exist, with fake interviewees answering fake questions.

Before you ask: yes, everything is AI here. The video and sound both coming from a single text prompt using #Veo3 by @GoogleDeepMind .Whoever is cooking the model, let him cook! Congrats @Totemko and the team for the Google I/O live stream and the new Veo site! pic.twitter.com/sxZuvFU49s

— László Gaál (@laszlogaal_) May 21, 2025

Microsoft has been interested in creating its own AI-generated footage of video games, and recently unveiled the early results of its Muse program, which it said it had trained on countless hours of Xbox shooter Bleeding Edge. Xbox boss Phil Spencer suggested Muse could be used to help ideate game concepts in the future, and even somehow aid in game preservation.

But Muse's reveal, quickly followed by the reveal of more fake gameplay footage generated by Muse of the classic shooter Quake 2, has prompted further debate — and raised questions over whether the tool would remove work or replace human creativity from existing employees.

Fortnite is no stranger to AI itself, of course. Last week, the game added the ability to chat with Star Wars' Darth Vader, who will reply using generative AI trained on the voice of the late James Earl Jones. Jones' voice is officially licensed (and was previously used to create dialogue for Disney's own Obi Wan Kenobi TV series) and sanctioned by both the late actor and his family, but the addition still prompted swift condemnation and an unfair labor practice charge from acting union SAG-AFTRA.

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

The biggest news today is that Magic The Gathering Marvel's Spider-Man preorders are back at Amazon. That includes the Play Booster Box, Scene Box, and full Bundle, all listed at standard retail with Amazon’s preorder price guarantee still in place.

That’s a breath of fresh air considering Pokémon TCG prices are still misbehaving. The Prismatic Evolutions Super Premium Collection is sitting at $259.95 on Amazon, while the Slashing Legends Tin is now $29.87.

Unless you absolutely need that Koraidon ex promo, you’re better off grabbing singles from Journey Together or Prismatic Evolutions on TCG Player while prices are still dropping.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

Elsewhere, the Sabrent SD Card Reader is down to $8.99, and INIU’s excellent lineup of power banks has multiple deals across sizes and wattages. The 10000mAh 5V model is now $15.98, while the 27000mAh 140W version is $71.99. IGN Store also has two Assassin’s Creed Shadows vinyl soundtracks up for preorder, with the Original Score 2LP at $42.00 and the full 4LP Soundtrack Collection at $98.00. Over on Humble, the Xbox Game Studios Bundle is still a solid pickup for $10, and the Learn to Program 2025 Bundle is a great value for anyone who wants to dive into Python or C++ without spending triple digits.

MTG: Marvel's Spider-Man Preorders

Spidey is slinging his way to Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond later this year, completing an epic lineup of licenced sets that are bound to breakdown the entry barrier of MTG for most.

Suprisingly, the Play Booster Box and Spidey's Spectacular Showdown Scene Box are back up for preorder. The Spidey Bundle has also just popped up for preorder again with Amazon's pre-order price guarantee, meaning we shouldn't see the incredibly jacked prices other TCG products have been experiencing with big box retailers.

It's a dream set for Marvel fans, who should get on this set early before prices on single cards goes through the roof.

MTG Final Fantasy Preorders

Meanwhile preorders for Magic the Gathering: Final Fantasy are still up at Walmart and Amazon, specifically the Bundle and Starter Kit for retail pricing.

This is set to be the biggest MTG set in the history of the trading card game, so it's a wise choice to preorder now. You can also preorder single cards at the moment too:

MTG FF Single Card Prices Before Launch

I've focused on some of the more popular character appearances here, but there's plenty more to secure with this set having nearly 700 cards including Extended Art, Boarderless and Surge Foil variants.

The worst thing you can do as a Magic or FF fan is to sleep on this set, it's going to explode. These are the current biggest cards in the set before launch on June 5.

Bear in mind it's mega risky to buy before release day, as prices could plummit in the meantime. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on what's hot, and what's not!

More MTG Sealed Products

Nintendo Switch 2 Accessories Sale

Did you manage to grab a Nintendo Switch 2 preorder in? If so you'll want to protect that tarrif-dodging investment at all costs. Luckily I've got the best cases, screen protectors and thumb grips on the market right now.

TZGZTs case and screen protector bundle is great value for money at $12.84 and is a consistent best seller.

Looking for cases that will fit inside a Switch 2 dock? JSAUX has us all covered with some option alongside some premium cases and hardshells.

I've included JSAUX as i've been hands on with the products above and can't reccomend them enough.

AC: Shadows Original Score

INIU Power Bank Sale

Amazon is running a solid range of discounts on INIU power banks, covering everything from ultra-portable 10,000mAh models to heavy-duty bricks that can charge your laptop. The compact 10000mAh 5V/3A model is just $15.98 (was $21.99), and the sleek 22.5W 10000mAh version — marketed as the smallest in its class — is down to $22.99.

For more power, the 22.5W 20000mAh option is $29.99, and the MagSafe-compatible 45W 10000mAh model has dropped to $35.99 from $49.99.

Need something serious? The 27000mAh 140W bank is $71.99 (was $99.99), and the 25000mAh 100W version is $48.58 with an on-site coupon.

There’s also a handy 2-pack of 10000mAh banks for $35.99, or a great mid-range 20000mAh 65W model for $35.99. If your current battery pack is on its last leg, or you want one for every bag, these are easy recommendations.

Xbox Game Studios Bundle

Sabrent SD Card Reader (USB-C)

Prismatic Evolutions SPC

Amazon is back on top for the worst pricing in Pokémon TCG at the moment, with Prismatic Evolutions Super Premium Collections rocking a price tag around three times the MSRP.

TCG Player is valuing this at around $224.43 right now, saving trainers over $30. That's great, but still a tall order if you're not interested in the Eevee deck box and promo.

There's 15 booster packs in the SPC, which also means you could buy a couple of Prismatic Evolutions Booster Bundles from TCG Player instead for $137.98 to snag 12 booster packs, or 18 booster packs for $206.92. It's still not ideal, but that's the value of them right now.

Buying from a dedicated Pokémon TCG secondary market is cheaper than big box stores these days. Don't want to put that much money down on chance? Prismatic Evolutions single cards are nose diving right now:

Prismatic Evolutions Single Cards Are Crashing

This Weeks Crashers And Climbers

It's becoming abundantly clear that buying up singles on the Pokémon TCG collector market is the way forward for trainers right now.

Some chase cards that have crashed recently are cheaper than some overpriced booster bundles currently.

Some of the prices above look crazy, but some of them we're nearly double just a couple of weeks ago, with the latter 5 cards climbing higher and higher.

If your heart is set on ripping open booster packs, let's get into the best way to do just that without destroying your life savings (much).

More Pokémon TCG Sealed Products

If you're desperate for some big box retailer products, here you go.

Just make sure to be savvy before buying, as 9 times out of 10 TCG Player will be cheaper in this climate.

Assassin's Creed Shadows Soundtrack Collection 4LP Vinyl

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Pearson Learn To Program 2025 Bundle

Windone Electric Scooter

4-Burner Propane Gas BBQ Grill

NordicTrack T Series

TP-Link Quad-Band WiFi 7 BE33000

Unlock Pro 3D Modeling Skills With Blender

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold 256GB

SAMSUNG Galaxy S25 512GB

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 + Smart Tag

Bose QuietComfort

DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition A3 Art Print

Cooler Master NR2 Pro Mini ITX

Skytech Chronos Gaming PC

ASUS TUF F16

Google Pixel 9 Pro 1TB

GeoGuessr has withdrawn from the Esports World Cup after players and map creators slammed the team for participating in the event that, controversially, will be hosted by Saudi Arabia later this summer.

GeoGuessr is tremendously successful, boasting 85 million users in a geography game that drops players in random places around the world and asks them to work out where they are. There's a whole host of developer and community-made customization options that let players tailor not only who they play against, but also what maps will spawn, if they'll be dropped into an urban or rural setting, restrict spawns to certain geographical regions, toggle the ability to move, pan, or zoom — or not move, pan or zoom (NMPZ) — and more, including a smorgasbord of fantastic community-made custom maps. It's long been an esports staple.

However, yesterday (May 22), Zemmip — posting on behalf of "creators of a considerable share of GeoGuessr's most popular maps" — staged a "blackout," making its maps unplayable in protest at the "company's decision to host a World Championship wildcard tourney at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh."

"Groups targeted by the government include women, LGBTQ people, apostates and atheists, political dissenters, migrant workers in the Kafala system, religious minorities, and many others," Zemmip said on the GeoGuessr subreddit. "The subjugation of these groups is extensive and pervasive. Members of these groups are routinely subjected to discrimination, imprisonment, torture, and even public executions. These severe human rights violations are well-documented and indisputable.

"By participating in the EWC, GeoGuessr is contributing to that sportswashing agenda, which is designed to take attention away from Saudi Arabia's human rights violations," the statement added.

The blackout included dozens of creators and their maps, "including a supermajority of the most popular competitively relevant world maps." The organizers said the blackout would continue until "GeoGuessr cancels its wildcard event in Saudi Arabia and commits to not hosting any events there as long as it continues its oppressive regime."

"You don't play games with human rights," the statement concluded.

Looking for codes for Dead Spells? IGN has you covered. We've jumped into the game and checked for all the newest and working codes for the Dead Rails inspired game. This fantasy survival game allows you to play as various classes including Gnome, Mushroom, and Goblin as you set off on expeditions.

Working Dead Spells Codes (May 2025)

• 10Klikes - 100 Burgers
• 1MVisits - 50 Burgers

Expired Dead Spells Codes (May 2025)

As of this month, these codes have now expired:

• 5000!

How to Redeem Dead Spells Codes

You'll need to find blue lizard in Dead Spells in order to redeem codes, so to find it and get your rewards, follow these steps:

1. Launch Dead Spells on Roblox
2. When you log into a server, go straight ahead past the water fountain.
3. Then, look for the blue lizard wearing a monacle near the noticeboard. It will say Enter Codes above it
4. Approach the lizard and interact with it to enter codes
5. Enter the code into the box and hit claim

How to Redeem Codes for Dead Spells

We check for new codes every day, so the best way to find out about the latest Dead Spells code is to save this article and keep checking back. You can also hunt for codes in the dediated Discord server, where codes are also announced.

Why Isn't My Dead Spells Codes Working?

If your code for Dead Spells isn't working, it's likely for one of two reasons:

1. The code has been entered incorrectly
2. The code has expired

If a code is not accepted in Dead Spells, it will say "code does not exist or is expired." It doesn't make it clear what the problem is, you'll just know the code hasn't worked. The good news is, if you use our article, we'll move codes into expired when they stop working, so you can tell the difference. If a code is in the active and working list, however, be sure to copy and paste it exactly as you see it here. We test each of the codes before uploading them, and Roblox codes are often case-sensitive, so it's important that it's exact.

Succession star Kieran Culkin has secured the part of a young Caesar Flickerman in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping movie adaptation, following months of rumors.

Lionsgate confirmed the news on X/Twitter today, confirming that Culkin would indeed appear as The Hunger Games’ colorful and eccentric TV host in next year’s book-to-movie adaptation. The mystery of who would play Caesar Flickerman has had readers’ heads spinning since rumors began to swirl earlier this year. Now that the fancast has been officially confirmed, all eyes are on Lionsgate to bring its prequel to life.

Sunrise on the Reaping is yet another prequel adaptation for eager Hunger Games readers. It takes place after 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and long before the events of the Jennifer Lawrence-led Hunger Games movies that premiered throughout the 2010s. Stanley Tucci was prominently featured as Caesar Flickerman in the film series that finished its story in 2015, leaving Culkin with big shoes to fill as he preps to play a younger version of the character.

“Kieran’s scene-stealing presence and undeniable charm are perfect for Caesar Flickerman, the sickeningly watchable host of Panem’s darkest spectacle,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-President Erin Westerman said in a statement. “Stanley Tucci made Caesar unforgettable—and now Kieran will make the role entirely his own.”

