Gaming News

IGN UK Podcast #679: The Last of Us is Very Good

Cardy has watched all of the first season of HBO's The Last of Us and is here to tell you why it's great. Matt has finished Marvel's Midnight Suns and is here to tell you why it's great. Jesse has played a bit of Sons of the Forest and is here to tell you why it's looking great. Hopefully, it's a great podcast this week. Got a game for us to play or some feedback you'd like read out on the show? Why not email us: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #679: The Last of Us is Very Good IGN UK Podcast #678: Wot We Did Over Christmas IGN UK Podcast 677: The Big 2023 Preview IGN UK Podcast 676: Alternative Game Awards 2022 IGN UK Podcast 675: Alternative Movie & TV Awards 2022 IGN UK Podcast 674: Birdwatching with Blade Continue...

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Nvidia, Google, Reportedly Voice Concerns Over Xbox's Activision Acquisition

Google and Nvidia have both reportedly joined Sony in raising concerns to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Microsoft's planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, according to a Bloomberg report. The two companies reportedly contend that by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would gain an unfair advantage in the cloud, subscription, and mobile gaming markets. That said, one source told Bloomberg that Nvidia at least is not expressly opposed to the acquisition, though it did stress the importance of equal access to game titles. The report does not elaborate on either company's other specific concerns. Microsoft currently is a strong contender in cloud gaming alongside Nvidia with GeForce Now, with...

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Rick and Morty Co-Creator Justin Roiland Charged for Domestic Violence

Rick and Morty co-creator and High on Life creator Justin Roiland has been charged in a California court with domestic battery and false imprisonment, according to a report by NBC News. NBC, which obtained the criminal complaint in question, says that Roiland was charged in May of 2020 in connection with an incident from January of that year. Roiland is charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury, and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit — both against an anonymous Jane Doe who he was dating at the time. He has pleaded "not guilty" to both charges. Thus far, over a dozen hearings have taken place connected to these charges, including a pre-trial hearing today...

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Face-Off: Which 2023 Game Are You Most Excited For?

2023 has officially arrived, and that means we are finally in the year (fingers crossed) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Starfield, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and so many more fantastic games will be released. However, we're very curious to see which 2023 game you are most excited for. Do you think Final Fantasy 16 deserves the top spot? Or is your top pick Diablo IV, Street Fighter 6, or Hollow Knight: Silksong? We've selected 45 of the biggest games with release dates and windows in 2023 specifically to "Face-Off" against each other two at a time. Will you choose Hades 2 over Star Wars Jedi: Survivor? Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League over the Resident Evil 4 Remake? The choice is yours... (And don't forget, you can pass...

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Why You Should be Afraid of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s Bosses – IGN First

“When first facing a boss, you usually start out in despair, thinking there is no way you can beat it. Figuring out when a boss is open to attack and finding clues on how to beat it through trial and error by yourself is what I see as the most enjoyable part of a boss battle. Not giving the player too many hints is something we’ve been conscious about since the Nioh series, and that hasn’t changed for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.” So says Fumihiko Yasuda, the brand head of Team Ninja and the producer of Wo Long. While the design philosophy of Wo Long’s bosses is very much in line with that of Nioh – the developer’s first Soulsborne title – there are also quite a few elements that are unique to Wo Long’s Chinese martial arts based combat...

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Best Gaming Mouse Pad 2023

You already know how important it is in gaming to have a great gaming mouse. But where getting a great mouse and getting a subpar one can come down to a difference in price, the same is so with many gaming mouse pads. Most noteworthy mouse pads don't cost all that much, and they'll be a huge step up over the freebies you find at events or budget barrel options you might find in an actual barrel at your local electronics store. A basic mouse pad helps keep crumbs on your desk from marring the smooth swiping experience of your mouse and can also extend the lifespan of the feet on your mouse. Great ones improve mouse tracking, as the textured surfaces give its sensor something tailor-made for it to see sliding by. It doesn’t stop there...

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Ubisoft to Reveal More Skull and Bones Gameplay This Week

A day after delaying Skull and Bones for the sixth time, Ubisoft has provided a small update on the upcoming pirate game. On Twitter, the Skull and Bones account shared some more information about the delay, and revealed that fans can expect to see new gameplay this week. The message read in part, "This extra time will help us in providing further polish and balancing to our game experience, following your feedback from previous tests." While the team takes some extra time to polish the game, Skull and Bones will start sharing new and exclusive gameplay on its social channels. Tomorrow, we'll get a look at "new and exclusive gameplay footage focused on our game's lore." Previous Skull and Bones showcases have given us looks at how...

