Game News

New Apex Legends Season 21 Gameplay Trailer Reveals Alter’s Abilities

With the launch of Apex Legends Season 21: Upheaval just a few days away, Respawn Entertainment has released a new gameplay trailer, giving players a better idea of what kind of new features they can expect from the upcoming season. Surprisingly, those features include the reintroduction of Solos Mode, which hasn’t made an appearance since 2019. Respawn has previously stated that the mode would never return.

“Solos will run as a six-week takeover of Duos for the first half of the season,” Apex Legends events lead Mike Button said during Season 21 previews. “We’re excited to give everyone an extended period of time to experience this new take on Solos, and for us to be able to collect more feedback over the course of a longer run. With growing demand from players, and a desire on the [development] team to explore the concept again with everything we’ve learned since the mode’s last appearance in 2019, Upheaval seemed like the right time to reintroduce a Solos experience to Apex.”

Per the gameplay trailer, Solos Mode will now include new features like fully kitted weapons for players to make use of, along with the introduction of Respawn Tokens to give players who collect them a second chance at life.

The trailer also revealed that Broken Moon has been given a makeover for the upcoming season, with the biggest change being the removal of the Promenade POI, which will be replaced by a new POI called Quarantine Zone.

Naturally, the trailer also gave fans of the franchise a better look at new legend Alter, and her abilities, which are listed below:

  • Tactical: Void Passage–Create a portal passageway through a surface
  • Passive: Gift From The Rift–Remotely interact with a deathbox to claim one item (cannot be armor).
  • Ultimate: Void Nexus–Create a regroup point that all allies can remotely interact with to open a phase tunnel back to that location.

Apex Legends Season 21: Upheaval goes live on Tuesday, May 7 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

Helldivers 2 PC Players Will Be Forced To Link A PSN Account Starting This Month

Helldivers 2 PC players will soon need to sign in to the game with a PlayStation Network account, making an optional part of the game mandatory for everyone moving forward. This requirement was originally planned for Helldivers 2 when it first launched, but due to technical issues and the early success of the game, developer Arrowhead postponed implementing it.

According to the developer on its Discord channel, linking accounts is one of its main methods for protecting players from griefing and abuse by more toxic elements of the community, while also allowing banned players the right to appeal.

“As of May 6, all new Helldivers 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account,” Arrowhead explained. “Current players on Steam will start to see the mandatory login from May 30 and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4.”

Not long after this news broke, the Steam storefront page for Helldivers 2 was flooded with thousands of negative user reviews. Some players are concerned about potential security risks and data harvesting, while others have pointed out that they may not be able to play the game due to the PlayStation Network not being available in their region. While it isn’t unusual for a Steam game to force players to link an account–Xbox games like Sea of Thieves do this–Helldivers 2 is currently the only PlayStation Studios PC port with this requirement.

In other news from the Helldivers 2 front, a recent patch has nerfed several of the more popular weapons in the game and the next Warbond, Polar Patriots, has been revealed. This new selection of winter-themed weapons and armor will go live on May 9 and includes a high-damage assault rifle, incendiary impact grenades, and new armor sets.

Helldivers 2 Devs Set To Add Arctic-Themed Polar Patriots Warbond In May

Helldivers 2’s next Warbond is coming May 9, and we’ve got all the details below. Over on the PlayStation Blog, developer Arrowhead Game Studios revealed the upcoming guns, secondary utilities, and cosmetics that’ll be added to the game this month, and fans of winter-based aesthetics will not be disappointed.

The new guns include the AR-61 Tenderizer, a high-damage assault rifle with a small magazine; the slow-but-impactful SMG-72 Pummeler; and the PLAS-101 Purifier, which appears to be some sort of charge-up energy rifle. The new secondary weapons are an interesting mix too: the G-13 Incendiary Impact, which is an explosive grenade that bathes the area in white phosphorus; the high-damage pistol the P-113 Verdict; and Motivational Shocks, which electrifies your allies, curing them of slowing status effects like bug vomit.

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Now Playing: Helldivers 2 – Warbond: Polar Patriots Unlocks Trailer | PS5 & PC Games

The armor cosmetics this time around are stark and simple, with limited color palettes. They include the CW-36 Winter Warrior, the CW-22 Kodiak, and the CW-4 Arctic Ranger. As their names imply, these armor sets look like they’re very much designed for winter wear, and they have a certain resemblance to the cold-assault Stormtroopers from the battle of Hoth, if only in silhouette. Polar Patriots also includes new emotes and three new capes, including the Dissident’s Nightmare, the Pinions of Everlasting Glory, and the Order of the Venerated Ballot.

In other Helldivers 2 news, Arrowhead recently nerfed some of the game’s best weapons in an update, including the LAS-99 Quasar Cannon, the Sickle, and the Guard Dog stratagem. It also buffed several of the game’s lesser-used weapons, including the default assault rifle, the AR-19 Liberator.

Super Nintendo World In Orlando Opens Next Year–Check Out A First Look

Are you ready to let’s-a go to Super Nintendo World at Universal Orlando? Well, the wait isn’t much longer with the park addition confirmed for a 2025 opening. Plus, Universal has detailed in a first-look video exactly what you’ll experience after walking through a green warp pipe to transport to Mario and Donkey Kong’s universes.

Super Mario Land is the first location parkgoers will experience when entering Super Nintendo World. This area features Peach’s Castle as well as Bowser’s, which contains a Mario Kart ride within. There is also Mount Beanpole and playable games throughout with a Power-Up Band. For instance, you “can collect coins by punching blocks,” according to Universal immersive experiences director Chris Bromby.

Yoshi’s Adventure is a part of Super Mario Land, too, serving as a family-friendly ride to search for golden eggs. The attraction also provides views of the park you supposedly can’t get anywhere else.

Meanwhile, one of the big focal points of Donkey Kong Country is Mine-Cart Madness. The rollercoaster has tech that will make ridegoers feel like they’re jumping the track at certain points. This location also has a jungle theme and drums to presumably bang on.

Super Nintendo World for Orlando was originally announced in February 2023 after being possibly the “worst-kept secret in history,” per Universal Destinations CEO Mark Woodbury. Earlier this year, Donkey Kong Country was revealed for the Orlando theme park as well. Eiji Aonuma was spotted at Universal Studios Orlando in January, leading to speculation that a Legend of Zelda attraction could be included at the park. However, there is no mention of Link, the princess, or Ganon in this video.

Game Reviews

Top Spin 2K25 Review – Painting The Lines

Tennis, at its core, is a game about legacy. Names like Billie Jean King, Pete Sampras, and the Williams sisters are immortalized through legendary matches, on-court triumphs, and tournament dominance that have shaped the history of the sport. It seems appropriate, then, that the Top Spin series has lived on in similar reverence since Top Spin 4, which was released over a decade ago to critical acclaim. Now, with developer Hanger 13 at the helm, Top Spin makes its long-awaited return. It serves up an ace in the all-important gameplay aspects, but double faults on content and troubling microstransaction focus mean it’s still far from a grand slam.

Gameplay takes center court in the newest entry and it’s excellent. Moving around the court feels great thanks to a strong sense of momentum and weight. That’s especially true on different surfaces, as the firm footing of a hard court gives way to sliding around on clay. It looks authentic, and factoring in the different starts and stops on the numerous types of surfaces is an important consideration when playing a match.

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Now Playing: TopSpin 2K25 – Official “Rally On!” Announcement Trailer

Different shots are mapped to various buttons and do an excellent job conveying just how sophisticated volleys are. Whether you are hitting a hard straight shot, curving slices, or smashing a ball right up the line with hard-to-handle top spin, the various options are meaningfully different. A simple timing system lets you tap for controlled returns, or hold to generate power, with both options depending on releasing at the right moment to determine accuracy. It’s straightforward, and rewarding to execute . There’s a place and application for each, like intentionally hitting a slow rolling shot to give yourself an opportunity to reposition yourself on the court, or sending a lob high over the head of an opponent who has creeped too close to the net.

That strategic element of tennis is Top Spin’s biggest triumph. Trading power-shots as you send your opponent all over the court expending energy is exhilarating thanks to the sense of speed and impact. Breaking yourself out of the same situation by returning a ball in an awkward spot with unwiedly spin, creating a fault from the other player, is a diabolical joy. There’s a “chess, but with rackets” quality to the game of tennis that translates well to Top Spin 2K25, and dominating on the court is as dependent on decision-making as it is on pure stick skills.

The most substantial mode is MyCareer. Here you create your own tennis pro and build them up from newcomer to champion. Your time is divided by month, and each is broken into segments for Training, Special Events, and Tournaments. Training is a mostly good setup, as you are thrust into minigames that challenge you to execute particular shots, and does a decent job refining basic skills. Special Events are one-off matches, often with a specific goal in mind, like hitting 10 target areas during the game. These can be a solid choice for XP farming, and can also unlock sponsor packages, which in turn increase the selection of the purely cosmetic items in the Pro Shop that are used to dress up your character.

