My first ritual was ended by a large man with two morningstars swinging around him in a circle. Think the hands of a clock — one short, one long — but spikier and much, much more deadly, and equally inevitable as time, at least to the novice. I was playing a Barbarian that run; I didn’t understand what I was doing yet, or how to avoid them. My dodges weren’t dodging. I’d done pretty well up until that point, but he chewed through my lives like a dog with a bone, and then I was dead, my ritual incomplete. But I’d gotten somewhere, earned some upgrades, had a better idea of what I was doing. Time to try again.

Conquest Dark is a strange beast. It clearly owes a lot to Vampire Survivors, but its inspirations don’t quit there. It’s also pulling from stuff like Conan the Barbarian — your characters look like they can bench press a car but start with little more than a loincloth — and some cosmic horror, as a treat. There isn’t much story in Conquest Dark, but the actual setup is cool. After the arrival of something called The Black Planet 237 years ago, humanity stands on the brink of annihilation. Undead armies have laid waste to the great human kingdoms. The Cosmic Gods have fallen. The Primordial Ones have awoken from their long slumber. Only Kharathia, The City of Legends, still stands, one last hope for humanity. In a last, desperate effort, people of all stripes — heroes, criminals, devotees of old gods, those seeking glory — complete Dark Rituals to summon the undead hordes and fallen heroes to gain power, hoping to use it to uncover the secrets of the Black Planet and reclaim what they can.

It’s a cool conceit, but Conquest Dark isn’t one for exposition. Most of this is delivered as text, and it’s up to you to stitch things together. You see it in the little details. The named bosses, like Lord Commander Urien, who appears outside Kharathia. Who was he before? A protector of the city, now turned against it in undeath? What about Witch Smeller Mzawi in the Shifting Sands? How do you smell witches, and what do you do if you catch a whiff of one? What happened at The Chasm of Fallen Heroes? Who was S’hes, why did she hunt Titans, and what specifically did she do to have an order of hunters named after her? What is the Black Planet? Where did it come from? I don’t know how interested in answering these questions Conquest Dark is, but every time I went to a new place, saw what was there, or learned a little bit more from a description, I was intrigued.

Dark Rituals, Big Choices

In practice, Conquest Dark is pretty simple: you go to an area on the map to start a Dark Ritual. Once you’ve selected where you want to be, it’s time to figure out who. You’ve got a trio of characters to select from, and you can reroll those options as many times as you like. You only have one race (Human) and two classes (Hunter and Barbarian) from the jump, though you’ll quickly get more. I won’t spoil the additional races, but the new classes like the agile Thief, paladin-esque Oathkeeper, and the spellcaster-flavored Acolyte of Kuu, all do exactly what they sound like.

But let’s start from, well, the start. The Hunter is faster and more nimble and naturally inclined towards bows and ranged attacks, while the Barbarian has more health and bleed resistance, and thrives up close and personal with melee weapons, but what might be more interesting are the randomly generated proficiencies they get right from the jump. An extra 5% critical hit damage, 2.5% bonus health, or 5% reduced bleed rate may not seem like a big deal, but it can define who you want your character to be, and how you upgrade later. I particularly like that you can reroll your three starting choices as much as you want, for free, or leave an area entirely at no cost if you decide this isn’t where you wanna be.

Once you’ve got your guy (or gal), the fun begins. First, you select an origin. Veteran of the War gives you Heavy Armor, Shields, and 25% Bonus Health, while Hunter’s Apprentice adds Short Bow proficiency, Survival, and 0.5 Projectile Pierce. It’s important to note that you can double-up here. If you’re playing as a Hunter, you probably shouldn’t take Hunter’s Apprentice, for instance, because you already have two of those proficiencies, but it would be great for a Barbarian that wants to play the ranged game. If you play things, right, you can essentially multi-class: Oathkeepers are already hard to kill, but it’s even more difficult when you take the Stargazer origin, which gives you the Acolyte of Kuu’s barrier. Once you’ve got an origin, the games begin. No matter who you pick, your character starts with nothing more than a loincloth and their fists. That doesn’t last long, though.

After you smack your first undead back to the afterlife, you get your first major choice: your weapon. Some of your options might not seem all that important. Take a Hunter’s opening choices. Shortbow versus longbow’s not really that crucial, right? Wrong. Shortbows shoot faster, but do less damage per shot and have less range, while longbows take a little more time to fire, but hit harder and farther. Once you’re got your killing instrument of choice, things escalate. The first few waves are small, just so you have enough time to get used to things. Like Vampire Survivors, you don’t actually control much in Conquest Dark; just where you move and when you dodge. Attacking happens automatically. Instead, your focus is almost entirely on positioning. Where to be, when to dodge, keeping track of when abilities will activate, and being in a position to capitalize on that big shot or big swing.

I Ain’t Got Time to Bleed

As you level up, you’ll make more choices. What to equip, what abilities to upgrade, when to re-roll a selection you don’t like or skip it entirely for more currency for re-rolls later. There’s a ton of build variety here. I gravitated to builds with huge critical hit damage and high crit chance with the Hunter, but the Barbarian works well with AoE damage and by increasing the chance for enemies to drop health. Picking early and specializing seems to be key.

Your real goal, aside from putting together a build that works, is staying alive as long as you can. See, you get 10 lives on each run. If you lose one, you start bleeding. The more lives you lose, the more you bleed. The first time you die, you start losing 1% of your health every second. The second time, that jumps to 2%. The third time makes it 3% and so on. There’s no way to stop bleeding once you start, but you can reduce it by speccing into health regeneration, reduced bleed rate, and how likely enemies are to drop health. Surviving long enough to complete a Ritual means staying alive after enemies cover every inch of the screen, and you start dying. The longer you can stave it off, the better, but the difference between a failed run and a successful one is how long you can hang on once things go sideways and the bosses start showing up. Like you, they have a lot of lives, and they can get pretty nasty, swinging morningstars or not. They’re tough, but if it bleeds, you can kill it. I’ve had the most success as a Hunter, Oathkeeper, and the Acolyte of Kuu (I like standing far away from things and shooting them), but I admire how different each class feels and how they forced me to approach fights in unique ways that played to their strengths.

