Cyberpunk 2077's excellent spy thriller expansion, Phantom Liberty, is three years old now. To mark the anniversary, Cyberpunk 2 associate game director and the expansion's lead quest designer Pawel Sasko looked back on the project with a few new details.

First up, it's pretty hard to ignore the stomping elephant in the room of Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch when talking about Phantom Liberty's impressive turnaround. To make sure Phantom Liberty dodged the base game's launch woes, developer CD Projekt Red had to "rethink how we were making games," Sasko writes on social media.

"During Cyberpunk 2077 development we had worked in a structure much closer to a waterfall model, where work moved between departments and many decisions accumulated around leads and directors," he explains. "For Phantom Liberty we moved toward multidisciplinary content teams, our pods, where designers, writers, cinematics, art, audio, QA and many other disciplines could work on the same piece of content together. It took a long time to learn how to work this way, but once it started clicking, I could feel the difference."

The team also "looked at spy fiction" for inspiration on the Idris Elba-fronted story, which sees protagonist V infiltrate Night City's even more dangerous and lawless Dogtown. "We looked at spy fiction ranging from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to James Bond, The Bourne Identity, Bridge of Spies and Ocean’s Eleven," Sasko says, with genre becoming a "very practical tool for me." You can even see some James Bond influence when V moves through the lux Black Sapphire party - not to mention the incredibly stylish musical opening sequence.

Now's the time to look away if you've yet to play Phantom Liberty and want to avoid all spoilers, because Sasko also goes into that brutal final decision where V chooses between saving Songbird or helping Reed. It was "one of the most important things for us during development," and CD Projekt Red apparently "worked backwards from it and rewrote scenes many times." Part of what makes the decision so tough is that Songbird and Reed are equally likeable and untrustworthy - sometimes all at once. You don't know quite who you can trust, but you can't help but feel for them.

CDPR knew "both of them had to have contradictions, weaknesses, secrets and reasons you could understand," as Sasko puts it. "This was also something I had learned from Cyberpunk 2077. Sometimes our choices and consequences in the base game were so subtle that players did not even realize something was a consequence of an earlier decision. In Phantom Liberty we all pushed strongly for more branches and clearer consequences while still keeping them inside the world. Messages, photographs, returning characters and different quest paths could remind you that something happened because of a choice you made. We never wanted the game to tell you what the correct decision was. I wanted you to live with your own interpretation of it."

Despite glowing reviews and over 15 million copies sold on the expansion, Sasko still doesn't believe "Phantom Liberty erases the launch of Cyberpunk 2077," but he's grateful for it all the same because of what it "taught [him] about directing games." Good thing, too - Sasko's leading the next mainline Cyberpunk RPG.

"I hope that, in your eyes, Cyberpunk 2077 has earned its place."

Cyberpunk 2 lead says "you are the reason we can do all this work" as Cyberpunk 2077 hits 40 million copies sold

Minecraft's reign as the blocky king of the sandbox genre has lasted for well over a decade, but the crafty survival game is still as popular as ever. This year's Minecraft Live event revealed the game's getting its first new dimension in nearly 15 years, after selling a whopping 425 million copies altogether. Lots to mine.

That new dimension is called the Sift, a vibrant and otherworldly plane - and you'll be able to check it out in next week's ARPG, Minecraft Dungeons 2, before it eventually comes to Minecraft's Bedrock and Java editions next year. It's the game's fourth dimension, joining the Overworld, the Nether and the End.

"The Sift is beautiful, vibrant, and teeming with souls," an official blog post reads." It's also the first dimension to be added in over fourteen years. No wonder it looks so good! And it features areas like the Meadow and the Carapace." The Sift exists within Minecraft Dungeons 2's newly-interconnected world, and you'll be able to get there by jumping or otherwise stumbling into rifts that occasionally pop up.

Elsewhere during the show, we learned base Minecraft's next drop goes into icy, underground territory and brings ice caves, a whole new ice biome, calcite blocks, ice crystals and icicles. That's a lot of ice. "Icicles grow naturally on the ceiling, and the ice crystals grow on the ground and emit a soft light," the studio explains.

And, finally, Minecraft's also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 next month, on October 27.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also revealed some eye-opening stats about the seemingly immortal block-buster. "More than 300,000 people play Minecraft for the first time on an average day," she recently tweeted. "After 17+ years and 425M+ copies sold, I love that Minecraft is still finding new players and giving longtime ones new things to discover."

9-year-old kid spends $118,000 on YouTube ads for Minecraft and Roblox videos using his dad's company credit card: "I got called into the office"

Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro has a reputation for being weird and esoteric – not that the giant, moon-faced Emil mask he always wears in public has anything to do with it. The idiosyncratic dev's games have a reputation for dark, twisted narratives that care more for their philosophical underpinnings than offering happy conclusions for their characters.

With the first Nier, released in 2010, the game featured two different protagonists, with a gruff older character on Xbox 360 and a boyish lead on PS3. In the West, both versions used the older protagonist. That approach "didn't end in great sales," Yoko told The Guardian in 2018, "so we stopped overthinking it."

Things changed for the launch of the RPG's follow-up in 2017. "For Nier: Automata, I wasn't told to target anyone," Yoko explains. "I just made what I wanted to, and I tried to stay hidden from Square Enix as much as possible."

Clearly, that approach worked. Nier: Automata turned out to be a breakout hit, selling over 10 million copies and becoming widely recognized as one of the best RPGs ever made. It blended approachable action with Yoko's trademark esoteric storytelling, and developed a following that went well beyond the typical cult RPG fans.

"To be honest, I think I am making normal games targeted towards normal people," Yoko said. "But ultimately when I release those normal games, weird people find them to be weird games and enjoy them. Which probably means there's something wrong with me."

That kind of self-deprecation also seems to be part of Yoko's mask – though maybe it's just as much a part of him as the Emil face he encases himself in. He says it wasn't any great ambition that led him to become a director, but rather the mere fact that he regularly spoke up. He figures he's a "warped person" who's "insufferable at work," but maybe that's just the cost of making normal games for weird people.

As PlayStation kills discs, Nier Automata creator Yoko Taro is "saddened by the loss of physical media" and despairs over "the future" of games: "That's just the way things are going."

Rockstar Games has supposedly reminded the GTA 6 voice cast to keep quiet about their involvement in the upcoming open-world epic - shortly after actor Stephen Root let slip that he's in the game.

The Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption maker has slowly been revealing bits and pieces about its next crime romp. The developer recently unveiled the GTA 6 soundtrack featuring 34 original songs from popular, real-world artists, as well as a $400 Collector's Edition that doesn't actually include the game. But it's been keeping a tight lid on whoever's voicing Lucia, Jason and every other character in Leonida.

As reported by Insider Gaming, the normally reliable GTAVIoclock podcast claimed that Rockstar Games recently contacted its voice cast to tell them to remain hush-hush about the project: "We would like to remind everyone to please remember your NDA. The date you may announce your involvement is still November 19th."

This comes just weeks after Stephen Root (Barry, King of the Hill, Get Out) confirmed that he is, in fact, playing a character in the game. Root didn't specify who he's depicting, exactly, but fans spotted his voice in one of GTA 6's very first trailers when drug-pusher Brain Heder began talking.

Rockstar's no stranger to casting celebrities in its Grand Theft Auto games - everyone from Samuel L. Jackson to Ray Liotta can be heard in the studio's blockbuster games - so, maybe the company wants to keep a few famous surprises held for November 19.

Bringing GTA 6 to Nintendo Switch 2 "doesn't make sense" when "anyone will buy a PS5 to get your game," says former Rockstar dev

Asked about whether newcomers should play the original classic before starting its epic trilogy of remakes, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's director says there's no "clear cut" answer. In some ways, knowing what happened in the 1997 RPG is crucial in understanding the Remake trilogy's story, but at the same time, newbies who don't know what a Materia is can still have a great time.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, lead developer Naoki Hamaguchi says fans aren't "mistaken at all" for recommending that new players finish the original Final Fantasy 7 game before its remakes. That's because "the storyline of the original Final Fantasy 7 is very much enshrined within the story [and] the narrative of the Remake series as a thing in the world."

So far, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake games have toyed with fans' expectations. Battling against destiny and fate, all while knowing what's supposed to happen next, is part of the fun. Plus, the remakes' alternate timelines have many fans convinced Square Enix is secretly creating a meta-sequel, of sorts, rather than a clean remake - we'll need to see how Revelation ends for those answers.

"If you know what that original storyline is and you can pick up on what's changing or looking like it's going to change, you're going to have more fun," Hamaguchi tells us, via an interpreter. "And you're going to get more out of it."

At the same time, the Remake trilogy has been "designed very much so that even someone who's not played the original can jump in on any of them [and] still have a really great experience."

Hamaguchi then suggests some people might actually have a better time starting with the ongoing Remake saga, in fact: "You could actually look at it the other way around, too, and maybe say that it's better to start with the Remake series for a different reason." According to Hamaguchi, the modern tech in the new trilogy and the "graphical splendor" on display might make it "easier to have that emotional impact maybe than the original did." At least, for first timers.

"So, in that sense, you could argue coming into Final Fantasy 7 without any prior knowledge [is better]," he adds. "You're experiencing it for the first time in this modern graphical splendor. That might also be a better way of doing it. So I guess really it's down to people's preferences. It's not as clear cut as one way or the other."

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's battle lead "regrets" how hard the Platinum trophy was to earn, so director Naoki Hamaguchi says Revelation's is "easier"

Plenty of developers have shuffled around their release dates to avoid brushing shoulders with GTA 6, which is shaping up to be the biggest video game launch of all time. But publisher Hooded Horse isn't worried about releasing its medieval management sim Blacksmith Master into 1.0 on November 19 - in fact, it's apparently a deliberate strategy.

The Manor Lords publisher is gearing up to push Blacksmith Master out of the early access fire on the same day as Rockstar Games' mammoth open-world romp. To most other companies, that's a recipe for disaster. To Hooded Horse, it's no biggie.

"Aren't we worried about GTA releasing the same day? But actually it's a strategy -- people looking to steal cars and gun down their enemies searching for a PC release will instead discover they actually want to control little dudes hammering horseshoes," Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender wrote in a recent LinkedIn post.

"Jokes aside, GTA will have absolutely no effect on Blacksmith Master's release," he added. "No harm at all. Indie devs are too worried about launching around this or that big game. Sure, don't launch your AAA console-focused action-adventure on Nov 19, but otherwise no reason to worry."

GTA 6's launch pushed plenty of big name games out of the normally very busy November period. Look at our new games calendar and you'll see lots of blockbuster games tightly crammed into September, sometimes with a few days between each of them. Even the Fable reboot's director recently implied that GTA was responsible for its delay into next year.

While avoiding the big behemoth in the room, too many video games probably moved right next to their direct competition. Perhaps cozy medieval management games about running a smithy and forging war tools don't need to hide away - we'll find out how Blacksmith Master does when it hits 1.0 on Steam.

Bringing GTA 6 to Nintendo Switch 2 "doesn't make sense" when "anyone will buy a PS5 to get your game," says former Rockstar dev

My eyes glaze over as I fight Bakir for the 13th time in The Blood of Dawnwalker. The crazed Genghis Khan wannabe puts his fingers to his lips. I can't actually hear the whistle as he summons five blood-birds to swan dive at me – I always, always mute games when I need to focus – but I've memorized Bakir's attack pattern so well that I now have dreams about it.

A bird shoots toward me, an arrow loosed from an invisible bow. I dash left at the last moment. Another follows suit; I dash right. Left, right, then left again. Right trigger to teleport behind Bakir. Hit the shoulder buttons. Repeat. I know how to win this fight. It took me three or four failed attempts before my first victory, but with 12 consecutive successes under my belt now, I still harbor the delusion that maybe, just maybe, it will all work out this time. Because that's how video game bugs work, right?

Crash out

Like all neurotic kids who grow into perfectionist adults, I have a problem: I'm cursed with the conviction that I am special. I respect others' failures but cannot tolerate failure in myself. I am built differently and, even when presented with evidence to the contrary, rise above the slings and arrows of outrageous (mis)fortune that plague everyone else.

This serves me well when it's a matter of pushing myself to work harder. But it's less helpful when it blinds all sense and keeps me from accepting objective truths. You see, The Blood of Dawnwalker is still going through some teething problems on PC and Xbox Series S, and my game keeps crashing immediately after one particular boss fight. It does not have any autosaves, either, meaning each crash has me starting the battle all over again.

A quick Google search reveals a probable cause – the boss fight is notoriously buggy. Many others are struggling with frequent crashes throughout the game, with the transitions between cutscenes at the end of boyar Bakir's fight at the Lunar Games being a top-reported trigger point for critical shader loading failures. Instead of waiting for the devs to simply drop a hotfix (you know, like a normal person), I take the bug personally. No, I say; my game is not bugged, and I vow to keep throwing myself against this particular wall until I either succeed or become a garish red splatter against it.

Get your head in the game

Bakir's fight is not the hardest in the game, necessarily, but he has a very specific attack pattern. It's luckily not too varied, consisting of three well-telegraphed spells, a lot of punches, and unblockable roundhouse kicks, but it doesn't help that you fight him stripped of your usual gear.

Having been crowned the victor of Bakir's Lunar Games, I join him and his goons for a celebratory drink. My identity is concealed by a rather fetching moth mask, and I've spent the testing trials trying hard to avoid blowing my peasant cover and exposing myself as the notorious Dawnwalker, Coen of Laslea, slayer of Bakir's vrakhir siblings. When the sadistic mongol asks me to remove my mask – we are all champions here, after all – I am all too happy to acquiesce. Oh yeah; it's boss fight time.

Of course, I have to pick off Bakir's lackeys first. They don't give me much of a challenge, especially now I can use my vampiric abilities to claw their faces off and pop health bars like blisters with Blood Surge. If they land a blow, I can even sup on their delicious throats for a little pick-me-up. This time I quicksave right after slaying the final goon, looting her body for some health potions. The big guy enters the ring, and I am thoroughly locked in.

Bakir's bare-handed wallops and hefty kicks are just the start; he teleports across the arena and pounds soil sending out rippling waves that can damage and stun me. Like all his other moves, Bakir's first spell is all about timing. He sends out four or five reverberating shocks, each of which can be easily dodged by hopping left, right, or even backwards. He raises his arms to soak in the praise of invisible cheering spectators, leaving him wide open for me to shadowstep behind him and hammer the attack button. I've also built up enough ability charges to hit him with Blood Surge. The spell is fully-upgraded, taking a good chunk off his health bar with each cast.

His next spell is the one I mentioned earlier. Bakir whistles and conjures a flock of birds out of blood, which hover above him in a semicircle before darting my way one by one. Again, the attack is clearly indicated, this time through Bakir backing away and whistling loudly, so all I have to do is time my dodges carefully just like how I countered his ground pound.

Spoils of war

But the biggest and nastiest move is reserved for after I smash through the first two of Bakir's three health segments. He teleports to instead of away from me and does yet another ground pound – sometimes telegraphed with a little voice line like "get in here".

This one is a devastating AOE – get caught in the eruption of blood that encircles the brute, and you're immediately stunned; primed for Bakir to punch you to death.

The instakill is a sore spot for many. It's a nasty surprise that just gets nastier the more times you lose to it, which I manage to only do once. I reload my sneaky quicksave to avoid having to battle Bakir's gang all over again. I make it through the whole encounter near perfectly, including keeping extreme distance when Bakir's on his last health segment, until the mongol finally falls to his knees. I watch the cutscene, relief flooding my body, and choose to bite Bakir. But my victory is short-lived. No sooner do I drink from the boyar, the cutscene attempts to transition into an Assassin's Creed-like chat with the deceased… And suddenly I'm staring at my Xbox home screen.

It must be a fluke, so I try again: I defeat Bakir. I skip through the cutscenes. It crashes again. I do this four more times before heading to bed in a blinding rage. I wake up in the night and reload to an earlier point to see if this specific choice path is bugged – to no avail. Tomorrow, I tell myself; I will try again tomorrow. Naturally, the same crash happens each and every time I best Bakir.

I had set out to somehow debug my game through abject refusal – succeed or die splattered against the invisible wall keeping me from my prize, right? Well, consider me thoroughly splattered. 13 victories and counting, here is your sign to accept that some games are just bugged and cannot be overcome with sheer willpower and sharp reflexes. Not even if you, too, are a Special Little Girl.