Caesar Flickerman.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters November 20, 2026. pic.twitter.com/hggGysk4Nd

— The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) May 21, 2025

Culkin has left a massive mark on TV and film in the last few years thanks to his roles as characters like Roman Roy in Succession and Benji Kaplan in last year’s A Real Pain (which won Culkin a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award). Movie fans may also recognize Culkin from his time as a child actor in films like 1991’s Father of the Bride as well as 1990’s Home Alone, where he appeared alongside his brother, Macaulay Culkin. Kieran’s recent time in the spotlight has seen him build a career off of his quick wit, making his casting as The Hunger Games’ dystopian TV host in Sunrise on the Reaping feel like a match made in heaven.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’s release date is currently set for November 20, 2026. When it brings Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name to the big screen, viewers can expect to see Culkin star alongside Ralph Fiennes (Conclave, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) as President Coriolanus Snow, Elle Fanning (Super 8) as Effie Trinket, Jesse Plemons (Civil War, Breaking Bad) as Plutarch Heavensbee, Joseph Zada (Total Control) as Haymitch Abernathy, and more.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

There’s a healthy swarm of discounts buzzing across every platform today, from indie gems to AAA heavy-hitters. Whether you're into sword-swinging epics, musical dungeon crawlers, or cosmic cowboy chaos, there’s something here worth chucking onto your backlog. Let's dig into the weird, wonderful, and wallet-friendly highlights for this very rainy Thursday.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 28th birthday of Fighters Megamix, the Sega Saturn's answer to Smash Bros before that was even a thing. Sega of the '90s was especially 3D fightin' obsessed, so the concept here was simple—smoosh a bunch of brawlers from the Virtua Fighter series, Fighting Vipers, and other games into one punch-a-rrific package. I remember being particularly stoked with the ten weirdo unlockable characters, like some Sonic the Fighters contestants, the palm tree from AM2's logo, a gun-packing Janet from Virtua Cop, and a *double checks memory* Daytona USA NASCAR.

Aussie bdays for notable games

- Fighters Megamix (SAT) 1997. eBay

- Planetside (PC) 2003.

- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS) 2008. Get

- Klonoa (Wii) 2009. Remake

- Ratchet & Clank: QForce (PSV) 2013. eBay

Contents

• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• PC Gear
• LEGO
• Headphones
• TVs

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo kicks things off with Hogwarts Legacy for A$59. The game includes a sly nod to the Harry Potter films with the moving staircases built from the same blueprints as the original set. Meanwhile, Crypt of the NecroDancer is just A$6.00, a steal for a rhythm-based roguelike whose composer Danny Baranowsky hid a remixed Zelda-style theme deep in the soundtrack.

• Hogwarts Legacy (-34%) - A$59.00
• Crypt of the NecroDancer (-80%) - A$6.00
• Yooka-Laylee (-80%) - A$6.50
• Guacamelee! Super Turbo Champ. Ed. (-75%) - A$5.00
• Lego Jurassic World (-90%) - A$5.90

Expiring Recent Deals

• NBA 2K25 (-68%) - A$29
• Sea of Stars (-35%) - A$33
• Scribblenauts Mega Pack (-90%) - A$4
• Lego The Incredibles (-92%) - A$7
• Lego DC Super-Villains (-90%) - A$8

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• Resident Evil 4 (-47%) - A$31.40
• Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40.00
• Mass Effect Leg. Ed. (-90%) - A$9.90
• TB Stealth Pivot Controller (-33%) - A$168.40
• Hogwarts Legacy (-55%) - A$49.00

Xbox One

• TB VelocityOne Flightstick (-18%) - A$205.60
• Grand Theft Auto V (-52%) - A$29.00
• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (-90%) - A$10.00

Expiring Recent Deals

• CoD: Black Ops 6 (-19%) - A$89
• Split Fiction (-16%) - A$59
• Lies of P (-35%) - A$58
• Crisis Core: FF VII Reunion (-46%) - A$46
• Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled (-26%) - A$51
• Burnout Paradise Rem. (-75%) - A$7
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Rem. (-80%) - A$11

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

• Elden Ring: Nightreign (-9%) - A$64.00
• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (-19%) - A$89.00
• Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40.00
• Cyberpunk 2077: Ult. Ed. (-20%) - A$84.00
• Monster Hunter Wilds (-26%) - A$89.00

PS4

• Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (-73%) - A$26.80
• Bayonetta (-75%) - A$9.40
• Catherine: Full Body (-80%) - A$10.90

Expiring Recent Deals

• Death Stranding 2 (-21%) - A$99
• Gran Turismo 7 (-29%) - A$88
• NBA 2K25 (-68%) - A$38
• Final Fantasy XVI (-48%) - A$44
• Astro Bot (-19%) - A$89
• CoD: Black Ops 6 (-19%) - A$89
• Red Dead (-68%) - A$29
• Ni No Kuni: WotWW (-80%) - A$13
• Crysis Rem. Trilogy (-75%) - A$18

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from May 1 with this subscription

• Ark: Survival Ascended (PS5)
• Balatro (PS5/PS4)
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (PS5/PS4)

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

• Red Dead Redemption 2 (-75%) - A$22.40
• Hogwarts Legacy (-75%) - A$22.40
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (-50%) - A$29.90
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla (-75%) - A$22.40
• Maneater (-80%) - A$11.30

Expiring Recent Deals

• Helldivers 2 (-31%) - A$41
• RoadCraft (-17%) - A$51
• Cyberpunk 2077: Ult. Ed. (-45%) - A$65
• Inside (-90%) - A$2.99
• Limbo (-90%) - A$1.49

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Laptop Deals

• HP Envy x360 16" 2-in-1 (-39%) – A$1,399
• HP Laptop 15.6" Ryzen (-34%) – A$1,049
• ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (-35%) – A$869
• Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 (-41%) – A$1,229
• Apple 2024 MacBook Air 15-inch (-16%) – A$2,094
• Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (-36%) - A$879
• Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen7 (-27%) - A$1,018

Desktop Deals

• Lenovo neo 50q Gen 4 Tiny (-35%) – A$639
• Lenovo neo 50t Gen 5 Desk (-20%) – A$871.20
• Lenovo Legion Tower 5i (-29%) – A$1,899

Monitor Deals

• ARZOPA 16.1" 144Hz (-55%) – A$159.99
• Z-Edge 27" 240Hz (-15%) – A$237.99
• Gawfolk 34" WQHD (-28%) – A$359
• LG 27" Ultragear (-42%) – A$349

Component Deals

• MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi Motherboard (-41%) – A$229
• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D (-7%) – A$876
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB (-35%) – A$82
• Kingston FURY Beast 16GB (-30%) – A$48

Storage Deals

• Seagate One Touch Portable HDD (-24%) – A$228
• Kingston 1TB USB 3.2 SSD (-17%) – A$115
• SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO (-63%) – A$29
• SanDisk 32GB Ultra SDHC (-53%) – A$9.90

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Legit LEGO Deals

• Mandalorian Moff Gideon Battle (-42%) - A$35.00
• Space Construction Mech (-33%) - A$10.00
• Fountain Garden Building (-28%) - A$129.90
• Williams Racing & Haas F1 Race Cars (-27%) - A$22.00

Expiring Recent Deals

• Botanicals Daffodils (-48%) - A$12
• Minions’ Music Party Bus (-42%) - A$35
• Deep-Sea Research Submarine (-33%) - A$39
• Construction Steamroller (-33%) - A$10

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Hot Headphones Deals

Audiophilia for less

• Galaxy Buds2 Pro (-31%) – A$239
• Technics Wireless NC (-33%) – A$365
• SoundPEATS Space (-25%) – A$56.99
• Sony MDR7506 Pro (-18%) – A$199

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Terrific TV Deals

Do right by your console, upgrade your telly

• LG 43" UT80 4K (-24%) – A$635
• Kogan 65" QLED 4K (-50%) – A$699
• Kogan 55" QLED 4K (-45%) – A$549
• LG 55" UT80 4K (-28%) – A$866

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The Amazon Memorial Day sale kicked off last Friday, but all of the other retailers have since come out with their own competing Memorial Day sales. Amazon has remained the most popular sale, however, so I decided to do some digging into what discounts are actually worth shopping right now and what you can probably hold off on buying. With Prime Day on the horizon, I've been on the hunt for only the absolutely best prices possible and have handpicked some deals I think are worth a look.

The full Amazon Memorial Day sale includes a lot of discounts, but not everything that is currently discounted is that good of a deal. If you're trying to save as much money as possible, I'd recommend looking at the price history of that item on Amazon to make sure it is actually a good value. I've gone ahead and done that already for all of the deals listed below to save you some time.

Amazon Memorial Day Sale - The Best Deals Today

Like I mentioned above, all of the deals I've listed here are at the lowest prices we've ever seen on Amazon. I took advantage of the CamelCamelCamel website to check the current prices against historical pricing on Amazon to make sure I'm only recommending actually good deals. The first major sale I recommend here is the 65-inch LG C4 OLED TV that's on sale. This is one of the overall best TVs you can buy right now and it very recently dropped to this new low price for the sale. The latest iPad model is also down to its lowest-ever price again after getting temporarily marked up. It's only been out for a few months, so any discount at all is noteworthy.

Outside of the more expensive tech purchases, there are also some pretty decent Memorial Day video game deals within this sale. The one I've highlighted here is Kingdom Come: Deliverance II which only just came out this year and is already in the running for best game of 2025. A $20 discount may not seem like much, but it's a great price for a relatively new game that has already sold pretty well at full price. For more physical media, we've also found a few decent 4K movie deals not featured here as well as a new low on the Throne of Glass books.

Finally, there are some noteworthy grill deals I couldn't help but include. Memorial Day sales are one of the best times of the year to save money on a grill and I've been looking to buy a new one myself. There's the standard Charbroil grill that comes in at a relatively reasonable price point that I'd recommend for anyone just looking for a decent backyard grill. Then there's the more impressive Traeger electric smoker grill that is great if you're looking to really get into cooking meats this summer. Both grills are currently at their lowest-ever prices on Amazon today.

Should You Wait for Amazon Prime Day to Shop?

It's smart to have a light source on hand for emergencies, especially since everyday carry flashlights can be had for a throwaway price. Right now, Amazon is offering the Olight IMINI2 Keychain Flashlight for just $13.99 after a 30% price drop. This flashlight is tiny, easily accessible, rechargeable, and at this price, not the end of the world if you misplace it.

Olight IMINI 2 Rechargeable Keychain Flashlight for $14

Need a quick way to transfer files and images from your SD or Micro SD cards to your PC? Right now Amazon is offering Amazon Prime members the Sabrent USB 3.0 OTG Card Reader for just $7.01 after you apply coupon code "NTCIF4MK" during checkout. This tiny little stick features both USB 3.0 Type C and USB Type-A ports for maximum compatibility.

Sabrent USB 3.0 OTG Card Reader for $7.01

Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price. This page includes all of the best deals that are currently available.

Dell and Alienware Coupons

Dell and Alienware Gaming PC Deals

Dell and Alienware Gaming Laptop Deals

You can quickly browse through all of the listed products on sale above. See below for our favorite picks.

Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Gaming PC

New Releases: Alienware Aurora 16 and 16X Gaming Laptops

Up to $300 Off Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptops

Alienware x16 R2 Gaming Laptops

Have you won the battle to secure a Nintendo Switch 2 preorder? Well, now it's time to set your sights on the new Pro Controller, which is also available starting today. It's currently orderable via Target, Walmart, Gamestop, and Best Buy for $84.99 with a release date of June 5. Just like the Switch 2 console itself, we expect this item to become much harder to find and possibly more expensive if tariffs go back up, so this may very well be the best opportunity to secure one.

Preorder the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller

Disney dabbled in live-action remakes of its classic animated movies in the '90s -- see: 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians -- but once the House of Mouse struck gold with 2015's Cinderella and 2016's The Jungle Book, there was no going back. And then when 2017's Beauty and the Beast remake crossed a billion? Forget about it.

With Disney's latest live-action re-do -- the beloved (and merchandise windfall) Lilo & Stitch -- hitting theaters this week, and right on the heels of Snow White too, we decided to paint the roses red with our own list of the Best Live-Action Disney Remakes.

To some Disney die-hards, these live-action remakes are a hard pass. And regardless of how many feel about the "cashing in" aspects of these films, or whether or not you think they're soulless compared to the original animated version, there are some gems in the bunch. There are also some directors behind these films who have reverence for the material and actually bring the stories to life in new, poignant ways. What's your favorite live-action Disney remake? Did it make our list? Vote in our poll and find out below...

(Oh, and this list is for remakes only -- not prequels, sequels, or re-imagined takes on characters like your Maleficents, Cruellas, Christopher Robbinses, etc.)

10. Aladdin (2019)

2019's Aladdin -- which features Will Smith as the Genie in the magically manic voice role owned by the legendary Robin Williams -- sits here at 10 on our list as the official wall separating decent to great live-action Disney remakes and the dregs. Aladdin didn't offer up much new, but it was still better-than-people-thought-it-would-be, which sort of becomes the gold standard after a movie fad or franchise goes on long enough. Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, played the hits while also offering up more interesting material for Jasmine and the Genie. It was lively and colorful and, for the most part, harmless.

