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An Elden Ring player has discovered that certain minor bosses in the Shadow of the Erdtree can spawn with golden eyes, giving them a chance to get over 1 million runes from those enemies. The recommended level for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is over 150, so this can be a useful mechanic for players who are under-leveled in the Land of Shadows. View the full article

Zenless Zone Zero is just around the corner, and if you can’t wait to play, we’ve prepared this handy-dandy countdown timer for you. With this, you can see exactly how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds you must wait until Zenless Zone Zero launches. ZZZ is the new action RPG with rogue-lite elements from HoYoVerse, the developer of Genshin Impact, Honkai Impact Third, and Honkai Star Rail. The game takes place in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world hit by a disaster known as the Hollows. The Hollows is like a TV world accessible only to a select few and made up of random levels and challenges, hence the rogue-lite nature of the game. View the full article

The continuity of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has many wondering which ending of the base game is canon. The game allows players to make a variety of choices that impact the storys conclusion, most of which revolve around helping NPCs by choosing to complete their personal quests. However, since the timeline of Shadow of the Erdtree relative to Elden Ring is muddy by design, it can be difficult to tell exactly where the base game ends and the DLC begins. Still, one particular ending stands out as a possible canon choice, especially based on details in Shadow of the Erdtrees announcement image and in the DLC itself. View the full article

No matter how bad it looks, it's hard not to have hope for the future. Shiny chrome sci-fi worlds evolved into capitalist hellscapes back in the late 80s/early 90s and have been stuck there ever since, but unless it's a straight-up horrorshow there's a belief that individuals can escape even if the society in general won't change. Sometimes it's pure wishful thinking (just about every cyberpunk story ever written) and sometimes Arnold Schwarzenegger manages to get Mars a breathable atmosphere, but aside from the occasional Star Wars/Trek setting, the goal is almost always to break free of being a disposable corporate resource. Difficult as that may be, it seems to be a little easier in Prospector seeing as they've given you an entire wild planet to call your own. View the full article

A flying mount in Final Fantasy XIV is a must for players to traverse the lands with ease, but you won’t be able to take to the skies without first collecting Aether Currents. In the Dawntrail expansion, one of the earliest areas you can explore is Urqopacha. You don’t want to immediately go out of your way to find the Urqopacha Aether Currents. Instead, it helps to complete Main Scenario Quests in the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion and thus steadily work your way throughout the area, giving you a chance to unlock them naturally. Plus, some areas of Urqopacha might be blocked off from you until you get further in the story, so it’s best not to rush it. View the full article

Unlike most of the other demigods in Elden Ring, the golden-haired Miquella the Kind is surprisingly elusive. If you’ve charged into the Land of Shadow to track him down, you might be wondering just where and how you can find him after hearing about him for a whole game. Given that Miquella is the primary focus of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, it’s strange not to see a hide or a hair of him upon actually starting the DLC. You’ll certainly find evidence of him being present, like the notes and crosses he’s left dotted across the Land of Shadow, but to actually clap eyes on him, you’ll have to progress quite a bit in the expansion. View the full article

If you’re trying to upgrade some of your Mythical weapons in Blox Fruits, then you might need some Mini Tusks. These upgrade materials are dropped by a specific ****** in Blox Fruits, and we’ll tell you exactly where and how to get them. How to get Mini Tusks in Blox Fruits They don’t drop very often. Image via blox-fruits.fandom Before you start farming for Mini Tusks in Roblox Blox Fruits, you need to be level 1,850. It takes quite a while to get to that level—we’re talking weeks—unless you spend Robux for an XP boost. View the full article

Elden Ring players have found another powerful item in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to take their revenge on the unforgiving bosses, and this time around, it is merely a Lightning Perfume Bottle. While Perfume Bottles have existed in the base game as well, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has added them as a *******, and it has quickly gained popularity. View the full article

If you’re doing the Alcehmist’s quest in Roblox Blox Fruits, then you are likely struggling with finding those ***** flowers—especially the Blue one. Don’t worry, we are here to help. Here’s how to get your hands on those pesky Blue Flowers in Blox Fruits. View the full article