Whether you succeed or fail (and by the way, you die regardless; even if you succeed, an army of unkillable ghosts sweeps in to ruin your day. Oops), you’re going to unlock rewards, and then it’s back to the map to spend them to help future runs. Maybe that means heading to the Stygian Archive in Kharathia, where you can not only see everything you’ve unlocked, but also upgrade individual skills, weapon sets, abilities, and so on with the Soul Coins you get on each run. Or maybe you’re off to the Altar of Power to spend crystals for increased damage, or the Altar of Toughness to take a chunk out of that pesky bleed damage, or the Altar of Souls to make sure you can collect souls (experience) from farther away. And then there’s the Factions, like the aforementioned Order of S’hes, which rewards you with buffs for all classes for slaying things as a Hunter. And then there’s the Obelisk of the Moon, where you can ramp up the difficulty of performing Rituals for increased rewards by offering up Shards of the Black Planet. Then it’s back to a Ritual. Live, die, upgrade, repeat.

Live, Die, Upgrade, Retry

Conquest Dark doesn’t stop and explain how all of this works off the bat, though there is a detailed game guide there if you want to do some light reading before you set off. Mostly, you learn by doing, and I like that. Put me in, coach, I’m ready to play, win or lose. And once you start unlocking more stuff, the wheels start turning. ‘What can I do with this class? How do I build around this thing? What if I tried taking this origin with this class? What can I do?” And once they start, they don’t really stop.

This preview’s written, Lord Commander Urien (the dude with the morningstars) has been sent on his way, and I’ve seen several hours of Conquest Dark at this point. But I also can’t stop thinking about it, either. What I might try next, how I might upgrade certain things, what classes I want to explore. The moment-to-moment gameplay here is remarkably simple. You just move and dodge (or use dodge-based abilities that can double as attacks), but there’s an elegance to it that I appreciate, and it kept me coming back with new ideas. Upgrades may be what put you over the top, but the magic happens when you step into the arena, in the moments between life and death. You’re going to die; that’s a given. The question is how far you can get (and how many horrors you can vanquish) before you do.

The biggest moment of an actor’s career doesn’t have to be the best role they ever played — it can be a hilarious biting commentary included on the special features section of the DVD release of a movie. For Ben Affleck, a storied actor known for his work in films like Gone Girl and Argo, he considers that fact to be true, as he recently cited his well-known Armageddon commentary as his potential best work ever.

"In retrospect, now, I feel like maybe my best work in my career is the commentary on this disc," he said of the 1998 Michael Bay classic during his recent Criterion's Closet video. "People approach me to talk about the commentary in this disc as much as they do movies that I've been in. And it's because I didn't know any better than to be really honest. But I won't spoil it for those of you who are interested. It is an achievement I'm proud of and didn't intend to be as good as I now think it is."

Affleck didn’t spoil it, but we will (a little bit), so be forewarned. The actor’s commentary is perhaps best known for his argument that it's illogical to train oil drillers to be astronauts instead of the other way around, poking fun at the film despite being in it. "How hard can it be?” he asked during the commentary. “You just aim the drill at the ground and turn it on.”

This isn’t the first time the actor has discussed the commentary — and its immense impact — recently. "That is one of the achievements of my career on which I'm willing to pat myself on the back,” he told GQ in March. “I believe that may be at least top five all-time DVD commentaries.”

Affleck is currently starring in The Accountant 2, sequel to the 2016 hit The Accountant. The Punisher himself Jon Bernthal stars alongside him in the film, which is in theaters now.

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

The Smashing Machine has its debut trailer and with it provides a first look at Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as legendary former UFC star Mark Kerr.

The trailer, below, reveals Johnson’s portrayal of the life and career of Mark Kerr, a former wrestler and UFC star who struggled with substance abuse. Emily Blunt plays Kerr’s then-wife, Dawn Staples. Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie is the writer and director of the A24 film, which hits theaters October 3, 2025.

Johnson is almost unrecognizable as Kerr. He does not have his tattoos, but he does have hair. You can see how Johnson compares to Kerr below.

Today feels like a choose-your-own-adventure for deals. Lexar's Amazon sale is throwing up to 54 percent discounts across SSDs, RAM, and memory cards, which is a polite way of saying it is a good time to stop hoarding files on a 2016 laptop. Humble Bundle is handing out a pile of id Software classics for less than the cost of lunch, and Pokémon TCG fans have a few new bundles to eye, assuming you are ok with the fact that card prices are quietly crashing behind the scenes.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

id & Friends Humble Game Bundle

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - Surging Sparks Booster Bundle

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade Elite Trainer Box

Twilight Masquerade Single Cards

Surging Sparks Single Cards

Pokémon TCG: Shining Fates Collection Pikachu V Box

Shining Fates Single Cards

The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered Dark Brotherhood Medallion

Pokémon TCG Paldean Fates Booster Bundle

Paldean Fates Single Cards

Pokemon TCG: Azure Legends Tin - 5 Packs

Surging Sparks Single Cards

Lexar Sale

Pokémon Game Sale

MSI Desktops & Components Sale

The Legend of Zelda Master Sword Proplica

Samsung Pro Plus 512GB MicroSDXC + Reader

Play for Miracles Bundle

8BitDo Retro 87 Mechanical Keyboard (Xbox Edition)

8BitDo Retro R8 Mouse (Xbox Edition)

Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check out the last entry Mythic Quest Just Changed Its Series Finale and Now You Can't Even Watch the Original Version

Despite Yoda’s advice (“Only Siths yadda yadda…”), media commentary has become a culture of absolutes. It’s common that people insist a film, show or game is always the best or worst ever, when the reality is that the vast majority of art is just OK (and, perhaps more importantly, it’s OK that most art is just OK). It’s that acknowledgement that makes Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ commentary on whether or not he believed Netflix was killing Hollywood all the more funny. His response to the question was a very simple “no, we’re saving Hollywood,” followed by an interesting tidbit about theaters.

I’m going to give you a moment to pause and take that quote in before I get rolling because phew… much to unpack here. (And yeah, we're gonna get to the theater shenanigans in a bit.)