9. 101 Dalmations (1996)

Disney had a runaway hit on its hands in the mid-'90s when Oscar-winner Glenn Close donned black and white hair as crazed canine coveter Cruella de Vil for a 101 Dalmatians remake. Using early-stages CGI to enhance this doggone adventure (but without making the dogs talk like in the original movie), 101 Dalmatians was the toast of the holiday movie season in 1996. Geared more for kids, making it a bit of a grind for grownups, 101 Dalmatians was a slapdash display of slapstick upgraded by Close's kooky go-for-broke (Golden Globe-nominated) performance.

8. Mulan (2020)

The Mulan remake hit its mark with an epic scale, some spectacular action, and a dynamic lead in Liu Yifei. It honored the spirit and fun of the original while also making distinct changes (like ditching dragon pal Mushu, removing the songs, changing the love interest, etc.). These tweaks and turns actually help the 2020 Mulan feel like a confident retelling, with impactful messaging and meaning, rather than a retread of old hits. By grounding the saga a bit more, this Mulan truly became a girl worth fighting for.

7. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

If any classic Disney animation was going to get the Tim Burton treatment, Alice in Wonderland was the optimal candidate (while history has taught us that 2019's Dumbo was the least ideal). The end result was not only a uniquely Tim Burton display of oddball wonders but also a billion-dollar hit about five years before Disney would fully unleash the floodgates with these big live-action reworkings. Bringing some key members of the Burton Brigade with him -- namely Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and composter Danny Elfman -- Burton blended elements of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and sequel Through the Looking-Glass (just as the 1951 animated movie did) and unleashed a lush, subversively witty odyssey through a strange, strange land.

6. Beauty and the Beast (2017)

As one of the most initially daunting projects of this remake era, Beauty and the Beast was always going to have big, beastly shoes to fill. Not only was the original movie the first-ever animated feature to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but the deep fan love for this story -- far surpassing fandoms for Jungle Book and Cinderella and the remakes that came before it -- was always going to cast a massive shadow. Fortunately, thanks to the direction of Bill Condon and terrific performances from a game cast -- namely Emma Watson and Dan Stevens -- the Beauty and the Beast remake is an enchanting movie that includes the many elements fans of the animated classic would hope to see, while also introducing some new aspects that work really well.

5. The Little Mermaid (2023)

2023's The Little Mermaid met us in a very different pop-culture world and media landscape than the previous remakes. It was the first Disney live-action remake to get wide theatrical release post-pandemic (Mulan, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan & Wendy were all released on Disney+, though Mulan was supposed to be released in theaters) and so not only did it need to carry the burden of being a blockbuster during times when movies just don't (sort of automatically) make a billion dollars anymore, but it also had to suffer from internet toxicity. Despite all of that, The Little Mermaid had us all riding high on a warm wave of nostalgia, dazzled by a brilliant, vulnerable performance by star Halle Bailey.

4. Cinderella (2015)

Kenneth Branagh's excellent, charming Cinderella remake -- starring Lily James, Cate Blanchett, and Richard Madden -- never exactly leads the charge in conversations about Disney remakes. It might be because more focus is given to the 1990s "Disney Renaissance" movies than to the classic movies that came out in the '30s through the '60s since, generationally, they target the modern movie-going public more. Or it could also be because Cinderella is very old school when it comes to gender norms, centering a story around a woman pining to be rescued from her life by a prince. All that aside though, this version of Cinderella is wonderful, maintaining a harmony between honoring the classic Disney rendition and grounding the film just enough for it to work with a modern audience.

3. Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

The Disney live-action remakes have brought out award-caliber directors -- from Rob Marshall to Bill Condon to Jon Favreau -- but, as fate would have it, the visionary who's best at these modern revampings is The Green Knight's David Lowery, who's landed two films on this list: two films that have flown severely under the remake radar. The first is released-to-streaming Peter Pan & Wendy, a whimsically morose take on Peter Pan that zigs when you think it should zag. Instead of being a boisterous family adventure, it's a masterfully moving tale about loss with a gorgeous backdrop. Jude Law, perhaps previewing a bit of what he'd also deliver on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, plays Captain Hook in this incredible film about accepting life's tragedies.

2. The Jungle Book (2016)

Seen as a movie that kicked off the decade of Disney remakes, Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book is a wild, heartfelt adaptation that some even feel surpasses the original (and it's one of the few films on this list to be able to tout that). Using all the CGI in the world to populate its jungle, opening up a discourse about what actually constitutes "live-action," The Jungle Book boasts voices from Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Christopher Walken. It's a stunning achievement that's fun for all ages, and before the consensus started leaning negative toward these remakes, The Jungle Book had everyone believing.

1. Pete's Dragon (2016)

Ok, number one is a bit of a cheat since the original 1977 Pete's Dragon was a live-action/animation mix, but David Lowery's modestly seen Pete's Dragon from 2016 is a sweet, beautiful look at two vulnerable souls caring for one another. It's hopeful, heartfelt, and full of wonder. Was this entire list written just so we could recommend Pete's Dragon to you? Who can say? But this Pete's Dragon finds magic where the original one may have faltered. It's a true re-imagining that improves upon the previous material. Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, and a young Oakes Fegley star in this exceptional offering.

What are your favorites? Let's discuss in the comments!

As part of Amazon's big Memorial Day sale, you can pick up the LEGO Star Wars Mandalorian Helmet (#75328) for $55.99 (20% off). This collectible display set is the perfect gift for any Star Wars fan and looks great on bookshelves. I would know, I have one and it fits my aesthetic perfectly! There are a handful of other LEGO Star Wars helmet displays on sale as well, like Darth Vader and Captain Rex which we've included below.

For more LEGO Star Wars, be sure to pick up this awesome LEGO R2-D2 set before it's retired for good.

LEGO Star Wars The Mandalorian Helmet Is On Sale

It’s a real feat to create a movie that gets less interesting once occult stuff starts going down, but Shudder’s newest original movie manages to do just that. The Surrender covers an ambitious amount of ground for a story set in one location, but its compelling, character-driven plot gets so lost in paranormal drivel that it ultimately feels pointless.

The feature debut of writer-director Julia Max is half family drama, half supernatural horror, and that first half is actually quite strong. The Boys star Colby Minifie brings a sort of feral rage to Megan, an only child navigating in-home palliative care for her father, Robert (Vaughn Armstrong), alongside her overbearing mother, Barbara (Kate Burton). You can tell that Max has lived through the slow and painful loss of a parent: The Surrender was inspired by the death of her stepfather, and Robert’s fictional demise is grounded and specific as Megan and Barbara navigate medication schedules and adult diapers. The movie is strongest when it’s focused on the relationships between its characters. There’s an obvious power struggle unfolding between Megan and Barbara, as they bicker about medicine and family money and reignite old grievances. When Robert finally dies, Megan and Barbara are briefly, beautifully united by grief.

And then the supernatural horror kicks in. Turns out Barbara, swayed by her anti-vax yoga teacher, has hired a nameless man to resurrect Robert via occult ritual. (Classic mom stuff!) Megan, who up until now has been compulsively incapable of not arguing with her mother, is weirdly amenable to this plan – or at least amenable enough to keep the plot loping along. As the ritual unfolds and the women’s journey grows more perilous, The Surrender completely loses its footing, yanking Megan out of a reality ruled by the striking mundanity of grief and into a metaphysical realm defined by blood and nonsense.

This type of thing can certainly coexist with a realistic onscreen depiction of loss: Hereditary, The Babadook, The Descent, The Invitation – if you want horror movies that grapple with the existential dread surrounding death, there’s your watch list. But it’s a matter of striking the right balance, and The Surrender is noticeably off-kilter. It speeds through Robert’s death – and all the excellent, nuanced material surrounding it – then becomes slow and stale once Barbara reveals her plan to bring him back. It takes forever for the ceremony to get underway, and once it does, all the wailing and bloodshed that ensues is far less chilling than Robert’s actual death. As The Surrender stutters to a close, the pacing becomes even more erratic. Major events fly by quickly and without fanfare, but get ready to sit through multiple insipid flashbacks to Megan’s childhood.

Max shows promise as a director, even if she mismanages the extra time. She and production designer Tahryn Smith make excellent use of their indie budget by turning Robert and Barbara’s house into the ultimate pressure cooker. A massive library and open-concept kitchen make the couple’s wealth apparent, but they also become the staging grounds for devastating arguments and dark deeds. Some of the scares are well-crafted, too, like one sequence where Megan sees ghostly eyes behind her in a mirror.

Ultimately, though, The Surrender’s fatal error is that it mistakes freakishness for scariness. A successful horror movie about grief doesn’t pile a bunch of horrifying stuff on top of the loss – it amplifies the terrifying feelings that already come with it. While we’re taken slowly and monotonously into a darker, less human world, Megan and Barbara’s grief is sidelined. As a result, this is a horror movie where the horror elements feel redundant. The Surrender pulls off a few fun visual tricks, but it’s moments like Megan and Barbara teaming up to close Robert’s mouth before rigor mortis sets in that really linger.

The Throne of Glass hardcover box set is currently available on Amazon at its lowest price ever for its Memorial Day sale. You can pick up Sarah J. Maas' bestselling fantasy saga for just $97.92, a whopping 60% off. Sarah J. Maas has quickly risen to the top of many fantasy fans' personal Mt. Rushmore of authors with the Throne of Glass series and her A Court of Thorns and Roses series, another fantasy romance saga. According to Forbes, Maas has sold 3.1 million print books in 2024 alone and was given prominence thanks to the "BookTok" TikTok community.

Get the Throne of Glass Hardcover Box Set For 60% Off

Has there ever been a more climactic end to a woeful football season? Both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have endured a torrid few months domestically, with the two clubs sitting in low league positions.

Thankfully, there’s a chance for at least one of them to emerge with some credibility this season, with the Europa League trophy up for grabs. The final, which will be played in Bilbao, Spain, will host the all-English affair.

Not only is the trophy itself to be coveted, but the winner will also snag another chance at the Champions League next season. With that comes added pull for what’s likely to be a hectic summer for both teams, as well as a chance to play against the best teams in Europe, so there’s a lot at stake.

How to Stream the Champions League Final in the US

We've spoken before about how Paramount+ is one of the best streaming services for sports at $7.99 minimum, and it's been no different for the Champions League.

If you are eligible for a free trial, however, make sure that you turn off your auto-renew so you don't get charged at the end of the week if you don't plan on using the service afterwards.

How to Watch the Europa League Final for Free

The Europa League final kicks off at 8pm BST / 3pm ET on May 21, and will be shown for free on Discovery+ in the UK, and subscribers-only on Paramount+ in the US ($7.99/month).

If you're in the US (or anywhere else globally) and own a VPN, then you should be able to use it to get around the geo-blockers and make use of the other country's service where the match will also be available (Discovery+ for example in the UK).

Using a VPN (like those we've shown above) to change your location to London, you can simply log into your discovery+ account, and enjoy the Champions League final for free.

If you aren't yet a free member, you will need to register your information, though, so be sure to do that in advance so you’re not scrambling around with seconds before kickoff.

“Viewers without discovery+ simply need to download the app on their mobile device, web or access via their TV, register their details online, kick back and enjoy the game for free,” TNT Sports explained for those in the UK.

Spurs v Man United Record: Did You Know?

Spurs have already beaten United not once, not twice, but three times this season. Does that give them a psychological edge? It’s hard to say, but it’ll be interesting to see if they can make it four from four. In fact, between the two sides, they’ve lost 39 matches in the Premier League this season.

Includes Contributions from Ben Williams.

GameStop currently has over 300 physical games on sale for just $15. As part of their Quick Saves deal, select PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch titles are available at super low prices. Sales like this typically only offer shovelware titles most people wouldn't be interested in, but GameStop's Quick Saves deal has countless indie and AAA games that are absolutely worth picking up now if you've missed them. Say sorry to your backlog, I know I will be.

Some collector's and deluxe editions are also available, as well as a small amount of LimitedRun games like Worms. You can also grab a couple of Blu-rays, too!

For more sales like this, make sure to check out our full roundup of Memorial Day video game deals going on right now.

Physical Games for Just $15 at GameStop

This GameStop sale has a ton of critically successful titles, including games from years passed and recent releases. If you're an FGC fan, Tekken 8 is available and is one of the series' best entries according to our review. Then there's Persona 5 Tactica, a tactical RPG set in the middle of Persona 5. With all of these and more at just $15, it's the perfect time to stock up for a rainy day.

Save on Deluxe, Premium, Limited, and Collector's Editions

This $15 sale extends to massive collector's and premium edition box sets of some games. You can pick up the massive Dead Island 2 HELL-A Edition that typically goes for $99.99 MSRP, which comes with the game disc and steelbook case, the expansion pass, badges and pins, and a foldout map of Venice Beach. Then there's Dragon Age: The Veilguard Deluxe Edition, usually $69.99, that includes a variety of weapon and armor skins.

