Nintendo has clarified compatibility concerns around its all-new GameCube controller, confirming there may be "issues" using it to play contemporary Nintendo Switch 2 games.

The GameCube controller was unveiled at the 60-minute Nintendo Direct earlier this month. At the time, we noticed the small-print warned the controller was "only compatible with Nintendo GameCube" games in the Nintendo Switch Online retro library, and not other Switch 2 games.

Nintendo has now clarified that small print, reiterating that the retro controller was designed to be used primarily with GameCube games. Players may be able use their GameCube controller for other Nintendo Switch 2 games, but there "may be some issues" doing so given the retro device will be missing "all the buttons and features" found in more modern controllers.

Nintendo also repeated its warning that the GameCube controller is only compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2 system.

"The Nintendo GameCube controller is designed for use with the Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics collection of games and is an optional way to play those games," Nintendo confirmed in a statement to Nintendo Life.

"Since it doesn’t have all the buttons and features found in other controllers that can be used with the Nintendo Switch 2 system, there may be some issues when playing other games. The Nintendo GameCube controller can only be used on Nintendo Switch 2 and is not compatible with Nintendo Switch."

The GameCube collection is a major update to the Nintendo Switch Online library, and grants subscribers access to a laundry list of classic 2000s-era titles, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soulcalibur 2, which will all be available at launch this summer. Of course, this library will be expanded in the years to come, with some teased titles including Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Strikers, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and more.

If you're looking to pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2, GameCube controller, or other accessories and games, make sure to keep an eye on our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order hub, which will stay updated with news and info. You can also find out more about how to increase your chances of getting a new Nintendo Switch 2 console on day one.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

It’s one thing to wear your influences on your sleeve, and it’s another to wield those influences to create something that can confidently stand on its own merits. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is explicitly built on many of the ideas of great modern and classic Japanese RPGs, and French developer Sandfall isn’t shy about it – nor should it be. From the bold stylings within its magnificent turn-based combat to the melodramatic but genuine storytelling tropes it largely embraces, so much of Clair Obscur feels familiar yet refreshing. Its superb execution on those ideas puts its own stamp on them for one of the more somber but hopeful journeys I won’t soon forget.

In Clair Obscur, the people of Lumiere live in a fractured reality: Every year, a godlike figure they call The Paintress marks a number on a tower far off in the distance, counting down the age at which people will perish into nothingness. You lead the survivors of the latest in a series of annual expeditions that set sail in hopes of destroying The Paintress, none of which have ever come back despite decades of attempts. It’s a harrowing premise that hangs a heavy layer of melancholy over the entire story. Knowing that your people are fighting against their own extinction by signing up for a death march, facing unknown dangers and picking up the pieces left behind by expeditions long gone, it’s easy to become invested in their fate and the mysteries that dictate their world.

I finished the main story and a decent amount of side content in about 35 hours, and that length speaks to how Clair Obscur doesn’t waste a moment – there isn’t really any filler along the critical path and it doesn’t get bogged down in drawn-out exposition. It makes a strong first impression, then naturally tells you more about its characters through their interactions, conversations, and expressions. While some of my favorite moments in RPGs come from the downtime that offers a chance to breathe and take in the world, there's an embedded urgency here that cuts to the chase in a way that mostly works in its favor. Don't get me wrong, I love a good 80+ hour RPG, but this is a nice change of pace.

Because of that shorter length (relatively speaking), the sharpness of the combat system never dulls. At a glance, you’ll get unmistakable Persona vibes from its slick battle menu and stylish flourishes. More prominent is its active element, with real-time button inputs that boost potency in spellcasting and let you avoid attacks, which keeps you engaged during enemy turns as much as your own. It’s reminiscent of the Mario RPGs or, more recently, Like A Dragon RPGs, and it works wonders for making turn-based combat thrilling – especially when so much of your survival hangs in the balance of being able to dodge and parry.

Against bosses and tougher enemies, you don’t really stand a chance unless you’re paying close attention to the audio and visual cues to establish a rhythm. When it comes to combos that have a varied cadence between hits, I’m locked in like it’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, staving off a flurry of attacks to certain beats. It can be frustrating at times, especially in first attempts since there’s some trial and error in learning these attack patterns. But when I’m trying to nail down the timing, it instills an intensity I don’t think I’ve ever felt in turn-based combat. While dodging offers a wider window for execution, parrying demands more precision, and there’s nothing quite like the rewarding slow-motion camera cut and emphatic counterattack of a precisely timed parry, flipping the enemy turn to deal big damage off a free hit.

Every party member has their own specific mechanics that typically revolve around building up their unique resource in battle and managing action points (AP) to execute the more heavy-hitting skills. For example, Gustave gains charges for every hit he lands then uses those charges to increase the output of his Overcharge skill. In contrast, Lune is a mage who gains elemental stains from casting specific spells, dealing higher damage and getting access to bigger spells by stacking the right elements. Meanwhile, Maelle is all about going into different stances and has the potential to do the most damage, but the conditions in which she enters those stances can depend on status effects or the properties of the weapon she has equipped.

There’s even a card-dealing Scythe wielder in Sciel, who manages light-dark phases and card stacks to use her skills properly, almost like a combination of the Astrologian and Reaper Jobs from Final Fantasy XIV. And if that wasn’t enough, two late-game characters I won’t spoil take things even further, with one using a Devil May Cry-style grading system with attacks and dodges while the other takes spells from fallen enemies in the style of a Blue Mage. All of this gives each character a distinct identity and function that makes every turn in battle an exciting endeavor no matter who’s in your party

Their skill trees are also concise, letting Clair Obscur stay approachable since you’re only given a handful of tools and then asked to have a strong grasp of how they work. With an emphasis on meeting certain conditions and inflicting specific knock-on effects when lining up attacks, it reminds me of mechanics you’d see in a CRPG like Baldur’s Gate 3, but fine-tuned for a classic-style Japanese RPG. The way these skillsets are able to synergize and play off other party members shows an understanding of what makes a turn-based system sing. You may fall into a routine opener, but as a fight goes on, it becomes more about adapting to the myriad variables thrown at you and earning the satisfying moments of pulling off your most powerful attacks.

Then there’s another layer called Pictos, which are attachments that offer game-changing stat boosts and perks to drastically affect how you gain AP, the bonuses from dodging and parrying, the way status effects work, and more. Using Pictos for long enough eventually allows you to stack their perks in what are called Lumina, letting you build a character in ways their skill tree cannot. Navigating these menus is kind of a pain since things get messy once you’re sifting through 50+ options packed into a tight screen, but it’s something I learned to deal with and sort through once I grasped the nomenclature – and when it all clicked, taking the time to configure my party was well worth the hassle. At first I thought I'd be far too overpowered (and I was in some cases), but setting the right loadout elevated my party members in ways that were crucial for the most challenging fights.

In fact, my biggest worry early on was that Clair Obscur was going to be too easy, as I steamrolled almost every enemy in roughly the first-third of the main path – aside from a handful of optional bosses that tested my mastery of the combat system (or one-shotted me, telling me to come back in the endgame). It definitely ramps up as it goes on, however, weaving in more creative enemy attack patterns and adding layers that sometimes tease out new approaches to constructing your party and skill loadouts. It eventually struck a good balance as bosses evolved in interesting ways, either by doing more with status effects and enemy shields, or by mixing up attacks that also ask you to time a jump or hit a special "Gradient Counter" alongside the usual parries and dodges, which could make my survival in combat feel like a rhythm game.

That gives Clair Obscur enough depth without feeling unwieldy, and just enough complexity while still staying focused. And if you’re clever enough, you’re allowed to “break the game,” so to speak, as its systems let you scale up in a way that’s rewarding rather than exploitative. I’ve played these kinds of RPGs my entire life, and so I’m confident when I say Clair Obscur has one of my favorite turn-based combat systems, ever – even if it has room to grow in a potential sequel, it’s already brilliant.

There’s something very old-school about Clair Obscur, and its overworld is one of clearest ways in which it harkens back to classic RPGs. You have oversized models of your characters navigating a map filled with optional locations and secrets, many of which aren’t accessible until you unlock new travel methods, similar to getting chocobos and airships in the Final Fantasy games of yore. It’s actually really charming, embracing its video game-y aspects and knowing that it doesn’t always have to take itself so seriously. Floating islands, far off shores, or massive creatures in the distance create a sense of wonder, and eventually you can go visit them to fight superbosses, play silly minigames for unique weapons and Pictos, or uncover a bit more of the story you wouldn’t see otherwise – and that side content can account for roughly 20 hours of gameplay on top of the main story. There’s no real quest log, so there isn’t an elegant way to track what you stumble upon. But rather than feeling obtuse, it gives the impression that these secrets are yours to discover in true throwback fashion.