The GameSir Tarantula Pro is one of my all-time favorite controllers, and that's some of the highest praise someone like me, who reviews a new one almost weekly, can give. I'm still not sure why it was discontinued, but I loved it for its DualShock 4-reminiscent feel that made it incredibly comfortable and very versatile across so many genres of gaming. It was like the enhanced, pro model of the PS4 controller I had always yearned for.

So as you can probably tell, I was very excited to report earlier in the year that GameSir was bringing back its symmetrical TMR controller as an entirely new product range. One with official Xbox licensing, and one on PC with an 8K polling rate. But to my dismay, they'd both be wired-only despite the first Tarantula Pro's wireless connectivity and excellent charging stand. Moreover, the PC version would remove its rumble motors for a stripped-back, lightweight feel. Finally, there would be a third, "Ultra" PC model which would have 8K polling, wireless play, and rumble motors - a much more fitting sequel, in my eyes. Sadly, at the time of writing, that version is still missing in action and hasn't been launched alongside the other two.

The version I've been testing is the blood orange 8K model for PC. It's certainly an update to the controller I love, but it feels bred for a very different purpose than the original, and I'm not sure it appeals to me quite as much. I used the first Tarantula for all sorts of gaming, multiplayer and singleplayer. It's a versatile feeling pad that's comfortable in any scenario and sits beautifully in the hands. This new version is for the competitive, elite players, and that's not what I want out of this particular product. It's available for £79.99 / $69.99, the same price as its officially licensed Xbox sibling.

Design

As I explained in my review of the original GameSir Tarantula Pro, it's essentially a carbon copy of the DualShock 4 from the PS4 era. It has long, cylindrical grips with a bit more girth than Sony's official one had, but besides that, is clearly cut from the same cloth. There are symmetrical thumbsticks, a four-way D-Pad, and even a small touchpad which, in this instance, you can customize as an extra button.

This time around, GameSir has kept the two excellent back buttons but answered my prayers for a little extra functionality. There now sit two additional shoulder buttons on the top of the controller. They run off the end of the touchpad, offering a back paddle feel as opposed to two individual buttons. They even click in, giving a sense of microswitch consistency across the entire peripheral. It's a design I've never seen before, but it rocks.

Not much about the physical design of the controller has changed from its original outing, although, as I say, this one is without any rumble motors inside. As a result, it's a lot lighter in the hands. That's not to say that build quality has suffered; the Tarantula 8K still has a sturdy, made-to-last air about it, as all GameSir products tend to, but with such little weight in the hands, it doesn't feel as substantial as other controllers out there. Then again, this could be a preference thing and may not be a problem for you.

I'm glad to see a lot of consistency in the design for the most part, though. The comfortable shape of the Tarantula Pro was one of its best assets. The grips here have a dotted texture, and feel every bit as nice to hold as they did before. There's also consistency in the convenient 3.5mm headphone jack and locking switches for the back buttons, should you not want to use them.

So far, there's one colorway of the 8K model, which is this vibrant bright orange. The Xbox one is white, and the so-far absent Ultra version has been seen in white, but I'd be interested to know if these get more colorways as time goes on. The GameSir G7 Pro has received colorway after colorway and limited edition after limited edition. It's clearly the golden child of the GameSir pantheon, but will its symmetrical cousin get the same kind of love?

Features

On one hand, I'd love to say that the GameSir Tarantula 8K has more advanced features than its predecessor, but on the other, it feels like a step back, and I can't really understand the decision process as to why. Nine times out of ten, I feel like I'm on the same page with GameSir and the decisions it makes when it comes to iterating on what worked and what didn't. Other times, like now, I'm left scratching my head.

The new Tarantulas feature updated Gen 2 MagRes TMR thumbsticks, which is an update from the Gen 1 modules in the original Tarantula Pro and Cyclone 2. You'll find the same thumbsticks here as on the GameSir G7 Pro 8K. The tops are even swappable this time, and you get a taller and shorter option in the box.

But without a wireless dongle, there's no need for a charging stand here, which makes this orange imitator feel like a step back. For over a year, I kept my first-gen Tarantula Pro on my TV unit, sitting on its very nifty charging stand, and ready to pick up at a moment's notice whenever I wanted to kick back with a game at my couch setup. With a wire trailing from the PC to the TV unit, and then messily dragging along my living room rug, the Tarantula Pro 8K doesn't have the same appeal whatsoever.

Clearly, the 8K Tarantula has been bred for a different purpose, and this much is clear from GameSir's socials, which shared a whole lot of impressively speedy AimLab clips when it was first launched. This one isn't for me to kick back on a couch and enjoy some singleplayer games with; this is a multiplayer performance PC controller. Its lightweight 180g build is designed for Esports, competitive athletes who have never felt at home with a mouse and keyboard; its 8K polling rate and in-depth customization in GameSir Connect lend it to players who sit at a desk, never far enough away from their machines to warrant a wireless connection that could bring with it more latency.

That intent is clear in every inch of the Tarantula 8K. The face buttons have abandoned their somewhat retro membrane press and raised, dome-shaped form factor for a slicker, flatter surface and a clicky microswitch actuation. The D-pad responds with a deep click in any direction too, and the trigger stop switches give you the same options for the controller's back.

The extra face buttons remain too, programmable for macros or for any in-game function you see fit. As per usual with GameSir pads, you can set these on the controller itself via the M button on the back, but the software allows you to dive deeper and ultimately access that 8K polling rate you bought it for. Under "report rate", GameSir Connect offers 250Hz, 1,000Hz, 4,000Hz, and 8,000Hz. The sticks have the usual options for controller deadzones and whatnot, and motion controls are also customizable. As is the RGB strip under the touchpad, but with such a bold colorway, you have fewer options here that will actually work in combination with orange.

Personally, I found the deadzones to be finely tuned out of the box and didn't feel the need to change them when I booted up to an 8K polling rate, which likely would have made them too unruly. Unlike the GameSir Super Nova, you have access to four profiles you can swap between.

Performance

This might be controversial of me to say, but I can take or leave an 8,000Hz polling rate. As much as I was happy to be back testing the GameSir Tarantula for this review, I found there was absolutely nothing wrong with the 1,000Hz polling rate and first-gen TMR sticks of the original controller. Besides upping the sensitivity to levels that could be unruly for most users, an 8,000Hz polling rate doesn't add all that much to a controller besides peace of mind that latency isn't impacting things. But then again, I got that peace of mind from a 1,000Hz speed. If you're really blaming latency in your controller past that point, I hate to inform you it's probably you, your gameplay, and reaction time that are the issue.

I very much understand that the intention of this controller is a bit different from what I'm looking for from a successor to one of my all-time general-use gamepads. The aim here seems to be to bring that 8,000Hz, TMR experience to the market that likes symmetrical thumbsticks, and as ever, I applaud GameSir for doing it. I love symmetrical controllers, and I'm glad folks who want to use one in highly competitive situations have the chance to try it here. It's not all that expensive compared to Razer's TMR-wielding Raiju V3 Pro or Wolverine V3 Pro 8K. It offers the full potential of those TMR modules to shine at a much more potent resolution.

I guess what I'm lamenting in this review, then, is that for symmetrical fans, that all comes with drawbacks that aren't present in the GameSir G7 Pro 8K model. Why are there no vibration motors here? Why is there no wireless play? These things feel like basic rites of passage for any GameSir controller these days, and aren't drawbacks that symmetrical players had to make for a similar price. So even if this does come down to highly requested changes from the community I don't align with, it's hard not to view them as weaknesses - especially because, for me, the main appeal of the original Tarantula Pro wasn't competitive play; it was the DualShock 4-like comfort that suited it to gaming in any genre.

Sure, in first-person shooters like Hunt: Showdown and Battlefield 6 up at an 8,000Hz polling rate, I felt like I had ultimate precision to make small corrections with my aim. Like with the G7 Pro 8K, I felt like I had as close to a mouse aiming experience as any controller can give because flicking between targets was smooth and incentivised me to use the right stick to find my target, not use the left one to help move me over it like with most gamepads. The precision here is some of the best I've found in any controller, and yet I'm reluctant to recommend it because there's a real lack of feel here. Even if the lack of any vibration is a preference thing, I think you can still add some heft to a gamepad to make it feel robust when you're wielding an in-game weapon. GameSir hasn't done that.

Does it feel light and sporty? Sure. Does that amount to gameplay that lacks a feeling of substance and oomph? Sadly, yes, and I think you need that in a pro controller. Down from about a 270g weight in the original Tarantula, it's a real stripping down of some important feel.

Thankfully, the comfort of the original Tarantula Pro is still here, and it's hard not to get lost in it for hours at a time. I did most of my testing with this controller by playing Tennis Elbow 4, and I fell completely into immersive and dramatic sets with this thing in hand, all because those rounded grips, nostalgic triggers, and the overall ergonomics made it so easy to focus on the game I was playing rather than what my hands were doing.

The same was true in Forza Horizon 6; driving a myriad of cars across virtual Japan was lovely, although just like in Tennis Elbow, I felt like an integral level of feedback was missing because there was no haptics or rumble telling me how aggressively I needed to brake or how hard the engine was working. This stuff is fundamental to games like these, so I just don't feel like the 8K variant of the Tarantula is going to be worth it if those are the games you usually play.

There's certainly a responsiveness to the new PC-tilted Tarantula that can't be ignored either. Towerfall Ascension felt as snappy and precise as it can with a controller in hand. It felt amazing playing a game I've developed total mastery and muscle memory over with a controller that responds to my every twitchy movement and instinctive press. There's so much great performance to be had here, but my personal preferences want a bit more feel for my money - especially in games like Towerfall that have such pivotal, crunchy feedback.

Should you buy the GameSir Tarantula Pro 8K?

This one is going to come down to preference, ultimately. It's hard for me to be really excited about the return of one of my favorite controllers here because GameSir has removed wireless play and vibration motors from the equation, and these are two things I really like in my gamepads.

But then again, the 8K Tarantula doesn't feel cheaply made, and there's a lot for people to like about it if they enjoy a lighter feel, symmetrical thumbsticks, and play games to a competitive standard that warrants an 8,000Hz polling rate. If you're one of those players who does enjoy a lighter controller and thinks feedback is outdated and doesn't add anything but distraction, I don't doubt you'll love this.

Still, I can't really understand the thought process here. The original Tarantula was received really well, was popular, and was one of the leading TMR pads on the shelves when that technology was first introduced. Then it was discontinued, so I can't really recommend it anymore, but I can finally point you toward the revived models, and they feel like lesser versions despite their modernizations.

If any of my criticisms and nitpicks seem relatable to you, I'd hold off for now and wait for the Ultra 8K PC model that GameSir announced a while back. There's no indication of when this will hit the shelves, but if it has wireless play, vibration feedback, and an 8K polling rate, it'll feel like the all-encompassing sequel I've been waiting for, and the true symmetrical equivalent to the G7 Pro 8K.

How I tested the GameSir Tarantula 8K

I had a good couple of weeks using the GameSir Tarantula 8K for all of my PC gaming before I came to a verdict on it. I tested it across a multitude of gaming genres, as I did with its predecessor. I used the GameSir Connect app to get the most out of it and test its various polling speeds. I played with different configurations of thumbstick heights, and compared it to the GameSir G7 Pro line, as well as the original Tarantula Pro and other TMR pads on the shelves.

For more on how we test controllers, take a look at the GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

There's more GameSir where that came from - take a look at the best Xbox Series X controllers, the best Switch 2 controllers, and the best mobile controllers to read more.

I've been thoroughly enjoying my time with Diablo 4 Season of Hell's Legacy even if it just makes me really, really want a Diablo 1 remake, but I'm not alone in experiencing some pretty bad server wobbles, not to mention the launch-day delay of the new seasonal realm and Solo Self Found mode. As a token of appreciation to players who continue logging in despite these problems, Blizzard is giving away one of the game's rarest and most valuable crafting resources for free.

As reported by Icy Veins and verified by yours truly, if you log into Diablo 4 and head to the newly added Horadric Post in any major town, there's a good chance you'll find yourself a lovely little note from Blizzard explicitly apologizing for "unexpected issues" with season 15. And if you're super lucky, like me, you'll also find a single Resplendent Spark with your name on it. Well, your name won't literally be on it, but it'll be yours to keep, again, if you're lucky.

I mention luck here because it seems not everyone is getting Resplendent Sparks. In a Reddit thread discussing the freebie, several users report simply receiving the written note without any attached Spark, while others say they aren't seeing anything in their inboxes at all. That could just be an issue of the game client not being fully up to date, but the fact that some people are getting just the note and no Spark suggests Blizzard isn't sending out the crafting material to just anyone. I've reached out to Blizzard for clarification on that and will update this story if I hear back.

Resplendent Sparks are incredibly hard to find, which is why we have a whole guide on how to get them, and they're essential to crafting Mythic Uniques, which are of course the game's most powerful gear. You'll need more than one Spark depending on what you want to craft, but I'm certainly not turning my nose up at Blizzard's offer.

Diablo 5 goes back to a pre-Diablo 4 world of "constant discovery" and procedural dungeons: "The only thing beyond the fog of war is more questions"

At least somebody is happy with the state of Xbox. With Xbox now 75% through an urgent restructuring plan that has seen thousands laid off, many games canceled, and several studios severed or consolidated, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the "streamlining" going on is "great to see."

Asked about the state and future of Xbox on Sources Podcast by Alex Heath, Nadella says "I feel fantastic about the IP we have right now. If I look at the studios, the IP portfolio we have, and our ability to then take that and produce great games going forward, I feel fantastic."

This has been the story with Xbox for years, especially after a string of high-profile business acquisitions. It's hard not to feel good about IP and production with the likes of Minecraft in your corner, or with the entire Activision Blizzard fleet – well, the people who weren't laid off – behind you. But how is Xbox doing?

"There's some amount of streamlining the team is doing, and Asha is doing, which is great to see," Nadella observes, tipping his hat to new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Which is just an incredible way to describe the dismantling of longstanding studios, the uprooting of thousands of lives, and the ongoing closure of creative powerhouses that were generally doing just fine before Microsoft bought them.

What's next for Xbox? With these "fantastic" IP, and after all this "great" streamlining, what then? "And then we have to invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to deliver gaming to more and more people," Nadella continues, never actually exploring what sort of model might rescue Xbox or how this invention might compare to the strategies that other publishers and platform holders have successfully followed for decades.

"That has always been the goal," Nadella reiterates. "We want to be a great publisher and a great platform provider for games, across both PCs and Xboxes. That is sort of our goal, and I think Asha and team have said that Xbox is gonna get back to growth this next fiscal year, and that's the plan they're executing on, and in that process do a bang-up job of producing some great games."

There really isn't a lot to chew on here apart from the casual glossing over of a seismic business overhaul now bookending several bloody years for Xbox. It's the C-suite equivalent of an NBA coach saying, 'We're gonna win this game by scoring more points with our great players.' But then Nadella, especially recently, has seemingly only seen Xbox in his peripheral vision when he pauses to take a breath between swings of the big-ol' hammer labeled gen AI.

For a deeper analysis of Xbox's hardships and options, I'd point you toward John Kimmich, a 16-year Microsoft veteran who was there when Xbox got started. In his view (and others'), Nadella's outlook may be part of the problem: you have to be a good platform or a good publisher, but when you demonstrably can't handle one, you certainly can't be both.

Inside Xbox, "the only concrete thing they have communicated is they want higher profits, and they want it now," says id Software employee.

I had a feeling Zach Cregger's new Resident Evil movie was exactly what the franchise needed, and now data from Alinea Analytics proves it: several Resident Evil games have received a nice sales boost, especially on PS5, after Capcom unleashed some well-timed discounts when the film released this month. While Capcom discounts helped encourage the surge, Resident Evil film lead Austin Abrams' screaming face sweetened the deal.

Alinea head of market analysis Rhys Elliott explains in a September 25 Substack post, Cregger's perfectly obscene Resident Evil movie about a medical courier (Abrams) stupidly getting stuck in Raccoon City after dark had "the biggest opening in the 24-year history of Resi films." It's also the most successful video game movie yet with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, and its biohazardous blockbuster effect is spreading to the Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 remakes.

When ignoring Capcom's franchise-wide discounts, data suggests Cregger's movie directly influenced a 64% and 54% uptick in PS5 sales for RE2 and RE4, respectively.

"On Steam, the same movie effect is a much milder +11% to +14%," says Elliott.

