Guillaume Broche, creative director of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, says Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of the best action RPGs ever created.

Speaking to Konbini on its Jeux Video Club series (below), Broche singles out Kingdom Hearts 2 as one of his "top five games of all time," adding: "You have to admit that Square Enix has managed to create something truly exceptional."

He points to the gameplay in the series, "especially in the second game," which he considers "one of the best action RPG's ever created," while shouting out the late-game combos and fusions you can acquire throughout the adventure.

"There's really something about that gameplay that I've been looking for ever since Kingdom Hearts 2," he says, adding: "You could spend 150 hours in the late game."

Obviously, there have been games in the series since then, and Broche notes "Kingdom Hearts 3 isn't bad, but it didn't manage to recapture everything it did in terms of gameplay, which was exceptional." He doesn't say if he's played the litany of other titles that are all somehow canon, so maybe Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage would hit the mark for Broche.

For as much as a breath of fresh air Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was seen as for many, it's very much a game that proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Of course, the game is heavily inspired by Final Fantasy in more ways than you can count, while Verso's gameplay heavily leans on Devil May Cry – a game which Broche previously uploaded challenge runs of before developing his own game – with the ranking system and pretty much every one of his moves being ripped straight from Vergil. With the blend of action and RPG mechanics, it's not a shocker to hear that Broche is pretty keen on Kingdom Hearts too.

"It's a pure skill issue": Clair Obscur Expedition 33 head says the RPG's notorious volleyball minigame is "easy," then proves it on stage.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel are games that pride themselves on their historical realism, with a story rooted in 15th century Bohemia wartime, characters based on real-world history, and architecture that closely resembles the buildings that actually stood, and in some cases still do stand, in that region of the world. But if we're talking about the first game specifically, there's one key aspect of the story that developer Warhorse well and truly whiffed, and that's how much in-game time transpired over the course of the main story.

During the epilogue of the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Hans Capon asks Henry how long they've known each other, having met near the beginning of the game, when Henry arrives in Skalitz as a refugee. Capon suggests it's only been a couple of weeks since they met, implying the entire main story took place over a matter of some 14 days, meaning in that space of time Henry went from being an orphaned son of a blacksmith with no combat experience to a master swordsman with a body count to rival Nathan Drake's, earning him the trust of nobles to carry out high-stakes missions.

Now, this being a video game, I think most of us went, "Huh, that seems a little unlikely, but so does the premise of pretty much every video game ever made," but not one Twitter user going simply by Paul, who assigned himself the task of mapping out how long Henry's journey actually took, canonically. "Given the KCD saga's (hilariously) tight timeframe, I thought it would be fun to 'map out' just over how much time the main story actually takes place," he says before presenting a quite nifty calendar of events and how much time likely transpired between them.

Admittedly, the space in mind allotted to Kingdom Come: Deliverance is entirely occupied by the riveting events of the second game, and it's been about seven years since I touched the first one, but from what I can tell this calendar seems logical, organized, and well-researched. Paul estimates Henry would be bedridden from his combat injuries escaping Skalitz, not to mention fever likely from infection, for about two weeks, which sounds like a reasonable recovery time.

In Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel, you can sleep in any bed or pile of hay you find around the map, although you'll likely get woken up if you don't own the bed, but that's not relevant to the canonical timeframe of the main story. So Paul maps out how long he reckons each quest takes Henry in terms of the in-game timer, and he does so meticulously ,with "a bunch" of self-imposed metrics accounting for side quests and travel time – not to mention detailed notes of Henry's daily activities. Ultimately, the character's calendar stretches out just beyond two months, which sounds a lot more logically consistent than two weeks, for sure.

"Obviously the results are incredibly subjective," Paul admits. "kcd is a brilliant game in that nearly no two playthroughs are exactly the same. i could've easily failed a skill check that set me back a day, or i could've been attacked by bandits and missed someone before they went to bed, etc.

"I mainly thought this was fun since the in-game world time counter is incredibly inaccurate. it doesn't account for henry's 2 week stint in bed and it skips forward by entire days A LOT (drinking with godwin, theresa's second date, jobst's meeting)."

I'm deeply impressed by Paul's studiousness when it comes to Kingdom Come: Deliverance's world and the illogical pace of its elusive clock, and apparently, so is Warhorse. "At this point you're possibly more organised than we are!" the studio's official Twitter account said in reply to Paul's work. Paul, as any self-motivated superfan would do, decided to then shoot his shot for employment at Warhorse. Henry would be proud.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 adds Balatro's Jimbo in a surprise new quest with a huge addition to the RPG's best minigame

Capcom has confirmed that Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen director Kento Kinoshita will be returning to the director's chair for Dragon's Dogma 2's expansion.

Dragon's Dogma was pretty liked when it launched back in 2012, but what really led to the game becoming the legendary title it is today was its expansion, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, which released a year later. Dragon's Dogma 2 then released a decade later and was seen as an all-timer by anyone who wasn't a coward, but 2025 came and went with no word of an expansion.

This, mixed with Dragon's Dogma series creator Hideaki Itsuno leaving Capcom in 2024, led some to believe a Dark Arisen-like expansion wouldn't be happening, but with Kinoshita still being at Capcom, there was a little bit of hope left. And during the Nintendo Direct earlier this month, we finally found out Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is happening later this year.

During last night's Capcom Spotlight stream, it was revealed that Kinoshita is once again taking on the director's role for Dark Arisen as he hosted the segment about the game. The expansion is set to feature a new region for the game in the form of Norgan, which is a snowy area at the north of the map with a new relic system, which allows you to create fresh weapons with unique class skills. The base game's map is also set to be expanded with 12 dungeons.

The segment also introduced the Fallen Dragon, which is set to be a major enemy found in the expansion, alongside the NPC we saw in the trailer called Eir, who is seeking out the dragon. Details about this part remained fairly light, but it seems like the main quest of this expansion will focus on these two.

Former Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma 2 director says he can't make "the kind of games I'd most like to" as "they'd be too out there" and "probably wouldn't sell."

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has a surprise new quest with a familiar face offering Henry the challenge of a lifetime: beat Balatro's Jimbo in an updated version of the RPG's best minigame, and you'll get a reward commensurate with your effort.

Warhorse surprise-announced the new Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 update on Twitter, revealing a new "Balatro-inspired quest" and introducing Jimbo as the open-world RPG's newest NPC. I love Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and I love video game crossovers, so I immediately sprung to my PS5 and checked for an update.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 version 1.5.6 was waiting for me with about 7GB to download, and after just a few minutes I was able to dive in and see what's new. Jimbo is said to be hanging around the Hangman's Halter Tavern, but he wasn't there for me immediately. However, once I slept and saved in a bed he spawned just out front of the tavern.

*Spoilers for the quest to follow. Turn back if you haven't completed it and you want to go in blind*

If you initiate a chat with the new Jimbo NPC, he'll tell you he's traveled from Italy with a new twist on the popular Dice minigame that uses a very Balatro-coded version of a weighted die. Accept his offer and you'll sit down across from him at a table outside the tavern, and he'll loan you his special die to use against him.

The die, called Balatro's die, has a side with the jester's grinning face on it, and if it happens to land with that side up, you get to choose how it's counted. So, if you're one die short of a great combo, you'll be able to use Balatro's die toward whatever number you need. I was able to beat Jimbo my first try using it, and was extremely pleased to see it in my inventory alongside Tin Balatro's badge, which lets you change the result of your Balatro's die once per game.

Once you've obtained your Balatro die and badge, Jimbo will leave town on other business, but he says he'll be back "in a few days," suggesting there's more to this storyline.

There are a few much smaller updates in the 1.5.6 patch notes, chiefly among them the addition of Steam Controller support, but let's be real, we're all here to see Henry and Jimbo team up to cure all of the world's evils.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 lead designer says "friction is intentionally" in the RPG because when "you overcome the friction, you feel better about yourself."

You can never have too much of a good thing, at least where character upgrades in Path of Exile 2 are concerned. The latest update for the action RPG brings another skill tree into the mix, granting you even more ways to build out your characters in Wraeclast.

This Path of Exile 2 update adds the Atlas Passive Tree as part of the Runes of Aldur, the current season's league. The tree contains 24 nodes for you to earn and then tinker with and try out as you see fit, and many of them lean toward the Expeditions that are central to the Runes of Aldur.

What you get from each node varies. Some provide a buff, others a mechanical shift or choice for how you'd like to be rewarded. An example given in a developer overview from Jonathan Rogers, Path of Exile's 2 game director, contains the possibility of either increasing how many Expedition Encounters you trigger, or finding additional Remnants.

It all comes down to what you need or value, and whether you want more passive changes or active ones. In a follow-up example, Farrow starts selling a brand spanking new currency, just to demonstrate the variability here. As is typical of Grinding Gear Games, the level of choice is almost comical, since the game's existing skill trees are vast as is.

In more anarchic changes, there are several new Orbs of Sacrifice you can earn, that trade a modifier chosen at random from an attached item for a stacked corruption. You get them by beating Atrizi, and, frankly, good luck with all that because it's a little too chaotic for my tastes.

Uniques are being scaled to your character's level, too. Ones that grant new skills will be toned down if you're at a level lower than the expected threshold, because the devs considered it a "real shame" they were gatekept by late-game requirements. "This should open up a whole bunch of builds available to play much earlier," Rogers says.

The Path of Exile 2 0.5.4 update has been rolled out. Rogers mentions it'll be the last major patch "for a while," as the next will bring further alterations. And maybe another skill tree, who knows.

"I saved you all": Path of Exile 2 player sacrifices rare level 100 character to give everyone else a free skill point as world-first "Martyr of the First Edict."

Grinding Gear Games co-founder Chris Wilson wants everyone to know his new, unannounced action-RPG won't be comparable in size to Path of Exile, and he worries his fans will be disappointed when it's revealed.

In the latest video posted to his official YouTube channel, Wilson gets into all sorts of fun topics like whether there's really fishing in Path of Exile (don't expect a clear answer), the games he's been playing (Project Diablo 2 and a mobile fishing game), and his plant wall. Most relevant to this story, he also gets into the game that's in development at his new studio, Light Pattern, which has yet to reveal its debut title.

"What we're making is small," he stresses. "What we're making is not a thing that's huge, like Path of Exile, and I worry that because at some stage we're going to announce our game – this is years away, like we're in stealth mode for quite a while – but at some stage we'll announce our game, and I really worry the reaction is going to be, 'What? All this time and you just made that?'"

Wilson adds that people expecting "the next huge online game" with a $100 million budget should know Light Pattern is a "tiny" studio with about 10 employees. Wilson is "loving" working with such a small team because "you get to work really closely with everyone" and "you understand everything that's going into the game" like "the good old days of game development," but it sounds like the project is much smaller in scope than something like Path of Exile or, to an even greater degree, Diablo 4.

Ultimately, Wilson says the opinion he values more than anyone's else is his own, since he's funding the project entirely by himself.

"I think I'm going to like the game. And to me, being the person who's funding this and, you know, [is] so invested in it, that's the important part," he says. "And we will, at some stage, talk about it, but it's going to be substantially closer to completion at that stage. We want the ability to kind of just cook on what we're working on, and not really have to worry too much about keeping up a public image of doing marketing and providing updates and that kind of stuff."

As a lifelong Diablo 2 player, I couldn't be more excited to see what Wilson and co. are cooking up. Wilson himself makes me look like a dirty, filthy casual when it comes to passion for Diablo 2, and of course Path of Exile itself is a fantastic spiritual successor to Blizzard North's 2000 opus, so I'm hopeful his next project will be imbued with some of that same magic.

Path of Exile co-creator "would have scoffed at something like Baldur's Gate 3" 10 years ago, but now he knows why live service isn't necessarily "the future"

Blizzard has partially caved to Diablo 4 players outraged over changes to Mythics introduced in a recent playtest and planned for a permanent release in next week's Season of Death Awakened. Instead of completely reversing course, the studio is meeting players in the middle, insisting that the fundamentals of the updates are necessary for build diversity in the long-term.

ICYMI, Blizzard revealed the full details of Diablo 4's 14th season in a recent blog post, showing off a slick (but slightly jarring) Overwatch collab, a new endgame activity, and a Warlock free trial. But despite all of that cool and fun stuff, everyone's talking about Mythics, which are now just Mythic Uniques instead of their own distinct item rarity. The big hullabaloo is that Blizzard planned to completely remove the guaranteed stats that synergized with a Unique item's, ahem, unique powers. Suddenly, Uniques didn't sound so unique anymore, and the most powerful, rarest loot in the game, Mythic Uniques, were shaping up to be barely indistinguishable from Legendaries.

As you might expect, that didn't go down well with Diablo 4 players, and after testing the changes in the PTR, Blizzard has a pretty significant update tucked into the new season's announcement. Mythics are still just charged-up Uniques and any Unique can still be turned into a Mythic at the Horadric Cube, but crucially, Mythics will have two guaranteed bonuses instead of being completely random. The other two stat bonuses will still be random, but one of them will be able to be re-rolled through the Enchantress in town. Also, you'll still be able to convert a Unique to a Mythic Unique at the Cube, but now it'll give you something for the same slot, whereas in the PTR you could chuck in a Unique helmet and get a Mythic shield.

All in all, this updated system seems like it'll restore a lot of what made Mythics so fun and rewarding to chase in the first place without letting any single item completely dominate the meta, which of course means everyone's happy and no one's upset and life can just go on now, right? Right?!

Nope.

"So they ignored all the PTR tester feedback on the Mythic changes and they still went ahead with them?," reads one of the top comments in a Reddit thread discussing the new season. So much for that.

While that comment has more than 400 upvotes at the time of writing, suggesting, at the very least, people on Reddit who play a lot of Diablo aren't happy with Blizzard's compromise, there's no denying there is a compromise happening here. The original plan as tested in the PTR was for Uniques to drop with completely random stats just like any old item, which I was admittedly baffled by, but with the new setup of two fixed stats and two random ones, Blizzard is essentially going halfsies with players. It gets the randomness it wants for long-term build variety, and players get the thrill of chasing down one of a kind, incredibly powerful items as a reward for all their clicking. That's the way Blizzard sees it anyway.

"There's a handful of them that just become best-in-slot," Diablo 4 live-service lead Dan Tanguay says of the current selection of Mythics in an interview with GameSpot. "Once you can earn that, you get lucky enough to roll it, drop it, or craft it, that's it–you're never going to worry about that slot again.