The main locations you visit function like dungeons where you fight your way along a fairly direct track, with extra items tucked in nooks and crannies off the beaten path. For as linear as these places can be, a minimap would have been handy, as you’ll often get lost in the winding paths that blend in with the environment. (If nothing else, I’d like one just to keep track of where I had already been.) You approach enemies to initiate combat, and they respawn if you decide to replenish your health and items at flags planted by previous expeditions that function like checkpoints. Exploration is limited in this regard, but it helps each main story sequence stay focused and consistently paced. It’s also a consolation that every place you visit is visually striking, whether it’s thanks to an ethereal whimsy and natural beauty, or the brutality of the trenches and battlefields where bodies of past expeditioners are piled high – regardless, I was often in awe of Clair Obscur’s world.

What really etches an RPG into the pantheon of greats, however, is always going to be its story. My heart was all-in on Clair Obscur’s themes of facing mortality, making sacrifices for future generations, and the different ways we handle grief. I’ve written a lot about the latter, especially in relation to the stories many recent RPGs tell, and this is another harrowing exploration of it – for the way it contextualizes time and age, but also for its portrayal of grief becoming destructive to those around you, should it consume you. Final Fantasy X is one of its main influences, and it shows, but Clair Obscur also separates itself by how it tells its story. Massive credit is due to the impeccable acting and voice performances from an A-list cast, as well as script writing and scene direction that has dialogue playing out like natural, real-life conversations – small gestures, subtle expressions, and the cadence of the line deliveries are qualities that ground its story in something that feels as real as it is fantastical.

Its brevity does work against it at times as the story shifts in sudden directions later on that somewhat undermine the initial premise. I wish it dedicated a little more time and attention to fleshing out the parts that went a bit underdeveloped, but what’s here is still powerful – especially as it relates to the ugliness that comes from processing loss, and with a certain focus on the complicated impact it has on families. There’s a thematic coherence in showing how we use art and fiction as a coping mechanism and the dangers of getting lost in it.

Despite its deeply sad premise, Clair Obscur also manages to inject some levity that is largely charming rather than forced. Silly wooden guys called Gestrals occupy most of The Continent, working as both comic relief and a lens to help understand unknown parts of the world. Your party will goof with each other and share pieces of their personal lives at camp, and while not all of it is riveting stuff necessarily, those brief moments are vital for rounding out the human element that this story channels. Admittedly, there are moments in which Clair Obscur embellishes in its sorrow a bit too much, getting a little overdramatic at times. But it’s always able to find its footing by evoking a very specific tone – one that leans heavier into what you’d expect from a theatre production than a Hollywood blockbuster. And from that perspective, playing out like a classical tragedy is an integral part of its identity.

Clair Obscur often feels like an expression of French art history, using its culture as an enticing artistic foundation (and even poking fun at itself with mime bosses and a fun accordion jig). That's not just in the distinct Belle Epoque aesthetic or the French phrases characters use casually in conversation, but also in motifs that invoke theatre, painting, dance, and music which are woven into the very fabric of this fictional world – with music in particular being the most powerful one. Like every great RPG, an evocative soundtrack can uplift it to become a truly memorable experience, and Sandfall understood the assignment here. There’s almost too much good music, in that certain tracks didn’t even get enough time to stick in my head, but at every turn are amazing songs that hype you up for battle or set a wistful mood. With a multifaceted approach that includes string quartets, symphonic rock, moving opera vocals, and atmospheric synths, Clair Obscur’s soundtrack is stunning, and will be one of the reasons I won’t forget this game.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered launched big launch on Steam, where it enjoyed a peak concurrent player count of over 180,000 on release day.

After Bethesda shadow-dropped Oblivion Remastered yesterday, April 22, the game climbed to the top of Steam’s global top-selling games list, which is sorted by revenue. It’s ahead of the likes of Valve’s own Counter-Strike 2, viral hit Schedule I, and Blizzard’s Overwatch 2, which itself received a significant new update.

Oblivion remastered was also the fourth most-played game on Steam yesterday, behind only Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, and Dota 2. It’s currently the most-played single-player RPG on Steam, ahead of the resurgent Baldur’s Gate 3, and has a ‘very positive’ user review rating.

Steam stats do not tell the whole story, of course, and when it comes to Oblivion Remastered, there’s much more to its success. As a Microsoft-owned game (Microsoft owns Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media), Oblivion Remastered launched straight into Xbox Game Pass for Ultimate subscribers. It seems likely the game will have many players through the subscription service alone.

And then there’s the PlayStation 5 and standard Xbox Series X and S release to add in. So, while neither Microsoft nor Sony make player numbers public, Oblivion Remastered’s true peak concurrent player count on launch day will be much higher than 180,000.

It seems like a big success already, although Bethesda is yet to announce a total player or sales number. And player numbers will surely get bigger as Oblivion Remastered heads into its first weekend on sale.

Oblivion Remastered, developed by remake specialist Virtuos using Unreal Engine 5, has a long list of visual and feature improvements. It runs at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, as you'd expect, but other changes are more meaningful. Everything from the leveling systems to character creation, and combat animations to in-game menus have been improved. Meanwhile, there's lots of new dialogue, a proper third-person view, and new lip sync technology. The changes are going down well with fans, some of whom believe Oblivion Remastered would be more accurately described as a remake. Bethesda, however, has explained why it went down the remaster route.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion launched in 2006 as a follow-up to fan-favorite Morrowind on PC and Xbox 360, with a PlayStation 3 release following in 2007. It’s set in the fictional province of Cyrodiil, and revolves around the player character's bid to defeat a fanatical cult that wants to open portal games to the demonic realm known as Oblivion.

We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much more.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

It vanished fast the last time it was available, but now the Charizard ex Super Premium Collection is back in stock at Amazon, and down to just $49.94 (see here). That's 38% off its current list price, and well worth considering if you’re even casually invested in the Pokémon TCG. This is one of the few boxes for 50 big ones that’s actually worth your time—and your money.

Here’s what’s inside:

• A foil Charizard ex promo, plus matching Charmander and Charmeleon
• A Charizard figure—not essential, but a solid shelf piece
• And most importantly: 10 booster packs, not the usual 4 or 6

My Favorite Obsidian Flames Cards

If there’s one thing Lucasfilm has accomplished with shows like Star Wars: Andor and Star Wars Rebels, it’s in showing us the many heroes and worlds that played a key role in fighting and eventually overthrowing the Empire. We know Yavin-IV and Hoth and Endor from the movies. But what about Lothal and Ferrix? And thanks to the first three episodes of Andor Season 2, there’s another world that’s entered the Star Wars zeitgeist - Ghorman.

What is Ghorman, and why is this world so important to the conflict that is the Galactic Civil War? Why does the situation on Ghoman develop into a watershed moment for the Rebel Alliance? Here’s what you need to know about this little-known but surprisingly important corner of the Star Wars universe.

Ghorman in Star Wars: Andor

Star Wars: Andor first alluded to the planet Ghorman in the Season 1 episode “Narkina 5.” In a meeting between Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera and Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael, Saw references the doomed anti-Imperial group known as the Ghorman Front. To Saw, the Ghorman Front is a cautionary tale when it comes to discussing how best to fight the Empire.

Now this world is playing a much more direct role in Season 2. In the premiere episode, we see Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic speaking to a group of assembled ISB agents about a delicate problem involving the planet. He shows them a cheesy documentary reel extolling the virtues of Ghorman’s textile industry. Their silk fabric, harvested from a special breed of spider, is Ghorman’s chief galactic export.

The problem, as Krennic explains, is that the Empire is more interested in another of Ghorman’s natural resources. The Emperor himself covets Ghorman’s vast supply of calcite. Krennic claims that this calcite is needed to help the Empire’s research into renewable, unlimited energy. However, given what we know about Krennic from Rogue One, we can probably assume he’s lying. More likely, Krennic needs vast stores of calcite to complete construction of the Death Star. Like Kyber crystal, calcite is one of the limiting factors in Project: Stardust, and one of the reasons completing that terrible battlestation is taking so long.

