In case you missed it, Final Fantasy’s Magic: The Gathering set was, as Ron Burgundy would say, “kind of a big deal”.

Just a few days ago, we shared that the Commander Decks had dropped under MSRP for the first time at Amazon, but now you can save even more if you want to buy all four.

Magic’s Final Fantasy Commander Decks Just Dropped In Price Again at Amazon

The Running Man is coming to New York Comic Con.

IGN can exclusively announce that Paramount Pictures’ panel for The Running Man will be held from 11:00am-12:00pm ET on Friday, October 10 on the Empire Stage in Javits Center. The official panel description follows:

“Writer/Director Edgar Wright joins stars Glen Powell and Lee Pace for an exclusive look at this fall’s adrenaline-fueled, action-packed theatrical event. Adapted from the acclaimed best seller by Stephen King, The Running Man is only in theatres this November.”

We also have three new exclusive photos from the film that we can share with you. They can be seen in the slideshow below.

A dystopian thriller set in the near future, The Running Man follows Ben Richards (Glen Powell), a “Runner” in TV’s top-rated reality show where he can win a fortune – provided he can survive 30 days evading the litany of professional assassins hunting him.

Ben, a working class everyman, is only participating in the deadly competition because he needs money to help save his sick child. His every move televised, Ben becomes a fan favorite and then a threat to an entire system that’s addicted to watching people run for their lives.

The Running Man is one of Stephen King’s earliest books, penned under his then-pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was previously adapted into a 1987 action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Edgar Wright promoted The Running Man earlier this year at CinemaCon where the footage shown revealed the differences between his movie and the Schwarzenegger film.

In the ‘87 version, Ben’s pursuit was contained to one specific area whereas in Wright’s film, Ben has to evade Hunters across the entire U.S.

Wright’s film is also closer to Stephen King’s book The Running Man than the 1987 movie was, making the show’s executive producer (Josh Brolin’s Dan Killian) and host (Colman Domingo’s Bobby Thompson) two separate characters as King had intended.

The Running Man opens November 7, 2025.

Nintendo fans have reacted in surprise and amusement at the fact that Sony is running the official social media account for The Legend of Zelda movie — and specifically the fact that it follows the official PlayStation account, rather than any of the official accounts for Nintendo.

The official The Legend of Zelda Movie profile on X / Twitter is verified directly by Sony Pictures' own official account, seemingly confirming its legitimacy. It recently sprung into life, retweeting various articles about the film's production and casting news.

Currently, the official account follows just two others: Sony Pictures itself, understandably, as the company is co-financing and distributing the film, and Sony's video game division PlayStation. That's right — not Nintendo, which created the series and whose consoles host its games, but PlayStation.

"Nintendo has nothing to do with the Zelda series, everyone knows that..." wrote X user Stealth, highlighting the odd situation. "Is the admin trolling lol," wrote another Zelda fan in response.

Last month, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the Zelda movie's two main stars, as production on the project begins to ramp up.

"This is Miyamoto," wrote Miyamoto. "I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen."

Bragason, 21, previously appeared in Netflix fantasy adventure series Renegade Nell, as well as BBC crime drama adaptation The Jetty. Ainsworth, aged just 16, has only a handful of roles to his name, though notably appeared in Netflix horror series The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Officially announced in November 2023, Nintendo's live-action The Legend of Zelda project is being produced by Miyamoto alongside Avi Arad, former CEO of Marvel Studios. Jurassic World’s Derek Connolly is writing the screenplay, while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' Wes Ball will direct.

Nintendo (and Sony Pictures) are set to release The Legend of Zelda in theaters on May 7, 2027. Maybe the movie's account will have begun following Nintendo by then.

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

If you've been waiting to get your hands on a physical copy of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack, we have good news: Preorders are up for the soundtrack on vinyl or as a CD. The former is currently listed for $28.99 and is set to be released on October 17 this year, while the latter is listed for $15.69 (a nice little 13% discount from its list price of $17.98) and will be released much earlier on August 22. Get your preorders in quick at the links below.

The KPop Demon Hunters Soundtrack on Vinyl, CD

Once again, I ask: Did you see Weapons this past weekend? Did you catch a post-work screening to temper the weekday blues Monday or Tuesday? If you did, you definitely met Aunt Gladys, one of the most noteworthy characters of the new ensemble horror film by Barbarian’s Zach Cregger — and if you met her, you’d understand why the powers that be now want a prequel that focuses on her story.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, both Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema — the former of which owns the latter — have started discussions with Cregger about a prequel film that will bring audiences all the way back and expose the character’s origin story.

The outlet also claims that Cregger originally had a whole chapter of the film (which is broken down on the whole into chapters representing each of the main characters) for Amy Madigan's Gladys, which went into a bit of her backstory.

Alas, Gladys' backstory ended up on the cutting room floor, as the movie's script had already become too lengthy. Though, to be fair, that does make sense as the finished product clocks in at over two hours.

That omission seems to be working in Cregger’s favor, as the movie already appears to be a big hit, both at the box office and in the zeitgeist. However, THR noted that no deal has officially been made for a second film just yet — and that’s because Cregger is already hard at work on his third feature: his Resident Evil reboot starring Weapons MVP Austin Abrams.

Cregger’s next movie is set to hit theaters on September 18, 2026 — but after that, his next move is anyone’s guess. He could go the Weapons prequel route, he could make good on the original DC script he wrote featuring Joker and Harley Quinn called Henchman, or he could even take up another complete original idea like Flood, a sci-fi script he’s already finished.

"Writer-director Zach Cregger blends unbearable tension and dark humor once more in Weapons, a horror blockbuster that’s less of a blunt-force barbarian and more of a sharp-shooting assassin," IGN wrote in our Weapons review, scoring it 9/10.

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

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection for the Nintendo Switch is down to $19.99 at Amazon today, a fairly significant 60% off the original list price of $49.99.

It features a compilation of 14 retro games based on the popular trading card game, many of which are available in the West for the first time within the bundle release, alongside a unique collectible card (Harpie's Feather Duster).

Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond has gone everywhere from Middle-earth to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, but Final Fantasy marked the most successful outing for Wizards’ long-running card game in its thirty-year history.

Bringing together characters, creatures, locations, and moments from all sixteen mainline games, the set is no longer the hot new inclusion (more on its legality shortly), but you can still find packs, decks, and plenty more. Here’s everything you need to know about buying Magic: The Gathering’s Final Fantasy set now that it’s not the latest one released.

Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering - Where to Buy

Firstly, it’s worth stressing that Final Fantasy is a little different from some Universes Beyond products. Whereas the likes of Warhammer 40K and Fallout Commander Decks were never considered ‘Standard Legal’, Final Fantasy is.

That means you can use the cards in Standard until February 2028, and as a result, cards are still being printed outside of Collector Boosters, Secret Lair drops, and the foil versions of Commander Decks (more on that in a moment).

Since they’re still being printed, expect Play Boosters, Starter Kits, and Commander Decks to return to store shelves if they’re not available right now.

Play Boosters

Play Boosters contain 14 Magic: The Gathering cards.

Every pack includes 1 to 4 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 3–6 Uncommon, 6–9 Common, and a Land card, with a single foil included in each pack.

You can also buy Boosters in boxes of 30 packs, or in a Bundle that includes a life counter, card storage box, extended art cards, and both foil and nonfoil lands.

Collector Boosters

Collector Boosters offer 15 cards, including 5–6 cards of rarity Rare or higher and 3 - 6 Uncommon, 3 - 5 Common, and 1 Full-Art Land card, with a total of 8 - 12 Traditional Foil cards and 0 - 3 cards with a special foil treatment.

They’re harder to get hold of, and much pricier, but you can get them in Booster Boxes if you have the money to spend.

Starter Kit

Commander Decks

Commander is Magic’s most popular format, offering a way for two or more players to duke it out in a ‘Last Player Standing’ format.

Each Commander Deck, Final Fantasy or otherwise, comes with 100 cards and is playable right out of the box.

There are four available for Final Fantasy: Revival Trance (Final Fantasy 6), Limit Break (Final Fantasy 7), Counter Blitz (Final Fantasy 10), and Scions and Spellcraft (Final Fantasy 14).

The standard versions (with the Black boxes), will be reprinted, but the much pricier Collector’s Editions (with the white boxes) won’t be. These are functionally the same decks, but you’re paying for the entire deck to be given foil treatments.

Singles

Naturally, if you’re looking for specific cards for your deck or collection, you’ll want to buy single cards rather than gambling on opening packs.

With that in mind, we recommend a site like TCGPlayer. Not only do its sellers adjust to market value (which is visible for all), but you can view price history and see seller feedback (it’s part of eBay’s network).

Secret Lair x Final Fantasy

Secret Lair offers a series of collectible sets called ‘Drops’ that are only available for a limited time, and while Final Fantasy’s sold out quickly, they’re still available via third-party sellers like TCGPlayer.

There are three drops to look out for, each in Foil and Non-Foil versions.