And it kind of narrows the types of builds that players will pursue, especially if they're reading Maxroll or Icy Veins or something like that. We really want to increase the possibilities at the end of the game for what your build can be, and we need to look at mechanics that allow us to do that."

Blizzard softening its initial plan from the PTR and making Uniques considerably less random is part of its plan to "split the difference" with players wanting a full reversal of the new structure. That's not going to happen, but Tanguay says Blizzard will "keep iterating" on Uniques "until we arrive at something that we think is good for the long-term health of the game and that players really like."

You have to feel for the people at the frontline fielding these sorts of problems at Blizzard, constantly in a push-and-pull with the community over issues that, realistically, 90% of the player base will never even encounter. Again, Mythics are the rarest items in the game, and unless you're at the point where you're farming endgame bosses to get an item you need for a build you read about on Icy Veins, you'd never even know or care that those drops went from fixed stats to random ones. But because Blizzard is wisely taking on feedback from its most devoted players, I can only imagine the people calling the shots on this sort of stuff are in a near-constant state of stress.

Evidence of Diablo 4 coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 ramps up, as Blizzard Entertainment's RPG gets another rating.

A crossover between Diablo 4 and Overwatch should be an easy win. They're both owned by Blizzard, and they each have huge fanbases who generally love aesthetics and a bit of novelty. The in-game rewards are all well and good, but the action-RPG's new skins from the FPS aren't getting the strongest reaction from players.

Just like World of Warcraft and Starcraft before it, Overwatch is stepping into the hellfire of Diablo 4. Starting June 30, you can earn Eye of the Overwatch currency through defeating Elite and Champion foes to spend on special loot, for a limited time. In the game's regular shop, you'll find skins themed around the hero shooter, though players don't seem too fussed about those from first impressions.

"None of these look appealing or fit the universe to me," a fan bluntly says on Reddit. I can sympathize with the latter, because a couple of them are close to their original designs. Mercy's the biggest perpetrator, in my eyes, and the skin sticks out from Diablo's gloominess.

Commenters aren't holding back. "Mercy looks like a 90-year-old grandma here," writes another fan on Reddit. "This some bad comic con cosplay type shit," says a Redditor. "And even that's being disrespectful to cosplayers because most of them are miles better than this."

The frequency and pricing of these collaborations are big factors for the disdain. The StarCraft skins, for instance, ran you $185 for a complete set. World of Warcraft's came to over $540. Those are comfortably more than what it would cost you to buy the individual games and their expansions.

One player on Reddit notes the pricing on Fortnite, where such crossovers are rife, is much more reasonable collaboratively. "For context, an expensive bundle in Fortnite is generally less than half what the 'discounted' WoW bundle cost," they write. "Diablo 4's item store is completely insane and totally unacceptable for a game someone has already potentially spent £100 buying."

The Overwatch collaboration kicks off as part of Diablo 4 season 14, on June 30.

Overwatch charges nearly $100 for cosmetic bundle introducing a new skin rarity, and even cat maid outfits aren't enough to quiet the backlash.

Diablo 4's Age of Hatred story arc, which began with the base game's launch back in 2023 and included several seasons and two distinct expansions, has come to a close with the recent Lord of Hatred DLC, and the first new season of the next era of the action RPG kicks off next week.

Blizzard announced the aptly grim Season of Death Awakening on its official website, teasing a characteristically macabre story involving ruptures spawned from dark rituals across Sanctuary. Three different types of ruptures comprise the new season's endgame activity, sending out waves of new Gravehound monsters with a chance to summon the enormous Realmwalker boss. Kill that and you'll gain entry to the Deathtoll Chamber mini-dungeon where, you guessed it, more baddies await your sword, but here's where you'll find the lair keys you need to access this season's Lair Boss Hoard.

Anyway, it's a new Diablo season. If you've been around the block at all, you know generally what to expect. New enemies to kill, new loot to get, a new seasonal battle pass, a freaky new pet to collect for free. All good stuff, but fairly standard fare. That said, there are a few things coming with Season of Death Awakening that break from the usual Diablo 4 seasonal mold.

For one, Blizzard says it heard your feedback from the PTR about that change to Mythics. Instead of getting rid of the guaranteed stats that synergized with a Mythic Unique's powers, which was the controversial plan that led to widespread blowback from the PTR, Blizzard now says Mythics will have two guaranteed bonuses, "preserving what makes it distinctive while opening new possibilities for build diversity." Everything else will still roll randomly, but this new change will let you swap exactly one of them out to your liking.

Following the Paladin free trial from back in March, Diablo 4 will soon let you try out the new Warlock class from Lord of Hatred free of charge, for a limited time. From June 30 to July 7, all Diablo 4 players on all platforms will be able to sample the demon-summoning ways of the Warlock class up until level 25, and naturally, your progress will carry into the full game if you buy the Lord of Hatred DLC. I'm more of a Paladin guy myself, but I hear Warlocks offer a little more to chew on for buildcrafters.

Finally, Blizzard is doing the inverse of Overwatch's recent Diablo crossover with Overwatch-themed items in Diablo 4. Right at the start of the season, you'll be able to earn Eye of the Overwatch currency from elite and champion monsters and use it to unlock themed cosmetics, which will also be available in Diablo 4's cash shop. This is also the first time we actually see Overwatch characters in Diablo, and I have to say, the bright, colorful look of the hero shooter clashes pretty starkly with Diablo 4's grimdark world. It's neat seeing characters like Reinhardt, Genji, Reaper, Mercy, Brigitte, Moira, Roadhog, and Kirkio in a Diablo setting, but the promotional image below makes this look more like Diablo 3 than 4:

Diablo 4: Season of Death Awakening kicks off June 30.

Evidence of Diablo 4 coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 ramps up, as Blizzard Entertainment's RPG gets another rating

Grinding Gear Games co-founder Chris Wilson once believed in the live-service video game model wholeheartedly, and this conviction undoubtedly helped him be online RPG Path of Exile's fearless leader until he officially left Grinding Gear in 2025. Now, Wilson is a free bird, and he's free to scrutinize the monetization pathway he once thought might redefine video games.

Wilson explains this in a new video on his YouTube channel, in response to a fan's question wondering what strongly held belief he's changed his mind about in the last decade. He says, "10 years ago, I felt that live service was entirely upside in all cases." Because of this, Wilson thinks there was a time when "I would have scoffed at something like Baldur's Gate 3, which isn't getting a sequence of updates."

He says plainly, "I just basically thought that live-service games were the future." It's a monetization model Path of Exile helped perfect, in the sense that neither it nor Early Access sequel Path of Exile 2 ever make you think that hard about its microtransactions or battle passes – unlike other, more cynical live-service titles. Path of Exile, instead, is a forever free-to-play work-in-progress, and its commitment to simply existing without smashing you over the head with a vase full of tantalizing ads makes some players question if it's really a live-service game at all (in a good way).

This relaxed relationship with money is what Wilson appreciated about live-service in the first place, remarking that, "It often meant that a game could be free. It meant that a game had variable monetization, so people who didn't want to spend money didn't need to spend very much money – it kind of scaled to the amount that someone was willing to spend.

"It meant that, because a game was getting constant updates, there was always more to the game. It was kind of a relationship that a player could have with the game, that would span potentially a lifetime as the game gets updated over and over, and these all seemed like incredibly good things," Wilson says.

But then time passed, and while live-service games like Fortnite fulfilled Wilson's prophecy of "the future" by becoming some of the most popular titles in history, they also became more associated with parasitic microtransactions – and increasingly demanding players wanting more for all those dollars they've dropped here or there.

"You get situations where you have to make certain changes, even if you do not believe that is the right thing for the game, because otherwise your release will get boycotted, or you'll get review bombed," Wilson says, "and games that do not have any changes because they're just finished and complete often don't have these pressures."

In that sense, Wilson can now see that a clean, complete experience like Baldur's Gate 3 helps create "a far more nuanced field" when placed next to the live-service games he's used to.

"There are so many different ways to monetize a game," he admits. "Every one of them has drawbacks."

Path of Exile 2 director says Temple farming ruined his Christmas and "destroyed" him, and he loves "obliterating" it: "I don't care if it's a mid-season nerf."

When Elden Ring was first revealed at E3 2019, I had no idea it would become so special to me. I remember cheering with glee when Hidetaka Miyazaki's name first appeared on-screen, then gasping at the name that followed: George R.R. Martin.

Before I could fathom a collaboration between these two creative powerhouses, a foreboding voice cut out from the trailer: "I doubt you could even imagine it."

Not just a game

That turned out to be true; I had no idea what was coming at the time, but I'm not the same person as I was before Elden Ring came out.

In 2020, severe bouts of depression led me to give up on myself. I lost more and more motivation each day, every little light within me either flickering weakly or already snuffed. I would lay slumped in bed, body held hostage by mind.

At my lowest, I scratched and clawed just to hold onto life. I would rewatch the Elden Ring announcement trailer, reminding myself that I had to stick around to play this game. No matter what, I promised myself I would pull through this world so I could experience theirs.

Elden Ring's reveal offered tantalizing first glimpses of The Lands Between, from rampaging general Radahn to the lurid body horror of Godrick the Grafted. But the character who gripped my attention hardest was the red-haired goddess in golden Valkyrie armor, who we now know as one of the toughest bosses in any of the best FromSoftware games: Malenia.

Witness true horror

Several years later, I found myself standing in front of Malenia. For years she was just an image in a trailer. Would she be able to live up to my hopes as a boss?

Fear turned to panic as she purposefully strode toward me and began unleashing a flurry of attacks. Chaining rapid slashes into long, unbroken aerial combos. I was in awe. I was galvanised. Suddenly my life's mission was not simply to stay alive, but to land a hit on Malenia.

When I managed to strike her with my poison-infused Antspur Rapier, she responded with Waterfowl Dance, and amidst the whirlwind of blades I howled with laughter. Her life bar was going up? She was actually healing from my meager damage every time she landed a hit on me. It was the first big chuckle I'd had in years.

After hundreds of failed attempts, there was a point where the intro of her fight would strike dread into my heart. But then I noticed that dread and fear sit very close to excitement; I was feeling all those emotions because I finally cared about something again.

Rather than submitting to Scarlet Rot, Malenia shouldered the life-long burden and is stronger for it. Though her tragedy is written in scars and sacrifice, her story of loss is also a story of resilience. She is both afflicted and defiant, a warrior who embraces her pain and continues to walk forward while carrying the weight of her curse. To me, Malenia is a statement that reads: if I can live through this, I can live through anything.

Thanks to Malenia, I can now see that I am strong enough to endure the darkness of depression, even on the days when I can barely stand. Her backstory helped me to understand that unbreakable will can blossom from the most harrowing of places, and such resolve is instrumental in fighting against your own demons.

Her final words – "your strength... extraordinary" – gripped my heart tightly when I finally heard her utter them. More than a line of dialog from a boss fight, these words remind me just how far I've come since the Elden Ring trailer was released.

Hope, anew

I had to respec my character to defeat Malenia, casting away the Bloodhound Fang and Golden Halberd I had grown so attached to. But once I threw off the shackles of my familiar build, I made more progress and chalked up another Elden Ring life lesson: don't be afraid to try new things.

With seven years having passed since the first Elden Ring announcement trailer, I rewatched it recently and reflected on all the ways in which I've grown thanks to this game. It taught me a level of patience and perseverance that helps me deal with depression every day. As it turns out, repeatedly dying in The Lands Between is a great way to learn how to live.

While I might never get better, Elden Ring taught me that there's always a way to get good. My brain may still become an unwelcome place thanks to mental illness, but this game has shown me how, with ceaseless effort and unflinching grit, a hostile world can become home.

Hunting for your next round of pain? Check out some of the best games like Elden Ring to put your action-RPG skills to the test.

More signs point to Diablo 4's potential arrival on Nintendo Switch 2 after the Blizzard Entertainment ARPG got yet another rating on the platform.

The Taiwan Entertainment Software Rating board recently listed the Nintendo Switch 2 as one of Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred's supported platforms, despite the game and its expansion not having been officially confirmed for the handheld-hybrid console. The rating was posted to the website in April and either went unnoticed this whole time or was only recently made public. (Good spot, NintendoEverything). Although, the rating seems to have now been scrubbed for good after the internet got a whiff of it.

This isn't the first time a country's accidentally (and only maybe) spilled the beans on Diablo 4's upcoming plans. A security flaw in the Indonesian Game Rating System (IGRS) exposed major spoilers for several games, including 007: First Light, but also showed a Switch 2 rating for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred. Where there's smoke...

When asked about a potential Switch 2 port a year ago, former franchise manager Rod Fergusson said, "I think there's opportunity there for sure. I mean, we have Diablo 3 and Diablo 2 Resurrected already on the Switch, and with backwards compatibility it'll be playable on Switch 2."

Fergusson then explained any potential challenges around the port would be less about the hardware - this is a console that can run Cyberpunk 2077 pretty competently, after all - and more about how "live services on Switch have been a little bit challenging in the past." It's unclear what those challenges were or if the Switch 2 has alleviated them since, but playing grindy ARPGs on a handheld device until your neck jams at a 90 degree angle is what Lilith intended. Don't let her down, Blizzard.

After 392 billion monsters slain in Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred, Blizzard stats reveal ARPG players prefer Warlocks to Paladins by almost 2 to 1

Elden Ring Nightreign, FromSoftware's surprise roguelike spin-off game, seems more or less over when it comes to new updates. After the release of the Forsaken Hollows DLC, there hasn't been any hints at more to come.

While desperate fans despair at FromSoftware's silence, the rest of us can enjoy the fruits of some fans who are making their own fun. Animator and artist Keith Garces—who made some of the best "Hop on Nightreign" videos out there—and programmer Spagato just dropped an endless runner based on Nightreign.

It's called Revenant Run and it stars the short doll Nightfarer and the gigantic sword that players love to give her in every meme. Your goal in it is pretty simple: smack monsters, collect runes, level up, and avoid running into trees.

There are some clever nods at some of my favorite enemies from Nightreign, like the big guy with a pumpkin head and the little pot boys. Revenant slashes through them with one swipe and keeps moving like someone just told her there's a bigger sword somewhere to the right of the screen.

If I had access to this game in the computer lab of my middle school I would've never went back to class. Flash games might be gone, but at least we have people on Itch.io keeping the dream alive.

Garces says the game was made to "celebrate a very dedicated community," in a message below the game on Itch.io. They also thanked all the players who enjoyed their videos in the description of the YouTube trailer. "It really is a pleasure to know that the same videos I do for fun is something that can resonate with others," they wrote.