Save on Select Blu-Rays

Finally, you can buy a handful of Blu-rays as part of this $15 sale. The selection is a bit sparse, but you can pick up season 1 of HBO's The Last of Us to catch up before season 2 ends this Sunday. I recommend grabbing the Super Mario Bros. Movie Blu-ray before its sequel is out as well. The next movie's title leaked, and I'm excited to see how the next film pays homage to a retro classic.

Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.

Not every streaming platform is available in every country. Fortunately, that’s not the case for Netflix – in fact, it’s harder to find a country in which Netflix isn’t offered. This means that you can always find some version of Netflix regardless of the country you’re in. Well, unless you travel to China. The trouble is that, Netflix originals aside, the available content varies by country.

If you travel outside the U.S., you may not be able to stream your preferred TV shows and movies. Even if you try to access US Netflix from abroad, you’ll be redirected to your current location's library or face some sort of geo-blocking or error message. The good news is that through extensive testing, I’ve identified the best VPNs for Netflix to get around this.

TL;DR: These Are the Best VPNs for Netflix US

So what is a VPN and how exactly does it work? A VPN is a service through which you connect to a server in your preferred location. The VPN then routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to your chosen VPN server. Not only does this secure your data from prying eyes, it essentially spoofs your location so you can bypass geographic blocks on content.

1. NordVPN

Best VPN for Netflix

2. ExpressVPN

Best VPN for Streaming

3. Surfshark

Best VPN for Extra Features

4. CyberGhost

Best VPN With a Free Trial

5. IPVanish

Best VPN for Unlimited Devices

6. Proton VPN

Best VPN With a Free Tier

7. PrivateVPN

Best VPN for Unblocking

Despite the media world moving to digital, I find myself with a surprising amount of physical media in my home with nowhere to put it. I've got books, video games, LEGO sets, and even some old DVDs just laying around in different bins in the closet. All of these items are important to me in some way, but I just don't currently have a good enough storage option to properly display everything. I am in desperate need of a good bookcase that can fit both my style and my budget, so I've found myself browsing Memorial Day sales looking for furniture deals.

There are a lot of furniture deals going on right now at pretty much every retailer, but for bookshelves and bookcases I've found that Wayfair is the easiest place to browse. Amazon and Target also have Memorial Day sales on furniture going on right now, but for this specific need, Wayfair seems to have the most options at affordable prices. Below, I've gathered a few cool options that I've found so far, but there is a whole section of deals on bookcases across all price points to look at.

Wayfair Bookcase Ideas on Sale Now

Like I mentioned above, there are literally pages and pages of bookshelves in this sale. If you're just going straight into it, I'd suggest using the filters on the site. You can adjust the dimensions of your search based on what size bookshelf you're looking for, choose the frame or shelf material, and sort by price. If you don't like any of the options I've featured above, narrowing down your search will save you a ton of time browsing the options available.

The deals I did feature are just a few of my favorite options I'm considering. The two geometric cases offer the coolest design, but not nearly as much storage as the much larger options. The Trivette Geometric bookcase seems like a really cool video game storage idea, but I'm not sure it would work as well for my book collection as the Steel Geometric Bookcase. There's also the kids bookshelf that would be great for including all of my son's baby books, but he will eventually grow out of those. All in all, there's plenty to consider.

See the full Wayfair Memorial Day sale

Wayfair has the biggest overall Memorial Day furniture sales you can find online. If you're looking for storage options, a new couch, or outdoor furniture, there's discounts on just about everything right now.

Summer is fast approaching, which means it’s time for Warhammer Skulls. The ultimate showcase of Warhammer video games is back for its ninth year, hosted for the third time by actor and superfan Rahul Kohli. There will be world premieres, exclusive reveals, and update announcements, and you can watch it all live.

Showcase Date, Time, and Where to Watch

The festivities will begin on May 22 at 5:00 p.m. BST, which means 12:00 p.m. Eastern / 11: 00 a.m. Central / 9:00 a.m. Pacific. You can see times for other regions in the graphic at the bottom of this page. IGN will livestream the full event, which will be around 50 minutes long. You can tune in on any of these channels:

IGN.com (our homepage)

IGN’s Facebook

IGN’s Twitter

IGN’s Twitch

IGN’s YouTube

If you’re not able to watch the showcase live, no worries. We’ll post the whole event on YouTube after it’s finished, like we did for last year’s show.

What to Expect from This Year’s Showcase

As usual, this year’s showcase will feature exciting world premieres, reveals, and updates for several games. You can count on updates for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, since we know Patch 8 and Horde Mode (or whatever it ends up officially being called) are on the horizon. Publisher Focus Entertainment previously gave an overview of Horde Mode, saying you can play with three players (or bots replacing the other players) and that the map will be in Kadaku. However, we don’t have a release date or know everything else that’s coming in Patch 8.

That’s the game we can be most confident in being part of the show, but there are several others that should be in line for updates and new info too. There’s Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus II, which was announced with a trailer at last year’s Warhammer Skulls. There’s Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which as of December is now available on PS5 in addition to Xbox Series X/S and PC. Now that it’s established itself across platforms, there will be new content coming.

We know there’s DLC coming for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, but so far only know it’s planned to release in the summer. And there are plenty of other games that could see updates or new content — like Total War: Warhammer 3, Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, Warhammer 40,000: Warpforge, and Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector. Plus, there’s sure to be brand-new premieres and announcements nobody could predict.

On top of all that, the showcase on May 22 also marks the beginning of a week-long celebration with marked down prices and freebies. During that week, you can get up to 90% off Warhammer titles, and there will be new content, DLCs, and free updates across several platforms, including Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, GOG, and Geforce Now.

Legendary Pictures’ live-action Street Fighter movie is reportedly considering four big names as it kicks off the search for its cast.

Actors Andrew Koji (Bullet Train), Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, A Minecraft Movie), Noah Centineo (Black Adam, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), and WWE star Roman Reigns are all in talks to star in the fighting game’s film adaptation, according to Deadline. Although it’s far from a confirmation that any one from the group will end up attached to the Street Fighter movie, if accurate, it’s at least a sign that things are continuing to move in the right direction.

Should Koji, Momoa, Centineo, and Reigns land their parts, there’s no word yet on which members of Street Fighter’s iconic roster they would portray. Plot details also remain a mystery as Legendary pushes forward with its goal to deliver a release date in spring of next year.

Legendary announced its plan to develop a new Street Fighter movie in 2023, confirming it had acquired the rights to Capcom’s classic fighting game series in the hope of bringing it to the big screen. YouTube stars and Talk to Me-directing duo Danny and Michael Philippou were then picked to serve as directors on the video game movie adaptation just shortly after.

It was a fiery start to Legendary’s process that was extinguished one year later when THR reported that the Philippous had exited the Street Fighter film. The project went without someone in the director’s chair until February 2025, when THR shared that The Eric Andre Show’s Kitao Sakurai had been picked up for the spot. Legendary still seems to be holding on to its previously announced March 20, 2026 release date as it works to lock down its cast and other key components.

The Heart of Democracy update for Helldivers 2 has marked out a new battlefield on Super Earth itself. And it looks like Helldivers are jumping back on to help hold the line against the Illuminate invasion.

Earlier this week, the Illuminate officially launched an invasion of Super Earth as part of the Heart of Democracy update in Helldivers 2. After a long build-up involving a mobile black hole, Super Earth has become a zone of conflict, and Helldivers are dropping into various cities to assist with the defense efforts.

There are quite a few more Helldivers dropping in now, too. A quick look at SteamDB shows the player count rebounding back up alongside the Heart of Democracy update's drop, currently sitting at a 24-hour peak of just over 163,000 players. It's a number that exceeds the peak of the Omens of Tyranny update, though it's still far off from the release window peaks for Helldivers 2.

That's still a feat for Steam, as developer Arrowhead Game Studios contended with negative ratings and complaints early on in Helldivers 2's PC life, alongside the infamous PSN situation. With recent valleys in the tens of thousands, a lift up to over 150,000 concurrents is certainly a shift worth noting.

Over on X/Twitter, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt posted a few fascinating numbers. First, that this surge might be one of the largest simultaneous returns of players for Helldivers:

I think this is the largest simultaneous return of players for Helldivers? 🤔

Team did a MEGA job on the update! pic.twitter.com/14D1qNv2SZ

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 20, 2025

And second, that around 2.5 million Helldivers have been playing the game every week. It's a pretty staggering number for any live service game, but shows how the community has stayed attached.

Around 2.5 million Helldivers playing the game every week, super excited to see how many more log in with this update!

So happy and blessed that we have such an amazing community!

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 20, 2025

Over on the Helldivers Discord (via VG247), Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani responded to players congratulating the team on the player count surge. "It's all you folks and your amazing support," said Jorjani.

If you're eager to dive back in yourself, I can attest to it being a good time to play right now. The new Super Earth battlefields are great fun, and you can even recruit some SEAF helpers to assist in holding back the Illuminate threat. Just be mindful of all the chaos and destruction.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

As our exclusive IGN First coverage of Elden Ring Nightreign continues, we bring you our interview with game and combat designer Takuya Miyazawa. Enjoy!

To start, can you describe what it's like working at FromSoftware and getting to work on such highly acclaimed titles like Elden Ring and Nightreign?

Takuya Miyazawa - Game and Combat Designer on Nightreign: I, myself, previously a huge Souls fan. I'm a big fan of these games and what the company's made, so it's a huge honor to get to work on such titles and as well as the fun of creating these games. I do feel a little bit of pressure and responsibility from the fans who enjoy these games as well, so thank you.

Going into Nightreign, there are a lot of really subtle differences between the combat mechanics of base Elden Ring and Nightreign. Can you talk a little bit about why you felt like you should change up some of those mechanics for a multiplayer game like Nightreign and how the resulting gameplay fits Nightreign's fast-paced multiplayer style a little bit better?

So, the changes for the design of Nightreign… Well first, let me give a little introduction to the general design of Nightreign itself. So, as you know, it uses Elden Ring as a base for the design, so the world and a lot of the assets and the base combat flow comes from Elden Ring. But while it does use it as a base for enemies and such, one area that we wanted to focus on with Nightreign was how we encounter these enemies, the flow of the battle, and the abilities you can use. And so having Elden Ring as a base allowed us to branch out and experiment in these other areas, making it into something that stood out from Elden Ring and becoming its own new thing.

So while the game base sits with Elden Ring at its core, we wanted to create a gameplay experience that was ultimately very different. Elden Ring is a much more slow-paced, a lot more open-ended. You take your time and carefully go through the world, but Nightreign is what we're calling a short RPG. So there are some constraints here. For example, the three-day, three-night time aspect, and the limitations on the player; but at the same time while we’re putting these limitations on the player in terms of structure, we wanted to allow them some freedom points that they didn't otherwise have with Elden Ring. So the way they traverse the map, they can sprint and they can clamber up walls quickly. Let's see… there's no fall damage compared to Elden Ring. So while we put these constraints on the players from a structural point of view, we wanted to open up and allow them this freedom from a gameplay point of view as well. So it was about creating that balance and that contrast.

In terms of status leveling and how the players build their character: With Elden Ring, of course, you had a character creation and building from the very start, but with Nightreign, you select from a preset character as a sort of archetype to start with and then you're free to change your weapons, change your equipment, and change your play style a little bit on the fly. So while you could start as a tank, you don't necessarily have to fulfill that tank role from a gameplay perspective.

We wanted players to enjoy the role play of each character more from their sort of character traits and their abilities than a sort of preconceived notion of approach. We also wanted to reduce the amount of time players spend in the menu, actually, within the game. So instead of carefully checking their stats and going through the leveling process, it's a lot more on the fly, it's a lot more ad hoc, and we wanted to reduce and condense these elements that we found in our previous games but in a tighter, more compact experience, this short-form RPG experience for Nightreign.

So those are just a few of the aspects that we've tried to consider when approaching this from a multiplayer co-op standpoint.

The boss that we got to check out today as we were playing was Libra: Creature of Night

So for this particular boss battle… Obviously for each boss battle in the game, we're trying to give them their own idiosyncrasies and their own unique touches to make them stand apart and feel original. We wanted each of them to feel like their own experience. So with Libra in particular, we kind of added this trade-off feature that takes place before the battle. And of course, this can allow the players to acquire a new special weapon or a significant level-up or something that benefits them. But of course, being the nature of Libra and the nature of the game, it's not always going to be exactly in their favor, so we wanted to create this interesting risk-reward sort of feature for this particular boss.

As for the actual experience during combat itself, we wanted this sort of nature of Libra to be reflected in the gameplay as well. So this sort of duality aspect of the character, both in terms of its appearance and its behavior. So we wanted to give it a two-type move set. So first, it has the sorceries and traps that can kind of confuse and trick the player and then also the sort of more power and damage-focused attacks that come as well. So we wanted this duality to reflect both in its appearance and the pre-battle and the gameplay experience as well.

