For the uninitiated, Isekai refers to an anime or manga that primarily focuses on its main character being transported to another world, dimension, universe, what have you. In Sword Art Online, to use Koster's example, the main characters are trapped inside of a virtual reality video game while their real-life bodies are in a state of suspended consciousness. If they die in the game, they die in real life, and the only way out is to essentially beat the game.

Of course, vaguely similar ideas have been explored in other forms of media since at least the 1800s with books like The Wizard of Oz and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, but Koster is obviously referring more to the relatively recent explosion of modern Isekai anime and manga.

Talking to GamesRadar+, Koster points to the Isekai boom as evidence that people are hungry for transportive virtual worlds.

"It's a fantasy of a more immersive parallel world, and players crave it, we think," Koster said. "Like, we see you. Look at, for example, all the Isekai anime, the Sword Art Onlines, and all of those. When you look at those, like the games that they show are not theme park games. They are immersive alternate realities, right?"

As someone who's made lifelong friends playing Ultima Online specifically, Koster is speaking straight to my soul here. I love the idea of a modern, more immersive, more interactive sandbox with the same depth to the social elements and open-ended PvP as Ultima Online. I don't know if that's what Koster is working to achieve with Stars Reach, but he's definitely taken notice of the popularity of another, wildly different game: Animal Crossing.

"When you look at the rise of all of these other sandboxy forms of gameplay done at smaller scale, it's super clear, right? I think you know, the way that something like Animal Crossing went really viral during COVID is indicative of that. So, yeah, bringing those things back into the context, we think there's a huge, huge appetite for it."

The nod to Animal Crossing might sound a little out of place at first, but I think in the context of the COVID pandemic, when people were desperate to escape a bleak reality and immerse themselves in a very different world, it does help to clarify what Koster is aiming for with Stars Reach.

Stars Reach will be the debut project from Koster's studio Playable Worlds, which he co-founded with fellow RPG veteran Eric Goldberg in 2019. The game, which is billed as a "sandbox science-fantasy MMO where you explore deeply simulated living worlds in a shardless galaxy", with "a fully player-driven economy full of peaceful ways to play." Basically, it sounds a lot like a modern sci-fi spin on Ultima Online, which I'm 100% down for. A release date has yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, for the first time in 28 years, the ancient MMO Tibia is adding a new class.

As spotted by Wario64, SteamDB was recently updated with a new listing for "Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2." The changelog goes back to early December of 2024 and has been updated as recently as this afternoon.

Now, this could either be some weirdly specific but meaningless update on Steam's backend, or more likely, it indicates a Neverwinter Nights 2 remaster is on its way to Steam at some point. It wouldn't be unprecedented; Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition launched on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile platforms back in 2018, so the same treatment for the sequel is actually a long time coming.

Neverwinter Nights 2 is based on the D&D 3.5 edition rules and its story is largely isolated from the first game in the series. If you've played Baldur's Gate 3 you'll be broadly familiar with the character creation process, companion system, die-rolling, RNG, and turn-based combat.

Only because I just brought up Baldur's Gate 3, it's worth noting that while generally very well-received, the Neverwinter Nights games don't have quite the same beloved legacy as the Baldur's Gate series. With that said, if you are a big fan of D&D-based RPGs and haven't played Neverwinter Nights or its sequel, they're still very much worth playing, particularly if the sequel does end up getting a remaster.

There's a reason Baldur's Gate 3 occupies the coveted top spot on our list of the best RPGs to play right now.

How do I get FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Players?

FC 25 Season 5 is running across February and March, and tagged 'The Future Is Yours'. Many of the cards on offer are from the FC 25 RTTF (Road To The Finals) campaign, meaning they can earn upgrades as the real-life season unfolds.

You build towards them by gaining SP across Ultimate Team, Manager Career, Player Career, and Clubs. Each 1,000 SP you collect completes a level on the ladder, and there are 40 levels in total. To see which previous rewards were available, jump into our FC 25 Season 1 Ladder Players, FC 25 Season 2 Ladder Players and FC 25 Season 3 Ladder Players guides.

Who are the best FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Players?

The ultimate reward here is Roberto Firmino (CAM, Al Ahli, 92). But even if you don't make it all the way to unlocking the former Liverpool man, there are tantalising choices to tackle en route. For instance, you can grab Euro 2024 superstar Inaki Williams (RM, Athletic Bilbao, 88) at Level 20 – but it means missing out on a colossal Samuel Gigot (CB, Lazio, 88) item to slide into your back four. The choice is yours alone.

What other FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Rewards are there?

There are 40 FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Rewards in all – an increase of five over the FC 24 Season 4 Ladder Players list. They're largely focussed on Ultimate Team, but with a few other cheeky treats mixed in. For instance, Level 12 grants you three FUT items, 15,000 Clubs Coins, and a new tie for your manager career. For help unlocking these, dip into our FC 25 tips and FC 25 Player Roles guides.

Where is the full FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Players cards list?

The complete FC 25 Season 5 Ladder Players cards list is as follows. An asterisk means you need to choose one of the two options. Once you've unlocked them, keep these guys and girls looking their best using our FC 25 best kits guide.

Yes, that's right: BioticNova defeated the ancient evil that is Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss Radahn twice simultaneously, with their attention torn between a PC monitor and a PS5 monitor, and their hands fluttering around two different controllers. I hardly made it out of my scrap with Miquella's consort, and I kept both of my – admittedly infirm and cowardly – hands tight around just one single controller. BioticNova's clearly capable of some next-level multitasking.

"I wasn't sure how we were gonna do Radahn," the streamer says modestly on Twitter, "but we did it!" In the accompanying clip, we see as BioticNova shifts their attention from one game to the other, seeming to only press a controller when their eyes are on the game it corresponds to. Using the Sword Lance and Blood Tax Ash of War, which helps trigger boss-melting bleed buildup, BioticNova ultimately slices through the two Radahns within 30 seconds of each other.

"Totally first try, guys," BioticNova says sarcastically during the three-hour stream. "That was rough. [...] I wish it was a little bit more smooth." Sorry, I didn't notice any issues – I was too distracted by the fact that you beat two copies of Shadow of the Erdtree at nearly the exact same time.

Now we know that BioticNova's ability to destroy Dark Souls 3 boss Pontiff Sulyvahn on, again, two different games simultaneously wasn't just luck like we thought in 2023, but also is an otherworldly skill that will no doubt make Nightreign matchmaking impossible.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta codes are finally being sent out, but many PS5 and Xbox Series X players are reporting the same issue – they've seemingly got access to the wrong platform

Speaking to GamesRadar+ about how much the devs watch or play the beta, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda says, "A lot," actually. Tokuda shares that the Wilds team spends a lot of time reviewing people's beta streams and videos to "see feedback that we can't really get internally" – something the chief designer of the Lance found useful especially.

Mind you, not all feedback gathering is done from afar. Tokuda says the devs play the beta for a closer look at how everyone gets on with the game.

"So on my own personal console, I took part in the beta," he shares. "You can't tell it's me from the username, but there are players out there who'd have no idea to this day that they were actually playing with the director of the game.

"I would go online and put an SOS flare up, and that would mean that a couple of players would join my party, and that gives me a chance to see – whenever staff play the game at the company together, there's a certain amount of 'we all know the game inside out' – getting a chance to see real players on how they react to the content is really important to me, to understand if it's working or not. That was a great opportunity for me as well."

It's not just Tokuda, either. Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto says he'll return to the beta "straight away" after finishing some travel to promote the game. You'd better keep those monster-hunting skills sharp, pals, as Capcom is watching.

In good news for Tokuda and us, then, Capcom is extending the next Monster Hunter Wilds open beta for an extra day as the "test period was cut short."

If the upcoming State of Play delivers on those missing hard facts, PlayStation is poised to take lead for the industry and tee up a year that's still quite up in the air. It's possible we'll get a show that's light on surprises and heavy on details, but it would be remiss of me to close the door on a few gasps – after all, Sony's lawyers have been making a lot of noise around Bloodborne in the run-up to its tenth anniversary. Regardless of whether a trip back to Yharnam is in the books, it does feel like there's a lot of reasons to be excited for this State of Play – here's what I'm personally keeping an eye out for.

Release dates upon release dates

Thumb through a list of this year's upcoming games, and you'll see an alarming lack of hard release dates. One of the biggest question marks is around Ghost of Yōtei, which was revealed last year along with a 2025 release window – surprising a lot of fans who expected Sucker Punch's long-awaited sequel to still be a few years away from launch. Considering Assassin's Creed Shadows – which does have a release date, and is barely a month away – will soon give players their fill of samurai fantasy, it seems sensible to pencil in a release date while fans are still parched.

Outside of PlayStation, there are a few big third-party titles that feel like a strong fit for this month's State of Play. Hideo Kojima's weird walkathon Death Stranding 2 and Konami's Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater are yet to have release dates locked in, and besides their strong ties to PlayStation, there's good reason to suspect each developer has something cooking. Kojima recently teased 10 seconds of Death Stranding 2 gameplay whilst mixing a new trailer – gee, I wonder where that'll show up – whilst Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater's clues are a little more on the nose, as a trailer confirming an August 28 release date was leaked through none other than PlayStation.

Besides putting numbers to names, this State of Play also feels like an opportunity for PlayStation to banish any lingering doubts around its future. 2024 was a quiet year for Sony – besides the success of platforming gem Astro Bot, its leading studios were noticeably quiet, while the death of multiplayer shooter Concord cast a long shadow over Sony's ambitious live service plans.

Though it feels a little too soon to hear more on Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which was only revealed at The Game Awards in December, Sony has several options for making a show of strength if it so desires. It's been a while since we heard anything about Marvel's Wolverine, and with Marvel fans convinced that Logan will be in the next Avengers film, now could be the perfect time to tease a glimpse of the game, even if an outright release date seems unlikely. That said – Insomniac has been tight-lipped about Wolverine's progress, so it's hard to tell how far along the pipeline its next superhero game actually is. Rumors have also suggested Insomniac may be further expanding PlayStation's Marvel universe beyond the adamantium avenger and our favorite wallcrawler, including potential spin-offs, which would be great to hear more on.

Elsewhere, Bungie has ramped up development on Marathon and seems dead-set on replicating the live service success it's found through Destiny. The studio has been fairly transparent about Marathon still being some ways off, so while we're unlikely to get a release date for this just yet, it won't come as a surprise to see a longer trailer paraded out – besides it sounding fantastic, Sony showing real confidence in the game at its early stages would go a long way toward righting the ship after the messiness of Concord's collapse. Similarly, I'd love to see more from Haven Studios' Payday-esque shooter Fairgames. This shooter feels much further along the line than some of its in-development siblings at PlayStation, so its appearance wouldn't come as too much of a surprise. That said, I'll admit to a little bias – I've sunk more time into Payday than I'd care to admit, so I'm quietly just hoping for something that scratches that itch sooner rather than later.

Besides playing the hits, it does feel like there's room for a few wild cards to spice up the presentation. Sony Santa Monica has been awfully quiet since God of War Ragnarok, but rumors surrounding the studio are too thin to bet on. But there are enough clues in the wild to suggest that Sony may truly have something Bloodborne-shaped in the works. Whether that's a full Bloodborne remaster or slapped-on polish for a PS5 port, the publisher's lawyers have been very aggressive over the last few weeks, taking down both a high-profile 60fps mod and PS1 demake – a spree so congruous that even the former's creator has wondered if an official announcement is on the way. With Bloodborne's tenth anniversary coming up next month– you know what? I don't even want to say it, but make of that as you will.

All said, PlayStation's next State of Play looks set to paint broad strokes for 2025. It's traditionally been very hard to predict every beat Sony will hit, but its February 12 presentation certainly seems to have more clues scattered than usual. Whatever we see, it will be very interesting to see how Sony's software arm plans to tackle a year that will likely be dominated by the Nintendo Switch 2 and GTA 6 – and if Sony plays its cards right, 2025 could indeed be a huge year for PlayStation.

Ghost of Yotei will build on Ghost of Tsushima with guns, a gorgeous change of scenery, and "unexpected dangers"

Andrei "Meddler" van Roon and Paul "Pabro" Bellezza explain why the choice was made in a dev update, but it still hasn't gone over well with fans.

Meddler says Hexchests, which were part of a system that rewarded good plays and nice behavior with components you could use to unlock skins, were "A great player experience, but it was not sustainable for League in the long term."

Pabro adds, "Increasing the number of skins we can make each year was good for both the business and the player experience, but eventually we ran into meaningful diminishing returns."

So, the decision was made to remove Hextech chests entirely, meaning you have to spend money if you want new skins. This has been done to "ensure League remains a great, fully free-to-play game," but it's irritating nonetheless.

"Just wanted to mention how some of the best Rioters ever got tired of the company and left to make a superior game with a friendly monetization system and unique gameplay," writes one fan of Supervive in a quote tweet response to the dev update. "With league imploding, Supervive is worth your consideration! Give it a shot," writes another, sharing a video of a new Supervive patch that went live the day after League's dev update.

Supervive is a "MOBA battle royale meets hero shooter" that launched in November, 2024. However, despite this "play Supervive" campaign, its player count hasn't gone up by that much these past few days.

According to SteamDB, since February 7, where the concurrent player count was 2,921, it rose to a height of 3,875 on February 10. It's a respectable increase, but the game had just over 4,000 players on January 26.

The player count is fairly steady, consistently over 2,000, so if you do want to give it a go, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a match. It's a free-to-play early access game that you can download from Steam.

In the meantime, check out some of the best online games you can play right now.

Elden Ring Nightreign – FromSoftware's shiny new co-op spin-off to the brutal action RPG behemoth we all know and love – is set to launch later this year, but it's getting a network test later this week that'll give players the chance to check it out early. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S fans had to register before January 20 for a chance to be picked, and invites have been so in demand that some scalpers have tried reselling them for hundreds of dollars. Yikes.

Despite the fact that players could only pick between playing on PS5 or Xbox Series consoles – no PCs allowed, apparently, despite the fact that the game is set to launch on there too – reports on Twitter suggest that a lot of players are running into trouble trying to redeem their codes. Some PS5 users claim they've been sent Xbox codes, and vice versa – it's immediately easy to tell if something is up since the former are supposed to be 12 characters long, whereas the latter should be 25 characters.

"I received an Xbox code but it's too short. Xbox codes are meant to be 25 characters long and the one I received was 12," one Twitter user writes. "Same problem for me too… I registered for Xbox and the mail says platform: XBSX but the code is too short for Xbox," says another. "Same here. I received a 25-digit code but need a 12-digit code for my PS5," another chimes in.

At the time of writing, neither FromSoftware or publisher Bandai Namco has posted publicly to acknowledge the problem – hopefully those without suitable codes could be given an alternative, but at the time of writing, it's not clear if that's an option when access was limited in the first place. With the first three-hour network test session set to kick off on Friday 14 February, here's hoping something can be sorted out before then.

Elden Ring Nightreign's map will sometimes see "large-scale changes" to terrain including procedurally appearing volcanos, forests, and yes, swamps.