We can only hope The Duskbloods cultivates a similarly creative bunch of players who will keep the game alive much longer than FromSoftware will. Or whatever games studio president Hidetaka Miyazaki was talking about in a recent statement about what's on the docket for the future.

Elden Ring Nightreign was a bold yet flawed Soulslike experiment, but I think it could shape the entire industry's future

The work on Borderlands 4 isn't over quite yet, as Gearbox reveals the final Vault Hunter to come this September as part of the looter shooter's optional Story Pack 2 DLC – and she is downright stunning, to be fair.

Her name is Loveless, as per her short teaser from Gearbox, and she's "an ex-Anshin hacker turned assassin," according to the developers. "Equipped with the highest-end cybernetics, Loveless also shares her mind with a digital virus of her own creation, which can digistruct into a physical form that acts as a deadly extension of her shared, perfection-seeking will."

She sounds absolutely badass – and straight out of Cyberpunk 2077, honestly.

I'm not alone in thinking so, either. The top comment also likens her to a Cyberpunk hacker, reading, "We got a netrunner in Borderlands." Another further down exclaims, "She looks like a netrunner from Cyberpunk" – and yes, yes she does.

There are some other interesting comparisons in fans' replies, with some even citing Ciri from The Witcher 3, and others asserting that "she looks like an Aldar from Warhammer 40k."

Overall, the community seems thrilled with Loveless' design – and, I mean, how could they not be? From her long white hair done up in a high ponytail to her gold piercings and cat-like expression, she's drop-dead gorgeous. If looks could kill, and all that… Not to mention the tech-savvy queen's description from Gearbox.

The whole "digital virus" bit is intriguing, to say the least, and I'm personally excited to see how it affects her in-game.

If you're as sold on Loveless as I am, you can grab the Vault Hunter Pack now on Steam for $49.99. It includes both Story Pack 1 and 2, along with Rogue – and soon, Loveless. If you bought the Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4, however, you don't need to purchase any DLC for extra money, as it'll all land automatically in your copy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a teaser to rewatch… and a game to redownload.

Gearbox head Randy Pitchford says Borderlands maker won't use AI for "any work that could ever be seen" after posting ChatGPT-generated image of a Gearbox employee.

FromSoftware is in a curious position. It released Elden Ring, its most successful and arguably best game, and ever since has exclusively released games that are very different to Elden Ring. And yes, that does include Elden Ring Nightreign, an experimental spinoff that cleverly reuses some assets and shrinks the world, then builds a PvE battle royale experience around it.

We've had Armored Core 6 and we've got The Duskbloods coming, but FromSoftware hasn't announced a new single-player dark fantasy RPG of the kind it's known for. This has left many fans revisiting the RPGs FromSoft has already released, most especially Elden Ring and its gargantuan world and DLC. It's hard to think of anybody who has gotten more out of Elden Ring than Bushy, a challenge runner who's beaten this famously long and difficult RPG over 400 times by his best estimate.

On Twitch and YouTube, Bushy is known for completing challenge runs in Elden Ring, and occasionally other games, that put restrictions on how he plays. Across hundreds of clears, he's amassed a huge collection of absurd rule sets. You have the classics, like one-hitting bosses, never dying, never getting hit, always getting hit, or kicking enemies to death. Mods, some of them commissioned by Bushy just for this purpose, also allow for stranger runs with teleportation, mismatched areas and enemies, or randomized items. Then we get to the truly specific stuff, like his most recent video: "Elden Ring But I Can Only Use White Items".

It was this color-specific video series that pushed me to reach out to Bushy. Man, I thought, this guy has done everything. And it's easy to think that Bushy must be running out of ideas or growing sick of the game by now, but he tells me he's every bit as in love with Elden Ring as he has been for the past "3,500 to 4,000" hours of game time.

"I think it's the greatest game that's ever been made," Bushy says. "I always just have a ton of fun with it. If I didn't have that much fun with it, I wouldn't still be trying to come up with new, inventive ways to beat it. Don't get me wrong, part of that is absolutely that it's my job, and there are external forces that are encouraging me to play Elden Ring. But I think it's honestly more of a blessing than it is a curse."

The release of Elden Ring Nightreign did give Bushy some space to play another game, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC was a refreshing injection of new content and items, but he always comes back to the game.

He considers the pessimistic read of his position. "You could look at that in a negative light," he says. "You're playing Elden Ring because you have to, because it's the only thing that makes you money. But that's not really how I look at it. Elden Ring is a game that is big enough, massive enough, deep enough, that has such a breadth of content, that having motivation and a reason to actually play it that much is really quite the blessing. I get to play it a whole lot more than other people do."

Bushy's putting every last grain of Elden Ring under the magnifying glass. Like a speedrunner, he talks about individual bosses as things to "practice". His videos often see him deliberately rotate through spells, weapons, and items in order to explain and engage with multiple parts of the game rather than simply using the first winning option he can find, and his rule sets regularly lead to interesting discoveries about overlooked items and strategies. I'm reminded of MMO players running self-sufficient accounts, whose self-imposed challenges force them to play the game in novel ways.

His favorite challenge runs are those that dramatically change the game and are "higher effort" overall, like the one where he was teleported to a random checkpoint every five minutes. He also played the game with an aggression mod that made every enemy follow and attack him at all times, with basically no way to lose or avoid aggro. It didn't go well.

Now, Bushy can just throw out obscene sentences like this: "I've on average beaten the game probably twice a week since the game came out." This schedule wasn't immovable, but his channel history bears it out. I've learned not to underestimate FromSoftware fans, but I certainly haven't met anyone else who's rolled credits this many times. Additionally, Bushy says, "the longest I've gone not playing Elden Ring since it came out has probably been like three weeks."

Bushy is certainly looking forward to future FromSoftware games, but somehow reckons he's got more than enough Elden Ring challenge run ideas left in the tank. When he started playing the game for a living, building on years of streaming other games, he was "hopeful" after his early challenges got some attention. "I made lots of very bad videos and got more views than I had ever gotten at the time," he recalls. Elden Ring's massive audience was enough to turn the game into a career for him, not unlike how creators like VaatiVidya make a living by interpreting FromSoftware lore.

"I still want to do them," Bushy says of his challenge runs. "Simply because it's cool to talk about all of the unique interactions that I can find with specific weapon types and what I think they're strong at, what I think they're weak at, and share the experience that I have in this game with the people that are interested in it. As long as people are interested, I'm more than happy to do it."

FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki teases unannounced games, says the studio should do what it wants as the investor that told Nintendo to charge "99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher" fights its parent company.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is making a big change. When its predecessor launched in 2020, it was a compelling side-quest for Mojang – a dungeon crawler which sought to deliver a more accessible entry point to the ARPG genre than the likes of Diablo and Path of Exile. It was a fun experience, although its limited points of exploration made it something of a divergence from what we've come to expect from Minecraft games. So Mojang is making some changes for the new game of 2026.

"In Minecraft Dungeons, we had a simple game loop," says Mans Olson, creative director. "You played a mission through to the end, you got a reward, and then you went back to your camp. In Minecraft Dungeons 2, we have what we call an interconnected world."

Internonnected, but not fully open. Olson stresses that Mojang "is purposefully not calling it an open world" as the studio is still creating a curated-style of game. "It's more of a guided experience that we think works really well for Minecraft," he says, adding: "But you will be free to explore the overworld; Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a lot larger than the first game."

Design director Laura de Llorens tells me that "you can walk from one end of the world to the other" in the upcoming Xbox Series X game, as the team emphasises the importance of exploration – unique and rare items, along with powerful Talismans, can be found by digging into every corner of the map. Speaking of maps, there's been some other changes to the Minecraft Dungeons 2 UI to accommodate the shift in focus. "Up in the right-hand corner we have a little mini-map, and we also have a very beautiful world map as well."

Given the 'All-Ages' framing of Minecraft Dungeons 2, are there any concerns over players getting lost in this interconnected world? Thankfully, a click of the left-thumbstick will enable a 'Guiding Light' (that can be activated by any member of your party, at any time) which will "always assist you in finding the next step in your quest," says de Llorens.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 may not be an open-world game, but it is inching ever closer to reflecting its ARPG ambitions into the original Minecraft style with this new interconnected world. The game is an exceptionally fun time, as you can learn more about in my Minecraft Dungeons 2 hands-on preview.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is out for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X on September 29, 2026.

Capcom says Steam accounted for almost double the amount of revenue than PlayStation in its previous fiscal year.

If you're old enough to remember the time before PC gaming was as big as it is today, you'll no doubt remember how much of a flip of the coin it would be whether Japanese companies would release their games on the platform. And typically, if they did, it would end up being significantly later than those on console. For example, Final Fantasy 13 took almost five years to release on PC. And it's not even too far in the past either; Monster Hunter World, Persona 5, and the Yakuza games all took a while to make the jump to PC. Hell, Vanillaware is bringing one of its games to PC for the first time next year. But thankfully, we're mostly in an era of day-and-date releases. And this is something that is definitely working out for Capcom specifically.

In Capcom’s securities report (spotted by Automaton), the company revealed that, through Steam, it generated 40.383 billion yen (approximately $252 million USD), accounting for 20.7% of its earnings between April 2025 and March 2026. For comparison, PlayStation accounted for 10.6%, with 20.741 billion yen (approximately $129 million USD).

Granted, this isn't exactly a surprise, given that Capcom announced earlier this year that PC sales make up about 50% of its game sales, with the other 50% split between PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles. So it's pretty natural that it is making a lot of money from Steam, as the leading PC storefront. Even so, PC sales doing that well in a year where Monster Hunter Wilds' PC port was a well-known disaster is somewhat impressive.

Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator says he'd rather have a game canceled than release "something subpar"

Mistfall Hunter kicks off in a familiar fashion for anyone who has played Dark Souls, or most any other Soulslike – I'm a husk revivified by a mysterious energy and shunted off to fight through a dying land. Shambling dead lunge at me, huge gates must be opened, and I'm jumped by a hulking monster right at the end and smashed into pieces. But, this Steam Next Fest beta has a twist of its own to offer.

Along the way through this brief tutorial, I've been shoving loot into a swelling inventory, and once felled by the boss monster at the end I have one more chance to steer my spirit back to my body to get back up again. From there, I summon a strange bell creature onto the map, tracking and slaying it to gain the ability to make it ring and extract with my collected loot. From here, it's all about deploying into and extracting out of bigger fantasy maps, filled with goodies to collect, monsters, and other players (and if you want to give it a go, you can check out our Steam Next Fest guide for more).

Misty mountains

Mistfall Hunter is the debut project from Bellring Games, and it feels like the purer action RPG take on the extraction genre that I expected from Elden Ring Nightreign pre-release (which is more focused on providing a randomized co-op challenge). Mistfall Hunter has more in common with the likes of Arc Raiders or Marathon, except, of course, it's a fantasy ARPG. One we've been hotly anticipating since we first played it last year.

I spend most of my time playing with a melee focused build, the mercenary, just because that's what I'm used to from playing Dark Souls, but there are multiple classes on offer (which you can swap between back at the hub – though you can also level up a skill tree to enhance each). Archers and sorcerers round out available weapon types, but more specialized roles are in the mix too – such as the stealthy Shadowstrix or the magical healer Seer. Able to group up, assembling a varied team will give an edge on being able to extract with the best loot possible, and keep rival players at bay.

Naturally, some of the loot dropped by monsters can be equipped there and then – important if you've lost all your stuff or are just starting out. But, the best goodies I find are locked in chests, or dropped by boss-level foes (and usually, to unlock the former, you must defeat a stronger enemy anyway). Rare ingredients are handy, but precious Gyldenblood will goop out of certain foes, the major currency that's used for core progress. There's a time limit on each match too as the Gyldenmist threatens to corrupt everything in the land, so extracting before then is vital if you can fight it out over a bell or come to an understanding between fellow players.

Playing as my melee character, combat is familiar – hitting the right bumper to slash with my sword, and the left to raise my shield to defend. Triggers, meanwhile, are essentially weapon arts, which operate on generous cooldowns so I can drop deadly abilities with ease. Swapping to a big hammer changes these abilities instantly, while giving me more powerful attacks with, as expected, more wind-up.

Combat itself isn't as refined as FromSoftware's Soulslikes – what is? – meaning there's an amount of chafing against hitboxes and animations that can at times feel weightless, but with the dip in and out extraction structure the lightweight nature suits it so far. Will I feel the same if I lose gear I've spent hours collecting in the full release because of it? Perhaps not.

Yet, I find my first few loops through Hallowgrove, on the path to Brandrgarde (the two maps in the current build, which also have 'chaos' variants) compelling. In the past, I've struggled to get into extraction shooters because I prefer my blasting to come in the deathmatch variety.

Something about considered fantasy RPG combat – the hallmark of the Soulslike – just fits the extraction vibe better to me, and I definitely wish instead of writing this I was stepping into the Gyldenmist afflicted land to hoover up more loot for more go-around. It's easy to see why Mistfall Hunters has been Steam Next Fest's top demo so far – so play the beta while you can.

If you miss it, there's not long to wait. Mistfall Hunter launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on July 29, with its beta running through Steam Next Fest.

Looking for more along these lines? Check out my best Soulslike games list!

Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 4 season 14 is called the Season of Death Awakening, and promises to unveil more info about it next week following a PTR that's left fans a bit mixed.

Diablo 4 is now somehow over three years old, and we're deep in the midst of its Lord of Hatred era (that being the name of the latest expansion, not a manifestation of players' reactions to Diablo Immortal). The latest expansion launched alongside season 13 of the game – titled the Season of Reckoning – but now Blizzard is gearing up to release its first new season since the expansion launched with the Season of Death Awakening.

On the Blizzard website, the studio announced the new season in a blog post and confirmed a livestream on June 23, 2026, at 11am PT, 2pm ET, and 7pm BST. Obviously, the important info is going to be saved for the stream, but Blizzard did note what to expect in the new season, aside from the typical seasonal quest and Seasonal Lair info.

The post reads, "Major updates include the new Mythic Uniques item rework, class balancing, and the official launch of the Tower and Leaderboards. We’ll also reveal details on quality-of-life changes such as Party War Plans, Solo Self Found, crafting upgrades, and higher currency caps. There will be a Q&A section at the end of the stream for you to ask questions directly to the team."

