A new survey from research firm Newzoo, "supported" by G2A, found that physical games represent upwards of 11% of games played by dedicated gamers, or even 30% of console games owned.

"Physical formats remain part of this landscape, despite predictions of their demise," writes Newzoo research director Alexis Pamboris.

The report collected responses from just over 6,000 "premium gamers" spread evenly across six markets: the US, UK, Germany, Poland, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. The fieldwork period defined is August 2026, which would notably be some time after Sony announced that it will end support for new physical games in January 2028.

The "premium gamer" group is defined as people "aged 18-55 who play on PC or a Gen 9 console at least monthly," and have played AA or AAA titles in the last year that were purchased or played through a paid subscription like PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass. The average premium gamer, it turns out, plays about 13.3 games a year.

Among many other things, the report looks at how these games were accessed. 43% were owned, 19% were accessed via subscription, and 38% were free-to-play games.

In total, 11% of the games played by these 6,000 gamers were physical. However, if you only look at the 43% of owned games – that is, games people paid for individually – the physical component is just over 25.5%.

Console-only gamers reported 14% physical for total ownership against 32% digital ownership. Again looking purely at the ownership split and ignoring subscription and free-to-play, physical copies represent 30.4% of the paid-for console games played in this survey period.

"While this seems high, many of them were older releases and some will have been bought on disc or as a code in a box. Cartridges also remain common on Nintendo Switch," the survey says of the 11% base physical figure.

The focus on games played and owned, not just new games purchased, also helps explain why PC-only gamers reported 6% physical ownership, which is likely explained by the enthusiast retro market. GOG may have something to say about that niche.

Physical ownership is also slightly higher than the base in specific markets. The US and UK clock in at 12% physical total – or 27.9% and 26.6%, respectively, looking only at physical and digital games owned.

Free-to-play games are the largest single market, to no one's surprise, averaging 38% across all markets and platforms.

"The older group is slightly likelier to have bought games than use a subscription, as well as play games from physical media," the report explains.

This leads nicely to why people said they buy physical games. Digital ownership is skewed toward convenience – instant access, a portable library, digital discounts, and digital-only games – but physical game buyers more equally specified a few reasons.

Reasons to buy physical games were "less nuanced" among people who owned less than 75% of their games digitally (again, that physical chunk brings us close to that 25 - 30% ownership figure). These reasons included (in descending order of weight):

• "Play without a stable internet connection"
• "I want to feel I own something physical"
• "Save storage space on my device"
• "For reselling, trading, or lending"
• "For special editions, box art, or other extras"
• "To display my collection of games"
• "In case games are removed, altered or restricted"
• "To buy pre-owned games at lower prices"
• "Avoid large downloads/installation times"
• "Play without a digital account/platform access"
• "Access to deals or retailer-specific pricing"
• "Earn store credit or loyalty points"
• "I can buy games in shops on shopping trips"

Sony's decision to walk away from physical games stoked fierce divide across the industry. Creators like Hideo Kojima are "really sad" to see discs phased out, and Kenzo Saruhashi, head honcho at JRPG house NIS, reckons Sony is "hearing the feedback from customers" amid still-burning backlash.

Like many executives, original PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi backs the company's decision to end discs, calling the backlash a "mentality issue" and arguing discs aren't "economically reasonable."

However, while it may immediately cut costs or increase per-unit profit, some analysts worry the end of discs may also push younger or casual players further into mobile, free-to-play, and PC, which are already eating a larger share of what used to be a very console-flavored pie.

PlayStation is ditching a $402 million market and destroying consumer "freedoms" by abandoning physical games, says major UK retail association

Macronix, the manufacturer Nintendo relies on to make Switch 1 cartridges, is phasing out production of the chips that power those games. That certainly sounds like another blow to physical media, and it may well be, but as it stands this news is unlikely to affect cartridges for Switch 2.

Macronix reports record profits in its latest quarterly financial period, and according to chairman Miin Wu, it does not expect to be able to expand its manufacturing capacity in order to fuel further growth. "Instead, near-term growth will be driven primarily by price increases," Wu says, as reported by Taipei Times.

Switch cartridges are powered by flash memory, which is the same type of tech that AI data centers are now eagerly gobbling at massively inflated prices. Chip manufacturers have found that they can make a lot more money selling their goods to data centers rather than makers of consumer electronics, leading to the global memory shortages that have presented us with the threat of next-gen consoles costing $1,000 or more.

Wu notes that demand for the chips "used in data centers is very robust," which is why it's emphasizing those while phasing out production of ROM chips, which are the ones that power Switch game cartridges.

However, Macronix does not manufacture Switch 2 cartridges – at least as far as we know. Details on Nintendo's manufacturing partners are poorly reported, but teardowns suggest that Switch 2 cartridges are primarily made by a separate company called Rohm, as well as another, unidentified manufacturer.

As noted by Nintendo Patents Watch, Macronix had apparently been trying to enter the Switch 2 cartridge business, but has seemingly never completed the R&D work necessary to get the ball rolling. If Macronix had entered the space, it might've opened the door to cheaper or higher-capacity physical Switch 2 games, which may have swayed some publishers away from game-key cards.

But that's pure speculation. As it stands, Macronix's exit from the ROM business won't affect the Switch 2 cartridge market. The effect on Switch 1 games is more difficult to measure, since that market is shrinking anyway – Nintendo itself has no more Switch 1 games on the horizon, though boutique publishers continue to put out physical games for the system.

Nintendo has recently reiterated that it has "no plans to ditch physical games," and it doesn't seem there's any reason to expect that to change with Macronix's pivot.

Nintendo "clearly revised" its messaging on physical media following PlayStation debacle, says ex-marketing lead

We're now four days into Fortnite's latest season, Treasure Hunters, and thousands of players have been taking that title very seriously with their attempts to unlock access to an enormous amount of cosmetics for free, thanks to a prize so desirable that they've been mapping out all the best ways to attempt to beat the extremely slim odds.

Fortnite's Pirate Shop Access tokens are undoubtedly the most exciting rewards that Epic has ever added to the game. Right now in the battle royale, there's a very small chance that when you open up a chest during your regular looting, you'll unlock two of these tokens, each giving you the ability to clear out the game's item shop (full of cosmetics like skins and emotes) for free for 14 consecutive days. One token can be used this year, and the other in 2027, for a total of 28 days of freebies for anyone lucky enough to find them. It's a prize that could, without exaggeration, save players thousands of dollars' worth of V-Bucks.

Needless to say, you can understand why seemingly everyone is currently going feral at the prospect of being one of the lucky few, and when some players have opened thousands of chests without finding what they're looking for, you can also understand why folks are trying to streamline the process. Beyond the general tip of searching in squads – a full team can search chests faster and all will be granted the reward if they're together when a lucky chest is opened, players have found – some have now mapped out the optimal routes to open as many chests as quickly as possible.

Content creator MacFNyt has suggested a few routes. The area just north of Plunder Port, for example, apparently contains between 11 and 23 chests for you to search in a neat loop, while the northwest of the map, containing Buried Treasure Island, reportedly boasts 30 chests in a fairly small area, meaning you can check loads very quickly.

Others have gone even further – Gatocarls15 has shared four routes you can use with your squad, so you're each able to split up and hit one each every match. It's all about optimization, folks.

Another popular chest-searching hotspot is, well, The Chest. That is, the enormous pirate chest POI on the map. The island it's sat on is covered in buried chests, which – as players have pointed out – you can dig up even faster if you equip the new Plundarrgh Sprite.

None of this will guarantee you actually finding any Pirate Shop tokens, of course. In fact, truth be told, I'm not seeing anyone in the replies to these tweets who've actually had real success with the methods. But, it tracks that the more chests you're able to open, then the more chances you have to roll the die, so they're still valid tactics.

There's been no official word from Epic on the actual chance of finding the Pirate Shop Access tokens, so it's really just a case of opening as many chests as possible and hoping for the best. As this is only a month-long season, though, time is ticking, but the dedication so many are showing to the grind even a few days in suggests that this may well be the incentive players need to keep pouring the hours in during a month that's otherwise set to be dominated by the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and, of course, GTA 6.

Fortnite is giving out more V-Bucks through its monthly subscription – but also ditching one of its main perks.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake isn't even out officially yet, but critics have it pinned as one of the greatest games of 2026 – and, apparently, all time.

Reviews went live earlier today, marking the Ocarina of Time remake as this year's highest-rated game on Metacritic with a score of 96. For reference, the 1998 original has a near-perfect score of 99 on the platform, with the 3DS version falling behind at 94 – not a low number by any means, mind you.

Critics across various outlets (a whopping 81 so far, to be precise) praise the new remake as a behemoth.

So, where exactly does that leave the Ocarina of Time remake overall? Well, right in front of both Elden Ring and Skyrim, as per Metacritic's list of the best games of all time, in the 26th spot. Just ahead of it is visual novel The House in Fata Morgana and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Mass Effect 2.

It's a testament to how well Nintendo has managed to pull this remake off, I suppose – although, again, it still evidently doesn't touch its 90s predecessor.

The remake is intended to boast everything that made us fall in love with the OG some 28 years ago while also bringing new features to the table, from sidequests to dungeon tweaks and Breath of the Wild's option to turn off the UI for more immersion (and, for those up to it, more difficulty). Plus, you know, the jump button we've wanted for decades – if I'm not, erm, projecting myself here.

I can certainly see why it's already so highly regarded.

Fans will get to experience it for themselves tomorrow, come the Ocarina of Time remake's official release. I'm curious to see how the ranking may change by then, if at all.

Want to learn more about why we think that Nintendo's revamped gem is one of the best new games to come this year? Check our The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake review.

After eight long years of silence, Bethesda finally lifted the veil on The Elder Scrolls 6 and its official title, Sentinel, yesterday – which, of course, means that fans are running wild online with theories about the studio's next RPG.

We know a few things about the game already (or, well, there are a few things we can assume after seeing Bethesda's new teaser). First, there's the setting: Sentinel. In other words, the oh-so long-theorized Hammerfell. Then, there's the potential time period.

The new teaser includes a quote from Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell, in 4E 206 – that's just five years after the events of Skyrim.

The quote itself? "The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate."

Everything in between remains a mystery, however – a mystery that fans have taken to like flies. Over on Reddit, for example, folks have spotted Bethesda's official Spanish social media accounts alluding to "sailing," and are asking, "Did this Bethesda page just confirm sailing in the game?"

Others shoot this theory down, saying it can translate to a less literal meaning of "set sail" – as in, starting your adventure rather than literally sailing.

Over on X, fans are suggesting that we'll see NPCs from Skyrim in Sentinel since the possible times align so closely, like Erik the Slayer. After all, he mentions traveling to Hammerfell to "see what work I can get there."

Hammerfell is, evidently, where The Elder Scrolls 6 will take us.

There's more, too. While most of the teaser consists of sand and a glimpse of an Elder Scroll, the "rings" surrounding the Sentinel logo seem important – and, unsurprisingly, are reminding fans of Elden Ring in the process.

A separate post showcases as much, with its creator stating the rings have to "hold some significance," but "it's so vague it's hard to know where to start to connect the dots." One response suggests the Eye of Magnus.

Another simply leaves a screenshot of the Elden Ring logo, which, of course, features its own set of rings. The Eye of Magnus theory holds pretty well, though, if you ask me – it's even spurred a different thread comparing the artifact's pattern to the rings surrounding Sentinel… and, yeah, they look similar enough.

What could that mean? Some Psijic Order shenanigans? It's all up in the air until we get more word from Bethesda, sadly.

And, uh, that could be literally whenever. The Elder Scrolls 6 is reportedly targeting a 2029 release, apparently, which is a good 18 years after Skyrim and 11 years after Bethesda first unveiled its sixth Elder Scrolls RPG at E3 in 2018.

Sigh.

Bethesda immediately brings our Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel hopes back down to earth – "It'll be some time before we're ready"

Fortnite is making big changes to its Crew subscription from next month, and while it's good news for longtime, loyal subscribers, it also means losing one of the main perks going forward.

As announced in a blog post today, starting on December 5, the base amount of V-Bucks granted by the monthly Crew subscription is going back up to 1,000. This was the case for most of Crew's existence, but earlier this year it fell to 800 per month following Epic's V-Buck price increases.

It doesn't stop there, though – from then on, Epic will also reward longtime subscribers with more V-Bucks based on how long they've been paying for Crew. If you've been subscribed for at least 3 consecutive months, you'll receive 1,200 V-Bucks per month. After six months, that number increases to 1,400, and from 12 months onward, it'll cap out at 1,600 monthly V-Bucks. More to spend on skins, emotes, and the like is nothing to be sniffed at.

Current subscribers will be designated a 'tier' (bronze, silver, or gold) based on how many consecutive months they've been subscribed for in the last year come December 5, and lapsed subscribers who resubscribe between December 5 and 31 will see their starting tier "reflect your most recent continuous subscription period over the past 12 months," Epic says.

With the price of Fortnite Crew remaining the same, this is good news for everyone – especially for those who are already subscribed. Another extra perk is on the way, too – faster XP gain. Crew subscribers will now earn 20% more XP than non-subscribing players, but those not paying for the service will still earn a 10% bonus if they're on the same team as someone who is.

There's really only one downside to the changes, but it's a pretty big one. After December, Crew subscribers will no longer be getting a monthly skin as part of their perks. There were some genuinely great skins offered this way in the past, and they could be an enormous incentive to subscribe, since, up to now, they've never been offered any other way (such as in the regular item shop).

At the very least, all remaining Legacy Styles – alternate, selectable color styles for certain Crew skins, their back blings, and pickaxes that you'd unlock over the course of several months of subscription – will be unlocked for everyone who owns those cosmetics in December, regardless of whether they're subscribed or not. So even lapsed subscribers will see some benefit when these changes are rolled out.