As Krennic and his underlings discuss, the challenge with calcite is that extracting it in the quantities the Empire needs will likely leave Ghorman a barren, uninhabitable wasteland. That raises concerns about what to do about the native Ghor population. Palpatine’s grip on the galaxy isn’t quite so ironclad that he can just lay waste to an entire world and its people with impunity. That’s precisely why he wants a Death Star in the first place. At that point, there will be no contesting his Empire, no matter what war crimes it commits.

Krennic’s solution is to turn public sentiment against Ghorman so that the Empire becomes justified in taking control of the planet and displacing its people. This is a world with a history of anti-Imperial leanings, after all. But while his propaganda ministers believe that this process can be handled through social manipulation alone, Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero understands the reality. The Empire needs to install its own band of radical rebels who can be relied on to further the narrative that Ghorman is a dangerous, lawless place. Only then can the Empire swoop in and claim its calcite under the guise of restoring law and order.

All of this looks to be setting up an ongoing storyline in Season 2. No doubt Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma, and others will be drawn to Ghorman as the political situation deteriorates and this planet becomes a renewed battleground in the Galactic Civil War. Based on what we know about Ghorman already, it’s bound to end in both tragedy and a pivotal moment for the Rebel Alliance.

What Is the Ghorman Massacre?

In short, Andor Season 2 is gearing up to showcase an event known as the Ghorman Massacre. While this event has only been alluded to in Disney-era Star Wars media, it’s actually one of the most important developments leading to the creation of a true, unified Rebel Alliance.

The Ghorman Massacre has its roots in the pre-Disney Star Wars Legends universe. In that version of events, set in the year 18 BBY, Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin was the instigating offender. When Tarkin traveled to Ghorman in the midst of a peaceful protest against illegal Imperial taxation, he made the characteristically ruthless choice to land his ship directly on top of the protesters. Hundreds were killed or injured as a result.

The Ghorman Massacre quickly came to be seen as a glaring example of Imperial cruelty. It not only sparked public outcry, but it also led Senators like Mon Mothma and Jimmy Smits/Benjamin Bratt’s Bail Organa to begin fomenting and supporting the growing rebel movement. There’s a direct line between the Ghorman Massacre and the formation of the Rebel Alliance.

Lucasfilm is taking a somewhat different approach to the Ghorman Massacre in this new Disney era, and with Andor Season 2 in progress, we’re still making sense of the revised timeline. But the basic idea remains the same. The Ghorman Massacre is an incident where the Empire overplays its hand and inspires a renewed wave of rebel backlash.

Warning: the remainder of this article contains possible spoilers for upcoming episodes of Andor Season 2!

Most of what we know about the Ghorman Massacre in the Disney timeline is established in Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire and other reference books. In this version, the massacre takes place in 2 BBY. Once again, the Empire is guilty of slaughtering innocent protesters on Ghorman, sparking immediate and deep backlash.

We also know that the Ghorman Massacre serves as the critical dividing line in Mon Mothma’s political career. Up to that point, Mon is committed to working within the Imperial Senate system to oppose and resist Palpatine’s agenda wherever she can. But after the Ghorman Massacre, Mon finally throws caution to the wind and speaks publicly against the Emperor, labeling him “a lying executioner.” At that point, Mon is considered a traitor to the Empire, forcing her to go into hiding and become the full-time leader of the Rebel Alliance.

We’ve actually seen the immediate aftermath of the Ghorman Massacre play out already, thanks to the animated series Star Wars Rebels. In the Season 3 episode “Secret Cargo,” the Spectres rescue Mon and escort her to the Rebel Alliance high command. From there, Mon delivers a speech known as the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance, and the Galactic Civil War officially begins.

Modern streaming platforms like Netflix and Max have changed our content diets dramatically, allowing reality TV lovers and Letterboxd sickos to beam the latest movies and shows directly into their homes. In lieu of heading out to a theater and getting caught in a ‘Chicken Jockey’ related incident, you may be wondering — how can I summon a cinematic level of fidelity from the comfort of my couch? Well never fear, dear reader, as our guide to streaming Netflix in 4K will explain everything you need to know.

How to Stream Netflix in 4K

Before we get started, it’s worth checking which Netflix plan you’re on — as not all of them allow for 4K streaming. The Streaming (with Ads) and Standard plans only allow for streaming at resolutions up to 1080p. The only plan that supports 4K streaming at this time is the highest-tier Premium Plan.

Here are the current Netflix US plans and their prices:

• Standard with ads: $7.99 per month (No 4K)
• Standard: $17.99 per month (No 4K)
• Premium: $24.99 per month (4K streaming)

Do you have the right equipment for 4K?

The next step in your 4K streaming journey is making sure all of your hardware can support streaming Netflix content in 4K. If you’re using a monitor or smart TV for streaming, it needs to be capable of outputting a 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution. If you’re using an external streaming device like a Fire Stick or an Apple TV, then this also needs to support 4K streaming. And, if you are using external devices to stream Netflix, then the cables connecting the device to the TV will need to be good enough to support the signal. Netflix suggests users should use a Premium High Speed HDMI or Ultra High Speed HDMI cable to stream Netflix in 4K.

Check your playback settings

Once you’ve made sure you’re on the right plan and have all the correct equipment, it’s time to check your playback settings. To do this you’ll need to log into your account on your PC. From here you’ll need to click on your profile icon and select ‘Manage Profiles’. It should automatically show the menu bar for your account, however if it hasn’t, select the specific account you wish to stream 4K content from. Now, scroll down and select the Playback Settings option and set it to ‘High’. From here, when using that profile, you should stream in 4K when watching content that supports that resolution.

There are few caveats to this selection worth considering. By selecting High, you may be subject to more buffering and freezing if your internet isn’t up to the job. Additionally, if you’re using mobile data to watch your favourite films or shows be aware that streaming in 4K uses more data and so you might hit your limit quicker than you might expect.

Are There Other Ways to Watch Netflix Movies and Shows in 4K?

Physical media may seem like a thing of the past. However, a Blu-Ray revival has meant a handful of popular titles have broken free of their digital prisons. Blu-Ray editions of original shows like Daredevil, Arcane, The Crown, Stranger Things, and Wednesday are available for fans to buy (though sometimes hard to find). In a world where a show can be dropped from a platform overnight, owning physical copies is often the only way to ensure you can watch your favorite shows for all eternity – or at least until disc drives completely disappear.

Season 2 of Andor’s first of four chapters, episodes 1 through 3, picks up a year after the events of season 1 and starts sprinting. It’s a funnier-than-I-expected opening to season 2 as well. Like the first season did so well, Andor is still focusing on the small things. While the big picture of the rebellion is never far out of mind, this first chapter takes great pains to highlight the personal costs of taking on the Empire with great characters, some truly impressive filmmaking, and one of the best dance parties Star Wars has ever seen.

There’s a scene almost right off the bat between Andor and an Imperial technician who’s helping him steal an experimental new TIE fighter. She’s nervous, scared, wondering if the risk she’s taking is even worth it, but Cassian is there to help talk her through it. He says all the right things, clearly drawing on experience he’s had in the year since we last saw him. It’s a perfect way to immediately show his growth.

But the most important part of this conversation is when the tech talks about how she’d had an okay life at this facility. She had fun. It’s like she feels guilty about ever being happy as a part of the Empire and she’s not sure how to deal with it. This is a small conversation about a very small thing, but it says so much about this first chapter of Andor season 2, and it’s really quite something that they were able to do so much so efficiently in these opening moments.

There’s a feeling throughout these first 3 episodes that any sense of normalcy or comfort is going away. The way the team behind Andor sets out to accomplish that is really savvy. This season is written and edited so well, and particularly in these first 3 episodes, Andor is built in such a way that very directly contrasts the realities of managing a rebellion with continuing to live in the Empire while you do it. It’s a fascinating little tight rope act, and one that the writers and directors almost flawlessly pull off. Even in the opening sequence, we see him very capably tending to this would-be rebel helping him, but immediately he’s back in over his head when he narrowly escapes in a ship he can barely fly.

Another great example of this arrives in episode 1. While Cassian is stuck on a forest planet with a group of rebels that don’t trust him and can’t even get on the same page with each other, we’re taken to a secret meeting of top Empire brass in a snowy, mountain top fortress. The way the episode jumps back and forth between these two scenes connects them in a really sneaky way. It’s edited quickly, almost like a montage, but these are two seemingly unrelated scenes being drawn together.