On top of that, there's going to be a special Twitch drop for watching Diablo 4 streams while the update livestream is ongoing, with the Falx Infectus sword cosmetic up for grabs for anyone who watches for 30 minutes. Plus, Blizzard is teasing the return of "a familiar adversary," which I'm sure the community will be able to figure out from the name of the season.

Some players have already gotten their hands on the changes too through the PTR, and it's uhh... Either incredible or really bad? Looking at the Diablo Forums, there are posts like one titled "Season 14 Is Exactly What Diablo 4 Needs," and another called "Season 14 Is Awful," which has several removed posts to boot. This isn't just mindless opinion flinging, either, as both threads feature long arguments about why the season is great or awful.

Even searching for Season 14 on the Diablo 4 subreddit yields similar results, with players either decrying or loving the changes Blizzard is making. So it's safe to say that early reactions are a bit mixed, which hopefully Blizzard takes into account ahead of next week's stream.

After 392 billion monsters slain in Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred, Blizzard stats reveal ARPG players prefer Warlocks to Paladins by almost 2 to 1

Mortal Shell: not bad. Developer Cold Symmetry's debut Soulslike had real style and interesting ideas, plus it was pleasantly short, but some clunkiness and dull levels held it back. Luckily, Cold Symmetry was able to make Mortal Shell 2, an expanded sequel which just dropped an open beta in time for Steam Next Fest, Valve's big demo blowout. At the time of writing, it's the most popular true-blue Soulslike in the event, and based on my limited time with it, Mortal Shell 2 has made some solid upgrades. (Mortal Shell 2 beta rewards and progress transfer explained in depth here.)

Mortal Shell 2 will feel fairly familiar if you played the original. If you're coming to it from other Soulslike action RPGs, such as Lies of P or Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, it may feel incredibly different. The titular shells frame an interesting class system: each comes with its own abilities and bonuses, though there's further room for customization in weapons and upgrades. Combat just has a different heft to it that's hard to compare – somewhere between the original Dark Souls and the modern Lords of the Fallen, perhaps. It's profoundly heavy, but not in a bad way since the game feels adequately built around it. For example: there's no stamina bar, so swing away.

From the jump, the starter knight shell commands weight and crunch, and even as a heavier shell, doesn't have the same clunk that was discussed with the first game. I was still a little iffy on the feel of melee combat until my parry reflexes returned. That first, perfectly timed flash of gold was enough to jolt me right up. I'm also a big fan of the greatsword attack where you club dudes with the hilt.

There's a thick sense of forward aggression here, cleaving through crowds with the expected light and heavy attacks, but weaving in a petrify spell to make enemies vulnerable to stun damage and finisher attacks that fit seamlessly into combos.

Also: a gun! Ranged attacks seem heavily pushed in Mortal Shell 2, and the satisfying chonk of the first gun, a sort of ballista shottie, is a good sign. Maybe the modders were right and Dark Souls really did need a shotgun.

It's pretty impressive to pull off third-person shooting and slashing in a way that flows naturally. Enemy design has a rock-paper-scissors thing going on that encourages you to use whatever attacks certain enemies are weak to, and while this could theoretically limit variety, so far it feels great to chew through enemies while rotating through my arsenal and conserving specific resources.

The main appeal of Mortal Shell 2, for me, was something I can't possibly experience in this limited demo: "more than 60 dungeons," as Cold Symmetry promises. If this game can actually serve up a world worth exploring, I figured I'd be all over it. But after messing around with the combat for a little bit, I kind of just want to hit more dudes, and moreish definitely wasn't a word I busted out for the first Mortal Shell. For a free sample, this is about as good as I could ask.

Years ago, we spoke to the makers of Mortal Shell as part of our develop-led explainer on what defines a Soulslike.

The Path of Exile 2 full release date isn't known precisely, but we do know that Grinding Gear Games are trying to get the 1.0 update out before the end of the year. Path of Exile 2 launched into early access on December 6, 2024, so the projected release target roughly coincides with this two-year early access anniversary and should see the game enter a complete state with a full campaign and endgame. Here are the basics you need to be aware of for the 1.0 launch of Path of Exile 2 and when the full release date is likely to be.

Path of Exile 2 full release date

As mentioned, Path of Exile 2 hasn’t got a release date for version 1.0, but we know that it's targeting a 2026 release for after ExileCon, which runs from November 7-8. That means the full launch date should be between November 9 to December 31, 2026, but expect solid details to get announced at ExileCon.

The endgame-focused 'Return of the Ancients' update, which launched on May 29, was also the final major update before the full release of Path of Exile 2. Assuming there are no delays, that means players will be going roughly six months without new content, though the developers at Grinding Gear Games will still support the game in that time with balance updates and tweaks to polish the whole thing.

In terms of what will get added with the full release for POE2, players can look forward to a completed campaign with Acts 5 and 6 getting added, but the four missing Path of Exile 2 classes (Duelist, Marauder, Shadow, and Templar) might not all make it in time for 1.0.

Game director Jonathan Rogers told Eurogamer that "[the developers] want to make sure that all the character classes we do have are finished and they've got all the ascendancy classes they need, and they've got all the skills they need, and everything like that." He adds that the focus is on ensuring the game "feels complete" with a full campaign and endgame in working order. The absent classes will arrive eventually, but don't expect them to be there for POE2's full release in 2026.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Humanoid monsters line up to face my blade. I dodge and parry their incoming strikes, carving through each foe with relish. With my protagonist's supernatural speed and meaty swings, I briefly forget that I'm not playing God of War Ragnarök, before the eerily beautiful rendition of Edo-period Kyoto (fictional, of course) drags me back to my senses. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is an action-adventure title that instantly feels at home in the hands of modern-day Kratos fans, but trades Norse deities for Japanese mythology.

Diving into the latest demo at Summer Game Fest 2026, I'm enraptured by the world of Onimusha: Way of the Sword. This new slice of the game is larger, deeper and more immersive than the recent sampler shadow-dropped on PS5 after Sony's last State of Play. NPCs populate the map, existing out of sight of the genma, the demonic enemies that constantly find themselves impaled on my blade; while the map features more streets and buildings to explore.

Myths and monsters

The way in which Onimusha: Way of the Sword serves up an in-game world full of the supernatural and yet realistic in feel is impressive, and is in touch with the franchise's roots as an old-timey alternative to Resident Evil. The key difference compared to its contemporary, biohazardous cousin, though, is in the game's combat.

Main character Miyamoto Musashi wields his blade with a sumptuous smoothness, cutting down basic monsters with moreish fluidity, and savoring boss encounters like warm sake. It's a combat style that brings to mind Kratos, although Musashi's personality isn't quite a perfect match. Both characters are stoic, but where the Angry Spartan is often, well… angry, Onimusha's protagonist tends to be more tongue-in-cheek when met with antagonism.

It's shortly after eradicating a group of genma and helping myself to the nearby treasure chest that it dawns on me just how similar to God of War this new Onimusha is. The dynamic combat, mythological mobs and deific forces at play are all akin to Sony Santa Monica's epics, but set in a time and place that some may find more appealing. I'm not saying it's God of War Japan, but there's a welcome sense of that flavor.

This fictional version of Edo-era Kyoto is loaded with atmosphere, in part thanks to the presence of blood-red fogs that make parts of the map inaccessible to Musashi. The way enemies chase down civilians – some we can save, some not so fortunate – adds a grim reality to the world. The bleakness levels up when I talk to a one-legged man who cheerfully tells Musashi how his knee used to ache terribly before he was kindly separated from it. I pull the same dumbfounded expression as the sword-swinging hero as I digest what's just been said, before long encountering the cretinous being that offered the deal.

Named Rasho-gan, this medley of assorted limbs is the boss fight of the demo, and I eagerly face off against them. Slash, dodge, swing, parry, slice, kick; playing on Action difficulty (the game's harder mode) I'm bemused by the creature's poor offering. This thing is supposedly capable of extorting limbs from humans and yet can barely hold its own in a fight? Get your refunds, my friends.

My arrogance is dashed when Rasho-gan hits me through a dodge, knocking me to the ground and throwing me off my rhythm. As I try to regain my composure I'm hit again through a dodge, clearly not timing it correctly. I implore Musashi to stand back up, but he's already dead.

Attempt two starts much the same, only this time I know to parry instead of dodge certain attacks. I quickly put the wretch down but they have a second health bar. Fine by me, I'm enjoying the contest. Turns out Rasho-gan has figured out my strategy as they ignore my seemingly-ill-timed parry and body me, unleashing a flurry of blows that drains me to zero before I can think.

Attempt three proves to be the charm as I combine my previous learnings to best the abomination before me, smugly dodging, parrying and hacking through the boss with an earned sense of ease. The duel ends with Rasho-gan running away before being shot down by an archer with a golden, godly aura. Once again I'm reminded of God of War, as Musashi converses with this divine figure as both lesser and equal, as only a true hero can do.

As the demo comes to a close, I'm in awe. Capcom has produced a unique title that blends many of the elements behind the success of God of War with the developer's own expertise for crafting worlds teeming with horror and intrigue. It's a breathtaking cocktail, and one I can't wait to guzzle down when Onimusha: Way of the Sword releases on September 25, 2026, for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

Capcom is "quite confident" Onimusha: Way of the Sword will give players a challenge after the demo was "too easy"

Path of Exile 2 lead designer and co-game director Mark Roberts holds a nasty grudge for one of the game's most enduring exploits: Vaal Temple farming, which he says ruined his Christmas, left him traumatized, and made him gleeful about nerfing it down.

You'll likely remember the Path of Exile 2 community's infamous temple snaking strategy from the most recent league, Fate of the Vaal, but you probably don't recall it as vividly as Roberts, who spent his 2025 holiday season alongside Grinding Gear Games identifying exploits, pumping the game full of balance fixes, and trying to ensure the in-game economy didn't implode under the crippling weight of the all-powerful Temple farming grind. The exploit's largely been wrangled as of now, but it had a lasting impact on Roberts' psyche.

"I know we nerfed it recently," Roberts says during an interview with PoE creator Zizaran (thanks, PCGN). "There was a bit of a, 'yay, let's not have that again.' The Temple ruined Christmas for me."

Hilariously, precisely as Roberts is going on about how much he hates the Vaal Temple, Zizaran reports live that "people have broken the Temple again." In disbelief, Roberts says nothing seems "that out of control right now," but eventually he and co-director Jonathan Rogers receive word from GGG homebase that, indeed, there's a "T1 issue with the Temple" that would have to be discussed after the interview. Roberts and Rogers then break down in laughter. It's actually very entertaining if you're the type of person who gets amusement out of mild misfortune.

"The amount of joy I can get out of just going and obliterating the Temple right now, trust me. I don't care if it's a mid-league nerf," says Roberts. "I've lost all sympathy for that bloody Temple and everyone running it for now.

"I'm being extreme. Obviously I don't want to actually just make it bad, but it's left some trauma," he clarifies.

Roberts probably feels comfortable expressing all of this because, at least based on conversations I'm seeing in Path of Exile communities online, most people are pretty over the whole temple snaking exploit too, especially as it seems to continuously resurface with new strategies despite endless nerfs. Maybe it really is time to "burn it all down," as one commenter suggested.

"I saved you all": Path of Exile 2 player sacrifices rare level 100 character to give everyone else a free skill point as world-first "Martyr of the First Edict"

Fabled Legacy codes can give you a handy boost in this RPG dungeon crawler, as you team up with friends to explore the depths in search of loot and secrets. You'll need to level up your character and equipment to keep pushing forward, and deal with the increasing threats you face from enemies encounter along the way.

The Fabled Legacy codes listed here can help you with that by providing amounts of various in-game currencies to top up your balances, meaning you can access more rerolls for your gear or cosmetic items to improve your appearance in this Roblox experience. If you're hungry for adventure, then here are the codes for Fabled Legacy and how to redeem them.

If you've been searching for rewards that can be used across all of your experiences, then take a look at the latest Roblox promo codes.

All Fabled Legacy codes

The following Fabled Legacy codes are currently available to redeem:

• YALDABAOTH – 300 Gems new!
• ADMINTHIRD – 15 Minutes of XP Boost, Material Boost, and Luck Boost new!
• MORECURRENCY – 5,000 Dawnbreak Coins
• DAWNBREAK – 5,000 Dawnbreak Coins
• DIVINE – 100 Gems
• 135KLIKES – 100 Gems
• NEWYEAR26 – Reward
• CHRISTMAS25 – Reward

With the codes for Fabled Legacy listed above, you can secure various in-game currencies to add to your balances, including Gems and Dawnbreak Coins. These can then be used to reroll items or spent in the store to unlock cosmetics.

How to redeem Fabled Legacy codes

To redeem Fabled Legacy codes, you first have to complete the first two tutorial dungeons, though this should only take you a few minutes as they're pretty short. Once that's done, hit the Cog icon on the screen to open the Settings menu, where you'll see an Enter Code... text box right at the top of it. Type each promo in there and they will be automatically submitted, bearing in mind that codes for Fabled Legacy are case-sensitive so you need to enter them in all caps.

Expired Fabled Legacy codes

• THREEYEARS – 500 Gems
• INCUBATE – 100 Gems
• CLOVER – 15 Minutes of XP Boost, Material Boost, and Luck Boost
• 130KLIKES – 100 Gems
• FREEGEMS – 100 Gems
• LOVE – 100 Gems
• NEON – 100 Gems
• HAPPYTHANKSGIVING – 100 Gems
• BRIDE – 100 Gems
• ELDRITCH – 100 Gems
• 125KLIKES – 100 Gems
• SWORDBURST – 500 Coins
• NOODLE – 100 Gems
• HEIRLOOM – 100 Gems
• MATCHMAKING – 100 Gems
• 120KLIKES – 100 Gems
• FORSAKEN – 100 Gems
• 115KLIKES – 100 Gems
• EGGIES – 100 Gems
• SYLPH – 100 Gems

There are a decent number of expired Fable Legacy codes, as they've been around for some time now. I've included the most recent promos that are now inactive on the list above, so you'll know why they're no longer working if you try them.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

FromSoftware owner Kadokawa has locked horns with investors over a proposed plan for the company's leadership. Amidst the crossfire, FromSoftware president and Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki shared a simple message: we just want to make games, man.

Japanese outlet Denfaminico published a statement from Miyazaki today, June 12, after inquiring about his thoughts on Kadokawa's ongoing fight. A June 12 news release from Kadokawa confirms that it's elected to oppose shareholder proposals regarding its "medium-term management plan."