In terms of pure player count, which would also include people who own the game jumping back in after the movie's release, "Resident Evil 2's remake jumped +48%" in daily players across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, says Elliott, as the game went from about 78,000 daily active users to nearly 116,000. Its price was chopped into bits, from $39.99 to lucky $7.99.

Cregger told GamesRadar+ his Resident Evil movie – which doesn't feature any characters from the games – unfolds "on the periphery" of Resident Evil 2's t-Virus outbreak, so it also makes sense that Resident Evil 2 benefits from it most. The 2019 remake's sales "nearly doubled on PS5," Elliott adds.

Meanwhile, Resident Evil 3 remake's daily players are up 25%, and Resident Evil 4 remake's player count lifted 24%. The new Resident Evil Requiem got a tinier bump with only a 20% daily player increase after Cregger's movie and Capcom discounts, but it didn't necessarily need the help – Elliott says, "Revenue-wise, [Requiem is] outpacing every other game in the franchise and will certainly leapfrog the Resident Evil 4 remake's $600M+ when all is said and done."

"Almost all the copy movement was on PlayStation," Elliott reminds us. Resident Evil players don't care about their Steam points, or maybe it's just that the franchise has been associated with PlayStation since its macabre beginning in 1998. But now that the Resident Evil franchise finally has a film that made me laugh and white-knuckle my popcorn bucket with equal intensity, there's no telling where it goes next.

Resident Evil has some other movie gems – just see our list of the best Resident Evil movies ranked.

Jon Kimmich's 16 years at Microsoft included the conceptual years for the Xbox brand, so he speaks with some experience when he says Xbox can't be two things at once.

In a lengthy analysis on GamesBeat, Kimmich distinguishes between Microsoft Gaming as a business and Xbox as a platform. Loosely echoing former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, he frames a choice for Microsoft: does it want to invest in a platform and give people reasons to buy Xbox consoles, or does it want to maximize its efficiency as a publisher? Recently, its actions skew toward the latter.

"The Xbox platform is the relationship with players and developers: the console, Xbox Mode, commerce, identity, ownership, community, tools, and third-party support," he clarifies, adding, "Microsoft Gaming may grow while the Xbox platform withers."

The console as the centerpiece of Xbox – something new CEO Asha Sharma has committed to – is a sticking point. Revisiting a notorious Xbox slogan that's since died out, Kimmich says, "'This is an Xbox' was a campaign worth aiming for," but it got lost, like so much at Microsoft, in "timing and execution." It didn't serve "the promise you're making" or "the experience" itself, so the multiplatform campaign "became the punchline to a joke Microsoft told on itself."

Much of this, Kimmich reasons, stems from the fence-sitting approach that Xbox took for many years. The "play anywhere" promise almost unavoidably grew the audience – more places means more people – but wasn't "a compelling reason to choose Xbox," Kimmich says of the Phil Spencer era, resulting in a platform that "became everything, and nothing; to everyone and nobody."

Xbox further expanded into PC and the cloud, but didn't master any one platform, let alone build and clearly define its own. Kimmich contrasts this "incoherent' approach with Valve's work on Steam: "Meanwhile, Steam had one focus: the PC customer. Xbox never answered the two questions that mattered: which layers must we own, and which internal business would take priority (and when)?"

Here, Microsoft's next console, Xbox Project Helix, is a key, and perhaps final, test. Without the "anchor" of a console as a "signature product," the whole platform becomes a simple "suite of services customers can purchase piecemeal from elsewhere."

"I was there at the beginning of Xbox," he recalls. "Inside Microsoft, the fear wasn't merely that Sony would sell more consoles; it was that another company would gain ownership of the operating and commerce layer in the living room. First-party games were how Xbox earned the right to exist. They were not the goal of the exercise."

With Project Helix, like the PS6, fighting to exist at all in a dire hardware market hollowed out by AI demand, an indecisive platform offering could be a death sentence, especially if Microsoft's new console is as PC-focused as it seems. There's a risk Project Helix ends up epitomizing and dooming Xbox as a platform entirely: a console that is completely overshadowed by third parties on its own turf, the antithesis of the Nintendo Switch 2.

We know Helix will run PC games, but how does it compete as a console, as a thing players are expected to buy and connect to a TV in the living room? "An Xbox that’s only good for launching Steam is like subsidizing Valve's cash register," Kimmich reasons.

"If I got to write the doctrine, I'd pick platform" over pure publishing, he says. The benefits to having a platform are enormous, even if building one is hard – setting terms, owning the sales pipeline, attracting developers, building consumer loyalty, gaining leverage over other platforms, and more productively applying Microsoft's enormous Azure and PlayFab footprint.

"Stabilize the console, make it the reference device, but don’t confuse the two," Kimmich explains. "Turn Xbox Mode into a coherent XboxOS on Windows machines and third-party devices. Make ownership and developer reach the reason people pick your brand. The Store, first-party games, Game Pass, the cloud, mobile – all to support that promise. And yes, give your fans a bit of hope."

"Microsoft has to own a scarce layer that players, developers, and hardware makers all willingly value. If the PC Store never competes, if Play Anywhere remains a niche offering, and if XboxOS offers nothing that Steam and regular old Windows doesn’t already, then the platform case is dead."

Tragically, this will require releasing some good games, which has been one of Xbox's biggest struggles for years, as well as successful realignment of a sprawling, flailing business.

Kinnich lays out expectations for the next 12 to 24 months: "Microsoft should be able to point to third-party XboxOS devices; rising Play Anywhere and PC Store usage; Disc to Digital migrating into Helix; genuine progress in Minecraft’s creator economy; faster publishing for developers; a decision about the relationship between Battle.net and the Xbox Store; and an exclusivity policy that survives more than one reporting period."

The clearest sign that Xbox has failed in its bid to build a platform, he adds, would be a "premium-priced" Helix with no clear selling point, an Xbox launcher "mainly" serving other stores like Steam, "getting casket-ready on crown-jewel assets," and seeing money fed back into Microsoft instead of into Xbox itself. (As it happens, Halo, the face of Xbox, was just shuffled into Activision, with Halo Studios dismantled following the PC, Xbox, and PS5 release of Halo: Campaign Evolved.)

As Xbox lays off thousands while consolidating, closing, or spinning out studios, Kimmich reckons "the worst outcome is to promise a platform and run a harvest portfolio."

Inside Xbox, "the only concrete thing they have communicated is they want higher profits, and they want it now," says id Software employee.

With Stage Tour making its way to the stage later this year, there's no better time to pick up a guitar controller. If you were unaware, the neat thing about RedOctane Games' Guitar Hero successor is that you don't have to pick up their new, fully-priced instruments and can make do with alternatives like the CRKD Gibson Les Paul instead.

CRKD's guitar controllers can often be pricier than the official Stage Tour axe, but thanks to Woot, the Black Tribal Les Paul is $74.99 instead of its usual $124.99 price. That's a $50 saving, which is music to my ears, as it's not only cheaper than the official Stage Tour guitar counterpart, but also a price that you won't currently find at Amazon's own US storefront.

I was a Guitar Hero aficionado, so my excitement for Stage Tour is turned up to 11. Regrettably, I don't have a valid excuse to pick up a new guitar controller, as my PDP Riffmaster "will work natively with Stage Tour" according to the game's official FAQ, so long as I make sure to grab the PS5 version to pair properly with my PS5 guitar controller.

However, had I been on the market for a new music gamepad, I was undoubtedly eyeing up the CRKD Gibson Les Paul. It features a hall-effect strum bar, mechanical frets, and a neck you can swap to gain 5 additional frets. Not only that, but Stage Tour FAQ states that CRKD guitars will also work natively with the game, and the Les Paul has the benefit of actually looking like a real-life guitar.

As someone with a background in music, a licensed guitar controller that shares a stunning resemblance to real-life Les Pauls is going to look better when displayed against the rest of my instrument collection. The Riffmaster is neat, but its aesthetic doesn't tick my music-nerd boxes in quite the same way. Not to mention, CRKD's alternative is available in different designs, including a black-and-blue Blueberry Burst Pro look, which is also $74.99 at Woot today.

Whether you pick up this CRKD Gibson Les Paul guitar controller (or fork out the $129.99 at Best Buy for the Stage Tour Kramer guitar bundle), just make sure you're getting the right one for your platform of choice for the best compatibility. Have an Xbox Series X/S? Then you can rock out with this Woot deal and Stage Tour when it launches on December 10.

• View all gaming deals at Woot

On the hunt for a new pad? Check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers while you're here.

The Blood of Dawnwalker features a controversial time restriction that adds a layer of stress to every decision and quest in the RPG – and according to Rebel Wolves, it was actually a lot more difficult to grapple with prior to the game's launch.

That's because, as director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who has the likes of The Witcher 3 under his belt from his time at CD Projekt Red, tells Eurogamer in a new interview, the mechanic was far more strict during early development – until fans shared their concerns following the game's reveal about it being too challenging, that is.

"We had at first a more restricted time where it was harder to beat the game," Tomaszkiewicz recalls. "But, after all of those voices, before release even, we knew that it can be a problem and we rebalanced it this way to give the buffer for the people to not fear this."

Although Rebel Wolves largely kept the RPG's opening the same, the studio did change "the main game, besides the prologue, because we were afraid that people will complain too much that it's too restricted."

I mean… how much worse could the original take on the mechanic have been? "Quite" a bit, according to Tomaszkiewicz.

"You needed to think about everything even more carefully. But we started to speak with Mateusz [Tomaszkiewicz, creative director] and the rest of the team about what we wanted to achieve, and we figured out that we don't want to create a mini-game from it. We wanted to give the player the proper feeling and proper emotions in the main story."

That checks out, honestly. As Tomaszkiewicz concludes, "This is the purpose of the main story, not to create a challenge for it." I'd say it feels well-balanced to me – but, considering all of the drama the mechanic in its current iteration has stirred, Rebel Wolves certainly made the right choice in simplifying it.

Heck, the first and biggest mod for The Blood of Dawnwalker reworks the time restriction altogether, proving that it's an uncomfortable feature for lots of folks.

Tomaszkiewicz himself also said that upcoming sequels might scrap the feature or at least change how it works. With the new update coming next month, I wonder whether we'll see some tweaks to it a bit earlier on, too – guess we'll have to wait and see.

Interested in one of this year's biggest new games yourself? Be sure to read through our The Blood of Dawnwalker review to learn more.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve reviews are out, and its Metacritic score places it as the tied second-highest rated game in the series and one of the best-rated games in a packed 2026 calendar.

Over on Metacritic, the PS5 version of Ace Combat 8 sits at a score of 87 after 52 reviews, which places it right alongside the likes of Golden Joystick Awards contenders 007 First Light and Saros as one of the highest-rated games of 2026. In fact, if you ignore ports like Elden Ring and Final Fantasy 7 Remake, this puts it in the top 20 of the year.

Meanwhile it beats out Ace Combat 7's 86 score, but it still isn't able to unseat the PS2 classic Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies at 89, which is the highest-rated game in the series.

In the GamesRadar+ Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve review, I awarded it 4.5/5 stars, with the review saying, "Even when cutscenes slow it down, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is a thrilling flight through intense encounters that rarely gives you a moment of calm. With exhilarating combat, incredible music, and a shockingly good story you shouldn't miss boarding one of the best entries in this beloved series yet."

On Metacritic, across all platforms, the game only has two reviews deemed Mixed, both being a 7/10, while six outlets gave it full marks – including The Guardian and MonsterVine.

Ace Combat 8 also features a new port of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War – which shockingly only garnered a score of 75 despite being one of the fan-favorite games in the series. But for some reason, the port is only available as a pre-order bonus, so get on that if you are interested in the PS2 classic which features one of the best boss fight themes of all time. Plus you get Ace Combat 8, which I can assure you is a banger.

It may be coming out too late to be nominated at the Golden Joystick Awards, but Ace Combat 8 is one of the best games of 2026.

Power Lines in Control Resonant is a quest wherein Dylan has to solve exactly that: rerouting three sets of Power Lines in the Perimeter Station, the Factory Station, and the East Park Station in order to supply the FBC with enough energy for a project that they're working on. Each Station ends up being a puzzle in its own right, some of which are fairly complex and involved, rounded off by an incredibly complex puzzle with a Vanished Station that is more than likely to confused many. If you're having trouble, I'll lay out the solutions to all the Power Line puzzles throughout Control Resonant, broken up by location to make it easier to manage.

How to solve the Power Lines puzzles in Control Resonant

The general solution for every one of the Power Lines puzzles in Control Resonant is to place "Calibration Units" at specific locations, then activate the large machine referred to as the "Tuning Device", as explained by the "Calibration Instructions" document that appears at all three locations.

This sounds simple, but each location in Control Resonant adds layers of complexity and obscurity that make that simple-sounding task more difficult, before a final test that's a genuine brain-melter. Below I'll take you through all of them individually, so you know what to do.

Perimeter Station Power Lines puzzle solution

The Perimeter Power station is likely to be the first place that you experience this puzzle, and it's certainly the most straightforward version, making it a good place to start.

The challenge here is that you need to place all three Calibration Units (the little devices you can pick up and carry) inside the square areas marked with yellow tape. Specifically, you need to place two of them in squares as far away from the Device as possible, and one of them as close as possible, as explained by the scrawled note near the Device itself. We'll explain how to do that below.

1. On the platform, head South and look behind the half-formed wall of Mold to see one Calibration Unit. Bring it out into the open for easy use.

2. Go up the platform stairs to the North to find a dead end blocked by Mold, a marked yellow square and a second Calibration Unit.
3. Go up the platform stairs to the South (the way you entered) to find a Power Core with Charge in it keeping a store door open. Take the charge down to the platform and along the tracks to the North to find another Power Core. Power it up to open a door with the third Calibration Unit.
4. Now you have all three units, you need to place them. Firstly, take the charge back upstairs and open the Store door with a yellow tape trail leading to it. Place the Unit inside the marked square there.

5. Take the second unit and place it up the North stairs at the dead end, as marked in step 2.
6. Finally, there's a square right next to the Device, on the platform. Place the final Unit there and trigger the Tuning Device to complete the puzzle.

East Park Station Power Lines puzzle solution

Here the goal is more straightforward, to put a Calibration Unit on every one of the three marked yellow squares on the platform, and then trigger the device. However, incomplete placements have a habit of teleporting people who trigger the device to different locations, which is both useful and frustrating, depending on how you use it.

1. Upstairs from the Platform, get the Calibration Unit in the North store and bring it to the platform for easy access.
2. On the platform, shatter the Mold clumps blocking off the marked areas with some basic melee attacks.
3. A second Calibration Unit is simply waiting on the platform's South side.
4. Take the two Calibration Units and place one each in the North and South marked squares, by the staircases.

5. Trigger the Tuning Device to be teleported into a closed store with a third Calibration Unit. You can open the door from the inside by hitting the electrical panel.
6. Take the third Unit downstairs and place it on the final unoccupied marked square. Press the Tuning Device to finish this and activate the Power Lines in the East Park Station.

Factory Station Power Lines puzzle solution

The final Power Lines puzzle starts off very simple, but is by far the most complex of all three, as events conspire to actually teleport you out of the universe once it's done and extend things. First of all though, you need place three Calibration Units in a straight line.

1. Go around and behind the North platform stairs to find the first Calibration Unit, and take it to the platform.
2. For the second Calibration Unit, head back upstairs to find it inside an open storefront ahead of you.
3. The third Calibration Unit is on top of the train's roof on the West track.
4. With all three units, you need to place them in a line - two between the benches on the track, and one next to the stairs. You can use the image below for reference.
5. Activate the Tuning Device to complete this puzzle and move onto the next phase.

Reroute the Vanished Station puzzle solution

Having completed the last station, you'll be teleported to a new area (and a new station) outside of reality. After fighting some Mold enemies and speaking with some survivors via a payphone, you'll have to use another Tuning Device to reconnect with Manhattan and return the station outside of its pocket dimension.

There are several things to note here: firstly, there are two Tuning Devices on two different platforms (the A and B platforms), and triggering the Devices causes you to teleport between them both. Secondly, there are four Calibration Units total, and you'll need all of them. Thirdly, there are clumps of Mold that have two unique properties: they grow when exposed to light, and they conduct electricity. That means that if you shine a spotlight on an area, it can cause the Mold to grow, and that Mold can be used to link broken electrical cables and conduct the charge between them. However, it can also obstruct things, depending on where it's growing, and you can't get rid of it while light is shining on it - it grows back too fast.