Let’s set aside the fact that it was a silly question to begin with. Sarandos was never going to agree that he was killing his own industry. The best that you can hope for is the “maybe the industry needs breaking,” that so many self-labeled “disruptors” such as Netflix, Uber and AirBnB like to lean into. The overused and often trite sentiment of “move fast and break things” would have ultimately been closer to the truth than either the question presented or the answer given, because there are certainly plenty of things about Hollywood that need fixin’. But Netflix isn’t the sole problem and it could not be further from the solution.

Right now, Netflix has two key problems: competition and ego. So much of Netflix’s strategy still operates as if they are the only streamer in town, something that hasn’t been true for years at this point. Once they started competing with streaming originals from studios with more experience in creating original works, their name started coming up less and less in conversation. They’ve succeeded from time to time with savvy acquisitions like Cobra Kai and the Fear Street trilogy, and for a time had a remarkable original series output that included heavy-hitters like Ozark, Narcos, Orange Is the New Black, Mindhunter and more. But the last remaining vestiges of that heyday — shows like Stranger Things and Bridgerton — are right on the cusp of ending or far enough into their runs that it’s well past time that Netflix should be sweating about their next move. That’s the competition part covered, but the ego aspect of it goes hand in hand.

With so many players in the streaming landscape, most of which are lapping Netflix on series quality (with a few noteworthy exceptions like the first seasons of Squid Game and The Sandman), the way for Netflix to return to being a meaningful service for its customer base is also the very last thing it’s ever going to do. It needs to scale back its original production significantly (and get smarter about its spend on the films and shows that it does move forward with) and go back to being the primary destination to watch films missed in theater and shows for folks who broke up with cable. Why is that never going to happen? About 30% business acumen and 70% hubris.

The legitimate concern of going back to its roots and returning to being the premier watch-from-home destination for cord cutters and folks who missed movies in theater is that you never want your business model to be reliant on someone else’s. Of course, there’s less risk to that when your business model is reliant on an entire industry vs. one or two companies. Still, it’s a risk. But that whole ego thing takes us back to Sarandos’ follow-up comment to his “hollywood saving” nonsense.

“I believe it is an outmoded idea, for most people — not for everybody,” Sarandos said of the theatrical experience after admitting that he himself quite enjoyed going.

There’s an ocean-sized can of worms to be opened with this statement alone, but for the sake of this column I’m going to boil it down to two truths that exist in tandem: movie theaters are too damn expensive, making it difficult for the average American to enjoy theatrical releases in the way we used to, and people still love going to the movies.

The theatrical experience isn’t an outmoded (which means unfashionable or unusable for those who don’t speak old rich guy) idea. It’s just an un-economic one when the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 and the average movie ticket is $11.31. Theaters large and small alike have tried to find ways around this problem in the post-quarantine era to varying degrees of success, but the model still needs a drastic shift if it’s going to survive. Meanwhile, Netflix has raised prices consistently since 2014 when its service has actively gotten worse according to 1 out of 4 users. Movie theaters aren’t a perfect experience currently either, with so many people treating them like their personal living rooms, but there’s a glass house aspect to be had there when no matter which industry or corporation is on top, it’s the average American that continues to lose out.

Streaming’s existential threat to the theatrical experience may not rest solely on Netflix’s shoulders, but if Netflix was “a very consumer-focused company” that “deliver[s] the program to you in a way you want to watch it,” as Sarandos said at the event, it would be thinking of their customers rather than their algorithms, constant price hikes, and consistently lighting money on fire to make borderline unwatchable nonsense like The Electric State, Red Notice, Rebel Moon and The Gray Man (even if I have been laughing about Chris Evans’ delivery of “I was shot in the ass, Susanne!” since 2022).

Amid the heightened interest in all things The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion brought on by Bethesda’s popular remaster, its original designer has admitted the game's level scaling system was a “mistake.”

Oblivion’s level scaling system is perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of the 20-year-old open-world role-playing game. It means loot acquired is tied to the level of your character at the point you acquire it. So, if you complete a quest for a coveted sword at level one, you’ll get that sword locked at level one power. If you complete the same quest at level 25, you’ll get the sword at level 25. This, frustratingly, locks that cool sword you got at level one to level one power for your entire playthrough, no matter how much you level up. In effect players could, through no fault of their own, complete quests too early, renedering unique items useless later in the game.

Similarly, enemies will still spawn according to your level. While this allows the foes you face to always provide a challenge, it does present a problem if you aren’t focusing on certain skills.

Fast forward to 2025 and some fans were shocked to find that Oblivion’s original level scaling system reappeared in Oblivion Remastered, when other parts of the game’s mechanics were modernized.

“This is very disappointing, especially when they said they went out of their way to fix the leveling system, which, to be fair, they did fix for player attributes,” redditor minifat commented.

Original Oblivion designer Bruce Nesmith told VideoGamer the game’s level scaling, or “world scaling” system was a “mistake.” Bethesda ended up changing the level scaling for 2011’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which most fans believe was for the better.

“I had a very substantial hand and voice in both levelling systems,” Nesmith said. “The nuts and bolts work, the mathematical mechanics, that was my work and I’m intimately familiar with how both of those things work.

“I think the world leveling with you was a mistake and that’s proven out by the fact it did not happen the same way in Skryim. That we came up with a much, much better way to continue to provide the player challenge without making it feel like, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter that I went up in levels, the dungeon went up in levels with me.’ "

One area Oblivion Remastered did improve on was leveling up your character. In Oblivion Remastered, increasing both Minor and Major Skills now all contributes towards your next level, instead of only Major Skills providing any progress (Major Skills increase at a much faster rate, giving them a larger impact).

Upon resting in bed to begin the Level-up Screen, you're now presented with the list of Attributes and 12 Virtue Points. These points can be distributed among your Attributes (which cannot exceed 3, just like in the original), with a maximum of +5 points in any one Attribute (which was also the cap in the original).

Since the points can be allocated regardless of which skills you improved, you can now align your Attribute increases during each level up without fear of becoming underpowered by allocating points to Attributes that your character may not use as much. The only exception to this is Luck: It requires 4 Virtue Points for every point added to the Luck Attribute.

There have also been a few changes to how certain skills increase. Mercantile, for example, increases at rates that align with how expensive the item bought or sold is, and Magick Skills increase faster when using spells with a higher magick cost, making spamming low-level spells to increase skills faster a less effective method.

As you’d expect, modders have once again come to the rescue. Fresh from tackling PC performance issues in Oblivion Remastered, modders have also released balanced NPC level cap mods and balanced unleveled rewards mods.