The main feature is the tournaments, where you take on other top players to battle for victory and a chance to climb the tennis ranks. There are different levels of tournaments, and gaining access to more prestigious events involves increasing your status, making your way from Unknown up to a Legend. Improving your status requires accomplishing a checklist of goals, and can contain things like winning a certain number of tournaments, successfully completing training, or working your way up the tennis ranks. The system is well-tuned and does a good job of ensuring that, by the time you are ready to take on higher-level tournaments, they are challenging but not insurmountable.

Building XP and leveling up your character gives you points to spend for increasing your player’s attributes, including speed, stamina, and reaction speed. Your maximum level is capped at 30, so you won’t be able to max out every category, which is a limitation that encourages building with specific goals in mind. Boost your player’s serve, forehand, and power, for example, and you’ll be capable of dominating the court with overwhelming smashes, while a speed/volley combo can wreak havoc with angles and positioning. But no one player can dominate in all facets of the game.

As you progress and win Special Events you will earn Fittings for your racket like strings or a new frame. These confer attribute bonuses on your player and come in three quality tiers, with higher tiers offering greater boosts. Hirable coaches have a similar effect, conferring boosts after completing a few on-court objectives. Together, these systems reinforce one of gaming’s great unwritten rules: sports games are secretly RPGs. And in the case of Top Spin, it’s a pretty good one.

One of the key considerations comes in the form of a fatigue system that adds an interesting layer of long-term planning. Every match takes away from your player’s fatigue. When it drops below a certain level, they gain the potential for a minor injury, which reduces certain attributes until it heals. If you keep playing without resting, it can lead to a major injury, sidelining you for multiple months. There’s an engaging risk/reward to deciding when you can push through another event, and when you need to take a break to recuperate. After all, burning th candle at both ends for too long could mean you’re forced to miss a career-defining tournament down the line.

There’s no prefabricated story mode, and I think that is for the best in this case as not all sports games need to be scripted to provide engaging drama. Top Spin does a great job creating an environment for on-court stories told through the game of tennis to shine. At one point, my player was run down after back-to-back tournaments and had just picked up a minor injury. I was all set to rest him for a month or two to recover, but then I realized Wimbledon was the next event. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, leading to the most challenging five rounds of matches I had played. Taking on the best players in tennis with my power game diminished by the injury meant I had to rely on subterfuge, finesse, and good old-fashioned moxie to make it to the end. Fighting through the challenges to grasp victory in a hard-fought final far exceeded any contrived storyline.

The problem with Top Spin 2K25 is there is little to do in MyCareer other than continuing to rotate through the three monthly activities, and the threadbare presentation wears thin quickly. It doesn’t take very long to develop your player far enough that you can easily win any match, at which point it really feels like you are just going through the motions over and over again, checking off objectives to increase your status and sitting at the top rank. Every tournament–from the small cup contests to the most prestigious Major–has an identical victory cutscene, with the same person giving you the exact same trophy. There’s no announcing crew, and ball-tracking graphics packages like Shot Spot are used exceedingly sparingly, which is a shame. There are eventually some interesting surprise matches we won’t spoil, but those are limited, and don’t appear until very deep into the game.

The options outside of MyCareer are extremely barebones. It’s somewhat understandable for what effectively amounts to a fresh launch for the Top Spin series, but it stands out when other sports games, including NBA 2K, have so many more modes. Outside of MyCareer, local play is limited to list single and doubles exhibition games, and the Top Spin Academy tutorials. The latter is narrated by tennis legend John McEnroe, and while it’s a good overview of how to play, it doesn’t offer much value after an initial run through,

The online assortment isn’t much better. The exhibition mode is restricted to one-on-one matchmade games. No option to play against friends or team-up with them for doubles play is a huge miss. The 2K Tour lets you play ranked games to climb a seasonal leaderboard, but the small roster of 11 men and 14 women is missing many notable athletes, including the #1 player from the men’s rankings, Novak Djokovik. There also aren’t any apparent rewards for placing well in the tour, leaving no clear incentive to play other than bragging rights.

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World Tour is the online competitive arena for created players. It is fun to go online and see how someone you built compares to another player’s athlete, and the cat-and-mouse game on the court versus a human offers unique opportunities to use feints and other misdirections that AI-controlled players tend not to respond to. Unfortunately, this is where Top Spin’s biggest sin comes most into focus as well: microtransations. The Centre Court Pass is the de facto battle pass. Thirteen of the 50 tiers are free, but the rest require you to buy the paid premium pass. That would be okay if the items were purely cosmetic, but it also contains boosters for XP, which leads to increased levels and higher attributes, as well as offering VC, the in-game currency. VC can be earned through normal gameplay, but accumulates at a slow rate. That’s a problem when you are required to spend almost 3,000 VC to respec your character if you decide you want to redistribute their attribute points. You could spend hours grinding matches to make that much VC, or you could drop about $20 to get just enough points to pay for it. It’s simply egregious.

Top Spin 2K25 gets the most important piece right: It plays great. It wonderfully combines smooth and responsive gameplay with the engaging tactical aspects of tennis to create something that is a joy on the court. It’s too bad the presentation is barebones and the suite of gameplay modes is limited. Ultimately though, it’s the onerous microtransactions– once again front and center in a 2K sports game–that truly hold it back and keep Top Spin 2K25 from approaching the series’ former glory.

Indika Review – The Devil Makes Three

Indika is a hard game to define. It looks like a horror game, but it’s not scary–at least not in the conventional sense. It plays like a third-person puzzle game, but most of the puzzles don’t require much thought. What Indika definitely is, however, is a fascinating psychological examination of faith and doubt that’s supported by remarkable visuals and mature writing. Occasionally, its ambitions get a little unwieldy, but developer Odd Meter’s decision to take on these heady themes and confidently explore nearly all of them is an impressive feat.

You play as Indika, a nun tormented by a demonic voice in her head, as she travels across a nightmarish interpretation of 19th-century Russia to deliver a letter. Most of the game consists of traveling from point A to B, solving a few puzzles, and watching cutscenes, but within these tasks are moments of introspection and self-discovery. Along the way, she meets an escaped convict named Ilya who claims God speaks to him. What ensues is a nuanced exploration of faith and doubt, love and hate, and pleasure and suffering. Both characters believe in the same God; rather than pitting a believer against a nonbeliever, Indika explores the space that exists between two interpretations of the same faith. This specificity allows Odd Meter to delve into different shades of Christianity and examine how the same texts, rituals, and prayers can be bent to ascertain different meanings.

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These frequent philosophical exchanges could have easily come off as overwrought or self-indulgent, but all these musings are in service of the characters and their development over the course of the story. For example, Indika tells Ilya she joined the convent of her own volition, but because her decision was fueled by emotions and experiences that were out of her control, can she really say she became a nun through her own free will? Ilya challenges this notion, and declares that free will is how we rise above our biological dispositions. Reflective conversations like these are key to Indika’s character as she grapples with her faith and attempts to make sense of her life.

It helps that Indika is portrayed by the fantastic Isabella Inchbald, and Louis Boyer embodies Ilya with equal confidence. There’s a raw authenticity and conviction to their performances that bring both characters to life. You can hear the fear and doubt in Indika’s voice and the desperation and hope in Ilya’s. Meanwhile, Silas Carson’s portrayal of the devil is humorous, sadistic, and cordial in his demeanor as he deftly narrates the action. While the writing and acting are great, they are occasionally undermined by awkward animations. Sometimes the action will look a bit too robotic, or dialogue won’t quite sync up with a character’s mouth. These are minor issues overall, but sometimes it was just enough to take me out of a scene.

Nevertheless, Indika is one of the most visually arresting games I’ve ever played. Developer Odd Meter uses framing, color, and lighting to achieve a look and feel that is rarely seen in games. Wide-angle shots often distort Indika’s facial features and warp the background to give the experience a voyeuristic feel. The framing, meanwhile, consistently impresses as it accentuates the action and world. In one section, after being chased by a wolf the size of a truck, the beast takes a tumble and wedges itself in a water wheel. What follows is a subdued conversation between Indika, Ilya, and the devil in her head about whether or not a beast can be sinful, as the camera tracks the dead wolf being dragged underwater by the water wheel. It’s a macabre scene given the context alone, but the stylistic choices allow the tone to meet the moment more effectively than a standard shot/reverse shot conversation would.

Rather than pitting a believer against a nonbeliever, Indika explores the space that exists between two interpretations of the same faith.

These choices aren’t just for show, either. They are bold and sometimes jarring creative decisions that reflect Indika’s inner turmoil as she travels across Russia. There are sections where the world–at least from Indika’s perspective–is split in two. When this happens, an oppressive and discordant synth kicks in as hellish red light soaks the scene. Through prayer, Indika can reforge the world around her and suppress the chaos. To progress, you–and by extension, Indika–must rip apart and merge her world by alternating between Indika’s cacophonous hell and her quiet reality. Although rare, these moments give weight and meaning to Indika’s gameplay as they leverage Indika’s themes of faith and doubt.