With all that in mind, here's the solution to reroute the Vanished Station:

1. Trigger the Tuning Device to be teleported to platform B. Head up the stairs and break the electrical box to open the gate and link the two platforms without the need to teleport.

2. Head upstairs and take the charge from the Power Core linked to the spotlight focused on the Mold. Smash the Mold clump to raise another gate and meet the survivors. There's also two Calibration Units with them, which you'll need. Place them on Platform A for easy use.
3. Move the electrical Charge on the Power Core from outside their hideout to the one just further West to open a shop door and get a third Calibration Unit to put on Platform B.
4. Finally, grab that Charge from the Shop and take it to Platform A's Power Core. This will open the gate up the Northern Staircase, letting you get the Fourth Calibration Unit. Now you have all four, put two on each platform to save a tedious commute.
5. On Platform A, place one Calibration Unit in each of the two marked squares. If the floodlight is causing Mold to grow in one of the squares, move the Charge back to the Survivors' Power Core upstairs to shut down the light.

6. On Platform B, use an electrical charge to get all the Mold to grow everywhere it can, then move the Charge back upstairs to shut everything down, or just keep it in your weapon if you move fast.
7. Destroy all Mold on Platform B except for those clumps that are linking the wires.
8. Place the two Calibration Units on the now-exposed marked yellow squares of Platform B, then rush to the Tuning Device and pull the lever.

At this point some Mold enemies will teleport in for you to defeat, but now all you need to do is head upstairs and talk to Dr. Florez to round everything off and complete the Power Lines quest. You'll even get one of the valuable Control Resonant Living Shards, which are used to unlock new weapons!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

There are two platforms notably absent from GTA 6's release. First, you have PC, which will inevitably happen within the first year or two, and then there's the Switch 2. Although no entries in the hyper-violent series have made it to Nintendo's systems yet, this would be a good time to set a precedent given the mutual popularity, but an ex developer from Rockstar sees it differently.

Speaking to Kiwi Talkz in a currently private interview, Jérémy Hartvick, a former open world designer at Rockstar who worked on GTA 6 from 2017 through to 2020, explains why he doesn't see a port happening. "I don't believe it even makes sense, because I'm not sure the audience for GTA 6 is so much the audience for the Switch," he starts.

"If you're a GTA fan, you would probably buy a console on which GTA will come out," he adds. The logic is fair – if you were hoping to get the new Grand Theft Auto, you probably opted for a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X to begin with.

Sales for both jumped up on the back of the Netflix preview. Fans generally seem to understand and accept that if they want to play GTA 6 as soon as possible, there are only two options for doing so.

Nintendo exists in its own lane, because if you want new Mario, Zelda or Kirby games, you need a Switch 2. There are probably people who only have the hybrid platform who wouldn't mind checking out GTA 6, but I'd be willing to bet it's a minority overall.

"Does it make sense for you to go out of your way to probably deliver a subpar experience, because it does not run exactly the same when you know anyone will buy a PS5 to get your game?" he asks, rhetorically, but providing the obvious answer anyway: "No."

This is the other half of the equation. Such a large release would need to be boiled down and optimized for the Switch 2's hardware. That's a lot of extra labor for something that's already manpower intensive, for potentially spurious rewards comparatively. Hartvick does mention the notion isn't "totally ludicrous," but for the time-being, don't count on it.

GTA 6 scalpers are already trying to resell Rockstar's $400 Collector's Box for upwards of $1,500, even though it's still in stock.

Konami has celebrated Castlevania's 40th anniversary with a video covering the series' history that some believe is teasing a collection of the 3D entries.

We're finally getting a brand new mainline Castlevania game for the first time in 12 years with Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, set to release on October 15. But unlike Metal Gear and Silent Hill which were just gone during Konami's hiatus from making games, Castlevania was still pretty present. Not only was there the massively popular anime series, but over the years, almost every mainline entry in the series got a re-release as part of its many collections.

The exceptions, however, have been the 3D games in the series. The N64's Castlevania and Legacy of Darkness, the PS2's Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, and the Lords of Shadow trilogy have all remained bound to their original platforms. However, Konami might be teasing a return for some of them, fans speculate.

At the end of a video celebrating the series 40th Anniversary, Simon Belmont walks the halls of Dracula's castle, with the series first protagonists walking past four portraits before arriving at his surprise party. These portraits show artwork from Belmont's Curse, Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, and the first Lords of Shadow (the best one, and only Castlevania produced by Hideo Kojima at that). Naturally, this has led to speculation (thanks, Time Extension) that these games will have a collection of their own following the release of Belmont's Curse.

While not as beloved as say, Symphony of the Night or Aria of Sorrow, the 3D Castlevania games definitely have their fans – especially Curse of Darkness which introduces one of the series most-beloved characters, Hector. However, outside of the excitement, some can't help but notice that Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness, and Lords of Shadow 2 are missing from the lineup. It could just be a case of Konami choosing to highlight the three favorites, but there's a chance this lineup could be incomplete.

That is, if it is a teaser at all, as it could just be a way to represent these games in the party finale of the video, given that they don't have 2D sprites.

A Castlevania: Belmont's Curse demo kicks off the Halloween season in October, with save data transferring to the full game.

Tomb Raider is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, which is hard to believe, as it feels like my love of Lara Croft and trapping butlers in freezers has been with me since birth. Alas, the iconic game series originally began in 1996, and 8BitDo is paying homage by launching two official Tomb Raider reskins of its best PC controllers.

Much like the way the upcoming Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis is the original game with a new coat of paint, the Tomb Raider controllers aren't entirely new. With this collab, 8BitDo has taken the Ultimate 3 and Pro 3 and coated them in gold details and designs that celebrate the series' legacy, but that's not what draws me to these special edition pads. Instead, it's the fact that the chassis of the Ultimate 3 celebrates Lara, while the Pro 3 harkens back to the original game - which feels perfectly on theme for a retro controller of its calibre.

If Lara Croft is your favorite takeaway from the three-decade-old game franchise, then the 8BitDo Ultimate 3 is going to be more your style. Expected to ship on October 24, this Xbox controller features an assortment of Lara's on the left side of its face. The brand-new Legacy of Atlantis version of the dual-pistol-wielding heroine takes center stage, but my favorites, including the Tomb Raider Survivor Lara and even the polygonal OG, are all there.

The Laras are spread out as dark golden silhouettes across the gamepad, which looks pretty fantastic when paired with the 30th Anniversary charging stand. 8BitDo even made sure to coat the zinc alloy D-pad in a golden metal colorway, which helps tie into the theming and makes the entire pad look like something that the British Museum should have handed back centuries ago.

As an 8BitDo Ultimate 3, it's pretty much a standard affair where the rest of its features are considered. You've got the TMR sticks, hall-effect trigger buttons, remappable bumper buttons and back buttons, alongside Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless support. All of this can be found in a traditional Ultimate 3, which will also be $10 cheaper than this $119.99 (via 8BitDo) controller. It's a similar case to the 8BitDo Pro 3, which is $79.99 at Amazon rather than its other colorways' $69.99 MSRP, but these collabs are usually about looks, and the Pro 3 more than looks the part.

8BitDo aptly takes the Pro 3 and uses it to pay "tribute to the Lost Valley", one of the most iconic areas of the original game. What 90s kid doesn't remember that fearsome T-Rex fight?

The charging stand for this peripheral is even more eye-catching than the Ultimate 3's as it features a stone-texture print that makes it look like a plinth holding up a valuable artifact. With this release, 8BitDo has also included interchangeable ball-top joystick caps that perfectly replicate the turquoise coloring of Lara's OG outfit, and there's a set of grips that match the ancient relic design of the faceplate included too.

The Pro 3 is definitely my preferred pick of these two upcoming 8BitDo releases. Not just for these Tomb Raider-y design choices, but because it captures a similar shape to the original PlayStation SCPH-1080 controller, with plenty of modern benefits - from its TMR sticks, back buttons, and magnetic ABXY buttons.

The Tomb Raider 8BitDo Pro 3 is expected to launch on October 24, the same date as the new Ultimate 3. Sadly, that means there's a long wait until Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis's February 12, 2027 release date. However, with the wealth of Lara Croft adventures available today, you shouldn't have an issue finding the perfect game to pair with these stunning anniversary edition accessories.

• View all 8BitDo gaming controllers at Amazon

You don't need to be an expert tomb raider to unearth the best PC controllers for gaming, the best PS5 controllers, or the best Xbox Series X controllers on the market, as we've tested the lot.

It'll be less painful to pine for Platinum in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation now that Square Enix developers are changing their approach to the completionist trophy.

In fact, director Naoki Hamaguchi tells Anime News Network he expects "twenty percent of players or maybe even more than that to be able to obtain" Platinum in Revelation, the final installment of the remake trilogy. In comparison, only 2.3% of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players on Steam have earned its platinum prize, The Planet's Hope. Square Enix devs were apparently expecting a bigger number.

"For Rebirth's Platinum trophy – well, for Rebirth in general – there's so much to do," Hamaguchi acknowledges. "There's so much content. We wanted to make people go through all this content and perfect it. It's kind of by design that that would make it difficult."

But, you know, you can blast through a challenging number of appetizers at dinner or push yourself with back-to-back rewatches of Saw 2 – it doesn't mean you won't regret ordering the tuna tartare in the morning. So, Rebirth's battle director Teruki Endo had regrets.

"'Oh, no! I feel bad – I have regrets,'" Hamaguchi reports Endo saying upon seeing fan feedback to what a pain Rebirth's Platinum trophy was. The director continues, "I don't want to call it a mistake in judgment or anything but we also didn't expect so many people to want the Platinum trophy. I think that was what we underestimated here."

But Square Enix devs have learned their lesson for Revelation, which is out April 8, 2027. Hamaguchi promises "the Platinum trophy will be easier to get" once the RPG launches, and the game's overall combat should be less brutal, too.

"It's not just about the amount of battles that there are but the battles themselves that are going to be enjoyable," says Hamaguchi about the developers' approach. "I think that's one thing that we've learned from Rebirth: to make the battles themselves enjoyable rather than just challenging."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake being split in 3 was a risk, director says, because what could Square Enix do if the first game was received "poorly."

Palworld recently got its long-awaited 1.0 update, an update with patch notes so long it's a bit mind-blowing – and it's safe to say that it has not stopped dominating the charts on PC since.

In fact, Palworld still sits nicely on the list of Steam's most played games globally, overtaking the likes of Overwatch and GTA 5.

It also just so happens to be the top-rated release of 2026, according to Steam250, sitting right in front of Valheim, another indie gem – and this has caught the eye of Palworld studio Pocketpair, as it's one heck of an achievement for the new (not counting its Early Access period, of course) survival title.

Head of Pocketpair publishing and communications John "Bucky" Buckley acknowledges it over on Twitter, writing, "Somehow… Palworld is apparently the highest reviewed game of the year on Steam according to Steam250!"

He continues, expressing how grateful he is: "To say the response to 1.0 has been overwhelming would be an understatement. Thank you to all the fans! The last few years have been a trip. Really… thank you!"

Buckley then references some of the controversy Palworld has stirred in the past – a reference he's made more than once, having just discussed the game's "manufactured dramas" in July.

"Obviously it's trendy and meta to shit on Palworld," he says in his follow-up comment, "but the facts speak for themselves. Raw massive and unparalleled sales aside… the player reception is nothing short of miraculous. That is really all you guys!"

He leaves another response, too, jesting, "Watch us get zero nominations at any awards btw," before concluding that Pocketpair "won't care because we just wanna make games but, I'll be salty as an individual!"

Honestly, I'm not sure he should speak so soon – Palworld is doing quite well, and its reception has only improved over time. It's got a solid "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam, so it's evident most folks like it a good bit.

I suppose only time will tell what this year's game awards ceremonies bring, though… but I wouldn't rule entries like Palworld out myself.

Palworld lead says survival game genre has "found its stride" with the likes of Valheim 1.0 and Dune: Awakening after being "plagued with 100 hit or miss games a year."

Things aren't great over at Xbox right now. Microsoft's games wing is undergoing substantial re-structuring right now, with ongoing layoffs planned to the tune of 3,200 jobs. As a result, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's recent trip to Japan has drawn some ire from the former boss of a studio within the corporation.

Sharma visited Kojima Productions in Tokyo, both to check out the company and spend some time with Hideo Kojima himself. Photos of her time there were posted on the back of the announcement that one of the team's games, Physint, is now being published by Microsoft after it was dropped by Sony.

It's certainly a bit eyebrow-raising given the state of the neon green system right now, and a tenured developer has taken some time to say so.

"Super funny that Asha Sharma said 'Clarity is kindness' to the WSJ last week then did a half layoff today," Shannon Loftis, ex-studio head of Age of Empires developer World's Edge, writes in a Threads post. "I guess Damocles' Sword is a form of clarity, what do I know?"

She's referring to this profile of Sharma from the Wall Street Journal, covering the Xbox head's philosophy towards handling redundancies and internal turmoil. Sharma lives by "clarity is kindness," delivering anything bad straight and to-the-point. There's something to not beating around the bush, I suppose, though it's probably hard to see any niceties when you're being told your job's at risk.

The axe of Xbox's recalibration reportedly fell on World's Edge this week, as details of layoffs have been dripping out through social media. Loftis, who left the outfit in 2022, also made a post on LinkedIn commiserating with her former colleagues, saying she's "crushed" by the news. "I do not know of everyone that has been impacted by today's news, but I can guarantee these people know how to ship games and make gamers happy," she said.

You can feel her frustration in her Threads post. "Please, Asha, publish more 'cool' photos from your Japan Kojima-maxxing trip," Loftis adds. "That's the kind of leadership game developers need."

Ooft. I can easily imagine the devs that have been let go or found their roles and teams significantly changed over the last few months balking at Sharma's heavily publicized time with Kojima. Watching leadership write a check after all sorts of redundancies is serious whiplash.

But then, Sharma's job isn't to make friends, it's to dig Xbox out of the hole it's currently in. Getting a Kojima project hasn't hurt in scoring headlines. Only time will tell whether it moves the needle for Microsoft more substantially.

Xbox is "very happy with GTA 6 pre-orders," exec says, claims sales match "our share of the console market."

You know how whenever anyone plays a video game in a film or TV show, they move the controller around like wild and twist their head from side to side? It looks ridiculous, right? Well, as my recent batch of neck pains can attest, that's exactly the kind of behavior that Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve brings out in me whenever I find myself engaged in an intense dogfight or performing a sharp turn in mid-air to stop myself from smashing right into the building an enemy anti-air emplacement was perched on.

Ace Combat 8 continues the series' traditions of breakneck speed, exhilarating flight combat, and having the absolute best soundtracks, but Bandai Namco's renewed focus on cutscene-heavy storytelling does make getting into the action a bit slower from the outset. But, as you fly through one of the series' biggest campaigns to date, the story gets its hooks in, and the pace quickly picks up as each mission offers up a brilliant burst of tight flight combat.

Rex gon' give it to ya

This time around your voiceless fighter pilot protagonist is Rex of Joker Squadron. And just like many an Ace Combat pilot, they're the best in the biz and are the greatest hope to stop the war. Rex takes on the role as the 'Wings of Theve', a legendary ace whose efforts are spread far and wide across the continent of Usea to inspire hope during the invasion from neighboring Sotoa. Except, the Wings of Theve is a fabrication drummed up through a misinformation campaign, and the real Wings – Cope – was killed in action before Rex took the stage.

I'll be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first about the number of cutscenes. They're a big jump in quality from Ace Combat 7's slideshow style, shown most prominently by the dog not being a JPEG this time around. But, arcadey games suddenly going hard on making me watch a load of videos is usually a red flag, and given it took 45 minutes from booting up the game to finishing the game's first mission, I was a bit concerned. However, as the game goes on, the amount of cutscenes does lessen, and ironically my attachment to them grew thanks to an excellent cast of wingmen, the best rival since Zero, and a Johnny Silverhand-esque inner monologue from Cope to make up for our protagonist's silence.

I particularly love the metanarrative around taking up the Wings mantle – manufacturing a legend as a means of combat remains an undercurrent throughout the entire story. There's a hint of Metal Gear Solid to the themes of targeted social media misinformation campaigns, the roles corporations play in the war economy, and how they benefit from war no matter the victor, which feels especially pertinent in the modern day.