Weapons:

• Yuna’s Sending Staff (Staff of the Storyteller) - Final Fantasy 10
• Clive’s Invictus Blade (Blade of Selves) - Final Fantasy 16
• Cloud’s Buster Sword (Umezawa’s Jitte) - Final Fantasy 7
• Gaia’s Dark Hammer (Colossus Hammer) - Final Fantasy 14
• Tidus’s Brotherhood Sword (Sword of Truth and Justice) - Final Fantasy 10

Grimoire:

• Yuna’s Holy Magic (Prismatic Ending) - Final Fantasy 10
• Hope’s Aero Magic (Cyclonic Rift) - Final Fantasy 13
• Noctis’s Death Magic (Damn) - Final Fantasy 15
• Vivi’s Thunder Magic (Lightning Bolt) - Final Fantasy 9
• Aerith’s Curaga Magic (Heroic Intervention) - Final Fantasy 7

Game Over:

• Spira’s Punishment (Day of Judgment) - Final Fantasy 10
• Absorb into Time (Temporal Extortion) - Final Fantasy 8
• Merciless Poisoning (Toxic Deluge) - Final Fantasy 6
• Unseat the Usurper (Praetor’s Grasp) - Final Fantasy 15
• Meteorfall (Star of Extinction) - Final Fantasy 7

The Most Valuable Singles from Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering

The priciest card around right now isn’t a hero or villain from the Final Fantasy set. In fact, it’s the Travelling Chocobo in Borderless Neon Ink, and it’s currently close to $5,000.

It was a Japan exclusive, but other Travelling Chocobos in different colorways go from between $1,700 and $2,200.

Elsewhere, Borderless Surge Foil treatments of characters like Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, Cloud, Midgar Mercenary, or Yuna, Hope of Spira are in the hundreds.

Amazing Magic: The Gathering Cards That Are Still Affordable

While there are some super pricey versions, you don’t have to spend all your money (or Gil) on those fancy variants.

We’ve put together a handy list of Extended Art, Surge Foil, and other treatments that are great cards for collectors or deckbuilders but won’t break the bank.

Final Fantasy Standard Legality explained

The galaxy far, far away is no stranger to the tabletop wargaming scene, with games showcasing different theaters of war from massive space battles to boots-on-the-ground slugfests. Star Wars: Shatterpoint is the latest offering from Atomic Mass Games. It pits small squads against each other in an attempt to achieve different objectives in a best-of-three skirmish.

This guide will highlight just some of the plethora of different squad packs that are currently available. For a full list, or just to look at some pretty painted miniatures, check out Atomic Mass Games’ website. But, before any of that, let’s take a look at how exactly you compose your squads that you take with you into combat.

Featured in this article

Check out our review for Star Wars: Shatterpoint to get a better idea if this game is right for you and your gaming group. And if you're interested in other options, check out our picks for the best Star Wars board games.

Strike Team vs. Squads - How to build your forces

A typical game of Star Wars: Shatterpoint sees two players with their own unique Strike Team at the table, which is composed of two Squads. Characters are (currently) divided into four possible eras: Fall of the Jedi, Reign of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, and the New Republic. Squads have three main criteria they have to meet:

• A Squad must include exactly 1 Primary Unit, 1 Secondary Unit, and 1 Support Unit.
• All units in a Squad must be part of the same era.
• You can’t have any duplicate units or characters within your Strike Team. As an example, you can’t have “Ahsoka Tano, Jedi No More” in one squad and “Padawan Ahsoka Tano” in another.

What is unique about Shatterpoint is that this approach does NOT discriminate against the factions of the Star Wars universe when forming your teams, meaning you could have a Strike Team with Luke and Dad Vader teaming up to confront Obi-Wan and Dooku. This allows Shatterpoint to have some really neat and unique “What if?” team-up situations.

Star Wars Shatterpoint Core Set

Fall of the Jedi Era

SWP06 - Hello There Squad Pack

Reign of the Empire Era Squad Packs

SWP38 - Clone Force 99 Squad Pack

Age of Rebellion Era Squad Packs

SWP22 - Fearless and Inventive Squad Pack

The New Republic Era Squad Packs

SWP16 - This Is The Way Squad Pack

Nice-to-Have Extras

Once you have a good grasp of the game and know you and your friends are fans of Shatterpoint, here are some additional elements we recommend checking out and adding to your collection.

SWP30 - You Cannot Run Duel Pack Duel Pack

Bottom Line

Star Wars: Shatterpoint offers a more intimate skirmish experience in the Star Wars universe, focusing on small and highly synergistic squads that engage one another. That's a unique take on the franchise compared to Atomic Mass Games’ other options. Whether you're a fan of the prequel era of content or the original trilogy, you will no doubt find some squad pack that speaks to you and your nostalgia.

This game is still young and is being actively supported with new mission options and packs to explore, adding more characters to play with. Along with the highly detailed yet easy-to-assemble miniatures, this also makes it a wonderful product for hobbyist painters who have no urge to play the actual game. If you enjoy the galaxy far, far away, Shatterpoint is worth taking a peek at.

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.

From the enduring popularity of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies to the recent success of the TV series Yellowjackets, it seems people really dig stories about stranded teens fighting to survive in an unforgiving wilderness. Fans of either story will want to check out Endeavour, the latest series from comic book publisher DSTLRY.

Endeavour is named after the legendary HMS Endeavour, the 18th-century ship that Lieutenant James Cook piloted during his first voyage of discovery, and one that was eventually doomed to a watery grave off the coast of New England. The series explores what happens when a modern-day company builds a replica of the Endeavour to serve as a luxury cruise ship. Fate takes a dark turn, and seven teens are left stranded aboard the ship and forced to contend with the elements and each other in an increasingly desperate fight for survival.

IGN can exclusively debut a preview of Endeavour #1. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:

Endeavour is written by Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn) and illustrated by Marc Laming (Star Wars), with colors by Lee Loughridge and letters by Tom Napolitano. The first issue features cover art by Laming, Matteo Scalera, Matias Bergara, and Joshua Hixson.

Here's DSTLRY's official summary of Endeavour:

From 1768 to 1771, the HMS Endeavour, commanded by the famous Lieutenant James Cook, sailed on a voyage of discovery around Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia. It didn’t end well.

Now, a modern-day tourism company is offering a “luxury” trip aboard a near-accurate recreation of the ship, Endeavour. For a hefty fee, elite passengers can experience history with all the modern comforts. The vacation of a lifetime…until the unthinkable happens, and seven children are stuck aboard the ship, alone and adrift at sea. Rough seas and rations are the least of their worries as they quickly realize the real enemy is each other.

Every issue from DSTLRY is presented in our perfect bound Prestige format, featuring wraparound covers with spot gloss on robust cover stock, complemented by 48 pages of exquisite interior stock. It's the DSTLRY difference.

Endeavour #1 will be released on October 8, 2025, with a final order cutoff date of August 18.

In other comic books news, you can check out our exclusive preview of Deadpool/Batman #1 and see a new trailer for Johnny Depp and Ridley Scott's Hyde.

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

I think fans of combat-dense action-roguelites will have to splash around when they dive Into the Unwell. Its elasticky, sometimes grim slapstick humor brings a one-of-a-kind energy to a familiar-playing game, but looks aren’t the only thing that makes it stand out. Combat has a distinctive weight that translates the old-timey animation style into gameplay well. Mix that with the myriad ways you can customize your run, from individual perks and traits for both weapons and characters, and overarching upgrades that give you a sense of overall progression, and this peculiar brawler becomes surprisingly difficult to put down.

A regular round of Into the Unwell is pretty recognizable to anyone who’s played a run-based roguelite before. You travel from zone to zone, smashing enemies and collecting loot, before moving on to a new zone to do it all again. Each zone type has its own predictable end goal, like guaranteed health bonuses or a larger than normal cache of currency (teeth here) as the prize at the end. Pass through enough zones, and you’ll meet a snarling boss primed to send you back to where you came from.

I liked the key ways that Unwell breaks up this formula a bit. For one, each zone has the potential to have small platforming puzzles for chances at extra loot. I’d look away from the path to the next fight and see a precariously tower of cans and wonder, “Can I climb that?” and the answer would be “yes” rather often. There’s also a smattering of special rooms, like a bar where you can spend your teeth on health and items, a mosquito’s shack where you can buy items with your health instead, or a slot machine where you can risk all your money for lavish rewards.

The most arresting and stand-out thing going on in Unwell is the way it looks and sounds, of course. The rubber hose, Fleischer Studios-style animation that had a sort of revival after 2017’s Cuphead is brought into the third dimension here, and is maybe even more evocative and energetic. From the three playable characters I could choose from – a mangy two-toned cat, a duck in despair, and Rooster that has seen better days – to the various inanimate objects given life as enemies like angry truck tires, everything is teeming with a chaotic liveliness.

It’s also smothered in dark humor. The overall story involves your character struggling with their mental health, and a very Satan-like creature pretending to be a doctor encouraging you to dive deeper into your consciousness, given physical form as the Unwell, to get to the root cause. The environments of the dungeon are built from and teeming with vices. Beer cans create walls and towers around the stages. Junk food makes up the bulk of the fodder you’ll brawl with. Balancing a game that's fun on top of what can be a thorny subject is a challenge that the developers find worth taking up. They told me that these characters are all struggling with something, and that struggle is often in conflict with a person who is powerful and constantly fighting with their demons to regain agency over themselves. A person can be having a tough time and still have fun and tell jokes. Unwell is sort of a manifestation of that inner struggle, and its quirky personality is a byproduct. “We want to give power to the powerless.”