It boils down to one fact: console exclusivity as we once knew it is well on its way out. I suppose it also helps that I happen to be patient, perfectly content to have waited it out for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's eventual PC launches last month before cashing in on the hype experienced by PS5-goers over a year ago. But that's just it. Almost every PlayStation game I've ever wanted to play – bar Bloodborne, of course – has eventually made its way to one of my other platforms-of-choice. Staggered PC releases allow for a period of console exclusivity rather than a lifetime of it, benefitting not only developers and publishers keen to rake in more audiences, but those of us less urgent to play the newest games as soon as they hit shelves. It speaks to a change in how publishers are approaching sales, no longer relying on exclusives to sell consoles, but prestige points instead. Maybe that's why Nintendo is hanging in there – what would the Switch 2 be without its exclusives, after all?

Levelling up the playing field

The "console wars" are well and truly dead, but I'm still waiting for lingering bad attitudes to follow suit. It stands to reason that console exclusivity, while still intrinsic to the existence of separate publishers at all, can be taken as more of a punishment than a privilege when they encourage us to "pick a side." Thanks to eventual PC launches, I never feel the need to.

It hasn't always been this way. Historically speaking, exclusives encouraged gamers to purchase specific consoles or forego entire game franchises completely – take my favorite PS2-exclusive Resident Evil game, for example. There's always been a degree of brand loyalty about it, but at the end of the day, we knew what we were missing. With each new console came a meaningful technical improvement – and many people might've bought a PS2 just to have a DVD player. But as tech leaps become far less dramatic from generation to generation, it's hard to argue against the fact that this divide between platforms has morphed into all-out bullying in recent years, separating fans into camps of unquestionable allegiance to companies over the actual games they publish. Personally, I'm over it, and you should be too.

PC gaming offers a peaceful reprieve. There seems to be very little value in permanent console exclusivity in 2025 because there are simply so many games to choose from. The competition for our attention is rife, incentivizing publishers to cast wider nets than ever by way of delayed (yet much appreciated) PC ports. As a result, I never feel punished by not being able to play the latest PS5 game, and nor do I feel that Sony is trying to punish me for not buying its console. I can simply go through my Steam backlog, or make use of Xbox Game Pass, or replay Baldur's Gate 3 for the billionth time while I wait. Meanwhile, the once Xbox-exclusive Forza Horizon 5 is coming to PS5. Square Enix is looking to broaden its platform horizons with Octopath Traveler. This paradigm shift indicates that publishers have recognized the largely hit-and-miss return investment of targeting new players through exclusives; it's just not as lucrative as simply giving the people what they want, when they want it.

I'd sooner pay $60 for a PC game than shell out $500 for a console I'll use once a year. But I have two big exceptions to that rule in mind here: GTA 6 and Nintendo. With GTA 6 reported to be a console exclusive for PS5 and Xbox Series X, its status as a global phenomenon is likely to give PC stalwarts a nudge in the gamepad direction – even if it does end up "normalizing" the $100 price tag. Similarly, the humble Switch is the only way to get your hands on Nintendo-exclusive IPs like Zelda Tears of the Kingdom and the best Mario games. With many upcoming Switch 2 games almost certain to follow that trend, the hybrid handheld's popularity seems to be here to stay. These two outliers don't change my views on how permanent platform exclusivity is less necessary than ever. Rather, it provides some variety – and in Nintendo's case, tradition.

Variety really is the crux of it all. That, and player choice. Gamers don't lose anything when their favorite games launch on other platforms. It shouldn't devalue your love of the PS5 to know that Death Stranding finally made its way to Xbox four years later. The industry's moneymaking moves are constantly evolving – and if it allows more people to play more games, the slow death of console exclusivity could benefit the many and the few.

Check out all the upcoming PS5 games I won't be playing for at least one year - though I'm keen for you to.

If you're looking for some more general pointers, then check out our Civilization 7 tips and tricks to build your empire.

How to get merchants in Civilization 7

Merchants in Civ 7 can be trained after researching a specific civic or technology. Once you reach a new age, you’ll lose the ability to train merchants and will need to unlock them again by researching a different bonus. Here is what you need to unlock in order to train merchants:

• Antiquity Age: Research Mysticism and Discipline in the Civic Tree, then research Code of Laws
• Exploration Age: Research Economics in the Civic Tree
• Modern Age: Research Steam Engine in the Tech Tree

Once you have unlocked merchants, you will be able to train them. Merchants can be trained as part of your city’s production, or bought with gold at any city or town.

How to set up trade routes in Civilization 7

We recommend finding another settlement to trade with first, before you train a merchant. You’ll be able to set them up in another leader’s town or city, so take a look around the map and find a suitable place to send them. You can also trade with Independent Powers, however you need to be a suzerain of their city state in order to set up a trade route. Once you’ve discovered a few possible settlements to trade with, select one of your cities or towns and train a merchant.

Once you have a merchant, you’ll notice a toolbar pop up on the side of the screen when you select them, showing all the possible settlements you can trade with and the resources you can get from them. This is handy if you’re unsure where to send them, as you’ll be to click on them to jump to the settlement.

You can’t set up a trade route until the merchant has gone to the city or town, so once you’ve settled on where to send them, move the merchants to the location. It’ll probably take a few turns depending on how far the town or city is from yours. Once they arrive, you’ll get a prompt to allow them to set up a trade route.

How trade works in Civilization 7

Once you’ve set up a trade route with another settlement, your merchant will follow a road back to your settlement with a share of their resources. The other leader will receive gold as a result, and can send their own merchants on the same path to you, ensuring a mutually beneficial agreement.

On the next turn after each successful trade, a screen will pop up showing which resources the settlement is offering up for trade. From this screen, you can allocate the resources for your merchant to take back to one of your towns or cities. Resources come in three types: Empire Resources (they go to your whole empire), City Resources (they can only go to a city), and Bonus Resources (they can go to either a City or Town).

The number of trade routes you can have depends heavily on your relationship with the other leader. If you’d like to increase your trading potential, you need to head over to the Civ 7 Diplomacy screen and use the action Improve Trade Relations. Both parties will need to agree to this, so if the other leader doesn’t like you enough then they may not agree to these terms. So, it’s best to keep on their good side.

While the Civ 7 trade system is designed to be as low maintenance as possible to reduce micromanaging, it’s still worth keeping an eye on your trade routes. You won’t need to continuously train merchants to keep up the flow, but they can be targeted by enemy forces. Consider moving a few military units along these roads to act as guards, should that happen.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Dr. Doot has provided the internet with some of the most entertaining Elden Ring content around, including a hitless run of the game using only an electric saxophone and a boss speedrun that even saw Malenia fall to the power of jazz in less than a minute. As for how it works, a pitch bend knob on the back of the instrument doubles as his left analog stick, while the notes he plays are mapped to a regular controller's buttons, meaning he has to doot and toot in a variety of ways to pull off even the most basic inputs.

Enter Monster Hunter Wilds, and Capcom has been cooking up a weapon that practically has Dr. Doot's name written all over it. Specifically, you can get your hands on a Hunting Horn weapon in the action RPG's open beta – the Hope Horn, to be exact – that's literally just a massive saxophone. The streamer first found out about its existence way back in August last year, when he responded: "OH MY GOD THERE'S AN ACTUAL SAXOPHONE WEAPON IN MONSTER HUNTER WILDS?"

Now though, his time has come. Last week, he expressed his excitement over the fact that "MONSTER HUNTER WILDS LETS ME HUNT MONSTERS WITH A GIANT SAXOPHONE," and thanked the devs for "CREATING DOOT-BASED GAMEPLAY," and now he's finally shared what we've all been waiting for – his controller in action.

"Everyone asked 'Will you use the giant saxophone weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds with [the] saxophone controller?'" he writes on Twitter. "The answer is yes (obviously) but no one told me it would be this much FUN." Attached is a short but sweet clip of his skills in action – taking out the beta's frog-like Chatacabra monster with a series of well-timed doots. I can't even begin to fathom how much practice goes into these sorts of challenges.

Hopefully, this won't be the last of the streamer's antics in Monster Hunter Wilds if his tweet is anything to go by. The action RPG's next beta session kicks off on February 14, and will run for an extra 24 hours to make up for last weekend's PlayStation Network outage. After that, we don't have too long to wait for its full launch on February 28.

20 years on, Monster Hunter Wilds' devs reflect on the series' co-op journey: "The world caught up with our vision."

Samantha Béart, who shot to fame as in their role as Karlach in 2023, tweeted "To the next studio that tries this: if your 'spiritual successor' to Disco Elysium does not involve creator Robert Kurvitz, then save both of us some time and miss me with that casting call." Ouch.

Béart clearly holds a lot of respect for Kurvitz and his work if they're not even willing to entertain offers from any Disco Elysium-related games that aren't involving him. Disco Elysium is a fantastic game, one I thoroughly enjoy, but it's wild to think it's had such an effect on people that they're willing to turn down work because the original creator isn't involved. I suppose when you're Karlach you get your pick of the jobs, though.

Disco Elysium was conceived during a drunken night in Tallinn, "We were just hanging around in total squalor and poverty," Kurvitz says. It went on to become a hit, but then the studio fell apart and many of the game's developers went their separate ways.

In just one day, two spiritual successors to the critically acclaimed RPG were announced. Neither of those studios have Robert Kurvitz working with them. The Disco Elysium creator set the game in the same world as his novel, Sacred and Terrible Air, which is an incredible title. It didn't do well, though. "It sold 1,000 copies," says Kurvitz. "So after that I succumbed to deep alcoholism."

Kurvitz made a new studio with DIsco Elysium lead artist Aleksander Rostov, Red Info. It's backed by NetEase, which did a u-turn on its Marvel Rivals mid-season rank reset just hours after it was announced.

If you want to play more things like Disco Elysium, check out all the best RPGs you can try now.

While a stop-motion effect is enabled by default in the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Compulsion knows this element might not be for everyone. "It's a normal framerate," says art director Whitney Clayton of South of Midnight's solid 60 frames-per-second action, with individual character models and environment assets toggled during production to "have different amounts of stop motion treatment."

The goal? "To sell the impression that you're still in this handcrafted world without making it, you know, too nauseating in certain instances" – though accessibility settings can help players tailor the experience further.

As a Southern Gothic action-adventure infused with folkloric myth and legends, a thematic visual style was always a key design pillar propping up South of Midnight – and Compulsion had something specific in mind. "If you tell people, oh, we're making miniatures that feel made by hand, you could get people thinking, 'Oh, is it like Wallace and Gromit or Gumby or something?' And that wasn't the direction we wanted to go," says Clayton. "We found this animation called Madame Tutli Putli [by Clyde Henry Productions], which had this really atmospheric, mature, kind of creepy style to it, and we loved it."

When the stop-motion production company (and fellow Canadians) had Compulsion's art team visit their studio in Montreal, Clyde Henry became instrumental in realizing South of Midnight's handcrafted dreams. "On the left was a real maquette and then on the right was our reverse engineered digital 3D model, where we were trying to figure out how to apply rules that made things feel handmade," says Clayton of the learning process. "We applied this to everything in the game – the creatures, the characters, the environments, and the people."

Creating a stop motion effect on the fauna and flora wasn't as easy as simply dropping the framerate in the environment. "You had to have a slightly different treatment for each thing to get that stop motion feeling, which is a combination of animation styles. We used tech art and VFX to emulate the flickering of materials that you would see in a real stop motion, when people's thumb prints are moving on something."

To smooth out gameplay, Clayton outlines protagonist Hazel's movement and combat encounters as two areas where stop motion effects were minimized during production. They have been left more pronounced elsewhere – particularly in the environments. "The foliage does move in a specific way, and certain built-in animals and other elements of the game move more obviously as a stop motion thing," Clayton says. "But if we applied that equally everywhere, I think it would be too jarring."

Setting the scene

While South of Midnight features a broad range of accessibility settings – including a "boss skip" mode and "combat skip" mode – one area is off limits. The short cinematic intro by Clyde Henry, as seen in the stop motion trailer, can't be turned off. "We needed an intro video, or an intro cinematic, to set the stage," says Clayton. "And we thought, no better treatment for this type of cinematic than doing the real stop motion. And there were no better people to do the stop motion than Clyde Henry – if they happen to be free and available – and we were really lucky that they said yes."

The process to create this single animation took "the better part of a year," posing a hefty new challenge for the animation studio. "Like Whitney explained, her challenge was to take all these assets and try to translate it [to digital] for a handcrafted aesthetic," says Clyde Henry's art director Brigitte Henry. "For us, it was the inverse. We had to take all the CG assets and translate them into handcraft environments." Clyde Henry co-founder Chris calls it their "great challenge, to take them out of the computer and back, literally, into this world of physical, handcrafted puppets."

"And each one of them was a different problem," explains Maciek Szczerbowski, particularly Hazel's puppet. "Every little stroke looks like it could fill up half the cheek. You have to be very careful to make it not look like a Barbie by not doing enough, or to make it look [unrecognizable] if you go too far."

Check out the 50 most anticipated video games of 2025 we can't wait to get our hands on.

"It's 10 to 12 hours," gameplay director Jasmin Roy tells GamesRadar+ of the average time it will take to beat South of Midnight's 14 chapters. "That was kind of the target, I think, [though] maybe a bit bigger than we thought, but it is pretty much in the ballpark of what we thought at the beginning. We don't like to necessarily put numbers on it."

"We always knew it was going to be a game that had a momentum of narrative," Roy says of the Southern Gothic adventure, with the game encompassing "a 24 hour period which also informed us of the kind of scale of the world we wanted to build. Because, you know, you're trying to find your mother. She disappeared. There's a kind of urgency to it that makes it feel like we do want you to explore, but it needs to support the momentum of Hazel's journey."

So, South of Midnight is "a day in the life of Hazel – a very strange day," according to Roy. In terms of how this single day pans out, art director Whitney Clayton describes it as "a linear game with some bits of exploration through the sections, and you go through various different types of locations in the deep South, all the span of one day. So you start your adventure in the morning, and it ends at midnight."

This means the game will take players through different environments as the clock ticks forward, each with "their own really specific mood, which would then reflect the type of story being told in that moment." Compulsion has already outlined four biomes in a half-hour documentary that premiered last year – the swamps, the Delta, the Appalachians, and a New Orleans-inspired area – but it's news to us that she'll be encountering them all across such a snappy timeframe.

Despite its shorter length, the reverse-engineered 3D modelled world of South of Midnight was no simple feat to develop. According to Roy, "it's [taken] around five years, I'd say, from the first few concepts." He references the extensive research, planning, and iterative prototypes throughout pre-production phases, though "the bulk of the game has been made in the last three years."

South of Midnight is one of our most anticipated games of 2025, and there's more where it came from

South of Midnight makes a strong first impression. Then again, titles from developer Compulsion Games always have. There was Contrast in 2013 and We Happy Few a few years later, experiences defined by their visually evocative worlds and deliberately modest scale. "We've always been ambitious with all the projects that we create, within the means that we've had," says Compulsion founder Guillaume Provost. Although the studio head is aware that expectation has shifted underneath the studio in years gone by.