Strangereal love baby

Ace Combat 8 doesn't reinvent the wheel as far as its basics go; you play through a 30-mission campaign, choosing the best planes, weapons, and parts for what it requires, and get to work – if you played Ace Combat 7, you'll feel right at home with the controls. Where Wings of Theve shines is that mission variety. You'll need to battle through cities to help escort ground troops, one has you flee from the enemy in an underpowered craft, while others have you enact as much destruction to enemies' various base encampments in a time limit. And, of course, the Vergil fan in me loves the encounters with your rival above all.

It can get a bit overwhelming. Not only is there a ton happening on screen at once, but you'll need to keep an eye out for so many threats. One mission sees you having to engage in dogfighting with your rivals, taking out as many enemy anti-air guns as possible, all while making sure your troops can make their way into the city unharmed. You'll find yourself flying all around the battlefield, but rather than being frustrating busywork, the feeling of being stretched too thin is exhilarating and really emphasizes that Usea is down to its last legs.

Despite the stress, by the end of the game I've gone from wannabe flyboy to really feeling like the ace pilot I'm purported to be, with mechanical and narrative twists coming together to deliver some of the series' most bombastic final missions to date which even put the propulsive Top Gun Maverick to shame. Even now, I'm not sure how I made it through, and the memories of seeing relationships come through in these dire moments, in play rather than just cutscenes, makes this journey extra special. There's almost Avengers Endgame-level flair to some consequential moments, such as one that has me truly defying the odds in what feels like a suicide run.

If there's one thing you can bank on with an Ace Combat game, it's that it'll have a brilliant soundtrack. Thankfully Wings of Theve is no different, with what is probably my new favorite in the series alongside Ace Combat Zero. The missions feature a ton of epic orchestral numbers that perfectly punctuate the tense dogfighting, while the guitars and in-universe music add a good variety to it. The Shadows theme – already an infectious group chant that brings forth impending dread – kicking into full gear in mission 3, is perhaps the only time I can recall saying "oh my god" aloud because it was just that good.

Finally, there's Ace Combat Online, the game's multiplayer component. Unfortunately, this was only available for a single day during the review period. What I did get to try was a fun selection of PvP and PvE missions, but with only a handful of game modes and a lobby system that locks you out of doing anything as you wait for a match, I don't know that it's one I'll return to much once the post-launch hype dies down.

Ace Combat 8 is a fantastic new entry in Bandai Namco's series. While a bit slow going at first, its story eventually soars thanks to brilliant characters and a looming metanarrative, while each new mission provides a blast of intense gameplay. Even with one of the longest campaigns in the series, it never overstays its welcome and is one I can see myself returning to years down the line when I need my G-force fix.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve was reviewed on PS5 Pro, with a code provided by the publisher.All screenshots were taken in Frame Rate Priority mode.

Ace another challenge with our best simulator games or best action games rankings!

The Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones have quite an interesting backstory. According to the brand they are the result of research into the "differences between 2-ch stereophonic sound productions and binaural sound productions." In layman's terms, Final wanted to produce some of the best gaming earbuds that focused more on immersive sound for gaming and VR headsets, rather than one that focused primarily on sound quality itself.

The end result is the Final V3000 and the 6mm [f-Core DU] dynamic drivers that power them. The brand even went as far as to establish a whole new production facility in order to "give birth" to these earphones, and the quality is definitely apparent. Not only are these comfortable to wear for hours on end, but they produce an immersive audio quality that's typically relegated to headsets. Yet, as intriguing as the development of these IEMs is, their price makes them an awkward recommendation.

Key specs

Design

These aren't the best-looking buds in the business. If it weren't for the almost hexagonal-shaped chassis, they'd look indistinguishable from the cheap, black wired earphones you'd find back in the day. Their unique shape, however, isn't just for show. According to Final, the IEMS are designed to limit how much of it comes in contact with the human ear in an effort to improve sound and comfort.

It's easy to see that comfort is a priority with the V3000's design. The earphones are also equipped with 10 additional eartips, half of which are designed using rigid silicone, while the other half are made of soft silicone to offer different levels of comfort and sound isolation. The buds also include earhooks, a cleaning cloth, and a drawstring carrying case with the brand's logo embossed on top for easy travel.

Features

The Final VR3000s are wired earphones designed for gaming, so they don't utilize Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless and connect via their 3.5mm jack.

That makes them incompatible with most modern smartphones (unless you have an adapter), however, they are compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, PC platforms, VR headsets, and even the PS5 via the DualSense controller's headphone jack.

The 1.2m cord of the VR3000s also features a built-in microphone, along with button controls for volume. You can also use these for "answering phone calls"; though, naturally, you'll again need an adapter to get these running with your phone if it relies solely on USB-C. Mine does, so any phone calls were sadly left unanswered, but I'm sure my family and my daily spam caller can cope.

Final's official page for these earphones highlights their "suitability for the listening of binaural sound". Binaural sound, also referred to as spatial audio, is sound that simulates the 3D soundscape of reality and makes sounds and music appear as though it's happening all around you. It's a pretty big deal for gaming, as knowing the direct source of enemy footsteps and bullets is important in competitive first-person shooters. Not to mention, having an accurate placement of sounds can make games more immersive, and Final has equipped with VR3000s with that realistic audio.

Performance

The 6mm dynamic drivers that Final cooked up sound headset-level fantastic, and that's not just because of their spatial audio prowess. I tested alongside my Switch 2, mainly as earbuds are always a handy accessory to store in any Switch 2 case, and I was pretty blown away.

The bass sounded booming, but not to a point where there was any distortion or fuzz within my ears; the mids sounded clear and consistent, and the highs were exactly where they needed to be. I first discovered their great sound while loading up Mario Kart World, which also happened to lend itself to the earphone's binaural tech.

Drifting through free roam felt far more immersive than if I had just been using the handheld's built-in speakers or sub-par buds. The roars of engines, pops of bubbles, and the sounds of other karters as they drove alongside me within this open-world space were audibly going off all around me, and it sounded fantastic.

This continued once Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave launched a little over week into testing. The gorgeous continent of Dagda sounded heavenly through the buds, as did the copious amount of dialogue. Usually I like to stick on the Japanese voice cast when it comes to the series, but the lovely clarity of the earphone's gave me the push to keep the English voice cast, and now my nights of playing the Switch 2 tucked up in bed have never sounded better.

With a 3.5mm wired connection they are also compatible with the PS5, although I preferred these for handhelds. Marvel Rivals, Marvel's Wolverine, and Silent Hill Townfall all sound great on the Sony console, don't get me wrong. Not to mention, the cord was just long enough that there was no tugging on my ears, no matter how far I moved the DualSense in a fit of terror while playing the latest Silent Hill. However, the built-in microphone is not the kind of quality I wanted to depend on if a quick Discord call were to arise.

I wasn't expecting the built-in tech to give the microphones of the best PS5 headsets a run for their money, but it's still not something I'd want to use on a day-to-day basis. Playing back through Audacity revealed high levels of background noise, including a consistent hiss that was irritating to the ears. It also consistently sounded like my voice was muffled, and crackling was present no matter how I made sure that the 3.5 jack was inserted correctly. Ideally, that's not a sound I want to subject my friends to on a regular basis.

While the microphone didn't have the wow factor, the VR3000s were just as comfortable as Final insisted they would be. I may have thrown shade their way when it came to the earcaps' awkward shape, but that very form allowed them to stick efficiently in my ears, no matter how much I moved around. I did feel a little strain in some places, but no more than I'm used to having 5+ hours of continual Switch 2 gaming time (which is not recommended without some healthy breaks). I never even had to rely on the earhooks to keep them in place either, though I appreciated they were there nonetheless.

Should you buy the Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones?

The Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones bring a high-quality headset-level sound to a pair of wired buds, but their price makes me reluctant to recommend them willy-nilly.

At $85.80 / £78.99, there are plenty of wired alternatives that provide an equally great sound, and even look better to boot. Take the SIVGA M260 wired earbuds, for example, which have a neat transparent chassis that helps them stand out amongst the sea of alternatives flooding Amazon's search results. They also sound incredible and are available in a USB-C model for those who want a pair that's compatible with their handhelds and their phone, without having to rely on any adapters or additional gadgets.

Yet, I can entirely see a scenario where the VR3000s would be more than worthwhile: VR gaming. These buds can fit into any of the best VR headsets with a 3.5mm jack on board. With their spatial audio in tow, your immersive experiences will also be kept intact, and they remain comfortable after multiple hours of use.

Personally, $85.80 / £78.99 still feels like a lot to pay for a pair of wired earbuds for me. However, if I were to spot the VR3000s for the $50 / £50 mark and below, they'd feel like a no-brainer for VR enthusiasts and handheld lovers.

How I tested the Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones

For two weeks, I sat down my headsets and wiresless buds and made the Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones my audio device of choice. During testing, I picked up Mario Kart World, Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, and the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube library on the Switch 2, and Marvel Rivals, Marvel's Wolverine, Silent Hill Townfall and Doom Eternal on the PS5. Additionally, I also tested the buds alongside Counter-Strike 2 on the PC, aswell as Marvel Rivals to see how it compared to its PS5 counterpart.

When not gaming, I used the buds while catching up with a Gilmore Girls marathon on Netflix, and used them to listen to the Nintendo Music browser app. For more information on how we test gaming headsets and earbuds, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

If the Final VR3000 gaming earphones aren't for you, check out our guides to the best PS5 headsets, the best PC headsets for gaming, and the best Nintendo Switch headsets instead.

As the GTA 6 release quickly approaches with November right around the corner now, folks ponder whether or not the $400 Collector's Box is worth its price – but scalpers aren't waiting around for them to decide, it appears.

In case you're out of the loop, yes, Grand Theft Auto 6 has a $400 Collector's Box (one that does not include the game itself, mind you), featuring everything from a six-inch alligator figure to a, erm, collectible spoon, up for pre-order right now over on the official Rockstar Games website.

It's not out of stock by any means – understandably, considering its hefty price tag – but that's not stopping scalpers from attempting to resell it already.

A quick look over at eBay, arguably eager resellers' favorite storefront, shows the GTA 6 Collector's Box going for everything from $800 to upwards of $1,500. There aren't only a couple of listings, either. There's a plethora of them, and not one comes in at retail price, y'all. Not one.

There are a couple of more generous offers sitting at $600 – but, again, the dang thing is still in stock over on Rockstar's own site.

I feel like this is one of those situations in which scalpers won't emerge victorious, honestly. Not only is, as I've said multiple times now, the GTA 6 Collector's Box currently available to pre-order still, but I'm not sure it'll even go out of stock any time soon.

There are loads of posts all over the web from disappointed fans expressing that they're unwilling to shell out so much cash for a bundle that doesn't even contain the game it's based on.

A Reddit thread on the hopeful scalpers says it all, with one comment reading, "Honestly, if people buy these, the scalpers deserve that money." Another adds, "Yeah, I'll stick with just the game. $100 is enough" – because, yes, the Ultimate Edition of GTA 6 already costs a whopping hundred bucks (although I suppose it at least includes the heckin' game).

So, yep, I'm not feeling as though resellers are going to get too much out of this one.

Who knows, though – I could very well be wrong. This isn't the first time that scalpers have attempted to earn quite a lot more money than an item is worth, especially in the gaming sphere, and they do sadly often succeed.

Xbox is "very happy with GTA 6 pre-orders," exec says, claims sales match "our share of the console market."

The nominees for the Golden Joystick Awards 2026 have been announced, and it's a big day for 007: First Light and Big Walk.

Those two games lead the nominations, with five nods each. Big Walk was nominated in the Best Audio Design, Best Indie Game, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Game Trailer, and PC Game of the Year, while 007: First Light was nominated for Best Soundtrack, Best Storytelling, and Console Game of the Year, alongside nods in the Best Lead Performer and Best Supporting Performer for James Bond actor Patrick Gibson and John Greenway's Lennie James.

Right behind those two is Resident Evil: Requiem, with nominations for Best Trailer, Console Game of the Year, and Supporting Performer for Angela Sant'Albano as Grace Ashcroft. Other big hitters include indie art sensation Meccha Chameleon, cat-breeding roguelike Mewgenics, vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, survival gem Valheim, and bullet-hell masterpiece Saros, all with three nominations.

And there's a chance for a few more nods for each of those games. While voting for most categories is live now at goldenjoysticks.com until October 23, from October 26 until October 30, voting will take place for the biggest prize of the night - Ultimate Game of the Year. Nominations for that category haven't opened yet, so keep your eyes peeled! There'll also be jury-selected prizes for Streamers’ Choice Award, Breakthrough Award, and Critics’ Choice Award. The prizes in all categories will be announced during the awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, November 11.

It's worth noting that voting closes significantly before the release date for GTA 6, and while that's likely to be one of the biggest and most critically and commercially successful games of the year, it won't be eligible to complete the sweep of the 'Big 5' awards in the 2026/7 season.

You can find the full list of noninations below, and you can cast your vote across all the current categories, at goldenjoysticks.com, until October 23, so make sure to lock in your picks before then!

Best Audio Design

Big Walk

Marathon

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Rhythm Heaven Groove

SAROS

STAR WARS: Galactic Racer

Best Early Access Game

Dead as Disco

MENACE

skate.

Slay the Spire 2

Subnautica 2

WARDOGS

Best Game Adaptation

Devil May Cry (Season 2)

Exit 8

Fallout (Season 2)

Iron Lung

Mortal Kombat II

Resident Evil

Best Game Expansion

Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven

DAVE THE DIVER - In the Jungle Content Pack

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations

Quake: Dawn of the Machine

The Alters: Last Variable

World of Warcraft: Midnight

Best Game Trailer

Battlefield 6 x Top Gun: Carrier Strike Cinematic Trailer

Big Walk - Release Date Announcement

Cairn - Launch Trailer

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire | Official Launch Trailer

Prove You're Human - Announcement Trailer

Resident Evil Requiem - Evil Has Always Had A Name

Best Gaming Hardware

Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE

Razer Viper V4 Pro

Secretlab ATLAS

Sony INZONE M10S II

Steam Controller

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II

Best Indie Game

Big Walk

Denshattack!

Esoteric Ebb

Mixtape

Mouse: P.I. for Hire

Order of the Sinking Star

REANIMAL

Sovereign Tower

Titanium Court

Valheim

Best Indie Game - Self-published

Cairn

Fields of Mistria

MECCHA CHAMELEON

Mewgenics

Mina the Hollower

Perfect Tides: Station to Station

Phonopolis

Rhythm Doctor

The Incident at Galley House

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors

Best Lead Performer

Aaron Paul - Robert Robertson III, Dispatch

Angela Sant'Albano - Grace Ashcroft, Resident Evil Requiem

Anna Demetriou - Sophia, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Liam McIntyre - Wolverine, Marvel's Wolverine

Patrick Gibson - James Bond, 007 First Light

Will de Renzy-Martin - Coen, The Blood of Dawnwalker

Best Supporting Performer

Frankie Kevich - Zoe de Vera, CONTROL Resonant

Grace Saif - Diana, PRAGMATA

Lennie James - John Greenway, 007 First Light

Terry O'Quinn - Richard, SILENT HILL: Townfall

Troy Baker - Nathaniel Essex, Marvel's Wolverine

Vic Michaelis - Runa Blask, STAR WARS Zero Company

Best Multiplayer Game

ARC Raiders

Big Walk

Marathon

MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls

MECCHA CHAMELEON

Valheim

Best Remake / Remaster

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

Gothic 1 Remake

METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.2

Star Fox

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter

Best Soundtrack

007 First Light

Crimson Desert

Dispatch

Lumines Arise

Mewgenics

Mixtape

Best Storytelling

007 First Light

Dispatch

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

SILENT HILL: Townfall

The Blood of Dawnwalker

ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

Best Visual Design

CONTROL Resonant

Forza Horizon 6

Orbitals

Phonopolis

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

SAROS

Most Wanted Game

Alien: Isolation 2

ANANTA

Black Myth: Zhong Kui

EXODUS

Fable

FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION

God of War Laufey

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

KINGDOM HEARTS IV

METRO 2039

NO LAW

Persona 6

Resident Evil Veronica

STRANGER THAN HEAVEN

Stuntman: Hollywood

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn

The Witcher 4

Tides of Annihilation

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis

Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000

Still Playing - Mobile

Balatro

Genshin Impact

Honkai: Star Rail

MARVEL SNAP

MONOPOLY GO!