The same can’t always be said for the game’s puzzles, though. Most are simple and mundane: Move some boxes around, manipulate a crane, and strategically align lifts and elevators. Puzzles like these make sense in the early hours, as the game familiarizes you with Indika and her menial life. But as her world expands, these bland puzzles start to feel tonally and narratively incongruous as Indika struggles with her faith, especially when some puzzles literally let you tear the world apart, while others have you shove a box around.

With these criticisms in mind, it may seem like this story would be better told as a film or book. What’s fascinating, though, is that Indika clearly understands the medium it inhabits. It brazenly leverages video game tropes to elevate its themes. You’ll earn points for acts of faith, such as performing the sign of the cross at crucial moments, lighting altars, and collecting religious texts. You can then use these points to unlock skills that increase the amount of points Indika can earn. The thing is, these points do nothing. The loading screens even tell you they are useless. They have no discernible value and are simply a shallow way to measure Indika’s faith.

Yet, I didn’t want to miss any of it. I lit every altar, collected every text, and mashed the sign-of-the-cross button (yes, there’s a button) at every opportunity. It’s almost silly to gamify this stuff, but putting Indika through the motions as she builds up an arbitrary “faith” score while she’s actively questioning her faith is brilliant. I grew up religious. I went to church every Sunday and attended Catholic school. There was a distinct period in my life when I was questioning my beliefs, yet I still held on to some of those ingrained rituals. There was a quiet guilt that I couldn’t expunge: a feeling that could only be alleviated by going through the motions. In a way, it feels like Indika is using the language of video games and my understanding of them to reinforce her feelings of faith and doubt. Indika is about the internal struggle of a nun who isn’t entirely sure what she believes anymore, but seeing her cling to tradition–through my actions–is powerful.

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Although Indika does an excellent job exploring its themes of faith and doubt, there’s one subject the game doesn’t handle with the care it requires. In one particular scene near the end of the game, it touches on some uncomfortable territory that–depending on your interpretation of the story and its themes–might feel unnecessary. Up until that point, the evil that exists in the world feels intangible and theoretical. Indika and Ilya talk of hell and demons, but it always feels distant, almost as if God is protecting Indika on her journey. That is, until the final moments of the game, which allude to a sexual assault. The reasoning behind this scene is to test Indika’s faith, but as it stands, the scene in question feels like a means to an end rather than something Odd Meter wanted to properly explore.

Given the Catholic Church’s long and pockmarked history of sexual abuse, it makes sense that it plays such a critical role in Indika, but it’s not examined with the care that is necessary. The scene and what follows are clearly intended to elicit a lot of different emotions and speculation, but when those knee-jerk reactions stem from something so traumatic, it feels unearned. It’s almost as if the game wants you to move on as quickly as it does, which stands out as unusual in a game that is otherwise very thorough in its interrogation of sensitive subject matter. To be clear, Odd Meter doesn’t botch this scene entirely. Atrocity is often the most difficult test of faith, and they had the good sense not to show the assault itself. However, once the scene ends, it feels like Indika is barrelling towards its conclusion, while I was still trying to make sense of what just happened.

I’m often frustrated when developers lean on religious iconography but fail to explore faith in a meaningful way. Some of the greatest works of art exist because of religion, either as an exploration of it, a testament to it, or a denouncement of it. Human history is inextricably tied to religious faith. Yet, outside of a few exceptions, games tend to avoid commenting on religion without obfuscating it behind fake dogmas and fantastical gods. Indika’s direct examination of Christianity allows it to better explore the gray areas of religion and faith that are often lost when the recognizable specifics are swapped with allegorical fiction. And while the execution occasionally falters, its willingness to grapple with these difficult themes, and the conclusions it draws, make Indika a fascinating journey.

Endless Ocean: Luminous Review – Hope You Really Like Fish

Between the advent of cozy games, farm sims, rhythm games, narrative adventures, and more, we’re in something of a golden age of non-violent games. If you want to take a break from shooting and punching and instead just relax with some chill vibes, you have myriad options available to you. Endless Ocean: Luminous is an aquatic take, letting you freely explore the ocean with no danger or violence to speak of whatsoever. It sometimes straddles the line between game and edutainment in ways that could be engaging, but achingly slow progression and a lack of realism leave it feeling washed up.

Scientists say only 5% of the ocean has been explored. The name Endless Ocean, and the unexplored nature of the ocean itself, suggests an incredible degree of possibility and adventure. In practice, though, there actually isn’t all that much to do in Endless Ocean: Luminous. You can take part in a Solo Dive, in which you explore a seemingly randomized map; a Shared Dive, which is just a Solo Dive with friends exploring the same map together online using Nintendo’s Switch Online service (complete with its usual shortcomings); and Story Mode, which gives you short missions consisting of objectives accompanied by a little dialogue.

With this dearth of options, its approach to progression gating further compounds the lack of variety. After the first handful of story missions, the others are locked behind scanning ocean creatures in Shared or Solo dives. To scan you just hold the L button in the direction of sea life until the meter fills, which then gives a detailed look at the creatures in your scan. But the progress gates are set so absurdly high that the novelty wears off quickly. One of the earliest gates is set at 500 scans, which felt high but reasonable. The next was at 1,000, so I had to get another 500. That rubbed me the wrong way. By the time I reached the next gate, set at 2,000–meaning I needed another 1,000 scans–the chill vibes were gone. I was just annoyed. It’s hard to overstate how frustrating it is to spend almost an hour roaming around a randomized map scanning fish, only to exit the map and find I’ve only gained another 200 pips toward my next story goal. Plus, judging by the creature log, there are just under 600 species of sea life total in the game. Why would you need to scan 2,000 times to see a mid-game story mission?

Not that there’s much story to tell. You’re a new diver accompanied by an AI companion, exploring phenomena of glowing fish, and sometimes you’re accompanied by a brash (but actually cowardly) fellow diver named Daniel. The story missions are short and largely uneventful. Sometimes they end so quickly that I was genuinely surprised. Other times, they feel like a glorified tutorial, which makes it that much stranger to gate it behind so much free-roaming playtime. At least one of them is just a cutscene with no actual diving gameplay whatsoever. Occasionally, the story mode will deliver something unexpected and fun, like a massive or fantastical species of fish, but those moments are few and far between. There is a meta-story involving an ancient relic with 99 slots, which you fill in by discovering certain artifacts scattered randomly throughout dives or by fulfilling achievement objectives, but it feels more like a busywork checklist than a real story-driver.

And because the scanning requirements are so excessive, small inconveniences feel more impactful than they should. It’s easy to pick up a fish you’ve already scanned while trying to register a new one. Every time you scan any fish, it zooms in on them for a moment, forcing you to hit B to back out of the detailed view. If you scan multiple species at once, they’re grouped in a listing together, which is meant to be a convenience feature–but new species aren’t prioritized in the list, so you need to scroll down to find any with a “???” designation to mark them as discovered. If you don’t, the unidentified fish remains unidentified. If you scan a large school of the same fish, they’ll all be listed separately. In Solo Dives, the map is slowly charted in segments as you explore, but keeping an eye on the map to make sure I was filling in the little squares meant I could fail to notice a fish swimming by, or I could miss a depth change that may reward me for diving deeper.

Your dives get you experience points to level up, which increases your dive capacity, which you can use to tag sea creatures to swim alongside you. At first, these only include the smallest of sea creatures, but as you build capacity, you can swim with larger ones that are used to solve riddles. A stone tablet might challenge you to come back with a particular type of turtle or a fish that “sails as it swims.” Even then, though, the solutions are too rigid. When I returned to the tablet with a “Sailfish,” nothing happened, presumably because it was not the specific solution the riddle had in mind.

A Shared Dive in Endless Ocean: Luminous

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In addition to story progress and dive capacity, leveling up also opens new but severely limited tiers of customization options. Those include palette swaps for your diver or individual SCUBA suit parts, different stickers to apply to your profile, and emotes. There isn’t even a different helmet or mouthpiece, just the default in different colors.

It feels as if the goal was to create a virtual, interactive aquatic museum, and the variety of sea life does support this nicely. It actually is exciting the first time you see a new species of sea turtle or an extinct megalodon shark, even if you know that it can’t hurt you. But the mechanical underpinnings get in the way of its potential as a museum too. For example, every species of fish has a blurb with some interesting marine facts, complete with a reading of it from your AI companion. This could be a cool and educational feature, but when you’re pressed to perform thousands of scans, it’s hard to bother listening to every blurb. There also isn’t an indicator for when you’ve already heard a blurb, and since you’ll see species repeated a lot, it’s nearly impossible to remember which ones you have or haven’t heard–even if you can tell dozens of roughly similar-looking fish apart, which I can’t.

In part due to its non-violent nature, Endless Ocean does not present the depths very realistically, even to my layman’s eyes. Your oxygen is unlimited, and you don’t need to worry about temperature or depth. You’ll never freeze or get decompression sickness or drown. More aggressive species will never attack you. Species of fish seem to be scattered more or less randomly around the map, which leads to oddities like finding large-scale creatures in shallow waters, or discovering deep-sea dwellers in middle-depths instead of the deepest, almost pitch-black parts of the ocean where they actually reside. And while this is likely a limitation of the Switch hardware, the fish, coral, and ocean floor themselves aren’t rendered photorealistically enough to instill a sense of awe and majesty.