Seven years on from its acquisition into the Xbox Game Studios group, Compulsion is larger than it has ever been before – having nearly tripled in size since work concluded on We Happy Few – and hungrier than ever to show to the world what it is truly capable of with this upcoming Xbox Series X game. "Within Xbox there was a certain amount of expectation, with regards to the level of quality that titles need to bring to the table. We all wanted to execute at a level that we felt good about when sitting in the room across from our peers and industry giants who have a lot of experience making games."

Welcome to the Deep South

The further Hazel burrows into Prospero the stranger things seem to become. Her hometown ravaged by a hurricane, the life that she used to know swept away in a single moment etched in time. And so into the rabbit hole of the American Deep South she dives, where local folklore seems to have a way of slipping beyond the seams of superstition and into the fabric of her reality. South of Midnight follows Hazel through "one very strange day," laughs Jasmin Roy, game director.

This is an action-adventure which takes place over 10-12 hours of playtime, "your adventure starting in the morning and ending at midnight," says art director Whitney Clayton. This frame affords Compulsion the opportunity to whisk Hazel along from one lush, decaying environment to the next as she heads off in search of her mother. "Different landscapes correlate with different times of the day. Each has its own really specific mood, which then reflects the type of story being told in that moment," she says. "It's a curated experience, which is a complete reaction to us having a game that was procedural before."

South of Midnight feels worlds apart from We Happy Few. That's not only a result of Compulsion shifting away from a roguelike structure in favor of a more linear presentation, but because of the general vibe that's being cultivated. Where the studio once channelled the dystopia of Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil', it's now grappling with the high-strangeness of Ethan and Joel Coen's 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' albeit through a distinctly southern gothic lens – stark realism colliding with a series of increasingly off-kilter events. "I don't know about you, but if a catfish started talking to me I would probably freak out a little," says narrative director Zaire Lanier. "But Hazel needs to find her mother; so while she will acknowledge that this is all a little weird, her reactions are also subdued."

That balancing act is at the heart of South of Midnight, a journey which is able to whiplash between smiles and sadness with relative ease. What you'll explore here is 14 chapters of a folktale – the titular South of Midnight – which tells of a world wrought with collective trauma, manifesting as knots in the grand tapestry, and of mournful monster kings who roam the land waiting to be tamed. You'll follow this path equipped with Hooks and Spindles, the tools a Weaver can wield to channel powers bestowed upon her by the land, and a Distaff, which lets Hazel tap into echoes of the past.

South of Midnight is exceptionally smooth in motion. The game runs at a stable 60fps on Xbox Series X as Hazel gracefully double-jumps between platforms and glides over hazards, oversized brambles and toxic waters. The stop-motion animation effect applied to all of the foliage and fauna in the world is actually a clever visual trick, where Compulsion uses a concoction of "tech, art, and visual effects to emulate this consistent, handcrafted stop-motion feeling in the world," says Clayton.

Compulsion tells me that the studio stopped short of applying this stop-motion effect to the entire gameplay experience because the style is not only "polarizing" but can induce nausea in some players prone to motion sickness. Clayton says: "We wanted to make something that felt nice to play whilst still maintaining a distinctive style." Roy adds that "the stop-motion effect is on by default, because we consider it to be the ideal way to experience the game, but there are accessibility options to turn it off if you want or need to."

The roots of this pain run deep

There's a pattern to the way South of Midnight plays. The hopes of a reunion between mother and daughter propulse the narrative forward, but each chapter sees Hazel attempt to bring some peace to the land. "Players move from these moments of contemplative exploration, traversing the world and discovering little points of interaction to build up the lore of the space naturally, and then they get trapped in these areas with evil spirits that haunt the place," says Roy.

Haints, angry creatures born of pain and stigma, make quick work of your health if you aren't able to successfully control the baying crowd. Combat is fluid, Hazel able to execute a five-strike combo and a charged-attack from range. You do, however, have limited options in the defense department. "The system is centred around dodging," Roy continues. "This was a conscious decision, even from our early prototypes; we wanted Hazel to be an agile character." Enemies are quick to press any advantage, so timing a precision dodge to unleash a shockwave Strand Blast is key, as is swinging the camera around to track surrounding spirits.

When that isn't enough, there are powerful spells at your disposal. Weave immobilises enemies, causing them to take increased damage for a short time; Strand Push repels enemies and disrupts attacks; and Strand Pull yanks smaller Haints towards you, or allows you to quickly close the gap with larger ones. "Spells are really powerful and using them is important," says Roy. "We didn't want you to spend too much time without them, but we also wanted to give players a resource to manage."

That's where Unravel comes into play. There's a brief window of opportunity to 'Unravel' a defeated enemy – reeling in the spirit's energy with spellbinding hostility, echoing a system seen in the 2007 PS3 exclusive Folklore. This action not only replenishes a fraction of your health (one of the only ways to do so) but kickstarts spell cooldowns, giving encounters this frantic push and pull. Roy tells me that this system was not present in earlier prototypes, although the team quickly fell in love with the dynamic it lends to combat. "We thought it was really enjoyable, so we just followed the fun at that point," he says. "There's a few upgrades that you can get later down the road that let you interact with Unravel as well."

Compulsion wants to be clear on this point: "South of Midnight is not an RPG, it's an action game." The upgrade path is minimal, with a nine-slot tree for combat abilities and twelve-slots for spell upgrades – unlocked by collecting 'Floofs'. That's the in-game currency; so named because Hazel has no other word for what she's seeing or experiencing, and earned primarily through leaving the critical path to go exploring the wilds of the world, a reward for completing light traversal puzzles.

"You're not necessarily going to see a linear climb on your damage output," Roy continues, "because the upgrades are really about adding new functionality to your spells and abilities." Strand Pull, for example, can be upgraded to unleash a timed Tethered Strand attack once an enemy is pulled within range, while Aerial Rend adds a ground slam attack to Hazel's arsenal.

There is some risk that South of Midnight's combat could become a little repetitive over time. It's fun, but I get the sense that it may lack the depth and dynamism necessary to avoid falling into routines. Still, Hazel will gain access to a fourth and final spell by the time you reach Chapter 6 – Crouton, an old rag doll that Hazel is able to control and reach new areas within the environment. Roy adds: "In combat, the puppet becomes the puppeteer, turning one of the Haints on your side."

How to overcome your demons

Once certain battles conclude, you'll encounter an Echo Knot. Unravelling these concentrated centres of trauma reveal a painful memory tied to the area, along with a pattern piece. This is how South of Midnight handles its narrative arc, through small vignettes that gradually help Hazel understand her purpose in each of the places she travels. Collect enough pieces of a pattern, trapping the painful memories within special blue bottles, and you'll be able to face the Monster Kings – "folkloric, mythical creatures that are the centerpiece to that particular biome," says Clayton.

"Some of them are going to be more confrontational – boss fights," adds Roy, speaking to two encounters with two mythical creatures glimpsed in South of Midnight trailers; Two-Toed Tom (a gigantic alligator) and Huggin' Molly (an equally gigantic spider), each based on real southern American folklore. "Others will focus on traversal." Lanier adds: "What connects them is that they each have their own haunted backstory. The gameplay loop is discovering why a creature is the way that it is, and then using that information to acquire a pattern and untangle them at the end of certain chapters."

What stuck with me since my time with South of Midnight is how connected all of these elements feel, with the experience of tapping into echoes of the past and collected pieces of these magical patterns so naturally woven together with both the visual design of the environment and the soundscape which envelops it. This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive aspects of the game.

"When you learn something about these creatures you get to listen to a part of their song, and through it you'll start to understand their trauma," says audio director Chris Fox. "And once you reach the final encounter, whatever that should look like, you get the full picture – to hear the full song about their life and story." And let me tell you, it's a delightful flourish.

The future is what you make it

South of Midnight is, in essence, the exact sort of experience Microsoft Gaming needs right now. After a generation cycle that's been largely defined by its fits and starts, the Xbox Series X is about to receive an adventure that is quite unlike any other – a big idea that's being delivered with bold, fearless execution. While my concerns of repetitious activity do remain, particularly with respect to the power of that core narrative loop and the scale of combat encounters over time, there is every chance that Compulsion will rise to meet the moment here with its first Xbox exclusive since the acquisition.

After five years of development, South of Midnight is content locked – the studio focused entirely on polishing the game ahead of its release on April 8, 2025. It's enough to put studio founder in Guillaume Provost in a reflective mood. "One of the reasons I was drawn to South of Midnight as a concept is that the setting isn't one that you typically see in video games."

"That has always been a priority for the studio. Whether it's from a mechanical, story, or a setting standpoint, we want to create video games that have a distinct voice, and that people can see it, and recognise it for what it is immediately. This team is hungry for making things that spell out our love for the craft," says Provost. "I feel confident about where we are with South of Midnight, and I can't wait to get it out into the world."

I’ll start off by saying this is a clear sign that the Alienware Pro Wireless isn’t going to find its way into the hands of most players, but if you are at a high enough competitive level its focus on speed and precision could well pay off. It’s in direct competition with some of the best gaming mouse models money can buy, though, and it does fall short in some finer details.

I’ve been using the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse for two weeks, directly testing against similarly priced competitors, the $159.99 Razer Viper V3 Pro and $159 Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, as well as cheaper alternatives that still subscribe to that tournament-first approach; the $129.99 Glorious Series 2 Pro, $99.99 Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, and $74.99 Endgame Gear OP1 8K.

Design

Aside from the angular lines shaping the long main mouse clicks and soft, light gray Alienware logo on the rump, the Pro Wireless could be an everyday office mouse. There’s no RGB fanfare in this design, and both the black and white models fly under the radar with a simple matte finish and curvy silhouette. It’s a shape I’ve come to recognize in this new generation of FPS-first gaming mice. Gone are the skinny frames and low domes, instead we’re embracing comfort with wider bases and a higher profile. It means those with larger hands are well catered for, but my smaller grabbers feel a little less nimble when battling with the extra surface area.

I can easily spend hours in a palm grip, with the slight cinching in the middle of the device offering a good level of purchase to hit the two side buttons reliably, and the tail end nestling neatly in the base of my hand. However, I do prefer a claw hold and there’s just a little too much mouse here for me to fully retain control during more frantic moments. I have to adjust a little too much weight to keep those side buttons engaged in a claw grip, with the back of the mouse leaning more towards the base of my thumb than it does in skinnier models. Still, that palm grip remains nicely comfortable, with just the right amount of height to keep strain off the wrist.

This is a larger device than I would typically choose for myself, but looks can be deceiving. At 59g it’s one of the lighter wireless gaming mouse options on the market, beating the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 by a gram. It’s not, however, the lightest out of my comparison pool, with the wired Endgame Gear OP1 8K coming out top with just over 50g to its name. The Viper V3 Pro is 5g lighter with all that wireless functionality - but actual numbers aren’t the end of the story here.

There’s a reassuring weight that only makes itself known when you need it. With a set of particularly slick skates underneath and a well-balanced feel, the Alienware Pro Wireless mouse can keep its precision without sacrificing raw speed. It also means that, for the most part, it feels more luxurious in the hand, compared with the initially cheap-feeling OP1 8K. Dell says this is the optimum weight it’s found during tests with esports players and, since this is a mouse geared towards those same professionals, I’m not inclined to disagree. If, however, you prefer to keep things as floaty as possible, there are lighter options on the market.

I’m not a professional esports player, but I still found the shape and weight to be well-tuned with each other. That said, when I first laid hands on the Alienware Pro Wireless, I was concerned. This is a boxy shape with only a very slight groove on the thumb and pinky rests. In everyday play, I found the deeper curves of the Razer Viper V3 Pro to be more comfortable and controllable. Like Razer’s newer releases (and Logitech’s Superlight series) the matte finish coating everything feels smooth under the hand, but does provide a good friction grip that means it never slipped during my testing.

Features

The biggie here is that 8K polling rate. For the uninitiated, mouse gaming mice poll (send information to the PC) at a rate of 1,000Hz. You can get a more reliable response by upping that rate to 4,000Hz - your mouse will send these packets of data to your PC four times more often, ensuring fewer missed messages. A lot of mice also offer this feature nowadays. The Alienware Pro Wireless can up that polling rate to 8,000Hz for an even more consistent response, but only over a wired connection. This is a feature seen in competitive-oriented pointers, but it’s also making its way to the mainstream thanks to the magic of marketing. Unfortunately, the vast majority of players simply don’t need it, nor will they see a difference in their experience.

This is a spec for the fastest players among us, and we regular folk are generally wasting money opting for a gaming mouse that prioritizes such a feature over other, more useful, customization options. However, it’s a feature being quickly adopted in competitive circles for peace of mind. The problem here, though, is that the Alienware Pro Wireless doesn’t do 8,000Hz polling as well as other, cheaper, mice.

That’s because you’ll need to plug in for that full speed, whereas the Glorious Series 2 Pro can have you hitting the full polling rate with just the wireless connector. The Razer Viper V3 Pro needs the brand’s separate dongle to do so, but it can also poll at 8,000Hz wirelessly. Even the sub-$100 Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed can hit these heights without a cable (though you’ll be paying extra for the receiver to do so). Alienware has gone all-in on this speed, so for it to fall short against cheaper alternatives in the very arena it’s placing its bet is disappointing.

Instead, Dell should have been screaming about its battery life. Save for the Turtle Beach Kone II Air (130 hours), this is the longest-lasting rechargeable battery I’ve used in a gaming mouse when running a 1,000Hz polling rate over a 2.4GHz connection. Alienware’s 120-hour suggestion rings true in my own testing - I’ve been running this rodent all day for two weeks now and I still have 20% charge left. Considering both the Viper V3 Pro and Logitech Superlight 2 come in at 95 hours per charge, that’s pretty impressive. Bumping things up to 4,000Hz does drop that battery considerably, but there are settings in the Alienware Command Center software that automatically drop your polling rate when the battery hits a certain threshold.

Command Center is a fairly basic piece of software, but it still provides access to DPI, polling rate, lift-off, battery, and keybinding settings in an easily digestible menu format. I’m a fan overall, it covers all the basics without throwing ads in your face - even if Razer’s Focus Pro sensor means it can offer additional settings within the brand’s Synapse program. There’s space for five onboard profiles here, which is pretty standard fare.

The actual device features everything you would expect to find on a competitive gaming mouse, though its 26K / 650 IPS Pixart PAW3395 sensor is neither the fastest in Pixart’s own line nor the highest spec on the market (the Razer Viper V3 Pro reaches up to 35K with 750 IPS and space for extra fancy mapping features). The two main click buttons use optical switches, but with Alienware’s magnetic-force system that promises enhanced speed. Essentially, two magnets oppose each other on each side of the switch, allowing for a snappy bounce when returning back to their original positions after a press. It’s a benefit over similar options from Razer, Logitech, and Endgame if you’re looking to tune speed in all areas of the experience.

Extra buttons are limited to the two side clickers you’ll find on similar mice, with a DPI / profile shifter button placed underneath. It’s a faff to flip the mouse over every time I want to change settings, and it’s a placement I’ve criticized on even the best Razer mice in the business. If you’re ultra-competitive and prefer to set and forget, though, it’s kept neatly out of the way.