NTE: Neverness to Everness

Old School RuneScape

Pokémon GO

Roblox

Sky: Children of the Light

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mobile

Wuthering Waves

Still Playing - PC & Console

Apex Legends

Fortnite

GTA Online

HELLDIVERS 2

HITMAN World of Assassination

Minecraft

No Man's Sky

Palworld

The Elder Scrolls Online

Warframe

World of Warcraft

Call of Duty: Warzone

Studio of the Year

CAPCOM

Frogwares

House House

IO Interactive

Nintendo EPD

SQUARE ENIX

PC Game of the Year

Big Walk

Crimson Desert

Escape from Tarkov

Esoteric Ebb

MECCHA CHAMELEON

Mewgenics

Order of the Sinking Star

STAR WARS Zero Company

The Blood of Dawnwalker

Valheim

Console Game of the Year

007 First Light

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

Forza Horizon 6

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Nioh 3

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Pokémon Pokopia

PRAGMATA

Resident Evil Requiem

SAROS

Control Resonant codes can be used to get exclusive fresh looks for Dylan, by unlocking cosmetic items that you wouldn't otherwise be able to get through progress in the game. While these outfits aren't going to do anything to help you in your battle against the Hiss, it's always nice to get something for free, right? To find out more, here are the current redeem codes in Control Resonant and how to use them.

All Control Resonant codes

The following Control Resonant codes can be redeemed now:

• EV172-LN211-PL279 – MIO Specialist's Robe

The current redeem code for Control Resonant can be used to unlock the MIO Specialist's Robe cosmetic, which appears as a Top Layer item when customizing your appearance. The in-game description says this is "A robe left by a Specialist from the Ministry of Immaterial Objectives; a Chinese Government Entity dedicated to protecting public order through the discovery and containment of Paranatural Phenomena."

There aren't any other Control Resonant codes to report at this time, though there is a Twitch Drops campaign running until October 13 where you can unlock the Sierra Suit, Sierra Vest, and Sierra Helmet for watching participating Control Resonant streams for a total of four hours.

How to redeem Control Resonant codes

To redeem codes in Control Resonant, open the Options menu from the main menu or in-game and then make sure you're on the Gameplay tab, before scrolling down to find the Enter Redeem Code button. Hit that to bring up a text box, then enter your 15-digit promo to claim your reward.

Expired Control Resonant codes

• No expired codes

At the time of writing there are no expired Control Resonant codes, though this isn't surprising as the game has only recently launched. As always, grab any active promos you see as soon as you can to avoid missing any rewards.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Despite everything suggesting otherwise, Beyond Good and Evil 2 is apparently still happening and in development, with an Assassin's Creed Shadows: Claws of Awaji developer announcing his involvement.

As spotted by IGN, over on Bluesky, Rik Godwin, lead writer and associate narrative director at Ubisoft Bordeaux, confirms that "for the past few months I've been working on Beyond Good & Evil 2 in a support/consultant role." The game has been missing in action for some time, but this is the latest confirmation that it's apparently still happening.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 was announced back in 2008 in the form of a teaser trailer showing Pey'j and Jade, which was to be Ubisoft Montpellier's next release. Then nine years of pretty much nothing passed and we got a proper trailer for the game at E3 2017 alongside the controversial collaboration with HitRecord. The following year, the game received a gameplay presentation, but since then there really hasn't been much. In 2022, the game broke Duke Nukem Forever's record for being the game with the longest development time.

Original Beyond Good and Evil director Michel Ancel departed Ubisoft in 2020, and then in 2023, the sequel's creative director Emile Morel sadly passed away at the age of 40, with Fawzi Mesmar taking on the role. This, mixed with extended periods of silence about the game, and Ubisoft's recent shakeup that saw the cancellation of six projects has led to speculation that the game has been quietly canceled over the years. However, Ubisoft previously confirmed that the game was not one of its six recently canceled titles, and that it was still in development.

Ubisoft was reportedly working on a new Legend of Zelda game starring Ganondorf, only for Nintendo to shoot it down.

• Nighthawks is a gorgeous text-based vampire RPG that is perfect to play on Steam Deck, thanks to its special settings to suit smaller screens.

Out and about this weekend and looking for something to keep you company on your travels? Finding the best games to play on Steam Deck can be stressful, especially when the whole "verified" thing can be pretty hit and miss. But Nighthawks is my top pick for anyone looking for an engrossing new game to play on handheld consoles that won't melt your battery on a long train ride (or force you up off the sofa to hunt for a charger, for that matter).

Why play it today?

• Nighthawks' larger text mode makes it a great pick for Steam Deck owners, and the smaller screen doesn't ruin the experience at all.

Nighthawks is well worth a play if you're looking for a thrilling text-based vampire RPG that makes you use your brains instead of just hammering the attack button. Plus, it's less than 20 bucks.

Fall is here, and vampires are everywhere! I played Nighthawks right off the back of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and while I was still in the mood for bloodsucking mayhem, I was feeling a little burnt out when it comes to heavy combat loops. I had Nighthawks cued up to play next ahead of its launch earlier this week, but instead of sitting down to my gaming laptop, I downloaded it to my Steam Deck instead. I fancied curling up on the sofa for something quieter and more cozy, like reading a good book, and handheld consoles are the perfect way to get the best of both.

I was skeptical at first, since as a pre-launch game, Steam gave no indication as to its Steam Deck Verified status. But I was glad to see that Nighthawks has a special mode for smaller screens, toggled over in the settings window, and it works perfectly. I loved playing Nighthawks on the couch, in bed, on the bus... Anywhere but sitting upright at my desk!

Time commitment:

I finished Nighthawks in well under 20 hours, and that includes reloading the final moments of the last Act a few times to see all of the endings available to me. The game spans five Acts, taking you from fledgling vampire to the lap of luxury as you choose (or face) your destiny.

The main plotline is rather linear, but with ten prospective companions each sporting their own stories and side quests, no two playthroughs will play out the same. Paired with the various character backgrounds, powers, and skill proficiencies to choose from, Nighthawks really is a beast of your own making.

Play Nighthawks if you love...

Skip Nighthawks if you want:

One thing to know:

While I had zero performance or formatting issues playing it on Steam Deck, Nighthawks is not yet officially Steam Deck Verified. The only sign of this I could find was in the button mappings; your Steam Deck's joysticks won't move your cursor across the screen and instead help scroll through on-screen text and dialogue choices, but using the D-pad is just as intuitive. The touch screen is also fully compatible with the game, and saves time scrolling through points of interest with the directional arrows!

A moment you'll remember:

Using a haunted dollhouse to uncover what happened to a unfortunate family who hired a vampire nanny to look after their son. With the house on the left side of the screen and the text boxes on the right, look out for little hints you see in each room to direct you to the next memory vignette.

This mission is beautifully presented to draw out the tension and intrigue of such a sad investigation, so don't forget to follow up on your side quest leads even if they don't feel pertinent to the main missions! Nighthawks shines in its darkest details, and this one is no exception.

The final verdict:

As far as atmospheric, pacey, well-voiced narrative RPGs, you really can't get much better than Nighthawks. It's the perfect game to play in a weekend because it envelopes you in its world so seamlessly, you don't realize how much time you've spent in it until you reluctantly have to save and quit (sleep is a thing, I guess). Paired with the fact that the very helpful text size settings make it very comfortable to read on smaller screens like the Steam Deck, Nighthawks is a cozy thrill you can't help but sink into for the ultimate pre-Halloween treat.

So, where can you play it?

Nighthawks is out now on PC via Steam.

Nighthawks not your cup of blood? Check out our best RPGs round-up to find the right fit for your weekend.

Atlus has cleared up some miscommunication that there will be a new social link in Persona 4 Revival, with the character set to be a "Location Episode Character."

Last week, Atlus dropped a bombshell surprise on the Persona fanbase. During the Persona 4 Revival broadcast it was revealed that a fan-favorite character from Persona 4: The Animation, Aika Nakamura, is a new Social Link. Aika is the daughter of the owner of Aiya Restaurant, where the 'Rainy Day Mega Beef Bowl Challenge' takes place.

However, in Persona 4 Golden she's only mentioned by the owner rather than appearing, so it was a big shock that not only is she being added to its remake, but would be a new Social Link. Not only that, but after Persona series producer Kazuhisa Wada said it was too much work to add Yosuke's seemingly cut romance option, some saw an entirely new Social Link as antithetical to that comment.

Atlus has since clarified that Aika's status as a Social Link was actually an error. The Atlus West account posts on Twitter saying, "We want to correct one key detail from the English language version of the Persona Broadcast that listed Aika Nakamura as a new Social Link. Aika is indeed a Location Episode Character and not a Social Link." The post adds, "we apologize for the confusion."

Location Episodes seem to be Persona 4 Revival's fake Social Link equivalent. These were added in Persona 3 Reload as Linked Episodes, allowing the male party members – who didn't have them in the original game – to have their own pseudo-Social Link scenes. Thankfully, the Linked Episodes gave new Personas, so presumably the Location Episodes could too.

Aika is currently the only character confirmed to have a Location Episode for the time being, but I hope Funky Student is one of them.

Persona 4 Revival lead said Atlus wanted "a whole new cast," but one actor is reprising his role from the OG JRPG anyway: "True!"

It's probably safe to assume GTA 6 pre-orders are going well. Rockstar's new crime sandbox, some 13 years in the making, is set to be one of the biggest entertainment launches ever. However, a new report suggests the bulk of the purchases so far are on PlayStation 5, leaving the Xbox Series X version in the dust.

This comes from The Verge, where it's reported that GTA 6 has been pre-ordered much more on the PS5 than the Xbox Series X, compounding existing worries about Microsoft's games division. No percentages or other details are provided.

Matthew Ball, the chief strategy officer of Xbox, responds to the article on Twitter. "We are very happy with GTA 6 pre-orders," he says. "The title is breaking records for Xbox, we expect even more records will be broken throughout the fall, and our internal analysis shows our share of pre-orders to be matching our share of the console market."

To be fair, he would say all of that, the problem is a lot of it doesn't count for much. By "breaking records," I presume he means for overall pre-orders on the Xbox Series X, which seems extremely plausible since it's such a mammoth release. But competition isn't exactly stiff on the neon green system.

We haven't seen many big exclusives from the brand, and of those, lots have been pushed on Game Pass, making their pre-purchases and day one sales seem secondary. "Matching our share of the console market," is fine and dandy until you consider data that has the PS5 out-selling its rival by a pretty hefty portion.

Ball's own tweet has prompted barbs from analysts on the Xbox Series X's performance compared to the PS5. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella writes on Bluesky: "Given what the Xbox share of the console market is, not sure I'd be gushing about anything related to a relative split but that's just me."

Available numbers show Sony's machine boasting up to 80% of a multi-platform game's pre-orders on console. Microsoft has maintained the split on GTA 6 is less than that, but to what degree isn't shared.

The climate at Xbox is pretty bleak at the moment due to extensive restructuring and layoffs. We'll see how the dust settles in the coming months – and how well Rockstar's epic manages to sell.

GTA 6's $400 collectible spoon is actually a reference to another, far more expensive GTA spoon from 18 years ago.

With these Ball vs Ball codes, you can boost your coin balance, and with enough coins you can try your luck in the coin gacha, hopefully adding some of the best balls to your collection in the process.

In this Pong-like Roblox game (if you're old enough to know what Pong even is), you pit your bouncy balls against your opponent's, but with each ball having its own unique abilities, it's anyone's game. While there's an element of Rock-Paper-Scissors or Chess-like skill here, anticipating which ball your enemy might choose, you still need to have a high-quality arsenal at your disposal, so use these Ball vs Ball codes to gear up.

If you'd also like some more general rewards that can be used in all of your experiences, then we've got the current Roblox promo codes covered too.

All Ball vs Ball codes

These are the Ball vs Ball codes you can redeem in-game now:

• UPD1 - 100x Coins
• UPD2 - 100x Coins
• UPD3 - 100x Coins
• UPD4 - 100x Coins
• UPD5 - 100x Coins

As you can see from the list above, there is usually a new code with every update, and so far they have always awarded the player with 100 Coins each. This gives you a decent boost towards any of the in-game gacha rolls, including Balls, explosions, and more.

How to redeem Ball vs Ball codes

To redeem Ball vs Ball codes, you should first click on the present icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen, which opens a menu. At the top of this menu, you'll see the Codes option. Click this to open the Ball vs Ball codes redemption box, enter a code from above, click Redeem, and enjoy your rewards.

Expired Ball vs Ball codes

• There are no expired codes.

Since codes from as far back as update 1 are still valid, there are currently no expired Ball vs Ball codes, which is great news for new players. However, I have no doubt that these codes will expire eventually, so redeem all valid codes as soon as possible.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

By most metrics, Starfield should be considered a success. At least 15 million players since release. A Metacritic score in the 80s. Enough hype to draw one million concurrent players at launch. Yet it's fair to say that most Bethesda fans consider the space RPG a disappointment – a dramatic comedown from the heights of Skyrim and Fallout 4. In any case, you probably shouldn't count on there being a direct follow-up.

"I would be very surprised [if there was a sequel]," Kurt Kuhlmann, who served as lead systems designer on the game, tells FRVR. "I don't think Starfield was anywhere near successful enough to do a Starfield 2."

Kuhlmann ultimately left Bethesda around Starfield's launch for reasons that went beyond the space game, but he still believes a sequel could better deliver on its promise. "It's, in a way, too bad," he explains, "because I think with the lessons learned on Starfield, a Starfield 2 could have been much closer to the game that Todd [Howard] had [in mind]. You can envision that game, you can imagine that game. That's not quite what Starfield really is."

We know that Todd Howard had been dreaming of a game like Starfield for decades, and it's tough to imagine that the game we got was quite what he had imagined. Sure, it's got moments of brilliance, but those moments are held back in a game which, as Kuhlmann puts it, isn't "fully coherent."

Take the outpost system as an example. "For what it is, as a standalone system, it’s cool, but it’s not nearly as integrated with the rest of the game," Kuhlmann explains. It ultimately feels less fully baked than the settlement system in Fallout 4, which caused its own development issues – problems that weren't solved in Starfield, either.

"It caused problems for it to be integrated with the story and the missions and stuff in Fallout 4, so it was kind of put to the side," Kuhlmann says. "Which begs the question of, well, why is it still in the game? That’s a decision above me, it wasn’t my decision. You might say, well, we shouldn't have it then if we’re not going to integrate it with the story, then it’s just this system sitting over there with a massive amount of work involved."

In previous comments, Kuhlmann suggested that Bethesda "shouldn't have made" Starfield, because "we couldn’t really make it." It was simply too ambitious for even a studio as mighty as Bethesda to handle. Here's hoping that The Elder Scrolls 6 takes these lessons to heart.

"Most people wanted" to make The Elder Scrolls 6 after Fallout 4, says Skyrim co-lead, but then Todd Howard said "No, we're doing Starfield."

When you find all the Silent Hill Townfall blood bags it leads to a blood types puzzle that opens up the Blood Transfusion Door, a barrier blocking your path in the 'different' Medical Center. After that you'll then need to check various blood types to rotate a large dial and channel certain bags to the center to finally escape.

It is a long, stealth-heavy section where you need to explore and collect certain blood bags to open various doors, then collect more blood bags, all while avoiding numerous monsters. It's tough to do for the first time, so use my guide to work out where you need to go without any of the pain of working it out yourself.

Where to find all blood bags in Silent Hill Townfall

There are five blood bags to find in all, but two of these are just to open other doors to reach more areas, leaving three you need for the final puzzle. Getting all of them is a long, tough stealth section that I won't even attempt to walkthrough specifically as it involves so, so much running away and hiding it will be impossible for you to keep track of easily.

Instead, here's the short version in a bullet point list with a completed map, showing you all the things you need to do and find, in the order to do them in:

1. You'll find the Alan Duncan blood bag here which opens the SW door.
2. Here you'll get the Sarah Watson blood bag.
3. This is the location of the Ward W Master key which you can then use next in 4.
4. Use the Ward W Master key to open the door here and use the ladder to reach 5.
5. Now you can finally reach this room to get the Lesley Greer blood bad which opens the DP door.
6. The drop down here will let you get the George McEwan blood bag and the Ward P Master Key.
7. Here you can interact with the Matthew Clark blood bag in a lift which will cause it to drop down a level.
8. This is where the Matthew Clark blood bag ends up. However, collecting it will cause some gates to close meaning you'll need to turn two manual releases at 9 and 10 to escape.
9. There's one of two release wheels here you need to turn.
10. There's another release wheel here. When both are turned you can leave the way you came in.

Once you've completed this, and have all the blood bags, it's time to head back to the Blood Transfusion Door you found when you first entered this area.