It seems Endless Ocean wants you to spend most of your time diving with friends to pass the time. The Shared Dives option is the first one on the menu, after all, and it is easier to fulfill the simple procedural objectives when you’re paired with other divers. But like most Switch games, you join friendly games using a digital code, and there isn’t built-in voice chat, so you can’t really treat it like an underwater virtual lobby. Even if you could, though, scanning fish with your friends would not sustain the group fun for anyone but the most devoted of sea-life enthusiasts.

Endless Ocean: Luminous could have been a realistic SCUBA sim with all the treacherous hazards that real underwater divers need to consider, a relaxing chill-vibes game that’s mostly about finding fish with your friends, or a story-driven game centered around discovering awesome and even extinct underwater beasts. It has pieces of all of those, but it doesn’t commit to any of them. Instead, it takes the enormity and glory of earth’s largest and most mysterious region and turns exploring it into a dull, repetitive chore.

Final Fantasy 16: The Rising Tide Review – Riding The Wave

It’s always a bit weird to go back to a game you finished for story-centric DLC, especially when the base game had a pretty definitive ending. However, those that have just a little bit more left in the tank can take the opportunity to give a game you really loved one more high note to end on. I often think of the Mass Effect 3 Citadel DLC as the best example–an oddly placed, yet near-perfect send-off. Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide evokes similar feelings in that I was just happy to have an excuse to revisit that world and spend a bit more time with characters I cherished. While it does largely play out like more Final Fantasy XVI content, The Rising Tide fills in a few blanks left behind and lets you wield two new Eikons in a questline that reaches similar heights of the original game.

The Rising Tide questline is slotted into FFXVI right before the main game’s point of no return, making it feel like an impromptu diversion at a critical point in the story. That said, it is necessary, as many of the events leading up to the DLC provide the context around its story. As Clive, you and the crew are invited to visit a region called Mysidia–a quiet area tucked away in the north and cloaked under the veil of powerful magic to both conceal itself from the rest of the world and maintain a facade of bright blue skies. It’s a new area for the game that has its own interesting, isolated society and lets you explore a relatively small but vibrant region, and its stunning views remind you of how FFXVI uses its technical strengths to paint a vibrant and enticing world.

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Now Playing: FINAL FANTASY XVI – The Rising Tide DLC Release Date Trailer

Much of FFXVI was visually dour given its grim nature, so Mysidia’s tropical tinge is a refreshing contrast. But this isn’t a vacation for Clive–The Rising Tide revolves around the history of Leviathan as an Eikon that, like every other Eikon, was wielded in bad faith. Through the main scenario quests and sidequests, you learn about the people of Mysidia, their way of life, and their particular relationship with Leviathan. The people are self-sustaining and treat magic quite differently from the rest of Valisthea, and their leader, Shula, embodies their ethos as she accompanies you throughout the DLC. She’s not exactly a standout character in the grand scheme of things, but she is a solid anchor for The Rising Tide and provides a good enough excuse for dragging Clive off the beaten path. It’s a twist to the typical FFXVI plot beat and comes around to be a rather sweet story about breaking generational curses in a way that lends itself more to FFXVI’s softer side.

That’s not to say The Rising Tide doesn’t go hard, because like the base game, its blend of intense boss fights woven into impressive cinematic cuts remains the foundation here. Along with the new region are an additional dungeon and another larger-than-life Eikon battles. While the dungeon itself is quite short, the boss fight that awaits at the end of it features some clever and inventive mechanics that even impressed the Final Fantasy XIV Savage raider in me. FFXVI’s base game shares a lot of similarities with the MMORPG in terms of battle mechanics, and this remains true here, but a few twists caught me off guard and left me grinning when I was able to overcome them. And even if I could see it coming from a mile away, the build-up to another climactic Eikon battle and the arduous fight itself brought back that specific feeling of hype FFXVI was so damn good at evoking. The telegraphing of certain mechanics in the EIkon battle aren’t always great, so there is some trial-and-error as you bang your head against the wall to get through it. Still, figuring out how to resolve the mechanics along with pulling off nasty, weighty attacks as Ifrit was as gratifying as ever, matching the best of what the original game had to offer.

As a chapter all about Leviathan, being able to use the power of the iconic serpent is a definite highlight. Creative Business Unit III really said, “What if we gave Clive a gun?” and that’s essentially what they did. Leviathan is a projectile-focused Eikon power that has its own unique mode that turns Clive’s arm into a shotgun capable of blasting lethal chunks of water, and boy, does it melt away enemies’ stagger meter. For cooldowns, you also get a rapid-fire bubble blast and wave-like ability that starts from the sides and crunches small enemies together, making them easy targets for shotgun blasts or any other AoE spell you have lined up. There’s a satisfying feedback to landing shots and weaving between Leviathan’s moveset, and it’s great to see that FFXVI brand of action combat still had room for creative ideas.

On top of that, you also get to wield Ultima as an Eikon power, which allows Clive to hover with wings that can also violently swipe at mobs of enemies. Many of the cooldown abilities with Ultima are heavy and dramatic displays of power that aren’t exactly conducive to swiftly weaving into an attack rotation–if you just want to disrespectfully pummel enemies, Ultima is the Eikon for you. Ultima is unlocked by starting up the new content called Kairos Gates, which is part of the DLC’s package. It’s a run-based combat challenge where you gradually build Clive with boons and enhancements to help make it through a genuinely tough gauntlet of enemy hordes and remixed bosses. The menus and sound effects between rounds are encased in an old-school Final Fantasy presentation which is a cute touch, but these fights are anything but cute. If you’ve been wanting FFXVI to up the difficulty, it’s a decent, albeit straightforward, way to get more out of its combat.

The Rising Tide contains a handful of sidequests to fill out Mysidia, which offer rewards or unlock features for the region. These range from talking to NPCs, fetching items in the world, taking out certain targets, or some combination of those things–mostly continuing the typical FFXVI quest design, which wasn’t exactly its strong suit. Not that it’s surprising, but many of the conversations in the DLC still have that odd, stiff style of conversation via a cutscene that stood out like sore thumbs in the original game. It’s another one of those FFXIV-isms that don’t quite hold up when used in a highly produced, prestige-style game.

However, the DLC does use sidequests effectively in a few key ways. For one, they tend to be more combat-focused so they’re opportunities to sharpen those new Eikon-wielding skills. But after the DLC’s main scenario is done, a new batch of sidequests pop up to let the overall story breathe, and they’re vital for giving Shula and the people of Mysidia closure. I’m a bit shocked these are marked as sidequests considering how impactful they are in contextualizing The Rising Tide. And while the reward for completing all of it isn’t necessarily a tangible one, it’s an emotional payoff that provides instead brings some much needed warmth to FFXVI’s dark world.

The wonders of Mysidia are also represented in the new music for The Rising Tide. To the surprise of absolutely no one, composer Masayoshi Soken and his team were cooking once again. The main village of Haven has a catchy yet sorrowful acoustic tune that wonderfully captures the setting, and the beautiful overworld theme struck me as an extension of the bittersweet feelings I had playing through parts of FFXIV: Endwalker. The dungeon theme incorporates light electronic elements to communicate something inexplicably magical about the environment while also calling back to the main leitmotif used throughout FFXVI, as if to wrap the whole journey together through sound. While the Eikon boss battle theme is among the explosive and impressive tracks to hype you up in the moment, it’s the more calming music, where the emotional nuances of the adventure are delivered through the notes that make up the songs.

Playing through The Rising Tide was bittersweet. For all its flaws, I have a deep fondness for Final Fantasy XVI, so I was happy to have a strong hook to bring me back to Valisthea, even if it was a rather short-lived journey that wrapped up just as I was starting to vibe with the new setting, abilities, and characters. In several ways, The Rising Tide offers something I wish the original game had a bit more of in its story: vibrance and warmth. FFXVI was outwardly grim and dark–fitting what it was going for. But having this contrast that complements the core themes of the original game was a real treat, especially with some great gameplay twists along the way. The Rising Tide is an easy recommendation for those who enjoyed the base game, and a damn fine way to send off FFXVI.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes Review – One In A Hundred

In the years since the explosion of game crowdfunding, a stigma has emerged surrounding these titles. Yes, there have been plenty of games that enjoyed great success after their crowdfunding campaigns, but more people remember the high-profile flops: games with big names and ambitious promises attached that, for a variety of reasons, betrayed the high hopes fans held for them. Many of these were revivals–spiritual or otherwise–of beloved series from ages past. Now we have Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a crowdfunded game designed to carry the torch of the much-beloved Suikoden series from the PS1 and PS2–and, with such a high pedigree attached, there’s understandable trepidation: Will this be a glorious return to form, or another disappointment? Fortunately, for us (and all of the backers), it turned out wonderfully.