The latest Sakurajima update in Palworld has introduced an exciting new currency: Dog Coins. No, this isn’t some cryptocurrency scheme featuring a cute Shiba Inu—Dog Coins have a major use in Palworld. The hunt for Palworld Dog Coins will introduce you to some new faces in the Sakurajima update. Various quests will guide you through the new content and have you explore everything new, but some items will need farming. View the full article

Although there are plenty of characters that you can roll for in Wuthering Waves, one of the best that you get for free is Yangyang. She is one of the first characters that you get on your team from the main story and brings a great amount of damage for an early-game team along with a decent secondary DPS in the later stages. She can, however, pair up with multiple different top-tier characters to build up a wombo combo that can shred some of the toughest bosses. View the full article

Riot Games has opened closed alpha test sign-ups for 2XKO, the fighting game based on the developer's League of Legends franchise. Originally revealed as Project L, this League of Legends fighting game is one way of expanding the IP into other ventures. The game was first revealed in 2019, showing off a 2v2 tag-team-based fighting system, similar to the Marvel vs. Capcom series or Arc System Works' Dragon Ball FighterZ or BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. 2XKO features a number of familiar playable champions from League of Legends, like Ekko, Ahri, and Yasuo in its roster. View the full article

Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC introduces us to several new katanas with unique move sets. One of the more interesting ones is the Star-Lined Sword, a katana that combines powerful magic with swift slashes to take out your opponents. Here’s how you can get your hands on the Star-Lined Sword in Elden Ring. View the full article

Back in the day, SNK was one of gaming’s biggest names. King of Fighters and Fatal Fury were hugely popular beat-’em-ups in the 1980s and ’90s, while Metal Slug helped define the side-scrolling action game genre, and the company’s high-spec console, handheld and arcade hardware were the envy of many. After two tumultuous decades in the 2000s, SNK received investment from Saudi Arabia’s Electronic Gaming Development Company in 2020 and was fully acquired in 2022. The investment has come under scrutiny due to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which includes allegations of unfair treatment of women and the LGBTQ community. In the aftermath of the acquisition, an SNK lead insisted that the studio's new ownership "doesn't affect us in any way." Shortly after the opening of a new development studio in Singapore in April, IGN spoke with SNK President and CEO Kenji Matsubara about the company’s vision, which includes becoming a Top 10 global publisher. Matsubara’s goal is ambitious, but the company does of course face extremely stiff competition. Depending on the definition, the world’s largest game publisher is currently Sony Interactive Entertainment, with the Top 10 also including Microsoft, Nintendo and Electronic Arts. The group also includes relative newcomers from China such as Tencent, NetEase and miHoYo. “Setting such a lofty goal has helped me to identify the challenges that stand in our way,” he says. “What SNK currently lacks the most is development capabilities, so strengthening development capabilities will be essential. Beyond that, we can also consider acquiring other studios with strong IP, to add to our portfolio.” SNK’s next announced game is Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the first new entry in the Fatal Fury series in 26 years. After nearly three decades away, the new game is attracting a positive response from fans of fighting games – but Matsubara acknowledges this alone will not be enough. “It will be necessary for us to develop titles in various genres and release multiple titles every year,” he says. “We are also working on genres other than fighting games. We are planning not only action games that utilize SNK’s legacy IP, but also action games that are brand new, and we hope to start releasing these over the next few years.” Matsubara joined SNK in July 2021. In the three years since, he has made significant changes, strengthening the company’s development, sales and publishing divisions. Headquartered in Osaka, the company also opened new development studios in Tokyo and, most recently, Singapore, with another studio already open in Beijing. Last year, its Osaka HQ changed location as well, leaving its longtime home for a larger, more centrally located office close to Shin-Osaka bullet train station. In terms of marketing and sales, Matsubara has increased the company’s focus from Asia to include more proactive efforts in the West. As a geographically central location in Southeast Asia with a high level of English proficiency, stable economy and growing pool of tech talent, Singapore is becoming one of Southeast Asia’s most prominent locations for game development. In recent years, companies such as Ubisoft, Electronic arts and Bandai Namco have opened offices there, while locally developed indie games such as Cuisineer and Let’s Build a Zoo are taking Singapore’s soft-power culture to the world. Gaming peripheral makers such as Razer and Secretlab, too, have built a strong reputation for the country, while gamescom spinoff event gamescom asia has been held there for several years. As we spoke with Matsubara shortly after the opening of SNK’s new Singapore studio, we asked the reasons behind this choice of location. “When I joined SNK, we only had studios in Osaka and Beijing,” he says. “We soon set up a Tokyo studio, but we felt we needed to increase the number of studios and work on strengthening our development capabilities. When we look to Asia, Singapore is the most attractive place. Engineers there are knowledgeable about generative AI and machine learning, which have been attracting attention in recent years, and they are interested in joining the videogame industry. So Singapore felt ideally suited for game development.” Each of these studios undertake different tasks while also collaborating on certain projects. While the Singapore studio finds its feet, it has been twinned with the Tokyo studio, while also taking advantage of local knowhow to contribute development research to the group as a whole. “For now, the Singapore studio and the Tokyo studio work together closely, holding regular meetings and collaborating on title development. In the future, I would like the Singapore studio to become a standalone studio, and to develop AAA titles as a hub studio for Southeast Asia.” Matsubara also explained that the Singapore studio has a strong R&D focus, particularly in the fields of generative AI and machine learning, which will feed back into the rest of the SNK group. SNK also has sales bases in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. But even with all of these new development and sales offices, the company’s plans for expansion continue to unfold. As SNK works towards its goals, it plans to eventually either open outposts in North America and Europe, or to build partnerships in those regions with other companies. While SNK has a very long way to go to realize its aspirations of cracking the global Top 10 publishers, it is clearly no longer just a ********* company. By embracing a multicultural approach and dabbling in new genres, there’s a good chance it will release some cool games. That in itself will be an important first step in once again making SNK a household name. Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan and is on Twitter here. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Make EVE and her buddies look their best when slaughtering their way through a fallen world with our guide to Stellar Blade's many outfits and cosmetic options. View the full article