Otherwise, things are remaining the same – Crew subscribers will continue to have access to the Battle Pass, Music Pass, and Lego Pass without having to purchase them separately, in addition to Rocket Pass Premium.

As GTA 6 looms, Fortnite breaks the emergency glass – almost unlimited free skins, emotes, and more for 14 days, but you'll basically have to win the lottery to get them.

Reviews for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake are here, and its Metacritic score suggests that it's the best game of 2026. Fans will likely spend years picking apart their feelings on the remake's art style and gameplay changes – hi, it's me, I'm fans – but if there's one objective, unassailable improvement in the Switch 2 game over the N64 original, it's the frame rate.

Despite it being lauded as the best N64 game ever made and one of the greatest games of all time, it's fair to say that Ocarina of Time does not meet modern standards for performance. Nintendo capped the original game at just 20fps, and as Digital Foundry demonstrates in a video breaking down the remake's technical evolution, it can dip into the 16fps range in larger environments.

"Most other N64 games ran far less consistently," Digital Foundry argues, and I've spent enough time playing N64 games with frame rates dipping into single-digit numbers in recent months (hello, Star Wars Episode 1 Racer) to know that's true. But from a modern perspective it's tough to get over the idea that we ever settled for frame rates this bad, especially when a handful of other N64 classics, like Super Mario 64, were running at a much more playable 30fps.

The 3DS remaster of Ocarina of Time would bring the frame rate to 30fps, but the Switch 2 version achieves the dream: 60fps. It's a consistent 60fps, too, as Digital Foundry's analysis says it's "very stable" outside of "very tiny loading hiccups." The game supports variable refresh rate displays, but that's "mostly useless" when performance sticks to the target frame rate so well.

The remake's success isn't just about the frame rate, either. In our full Ocarina of Time remake review, Anna says it's "pure magic" and succeeds at "blending the charm and whimsy of the original with more digestible gameplay and stunning visuals." The fact that it does so at 60fps is really just a bonus.

There's still time to get your Ocarina of Time remake pre-orders in, if you're so inclined.

Almost exactly 15 years on from Skyrim, the Bethesda dev responsible for the "infamous" Seven Thousand Steps at the Throat of the World says, "I did my darndest to find a way to fit all 7,000 steps into the storied path," but alas, it turns out that that's just rather a lot of steps.

In new dev insights shared by Bethesda in the wake of The Elder Scrolls 6's reemergence yesterday, associate art director Dan Lee discusses his impact on the 2011 RPG, noting that, "While not responsible for the rough layout of Skyrim's terrain, I was responsible for refining the shapes of High Hrothgar.

"I would look at the mountain from various viewpoints and tried to keep the shape interesting. My work on the 'Throat of the World' was not limited to sculpting the mountain, but also included cluttering and dressing the mountain with visual effects, plants, and objects," he continues. "This of course, included the infamous 7,000 steps."

Obviously, when you call a location "The Seven Thousand Steps," people are going to check your work, and fans have long since figured out that Bethesda didn't come close to making the name accurate. It's thought that there are between 700 and 800, instead. One intrepid adventurer did the math a month after the game's launch in 2011, and I feel compelled to share the workings they shared on Reddit nearly 15 years ago, which puts the count at 748 steps.

With that said, this wasn't due to a lack of trying from Lee. "I love trying to be as faithful to lore or real-life as possible and I did my darndest to find a way to fit all 7,000 steps into the storied path," the dev says. "However, my best attempt to do so included extending far past Ivarstead, wrapping around the mountain and ending near Whiterun in the frozen tundra. It turns out, 7,000 is quite a lot!"

So, at least there was an attempt. Lee also has an important clarification before anyone starts blaming him for a certain other notorious part of the path to High Hrothgar. "By the way, my work did NOT include enemy encounters, so I take no responsibility for the Frost Troll that was the woe of many players," he adds.

If Bethesda wants to add any similarly named locations to The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel, I imagine it might be more likely to make sure they can actually live up to their titles. Despite getting a game title, we still know very little about it – but we do have our first crumb of lore, which will hopefully keep ravenous fans fed for a while longer.

Bethesda immediately brings our Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel hopes back down to earth – "It'll be some time before we're ready."

Reviews for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake have arrived with the Metacritic score placing it as the highest-rated game of 2026 but below the N64 original.

Over on Metacritic, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake's score currently sits at 96 after 42 reviews, making it the highest-rated game of 2026 and beating out the likes of Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem, and Pokemon Pokopia.

Unsurprisingly, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on N64 was not surpassed by this remake as far as Metacritic is concerned, with the original version being the sole game on the platform to have a score of 99 – making it the highest-rated game of all-time by default. However, what it has done is surpass Nintendo's previous attempt at remaking the classic adventure on the 3DS, with Ocarina of Time 3D sitting at a score of 94.

In the GamesRadar+ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time review, staff writer Anna Koselke awarded the game full marks with a score of five out of five, calling it "a remake for the ages." She adds "it's as timeless as it ever was, managing to recreate one of the most beautiful games to date without compromising the magic of its 1998 predecessor – only adding to it."

As far as scores go, out of the 42 reviews, Metacritic classes all 42 as positive, with 25 outlets giving it full marks on their review scales. Really, the only question now is if GTA 6 can unseat it as the highest-rated game of 2026.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments.

If you're after more 2XP Tokens in MW4, there are a few ways to collect them quickly. Whether you're trying to level up your current weapon fast, prestige your character, or unlock your favorite gear, MW4 Double XP Tokens get you there faster, and now active XP tokens finally pause outside of matches, there even more reason to use them up - especially those you've stashed away from previous games.

How to get MW4 Double XP Tokens

There are a few reliable ways to obtain 2XP Tokens in MW4:

• Commercial promotions (e.g. Monster Energy)
• Complete campaign missions
• Level up your Battle Pass (after Season 1 release date)
• Participate in events
• Black Ops 7 and Warzone carry forward scheme

As always, there's an ongoing partnership between Call of Duty and Monster Energy, and until Wednesday, March 31, 2027, you can upload tab codes from participating Monster Energy products to unlock 2XP Tokens and other in-game rewards.

Naturally, there will also be plenty of 2XP tokens on offer once the Battle Pass opens up on the MW4 Season 1 release date, whether you follow the free pass or unlock all rewards. This is one of the best ways to consistently earn more MW4 Double XP Tokens as the Battle Pass refreshes each season, but participating in events, like the Boot Camp limited-time event, also brings in plenty of fresh tokens.

For something more finite, be sure to complete the following Modern Warfare 4 campaign missions, as they also reward players with 2XP Tokens:

• Mission 3: Following Orders
  • Double XP Token
• Mission 9: Survivors
  • Double XP Token
• Mission 11: Defection
  • Double Weapon XP Token
• Mission 13: Escape
  • Double Weapon XP Token
• Mission 15: Decapitation
  • Double XP Token

Finally, you'll also carry forward all unused tokens from BO7 and Warzone, including Battle Pass tokens once Season 1 begins.

So there are plenty of ways to earn Double XP Tokens and, with MW4 Double XP weekends taking place regularly, you'll be able to level up your weapons and Battle Pass, and prestige your profile, in no time.

While you're levelling up your best MW4 weapons, you'll also be on your way to collecting some of the MW4 mastery camos, too, so keep an eye on what's required and your current progress.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

My first-ever introduction to The Legend of Zelda was my father – and, although he was always most drawn to the very old-school charm of the original 1987 NES title, little 12-year-old me fell wildly in love with a different entry: Ocarina of Time. More specifically, the 3DS release, and its accompanying special-edition console which we both spent hours browsing eBay for. I had never been so enamored by any world as I was Hyrule then.

Its rolling fields, puzzling dungeons, and enchanting music had me in a chokehold, and to this day, whenever I replay Ocarina of Time on my 3DS, I can hear my dad's timely advice, smell the pine-tree scent hanging in our old car, see the Disney princess decals adorning my childhood bedroom wall… It's become less of a game to me, and more of a second home – something I find myself coming back to time and time again.

That's precisely why, when Nintendo unveiled The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Switch 2, my head was spinning. Would it too feel like home? After completing absolutely everything – and I mean everything – that the new game has to offer, I'm more than pleased to report that, yes, it certainly does. It's home with bright new paint, comfortable new furniture, and one very welcome layout renovation. It's home away from home, even.

You see, just enough of it is the same at its core – the characters, the story, the dungeons, the world – to be as magical as the 1998 original. But, everything that is new in the remake, from the mind-boggling vibrant visuals to fresh puzzle mechanics and more, helps solidify it as a 2026 behemoth worthy of its own place in Nintendo's hall of fame. This a remake, sure, but it's also a reimagining bigger and bolder than any I've ever played before it.

A Link to my past

The moment I boot into the Ocarina of Time remake, I'm met with the same opening menu I've seen so many times before, with Link galloping across Hyrule Field atop Epona, Lon Lon Ranch and rivers sitting in the background – except it's not the same. The detail and color almost overwhelm me. This take on Hyrule is already so alive, so much more alive than I'd ever seen it, and I've not even hit "New Game" yet.

When I do, my heart instantly fills with the warm, nostalgic music of Kokiri Forest. I feel like one of the fairy children myself, enamored with the falling leaves and crystal-clear waters. I also can't help but notice the voices. Yes, voices. Saria's got one, the Great Deku Tree offers no exception, and Navi now feels like a true companion with plenty to say (don't worry, though, you still hear her good ol' classic "look!" and "listen!" remarks).

I never thought that giving the cast of Hyrule a voice could make such a difference, but boy, does it. Every important figure, from the cruel Ganondorf to the Sages, now speaks to Link, helping breathe life into the once-quiet game. Each cutscene, with its new dialogue and striking visuals, immerses me into the tragedy unfolding between timelines more than the older Ocarina of Time releases managed to, and it leaves me in disbelief.

The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma recently noted that not all of the Ocarina of Time remake developers have played the N64 original – but "it's thanks to these young people" that it came to fruition, and I can see why. The harmony between veteran devs and younger staff is apparent in how beautifully the old blends with the new. Nothing feels out of place… it's instead almost as though this is the Hyrule I envisioned as a child while playing.

The flow of time isn't always cruel

In my head and heart, every character had a voice – bar Link, of course – and you could see each blade of grass, each ripple in the river… and now, you actually can. The way I recall Hyrule through nostalgia goggles, albeit the way it never was, is the colorful, living kingdom it is today in the Ocarina of Time remake. The "modernization," if you will, hasn't taken away from the original's magic, it's reformed it into one just as genre-defining, but more palatable.

The new magic isn't all in the game's visuals or sound design, either. It's in the gameplay. As soon as I'm in Kokiri Forest, I run and jump about the place to my heart's content – now this is immersion. No more jumping from edge to edge whether I'd like to or not. Yes, this locks me out of a few old, ahem, heart piece hacks, but I'm fine with that if the trade-off is ridding myself of the janky old targeting, walking, and jumping system.

There's plenty to uncover now, too, even though this remains the Hyrule I know and love at its base. I can't bomb my way into secret grottos in Hyrule Field any longer, for instance, but instead, I use my Ocarina of Time to play the Song of Storms and whisk away a spinning plant resting atop the treasure-laden holes. I don't have a Shard of Agony, but I do have a new item that points me towards Gold Skulltulas specifically.

Not every collectible, whether a heart piece or Gold Skulltula, is in the same location (nor is the old rupee cheese grotto in Kakariko Village, sadly, as far as I can tell), but that's part of the fun. Why should a remake be entirely one-to-one when it can recreate the beauty of its predecessor while managing to feel a little different… different enough to keep me invested, to keep me searching every nook and cranny – that whole home away from home thing.

Like a river's flow, it never ends

Between the fact that I can hold five bottles now, the glittery fairy notes adorning ruins and rocks across Hyrule with mini-puzzles (some new, but many simply acting as guides to free health or mana), free camera and improved aiming, and how, uh, I'm no longer locked into never-ending dialogue loops with Rauru – er, sorry, Kaepora Gaebora – I find myself more than pleased with the remake's creative liberty. I'm having old and new fun here, never bored.

Past guides help when needed, sure, but I'm still kept on my toes in dungeons and elsewhere by even the slightest of changes. Seriously, don't ask me how long I spend obsessing over the Ice Cavern heart piece I just knew had to be there… you don't want to know (it wasn't there). But you know what? The dungeons never feel grueling – no, not even the dreaded Water Temple. The better visuals and improved controls go a long way there, unsurprisingly.

Smaller experiences like the Great Deku Tree as child Link are very cool this time around, yes, but as I go on, it only gets better and better – until it blows me away. The Forest Temple is pure magic, burning candles, twisting hallways, liminal poolrooms-esque spaces, and all. The Fire Temple is a volcanic experience packing more heat than it's ever boasted before. The Shadow Temple is… well, eerie. The Dead Hand is somehow even more terrifying.

My fight with Shadow Link is challenging, too, just as I always found it, but I breeze through most boss encounters. Controls are just better, so I'm able to snap back quickly from any mistakes (but I do, admittedly, die to my own stupidity often… like, erm, by blowing myself up and falling into lava). This newfound ease, I'm sure, some will complain about. I find it very welcome, however, as nothing ever feels too easy.

The rising sun will eventually set

The dungeons and puzzles are only the icing for me, though – the story and writing here are the cake. I mentioned the voice acting and visuals already here, but they all combine to add a weight to a story I never previously realized was so moving. Everything is so heightened. From scenes of genuine peril, to quiet moments of haunting loss even amid celebration... I sob.

Something about this Ocarina of Time remake moves me like its predecessor didn't, and I can't put my finger on why… It must be everything about the remake, both its old and new qualities.

I'm not finished with the game just yet, as I've got one final heart piece to find to 100% all of its collectibles – and, on that note, I must express how thrilled I am that the post-game map shows you where you're missing some still – but I quickly uncover it inside of Death Mountain. Then, I am finished. Then, I feel empty. This is when I'm faced with my biggest problem with the remake: I can only have one active save file.