One of the things that really struck me about the boss battle was that it almost reminded me of an MMO raid kind of boss with how you had to work together and coordinate with your squad to avoid the full effect of some of its attacks. Was MMO boss design any kind of inspiration in creating this boss fight and if not, what really inspired you in those aspects of the boss design?

Yes, we paid attention to other genres such as MMOs and the boss fights within them and we did take some notes and some inspiration from these. But one thing we wanted to be careful of was the fact that seeing as Nightreign is a co-op, multiplayer focused game, we still wanted to take care during these boss fights that when another player is drawing aggro, the boss still feels like a significant threat to other players in the group. So even if another player is drawing the aggro, the attacks that the boss is going to do and the way it's behaving is still going to keep other players on their toes even if they're sort of flanking it or taking a more solo-oriented approach.

I definitely felt that, by the way. Feeling threatened even while I didn’t hold the aggro of the boss. Shifting gears to classes, what goes into designing a character class for Nightreign? Are you looking to fill specific archetypes? Do you come up with a cool idea for a skill and then design a class based around that, or what does that process really look like?

It's quite an unorthodox approach we took to character design in Nightreign, similar to what we started with in Elden Ring. So for instance, we start with these kind of general roles or role titles for each of the characters, such as the tank we mentioned earlier or a mage type. So we start with these very general and loose kind of bases for the character archetype. And then from the director, we get an idea of the characters and their individuality and the sorts of abilities that they're going to use and things like this.

Just to give one example of that. You might have used her in the network test or in your play session, the Recluse. Her archetype actually started as a mage, a magic user, plain and simple. But from there, we started to think about and discuss what's fun and what's interesting about playing as a mage from a player's perspective. And that is, of course, using magic, using your intellect to kind of suss out the enemy and its weaknesses and sort of piece the puzzles of the battle together as you go. Of course, just blasting magic is fun in itself, but we wanted there to be an extra layer to that such as how you use your resources, the timing of your spells, using multiple spells in conjunction. And so we started to design a system around that new kind of concept of a mage and how players would interact with that. So that's the kind of approach we took to the character design.

Another aspect of our approach to the class designs was how you engage with them in a multiplayer environment. So of course, Nightreign is a three-player co-op game at its core and we wanted these skills and characters to be interesting both from a solo and multiplayer perspective. So one example of this could be the restage skill of the Duchess. So obviously, this is a very powerful skill when you're playing in solo play, but if you're going to take it to the next level and master it, a nice idea might be to watch what your allies are doing, watch for when they're doing some big damage and then restage their attack patterns and get some extra damage that way. So it really encourages this sort of teamwork and thinking as a group and thinking in terms of co-op play.

This is really the first from Soft Souls with fully developed, pre-made classes that each have their own unique skills and abilities. Does that have any effect, or rather, does it raise any challenges with regards to how you design bosses or enemy encounters, knowing the powerful tools that a squad will be able to take into a fight?

In terms of each character's individual abilities and their ultimates and skills, we didn't want to have that dictate how we approach the enemy design or encounter design and vice versa as well. We didn't want the player action level to infringe too much on the enemy action level. We wanted to concentrate on these characters and making them feel unique and fun to players in and of themselves, first and foremost, rather than having these encounters and these boss battles sort of affect that negatively and impact the fun.

One area we did concentrate on is the feeling of a role or responsibility within each character. So you might have somebody who feels it's their duty to try and protect the others during a difficult boss fight or try and distract the enemies, the adds (enemies) during a certain boss fight. Something like this was a feature of the pre-made designs that we could include in Nightreign that maybe we didn't experiment with too much in previous titles.

Of course, another aspect is because this is a co-op game that focuses on having a three-person team, we did want to make the bosses feel particularly hardcore from that standpoint as well. So they will use very large-scale attacks. They will use certain abilities that will inhibit or restrict the player or kind of put a sort of urgency to their moves like the timer that's inflicted on them in the Gladius Boss fight. Things like this, we really wanted to make them feel unique and imposing in each their own way.

You mentioned the Duchess ability and comboing that with a very strong ability that one of your allies will use. Do you have any other favorite ability combos or synergies from the available character classes?

Another example I could give is the Raider character who raises a giant totem from the earth. This itself does damage to the enemies and bosses, but at the same time, the different characters can clamber up atop it. So you could, for example, have the Ironeye character raining down arrows from the safety of the tombstone or reviving a character by shooting them with long-range attacks. Something like this, we feel that there's a nice breadth and synergy that you can experiment with each of these characters.

Another example might be a more general example is the Recluse who you could also use in the network test. Her ultimate art actually marks enemies, puts this sort of seal on them which grants you HP and your teammates HP as you attack. So this, used in conjunction with high damage output or fast subsequent attacks from your teammates, could be very effective at healing the team, keeping them alive. Things like this, we hope players will really have fun experimenting and playing around with these different combinations.

Was the Libra Boss battle inspired by any specific characters or mythos?

Well, he can't speak to any specific titles or names. One of the main inspirations for the Libra Boss battle was this sort of massively multiplayer raid battle sort of focus, so with this idea of having a lot of players coming together to fight this boss battle together. This involves not only the kind of exciting and dangerous elements of that fight, but also the puzzle elements as well, sort of figuring out the right time to attack, figuring out the time to retreat, figuring out the different elements to this boss fight. So we wanted it to feel like an intelligent boss design rather than just an all in, every man for himself kind of appeal.

Personally, what Nightreign character is your favorite to play and what is a build that you really hope players will dig into and enjoy?

A personal favorite of mine is the Guardian, the avian-type knight character with the shield. He favors a more defensive-y and tank-y kind of build that this character archetype provides. I enjoy being able to both attack and defend at the same time or provide that kind of bulwark and that area of safety for his team. If players are more not so keen on the fast dodge rolling and sort of the perfect timing of the parries and things like that, this is a nice character for them to feel like they're really contributing to the team aspect and able to enjoy the battle in that sense as well.

Generally, we designed the game for the players to be able to beat it as any character. So we wanted them to feel like they could choose a character they liked, either from an ability standpoint or from an appearance or backstory standpoint, and beat the game just in their own play style and with a character they enjoy. That said, balance is still important and the team synergy we talked to, finding a good balance of, say, a tank type character, a mage type character, and a damage deal type character. This is often important as is the boss selection that you make as well. So sometimes, a different Nightlord Boss fight will encourage a different synergy or a different sort of group of roles, a different team composition. So we want players to enjoy figuring out these aspects and experiment with various characters and while they're doing that, find some that really resonate with them.

We really wanted both the boss characters, these encounters, and the player characters themselves to feel unique each in their own way. And we wanted it to feel unique enough that players can go back to the game and approach with another character entirely. So even if they have beaten a boss with the Guardian, they might want to go back and try it as the Recluse and see what other tricks they can come up with. Players also might enjoy doing a three-Recluse team, so tripling up on a certain character and seeing what kind of crazy stunts they can come up with, so I'm really looking forward to that aspect of the game.

Final question, and this might be the hardest one, but just what are some of your favorite video games?

As I mentioned earlier, I really like From’s games, these action RPGs that we make. I'm also a big long-time fan of Final Fantasy 14 and other multiplayer online games as well.

If you're thinking of jumping on the AMD bandwagon for your next upgrade, now is certainly the right time to do so. Earlier in March, AMD released its highest end model in its latest Zen 5 "X3D" stack: the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. Although this processor has been out of stock at most retailers since its launch, Amazon has finally listed it back in stock starting today with no markup, although I don't know for how long. This is currently the best gaming chip across both Intel and AMD that it serves as a better option for creators than the previous chart-topper, the 9800X3D.

The Creator's Choice: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU

Mostly out of stock since launch back in March

Nintendo has discussed Mario Kart World's fan-favourite new character, Cow, and shown off the piece of concept art that secured her place in the game as a playable character.

Speaking as part of a fascinating Ask the Developer interview, the Mario Kart World development team revealed their "silly sketch" that convinced the game's development team to upgrade Cow from a background character to a fully-fledged part of the game's roster.

"In previous games in the series, Cow was part of the scenery or an obstacle on one of the courses," producer Kosuke Yabuki said. "But when we were working on an early version of a course in this game set on a ranch that players can drive through, this sketch came up."

The sketch, which shows a smiling Cow driving a truck and looking like she does not have a care in the world, was immediately seized upon as inspiration for Cow to become Mario Kart's next playable character — and led to other background NPCs becoming playable, too.

"Each new Mario Kart game features new characters to race with, but since we added so many to the previous game, we wondered where we could go from there," art director Masaaki Ishikawa continued.

"And then one of the designers came up with that silly sketch of Cow cruising along, and I thought to myself, 'This is it!' (Laughs) So that's when we realized the course surroundings actually contained a lot of untapped resources."

Sony has announced an end to its PlayStation Stars loyalty program, less than three years after its launch.

The reward program no longer accepts new members as of today, and anyone leaving their membership now will be unable to rejoin, with reward points permanently deleted upon cancellation.

Otherwise, existing members will continue to be able to earn points until July 23, 2025, and redeem any remaining balance until November 3, 2026.

PlayStation Stars' Digital Collectibles will remain accessible for the forseeable future despite the end of the program, Sony has said, meaning you can continue to look at your 3D digital model of a Jim Ryan bobblehead for a good while longer.

"Since launching the program, we've learned a lot from evaluating the types of activities our players respond best to, and as a company, we are always evolving with player and industry trends," PlayStation vice president of network advertisiting, loyalty and licensed merchandise Grace Chen said in a statement on the PlayStation blog.

"Through this evaluation, we have decided to refocus our efforts and will be winding down the current version of PlayStation Stars. We will continue to evaluate our key findings from this program, and are looking into ways to build upon these learnings."

No replacement for the program was mentioned, and it's not clear what Sony's findings from running PlayStation Stars might be.

PlayStation Stars launched in July 2022, as a way to reward PS5 owners with points with real cash value based on money spent in the PlayStation Store, as well as for completing various tasks like completing a survey, or trying out various games or system features.

The offering was a rival to Microsoft's Xbox Rewards — and over time, both programs have been changed to become less profitable.

PlayStation Stars was unavailable for a month last summer while its services were unavailable. Then, in October, Sony announced a number of changes to PlayStation Stars including the expiration of points after 12 months rather than 24 months, and the removal of PlayStation Plus membership as a points-eligible purchase. Now, the whole thing is disappearing altogether.

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

In 2021, Round 8 and NEOWIZ announced Lies of P, a moody soulslike that answered the question that no one had thought to ask: What if Bloodborne was actually a Victorian reimagining of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio? When it launched in 2023, it surprised skeptics and over-delivered in both how great its dark fantasy setting was and how incredibly fun its aggressive combat was. Two years later, I got to spend some quality time with Overture, the ironically-named encore of an expansion to the hit action game. And even though I didn’t get to see much more than around an hour of the first stage and the new Boss Memories mode, it was apparent very quickly that the South Korean team is poised to overachieve yet again.

Overture is a prequel to the events of Lies of P, right before the puppet frenzy starts and robotic thralls massacre everyone in the city of Krat. But as it turns out, many of its ideas for settings, weapons, etc. were actually meant for the base game, but got cut to keep the original release from being too bloated. Round 8 studio Game Director Jiwon Choi told IGN in an interview that he and his team weren’t content with letting these ideas go undeveloped and unrealized. Through a translator, he described Lies of P as finally “complete” with the addition of Overture.

Lies of P has always been associated with Bloodborne, mostly because of how it looks but also because combat in both games adheres to soulslike traditions but forgo key behaviors like blocking. Even releasing a big DLC well after launch to put a bow on the original project has become a FromSoftware signature at this point. But Choi’s team embraces the comparison. “It is our honor [to be compared to FromSoftware].” He added that it motivates them to make something that can clear that high bar of expectation and they can only hope that they did with Lies of P, and will continue to do so in Overture.

The first steps you take back in the boots of the titular character, P, is into the snow-packed region around the Krat Zoo, a building your disembodied guide, Gemini, seems very confused to see standing and not a pile of embers. Story details are light, and the developers are staying tight lipped about anything we haven't seen so far. After some preamble from your lantern cricket, it was very difficult not to spend a couple of seconds swinging around one of the brand new weapons in Overture: a gunblade that looks exactly like the kind Squall Leonheart would get commissioned for himself. This was one of a few new weapon types I chopped my way through this frozen menagerie with, on top of new weapons from existing types, and a pair of new, very cool, legion arms that did very different, yet very effective kinds of asskicking.