Miyazaki's statement (which I'll quote very sparingly, as it's been machine translated from Japanese) affirms that he and FromSoftware are familiar with Kadokawa's situation, but is quick to stress that the whole thing is complex and largely beyond them, and his thoughts here are purely his.

Miyazaki says he's "satisfied" with FromSoftware's development environment, which has seen it produce multiple hit games following Elden Ring, the studio's critical and commercial magnum opus. Armored Core 6 and Elden Ring Nightreign both performed well, and Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods is 2026-bound with a closed network test just announced for this summer.

It's not that FromSoftware can't make improvements to its processes, Miyazaki adds, but the studio is already able to "freely" create the games it wants to make, which is his priority. Preserving that development environment, which he says is one of the main reasons it's been able to make games "of value" in the past, and letting FromSoftware concentrate purely on making those games is "of the utmost importance."

Additionally, Miyazaki tells fans reading his message that they can look forward to upcoming titles, both announced games like The Duskbloods as well as "the unannounced titles yet to come."

The investor fight, per a June 5 Kadokawa news release, relates to "the company proposal to elect director candidates Takeshi Natsuno and Hiroo Unoura." In other words, some investors want to get rid of the CEO, citing alleged underperformance, and change the company's strategy.

As Denfaminico reports, the driving force in this pushback is investor Oasis Management Company, which, per Kadokawa's June 1 shareholder meeting notice, holds (a non-exact) 20,500 shares, or 13.76% of the company, making it the largest shareholder, beating Sony's 11.01%. Oasis has steadily raised its stake throughout the year, per Automaton.

Oasis even created a whole website, called "A Better Kadokawa," to air its grievances against the company – namely, that it "fails to capture FromSoftware's full value, ceding economics to external partners" and its "'quantity over quality' strategy for core Publication / IP Creation business has weakened profitability" as earnings per share declined "89% during [CEO Takeshi Natsuno's] tenure."

"Oasis Calls on KADOKAWA Investors to Vote AGAINST CEO Takeshi Natsuno," the website reads. Kadokawa said in a May 28 presentation that it "believes" this website "contains statements that differ from the Company's understanding and do not fully reflect the Company’s initiatives."

Oasis, you may recall, is the same company that once implored Nintendo to inject microtransactions into its games. An immortal letter from Oasis founder and still-CEO Seth Fischer, to late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, reads: "We believe Nintendo can create very profitable games based on in-game revenue models with the right development team. Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher."

So, you can imagine why Kadokawa and, by extension, FromSoftware might hesitate.

Ever since Elden Ring, FromSoft fans have been awaiting the studio's next traditional single-player-focused action RPG. Armored Core 6 is its own beast, and Elden Ring Nightreign and The Duskbloods are more experimental multiplayer titles. However, Miyazaki's said that FromSoftware hasn't made some internal pivot away from single-player games, and Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki told us games like it are an extension of the studio's philosophy, not a change to it.

"We've had these two titles, Nightreign and the recently announced Duskbloods, with multiplayer at their core. But that's not necessarily to say that we are leaning in that specific direction going forward," Ishizaki told us in May 2025.

"FromSoftware is making steady progress" amid push "to develop IP in games" and film, says owner Kadokawa as Elden Ring movie looms.

The industry is collectively bracing itself for GTA 6 this November. It's going to be tough for other games to get a look in as Rockstar's latest open-world sandbox is set to dominate the zeitgeist. One unbothered team is those behind Phantom Blade: Zero, who're only concerned with making sure their game is as good as it can be.

"Many people may think we have some marketing strategy to move it from the overcrowded September, and some are very worried that it's closer to November," Qiwei "Soulframe" Liang, the upcoming action RPG's director, tells PC Gamer. "We don't think about any of this. We only think of the quality of the product itself. I don't think competition can influence, much, the success of a work. Only the product itself matters."

There are a lot of games coming out in September, all trying to carve out a little time before the newest Grand Theft Auto sucks up everyone's attention. The Blood of Dawnwalker, Marvel's Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall, Control: Resonant, Halloween: The Game – it's a serious month.

Phantom Blade: Zero is now scheduled for October 29 after being moved from its previous September 9 release date, making it closer to GTA 6 than many studios would clearly be comfortable with, and at the tail end of another stacked few weeks. But developer S-Game is totally unbothered. "We don't even think of the competition, what's launching ahead or after," Liang adds. "What matters is how polished the game is, and if we have one or two extra months, we can fix more bugs, do more optimizations, so that we don't need a huge day one patch."

He definitely has the right idea about polishing up the project. In the run-up to shipping, it's always better to be heads down on bug fixes and the like, rather than being too concerned about whatever else is going on. That said, Phantom Blade: Zero is a blockbuster game, and being anywhere near GTA 6 is like releasing a bigger budget film near the next Avatar or Avengers – the player pool will inevitably be smaller than normal.

But then again, Phantom Blade: Zero's got a more specific appeal than the next Grand Theft Auto. Maybe it'll be helpful to provide an alternative for people who aren't into sandbox thrillers. I'm looking forward to both, though I expect Phantom Blade's bosses will probably take me longer to beat than whatever Rockstar asks of me.

Sony likes Phantom Blade Zero so much it's getting its own show this summer, devs reveal in brutal clip that looks like Dark Souls with generational trauma.

Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion has been out for a few weeks now, enough time for Blizzard to assemble some startling statistics about how players are spending their time in the game. The DLC adds two new classes, Warlock and Paladin, but these stats reveal a clear favorite.

Over on Twitter, Blizzard shared an image revealing some of the key player stats from Lord of Hatred so far. Mephisto, the titular antagonist of the expansion, has managed to fell 704,000 players so far, while players have managed to click-kill a shocking 392 billion monsters. Those are some big numbers, for sure, but not entirely surprising if you take into account how massive Diablo 4 has become, not to mention how quickly some of the game's most overpowered builds can demolish scores of demons.

What interests me is the data on how many people are choosing Warlocks compared to Paladins, because there's a pretty huge preference for the latter. Specifically, Blizzard says 1.4 million Paladins have been created since Lord of Hatred launched, and 2.1 million Warlocks.

I suppose it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Warlocks are more popular than Paladins. Warlocks are flashy spellcasters with sick tattoos and horns on their heads, and Paladins are just heavily armored holy warriors with a melee focus. Both classes have been well-received generally, but it's easy to see which one would command the most attention in a startup screen.

For me, the Paladin's more passive playstyle is ideal for the way I play Diablo 4, which is to say I much prefer to mindlessly click baddies to death at the end of a long day rather than dealing with summons and shards and skill synergies. More power to anyone who likes digging deep into buildcrafting, and clearly I'm in the minority here, but I'm team Paladin for now.

For Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred DLC, Blizzard designed the new warlock class to feel like it could beat the necromancers and sorceresses in a "fist fight"

Wuthering Waves update 3.4, released on June 8, opened with a large collaboration with the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners from CD Projekt Red and studio Trigger. The double-whammy of Lucy and Rebecca, beloved Edgerunners characters who are now playable fighters in developer Kuro Games' open-world action RPG, has seen the game's Steam version break all-time player records.

SteamDB shows that the June 8 launch saw a peak of 49,497 players on Steam, putting Wuthering Waves pretty comfortably in the top 30 games on the platform. It's currently at a more typical 21,692 players, which keeps it in Steam's top 100. The free-to-play game has always felt built for PC and console and it reviewed well on Steam, sitting at 88% positive after 48,454 reviews.

The game's previous peak of 40,721 players came with the release of update 3.0, which actually makes the collab's popularity more impressive. X.0 patches are consistently the most active periods for games like this, as that's when devs tend to drop huge chunks of new content and give out heaps of gacha rewards that draw players in.

The caveat here is that Wuthering Waves has only been on Steam since April 2025, but the game was actually released in May 2024 and is dominated by non-Steam launchers. It's also available on PS5 and mobile, and is coming to Xbox Series X in July 2026.

The Edgerunners content seems to have been the push some people needed to try the game, and existing players look to have responded well to the collab, which isn't super out-of-place within the game's sci-fantasy world. Edgerunners fans, in particular, have praised the depth of the game's anime-inspired content, which goes well beyond just giving Lucy and Rebecca some new guns.

Cyberpunk 2077 quest designer and Cyberpunk 2 associate game director Paweł Sasko says, "We have done [a] bunch of collabs in the past, small and huge, and I have never seen response this insane from the community. I’m floored by the depth and quality of cosplay, artworks and memes. Wuwa and Kuro are truly blessed to have playerbase this passionate and dedicated."

This ought to be a nice tide-me-over while we await Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2.

Like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, CD Projekt Red's new IP Hadar is "an emotional, open-world experience".

Stellar Blade was the most Nier: Automata game since Nier: Automata, so it was very sweet to see Nier master Yoko Taro become one of its biggest fans. Taro openly argued that Stellar Blade was "much better" than his own open-world-ish action RPG starring a cool lady with a big sword, and with sequel Stellar Blade: Blood Rain now officially on the way, he's back for more.

In a recent (machine translated) Twitter post sharing a Famitsu story covering Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, Taro reasons, "I really feel like I have to buy this one, too."

A reply from Shift Up head and Stellar Blade director Hyung-Tae Kim (again, machine translated from Japanese) wishes Taro a belated happy birthday and preemptively thanks him for his purchase. (Taro's birthday is June 6. He is now 56 years old.)

In response, Taro congratulates Kim on the Blood Rain announcement.

Kim and Taro previously spent quite some time gassing up each others' games, with Nier: Automata serving as a guiding star for Stellar Blade, and Stellar Blade wowing Taro with its art and animations. "I was surprised by the quality of Korean games when I saw it," he said in an old interview from IGN Japan.

Stellar Blade ended up getting a solid Nier: Automata DLC, which was all but written in the sky.

Earlier this year, Taro argued that game devs saying "outright that they copied" Nier: Automata is a "form of respect" and he has absolutely no problem with it, though he joked that he's not sure publisher Square Enix would see it the same way. Either way, he's clearly happy to see the journey of titular automaton 2B influence so many creators.

I enjoyed both games, but I'd personally put Nier: Automata a cut above Stellar Blade. Both have the same core strengths – music and combat – but I'd say Nier: Automata has a more interesting world and incomparably more compelling cast to go with it.

This is why I was excited to see Stellar Blade getting a sequel with Blood Rain. It was the first game of its kind for Shift Up, a studio better known for the rail shooter-y gacha game Goddess of Victory: Nikke, and it was a solid foundation to build on. If the studio can preserve or improve its music and combat styles while beefing up the game world around them, I might find myself agreeing with Taro when Blood Rain rolls around.

"There is a limit to progress based on price": In today's AI hardware disaster, Stellar Blade Blood Rain devs prioritize "making the game playable" for as many people as possible.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is getting its own Dark Arisen expansion in October, so Capcom's rolling out the red carpet to perk up the game years after its polarizing launch.

This follows the Summer Game Fest reveal of the Ascendance expansion for Monster Hunter Wilds, another action RPG that struggled with performance issues (especially on PC) throughout a protracted comeback arc, as Capcom looks to paint over two troubled releases amidst an otherwise glowing lineup.

Today, Capcom revealed a laundry list of Dragon's Dogma 2 balance changes and quality-of-life upgrades – some out today, and some coming in an August patch.

Today's headliner is the Eternal Ferrystone, an infinite-use fast travel item, combined with additional Portcrystals around the world. Additionally, some dungeon loot will have improved stats, multiple fees and prices have been reduced, some quests will award more gold, and dashing will use less stamina outside of combat.

It's a lot of travel and economy stuff, for the most part, but we've also gotten a few bespoke changes like this: "Selecting Load from Autosave after defeat will no longer result in loss gauge accumulation."

Come August, we'll have three save slots, with each slot holding autosave, "interim save," or "last inn rest" save data. Each save will have date and time details shown on-screen, and loading an inn save "will no longer delete your autosave or interim save," bringing Dragon's Dogma 2 up to par with games that were released several decades ago.

The Dragonsplague, a divisive world hazard that proved disruptive to some but intriguing to others, has once again been toned down. A new item to "cure" the Dragonsplague, the Dragonsbaulk Draught, will be added as a one-stop solution for folks who just plain don't want to fuss with it.

The list goes on. In-combat flinch will be reduced, weapon skill slots will be increased from four to six (!), crawling makes you stealthier, wakestones will gain invincibility windows and stamina recovery items will be instantly, and virtually every vocation will be retouched.

In a Twitter post, Capcom confirms, "In the lead-up to Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, we'll be releasing two major Title Updates to improve and enhance the base game." The second update is also promising:

• Much-needed performance improvements
• Yet more action, Pawn, and enemy adjustments
• Myriad UI improvements
• Bug fixes

Performance improvements, the biggest absentee in today's patch notes, are the most exciting. On PC, Dragon's Dogma 2 was left to rot for years, an emblem of Capcom's PC foibles, barely functional on far too many systems. Even on console, the game doesn't always run smoothly. As tantalizing as Dark Arisen is, it's a lot more exciting knowing – rather, cautiously hoping – we'll get to play it with a better, more stable frame rate.

Capcom learns all the right lessons from Pragmata's success: "The creation of completely new IPs is an important initiative" that "we intend to continue pursuing".

Exploration often requires giving up part of yourself. We call it growth. In the case of a particular Path of Exile 2 player, it meant losing his level 100 character after weeks of grinding, but the reward is being part of the game's history.

The action RPG's latest update, Return of the Ancients, contains several enigmas, one of which is a strange chamber in an otherwise empty room. Examining it prompts a request to "Become the Martyr of the first Edict," with the warning that your hero would be erased by doing so.

That's alarming. As spotted by PC Gamer, Path of Exile 2 streamer and YouTuber Carn, who invested hours upon hours to get his main to level 100, eventually decided to give it a go, in the name of science. "Your strength is unquestioned. Your resolve, unbreakable. Are you ready, Martyr?" reads the dialog box.

Carn hits "Enter," and his hero climbs in. The silo lowers, and his screen fades into white. Then, he's back at the character creation menu. The protagonist he sent away appears to be there, but they can't be selected any more. They're now ranked as the "First Edict" as well.

Investigating further, he grabs another of his characters, and heads back to the same spot. There are no signs this was ever any kind of sacrificial area. Instead, there's a glowing orb, where you can, "Claim a Mote of the Martyr's Power." Doing so grants the character an extra skill point.