That, and there's no Master Quest version to play through. So, for the time being, my journey with the Ocarina of Time remake ends. I'm sent back to the menu screen that still lives rent-free in my head, left wishing I could explore more of this take on Nintendo's gem, or at least enjoy it once more without losing the mark of my previous progress.

This is the true – and only significant – setback of the Ocarina of Time remake for me: I must part ways with it after just 55 hours despite itching for more. I must sit waiting, hoping that Nintendo graces us with Master Quest DLC later down the line. Until then, I'll be eyeing the "New Game" option on the main menu, pondering whether I should wipe it all and take another plunge. I simply must hum Zelda's Lullaby into my Switch 2 microphone again…

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2, with code provided by the publisher.

Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming if you need another title to look forward to, or explore our lineup of the best Zelda games to play after the Ocarina of Time remake.

The first review for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is in, and it's garnered an almost-perfect score that sits alongside the 3DS remake but lower than the original.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the highest-rated game of all-time as far as Metacritic scores go, with the N64 classic sitting at a score of 99, being the sole game to do so. So naturally, it's a pretty beloved title. And with the Switch 2 remake releasing this week, all eyes are on it being the only game able to challenge the incoming GTA 6 reviews for what seems likely to be the top-rated game of 2026.

And while reviews are likely to arrive sometime before the game releases tomorrow, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2 has had its first review score courtesy of a Japanese magazine (via Nintendeal). Famitsu is unique, as it has four critics simultaneously assign a score to the reviewed game, resulting in a score out of 40. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake scored three nines and a 10, giving it a total score of 37.

Notably, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the first-ever game to get a full 40/40 score from Famitsu when it was released back in 1998, so this remake had a tough road ahead of it if it wanted to match the original. However, perhaps more interestingly, is that Ocarina of Time 3D – Nintendo's last attempt at remaking the classic adventure game – also scored 37/40 like the Nintendo Switch 2 edition.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments.

The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma says he always goes back to Ocarina of Time whenever he thinks about the series.

Despite being one of the many children of Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma is the most significant contributor to the Legend of Zelda series. Since serving as one of the directors on Ocarina of Time, Aonuma has been involved in every entry since, later becoming the series producer and de facto face of the series.

In a The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake edition of Nintendo's Ask the Developer series, Aonuma notes that despite his involvement in every single entry since then, it's his first experience with the series that defines how he approaches the games. He explains, "Whenever I think about Legend of Zelda games, I often find myself returning to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and reflecting on the things we were thinking about during its development. That’s how memorable the title was for me."

Ocarina of Time remake producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi – who directed Oracle of Seasons | Ages and The Minish Cap at Capcom before joining Nintendo and directing Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom – adds to this, saying that "Even within the series, I think The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a real turning point." He notes the "core concepts of exploration and discovery" that have been crucial to the series since its inception, adding that "Ocarina of Time, as the first 3D title in the series, demonstrated that this experience could remain the core of the series’ appeal."

"When adventuring in a vast world, what truly matters are the encounters you have with people and enemies along the way," Aonuma adds, saying, "I believe it was with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that we began consciously pursuing those ideas to further refine the game."

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments

All the games that have rushed their release dates out of November in response to Grand Theft Auto 6's November 19 launch have indirectly handed other big hitters like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake (out November 8) and World of Warcraft: Forever (out November 4) a remarkably open month. It can seem like Rockstar's done Nintendo and Blizzard a favor here, especially when these three games don't compete on the same platforms, but there's more to this month.

Ahead of the GTA 6 launch, I spoke to analyst Mat Piscatella, games lead at Circana. He's unsurprisingly confident that GTA 6, as the leader of the holiday rush, will help drive increased spending in the industry and, hopefully, bring in more players who will attract more investment which eventually leads to more good games. In this rush, he sizes up the November fear that's seen so many studios push up or delay their launches to avoid sitting next to Rockstar.

"I'm sure it's a little different for everyone who decided to move their game out, whether it was a feeling of direct competition or just not wanting to try to grab any air and have it all be suffocated away by Grand Theft Auto," Piscatella reasons. "I don't know, that's all an individual developer or publisher decision. But if I have a cozy sim or a first-person shooter or, I don't know, a puzzle platformer walking sim, I don't know why I would necessarily move my game for Grand Theft Auto. But hey, people are probably just scared of potentially running into this game. So we'll see.

"World of Warcraft: Forever is also coming out, and that's on PC where Grand Theft Auto isn't, so I'm sure those games are going to be just fine. The Switch 2 audience that isn't invested in PlayStation or Xbox at all, of course they're going to be very interested in Zelda, and even some Grand Theft Auto players are very interested in Zelda. We have about, according to our latest tracking, 15% of people who intend to buy Grand Theft Auto also intend to buy [the Ocarina of Time remake]. We have a lot of crossover there too. The thing's been built up so big, and absolutely warranted, but everyone just kind of moved and perhaps they didn't need to."

The interesting thing is that, despite enormous differences in tone, look, gameplay, audience, platform, and just about everything else, GTA 6 and the Ocarina of Time remake do have a fair bit in common when you zoom out. Piscatella notes that they both "lean more towards the more mature portions of the market in terms of age ranges," tap into nostalgia to varying degrees, and will lean toward "affluent folks" who can stomach today's console prices. How terrifying it is for GTA 5 to be so old that it can reasonably be called nostalgic.

"All that stuff's coming together to make it a great environment for this game to launch right now. Well, great given everything happening with pricing and supply constraints and the RAM crisis and everything else," Piscatella observes.

But has Rockstar actually helped Blizzard or Nintendo indirectly? "Maybe," Piscatella says. But "with Nintendo first-party games on Nintendo platforms, it's always an open window because that's primarily what those platforms are used for by folks." A new Zelda remaking one of the best-known games of all time was always going to hit hard. It just works out nicely that GTA 6 can top PS5 and Xbox Series X, Ocarina is the big Switch 2 title for November, and WoW: Forever could hardly ask for less competition on PC.

You can understandably argue that there's never really an open window given the volume of games coming out every year, the number of free-to-play games available, and the amount of time and money being poured into the same live services. All games face competition at all times. But games will dodge each other for a reason, and looking at core platforms and premium new releases, the stars have really aligned this November.

Piscatella notes that WoW: Forever is also a nostalgia play. "There's probably going to be some crossover there," he says. "It's come on real hot with the beta – wasn't really thinking about it before that beta, but the beta was so strong in terms of reaction and participation. It's a little bit of a dark horse in terms of its overall impact, but it could be something. It also has a pretty open-ish window, even though there's no open windows on PC anymore because of everything going on.

"But these three games? Great. Everything else in the market, we'll see. We'll see what happens for everything else that's come out in September and October, and everything that's going to be coming out in January, February that got pushed out. We'll see what the blast radius really is on this thing."

Nearly 1 in 3 gamers plan to buy GTA 6 in the US, analyst confirms: "A rare cultural and commercial moment"

After 28 long years, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is finally getting a jump button in the Switch 2 remake because Nintendo knew it'd feel "jarring" without one, even if the decision threw some devs from the OG since it was such a "convenient" design choice previously.

Speaking in a new installment of Nintendo's Ask the Developer interview, Ocarina of Time remake program director Hiroki Taguchi – who first joined the Zelda team to work on Breath of the Wild – notes that certain "adjustments" have been made "so that people who've played titles from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild onward won't find the experience jarring as they make their way through the adventure."

Director HokWai Ng adds to this, specifying that "that's also one of the reasons we removed auto-jump." Previously, Link couldn't jump on command – if push came to shove, he could muster up a hop if you pushed the control stick forward in specific places, and as Ng says, "the places where jumping was possible and where it wasn't were clearly defined."

Even so, that may not cut it for players who've gotten used to the more modern Zelda adventures where they can jump around as much as they please.

"So, for Link's jump, we carried over the controls from more recent titles in the series and made it possible to jump anywhere with a single button press," Ng adds.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma reckons that this addition "makes exploration much more exciting," but adding it was no small feat.

"Since there were places where we preferred players not to jump, the auto-jump system was, in some ways, convenient from a development standpoint," he admits.

"If you remove that restriction and make it possible to jump anywhere, you need to anticipate all kinds of player behavior and make corresponding adjustments to the environment. So, at first, we were like, 'Are we sure about this?'" he laughs. "So, even a single change can instantly increase the number of things that need to be reviewed."

The new jump ability was something that Nintendo had to consider when it came to all the terrain in the game – and how both Young and Adult versions of Link would traverse it.

Art director Aya Shida notes that since "the distance they can jump differs slightly between the two," it meant that "even when designing a single piece of terrain, it was challenging to find the right balance in terms of making gaps just the right distance to jump across."

This also meant a change to Ocarina of Time's returning Jump Attack. Taguchi notes that in the OG game, you could launch a Jump Attack using just one button, whereas the Switch 2 remake uses a Breath of the Wild-style "two-step approach." However, this didn't sit quite right with Aonuma.

"Trouble was, I was so used to the original game's controls that I just couldn't get the hang of it," Aonuma laughs. "When I told the team, 'This just doesn't feel as satisfying as the original Jump Attack,' they added a way to perform it with a single button press."

The devs are aware this is a matter of personal preference, though – fellow producer Hidemaro Fujibayashi notes that he was "more used to jumping first and then attacking," and that "in the end, we implemented both control schemes so that fans of the original game, as well as those who've played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild but not The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, could have a comfortable experience. That said, neither control scheme gets in the way of the other."

It's a more flexible approach to modern improvements than the devs took with a different – now scrapped –quality-of-life improvement, though.

Aonuma noted how he first requested the devs to add Breath of the Wild-style warp points, but later asked them to be removed after he realized that they ruined the "important" moments of discovery during the exploration of the world.

Zelda dev responsible for Ocarina of Time's infamous Water Temple used the remake to atone for his sins: "I had some overdue homework."

Zelda series lead Eiji Aonuma has admitted that he wanted to use The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake to make the Water Temple a bit less obtuse.

In the 28 years since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one challenge has lived in infamy: the dreaded Water Temple. While the classic adventure game was universally praised, the Water Temple was the sole sticking point for many, with its somewhat obtuse design proving a huge challenge. However, to many people – myself included – the problem with the Water Temple was less about the challenge or dungeon design itself and more about the tedium of constantly pausing to equip or remove the Iron Boots to navigate the area.

As for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, Aonuma – whose role in the N64 classic was as the game's dungeon designer – explained that the Water Temple was a big motivator in Nintendo's Ask the Developer article about the game. "I had some overdue homework: I wanted to do something about the Water Temple I created 28 years ago," Aonuma says, explaining, "Since it became well known for its difficulty in the original game, I had the team make some adjustments in this version."

However, this is not the first time Aonuma spoke about wanting to change the Water Temple; in fact, in a 2011 Iwata Asks interview, Aonuma said, "I wanted to do something about the Water Temple" when discussing his motivation for making The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. He explained at the time, "Everyone talks about it, so it’s been a longstanding wish of mine these 13 years!" but clearly its version of the dreaded dungeon wasn't enough.

"When I designed the Water Temple all those years ago, I wanted to create an experience where simply being underwater was fun," Aonuma explains in 2026. He cites his love of freediving and finds it fascinating "how different everything feels" when you are submerged.

"I wanted to create a place where players could experience those sensations," Aonuma explains. The remake's director, HokWai Ng, explains that the remake makes item toggling easier, as well as changing "some of the walls that made it easy to lose your sense of direction to lattice-style structures," so hopefully this new version will finally satisfy Aonuma's desire to "fix" the temple.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments

The Elder Scrolls 6 is indeed titled Sentinel, just as rumors previously predicted – and Bethesda Game Studios has picked its big 40th anniversary celebration to reveal it.

Yes, that's right – nearly 15 years after Skyrim, we finally know what the next Elder Scrolls game is called: Sentinel.

Todd Howard unveils the title alongside a short clip of sand (likely alluding to both the "sands of time," so to speak, and perhaps the literal sands of the Alik'r Desert, considering the whole "Sentinel" and Hammerfell thing) and an Elder Scroll, dubbing Bethesda's 40th birthday the "perfect time to tell you what The Elder Scrolls 6 is actually called."

It's incredible to witness as an Elder Scrolls fan (despite how short it is, of course), as Howard himself recently told us to "just pretend we didn't didn't announce it" in regard to the sixth Elder Scrolls, stating that The Elder Scrolls 6 is still "a while" off – which, to be fair, it could very well still be, as there's no release date or window yet.

Again, we don't get too much out of the teaser in Bethesda's 40th anniversary celebration video on YouTube – but it's enough to send theories soaring here shortly, I'm sure, between the scroll, the evident setting, and the quote.

Yep, a quote – from Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell: "The scroll offered only a shimer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes. A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate."

Perhaps even more eye-catching than the quote itself is the date attached to it: 4E 206. In other words, just five years after the events of Skyrim where we played as the Dovahkiin (or, erm, continue to play if you're still hooked over a decade on like I am). it spurs a whole lot of questions about The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel and its mysterious premise.

And, although I'm a tad disappointed that we might be playing in a post-Skyrim Tamriel (look, I want to see the Dwemer and Falmer in action, okay?), I'm thrilled we've got anything at all from Bethesda aside from the reveal trailer we saw in 2018 during that one very fateful E3 showcase.

This is one of the biggest new games underway, after all – I'll take whatever I can get, Bethesda. I mean whatever, too.

After 29 years, a lost Easter egg in Bethesda's forgotten Elder Scrolls spin-off has finally been uncovered

Developers behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake have confirmed speculation that the game's new art direction was inspired by puppet shows.