Performance

The sensor at the helm of everything does a fantastic job of keeping up with the action, though very few gaming mice can’t zip across a battlefield these days. The skates underneath and fantastic weight distribution, however, make the Alienware Pro Wireless feel particularly smooth in action. I was twitching and flicking my way through Counter Strike 2 in near serenity, thanks to the float-like feel of the chassis overall and the extra space afforded by a chunkier base. While my smaller hands mean that I didn’t exactly feel as nimble as I do with a slimmer device, like the Razer Viper V2 Pro or, more recently, the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless, I was still able to hit my marks with speed and ease. I didn’t notice any jittering at any of the set polling rates, but equally couldn’t feel the difference between a 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz experience - other than the extra sensation of the cable plugged in.

I was initially surprised by the main click switches, and not in a good way. Coming from the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless, with its particularly short, tactile click-feel, the Alienware Pro Wireless almost felt too heavy at first glance. After a week of work and play, I realized it wasn’t a sensation of weight that stopped me in my tracks, but one of space. There’s a minute feeling of extra depth to these clickers, but the snap of those magnetic contacts was masking the slightly longer travel distance. I generally prefer a shorter stop, so I was confused at why I wasn’t hating the experience of using them day to day. It’s because the debounce is so fast and so responsive, you get the best of both worlds - a more precise initial press and a faster return to neutral.

The very thing that initially had me worried about the Alienware Pro Wireless quickly became my favorite part of the experience (other than not having to charge). Shots felt incredibly fast but I was in complete control of them the whole time, with laser-focused repeat presses that felt both measured and intuitive.

Unfortunately, I can’t sing quite so loudly about the side buttons. A $150 gaming mouse with so much emphasis on a smooth, luxury feel has no business using these clickers. They feel hollow and cheap while also being too heavy in their actuation to truly feel intuitive and fast. They’re positioned in a perfect spot for my thumb, but compared to the soft, quiet main clicks they’re obnoxiously loud and could threaten to ruin the experience if you rely on them day to day.

Should you buy the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse?

There’s a lot that I love about the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse; its excellent battery life, responsive main clicks, smooth glide-feel, and intuitive software. Its focus on competition-level play means its price won’t make sense to the majority of players, but I could say the same about the Razer Viper V3 Pro, my current favorite gaming mouse overall. If you’re an everyday player looking for a wireless mouse that can still keep you at the top of your game you’ll find far better value in the extra features of the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed. You’re dropping out-the-box 8,000Hz polling but you don’t need it - instead, the DeathAdder has a range of additional sensor controls while beating both the Viper V3 Pro and Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 in battery life.

That’s fair enough, the Alienware Pro Wireless is a competitive mouse with its sights firmly set on tournament-level players with cash to burn. Unfortunately, Razer still wins the matchup, with a faster sensor, better side buttons, wireless 8,000Hz polling, and better grip curves on its Viper V3 Pro model. It’s $10 more at MSRP, but it’s also older and those numbers move south far more regularly. Yes, you’ll need to use the Razer HyperPolling dongle for the full 8K speed whereas Alienware can get you there straight out of the box (albeit with a wired connection), but the overall package is better value for money.

That’s not to say nobody should be looking at the Pro Wireless. Those magnetically debouncing main clicks have me excited, and that battery life can’t be denied. If you’re sticking to 4,000Hz in wireless mode, prioritize glide-feel over extra grooves for grip, and always forget to plug your mouse in overnight, the Alienware Pro Wireless should be your go-to.

How I tested the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse

I used the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse for two weeks, running the device for all my daily work while also playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Counter Strike 2, The Sims 2, Fallout 4, and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I tested in direct competition with the Razer Viper V3 Pro, Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, and Endgame Gear OP1 8K. For more information about how we test gaming mice, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

I’m also on the hunt for the best Logitech gaming mouse on the market, as well as all the best left-handed gaming mice available. Or, check out the best mouse pads for gaming to get that glide right.

It turns out, if you dress Henry appropriately, he'll be more competent at specific tasks. If you choose to get a job with the blacksmith, Henry is given a room to stay in that comes with a blacksmith apron and some leather gloves. Pop them on and you'll get an extra five points to your craftsmanship skill.

This was spotted by a redditor who noted that other leather gloves have the same effect. They also noted that "The Spectacles that you can find add +5 to scholarship, which will speed up your reading of books!"

As well as hidden bonuses on clothes, there are perks you can gain by simply spending time on certain vocations and hobbies. Lab Dweller can be earned after spending "countless hours at the alchemist's table" and makes the effect of potions last longer and hangovers go away sooner. Handy if you're getting Henry on the ale.

There's another perk like this, Resistance, that gives you a permanent plus two to your Vitality if you spend "a lot of time on herbalism," so get gathering those nettles. One commenter noted that you get a similar perk by blacksmithing for a long time. It's called Hammerer and it causes heavy weapon attacks and blocks to use 10% less stamina.

[KCD2] Little Blacksmithing tip: Wear the Blacksmith Apron(+3) and leather gloves (+2) to gain a hidden bonus to craftsmanship! Any other hidden bonuses? from r/kingdomcome

Another commenter has discovered that if you ride Henrig a lot, the horse you get from the main quest in Trosky, you'll get a hidden perk that boosts the stallion's stats. This also works on Pebbles, so try it with whatever horse you've found. Apparently you need to ride for around 35 km, so give it a while.

One player got a perk called Bushman that reduces the noise you make when moving through bushes by 50%. You get it by "following a Cuman through the woods a long way."

If you're enjoying Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, check out some of the other best RPGs you can play right now.

Word about the next Subnautica first surfaced back in 2023, and with the highly anticipated sequel set to release in early access at some point this year, hype is building. With that in mind, you can understand why some particularly excited underwater explorers might not hesitate if they were sent a link to a playtest via Steam, but Unknown Worlds is making it very clear that it would "never" reach out to anyone this way.

"We've been made aware that fraudulent links to a Subnautica 2 playtest are being sent to our community on Steam," a new tweet reads. "Please be aware that we will never contact anyone by Steam DM for any potential playtests. Stay safe out there, Subnauts!"

Unknown Worlds has elaborated slightly on this situation in the official Subnautica Discord server, where community manager Donya Abramo clarifies: "Any contact regarding studies or playtests will only ever be sent by email from an Unknown Worlds address." Furthermore, while the devs recently invited players to sign up for a "User Research Participant Pool," the official link to it is only available on the Discord server.

If this warning has come too late for you, Abramo advises anyone who's already clicked one of the fake Steam playtest links to "change your password immediately to secure your account" and consider enabling two-factor authentication for some extra security.

For now, anyone eager to dive into the sequel will just have to hold on a while longer – in the meantime, there's no doubt that dedicated fans will have their eyes on its predecessor for more hidden teasers like we saw last year.

You can also check out our roundup of the best survival games for even more to play.

"State of Play is back tomorrow, February 12," Sony says in its official announcement. "Tune in live for news and updates on great games coming to PS5. The show celebrates a creative and unique selection of exciting games from studios around the world."

This will be a "40+ minute show" that begins February 12 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm GMT. You'll be able to tune in via the official PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels.

Sony has not provided any official indication of what games will be at this event, but with Ghost of Yotei expected to launch in 2025, it's a likely candidate for the showcase. Hideo Kojima has also been teasing a new trailer over the last few days, and with Death Stranding 2: On the Beach set to be another Sony-published title launching in 2025, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it also shows up here.

Other notable upcoming PlayStation titles, like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Marathon, and Marvel's Wolverine, are a bit further out and less likely to be shown here - but certainly, nothing's impossible. It's worth reiterating that this is being branded as a State of Play event, as opposed to one of the PlayStation Showcases where Sony typically hosts its biggest announcements. Still, the last State of Play is where Ghost of Yotei was first unveiled, so it's always possible that Sony has something major in store.

These are the best PS5 games to add to your collection.

Having gone hands-on with Monster Hunter Wilds previously, we noticed more of a traditional kind of RPG experience compared to previous games regarding the kind of front-facing story and structured chapters you get. Given the chance to speak to Tokuda lately, we ask if there was a push for this type of content to appeal to or help guide players unfamiliar with Monster Hunter to get into the game.

"The concept that I had from the start of the game was humanity as part of the ecosystem, and realizing that humans weren't something on the outside of it looking in, they were part of it, and they had an effect on it," Tokuda answers. "And that naturally led to an increased focus on story. Because, you know, the storytellers, the humans, are actually right in there amongst it.

"It just made sense to me to have the story more upfront than in past titles. So it was a natural evolution of that concept, and it spoke to all the other elements of the game, such as the learning curve of which monsters you face in which order as you get started in the game, and how they teach you the necessary skills to play the game, how that interacted with a chapter-based story structure of which one you were going to meet next.

"It all sort of flowed naturally from that original concept, rather than being the idea of, as you said, let's just make it more like an RPG on that basis."

As for the chapter structure, Tokuda says it makes a lot of sense as "it's easy to follow" and gives players a clear sense of how far along they are.

"The result was, it looked like, as you said, 'Oh, are you trying to go for RPG players by imitating that structure?' But really it was just a natural outcome of our other decisions that hopefully makes sense to players."

Monster Hunter Wilds is due to release later this month, on February 28. The good news, though, is that you don't have to wait that long to try it, as we're in the middle of the second Monster Hunter Wilds open beta test. While the first leg has come and gone, the second kicks off on February 13 at 7pm PT, with an extra 24 hours courtesy of the recent PSN outage, too.

Monster Hunter Wilds will give you one free character edit, which is great for Fashion Hunters, but frustrating for everyone who's sick of paywalled customization.

Ever since the very first Monster Hunter on PS2, joining forces has always been one of the series' most defining features. "It was a very early online game," says director Yuya Tokuda. But, PS2 internet requiring jumping through a lot of hoops to utilize, it was the series' handheld games that really made Monster Hunter the phenomena it is today. For many, it's these portable titles, getting together with friends, that got them into the series in the first place. "The subsequent PSP games kind of introduced in person local LAN, as it were – WLAN play – as a new feature, that was maybe more suitable for portable play. So whenever we kind of went online after that, we were kind of getting back to the series roots if anything," Tokuda continues.

Got no strings

Monster Hunter Wilds is the culmination of a long, storied legacy. Whether it's some of the earliest online gaming the PS2 offered or wireless handheld multiplayer, Monster Hunter's earlier titles were always ahead of the curve. "At the time Monster Hunter was released – we just had our 20th anniversary recently, so it's over 20 years ago now," reflects producer Ryozo Tsujumoto. "There weren't really that many online games like this, in the console space at least, so it was a relatively unique proposition, and I think the infrastructure wasn't really where it needed to be at the time."

To play online on PS2 on a base model, you needed to scoop up a PS2 Network Adapter to slot into the expansion bay, and a good enough internet connection for the era. In addition, publishers themselves would then have to run their own servers, support for which varied between regions (many years later, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live would provide their own glue to bring this together – greatly simplifying the proposition).

"So even if you wanted to play the game, having a sufficient broadband connection and equipment to connect your console to the internet was not necessarily a given back then for most consumers," says Tsujimoto. "In the meantime, while the infrastructure and the world caught up with our vision of playing the game online together on consoles, [we moved] to a portable approach" – a tactic he calls "bring your own network".

"It kind of helped us deal with that lack of infrastructure, and in the meantime infrastructure caught up," Tsujimoto continues. "The work we did on making the game work on portables with local networks really benefited the design of subsequent online games. So it definitely wasn't a diversion. It was more like just a realistic approach to catering to the needs of players given the limits of infrastructure at any given time."

Making sure Capcom is in tune with what players want, and how they expect to be able to connect, has been core to ensuring Monster Hunter remains enduring, and has helped inform Monster Hunter Wilds' goal of releasing globally across all platforms, while supporting crossplay between all of them. Essentially, removing barriers. "We worked very hard to achieve that this time around," says Tsujimoto, acknowledging that PC is a growing platform worldwide, including in Japan. "That means the choice is yours on which platform you want to play with, and then [you can just] go online and hunt with your friends."

Monster Hunter can be a complicated series with plenty of depth, but its values are as clear as day. I ask what, across the years, best defines a Monster Hunter. "It's an obvious answer given the series name," says Tokuda, "but I think hunting monsters, particularly large monsters, cooperatively with other players in an action context, is something that, if we ever compromise on any of those aspects, it's not really what we think of as a the core DNA of Monster Hunter anymore." Now, with Monster Hunter Wilds making it easier than ever for players to connect and slay those monsters together, no matter how they choose to game, that DNA is stronger than ever.

Want to jump in and can't wait? With so many games in the series, where should you begin? Perhaps our best Monster Hunter games list could be of assistance.

If you're someone who likes to let your Sims live out a natural life, dying due to old age or an unfortunate accident, congratulations, you're a monster and we can't be friends. I get far too attached to my creations and turn their aging off entirely, but for those of you who prefer to let nature take its course, there is some life after death in Inzoi.

As spotted by PCGamer, director Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim took to the game's Discord server to explain some of its upcoming early-access features: "We want to keep the playability of ghosts fairly limited so it doesn’t overshadow the main gameplay, but we also want to make sure the experience is engaging enough when it does happen."

InZOI has a karma system, and if your Zoi has enough, it'll make its way to a peaceful afterlife when it dies. If it doesn't, it'll hang around after death as a ghost that you can "encounter at set times under certain conditions." They won't be playable right now, but that is planned for later on. "Any further development for ghosts will have to come after the release," Kjun says.

Although the ghosts won't be playable yet, InZOI is implementing Nvidia Ace, the company's generative AI that features text-to-speech capabilities meant to make NPCs more life-like. It calls these NPCs "Smart Zoi," and in the video shared by publisher Krafton they sort of just seem like regular NPCs that react to the world around them. I saw the tech used at an Nvidia demo last year (not for InZOI), and wasn't very impressed, but maybe it'll be implemented in a creative way for InZOI.

To get a better idea of what this Sims competitor will look like, check out our InZOI preview. You should also check out other games like The Sims if you're a fan of the genre.

I say "slightly" because Arrowhead hasn't actually altered the power of the GP-31 Ultimatum at all. The explosive-launching delete button was only just added to the game in Helldivers 2's Servants of Freedom Warbond last week, and the devs have made it clear that "it's not our intent to release Warbond items that need immediate balancing, and we understand that any changes we make can evoke strong feelings." However, with the single-shot Ultimatum able to gain "extra ammo from the previously-a-bug-but-now-a-feature Siege Ready armor passive," Arrowhead thought "this specific combination is too strong."

In the latest patch notes, Arrowhead's release manager Max Carlberg (AKA Release Captain Carlberg) explains: "We're huge fans of big booms booming big (to quote our fabulous design director) so we didn't want to make the weapon less satisfying to use – we still want it to bring democratic tears to your eyes every time you use it, like it does for us. However, we will be addressing how easy it is to access extra ammunition for it, ensuring it requires a bit more effort to use it to the full effect."

It's not just the Siege Ready passive that won't work on the Ultimatum anymore – the Hellpod Optimization Booster is now ineffective, too. So, it'll no longer be so easy to fire out loads of shots, but it does seem like a solid approach to a nerf that still allows the weapon to keep its "core identity as a powerhouse" while dealing with "mixed" feedback about its strength.

