After a preview session where I was able to play the first half an hour of LEGO Voyagers, the mandatory-two-player, what-if-Hazelight-made-a-LEGO-game adventure from developer Light Brick Studios and arthouse publisher Annapurna Interactive, I wrote, “LEGO Voyagers might already be my favorite LEGO game ever.”

Keyword: might.

One less-than-ideal thing happened between my initial preview and my 14-year-old daughter and I completing the full version of LEGO Voyagers – where we tumbled, built, and played our way through to the end credits in same-screen co-op: it ended all too quickly. Though we enjoyed it the whole way through – it left us disappointingly unfulfilled because it ended just as it seemed like it should be hitting its stride.

Short But Sweet

You see, we rolled credits after just three and a half hours – even less than the slim five hours the publisher told us to expect. I’ve never been one to knock a game just for being short. Heck, Playdead’s Inside is still probably the greatest game I’ve ever personally reviewed at IGN, and it, like LEGO Voyagers, is a dialogue-free adventure that ended in less than four hours.

But while Inside left my jaw on the floor in astonishment at the incredible masterpiece I’d just experienced, LEGO Voyagers left both my and my daughter’s jaws on the floor for an entirely different reason: We both said, “Wait, that’s it?” To be fair, this is a $25 game and not everything has to be a Silksong. But it did leave both of us wanting more in a, “No really, we actually thought there’d be more than this,” kind of way.

I’m getting that gripe out of the way up front to set expectations, because outside of the all-too-soon end of the campaign, I love almost everything else about LEGO Voyagers. I’ll start with the tone, which is quite different from Traveller’s Tales’ more whimsical licensed LEGO games and the slapstick-with-heart LEGO movies. Voyagers is instead playfully curious – delightfully so – right down to who you play as and how you move. You and your co-op partner are just nameless, voiceless 1x1 bricks – one red and one blue, both with a single, mildly expressive eyeball attached to one side – and you simply roll your way around the LEGO-built world with fairly believable physics bouncing you around the play spaces. And though it obviously makes no logical sense, you can jump by pressing A (on an Xbox controller) and snap yourself onto any nearby peg with B. Pressing Y rotates your orientation by 90 degrees when you’re in that B-button snap mode.

Actually, though, your avatars are not entirely voiceless. Your 1x1 bricks can make adorable little noises if you press the X button, which can occasionally be used to harmonize in certain spots but is more likely intended to get your co-op partner’s attention when playing online. (On that note, kudos to Annapurna for following Hazelight’s lead and offering a Friend’s Pass that allows you to play with a friend online using only one copy of Voyagers.)

Our adorable 1x1 bricks instantly make for likeable protagonists in an almost Pixar-ish kind of way. I appreciate the little touches, like how the blue one starts with a beach bucket on its “head.” The music – which doesn’t always play but makes an impact when it does – plays a big part in establishing Voyagers’s playful vibe, too. It’s mellow but varied, humming along in the background in a way that’s additive rather than just being forgettable noise. Most, if not all of it, would go on your “Chill” or yoga playlist and not anywhere else, but it totally works here.

Bricks That Shine

I also want to commend the authentic art direction and visual identity of Voyagers, which is decidedly less cartoony compared to the licensed LEGO games. It goes for a sort-of realism, with every piece in the diorama-like worlds looking like the shiny plastic its real-life counterpart is – complete with the LEGO wordmark stamped into every brick. The soft daytime lighting baked into many scenes has a warmth and serenity to it that gives it a relaxing, mellow, and playfully curious tone, and the use of light and shadow helped draw me in immediately. That these sets sometimes have water flowing through them or surrounding them only adds to the believability of these being actually constructed LEGO sets that you’re observing from above as an omniscient participant.

Furthering that easy-going atmosphere is the complete and total lack of any penalty for death whatsoever; when – not if – you tumble off the edge of a scene or miss a jump and plunge off the side, you’ll instantly reappear right where you last were prior to your mistake. It’s completely low stakes and encourages goofing off, so when you snap yourself onto your co-op partner and roll both of you off a ledge, or fling them off a bridge you’re supposed to be holding down for them to cross, they can’t even be too mad about it until the fifth or sixth time you pull the same trick.

There’s never any direction given, but intuitively we immediately understood that your goal in a game like this is to get from point A to point B. In the early part of the campaign, that’s accomplished by simply picking up loose bricks from around the scene and working together to assemble them into makeshift bridges to cross gaps. In true LEGO spirit, there’s no single right way to build your path forward: You could build a super-clean structure that a civil engineer would approve of, or cobble together a hodgepodge of pieces with no regard for aesthetics or efficiency but which gets the job done nonetheless. We tended toward the latter, and had a great time doing it. (Side note: a Photo Mode would’ve been a nice addition as a way to capture the digital memory of what you create and share it with friends and family – and the act of working together to solve whatever obstacle is in front of you is really enjoyable. But simple screenshots sufficed.)

Those puzzles ramp up a bit as the campaign progresses, though as I mentioned it felt like there’s a lot more room for it to grow into that it leaves unexplored. A favorite scene of ours had us driving a big dump truck of sorts around an industrial yard where train tracks are made. The locomotive we rode in on had to stop due to a gap in the tracks, so we got out, hopped in the truck with one of us steering while the other (effectively) worked the pedals. We roamed around, collecting raw materials into the truck bed before taking them to the foundry to be forged into usable track pieces, then satisfyingly snapped the new track into place and continued onwards. It’s still simple, but with a few more steps involved than just assembling a bridge or stairway.