The mid-30s style lends a sort and snap and weight to the combat of Unwell. Heavy attacks have a satisfying “stretching and pulling against gravity” feeling that adds that sense of power that makes these blows really land. Each weapon exploits this style in their own ways as well, while also falling into archetypes that will be easy to identify for avid action gamers despite being odd objects to slay your personal demons with. A big lint-covered lollipop as your sword, two pairs of fishbones as dual blades, a big creamsicle as the large great weapon, etc. Smashing enemies with these accumulates a stagger meter on them, which stops them in their tracks for a brief time when filled. They can then be kicked, either into walls, other enemies, or off of the platform and into the watery abyss below – an option I never passed up when it was available.

Besides light and heavy attack strings, weapons have unique special abilities that can really help keep the escalating numbers of baddies at bay. The mop, a normally jabby longer range spear-like number, can make a copy of itself to stick in the ground, bending and snapping itself to hit enemies in its range while you handle business elsewhere. The big creamsicle lets you spin like a depressed BeyBlade, sucking enemies into your vortex to get slapped around. All of these unique abilities can be altered or changed entirely, and passive traits can be earned during runs making each one potentially different in meaningful ways.

Enemies that spawn on each of the Unwell’s islands aren’t particularly difficult individually, but in groups they can really challenge your reflexes. There's always one or two priority targets that you want to scramble to eliminate first while the rest of the fodder gets in your way, like a trashcan that can give its allies damage-absorbing shields or a tube of toothpaste that launches mortars from a distance. I don’t think any mob of these villains ever killed me after my first run or two, but they are relentless and very good at wearing your health down to the point where, when it's time to face the boss at the end of the run, you’re well on the back foot.

I liked that each island is filled with not only enemies, but stuff to kick around at them. Using bundles of dynamite as ranged attacks or bear traps to hold bad guys in place was a fun tactical layer, especially since all of these little environmental traps can catch you as well. There isn’t a huge variety of these items, but the ones that do litter the ground can be useful additions to any offensive gameplan.

Once you clear each island you get a reward – usually related to currencies, stat buffs, and perks. Perks come in a lot of forms and can help direct how you play through the run pretty dramatically, thanks to most of them being pretty impactful and smart combinations of them being truly game changing. Many of the strongest ones revolve around perfect dodges and strikes, which demand a bit of mechanical prowess to get the most out of, but lots of the more passive ones can make a noticeable difference to your run as well.

The final boss of my build of Unwell was a giant bottle of hot sauce that filled the arena with fire, spawning ghost pepper minions, and sprayed gouts of flame from its top. It took me quite a few tries to nail down its patterns and to learn when I had optimum openings to strike back, but it was a great first look at how bigger battles could change the pace the game had established up to that point. I was disappointed that some of the things that I really liked about the regular monster fights weren't present at all here – there was nothing to hit the bottled bastard with beside my weapon, and the staggers I had built up didn’t stop its momentum at all. It was still a fun time but it was unclear how perk set ups built around stagger effects worked on it.

Standing out from the crowd won’t be a problem for Into the Unwell, whose bouncy, Felix the Cat-meets-drugs and alcohol style is quite unlike any roguelite you’ll find available right now. The magic is more than skin deep though, the springy combat can be modified in lots of ways through character and weapon selection, as well as perks and talents that can be unlocked on a run to run basis. A steady drip of platforming side paths and interesting event rooms break up combat in fun and sometimes funny ways as well, adding personality and rewarding curiosity in ways other games in the genre don’t. The slice I played was only a small piece of a bigger, grim and silly picture that I hope to see more of after it leaves Closed Beta.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl's roadmap for the latter half of this year is now available, and it includes changes to both the base game and the Zone Kit Modifications Tool, as well as plans for its previously-confirmed release on PS5 and PS5 Pro.

"Our main mission in the near future is upgrading the game to Unreal Engine 5.5.4," GSC Game World explained. "This will bring new features and tools to make the Zone an even better place, but more importantly — bringing the latest Unreal Engine 5 optimizations will lead to better stability and performance."

However, by doing this, GSC acknowledges it may "shake up the timing of other updates," adding: "We’re taking this risk — like true stalkers would — and will do our best to hit our 2025 goals."

While there's still no mention of multiplayer — much to some players' collective dismay — here's what's coming up later this year:

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's Update Roadmap List for 2025

• Engein update to Unreal Engine 5.5.4 (for optimization)
• Various night vision devices
• Binoculars
• A-Life Updates:
  • More A-Life Zone: various technical improvements and updates
  • NPCs can't see in the dark as good as before
  • NPC combat updates
  • Mutants combat and balance updates
• New anomalies
• New missions, fron old and new friends
• New weather scenario
• Master difficulty preset
• Extended day/night cycle
• Stashes loot rework
• Stamina and energy drinks rework
• Immersive display mode
• Player equipment UI updates
• More UI updates and improvements
• Local save backup restorations
• Further optimization and "anomalies" fixing
• Zone Kit — Phase 1 to Phase 2
  • Audio modding (Wwise)
  • Narrative tools
  • Improved compatibility of various mods that interact with common game systems
  • Ehnhanced Blueprints Modification Support
  • Technical Improvements and Optimization
• Discord holiday event
• More Stalker Legends of the Zone Enhanced Edition improvements
• Release of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl on PS5 and PS5 Pro

"Thanks for your continued feedback and support," the team concluded. "Without your help, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you!"

"Underneath the technical problems that plague Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a unique greatness," we wrote in our Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl review, giving it 8/10. "It emerges as a refreshingly brutal shooter that strives to hook you with its incredible atmosphere and leave you invested by the end of this long, arduous journey." Read more on how Stalker 2 has changed everything for the studio amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine here.

In case you missed it, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's 1.5 Patch is here, introducing various tweaks and fixes, but dominating our interest — and hard drives — is the introduction of the 700GB Stalker 2 Zone Kit.

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

Over on Amazon, Star Wars: Unlimited players can score some major discounts across multiple expansions. The Twilight of the Republic Booster Display is down to $57.98 from $119.76, the two-player starter sets like Shadows of the Galaxy and Twilight of the Republic are under $28, and the new Legends of the Force 24-pack display is just $88 (27% off).

The sale spans Spark of Rebellion, Legends of the Force, and Shadows of the Galaxy products, with savings up to 52% on booster packs, prerelease boxes, and beginner-friendly starter kits. Several items are already selling out, so this might be the time to fill out your deck or grab a sealed display for later.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

Magic fans can start getting ready for one of the biggest Universes Beyond releases yet. Best Buy has posted its listings for Magic: The Gathering – Avatar: The Last Airbender, with preorders expected to open within the next 48 hours. The set launches November 21, 2025 (digital release November 18) and brings bending-themed mechanics such as airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, plus cards for Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and even the Cabbage Merchant. Best Buy will carry the $41.99 Scene Box, $189.99 Play Booster Box, $69.99 Play Booster Bundle, and $109.99 Commander’s Bundle, each featuring collectible foils, full-art treatments, and Standard-legal cards. I've got even more deals for you outside of trading cards, so let's get into it:

Star Wars Unlimited Sale

Amazon has dropped prices on a variety of Star Wars: Unlimited trading card game products, including the Twilight of the Republic Booster Display at $57.98 (regularly $119.76), two-player starter sets like Shadows of the Galaxy and Twilight of the Republic for under $28, and the recently released Legends of the Force 24-pack display for $88 (27% off). The sale includes discounts across multiple expansions—Spark of Rebellion, Legends of the Force, and Shadows of the Galaxy—with savings up to 52% on booster packs, prerelease boxes, and beginner-friendly starter kits. Some items have already sold out, and current stock may not return at these prices.

MTG Avatar Preorders (Live Soon)

Best Buy and Amazon have posted its listings for Magic: The Gathering – Avatar: The Last Airbender, with preorders expected to open within the next 48 hours (stay tuned for more news!).

The crossover Universes Beyond set officially launches November 21, 2025 (digital release November 18) and introduces bending-themed mechanics such as airbending, waterbending, earthbending, and firebending, along with fan-favorite characters including Aang, Katara, Zuko, Toph, and even the Cabbage Merchant.

Best Buy will offer multiple products at launch, including the $41.99 Scene Box, $189.99 Play Booster Box, $69.99 Play Booster Bundle, and $109.99 Commander’s Bundle. With full art treatments, collectible foils, and Standard-legal cards, this release is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated MTG tie-ins of the year.

MTG: Spider-Man Play Booster Box Back In Stock

I'm expecting this MTG Universes Beyond expansion to web zip off shelves when it drops at the end of Feburary, so if you see a preorder like I have, just secure it.

The money won't be taken from your bank until it ships either, so it's a no brainer. I've also included the listings for the rest of the set from TCGPlayer incase you needed a massive ripping session.

Pokémon Card Price Watch

In a revelation that shouldn't suprise anyone at the moment, TCGPlayer is cheaper than Amazons instock products. Black Bolt Binder Box is an embarassing example of big box retailers ripping off their customers with Pokémon TCG right now.

It's currently $68.49 on Amazon, where as TCGPlayer (A secondary market that should be more expensive) is $51.75. That's over 28% cheaper, and there's even more savings for those who want to rip open packs.

Most Expensive Pokémon Cards from Japan's Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia

Japan's Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia Pokémon TCG sets have quickly gained popularity with collectors and competitive players alike, thanks to their focus on iconic Mega Evolutions, powerful Supporter cards, and premium artwork. High-value chase cards like Mega Gardevoir ex 092/063 and Mega Lucario ex 092/063 are priced at $664 and $444 respectively, while many others remain above the $100 mark.