He tries with another warrior, and the same thing happens. It turns out, he literally sacrificed his level 100 knight for the greater good, because everyone who touches the light after gets a free skill point. But: he's in Solo Self-Found, and only those in the same lane can enjoy this reward. Those in the regular multiplayer needed to see who'd step up to be their martyr.

Thankfully, they weren't waiting long before a fan known as ResurrectGodAura took the hit, giving everyone their free skill point.

"You shall now refer to me as the Martyr of the First Edict," Carn proclaims on his stream. "I saved you all."

This is just one of the things added in Path of Exile 2's huge new Return of the Ancients update, which has been extremely popular despite a buggy launch. With cool secrets like this, you can understand why.

Path of Exile 2 devs narrowly prevented an in-game economic disaster by nerfing a broken money-making strategy before it got out of hand.

Vanillaware is bringing Muramasa to PC in 2027. I, too, struggle to believe these words, but you're just going to have to trust me.

On the heels of a Switch and Switch 2 announcement in the Nintendo Direct June show (it's also coming to PS5), the Japanese studio surprised fans with a Steam page for Muramasa: Revenant Blades. This is the first Vanillaware game to ever come to PC, and it's a port of a game that first launched on the Wii in 2009 before being ported to the PlayStation Vita.

Vanillaware is notorious for skipping PC. I specifically asked the director of Unicorn Overlord, the studio's sterling strategy RPG, if a PC port was in the cards, and I was completely shut down.

It's maddening. Everything Vanillaware touches, from Odin Sphere to Dragon's Crown to 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, is an exemplar in a genre that has a huge audience on PC. Hell, games like Unicorn Overlord might even benefit from mouse controls, specifically. Yet, every time: crickets.

So, an updated, PC version of Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a big deal – not just because a great game will now be available on a new platform, but because it opens the door to further PC ports from Vanillaware. It's a pattern we've seen from the likes of Atlus and Capcom: dip your toe in the PC pond only to find your whole leg hungrily grabbed by a starved fan base who's been watching enviously from afar for years. Basically what I'm saying is, Unicorn Overlord on Steam, and only that, would fix me.

Anyway. Muramasa is a 2D action RPG about tearing through yokai and folklore-inspired monsters while struggling to tear your eyes away from Vanillaware's signature environments. Six protagonists fill out a hugely replayable game with sharp combat and a surprising amount of depth to progression and blacksmithing.

"Experience the side-scrolling action RPG epic from Vanillaware and Marvelous with stunning 4K visuals, all-new English voiceover and localization, new modes and more," the Nintendo Direct trailer reads.

After 26 years, classic JRPG Tales of Eternia returns: the remaster coming this October looks fantastic, and is actually good for the series for once.

Capcom has confirmed that not only is Dragon's Dogma 2 coming to Switch 2, but it'll be arriving alongside the long-awaited DLC expansion.

After many of us had lost hope that Dragon's Dogma 2 would get a Dark Arisen-like expansion for 2024's most underrated game, following the base game being series creator Hideaki Itsuno's last project at Capcom before leaving in 2024, some anniversary artwork earlier this year inspired a little bit of hope.

And in a Nintendo Direct of all places, Capcom has finally announced that Dragon's Dogma 2 Dark Arisen will be released on October 9, 2026. The footage showed off a new region to explore named Norgan, a snowy region not seen in the original game.

Capcom released another trailer for the expansion on its YouTube channel, showing some of the new beasts we'll be scrapping against in the land of Norgan, most notably a new ice dragon enemy and another that summons armies of the dead to attack you. This trailer also confirmed that the expansion will release as a separate DLC on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on the same day that the Nintendo Switch 2 edition releases.

A Switch 2 version of the game is set to release on the same day, Capcom confirmed, alongside the announcement that Onimusha: Way of the Sword will also be arriving on the console. And considering how much Dragon's Dogma 2 struggled performance wise on the base PS5, I'm concerned about the Switch 2 version, but optimistic Capcom has managed to update it to make it work.

The original Dragon's Dogma's Dark Arisen expansion took that game from a solid RPG to one of the best there ever was, so for a game as already as good as Dragon's Dogma 2, I'm already feral. And unfortunately for the 500 other games coming out in September and October, this is going to be my go-to.

Former Devil May Cry and Dragon's Dogma 2 director says he can't make "the kind of games I'd most like to" as "they'd be too out there" and "probably wouldn't sell"

Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance has the fanbase hyped, but the return of the elder dragon Kushala Doara has them rolling their eyes.

Monster Hunter Wilds's "massive expansion" was finally announced at Summer Game Fest last week, with Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance set to launch in 2027, which will undoubtedly bring back the Master Rank quests and introduce new and returning monsters. Given that Monster Hunter Wilds' base game brought back some long-time series absentees – with a ton of love being shown to Monster Hunter 4's roster – we can't wait to see all the returning monsters we'll have a chance to hunt for the first time in years… wait, it's Kushala, isn't it? It's gonna be Kushala.

Yes, the Steel Dragon, Kushala Daora debuted in Monster Hunter 2, and – aside from the third generation – has appeared in every single major Monster Hunter title to date. Kushala Doara may be metallic, but its main issue is its ability to manipulate the wind, which makes the fight against this massive Elder Dragon quite tedious.

Reaction to the trailer itself had fans gutted over its return – at least in lieu of announcing other monsters we haven't seen for a while – with one user in the Reddit announcement thread saying, "Looks beautiful, but I died inside a little when I saw Kushala."

Capcom has decided to poke the bear with a Twitter post about the monster. And the fans responded in kind, with multiple posts comparing his constant appearances to The Deep from The Boys, while another responds, "Kushala is more of an Elder that I want you to make tolerable rather than one I expect you to make enjoyable."

Although others are on the defensive for this Elder, with plenty pointing out that, with weather effects being a big focus in Wilds, it makes total sense. Plus, most of Kushala Doara's hate comes from World, but people are pointing out that fighting it in Rise was way better. Although even with those caveats, it's as simple as "I'm just really tired of seeing him is all" for some.

At the very least, everyone is pretty hyped to see the return of another Elder Dragon, the original Monster Hunter's Lao-Shan Lung who – aside from a return in the Smash Bros-style celebration that was Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate – hasn't appeared in the series since the second generation of games.

Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, further cementing its lead as Capcom's best-selling game and leaving Wilds in the dust after a year of performance woes

Capcom has announced that Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, further cementing its lead as the company's best-selling title of all-time.

Monster Hunter Wilds had a banner week last week with the announcement of Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance and confirmation that a Nintendo Switch 2 edition of the game is in development. But it's hard to ignore that Wilds isn't exactly doing quite as well as Capcom probably hoped. While it became Capcom's fastest-selling game almost instantly, with over eight million copies sold within its first three days, since then, sales have not been able to keep that momentum off the back of what was basically a year of performance issues. Throughout 2025, we saw Monster Hunter Rise perform better than the new flagship title.

But one monster's loss is another's gain, as Capcom has announced that 2018's Monster Hunter World – which was already the company's best-selling game since 2019 – has now sold over 30 million copies (or an entire Persona series' worth of sales). Capcom's last update to the game's numbers said it had sold 22.1 million copies, but with the Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition it was at 29.6 million, so presumably it's the latter that has helped it pass the new benchmark.

It's hard to overstate just how big of a deal Monster Hunter World was for the franchise. Before then, it was a somewhat niche (albeit, huge in Japan) series that was putting out bangers near constantly, but being confined to the 3DS's uncomfortable control scheme really held it back. World allowed Capcom to bring people in and show them what the fuss was about, and now we're at the point where World and Rise sit firmly at the top of Capcom's best-sellers list, ahead of every Resident Evil game.

After Monster Hunter Wilds' performance struggles, Capcom says it'll apply the lessons it's learned to future games.

Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja announced Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember at today's Xbox Games Showcase live stream, giving Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty a sequel after three years.

Wo Long 2 is coming in 2027 to all platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and even Nintendo Switch 2. Team Ninja says it will launch in "early 2027," though we don't have an exact date to put to that just yet.

February is looking like a safe bet, as it's also looking like the next September: a jam-packed month of releases, only this time it's publishers squeezing games into the fiscal calendar rather than fleeing GTA 6's November launch.

The Wo Long 2 trailer description reads: "In this long-awaited sequel to Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, which has surpassed over 5 million players worldwide, players must master the evolved Chinese martial arts and conquer battlefields of the Three Kingdoms overrun by monstrous demons alongside renowned heroes who left their mark on history."

Our Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty review put it among the upper echelons of the Soulslike space, praising its parry-focused combat and strong aesthetic.

There's a lot of Team Ninja's Nioh series in Wo Long, for good and bad. The shared bones of combat are great, but the loot system can be hit-and-miss. In Wo Long, especially, it was hit-and-miss-and-miss-and-miss. But the Nioh series has improved this and other aspects over time, with Nioh 3 striking a much better balance. Here's hoping Wo Long 2 was taking notes.

Senua revealed: Ninja Theory announced a new action-adventure game at Xbox Games Showcase 2026 – and it isn't Hellblade 3.

Monster Hunter Wilds is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, and we've got all our fingers and toes crossed that it'll turn out better than the game's initial PC port.

Hot off last night's Summer Game Fest show, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter Wilds is now in development for the Switch 2. There's no release date or even release window to look forward to, but we should learn more in the months ahead.

The Nintendo Switch 2 news follows right on from the big reveal of Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendence, the action game's first massive Iceborne-sized expansion that fans have been waiting for since launch.

Ascendence brings multiple new and returning monsters into the fold, new weapon, tricks, and a brand new region that's seemingly a collection of floating islands in the clouds. Neat! That's all coming sometime in 2027, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a Switch 2 port around the same time.

Still, the worry on everyone's mind is whether or not Monster Hunter Wilds will run better on Switch 2 than it did on PC. Folks playing on their personal computers had a notoriously wonky time with Monster Hunter Wilds, to put it mildly, for an entire year. Capcom's crown jewel had to claw its way out of the 'Overwhelmingly Negative' pit of Steam reviews, and it wasn't because the game was badly designed, it was just poorly optimized.

After multiple patches aimed at fixing its performance woes, Monster Hunter Wilds players were finally impressed with a few updates that came earlier this year. And determined to look on the bright side, Capcom recently said it's learning from the debacle to address potential "performance challenges" in the future, painting a brighter picture for Monster Hunter Wilds' Switch 2 version, perhaps.

Monster Hunter Wilds also recently sold over 11 million copies total. Good news. The bad news, for Capcom, is that the game's commercial momentum looks like it's trying to bike through 12 inches of snow, as 2021's Monster Hunter Rise and its expansion have been outselling Wilds for at least the last two fiscal quarters. A Switch 2 port should give the game's sales a boon, however, especially in Japan.

For now, here are the 10 best Monster Hunter games of all-time, ranked

Capcom announced Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance at tonight's Summer Game Fest live showcase, finally revealing the Iceborne-sized expansion that fans have been waiting for.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance will arrive in 2027. The "massive expansion" will introduce multiple new monsters, give our weapons some new tricks, and seemingly bring back an Elder Dragon first seen all the way back in the original Monster Hunter: Lao-Shan Lung. Oh, and Kushala Daora is back too. Yay?

For all intents and purposes, this expansion ought to be the second half of the game, if only because Master Rank hunts and gear will move the whole game up a notch. The Ascendance reveal trailer shows a new environment of floating islands, and features several special attacks seemingly tied to a new hunting gadget – a flaming gauntlet of sorts.

The greatsword lover in me immediately clocked the explosive parries and quick attacks provided by this new gauntlet gizmo, and gunlance also seems to have yet more ways to sling explosives around.

Another new Wilds monster appears early in the trailer, packing sonic attacks that can summon its smaller companions for dive bomb attacks. It almost looks like an updated, armored Qurupeco

In a Twitter post, Capcom says: "Introducing Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the massive expansion to #MHWilds. Soar into a land above, wield new abilities, and hunt legendary monsters in Master Rank! Prepare for Elder Dragons. The next era of Monster Hunter begins in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC."

Resident Evil Code Veronica remake is coming in 2027, Capcom reveals.

The synchronistic rituals which once ruled the Oldest House have been disrupted. The Hiss have broken containment, spilling into the streets of Manhattan – a city already under siege from another devastating Altered World Event. As these paranatural threats collide, the Federal Bureau of Control can only falter. The seven year lockdown has failed. Director Faden is MIA. All hope is lost.

Control Resonant begins in the blood-soaked ruins of the FBC Headquarters, once the home of Remedy Entertainment's transformative 2019 action-adventure experience. You're now in control of Dylan Faden, guiding the parautilitarian out of isolation and into a far wider world. A wider world, but not an open-world. This is a decision which affords Remedy an opportunity to circumvent a trap that so many sequels tumble into as they seek scale.

Paint the town red

Like its predecessor, Control Resonant has a keen focus on using Paranatural Abilities to traverse intricately designed environments. There's more verticality as you navigate sections of a city buckling under the pressure of converging AWEs, Manhattan streets twisting in on themselves, feeding a wider array of platforming challenges. Split into sectors, these open zones are filled with distractions – bruised FBC agents attempting containment, civilians in need of assistance. Movement is slick, with Dylan able to float and dash between points-of-interest, smartly balancing exploration of these open urban environments with delving into more specifically-designed dungeons, spaces where Remedy's penchant for building authored missions and singular spaces is on full display.

Rather than chase open-world ambitions, Control Resonant funnels its larger aspirations through a more expansive combat model, with the volatile gunplay that defined Jesse's adventure replaced with grittier melee action. "Control was always about the world itself. So with every Control experience it's about providing a new lens into that world, through a new protagonist. That was our thinking from the beginning," says returning game director Mikael Kasurinen. "It was also my hope to create a Remedy RPG franchise, one that focuses more on agency and player choice. We create the world that you step into, but it's up to you to find your path."

My path begins with the shapeshifting Aberrant formed as twin blades, primed for devastatingly quick assaults on unpredictable enemy forces, that can transform into an extendable lash for crowd control. There's a supernatural synergy between the two weapon forms, combining neatly with powerful Combo Enders and an array of upgradable, customizable abilities. Kasurinen tells me that his team are keen to encourage experimentation with build-styles, something which is apparent in the ease in which you're able to change up your styles.

So long as you aren't in combat, holding down on the directional-pad will let Dylan enter a dreamlike space called the Gap – a space where you can play with different builds, make adjustments to your skill point investments, equip different weapons and abilities, and then test them out before heading back into the fray. It's well worth spending time here too, as it underpins the wide degree of options in front of Dylan. Not to mention the depth of the combat system itself.