We also had fun with a series of minigames near the end of the story that I won’t spoil here, except to note that they’re particularly finicky physics-based challenges that might be quite tricky for younger gamers that are likely to be drawn to Voyagers and its E-for-Everyone ESRB rating. Fortunately, none of these tricky tasks are required in order to progress – but we did have fun earning the Achievements that came along with completing them.

Play Time

Though puzzles make up the meat of the gameplay, there’s also a bit of freedom to play around in many scenes. My daughter and I found ourselves racing to be the first to “pop” every flower we came across by rolling over it (and there are a ton of them throughout the entire campaign) even though there are no actual rewards for doing so. There are also fun little “breaks” you can take, such as by each hopping on a teeter-totter or sitting next to each other on a bench. They’re absolutely not required, but they make for fun little pit stops along the golden path (and another idea that those of us who played Split Fiction earlier this year might recognize).

If I were to levy one more complaint against LEGO Voyagers, it’s that neither my daughter nor myself quite got what the meaning of the completely wordless story was supposed to be. In the opening moments, the 1x1 brick avatars watch a rocket launch go awry. They spend the next handful of hours trying to get to the rocket facility…and I suppose you’ll see what happens. But if there was a moral to the tale here in the way you might expect from watching Wall-E or playing a game like Tunic, both of us missed it.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has now sold 4.4 million copies, staff at developer Sandfall Interactive have confirmed.

Although official figures still stand at 3.3 million copies sold in just 33 days, marketing and release producer Benjamin Dimanche, hair and technical character artist Amandine Marest, and senior gameplay programmer Florian Torres revealed in a conversation with French streamer Antoine Daniel that sales have now surpassed 4.4 million.

In the video interview, when asked by Daniel for an update on sales so far, Torres and Marest answered at the same time. And though Torres said "Officially…", Marest jumped right in with: "4.4 million." The trio then looked at each other, laughed, and Torres added: "Officially, 3.3 million, but it's 4.4 million" (thanks, Gamereactor).

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched on April 24 across PC and console, but also straight into Xbox Game Pass as a day-one title. It also launched against Bethesda’s RPG behemoth The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, making this a stunning milestone for the first game from Sandfall.

In IGN's 9/10 review of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we described it as a "modern RPG classic," adding: "In so many ways, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reminded me of numerous classic and contemporary RPGs I love, but developer Sandfall truly understood why those games are special and made the pieces it borrowed its own."

If that's convinced you to give it a go, be sure to check out our tips for the important things to know before going into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The studio recently published update 1.4.0, adding key features like a Battle Retry option alongside a host of quality-of-life changes, visual improvements, and bug fixes.

We recently learned that Clair Obscur is not just the shortened name for Sandfall's blockbuster debut RPG — it's also the name for an entire franchise.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Randy Pitchford is on the offensive when it comes to Borderlands 4 PC performance, responding directly to complaints on social media to Claptrap back at disgruntled fans.

Fresh from his confusing comments about the reason why the console version of Borderlands 4 lacks a field of view (FOV) slider, and his declaration that it would have been impossible to break the Borderlands 4 servers through sheer weight of player numbers alone at launch, the outspoken Gearbox chief spent time this weekend addressing the complaints about Borderlands 4 performance on PC. At various points on social media, Pitchford told people to “code your own engine and show us how it’s done, please,” and declare Borderlands 4 “a premium game made for premium gamers.” He also suggested people put their irrational distrust of video game graphics tech such as DLSS aside and use it if available to them.

There’s plenty to dig into here, but ultimately what Pitchford is saying is that PC gamers should manage their expectations when it comes to the performance of Borderlands 4 in the context of their own rigs.

“Every PC gamer must accept the reality of the relationship between their hardware and what the software they are running is doing,” he said, kicking off a thread clearly designed to address the performance issues that have sparked so much early discourse around Borderlands 4.

“We have made an amazing and fun and huge looter shooter campaign game. The game is pretty damn optimal — which means that the software is doing what we want without wasteful cycles on bad processes.”

Pitchford went on to insist that PC gamers have tools that help them balance their preferences between FPS, resolution, and rendering features, and they should make use of them. “If you aren’t happy with the balance between these things you are experiencing, please tune to your preferences using the tools available to you,” he said.

Acknowledging everyone is entitled to an opinion, Pitchford insisted it was right for Gearbox to have focused on Borderlands 4’s default settings hitting 30fps on minimum specs, and 60fps on recommended specs.

“Some of you would prefer more fps, or more features, or higher resolution. We have provided many tools to help you make those trade offs,” he continued.

Then, in typical Randy Pitchford on the front foot fashion: “It is a mistake to believe or expect that PCs between minimum specification and recommended specification can achieve all of extremely high framerate, maximum/ultra features, and extremely high resolution.

“If that last post makes you have a negative reaction, I bet you have emotions and expectations that you feel aren’t sufficiently attended to. I’m sorry.