On the one hand, you see the uphill battle that the rebellion is facing, with factions fighting for the same cause but killing each other because of distrust. This crew holding Andor hostage is just a bunch of selfish idiots – but, meanwhile, the Empire is quite casually plotting the destruction of an entire planet over coffee and canapes at a corporate retreat. These moments get lumped together as effectively one scene, and that one scene isn’t about what the rebellion or the Empire are up to separately. It’s a scene about how far apart the two sides are in their plans and how they get executed. While the Empire can get the ISB and the smear-campaign-pitching Ministry of Enlightenment douchebags marching in lockstep, the rebellion is literally starving in the mud, fighting each other while stranded on a planet full of beasts. They are not playing on the same level.

It’s also a scene that proves just how well Andor is put together. Smart and efficient filmmaking like this pops up throughout this series to subtly drive home the themes while you’re not even looking.

I will say though, episode 2 gets a little long where Cassian’s part of the plot is concerned. This band of misfits in the jungle are just too meatheaded to be interesting for as much time as we spend with them. They did their job very well in episode 1, but I don’t know that I needed the Star Wars version of rock, paper, scissors to play such a big role in Andor’s escape. It’s another vote in favor of the release schedule for season 2, though. I would’ve been a little more critical of episode 2 if I had to wait a whole week to see episode 3.

Thankfully this first batch of episodes also features the galaxy’s most intriguing character, Mon Mothma. The fact that a major plot point of season 1 involved the senator agreeing to arrange the marriage of her daughter to a mobster’s son in order to finance the rebellion was one of the reasons I fell so hard for this show.

Season 2 uses that wedding on Chandrila to do a couple of very cool things. It’s already incredible that Mon sending her daughter to marry into a shady financier’s family plays such an enormous role in the organization of this rebellion. But now her childhood friend and banking guru Tay has lost some money and gotten divorced, which in turn is causing him to make uncomfortable waves for Mon and Luthen Rael’s plans.

Just to say that again, because it’s wild: A dude’s wife leaving him has enormous implications for the future of the rebellion. Forget teaching a kid in the desert how to use a light saber, this is the kind of fascinating butterfly-effect stuff that the second season of Andor is doubling down on in all the right ways. That something as tiny and personal as a marriage falling apart is a real threat to these early days of the rebellion is such a fun thread to pull on.

More than Chandrillan divorce – and there’s always one guy who just got divorced at a wedding – the four-day extravaganza at the Mothma estate highlights that contrast that’s painted so well early in this season. Mon Mothma has always been obliged to play nice in the Senate and at home, while secretly funding the rebellion. Placing all of her anxiety around the rebellion, including the unexpected arrival of Stellan Skarsgaard’s Luthen Rael, against the backdrop of such a traditional event shows how determined the rest of her world is to carry on as though nothing is amiss and the Empire isn’t capable of blowing up a whole planet for a mineral.

By the time the wedding is over, Tay’s been dealt with in the only way Luthen knows how to deal with loose ends, and Mon is doing shots – shots that she has very much earned, and dance-partying her way through some pretty boss EDM. Her tragedy is juxtaposed with a fresh and terrible loss for Cassian. Not only does Mon have to grin and bear it through an upper-class tradition, that contrast is used to invade Cassian’s life as well. It’s another sequence like cross-cutting the jungle meatheads and the Empire planning to strip-mine Ghorman. It creates a single story out of two otherwise unconnected threads.

The real craft of Andor season 2 is in these moments, because they corral disparate parts of the rebellion into the whole. Mon Mothma and Cassian Andor have not met. Their only connection is that they both know Luthen Rael, but quite independently of each other. Here at the end of episode 3 though, they’re in the same place thanks to the absurdly clever editing of that house music.

Meanwhile, on the antagonist’s side of the spectrum, the two main villains from season 1 are embroiled in a domestic chamber piece. Dedra Meero and Syril Karn squaring off against Syril’s mother, who, by the way, I believe to be the second or third best character in this entire show, is an incredible scene. It’s written with some of the most passive-aggressive dialogue humankind has ever seen. The three performances have at least a few layers of awkward subtext at play and, beyond any of that, we get more of what makes this first chapter great – the attempt at normalcy in the midst of rebellion.

Taking a relationship to the “meet the parent” phase is a big and stupidly normal step for two ambitious, true-believer imperial agents like Dedra and Syril. There’s an incongruity to it that’s both really funny and really creepy. Seeing Syril more or less trade one mom for another is a wild place for this series to go, but at the same time, it’s exactly the kind of thing that made the first season so intriguing – and that season 2 is highlighting even more effectively.

And while I was happy to see Bix again, her peaceful bit of respite harvesting grain with Brasso and Wilmon interrupted by an imperial audit is the most on-the-nose part of chapter 1. The officers are so blatantly slimy and their tactics so familiar, the storyline just didn’t have nearly as much to offer as the others. I certainly preferred the farmers on that planet to the meatheads in the jungle, but to be fair that’s a pretty low bar to clear.

There’s never been a better time to start building a big ol' pile of shame, my fellow patient gamer. Whether you’re keen to pick up a cult favourite or just want to marvel at how cheap Mass Effect is going for, today's best gaming deals are a tidy mix of crowd-pleasers and critical darlings. And now, without much more ado, here are my favourite deals on The Citadel.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I'm celebrating the 32nd birthday of the Sega Mega Drive II, a beast I still own and adore. Bristling with 16-bits of power (and blast processing technology), this bit of kit arrived on my birthday, with a copy of Streets of Rage from a MegaZone subscription deal, and basically made my year. I was to eat well with Sonics 1 through 3, Bonanza Bros., RoboCop vs. Terminator, Disney's Aladdin / Lion King, Streeties, MK, Golden Axe, Earthworm Jim, a bunch of Shinobis, and more. Absolute peak Sega era.

• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (-75%) - A$19
• Fire Emblem Warriors: TH (-50%) - A$39
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (-67%) - A$26
• Civilization VII (-23%) - A$69
• Persona 5 Royal (-40%) - A$59

Expiring Recent Deals

• Switch Lite Hyrule Ed. (-12%) - A$299
• Persona 4 Golden (-60%) - A$11
• God Eater 3 (-37%) - A$53
• Joy-Cons Green/Pink (-26%) - A$89
• MySims: Cozy Bundle (-35%) - A$39
• NBA 2K25 (-78%) - A$20
• Suikoden I&II HD (-14%) - A$69

Or gift a Nintendo eShop Card.

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Sci-fi is a genre that continues to evolve each year in filmmaking. Ever since the mystical release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, many directors have sought to craft films that are otherworldly and fascinating for audiences. Today, the Amazon 3 for $33 sale is still ongoing for select 4K movies, and some of the best sci-fi movies of all time are still available as part of this deal. If you're a collector and wish to avoid the sci-fi-like digital-only future, this is a great opportunity to score some excellent 4K Blu-rays for your collection.

This sale is part of Amazon's larger three for $33 4K movie promotion that just started yesterday. There are quite a few other great films in there if you'd prefer to shop the full sale yourself.

Score 3 4K Sci-Fi Blu-rays for $33 at Amazon

One of the best movies included in this sale is Blade Runner: The Final Cut, starring Harrison Ford. This version of the iconic sci-fi film is the definitive way to experience Blade Runner by far, with new VFX cleanups, added scenes, and excellent color and sound quality.

You can also score 4K copies of 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most inspirational sci-fi films of all time, and Inception, which is a favorite for many fans of Christopher Nolan. Godzilla Minus One, just fresh off an Oscar Win last year, is also available. Beyond Minus One, you can save on even more Godzilla and monster 4K movies as part of this ongoing promotion.

If you wish to check out all of the movies on sale, you can shop the full sale yourself here.

Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.

If you're tired of lugging out your full-sized vacuum cleaner or buying cans of compressed air to clean out your desk space, here's an easier alternative. Amazon is offering the Hoto Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for just $31.31 after you apply a 55% off coupon code "468DGGLL" during checkout. Amazon's list price is incorrect (it's actually $69.99). It has over 700 4.3/5 star reviews on Amazon with a Fakespot "A" rating. This cordless handvac is a quick and easy way to rid your desk area of all the food crumbs and dust bunnies that pile up in and around your keyboard and gaming PC.

55% Off Hoto Cordless Handheld Vacuum

What makes for a great graphics card? I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few months thinking about that question, especially in the wake of Nvidia GPUs like the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 which are good cards on their own, but don’t do much to justify their existence over what was already out there beyond the addition of multi-frame generation. The GeForce RTX 5060 Ti does buck the trend a bit, featuring the largest generational improvement out of the entire Nvidia Blackwell lineup.