We’ve got plenty more on Oblivion Remastered, including a report on a player who managed to escape the confines of Cyrodiil to explore Valenwood, Skyrim, and even Hammerfell, the rumored setting of The Elder Scrolls VI.

We've also 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, every PC Cheat Code, 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.

IGN can exclusively reveal exciting new details about Crunchyroll's third annual Ani-May, which is set to be a month-long, global celebration that includes merchandise based on beloved anime, deals, partnerships, and experiences in stores and online, free-to-stream anime, new additions to the Crunchyroll Game Vault, and so much more.

Ani-May will be filled with a ton of things to be excited about, and we'll be breaking them all down below so you don't miss a thing.

Cowboy Bebop, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Chainsaw Man Lead the Selection of Free-to-Stream Anime During Ani-May

Beginning on May 1, Crunchyroll will be offering up some of the most popular anime for free with Ads for the entire month. From Cowboy Bebop to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and so many more, this will be a great chance for fans to either catch up on an anime they've missed or revisit some of their favorite stories.

The full list of free-to-stream anime with ads that will be available on Crunchyroll during Ani-May are as follows, and all you'll need is a free account;

• Black Clover (Seasons 1-4)
• Chainsaw Man
• Cowboy Bebop
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (The Complete Series)
• Fruits Basket (Seasons 1-3)
• Haikyu!! (Seasons 1-4)
• Heaven Official's Blessing (Seasons 1-2)
• Hell's Paradise
• Jujutsu Kaisen (Seasons 1-2)
• Junji Ito Collection
• Kaiju No. 8
• My Hero Academia (Seasons 1-7)
• Overlord (Seasons 1-4)
• Shangri-La Frontier (Seasons 1-2)
• Solo Leveling (Season 1)
• Soul Eater
• SPY x FAMILY (Seasons 1-2)
• The Apothecary Diaries (Season 1)
• Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Seasons 1-2)
• Tokyo Ghoul (Seasons 1-3)

Merch, Partnerships, Food, Autographs, and Other Partnerships Based on Solo Leveling, My Hero Academia, and More of Your Favorite Anime

One of the best ways to celebrate your love of anime is with merch, and this Ani-May will allow fans from around the world to get their hands on new, officially licensed items from Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, Bananya, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, My Hero Academia, Overlord, The Apothecary Diaries, and so much more.

The Crunchyroll Store will also be celebrating Ani-May with new and exclusive product launches, deals, and the chance to get a Crunchyroll-exclusive Ani-May pin with qualifying purchases. Additionally, each week in the month of May will focus on a different type of product, including collectors, action/adventure titles, shonen shows, and fantasy fan-faves. Oh, and there will also be a way to celebrate the Anime of the Year nominees the day after the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards celebration takes place on May 25.

While merch is great, Ani-May will feature so many other ways to celebrate all things anime out in the real world, from retail and online store to video games to restaurants to movie theaters and more!

Here is a look at what fans can expect, directly from Crunchyroll;

• Throughout May, UNIQLO will be distributing Crunchyroll codes to customers, with eligible online UT purchases, that can be redeemed for a 30-day free trial of Crunchyroll*. UNIQLO has also partnered with Manga artist Remi Yamamoto to create UTme! Collection designs, available exclusively at their NYC flagship locations – UNIQLO Soho and UNIQLO 5th Avenue. New York City-based fans are invited to stop by UNIQLO’s 5th Avenue flagship location for a special activation on May 18th from 1pm-5pm with Remi, who will be providing complimentary live Manga portraits.
• Specialty retailer Hot Topic will celebrate Ani-May across its United States and Canada locations, and online at hottopic.com. Activations and special promotions, including exclusive anime merchandise, will be available all month.
• Electronics retailer Best Buy will be joining in on the Ani-May festivities with select products available both online and in-store, with an exclusive SPY x FAMILY pin included with eligible purchases at select stores.
• Planet Hollywood, themed restaurant and resort chain, is partnering with Crunchyroll to offer exclusive experiences, cocktails, dishes, and merchandise inspired by Ani-May’s select IPs.
• In celebration of a new JUJUTSU KAISEN x Funko Pop collection, Funko Pop will be hosting an autograph signing with the English voice cast of JUJUTSU KAISEN on May 3rd. Special Funko Hollywood Event Bundles will also be available! Event details can be found at @originalfunko and @funko_funime on Instagram.
• Back to celebrate Ani-May, Bananya is once again partnering with Fall Guys on a collection of skins, which will be available from May 1 to May 8. Featured characters include Bananya and Droopy Eared Bananya!
• Demon Slayer fans can gear up for the first film of the highly-anticipated Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy coming to theatres this September with a special Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train re-release in theatres this May!

The Crunchyroll Game Vault Is Celebrating Anime With the Addition of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth and More

The Crunchyroll Vault is also getting in on the fun of Ani-May as it will be adding such games as Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth as part of its weekly releases planned throughout May and Early June.

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth being added to the vault will kick things off on Wednesday, April 30, and will be joined by Corpse Party, Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol. 1, Shin Chan: Shiro and the Coal Town, Shogun Showdown, and White Day throughout the run of Ani-May.

Crunchyroll Game Vault launched in November 2023 and now has over 50 titles that Crunchyroll members at the Mega and Ultimate Fan tiers in over 200 countries.

Own Your Favorites With Ani-May Home Entertainment Releases

For those who want to own physical copies of their favorite anime, Ani-May will see the Crunchyroll Store releasing a Limited Edition Blu-ray box of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 1 Part 2 (Pre-orders begin on May 15!) and Blu-ray in SteelBook cases of Paranoia Agent and Goblin Slayer Season 1 (On Sale on April 30!).

Furthermore, Crunchyroll has released a way to organize SteelBooks at home with their SteelNook, an open display case that's actually made from SteelBook metal and can fit four standard SteelBooks. The SteelNook will be available for purchase on the Crunchyroll store on May 30.

Ani-May Is a Global Party and Everyone's Invited

Lastly, Crunchyroll has revealed their will be even more Ani-May celebrations around the world, meaning fans from all over the globe will be able to enjoy experiences based on their favorite anime in fun and exciting ways.