“But please accept that the game is doing a lot and running pretty optimally and that you may have to either accept some trade offs between fps, features and resolution as your preference or you will continue to be disappointed.”

There’s more. Pitchford went on to advise PC gamers should make use of DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), Nvidia’s AI-powered image enhancement and rendering technology for GeForce RTX GPUs, downplaying concern about input lag.

“Use DLSS. It’s great,” he said. “The game was built to take advantage of it. This is not a competitive FPS. And, I have been led to believe that in a blind test that humans cannot detect any input lag. In my own demonstrates and experiments, I believe this is true.

“Everyone has the freedom to believe what they want to believe and I know on the internet it’s easy to find rage and passionate people who are convinced of all kinds of things, whether they are true or not.

“If you are so attached to the idea that DLSS is bad for your game experience because of something you saw or read on the internet, I am sorry. I hope instead you would use the technology designed to give you the experience you want.”

Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy Movie announcement has sent fans rushing back to the first Mario film, and a teasing scene that appears to set up the freshly-announced sequel.

This scene, coupled with the fact Nintendo looks likely to adapt the plot of the Mario Galaxy video game, has prompted fan speculation that we're about to see a major piece of Super Mario lore confirmed, following decades of debate.

Super Mario Galaxy centers on the character of Rosalina, a space princess that Nintendo itself has said shares similarities with Princess Peach. Within the first Galaxy game, Rosalina's backstory is revealed through pages of a storybook, with her journey through the stars explained as her searching for her long-lost parents.

Rosalina's parentage is kept vague, with her mother pictured but kept largely obscured. But Nintendo is said to have once planned a more concrete backstory that linked Rosalina and the Mushroom Kingdom, with her being related to Princess Peach in some way.

Years later, eagle-eyed fans spotted a mysterious tease within 2023's Super Mario Bros. Movie, in a scene which sees Peach discuss her origins, and reveal how she first arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"You don't seem like you're from here," Mario says.

"I don't know where I'm from," Peach replies. "My earliest memory is arriving," she continues, as a flashback shows her, aged as a toddler, turning up in the Mushroom Kingdom via a warp pipe. Dressed in a skirt decorated with stars and moons, she is quickly found by a group of Toads. "I was so lucky they found me. They took me in, raised me like one of their own, and when I was ready they made me their princess."

Gearbox has confirmed it’s “exploring” how to add a field of view (FOV) slider to Borderlands 4 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S after complaints from console players.

When Borderlands 4 launched last week, console players were shocked to discover not only a lack of a FOV slider in-game, but no motion blur toggle, either. The PC version of Borderlands 4 has settings for both.

The lack of a FOV slider is the biggest issue right now with Borderlands 4 on console, if anecdotal evidence across the internet is anything to go by, with some complaining that not being able to tweak the FOV value is causing them to experience motion sickness.

Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford responded to the complaints to suggest fairness might have something to do with the lack of a FOV slider, although all that comment did was confuse fans given the PC version has it and there’s crossplay at launch.

Now, Gearbox has confirmed it’s working on the problem, saying in a statement published on social media:

“Vault Hunters! We have heard your feedback on FOV (Field of View) sliders on console. The team is currently exploring how to bring these sliders to both Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 versions. We will continue to read your feedback and prioritize game updates with your experience in mind. Thanks all!”

There are suggestions the console version of Borderlands 4 lacks a FOV slider in order to maintain certain performance levels. By increasing the FOV, you’re putting the hardware under more strain and potentially impacting things like framerate.

Whatever the issue, Borderlands 4 got off to a big start on Steam, where it hit just over 300,000 concurrent player numbers on Sunday. No other Borderlands game has come close to that in terms of concurrent player numbers on Valve’s platform. The true number will of course be much higher when you add console players.

While Borderlands 4 got off to a big start in terms of player numbers, it’s not entirely plain sailing for Gearbox. The release was marred by complaints about PC performance that have resulted in a ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam. Gearbox has issued an update to address the PC version of Borderlands 4 specifically, although without patch notes.

If you are delving into Borderlands 4 don't go without updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We've also got a huge interactive map ready to go and a badass Borderlands 4 planner tool courtesy of our buds at Maxroll. Plus check out our expert players' choices for which character to choose (no one agreed).

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.

The creative director of Hell is Us has opened up about how it felt to unexpectedly share a release date with Hollow Knight: Silksong, calling Team Cherry's last-minute release "a little callous."

The shadow-dropped announcement of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s release date of September 4, 2025, was a less-than-celebratory day for the developers of around 10 other video games with existing marketing plans to launch around that same time.

As we summarized at the time, it impacted the release of a number of games like Demonschool, Aeterna Lucis, Little Witch in the Woods, CloverPit, Megabonk, Baby Steps, Faeland, Starbirds, and Moros Protocol. Even Stomp and the Sword of Miracles, an indie game with no release date plans anywhere in sight, elected to delay its Kickstarter launch and demo release due to Silksong.

Now, in an episode of Friends Per Second, as spotted by This Week in Videogames, Hell is Us' Jonathan Jacques-Belletête said of Team Cherry: "When you know you're that big, I think a shadow drop is a bit like... wow."