Elsewhere, the patch irons out some crashes and an issue "where the scope aim-center was misaligned with the projectile's fire trajectory," and rebalances the LAS-17 Double-Edge Sickle – another new Servants of Freedom addition. "The goal is to ensure it feels like a truly powerful weapon while properly balancing the self-damage mechanics to reflect its high-risk nature," Carlberg writes. "In the current live version, we felt it lacked both the punch and the level of risk we wanted and we didn't feel it really lived up to our intent."

Now, the Double-Edge Sickle's armor penetration only builds up to the medium level (AP3) once the weapon has surpassed 25% heat, and after you pass 50%, you'll deal 70 damage rather than 55. However, you'll also be more vulnerable yourself, at 20 damage per second rather than 10 between 51% and 90% heat. From 91% heat onwards, the damage to enemies is still 70, but you'll go all the way to armor penetration level four. That is, of course, if you're willing to stand the 50 damage per second to yourself, which remains unchanged (along with the fire status effect).

For fellow fans of big booms booming big, you'll be pleased to know that the new Portable Hellbomb stratagem remains unchanged – other than the fact that you'll no longer be able to accidentally arm it when entering the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV).

To celebrate Helldivers 2's first birthday, GM Joel recalls his favorite community moments that are now "canon" and "part of Helldiver lore."

I'd recommend Life is Strange Double Exposure whether it was on sale or not but right now you can pick it up for just $34.99 at Amazon, saving you 30% off its MSRP of $49.99 on the PS5. This is only the second price drop I've spotted for the game, having dropped to $39.99 less than a month after launch. Now, even the winter sales and all its best cheap PS5 game deals with it have come and gone, Double Exposure has reached a new all-time low.

A saving of just $15 may not seem like a big deal, but most PS5 games that saw huge discounts during last year's sales have since returned to full price. This is, however, a limited time deal and as of writing, 4% of the copies have already been claimed. As Max's old rewind powers are (sadly) not real, if you want to see what the fuss was about in Double Exposure I recommend grabbing one while you still can.

Should you buy Life is Strange Double Exposure on the PS5?

If you're at all clued on the world and fandom of Life is Strange, chances are you may be worried about picking up the latest game. Developer Deck Nine sent out a survey asking fans for feedback on Double Exposure, which didn't get as similar a reception as previous games in the series. While I can understand why it didn't tick everyone's boxes, if you want to continue Max's story it's very much a worthwhile experience.

I will precis this by adding that Life is Strange is a game series I hold pretty close to my heart. I've platinumed every game I can in the series and even cosplayed Max Caulfield herself. That being said, I can be pretty precious about its characters and even I didn't pre-order the game at launch as I was concerned about its contents. Now that I've finished my first playthrough, it's an experience I can wholeheartedly recommend, despite some of its misgivings.

Just like the precious Life is Strange games, Double Exposure is a narrative-driven experience where you walk around a detailed environment, talking to characters and putting together a mystery. This time around, Max unlocks brand-new powers that allow her to delve into alternative timelines, which I honestly had more fun with than the rewind mechanic in the original game. If you're a fan of the DualSense controller, the developers even included a neat feature where the LED on the gamepad will change color according to which timeline you're in.

The first few chapters are incredibly compelling. Enough to make you forget about the change in art style, which can be daunting at first. You'll forget about it even more when you meet the new cast of characters in the form of Max's friends and co-workers now she's a photographer-in-residence at Caledon University. There may be no Chloe to be seen, but the new characters are one of the best things about Double Exposure - from the lovely nerdy Moses to the endearing Safi who becomes pivotal to the overall story.

GameRadar's own Heather Wait stated in her Life is Strange Double Exposure review that the game "draws you into a mystery full of intriguing twists" but that its exploration of powers left me wanting more" and that is where the misgivings come into play. This game definitely feels like it's leading up to a bigger story, with some plot holes and an ending that didn't have the same impact as the original.

I also experienced my fair share of bugs and glitches with the PS5 version, which included multiple instances where an entire area of NPCs would T-pose. With such detailed environments cluttered with characters, some bugs are to be expected, but months after release I expected these to be patched out in some capacity.

Despite the plot twists, sub-par ending, and many visual issues, I still hold Double Exposure in high regard. Is it my favorite Life is Strange game in the series? Definitely not. But I'm pretty excited to go back and play through it a few more times to get that last Life is Strange PlayStation platinum trophy I need. If only to say hello again to some of my new favorite characters in the series.

Already got Double Exposure in your gaming backlog? Pairing your Sony console with one of the best PS5 controllers or best PS5 headsets will make the perfect addition to your Life is Strange setup. You can also pick up one of the best PS5 SSDs if you need a bit of extra storage for your pixel-pushing Sony machine.

Thanks to a $100 off coupon, you can now grab the 27-inch KTC G27P6 for $569.99 at Amazon. I'd argue this is one of the best gaming monitors out there in terms of sheer value even at full price, but if you couldn't previously justify $669.99 for a 1440p OLED panel, its current price should probably sway you. While it has shown up slightly cheaper in the past, it actually hasn't dropped since before Black Friday last year, so it's nice to see it discounted yet again.

To hammer home how good a deal this 27-inch OLED is right now, I want to point out that the 27-inch Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 is sitting at $999 right now. What's what got to do with the price of cheese, I hear you cry? Well, that screen features the exact same LG panel and near identical 1440p 240Hz specs, and it technically boasts less features since it lacks built-in speakers.

Should you buy the 27-inch KTC G27P6?

I admittedly have a soft spot for the KTC G27P6, but the 27-inch OLED gaming monitor is one of the top 1440p panels for gaming I've tested in recent years. Is it a perfect display? Absolutely not, but it's one I consistently recommend to friends with modest PC builds who want to make the jump to 240Hz without decimating their budget.

Upon clapping eyes on KTC's 27-inch OLED display, I was immediately blown away with how vivid it is. I figured that since it's technically an off-brand with a lower MSRP it perhaps struggle to pull the same contrast punches as premium panels. Yet, the colors it produces are enough to put most mini LED and traditional IPS displays to shame, not to mention it doesn't even really suffer from the panel-type's usual brightness caveats.

Since we're talking about a 240Hz display, speed is on the KTC G27P6's side too. I used this screen to play Overwatch 2 and competitively for weeks on end, and while esports standards are ever shifting with the times, I found the screen's nippy 0.03ms GtG response time and snappy refresh rate to be invaluable. Prior to using this screen, I often darted around as Pharah in Blizzard's hero shooter, but this screen taught me the true benefits of boosting fps on high refresh rate screens.

If you're properly invested in the idea of playing competitive shooters at high refresh rates, you might want to hold off for a decent Sony Inzone M10S deal since that screen ramps things up to 480Hz. Or, if you're only looking for a slight boost but some extras like elevated anti-glare, the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 will provide you with 360Hz visuals. That said, I'd still argue that 240Hz is fast enough for most players, and while I've been spoiled by high refresh rate whoppers like the 540Hz AOC Agon Pro in the past, I could easily go back to using the KTC.

There are a few extras included with the KTC G27P6 worth noting too, as it works tremendously well as a PS5 monitor thanks to its built-in speakers. They're passable in terms of fidelity, to say the least, but their presence means the screen can be instantly used as a console display whenever the need arises. It's also packing a USB-C with 100W Power Delivery capabilities, meaning you'll be able to treat it like a Steam Deck dock and hook your gaming handheld up using a single cable.

The only downside to the KTC G27P6 I really picked up on during testing links to HDR. The monitor's high dynamic range abilities aren't awful, and I've certainly used screens that can barely pull the feature off. But, the results didn't quite hit in the same way as the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240, and that's likely down to the latter featuring more robust firmware.

That aside, the KTC G27P6 is well worth picking up while it's cheaper, as OLED gaming monitors like this strike an excellent balance between price and performance. I'll be recommending this screen to PC players throughout 2025 and likely beyond that too, as it represents true value even when sitting at MSRP.

Looking for more screens? Check out the best 4K monitor for gaming and the best curved monitor for more desktop displays. Alternatively, turn your attention to the best gaming TV for excellent living room options.

McKay plays the role of protagonist Henry, and in an interview with the BBC he says working on the Kingdom Come games was "one of the most amazing and unusual acting challenges."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a sprawling RPG with many choices available to you. It's believed to have the biggest video game script ever, meaning McKay was in the sound booth for "over 500 hours."

"You would kind of go down one channel of a decision and then come halfway back up and go down another one and then maybe all the way back up to the beginning and back down," he says. "And that's not an acting challenge that you ever would have in TV or film."

You can play as a good person, an unlucky thief, or just murder anyone unlucky enough to cross paths with you. So, Henry needs to be able to deliver his lines in many different ways.

Dale, who plays Hans Capon, adds: "So you do the scene and you've got three four different people coming over to you, 'Can you do that? Can you just be aware of this?' Me and Tom are like: 'OK, can we distill this down?'"

Spending so much time together, the co-stars all became quite friendly with each other. "It is like putting on a really comfortable pair of clothes. Which is ironic because in the motion capture studio you're literally wearing head-to-toe lycra."

But while the actors can make friends on set, they had to keep the work they were doing for the better part of nine years incredibly secret. "It was almost like working for GCHQ or something," says McKay. "You couldn't talk to anyone about it and people in the studio couldn't even talk to their partners in some cases about what they were doing."

Movies and TV shows often share behind-the-scenes pictures and have actors, showrunners, and directors letting fans know what to expect for months or even years in advance, but video games are often far more secretive. When fans of the original game spotted McKay in Warhorse Studios' native Prague, he had to think fast to throw them off the scent of a sequel. "I'd be like: 'I just love Prague. And I come here very often for lots of holidays,'" he says.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has been a huge success, selling over one million copies in just 24 hours and already shattering its predecessor's peak concurrent player record and making it into Steam's top 50 most-played games.

If you're a fan of Kingdom Come, check out some of the other best RPGs you can play.

Yesterday, NetEase Games broke the news to Marvel Rivals players that come the second half of Season 1 on February 21, everyone's ranks would drop by four divisions. "For example, if you ended the first half of Season 1 at Diamond 1, you'll start the second half at Platinum 2," a dev diary explained at the time. This didn't go down well at all – ranking up takes sweet time, which isn't a luxury everyone has in spades. It's a lot of progress lost when you consider that Marvel Rivals ranks will be reduced by a further six divisions at the start of a new season, too.

Thankfully, it's taken less than 14 hours for significant changes to be announced. In yet another new dev diary, NetEase Games acknowledges the "wealth of feedback" it's received, noting that "a common concern was the pressure associated with having a rank reset every half-season, which has made participating in competitive mode less enjoyable."

While the season will still be sort of split in half – granting those at or above Gold, Grandmaster, and One Above All ranks certain rewards on February 21 – there'll no longer be a rank reset. "Players will retain their ranks and scores from the end of the first half," the post explains. "To earn new rewards, players simply need to complete 10 matches in Competitive mode and meet the relevant conditions by the end of the season. Rewards will include a new Gold rank costume and a variety of Crests of Honor, featuring distinct designs for Grandmaster, Celestial, Eternity, and One Above All."

Wrapping things up, NetEase Games says: "We strive to make Marvel Rivals the best game it can be, and the community is the driving force behind this mission!" You've really got to hand it to the devs for quickly responding to what fans actually want from their third-person shooter – it's no wonder that it continues to be so popular.

Be sure to check out our Marvel Rivals characters tier list to see who the strongest heroes in the game are right now.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Assassin's Creed Shadows director Jonathan Dumont explained how he personally chooses to spend his time between the two protagonists. They both have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, with Yasuke is big, powerful, and brutish, while Naoe is light, nimble, and quick, and Dumont wisely takes advantage of that.

"I play quite a bit balanced out and what happens is, I play with one for three, four, five hours, and then I switch, and then I just play two, three hours," said Dumont. "Usually I play stealth and then I play, all right, let me destroy some camps and stuff all right for a while. And then I just change like that."

Content-wise, Dumont said each hero has their own unique intro scenes and questlines, but he recommends simply playing the characters you're having more fun with.

"So I don't think you're missing out on things too much," he said. "I think it's more on your preference to [say], 'okay, I'll see how the game will adapt a little bit to the character if you choose one over the other.' They get individual introductions and then they get their own questline also. So that one is, let's say Naoe, a personal questline cannot be played by Yasuke and those are two distinct things. But the core of the game can be pick your character and the game adapts."

It's still not entirely clear how many unique scenarios can be missed, but Dumont said several times you won't be "missing out on things too much," adding, "we're not imposing players try to split the time. So if you prefer one character for any reason, you can play maybe - I don't know, I'm not going to put a percentage - but quite a bit of the game using one of them. But if you want to balance it out."

Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on March 20.

Be sure to check out our Assassin's Creed Shadows big preview hub for more details about the game from our hands-on preview.

For the uninitiated, Tibia is an MMO from German developer and publisher CipSoft released in 1997, years before genre titans Everquest and RuneScape were more than twinkles in their publishers' eyes. It even beats out Ultima Online, if only by a few months. Point is, it's not quite the oldest MMO ever made, but it's one of the oldest and certainly longest running ever.

To really contextualize just how old Tibia is, it wasn't until 2022 that the game added sound... yes, sound. Now, it's getting arguably an even more significant update that adds the game's first new class ever. That's right, for 28 years there have been four classes; the Knight, Paladin, Druid, and Sorcerer; but that's about to change with the addition of the Monk class later this year.

We don't have any footage or even clips of the Monk in action, but CipSoft says in a press release that gameplay is focused on melee combat and "mystical powers."

The Tibia project manager known only as Niadus says the idea of adding a new class after so long was long deemed "too complex and too risky," but ultimately CipSoft decided "it felt actually possible as well as a natural step for the game."

"All in all, we see the addition of a new vocation as an opportunity to rekindle the sense of discovery that was always part of Tibia. A chance to learn the intricacies of a new vocation, experiment with new strategies, and adapt to new team compositions."

There's no release date for the Monk just yet, but the first playtest will be on February 25 and the full release is slated for the second quarter of 2025.

In the meantime, here are the best MMOs you can play today.

That's why "there has been a slight delay in the release of major news," CEO Akihiro Hino says on Twitter, as translated by Japanese gaming site Gematsu. Hino doesn't expand on what new hardware he's been busy brawling with, though his announcement has a peculiar smell to it… it almost sounds like Fantasy Life i could maybe, possibly be an upcoming Switch 2 game.

But we have wiggle room for speculation. Game screenshots Hino attaches to his Twitter post indicate that he's using an Xbox controller, and Gematsu also reports that PlayStation leaks show Fantasy Life i could be coming to Sony's console, too.

While the game hasn't yet been announced on any console other than the Switch, Hino says in another loaded tweet translated by Gematsu that some additional screenshots he posts are "still from the Switch version" – implying other versions.

In any case, Hino more plainly shares a crucial milestone for the life-sim RPG: "The game content has become significantly more enjoyable."

The last and only other Fantasy Life game released in 2012 for the 3DS, so while, truthfully, any cute call back to that time in Nintendo's history would be enough to satisfy me, I'm glad to hear that Level-5's sequel will also have "enjoyable" content on offer.