The full list of global experiences for Ani-May is as follows, as detailed by Crunchyroll;

In Latin America, the following partners will celebrate Ani-May:

• Liverpool will join the month-long celebration in Mexico with a special meet-and-greet with select voice actors, alongside products from fan-favorite titles with in-store signage
• Suburbia in Mexico will also delight fans with in-store signage and an offer of 20,000 free trial subscriptions with purchases of eligible products*
• Ani-May celebrations and activations will continue at CCXP Mexico!

The following European retailers from EMEA will celebrate Ani-May:

• For the third year in a row, Funside/Games Academy in Italy and HMV in the UK, Ireland and Belgium will take part in the Ani-May fun, while in France, Cultura will renew the experience for a second year. The three chains will activate the totality of their stores with signage, windows, and a selection of exclusive merchandise. Shoppers will be offered the opportunity to fully experience the Crunchyroll lifestyle and win a “nothing that money can buy” prize: an amazing weekend in Paris with VIP access to the Crunchyroll booth at Japan Expo*.
• In Spain, FNAC will bring forth a special selection of Ani-May products and launch a nationwide e-commerce campaign celebrating all things anime. For purchases of Ani-May products over 20€, shoppers will get the chance to win free Crunchyroll subscriptions*.
• ANVOL will come back for a second year in the Baltic states and bring the Ani-May festivities to the Nordics for the very first time in 2025. In addition to massive exposure on social media, all stores will adopt Crunchyroll approved Ani-May branding. Shoppers will have the chance to win free Crunchyroll subscriptions for any Ani-May purchase*.
• The Middle East will experience their first episode of Ani-May fever thanks to Little Things. The distributor will bring the activation to their own stores in the UAE, as well as Virgin Mega Store in Dubai and two ToysRUs locations, in Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
• In Poland, Yatta will surprise anime fans with Ani-May branded corners and an e-commerce takeover. Shoppers will have the chance to bring home free Crunchyroll subscriptions*.
• For the third time in a row, Thalia is presenting an exciting range of exclusive merchandising and manga in celebration of Ani-May in 200 stores in Germany and Austria.
• New to Ani-May in Germany and Austria is Müller, which offers anime fans across 150 stores in Germany and Austria a wide range of manga, merchandising and home entertainment.

Australia and New Zealand-based fans can look forward to the following retail activations:

• In Australia, JB Hi-Fi will be celebrating with dedicated Ani-May end caps in stores, encompassing anime home video and collectibles, with unique in-store signage created by talented store staff! The May edition of STACK Magazine will feature an editorial piece on anime, and will be available in all stores and also online.
• EB Games & Zing Pop Culture – the Home of Pop Culture & Gaming will be joining the Ani-May fun! Customers who sign up to EB WORLD PLUS will receive a 30-day Crunchyroll Premium trial membership*. EB Games will also celebrate with digital signage, ceiling banners, and exclusive products available for purchase across fan-favorite shows, including JUJUTSU KAISEN, SPY x FAMILY, Chainsaw Man, and My Hero Academia.

To end, we wanted to share a message from Anna Songco Adamian, Vice President, Global Consumer Products at Crunchyroll, and encourage you to check out our Top 25 Best Anime of of All Time List and our favorite anime for 2024.

“Anime isn’t just an entertainment medium; it’s a lifestyle. To celebrate anime’s explosive growth, we’re giving fans a variety of ways to express their anime passion during Ani-May - from all-new products across apparel, collectibles, global activations, game collaborations, and new series streaming for free on Crunchyroll,” said Anna Songco Adamian, Vice President, Global Consumer Products. “Whether it’s through wearing their fandom on their sleeves or streaming their favorite series, Crunchyroll will have fans covered this Ani-May.”

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Last year, IDW Publishing ushered in an ambitious relaunch of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, including kicking off a new monthly series written by Jason Aaron. But through it all, one character has been conspicuous by his absence. Where is Shredder? Now we have an answer.

IGN can exclusively reveal artwork and early details for TMNT: Shredder, a new monthly comic book series starring the one and only Oroku Saki. The series is written by Dan Watters (Batman: Dark Patterns) and illustrated by Michele Bandini (Spider-Man: City at War), with cover art and a new character design by TMNT veteran Mateus Santolouco.

Check out the slideshow gallery below to see cover art for TMNT: Shredder #1:

Here's IDW's official description of the new series:

Prepare for the rags-to-revenge story of the ultimate ronin. Returned forever changed by a maddening ordeal beyond imagining, betrayed by all around him, and no longer with the Foot Clan, Shredder will quest deep into New York’s criminal underworld as a former protege has formed their own rival clan with sinister plans for the city. In his deadly mission for vengeance, enemies both old and new will brutally discover what defiance will bring them at the end of the Shredder’s blades.

“The bad guys always have the best stories, and Shredder is no exception,” said Watters in a statement. “This story is Shredder on a quest of revenge – rejecting the gods and allegiances he’s made over his long and storied history, reminding New York exactly why it feared him so much – and why it should do so again. This is the kind of character I love to write. Driven, ruthless, and crawling his way back to the top with a new purpose. This is going to be a hell of a ride.”

“I’m from the ‘80s, so I grew up with TMNT and I always wished to have the chance to work on one of their books since I was little kid. Yup, I wanted to be a comic book artist since I was five years old, and my favourite characters have always been the fun-loving Michelangelo and the ruthless ninja master, Shredder,” added Bandini. “A revenge story with one of the coolest characters ever created? I can’t wait to see Shredder get back what he deserves: the crown of the deadliest villain New York has ever seen!”

TMNT: Shredder #1 will be released on August 13, 2025.

For more on the TMNT franchise, find out what it means now that the brothers are reunited in the main TMNT series and see an exclusive preview of the TMNT: The Last Ronin II finale.

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

Marvel Cinematic Universe star Wyatt Russell, who plays U.S. Agent, set out to prove the Thunderbolts doubters wrong.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Russell said he and his fellow Thunderbolts stars wanted to challenge any preconceived notions that might have put people off seeing the movie, pointing to his ice hockey background as standing him in good stead.

“We came to this as a group of people who were like, ‘Let’s make this our own thing, let’s make it great and let’s make people put their foot in their mouths,’ ” Russell said.