The Pale Knight, as the gunblade’s called, was my main weapon against the ergo-poisoned monsters both on the outskirts of the zoo and within its walls. It has the weight and attack pattern similar to a greatsword, but its heavy attack pulls the trigger and the double barrel firearm attached sends lead screaming at foes. The recoil of these shots push P around, so it can be useful when mixed into attack strings to remain evasive. A trick I learned far too late in my demo is that you can actually fire the weapon again to rocket yourself back towards the bad guys for a big follow-up attack. So basically, it's the coolest weapon ever made.

Another new weapon type I dabbled with is the bow, the first completely ranged weapon in the series. It felt perfect for poking smaller enemies from afar but pretty incapable of making a reasonable mark on larger foes. I think with time there’s probably a way to exploit its perfect draw mechanic to menace all sorts of baddies from down range, but I couldn’t manage it in the hour I had. Another new weapon type I wish I spent more time with were a pair of long claws that shredded enemies with the kind of fury that is usually reserved for Best There Is At What He Does. This didn’t scratch the surface of weapons I glossed over that were clearly new additions to existing weapon types, but it was abundantly clear to me that people who really love the weapon customization aspect of the base game will have a lot of new toys to mash together in Overture.

The new legion arms I tried out also made great additions to P’s kit. My favorite was yet another gun: double-barrelled and chargeable to moderate the kind of force, spread, and impact on the bad guys. It’s a more close-ranged option, but even at half charge it made short work of the fodder that roamed around the snowy grounds or dilapidated halls of the zoo itself. At full charge, it was a reliable tool to stun bigger foes or at least interrupt their bevy of attacks for a second. I came to the second arm late in the demo, but it was certainly a strong offensive option in its own right. It launched blades that would swirl around enemies for a short time, similar to the throwable saw blade item, with two differences. One, it can fire multiple blades at once to do some significant damage over time on one target, and two, with a quick press of a button before releasing the flying blade, you can change the attack completely to a set of blades that dance around P instead, great for doing solid AOE damage.

Speaking of targets, the cast of enemies in this section was pretty unremarkable outside in the beginning of the level, but got very interesting as we got deeper into the zone. Some bitey wolves and grabby zombies were run of the mill, but standouts like some very angry kangaroos and an ergo-plagued elephant with a Resident Evil-style surprise really wowed me. I spent so much time against the latter that I only just made it to the end of the level to see the boss: an enormous crocodile twisted by ergo.

On that note, bosses will get a new focus in the patch for the base game that will accompany Overture with two new game modes: Battle Memories and Death March. Death March is a straight up boss rush, allowing you to make a playlist of at least 3 bosses and attempt to take them down all in one go. Battle Memories, meanwhile, allows you to return to old boss fights and attempt to beat them again, now in up to five different tiers of difficulty, with each tier increasing some unique stats that these bosses gain in this mode. Rewards for conquering these tiers have been hinted at, but not elaborated on. I went back to one of the old bosses, the Black Rabbit Brotherhood, to see how different it was on tier 3 than my memory of them in the base game. The way they beat me and my rusty fingers to death didn’t point out any real differences, but as with the rest of Lies of P, I'm sure teasing out the mystery comes with lots of experimentation.

Lies of P was one of the standout games of 2023, and among the best games in its action RPG subgenre not made by FromSoftware. Overture doesn’t play with the formula too much, but I found that the new ingredients it added, like the great new weapon types and fabulously freaky monsters, proved that there's never really too much of a good thing, even if it is largely the same thing.

Microsoft has announced Retro Classics with Game Pass, a collaboration with Antstream Arcade to bring a collection of over 50 classic Activision games from the 80s and 90s to Game Pass members.

The list includes the likes of Commando, Grand Prix, Kaboom!, Mech Warrior 2: 31st Century Combat, and Pitfall!. Some of the games go back 45 years. Players can even save their progress and continue later, a first for many of these games.

Microsoft said Retro Classics with Game Pass is “a step in our commitment to game preservation and backwards compatibility.” Retro Classics will be available to all Game Pass membership options in the regions where Game Pass is currently available.

She played what’s considered one of the most iconic characters in the Game of Thrones universe, but it wasn’t exactly an easy start for Milly Alcock. The Australian actress, who plays the young version of Rhaenyra Targaryen in the spinoff series House of the Dragon, recently revealed that someone in a position of power told her she would have to participate in acting coaching following her second day on set.

“On my second day on House of the Dragon, one of the, I’m not gonna say who, but someone very high up, pulled me aside and was like, ‘Um, we’re gonna get you an acting coach,’” Alcock explained during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show where she added she was "mortified."

The Critics Choice award nominee also joked about how the incident quickly humbled her. “It just confirmed everything that I’ve kind of known to be true, [which] is that I’m not very good at my job,” she said in jest. “You know what I mean! I was like, ‘I can’t do this. This is terrible. This is a big mistake.’”

Alcock, who is set to play Kara Zor-El / Supergirl in this summer's Superman movie as well as next year's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, played King Viserys I Targaryen's daughter and heir as a series regular in Season 1 and was a guest star on Season 2 of the show, which follows the fall of the House Targaryen. Emma D’Arcy plays the adult version of the Princess, who later becomes Queen.

Sony has revealed an upcoming PlayStation 5 and PC game called Mukti, which it signed as part of its Sony India Hero Project.

Mukti is a first-person story exploration game set in an Indian museum. According to developer underDOGS Studio, Mukti “delves deeply into a critical social issue that demands our attention: human trafficking.”

Check out the gameplay video below:

Here’s the official blurb:

In Mukti, players embark on a journey of discovery as they navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the museum, uncovering the harrowing truths and hidden narratives behind the scourge of human trafficking. Through rich storytelling and immersive gameplay mechanics, Mukti invites players to confront the realities faced by victims and survivors alike, shedding light on this pressing global issue.

Drawing inspiration from authentic narratives and meticulously researched historical contexts, Mukti aims to raise awareness, provoke thought, and inspire action. Each interaction within the game is designed to provoke empathy, spark dialogue and ignite change.

underDOGS Studio said it's working closely with PlayStation to ensure haptics and adaptive triggers — key features of Sony’s PS5 DualSense controller — are "tuned to enhance the experience such subtle vibrations during moments of quiet puzzle-solving."

In addition to this, underDOGS Studio has also revealed the tentative specifications for the PC version of Mukti.

Mukti PC Specifications

Minimum

● Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

● OS: Windows 10

● Processor: Intel Core i5-9400F or better or AMD Ryzen 5 3500 or better

● Memory: 8 GB RAM

● Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 570 (4 GB) or RX 6400

● Storage: 40 GB available space

Recommended

● Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

● OS: Windows 11

● Processor: Intel Core i7-12700K or better or AMD Ryzen 7 7700 or better

● Memory: 16 GB RAM

● Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (16 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (12 GB)

● Storage: 40 GB available space

The Steam version of Mukti will also support achievements, family sharing, and will have full controller support to boot.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Vaibhav Chavan, founder and game director at underDOGS Studio, said the indie developer was “proud” to be backed by Sony.

“Mukti is proud to be part of the prestigious Sony India Hero Project, being selected for this program not only gave us the fuel to bring our vision to life, but also reaffirmed our belief that Indian stories belong on the world stage,” Chavan said.

“After over a year of working closely with the fantastic folks at Sony, the journey has been nothing short of insightful and full of learning. Now, we’re thrilled to finally give you a glimpse of what we’ve been crafting behind the scenes.”

Sony has a number of Hero Project initiatives across the globe as it hunts for the next big externally developed hit for PlayStation. As part of the deal, Sony offers studios development support, publishing support, and marketing and promotion. Lost Soul Aside, for example, is an upcoming China Hero Project game.

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

Highest 2 Lowest opens in theaters Friday, August 22, before streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 5. This review is based on a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Spike Lee can shift tones mid-movie like few other directors – and in Highest 2 Lowest, he swings that pendulum as hard as he possibly can. Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime drama High and Low (as well as its inspiration, the novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain), it’s a curious melodrama that evolves in fascinating ways and boasts a tremendous lead performance from Lee’s long-time collaborator Denzel Washington. To say that the pair still has it after all these years and all their successes together and apart would be a massive understatement.

It might not seem that way at first, though. Highest 2 Lowest’s story of kidnapping, class, and moral dilemmas takes Lee back to New York City, his hometown and the setting for some of the most vital entries in his filmography. (Do the Right Thing and 25th Hour, to name a couple.) But the vibrancy the city lends those movies takes a while to emerge in this one, which opens within the comfy, cushy Brooklyn penthouse of record producer David King (Washington). This is by design, though it can be concerning, given Highest 2 Lowest’s initially stilted quality and the sensory assault of Howard Drossin’s ceaseless, oppressive soap-opera piano score.

If the action in the early goings ever moves from these ritzy confines – adorned with expensive artwork depicting Black history and pop culture from Lee’s own collection, and magazine covers highlighting King’s achievements – it’s to show that this is a tale of two New Yorks. In the one occupied by the main character, he glides by the riff raff on the sidewalks in a luxury SUV. Even something as simple as an establishing shot of a long line of police cars, arriving as soon as King calls them to report the apparent kidnapping of his teenage son, speaks to how the city bends to his will. That the child being held for an eight figure ransom is actually the son of King’s less well-to-do driver, Paul Christopher (Jeffrey Wright), puts this split into focus – as does the loaded question of whether or not King will still pay to save the kid.

However, as soon as he’s forced back to his old Bronx neighborhood by the kidnapper (played by A$AP Rocky), Highest 2 Lowest undergoes a radical transformation, resulting in some of the most electric filmmaking of Lee’s career. King is thrust into the other New York in a sequence modeled after the breathless chase of another Big Apple classic, The French Connection, winding through crowded streets during a Puerto Rico Day parade and into the subway on a train full of fans headed to Yankee Stadium. It’s here that Drossin’s score accelerates, becoming propulsive rather than plodding. The fabric of the visuals – courtesy of cinematographer Matthew Libatique – goes from cold and austere to sweltering and more textured, with all the film grain and cinéma verité of a classic, grimy New York indie. This sequence proves that Lee is no King, who strives to show that money and influence haven’t diluted his talent and authenticity. The director has neither missed a step, nor lost touch with the city.

Within this look at modern Black affluence and its contradictions, and what it means to make it in America while stepping on other people’s backs, Lee roots the more intimate drama in King’s relationship with his right-hand man. Christopher is King’soldest friend and loyal confidant, whose prison stint and conversion to Islam make him an immediate target of police suspicion. Wright makes himself appropriately small in the role, ceding space to Washington in a story of how wealth consumes everyone in its vicinity. This has the added effect of allowing Washington the room to turn his ethical conundrum into captivating, Shakespearean soliloquy.

If there was any doubt that Washington ought to be considered one of screen’s greatest performers, Highest 2 Lowest should permanently put them to rest. He crafts an entire history of struggle and ambition through mere glances and fleeting exchanges nestled amidst his showy bombast. As the film goes on, his ego takes center stage in a manner befitting King Lear – that is, until Lee also decides to capitalize on Washington’s action-star charisma, for a thrilling final act that culminates in a viscerally exciting and explosively entertaining confrontation across the glass divide of a recording booth.

Lee hasn’t merely spun a distinctly New York story with Highest 2 Lowest: It’s also one of modern technology, social media, and parasocial relationships of which King is blissfully unaware – until he becomes its victim. It’s a film through which Lee confronts accusations that he’s out of touch, by shaping a character who’s been slowly removed from his own culture and history by wealth and success, until he’s forced back in by circumstances beyond his control (and in many ways, of his own making). The more Lee opens up the world beneath King’s ivory tower, the more he reveals a despondent reality, sketched in hues of fury and despair, forcing him to take stock of the world he’s left behind.

Monster Train 2 proves that there was no need to reinvent the wheels on the Boneshaker train in order to relight the fires of this outstanding deckbuilding roguelike. (Not that they ever really went out – I’ve played the 2020 original almost daily for years.) It’s very similar to the roots of Monster Train, with a three-tiered tower defense structure where you optimize your unit placement and spells against incoming waves of invaders and choose your path along the tracks, though this time that path is headed from a re-lit Hell up to the gates of a corrupted Heaven instead of down. The five completely new clans have given me an enormous amount of toys to combine and experiment with as I build up momentum toward the final boss battle on each run, especially in tandem with the new equipment system that lets you mix and match parts, and a healthy number of other smart tweaks to the original’s incredibly replayable setup. In fact, Monster Train 2 is easily among the most compulsively replayable games that’ve ever gotten their hooks into me – I’ve already sunk over 90 hours into it (mostly on Steam Deck) with no sign of losing steam.