The Overwatch 2 developers have released a blog detailing their thoughts about the current state of tanks this week and the overall balance changes they want to introduce in the coming months, with plans to buff the overall archetype in the works. The main purpose of the June 28 developer update, posted on the official Blizzard blog, is to address player concerns about the tankiness and survivability of all tank heroes. Both developers and players have noted Overwatch 2‘s anti-heal passive makes it difficult for tanks to stay alive without serious assistance from their teammates, even after the tank buffs introduced during season 10. View the full article

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes: Game Recording Fixed bug that prevented Send To Phone from working if the user had not also signed in from a second desktop machine. Fixed Recordings & Screenshots dialog context menu sometimes opening in new window. Linux Fixed file extension not being applied automatically when saving files.View the full article

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel. Game Recording Fixed bug that prevented Send To Phone from working if the user had not also signed in from a second desktop machine. Desktop Mode Fixed Recordings & Screenshots dialog context menu sometimes opening in new window. Fixed file extension not being applied automatically when saving files.View the full article

If Alice: Madness Returns was ***** on arrival, that would at least be aesthetically consistent. The 2011 sequel to ********* McGee's Alice went even deeper into Alice in Wonderland's red guts than the first game, pulling out the most nightmarish aspects of the Victorian *********** story and tying their shadows into a neat action-adventure. But it suffered from abysmal launch sales, with reviewers and fans both being disappointed by what they felt were rough controls and level design. Still, game designer ********* McGee wasn't giving up. McGee, who created the series after being fired by id Software, hoped to gather enough community support for a follow-up, and the most diehard Alice believers gave it to him in spades. But after a decade of this cutting fan pressure, publisher EA finally made a decision in 2023: there would be no more Alice games. They blamed the "analysis of the IP" and market conditions. Was it all over? Would Alice have to lie facedown in the graveyard once and for all? Not exactly. Alice: Madness Returns doesn't just live, it thrives. "Even though EA was going to let Alice ****," says 33-year-old Twitch streamer Foxfire47, who has been a fan of the series since the first game released in 2000, "the fans were absolutely not." She credits Madness Returns’ lively online fanbase to McGee himself. He began working on a proposal for a potential follow-up, Alice: Asylum, in 2017, and encouraged fans to contact EA directly to show their support. His now retired Patreon contains all the other ways he incentivized fans to deepen their obsession, like referring to the fandom as "Insane Children" and eventually posting an Alice: Asylum design ****** bursting with art. His otherworldly design is at least one reason why fans could never truly abandon Madness Returns, or the Alice series in general. They are a gorgeous testament to the fact that anyone can survive the worst thing that's ever happened to them. Friendships and bonds Foxfire47 discovered Madness Returns' online fan base through McGee's Patreon in 2018. She remembers feeling McGee’s excitement for Asylum bleeding into her preexisting enthusiasm for the series, and it did the same for everyone she met over Patreon and Discord. "Friendships and bonds were made through Alice: Asylum," Foxfire47 says. When EA ultimately passed on the project, they were also rejecting an entire community that had put years and money into materializing a shared dream. But McGee had trained his fans to become personally invested, and an IP issue seemed small in the face of their dedication. "After [EA rejected Asylum]," Foxfire47 says, "I feel that, as fans for Alice, we wanted to keep the spirit of the games alive. With the camaraderie of this community, we are always going to show our love for these games." The community now sustains Madness Returns through YouTube videos with millions of views, pouty TikTok fancams with hundreds of thousands of likes, detailed cosplay, tattoos, and other tangible methods of worship. All of this online word-of-mouth has helped Alice fans succeed in an unprecedented goal. They are actively collecting new fans for an abandoned, 24-year-old franchise telling the strange horror story of an orphan teenager, Alice, who retreats into an hallucinated Wonderland. I feel that, as fans for Alice, we wanted to keep the spirit of the games alive "I