"As the 'GTA 6 of indie'… to shadow drop something like this is a little callous," Jacques-Belletête added, but while he admitted there was a flurry of "emails and texts and messages back and forth between a lot of people, between us and our publisher — it was a real thing — we decided to keep the date, and I’m happy that we did."

"We’re still much bigger than some of the smaller ones who would have gotten a lot more affected and who decided to change their dates — changing the date of Hell Is Us would have been a pretty big endeavour," he explained.

"The real pain in the ass is that you have to refund your pre-orders when you do that, right? That’s the real, ‘How you gonna do this?’ — now you need to rebuild them. We didn’t say, ‘Oh my god, we have to do it, but we can’t because of that.' We were like, ‘No, I think we can get through the storm’.

"Honestly, it’s not just Silksong, there was Cronos [The New Dawn], it was a busy time. That’s the thing nowadays, honestly — getting a window where you’re pretty much alone is almost impossible. 15 years ago, the mid-end of the summer was always a dead period. But there’s no such thing anymore. It’s just constant madness."

Interestingly, some developers who are also changing their release windows are going out of the way to say the change in their schedules isn't anything to do with Silksong, too. For example, Slay the Spire 2 was recently delayed to March 2026, but the team proactively refuted any suggestion it was because of Silksong.

Hell is Us is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S. We awarded it 7/10, writing: "Hell is Us has a blend of exploration, puzzles, and combat that, while familiar, pushes you to really pay attention to the world around you in a way that’s both compelling and occasionally frustrating."

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder's upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Edition was announced last week — but now fans believe Nintendo may have accidentally revealed more than intended.

Pause the Switch 2 Edition's trailer at the 2:01 mark and a mini-game icon can clearly be seen featuring the character of Rosalina, Nintendo's space princess originally introduced in the Super Mario Galaxy games.

Rosalina is not present in the original Super Mario Bros. Wonder, available on Switch, but her presence in the game's upcoming Switch 2 Edition would make sense considering the huge push for Galaxy content that Nintendo is currently prepping for next year.

Officially titled Super Mario Bros Wonder: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, the upgraded version of Nintendo's platformer will contain a suite of additional multiplayer games. Indeed, it's this Bellabel Park plaza that can be seen in the trailer, showcasing a challenge with Rosalina and Yoshi on its icon (as spotted on social media by Nintendo fan DynamoSuperX).

During the trailer, Nintendo also teased further additions coming to the Switch 2 version of Wonder, but said it would detail these at a later date. Could this include a new selection of levels with a Galaxy theme, to tie into Rosalina's apparent inclusion? Time will tell.

The Final Fantasy series’ iconic victory fanfare has been a staple feature for the majority of the long-running RPG franchise since the very first entry in 1987. However, series composer Nobuo Uematsu recently revealed that a music programmer’s accidental discovery was what enabled him to give Final Fantasy’s battle themes and fanfare a truly punchy, driving drumbeat for the very first time.

At a recent sold-out event reported on by GameWatch, Uematsu talked in detail about Final Fantasy III's score and its development. With a soundtrack that incorporated a wider variety of tunes including comical pieces, Uematsu credits Final Fantasy III as a turning point in which he established his approach to composing music for RPGs.

Uematsu emphasized that there was a stark difference in Final Fantasy III’s music quality compared to Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II, even though they were composed using the same equipment and for the same console (the Famicom / NES). Although most games only used four of the NES’s audio channels, Uematsu revealed that Final Fantasy III made heavy use of a particular drum sound on the fifth channel, which was discovered completely by accident during development.

Nintendo's decision to announce costly DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A and lock three Mega Evolutions behind an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription has prompted fan complaints over the amount of money required to unlock every creature.

Last Friday's Nintendo Direct included the announcement of Mega Dimension, a $30 DLC that includes additional story content and allows fans to encounter two new Mega Evolutions: Mega Raichu X and Mega Raichu Y.

Three other Mega Evolutions were also confirmed, for Kalos Starter Pokémon Delphox, Chesnaught and Greninja, with small print revealing these will only be available post-launch as rewards for competing in online ranked battles — which require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

With Pokémon Legends Z-A already $70 on Switch 2 (or $60 on the original Switch), fans were quick to note that the $30 Mega Dimension DLC — announced weeks before the game's launch, and available to pre-order already — pushes the price of owning every new Mega Evolution to $100.

On top of that, the need to have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription only adds to the costs involved. And with each of the three granted over subsequent in-game seasons, players will need to keep their Switch Online active for multiple months (and win ranked battles) to unlock the lot.

"Why lock something like this behind a paywall and ranked battles, did they not think at all?" wrote one fan, footboy1996. "Because money," replied another fan.

"This paired with the literal day one $30 DLC is like beyond bonkers," wrote AshStash, "lame as hell. Like, if you wanna experience the whole of this game day 1, you gotta cough up (minimum) $20 for online, $70 for base game, and $30 for dlc. Is that not insane."

"Pokemon Heart Gold was $34 when I was 8," wrote SStonerag. "Adjusted for inflation that's $50. Which is like $70 cheaper than all dat. Wtf is this."

"This should not be the damn norm," TreasureHnt9696 concluded. "It's disgusting and money hungry. I'm getting the switch 2 version and not getting the DLC. I'll watch others play."