What makes each roughly hour-long run so gripping is that there are non-stop choices, and every one of them feels meaningful: which two factions will you pair up, which of your primary faction’s two champions do you take (and which of their three very different skill paths do you lean into), which Pyre Heart (with associated bonuses) do you slot in – and that’s before you draw a single card or choose a single game-altering artifact. All of those choices compound upon each other, and if you play your cards right and build synergies and combos you can become so wildly powerful that it feels as though you’ve completely broken something. But then, as you rank up and the enemies in subsequent runs become more powerful, it quickly becomes clear that if you don’t break it, it will break you. Like every great roguelike or roguelite, this isn’t a game you should expect to win every time, but every devastating loss makes the next win that much sweeter (and usually unlocks something new).

It’s so consistently interesting because of the intricate way all of the systems interact, from the simple positioning of your units so that the strong protect the weak to the extremely important order of operations to maximize the effects of your spell cards as you try to play as many as possible in a turn by reducing casting costs and generating more energy to spend. Figuring out which actions to take first can often spell the difference between winning and losing, and Monster Train 2 allows you to experiment much more than the original did by building in buttons to reset your turn or even restart a whole battle (which, in Monster Train 1, you kind of have to cheat to do). This will effectively put an asterisk next to your score on any leaderboard because knowing what’s coming gives you a huge advantage, but I’ve found it to be an invaluable tool to help me learn the best way to play my hand – and let me salvage some really fun builds from premature ends after I made a bad move. (For example, if I forget to use one of the new special abilities that some units have on a cooldown timer, such as a shield slam, a dragon’s fire breath, or potion brewing. Those frequently slipped my mind, even though there’s a prominent icon reminding me!)

Randomness will always play a huge role in a game like this – sometimes I end up with a weak deck that bites the dust in the first or second battle (even after a few retries), sometimes it’s dynamite out of the gate but then gets utterly destroyed by a boss that counters my strengths. (It does tell you at the start of a run which major bosses you’ll face, so you can plan to counter them if you think ahead.) But one thing that makes Monster Train 2 at least a bit more predictable than the original is that there is now always a deployment phase at the beginning of every battle, guaranteeing that you’ll have a chance to plop down at least a few units before the action starts. Especially if you’re packing a deck full of spell cards and buffs, it’s reassuring to know that you aren’t going to end up without anybody to cast them on for several turns.

A new layer of complexity is added in the form of Equipment cards, which let you buff a unit with more attack and defense, plus special abilities like growing Spikes when you’re attacked, Trample, Life Steal, or building more permanent attack power with every kill, to name a few. Some of those interact in awesome ways with a unit’s natural abilities, and you can even combine two pieces into one in order to, for example, create a weapon that both expands the capacity on a floor with every kill but also grows the equipped unit every turn, making them dramatically more powerful. As long as they keep scoring kills, they’ll always have room to keep growing. And because these equipment cards are shuffled back into your deck every battle, you’re encouraged to swap them around to different unit types for different effects (or you can pay to upgrade one so that it’s consistently available in the deployment phase).

On top of that are the new Room cards, which can be used to enhance each of your three floors with special effects. Some simply make your guys do +15 damage with every attack, others give them stat boosts on summon or Reanimation (the more you die, the stronger you get), one nukes everything on that floor for 50 damage each turn, one makes spells cheaper, another makes them more powerful, and one gives you cash for everything that dies there. That’s just a sampling of them, and they’re another rich opportunity to augment your characters with even more complex piles of modifiers and multipliers.

Another new swappable part is the Pyre Heart of your train itself, which sits on the fourth floor of your train and serves as your persistent health bar. It can now be swapped out at the beginning of a run to either give you a once-per-battle boost like a few points of energy or freezing your cards in place for the next round, or radically alter your run by ditching the standard starting cards and letting you draw some randoms to replace them. There are a bunch of these to unlock and try out, which further shakes up future runs.

All of that lays the groundwork for the colorful new clans themselves. These five factions are just as amusingly goofy looking and smartly designed as those that came before them, and there’s no end to the fantastic combos you can come up with by combining their special abilities. They have too many fun things about them to list – literal volumes of guides will be written about how to use them at high levels – but my favorite to play as has to be the fungus-based Underlegion: many of their units and spells can build up huge stacks of damage-over-time Decay (similar to Frostbite) that melts enemies to puddles of goo, or they can focus on spawning increasingly powerful stacks of mushroom soldiers – and sometimes, when the stars align, the act of spawning mushroom soldiers triggers huge stacks of Decay and Sap to render enemies toothless as they die.

The mad scientist-themed Lazarus League are my runners-up. They’re largely focused on the new gear system, and their roster includes several units with one hit point that come with equipment grafted to them. When they die, it becomes available to attach to anybody else, giving them a fun Frankenstein’s Monster theme I love to play with. If that’s not your style, though, you can focus on potion mixing to create increasingly powerful cocktails that grant Rage, Regeneration, Sap, or Unstable (which makes a unit explode if its health drops below the number of stacks), often with side effects like damage shields, Frostbite, and Resurrection, which instantly brings a unit back from the dead with one HP.

Sometimes I’ll let fate decide by randomizing my selection, and I’m never sad when it lands on the Pyreborne dragons because their thirst for gold funds all the unit, spell, and gear upgrades money can buy if you can stack Avarice (granting money from every attack). Alternatively, you can focus on Pyregel, which increases the damage an enemy takes with each stack. With either of those approaches, you’ll also earn golden eggs that can be cashed in for bonus artifacts between battles, or held onto for bonuses for certain units that are more powerful the more eggs you have in your cache.

Then you have the Banished, fallen angels who focus mostly on building up Valor (basically a new spin on Rage) to buff both damage and, for the front unit, armor generation. Some units earn Valor by moving, so using spells and abilities to shift them from front to back or between floors creates a highly mobile style of play that’s completely unique to them, while others build Valor through Revenge – which triggers whenever they take damage – creating damage sponges who get spongier (and hit harder) the more they soak up.

Finally, there’s the magic-focused Luna Coven, who, like the Stygian Guard before them, are my personal weakest faction because I’m not as good at building spell damage as I am buffing up a juggernaut unit. Even so, I’ve found success with them by making use of units that build their power with every Moon Cycle – the moon alternates between full and new every turn, with each phase granting bonuses to certain units, like attack boosts or sweep during a full moon. That is, it alternates every turn unless you meddle with it using spells and abilities to run up that score, affecting all units you have deployed who like when it switches from one to the other. They can also specialize in building up Conduit stacks on units that serve to amplify their spell power on that floor, and if you slot in a Mage Blade weapon it enhances their attack as well.

Naturally, all units can be upgraded twice by default from options in shops, and when you mix in some special options that you can only get out of a random event, it leads to some truly wild combos. One of my favorites I’ve done was to upgrade a Pyreborne Gildmonger dragon, who is a weak fighter but gives you a golden egg when he dies, with the Endless power. That lets you get him killed every turn to cash in on those eggs – but even better was lucking into the Worthy Sacrifice upgrade afterwards, which gave him a special ability that let me kill him off myself in exchange for more action points to use for other things that same turn. Then I duplicated that card a few times. Things got really crazy by the end of that run, but it still wasn’t enough to get me more than two battles deep into the new Endless Mode – the challenge ramps up to insanity in the second post-final boss battle, and I haven’t been able to beat the third... yet.

On top of the traditional customizable runs with increasing challenge tiers that unlock every time you beat one (up to 10) and randomized Daily Challenges that throw in three often dramatic game-changing mutators, there are also a set of 21 hand-built Dimensional Challenges to play through. Those range in difficulty from pushover to a couple I had to try multiple times just to get started, but they do unlock some extra stuff, like new Pyre Hearts and the ability to cosmetically customize your train’s three floors. I wouldn’t say they’re vastly different from the mutators you’d get from a Daily Challenge, but I’m all for more ways to play. It’s a little odd that there doesn’t seem to be a leaderboard for each of these standardized tests of skill, but I’ll be able to make do with the boards for the Community Challenges, which anybody can custom-build themselves.

Finally, there’s a bit more story this time than the first game’s simple setup, told through visual novel-style cutscenes you can watch between runs. We do get a little drama between the fallen angel Fel and her corrupted brother Seraph that’s taken seriously as the gang seeks to retake Heaven from the Titans who conquered it, but the rest of it is just goofiness between the greedy dragons, honorable mushrooms, wacky Frankenstein monsters, etc. It’s not bad at all, just kind of superfluous next to other innovative roguelike storytelling like that of Hades or Blue Prince, and given that it’s not voiced or fully animated it’s hard for there to be a break-out personality among them. Given that it’s entirely optional to read, though, there’s no harm in building a little bit of character around this cast of monsters and their creative cartoonish designs. Along with another excellent soundtrack of jaunty music, there’s plenty of personality on display.

Overall, there’s just a tremendous amount of content here – especially because (spoiler alert for anybody who's been following the trailers, plans to play this already, and likes surprises!) it turns out that Shiny Shoe has pulled a Left 4 Dead 2 and included all five of the original Monster Train clans alongside the five new ones. (The only one missing at launch is the Wurmkin, which were added in an expansion.) So there are actually 10 clans to choose from, for a total of 45 potential pairs – as compared to just 10 pairings for five clans. Getting to play as the Umbra, Hellhorned, Awoken, Stygian Guard, and Melting Remnant with all these new systems makes this feel like the only Monster Train I really need (though I do miss the unit-combining power from the expansion).

Samsung is the Los Angeles Dodgers of the soundbar world. Every single year, the tech giant fields a new flagship soundbar behemoth. And every single year, it shines as an outstanding system that sits at the top of most rankings and offers incredible value, even at a premium cost. The problem, though, lies in the lofty expectations that come with that role. Samsung’s new high-end system, the HW-Q990F, needs to be a league above last year’s ensemble to satisfy the masses. And as impeccable as the Dolby Atmos-enabled system continues to sound year-in and year-out, it’s getting tougher and tougher to continue to outdo itself.

Samsung HW-Q990F – Design and Features

Let's be honest, the HW-Q990F is a bit of a statement piece. This isn't a soundbar you'll want to (or even be able to) hide away – it's sleek, powerful, and definitely makes a presence alongside your TV on your entertainment setup. It's got that premium look and feel you'd expect from a flagship model. And while it does take up some real estate, the sound it delivers certainly justifies the footprint. More on that later.

The system’s subwoofer did get a substantial facelift this year, both in terms of aesthetics and hardware. Gone is the more computer tower-adjacent look of the old sub, and it is a design more akin to traditional home theater woofers, a more compact cube complete with dual 8-inch drivers. Inside, Samsung’s new optimized subwoofer uses AI-driven controls to minimize distortion when it’s delivering deep bass notes.

In addition to the excellent Samsung SmartThings app serving as the ultimate control panel for the Q990F, the WiFi-enabled system provides plenty of other forms of compatibility. Whether you're an Alexa devotee, a Google Home enthusiast, or an Apple AirPlay aficionado, the Q990F has you covered.

There’s a few other features that Samsung seems excited about, from a Game Mode Pro meant to add enhanced audio cues that put you right in the heart of the action, to Adaptive Sound that allows the soundbar to actively recognize the type of content you’re watching and adjust sound settings to give you the best experience possible. While these are both truly neat features, I don’t think they’re going to put anyone over the top if they’re considering spending a mortgage payment on a soundbar system.

The same generally goes for the Q990F’s collection of Samsung-specific goodies. The soundbar has a few features that are only accessible when paired with a corresponding Samsung TV, including a Wireless Dolby Atmos option and a Q-Symphony mode that lets the soundbar work in harmony with the speakers on your Samsung TV to (in theory) create a wider soundstage. I didn’t have a Samsung display to test these features out, but I have been able to do so in the past. They’re cool, but they’re not the reason you buy a system like this.

Notably, at least for gamers, the Q990F does add support for 4K/120Hz gaming and variable refresh rates.

Samsung HW-Q990F – Performance

Where the Q990F truly shines is in its performance, and that should come as no surprise. Like its predecessor, Dolby Atmos content comes alive with this soundbar, masterfully utilizing its four upfiring drivers to create an immersive soundscape that envelops you in sound. Overall, the bar’s audio is impeccably balanced, with a healthy dose of bass that adds weight and impact to movies and TV shows, but without overwhelming the other frequencies.

I usually audition some of my go-to Atmos content, including Apple TV+’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever for how it spatially puts you right in wartime Vietnam alongside the main character. But with Disney+ now offering Dolby Atmos for a significant portion of its library, I revisited Black Panther and was impressed by the enhanced audio. There’s a particular climactic fight scene towards the end of the film where the Q990F brought me along for the ride as Wakandan aircraft ripped through the air around me.

I also put the Q990F to the test with "Daredevil: Born Again,” a series that navigates chunks of heavy, impactful dialogue while tossing in some truly gnarly action sequences. Samsung’s flagship bar made easy work of it, generating clear, detailed voices, including Vincent D'onofrio's low, gruff grumble as Wilson Fisk. And when it came time for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen to stop some crime, we watched and listened as the Q990F added visceral depth to each devastating blow he landed. There’s a specific, gruesome scene where he…hooks (for lack of better word) a bad guy straight through the chest, and I honestly couldn’t get that all-too-real sound out of my head for a day or two.