This makes the RTX 5060 Ti the easiest current-generation Nvidia card to recommend, but that recommendation comes with a huge asterisk. You see, there are two versions of this graphics card out there, one with 8GB of VRAM and another, reviewed here, with 16GB. In a world where the Intel Arc B580 exists, it’s mind-boggling that Nvidia would launch an 8GB version of this card that’s still more expensive than Intel’s flagship. If you’re shopping for a 1080p graphics card, please don’t fall into the trap of buying the 8GB version.

Specs and Features

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is built on the same Blackwell graphics architecture as the rest of the RTX 5000 lineup, this time with 4,608 CUDA cores across 36 Streaming Multiprocessors or SMs. That also means this graphics card has 152 Tensor Cores and 36 RT cores, which are used for DLSS and ray tracing, respectively. This configuration means its a bigger GPU than its predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti, which had 4,352 CUDA cores across 34 SMs.

From there, the RTX 5060 Ti splinters into two different versions of the card, an 8GB and a 16GB model, both on a 128-bit bus. In fact, the actual GPU is identical between the two, with the only difference being the amount of VRAM available. For some people, this difference will be negligible, but if you’re looking to play intensive AAA PC games like Doom: The Dark Ages, 8GB could be a huge limiting factor, even at 1080p.

In a perfect world, there will be a $50 difference between the 8GB and 16GB versions of the RTX 5060 Ti, with them launching at $379 and $429, respectively. However, right now even 8GB versions of the card are starting around $400, with the 16GB card sitting anywhere from $500-$550 on Newegg. At that price, getting a graphics card with 8GB of VRAM simply doesn’t make sense, especially in a world where the Intel Arc B580 exists. Hopefully these higher prices normalize over the next few months and years.

It doesn’t help that there is no Founders Edition for the RTX 5060 Ti to help anchor prices. Instead, Nvidia is only selling the RTX 5060 Ti via third party manufacturers, just like the RTX 5070 Ti back in November. I was sent the PNY GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC for review, which is a bog-standard dual-fan card with a modest 120MHz overclock. That’s less than a 5% boost to its clock speed, and shouldn’t make a huge impact on performance one way or the other. It also keeps the RTX 5060 Ti locked to the default 180W power budget, and it peaked at 181W in my testing. What’s interesting is that PNY doesn’t require the controversial 12V(2x6) connector as other Nvidia graphics cards. Instead, just a single run-of-the-mill 8-pin PCIe power connector is enough to power this RTX 5060 Ti. Though, there will likely be many versions of this graphics card that do require an adapter, but it should be included in the box.

DLSS 4

Just like the rest of the RTX 5000 lineup, the big selling point this time around is DLSS 4, and in particular Multi-Frame Generation, or MFG. Just like the Frame Generation tech that debuted with the RTX 4080 in 2022, MFG uses AI to create new frames between sets of rendered frames. The big difference now is scale, with the RTX 5060 Ti able to generate up to three interpolated frames for each natively rendered frame, greatly improving frame rate – though that comes with a catch.

Inserting interpolated frames into the display output naturally introduces a bit of latency, as the GPU is holding the rendered frame while it creates the AI frames. Luckily, Nvidia mitigates that through Reflex and the new AI Management Processor or AMP. The latter is a special bit of silicon on the GPU that takes over the responsibility of frame pacing from your CPU. And because it’s physically located on the same chip as, well, the rest of the GPU, it’s able to do this much more efficiently, shaving off some of the added latency and making the end result smoother.

Reflex, on the other hand, has been around for a while, and essentially zeroes out the render queue, and forces the CPU to only send data to the GPU when it’s ready to render a new frame, rather than stacking up a bunch of work and then sitting idle.

Even with these two methods, latency does still increase when MFG is enabled, but it’s not noticeable, especially if you’re already getting a decent frame rate when you turn it on. That’s the trick: You shouldn’t look at any frame generation trick as a magic bullet to improve your terrible frame rates, it’s just a tool to take an already good framerate and crank out extra frames to saturate high-end gaming monitors.

In Cyberpunk 2077, at 1080p on the Ray Tracing Overdrive preset, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti gets 83 fps and 29ms of latency with DLSS set to performance. Turn on 2x Frame Generation, and the frame rate jumps to 119 fps, with 36ms of latency. Then, with 4x MFG – so 3 AI frames for every “real” frame – the framerate jumps to 185 fps, with 42ms of latency. It’s a significant increase to latency, but it’s still low enough to not be super noticeable, thanks to the high starting frame rate.

Likewise in Star Wars Outlaws, the RTX 5060 Ti starts with 91 fps and 25ms of latency at 1080p, on the Ultra Preset and DLSS set to performance. With 2x frame generation, it jumps to 156 fps and 30ms of latency. Then, at 4x MFG, the numbers go up to 251 fps with 34ms of latency. The higher your frame rate is before frame generation is enabled, the better your experience is going to be.

Performance

At 1080p, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti has no problem handling most games with all the shiny features turned on. Across the suite of games I test GPUs with, I found that the RTX 5060 Ti was on average 23% faster than the RTX 4060 Ti, and 41% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti. That’s a far cry from the measly 11% improvement enjoyed by the RTX 5080 over the RTX 4080 Super.

I tested each graphics card on the most recent public driver, which means all Nvidia cards were tested on Game Ready Driver 576.02, and AMD cards were tested on AMD Adrenalin 25.3.2. All games were also tested on their most recent public versions, to make sure everything was on an even playing field.

3DMark isn’t exactly reflective of real-world gaming performance, but it does give a good idea of what potential performance looks like for the RTX 5060 Ti, especially as the driver matures. In Speed Way, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 4,209 points, compared to 3,276 from the 4060 Ti, making for a 28% improvement. Steel Nomad and Port Royal see similar improvements, with a 25% and 28% lead respectively in favor of the RTX 5060 Ti.

In Call of Duty Black Ops 6, the numbers don’t fare quite as well. At 1080p with the Extreme preset and DLSS set to Quality, the RTX 5060 Ti gets a comfortable 123 fps. That’s just a 6% lead over the RTX 4060 Ti, but it’s still 35% faster than the RTX 3060 Ti with the same settings.

Luckily, the 5060 Ti does much better in Cyberpunk 2077, which is still one of the most demanding PC games out there right now. At 1080p with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset and DLSS set to Quality, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 90 fps, compared to 74 from the RTX 4060 Ti and 64 from the 3060 Ti. That’s a 21% and a 41% improvement, respectively.

I test Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition without upscaling to get a picture of what raw ray tracing performance looks like. And the RTX 5060 Ti gets an average of 66 fps at 1080p with the Extreme preset, compared to 58 fps from the 4060 Ti. That’s just a 14% improvement, so not exactly the RTX 5060 Ti’s strongest showing.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is getting old, but it still gives a good portrayal of Vulkan performance, especially when everything is cranked up to max. But even on max settings at 1080p, the RTX 5060 Ti gets 101 fps, compared to 91 fps from the RTX 4060 Ti and 77 fps from the 3060 Ti. That’s an 11% and 31% lead, respectively.

Total War: Warhammer 3 doesn’t have any kind of ray tracing or upscaling technology, so it’s great for seeing how a graphics card handles pure rasterization, and the RTX 5060 Ti gets 137 fps, compared to 106 from the RTX 5060 Ti. That’s one of the best results in the 5060 Ti’s favor, and is extremely promising for anyone who doesn’t really care about fancy ray tracing or upscaling effects in their games.

Assassins Creed Shadows is the newest game in the test suite, and is extremely demanding, especially when all the ray tracing effects are enabled – so of course I enabled them. With everything enabled, the RTX 5060 Ti gets just 45 fps at 1080p. That looks bad, right? Well, the RTX 4060 Ti actually fares much worse, getting just 32 fps with the same settings. That makes for a huge 40% improvement in a game that just came out.

In Black Myth: Wukong, ray tracing is kind of always enabled at some level, but I test the game on the Cinematic preset, without enabling full ray tracing. This makes it one of the most demanding games in my suite, with the RTX 5060 Ti getting just 59 fps at 1080p, falling just short of the 60 fps gold standard. However, it does make for a substantial uplift over the 4060 Ti’s 47 fps.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Vinyl has made a huge resurgence over the years, and more soundtracks are being released than ever before. It's very common nowadays to see game soundtracks receive a vinyl release at launch or at least a while thereafter. Starting today, IGN Store has opened pre-orders for four new vinyl soundtracks. If you're a fan of The Legend of Zelda, Cuphead, Stray, or Destiny, you do not want to miss these items.