Hino also boasts that Fantasy Life i's twee, rainbow cereal "visuals have evolved," and that, overall, the game is "shaping up to be an outstanding RPG."

"New information will be released soon," Hino shares, "so please look forward to it!"

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time looks like the RPG take on Animal Crossing: New Horizons that I've been waiting for.

In its latest earnings report for the nine-month fiscal period that ended on December 31, Square Enix says its "HD game sub-segment," which refers to its big tentpole releases like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, saw a decline in sales compare to the previous fiscal year. That's because "new titles generated lower sales than releases such as 'FINAL FANTASY XVI,' 'FINAL FANTASY PIXEL REMASTER,' and 'Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince' had the previous year."

Thankfully, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, along with "lower development cost amortization and advertising expenses compared with the same period of the previous year," saved the day. Square Enix reports that the Dragon Quest 3 remake raked in "stronger sales" than "initially assumed."

That's fairly encouraging news amid news of so many big and well-received RPGs, including Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth failing to satisfy sales expectations. Back in September, Square Enix admitted it might've been cannibalizing its own games and slapped several of its most anticipated RPGs with the classic "below expectations" line we hear far too often in these financial reports. It's refreshing to hear some good news about an RPG for a change, and a relatively niche one at that.

In our Dragon Quest 3 HD writeup, we praised the beautifully modernized graphics but warned that the 36-year-old JRPG might not be the most approachable thing for newcomers to the genre.

Why not pick something from our list of the best JRPGs to play right now?

No offense, The Thing and Human Torch – you Fantastic Four members look very strong and intimidating in your promotional images. Personally, I would hate to be a torch or boulder person, so good for you.

That said, these superheroes are getting overshadowed like it's a lunar eclipse by Marvel Rivals' mid-season rank reset, which will make players fall four divisions when it also launches on February 21.

"For example, if you ended the first half of Season 1 at Diamond I," says a Marvel Rivals dev diary, "you'll start the second half at Platinum II."

Players don't like the sound of that. Marvel Rivals already has a seasonal rank reset, which drops players down six divisions – two unsparing rank resets might make gameplay feel like a depressing chore. Developer NetEase's decision here, by the way, comes only months after League of Legends developer Riot announced walked back its infamously back-breaking rank resets for one, massive yearly reset.

"This has to be the dumbest decision I've ever read," says one popular reply to Marvel Rivals' announcement on Twitter.

"Why on God's green earth do we need a mid-season rank reset?" wonders another player on Steam.

On Reddit, Marvel Rivals players are ready to revolt, feeling crushed by the "truly devastating news," as one hugely upvoted thread says.

"I can promise you NOBODY wants to have their rank reset halfway through every season," the Reddit post continues. "People have JOBS. I don’t have the time to re-rank up every few weeks.

Out of everything great about this game, this WILL make me and my friends stop playing."

Marvel Rivals is killing it right now, but there's one more thing it needs to borrow from Overwatch to truly thrive.

Last week, Zelnick again affirmed that Rockstar's long-awaited open-world sequel is still on track to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X this fall, noting that "there's always a risk of slippage." An eventual PC release has always seemed fairly likely because of established Rockstar precedent as well as the unrivaled demand for a game like GTA 6, and in an interview with IGN, Zelnick seemed to raise that likelihood significantly.

"So with Civ 7 it's available on console and PC and Switch right away," Zelnick said, referring to Firaxis' recent multiplatform release, Civilization 7. "With regard to others in our lineup, we don't always go across all platforms simultaneously. Historically, Rockstar has started with some platforms and then historically moved to other platforms."

In the same interview, Zelnick said the PC version of a multiplatform release can account for 40% of overall sales and that the PC market has "become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business." And though he shrugged off concerns over struggling console sales thanks to a promising 2025 release lineup, he also said "the trend that you'd want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC."

Basically, it would be really weird for Zelnick to say all of this and then not have GTA 6 come to PC at some point, but it's hard to say how long it'll take for that to happen. The most recent Rockstar game of comparative scale would be Red Dead Redemption 2, and that launched on PC in November 2019, a little more than a year after its PS4 and Xbox One release date. There's no telling whether it'll be the same for GTA 6, but it's a sound enough general indicator.

"Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do": Take-Two boss is confident in GTA 6, but "our competitors are not asleep."

"One 'Hunter's Grooming Ticket' and one '[Palico]'s Grooming Ticket' will be available free of charge from each store from the date of release for editing the series' familiar gestures and characters that have already been created," developer Capcom shares on Twitter, according to a DeepL translation.

Monster Hunter World notoriously offers players the same limited ability to alter their protagonist's and kitty companion Palico's appearances. After initially finalizing these characters' sweet looks, players have only one free Character Edit Voucher to meaningfully modify them – after using the Voucher up, players need to purchase additional $2.99 Vouchers if they want to continue overhauling their character customizations.

It's not a very popular system, as fans' responses to Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds news proves.

"Still wish it was just free to edit in general," popular Monster Hunter fan account Kogath says on Twitter.

"I think it's always kind of dumb to monetize the ability to change your character in a video game," agrees another popular Twitter reply. "I much prefer the route of having certain bonus choices be monetized, but free to swap."

Other fashion-conscious Hunters are already worrying about paywalled haircuts, or wondering why Wilds doesn't just copy Wild Hearts' totally liberating, and literally free character customization. Slaying monsters shouldn't preclude you from slaying, you know?

I spent 5 hours with a new build of Monster Hunter Wilds and it solved basically every problem I had after playing the beta – now this really feels like Monster Hunter World 2.

A new Resident Evil 5 ESRB rating was noted by Wario64 on Bluesky earlier today, and curiously, this rating is only for Xbox Series consoles. The content description is quite similar to that of previous versions of the game, though the text is slightly different, just as it subtly changed between the original PS3/Xbox 360 release, the later Gold Edition, and the PS4/Xbox One port.

What's odd here is that this Resident Evil 5 rating is, again, only for Xbox Series consoles, just like the Resident Evil 6 rating that popped up back in January. In a world where publishers like Square Enix are embracing multiplatform releases - and heck, even Xbox itself is doing the same - what sort of Resident Evil rerelease might only come to Xbox Series consoles?

It's certainly possible that the PS5 and/or other versions of these games just haven't been rated yet, but we're still left to wonder just what these implied new versions actually are. If Capcom continues its trend of remaking numbered entries in the Resident Evil series, 5 would be next in line, but it seems exceedingly unlikely that they'd let a full-on remake be outed by an ESRB rating.

The smart money is on remasters or current-gen patches for RE5 and 6, but exactly which platforms these games come to remains to be seen.

The Resident Evil deathmatch game that flopped is going offline as Capcom says it's "served its original, celebratory purpose admirably."

1. Begin on Scribe difficulty

Civilization 7 dramatically changes up the 4X gameplay formula, to the point that even returning players may not be used to the new systems introduced. As such, we recommend turning the difficulty down to Scribe, the lowest of Civ 7’s six difficulty levels.

This will allow you to learn the game from the ground up at a leisurely pace. With the Scribe difficulty active, other leaders are less likely to stomp all over you, and you’ll be able to learn each of these new and returning systems without the fear of that looming over your head.

Once you’ve got to grips with how the game works and the best ways to progress through a standard game, you’ll be better off moving up to higher difficulties for added challenge.

2. Start by building scouts

As early as the first 10 turns, you should prioritize training a few scout units to explore the surrounding terrain. Building a scout will allow them to get the lay of the land and help you find good resource tiles along with other factions while you’re still setting up your main city.

Scouts can move two tiles per turn, and have a higher field of view when compared to other units you can create at this point. Therefore, they’re incredibly useful for exploring the world map and finding areas you’ll want to expand into.

The main thing to beware of is that scouts aren’t fighters, so if a hostile enemy decides to attack your scout unit, you’ll risk losing them altogether.

3. Be aware of surrounding terrain

When using your scouts to explore the terrain around your city, now’s a good time to take note of what resource tiles are available to you and plan accordingly. When it comes to expanding your starting city (or building new towns), it’s important to pick up technologies that take advantage of the resources available to you.

For example, if your first city is located near a lot of food tiles, research technologies that will improve your yield from food. This will help your city grow massively in the early game, allowing you to expand quickly.

The same goes for other types of resources. So, if you’re settled near a lot of production tiles, prioritize technologies that will take advantage of that.

4. Expand early and quickly

Being aware of nearby resources is important, but you know what else is important? Being aware of what isn’t near your city. If there’s a specific resource you need which isn’t as readily available, you’ll have to expand by creating towns.

The best thing about having towns is that they’re a major boon to resource stockpiles. Ideally, you’ll want to settle at least two additional towns by the time you reach around Turn 50. We recommend placing them on the same continent as your city, but on opposing coasts. This comes in handy during the Exploration Age later on, when you need to venture further outside of the starting area.

There’s no downside to settling more towns, as long as you make sure you stay under the settlement limit. If you go over by settling too many towns, you’ll receive a penalty.

5. Choose a Legacy Path early

Civ 7’s Legacy Paths are the conditions you need to follow in order to achieve victory. There are four routes to victory: Economy, Military, Culture, and Science. However, this is not just a case of following one route from the first turn to the final turn, as each age has its own conditions to achieve.

There are three distinct ages a Civ 7 game will play through: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Legacy Paths will give you a set of objectives to achieve in each age, and accomplishing them will influence your play in the following age.

Sometimes it’s best to stick to one Legacy Path throughout all three ages, but depending on your leader and civilization, it may also be beneficial to switch them up mid-game. We recommend experimenting with the best leader and civilization combinations and how they influence the Legacy Paths.

6. Use your influence points

As you meet other leaders, you’ll gain influence points which allow you to strengthen or weaken how favorably other civilizations think of you. If you’re aiming for a more diplomatic victory, it’s wise to use your influence points to keep these leaders happy. We’ve found that using influence for diplomacy that’s mutually beneficial for both civs is the best route to avoiding conflict.

Similarly, you’ll also encounter independent factions as your scouts move around the map. Spending influence points will allow you to befriend them and become part of your civilization. This brings new bonuses and will help you grow your empire.

7. Military is important, even for peaceful players

Generally speaking, the AI in Civilization 7 is quite aggressive in our experience. Even if you’re pursuing a peaceful playthrough, it’s wise to amass a large army if only for self-defence. Particularly in the Antiquity Age, you’ll certainly run into some hostile independent cities that can become a problem for you if you don’t have a strong military presence.

Commanders, a new addition to Civ 7, are also great to have. You can use them to stack multiple units on one tile, allowing them to move as a group. It’ll also make them much stronger when it comes to fighting with a hostile enemy.

8. Be prepared for disasters

It helps to be prepared when faced with a crisis. This could mean an ally potentially turning on you, or a natural disaster destroying a portion of your settlements and units. At any time, your city could be upturned by a blizzard, a volcanic eruption, a flood, or something else entirely. Should this happen, you’ll need to use your resources to rebuild any tiles affected by the disaster.

On the other hand, once the Age progresses to around 60%, every leader will be hit with a crisis to deal with. This will appear in the Government screen, where you’ll be required to pick up a social policy which brings some kind of debuff to your progress. As the age continues to edge towards completion, this crisis will worsen, so make sure you’re prepared to deal with it.

And those are the best Civilization 7 tips we can offer to help you start out.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

In Civilization 7, a new system has replaced the previous Eras of the game. In Civilization 6, there was both a World Era and an Individual Era, with the former being the median of all civilizations in play.

Now, instead of everyone progressing at their own pace by researching technology and civics, when one Age is completed, all players and opponents level up to the next one at the same time. Currently, you can play through three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern, and then the game ends just before the Cold War properly kicks off. The game currently has mixed reviews on Steam, and the devs have said they'll keep working to improve it.

As spotted by IGN, a redditor supposedly discovered that a fourth age is on the way: Atomic. The devs themselves have also teased more Ages, so this could be legitimate. In an interview with IGN, Civilization 7 executive producer Dennis Shirk says: "You can imagine the possibilities with this, honestly. The way that the design team set it up so that each age is chockfull of systems, visuals, units, Civs, all specific to that age, and what you could do with that and where you could take it… we can't talk about the specifics. We can just talk about it in generalities. We're excited for where this is going to go."

An Atomic age would likely go from the Cold War all the way to the current day, but it could go even further and throw in some sci-fi such as space travel or strange new nuclear weapons. The possibilities are endless, and it opens the game up for future Ages that speculate on what the years to come could hold.

While you wait, check out all the other best strategy games you can try right now.

As it stands, GTA 6 is only set to release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar has remained vague about a potential PC release, although many believe it'll get a port eventually, just like GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 did a good while after their initial launches (it took over a year and a half for the former). Speaking to IGN, Zelnick makes it clear that he knows how important PC launches are, explaining that PC versions of multiplatform games can generate 40% or more of total sales.

In fact, Zelnick says the industry has "seen PC become a much more and more important part of what used to be a console business," but he's clearly not concerned about GTA 6's console launch, even if there's been a dip in sales for current-gen hardware. Rather, he's convinced that it'll actually help convince some players to splash their cash on a current-gen console for the first time. "When you have a big title in the market and we have many of them coming, historically that has sold consoles," Zelnick explains.

"And I think that will happen this year," he continues. "I don't think tariffs are going to be our friend, but I think there will be a meaningful uptick in console sales in calendar [year] 25 because of the release schedule, not just coming from us, but coming from others. So I'm not concerned about [console sales falling]. I think the trend that you'd want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC."

Zelnick isn't just being humble about there being big games "not just coming from us," because 2025 is looking ridiculously busy. Beyond GTA 6 and Borderlands 4, we can also look forward to Elden Ring Nightreign, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Doom: The Dark Ages, and many more. Get those backlogs cleared now, because they're about to get even more chaotic.

GTA 6 still coming this fall, Take-Two boss says "there's always a risk of slippage" but "we feel really good" about a 2025 launch.

The temptation to commit crimes is rampant, but I'm committed to upholding my RPG tradition. So, I made a promise to myself early on: I will live honestly and do right by as many people as I can. I'm now 13 hours in, and it's certainly not the easiest path to tread – in fact, it at times feels like I'm doing everything the hard way – but you better believe it's rewarding. I will not allow any crime to tarnish my good name. Henry will be a good lad, groschen be damned.

Honorable Henry

The beginning of my adventures start off very slowly. After asking around about any honest work, I spent a lot of time walking down dirt roads in search of new opportunities. Outfitted in what isn't far off from rags, I don't give off the best impression, but even so, I reply politely to every passing guard who throws suspicion my way. Deciding to not only let my actions speak to my good nature, I even try to greet everyone who wants to chat with a friendly hello. On one occasion, I even try to compliment someone's strong arms, which quickly backfires. The bloke is convinced I'm taking the piss and before I know it, he's threatening to throw hands. I quickly quell the situation by refusing to engage in fisticuffs, but it's certainly a lesson in how fast things can take a turn if you don't choose your responses wisely.

Once I reach a nearby village, two fellows ask for my assistance, and what is a good boy to do but hear them out? Once I get wind that this pair wants me to pinch a lute for them, I know I'm not in great company right off, but I'm always willing to hear just about anyone out.