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26th Annual DICE Awards Game of the Year Nominees Announced

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced its nominees for the 26th D.I.C.E. Awards, with Santa Monica Studios’ God of War: Ragnarok leading the pack with 12 nominations. The annual video game award recognizes the best games of the year as chosen by the members of the AIAS, and the winners are chosen at an annual awards show hosted in Las Vegas. This year's event will be hosted on February 23 on IGN. This year’s awards will be co-hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and IGN’s own Stella Chung, with IGN as the official media partner of the event. Check below for the full list of game of the year nominees which alongside God of War include Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, and Vampire Survivors...

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Why Sam Barlow Is Designing ‘Mental Metroidvanias’

“Occasionally boggles my mind and martian postcards me that 90% of the games that are the critical and popular mainstays of our medium revolve around remote controlling a little toy person about like a human scalextric.” That’s a tweet from Sam Barlow, founder of Half Mermaid and director of Immortality, posted in late November of last year just a few weeks after The Game Awards nominees were announced. Immortality itself was up for recognition in three categories: best game direction, best performance (Manon Gage as Marissa Marcel) and best narrative. While it deserved nominations for all three, Immortality is a curious contender: even a glance at its fellow nominees in any of the three categories immediately threw into sharp relief...

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After Immortality, Sam Barlow Is Thinking About 3D Game Development Again

Despite key credits on franchises like Silent Hill, Serious Sam, and Legacy of Kain, for the last decade Sam Barlow has been mostly known as that guy that makes the “FMV games.” Barlow went indie in 2014 and published Her Story the following year before forming studio Half Mermaid and releasing Telling Lies and 2022’s Immortality. With all three, Barlow took a very different approach to video game storytelling — filming scenes with real actors and playing with variations on central mechanics that have the audience searching for information through hours upon hours of footage. For this, Barlow and Half Mermaid have received numerous awards and accolades, with Immortality nominated three times at The Game Awards for best performance...

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Xbox Developer Direct Event Confirmed for January – Unlocked 577

Microsoft confirmed a Developer Direct event for January 25 that will showcase Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Elder Scrolls Online with a separate standalone event for Starfield coming at a later date. This will be a deep dive into the games with much less presentation and more gameplay according to the team at Xbox. As the titles listed are promised for the first half of 2023 we can't wait to see more. Plus, the Unlocked crew discusses the big Ubisoft news and some energy-saving options coming to Xbox consoles. Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. Be sure to check out the latest gameplay from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty with this month's IGN...

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Deal Alert: Save 40% Off the Wingspan Board Game from Stonemaier Games

For a limited time, Amazon is offering the excellent Wingspan board game for only $38.81. That's a substantial 40% off the original retail price of $65. If you missed the deal on Black Friday, this is another chance for you to pick up a highly rated and very accessible board game for a deal-worthy price. Wingspan Board Game for $38.81 Wingspan from Stonemeier Games is an incredibly good board game. So good in fact that we deemed it the best board game of 2019. Wingspan looks like a deceptively simple game; the endgame goal is to attract as many birds as you can to your wildlife preserve and help them proliferate. There are only four actions you can perform: draw a bird card, play a bird card, get food, and lay eggs. Sounds simple...

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Valve Warns Users to Buy Steam Decks From Official Retailers

Valve has given a warning to consumers to only buy Steam Deck handhelds from Valve themselves or through other official retailers and websites. "Hello, and happy new year! A quick note that the only official ways to purchase Steam Deck are directly from Steam (in the US, CA, EU, and UK), or from Komodo (JP, KR, TW, and HK),” Valve explained on Twitter. “Steam Decks sold via any other websites or retailers are unofficial - please be careful.” While Valve is being well-intentioned here, Twitter users in the replies have rightfully pointed out that Steam Deck handhelds are not officially available to purchase from Valve in certain territories. Places like Australia and Latin America are notably absent from the official list. One user...