Other fans pointed to the recent $20 cost of beloved Hollow Knight: Silksong, or $50 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, or $30 Hades 2, to highlight how much the DLC cost.

"For 100 of this currency you can play three Game of the Year contenders or one Pokémon game," Thedeaddiety wrote.

Raichu, Chesnaught, Delphox and Greninja join a growing list of additional Mega Pokémon species getting their debuts in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, following recently announced Mega Evolutions for Dragonite, Malamar and Victreebell. You can read about them in our recap of every new Mega Evolution announced for Pokémon Legends: Z-A so far.

Last week brought a huge amount of Nintendo news on everything from Mario to Zelda, Yoshi and Fire Emblem. We also got a first look at Pokémon Pokopia, an Animal Crossing-esque life simulation spin-off. For everything else, check out everything announced at the Nintendo Direct September 2025.

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

Deltarune Chapter 5 will release in the second half of 2026, developer Toby Fox has said on Undertale's 10-year anniversary.

In mid-June — after a three-year wait between previous chapter releases of Deltarune — Fox promised a faster turnaround on the next episode of the saga, and revealed Chapter 5 was set for a 2026 release.

Now, in a new update to celebrate Undertale's 10th birthday, Fox has admitted that after "factoring [in] the localization and testing," he "doesn't think that the game will be released in the first half of 2026."

"That's not a surprise, right?" Fox wrote. "From last time's updates, you guys have access to exactly how long each step of the development took. Anyway, we don't have any external factors surrounding the release date this time. We'll release it when it's done, and we will continue to update you guys on the progress of its completion. Thanks!"

Fox also took the opportunity to describe exactly where in the development cycle Deltarune Chapter 5 is, revealing that the "early parts" are complete, albeit needing a little polish. The last "40%-or-so" is in a "rough first pass state, and the last 10% is in a prototyping state."

"Probably around 85% of cutscenes have been created up to a first draft state, however, of those at least 20% or so will require more polish," Fox said, adding that regular enemies are mostly done, with at least one programmer already working on the regular enemy bullet patterns of Chapter 6. The "direction of the boss battles" has been decided, and boss attacks have already been planned and completed. The next step is to "arrange the attacks and make adjustments to them if necessary to fit the atmosphere of the battle."

"With Chapter 3 & 4, there were some creative 'hurdles' which made developing parts of the game difficult. How to do the Boards of Chapter 3, how to design the events in Noelle's house, etc.," Fox added. "Once we got past those hurdles and expanded the team, everything went much more smoothly. Chapter 5 was not without hurdles! But... we already passed all of the obvious ones, so there's little to get in our way now! We just need to keep making the game." Only one "main deadline" has been outlined for the rest of 2025, and that's to kick off translation by the end of the year.

The good news is that anyone new to Deltarune still has time to catch up. We thought what we've played thus far is 'Amazing,' awarding it 9/10, writing: "Even though the journey is only halfway to completion, Deltarune's incredible story is already bursting with hilarious charm, unforgettable characters, and an iconic soundtrack that make it worth investing your time in." A "sequel" of sorts to beloved indie RPG Undertale, it has released chapter by chapter starting in 2018, with Chapter 2 releasing in 2021 and the two most recent chapters dropping alongside the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this year.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Gearbox has released a new update for Borderlands 4 “to help improve stability for a wide range of PCs.” However, the developer failed to provide patch notes for the update, leading to confusion about what it actually does.

Borderlands 4 launched last week and hit a peak of over 300,000 concurrent players on Steam alone — a figure significantly higher than any Borderlands game released on Valve’s platform. However, Steam reviews are ‘mixed,’ with most of the complaints revolving around PC performance.

In response, Gearbox posted a Borderlands 4 Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, advising players how to optimize their graphics settings for “better performance and framerates” on PC with the Nvidia app.

Gearbox then issued a piece of advice to PC gamers that to me reads like an effort to prevent players from making knee-jerk reactions to the game's performance as soon as they’ve changed their settings: “Please note that any time you change any of your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile. Please keep playing for at least 15 minutes to see how your PC's performance has changed.”

Over the weekend, Gearbox posted on Steam to signal the release of a new game update in frustratingly vague terms and with no patch notes, leaving players to try to work out what it did, and if their performance had improved. As the Steam user review rating suggests, results are mixed, but that’s anecdotal evidence at best.

“We hope you're having a blast in Borderlands 4. The team is loving seeing you all shooting and looting your way through Kairos,” Gearbox said. “Today we're releasing a new update to help improve stability for a wide range of PCs.”

"There is no patch notes. Is this really just a blog post for an unhelpful optimization guide?" wondered redditor wtfwasthatdave. "The patch did not fix my crashing issues," added PBKrunch. "Game runs horribly, still runs horribly after the patch and the people saying it runs fine are using both frame gen and super sampling to achieve their 'frames,'" said drummerdude41.

Gearbox went on to repeat its advice to wait 15 minutes before making any performance calls after tweaking settings, saying: “Please note that any time you change any of your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile; it may take up to 15 minutes for this process to fully complete.”

“Thanks again for joining us on this journey, Vault Hunters — we're just getting started,” Gearbox continued. “We’re continuing to read your feedback, planning additional updates and will have more details to come.”