bought Alice: Madness Returns, and I’m playing the first one for the first time because of your cosplay!" one commenter recently told popular TikTok cosplayer Jessilyn Cupcake. In recent years, she's made and shared several Alice cosplays with her eager followers, including Alice's ultramarine tea dress and the yowling Hobby Horse hammer from Madness Returns. She first found Madness Returns in 2011, telling IGN that she "fell in love immediately.” "It still feels modern and a fresh take despite being 15 years old," Jessilyn says. "I think [its] hack-and-slash-style gameplay with multiple weapons, costumes, and abilities is one of the best examples in a game, ever." The game is an intoxicating blend of deadly and delicate, much like its most famous *******, the lace-patterned Vorpal Blade – a chef's ****** for short-range combat. In Madness Returns, traumatized 19-year-old Alice must take on the child **** trafficker and psychiatrist [Hidden Content] tries to trick her into madness in order to commodify her body. But Alice learns to wield her fragile power against any abomination. Alice's ability to work through her pain and tackle any problem, from baby dolls that ****** to dangerous men, is part of her underdog appeal. And McGee accessorizes Alice's hypnotic visions with touches like the *******, white bow behind her bloodspattered apron, and the crystal-blue butterflies in the misty, tree-covered Vale of Tears. Though Madness Returns the game has been out for years, the most popular way for fans to publicly join together is by looking at the tiniest game details through a magnifying glass. On TikTok, a scene shows Alice hallucinates having her skull drilled open at the corrupt Rutledge Asylum. The camera lingers on swollen leeches in jars. Alice looks dazed in slow-motion, with makeup staining her skin like a bruise, and moved viewers supply the video with 43,000 likes. "SAVE ALICE ASYLUM PETITION," says the most popular comment. Madness Returns YouTube videos likewise prioritize analysis of the game's visuals and story. One 51-minute video by video essayist Boulder Punch spends almost half of its runtime on series "highlights," praising its surreal platforming and aching orchestral score. YouTuber BlackRose was among those captivated by its “beautiful, grungy artwork” when she recorded her first YouTube episode with it in 2023, leading her to recommend it to her 111,000 followers. "I was immediately hooked," she tells IGN. "One particular part of the game that sticks with me vividly was when Alice became a giant after eating [enchanted Eat Me cake in] Queensland. I had loads of fun becoming big and terrorizing all the ****** card guards while I laughed maniacally for having so much power." Master of the macabre "The art direction of the two Alice games are definitely what struck me the most [about them] — that dark, gothic style that blends objects of childhood with ********* and the macabre," says Maria, who runs the horror gaming YouTube channel eurothug4000. McGee's defunct Shanghai-based games studio, Spicy Horse, specialized in the unique style that gave Alice life. Aside from the Alice series, the developer also (somewhat unpopularly) turned several Brothers Grimm stories into platformers, while padding them with intriguing, cartoonish gore. But ********* McGee's: Alice is what truly established Spicy Horse as a purveyor of cute brooding. Madness Returns' art director Ken Wong was certainly inspired by it. After Wong created Alice fanart in 2000, McGee took notice, and the two worked on designs together for several years. And on Madness Returns, "we saw an opportunity with the visuals to create something that was violent and horrific, yet also beautiful and full of imagination," Wong says. "Wonderland is such an amazing setting." "I'm biased as the art director," Wong continues. "But in 2024, I think it's worth playing Madness Returns to experience a real visual feast. We were pushed to unleash our imaginations and explore some really dark places, and I think the game we created has some of the most beautiful environments and some of the most f'ed up characters I've ever seen in a game." @leah___lbbh But recovering the truth is worth the suffering. #SeeHerGreatness #alicemadnessreturns #alice #madnessreturns #fyp #SeeHerGreatness #fyp #fyp #fyp ♬ Alice Madness Returns - °• 𝒜𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓎𝒶𝒽 •° blockquote.tiktok-embed[data-video-id='7211327715461434670'] { width: 325px; margin-left: 0; } blockquote.tiktok-embed iframe { border-radius: 8px; } Though the content of its story suggests defiance of its lineage, Madness Returns nonetheless shares its core with Alice in Wonderland, the idea that being a girl in an ****** environment feels surreal. Because of this, actress