Nintendo dropped the first gameplay footage of the remake back in September as part of The Legend of Zelda 40th anniversary Nintendo Direct, which is where we got our first look at the game's divisive art style. Series producer Eiji Aonuma asserted "we didn't just aim for realistic graphics," but it was safe to say that it was certainly a shock, the same way the Star Fox remake's art direction was for many.

Someone with a vested interest in both series is Takaya Imamura, who designed the Star Fox crew and was the art director of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, birthing Tingle into the world. He speculated that the new art direction was influenced by puppet shows, which Shigeru Miyamoto is known to love (thanks to Star Fox). Despite being his personal opinion, this suggestion was taken as fact by many, but it turns out he was on the money.

In a new edition of Nintendo's Ask the Developer series, Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake art director Aya Shida notes that "for this game, we wanted to rebuild Hyrule as a rich, dense world that felt as though it could truly exist, while retaining the feel of the original. At the same time, we wanted its colorful and quirky characters to feel like a natural part of that world."

"To help the team understand what we were aiming for, early in development we used phrases like 'a puppet-show feel' and 'the analog feel of practical effects films' as keywords," Shida adds, confirming Imamura's speculation. She explains, "Neither puppet shows nor practical effects films reproduce reality exactly as it is," and that "We also felt that there was some overlap between these forms of expression and the distinctive nostalgia evoked by the original game."

Aonuma adds, "the current development team feels a certain sense of nostalgia" – despite some of them having never played the original – and that "their efforts to express that nostalgia led them to an analog, puppet-show-like feel." But this approach seems to have gotten the Aonuma seal of approval, as he notes, "As one of the original developers, that progression made sense to me."

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments

Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy lead Naoki Hamaguchi may be working towards what's shaping up to be the biggest and boldest installment yet, the grand finale of Revelation, but it turns out that, of the three, the first game was the hardest to make.

In an interview with French content creator mistermv, translated by Genki on Twitter (and verified by GamesRadar+), Hamaguchi is asked what the biggest development challenge of the trilogy has been, and he immediately points back to where it all began.

For a start, the development team was much smaller in the beginning. At first, Hamaguchi notes, the team was only comprised of 30 people – a number obviously eclipsed by the final credits on the game.

But more than that, Remake also had the challenge of setting up what would follow it. The start of the project meant deciding on the entire visual look and graphical quality for the Remake trilogy, for example, all while working to the pressure of pleasing the many massive FF7 fans, with the worry of the devs' efforts being insufficient in meeting players' lofty expectations.

On the other hand, Rebirth and Revelation were able to follow in the footsteps of the foundation built by Remake – while they may have been larger and more ambitious, as Hamaguchi puts it, they had a base to go on, and the team working on them had grown and evolved, too.

Hamaguchi and other FF leads have previously spoken about how creating the Final Fantasy 7 remake in the trilogy format has allowed the devs to take on feedback between installments, too, hopefully making each experience better than the last for players. For example, Hamaguchi is aware that many players felt that Rebirth had an overwhelming amount of content, and while Revelation "probably" has even more, the devs have made some key differences in signposting what side-content will earn you what rewards, and ultimately making it easier for players to decide what they care about pursuing.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has a hard mode you can select from the start, Naoki Hamaguchi says, but it "won't function in the exact same way as it did in Remake and Rebirth."

Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has been hard at work on the 1.7 update for some time now, teasing fans about what to expect – and it sounds like it'll bring much more than just two new marriage candidates to the table.

We already know we'll be able to romance Clint and Sandy come 1.7, and that we'll get a new farm type with the update. It sounds big enough as is, considering just those elements and the other social features ConcernedApe has teased – but it's not just big, y'all.

According to the mastermind developer, it might just be the biggest that Stardew Valley has ever seen… even bigger than 1.5 and 1.6, which boasted added regions, festivals, and more.

He reveals as much during a recent Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, as posted over on Reddit by an attending fan.

After recalling how incredible his farming sim's growth has been, he mentions the patch that's on everyone's mind. "We're working on the 1.7 update, which is looking to be the largest Stardew Valley update ever," he says. "It's jam-packed."

ConcernedApe doesn't stop there, either. In his own words, "Clint and Sandy are just the tip of the iceberg – there's so much more in the update." He even drops a release hint: "You guys are in for a real treat, and it'll probably come out sometime next year."

Next year is just a couple of months away at this point, which means we could get the new Stardew Valley update a whole lot sooner than expected (should the stars align, of course).

There are a good few months in 2027, though – you know, a whole 12 of 'em – so there's no telling just yet whether or not we'll get 1.7 toward the start of the year or the tail end. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for the former, but ConcernedApe's a busy guy.

He's got Haunted Chocolatier to grapple with, too, which he previously admitted is "taking a long time" to get right – but getting things right is his priority.

Stardew Valley "3DVR" mod looks like a whole different game, is "fully playable" and compatible with all of your existing mods

Super Mario Bros. players have spent years trying to build the perfect speedrun. The race to be the first to achieve the perfect run has escalated dramatically over the past year, and the now-legendary Niftski has just set a new record that's just two frames away from the entire community's ultimate goal. The catch? He didn't actually want to do it – at least not when he did.

"My supporters donated $1,000 for me to do a Mario impression" for an entire Halloween stream, as Niftski explains in the description of his record run on YouTube. He dutifully completed the stream dressed in a Mario hat and fake mustache while doing what he recognizes as "the worst Mario impression of all time."

The entire video is an absolute delight as Niftski slowly recognizes that he's on world record pace while wearing a silly costume and doing a silly voice. "Finally, I just-a had to-a lock in," he says as he warps into level 4-1. The faux facial hair starts to bother him in 4-2, as he complains that "I want to shave-a this thing off because it's-a literally freaking uncomfortable as hell-a."

"I really hope this run dies, by the way," he says as he enters the game's final stages, still on pace for that record. By level 8-3, the penultimate stage, he's getting desperate. "Please have this-a run die," he begs, "I don't-a like it, I don't-a want to get this larping as Mario."

Yet he does indeed secure the world record while-a doing a Mario voice. "It made me not nervous at all," he recognizes, and that might've been the push he needed to set the new record. Still, there are two more frames to shave away before the perfect speedrun finally arrives, and I can only imagine what lengths Niftski might have to go to in order to calm his nerves again.

After 28 years, new Zelda: Ocarina of Time glitch completely changes 2 major boss fights, and speedrunners are scrambling to figure out the implications

It's impossible to overstate just how influential The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been since it launched on the Nintendo 64 back in 1998. It defined what 3D action-adventure games would look and play like for decades – not just in the Zelda series, but across all video games. As it turns out, this was part of the reason series producer Eiji Aonuma wanted to create the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake: he wanted to be sure the younger developers on the Zelda team understood just how important it was.

"Many of the team members who work alongside me on Legend of Zelda games today have only experienced developing the more recent titles," Aonuma explains in a new Ask the Developer interview from Nintendo. "That led me to wonder, 'Do they truly understand just how significant The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was to the series as a whole?'"

Aonuma admits that, "of course, there are team members who vaguely know the game, and those who played it in their childhood days. But I started to wonder how they'd interpret The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as they go about developing future Legend of Zelda games."

In part two of the interview, several of those younger developers explain their own history with Ocarina of Time. Some did have childhood memories of the game, while others had no experience with the original. "I played the Nintendo 64 version for the first time after joining this project," art director Aya Shida explains, "and I was amazed that a game this polished had been created 28 years ago."

"By learning the game structure and development style behind the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," Aonuma explains, "and by actually rebuilding it as a full remake, it may trigger new insights that they can carry forward into future development. If we could achieve that, I thought it would be incredibly valuable. That's what led us to the conclusion that now is the right time to revisit The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time once again."

I'm excited by that rationale. The Zelda series hit severely diminishing returns by following closely the blueprint that Ocarina of Time laid out, and while Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword are both great games, there's no denying that they had less of an impact than the N64 classic. Zelda wouldn't feel truly fresh again until Breath of the Wild revamped the entire format of the series, but I fear that more open-world games are going to quickly get stale.

Maybe a synthesis of fresh and familiar ideas from a new generation of Zelda devs is just what the series needs. While Aonuma first joined the Zelda team by assisting on Ocarina of Time, it sounds like he wasn't too precious about these younger devs making changes to his baby. In fact, he wanted them to be even more bold – at least at first.

"Looking at what they ultimately created," Aonuma explains, "I'm impressed by how rich an experience they were able to craft from a game that first came out 28 years ago. At the beginning of development, I remember thinking, 'They could be making more changes.' But as the project went on, it really came across just how deeply this development team cared about the original game, far more than we had imagined."

Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake had a Breath of the Wild quality-of-life feature until the series producer made devs take it out because it ruined "important" moments

Final Fantasy Resonance has been an undeniable hit for Square Enix, but it turns out that its producer's pitch initially faced some pushback from executives at the company who would have preferred the game to be a basic port.

Resonance is sort of like what Octopath Traveler 0 is to Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, except for Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Both titles have taken mobile games that came before them and adapted parts of their stories – in Octopath's case, also adding more narrative content – for a full console launch, removing mobile elements like microtransactions and gacha systems in the process.

Given that Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was previously shut down, Resonance is also helping keep its legacy alive, but beyond its ties to the mobile game, it's also a new HD-2D turn-based Final Fantasy experience that a lot of people have been craving for some time. Speaking to Bloomberg in an interview, producer Keisuke Nakashima reveals that his pitch in 2020, which suggested expanding the mobile game for a proper console adaptation, first faced resistance from Square Enix execs who were apparently more keen on the idea of pursuing a simple, cheaper port that'd be faster to make.

"I didn't want to go down that route," Nakashima says. "I wanted to create an original version for consoles that was a full-blown gameplay experience."

Nakashima recalls hearing some "really disappointing" feedback about Brave Evius during a press tour for the mobile game, where, despite plenty of people being interested in it, they expressed that they "didn't want to play it just because of the gacha elements." He explains: "That was another reason we wanted to make this a console game, to bring it to a wider audience."

It's certainly working for Square Enix, anyway – it reached the largest ever Steam player peak for the series' single-player games, and less than five days since launch, one analyst estimated that it'd sold 400k copies across PS5, Xbox Series X, and Steam, bringing in around $20 million in revenue. Hopefully those initially doubtful execs are happy now.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold won't suffer from Dawntrail's pacing issues, Yoshi-P says, as the MMO commits to respecting your time.

F-Stop – the canceled Valve project that was the original Portal follow-up – has leaked online and is fully playable after being found in the massive Steam leak earlier this year.

Back in August 12TB of Steam data from 2003 and 2013 dropped online which featured a ton of builds of Valve titles like Portal 2, Left 4 Dead, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. This data was apparently "hidden in plain sight, but with no protection whatsoever," and was easily accessible without hacking the whole time, proving to be a treasure trove for Valve fanatics, with early Portal 2 builds featuring bullet time being uncovered. And unless Half Life 2: Episode 3 is found anytime soon, the true holy grail of this leak may have been found.

As reported by Kotaku, users in the Valve Cut Content project’s Discord have managed to find the game's source code and map data, meaning that F-Stop is fully playable. YouTube user ToothpasteVixen uploaded the intro to the game – featuring earlier narration from a JK Simmons-less Cave Johnson – which will give you a good idea of the concept for those unaware, but to put it simply, it almost feels like an earlier take on the 2019 puzzle game Superliminal where taking photos allows you to manipulate the environment.

F-Stop was one of five projects coming from what Gabe Newell described as "Directed Design Experiments," where Valve's production was shut down for a few months which would have the company's teams participate in what is effectively a massive game jam. F-Stop was one of the standout projects from it, with Newell asking the team behind it to develop it into a prequel to Portal.

Ultimately, as per Portal 2 - the Final Hours, the project was canceled after playtesters didn't react entirely positively – namely, questioning why a Portal follow-up did not include the Portal Gun – but now, 15 years after the actual Portal 2 was released and with no sequel in sight, you can play a sort of new Portal experience.

Backrooms director posts from Valve's office again, and Portal movie speculation is intensifying.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's long-awaited Switch 2 remake might be bringing Nintendo's 1998 classic back to life with almost 28 years' worth of improvements, but the devs decided to reject one modern quality-of-life feature to avoid Link's classic adventure from losing some of its old magic.

Speaking in a new Nintendo Ask the Developer interview, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma explains that during the development of the new remake, he suggested implementing a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild-style quality-of-life feature that could have made traversing the world much quicker – fast-travel points.

"In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there are many warp points that enable players to move quickly around the game's vast world," he begins. "In the original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you could get around a bit faster by spamming forward roll, so I think a lot of players spent their time doggedly rolling across Hyrule Field whenever they needed to be somewhere in a hurry. (Laughs)."

This is something that Aonuma initially felt "we needed to address" in the remake. "So I asked the team to add warp points that didn't exist in the original game, giving players access to shortcuts," he explains.

However, when the devs implemented this feature, the vibes were completely off, the producer continues. "When we actually tried playing the game with those warp points, we realized that we were missing out on the moments of discovery that came from stopping along the way and wondering, 'Wait, what's this?'" he reasons.

"Through this development process, we were reminded once again just how important those moments are to the very structure of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," Aonuma says. "So even though I was the one who proposed adding warp points, they just weren't working for me in the end, so I got the team to take them all back out again. (Laughs)."

Even without the newly added fast-travel points, the Zelda devs have added another way to get around Hyrule quickly. Instead of doing his best Sonic impression and rolling around at the speed of sound, Link can now simply run. Oh, and he can jump now, too.

Google's new Zelda: Ocarina of Time Easter egg takes us back to 1998 just in time for Nintendo's remake, and it's perfectly nostalgic.

Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida knows one of Dawntrail's biggest issues at launch was the story's pacing, so the team is putting in the work to ensure that Evercold doesn't suffer the same fate.