After all, one of the great joys of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is the fact that there are often different approaches you can take in any given quest. Just because you're asked to do something bad at a surface level doesn't mean you can't try to find another solution.

So, despite my personal code of honor, I decide to reluctantly agree, believing that perhaps there's some way I can convince the instrument's owner to part with it fairly. As it is, I've yet to find a good solution to this particular quest, so it'll sit in my log forever more if need be. I'm certainly not going to risk stealing it and compromise my principles for some groschen – you just have to read about my editor Andy Brown's shenanigans to see how bad that can go .

Since a lot of early quests give you some morally questionable tasks – see the aforementioned maypole thievery or bull paint sullying – I spend a good deal of time plucking up various plants and practicing the art of alchemy to sell off decocations for food. Once I at long last make my way to the blacksmith, I make as many horseshoes as possible to sell off, with the axe becoming my mainstay weapon against wolves and bandits. I've yet to use any lockpicks, nor have I robbed anyone or stolen loot. Everything in my possession in my first 10 hours has come purely from some good exploration out in the fields, or through groschen I've earned honestly.

Good groschen

The only time I slightly bent the rules was an occasion that called for me to break into someone's home. Yes, on the surface this sounds like a pretty bad crime, but it was in the name of a very good cause. See, the good old lady Bozhena asked for my help, and since she saved my skin, not to mention Hans, of course I'm going to do everything I can to find her missing daughter. The house in question happens to belong to a missing person related to the case, and all I did was climb in through a side window – no lockpicking required – and look for clues. Sure, it was a little tempting to swipe some things in boxes, but I left with no stolen goods lining my pockets.

So much of the early stages of the game really do push you to do less than reputable things in the name of survival. Sometimes you can justify it, sure, but it's not easy being completely good in the middle ages. Nothing speaks to this more than when I encounter a miller in one of the optional main questlines. After he tasks me with what I think is some good honest labor, it turns out he's fixing to do a spot of thieving and wants me to get involved. When I call him out and turn him down, proclaiming that I want to live honestly, his reply says it all: "Honest living, eh? You're doing your own pocket a disservice, lad".

Maybe I am doing my pockets a disservice early on, and maybe it takes me some time before I'm lining them with grochen after my spell in the stocks. But over 10 hours later, I have sturdy armor, plenty of helpful perks to boost my charisma, and I'm affluent enough to get by comfortably. So, I'm proof that it is absolutely possible to get by without doing crime - even if you do have to avoid certain quests altogether. Better yet, I have a good reputation. Everywhere I go, people are happy to see me, and when I hear remarks like "you have a kind master" when I travel through a village with my loyal hound Mutt, I don't regret the path I've taken for a second. Who knows if temptation or possibly even necessity will lead me astray in the future, but I'll do everything I can to help those in need and earn money honestly.

"Instant gratification in gaming has become a problem" – Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev says the RPG is meant to feel like a spiritual successor to Oblivion and Morrowind.

There's still much to learn about the Nintendo Switch 2, but it's safe to say it'll pair nicely with the best gaming TVs out there. The OG gaming handheld will look stunning on those same OLED and mini LED screens too, but since the console is set to feature 4K capabilities and new AI upscaling tricks, there's now more reason to aim for a screen with enhanced clarity and sharpness.

Technically speaking, you don't need a TV at all to play Switch 2. Sure, the handheld comes with a dock that boasts HDMI output, but you could simply treat it like a portable console and avoid external screens altogether. That said, if you're planning some big Mario Kart nights in the future or just want to kick back on the couch and enjoy the next Zelda game in 4K, you'll want to start thinking about whether your trusty old television is up to the task.

Do you need a 4K TV for Switch 2?

It might be 2025, but you don't need a 4K TV to play Switch 2. Using a UHD display with new consoles naturally comes with benefits, but if you're still rocking a old HD display, you'll be able to use Nintendo's latest console with those screens thanks to HDMI compatibility. Simply put, you won't be forced to use handheld mode upon freeing Ninty's new gadget from its cardboard prison, as even TVs from two decades ago should work just fine.

Will the Switch 2 look good on a 1080p TV? Well, it all depends on the size of your display. Smaller screens can get away with using higher resolutions since the pixels will be less visible at a distance, and even the PS5 Pro looks fairly nice on full HD gaming monitors if you stick to under 27-inch.

The situation changes once you reach over 32-inches, as 1080p starts to looks soft. Provided the Switch 2 does end up supporting 4K resolutions, the experience could end up feeling underwhelming in terms of sharpness since new game textures will be designed with UHD displays in mind. It won't look terrible, but visuals may lack the that extra punch you'd expect from a Switch successor.

Ultimately, you don't need a 4K TV for the Switch 2, but using one makes a lot of sense. Resolution isn't going to make or break your experience alone, and picking up a cheap UHD screen isn't always a fidelity silver bullet. That said, the jump from Switch to Switch 2 should be big enough to justify using a native 4K screen, especially if you're currently using a larger 1080p panel.

Will Switch 2 work with 120Hz TVs?

Now that consoles are able to boost fps to new heights, 120Hz gaming TVs are becoming all the rage. That's not to say support extends to every release, but shooters like Overwatch 2 can run at 4K 120fps on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. In theory, the Nintendo Switch 2 could also take advantage of high refresh rates, but I'm not convinced you should buy an 120Hz specifically for the handheld.

The Switch 2 will work just fine with 120Hz TVs since faster panels will happily receive a 60Hz signal. For those of you not in the know, that's the standard refresh rate that has been traditionally used by televisions in the US for decades, and even the UK has since switched from its 50Hz standard.

Whether or not it's worth playing Switch 2 at 120Hz fully depends on frame rates, as you'll ideally want to hit near 120fps to make use of the faster refresh rate. Considering Overwatch 2 on the OG Switch runs at 30fps, it feels like 4K 120Hz could be a stretch for the handheld. But Blizzard could, in theory, add downscale things to 1080p to accommodate faster visuals, in turn providing players with a reason to use an 120Hz screen.

In that scenario, using a 120Hz TV makes a lot of sense, and if the new Joy-Cons end up providing gaming mouse functionality, we could be looking at a new way to play high frame rate shooters. However, faster refresh rate panels can cost a pretty penny compared to their 60Hz counterparts, and since most games will likely end up running at 60fps max, it's not worth prioritizing a faster display just for Nintendo's new console.

Should you use an OLED TV with Switch 2?

I'm a huge fan of OLED gaming TVs, and the panel-type would feature in my dream Switch 2 setup. Since most of Ninty's own adventures are cartoon capers with vibrant fantastic worlds to explore, aiming for elevated contrast and colors makes a lot of sense. The only problem is that some of the best options out there, like the LG OLED G4, will run you well over $2,000 for a 55-inch model, and even the cheapest panels come in at around the grand mark.

If you've been using an older LED TV up till now, I'd argue that you could upgrade to mini LED and still give Switch 2 visuals a glow-up. Features like local dimming will help improve contrast tenfold, not to mention colors will look notably nicer compared to yesteryear's LCD setups. I had a blast playing Mario Kart 8 on the OG Switch using the 65-inch Hisense U7N, and I can only imagine the Switch 2 would look even more striking on the affordable display.

Of course, if you've been rocking a Switch OLED all this time, you might be used to exploring Nintendo's wonderful worlds on a screen with elevated vibrancy. That could lead you to thinking things look a bit meh in handheld mode, and using an external screen with the same panel capabilities could make up for the console's integrated display shortcomings. That's not to say the Switch 2's screen will be inherently bad, but you might miss those inky blacks and richer color pallets.

Do you really need to upgrade your TV for the Switch 2?

As I've already touched on, you don't need to upgrade your TV if you pick up a Switch 2. There are various reasons why you might want a new display, especially if you've yet to invest in a 4K display. But, as long as you've got a screen with an HDMI input, Nintendo's new console should work just fine.

If you do decide to grab a new gaming TV for your Switch 2, I'd start off by looking at mini LED screens with an affordable price tag. Chances are that you're currently using an aging LCD model if you've not upgraded your panel in a few years, and even the shorter leap to QLED will provide you with an evenly lit screen, improved colors, and better sharpness overall.

Opting for an OLED display will ultimately take your Switch 2 visuals to the next level, effectively helping the new hardware look its best with tremendous colors, contrast, and even tricks like micro lens array (MLA) tech if you go for a premium LG model. It's a bit too early to tell if the inherent faster refresh rates of expensive displays will come in handy too, but picking up a 120Hz or even 144Hz screen will futureproof your setup overall.

Looking for more displays? Swing by the best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X and the best 4K TV for gaming. Alternatively, check out the best 120Hz 4K TVs for a selection of faster panels.

Deltarune is an upcoming game with some familiar faces from Undertale, although it has a different setting. It's been in development for over six years and we've only got two chapters so far, with two more due out this year. Described as a "parallel story" to Undertale's, it contains "non-violent RPG battles" that function like bullet hells and have "funky, funky music."

Over on Bluesky, Fox shares something that's almost like a progress update: "I showed my family and friends a minigame I've been working on for DR and they all described it as 'a cry for help because your game is not out.'"

He follows up: "My family clarified that was a good thing. My other friend didn't clarify but they did laugh for about 10 minutes straight hearing me play it. Same friend who played Chapter 3 like over a year ago also told me 'I miss Tenna' and I was like 'man that's something no one in the world has ever said huh.'"

Tenna is a chapter three antagonist who hasn't actually featured in the first two chapters, so that's why that line is something no one has said before. It hurts to see others living the dream and playing this game before us, but hopefully, Fox can keep on schedule, and we get those next two chapters soon. You can play the first two chapters for free on Steam.

In the meantime, there are plenty of great games like Undertale that you can play right now to tide you over.

Speaking to Anime News Network, Sakaguchi charts the road back to Square Enix that recently led to his lovely wee JRPG Fantasian springing free from Apple Arcade jail to PC and consoles. Replaying Final Fantasy 6 influenced him to make Fantasian in the first place, though it was how Final Fantasy 14 honored its series' legacy that helped set things in motion for a post-release port.

“I've been playing Final Fantasy 14 for a little over three years now, and I log in almost every single day. It might be the game that I've played the most in my life," he says. "Because of that, I can't pinpoint the specific factors that influenced me. I believe I have been significantly influenced by it in ways that aren't overt.

“My experience revisiting Final Fantasy 6 influenced Fantasian's production. But witnessing how Final Fantasy 14 honors the legacy of earlier Final Fantasy games while also enhancing them impressed me and allowed me to approach the direction I had for Fantasian without wavering.”

Sakaguchi goes on to say that playing Final Fantasy 14 also brought him into contact with the MMO's producer and director Naoki Yoshida, who played a large role in making Fantasian's Neo Dimension glow-up a reality.

“I felt that Yoshida-san was a diligent and sincere person through my experience with Final Fantasy 14, and that impression was reinforced through working with him on Fantasian Neo Dimension,” Sakaguchi says. “Needless to say, if the opportunity arises, I strongly wish to work together with him again and create something new."

Fantasian: New Dimension is out now.

Final Fantasy creator says his Final Fantasy 14 habit got so bad "on rare occasion" that some of his employees would hop on the MMO to DM him about missed meetings.

Whether you choose to pay $90 to access Avowed on February 14 or hold out until its wide release on PC, Xbox Series X, and Game Pass on February 18, it's destined to be a monumental few days for Microsoft Gaming. The launching point for what is undoubtedly the most important year for Xbox in a generation. And let's be honest here, it kind of has to be.

There were times over the past 12 months where you could almost hear it, the death knell ringing. The tolling bell echoing amongst news of mass layoffs and studio closures, game delays and Game Pass price hikes. Another tumultuous period for a company who can't surely manage many more of them, with Xbox under increasing scrutiny as it struggles to sell the potential of its burgeoning multiplatform release strategy, appropriately scale membership to its subscription service, and quell concerns around the Series S' impact on developer ambitions.

For a while there, it really did feel as if Microsoft Gaming was genuinely at risk of collapsing under all of the weight it is shouldering. Perhaps that's why Xbox is going all in on 2025. The upcoming Xbox games in the spring release window alone is electrifying, a reminder of why so many of us migrated to the platform to begin with. What we're looking at here is Xbox reinvesting in the core – the Xbox Game Studios group delivering expressive RPG, FPS, and action-adventure titles, the lineup bolstered by ambitious experiments from talented third-party publishers.

Xbox's 2025 in brief

The release of Obsidian's Avowed in February is followed by Compulsion Games' South of Midnight on April 8 and Doom: The Dark Ages on May 15 from id Software. Three ambitious, beautiful, and decadently-crafted experiences that are shouldering the burden of building momentum for Xbox in a challenging landscape. Sprinkled throughout the spring are other excellent additions to the Game Pass library; Rebellion's Atomfall on March 27 and Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on April 24 undoubtedly the standouts.

Looking beyond the summer, Playground Games' Fable and Obsidian's The Outer Worlds 2 have tentative 2025 windows, while The Coalition's Gears of War: E-Day and The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot are also rumored to launch within the financial year. It really does feel like this is the moment every Xbox owner has been waiting years for – the true result of Microsoft's big studio acquisition spree, which started in earnest all the way back in 2018. I don't know about you, but this massive investment in key genres (across both new IP and legacy franchise revivals) is starting to rekindle fond memories of the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras.

Now, with that all said, I am trying to temper my own expectations. We need only look at the quality gulf between Redfall and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, Starfield and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, to be reminded that Xbox Game Studios has a tendency to be wildly inconsistent in a way that output from the PlayStation Studios group isn't (Concord notwithstanding). There's even less room for error in that respect now, with so many of Xbox's first-party releases primed for release on PlayStation – Series X/S sales are reportedly less than half of the PS5, so key would-be exclusives are about to get unprecedented exposure.

Doom: The Dark Ages is confirmed to be a simultaneous release across both platforms, and it's expected that a great many of these other Xbox games will eventually land on PS5 before the year is up. I'd suspect that any success for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 (two crown jewels in the Series X lineup) within the PlayStation ecosystem later this year will only expedite Xbox's drive for platform ubiquity. Could Halo or Gears really make the jump to PS5? It's not out of the realms of possibility.

Whether Xbox's drive onto rival platforms is ultimately judged as a success or failure is a story that will unfold gradually all throughout 2025. For now the focus should be on Avowed. As the first major release from Xbox Game Studios this year, it's bound to set the tone for the year to come. If Obsidian has a winner on its hands (and we've certainly been left impressed by what we've played of it so far), then momentum will only begin to build. If it lands with a thud, pressure will begin to build around South of Midnight and Doom: The Dark Ages to demonstrate that Xbox is able to rise to meet the moment.

Should you buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5P in 2025?

Plenty of headsets have come my way since the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5P dropped last year. Yet, still to this day, it remains one of the best PS5 headsets I've ever had the pleasure of popping on my noggin.

Its incredibly lightweight form factor and comfortable fit is initially what drove me to fall in love with the pair of cups. At just 265g, it's one of the lightest headsets I've ever come across, which is a lifesaver for someone who regularly loses days to painful migraines.