Susie Brann, who voiced Alice in both games, tells IGN over email that she "wanted to bring to life the Alice [she'd] read about as a child." "I saw her as frank, polite, well brought up, curious, honest and adventurous," says Brann. "I was aware that there was a great disparity between the innocence and truthfulness of Alice and the horror that was going on around her. But being aware that she had experienced real horror in the loss of her parents in such a horrific way, the games could be seen as an outworking of what was going on in her mind. Maybe bringing some form of closure, if not healing, to her mind." The original Alice in Wonderland provides a roadmap to children hoping to detangle the bizarre world of grown-ups. Madness Returns has, in turn, become a cornerstone guide for women who've learned to become distrustful of the white rabbit that led them to it. Fans online gush about the way Madness Returns handles trauma, which is, to this day, uncommonly nonjudgmental and empowering.While the villainous Bumby forces Madness Returns' Alice to suffer from gendered grief, she never allows it to infect all of who she is. She's more of a goth role model than a tragic hero, and in fans' appreciation of her, she's been able to join Alice in Wonderland as a fairytale classic. Some fans have even grown up with Madness Returns the way other children, for more than a century, have had Alice in Wonderland read to them at bedtime. That was the case for twenty-two-year-old Johnnie, whose mom had been playing Alice games since before they were born. They first played it themselves when they were only five years old. I'm biased as the art director, but in 2024, I think it's worth playing Madness Returns to experience a real visual feast These days, Johnnie appreciates how "[Alice] isn't sexualized, demonized, or saved by a man," they say. "All of her healing is done on her own, and I've always loved and appreciated that. [...] Alice as a series, I believe, sparked a lot of discussion around trauma, psychosis, and mental health and provided that safe space for those who have suffered too without being painted as a villain." Twenty-three-year-old Brynlee Daigle agrees. She's loved Madness Returns since begging her mom to buy it in 2012. Now, she discusses it with friends on Discord and does Alice roleplay on Tumblr. "One aspect of the game that still sticks with me is the important message about mental health, that no matter if you're disabled, or severely traumatized, you can overcome any obstacle in your way." "It's why I have the [********* McGee's Alice] Jabberwocky [boss] battle tattooed on my thigh," she continues. "It's there to remind me I can always defeat my inner demons." A community lives on without its original creator Though he's helped Madness Returns sprout a loyal and hopeful community, McGee himself might prefer to let Alice's memory fade, like ink. In an email to IGN, a representative for McGee declined a request for comment, instead citing a recent YouTube video as McGee's "final word on the matter" (after that, McGee acknowledged the "intensity of Alice fans" in relation to this article on Twitter). In the video, McGee describes being "emotionally, quite destroyed" after EA rejected his community-backed proposal for a third game. Though McGee once welcomed fans' ardor while recruiting support for his Patreon, EA's rejection has understandably cut down his patience for it. He currently treats fans' eagerness like he would a slack-jawed Frankenstein – a creation that could never meet his wants and needs. "Alice fans tend to have difficulty reading what I am saying when it comes to how much I DO NOT want to make games anymore," he wrote on Twitter on April 24. Fans have learned to cope with his cold shoulder. Most of the meaning they derive from Madness Returns is personal anyway. "Many of the active fans I've seen online are women," says Maria, "and ********* McGee's Alice goes through a lot as a young woman growing up in a world working against her." "I think every woman can relate to some aspect of [Alice] in a way," she continues, "that feeling of something taken from them, that feeling of not seeming like you're in control [...] because you are a woman." So fans are grateful for what already exists. "If there's one thing I want people to take away from playing [Madness Returns]," says Jessilyn, "is that working through trauma — no matter how hard or ******* it is — can be worth it." "If something is true, it’s true for all time," Brann says. "If the game resonates with people and helps them work through and leave behind some of their turmoil, understanding themselves more and what they’ve been through, that’s got to be a good thing." Ashley Bardhan is a freelance writer at IGN View the full article