How to open the blood transfusion door in Silent Hill Townfall

When you've found all the blood bags and have escaped back to the transfusion room you'll have George McEwen, Mathew Clark and Sarah Watson's bags left in your inventory. Each one has a short note about their condition, which will match one of the patient notes on the wall. To open the door you need to join up these clues and names to place each blood bag in the right gap:

• 2nd/3rd - George McEwen
• Verbal - confused and motor / reaction - obeys commands - Mathew Clark
• Regular pulse and head wound - Sarah Watson

Once they're all in place you can trigger the switch by the door to open it and proceed to the final puzzle.

How to solve the blood types puzzle in Silent Hill Townfall

Once the blood bag door is open you'll find yourself in a small chamber with a large dial full of sections you can rotate, and various plaques explaining what blood types can be combined.

If you check Simon's bracelet in your inventory you'll see he's A+, which can use blood types O-, O+, A- and A+. That means you need to rotate the dial so that only those blood types reach the center. Thomas Fergusson, Hannah McGregor, and Sarah Watson have either O or A types, so rotate the dials so that only the TF, HM and SW lines reach the center, like this:

Once the lines are arranged like in the picture above, select and use the central 'Ordell' section to pump the blood in and open the door. You're now free to move on to the next part of the story.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

A Dutch consumer group is suing Fortnite maker Epic Games for €100m, accusing the company of misleading young gamers into spending real money in the in-game store.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SMC) seeks refunds and damages from Epic for intentionally designing the Fortnite store in such a way that puts pressure on young gamers to buy items using real-life money. The suit also alleges Epic collected personal data from children without parental consent. SMC reportedly served Epic a notice of liability with an offer to settle and will take the company to court if those negotiations fail.

In its filings, SMC cites research that studied 1,000 Dutch teenagers aged 16 to 19 and reportedly found that "six in 10 buyers of currencies such as V-Bucks said it didn't feel like real money, and half said they had regretted a purchase made under time pressure."

This is far from the first time Epic has been accused of misleading microtransactions and breaching children's privacy laws. In 2022, the company agreed to pay $520 million to settle two complaints filed by the United States Federal Trade Commission alleging children's privacy law violations and "dark patterns" that tricked "millions of players into making unintentional purchases."

In 2024, the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) fined Epic $1.2 million for "unfair commercial practices aimed at children," and in January 2026, a Rotterdam court upheld the ACM's fine.

"We aren't asking for Fortnite to be banned. But a Dutch regulator found that Epic broke the rules, and a court has confirmed it. The logical next step is for Epic to pay players back," says SMC chair Lucia Melcherts.

"Epic deliberately designed the game to pressure players into buying. Young consumers are supposed to be protected from exactly that. The bill belongs with the company that made the game, not with the players or their parents."

Epic defended itself in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, saying Fortnite "has protections and tools so parents can control how their child makes purchases and set limits for how long they can play.

"The Fortnite Item Shop does not have a timer, parents can require a PIN to make real money purchases and players under 18 in the Netherlands cannot see or purchase items that are available in the Shop for less than 48 hours," says the Epic spokesperson.

"When a player under 16 in the Netherlands creates an account, it is a Cabined Account where they cannot make real-money purchases until a parent or guardian provides consent. We also offer protections against unwanted purchases, including a two-step confirmation to make a purchase, instant purchase cancellations, self-service returns for Shop purchases, and an explicit choice on whether to save payment information."

Here are the best PC games you can play right now.

It's finally happening: Arc Raiders is getting a PvE mode – at least temporarily. Today, Embark Studios announced that a "limited test" of PvE-only co-op will begin in October as the devs evaluate the mode's future as a potential permanent addition to the hit extraction shooter.

From October 13 through October 20, Arc Raiders players will have the option to toggle between traditional PvPvE matchmaking or PvE-only matchmaking. The PvE mode will put solos, duos, and trios all in the same matchmaking pool, with "zero player-to-player damage" between any of them. Players will also get slightly less loot in PvE in order to account for the decreased risk.

"This is, at least initially, a limited test," the devs say in their announcement. "When the test ends, the toggle will be removed and matchmaking will return to normal. Your feedback and data will help to shape the future of this system."

While Arc Raiders was originally envisioned as a PvE-only game, it transitioned to the PvPvE extraction shooter we now know well before launch. Still, the devs have regularly flirted with more explicit PvE mechanics. Matchmaking has been tweaked to put the most aggressive players in separate pools. A full PvE mode was previously tested in the Chinese version of the game, too.

In today's announcement, the devs say that 37% of players are focused on friendly co-op, and "this player group has grown consistently since launch." 34% are pure PvP, and 27% enjoy a mix of the two. (The remaining two percent, I guess, are simply a rounding error.) Altogether, just over half of the player base has "expressed an interest in a dedicated PvE option."

"It’s important to mention that this is not a risk-free test," the devs warn. "The first, unlaunched iteration of ARC Raiders was conceived as a PvE game, and we have been hesitant to return to that concept. There is a risk that introducing a PvE matchmaking toggle could reduce some of the tension that the game was built around. At the same time, we have to respect that some players want to enjoy the game in their own way, and we can’t ignore what the data is telling us."

On one level, the game might simply not be much fun without the risk of PvP encounters lingering in the periphery – our staff's biggest Arc Raiders fan argues that PvP is the reason the game works, after all. In the most practical terms, it'll also shift the economy, since players will be more easily able to extract with good loot. It's also possible that queue times will get longer with a split in the playerbase

"It’s possible that this will not work," the devs conclude. "This test is not a promise that there will be a PvE mode in the future, but take this as an indication that we are seriously considering it."

Arc Raiders will finally let players unlock weapons and items without hunting down blueprints.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Jessie actor says playing the character in Square Enix's 2020 JRPG was a "bucket list role," but with that in mind, you can understand why she's "devastated" at her fate.

Erica Lindbeck – who also voices Futaba in Persona 5, Black Cat in the Marvel's Spider-Man games, and many more – tells us in a new interview that being cast as Jessie in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's PSX trailer back in 2015 was "one of my first big things" she booked in her acting career, and it understandably meant a great deal to her.

"I mean, that's just a bucket list role for anybody, or project – especially FF7," she says. She recalls being anxious about whether Square Enix would keep her in the role, and perhaps more importantly, wondering "will the game eventually get made," which thankfully she had nothing to worry about.

But then there was the question of what would happen to Jessie in the long-awaited remake – something Lindbeck "did not know" when she took on the role. In case it wasn't obvious, we're about to get into spoiler territory, so be warned.

Alas, much like in the original 1997 JRPG, Jessie sadly dies in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and thanks to Lindbeck's excellent acting – as well as the extra detail the remake could offer – it's more heartbreaking than ever.

"When they dug the knife – and they chose to dig the knife in even further, so to speak – I was devastated. I mean, I was just devastated," Lindbeck tells us.

With that said, she's still rather philosophical about the whole thing, adding: "But I think some deaths are necessary. I think that if you have a universe with no death, things feel less heavy and less permanent, and I think that's what gives life its meaning."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake being split in 3 was a risk, director says, because what could Square Enix do if the first game was received "poorly."

Persona 5 Futaba actor Erica Lindbeck thought she was "completely miscast" when she was offered the role of the anxious tech genius in Atlus's beloved JRPG, and she was "terrified" about it.

Lindbeck is a prolific actor in gaming – from Black Cat in the Marvel's Spider-Man games (and Marvel Rivals), to Celica in the Fire Emblem series, and Jessie in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, chances are that you've heard her voice in something before. One of her most iconic roles, though, is in Persona 5, and in a new interview, we ask Lindbeck if she had any idea how well received the JRPG and Futaba herself were going to be when she took on the role, to which she tells us that she tries to "go into anything with low expectations," despite in this case knowing "how large the IP was."

She continues: "I also understood, as someone who loves character-driven stories, Persona is that manifest. They're so character-driven. If you do not fall in love with the characters, you are DOA. There's just nothing there, and so I knew that they were very careful when they cast the games."

With that in mind, then, Lindbeck says that when she was offered the role of Futaba, she was "shocked." She explains: "I thought I was completely miscast when I went in to voice her, because if anyone talks to me, they're like, 'You're Futaba?' She's very different from me.

"I was terrified, to be quite honest with you. I'm not afraid or embarrassed to say that," she continues. "I just knew… I knew this was a make-or-break moment for me, in the same way that I knew it was a make-or-break moment for me the day I stepped onto that mocap stage to do mocap for the first Spider-Man game."

Even if she was hesitant about the role at first, though, Lindbeck recalls that Persona 5 talent director Valerie Arem (also an actor herself – amongst many other roles, she voices Naoto in the Persona 4 spin-off games) told her years later that she "literally cannot think of another another actor that could do Futaba," a sentiment I'm sure many fans will agree with.

Now, almost 10 years on from Persona 5's global release, Lindbeck says "voicing Futaba feels like slipping on an old pair of boots," and "that project will always hold a special place in my heart."

Persona 1 and 2 remakes will "probably" happen for the sake of "cultural preservation," says Persona 4 Revival producer: "It's your duty to take the things you've done and make sure they're not lost."

Mass layoffs at Xbox are only making it harder to meet Microsoft's still-steep expectations amid management chaos, according to one of the id Software employees who escaped the studio's own wave of redundancies.

Speaking with Aftermath, this anonymous id employee reportedly says "things are still very chaotic" as Xbox works to finish the "reset" plan that CEO Asha Sharma described as essential for the health of the business.

3,200 jobs will be eliminated for the sake of the plan, and after the latest cuts, Xbox creative lead Matt Booty estimates the company is 75% of the way through it. This has doomed countless Xbox devs to walk on eggshells until the other shoe eventually drops.

"While there has been an attempt to communicate to the studios, it is still entirely in bullshit corporate speak," says the id employee. "I still don't believe they have a clear vision for the future. The only concrete thing they have communicated is they want higher profits, and they want it now."

Previously, it was reported that Microsoft's notoriously high profit expectations had left Xbox with an ultimatum. Assessing the Xbox business, Sharma said in June that "our business today is not healthy" and spoke negatively of margins that were 3 to 10 times lower than "comparable platform and publishing businesses."

It sounds like Microsoft is still teeing up moonshot margins. This id employee continues: "Aggressive goals are being set that would have been unrealistic even before the layoffs. ... To say the workers within Xbox have a dim view of the future is putting it mildly. We keep thinking morale can't sink lower but the obvious incompetence of Xbox management somehow keeps driving it down worse."

Among many conflicts in Xbox's plan, an understated one is the simple fact that laying off devs directly opposes the goal of releasing more and better games, something Microsoft has struggled to do for many years.

It's not just that Xbox teams will be down talent and manpower – even the sterling Elder Scrolls team is bleeding invaluable seniority – or saddled with overseeing studios which they've been forced to absorb. Creatives rightly fearing for their jobs under notoriously closure-happy leadership will struggle to make good games simply because fear, doubt, confusion, and uncertainty are demonstrably terrible for morale, motivation, and mental health.

As late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said in 2013: "If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world."

Japanese companies like Nintendo, Capcom, and Konami are healthier because they have smaller teams, don't have frequent layoffs, and don't pay executives $30 million, says expert.

You may have noticed Rockstar is shilling a GTA 6 Collector's Box at the moment. The contents include a double-sided poster, a statue of Macca the Gator, and the greatest prize of all, a Vice City-emblazoned spoon.

A swizzle spoon to be exact, the kind typically found in cocktail bars and pubs for mixing drinks. Decidedly appropriate for anyone preparing to jaunt around Leonida for hours and hours. It's be more charming if it wasn't part of a collection that costs $399.99, but that's another discussion.

There are other uses for a piece of cutlery such as this I won't get into, but suffice to say it's often used for more than just stirring appletinis. Funnily enough, this isn't the first time Rockstar's fancied itself a purveyor of hospitality wares, because a similar item was produced for The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Way back in 2008, the studio produced a limited run of promotional spoons for the DLC to GTA 4, because how else do you sell video games? It's the same kind of apparatus, just in gold instead of silver, and it comes with a logo for Ballad of Gay Tony.

If you'd like one to create a set, you're going to have to cough up much more than what Rockstar's charging. Now a collector's item, the Ballad of Gay Tony spoon goes for around thousands of dollars these days. I wish I was joking.

It's to be expected though, since it's an object associated with an extremely popular series that has extremely low supply. That much is too rich for me, but I've paid over the original cost on a few things over the years just because they scratched at the dedicated fan in me.

Anyway, if you're a speculative collector, it might be worth considering the GTA 6 box just for the spoon alone. In a decade's time, you'll be having the last laugh when you sell it on for a couple of grand. Capitalism.

GTA 6's $1 million billboard goes up despite protests from local police as Rockstar's real-life Miami takeover gets underway

Remedy has released a new patch for Control Resonant to address some early criticism for the game, which is good news if you don't mind downloading the entire game again on Steam.

Control Resonant review scores have been generally positive, but there were a number of criticisms that came up frequently in reviews, with those being the focus of discussion ahead of its launch today. One such thing is the strength of protagonist Dylan, or just the general health of enemies making things feel a bit drawn out at first.

Thankfully, Remedy has taken this on board for a patch released today alongside the launch, and addressed the criticism. In the patch notes, Remedy acknowledges "Dylan's overall combat strength early on in the game not feeling powerful enough (even if the man just woke up from a coma)." The developer says that with its new combat balancing, "We strongly believe these changes will improve the gameplay feel and flow while still providing a challenge."

These changes include reducing the base health and how long it takes to stun most enemies, including the Dancer and Deserter boss fights, with the maximum Aberrant and Ability strengths also being buffed. These are the patch's major focus, but Remedy is also making respeccing easier by increasing the stock of the "Reset Items" across the game's vendors, as well as some updates to the game's UI.

Unfortunately, PC players who had pre-loaded the game on Steam discovered that they were unfortunately then forced to download the entire 92 GB game again, with this patch releasing one hour before the game's launch. Remedy addresses this on Twitter, saying: "This triggered certain platform mechanisms on PC, forcing players who had already downloaded the game to download it again, thereby causing you unnecessary inconvenience.

"This was an oversight on our part. We don't have an excuse, we would only like to sincerely apologise to everyone affected. We will learn from this experience and strive to prevent similar issues in the future."

It's a pain, but if it results in a better game experience, hopefully the extra wait for some is worth it.

Control Resonant Metacritic score places it higher than its predecessor, but it can't touch 2026's top 20 bangers like Resident Evil Requiem and Pokemon Pokopia.

Trying to find the infusion drugs in Silent Hill Townfall can be a bit of an ordeal, as the Tensobromide, Hydroxalene, and Dextracyclate are scattered through a lengthy, stealth heavy section where you can't fight back. Because you don't know where to look, it involves poking into every corner to find what you need, with danger at every turn. Fortunately I've done it all already, and have the maps and routes you need to find all the drugs as quickly as possible and minimize the risks involved.

The objective to find the infusion drugs begins after you've found the blood pressure, pulse, and O2 in Townfall and then solved the Silent Hill Townfall X-ray puzzle. That will open up the room you're in, and update the map with the dosage and names of three drugs:

• 3mg Hydroxalene
• 11mg Tensobromide
• 2.5mg Dextracyclate

These are eventually found throughout the entire St Amelia medical center, requiring that you explore almost all of it to find everything you need. There are copious enemies to avoid and numerous drugs you can find, as well as a range of doses, meaning finding the three you actually need can be a laborious process.

All Silent Hill Townfall infusion drug locations

Finding all three of the infusion drugs you need in Townfall means sifting through plenty of the wrong drugs you can also find, while avoiding several enemies, to get what you need. Without any idea where to look this can be a long, dangerous search. However, having done it myself, I can point you directly to the location you need, starting with the floor you initially gain access to once the doors open:

You start in the Surgery room marked 'Patient', where you dealt with all the vital signs and X-Rays, and the first drug you can find is 11mg Tensobromide in the pharmacy store directly to your left as you come out the surgery.

Technically the Hydroxalene is in the Records Room on the other side of the floor but that's locked. The code is 2605, which you can try now to get the Hydroxalene, but you'll need to head upstairs anyway to find the Dextracyclate. So, once you have the Tensobromide, take the stairs to the next floor.

When you head up the stairs you'll see a reception desk on your left. There's a computer there with a 'Dailies - Infusion Status' email you can read, which will mark all the drugs that have been given out on to the map. That tells you places you can look, but that's for everything, not just the two you need at this point - all the circles with a cross through on the maps here are incorrect drug locations I've already checked.