These sets combine strong gameplay mechanics such as Psychic energy acceleration and hard-hitting Fighting-type attacks with visually stunning Special and Ultra Rare treatments that elevate their appeal. Booster boxes and Premium Trainer Boxes are available on TCGPlayer and include guaranteed rare pulls due to Japanese packaging rules. While the most expensive cards draw attention, more affordable options like Lillie’s Determination 086/063, Mega Kangaskhan ex SAR, and Mega Absol ex SAR offer great value with solid gameplay and collector-friendly art, making these sets a standout release for fans looking for both playability and display-worthy cards.

This Week's Pokemon Crashers and Climbers

Special Illustration Rares from Temporal Forces have cooled from their spring highs, with Raging Bolt ex, Iron Crown ex, and Walking Wake ex falling 11%, 13%, and 20% respectively due to limited competitive use and shifting collector focus.

In Twilight Masquerade, Supporter cards Perrin and Carmine have also dipped 11% each, but several other singles are trending upward as player experimentation and collector interest grow.

Gastly is up 13% since June, Greninja ex has climbed 17% since January, and Sinistcha ex, Tatsugiri, and Eevee have each gained around 10% in recent months.

Baseus Charging Station and Free 100W USB Cable

If you're running low on outlets or USB ports at your desk, Amazon is offering the Baseus 10-in-1 desktop charging station for $29.99 after a 40% discount, with a bonus 3.3ft 100W USB-C cable included for free when both items are added to your cart at checkout.

This compact cuboid hub includes three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and six AC outlets spaced across four sides for easy access and minimal obstruction. It delivers up to 67W of USB power output, enough to fast charge devices like the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, iPhone 16, and Galaxy S25. The AC outlets support everyday electronics such as monitors, printers, and speakers, and the unit offers 1200J surge protection.

LEGO Game Boy

LEGO Preorders and Deals

These LEGO preorders and deals are still available from last week, so it's 100% worth having a look through and grabbing a new project. They were amongst our best sellers last week, so make sure you're not missing out on best selling preorders like the Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse minifigure set.

Apple iPad Sale

There's some cracking deals on the latest M4 chip iPads all the way back to the very reliable A series bionic chip models. There's a tablet here for everyone, and Apple certainly knows how to make one. They've been at the top of the tablet market for just over 15 years now.

DOOM: The Dark Ages Standard Edition

Arcane League Of Legends: Season Two Limited Edition Steelbook

American Pie - Limited Edition Steelbook

Higround Gaming Sale

Every look at your gaming setup and think "This needs more Pokémon and Apex"?, Higround make some of the best branded keyboard, mice and deskmats around. Better yet, their range in Best Buy has had some serious price cuts, so it's worth scoreing something unique for your gaming rig. The full sale is here.

MSI Monitor Sale

I've been running the MSI eSports 40" gaming monitor since the start of this year, and it's a fantastic monitor for the money. Getting it for $250 is an even sweeter deal, it's a perfect 1440p monitor with no ghosting, great extra features and a lovely color balance. Fortnite and Oblivion Remastered at 140 FPS+ never looked so good. The full sale can be found here.

A Charlie Brown Christmas 60th Anniversary Zoetrope

Baseus Laptop Portable Charger 100W

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classic Sewer Playset

BOOKOO Jump Starter 2000A for Car/Boat/Lawnmower

Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Complete Series (DVD)

If you’re one of the Nintendo fans who worried the company lost its creative spark after playing it fairly safe with the Switch 2, let me introduce you to Drag x Drive: a wheelchair basketball-inspired sports game that’s controlled almost entirely with the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode. True, it’s surprisingly drab in personality considering it comes from the company that’s brought us some of the most iconic characters and worlds in gaming, but even after 20 years of playing every bizarre motion-controlled game from the Wii on down, I can safely say this is something I’ve never seen before. Perhaps more surprising to hear, I actually really like how Drag x Drive plays. I respect the ambition to try something entirely new, even though I recognize the result is definitely not going to be for everyone. But despite its surprisingly good gameplay, Drag x Drive is pretty disappointing in terms of the content outside of its three-on-three online matches, with a lack of variety and enticing unlockables you’d expect from a game like this.

From the look of it, the main reason this game exists is to showcase the Joy-Con 2’s combination of built-in mouse and motion controls. The separated left and right controllers direct your baller’s left and right arm, respectively; you can slide the controller on a flat surface to have your arm push your wheels forward and backward, lift and flick your wrist after you line yourself up with the hoop to shoot the ball, and wave to a teammate to signal that you’re open for a pass. Drag x Drive plays like a more hardcore version of a game in the Wii Sports series: it’s less pick-up-and-play, with more advanced techniques to master and the added demand of constantly sliding your controllers around. If you hate Wii-era motion controls or any game that leaves your arms and wrists a little bit tired after extended play sessions, you should probably stay far away from this one.

For the first hour or so, it didn’t feel natural. It demands a lot of actions a game has never asked of me before: usually games like Wii Sports rely on simple controls paired with automatic movement, but Drag x Drive puts you in complete control of your character, and I just wasn’t used to it. And when things weren’t going well, like when my opponent kept scoring and I hadn’t yet learned how to stop it, the physicality of it all made for a steeper, more frustrating learning curve than just remembering which buttons to press on a traditional controller (an option that is entirely absent here).

But as I practiced further, I started to really enjoy the way Drag x Drive plays. Once I absorbed the idea, I started comfortably gliding around the lone arena that combines a traditional basketball court with skate park elements, stealing the ball from opponents and then dunking it after doing a flip off a halfpipe. Drag x Drive’s skill ceiling feels surprisingly high, and I can see a hardcore group really latching onto its systems. The mid-match action is very polished as well, with rock-solid performance and cool haptic feedback where you can feel the click of your wheels in the controllers.

It’s generally very responsive, too, if you have a proper surface to play on. That’s a big “if” – never before have I had to undergo so many wardrobe changes to figure out which pants were ideal to wear when playing a video game. Nintendo says you can use your legs for the mouse controls, but the results really varied depending on if I was wearing jeans, pajama bottoms, cotton sweatpants, or athletic shorts, which ended up working the best. Any texture, wrinkles, or folds impacted motion accuracy, and if I wasn’t sitting with my legs perfectly flat like a tabletop, it sometimes wouldn’t register that I was trying to move at all. It takes some work to achieve the best position to play, but once I found it, the controls did work significantly better than I expected.

If you have the option, though, don’t use your lap. Drag x Drive easily worked the best when playing in my office on my desktop PC monitor, which is where I settled after finding that leaning over a living room coffee table wasn’t comfortable enough either. I simply moved my keyboard aside and had the entire flat surface of my desk to slam the Joy-Con 2 on over and over (I will say, the idea of being this rough with controllers that keep going up in price made me feel a little uneasy).

If you manage to get past those initial road blocks, you can start learning some neat tricks to score bonus points. You can pull off a bunny hop as you shoot the ball to score an extra tenth of a point – which is a leap you perform by grabbing your wheels and lifting both controllers up in quick succession. A flashy 540-degree turn that leads into a two-handed slam dunk is worth .4 extra points, and it’s really satisfying trying to get an opening to pull off these risky, advanced techniques – and I had multiple games come down to a fraction of a point difference.

Defense is pretty fun, too: you need to slam into a ball-handling opponent head-on to knock it loose, literally put your hands in the air to try and block a shot, or quickly snag a rebound to regain possession. I learned how important it is to hit the brakes to stop directly in front of an opponent and get up in their face. It accurately replicates the intensity and excitement of a close pickup game, with great moments like grabbing a rebound and driving all the way down the court for an open three, or throwing up a last-second buzzer beater, complete with a dramatic slow motion effect.

You can play offline with bots that are decently smart and always pass you the ball if you signal that you’re open, but the action excels when you take it online with five friends or strangers. It’s fun to coordinate with teammates over GameChat to set them up for an open shot or decide who to guard on defense – and like most competitive multiplayer games of this nature, there’s really no reason to play offline.

Sadly, outside of the arena, Drag x Drive doesn’t have much going on. The whole affair takes place in what’s called the Park, which has about as much personality as its one-word name implies. It has the same color palette and atmosphere you’d expect from a mall parking lot, with gray concrete everywhere, faint, forgettable music off in the distance, and nobody around (unless you’re playing online, where up to 12 people can join a Park together). Scattered around are a small handful of fun time-based challenges, like racing through obstacle courses, jumping rope 100 times in a row, or scoring as many points as possible, but after reaching the target time for most of them in just a couple of hours, I was left wishing there were more challenges to complete.

One neat idea is that if you’re playing in an online lobby and roaming around the Park trying out challenges at your own pace, a giant video board displays live updates of who has the highest scores in each one. Some challenges award gold rings to the record-holder so everyone wheeling around the park can see who’s the champ. Both features encourage friendly competition if you all buy into it, and I can see this being a decently fun place to hang out with a group of friends as everyone tries to set new high scores in between matches. There are also group minigames to break things up, though those amount to a 30-second race or a sprint to see who can grab the ball first. They’re both pretty skippable, and fortunately, you can easily opt out of participating and just wait for the real game to begin.