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Eiyuden Chronicle begins when a young man named Nowa joins the Eltisweiss Watch, a small militia unit under the command of Countess Perielle of the League of Nations. On a joint mission with a military team from the Galdean Empire, the Watch discovers a powerful, ancient artifact, the Primal Lens, earning everyone involved instant renown. However, it’s not long before squabbling between the Empire and League over the device, along with internal power struggles in the Empire, erupts into an invasion of Eltisweiss and a full-blown war. As the scope of the conflict expands, so does the story: Nowa rebuilds a resistance army in an abandoned castle, Imperial military prodigy Seign struggles with his feelings of obligation, friendship, and loyalty, and a young warrior woman named Marisa finds her clan caught in the middle.

The story doesn’t shy away from its similarities to games in the Suikoden series. In several ways, it outright embraces them: a story that branches into multiple viewpoints, loyalties among friends being tested during war, internal political intrigue, powerful magic runes being a crucial plot device, and, most obviously, the conceit of building a huge band of warriors to take on an even bigger enemy. The story was helmed by Suikoden creator and writer Yoshitaka Murayama (who sadly passed away shortly before the game’s release), and it brims with the warmth, wit, and plot twists that made the early Suikoden titles so engaging and memorable.

Throughout the game, you’ll be on the lookout for more characters to bolster the ranks of the Watch and, eventually, help build a base for the Resistance army. Some characters are easy to find and recruit, but others will require some searching or additional effort: You may have to go back to a town or dungeon from much earlier in the game, locate a rare item, play a minigame, or fend off a vicious foe to get someone to join the crew. Searching for heroes is a lot of fun (and much easier once you get the fast-travel ability), and the reward of seeing your base grow and improve with the efforts of your new comrades is immensely satisfying.

But the characters themselves are often their own reward. Despite having such a large cast, Eiyuden Chronicle manages to give each character their own unique voice and personality. They don’t just fall into the background once their recruitment arc is over, either; they’ll comment on current story events while they’re in your party, chatter as you explore towns, and interact with other characters at the base and elsewhere on your travels. Sometimes they’ll show up to add extra flair when you least expect it, like when they get dragged into judging a cooking competition.

Aside from giving you a good amount of freedom to search for friends when you feel like it, Eiyuden Chronicle’s story progression is similar to the typical JRPG: mostly linear with major setpieces and battles to highlight key story points. You’ll go through the usual dungeons, deserts, tundras, forests, and mines, sometimes needing to solve puzzles to progress. While most of the puzzles are pretty simple, they can sometimes be more obnoxious than intended due to random enemy encounters interrupting things at the worst possible times. Still, the dungeon design is solid and exploration is generally rewarding.

Despite having such a large cast, Eiyuden Chronicle manages to give each character their own unique voice and personality

Combat is also heavily based on the Suikoden games: turn-based, with up to six active party members at a time, plus a seventh support member who can grant passive benefits like stat boosts or money gain. Characters can have both skills based on SP (which regenerates over time) and MP (which needs items to restore), and each be changed based on the runes that character has equipped. Placement is key: Some attacks and skills won’t reach far beyond the front row, while some less-armored characters work better in the back–and there are also skills that target entire rows. One distinct combat element carried over from Suikoden is multi-character team attacks that require two or more characters with some sort of connection to be in the party together, who can then perform a tandem specialty attack.

Not every character in your army is available to fight, but you’re still given a very wide selection of party members to pick from to fight the way you prefer. You’re probably not going to use every single character you recruit in combat, and that’s fine–seeing who you click with and building them up generally works well. And if you do need to bring a character you’ve been neglecting up to snuff, a graduated XP system works to get them to parity with your high-level warriors quickly. A bit of auto-battling and they should be set.

Boss battles are where things get interesting. Many boss fights in the game come with some sort of interactable gimmick that changes the way you approach the battle. These can be objects to hide behind to avoid damage, background objects that cause damage to either you or the opponent based on who gets to it first, or even a treasure lying just beyond a row of foes. Sometimes these gimmicks are really fun and clever, like a boss who gets knocked off-balance when one of the lackeys hoisting them on their backs is felled, leaving it defenseless. Sometimes it’s miserable, like needing to guess which side of the arena the enemy will appear on to hit a book and deal extra damage, missing entirely if you guess wrong. When the gimmicks are good, they make for very fun fights, but when they’re not, you’ll be longing for more straightforward combat. And sometimes the boss is simply a big difficulty spike in general, leaving you in a very bad situation if you come in ill-prepared.

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By far the worst combat experience, however, are the large-scale army battles. These play out like a turn-based strategy game, with your party members commanding armies and moving around a grid, but lack any of the fun and excitement you’ll find in a dedicated strategy-RPG. You spend most of the time just watching things happen, feeling like you have very little control over the proceedings as the armies you moved around, slowly engage the enemy. You’re left hoping they’ll do more damage than the opposition so you can go back to the fun parts of the game instead.

Overall, Eiyuden Chronicle hits the retro-RPG sweet spot nicely. It’s focused on delivering that warm, comforting feeling of a classic JRPG, and even all of the side distractions–the card minigame, the weird Pokemon/Beyblade hybrid top minigame, the raising/racing sim, even commodities trading–don’t distract too much from the game’s prime mission. Add some gorgeously painted and animated spritework and a stellar soundtrack into the mix, and you’ve got a delightful experience that sometimes falters, though not enough to make you put it down. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes might not be revolutionary, but it successfully delivered on its core promise–and that’s really all it needed to do.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy Review – Way Of Shadow

In what feels like a spiritual successor to 2016’s Aragami, Ereban: Shadow Legacy transforms you into a deadly shadow that can become one with the darkness–the ultimate stealth operative. The game doesn’t quite deliver the necessary challenge to make for a successful stealth game, however, as the first trick you learn will get you through the entire game without a hitch. It does far better on the platforming front, and though its cast of characters could have used some fleshing out, the futuristic sci-fi world they inhabit is cultivated with colorful sights and intriguing snippets of lore.

As its name implies, Shadow Legacy’s main gimmick is its use of shadows. You play as Ayana, the last of the titular Ereban, a people who possess the innate ability to become one with and manipulate shadows. Using her shadow merge ability, Ayana can sink into shadows to creep past enemies, slink up walls, and dispose of bodies, encouraging you to stick to the shadows where your toolbelt is at its strongest. Alongside these shadow abilities, Ayana has an assortment of advanced gadgets–some are always useful like a recon pulse that marks enemies and items through walls, while others are more situational like mines that stun targets–which work regardless of the lighting situation.

Light is Ayana’s enemy–you don’t want to stay in it for too long.

I initially thought that this would present plenty of opportunities and strategies to sneak past enemies, most of whom will take out Ayana in a single hit. There’s a healthy variety of foes who want to take her down–standard enemies don’t pose much threat beyond the flashlight they carry to take away your darkness, but the more adept snipers can spot you from afar and the stealthy droids who can go invisible can ruin your day if you’re not taking time to look for the telltale shimmer. And then there are the human enemies who present a moral quandary rather than a gameplay one–while the mechanical droid-like enemies that dominate each level can be killed with impunity, murdering the living and breathing human workers will negatively impact Ayana’s morality and others’ perception of her (which I’ll touch on a bit more later).

Unfortunately, Ayana’s natural ability to merge into the shadows and traverse unseen is very powerful–so powerful, in fact, that you don’t really need to rely on anything else. The enemies aren’t very smart either, so they’re easy to avoid even if you solely rely on shadow merge. This means that it’s actually quite easy to go through the entire game without being seen or resorting to lethally cutting down humans, making for a stealth game that doesn’t quite give you enough opposition to challenge you to think critically when it comes to circumnavigating a threat. There aren’t any difficulty settings to make the enemies smarter or more plentiful either–though you can adjust how many environmental guides show up in each level (purple lamps or purple paint that point you in the general direction you have to go, for example).

It’s pretty easy to get past guards when you can move along walls.

Shadow Legacy teases you with a tantalizing view of what it could be in its third chapter, briefly breaking free from its otherwise linear stealth levels to give you a playground in which you can tackle an assortment of missions in any order within an open area. Within this open space, you have more of a choice in how you approach each assignment instead of being funneled through a more linear challenge. Mistakes have a more drastic impact because you’re not moving from one area to the next–it’s all one big connected location, where your actions can snowball into unintended effects. Ayana’s assortment of abilities and gadgets also have way more utility in this level. The binoculars used for scouting and mapping enemy movements are way more valuable in a giant open space than in an enclosed laboratory or city street, for instance. The game never opts for this format again, however, and in doing so it leaves me wishing for what might have been.

To the game’s credit, the back half of Shadow Legacy has some creative set pieces from a platforming standpoint, with one section in particular that I adored for how well it challenged and encouraged me to utilize all I had learned up to that point in one fast-paced gauntlet. Shadow merge can be used to eject out of shadows to make otherwise impossible jumps or interact with the environment to solve simple riddles–skills that apply to challenges that steadily get more complex as the game goes on. Even if Shadow Legacy falls short of being a great stealth game, it’s a good platformer. The environmental elements create an assortment of shadows–some oddly shaped, others that move, and still more that can be altered–and figuring out how to reach an out-of-the-way platform is sometimes a puzzle within itself, made trickier and more rewarding to solve given the stamina meter tied to Ayana’s shadow merge. Not only do you have to figure out which shadows to move or follow or jump between, but you also usually have to do it in a timely manner.