A Red ***** Redemption 2 player has somehow managed to trigger a rare ****** ******* from a lawman in the game. This kind of ******* is certainly different from how cops usually react in Red ***** Redemption 2. View the full article

Developers at CD Projekt Red are voicing their thoughts regarding their goals for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, Project Orion. Cyberpunk 2077 has faced its share of controversies throughout the course of its production up to its release in 2020. After facing an overwhelmingly negative reception from gamers and critics during the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, it seems like CD Projekt Red is attempting to navigate Project Orion's development without running into the same issues. View the full article

Dune Imperium is a fabulous strategy game about becoming the biggest spice boy on a sandy planet I presume is called Dune. I love it despite never having read the Dune books or watched the Dune movies, because the digital version taught me everything I needed to know about Barry Harkonnen, Oscar Isaac, the tall guy from Guardians Of The Galaxy, and their insatiable pursuit of space nutmeg. Now the board game's first expansion is headed to the digital version of the game, and it's called Rise Of Ix for reasons I definitely understand. Read more View the full article

With Fallout back on everyone's minds after the success of the new show, the original game's lead developer Tim Cain has been weighing in on different aspects of the series over on his YouTube channel. While Fallout clearly still means a lot to him, Cain didn't seem keen to return to the series when responding to his viewers' frequent queries... Read more.View the full article

Ahead of Zenless Zone Zero's global launch, the developers at Hoyoverse have revealed some brand-new playable agent characters, a new area, story chapters, and other content that will be available in the game. Zenless Zone Zero is the latest action RPG release from Hoyoverse, the developers of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. Unlike the latter two games, Zenless Zone Zero tackles the urban fantasy sci-fi genre, though it has the same stylish combat as Hoyoverse's other titles and other hack-and-slash action games like ****** May Cry, along with appealing character designs and weapons. View the full article

In the last days before Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree came out, I was preparing myself for disappointment. I loved the base game. Id invested over 200 hours in it, perfecting my Elden Ring sorcery build, and finding as many secrets, dungeons, and optional bosses as I could. I knew absolutely nothing could match the thrill of beating Margit for the first time, or finishing my first catacomb, or discovering my first illusory wall. I knew concessions would be made to Shadow of the Erdtrees map - I knew it'd be smaller and shorter. I knew it'd never live up to the original. View the full article