At this point head to bay 6 to find the Dextracyclate, and then across to the office where you'll find the Record Room code, 2605, pinned to a noticeboard. Now you can head back down the stairs to get the Hydroxalene, if you haven't already.

Once you have all the drugs, it's time to dose the patient...

How to set the drug dosage in Silent Hill Townfall

Once you have all the drugs, you'll need to head back to the surgery and place them in the infusion pumps around the bed, as shown above. It doesn't matter which ones you place them in, as the the important thing is getting the infusion rate right.

To do that you need to check the Medication Dosage Table on the laptop, which will give you this chart:

Using this you can match the drug names and dosages to get the flow rates, using the patient weight of 88Kg, which is written on the whiteboard. That gets you this:

• 3mg Hydroxalene - 7
• 11mg Tensobromide - 8
• 2.5mg Dextracyclate - 15

Now place the drugs in the machines, set the rate to the appropriate number, and then press the Ready Pump button. When all three are ready to go, you'll then need turn on all three pumps using the small white machine on the tray by the noticeboard.

If it's all done correctly, you'll stabilize the patient and then have to head to the basement to get an intubation kit. Fortunately, this a much easier job and just involves sneaking past a single enemy using a radio to distract them, to reach the storage room at the end of the corridor.

Once you've found the kit and intubated the patient that's about it for this section. The next big puzzle you'll have to face is the Silent Hill Townfall blood puzzle, which is going to make this look easy by comparison.

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If you know The Witcher 3 Remastered release time then you can be one of the first to set foot in an upgraded and enhanced world, leading Geralt of Rivia to monster-slaying glory as you travel across the Northern Kingdoms that look better than ever before. Thanks to a simultaneous global launch, everyone can get access at the same time – though this will be more convenience for some than others! With that in mind, this is when you can play The Witcher 3 Remastered wherever you are.

If you want the lowdown on the biggest changes to look forward to, then here's a round up of what's new in The Witcher 3 Remastered.

What time does The Witcher 3 Remastered come out?

The updated version of the game is arriving on September 29, and the launch will be simultaneous globally with The Witcher 3 Remastered release time set for 10am UTC on all platforms. This translates around the world as follows:

• US West Coast: 3am PDT
• US East Coast: 6am EDT
• UK: 11am BST
• Central Europe: 12noon CEST
• Eastern Australia: 8pm AEST
• New Zealand: 11pm NZDT

That means The Witcher 3 Remastered is launching early morning in the United States, around lunchtime across Europe, and late evening in Australia and New Zealand. As this release is simultaneous, this is nothing to be gained from any tricks to change the internal clock on your device to another time zone or use a VPN to make it think you're situated in a different location.

When it does go live, all you need to do is update your game on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, or Switch 2 to get the Remastered version for free, which also includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions at no additional cost. If you're still on PS4 or Xbox One then you won't be able to get the Remastered upgrade, but those two DLC packs have now been made free so you can at least check them out if you haven't already.

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Fully aware that everyone hates the new age verification update it's crowbarring in, Discord has doubled down in a post that's come right as the company confirms new gambling ads being served to the users it simply must age-protect.

Discord co-founder and CTO Stanislav Vishnevskiy previously apologized for the my-way-or-the-highway positioning of the new age restriction policy. In a September 23 Twitter post, the Discord account, acknowledging that the rollout has seen numerous bugs, writes: "When you launch an extremely popular age assurance update that everyone on Discord was really looking forward to and it has bugs."

The responses to this post, at 5.6 million views by Twitter's metrics, would make a sailor look away. "Are we fuckin serious," replies one user. "No we are so fckin sarcastic," answers the Discord account. It's not helping, folks.

Discord says it's fixed two of the new system's nastiest bugs: one blocking verified adults from accessing age-restricted servers (who could have predicted this), and another seemingly preventing Discord accounts and verification levels from syncing across devices.

This mess has come as Discord users, particularly in the United States, began reporting in-app advertisements for companies like FanDuel, a popular sports prediction market betting app. In a statement to GameSpot, Discord sheepishly acknowledges that it is indeed taking sponsorships for gambling services that are illegal for underage users right as it enacts an immensely unpopular age verification system.

"We’re taking a deliberate, user-first approach to evolving our ads business to add genuine value that connects naturally with our users' sports, gaming and entertainment interests," a Discord spokesperson says.

The company seems to think that this sort of sports betting app, the likes of which have positively parasitized America in the past decade, is fine compared to conventional gambling. "Discord's policies still prohibit ads for traditional real-money gaming, including casinos and sportsbooks," the company adds.

"Daily Fantasy Sports ads, and FanDuel brand ads on Discord are intended for adults, and we are using a range of age signals to help ensure they are age appropriate," Discord says. "We use age group signals to exclude teens from seeing inappropriate ads and to make sure they have the right settings."

An age verification system would certainly help platform targeted advertisement campaigns like this, and a system that failed to let adults access their own servers can surely be trusted to exclude teens from that targeting.

You can opt out of seeing this type of sponsored content in Discord; you'll just have to sift through several layers of settings. Open your account settings, head to "Data & Privacy," then scroll down to sponsored content. Bafflingly, there's a search bar for, as far as I can tell, one item in this field: "Real Money Gaming." (While you're in there, consider turning off all the data-driven personalization gunk, too.)

"If you hide a topic below, then you will see no Sponsored Content from the topic," the in-app tooltip explains. However, it continues, "Discord's Ad Policy will control certain content you see regardless of these selections."

New Discord age verification system and filters will rely on oversight from mix of "AI validation and human review."

You can expect a lot of GTA 6 merchandise from Rockstar, and the first windfall is coming quite soon. There aren't any physical versions of the game, but you can buy a spoon, designer sunglasses, a fanny pack, and select other goods – all in a massive bundle that'll cost you around four times the price of the game.

The Grand Theft Auto 6: The Goodtime State – Vice City Collection was just revealed by Rockstar, a merch capsule you can now pre-order from the official store. It's described as "a premium Grand Theft Auto 6 collectible set featuring all the essentials for a good time."

To be frank, I think we've different definitions of that last part, but how and ever. Contained is a figure of Macca the Gator, the aforementioned spoon, designer sunnies from Oakley, a crossbody bag, stickers, and a few other miscellaneous items. There's a double-sided map, which is probably the thing I desire most.

Everything comes emblazoned in some sort of logo, whether for Vice City or GTA 6 itself or Rockstar, and you can get the whole lot for $399.99, or £349.99 in Britain. Pre-orders are open, and right now, this is an all-in-one purchase. You can't buy anything on its own, at least not for the time-being.

You may balk at that price – you definitely won't be alone if you did – but the there are parts of this inflating the cost. The sunglasses generally go for around $200, and the manufacturing and weight of all the other merchandise will form the bones of that payment.

Still, it's a lot to ask, especially when you still need to buy the game separately, and don't even get a disc for the trouble. This drop was previously spotted through private store listings by a user known as Razed in a thread on unofficial message board GTAForums.

They noticed there are apparently shirts, tote bags, and more hats in the offing as well. Plenty of ways to give Rockstar your money before the crime sandbox arrives.

NBA star warns GTA 6 will ruin November sports because players and coaches will be too busy playing to train.

Wondering what to do first in Control Resonant and where to go? The game puts you on rails until you defeat the Artist and make it to Central and meet Zoe in the Watchtower for the first time, but after that point you're given multiple quests and side quests to take on. Below I'll lay out the best order of things to do first after beating the Artist and starting Control Resonant properly, so you're not struggling to find a foothold against the Hiss.

What should you do first in Control Resonant?

After speaking to Zoe in the Watchtower and passing through the underground tunnel into Central, here's the best order to take the quests and side quests that Control Resonant gives you.

1. Welcome to Manhattan. After leaving the tunnel, you'll be given an indicator to obtain one of the Control Resonant Clearance Keycards. Grab that before doing anything else, as it'll introduce you to the main FBC Field Office, a useful hub zone. You should also trigger the Fast Travel Door that's here.
2. Central World Feats. At this point I recommend you explore Central and do some of the appearing World Feats that appear, as you'll want to level up a little before moving on.
3. Jesse Sighting: West Incursion Zone. Head to the West Incursion Zone and West from the House of Mirrors hub area to find a Fault in the Parking Garage. This'll give you the power to use Gravity Anomalies, one of the most useful Abilities and powers in Control Resonant.
4. West Incursion Zone Resonant. Afterwards, progress to the North section of the West Incursion Zone to the Theater Hall to battle the Dancer, another Resonant.
5. Jesse Sighting: Evacuation Zone. Afterwards, head to the Evacuation Zone and head North to the Dense Patterning to experience another Fault, that will give you the Reach power.
6. Main Story: Evacuation Procedures. Still in the same area, head to the Evac Building to meet with Arish and continue the main plot.
7. Central Resonant. Back in the Central Zone, head to the Patterned Factory in Control Resonant to fight the boss within, the Deserter, and gain your choice of fire powers.
8. The Park Resonant. Finally, head to The Park in the Northeast of Central to encounter an area overrun by Mold. A quest triggers in the centre marked "new Mold Strains?" that leads you eventually to an encounter with a boss called The Collective.

You should absolutely feel free to do other quests and side activities along the way, as otherwise you risk becoming underpowered, but the advantage of the general order presented above is that it's escalating difficulty, with some advantages gained by doing it in this order. For example, the Factory Central Resonant gives Dylan pyrokinetic abilities, which are extra effective against the Mold enemies which appear at The Park.

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Following years of games industry woes and multiple waves of layoffs out of Microsoft, Tim Schafer – founder of the formerly Xbox-owned studio Double Fine – says he doesn't understand the economics of the industry anymore.

The most recent of Microsoft's now yearly layoffs will see 3,200 Xbox employees lose their roles before the end of the 2027 fiscal year. Alongside this, Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs went independent from the publisher, Ninja Theory is now at risk of closing after multiple purchase attempts fell through, and Arkane's fate is up in the air. While Double Fine has had to lay off staff following this change, the studio is taking to Kickstarter to fund its next "small" game, with Tim Schafer saying "no one puts Double Fine out of business except for me."

Speaking to BBC News (below), Schafer says that in this modern day, "I don't understand the economics of making games to be honest." He explains, "for years [I] thought I understood them because there are layoffs, which is bad. And then the people who make games realize, 'Oh, we need people to make games,'" which in turn resulted in developers being hired back.

However, now in an era where the industry is in the midst of a major struggle, Schafer says it's no longer a cycle of ups and downs: "It's been down for like four years and I don't know why." He adds, "people are playing games and people are making money, so I don't know why there's a big loss of jobs. I just assume it's like, someone is being greedy somewhere," saying, "I hope it is a cycle, and I hope it bounces back."

However, Schafer doesn't see it as the end, adding, "I think there's a lot of life and excitement and creativity in the games industry now; especially in the indie space," although he isn't "one of those snobs" who says AAA games can't be creative.

Schafer notes, "it's been a much more violent place to work in AAA," explaining, "your work is often not as rewarded, because you will get laid off as soon as you finish your game," Which, unfortunately we see pretty often as of late, with games like Star Wars Zero Company and Gears Of War: E-Day staff being laid off following the game going gold. Not to mention Battlefield 6 was so successful that EA CEO Andrew Wilson got a massive bonus, shortly after the developers who actually made the game were laid off by the company.

With these Shape of Dreams codes, you can get some new and exclusive cosmetics for your travelers. While they don't provide any practical value, some of the skins and charms available make a huge difference to the overall look of your character. Plus, if you're trying to unlock everything in this vast roguelike game, you'll need to add these to your list.

While some cosmetics, like charms, can be equipped to any character, others are specific to certain Travelers, some of whom you may still need to unlock. Luckily, you can redeem any of these Shape of Dreams codes whenever you see them, and your rewards will be waiting for you should you unlock the relevant character in the future.

All Shape of Dreams codes

These are the Shape of Dreams codes you can redeem in-game right now:

• ABSOLUTEYUBAR - Midsummer Night's Dream Yubar Legendary Costume

Currently, the only Shape of Dreams promo is for the Midsummer Night's Dream costume for Yubar, a Traveler option who is not unlocked by default. If you want to use this skin, you'll have to unlock Yubar by collecting 450 Dream Dust first, then apply the cosmetic. Don't worry about redeeming the code before you've unlocked the character, though, as it'll be waiting for you when you do.

How to redeem Shape of Dreams codes

You can redeem Shape of Dreams codes from the game's main menu by selecting the Extras option, followed by the Redeem Gift Code button on the next page. Here, enter a code as it appears above, then click on Confirm to claim your code.

Expired Shape of Dreams codes

• 500KDREAMS - Trinket of Nobility
• LUNARNEWYEAR2026 - Wealth Ornament

Since the game was released on PC a year before arriving on console, there are already some expired codes. This means valid promos are also likely to expire soon, so redeem Shape of Dreams codes as soon as possible.

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If there's one genre where players are spoilt for choice at the moment, it's survival games. There are just so many to pick from the minute, and one of the leads on Palworld believes the scene has truly come into its own after a few wilderness years where not many releases stood out.

"What a year for survival gaming," John 'Bucky' Buckley, the head of publishing and communications at Pocketpair, says on Twitter. "Valheim, Dragonwilds, Enshrouded, Dune, Core Keeper, Terraria! What was once a genre that was plagued with 100 hit or miss games a year has really found its stride."

The games he highlights make a strong argument. Valheim, the Viking-themed spin on resource-gathering and base-building, went 1.0 this year and continues to grow and flourish, while Dune: Awakening takes these ideas and applies them to the desert planet of Arrakis, if you've ever wanted to ride a sandworm. The latter just released on PS5 earlier this week, too.

RuneScape: Dragonwilds, then, is another exciting offshoot of the MMO staple. Enshrouded incorporates action RPG elements, for a bit more oomph if aimlessly roaming around isn't entirely your thing, and then you have Core Keeper and Terraria, both more retro-style approaches.

At this point, Terraria simply refuses to die. There have been several 'final updates', but the community continues to expand and really, more power to all involved. Buckley gives a nod to Palworld, of course, because it's now one of the dominant games in this side of the industry, and he mentions in the replies that he forgot about Windrose.

The pirate twist on survivalist antics came out in the first half of the year to a rousing reception. It's actually published by Pocketpair, too. Gone are the days where it seemed like every survival game was riffing on either Rust or The Forest with little in the way of identifiable factors. Long may it continue.

Palworld lead thought one of Pocketpair's most iconic Pals would "fade into the background" before it unexpectedly became the survival game's "mascot."

Clearance in Control Resonant is broken up by different levels, each of which requires an associated keycard. Some levels of Clearance are accessible as part of the main story, while others are found as part of optional side quests in which different levels of clearance are required to progress. The reality is that you probably encountered several doors that require clearance that you don't have during the tutorial where you escape from the Oldest House, but while you couldn't open them the first time around, you can come back later with the keycards and see what you find beyond.

How to get all Clearance Keycards in Control Resonant

There are 5 Clearance Keycards players can obtain in Control Resonant, all of which open different doors in different locations.

• Level 1 Keycard. Given to you inside the Central Field Office as part of "The West Incursion Zone Resonant" story quest. This quest should be given to you automatically after speaking to Zoe in the Watchtower for the first time in Control Resonant.
• Level 2 Keycard. Given to you by Arish in the Evacuation Zone Evac Building as part of the "Evacuation Procedures" main story quest.
• Level 6 Keycard. After completing the main story, speak to Zoe in the Watchtower to get the "New Growth" side quest. Follow that quest until you're told to "Investigate Underhill's Last Known Location", at which point you'll be directed to a research station in The Park that includes the Level 6 Clearance Keycard.
• Mobile Research Station Keycard. After discovering a body in a garage West of the Central Field Office, it'll give you the "Crossing the Threshold" quest. This will direct you eventually to the Central Dig Site Threshold. Investigate the body in the marked yellow square to take the Keycard off his body.
• Oldest House Storage room Keycard (SR). Obtained during "The Complete Set" side quest, which is started at the Museum of Curiosities in the West Incursion Zone. After that, follow the quest until the SR Keycard is given to you by Langston next to the Panopticon as part of the mission.

Can you open Clearance level 18 doors in Control Resonant?

Across Control Resonant you'll occasionally encounter doors with a Clearance Level 18 requirement. However, at no point in the game is Dylan given a Keycard that allows him to open these doors. On the occasion that one is opened, it's always done so by an NPC who has their own clearance, and it seems as though some doors with Level 18 are never opened at all.

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