Speaking to the media at Final Fantasy 14's Japanese leg of Fan Fest, Yoshida takes a question about what the team behind the MMO has learned from Dawntrail and how important it has been for Evercold's development.

"This time we are putting in serious consideration on the sense of tempo," Yoshida says, per a mod from the Final Fantasy 14 subreddit who was in attendance. "Back at Dawntrail we were being really careful in depicting new lands, new cultures, new encounters and this greatly slowed down the pacing on story progression. The fact that this did not align with players’ motivation of 'keep moving forward' shows shortcomings on my part as the director."

To remedy the pacing issues for Evercold, Yoshida says the team is moving some of the aforementioned focus to side quests, meaning you can enjoy that kind of thing if and when you want.

"This is actually connected to Final Fantasy 14's overall evolution, so we have to consider how precious players' time they have here," Yoshida adds. "After all, we will face the fact on how it's difficult for this to be relatable to players if the story doesn't progress at a brisk, fast-paced tempo, therefore we are placing a strong emphasis on this aspect this time."

I have been cautiously optimistic about Evercold since it was unveiled early this year, and this is another step in the right direction. While Dawntrail's story does eventually get good – doubly so in the post-expansion patches – it puts you in the position of having to defend it by telling your raid-brained pals to "stick with it, honestly," which is not an amazing place to be in games or other media like TV or film.

Dawntrail had other issues, sure, though Square Enix has shown enough consideration about that elsewhere. Of course, how this all works will remain to be seen. I've played Final Fantasy 14 for a long ol' time, and I've seen expansions launch with pacing issues – looking at you, Stormblood – that were remedied in later expansions. Hopefully Evercold sticks the landing in a way that hangs around for many expansions after.

Final Fantasy 14 theorists were right all along: Evercold's second job is the ranged Zephyr DPS that uses crossbows and a deadly pet bird.

Google is gearing up for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake as much as any of us, it seems, with a nostalgic little Easter egg.

For years now, Google has included some fun Easter eggs via its search engine. You can type "Minecraft" into your browser to play a bit of the iconic Mojang game. Or, input "do a barrel roll" and watch your screen flip around.

The latest Easter egg from Google offers no exception, acting as a silly (but very welcome) ode to Nintendo's beloved Zelda franchise – simply type in "The Legend of Zelda" or "Ocarina of Time" and see for yourself.

A Master Sword will appear, and should you click on it, you'll see it inserted – and then you'll be transported back to 1998, when Nintendo's original Ocarina of Time made its way into the wild, sort of like a pseudo-child Link or something.

The old Google font, bright primary colors, and exclamation mark intact, is there, along with the 90s search interface you might recall from way back when.

The whimsy is unparalleled, honestly.

I'm not the only one obsessed with it, either (seriously, you don't want to know how many times I've searched for Zelda today so far).

Over on X, comments see folks agreeing that it's a good bit of fun – and, uh, unsurprisingly wishing that Google's search engine still looked like it did in 1998. As one reads, "Can we just… keep it like that now? Forever." Another adds, "Can we get that Google back?"

Sadly, though, I think we're stuck as adult Link in 2026. This is all in honor of the Ocarina of Time remake anyway, which is set to release in just a few days on November 5.

It boasts everything that made us fall in love with the OG some 28 years ago while also bringing new features to the table, from sidequests to dungeon tweaks and Breath of the Wild's option to turn off the UI for more immersion (and difficulty).

Plus, breathe a sigh of relief – the jump button we've wanted for decades.

Not all Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake devs have played the N64 original, series producer says – but "it's thanks to these young people" it was made

As we enter GTA 6 territory, Fortnite's apparent answer to keeping players engaged is simple – break out the free stuff, stat. However, the shock is just how generous its latest offer is – but earning it is probably going to have a lot of players grinding for an entire month.

Fortnite's latest season, Treasure Hunters, kicked off yesterday, November 1, and as a shorter, month-long mini-season, it was always going to have its work out for it to compete for the spotlight when GTA 6 launches on November 19. Prior to its launch, I thought the plan here was its long-awaited One Piece collab, but as was highlighted shortly after the season went live, Epic Games had another trick up its sleeve.

Enter the Fortnite Pirate Shop Access tokens. Every time you open a chest this season to grab your regular loot – guns, healing items and the like – there's an extremely slim chance that you'll be greeted with a big, golden pop-up declaring, "You found Pirate Shop Access." This grants two special tokens – one for use during a window of time this year, and one in 2027 – which, when activated, allow you to claim almost everything in Fortnite's item shop for free for 14 consecutive days.

To be clear, that means you can log on for two weeks, and every single day, claim almost everything – that means skins, bundles, emotes… you name it – in the shop without spending a single V-Buck. And then, if that wasn't enough, you can return for a second two-week free period next year.

The way Fortnite's item shop works means that you won't be able to claim everything that's ever been added to the game with this, as cosmetics rotate in and out of the store each day. But, depending on how many items you already own and what's in the shop when you activate your tokens, players could genuinely net themselves hundreds, if not thousands of dollars' worth of cosmetics using this.

The only things users aren't allowed to claim for free are "real money offers" (items you can only buy with actual cash rather than V-Bucks) and Battle Pass levels; they can only grab "one free sidekick you do not already own." Owners also can't gift things to others for free, which, to be fair, makes sense since it could lead to a massive chunk of the player base clearing out the item shop for weeks on end if it was permitted.

And that part ties into the only major catch – the rarity. As you'd imagine, the Pirate Shop Access tokens are extremely hard to come by – Epic Games hasn't confirmed the actual odds, but a quick look on social media will show you players opening hundreds and thousands of chests without seeing that fateful pop-up. Given that we're only on day two of the season, we'll probably get a better idea of the stats as we go along, but it's safe to say that many are already fully committed to the grind – which, let's face it, is definitely what the devs were going for.

For anyone keen to try their luck, it seems like it might be easier to find Pirate Shop Access if you're playing with your friends. It's already been confirmed that if you're playing with others and someone else on your team opens one of the lucky chests, the reward will be granted to everyone in the squad (or duo or trio).

There are some other rare rewards this season which can be found in the same way – right now, you can also unlock a golden A$AP Rocky skin and pickaxe, a loading screen, vehicle, Jam Track, and more – but I think it's safe to say that the Pirate Shop Access is going to be the One Piece for most players this season.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says new multiplayer games flop because everyone's "already formed solid human networks in Fortnite, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and Apex Legends."

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the talk of the town this week, not just because stock hunters are ready and waiting for its first special edition release but also while we count down the final days until its biggest release of the year so far.

Ocarina of Time remake is going to send everyone back to the '90s on November 5, but if you're not holding out for more Legend of Zelda Nintendo Switch 2 stock, Woot's getting upgraders there for $30 less this week. The Nintendo Switch 2 has dropped from $499 to $469 at the Amazon-owned retailer, but this one's going to move fast. I've previously only ever seen discounted refurbished units on these shelves and even they typically sell out before the day is done.

Woot has sold Nintendo Switch 2 handhelds cheaper than this in the past, but rarely in new condition and this is the first time I've seen it here since the September 1 price increase.

• Join GamesRadar+ Deals on WhatsApp for our top daily discounts

Refurbished handhelds swallow up this shelf space every now and then, with the most recent offering landing back in October. Combining an on-screen discount with an additional discount tied to its gaming event, customers could grab renewed devices for as little as $409.

That was a perfect storm of savings we see typically once or twice a year. If you're upgrading your handheld ahead of Ocarina of Time (while still spending as little as possible), Woot's current Nintendo Switch deal will get you there for $50 less than the hard-to-find special edition release.

The discount is our GamesRadar+ Deal of the Day for November 2, but judging by the speed at which renewed offers have flown off the shelves at Woot it's not expected to last much longer. Unless you're holding out to roll the dice on Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals, time is of the essence here.

Unfortunately, there's a sad side to this story. While previously enjoying a $10 discount on physical pre-orders, both Amazon and Walmart have now run out of stock on the textured foil Ocarina of Time remake cart. If you want that physical case, you're now looking at the full $69.99 at Best Buy.

• Ocarina of Time Remake (Digital) | $59.99 at Amazon

Taking Woot up on their offer? Check out the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories to get started with, as well as the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers and best Nintendo Switch headsets.

Non-Milsim Content in MW4 is a new kind of warning label that players can find attached to multiplayer game modes like Possession, but what does it actually mean for something in COD to be Milsim Content or not? If your familiarity with Call of Duty games and military shooters is more casual, you might not be familiar with this term, but here's what you can expect when it comes up in MW4 multiplayer.

What does Non-Milsim Content in MW4 mean?

Non-Milsim Content in MW4 is a warning label on certain game modes in multiplayer, and what it basically means is that this particular game mode isn't going to be very realistic to military combat. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Milsim is a gaming term that's shorthand for "Military Simulation", a reference to Call of Duty's declared genre, as well as similar games in the industry like Battlefield. Obviously you can argue about how realistic they actually are, but in this case the label "Non Milsim Content" is tied to multiplayer modes that specifically aren't interested in anything like actual realism. For example, the limited time Halloween "Possession" mode allows you to leap into the bodies of enemies you kill and control them, which clearly isn't grounded in any sort of realism.

You can still bring your own guns into Possession, even if there's a risk of them being commandeered by the enemy. To make sure you're as deadly as possible in any mode, check out the best MW4 Vel 46 build, the best MW4 M4 build, and the ultimate MW4 Han 86 build, to pick some of the game's most popular weapons!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The Fortnite pirate shop token is currently the talk of the town, as it represents an incredible piece of plundered loot to tie in with the piracy-themed mini-season. If you're lucky enough to find this extremely rare token during Fortnite Treasure Hunters, then you'll be able to plunder the item shop by claiming almost everything available there for free during a two week period, making this one of the most valuable rewards ever! To bring you up to speed, I'll explain how to get a pirate shop token in Fortnite and how rare it actually is.

How to get a Fortnite pirate shop token

Currently, the only way to get a Fortnite pirate shop token is to keep opening chests in the game, as it is a random loot drop. It comes from standard chests, so you don't need to track down rare ones, and you'll know if you've found an item shop token as the chest will glow and shake for several seconds before exploding with a "YOU FOUND PIRATE SHOP ACCESS" message appearing across the screen.

If you're lucky enough to discover this you'll actually receive two items – PIRATE SHOP ACCESS (2026) and PIRATE SHOP ACCESS (2027). The first needs to be activated by December 15, 2026, while the second will become available next year, and once redeemed they allow you to claim anything sold for V-Bucks in the Fortnite Item Shop for free for 14 days. This excludes passes levels, gifting, and real money bundles, and you can only claim one free sidekick you don't own already, but otherwise you can absolutely stuff your locker with a huge amount of free cosmetics!

How rare is the pirate shop token in Fortnite?

Naturally for such a valuable reward, the Fortnite pirate shop token is incredibly rare and at the time of writing only one player has reportedly found it. You can increase your odds of discovering a token by playing with friends, as if one member of a duo, trio, or squad finds this elusive item then everyone else in the group will also receive it. Otherwise, all you can do is continue searching as many chests as possible and keeping everything crossed – good luck and happy hunting!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The closure of BioWare and cancellation of Mass Effect 5 that followed the EA buyout have understandably left countless longtime fans of the studio and RPG series distraught – so much so, in fact, some are expressing their disappointment physically.

You might already know about the Save Mass Effect petition, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures worldwide and a plethora of strong supporters – including from fellow developers. It's safe to say that many folks are quite passionate about it, seeing as the wait between the fourth Mass Effect and Universe, as the fifth was confirmed to be called, has been nearly a decade in the making so far.

So passionate, it seems, that they're taking to EA's offices with spray paint in hand. As one person over on Reddit spotted in Madrid, Spain, "#SaveMassEffect" graffiti is visible on the stone walls and ground surrounding EA.

Commenters see fans questioning whether this is the way to go about reviving the RPG, but it's actually not the only instance of people voicing (so to speak) their thoughts directly at the publisher's offices.

As a separate post on Twitter highlights, some fans are placing physical tombstones outside of EA in memory of BioWare – and other studios – reading "RIP." Underneath, you'll spot a Mass Effect quote: "It had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

It, admittedly, hits quite hard… and this example appears far more popular than the graffiti in Spain. As one comment reads, "Now this is good. We need more of this."

Will it catch the attention of EA, though? I suppose only time will tell. And, as it stands now, it doesn't seem too likely that another publisher or company could swoop in and buy BioWare in hopes of saving the Mass Effect team.

One former dev stated that "EA never actually sells anything" and we shouldn't expect a rekindling of Universe as "they just shut things down and sit on their licenses." I'm instantly reminded of American McGee's Alice, personally.

For the time being, I just hope that all affected devs are able to land on their feet. The fate of Mass Effect is certainly a sad one, but real people are struggling here as well amid all of the chaos – and that shouldn't be forgotten, either.

Mass Effect 5 studio reportedly toned down inclusivity with EA in mind "so as to not cause offense"

The Overwatch universe is practically bursting with potential for interesting stories and cool action set pieces, perhaps ones featuring a giant talking gorilla of some kind. Game director Aaron Keller isn't ruling out the possibility of more PvE content in the future, but trying to make another full campaign is a bigger ask.

Once upon a time, Overwatch 2 was supposed to launch with an in-depth, story-driven, co-op campaign set in the Overwatch universe. Blizzard Entertainment planned to have players upgrade and modify their favorite heroes over the course of the story mode, which was promising to dramatically move the game's world forward in ways that animated shorts couldn't.

Overwatch 2's campaign was eventually canceled and replaced with shorter, simpler, infrequent PvE missions that were also discontinued before the hero shooter's resurgence earlier this year.

Asked about the possible return of story missions while speaking to the press, Aaron Keller said previously released PvE events drove a lot of interest that quickly died down. "When you look at the campaign that we ran, I think that while there was a lot of excitement there, and it did drive the story forward, it didn't really get played the way that we wanted it to." (Thanks, TheGamer.)