Remedy is known for its kinetic third-person combat, a 30 year legacy built atop the propulsive gunplay of Max Payne and carefully refined through Alan Wake and Quantum Break. There's been precious few occasions where Remedy has diverged from this model – FPS in FBC Firebreak and CrossfireX; vehicular combat in Death Rally – but never has the studio attempted to focus specifically on melee. The decision to present Control Resonant as an action-RPG wasn't without controversy, although I'm happy to say that the results are exceptionally strong.

There's a quality inherent to the combat that has become so synonymous with this studio. There's an almost syncopated rhythm to the way Dylan lashes at foes, a momentum that builds as he weaves between enemies crossing across different vertical planes. Control Resonant encourages aggression, with high-energy pressing pulsing through the systems. There's a snappiness to it all, which is especially apparent in the hour I spend pushing through an exceptionally challenging later-game section which uses reality-bending logic to push me to my limits.

If you played Alan Wake 2, you may recall some famous last words from the titular writer: "It's not a loop, it's a spiral." Well, Dylan Faden says 'the hell to that', as Control Resonant very much leans on the power of its loop. Melee hits restore your combat ability resource, this in turn allows you to stun enemies, which opens them up to devastating, cinematic executions – which in turn boosts your melee damage for a short time. The flowstate is exceptionally fun.

Control Resonant is not at all what I was expecting from a sequel to Control. That shock to the system subsided as I settled into its rhythms. I'm desperate to delve deeper into this world come September 24, 2026, and to get a better sense of the events which forced Jesse Faden to abandon the FBC headquarters. If what I've played is any indication, I suspect a pretty weird and wonderful adventure awaits – one which will set this series up to continue pushing against all expectations.

Control Resonant is set to launch on September 25, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. You can check other key release dates in our video game release calendar.

Ask a Path of Exile 2 player about the in-game economy a few months ago and you're guaranteed to hear a lot of complaints about a currency farming strategy involving a temple. The loot was simply too good in the action RPG's newest activity and anyone who skipped it was completely priced out of buying gear for their characters.

Even though developer Grinding Gear Games issued a list of nerfs to the mechanic for the newest league, or season, it wasn't enough to stop clever players from figuring out how to make bank with temples once again. But after just a few hours of people exploiting them, the studio dropped in with heavy nerfs to its output.

"Unfortunately we are going to need to reduce some of the juicing that is possible with the Temple fairly substantially," Grinding Gear Games wrote on X before releasing the hotfix.

Like many seasonal action RPG studios, Grinding Gear Games generally tries to leave things as they are until the next season so players don't feel like they wasted their time, but something this catastrophic had to go as soon as possible. This is why most of the replies to the post are thankful for the studio's quick response.

The temple system is pretty complex, but it helps if you think about it like a card game. You're dealt a hand of cards representing rooms you can place in your temple. Each of them have different rules for where you can place them and the goal is to connect them in just the right way to juice the rewards they give. Each time you finish running through your temple like a dungeon, a few rooms get deleted. But there was a specific layout you could do that kept this from happening to the most valuable rooms.

Using that method would net you the equivalent of thousands of dollars in Path of Exile currency items. Normally, you'll find a couple Divine Orbs (essentially a $100 dollar bill) over the course of a few hours. With the right temple strategy, however, Divine Orbs could start raining down from the sky, turning you into a millionaire overnight. Once you have a few hundred players doing this prices start inflating and everything falls apart.

Not this time though. Grinding Gear Games saved Path of Exile 2's biggest update yet from becoming its second most disastrous update yet. It's not often you see players applauding nerfs, but in a game with an economy this integral to the experience, nobody wants to see unintended interactions ruining the fun.

Path of Exile 2 Return of the Ancients dooms devs to the hotfix mines as the action RPG's "buggiest" update yet sees the biggest Steam player peak since launch

Xbox fans, you can apparently blame Series S consoles for making you wait to play No Rest for the Wicked after it launches on PS5 this October.

No Rest for the Wicked, the new action RPG from Ori developer Moon Studios, launched on PC in early access in 2024, and during this week's State of Play, it was revealed that the 1.0 update will launch in tandem with a console port for PS5 in October. Moon Studios soon after announced 1.0 is scheduled to hit Steam at the same time, but the release window for newly confirmed platforms Xbox and Switch remains "TBD" on the company's official website.

As it turns out, this seemingly has nothing to do with any timed exclusivity contract with Sony. Instead, according to Moon Studios CEO and No Rest for the Wicked game director Thomas Mahler (thanks, VGC), the lesser powered Xbox Series S is the problem. The more affordable Xbox Series console has been a burden for multiplatform developers from the very beginning, in essence because it's difficult to achieve performance parity with the much more capable Series X, and six years later, the little bro of the family is still slowing everyone else down.

Sharing insights on the official No Rest for the Wicked Discord channel, Mahler was asked point-blank why the game is launching on PS5 and PC before Xbox, and the famously candid game dev didn't mince words.

"Series S is making that rough," he said. "We'll ship it after in a good way once it's optimized like crazy for Switch 2 and Xbox."

Rubbing salt into the little white rectangle's wounds, Mahler joked in response to a sarcastic comment about a potential mobile port, "Series S and mobile specs aren't too far apart at this point." I suppose, with Xbox Cloud gaming in mind, he's not entirely out of line saying that.

On the bright side, at least No Rest for the Wicked is coming to Xbox and Switch 2 at all! That was never a guarantee, and as VGC points out, there was a time not so long ago that Mahler was considering skipping Xbox altogether due to, you guessed it, technical obstacles related to Series S.

Here are the best RPGs you can play right now.

As Summer Game Fest continues amid rumors of a Nintendo Direct coming next Tuesday, we're expecting to finally get that Elden Ring on Switch 2 release date… oh wait, never mind, they just tweeted it out.

Over on the Elden Ring Twitter account, a post confirms that Elden Ring Tarnished Edition is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on August 28, 2026, finally bringing the beloved RPG to the portable console after it was literally the first third-party game featured in the big Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.

The Tarnished Pack DLC adds some minor new content, including armor and starting classes, will be released for all platforms on the same day.

The Tarnished Edition was delayed until 2026 for "performance adjustments," after reports that the port was real rough came out of the Gamescom 2025 demo.

And while it's coming out later than expected, Bandai Namco is finally delivering in a couple months. Our more recent hands-on impression found that the port is feeling a lot better, so hopefully it'll end up a great way to play the RPG– at least on a handheld that is.

And while the game won't be getting a reissue on other platforms as far as we know, the account also confirmed that the additional content that is being added to the game as part of the Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 will also be available to purchase on other platforms the same day as 'The Tarnished Pack DLC.' This DLC will include the two new starting classes which includes the heavy knight, who probably has the best starting stats in the game. Plus there some new armor sets and a nice bit of horse armor for those Elder Scrolls enthusiasts out there.

Elden Ring player achieves "the hardest one-shot kill" in the game, downing an 89,000 HP boss after 8 hours of punishing trial and error: "It's absolute hell"

The rock blocking the cave Phantom Blade Zero lives in is slowly rolling away. Developer S-Game revealed during PlayStation State of Play June 2026 that the action RPG will get its own dedicated show later this summer, which is also when pre-orders will open ahead of the dark kungfu game's October 29 launch.

The devoted Phantom Blade Zero show will be a "Gameplay & Story Deep Dive" according to Phantom Blade Zero's State of Play trailer, which teases wicked swordfights and an understandably crying baby. You can watch the whole sordid affair below.

In the trailer, a masked assassin who seems to be our protagonist Soul shoos off enemies with expert precision and a very scary metal weapon. He carries a baby wrapped in a plush, but soiled, blanket on his back, and he seems unafraid of the torrent of enemies S-Game shows in a short montage: a woman with giant limbs, a massive, crackling porcelain hand that reminds me of Dark Souls 3's High Lord Wolnir and his skeletal palms, a giant who swoops her meaty leg around like the Dancer of the Boreal Valley in that same game, and an imposing poison-flower-woman thing that evokes Dark Souls' Chaos Witch Quelaag.

S-Game CEO Soulframe Liang insists his Phantom Blade Zero "is neither a Soulslike game nor a traditional action game."

"Maybe it could create a new identity that is Wuxia Action Games?" he hopes, referring to the genre of Chinese fantasy that also motivated big hit Black Myth: Wukong.

And I can see that Phantom Blade Zero is clearly a wuxia game in the ornate gold armor sets and hyperreal melee combat sequences found in its latest trailer, certainly, but I also pick up on creepy whispers of Dark Souls-like monstrosity. I like all of it, even though that crying baby probably doesn't.

I couldn't love Dark Souls or Bloodborne, but Phantom Blade Zero is the action RPG I wanted them to be.

Path of Exile 2's latest update, Return of the Ancients, is the Diablo 4 rival's biggest update yet both in scope and in popularity, fueling the highest surge in players since the game's early access launch back in in 2024. That said, players say it's also the buggiest update yet, with widespread reports of progression-blocking bugs and crashes plaguing what has otherwise been a well-received update.

Return of the Ancients completely overhauled Path of Exile 2's endgame when it launched late last week with six new endgame storylines as well as the new Ascendancy classes and Pinnacle bosses, but as you might expect with an update so huge – especially if you're a Diablo 4 player – a number of bugs managed to hitch a ride with the new features.

In a written update titled, "What we are working on Part 2," GGG outlines what's been fixed already and what's still to come in the game's immediate future.

Per the writeup, "the main issues" GGG was focusing on over the weekend were, naturally, the "progression blockers." The studio says running into these particularly nasty buggers "effectively ends your progress, so they are rated as incredibly critical."

Thankfully, GGG reports that "almost all the progression blockers we know about have now been fixed," even though "sometimes it's not incredibly clear in the hotfix notes, so if you did get stuck, we would encourage you to try again.

"In some cases the fixes might require you to rerun some content," GGG advises. In terms of bug fixes more broadly, GGG says it's making "pretty good headway" overall, but still has "more fixes to make."

Likewise, GGG seems to be keeping a close ear to the ground with regards to community feedback, as it details a number of fixes under various categories planned "over the next week." These are broken down into General Endgame, Ritual, Delirium, Breach, Runes of Aldur, Character Balance and Fixes, Other General Fixes, Campaign Improvements, and Controller Trade Improvements.

Some of these seem to be in direct response to some of the most common complaints from the PoE player base, like "turning off the knockback on the Tidal Waves runeshape mechanic" and "turning off the knockback on the Blood Waves ritual mechanic." There was also a lot of feedback suggesting it's a big hassle trying to navigate the trade system using a controller, and GGG says it's working on a number of fixes to address that, including a button "to copy one of your active trades so that you can easily sell more of those items".

It's unclear exactly when these fixes will be implemented – again, GGG just says "over the next week – but it's likely we'll start to see a number of hot fixes dribble in very shortly. The studio also assures these are just the "initial" fixes in the immediate aftermath of Return of the Ancients and that other changes are in the works but haven't been revealed. In the meantime, at least you should be able to progress through most of the new content without fear of losing everything to an ill-timed crash.

Path of Exile co-creator tells developers "don't survey your players" because "'your audience is good at recognizing problems and bad at solving them'"

Path of Exile 2's massive Return of the Ancients update gave Grinding Gear Games' action RPG a massive spike in popularity over the weekend, but it's also proving to be a seriously buggy release, and the devs are already trying to iron out some major issues.

Patch 0.5 for Path of Exile 2 arrived a few days ago, bringing six new endgame storylines as well as new Ascendancy Classes, Pinnacle Bosses, and crafting systems, with Grinding Gear Games calling it "our biggest update ever." With that, in combination with the fact that the game just had a free weekend, it's no wonder that so many people have been playing it – it hit a peak of 421,596 concurrent players on Steam alone yesterday (thanks, SteamDB), which is the most it's seen since its early access launch, when it hit 578,569.

Obviously, plenty of people are having fun – you don't hit those numbers if they're not – but the update hasn't been without its issues. Plenty of users on Reddit have been sharing bug reports, from crashes to quest blockers.

"I'm not sure what's going on but it feels like they game is super buggy. Going through the campaign, I had to restart many times. Quest kept breaking. Characters not completting quests. Had Alva bug out 3 times and unable to talk to her until an area restart," one Reddit user writes.

"I have crashed to desktop no fewer than 15 times today. I can't recall a single CTD in god knows how many thousands of PoE1 hours," says another. "Am I crazy or is Delirium not dropping rewards as well?" another reads.

Thankfully, Grinding Gear Games is already on the case, trying to smooth things out. "While the launch was relatively stable and we've already deployed a number of fixes, there are still some issues we're working to resolve as quickly as possible," the team writes in a new blog post. These issues include endgame progression issues, such as a blocker in the Rite of the Nameless questline and Jado's quest, a bug that can see monsters in the Vaal Ruins become immortal, and more.

Elsewhere, the devs promise that "divine tinks will be back soon" once a bug "preventing item filter sounds from playing" is fixed, and client issues – like crashes, being unable to allocate passive skill nodes using a controller, and your number of passive skill points displaying incorrectly – are also being targeted.

All good targets for Grinding Gear Games to work on, but as fans are pointing out, "there are many more bugs" that still haven't been addressed – one Redditor from the thread above reckons it's "the buggiest league start i ever had," and content creator Talkative Tri summarises the general community sentiment as it being "the buggiest Path of Exile 2 and Path of Exile release of all time, especially in the endgame."

That's not to say that the devs aren't going to get to those issues too, of course. "Thank you for all of your reports and feedback so far. We'll continue working through these issues and will keep you updated as fixes become available," the devs conclude in their latest post.

Path of Exile co-creator tells developers "don't survey your players" because "'your audience is good at recognizing problems and bad at solving them.'"

Far Far West codes can help you live your best robot cowboy life, in this wildly chaotic co-op shooter. Up to four players can form a team as you hunt bounties, shoot monsters, and conjure up spells to complete your missions. If you want to dominate the weird west then you'll need to master magic as well as your six-shooter to deal with the haunted threats ahead, so to help you through that here are all of the codes for Far Far West and how to redeem them in-game.

All Far Far West codes

The following Far Far West codes can be redeemed in-game:

• THISCODEISFAKE – 250 Souls (expires soon)

There are currently a couple of Far Far West codes available to claim, which have vague expiry windows attached to them from the developers. These promos offer Gold and Souls as rewards, though we've previously seen codes for various types of XP, Blueprints, and more. Make sure you follow the instructions below to claim them as soon as you can, so you don't miss out on any bonuses.