Character development feels rushed in Shadow Legacy, especially when it comes to the supporting cast.

In service of these platforming challenges, Shadow Legacy features a colorful diversity of locales, ranging from an outpost in the desert to an autonomous factory. My favorite is an urban street that hints at the human life that once populated it, now devoid of any movement save for the autonomous drones that patrol the streets and promise that this is for the best. Sporadic graffiti and text logs hint at the growing loss of autonomy among the human citizens leading up to the corporate takeover that promised everyone a better life. It’s such an eerie level, framed against the setting sun that’s causing the street to slowly be encroached by shadow. It feels fitting that Ayana uses those same shadows to sneak her way past the guards searching for her, paralleling how the oppressive regime’s efforts can’t stop the resistance–they squeezed so much life out of this one city block that now there’s no living soul to report Ayana to the authorities, just dumb, easily-fooled machines.

Guiding Ayana through these challenges is a story that never quite gets room to breathe. Initially trapped by an AI-controlled entity hellbent on using her powers for some unknown purpose, Ayana finds herself quickly working with the resistance seeking to free themselves from corporate tyranny. Ayana is hesitant to work with them, having heard they’re nothing more than terrorists but agrees to use her unique skillset to help on the condition that the group gives her everything they know about the Ereban people. There are some interesting, albeit familiar, narrative themes here, but Shadow Legacy rushes through them–Ayana buys into the resistance’s cause remarkably quickly, for example, despite being given no catalyst to do so.

This is my favorite area in the game. It’s so beautiful and yet so eerie.

In the game’s third chapter, Ayana is warned to spare humans so as to help alleviate the accusations that the members of the resistance are terrorists. This is the game’s morality system, shifting the coloring of Ayana’s design toward shining white or sinister purple depending on how bloodthirsty you play her. As far as I can tell, the ramifications of this only impact one small moment in the final level of the game–it’s not much of a narrative payoff.

At certain points in the story, Ayana can upgrade her shadow powers and you have a choice of whether to unlock new branches on one of two skill trees. One branch leans toward non-lethal abilities, like cushioning your footsteps, while the other opts for skills that make you a better killer, like making it easier to hide bodies so your deeds aren’t discovered. This creates some fun replayability as it’s impossible to fully unlock both branches in a single playthrough, but, again, shadow merge is just too strong. The new powers are cool, but I never had to use them, as shadow merge makes it fairly easy to sneak through a level without being spotted. Granted, I opted for a nonlethal run. It’s possible that if I had aimed for a playthrough where I killed everything that moved, I’d have needed to rely on more of the powers that hide bodies or kill multiple enemies at a time in order to not alert guards that something was wrong.

Ereban: Shadow Legacy sits in a weird place for me. As a stealth game, it rarely challenged me, reducing protagonist Ayana into a one-trick pony that could sneak past any target with the same shadow merge skill every time. But as a platformer, Shadow Legacy incorporates some entertaining puzzles that grow increasingly complex and rewarding to overcome. I never quite managed to connect to Ayana’s journey against the autonomous overlords planning to doom an entire civilization, but I had a lot of fun slinking up walls and exploding out of the darkness, striving to time my jumps with the movement of a windmill and the rotating shadow it was casting. Those nail-biting moments are the ones that stuck with me, not the dozenth time I slunk past an unsuspecting droid.

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Star Wars Black Series Electronic Helmets Get Big Discounts At Amazon

It used to be that if you wanted to dress up as a Star Wars Stormtrooper, your options were limited to cheap masks unless you invested heavily in a set of 501st-approved armor or learned how to make your own. These days? While you’ll still need a decent chunk of change for that iconic white armor, at least getting your hands on a helmet isn’t complicated. For Star Wars Day, new Black Series electronic helmets are available on the Disney Store, and Amazon has limited-time Star Wars discounts on a few other popular helmets from Hasbro’s collectible Black Series line.

Let’s start with the deals. If you’re a fan of the look of the Artillery Stormtrooper in The Mandalorian, this voice-changing helmet is on sale for $79 (list price is $100) on May 4. Sticking with The Mandalorian, Axe Woves’ weathered helmet is up for grabs for $87 (was $132)–this matches the best price ever for this particular Black Series helmet. Both helmets fit adults and feature adjustable hats. The Artillery Stormtrooper helmet, as mentioned, has a one-button press voice distortion feature. The Axe Woves helmet includes a built-in rangefinder with LED lights. Side note: You can also snag Darth Vader’s lightsaber from Hasbro’s Black Series line for over $100 off at Amazon.

Star Wars Black Series Artillery Stormtrooper Helmet

The Artillery Stormtrooper helmet deal is pretty great, but if you’d prefer the more traditional look, the Disney Store has you covered.

Previously an Amazon exclusive, Hasbro’s Black Series Imperial Stormtrooper voice-changing helmet is now available on the Disney Store. The helmet is just one of many new additions to Disney’s catalog as part of the Star Wars Day celebrations. Joining the Stormtrooper helmet is the new Boba Fett Prototype Armor helmet, a pretty cool collectible for those interested in the history of Star Wars.

The Stormtrooper helmet retails for $105 on the Disney Store, and you can get free shipping with promo code SHIPMAGIC. It’s worth noting the Stormtrooper helmet isn’t available directly from Amazon at the moment, and it’s unclear if it will be restocked. You can still buy it from third-party resellers, but the price is currently sitting at $130 minimum (plus shipping).

Star Wars – Imperial Stormtrooper Helmet (Rogue One) — $105

Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper Electronic Helmet

Previously an Amazon exclusive, Hasbro’s Black Series Imperial Stormtrooper voice-changing helmet is now available on the Disney Store. The helmet is just one of many new additions to Disney’s catalog as part of the Star Wars Day celebrations. Joining the Stormtrooper helmet is the new Boba Fett Prototype Armor helmet, a pretty cool collectible for those interested in the history of Star Wars.

The Stormtrooper helmet retails for $105 on the Disney Store, and you can get free shipping with promo code SHIPMAGIC. It’s worth noting the Stormtrooper helmet isn’t available directly from Amazon at the moment, and it’s unclear if it will be restocked. You can still buy it from third-party resellers, but the price is currently sitting at $130 minimum (plus shipping).

This Imperial Stormtrooper helmet is based on the cannon fodder trooper from Star Wars: Rogue One, and includes fine details based on that film’s Stormtrooper armor. It features an adjustable fit so that it can securely sit on most noggins, but the cool thing here is the inclusion of an electronic voice-changer. With that powered on, you’ll sound like you’re communicating through a ham radio at your next convention. As mentioned, this helmet was previously an Amazon-exclusive helmet, but after it quickly sold out, resellers were listing this helmet for hundreds of dollars at one point, so it’s nice to see it available at retail price again.


Star Wars Boba Fett Prototype Armor Helmet (Empire Strikes Back) – $105

Boba Fett Prototype Armor Electronic Helmet

Though the voice-changing effect built into the Stormtrooper helmet is very cool, the new Boba Fett helmet is cooler from a historical standpoint. While it has the signature shape of Fett’s bucket, it pays tribute to the original concept of the bounty hunter back when he was envisioned as a Super Stormtrooper in concept art. Instead of the olive green that became his trademark color, this helmet has a crisp white finish. This one also has interior padding for a snug fit, a flip-down rangefinder, a heads-up display, and LEDs to indicate when you’re in “hunting” mode.


Disney has a bunch of other new products and deals available for Star Wars Day, including Force FX lightsabers, Black Series action figures, and cool clothing.

Read more on Star Wars Day

The Darth Vader Force FX Elite Lightsaber Is 40% Off At Amazon, But Selling Out Fast

Over at Amazon, the Star Wars Darth Vader Force FX Elite Lightsaber is on sale for just $170. This replica of Vader’s red lightsaber normally costs $279, but is 40% off as part of the online retailer’s Star Wars Day sale. While this is an excellent discount on one of the coolest Star Wars weapon replicas, it’s only available today, and supplies are limited. In fact, 40% have been claimed at the time of posting, so you should grab this deal now before it sells out.

The Darth Vader Force FX Elite Lightsaber is part of the Star Wars The Black Series of collectibles from Hasbro, which are often highly detailed and offer more advanced features. Like other Force FX Elite saber replicas, it sports LED lighting in its removable blade and sound effects that activate when you turn the saber on. It also ships with a display stand and has a removable Kyber crystal inside the hilt. The hilt’s design is based on the version seen in the Star War: Obi-Wan Disney Plus series, but fans will also recognize its iconic look from the original Star Wars trilogy.

Snagging the Darth Vader Force FX Elite Lightsaber for just $170 is a great deal, but it’s just one of many Star Wars collectibles on sale at Amazon during Star Wars Day, including other items from the Star Wars The Black Series like the Artillery Stormtrooper helmet for $79 (was $100) and Axe Woves Mandalorian helmet for $87 (was $132). Like with the Vader Lightsaber, these deals are limited in supply and will only be around during Star Wars day.