PvE missions typically require hefty development resources too, the director explained, which were maybe better spent on cinematics and other narrative formats that can move the story forward without soaking up considerable dev time.

Still, it's not completely over for fans. "I would never discount it," Keller said while speaking about the potential return of playable narrative missions. Smaller experiences that don't impact the main competitive game too much seem like they'll have a better chance, at least.

As for another full campaign - like the one Blizzard tried to make and then scrapped - Keller explained it would be too big an undertaking that would probably require a totally separate team to make "a whole new game."

The Overwatch universe has so many fun characters and cool lore tidbits, I'd happily settle for an animated series instead. Blizzard's president previously teased Warcraft and Overwatch adaptations, too.

Overwatch devs know removing Sombra's Hack ability will "upset" players, but insist the reworked support hero will "be better for the game"

Two minutes of footage from an unannounced turn-based RPG recently spilled online, and yep, it very much looks like a remake of the very first Persona game.

A YouTube account aptly called 'P1REMAKE' only yesterday posted a little under two minutes of footage from what appears to be a Persona 1 remake. As expected, eagle-eyed fans quickly spotted the clip and soon spread it across several other social media platforms, with the footage since appearing on Reddit and X.

Of course, you should take all leaks with an unhealthily huge handful of salt no matter how convincing they look - especially in the age of generative-AI videos and such. At the same time, there are quite a few good reasons to let yourself be a little hopeful for this remake.

For one, the two-minute clip is longer and more elaborate than gen-AI videos typically are. Several series fans have also pointed out the video shows Eriko summoning her Persona in combat, while using the exact same animation as Persona 4 Revival's version of bestie Yukiko. Revival doesn't actually launch until next year, which makes the pose quite suspicious.

Then there's the fact that this type of leak isn't exactly new territory for Atlus' popular role-playing franchise. In 2023, footage from what ended up being called Persona 3 Reload leaked online and showed very similarly rough, clearly in-development scenes from the game's dungeons.

One other curiosity is the inclusion of Tatsuya, the protagonist from Persona 2 Innocent Sin, who doesn't actually show up in the series' first game. Some folks are speculating that the video might have been created as an internal proof-of-concept pitch for Sega and Atlus management, so Tatsuya would serve as a placeholder model in that case.

A Persona 1 remake isn't entirely unlikely with or without this potential leak, either. Persona series producer Kazuhisa Wada recently said remakes of the first two games are "probably eventually" happening at some point in the future.

Persona 4 Revival's new character isn't a Social Link after all, Atlus clarifies, but something else entirely: "We apologize for the confusion"

After literal months of speculation and theories based on brief clues left in older trailers, Final Fantasy 14 purists have been proven right. The Evercold expansion's second new job is indeed a ranged physical DPS who uses quick-firing crossbows and a deadly pet bird in combat - and it's called Zephyr.

Announced at FF14 Fan Fest Japan, Zephyr is described as a take on a "pet job." But you're not carrying around any old bird. The Zephyr's avian familiar is called the Nephele, a winged predator who can coordinate attacks with you and provide support from above for the entire party. Good positioning is crucial for this one, it seems. You can see the Zephyr in action in the new trailer below.

Just like the incoming Bastion job, you'll only be able to play Zephyr using the new Evolved combat system that's aiming to streamline things a bit. The Zephyr's first job quest should pop up in Gridania with a starting level of 90 when patch 8.0 arrives.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold also received a slight delay elsewhere during the FF14 Fan Fest. The MMO expansion is now planning to come out on February 23, 2027, though players who pre-order can enter the early access period starting on February 19, 2027. (Pre-orders open on November 4 with some extra goodies attached.)

We also got a peek at a ton of new areas coming with Evercold. There's the idyllic Sessrymnir, there's Skioblaonir which looks like a floating island of sorts, and then a montage teasing "More Locales From The Fourth." Needless to say, they're all gorgeous.

Final Fantasy 14's new typing minigame is already causing chaos as players struggle against bots and impossible words: "It just came out"

Final Fantasy 14: Evercold has received a short and swift four-week delay. Square Enix's MMORPG expansion was originally set to release in January of next year, but an update from Final Fantasy Fan Fest Japan has revealed that it's now due to come out during the packed month of February, 2027.

Final Fantasy 14 boss Naoki Yoshida - affectionately dubbed Yoshi-P by fans - revealed the news during FF14 Fan Fest Japan. Evercold's new release date is officially February 23, 2027 with an early access period beginning on February 19, 2027.

Of course, February is already packed with mammoth games - everything from Fable, God of War: Laufey, Persona 4 Revival, and Metro 2039 are seemingly taking shelter from GTA 6. Here's hoping you have a spare few dozen hours a week for all the incoming goodies.

Evercold pre-orders begin on November 4, which is funnily enough the official release date of Final Fantasy 14's biggest rival: World of Warcraft Forever. (I'm sure it's just coincidental.)

Pre-order bonuses include a Kottr minion that's part of the expansion's new, fluffy, feline race, as well as a pair of earrings and early access. You can check out all the different editions over on the official website - be warned, the Final Fantasy 13 mount might tempt you to put a dent in your wallet.

Evercold makes a ton of changes to the beloved, widely played online game. For one, a new Evolved system is promising to streamline ability hotbars and rejig the way jobs work. The game's also crossing over with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series in a new Evercold raid.

Final Fantasy 14's new typing minigame is already causing chaos as players struggle against bots and impossible words: "It just came out"

Patrick Stewart was best known for his numerous roles across film and television, including franchise-defining parts of X-Men and Star Trek, but he also appeared in several video games over the years. His most notable video game role is certainly in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, where he played Emperor Uriel Septim VII, and he was apparently blown away by the detailed lore Bethesda had for his character.

In the wake of Stewart's death at the age of 86, fans have shared numerous memorable stories and anecdotes about the actor's life and career. One such story, which was spotlighted by Bluesky user shadowtodd, dates back to a documentary about the making of Oblivion, which was originally included on a bonus DVD in the game's original 2006 Collector's Edition.

In that documentary, a distressingly young-looking Todd Howard stands in front of a group of Bethesda developers and shows a photo of himself and his wife meeting Stewart. "Ken [Rolston, lead designer] had written a bunch of notes for Patrick Stewart on the character," Howard explained. "Very, very long. I thought it was embarrassingly long, actually."

It's important to remember here that, despite Stewart's stature, Uriel Septim's role in Oblivion is actually pretty small. (Spoilers, but he dies before the end of the tutorial area.) Nonetheless, extensive lore had already been built up around the character over the course of the previous three games, and despite Howard's misgivings it seems the team was keen for Stewart to see every detail.

"I had forwarded it all to Patrick," Howard said. "Patrick came in and said, 'I got the notes on the character.' I was sort of like [gestures nervously]. He's like, 'Never in my life doing any role have I gotten such detailed notes, and I loved it. I am really intrigued. This sounds really cool. You guys have given this a lot of thought. I can't wait to do it.'"

In another part of the documentary, which has been available in full on YouTube for years, we see the moment many of Bethesda's developers heard Stewart's lines for the first time. "He was selling the product like a reverend standing in front of his flock," Rolston noted, "which is exactly the tone I wanted."

Remember, ahead of Oblivion, Bethesda was only just beginning to emerge from years of making niche, fiddly PC games to develop something more mainstream. And even then, 'mainstream' was relative in those days – the documentary opens with Howard doing a bit of old-school handwringing about the perception that video games were still little more than kids' toys.

So you can understand why a room full of game developers raised on a steady diet of science fiction were so astounded hearing an actor as beloved as Patrick Stewart performing lines that they'd written. My favorite bit is when designer Mark Nelson reacts to the reading of "generals and kings have knelt at my command" from Stewart. "That's such a cheesy line that sounds good when he says it," Nelson remarked.

"There isn't another actor we could have picked who I'd be happier to write dialog for," Nelson explained. "Like, seriously, I geeked out over Star Trek for years. It was on while I was in college. Literally, all my friends [and] I would sit around and we'd watch Star Trek and drink beer and act like idiots. I don't have a picture of my wife in my wallet right now but I've got Patrick Stewart in my wallet."

To prove the point, Nelson pulled out his wallet and showed the weathered photo of Stewart he kept inside. "My wife will not be happy," he admitted.

Star Trek Online players gather to remember Patrick Stewart, with some hoping for a "permanent" tribute to Captain Picard from the MMO's devs: "You will be missed"

A Towerful of Mice is set during Keira Metz's storyline in Velen, and with a recommended level of six, is one of The Witcher 3's earliest ghost stories. Cobble together a haunted tower, frightened locals, and love persevering, and you're left with a traditional Gothic horror set in brackish Velen.

Our destination, Fyke Isle, is wreathed in fog. Sailing towards it, dark woods on either bank of a thin river, there are just two bright spots in the night – Geralt's bobbing white bun, and flashes of a pale drowner as it flits between the trees. I've completed A Towerful of Mice once before, but rather unhelpfully, the only part I remember is getting there via boat. Everything else is a mystery, but the basic premise is this: superstitious locals have asked sorceress-in-hiding Keira Metz to lift a curse from Fyke Isle. In turn, Keira asks Geralt for help – if only to keep the locals on-side while mage hunters scour the land.

Quest Log

Trick or treat

In the basement, ghostly peasants wonder why the room is packed with caged rats. Two flights of creaky stairs above, the nobleman's daughter pleads with her father to assist the locals. An unseen voice alerts them to the angry mob downstairs and their wispy shades disappear, but in the modern-day, a skeleton lies beneath a chair the nobleman was sitting in. By now, Fyke Isle's dread sits heavily: I'm jumping at every creaky floorboard and darting rat, and climbing up the tower feels as if I'm being drawn towards an unseen horror.

In that regard, A Towerful of Mice has more in common with classic ghost stories The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House than The Witcher. It's a testament to how rapidly CD Projekt Red can knit and swaddle us into a story. The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077's quests thrust agonizing decisions upon players, but their consequences are only so monumental because we've been made to care so quickly.

Spoilers ahead

Like many of The Witcher 3's quests, A Towerful of Mice's violence hides heartbreak. In a hidden laboratory at the top of the tower, the ghost of the nobleman's daughter, Anabelle, reveals herself. Speaking to Geralt, she recalls taking a paralyzing potion – made to look like poison – to avoid dying at the mob's hands. The mob leaves, but when Anabelle awakens much later, she's still paralyzed – and being eaten alive by rats. She died thinking her lover, Graham, abandoned her (he was part of the mob, albeit trying to stop it), and suggests the curse will be lifted if Geralt brings her remains for Graham to bury.

The story adds up, but something smells rotten. And while I don't remember how A Towerful of Mice goes, 160 hours spent in The Witcher 3 is enough for me to trust my gut. I turn down Anabelle, who then asks if Geralt will instead bring Graham to seek her forgiveness. That seems fair – assuming Graham is willing – so I row back across the river and find him in a small fishing village. Still traumatized by that night, Graham is eager to help put Anabelle to rest and returns to Fyke Isle with Geralt.

Back in the tower's laboratory, Anabelle is revealed in her true form: a jawless Plague Maiden with sunken skin and a tendrilled tongue. To lift the curse, Graham has to prove he still loves Anabelle by kissing her. And while Geralt's professionalism has been a comfort throughout the quest, it doesn't help me when the cutscene's camera moves to follow Graham – moonlight shining on his neck makes it seem exposed in the darkness, and watching him draw closer to Anabelle feels like watching fingers inch towards a bear trap.

In a final Gothic flourish, true love wins out. Sort of. For a moment, Anabelle is a young woman again – then she's gone, and Graham is dead on the floor. The curse is lifted, quest complete, yet there's no celebration. Fyke Isle is still unbearably sad. But for an hour, it was real.

FromSoftware isn't having a great week. Right on the heels of delaying The Duskbloods out of 2026, it's now announced that the servers for Dark Souls 2 and 3 are temporarily going down on all platforms due to an "issue," and it's not going to tell you when they'll be back.

"Due to a server issue, the game servers for the following titles will be temporarily unavailable on all platforms," FromSoftware writes in a post on Twitter, listing Dark Souls 2 and 3.

"We will provide updates once we have information regarding the server restoration time," it adds. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

This was around eight hours ago – no update has been given since, and the lack of indication of how long it'd take in the place is concerning, to say the least. After all, Dark Souls fans have lived through months-long server outages before. Back in 2022, the PC servers for Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 all went, well, dark for most part of the year following security concerns. They all came back online eventually, but it was pretty rough for anyone wanting to play them thanks to the co-op and invasion features being totally dead.

Hopefully this latest outage doesn't last as long, as there's also the added concern of it being across all platforms this time rather than just PC.

While FromSoftware offers no explanation as to what the server issue is, it notably comes around a week after numerous sites and online services were temporarily taken down in the wake of new PHP vulnerabilities being discovered. Whether that's played a role here isn't known – separate server maintenance for Dark Souls 2 only just came and went a couple of days ago.

Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki was always "fascinated" by the "weird" executives of other companies: "I use some of them as enemy characters in our games."

Activision has confirmed that it will be removing real-life news footage of the 2022 crush in Itaewon from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 following backlash.

On October 29, 2022, a crowd crush happened in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea during Halloween festivities which drew over 100,000 people to the area. This crush resulted in the deaths of 160 people, and a further 196 people were injured during the event marking one of the deadliest disasters in the country's history.

Almost exactly four years on from the incident, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has caused controversy by including a video of rescue efforts following the event as part of an in-universe news report at the end of the game's first mission. The footage contains people performing CPR, bodybags lining the streets and people being wheeled on a stretcher.