How to redeem Far Far West codes

To redeem Far Far West codes, you need to be in the Saloon Lobby area and then head out to the firing range. To the right of that is a long set of wooden stairs, so follow them to the top and ahead you'll find a ghost cowboy in a shack. A prompt to WHISPER A CODE... will appear as you approach, so press the relevant key and then type in a promo before hitting the OK button to receive your reward.

Expired Far Far West codes

• 1MCOWBOYS – 1,250 Gold (expired June 30, 2026)
• TWERKINGBIRD – 250 Souls (expired June 14, 2026)
• 250KCOWBOYS – 1,000 Gold (expired May 27, 2026)
• aintfarfarwestenough – 1,000 Gold
• evilraptoristhebestdeveloper – 200 Gold
• farfarfarfarwest – 1 Hero Level
• fireshine – 1000 Pyro XP
• fishingwhen – 100 Souls
• gamba – 250 Souls
• locklearnoob – 1 Gold
• nukemeplz – A Nuke to blow up in the lobby (one time use)
• pumpkinjackisagreatgame – Pumpkin Jack Skin
• reviewfarfarwestonsteam – 250 Souls
• slopmancy – 1,000 Acid XP
• sonictherobothog – 1,000 Lightning XP
• thanksrubix – 50 Gold
• thiscodeisnotcopypasted – 4 Blueprints
• thisitnotavalidpromocode – 4 Blueprints
• tothewest – 1 Hero Level
• veryfarfarwest – 1 Hero Level
• vo0odo0o – 1,000 Voodoo XP
• wishlistfarfarwest – 250 Gold
• wishlistfarfarwestagain – 250 Souls

There are plenty of expired Far Far West codes to report, though most of these are from the demo/playtest period and didn't roll over to Early Access. As always, we recommend you grab any active promos as soon as you can, before they get moved down to this list.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Over 10 years since its initial release, Grim Dawn is finally set to get its very last expansion, Fangs of Asterkarn, in less than two months, as developer Crate Entertainment sets a release date at long last.

Fangs of Asterkarn was first announced back in 2023 – at which point, Crate thought it'd release the following year – but now, it's officially set to arrive on July 23. It's a big deal, too, as this is set to be the ARPG's final expansion – it's the third one after Ashes of Malmouth and Forgotten Gods, and this one is "our largest expansion ever," according to the devs' latest post on Steam.

"This is a massive expansion by every measure, an unprecedented amount of content for just $18.99 as the world of Grim Dawn grows by over 30%!" Crate says.

As for what you can expect, Fangs of Asterkarn adds a huge new region to the Diablo 2 spiritual successor – to be exact, it "expands the total game world by a staggering 32%, over 80% the size of the base game," and will feature "snowy peaks," as well as "frozen caverns," "ancient forest valleys and breathtaking hot springs" to explore.

Beyond that, you'll also be able to experiment with potions, all boasting different buffs and effects – there are 6,210 combinations to try out, so any prospective alchemists are going to be kept busy. What's more, "two new roguelike dungeons will be introduced with free content updates for the Fangs of Asterkarn expansion." The new Berserker mastery sounds neat, too – it'll let you "become a frenzied force of destruction upon the battlefield capable of shapeshifting into vicious beastlike forms."

Fans aren't just getting Fangs of Asterkarn, though. Grim Dawn is also set to receive a free v1.3 update, adding quality-of-life changes to the base game that include an overhaul to UI, your Stash (that's about to get even bigger), add HDR lighting, and more.

Earlier this year, Crate called Fangs of Asterkarn Grim Dawn's "final hurrah," and looking at the sheer size of it, it looks like the devs have given it everything they had. There's not long to wait for it now, and as we approach that release date, which appears to be a month later than Crate planned, the devs say they're "making every additional day count."

Diablo 4 Season 14 brings controversial Mythic Unique changes and heavy nerfs, but hey, at least Blizzard is finally introducing one long-requested mode.

Ahead of Diablo 4 Season 14, a new Public Test Realm (PTR) is on the way, with major balance changes, new features, and more arriving next week.

As announced by Blizzard in a new blog post, the 3.1.0 PTR will go live on June 2 at 10am PDT and run until June 9 at the same time, giving you a week to sample the changes arriving in the base game's upcoming 14th season.

First up, Pandemonium Ruptures are being added – these can be opened by killing "the guardians around Death's Head Idols," and the longer you manage to keep them open (by killing monsters and closing Tears), the more tasty loot you'll earn. Completing a Surging Rupture (a medium-sized one) with Mastery will also give a chance of summoning a Realmwalker (returning after first being added in Season 6) – you can also guarantee a spawn of one of these by completing a Colossal Rupture in the Fields of Desecration.

The reason you'll wanna do this is because defeating a Realmwalker opens a portal to the Deathtoll Chamber – a mini dungeon that Blizzard says "will be the best source for Betrayer's Husks, which are required to open the Seasonal Lair Boss's Hoard in Torment I+." You can also enter the Deathtoll Chamber "inside a Nightmare Dungeon with the Rupture affix after closing enough Tears within Rupture." It'll also boast even more rewards for folks who "complete a special Rupture activity" inside.

As for that new seasonal lair boss, it's the Corrupted Reaper, found in "Pandemonium Threshold's entrance in Zarbinzet." Blizzard reveals "it will also give the best direct drop chances for both Mythic Uniques and Mythic Unique Upgrade currency than any other activity." And that brings us to a change that's already proving unpopular – from season 14 onwards, "every Unique can be Mythic," with the Mythic status changing from an item Rarity to a modifiable Item Quality, letting you "make any Unique item into a game-altering Mythic through Item Quality modifiers."

Blizzard explains: "This season, any Unique can now drop as a Mythic Unique or be upgraded into a Mythic Unique using the Horadric Cube."

On the whole, these Mythic changes haven't been going down very well – one player on Reddit says they "drastically reduce the value and desirability of what is supposed to be the 'apex item' tier," and "the idea of randomizing stats on Mythic Uniques annihilates any remaining value they once had."

"I'm NOT looking for constant RNG within my RNG," another says. "Uniques and especially Mythics need some consistency to their stats or they're just not worth mixing into your build. I'm already gambling if they'll drop and now I'm gambling if they will drop in a usable state."

Elsewhere, there's also a whole slew of balance changes, notably including a big nerf for the Whirlwind Barbarian build. As outlined by content creator Rob2628, a number of incoming changes are going to have a significant impact on the build, including the Limitless Rage aspect being changed from giving you a potential damage buff of 1.5% for every point of Fury to just 0.2%. Heir of Perdition's damage is substantially reduced from 80% to just 15%, and the Dominate Glyph is "reduced from 23.6% per stack to 1.8% per stack at Glyph Level 150." The Banished Lord's talisman's damage per stack has also gone down from 15-18% to just 8-10%.

As one commenter writes, "RIP barb again for 9 more seasons lmao." Another says: "Limitless rage from 1.5 to .2 smh thats not nerfing thats destroying."

All in all, it's looking like a slightly mixed bag of a PTR, and season to follow – the Mythic changes are already leaving a bad taste in the mouth for many, but it's not all bad news. Solo Self Found Mode is finally coming to let people craft characters without any help from others, which means no trades to give them a boost. With their own leaderboard filters being added, it'll allow you to show off something that you've done all the work for yourself, with no shortcuts.

What's more, in perhaps the greatest change of all, "pets can now be renamed." Be sure to take a look at the complete patch notes if you want to see the full scope of what's to come.

Diablo 4 lead says small teams crunch "because the company is on the verge of collapsing," but even though it's not "necessary" for AAA studios, "you might still have a culture of crunch."

Terrifyingly, Bloodborne was released on PS4, a console apparently doomed to be the game's forever tomb, on March 24, 2015. A substantial DLC, The Old Hunters, hit the game in November. Ever since, one player, who goes by Noahman90 on Reddit, has been up to his eyeballs in The Old Hunters for one specific purpose: the Orphan of Kos, one of the hardest bosses on FromSoftware's roster, absolutely must die.

Noahman has spent over a decade, and some 3,500 hours across multiple characters, playing Bloodborne. The vast majority of that playtime was spent helping other players fight the Orphan of Kos, much like Elden Ring hero Let Me Solo Her's famous Malenia support. But with the Bloodborne population dwindling to the point that Noahman doesn't even "get summoned anymore," it's finally time to hang up his hunter's hat.

Speaking with GamesRadar+, Noahman explains that he originally focused on the Orphan of Kos because it is "easily the highest demand boss in the game for summon requests," which makes for fast runs. Eventually, he caught the bug. "I started to really like the boss even more than I already did," he tells me. "Fighting the Orphan was so, so much [fun]. I started to get good and I liked the feeling of helping people out."

The nature of FromSoftware's multiplayer summoning system is perfect for players like Noahman, who says he isn't very social. "The relationship between Summoner and Cooperator is like two ships passing in the night," he reasons. "Except in this instance I'd help the ship get to port safe and be on my way."

Noahman has helped a lot of ships get to port. After the first few years of play, he says there were "very few losses" during his summoning sessions. By his best estimate, he's helped anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 hunters beat the Orphan of Kos. You can find years-old clips of him running circles around the boss on his Reddit profile.

Slowly plugging away, mostly on Fridays and weekends, Noahman mastered the fight and dialed in his character. "My favorite setup for the Orphan of Kos was the Blade of Mercy and that's it," he says, referring to a pair of trickshop daggers that combine into a short sword. "No guns (the parrying trivializes that fight). Blade of mercy is a very, very close-range weapon. Usually used by people in PvP settings. Although against the Orphan the BOM (if used well) matchup was like a dance... nothing in any other Souls game quite like it."

Bloodborne was actually Noahman's first Souls game – that is, his first exposure to the modern FromSoftware action RPGs – and even as "every boss in that damn DLC kicked my ass," the Orphan of Kos proved to be an especially fierce nemesis. This neatly mirrors the origin story for Let Me Solo Her, who likewise struggled with Malenia before resolving to help others through the fight.

Noahman reckons the Orphan isn't the hardest boss in Bloodborne, though. For his money, that crown goes to either Laurence himself or the Watchdog of the Old Lords, but they're kind of cheating with their difficulty. "They are hard because they are not designed well with bullshit AOE hitboxes and fire splash damage," Noahman says, speaking pure facts.

I always have the same question when I speak to players like Noahman, who stick to self-imposed challenges for years on end: why? Noahman's answer is a perfect summary of what pushes people to engage with games at all, setting and chasing their own goals: "Because it was fun."

"After a while it became an obsession trying to perfect that battle with the Orphan," he concludes. "Even now I feel as though there are areas that I can still improve."

Jordan writes: I couldn't love Dark Souls or Bloodborne, but Phantom Blade Zero is the action RPG I wanted them to be.

Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson has a message for developers considering surveying their players: don't.

Wilson has some experience managing teams behind popular live-service games having founded Grinding Gear Games, directed the original Path of Exile, and served as company CEO until his departure in early 2025. He now runs his own small studio, Light Pattern, and is working on an unannounced project. Naturally, he's seen the ebbs and flows of the temperature on a live-service game's player base over many years heading up GGG, and there's one thing he avoids when trying to decide on a path forward: surveys. Why? Well, he sums it up neatly with a quote from Magic The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater: "'Your audience is good at recognizing problems and bad at solving them.'

Elaborating on that, he says developers should avoid surveying players specifically when it comes to deciding on a game's design direction.

"Now, that probably sounds strange because asking your community how to improve your game seems completely reasonable, and to be clear, I'm not saying you shouldn't listen to your players. Of course you should," he says. "You should solicit feedback about specific topics, watch how people play, pay attention to complaints, and take reported problems seriously. But there's a big difference between listening to feedback and asking players to help you decide what your vision for the game should be."

Wilson goes on to list four distinct reasons why you shouldn't let your players dictate the general direction of your game. For one, he says, it makes it look like you don't already have a direction in mind.

"As the game's developer, you should have a clear vision of where the game is heading, and if you don't, you should fix that while at least projecting the impression that you have one," says Wilson. "When you ask players to choose between possible game features in a survey, it can make it seem like you just don't have that vision. It gives the impression you are unsure about what matters, or that you don't understand your own game well enough to assess what's important."

Per Wilson, the second big problem with surveys is that they can create false expectations for the features you're polling players about.

"The moment you put an idea in front of your players and ask them to weigh in on it, you imply that it's on the table. You imply that it might happen," Wilson says. "Once players believe that the only thing stopping an idea from becoming reality is persuading you to go ahead with it, they'll campaign for it and expect it."

And then there's the issue at the heart of Rosewater's quote from earlier in this story: players know how to find and report problems, but unless they're professional game developers, they probably aren't as good at finding solutions.

In Wilson's words, player feedback regarding issues that feel "frustrating, unrewarding, unfair, or confusing" is "incredibly valuable," but "the solutions they propose are often not the right ones, because unlike you, they don't have to balance the entire game."

This is something I've long worried about with Diablo 4. That game's online community is extraordinarily vocal about everything from balance to loot to transmog and every other aspect of the game, and while the feedback coming from players should undoubtedly be taken onboard, it seems like some Diablo 4 updates are just lists of demands from streamers and the game's subreddit, which aren't representative of the overall community.

Back to Wilson. He says the issue with surveys that "worries [him] the most" is bias in the sample. "If the samples are biased, the answers are self-interested, the questions are focused on solutions instead of problems, and if you've already started giving up on the perception of having a strong vision, then the survey not only fails to help you, but may actively pull you in the wrong direction."

In this scenario, Wilson says you'll start "optimizing for the loudest players instead of the whole community," and you'll start "reacting to short-term discomfort instead of thinking about long-term health." This is precisely what I was describing with Blizzard's approach to balancing Diablo 4, which can leave more casual players feeling left out.

Even more dangerous to a game's vision, you may even start "drifting toward safer, more obvious ideas instead of making the stronger creative decisions that your game may actually need," according to Wilson. Instead, he says devs should stick to their guns, because "sometimes the things that players push back on the short-term are exactly the things that give a game depth, meaning, and memorability over time," and that's why "the design direction has to come from you, the developer.

Wilson reiterates that he's not telling developers to stop listening to players, and that they definitely should continue doing that, but that there's a "real danger to asking players to tell you how to change your game." Instead, he advises you listen closely to your community to identify common pain points and then decide for yourself how they should be addressed, which sounds like reasonable advice.

Here are the best ARPGs to play in 2026.