If you are delving into Borderlands 4, don't go without updated hourly SHiFT codes list. We've also got a huge interactive map ready to go and a badass Borderlands 4 planner tool courtesy of our buds at Maxroll. Plus check out our expert players' choices for which character to choose (no one agreed).

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.

While the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s White Flare & Black Bolt Elite Trainer Boxes are unfortunately subject to huge price increases due to market conditions, Amazon & TCGplayer have had some price drops from their usual rates — along with Walmart offering you some value for money in bulk.

For individual boxes, Walmart, which were previously selling some of these Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes for over $110, are now listing White Flare ETBs $77.88 and Black Bolt ETBs for $79.88, respectively. If you’ve been aiming to pull some of the most valuable cards in Black Bolt or the highest-value chase cards in White Flare, this is the best opportunity currently available.

At Amazon, Pokémon TCG White Flare ETBs, previously listed for $104.49, are now as low as $89.43 on Amazon. To that extent, the Pokémon TCG’s Black Bolt ETB has had price drops on certain listings too, going from $95.49 to $89.87.

TCGplayer, whose listings usually fluctuate in price more rapidly, have listings around the same price tag — with a White Flare ETB going for $80.89 when shipping is taken into account. Meanwhile, the cheapest Black Bolt ETB listing is now going for $88.88.

Yes, these are still almost twice the MSRP of $49.99, the high demand vs short supply has usually resulted in marked prices going past $100 — making this a good deal by comparison.

You can still check other retailers like Best Buy, which are the main retailers we’ve seen sticking to the $49.99 price tag, but any stock usually goes within a matter of minutes due to scalpers and the auto-buying bots at their disposal.

Gaming chairs are one of the best investments a gamer can make. After all, during those long gaming sessions, where are you going to sit? While gaming keyboards and gaming monitors can really lift your gaming experience to the next level, none of it really matters if you don't have a comfortable chair to sit in. Our top entry, the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen, is a perfect example: It's a chair big enough for pretty much any body, and it's comfortable and sturdy enough to sit for hours.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Gaming Chairs:

I've been reviewing gaming chairs for years, and the overall best ones you can buy provide a place to sink into for hours of gaming without fatigue or pain. Including features like customizable lumbar support, adjustable armrests, and a movable headrest to beef up the ergnomics only adds to a more comfortable, distraction-free space to focus on your favorite PC games.

However, there are an excess of options to choose from. To help you out, I've cut this list down to six tested and researched chairs offering solid frames, high-quality material, and all the creature comforts you could want.

1. Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen

Best Gaming Chair

The original Secretlab Titan Evo I reviewed reigned supreme as my top pick since its release in 2022. With the release of the Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen edition, that has officially changed as the new model officially slides into the top spot, and by quite a bit too. Though it might look similar from afar, all it takes is a touch to realize how much better its new leatherette and seat cushion actually are.

In the two years since the release of the original Evo, Secretlab has been hard at work developing its brand new Nanogen Hybrid Leatherette. This new material is much softer and instantly makes the chair more comfortable just by virtue of how nice it is to sit on. In my review, I noted that the only similar material I've felt is Brisa, an "ultrafabric" that's typically found on luxury products. The only gaming chair I've encountered with such a fabric, or that even comes close to the Titan Evo Nanogen and its sweet, sweet suppleness, is the LF Gaming Stealth, a luxury bucket seat that starts at $1,700.

Secretlab also took gamers' feedback to heart about the firmness of its signature cold cure foam. This new model now features a Nanofoam Composite cushion on the seat, providing a layer of softness right out of the box while still providing adequate support for long gaming sessions.

The armrests also see a major upgrade. While they still feature hot-swappable top cushions thanks to their magnetic attachment system, the Nanogen comes with velour-wrapped PlushCell foam arm toppers by default. If you've ever experienced sore elbows from leaning on the arms of your gaming chair, you'll know how important this softness is. Paired with its PlushCell magnetic neck pillow, it's easily one of the most cozy gaming chairs out there. With the optional Ergonomic Recliner add-on, it's the only gaming chair I've ever taken a nap in.

This new model does come at a premium over the original, but it's worth every penny. It's class-leading in every way.

2. Razer Iskur V2 X

Best Budget Gaming Chair

3. Haworth Fern

Best Ergonomic Gaming Chair

4. Hinomi H1 Pro

Best Mesh Gaming Chair

5. Razer Iskur V2

Best Fabric Gaming Chair

6. Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL

Best Big and Tall Gaming Chair

The Secretlab Titan Evo Nanogen XL is a clear winner for the best big and tall gaming chair. I've been recommending the Titan Evo since its original launch several years ago, but with the Nanogen Edition, the company has taken comfort to the next level (which is also why it's my No. 1 pick for overall gaming chair). The XL version just upsizes that to deliver its comfort to a wider audience.

This version takes everything from the normal-sized version and carries it through. That means you'll get the exceptionally soft, Brisa-like fabric and extra seat cushion, as well as those gloriously plush yet still somehow supportive armrests. If you're a larger person, then you know how important proper back support is, and this delivers that too with its adjustable lumbar support.

It also features full compatibility with the company's different magnetic accessories for the standard Titan Evo XL. There are magnetic pillows and different armrest covers and, though not magnetic, you can also attach the company's new recliner accessory to put your feet up and kick back with the controller.