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TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Is on Mobile as a Netflix Exclusive

Months after its console and PC release, beat 'em up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge is the latest game to head to mobile for Netflix subscribers. Yesterday, Netflix announced the game's arrival on mobile with a trailer. According to Netflix's in-app description, the mobile port still features controller support and online multiplayer gameplay. Inspired by arcade beat 'em ups of the '90s (and including quite a few improvements to their combat systems), TMNT: Shredder's Revenge sees the classic Turtles, along with a few newly playable characters, taking on new foes through a campaign mode and an arcade mode. IGN gave TMNT: Shredder's Revenge an 8 in our review, praising its "fun combat, a charming and nostalgic...

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Simon Pegg Plays Headmaster Black in Hogwarts Legacy

Simon Pegg has joined the wizarding world of Harry Potter, voicing the infamously cantankerous Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black in Hogwarts Legacy. Pegg describes his character, the great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black, as the "least popular" Headmaster in the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to Pegg, he's there to "scupper the efforts of the player," though he would much rather tend to his surgically manicured beard than carry out any actual school duties. "We saw Phineas in the books and in the films. He was a portrait in Dumbledore's office, but this is at a time when he was actually actively the headmaster," Pegg notes in the announcement video, taking us behind the scenes of Hogwarts Legacy...

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Ubisoft Cancels Three Unannounced Games, Delays Skull and Bones for the Sixth Time

Ubisoft has announced that it has, for the sixth time, delayed Skull & Bones, as well as canceled three more unannounced games amid "major challenges" in the industry, the underperformance of Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and Just Dance 2023, and an upcoming "restructuring." In a press release today, Ubisoft outlined a new strategy for the remainder of its fiscal year, as well as lowered expectations for the last fiscal quarter. Ubisoft explains the move as a result of the company "facing major challenges as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and long-lasting titles than [sic] can reach players across the globe, across platforms and business models." While Ubisoft notes its goal has been to build large...

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Xbox and Bethesda Event Coming Later This Month

An Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct games showcase will take place on January 25, featuring new details on Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and more. Announced on Xbox Wire, the event will start at 12pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 8pm UK (so 6am AEST on January 26). A Starfield standalone show is also in the works, meaning it won't feature at the Developer Direct, but Xbox and Bethesda still have plenty to show off for what's looking to be a busy 2023. The showcase will give an "inside look at some of the games coming to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass in the coming months" presented directly from the developers. Four games have been confirmed to star so far, with The Elder Scrolls Online and Minecraft Legends joining Forza Motorsport and Redfall...

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Xbox Game Pass in January 2023: Persona 3 Portable, Monster Hunter Rise, and More

It's a slightly quieter start to January for Xbox Game Pass, with only six more games confirmed to be hitting the service so far this month. We already knew about all six of these, including the three Xbox has chosen to highlight in their first Xbox Wire Game Pass blogpost of the year. But, there are normally several other Game Pass announcements across every month, so we could still hear about even more games to come in January. For now, the most recent announcement has reaffirmed Game Pass will be getting Persona 3 Portable (January 19), Persona 4 Golden (January 19), and Monster Hunter Rise (January 20) on console, PC, and cloud gaming. These are two iconic Japanese franchises, and despite the limited selection for January, all...

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Aussie Deals: Score Local Steam Decks for Cheaper, Pocket Change Prices on PS4 Hits and More!

As you may have heard already, Steam Decks have been popping up in Australian retailers. Finally. Kogan seems to be the best option at present for this expensive item, so be sure to start your snooping there. If you are going to make that plunge, be sure to circle back on our daily deals pages. I'm all about dirt cheap Steam gems from yesteryear. Not to mention sizeable discounts on the latest AAAs for your new Deck. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Exciting Offers for XO/XS Recent Deals Expiring Soon Back to top Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Recent Deals Expiring...

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty: Exclusive Boss Battle Gameplay with New Weapon Type – IGN First

Tough boss fights are the highlight of any Team Ninja action game, and it looks like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be no different. For today’s IGN First, here’s an exclusive first look at one of the game’s earlier bosses, Aoye. Aoye is a fictional creature that appears in the ancient Chinese text Shan Hai Jing, also known as Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is described as a bull-like being with long hair reminiscent of a straw rain-cape. In Wo Long, Aoye appears as a giant monster that attacks with its long hair and creepy tentacles. While it often lays itself open to attack, each of Aoye’s strikes are heavy and can be fatal. Aoye also has an attack that spreads ice throughout the battle area, which makes it necessary for the player...