Ocarina of Time, Destiny, Cuphead, and Stray Vinyl Now Available to Pre-Order

First up is the new Hero of Time - Music from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2xLP Vinyl. This release includes music by the 64-piece Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, with the pressing on green & purple rupee vinyl. There's also the Cuphead Deluxe Soundtrack, which features 1930s era-specific packaging and almost three hours total of music. This 4xLP set is sure to please any fan of jazz or challenging platformers.

Next, the Destiny 2 Volume 1 Original Game Soundtrack Vinyl is perfect for fans of Bungie's online game. This 2xLP set contains original music from Destiny 2's inaugural campaign, "The Red War," with a code included to redeem an exclusive Destiny 2 Profile Emblem.

Finally, a new release of the Stray Original Soundtrack is available to pre-order! Composer Yann Van Der Cruyssen managed to capture the distinct cyberpunk nature of the BlueTwelve Studios game, with eerie and desolate melodies that are captured with synths. This 2xLP set is pressed on 180g audiophile black vinyl and features a gatefold jacket housed in an elegant slipcase with holofoil spécialité.

If you're looking for more game vinyl soundtracks, IGN Store also recently opened pre-orders on six different Persona vinyl soundtracks. This includes Persona Q - Shadow of Labyrinth, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4, and Persona 5.

Each of these new vinyl releases is part of the new iam8bit 20th Anniversary Collection, so they won't be here forever. Be sure to head over to IGN Store today so you don't miss out on these items!

About IGN Store

IGN Store sells high-quality merch, collectibles, and shirts for everything you're into. It's a shop built with fans in mind: for all the geek culture and fandom you love most. Whether you're into comics, movies, anime, games, retro gaming or just want some cute plushies (who doesn't?), this store is for you!

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 Prebuilt Gaming PCs Are Available

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5080 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC

Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 5070 Gaming PC

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptop Is Now Available

Alienware m16 Gaming Laptops

Samsung's newest SSD - the Samsung 990 Evo Plus PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe solid state drive - is on sale today. Pick up the 2TB model for $129.99 or, if you can swing it, the 4TB model is also discounted to $255. It's currently $40-$70 cheaper than the Samsung 990 Pro and most (if not all) gamers won't notice the difference in performance.

Samsung 990 Evo Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for $129.99

4TB for $259.99

Anime just keeps getting bigger. It was reported to be a $19+ billion industry in 2023, so we can only imagine where it's at now. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to watch anime without paying a dime. While you might have to skip out on the occasional Netflix original, there's something for everyone in the hundreds of anime series and movies out there for free.

If you watch anime, you probably know that there are plenty of what we'll call "risky" anime sites, most of which ride a legal gray line or head straight into piracy territory. This list is limited to free anime sites we know for sure legally acquired their streaming licenses.

Whether you want to see what the hype's about with Solo Leveling, are planning a Naruto marathon, or want to dive into classics like Sailor Moon, here are the best sites to watch anime for free.

Crunchyroll

The Elder Scrolls fans are praising Bethesda today after the developer gifted free game keys for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered to the entire team behind popular Oblivion mod, Skyblivion.

In a post on BlueSky today, the Skyblivion team shared news of Bethesda's outreach with their community. "As massive fans, we're beyond grateful for the generous gift of Oblivion Remastered game keys for our entire modding team! This means so much to us. Thank you for everything, Bethesda!"

Skyblivion is an upcoming fan remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion made by the TESRenewal volunteer modding group. It uses Bethesda's Creation Engine to recreate Oblivion in the game's sequel, Skyrim. The project has technically been in the works for over a decade, beginning as a simple direct port and later expanding to a full remake with a number of improved features and even new content. We interviewed one of the developers behind it way back in 2021. Skyblivion is expected to release this year.

Historically, Bethesda and the Skyblivion team have reportedly been on "very good terms," but as rumors of an official Oblivion remaster grew, some fans questioned if Bethesda wasn't trying to head off Skyblivion with its own version due to the suspiciously close release timing. A few days ago, anticipating today's showcase, the Skyblivion team issued a statement addressing these concerns. In it, the team said that Bethesda has "always been supportive of community projects like ours" and that "there is no need for comparisons or a sense of competition" between the two games.

Notably, Oblivision Remastered does not have official mod support, though fans have already been cooking up an array of unofficial mods for the game within hours of its release. Additionally, both versions of Oblivion have unique aspects: Skyblivion, for instance, isn't available on console at all. Oblivision Remastered, on the other hand, does not include the new and refurbished content that Skyblivion has promised, but does have horse armor DLC at launch for Deluxe Edition buyers. Both versions have different looks and feels, with different interpretations on how much Skyrim-ness should be incorporated into a retread of Oblivion. And of course, you can play Oblivision Remastered today, but those looking forward to Skyblivion will have to wait just a little bit longer.

While we wait, you can read up on why some players think today’s release is more remake than remaster and why Bethesda opted to give it that “Remastered” name in the first place.

We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much more.

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.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Studio Ghibli has captivated audiences with its hand-drawn animation and whimsical story-telling. The Japanese studio, led by visionary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, has compiled a filmography of nearly two dozen movies, ranging from surreal and supernatural to heartfelt and reflective. If you're looking to watch (or rewatch) the best Studio Ghibli movies, we've compiled this guide for how you can watch every single one right now.

Where to Watch Every Studio Ghibli Movie Online

If you're an anime fan, Crunchyroll is the best streaming platform out there. With just one subscription, you can instantly gain access to over 1,000 different anime series. In a time when anime has never been more popular, Crunchyroll allows you to catch new and popular shows like Solo Leveling while also keeping up with the biggest anime in the world like One Piece. Check out our full rundown of Crunchyroll as of April 2025, in addition to a free trial that allows you to try out the service for one week.

Does Crunchyroll Have a Free Trial?

What Crunchyroll Premium Tiers Are There?

Once again, Crunchyroll has three different pricing options for Premium members: Fan, Mega Fan, and Ultimate Fan. All anime is available across each of the tiers, so you won't need to worry about missing out on certain series if you do not subscribe to the highest tier.

Fan Subscription - $7.99 per month

To break down the tiers, Fan is the standard Crunchyroll Premium membership, offering the entire Crunchyroll anime library ad-free. You can actively stream on one device at a time, and you'll also recieve a 5% discount off select products at the Crunchyroll Store.

Mega Fan - $11.99 per month

Mega Fan is the most popular tier, with support for up to four different streams concurrently. This tier also unlocks offline viewing, so you can download episodes of any anime and watch them even if you do not have access to the internet. Mega Fan also gives you the Crunchyroll Game Vault, a selection of free games you can download to your mobile device. You'll also recieve a 10% discount at the Crunchyroll Store, up from the Fan tier's 5% discount, with free shipping on orders over $50.

Ultimate Fan - $15.99 per month

Finally, Ultimate Fan is the last tier Crunchyroll offers. All perks from the Mega Fan plan carry over, except you can now stream on up to six different devices at a time. Additionally, your Crunchyroll Store discount is moved to 15%, with early access to deals like Manga Madness and free US shipping on orders. Lastly, active subscribers will receive an exclusive swag bag after 12 consecutive months of subscription.

What's New on Crunchyroll - Spring 2025 Simulcasts

One of the best features of Crunchyroll's Premium Tier is same-day simulcasts. New anime episodes that otherwise air exclusively on local Japanese stations promptly make their way to Crunchyroll for global audiences. While some of these simulcasts are available for free, the vast majority of new releases are behind that Premium paywall.

So, what's airing now? The Spring 2025 anime season just kicked off, with ongoing simulcasts of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, a new spin-off to the original series. The most recent My Hero Academia movie, You're Next, also just landed on the service. Other anime airing right now include Fire Force Season 3, Anne Shirley, The Beginning After the End, and One Piece, which just came back from a six-month hiatus. You can check out the full release calendar on the Crunchyroll site.

How to Watch Crunchyroll - Available Platforms

Crunchyroll is available on almost every platform out there. You can watch anime on the official website, or on your mobile device with official apps for iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, and Samsung Galaxy. Additionally, the streaming service is available on gaming consoles like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. You can also use any media player like Apple TV, Google TV, Roku TV, and more to access the service.