"I have a little bit of an athletic background, so I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to make you eat your words if you’re like, this movie’s going to blow, I don’t want to go see it.' "

Russell added that Thunderbolts presented a challenge because it is not a “primed movie.” By that he meant that its superheroes — or anti-heroes in this case — do not have their own origin movies that lead into Thunderbolts, as the hugely successful Avengers benefited from.

Thunderbolts stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, Lewis Pullman as Bob / Sentry / Void, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, and of course Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent.

“There are no characters in this film, really, that have their own stuff in the Marvel universe that much,” Russell continued.

“It’s not Captain America, it’s not Thor, it’s not Iron Man, it’s not the Avengers. [Thunderbolts] is more of these misfit types. And that challenge that Kevin Feige gave Jake [Schreier] and this particular group of actors, it was like, ‘Hell yeah.’

“I don’t want to speak for everybody, but most of us didn’t make it by doing this. Everybody didn’t come to this as a young person and make it this way. I did weird TV shows for a million years, and David [Harbour] has been acting on Broadway [since 2000]. Sebastian had a whole career before he joined Marvel, and while he’s been a part of it for so long, he’s also done so many incredible things outside of Marvel. It has not defined him. Florence, same thing.”

Earlier this month, Sebastian Stan revealed his career struggles before landing the crucial MCU role of the Winter Solder. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Stan said he was “saved” by a $65,000 residuals payment from Hot Tub Time Machine before he played James "Bucky" Barnes in the original Captain America movie. Stan was antagonist Blaine in the 2010 American science fiction comedy, then went on to star alongside Captain America actor Chris Evans in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

“I was actually struggling with work,” Stan said. “I had just gotten off the phone with my business manager, who told me I was saved by $65,000 that came in residuals from Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Stan went on to reprise his role for 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, the Avengers movies, this year’s Captain America: Brave New World, and is set to play the superhero once again in next month’s Thunderbolts. Stan’s name was among those in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal, so we can expect Bucky and other members of the Thunderbolts, including John Walker, to stick around the MCU for some time yet.

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.

Even a casual glance at the magnificent form of one of Elden Ring's best-known players, Let Me Solo Her, is enough to humble the strongest Tarnished, but even he struggled with one of FromSoftware's most formidable foes, Bloodborne's Orphan of Kos.

Let Me Solo Her first rose to prominence in the Elden Ring community in April 2022, when he took on the role of a loincloth-clad jar-headed messiah, bringing much-needed aid to the countless players grappling with the hit RPG’s most infamous optional boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella.

By his own estimation, since then he has played for over 1,200 hours and fought Malenia thousands of times. His efforts earned him legendary status in the Elden Ring community, resulting in FromSoftware sending him an actual sword in recognition of his contributions.

In a new video, Let Me Solo Her explained that after finally giving in and picking up a PS5 in order to access the Elden Ring Nightreign playtest, he was finally able to play fan-favorite Bloodborne... and even he, a FromSoft veteran, had issues with some of Bloodborne's most infamous boss encounters.

After coming to terms with the drop in framerate — Elden Ring is 60 frames per second (fps); Bloodborne is 30 fps — the heavy atmosphere, and dying to the werewolf in the clinic (we've all done it), Let Me Solo Her took us through his entire Bloodborne journey, including its DLC.

"Finally, I met the Orphan of Kos. Every Soulsborne game that has a DLC always has that final boss where they feel so overwhelmingly powerful," he said. "We had Promised Consort Radahn for Elden Ring, Slave Knight Gael for Dark Souls 3, and Manus, Father of the Abyss for Dark Souls 1. And Orphan of Kos was that boss for Bloodborne.

"This boss took me more tries than any previous boss fights, and even had me exploring Chalice Dungeons to farm Blood Vials and bullets off stream, just to replenish them," Let Me Solo Her added (thanks, GamesRadar+). "He's definitely the hardest boss in Bloodborne for me."

Also bumping up against Bloodborne's toughest bosses and struggling to find a strat that works? Check out IGN's Bloodborne walkthrough, which covers all main areas of the game, as well as optional areas, boss battles, shortcuts, secret items, and more… including tips on how to put the Orphan of Kos down for good.

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.

11 years after its debut, Far Cry 4 now runs at 60 frames per second (fps) on PlayStation 5.

As spotted by gael_74 and posted to the Far Cry 4 subreddit, the update history for the game states that Version 1.08 introduced "support 60 FPS on PS5 console."

So, if you've yet to play it, now would be a good time to give Far Cry 4 a try. Featuring one of the series' best antagonists, Pagan Min, Far Cry 4 plonks you into a vast and colorful open-world, the vertical landscape of the Himalayas not "just a pretty backdrop, but a playground that encourages the player to fight, hunt, and explore."

"Far Cry 4 has weak characters, but its campaign, co-op, and competitive multiplayer feature incredibly fun freedom," we wrote in IGN's "great" 8.5/10 Far Cry 4 review.

Far Cry 4 is the latest in a line of PS4-era Ubisoft games to receive a retrospective upgrade over recent years, such as Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Assassin's Creed Origins. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's left Far Cry fans in the subreddit clamoring for more of the same, hoping the 60 fps treatment will also soon be applied to other fan-favorite Far Cry titles like Far Cry Primal and Far Cry 3.

The update did come a little too late for some, sadly: "You are kidding right. I just platinumed the game, like, three days ago," lamented one unlucky player.

Last month, Ubisoft created a subsidiary company based on its Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands, with a €1.16 billion (approx. $1.25 billion) investment from Chinese megacorp Tencent.

The news came after Ubisoft announced Assassin's Creed Shadows had passed the 3 million player mark. Ubisoft suffered a number of high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations in the run up to Shadows' release, and there is enormous pressure on it to succeed after the company's share price hit an historic low.

Earlier today, Ubisoft also quietly added Steam Achievements to 12-year-old Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

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.

As the wait goes on for more Grand Theft Auto 6 news following 2023’s Trailer 1, one former Rockstar developer has said he wouldn’t release any more trailers before the game's release date.

Rockstar released GTA 6 Trailer 1 to record-breaking viewership in December 2023, but it hasn’t released a single asset since. The year-and-a-half wait for more information has fueled increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories about when Rockstar will release GTA 6 Trailer 2.