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The Callisto Protocol: Striking Distance Reportedly Left Several Developers Off Credits

An estimated 20 developers who worked on The Callisto Protocol were reportedly left out of the game’s credits by Striking Distance Studios. According to GI.biz article, the individuals omitted from the end game credits included senior developers, directors, team leads, and a number of employees who worked on the project for over a year and contributed heavily to the game. "I understand if a contractor does a small amount of work for a few months and is left off, but we're talking full-time employees with over a year invested in the title, and had a hand in significant parts of the product," said one unnamed developer. "That's where the surprise has come from for a lot of us." Sources also aired grievances related to the general...

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Several Forza Horizon Developers Leave Playground Games and Xbox to Form New Studio

Several developers from Xbox's Forza Horizon developer Playground Games have left the company to form a new studio, Maverick Games. As reported by Eurogamer, former Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown will lead the new studio and is joined by five other former Playground employees. The development team is at work on a "premium open world game for consoles and PC" and has already secured "significant seed funding". The other developers making the jump to Maverick Games include Playground's lead producer Tom Butcher, technical director Matt Craven, technical art director Gareth Harwood, audio director Fraser Stachan, and art director Ben Penrose. "For players, we're already at work on an exciting ultra-high quality title...

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Ten Reasons Why Burnout Paradise Is The Best Racing Game Ever

It’s telling that in the nearly decade and a half since the release of Burnout Paradise back in 2008 that both video game developers and perhaps their audiences have seemingly forgotten what a truly great arcade racer should look or feel like. With its deft blending of iconic, smashmouth Burnout thrills and deceptively intelligent open […] The post Ten Reasons Why Burnout Paradise Is The Best Racing Game Ever appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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Genshin Impact Beginner’s Guide 2023

Welcome to our Genshin Impact beginner’s guide. Here we’re going to give you a few tips on what you should and shouldn’t do if you want to get the most out of Genshin Impact. Now, it’s important to note that this is all just advice, because Genshin Impact isn’t all that hard really, so you […] The post Genshin Impact Beginner’s Guide 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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Destiny 2 Beginner’s Guide – Starting Destiny 2 in 2023

Destiny 2 is a game of two halves. You’ve got a brilliant universe dripping with story, filled with some of the most exciting and innovative FPS multiplayer action you’ll ever see in a video game. On the other side you’ve got a game that can seem utterly impenetrable especially to newcomers and lapsed players. This […] The post Destiny 2 Beginner’s Guide – Starting Destiny 2 in 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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The best boomer shooters and retro FPS games For 2023

It can be sometimes easy to forget that shooters weren’t always the sort of bloated budget, cinematic driven and linear offerings that they largely are now. Eschewing such recent genre conceits as regenerating health and sticking to cover like an OCD afflicted barnacle, there has thankfully been a movement of sorts to get ‘boomer’ shooters […] The post The best boomer shooters and retro FPS games For 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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The Best Steam Deck Games for 2023

The best Steam Deck games for 2023 are the ones that are either perfectly suited to gaming on the go, or the ones that naturally break themselves down into short chunks. The Steam Deck is undoubtedly one of the coolest new consoles around, and the ability to take your undoubtedly bloated backlog with you to […] The post The Best Steam Deck Games for 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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The Best Horror Games 2023

What are the best horror games in 2023? We’re not talking about the best horror games that have come out this year, but the best ones to date. With gaming having a 1,000-year history, it can be hard to know what games are currently standing atop the mountain of contenders and shouting “Yo, I’m the […] The post The Best Horror Games 2023 appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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What are roles in Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact is a surprisingly in-depth action game and one that doesn’t do a particularly good job of explaining some really important systems within it. If you’re just getting started in Genshin Impact, you might be wondering what on Teyvat roles are, and how they impact trying to build a team in the game. It […] The post What are roles in Genshin Impact? appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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How to build a team in Genshin Impact

If you’re just diving into the world of Teyvat in Genshin Impact, then you’re probably just enjoying being able to climb on things and glide around. At some point though, you’ll need to start thinking about how to build a team in Genshin Impact, and it’s not something that the game does a great job […] The post How to build a team in Genshin Impact appeared first on Green Man Gaming Blog. Continue reading...

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