Music lovers will also appreciate the Q990F, although it's worth noting that the Sonos Arc Ultra might have a slight edge in sheer musicality. However, the Q990F still handles a wide range of genres with aplomb. From the classic rock of Creedence Clearwater Revival to the modern hip-hop of Doechii, the soundbar delivers clear, detailed audio with plenty of punch. It’s hard for me to say if Samsung’s new subwoofer is a monumental improvement over the last iteration, but I will note that it delivers an impressive range of bass notes free of distortion of any kind.

If there’s one con I have, and it’s squarely in the realm of nitpicking, it’s that as great as the Q990F performs, it doesn’t quite wow me in the same way I was wowed when I first heard the Q990C a few years back. Samsung is scraping a ceiling in terms of what’s possible with soundbar performance, it seems, and as great as it continues to be, it’s just not as groundbreaking as it used to be.

Samsung HW-Q990F – The Competition

The Samsung HW-Q990F faces some stiff competition, with the Sonos Arc Ultra serving as an obvious contender. Both are flagship soundbars that deliver incredible Dolby Atmos performance. The choice often comes down to your overall ecosystem. If you're already deep in the Sonos world, the Arc Ultra makes perfect sense. But if you're looking for a standalone home theater solution with exceptional sound, the Q990F holds its own.

And let's not forget another premium-priced counterpart, the Sony Bravia Theatre Quad. This soundbar-less home theater system is still one of the most detailed systems I've heard, with unmatched separation in the front soundstage. However, the addition of a dedicated subwoofer in the Samsung setup gives it a significant advantage in terms of bass impact and overall punch.

Then there's the Samsung HW-Q990D, the predecessor to the Q990F. Oddly enough, it’s likely the Q990F’s biggest competition to date. The systems are ridiculously similar in performance and features, with only things like a refreshed subwoofer and some new gaming features setting the new system apart. And now that the Q990F is on the open market, the Q990D will see plenty of discounts, driving down the cost of entry for a one-year-old flagship soundbar system.

I guess it’s not the worst problem in the world to have. But the Q990D has been ranked as our best soundbar for a reason, and now that people can get it for cheaper, it’s hard to see a ton of incentive for bypassing it for a more expensive, albeit newer version.

We may have picked Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s The Ultimates as the Best Comic Book Series or Original Graphic Novel of 2024, but if there’s any Marvel book that could have dethroned it, it was definitely Fantastic Four. The series is currently as good as it’s been in a very long time, thanks to writer Ryan North and his collaborators. And with The Fantastic Four: First Steps hitting theaters soon, Marvel is clearly hoping to attract an even bigger audience this summer.

Marvel will be relaunching Fantastic Four in July, but don’t worry - North is still on board. The new volume pairs North with artist Humberto Ramos (The Amazing Spider-Man). North and Ramos will craft a new series of adventures for Marvel’s First Family as they deal with the ongoing fallout of the One World Under Doom crossover and find themselves dragged through time.

To find out more about the new series and why it gives readers an easy jumping-on point for an already accessible comic, IGN spoke with North via email. First, check out an exclusive preview of the first issue in the slideshow gallery below, and then read on to learn how the new volume will explore the FF not just as family, but as friends.

It might seem odd to renumber the series when its writer is remaining on board and the direction isn’t drastically changing (not that this has ever stopped Marvel in the past). But for North, the idea is simple. There’s a new Fantastic Four movie coming out, and anything Marvel can do to make the comic more appealing and approachable to curious newcomers is a good thing.

“An opportunity comics has as a medium is always to expand,” North tells IGN. “There are millions of people who don't read comics, who think comics aren't for them, and they're wrong! There are a ton of comics that are absolutely for them, but they just haven't found them yet, or maybe haven't felt like they were invited in to read them. Especially in superhero comics, where every book has a number on it and people may think they have to start with number one, it can be a real challenge. So by giving readers that new number one, the hope is that if they see the movie and love it and want to know more about these fantastic people, that's at least one less barrier for them to overcome.”

The big change with the new series is, again, the shift to Ramos on art. North reveals that he and Ramos have been discussing and planning for this relaunch for quite some time

“We were lucky enough to get to meet and have breakfast at San Diego Comic-Con a while back, before he even started work on this new series and before I even started writing them, so we got to talk about the characters and what we like about them from the word go,” North days. “He is a very creative and generous collaborator, always down to punch up an idea and able to render those ideas with such excitement and verve. I think people are going to really love what he's been coming up with, and it's been a real trial these past several months sitting on top of all this great art and being unable to share it with anyone.”

Ramos is renowned for his speed as an artist, among other things, and that creates a major advantage for North. With the series pivoting to a more consistent art team, he has the advantage of knowing for whom he’s writing when he creates his scripts, something that wasn’t always true on the previous volume.

“I've been lucky enough to work with a ton of great artists on Fantastic Four, but I'm usually so far ahead with the scripting that I don't know who the artist is going to be when I'm writing it,” North says. “It's always my preference to know the artist, because then you can write for them and create something that can be a better melding of the two of your interests, and with knowing Humberto has been on this book for so long, it's been really great to get to write specifically for him for issue after issue.”

While a new #1 issue always helps, it should be pointed out that North’s FF run has always been pretty easy to dive into. North has always structured his run as a series of standalone adventures that contribute to a larger, overarching narrative. The book is similar to Rick and Morty in that sense. Is that format changing with the relaunch?

“Not really, but I am using it as an opportunity to lean a bit more into that larger narrative!” North says. “I still want each issue to stand alone, and I want every issue to be a place for someone to jump on and get a fully satisfying story with every issue they pick up, but I am turning the dial a little bit more towards larger and crazier stories for that larger narrative. I'm not changing the special sauce - as Ben would say, ‘I'm just adding a couple cloves of garlic - not because it's not delicious, I just wanna add a little bit of zip.’"

When the relaunch was announced, North noted a desire to focus on the idea of the FF as friends, not just family. We were curious about the distinction there. How does that dynamic play out on the page?

“It's maybe a subtle distinction, but I really love my friends, and wanted to tell stories about people who are in these long-running relationships that they don't have to be, but they choose to be,” North says. “And that's not that different from family, in the sense that, yes, you are born into a family, but you have to choose to stay there - you have to put the effort in to maintain and develop the relationships that are important to you. And if you look at the Fantastic Four, we often think of them as a family, but only two of them, Johnny and Sue, actually are family at the start. But they all choose each other, they all choose to stay with each other and become something more, and I think that's really fun and beautiful and interesting. Guess what I'm trying to say is the distance between good friends and found family maybe isn't as wide as I thought it was.”

One issue with relaunching Fantastic Four this summer is that the Marvel Universe is still very much embroiled in the events of the One World Under Doom crossover. North confirms that the new series won’t be ignoring or skipping past the crossover, but will instead use it as a platform to tell a big Doctor Doom story right out of the gate.

“One of the challenges of relaunching like this is we're trying to do a new number one that's an easy on-ramp for new readers, but also it's right in the middle of the One World Under Doom event, and we don't want to ignore that either,” North says. “So the first story is a Doom story, giving the Fantastic Four the chance to actually fix everything that Doom has done - this involves a big, weird science fiction idea - and then we're off to the races with a whole bunch of other new, weird, big science fiction ideas.”

One of the big developments in One World Under Doom so far involves Doom finally curing Ben Grimm of his rocky condition, a way for the self-proclaimed Emperor of Earth to prove he’s better than his nemesis, Reed Richards. But based on the preview art we’ve seen so far, it would seem Ben is back to being The Thing in the new series. So that raises an obvious question - will the relaunch series still be exploring the fallout of that twist? North hints that this is a loose end that will be tied up before the relaunch, though it may still have lingering ramifications for the FF going forward.

“We’ll actually get to see how it is resolved in the last moments of the previous run, so that we're not starting this new one with an unresolved plot thread!” North says. “I do really want it to be accessible to that new and curious person who wants to know more about the Fantastic Four, so I'm trying to keep the back story they need to know to as much of a minimum as I can for this first little bit. Which might sound hard, but it's also something that I've been doing the entire run so far. The Fantastic Four have literal decades of history, but I want to make sure that nobody is lost when they pick up an issue and everyone is welcome to the party, you know?”

Fantastic Four #1 will be released on July 9, just a couple of weeks before The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters. Check out the solicitation for Fantastic Four #2 below:

In other Fantastic Four news, the movie is also getting a prequel comic that reveals the origin of Pedro Pascal's Reed and his family. It's one of the first comics in a long time to tie into the MCU.

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

Earlier this year, we received confirmation that Donkey Kong's fresh new look wasn't just for the Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Donkey Kong redesign was here to stay, per the character's appearances in Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and more. Love it or hate it, that's your business, but now Shigeru Miyamoto has finally told us why the great ape got a makeover in the first place.

Miyamoto spoke to IGN at the unveiling of Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando, Florida, which brings the new Donkey Kong Country expansion to the U.S. for the first time. In our interview, which you can read in full here, we asked Miyamoto about the new design, and what it was like seeing Donkey Kong "grow up" alongside Miyamoto's career at Nintendo.

Here's his response in full:

"So when it comes to character creation and working with characters, I still take an active role in that. And looking back to the first generation Donkey Kong Country, we worked with Rare to create Donkey Kong Country.

"When we were talking about trying to create new versions, evolving Donkey Kong, we created the game called Jungle Beat. We worked together with the team that made 3D Mario. With the technology that was available at the time, we were able to make Donkey Kong more expressive. And going back to the design that Rare came up with, we reevaluated; what can we do with the design to make it more expressive? And then when it comes to the movie, we decided to move forward with this new generation Donkey Kong design."

More expressive, huh? It certainly seems like Nintendo has nailed that. Fans have pointed out across social media that the new Donkey Kong is relatively similar to the old one, but has a sillier, more over-the-top look and expressiveness to him that the old design didn't quite capture. And it looks like we may see more Kong redesigns in the future to accompany him, as Diddy Kong already got a very light redesign (he has teeth now???) as well.

You can catch up on our full interview with Miyamoto at Universal right here.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World was originally in development more than five years ago, solely for the original Nintendo Switch.

However, Nintendo has said its development team struggled to get Mario Kart World's 24-player concept working on its aging Switch 1 hardware — to the point where it was faced with making major technological compromises.

In the end, these compromises were abandoned in favour of a new approach. As early as 2020, Mario Kart World's developers say they had a rough idea of Nintendo's Switch 2 tech specs — and so began discussing a delay for the project onto Nintendo's next-gen machine.

Speaking as part of a revealing Ask the Developer interview, Nintendo's Mario Kart World team said they had approached the concept of incorporating open-world gameplay and 24-player multiplayer "from a calm and collected programming perspective" to see whether it would be possible.

However, the team soon decided it would not.

"It was difficult for us to incorporate everything we wanted, so we were always conscious of what we were giving up in return," said Mario Kart World programming director Kenta Sato.

"We discussed things like toning down the visuals, lowering the resolution, and we even considered dropping the framerate to 30 fps in some cases. It was a tough situation."

While confident in the concept, Mario Kart World's team continued attempting to make it work, but felt they were "kicking the can down the road," according to producer Kosuke Yabuki.

"We knew it was going to get messy," Yabuki continued. "But as we'd decided to release Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, we thought that would give us a bit more time to continue development.

"That's when the conversation of moving it to the Nintendo Switch 2 system came up, and this suddenly opened up a bunch of possibilities on what we could do. It was truly a ray of hope."

This was "around 2020," the interview reveals, when Nintendo developers had "an idea of the next system [Switch 2]'s expected specs" but before working development units were available. So, the Mario Kart World team continued on, using estimates of the Switch 2 power they'd be able to play with.

"If we had included everything we wanted to in this game's vast world, then it wouldn't have run at 60 fps and would have suffered from constant framerate drops," Sato said. "I think there were a lot of people on the team who were worried about whether we could really manage it.

"But once we decided to release this game on Switch 2, we expected our worries to evaporate all at once," he continued. "I remember being overjoyed when I discovered we could express even more than we'd originally set out to."

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

Star Trek Blu-rays are an odd thing. Over the years, the collections go through a cycle: a new printing comes out, gradually goes out of stock, and at some point gets re-issued in a new edition. So, at any given time, it might be hard to find the Star Trek series or movies you want in stock. Here’s some good news for TNG fans. The latest release of Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Series just dropped to an all-time low price of $80 at Walmart. The MSRP is $160, so that’s a 50% discount.

Get Star Trek: TNG on Sale for $80

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.