The big issue holding Drag x Drive back is that there’s just not that much reason to do anything. Earning trophies by winning games and completing challenges unlocks new helmet designs for your character, but that’s pretty much the only unlockable, and the customization options honestly aren’t that exciting when it’s all just helmets with one or two minor differences, like bunny ears or a spiky hairdo. There’s no leveling up, no meaningful achievements, and nothing to work toward that makes me want to boot up Drag x Drive when I could be playing Mario Kart, Splatoon, or another competitive multiplayer game. I don’t necessarily think a game needs this stuff to be fun, but after 10 hours, I’m skeptical I’ll have much reason to come back outside of friend hangouts. And that’s only if my friends put in the time to click with the gameplay like I have.

Even things like a varied soundtrack, multiple court designs, or original characters with personalities (like in Arms and Splatoon) would go a long way here, but instead it all just feels like the bare minimum. It’s incredibly generic, and it’s a shame that gameplay I genuinely like is wrapped in such a boring, one-note package. That’s not usually Nintendo’s style.

It also has to be said that it’s ironic how, in a game that’s clearly based on wheelchair basketball, there’s no option to play with anything but these physically demanding motion controls, and the settings to adjust how they work are extremely limited. It’s not exactly a poster child for accessibility in video games.

The Assassin's Creed Shadows development team has answered fan questions on the future of the franchise's modern day storyline, as well as various lingering plot threads left unanswered in the series' recent blockbuster.

Shadows is designed as something of a soft reboot for the series, with no playable modern day section and a strong focus on the real-life historical elements found in its version of feudal Japan. Little mention is made of events from previous games — something that ensures new players don't feel like they need to head to Wikipedia and catch up.

The game's story reintroduces the Assassins and Templars slowly, and makes no mention of Basim — a major character seen within Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Assassin's Creed Mirage whose fate is left open-ended. The Isu, Assassin's Creed's mysterious precursor race, meanwhile do not play a part at all — following a string of games where the hunt for one of their artefacts acted as the main macguffin.

Now, during a fan Q&A on reddit, the game's development team has answered questions regarding whether the series will deliver more modern day storyline in the future, whether we'll see Basim again, and which of the game's current crossovers are canon.

"With AC Shadows we are putting in place the first stone of new means to deliver the modern day storyline with the Animus Hub," wrote level design director Luc Plante. "That is not the end of it, and we are listening to your feedback."

Currently, fans can unlock snippets of text logs that tell a fresh story featuring various Assassin and Templar units in what seems to be the near future. So, technically, rather than the "modern day", this storytelling time period now appears to be a number of decades ahead (and something that conveniently means ongoing plot threads like the character of Basim can be moved past).

But will fans get more of Basim's story? Valhalla's ending left the character's future wide open, with many fans expecting him to appear again in a prominent role. Mirage, which tells the story of his origins, meanwhile once featured a bizarre post-credits scene hinting at more from the game set to come.

"We have complex new characters that were introduced in Shadows that we didn't feel there would have been enough spotlight for Basim as well," Plante continued.

Could Basim's story be picked up in Shadows? It seems unlikely. The character feels too far removed from the game's Japanese storyline, and it's easy to see why Ubisoft did not have a place for him in the game.

At the same time, it's worth remembering that Ubisoft declined to comment earlier this year on a report in a French newspaper that stated the company was now working on new content for Mirage, following an injection of funding from Saudi Arabia's controversial Public Investment Fund. Perhaps this, if and when it arrives, will be used to wrap up Basim's narrative.

"The AC lore is very complex and keep expending as we are creating new games," Plante said, when asked why events in the franchise's expanded universe of games and comics were not mentioned specifically within Shadows. "We are not retconning what we have done in the past, but we do not necessarily mention everything in every game if it doesn't directly support the narrative we are building.

Ubisoft has taken a similar approach to the Isu, who remained off-screen within the game. Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Valhalla leant heavily into their settings' mythological elements. Shadows, however, treated (almost) everything without the need for a supernatural or sci-fi explanation.

"Similar to this, the fact that there is no Isu artifact in the main game of Shadows doesn't mean that it doesn't exist in the world of Shadows," Plante said, "it just wasn't a story device that we needed for the story we wanted to tell."

Speaking of supernatural elements, Plante confirmed Shadows' unlockable Dead by Daylight content was "not canon to the story of Shadows." That said, the recent Critical Role crossover with the new character of Rufino is canon, and tied into the game's main themes.

Next up for Assassin's Creed Shadows is the game's big Claws of Awaji expansion, due on September 16. Alongside a fresh region to explore, the add-on will expand on Shadows' current ending with new story for Naoe and Yasuke. Maybe the Isu are lurking somewhere within it?

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

This article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Alien: Earth, “Neverland” and “Mr. October.”

Like the xenomorph itself, Alien: Earth has (chest) burst onto FX and Hulu with the first two episodes of the highly anticipated prequel series. True to form for show creator Noah Hawley, who has previously bent minds with Legion and Fargo, his latest adaptation/extension is full of some wild swings and lingering questions that burn more intensely than alien blood.

In the dual premiere episodes, we start with the Maginot, a Weyland-Yutani research ship carting back an array of dangerous “specimens” from throughout the galaxy. Among them are several xenomorph eggs, so you know how this goes. To paraphrase Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) from another franchise, it’s all ohh, ahh, then later there’s the running and screaming.

Things get worse, though, as the Maginot loses control and crashes into New Siam, a city controlled by Prodigy, one of the five corporations that owns and runs Earth. Besides the carnage of the crash, the specimens are loose. Enter a search-and-rescue group run by Prodigy, including Joe (Alex Lawther), aka Hermit, and you have the regular ingredients for an Alien adventure, this time on Earth…where everybody can hear you scream.

But that’s far from the only thing going on in Alien: Earth, and in fact, it’s just a backdrop for the bigger idea. Prodigy’s huge leap is to create Hybrids, which purport to be the next phase in human evolution. By first experimenting on sick children, Prodigy and its trillionaire owner, Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), have figured out how to take a human consciousness and put it into a synthetic body. Instead of the eerie, inhuman synths of the Alien series so far, these hybrids are something more.

That includes our main character, Wendy (Sydney Chandler), who just so happens to be Joe’s sister. When she finds out her brother is close and in trouble, she and the rest of the “Lost Boys” (other hybrids) head off to rescue him, under the watchful eye of Boy Kavalier’s science synth, Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant).

Now you know the setup. By the end of Episode 2, which finds Joe taken by the xenomorph and Wendy leaping after him, there’s a lot to unpack…so let’s get into it!

What are the five Alien corporations, and have they popped up in the franchise before?

If you’ve ever seen an Alien (or even several Predator) movies, you likely know the name Weyland-Yutani. They’re the all-encompassing corporation that controls every aspect of life in space, but it turns out they’re only one of five corporations that split up the planet once the world’s governments couldn’t pick up the slack.

As we discover in one of the opening scenes of Alien: Earth, Weyland-Yutani owns North and South America, as well as Mars and Saturn. Dynamic owns the Moon, and we discover that Prodigy owns their island “Neverland” research center as well as New Siam. The other two companies are Lynch and Threshold, and as of this writing, we know nothing about them.

There have been other corporations included in various Alien media over the years, but of these five, only Weyland-Yutani has been referenced in the franchise before. That doesn’t mean they contradict other Alien tales; it just makes one wonder what happened to corps like Hyperdyne, which developed various synths and was referenced in Alien: Romulus, or Seegson, another synth manufacturer that’s popped up in various comics and novels.

The fact of the matter is, they all may be around, perhaps as fiefdoms of the five major corps, or maybe under some other arrangement. It’s clear that Earth’s society allows capitalism to grow, as there were four corps until Boy Kavalier went big with Prodigy; we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.

What’s the deal with all the Peter Pan references?

If you watch one thing before Alien: Earth, you should probably watch Alien. If you want to watch a second thing? Maybe Peter Pan. Or read Peter Pan. Or both. Regardless, the series is pretty obvious about how much it’s aping the J.M. Barrie story, to the point that “Marcy” takes on the name Wendy, they call her “Wendy darling” at multiple points, the hybrids are called the Lost Boys and named after those characters (with the exception of Smee), and they live on an island called Neverland. And oh, Boy Kavalier both shows off Peter Pan the movie and reads Peter Pan as a bedtime story, just in case it wasn’t clear.

So why Peter Pan? Because the idea of the book is about growing up, and that’s sort of what the xenomorph does as well: evolving from an egg to a facehugger to a chestburster to the eventual killer alien we all know and fear. The xenomorph is also a metaphor for external factors, usually about how corporations use and dispose of their employees, but here it’s likely about the fear of death. Our hybrids were all kids who were going to die, but now, they technically cannot…but neither can they grow up.

Some slightly more subtle references include the xenomorph being the crocodile (notice the ticking sound Wendy hears when she arrives in New Siam?), and Morrow (Babou Ceesay) being Captain Hook, what with his singularity of purpose to catch the “crocodile” and one weapon hand.

How important is it to watch Ice Age: Continental Drift to understand Alien: Earth?

What in the world is the deal with Joe watching the fourth Ice Age movie, Ice Age: Continental Drift, of all things? Part of it is to set up the “face my fury” exchange when Wendy “talks” to Joe through a robot in Episode 2, but likely this isn’t a deeper reference than that the plot of Ice Age 4 finds our heroes facing down a pirate named Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage). See above re: pirates. For what it’s worth, our characters also investigate a downed “pirate” ship as the main driver for the plot, so there is that. Could one of the creatures on the ship also turn out to be like Scrat, always trying to bury a nut? Eh, that’s a stretch; never mind.

What are the ethics of putting a child in an adult’s body? And are the kids dead?