The headset continued to impress me with its Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz capabilities, which were incredibly simple to set up. Inserting the tiny accompanying dongle into my PS5 was all I needed to have that latency-free connection and experience the power of the 40mm Neodymium audio drivers had to offer. Experiencing the horrors of my favorite games, like Dead by Daylight, sounded crystal clear, which was to be expected with the high-quality audio expectations set by previous SteelSeries peripherals. This was only emphasized after downloading the free accompanying SteelSeries app, which helped unlock the full potential of the Arctis Nova 5P.

The app contains a huge list of audio presets tailored to not just a huge list of games, but even presets developed alongside notable live-streamers and content creators. With the Dead by Daylight preset equipped, I actually managed to survive more matches as the intricate details of the audio were brought out to their fullest. It also helped that the ClearCast retractable microphone carried my voice clearly to friends, making our convincing plans to escape the killer's clutches easier than ever.

While I have hands-on experience with the PlayStation version of the Arctis Nova 5X wireless headset, there are also models specifically designed for Xbox consoles and PC platforms. As well as a white colorway available for the Arctis Nova 5P for those who don't like their PS5 accessories to have that all-black aesthetic.

Alternatively, if you have a little bit extra cash to spare and regularly switch it up from playing your PS5 to your PC and back again, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless may be more your jam. Still boasting of the brand's build and audio quality, the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the next step up from the 5P.

The high-end headset comes with hot-swappable batteries, putting an end to the tedious process on waiting for your headset to charge. All you need to do is pop one of them within the accompanying 'Base Station' while the other is siting in your cups. This Base Station is also the bread and butter of the wireless headset, and what truly sets it apart from the Arctis Nova 5P.

The compact device allows you to hook up your headset to multiple platforms at once, and switch between them at a moment's notice. Already blasted through the latest PlayStation Plus monthly releases? Just use the control wheel of the base station to switch to your Steam Deck, PC, or Xbox Series X.

As one of the best gaming headsets SteelSeries has to offer, this Arctis Nova Pro Wireless does cost substantially more. With that in mind, if you spent most of your time with a Sony DualSense in hand, the Arctis Nova 5P is likely a better fit for your needs and the easier one of the two to recommend. It doesn't hurt that the PS5 headset is under $100 right now, either.

Aren't too fused about the PS5? Check out our guide to the best Xbox Series X headsets and the best Nintendo Switch headsets for our top picks. We've also gathered all the best PC headsets for gaming in one place so you can find the perfect pair of cups for your platform of choice.

Speaking to PC Gamer in magazine issue 405, director Junya Ishizaki shares that the map sometimes sees "large-scale changes to terrain in the form of procedurally appearing volcanos or swamps or forests."

"We wanted the map itself to be a giant dungeon, so players have the chance to traverse and explore a different way every time they play," he says. "You have to choose the boss you want to face at the end of the third day.

"Once you've made that choice, maybe you have an idea of how you want to strategize against that boss, and this might change how you approach the map. We wanted to offer players that agency, to decide 'I need to go after a poison weapon this time to face this boss.'"

So there you have it, while Elden Ring Nightreign does throw in some roguelike and co-op elements to freshen things up, it doesn't dare go without offering a horrible ol' swamp that'll likely leave you greatly poison debuffed. You don't really see a FromSoftware game without a poison swamp, so why start now, I suppose?

Elsewhere in his chat with PC Gamer, Ishizaki says that tossing some roguelike elements into the pot was a way of "condensing" the RPG experience down rather than "chasing a trend" – not that there's anything wrong with that.

Elden Ring Nightreign is due to release this year.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta invites are apparently so in demand, scalpers are already trying to resell them for hundreds of dollars.

It's not easy to get away with crime in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and protagonist Henry can be faced with a number of consequences depending on just how troublesome his actions were, from being put in the stocks and damaging his reputation, to being branded as a criminal. However, the very worst-case scenario is being hanged, which results in a genuinely heartbreaking cutscene where Henry looks just as upset as you'd imagine.

Highlighted by Twitter account @NikTekOfficial, you can watch the scene below. It opens with Henry looking forlorn in a cell, before being led through the audience, who are all cheering for his punishment. He looks positively terrified as the hangman prepares him for the execution, and takes one last look at the sky above as birds fly by before the stool he's stood on is kicked from beneath him. Poor guy, he didn't choose to commit those crimes the player made him do. As the screen goes black, you're given a game over screen, which reads: "You have been executed for your crimes."

Most players will probably seek to avoid this scene – GamesRadar+'s Andrew Brown found Henry's life tough enough after being hit with a massive fine for stealing a lute, and comparatively, he got let off easily. You've got to hand it to the devs for the attention to detail of including it at all though, even if you're not about leading Henry through a life of crime.

If you're just getting started on Warhorse Studios' new RPG, be sure to check out our top Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tips and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 best weapons guide.

Nintendo's latest announcement feels different because, by its own standards, it is. Clinical hardware dissections are more reminiscent of Apple than the company that habitually thanks viewers for watching its trailers, and vanishingly few mainline Nintendo console trailers fail to include human beings. That puts the Switch 2 in rare air, marketing-wise, shared mostly by iterative handheld releases like the Game Boy Advance.

Throwback

What defines a typical Nintendo console trailer is an obsession with answering two questions: how to use it, and who it's for. The former makes a ton of sense for Nintendo, a company known for taking big swings with its hardware. The Wii U's launch trailer imagines a huge range of, shall we say, creative use cases for the console's central gimmick, some of which I wouldn't have believed if they weren't coming directly from the horse's mouth. (You want me to set my $100 tablet controller on the ground and tee a golf ball off of it?) By contrast, Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" campaign practically begs users to approach its platform in any way but the most conventional.

As for the "Who is it for?" question, families, radical teenagers, older folks, and esports professionals have all been answers at one time or another. Even in more theatrical launches like the Virtual Boy, you could intuit that the person being hunted by an evil robot console represents the adventurous consumer, someone willing to try out a new and strange way to play games. Where the console wars forced manufacturers into an exhausting race to claim the most teraflops, Nintendo frequently finds itself in a position to target new audiences.

But a total hardware focus isn't completely unprecedented for Nintendo, as seen with the release of the Game Boy Advance. One of its launch trailers, archived by NeoKoopa, looks like the result of feeding the Switch 2 announcement through a 2001 hacker movie filter. The system zips around before a field of rapidly increasing numbers and a thumping techno beat. Specs loudly whoosh across the screen – 32-bit processor, 32,000 colors, L and R buttons, octopean link cables – all direct hardware improvements over the Game Boy Color. It's even shown playing a new Mario Kart.

That might tell us everything there is to know about how the Switch 2 is to be positioned. Both the original Game Boy and the original Switch (which themselves had similar launches) sold consumers on the idea of handheld gaming, though in completely different contexts. The Game Boy Advance simply incorporated hardware improvements into a device that everyone had already been persuaded by.

As a business strategy, that might be all the Switch 2 needs to do. The Game Boy Advance didn't approach the commercial heights of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, but it maintains a comfortable place as the tenth best-selling system of all time, beating out every current gen console besides the Switch itself.

Besides a few form factor improvements like the Game Boy Advance SP and New Nintendo 3DS XL, the only other Nintendo launch trailer without any people in it is the original DS. This makes it an interesting point of comparison to the Switch 2, although since Nintendo was preoccupied with differentiating the DS from its GameCube and GameBoy lines, it was exceptional in a whole bunch of ways.

Early DS marketing placed the touchscreen at the forefront with its bizarre "touching is good" campaign. Its goal (like the iPhone, which made touchscreens ubiquitous three years later) was to make gaming more intuitive. This, along with featured titles like Nintendogs and Brain Age, drew new people into the world of gaming as a whole. Years later, Nintendo's strategy of "Gaming Population Expansion" contributed to the success of the Wii, as well.

Whatever your read on the Switch 2 announcement, it clearly isn't aimed at expanding the population of people playing video games. Its sleek black design and rumored Joy-Con mice may even have the reverse goal of courting core gaming audiences.

Switch hardware has had plenty of time to decay, so its intended audience seems to be those already bought in on the Switch and looking to upgrade. After all, the trailer does literally show a Switch turning into a Switch 2. Any surprise features announced in the coming months seem unlikely to be as central as the DS's touch screen or Wii's motion controls. Like the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo's messaging is clear: if you liked the previous generation, you'll have the chance to relive it in higher fidelity.

Our Nintendo Switch 2 spotlight has everything you need to know about the upcoming console, but we're really just glad it's coming with a headphone jack

Going hands-on, we join Michi as he links up with Pinky, the titular agency's main mascot and leader. A severed giant little finger, Pinky is a disturbing nod towards yubitsume, the ritual practice of cutting off part of your own finger for atonement, usually associated with yakuza crime fiction. Having fallen on hard times, the agency itself was converted into a love hotel, giving the now-deserted interior a kind of tacky, grimy feel. Our first mission has us driving Michi's prized, battered pickup truck to the corrupt Mayor's office to beg for the restoration of the mascot agency's license to do business. There's a constant, seedy undercurrent in Kaso-Machi.

Making a promise

It's not Kaizen Game Works' first time thrusting players into an oddball community. "Modern indie classic" Paradise Killer was a murder mystery that had you running and jumping through a strange vaporwave house of divinity. In Promise Mascot Agency, Kaso-Machi is bigger, meaning most of the time we're blazing through rural roads watching Pinky wobble in the back of the pickup truck. But it's no less an aesthetic, the visuals trading Paradise Killer's high contrast colors for a film-grain Showa-era style Japanese cinema vibe – just like the yakuza movie classics.

Less like those classic flicks are the bizarre mascots. Like everyone else in Kaso-Machi, they're struggling, down on their luck, and out of work – meaning they're more than willing to hear Michi out with an offer to get back into the game. But, like Pinky, they're more than a little bit off-kilter and unsettling.

To-Fu is an ever-wet piece of the food stuff, thanks to constantly crying, with a little crumbled off corner; Trororo is a yam cat, always upsettingly covered in the sticky stuff, and obsessed with the adult film industry; Kofun is a living tombstone and goth who's obsessed with death and history. The whole town is filled with these strange creatures to meet and strike up a deal with.

And strike up a deal I do. Recruitment involves actually offering contract perks like the percentage they make from mascot jobs, how often their salary is negotiated, and how much time they get off. This affects not just how much money you can make from their mascot laboring, but also how their stats will grow and change as they take on work, and how likely they are to get into trouble while on a job.

What trouble could a mascot get into, you might ask? The answer, from my own experience, is lots. And that's where Michi shines. While jobs can be completed over time by simply waiting, when something goes wrong he'll get a phone call, rushing you to the scene. These incidents play out as slapstick skits that have your mascot getting, for instance, stuck in a "normal sized door" while entering the event they're promoting, a playful dog getting too excitable, or perhaps a gas stove getting supercharged and the mascot having to deal with the fiery fallout.

These mundane hazards are given the RPG battle treatment, with Michi's staff being dealt to him as cards which you can play to have them jump in to assist. Most of them have specialities for dealing with specific situations. José, for example, is the local mechanic, so will deal greater "damage" to engineering issues. Others might be better equipped to deal with social problems, like rowdy crowds. So far, only a couple of hours in, these have all been quite simplistic, but have been fun and quick ways to throw me into the hazards of mascot life.

Expanding the staff that can assist, like everything else in Promise Mascot Agency, mostly revolves around driving across Kaso-Machi and scooping up collectibles. At this point, this is more straightforward than Paradise Killer's exploration – which may be a relief to some that found its tricky parkour a bit overwhelming. Still, poking around Kaso-Machi has been compelling, especially as I come across new locations and learn a bit more about the history of the town – praying at shrines and recycling trash as I go.

But what's stuck with me the most so far is meeting the people. Each new character, be they human or mascot, has a hook that makes me want to get to know them more. And, importantly, as seedy as Kaso-Machi is, everyone stuck here doesn't just feel like a real person, but a genuine piece of a community. Mr. Mori and his cat Tori, a train guard who stands ever vigilant at the now disused train station; Miss Wambui, an anime fan who came to Japan to teach, and cares for her troubled students deeply; or even Captain Sign, a Power Rangers-like hero with road safety signs strapped to his body.

There's so many people who truly want to make things better, as hard as it is to get by in Kaso-Machi. Michi might have a tough exterior, but his heart's in the right place – and if he can overcome the yakuza-killing curse, he might just be able to bring them all together to build something better, one creepy mascot at a time.

This might only include the captial "Y" series, but here's the best Yakuza games, ranked, if you're looking for some more quirky crime drama.

Last night, GamingOnLinux spotted the policy on Steam's pricing page. It was initially assumed to be a new rule, but SteamDB pointed out it's been in effect for "at least five years," it's just now been made more visible.

The rule reads: "Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play, or gating gameplay behind advertising."

It also states: "Developers should not use advertising as a way to provide value to players, such as giving players a reward for watching or engaging with advertising in their game."

Forced ads or the option to watch ads to get power-ups or skip time-gated mechanics has become common in free-to-play mobile games. But Steam, which holds a fairly strong monopoly on PC gaming, doesn't seem to like the practice.

Steam recommends developers whose games rely on this to generate revenue simply charge for the games directly or add microtransactions. Microtransactions can also be controversial, but I think we can all agree it's the lesser of two evils.

Games are expensive to make, so I understand why developers and studio execs want them to make money beyond their launch, even if I dislike any non-cosmetic microtransactions. At least with most of them, you feel like you're getting something for your money. Either DLC that adds more to the story or a new stage in a fighting game, but when you have to watch ads just to play a game, it feels like you're wasting your time. I'm glad Steam has made its stance on this practice even more clear.

While you're here, check out the best PC games you can play.

While Naka has racked up credits on loads of iconic games over time, from the original Sonic the Hedgehog to Phantasy Star, as spotted by Time Extension, the game he's turned his attention to once more is Pirates of Coin, which was developed by PROPE – the studio he founded in 2006 after leaving Sega. You'd be forgiven for not recognizing it – it's a mobile, pirate-themed coin-pusher game available on iOS and Android, which sees the coins you earn transform into pirates who'll then send themselves flying at incoming enemies.

"After eight years, I have updated our PROPE application Pirates of Coin," Naka writes on Twitter. "It was built in Unity 5 at the time, but I had to update a lot of things while there are a lot of [Unities] between now and Unity 6. I changed Javascript to C# and supported a lot of Obsoletes."

The question remains though, why now after all this time? I mean, it's certainly a positive thing to support the game for anyone still interested all these years later, but you have to wonder what inspired him to come back to it in the first place.

It feels like it's been a while since Naka made headlines for something as simple as updating a game. After departing Sega and founding Prope, he joined Square Enix in 2018 where he was involved with the underwhelming 3D platformer Balan Wonderworld. He left in 2021, but a year later, was arrested over allegations of insider trading. It was then reported in 2023 that Naka was given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence – suspended for four years – alongside some hefty fines.

Speaking of Sonic, did you know that BioWare's Sonic The Hedgehog RPG "actually uses Dragon Age: Origins dialogue system heavily streamlined to fit on the Nintendo DS"?