For more streaming platform guides, check out 2025 Hulu Subscriptions, Netflix Plans, ESPN+ Plans, and Disney+ Plans.

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

In 2006, Bethesda was riding high on the success of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In an effort to keep fans coming back to Cyrodiil, the developer started releasing small paid DLC packages for the game. Little did the company know that it was galloping headlong into controversy when it dropped its first DLC pack that April: horse armor.

Even if you weren't following games at the time, you've likely heard of the horse armor controversy. Though DLC certainly existed pre-horse armor, Oblivion's Horse Armor Pack (which cost 200 Microsoft Points on the 360 Marketplace, approximately $2.50 at the time) really caused a stir due to the armor being essentially useless.

Now, in 2025, cosmetic upgrades such as this are commonplace, which has allowed Bethesda to be a bit cheeky in its release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and once again charge players extra for horse armor. As a part of today's reveal and shadow-drop of the remaster, we learned that Oblivion Remastered will include both a base edition and a deluxe edition. For an extra $10 on top of the base game price, deluxe edition buyers will get new quests for unique armors, extra weapon options, a digital artbook and soundtrack app... and yes, horse armor again. Two sets, to be precise.

For the most part, fans seem to be taking this in their stride. We're almost two decades away from a time when cosmetic DLC like horse armor was a shocking thing to introduce, and players at this point are used to shelling out money for purely cosmetic upgrades. As Circana analyst Mat Piscatella pointed out on BlueSky, video game consumers in the U.S. spent over $10.4 billion on PC and console video game digital add-ons in 2024. "Horse Armor walked so Battle Passes could run."

In fact, most people just find it funny that Bethesda seems comfortable poking fun at what was once a massive scandal.

PAID HORSE ARMOR DLC. OBLIVION IS TRULY BACK. pic.twitter.com/1DJFIPzHB0

— Many A True Nerd (@ManyATrueNerd) April 22, 2025

Honestly I have to respect it. New players won't know this, but releasing the horse armor as paid DLC again is a subtle reference to when they singlehandedly ruined the industry by selling it the first time around. I kneel, Todd. https://t.co/BGwBwL3VYX

— UGS | Ajay (@AJ34_SSB) April 22, 2025

£10 for Horse Armor in #OblivionRemastered ??? There's no way that's gonna catch on pic.twitter.com/E1jqpPZFYr

— Olive_Meister (@Olive_Meisterr) April 22, 2025

Oblivion Remastered doesn't just have horse armor, it already has mods. A handful of community mods made their way to popular website Nexus Mods just hours after Oblivion launched, although these mostly amount to small customization options.

While we wait for more mods to drop, you can read up on why some players think today’s release is more remake than remaster and why Bethesda opted to give it that “Remastered” name in the first place.

We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much more.

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.

The Star Wars franchise is chock full of exciting animated projects that do an excellent job of expanding the vast and beloved live-action universe established by George Lucas back in 1977 with Star Wars: A New Hope. But it looks like fans can anticipate at least one more animated series to add to the mix in Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord, which was just announced at Star Wars Celebration Japan. Voice actor Sam Witwer, who has voiced Maul in all of his animated appearances over the years, opened up to IGN about developing the project during an exclusive interview out of the festival.

Witwer, who will star as Darth Maul in this new series, revealed to IGN not only where Shadow Lord falls in the overall Star Wars timeline, but also Maul’s headspace at this point in the story.

“It takes place a year after the Clone Wars have ended, and Maul is in a very challenging place, because the people that he had around him, a lot of them scattered or betrayed him during the Clone Wars. So we're dealing with a guy who is trying to figure out well, my God, what is my purpose? Maul, you have to remember, is a classically trained force user, a classically trained Sith,” Witwer explained.

“He comes from a time of magic, knights, passion, enthusiasm, aggression, fire – magic. Now he is seeing an empire that he knew was coming, and the magic and the color is being sucked out of the universe. How does he feel about that? Did he see that that was going to be the way that it was? Is this different than what he expected and how does he feel that affects him? What does he wanna do about it? Can he do anything about it? He's not very equipped right now. So this is a guy who's trying to figure out what his destiny is.”

Witwer also noted that Maul’s perspective at this point was shaped by his upbringing. “Something else, he was trained his entire life to hate and kill Jedi, and he killed more Jedi than people were aware of in the Clone Wars. You know, there [were] indications that [he] and Savage Opress went off on a rampage as well. It was worse than you think. And now they’re gone. How does he feel about the Jedi, his sworn enemy – how does he feel about them now that they are gone? You know? All of these things, so we're challenging this perspective. So what is his destiny? What is who is he without his greatest enemy to fight and destroy? And he learns that perhaps part of his destiny is to inspire a young person; train an apprentice.”

Unfortunately, the only tidbit Witwer would share about the mysterious apprentice is that she is a “very surprising” character. “I can't tell you that much more,” he teased. “But she's quite something.”

Witwer, who is also well-known for past roles in Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, has stepped into a development role with this project, and it seems to have proven fruitful to work directly with Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni. “Dave has always been very collaborative, wonderfully collaborative in fact, and this one, they were like, well, listen, you've been playing this character for 15 years,” the voice actor revealed. “So, you have to be in this deeper than you've ever been before, because we need you to weigh in on stuff, we need to have people to debate these things. So it's been kind of thrilling in that way, having constant phone calls and emails and discussions. and it’s been educational.”

The actor has done a lot of work on Maul’s arc, which he opened up about from his “death” in The Phantom Menace to resurfacing during Clone Wars and his final showdown with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels. “Well, if we're developing this chapter it's important to review all of that information and watch it closer than we ever have, because we must learn new things about this character or it’s not worth too much,” Witwer told IGN in Japan. “Looking at those previous works, I've always had a lot of questions about this character. There were things that the audience I haven't seen them pick up on yet but that I feel are really worth talking about. For example, why did Maul never give up Palpatine?”

And why didn’t he, then? Witwer made it a point to delve into the realities of this question. “You have a show where the Jedi are like, ‘We know that there is someone named Darth Sidious. We know that he is manipulating things, and we're trying to figure out who this is, who is the Sith lord. Maul through all those years knows exactly who the Sith lord is; he could go to a phone booth, call up the Jedi and say, ‘It's Palpatine’ and hang up the phone and really screw Palpatine's plans. He never does that. Why? Why doesn't he turn on Palpatine?”

He added, “The only moment he finally decides, OK, I'm gonna turn on Palpatine is at the very end, right before the world ends, Order 66 and the Clone Wars end, he becomes so freaked out that in a desperation he reaches out to Ahsoka Tano. But Palpatine has caused so much suffering for this guy. Palpatine took away Savage Opress. Palpatine killed his family. Palpatine took away his mother. Palpatine showed no loyalty to Maul, and the moment Maul found loyalty in Savage Opress, he took that from him. So what is it? Why did Maul maintain this loyalty? What is it about that character? What is it about Maul that we are learning from things like that?”

For Witwer and the team developing this project, Maul’s past is crucial to who he is in the present. “These are the types of questions that I have been asking for years, and in this show, we get to create stories about them. I mean, not flashbacks – we don't literally tell these stories, but there are aspects of that character that have not been explored, traits that that character has that people wouldn't think he has, because he's different than Palpatine,” the actor explained.

“Palpatine is a 10 out of 10 mythic villain – he's as bad as you get. Maul is not that. If you watch The Clone Wars very closely, he does not kill unnecessarily. I'm saying too much. He's a bad, bad guy in this show, but our show is bad guys versus worse guys. So Maul is every bit as bad as he was before, in some ways even worse.”

Bad guys turned worse? Sounds like our cup of tea! This series is obviously still in development, which means we’re far off from a release date at this point — but for now, we can dream about how killer it seems like it will be.

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.

Bethesda has confirmed The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered does not feature official mod support, but that hasn't stopping dedicated fans from already pushing out a few unofficial mods of their own.

A handful of community mods made their way to popular website Nexus Mods just hours after Bethesda and Virtuos’ Oblivion reimagining shadow-dropped for players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Although these mostly amount to small customization options, it’s proof that few modding communities are as dedicated as those found in The Elder Scrolls fanbase.

At the time of this story’s publication, a surprising 22 mods are available on the site. The first to cross the finish line simply allows PC players to personalize their desktop by replacing the default Oblivion Remastered shortcut with one of two images of its infamous Adoring Fan. More than a few allow players to skip the introduction Bethesda and Vitruos logo screens, while others, including one that tweaks the Wizard’s Fury spell and another that removes the compass, are already tackling options to customize gameplay.