There’s a lot of magical thinking going on in the first two episodes, where they mostly hand-wave “yeah, we’re just putting their child brains in synth bodies.” But Alien is a science-fiction series, not a fantasy series, and while we don’t need schematics of how Boy Kavalier, Dame Silvia (Essie Davis), and Silvia’s husband Arthur (David Rysdahl) pulled it off, we do have questions that seem conveniently brushed over.

In fact, the show seems to be hinting at a little more going on in Boy Kavalier’s science paradise, as Arthur expresses, or tries to express, concerns more than once. Meanwhile, Dame Silvia tells Wendy (then called Marcy) that the process is “just like falling asleep,” framing it like a fairy tale instead of the scientific process it likely is.

This is always the issue with science fiction stories in which a brain is transferred to a robot or clone body, or some other form: Is that the person, or is that a robot with the brain patterns of the person? Furthermore, what happened to the kids’ bodies after the transfer? Wendy says she’s not human, she’s something “more”...but is she Marcy?

This is something the show will likely continue to explore over the rest of the season, and the answers might be more disturbing than we think. After all, who are the monsters here? The xenomorph? The humans? The hybrids? Or all three?

What is that weird dude spraying on the wall?

In the first two episodes of the series, we see a weird dude in a large hazmat suit spraying dark areas of the wall in the Neverland ranch (er, uh-oh). It’s vintage Noah Hawley weirdness that’s also somewhat reminiscent of the “Who is the Beekeeper” discourse that pervaded WandaVision, and no one in the show seems to be talking about this guy in any way. What is he up to?

Before people go insane with theories, we can confidently answer this one: He’s spraying for mold. Mold thrives in tropical, warm, wet climates, so those black spots on the wall are likely black mold, and he’s killing it as it pops up.

However, there’s also a likely reason for including this detail at all. It’s yet another killer that’s bubbling below the surface, a rot that’s everywhere in Prodigy’s compound, and not for nothing, but there’s a lot of discussion about whether black mold can impact your mental state; the answer is maybe. Chances are, this is just another indicator that everyone in Neverland is about to go a little nuts.

How does Alien: Earth fit in the Alien chronology?

The simple answer to this question is that Alien: Earth takes place in 2120, two years before the events of the original 1979 Alien film. That also places the show 16 years after Alien: Covenant, and 22 years before Alien: Romulus.

The more complicated answer is about how this connects, if at all, to the events of Alien, given that Weyland-Yutani had a whole spaceship full of aliens that crash-landed on Earth before that movie even happens. If there’s already a xenomorph on the planet, and multiple eggs, and other aliens, why do they need the xenomorph so badly in the rest of the series?

The answer to that is that we don’t know…yet. While Hawley doesn’t seem particularly concerned with laying a trail of breadcrumbs from Alien: Earth to the events of the theatrical movies, it seems unlikely that the series will end with xenomorphs taking over the planet and Weyland-Yutani saying, “No, we need space xenomorphs.” So whatever happens here in the show, it’s likely there are no more xenomorphs at the end. As for the other alien creatures? TBD, but they are not “the perfect organism,” so get out of here, nobody cares.

One other question you might have? This is never completely established in the movies, but from Alien onwards, the way certain exchanges are phrased, it seems likely that regular workers on ships like the Nostromo are aware of alien life; they’ve just never specifically seen the xenomorph or Space Jockeys before.

As a side note, and somewhat more problematic for Alien continuity, Morrow uses an electrical gun and a gross liquid bag thing to temporarily take down and transport the xenomorph. They clearly don’t work that well, but the question arises: Why did Weyland-Yutani never use those to restrain the xenomorphs in future encounters?

What happened to the Maginot? And what does Maginot mean?

We only get to see flashes of what went wrong on the Maginot in the premiere, but it’s the same thing that usually goes wrong: someone probably poked an alien egg, got impregnated by a facehugger, and then a xenomorph killed everyone except Morrow. But it also seems like a lot more went wrong, given the Eye is animating a half-destroyed dead cat, some blood-sucking worm creatures are loose, and there’s a horrible plant-thing hanging in the hallway.

Are there any clues in the name of the ship? It’s likely a reference to the Maginot Line, a series of fortifications set up on the French-German border after World War I. The Maginot Line was meant to repel German forces and was inspired by a line of defense used in WWI, but when WWII arrived, Germany just went around to the French-Belgian border and invaded that way, avoiding the Maginot Line entirely.

It’s pure speculation, but one could intuit that the ship Maginot was meant to bring alien life directly to Weyland-Yutani, but given the xenomorph’s predilection for chaos, it essentially went around the other side and is sowing destruction in Prodigy’s home base instead.

What is the buzzing sound Wendy keeps hearing?

We touched on this earlier, but as soon as Wendy touches down in New Siam, she hears a buzzing/clicking sound. The rest of the hybrids don’t seem to be hearing it, and neither do the humans, Kirsh, or Morrow; at least, we don’t see them being bothered by the noise as Wendy seems to be. The most likely prospect for the source of the buzzing? The xenomorph.

But that raises a lot more questions, like how Wendy can hear the xenomorph. Has she somehow tapped into the hive mind? And why can Wendy hear it when none of the other hybrids can? Wendy also seems to have other abilities, like being able to hack into and control computers with her mind, which the other hybrids have not yet exhibited. That might simply be because she’s been a hybrid longer, or it could be something unique in her makeup. Either way, it’s a big detail that’s clearly going to keep cropping up.

Why do they always have cats in space?

Generally, cats are on ships to take care of pests, and what’s a bigger bug for a cat to kill than a xenomorph? But mostly, everyone just likes Jonesy from the first movie, so there are always cats. It’s a shame about that half-dead cat on the Maginot, though.

Why didn’t the xenomorph kill Joe? And why didn’t it kill Morrow?

Given the xenomorph rips through squads of soldiers and an entire French Revolution-themed party in record time, it’s curious that Joe keeps surviving his encounters with the alien…though we’ll see whether the Episode 2 cliffhanger resolves with Wendy finding his mutilated body in Episode 3 (probably not). Is there something special about Joe that keeps saving him?

As for Morrow, who gets threatened by the xenomorph multiple times while on the Maginot, it’s surprising that the alien takes out the soldiers behind Morrow but leaves him alive. Morrow notes that the xenomorph can sense fear, so was he using his cyborg abilities to suppress his fear response? Perhaps the xenomorph isn’t interested in ripping up non-biological lifeforms. That doesn’t jibe with what we’ve seen previously in the franchise, but it is something that requires further investigation.

Does your big toe look like a thumb?

Wendy convinces Joe she’s his sister by saying, “I still don’t think my big toe looks like my thumb.” But let’s be honest here, it does; sorry, Wendy.

Japan's Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia Pokémon TCG sets have quickly established themselves as powerhouse expansions in both collector and competitive circles. Released with a focus on iconic Mega Evolutions and beloved Supporter reprints, these sets offer everything from energy-accelerating Psychic titans to nostalgic Trainer cards with new full art treatments.

The current crown jewel, Mega Gardevoir ex 092/063, commands a staggering $664.01, while even mid-tier chase cards hover in the $100 to $300 range, keeping average top 10 prices well above comparable Japanese releases this year.

Japan's Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia - Best Chase Cards

These cards are commanding such strong values because they combine competitive play power, iconic Pokémon status, and premium rarity tiers like Special Art Rare and Mega Ultra Rare. The artwork across both sets is a major draw, with illustrators leaning into dramatic poses, thematic backgrounds, and rich color palettes that any Pokémon trainer or collector will love.

For collectors, the top cards here represent long term anchor pieces that are likely to remain in demand. For players, many of these cards offer unique abilities or powerful damage scaling that makes them staples in certain deck.

10. Lillie's Determination - 086/063 ($46.99)

Where to Buy Japan's Mega Brave and Symphonia Sealed Boosters

Fancy ripping packs and pulling some of these cards yourself? TCGPlayer is the best place to pick up a booster box or pack.

There's the Premium Trainer Box to kick off the Mega era of Pokémon TCG which is a good deal if you want a mix of both Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia, but I prefer a booster box.

Thanks to Japanese gambling laws, each box is guaranteed one secret art rare, ultra rare (gold card) or secret rare and four to five art rare cards. This is also why Japanese single cards are usually cheaper than English Pokémon cards across the board.

Honorable Mentions

These cards may not crack the top 10 in price, but they pack strong value for what you are paying when considering competitive utility, iconic Pokémon appeal, or just awesome artwork. Several cards from Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia offer outstanding value for their price, making them smart pickups for collectors and players who want quality without paying premium chase card prices.

Mega Absol ex 089/063 stands out at $45.31 with sleek, shadowy art that appeals to Dark type fans, while Wally's Compassion 091/063 delivers heartfelt Hoenn nostalgia at $23.15. Mega Venusaur ex 076/063 provides both massive Grass type bulk and beautiful jungle art for $28.11, and Mega Lucario ex 078/063 packs high powered Fighting type damage into a bold Mega pose for just $25.35.

Psychic collectors can look to Mega Gardevoir ex 078/063 at $23.80 for a graceful alternative to the more expensive versions, and Mega Latias ex 079/063 offers elegant Legendary appeal at $22.84.