This chair doesn't come cheap, but believe me when I say that it's worth every penny when stacked up against other gaming chairs attempting similar levels of support and comfort. Secretlab has been an industry leader for a reason, and the Nanogen line is easily the best it has ever produced.

7. Respawn 900 Gaming Recliner

Best Gaming Chair with a Footrest

8. Secretlab Titan Evo (Small)

Best Gaming Chair for Shorter Gamers

How to Choose the Best Gaming Chair for You

• Price: This will probably be the biggest determining factor. Going out with a set budget is helpful, as you’ll find chairs ranging from under $50 to more than $1,000. Cheaper gaming chairs, like the Corsair TC100 Relaxed, still deliver the comfort of more expensive ones. You just need to be prepared to sacrifice features, like 4D armrests or adjustable lumbar support. I’d stay away from anything under $100, especially if the chair makes promises that appear too good to be true.
• Design: Comfort is king; nobody wants to spend hours in a seat that causes back or neck pain. Finding a chair that’s the right size for you is essential for preventing discomfort. Luckily, most chairs list their dimensions. You’ll want a wide, well-cushioned seat, a long backrest, and a good range of height adjustability. All that should sit on a sturdy metal frame capable of holding your full body weight. If you’re looking into a racing-style chair with bucket seats, like the AndaSeat Kaiser 3, pay special mind to the bolsters, as they can dig into your thighs.
• Materials: For the most part, gaming chairs offer PU leather, fabric, or mesh. PU leather is easy to clean but may not always be super durable, and it gets hot when wearing shorts. Fabric, which is used on the E-Win Champion, won’t be as easy to clean, though it’s less of a heat magnet. Mesh is the most breathable option. However, you’ll lose the cushioned seat and backrest in favor of a suspension system, which can be a hit or miss. The Razer Fujin Pro is one chair that gets mesh right.
• Ergonomics: After locking those in, a movable headrest, adjustable armrests, and customizable lumbar support can enhance the chair’s ergonomic, but these features often make the chair more expensive. Other quality-of-life additions, like a tilting or rocking mechanism, also help with relaxation between heated gaming sessions.

Keep all this in mind so you know how to pick the perfect gaming chair for your needs.

Gaming Chair FAQ

What's the point of a gaming chair?

Because gaming chairs are glorified office chairs, their main selling points are, frankly, aesthetic. Gaming chairs are often a bit more expensive than comparable office chairs and don't have the same comfort features as seats designed for working in all day. Still, if you love the way that gaming chairs look and you're going for a certain vibe in your gaming den, the best gaming chairs do truly shine. You just might want to look at the best ergonomic chairs if you want something that's truly going to take care of your aching back.

How much should you spend on a a gaming chair?

While you can buy a gaming chair for $80 or less, doing so is just asking for eventual pain. Something inexpensive is usually nothing more than a cheap plastic frame (versus steel) with some thin fabric or pleather upholstery on top.

You can get a quality chair for as little as $200, and that’s the absolute bottom floor of affordability we’d go for. Spending $300 or more will get you access to better options. If your budget allows you to soar a bit higher, more expensive gaming chairs start to come with built-in lumbar support, cooling gel layers, and even more adjustable ergonomics, not to mention RGB LED Kits and more. It all depends on what matters most to you in the long term.

Television’s biggest night has arrived once again, and with it comes a chance to celebrate the best and brightest talents of the past year’s small screen offerings at the 2025 Emmy Awards — and the most awarded shows of the night are a great example of the excellence in acting, writing, directing, and producing that the television landscape is full of.

The overall TV slate is so good lately that a few shows ended up breaking some awards records during the ceremony. Seth Rogan’s hit new comedy The Studio won a whopping 12 awards this year, including nine at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend — which allowed it to break the record for most wins in a single season. The record was previously held by The Bear, which won 11 awards for its second season during last year’s ceremony.

The new Apple TV+ comedy also surpassed The Bear’s record for most wins in a show’s first season. The FX dramedy won 10 Emmys during its first season, while The Studio blew past that number between both ceremonies.

Another week, another avalanche of discounts tempting me to ruin my already sketchy bank balance. I promised myself I’d be strong, but scrolling through these cuts reminded me why I keep caving. There’s just too much quality here to ignore. Scroll and see for yourself...

Contents

• Retro
• Nintendo
• Xbox
• PlayStation
• PC
• LEGO

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm using Brighton the sun's blazing rays to light a 20-candle cake for Mario Party 6, the entry that brought voice control to the GameCube. Along with the bundled microphone that had us yelling at our TV like maniacs, noughties-era-me was also impressed with a dynamic day-night cycle that strategically transformed entire boards every three turns.

Twenty years later, I still remember the chaos of four people gathered around a single microphone, and honestly, that's the kind of couch co-op magic that defined the GameCube era. Just an absolute box of joy (with a convenient handle to boot).

Aussie birthdays for notable games.