Be sure to check out all of Amazon’s Star Wars deals, and check out our roundups for more offers on Star Wars merch, Lego sets, video games, board games, books, and more.

Lego Baby Yoda On Sale At Amazon For Star Wars Day, But It’ll Sell Out Soon

Amazon has several great deals on Lego Star Wars sets for Star Wars Day, including everyone’s favorite Force-wielding toddler: Grogu. Affectionately known as Baby Yoda, this cute little guy has been a fan favorite ever since his first appearance in The Mandalorian Season 1. The Baby Yoda Lego set deal, which drops the price from $90 to $62, is selling out fast–70% of stock was already claimed at publish time. If you want to add this adorable Lego set to your collection, you’ll need to wield the Force (your credit card) soon. While you’re picking up Baby Yoda, check out Amazon’s $60 discount on Lego Chewbacca and Ahsoka Ghost & Phantom II Starship ($32 off).

Keep in mind that this kit is designed to be a collectible–not a toy–so you probably won’t want to leave it sitting around in your living room. Instead, you’ll want to display it in a game room or home office. To help show off your masterpiece, you’ll get an included information sign and Baby Yoda minifigure.

For more Star Wars Day deals, check out our roundup of the best Lego deals. You should also take a look at the new collection of Lego sets released for Star Wars Day and the 25th anniversary of the highly successful collaboration between Lego and Star Wars. Speaking of 25th anniversaries, The Phantom Menace turns 25 this month, and Disney is celebrating with a collection of new merch, including a limited-edition Darth Maul Lightsaber hit.

This Lego Chewbacca Set Is 30% Off During Star Wars Day

As part of Amazon’s Star Wars Day sale, the large Lego Star Wars Chewbacca model kit is on sale for just $140 at Amazon, which is a 30% discount off its usual $200 price tag.

The 2,139-piece set lets you build a detailed 18-inch model of the Wookie hero with his iconic bowcaster rifle and bandolier. The box also includes an informative display placard and a Chewbacca Lego minifig. The Lego Star Wars Chewbacca model was originally released in celebration of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’s 40th anniversary in 2023, and this discount deal is a perfect opportunity to pick it up if you’ve been eyeing the kit. The deal is available as part of today’s Star Wars Day event and quantities are limited, so head over to Amazon and pick up the kit while you can.

Star Wars Lego Chewbacca

Chewy isn’t the only Lego Star Wars set on sale at Amazon during Star Wars Day 2024. You can also pick up a similar large-scale character model of The Mandalorian’s Grogu–aka Baby Yoda–for just $62 (down from $90). Of course, some of the coolest Star Wars sets are of the franchise’s many starships, and several of those are on sale as well, including a kit featuring the Ghost and Phantom II ships from the Star Wars: Ahsoka series that’s down to $128 (was $160). Like the Chewbacca model, these discounts are only available for a limited time during Star Wars Day, and may sell out quickly, so grab them while you can.

Those are just a small selection of the many Lego Star Wars deals available during Star Wars Day 2024. Not only are dozens of sets discounted online, Lego also dropped several new kits, including a giant TIE Interceptor model. Be sure to check our roundup of the best Lego Star Wars Day deals to see what else out there, and check our guides for the latest Star Wars Day price drops on even more Star Wars collectibles, videos games, books, tabletop games, and more.

Darth Maul Limited-Edition Lightsaber Available Now For Star Wars Day

Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace turns 25 later this month, so it only makes sense that Disney would celebrate this year’s edition of Star Wars Day with a line of nostalgic merch. Earlier this week, new Phantom Menace Lego sets launched, and now the Disney Store has a bunch of new collectibles, led by Darth Maul’s iconic double-sided lightsaber hilt, sold for an eye-watering $400.

Darth Maul’s Legacy Lightsaber Set is limited to 7,000 units and comes with a certificate of authenticity. At the time of writing, Disney had a queue for its online shop and was limiting customers to 10 minutes of shopping before requiring them to jump back in line. Here’s the official description of the Darth Maul Legacy Lightsaber Set:

“The finely detailed reproduction of the Dathomirian’s legendary double hilt features sound effects and illuminates red when you attach two of our Lightsaber Blades, sold separately. Presented in a spectacular wooden box with Darth Maul graphics, the interior lights up red and plays Duel of the Fates when you slide open the lid.”

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – Darth Maul Limited-Edition Double-Sided Lightsaber Hilt

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Needless to say, this is very much a collector’s item, and it costs a lot more than some of the other official lightsaber hilts (a bunch of them go for $160). To be fair, it is like two hilts in one, since Darth Maul wields a double-sided blade. Just note that if you want a fully functional Darth Maul lightsaber, there are many add-ons: blades, sheaths, hilt stand, and clip. It’s compatible with existing accessories.

There are some other cool Phantom Menace collectibles up for grabs, too, including a few more products with highly limited quantities. The high-end 11-inch Queen Amidala Doll is limited to 3,100 units and costs $130. You’ll receive a certificate of authenticity with your purchase.

If you can also add some Phantom Menace style to your wardrobe with the 25th anniversary hoodie, tie-dye T-Shirt, backpack, and sling bag. We’ve listed some of the highlights from the collection below.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at Stormtrooper cosplay, check out Disney’s new 187th Legion Clone Trooper Voice-Changing Helmet, which is available for $100. For droid enthusiasts, consider picking up the adorable BD-1 Interactive Droid from Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi series. This remote-control droid is available for $110.

Stars Wars: The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Collection

Many Of Square Enix’s Best Games Are Steeply Discounted For Golden Week

Green Man Gaming is holding a massive sale in honor of the Japenese Golden Week Festival this week. While games from many publishers are on sale, some of the best deals are for Square Enix RPGs, including many of the company’s best releases in recent memory.

Two of the best deals are for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, both of which are 60% off for GMG XP members. Final Fantasy VII Remake is the first of the planned Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy that reimagines the characters and storyline of the 1997 turn-based RPG on PS1 into a 3D action RPG, while folding in many of the characters, events, and lore from the numerous FFVII spinoffs released after the original game. You can pick up the PC version for just $28 (was $70) at GMG.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remaster of the PSP original and is a prequel to both the original FFVII and the FFVII Remake trilogy. While it’s not part of the core FFVII remake trilogy, Reunion upgrades Crisis Core’s gameplay and graphics to be closer to FFVII Remake and Rebirth. Reunion features the same voice cast as the Remake trilogy, which makes it feels even more cohesive with this new version of FFVII. You can grab it for just $20 (was $60) at GMG.

Note that to get the full 60% discounts, you need to be a GMG XP member. GMG XP is free to join, but unlocking the extra savings requires you to spend at least $1 first. Otherwise, the discount for both games is only 50% off–which is still a great deal. For an alternative option, Humble Bundle also has both games for 50% off, and a portion of your purchases goes to charity.

Both Final Fantasy VII Remake and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion are worth picking up if you plan to play the recently-released second part of the remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is currently a PS5 exclusive, but a PC version is expected to launch in the near future.

More Final Fantasy Deals

While the Final Fantasy VII discounts are the big draws in GMG’s Golden Week sales, there are a bunch more great Square Enix deals on offer, including huge price drops on the rest of the Final Fantasy franchise. You can grab PC versions of almost every mainline entry and numerous spinoffs like Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin and World of Final Fantasy. Once again, GMG’s prices are lowest for XP members. Many of the games are also on sale at Humble Bundle at prices similar to GMG’s non-XP discounts.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: Reunion

More Square Enix Golden Week Deals

Of course, Square Enix makes much more than just Final Fantasy, and plenty of the publisher’s other marquee franchises are included in GMG’s sale. You can grab PC versions of beloved RPGs like Octopath Traveler II, Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition, Chrono Trigger, and Nier: Automata at big discounts, as well as select entries from smaller series like Mana, Star Ocean, and more. The sale is also a great time to pick up the publisher’s smaller, experimental games like Dungeon Encounters, Harvestella, and Paranormasight.

Check out the list below for a roundup of some of the best Square Enix Golden Week deals at GMG and Humble. And if you’re still hungry for more Golden Week deals, be sure to check out discounts from other Japanese publishers like Capcom, NIS America, Koei Tecmo, and Bandai Namco. Just like with the Final Fantasy deals, XP Members get the best prices, but even non-XP members can save a hefty chunk on all these games. And if you prefer Humble Bundle, most are on sale there, too.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Will Be Released Late In 2024

While the release of new Star Wars shows on Disney+ has slowed down from the pace of the last few years, The Acolyte won’t be the only new live-action series this year. Via Collider, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew co-creator Jon Watts confirmed at CCXP Mexico that his series will be released around Christmas. Assuming that Disney+ intends to release new episodes weekly, Skeleton Crew’s season would extend into 2025.

Watts and his frequent collaborator, Christopher Ford, conceived Skeleton Crew as the story of four children who discover a secret on their home world. The kids subsequently wind up on a starship and find themselves lost somewhere far from home. The series will take place during the same time period as The Mandalorian and Ashoka.

Jude Law, Kerry Condon, and Jaleel White are among the most prominent adult actors on the show. The rest of the cast includes Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Robert Timothy Smith, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Kyriana Kratter, and Tunde Adebimpe.