For those building thematic collections, Ivysaur 065/063 at $20.17 and Bulbasaur 064/063 at $19.84 bring the Kanto starter line to life with vibrant and charming illustrations. Acerola's Mischief 084/063 provides a playful and more budget friendly option for fans of the popular Trainer at $19.38. Alakazam 071/063 remains a classic Psychic powerhouse for just $11.92, while Steelix 073/063 delivers heavy metal appeal for $11.64.

Riolu 068/063 is a lively partner piece to higher end Lucario cards at $8.20, and Helioptile 070/063 rounds out the list with bright, cheerful Electric type artwork for only $3.92. These cards may not top the market in price, but they deliver strong aesthetic, nostalgic, and gameplay value for their cost.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.

The developer of upcoming open-world action fantasy game Crimson Desert has revealed its single-player open world adventure game has "unavoidably" slipped from a Q4 2025 release to Q1 2026.

In its latest call with investors, Pearl Abyss said this was due to "longer than expected timelines arising from schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners for offline distribution, voiceovers, console certification, and other launch preparations."

The company said a firm release date will be announced "at a more appropriate time based on business considerations," but did not specify what those "business considerations" would be.

Players can still expect to see Crimson Desert at Gamescom and PAX West, however, as well as Tokyo Game Show.

"Currently, Crimson Desert has been in the process of [recording] voiceovers, while also carrying out tasks such as console certification in preparation for its release," Pearl Abyss announced in its Q2 2025 earnings conference call, as transcribed by Gematsu. "In the case of marketing, we plan to participate in Gamescom and PAX West this August to showcase our open-world build. And in September, we will join the Tokyo Game Show to strengthen our marketing efforts in the Japanese market.

“The launch of Crimson Desert, our first large-scale AAA console game, has been unavoidably delayed by one quarter, from the previously announced schedule. This is due to longer than expected timelines arising from schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners for offline distribution, voiceovers, console certification, and other launch preparations. We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the originally promised fourth quarter launch schedule. Please kindly understand that this is a strategic decision aimed at insuring success on a meaningful scale.

"The release date has been internally confirmed for Q1 2026," the statement concluded. "However, given the change in launch timing, we will announce the date at a more appropriate time based on business considerations, rather than making an announcement at Gamescom next week. We are grateful for your continued interest in our company, and we will do our utmost to deliver an even better experience going forward.”

From the makers of Black Desert Online, Crimson Desert is set in the fantasy world of Pywel in which you'll discover adventure, uncover wonders, and experience thrilling action as you "witness the saga surrounding Kliff, leader of the Greymanes, whose mission takes him on an incredible journey." It's set for release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S.

At the end of last year, Pearl Abyss responded to reports indicating it had turned down an offer of PlayStation 5 exclusivity from Sony, claiming that if it had accepted Sony’s offer, which allegedly included Sony's "marketing power and various unique incentives," Crimson Desert would have been exclusive to PS5 for a year, with no release on Xbox and with PC distribution rights also belonging to Sony. In the end, it determined that it would be better off self-publishing Crimson Desert than it would be had it partnered with Sony to share revenue with the PlayStation maker.

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

Capcom is "aware" of crashing issues introduced to Monster Hunter Wilds via today's crucial 1.021 update, and stressed it is now "working on the issue."

It's dreadful timing for Capcom, which has been struggling to keep the beleaguered RPG on track so much that yesterday, August 12, the team released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game. However, it now appears that the new patch has introduced a fresh bug that sees your game "crash" should you "faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions." It doesn't seem to matter what platform you're playing on, either.

"We are aware of the following issue being reported in Monster Hunter Wilds on all platforms and are currently working on a fix. Once the fix is complete, we plan to release a patch Ver.1.021.01.00," Capcom explained on social media.

"We have confirmed that the game may crash when you faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions. Once the update is available, online sessions will be discontinued, and you will need to update to the latest version to continue playing online."

The statement concluded with: "We are currently working on this issue and will provide further updates when we have them. Thank you for your patience!"

Crucially, the update didn't provide any timeline on when the update may be available, nor was Capcom able to provide any workarounds in the meantime — though we'll keep you posted as best we can, of course.

Despite reviewing well initially, Monster Hunter Wilds’ endgame content is sorely lacking compared to past games. It's also suffering from severe performance issues on PC that have yet to be fully resolved.

Despite new content and seasons, fans remain unsatisfied with the state of the game, to the point where some are taking things too far and apparently harassing and threatening individual Capcom team members over it. Since then, Capcom has committed to releasing the endgame content expansion much sooner than expected after Monster Hunter Wilds experienced “soft sales.”

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

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Xochitl Gomez has discussed what she hopes her Marvel character America Chavez will be up to in Avengers: Doomsday, in a conversation which many fans are now taking as confirmation of her appearance.

Gomez's name was not among the long list of actors previously announced as starring in Avengers: Doomsday during Marvel's earlier big chair reveal, though fans have long expected Chavez and her multiverse-hopping abilities to be part of the action. Doomsday and Secret Wars are the big finale to the MCU's Multiverse Saga, after all, making the dimension-jumping teen's superpowers uniquely useful.

Now, in an interview with ET Online, Gomez has been asked about her involvement in Doomsday and what fans might expect to see of her character. In her responses, Gomez notably never suggests that she isn't in the movie — leaving fans to now assume that she is.

When asked by an interviewer about being "hard at work on Avengers" and having to remain tight-lipped, Gomez responds "Very." It's an ambiguous response, but certainly not a denial.

Later, Gomez is specifically asked for three words that describe her character, specifically relating to her being "in this next instalment of the Avengers." Gomez responds with: "bravery, courage... and let's say powerful." Huh!

In a later question, Gomez is asked about there being "so many stars attached to that film, yourself included", to which she simply replies: "Oh..."

And finally, when asked who Gomez would most like to share an Avengers: Doomsday scene with, she replies — caveating that this answer is "just speculation" — the ability to work with Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Wanda Maximoff, again.

America Chavez was last seen at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, settling down to a new life of mystical training in Kamar-Taj within Nepal. It's here that she was expected to practice her sorcery skills for use in another impending disaster — which the events of Doomsday will surely provide.

Gomez's comments come just a day after another Marvel actor teased their own call-up to the Avengers, with a teasing social media post from Ryan Reynolds strongly suggesting we'll be seeing Deadpool again sooner or later as well.

Avengers: Doomsday production is now ongoing, with shooting expected to continue still for a number of months. Could Marvel be planning another round of cast confirmations soon, to make Deadpool and America Chavez official?

Image credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

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

Chibi-Robo! is the next GameCube classic coming to Nintendo Switch 2's Nintendo Switch Online library, and it arrives as soon as next week.

We already knew the cute platformer was coming at some point thanks to Nintendo's handy summary on the Nintendo eShop, but now Nintendo has revealed when: August 21, 2025. It'll be the second game added to the library since Switch 2 launched In June, the other being Super Mario Strikers (or Mario Smash Football, as it was known in Europe).

Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription-based online gaming service for the Nintendo Switch gaming platform. Memberships include online functionality, allowing you to compete or cooperate with friends, as well as a collection of classic Nintendo games spanning four decades, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and, most recently, the new GameCube library. A free seven-day trial is also available.

The GameCube library currently includes games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Soulcalibur 2, and Super Mario Strikers. Further titles thought to be joining the service include Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and more, and don't forget, an extremely cool replica GameCube controller is also available for maximum nostalgia.

We thought Chibi-Robo! was great when it released way back in 2006, awarding it an IGN's Editor's Choice award and scoring it a healthy 8.2/10, imploring you to: "Give [it] a chance."

"I expect that too many people will glance at this game and conclude that it's not for them, simply because it's either too weird or too cute," we wrote in IGN's Chibi-Robo! review. "Truthfully, it's both, but it's also a very enjoyable, fun, and rewarding puzzle-platformer."

As for the Nintendo Switch 2 itself? It's off to a strong start, with 3.5 million consoles sold, but an analysis on the console's launch week sales paints a mixed picture of how well games not made by Nintendo are selling.

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

The future of Disney's Daredevil revival is up in the air, after a curious comment from series star Charlie Cox.

Speaking at GalaxyCon, Cox referred to the upcoming second season of Daredevil: Born Again — due to air on Disney+ in 2026 — as the show's "final season", suggesting that, despite years of wait for a Daredevil revival, two seasons might be all fans get.

But things may not be so decisive. Coming in, as ever, to steal Daredevil's thunder, Kingpin actor Vincent D'Onofrio has suggested there is still hope for the show to live on — even if nothing, as yet, seems assured.

Discussing his latest Daredevil suit during a stage appearance at GalaxyCon (which the event filmed and then uploaded to TikTok), Cox refers to Born Again Season 2 as the show's last run.

"There's something we do in this final season that doesn't exist in the comics, so it's unique to our show," Cox says.

Seeking further clarification, fans then shared the comment with Wilson Fisk himself, Vincent D'Onofrio, who this morning offered the following comment via X: "Good chance there will be a third."

Good chance there will be a third.

— Vincent D'Onofrio (@vincentdonofrio) August 12, 2025

Daredevil: Born Again had been one of the most-anticipated Marvel shows to land on Disney+, and Charlie Cox's portrayal of Daredevil one of Marvel's most popular characters among hardcore fans. But it's unclear how well the show's first season has performed among wider audiences.

Like Matt Murdock himself, the show has struggled with its identity, and emerged as something of a hybrid between Marvel's initial plans for an all-new introduction of the character with elements added later to the first season to make it more of a continuation from the original Netflix Daredevil series.