The bereaved families issued a statement earlier this week (via BBC News), saying, "We cannot help but be appalled that the chaotic and desperate scene, in which many citizens at the site performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the freezing street, was used as it was to create a scene in a game." It adds, "Using such an event as material for a game made for entertainment is in itself highly inappropriate and senseless," and continues, "If the game developer has even a minimum of courtesy and empathy towards the victims, it should take corrective action without delay."

In a statement to BBC News, Activision confirms the use of the real-life footage, saying it was used "to establish the game's fictional narrative" but insists that the inclusion was "not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form." Activision offers condolences to the families and victims of the incident and confirms the footage will be removed from Modern Warfare 4.

Activision and Infinity Ward have previously caused controversy by referencing real-life events in their games. 2019's Modern Warfare reboot was accused of attempting to rewrite history after having the US-led attacks on a highway between Kuwait and Iraq in 1991, dubbed the Highway of Death – which is the name it is referenced by in-game – mentioned as a Russian attack.

The 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association told the BBC that the group welcomed Activision's decision, but that the publisher has not reached out with a direct apology.

I'm always looking out for cozy Halloween games that channel the spooky vibes or autumnal aesthetic of the season. Crucially, though, I'm after those that don't fill me with any fear or sense of dread.

Yes, even though I'm a self-professed scaredy cat who can't handle the best horror games out there on account of the fright factor, I still love Halloween for its witchy, vampy feel, and its pumpkin-laden, bat-winged decorations (the candy helps, too). So, if you're anything like me and you're after some recommendations, I've decided to bring together these cozy Halloween games to help you get in the spirit of the spooky season without being at risk of raising your heart rate — or having to shy away from your PC or console because some gnarly monster is attacking you.

From some of my favorite indies that nail the creepy-but-cute style, to some games like Stardew Valley that are perfect for the season, and sims that capture the atmosphere and look without the scares, I've also included some story-driven adventures that are great for this time of year. So, read on as I help you get into the spooky mood with my pick of the best cozy Halloween games.

6. Night in the Woods

Every time Halloween comes a-knocking, I always want to return to Night in the Woods. Not only does the adventure game have the perfect autumnal aesthetic for this time of year, but it also has a slightly darker, spooky edge to it as you progress through the story (but don't worry, it never veers into scary territory). Playing as protagonist Mae, who returns to her hometown of Possum Springs after dropping out of College, you follow her coming-of-age journey as she tries to reconnect with family and friends, fit back into a home that's changed, and ultimately figure out her place in the world.

Driven by exploration in the rundown mining town, there's some mysteries for you to unravel, but at its heart is an experience centered around relatable characters who are all dealing with troubles of their own. I always appreciate how Night In the Woods explores Mae's struggles as a young adult, as well as mental health problems. It normalizes what is often stigmatized, and brings to life a memorable, atmospheric experience that will forever mean so much to me. If you've yet to try out Night in the Woods, Halloween is the perfect time to do just that.

5. Wylde Flowers

If there was ever a great way to get into the spirit of the spooky season, then assuming the role of witch running a farm is a sure fire way to do it. Wylde Flowers takes the delights of the best farming games and infuses them with magic, supernatural residents, intrigue, and cozy cottagecore vibes. As Tara, who moves to the delightful Fairhaven Island to be with her ailing grandmother, Hazel, you eventually take over the family farm.

But as you'll soon come to learn, there's more to Tara's family lineage and the Island than first meets the eye. You'll find your way to discovering a local coven who teach you the witchy ways of Grandma Hazel. From brewing potions in a cauldron that can help crops grow faster, to drawing up spells to do things like change the weather, or help out the locals who get caught up in a spot of bother, there's even a magical location to explore that's host to the likes of a book-loving werewolf and a tinkering goblin. With lots of charming characters and a great story, updates have brought more unlockable features to this cozy gem.

4. Cult of the Lamb

If you're looking for something for Halloween that channels the creepy-but-cute look and feel, I'll always recommend Cult of the Lamb. Playing as an adorable young sheep, you decide to break away from the stereotypical norms so often associated with the fluffy animals and become a leader with followers of your own. Yes, as the lead lamb, you grow and front your very own cult of cutesy critters.

As you set out to earn more powers by venturing through dungeons, you'll develop your cult with some base-building goodness, and maybe sacrifice a follower or two in the name of the lamb. Its darker edge is undercut by its humor, and it still manages to somehow be adorable and charming. Plus, if you're after a recommendation you can play with a pal or loved one, then you'll be happy to know it also supports local co-op, with one player taking on the role of the lamb, while the other controls a goat. Quite the dynamic duo.

3. Beacon Pines

Another adventure that taps into the creepy-cute vibe, Beacon Pines is a cozy game with a horror-leaning story that's very fitting for the Halloween season. With an autumnal feel overall, the adventure takes place within the pages of a mysterious storybook, and follows the journey of a little deer called Luka and his friends. Playing as both the reader of the story and Luka, you set out into the night to investigate some strange goings on in Beacon Pines, namely at an old abandoned warehouse in the woods.

Stumbling upon a weird cover-up at the warehouse that Luka and his friends get caught up in, you help to shape the narrative by filling the gaps of the pages as the reader. With charms that have engraved words, you can find new story paths to unlock more charms and events. With a creepy atmosphere and an emotional story, it spins a mystery you'll want to unravel.

2. Strange Antiquities

If you love detective games and have yet to give Strange Antiquities a go, then Halloween is a great time for this one. With a dark, cozy feel to it, you find yourself working in a shop full of oddities in the setting of Undermere – the candle-lit interior of the store really makes for the perfect the kind of atmosphere for this time of year. As you settle in to examine and identify strange artifacts, you'll try to meet the curious needs of your customers.

After receiving requests for a specific effect or particular occult object, it's then left up to you to puzzle out what would be right for the townsfolk who stop by. It really does feel like you're a detective, not only because you have to figure out what artifacts are and who they're best suited for, but because you'll also piece together clues to uncover more objects in the store – which holds plenty of secrets of its own. Building on the developer's previous game, Strange Horticulture (which you may also enjoy if you like this one), Strange Antiquities' has plenty of mystery and intrigue for the spooky season.

1. Wytchwood

Wytchwood is always at the top of mind when it comes to cozy games that have the perfect look, atmosphere, and setting for the Halloween season – complete with a great sense of humor. The crafting adventure takes place in a fairytale world filled with gothic fables. Brought to life in a wonderful storybook art style, you take on the role of the old witch of the woods who has her own cottage in a swamp... and wears a pot on her head like a helmet.

Tasked with venturing out into the strange land to claim souls on behalf of a goat (as you do), you collect and grow witchy ingredients like eye of the newt, meaty morsels, and even things like bottled despair. You'll work to craft spells in your grimoire and brew up enchantments to cast judgement on those you encounter. With a setting that's filled with fantastical characters, you can expect to solve puzzles, meet some monsters, and soak up its witchy, gothic vibes.

If you're after more spooky recommendations and do want some scares, consider checking out our pick of the best Halloween games.

The latest Call of Duty instalment has kicked off to a good start with players enjoying the updated DMZ mode, embarking on a new campaign, and arguing over TTK and SBMM, of course. We always want more, though, so if you - like me - are counting down to the release of MW4 Season 1, here's everything you need to know.

For the first half of Season 1, there are confirmed additions for DMZ and multiplayer, including new modes and events, new multiplayer maps, and a new location to visit in DMZ. So, for more details, here's the MW4 Season 1 roadmap so far. The new season of Warzone also arrives on the same day, so I've got the details for that below as well.

Warzone and MW4 Season 1 release date

The MW4 Season 1 release date is Friday, November 6, 2026, at 12AM ET / 5AM GMT, which is 9PM PT on Thursday, November 5, which is also when Warzone Season 1 drops.

This will be the first time that the latest game's Battle Pass becomes available, and, as such, there will be plenty of new weapons, blueprints, attachments, and operator skins to unlock. Of course there will also be new maps, modes, and events added as the season progresses, too. Here's the lowdown so far.

Don't forget that this is all only half the season as we barrel towards Season 1 Reloaded, and anything here that is labelled as 'in-season' is set to arrive after the Season 1 release date but before mid-season.

Season 1 content

This is all coming to MW4 in Season 1, for players of multiplayer, DMZ, and Warzone:

• New weapons and attachments
  • CSG-35 SMG (Battle Pass reward)
  • Cronen Osprey AR (Battle Pass reward)
  • Jak 12 shotgun (in-season, event reward)
  • ZLR Talonhawk melee weapon (in-season, event reward)
  • Hyeon Auto Apex attachment (in-season, event reward)
  • Kastov 545 Apex attachment (in-season, event reward)
  • M16 Burst attachment (in-season, event reward)
• New Operators
  • Blix (Battle Pass reward)
  • Zero (Blackcell reward)

Across both multiplayer and DMZ, we'll see the addition of a few new weapons, APEX attachments, blueprints, operators, and more thanks to the game's first Battle Pass and this season's events, including Wager Watch. The one I'm looking forward to most is perhaps the new ZLR Talonhawk melee weapon, which appears as though it should give a bit more range than my trusty knife.

Some of these new guns may even find their way into our list of the best MW4 weapons, so keep an eye on it once the season launches.

As Warzone becomes integrated with Modern Warfare 4, these weapons also become available in the free-to-play battle royale. As ever, you'll be able to access the new battle pass via Warzone if that's the only game you play, and you can play entirely for free by collecting just the free rewards, but keep in mind that that probably won't include all the weapons above.

New multiplayer content

Here's everything we know is coming to MW4 multiplayer in Season 1 so far:

• New multiplayer maps
  • Backstab (new)
  • Canyon (new)
  • Shoot House (returning)
  • Overflow (new, in-season)
  • Ministry (new, in-season)
  • and more...
• New multiplayer modes
  • Gauntlet 1v1
  • Dropzone
  • Grind
• New static Kill Block combo
• Wager Watch event

As ever, there's a lot of new content coming to multiplayer in Season 1, including some brand-new maps and a returning favorite from Modern Warfare 2 and 3: Shoot House. Perhaps the most interesting addition, though, is the Gauntlet 1v1 mode, which sees the Gauntlet 6v6 mode return from BO7, only this time in a thrilling 1v1 setup, presumably with much smaller maps.

New DMZ content

Here's what we know is coming to MW4 DMZ in Season 1 so far:

• New location
  • X01
• New boss threats
  • Tae-Hyun AKA 'Knuckle'
  • Chol-Min AKA 'The Wrench'
  • and more...
• Deep vault
• Additions to the 3D Printer
• Vendor (Blackcell only)

It may not seem like it, but there's a lot to get to grips with here, as a bunch of new navigation comes to the DMZ Forward Operating Base in the form of a vendor for Blackcell owners; Boss Boards, for keeping an eye on new bosses and any intel on them; a 3D printer, the use for which is still redacted at this point; and other ways to sort and perfect your loadout.

There are also new bosses and the new X01 location, which is teeming with incredibly tough opponents.

Season 1 brings even more chances to try and get that impressive MW4 Nuke killstreak, as well as the coolest MW4 mastery camos.

New Warzone content

While some of the content above, including weapons and operators, crosses over into Warzone, there's of course a load of new content coming exclusively to Warzone Season 1. Here's just a snapshot of what's on the way:

• New battle royale map: Hajin
• New Resurgence map: Zodiac
• Verdansk returns in-season
• Rebirth Island returns in-season
• Weather scenarios
• Interactable objects
• Rally Point mode
• Elite Perks
• Grabber Drone
• Zipline Launcher
• and more!

Warzone is getting perhaps one of its biggest overhauls yet with Season 1 as another brand-new main map is revealed, straight out of the MW4 campaign. That's not all, as there are new items, a new mode, a new resurgence map, and the feature I'm most excited about: weather scenarios.

If you're a big fan of Verdansk, as I know so many are, then fear not, as the fan-favorite map returns once again during the first half of Warzone Season 1, as does Rebirth Island. But who knows, the stunning Hajin could be your new favorite by then.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Infinity Ward has nerfed the controversial Possum ability in Modern Warfare 4 because people were using it for nefarious means too often.

Modern Warfare 4 has had a heavy focus on its DMZ mode, with Infinity Ward already tackling one of the biggest complaints about the mode on launch day: people hogging the UAV towers. However, another major community complaint about the mode has been down to one specific perk.

True to its name, the Possum perk lets players play dead after being downed in DMZ mode. However, many used this to get taken out only to immediately get back up and defeat the person who took them down, rather than just give themselves another chance to survive the game.

In the latest patch notes for Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward acknowledged the complaints with a statement about the perk: "The intention for Possum is to give a high-level operator a second chance. With the current iteration, Possum was being used as a combat mechanic instead of a survival mechanic."

Alongside this statement are the details of the perk's change, which now will disallow players from activating Possum while the team that killed them is nearby, or if the team is hanging out there for a long time, until 4 minutes pass.

The statement continues, "These tweaks are meant to prevent players from getting right back into the fight which they had just lost." Infinity Ward added, "We will be watching the use of Possum with this change to see if it has the desired effect," and that the range and duration of the new change can be returned going forward.

Check out our Modern Warfare 4 review here!

A constant barrage of great game releases often means some great games fly under my radar. There's a world where Romancing Saga 3: Destinies United – a 3D remake of the 1995 JRPG – completely flies past me and I'm worse for it. After a brief hands-on with a game I had little interest in playing, I walked away eagerly anticipating meeting back up with my weird little party of freaks.

I'm not someone familiar with the Saga franchise, I've always happily observed it from the outside, forever content to enjoy this one from the sidelines. That was until a recent preview event at New York Comic Con where I played a very combat focused section of the game. I was swiftly thrown into the deep end with my ragtag party of our fearless leader Khalid, a fairy with a giant spear named Peony, a masked super-hero like figure, and my favorite, a bushy browed snowman named Flurry.