Everything Everywhere All at Once helmers TheDaniels directed an episode of the series alongside Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung.

What’s Going On With Batman Games? | Spot On

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade since Rocksteady Studios concluded its Arkham trilogy with Batman: Arkham Knight. And yet, it’s somehow even harder to believe that same studio released Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League just a few months ago, which unfortunately tells you just about everything you need to know about the poorly-received action shooter.

Earlier this week, however, Camouflaj Games announced it had begun its own venture into Gotham City for a new Batman game, Batman: Arkham Shadow. The only catch? It’s a Meta Quest 3 exclusive. With all this in mind, we’re left with one, big question: is the golden age of Batman video games over?

On this week’s Spot On, Tam and Lucy discuss what’s next for the Dark Knight, if VR is a smart move for his next installment, if Rocksteady can bounce back from Kill the Justice League, and if WB Montreal–the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins–could return to helm the series. The pair share their thoughts and delve into how Arkham Shadow could connect to Arkham Origins in this Batman-centric episode.

Spot On is GameSpot’s weekly news show in which managing editor Tamoor Hussain and senior producer Lucy James talk about the latest game news. Given the massive video game industry’s highly dynamic and never-ending news cycle, there’s always something to talk about. Unlike most news shows, Spot On will dive deep into a single topic instead of recapping all the news. Spot On airs each Friday.

Everything To Know About Apex Legends Season 21: New Legend Alter, Map Makeovers, And Solos Mode

Apex Legends Season 21: Upheaval is set to introduce the first new Legend to join the Apex Games in 2024, but it also features a number of other big changes, like a much-needed makeover for the Broken Moon map, the long-awaited return of Solos Mode, and some surprising new Legend buffs and nerfs.

We’ve got the scoop on everything from the season’s launch date to Alter’s ability set and details on Broken Moon’s revamp. Keep reading for a closer look at everything you need to know before you dive into Apex Legends Season 21: Upheaval.

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Now Playing: Apex Legends – Official Alter Legend Animated Reveal Trailer | “Based on a True Story”

Table of Contents [hide]

When does Season 21 begin?

Apex Legends Season 21: Upheaval goes live on Tuesday, May 7 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

Who is Season 21’s new Legend?

Alter’s past may be a mystery, but her abilities aren’t.

Season 21’s debut Legend is Alter, a mysterious, dimension-hopping new character who Respawn describes as a “villain.”

What we do know is that she was trained in combat by a secretive organization, and appears to have a history as an interdimensional assassin. In her episode of Stories From The Outlands, Alter can be seen telling a series of increasingly exaggerated lies and half-truths when asked who she is.

“Alter is from another dimension, although which dimension is kind of hard to say–she’s not the most reliable narrator when it comes to her past because she will only let others know what she wants them to know,” Alter narrative lead Jaclyn Seto said during Season 21 previews. “Definitely take what she says with a grain of salt, although if you look hard enough, you might find some bits of truth in her words. In general, her past is whatever it needs to be. Not only can she use it as a tool to manipulate others, but she knows that knowledge is power. Only she knows what her past is, and she’s unwilling to give anyone the power to know those details about her.”

There is one verifiable fact about Alter’s background, however: She’s fluent in Cantonese.

“We didn’t have any characters with a Chinese background, so I jumped at the chance to write one,” Seto said. “It’s any developer’s dream to be able to create a character that shares their same background. [Alter] definitely grew up in her culture, and you’ll definitely see her display that within the game.”

Alter’s episode of Stories From The Outlands shows her holding a photo of Horizon and her son, Newton, which has raised questions about what sort of connection the two Legends may share.. But Seto says Alter doesn’t have a relationship with Horizon so much as she has a “fixation” on her. “There are gonna be some really world-shattering events that stem from this fascination [with Horizon].”

Despite knowing very little about who she is, we do know what she’s capable of. Alter has the following in-game abilities:

  • Tactical: Void Passage–Create a portal passageway through a surface
  • Passive: Gift From The Rift–Remotely interact with a deathbox to claim one item (cannot be armor).
  • Ultimate: Void Nexus–Create a regroup point that all allies can remotely interact with to open a phase tunnel back to that location.

Solos Mode is returning

Despite Respawn’s previous assertions that the mode would never return, it’s back for the first six weeks of the season.

Season 21’s gameplay trailer confirmed that Solos Mode is returning to Apex Legends–despite Respawn previously stating that the mode was gone for good. Solos will replace Duos Mode for the first six weeks of Season 21.

“Solos will run as a six-week takeover of Duos for the first half of the season,” Apex Legends events lead Mike Button explained during previews. “We’re excited to give everyone an extended period of time to experience this new take on Solos, and for us to be able to collect more feedback over the course of a longer run. With growing demand from players and a desire on the [development] team to explore the concept again with everything we’ve learned since the mode’s last appearance in 2019, Upheaval seemed like the right time to reintroduce a Solos experience to Apex.”

The new version of Solos Mode will include some features that weren’t included in previous iterations of the mode, like fully-kitted weapons and a new item called a Respawn Token, which gives players a second chance to get back in the game if they’re killed.

Broken Moon is getting a facelift

Broken Moon’s main POI has been entirely replaced.

Broken Moon’s centerpiece POI, Promenade, is being replaced by a new POI called Quarantine Zone in Season 21. Respawn has shared that its main goals with the map revamp are addressing loot deserts and making squad rotations a bit smoother. Mutated foliage and a new skybox are among the aesthetic changes to the map, meant to reflect the changes occurring on the moon after a recent collision with the stasis net satellite severely damaged it and sent an entire chunk of the moon itself floating off into space. During the cleanup process, some “unknown alien eggs” were discovered, so the Quarantine Zone POI was created to contain any potential threat the eggs may pose.

“Trees are wrapped up for protection, spray stations can be found throughout [the map], which are meant to keep everything as sterile as possible, and if you really wanna soak up all the details, you’ll find some samples tucked away in some cold storage containers,” lead level designer Steve Young said of the lore behind the aesthetic changes to the map. “Broken Moon feels really unique now, it’s got super bright colors and just an overabundance of alien plant life. It’s really cool.”

Legend buffs & nerfs

We won’t know the full extent of Legend buffs and nerfs until Upheaval’s patch notes are released.

One of the biggest changes to Legend abilities is the reworking of Newcastle‘s Castle Wall ultimate ability. Developers saw that Newcastle players frequently teamed up with Wattson players, using Newcastle’s Castle Wall to block bullets, and placing one of Wattson’s Interception Pylon’s to block grenades. For Season 21, Respawn decided to give Newcastle’s Castle Wall the ability to block grenades and bullets.

“You could still get a [Gibraltar Defensive Bombardment] or a Bangalore [Rolling Thunder] strike in from above, and you could still get other abilities or grenades in from the sides or from above or from the back,” Apex Legends balance designer John Larson told GameSpot. “It’s just if you are facing the [Castle] Wall, you will not be able to sneak a [grenade] through or in.”

“It’s something we had been wanting to do to help the [Castle] Wall succeed more–even before watching scrims–but I coincidentally had been watching scrims and [Northeption] has a team that had been experimenting [and] they’re still running Newcastle/Wattson,” Larson added. “It’s like, ‘Oh, that’d be nice if they could free up a whole legend pick so they can do the thing that Newcastle should just be able to do.'”

Catalyst and Crypto are getting some love this season, too, while Legends like Bloodhound, Fuse, and Octane are getting a few minor tweaks as well, though we won’t have the details on these changes until Respawn releases the Upheaval patch notes.

Minecraft Fans Can Save 30% On Official Visual History Preorders At Amazon

The upcoming visual history of Minecraft just received a huge discount at Amazon, dropping the price from $40 to $28. Created by Mojang Studios and set to be published on September 3 by Random House Worlds, The World of Minecraft is a 224-page hardcover book that tells the story of the game’s 15-year history. It’ll include full-color art, development secrets, and interviews with Mojang developers, content creators, and notable members of the Minecraft community.

The World of Minecraft will launch just in time to catch up on your Minecraft history before the live-action Minecraft movie premieres in theaters next year. While we don’t know much about the movie’s plot, Jack Black will reportedly star as one of the main characters from the game, Steve. Emma Myers, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement are all confirmed to star in the movie as well. The movie recently wrapped filming in April, so we expect more news to be revealed soon. In the meantime, check our round-up of everything we know about the Minecraft movie for all the details shared so far.

The upcoming movie is far from the only piece of non-gaming media to tell a story within the world of Minecraft. The modern classic has also been adapted to the page. Multiple children’s book series focused on Minecraft are available now. You can get the six-book Woodsword Chronicles box set for $35 at Amazon (down from $60). You can also preorder the Stonesword Saga six-book box set at a 15% discount ahead of its May 7 release.

Minecraft is one of the wildest success stories in video game history. What started as a simple one-man project in 2009 ballooned into one of the best-selling games of all time that now ranks among the likes of Super Mario Bros., Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, and Pokemon Red/Blue as one of those rare generation-defining games for millions of players.