- Speed Freaks (PS) 1999. eBay

- Messiah (PC) 2000. Get

- Mario Party 6 (GC) 2005. eBay

- Mario Party Advance (GBA) 2005. eBay

- Star Fox 64 3D (3DS) 2011. eBay

- Pac-Man Championship Ed. 2 (PC,PS4,XO) 2016. Get

Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (-25%) - A$59.90 An inventive twist on Hyrule's legend, this entry plays with perspective and puzzles in ways that keep the series fresh without losing its magic.
• Super Mario RPG (-25%) - A$59.90 Square and Nintendo’s classic collab shines again. A playful blend of platforming and turn-based battles with a goofy cast that still charms decades later.
• Sonic Frontiers (-40%) - A$59.60 Sonic goes open-world, sprinting across islands with speed, puzzles, and titanic bosses. A bold, divisive experiment, but one fans should try at this discount.
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (-34%) - A$46.30 Still the sharpest alternative to Mario Kart. Beautifully remade, with deep drifting mechanics and an outrageous lineup of characters to keep the chaos flowing.
• Civilization VII (-24%) - A$68.00 Sid Meier’s long-running empire builder returns with refinements, new leaders, and endless late-night “one more turn” temptations.

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Exciting Bargains for Xbox

• 1TB Expansion Card (-30%) - A$215.60 Plug-and-play storage that matches Xbox velocity architecture. Pricey, but essential if you bounce between Game Pass monsters like Starfield and Call of Duty.
• WWE 2K25 (-54%) - A$55.00 The squared circle gets flashier each year. A solid roster, career content, and creative tools make this worth grappling with at a heavy discount.
• EA Sports FC 25 (-26%) - A$29.00 The artist formerly known as FIFA keeps evolving with better dribbling, presentation, and modes. For under thirty bucks, it’s a golden goal for football fans.
• Dead Island 2 (-70%) - A$20.90 Sun-soaked zombie slicing across LA, packed with gore, humour, and drop-in co-op. A guilty pleasure at a fraction of launch price.
• Cyberpunk 2077 (-65%) - A$31.40 CDPR’s redemption arc. With Phantom Liberty, patches, and next-gen polish, Night City is now the RPG paradise it always promised to be.

Xbox One

• Dying Light 2 Del. (-42%) - A$69.00 Parkour, undead chaos, and branching storylines. Deluxe content sweetens the deal for those keen to survive the night.
• Assassin's Creed Mirage (-70%) - A$23.80 A stripped-back AC returning to stealth roots in Baghdad. Sleek, short, and a steal for fans of old-school Assassin’s Creed.
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (-60%) - A$27.90 Three platforming classics remade with gorgeous polish. Still brutally tricky, still satisfying when you nail those tricky jumps.

Or just invest in an Xbox Card.

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Pure Scores for PlayStation

• Split Fiction (-37%) - A$44.00 A stylish narrative adventure that toys with dual perspectives, weaving puzzles and emotional beats into its experimental structure.
• Ghost of Yotei (-21%) - A$99.00 A gorgeous new samurai epic with breathtaking visuals, tight combat, and a moving tale. Pricey, but prestige experiences rarely come cheap.
• Star Wars Outlaws (-67%) - A$36.00 Finally, a scoundrel-focused Star Wars tale. Explore planets, dodge the Empire, and live the outlaw fantasy at a massive markdown.
• EA Sports WRC (-68%) - A$24.00 Dirt Rally devs take the official license for a hardcore sim that nails every muddy drift and hairpin.
• Octopath Traveler (-60%) - A$36.30 Square Enix’s HD-2D darling, now on PS5. Turn-based storytelling with eight heroes, beautiful pixel art, and excellent music.

PS4

• Batman: Arkham Col. (-59%) - A$34.90 Rocksteady’s trilogy of Batman greatness. Tight combat, iconic villains, and a moody Gotham to glide through.
• Mega Man Battle NL Col. (-34%) - A$25.30 Nostalgic grid-based battling from the GBA era. A huge anthology of quirky digital duels.
• Katamari Damacy Reroll (-75%) - A$11.20 Still delightfully weird. Roll up the world to rebuild stars, all to a funky soundtrack. A cult gem at a bargain.

PS+ Monthly Freebies
Yours to keep from Sep 2 with this subscription

• Psychonauts 2 (PS4)
• Stardew Valley (PS4)
• Viewfinder (PS5/PS4)

Or purchase a PS Store Card.

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Purchase Cheap for PC

• Assassin’s Creed Shadows (-65%) - A$34.90 [Use code: AUTUMN ] AC finally heads to feudal Japan. Two protagonists, stealthy intrigue, and samurai drama deliver a dream setting for fans.
• Pico Park (-100%) - A$0 Cooperative chaos where teamwork makes the dream work. Free is the perfect price for falling out with friends.
• Titanfall 2: Ult. (-85%) - A$5.90 Wall-running, mechs, and one of the best FPS campaigns ever made. Criminally cheap.
• A Plague Tale Bndl (-65%) - A$19.40 Two rat-infested adventures, beautifully grim storytelling, and stealth survival gameplay. Sobering, heartfelt, and worth the plunge.
• Outward Def. (-88%) - A$7.10 A cult RPG that values survival, co-op, and consequences. Brutal, but rewarding.

Or just get a Steam Wallet Card

Legit LEGO Deals

• City Go-Karts and Race Drivers (-47%) - A$8
• Captain America vs. Red Hulk (-37%) - A$57
• Botanicals Lotus Flowers (-35%) - A$15
• Statue of Liberty (-33%) - A$99.90

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