These have included counting the holes in Lucia’s cell door net, the bullet holes in the car from Trailer 1, and even registration plates. But chief among the conspiracy theories is GTA 6’s ongoing moon watch, which was, remarkably, proven to have accurately predicted the date Rockstar announced when it would release GTA 6 Trailer 1, but debunked as a hint at the release date for Trailer 2.

So the big question is, when will GTA 6 Trailer 2 be released? Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has suggested fans may have to wait until much closer to GTA 6’s actual release date, currently set for some point in the fall of 2025, for their next look at the most anticipated video game in the world.

But former Rockstar Games technical director Obbe Vermeij, who worked on the series up to 2008's Grand Theft Auto 4 before leaving the company nine months after launch, said if it were up to him he wouldn’t release any more trailers for GTA 6.

“If it was my call I wouldn’t release any additional trailers,” he tweeted. “There is more than enough hype around VI and the element of surprise is going to make the release only bigger as an event.”

Then, in response to one user who wondered whether Rockstar might announce the GTA 6 release date and nothing else, Vermeij replied: “It would be a boss move.”

Would Rockstar actually do something like that, though? By naming the first GTA 6 trailer as GTA 6 Trailer 1, the suggestion is that more numbered trailers will follow. Plans change, of course. Perhaps this one will come right down to the wire, and Rockstar would rather focus on getting GTA 6 out the door this year than on a trailer it knows will be analyzed to within an inch of its life.

Vermeij revealed that Rockstar decided to delay GTA 4 in July 2007, just three months before its original October 16, 2007 release date, and suggested "decision day" for GTA 6 will be similar.

"Only at that time did it become clear we were going to miss the deadline," Vermeij explained. "I’m guessing decision-day for VI will be similar. Fingers crossed for Take2’s August earnings report."

In an interview with Bloomberg in March, Zelnick was asked straight up: why is GTA 6’s release date such a carefully held secret?

“The anticipation for that title may be the greatest anticipation I’ve ever seen for an entertainment property," Zelnick replied. "And I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve been in every entertainment business there is.

“We want to maintain the anticipation and the excitement. And we do have competitors who will describe their release schedule for years in advance. And we found that the better thing to do is to provide marketing materials relatively close to the release window in order to create that excitement on the one hand and balance the excitement with unmet anticipation. We don’t always get it exactly right, but that’s what we are trying to do.”

Mike York, who worked as an animator at Rockstar New England for six years helping to build Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 before leaving the company in 2017, said on his YouTube channel that Rockstar is playing up to the conspiracy theories, deliberately avoiding saying anything about the game or when Trailer 2 will be released in order to fuel even more speculation within the community.

“They're reaching and pulling and trying to come up with these really cool theories to decipher when the next trailer will be,” he said of fans.

“Specifically Rockstar, they're very secretive about what they do, and this is a really cool tactic because it creates allure and it creates mystery and it creates people talking about it without them having to do anything. The more they're silent the better it is, because the more people will be antsy and want to talk about it and have this feeling of not knowing what's going to happen.”

York went on to say that Rockstar is likely resisting pressure from its army of fans to announce the GTA 6 Trailer 2 release date for this exact reason.

“They could easily release the trailer date and be like, ‘Hey this is when the trailer's coming out,’ but they don't do it. And they don't do it on purpose because it's a really, really good marketing tactic. If you think about it, it creates these really cool theories.

“This brings the fans together. This is a really cool way to get fans to talk about your game when you’re not releasing anything yet, in-between the times.

“All these theories are great. They only create hype, they create talk, they create mystery behind the games.”

Zelnick’s quote also suggests that GTA 6 Trailer 2, assuming it exists, won’t be released until we’re closer to the game’s actual release date in fall 2025, assuming it’s not delayed. If that’s true, it may be some time before we get another look at the game.

While you wait for GTA 6 to come out, check out IGN’s coverage of an ex-Rockstar dev who says the studio probably won’t be able to decide whether GTA 6 is delayed until May 2025, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick’s response to concern about the fate of GTA Online once GTA 6 comes out, and the expert opinion on whether the PS5 Pro will run GTA 6 at 60 frames per second.

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.

This article contains spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 side content. It does not spoil the main story.

Thanks to its astonishing, utterly absorbing story, I found little time for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s side content. For two dozen hours I stayed true to the mission and pushed onwards towards my goal of defeating The Paintress. Not that I could see much else to do; optional regions and objectives seemed few and far between. But upon reaching the final phase of the story, in which you unlock the ability to fly around the overworld map, my assumption about side content was proven totally wrong. This world is so much bigger and more impressive than I realised.

Soar up into the clouds and you’ll find scattered floating islands, each one home to the likes of a gladiatorial arena, casino, crimson forest, or something stranger. Push beyond the boundaries of the main continent and you’ll discover hidden doors, wild platforming challenges, and elaborate mazes. And, deep below the ocean surface, there’s the hardest boss of them all. Yes, there’s what seems like an entire other game beyond the main path, much of which is designed to be Expedition 33’s endgame. Clair Obscur isn’t solely a story-focused experience, at least not for those who dare to continue.

If you’ve already spent over $400 on a brand-new Nintendo Switch 2, it’s probably worth giving its 7.9-inch screen a bit of extra protection. Amazon currently has a 2-pack of amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protectors for $8.99, a 30% drop from the usual $12.99 list price.

Good news, Sam Fisher fans: Ubisoft has confirmed it still remembers Splinter Cell exists by adding Steam Achievements to 2013's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

While our last meaningful update about the Splinter Cell Remake came in 2022 when IGN met with Ubisoft Toronto developers to discuss their design philosophy behind the game, overnight, the developer quietly updated the achievement list for the 12-year-old Blacklist on Steam.

Ubisoft said: "Agents, we are pleased to announce that Steam Achievements are now available for Splinter Cell: Blacklist!"

The achievements will be "retroactively earned for the accomplishments already completed in your game," although for that to happen, you need to boot up the game at least once. "Once synced, the previously unlocked Ubisoft Connect achievements will be automatically unlocked on Steam," the team added.

As well as taking the time to add achievements that can be "retrospectively earned," the developer chose not to add the additional 19 online achievements available on consoles to ensure people can still 100% the game on Steam.