The wave of early mods arrives as Bethesda, which usually encourages mod support in its games, announced that Oblivion Remastered does not feature official mod support this time around. Confirmation that players would need to turn elsewhere for mods was detailed in an FAQ section on its website.

Meanwhile, Nexus Mods user GodschildGaming uploaded their Iron Longsword damage mod in part to show Oblivion Remastered is still ripe for modding.

“This is just to prove modding is possible,” they said in the mod’s description. “Bethesda says no mod support, I say false. It really is Unreal slapped on top of Oblivion, the data folder is nested in a lot more folders but same concept.”

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered launched today, 19 years after the original, for PC and consoles. As more players get their hands on it in the weeks and months ahead, its pool of mods will only increase and offer more bizarre ways to tailor the experience to your liking. While we wait for more mods to drop, you can read up on why some players think today’s release is more remake than remaster and why Bethesda opted to give it that “Remastered” name in the first place.

We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much 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).

IGN's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered maps are here! Our interactive maps track essential locations across Cyrodiil and Shivering Isles, including Main Quests and Side Quests, locations such as Dungeons and cities, and more.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Interactive Maps

Bethesda Game Studios is clarifying its stance on why Virtuos’ newly released The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered isn’t considered a remake.

The studio behind the classic fantasy RPG series touched on why it’s called Oblivion Remastered and not Oblivion Remake in a post on X/Twitter today. It’s a lengthy explanation for what Bethesda itself defines as a remaster and why it chose to take the path that it has. As the developer thanked those who are playing Oblivion for the first time or revisiting it, it outright said it “never wanted to remake it.”

“We never wanted to remake it – but remaster it – where the original game was there as you remember playing it, but seen through today’s technology,” Bethesda explained.

The studio’s clarification arrives as fans not only (officially) see Oblivion Remastered for the first time but also go hands-on, too. It’s out now, bringing visual changes across the board alongside a few fundamental gameplay tweaks. Highlights include the ability to sprint as well as a new level-up system that is being described as a cross between what was found in the original Oblivion and the process players saw in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

Whether it’s a new design for a sewer grate or a game-changing addition, the insurmountable number of tweaks has many players feeling like Oblivion Remastered is more of a remake than a simple fresh coat of paint. The last decade has indeed been polluted by video game remasters that mostly focus on minor visual improvements, but Bethesda is still hesitant to call its Oblivion re-release, which it started working on in 2021, a full-on remake.

“We looked at every part and carefully upgraded it,” Bethesda continued. “But most of all, we never wanted to change the core. It’s still a game from a previous era and should feel like one.

“We know many of our longtime fans will be thrilled to revisit Oblivion and the land of Cyrodiil. But there are also so many who have never played it. We can’t thank you enough for all the support you have given us and our games over the years. Our hope with this remaster is, that no matter who you are, when you step out of the Imperial sewer – you feel like you’re experiencing it for the first time.”

From all of us at Bethesda Game Studios... pic.twitter.com/AKlUXrmYW5

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) April 22, 2025

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is out now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S and is also available to play through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. We've got a comprehensive guide to everything you'll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much 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).

Nintendo has announced that preorders for Nintendo Switch 2 are set to go live on April 24. All the major retailers have chimed in with official details about when and how you’ll be able to place your preorders ahead of the next-gen console’s June 5 launch. Below, you’ll find all the info you need to be ready to lock in your Switch 2 preorders. Let’s dive in.

Switch 2 Preorder Times at a Glance

• Walmart - 12 a.m. ET April 24
• Best Buy - 12 a.m. ET April 24
• Target - 12 a.m. ET April 24
• GameStop - 11 a.m. ET April 24

If you're in a hurry and you don't have time for details, the above list has links and times Switch 2 preorders go live online at all the major retailers. For a more nuanced and detailed discussion of what's going to happen at each retailer, keep on reading.

Walmart: Switch 2 Preorders

Best Buy: Switch 2 Preorders

Target: Switch 2 Preorders

GameStop: Switch 2 Preorders

Nintendo Store: Switch 2 Preorders

Ask most gamers who were around for the Xbox 360 and, Red Ring of Death aside, odds are most of them will share a lot of fond memories with you. And The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion generated plenty of those memories for a lot of Xbox 360 owners. I’m one of them. I worked at Official Xbox Magazine at the time, and for whatever reason, the hugely successful port of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind to Xbox never quite hooked me. But right from the jump, Oblivion – which was initially planned to be a day-one launch title for the second Xbox – did. We did multiple cover stories on Oblivion leading up to launch – the screenshots alone blew everyone away – and I eagerly volunteered for each trip out to Bethesda in sleepy Rockville, Maryland.

Then, when it finally came time to review Oblivion – and this is back in the days when exclusive reviews were a common, accepted thing – I again eagerly jumped at the chance. I returned to Rockville one more time and holed up in a conference room in Bethesda’s basement for four days. I spent four consecutive – and glorious – 11-hour days almost literally living in Cyrodiil, spending almost every waking moment inside this stunning, wide-open, next-gen medieval fantasy world. Before I boarded my return flight home, I’d clocked 44 hours prior to penning OXM’s 9.5 out of 10 review of Oblivion, which I wholeheartedly stand by to this day. It was an incredible game, filled with gripping quests (Dark Brotherhood, anyone?), off-the-beaten-path surprises (if you know about the unicorn, you know), and so much more. Because I was playing a submission build at Bethesda – meaning, a mostly finished version of the game on an Xbox 360 debug kit rather than a regular retail console – I had to start over when I got my final boxed disc copy of the game I’d already put about two full real-life days into.

I dropped another 130 hours or so into The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion without hesitation,so it’s probably no surprise to hear that I’m absolutely thrilled it’s been remastered and re-released on modern platforms.

In fact, I’m envious of the whole generation of younger gamers who grew up with Skyrim and thus, that is The Elder Scrolls for them. Because for them, the just-released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will be their first “new” mainline Elder Scrolls game since Skyrim released (for the first of many, many times) over 13 years ago – while franchise fans of all ages continue to wait for The Elder Scrolls VI, which is likely another 4-5 years away.

Although if I’m being honest, I doubt Oblivion will hit the same way for them as it did for me in March of 2006, because, for starters, it’s a two-decade-old game (side note: shout-out to Bethesda for delivering this week instead of waiting an extra year when Oblivion will hit its far-more-elegant-sounding 20th anniversary instead of just having passed its 19th). Other games have built upon what Oblivion did, including several by Bethesda itself: Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield. And second, it just doesn’t pack the same visual punch that it did in 2006, when I’d argue it was the first true next-gen game of the HD Era ushered in by the Xbox 360. Obviously the remaster looks better than the original release – that’s the point, of course – but it doesn’t stand head and shoulders above nearly every other game as something that you’ve never seen before. By definition – or at least in practice – remasters aim to make an older game look modern on current platforms. It’s a sharp contrast to a proper remake a la Resident Evil, which carries the expectation of starting from scratch and, in turn, looking as good or better than anything else on the market.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was the right game at the right time. By taking full advantage of HD televisions and expanding the scope and scale of what gamers could expect from an open-world game, it was a punch in the face to console gamers who, up to that point, had spent their entire gaming lives seeing their interactive worlds through an interlaced 640x480 television. (Although speaking of punches in the face, prior to Oblivion’s March release, in February 2006, EA released Fight Night Round 3, which was jaw-droppingly gorgeous itself.)

My memories of Oblivion are plenty, as it was a world with so much to discover and so much to do. For first-time Oblivion players, let me give you a recommendation: either blast through the main quest as quickly as possible, or save it until you’ve exhausted every last sidequest or open-world activity. Why? Well, the Oblivion gates will start randomly spawning and pestering you once you start down that main questline’s path, so for my money it’s best to seal them off straight away.

Anyway, the technological leap made from Morrowind to Oblivion might not ever happen again – though I suppose if we wait long enough for The Elder Scrolls 6, maybe it will. But at the very least, playing Oblivion Remastered won’t present such a staunch difference from any release of Skyrim, and for that I suppose those same younger gamers who grew up with Skyrim won’t get what I had. But no matter if you’re playing Oblivion for the first time or you’ve clocked hundreds of hours with it, its fully realized medieval fantasy world and the surprises and adventures contained within it have always made it my favorite Elder Scrolls game. And I’m thrilled it’s back, even if its surprise release was spoiled many times over before it finally showed up again.

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