Glimmer of an idea

This turn-based RPG mostly plays out how you expect modern games to feel. You walk up to an enemy in the overworld, whack them before they can whack you to get the advantage, and shift into a turn-based system. While it seems like a straightforward system I've seen time and time again, it turns out Romancing Saga 3 hides one neat little trick up its sleeve.

The Glimmer system provides a way for me to improvise my way through combat encounters. A lightbulb symbol next to an attack denotes the chance to turn it into something greater. For instance, glimmering Peony's Spear Attack sees my fairy ally improvising on the jab, turning it into a Giant Swing, a brand new attack that now sits alongside all of her other abilities.

Certain spells and attacks can only be glimmered based on the weapon the character is holding, and while I don't have time to swap weapons out in my demo, it's clear there's plenty of room for experimentation with its battle system.

The Glimmer System promotes pulling the lever on the slot machine. Do I go for the tried and true way to success by exploiting enemies weaknesses, or do I let it all ride on black? Of course, you have a limited number of ability slots, so it won't last forever. But, the chase of finding something new and exciting with every roll of the dice fires every dopamine receptor in my brain. What if I kept pushing my luck?

Suddenly, my combat encounters become just as much about fleshing out everyone's ability slots with new and interesting moves as they do felling foes. Multi-hit attacks, area of effect explosions, and thunder kicks galore as my party becomes more powerful. Lightbulb after lightbulb pops up as I keep exploring every option at my disposal without being forced to hold back.

It instills a sense of discovery in mundane combat encounters. I don't know how long that sensation will last over the course of the full game, but in the moment it turns ordinary battles into something thrilling. Of course, a catchy battle theme with a horn section giving it their all certainly helps.

Sifting through the menus allows me to change out my party's formation. This changes various attributes. For instance, Speculation puts the group in a v-shaped formation giving the front three units increased melee capabilities. Whirlwind formation, on the other hand, increases the speed of all units, giving them the ability to act faster in the turn order. These predetermined formations feel easy to understand at a glance and make experimentation feel more approachable.

After progressing through the dungeon I eventually find the boss, Gwayne, a larger than life dragon who's not going to simply give up once the party arrives. I start raining down attacks left and right, searching for Gwayne's weaknesses as I put all of my newfound abilities, collected and honed throughout the dungeon, to the test.

As the slugfest carries on, the overdrive meter at the bottom of the screen tantalizingly fills up. Once full to the brim, I use it to unleash a United Attack, a unique ability that chains multiple party member's attacks together for massive damage. Everytime I think I have Romancing Saga 3 figured out, it tosses a tiny new wrinkle into the mix.

Using all of the tools at my disposal, I have Gwayne on the ropes. Just as I gear up for the final few blows… My demo ends. While I don't get to vanquish the dragon this time around, I'm excited to regroup with my newfound party of weirdos and hopefully find a few more along the way when Romancing Saga: Destinies United launches February 16, 2027.

Romance isn't dead, and neither are role-playing games. Check out our best RPGs, best JRPGs, and best ARPGs rankings for what to play next, and keep an eye on our upcoming RPGs calendar for more!

Eiji Aonuma says he's giving the younger staff on the Zelda team guidance about the next mainline title in the series.

Despite effectively being a yearly franchise at this point through remakes, remasters, and spinoffs, all eyes are on what the core Zelda team has been up to for the last three years. While it's only been two years since the last mainline game in the series in Echoes of Wisdom (developed by Grezzo), and with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake right around the corner, many are waiting to see what the follow-up to Tears of the Kingdom will be as the next major entry in the series.

Speaking to AFP following his receiving one of France's top honors – a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters – Aonuma noted that some of the team on the Ocarina of Time remake haven't even played the N64 original, saying that "thanks to these young people" the remake came into being. And while he has been part of the franchise since the original Ocarina of Time was released, he doesn't seem to be leaving the series any time soon.

In his speech, Aonuma said, "I'm very interested to see what the younger staff will imagine" for the series' future, and that he's "extremely happy" to offer guidance and "think together" about what the next Zelda game will look like.

Currently, Nintendo has given no indication of when we can expect the next Zelda game or what it'll be, but since it'll be four years since the release of Tears of the Kingdom next May, I'm hoping we'll know more in the near future.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time designer wanted Navi to be a "cute girl," but "that wasn't possible" with the Nintendo 64

In what was starting to feel like an inevitability, FromSoftware has now confirmed that The Duskbloods has been delayed – it'll now be launching sometime in 2027.

Up to now, The Duskbloods was set to launch sometime in 2026, and, well, we're rapidly running out of 2026. Last month's Nintendo Direct came and went without a release date for the game, and we only have two months left of the year.

"While development of 'The Duskbloods' is at the final adjustment stage, we have made the decision to move the launch window to 2027," FromSoftware confirms in an announcement post on Twitter. "We apologize to players who have been kindly awaiting the release of this title and thank you for your patience and support."

In a follow-up post, FromSoft adds: "During the network test, we saw active interest in the core concepts of the game, including combat, strategic depth, and player expression. To further enhance these aspects, we have decided to move the launch, allowing time for final adjustments to game rules and balancing."

The aforementioned network test, which took place back in August, certainly wasn't the smoothest experience. The first test session ended up being canceled entirely after the servers became overwhelmed and fans got stuck on its title screen. Even when the doors were finally opened, players reported performance issues, and not everyone was a fan of the PvP experience to begin with. At least it treated us to our beloved Zork, though.

What feels a tad concerning about this delay, though, is the lack of release window provided. A vague promise of 2027 means that The Duskbloods could, in theory, be delayed for a full year or more depending on how much time FromSoftware determines it needs. Here's hoping that's not the case, but for now, it's clear that the devs have work to do.

FromSoftware's first-ever player romance builds on "the maidens in Elden Ring," says Hidetaka Miyazaki: "It's a transient, ephemeral love, which is maybe a motif I'm striving for."

2026 has been one of the busiest in terms of game releases; however, November is one of the quietest. Thanks to GTA 6's launch, a ton of titles have been avoiding the month like the plague, but there are still some standouts that haven't gone running to the digital hills that should be on your radar.

So, the rest of the GamesRadar+ team and I have decided to highlight all of them for you below in a handy round-up. From the big major Rockstar outing to a bunch of surprising Nintendo goodness, the good news is that there really is something for everyone here. I will also say that although they didn't make this particular list, there are also a bunch of upcoming indie games releasing in November, so I highly recommend checking out our full guide on all the new games for 2026 and (beyond) for a full picture.

But with all that out of the way, let's dive into the top 5 games you need to play this November, in no particular order.

The best games to play in November 2026

World of Warcraft Forever

Release date: November 4, 2026
Platforms: PC

World of Warcraft Forever aims to return to what made WoW so iconic two decades ago, while introducing new and expanded zones, new dungeons, raids, skills, talents, new playable race, over 1000 quests, updated visuals and way more that I've run out of breath for. If you are an RPG fan or a veteran of the MMO, then this should definitely be in your sightline and you can read more about the impending releases with our World of Warcraft: Forever Big Preview breakdown.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake

Release date: November 5, 2026
Platforms: Switch 2

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is getting a remake for the Switch 2 and as a Nintendo fan, this is a must-buy. The upcoming Switch 2 game is a full ground-up reimagining of the classic 1998 N64 action-adventure title, with modernized gameplay including a jump button (I know), updated graphics that have divided the internet, fully voice-acted cutscenes, and other new additions too. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the best and most influential games ever made so needless to say, its remake is a big deal.

Guardians of the Galaxy Encore Edition

Release date: November 6, 2026
Platforms: Switch 2

Ok, it may only be a Switch 2 port but this superhero RPG deserves so much more love than it got at launch, so take this as your sign to dive into Star-Lord's adventure. Not only will Switch 2 players finally get to experience the clean story and snappy gameplay of Guardians of the Galaxy, but the Encore Edition also comes with an all new set of glam rock outfits for the Guardians, and the same kickass soundtrack. And, if you need some extra convincing to pick this one up (especially if you aren't a big Marvel fan) I suggest reading our Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy review to change your mind.

Pikmin 4 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy

Release date: November 12, 2026
Platforms: Switch 2

Switch 2 is getting another new game this month, and it's Pikmin 4! Now I have a personal soft spot for Pikmin, but for good reason. The iconic series has given us some of the best and cutest adventure puzzle games around, and I personally love all the recent co-op experiences I've had with them as well with my partner. Pikmin 4 is a dream already but the Switch 2 version comes with support for voice commands for our old pal Oatchi, graphical and gameplay upgrades, and even a new mode called Dandori Academy. Don't say you don't get nice things.

GTA 6

Release date: November 19, 2026
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Does this one really need any introduction? Of course, this was always going to make our standouts list for the month. The Rockstar epic that we've been waiting 13 years for, GTA 6 is finally coming in November after a series of delays, bringing with it a brand new take on Miami, the first playable female hero, and so much more we're no doubt going to be talking about it for another 13 years to come. So far we have seen impressive trailers, had a bunch of pre-order and size information, and honestly, excitement and anticipation is skyhigh for everyone here at GamesRadar+ for this bad boy to finally drop.

For more releases, check out our round-ups of all the upcoming PS5 games, upcoming PC games, and upcoming Xbox games.

On the road to new expansion Evercold, Square Enix has introduced a new minigame to Final Fantasy 14 in its ever-beloved virtual casino, the Gold Saucer – a typing battle that's already spurring all the chaos.

Keyboard Brawler, which is set to depart the Gold Saucer's lineup of silly little minigames as Evercold releases this January, is pretty simple. You progress through waves, in other words, "battles," by typing specific words that pop up to attack enemies.

Speed and accuracy are key (pardon the pun) here, as they are in most typing games, but folks are having to grapple with more than just their own hands, it would appear.

First, there are the impossible words – yes, I mean literally impossible if you've got a US or UK English keyboard, as there are words from languages like German that contain diacritical marks like the umlaut (impossible unless you use key commands to access them, of course, but that's not exactly convenient or realistic in the midst of a high-speed typing battle).

One player's screenshot on Reddit highlights the debacle.

It shows the word "doppelgänger," umlaut and all, with the bewildered poster asking, "What am I supposed to do about that?"

Over on X, others can be seen encountering the same word (and others with diacritical markers), too: "Who thought putting 'doppelgänger' in Keyboard Brawler was a good idea like what the hell?" What the hell, indeed, anon. What the hell, indeed. It'd be one thing if the impossible words were alone in setting fans back…

But, they're not. There's also, sadly, the issue of bots, cheaters, and plugins. As one thread highlights, the whole cheating problem has come on fast – Keyboard Brawler only came out a couple of days ago, after all.

"Who the hell is botting Keyboard Brawler lmao it just came out," the poster writes, baffled. "Or maybe they're just a really good touchtypist idk." Attached is a video of… well, yeah, probably, bots playing the minigame.

A quick look at all Keyboard Brawler discussions on social media shows this isn't an isolated case, either. Players are complaining about cheaters left, right, and center, unfortunately, but I suppose it's something I've come to expect as a hardened fan of the MMO myself.

Heck, how many people actually play the Slice is Right legitimately anymore with the, uh, plugin that I shall not be naming here…? Some Warriors of Light aren't new to cheating, to say the least.

Will Square Enix change anything about its limited-time Gold Saucer event, though? Perhaps, and I do hope they at least axe some of the words that English speakers genuinely can't type on native keyboards – fingers crossed.

Final Fantasy 14 devs say Evercold's new Evolved mode isn't massive power creep: "If you don't want to change, you don't have to"

In the wake of Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio BioWare getting shut down and Mass Effect 5 being canceled, co-founder and former general manager Greg Zeschuk says that most executives behind decisions like this have never actually made games before or "know how it works."

BioWare's closure was shocking news, but sadly, layoffs and disruption at EA weren't unexpected after it was announced that the publisher was going private in a $55 billion acquisition deal from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake. Right from when plans for the deal were first revealed, devs at EA feared for the future, and unfortunately, it's taken less than three months since the deal closed for us to see an impact like this.

In a new interview with 80 Level, Zeschuk, who left BioWare in 2012, describes the acquisition as "the final nail in the coffin" for the Mass Effect studio. While he notes that he "had to break with it emotionally 15 years ago" when he left, he's still concerned about how the games industry treats developers at its core. Mass layoffs and studio closures sadly feel more common than ever, with major waves over the last few years alone, and these can lead to years of talent and experience being lost – experience that studios depend on.

However, he argues that the execs behind those decisions don't usually actually understand that part. "There's this weird belief that you can just kind of recreate great games with random people and AI," he suggests. "It doesn't work."

Pretend to be shocked, but yes, AI is reportedly being pushed at EA – anonymous devs recently noted that while AI tools aren't being mandated, "they'll make it impossible or very difficult for you to do your job without [them]." Managers have been reportedly telling employees that "'this is the future, you have to get onboard.'" Needless to say, you can understand why morale at the publisher is apparently "terrible" right now.

Going back to Zeschuk, he notes that, in general, those in charge on the business end of things very rarely have any actual game dev experience, hence their lack of understanding of how things work. "The other harsh reality of almost all these companies, the people that go down the business track never really come from the development track," he argues. "Because none of these people have ever made a game, like, never really sat and made one, like, from start to finish, even a small thing, they just don't know how it works."

This would align with the reported situation at EA, as anonymous sources have reportedly described execs at the company as out of touch not just with employees but with game development itself. It's not just EA, of course – Xbox fans were quick to question the hiring of new CEO Asha Sharma earlier this year, who'd not got any gaming experience, but instead previously served as Microsoft's president of its CoreAI product.

Back to BioWare and its IP, though, obviously a lot of fans are wondering where things go from here for Dragon Age and Mass Effect, with folks petitioning to save the latter. However, former BioWare staff haven't expressed much optimism about the idea of EA selling the franchise to another studio to take over what had already been started with Mass Effect 5.

Mass Effect 5 studio reportedly toned down inclusivity with EA in mind "so as to not cause offense."