The stealth-action series is set to sneak back into action with a remake of the classic first game in the franchise, Splinter Cell Remake. We still don't know very much about it other than the new version will be built from the ground up using the advanced Snowdrop engine.

“20 years later, we can look back at the plot, the characters, the overall story of the game [and] make some improvements — things that might not have aged particularly well,” said creative director Chris Auty at the time. “But the core of the story, the core of the experience will remain as it was in the original game.”

Last month, Ubisoft created a subsidiary company based on its Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands, with a €1.16 billion (approx. $1.25 billion) investment from Chinese megacorp Tencent.

The news came after Ubisoft announced Assassin's Creed Shadows had passed the 3 million player mark. Ubisoft suffered a number of high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations in the run up to Shadows' release, and there is enormous pressure on it to succeed after the company's share price hit an historic low.

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.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has been rated for Nintendo Switch 2 ahead of any official announcement that the fighting game is coming to the new console.

We still don't have confirmation that the game based on Akira Toriyama's fan-favorite anime and manga series is coming to Switch 2, but a now-deleted tweet from the Saudi General Authority of Media Regulation, spotted by the Gaming Leaks and Rumours subreddit, proves otherwise.

"Experience the fighting action in the latest game Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. Available on Nintendo Switch 2, featuring 3D battles and storylines that change based on your choices," the tweet said before it was taken down, confirming it had secured a 12+ rating.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels, boasting "an incredible number "of playable characters, each with signature abilities, transformations, and techniques.

We gave it 7/10 in the IGN Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero review, saying: "Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a final flash from the past, sometimes to a fault, but the feeling of traveling back to a simpler time when games didn’t have to be balanced or competitive to be fun is still a good one."

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24, with the price still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you'd expect. On the same day, Nintendo issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, saying release date delivery was not guaranteed due to very high demand.

Check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.

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

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers releases on July 24, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Microsoft is bringing it to Game Pass day one for those subscribed to the Ultimate tier.

Players keen enough to pre-order will secure the Night & White Pack, which includes two costume sets — Night Spectre and White Spectre — as well as the Vermillion War Club axe and the Glistening Red Mercury Skill Upgrade.

Developer Leenzee Games has also confirmed Wuchang: Fallen Feathers will be available in both a standard and deluxe edition, with the latter offering four costumes — each one including five costume pieces — four weapons, and one Skill Upgrade item on top of the base game.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Deluxe Edition Extras:

• Tiger of Fortune Costume
• Draconic Resurgence Costume
• Soul Ritual Robe Costume
• Overlord’s Regalia Costume
• Watcher’s Gaze (Sword)
• Dragoncoil Lance (Spear)
• Eternal Sovereignty (Dual Blades)
• Moonlight Dragon (Sword)
• Skill Upgrade Item: the Blood of Changhong Skill.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a Soulslike action-RPG set in the land of Shu during the dark and tumultuous late Ming Dynasty. You play as a mysterious warrior afflicted by a horrific feather disease, who uncovers hidden secrets and battles supernatural enemies in an ancient empire teetering on the edge of collapse.

We enjoyed what we played of it earlier this year in our Wuchang: Fallen Feathers first hands-on preview, writing: "I only caught a small glimpse at Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, but I already feel pretty good about its chances at being more than just another soulslike to add to the ridiculously overflowing pile. The movesets are intricate and interesting, the RPG mechanics seem deep and offer a lot of freedom (even if I can’t claim to understand some of them fully), and the boss fights gave me a serious run for my money that’s rare these days. All that’s already got me pretty excited to play more."

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.

There will “never” be another Back to the Future… anything, its screenwriter has insisted.

Speculation ramped up after the co-creators of Cobra Kai, the TV series follow-up to the Karate Kid movies, discussed a possible Back to the Future TV series.

But Bob Gale, one of the screenwriters of the Robert Zemeckis-directed Back to the Future trilogy, has insisted there is no future for the franchise.

“I don't know why they keep talking about that!” he told People. “I mean, do they think that if they say it enough times, we're going to actually do it?”

“I mean, it's like they know in every interview people say, ‘Oh Bob, when is there going to be a Back to the Future 4?’ Never. ‘When is there going to be a prequel?’ Never. ‘When is there going to be a spinoff?’ Never. It's just fine the way it is. It's not perfect, but as Bob Zemeckis used to say, ‘It's perfect enough.’ ”

Of course, this is Bob Gale talking here, and the might of Hollywood, if it was so inclined, would probably have the final say were it to greenlight a Back to the Future revival. But executive producer Steven Spielberg would need to give it a thumbs up, and according to Gale, that’s unlikely.

“If the juggernaut of corporate America or corporate international mishigas says, ‘If you don't agree to this, we're going to kill your children,’ alright, well, no, we don't want our children killed,’ ” he joked.

“But Steven Spielberg, of course, he's got to sign off on it too. And Steven, just like Steven won't allow another E.T., he totally respects the fact that we don't want any more Back to the Future. He gets it and always stood behind that. And thank you, Steven.”

Gale’s comments here are in keeping with his previous responses to questions around a potential Back to the Future revival. In February, Gale issued a harsh message for fans hoping for a Back to the Future 4: "People always say, ‘When are you going to do Back to the Future 4?' And we say, ‘F**k you.' "

The original arrived in 1985 and sees high school student Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) accidentally sent back in time by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). It went on to become one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time, and spawned two sequels.

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.

Joseph Kosinski is reportedly set to direct a new Miami Vice movie for Universal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Nightcrawler writer-director Dan Gilroy is on deck to write the script, based on an initial draft from Top Gun: Maverick screenwriter Eric Warren Singer. Gilroy has more recently been busy writing multiple episodes of the Star Wars series Andor, which was created by his brother, Tony.

Miami Vice is a hugely influential NBC police series, created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann, which ran for five seasons between 1984 and 1989. The show, which featured Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as Miami detectives Crockett and Tubbs, remains highly esteemed for reinventing the idea of what a TV series could look, feel, and sound like.

The series was previously adapted for film in 2006 by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral), starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell.

Further details are light at this stage, although it is apparent that Miami Vice will not be the next project the Top Gun: Maverick and Tron: Legacy director helms, following the release of Kosinski’s F1 this June.

Fortunately, this should give Kosinski plenty of time to figure out which Ferrari he needs to find.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.