The upcoming second season — now potentially its final run — will be the first to have been written from the off with its Netflix backstory firmly in mind (including the reappearance of Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones). At the very least, D'Onofrio's comment suggests there's still hope for more — though it may depend on how next year's new episodes land.

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

Some sales are good, and some are the kind I instantly DM my dudes about to become The Voice of Unsolicited FOMO. Today’s spread falls firmly into the latter, with discounts on games that blend brilliant design with genuine replay value. There are big-name blockbusters, genre-defining indies, and a few hidden gems that deserve the spotlight.

This Day in Gaming 🎂

In retro news, I’m using a rusty shiv to cut a 21-candle cake baked for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a mouthful of a stealth shooter that proved movie tie-ins didn’t have to be shovelware. Back in 2004, equipping the goggles and gravel voicebox of Vin Diesel's Furyan felt like nothing else. Unfortunately, the hype surrounding the launch of Halo 2 overshadowed this absolute sleeper hit.

Launch day me was mighty surprised to find that its brand of FPSing was smoother than a drag of KOOL menthols. The eye-shine-assisted stalking was addictive, the melee was raw and responsive, and the world of Butcher Bay oozed menace. This was the kind of slick, confident package that hinted at the brilliance its developers (many of whom would go on to form MachineGames) would later bring to a Wolfenstein reboot. Two decades later, it still stands tall as one of the most atmospheric and inventive licenced games ever made.

Alien: Earth premieres with two episodes on Tuesday, August 12, and drops one episode per week after that.

FX dropped the first two episodes of Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth, and it’s clear from the beginning what this series is trying to do. It all at once pays homage to the original Alien film while also carving its own niche into the lore of a decades-old franchise which is not an easy trick to pull off. And so, episodes 1 and 2 of the series are all about merging the new and the old. Sometimes it’s in the way a cross dissolve subtly connects two images, but other times it’s literally a spaceship crash-landing into a densely populated futuristic city. The fact that both approaches work so well in Alien: Earth is a testament to everything we have to look forward to in this series.

To begin with, the broad strokes of this review are simple. This is a very good show. It’s well-crafted, well-written, well-acted and just fun to be around. But seemingly determined to skip straight to the part where his new show bursts out of the franchise’s chest, Hawley and his team immediately merge those new and old influences in episode 1’s very first scenes. The crew wakes up, lights a cigarette before they’re out of the cryopod, have a laugh over breakfast in the mess as the camera floats down the familiar hallways of a Weyland-Yutani owned interstellar cruiser. It’s not just Noah Hawley proving he’s a fan who’s seen the movie before, though. It serves two really important functions.

Number 1, okay, yeah, it proves the behind-the-camera team has seen the movie before and that they like it as much as we always have. But Number 2, it’s the setting. Wordlessly and without any other connectivity, we as viewers are put back into the place and time around the original film. It’s a signal, along with the mustache on one of the crewmembers and the logos on their uniforms and the '70s-era “old-monitor” based tech in the production design, that this takes place alongside 1979’s film.

So it starts as a more or less shot for shot re-imagining of Ridley Scott’s original film, until they start to chop it up a little bit. The edit includes several visual asides, bouncing around in time, hinting that there’s more story to this crew and these surroundings than simply “oh that looks just like the Nostromo that Ripley was on!”

That’s the savviest thing about these premiere episodes and the truly exciting thing about Alien: Earth. A lot of ink has been spilled about how this fits in with the franchise and which parts of the canon are being accounted for. But this opening sequence is crafted in such a way that Hawley and his team are saying “yes” to all of it. There is a familiar setting, in a familiar timeline, but they’re doing some new things within that structure.

One of those new things is the Peter Pan allegory at the center of this season’s story. Samuel Blenkin’s Boy Kavalier, Earth’s youngest trillionaire and chief creep of the premiere episodes, is taking the final steps in a quest for a type of immortality. Sydney Chandler’s Marcy, meanwhile, the first terminally ill child to transition into a synthetic body, takes on the name Wendy, Peter Pan’s friend that’s destined to grow up, unlike the lost boys. It’s a fitting metaphor for a franchise built on a creature whose defining trait is that it evolves into something else, and a show within that franchise about children’s consciousnesses evolving into something else as well.

But there’s one scene in particular where the form and function of the story line up in a very cool way. After Marcy becomes Wendy, there’s a lovely little TV on the Radio needle drop, and a peaceful scene where Wendy looks truly happy, looking out over the sea with not a worry in the world. A far cry from the Marcy tethered to an IV stand in the previous scene. But it’s just one achingly slow cross dissolve away from a truly eerie shot of Wendy tromping through the jungle, happy as a clam. It’s unnatural in slow motion, there’s something clearly off about it, and the coolest part about that juxtaposition is that the show doesn’t let you linger in any sort of celebration for long. Every time there’s some light of discovery, Alien: Earth hits you with a bit of darkness as a reminder that none of what’s happening is all good.

Meanwhile, Morrow, the security officer aboard the Maginot played incredibly by Babou Ceesay, is set up to be the most fascinating character in the show. He’s a cyborg, just a regular dude who chose to be augmented. Morrow is, as we’ve seen with synthetic characters like Ash and David from elsewhere in the franchise, a company man through and through. He had the agency to become this way, which paints his decision making in a whole new light. He’s not a complete synthetic created and programmed to carry out company protocol, but he does serve that function we’re all familiar with from the Alien films. He’s cold and calculating and just as terrifying as any artificial person has ever been in the franchise.

The other real win for the premiere episodes is the scope of this show. In terms of episode 1s (or in this case episode 1s and 2s), it does an incredible job of communicating the type of scale we can expect from the series. A god damn spaceship crashes into the middle of a city and it looks like a war zone. But wouldn’t you know it, Hawley isn’t just employing that scale for the sake of it. The search and rescue team making their way through the wreckage go back and forth between the old familiar Nostromo-style ship, and the new environment here on Earth. In episode 2, we get some incredible haunted house style sequences that echo the original, with the xenomorph stalking our main characters. The highlight for me though, is the xenomorph interrupting some kind of Elizabethan Bacchanal where a bunch of obliviously entitled rich folks refuse to evacuate the building. It doesn’t end well for any of them.

The xenomorph itself, though, is another example of the classic iconography of this franchise meeting a new menagerie of beasties. The old reliable xeno gets its chance to shine in a typically monstrous way, metal teeth bared and stabby tail at the ready. There’s nothing new about him or the way Hawley is deploying his KY covered carapace. The xenomorph is playing the hits, as it were. But this very purposefully leaves room for the new aliens, however; an inventive bunch of creepy crawlies including an eyeball octopus that, I’m calling it now, is going to be the standout of the show when the dust settles.

Credit Roll Needle Drop Check In

One of my favorite little details about the series is the hard rock tracks Hawley uses over the credits. I wrote in my full season review about the loose connections the tracks make lyrically to the action on screen. I, quite frankly, adore the fact that they’ve pointedly decided to choose heavy metal tracks to communicate a vibe, so I can’t help but write a quick note about these songs in each of my weekly reviews.

Episode 1 ends with “The Mob Rules” by Black Sabbath. From 1981, the track comes from the Ronnie James Dio era of Sabbath, and features just a hint of ‘80s glam along with it’s speedier flavor of metal. As episode 1 ends with the Lost Boys on their way to the crash site and Wendy determined to save her brother's life, the first riffs from “The Mob Rules” highlights our hybrid protagonist’s edge and an attitude that’s lurking under the surface. But the lyrics that open the song are a metal warning of what’s to come.

Close the city and tell the people that something’s coming to call.

Death and darkness are rushing forward to take a bite from the wall.

Depending on how you want to take these lyrics, they could be referring to the xenomorph or the dystopian future of a corporate controlled team of hybrid children, emotionally ported into nearly impervious supercomputer bodies. Which, if my math is correct, is awesome.

Episode 2 meanwhile wraps up with the feedback build up of Tool’s “Stinkfist.” From 1996’s Aenima, the track features the band’s signature Drop-D tuned brand of heavy darkness. However, they edit around the opening verse of the song that is, ostensibly, about anal fisting, and jump straight to the more metaphorical chorus.

It’s not enough, I need more, Nothing seems to satisfy.

I don’t want it, I just need it, to breathe, to feel, to know I’m alive.

In this moment Wendy, who’s participated in more than one conversation about whether or not she’s still human to this point in the show, has found her brother and had him whisked away again. There’s a determination in her not seen in the other Lost Boys, and this mid-90s heavy metal classic features these lyrics that underline this part of her character, while being a compositionally spooky piece of music to play while a half-robot child is left tending a bunch of xenomorph eggs in a crashed spaceship.

Anyway, over-thinking these song choices is going to be a feature of these reviews, so… you know… get used to it.

eBay is offering a great deal on a well equipped RTX 5070 Ti gaming laptop. Antonline (via eBay) has listed the Asus ROG Strix G16 RTX 5070 Ti gaming laptop for $1,999.99 with free shipping. In addition to the powerful graphics card, this laptop features the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX processor, which is one of the most powerful AMD mobile CPU available right now.

Antonline is an authorized Asus reseller, so you'll be getting the same 1 year warranty as buying from Asus direct. Their official eBay store has over 300,000 reviews with a 98.9% positive feedback rating. This laptop is currently in stock and will be delivered to you within 2-4 days. Antonline also offers free returns within 30 days.

Asus ROG Strix G16 RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Laptop for $1,999.99