Steam

The latest versions of the PS1-era Final Fantasy games are getting physical editions for Nintendo Switch on December 9. Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII Remastered are being released together in a “twin-pack” box, while Final Fantasy IX will have a box all its own. All of the games feature some modern conveniences that weren’t available in their initial release. They cost $39.99 each and are now available for preorder at various retailers. Final Fantasy IX Get it at Amazon - $39.99Get it at SE Store - $39.99 It's Final Fantasy IX! On Switch! In physical format! Final Fantasy VII & VIII Remastered Twin Pack Get it at Amazon - Not yet available at the time of this writingGet it at SE Store - $39.99 All of these games are already available on Switch (and other platforms) in digital form. But this is the first time they’ll be available in the US in physical form. Final Fantasy VII was a major release in 1997, and was the first time the series debuted on a non-Nintendo platform. It follows former SOLDIER Cloud Strife as he and a team of freedom fighters battle against the evil Shinra corporation. This version of the game features 3x speed mode, the ability to turn off random encounters, and “battle enhancement mode.” Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is an enhanced version of a game that hit the PS1 in 1999. It follows Squall and the rest of the members of SeeD as they fight back against the sorceress Edea, who’s causing quite the global ruckus. This version of the game has various battle assist options, a 3x speed boost, and the ability to turn off random encounters. At the time of its initial release in 2000, Final Fantasy IX was something of a throwback to the medieval-settings settings of the first six entries in the series. This game follows Zidane and a troupe of actors, who “kidnap” Princess Garnet, who secretly wanted to be kidnapped to get away from her deranged mother, the queen. The visuals have been gently revamped to look better on modern displays. It has other new features as well, including auto-save and seven game boosters, including high speed and no-encounter modes. Other Preorder Guides Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky. View the full article

The demo features early parts of the game's storyline with 15 playable characters and 4 classes. View the full article

The new Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered International trailer showcases the French, *******, Italian and Spanish localizations. View the full article

The mirror breaks and Low is left behind on the other side, yet another kid trapped within the terrifying hellscape of the Nowhere in Little Nightmares III. Thankfully, he's not alone. With no Maw in sight but that all-seeing Eye making its appearance in multiple forms this time round, how will Low return home? Here is the full rundown of Little Nightmares III, showcasing our interpretations of the story, how it links to the previous entries, and what we make of that abrupt ending. Major spoiler warning throughout. Table of contentsLittle Nightmares III plot, summarizedLittle Nightmares III story analysisNecropolisCandy FactoryCarnevaleThe InstituteLittle Nightmares III ending, explainedLittle Nightmares III plot, summarized Screenshot by Destructoid A standalone game taking place in the Little Nightmares world, the third entry is a sequel that follows two new protagonists: Low and Alone. A sight of a mysterious mirror shows a glimpse of Low's old life, an escape route from the hell he's just woken up in. Behind him, a broken mirror with shattered glass rests near his feet. He wakes from his dream of the mirror to the promised land, now knowing where he must go if he ever wants to escape. With Alone by his side and a trusty map to guide them, the pair set off into the great unknown—the Nowhere. Little Nightmares III story analysis Screenshot by Destructoid A similar start to Little Nightmares, Low wakes beside piles of suitcases. Based on the interior of the train car-looking vessel Low wakes in, I'd bet we start our adventure from inside the Maw. The door is reminiscent of what you'd find on a ship or submarine. There are piles of suitcases like in a cruise ship and a decaying rat in the corner. All of this tells us we were underwater. The final clue to this room being a place on the Maw is the broken mirror. Mirrors are already a part of Little Nightmares lore. They were mostly destroyed by the Lady on the Maw, where a handheld mirror would be her demise at the hand of Six. In this instance, mirrors act as a gateway for the children to use as a means of teleportation, similar to Mono's power with TVs. A reason to smash these outside of the Lady's vanity is to potentially stop children from escaping Nowhere. There's proof that Low isn't the only child who can travel through mirrors, as the areas Low teleports to are always lived-in with a bed nearby. Screenshot by Destructoid The chapters of Little Nightmares III seem to exist as manifestations of Low's childhood. This version of Nowhere is incredibly dreamlike, where monsters with doll and porcelain appearances show up throughout, linking Low to the very creatures that keep trying to kill him. Necropolis Screenshot by Destructoid The first chapter takes place in Necropolis. Its definition: a cemetery belonging to an ancient city. Necropolis is a giant city encompassed by massive stone walls, its interior collecting dust. A dense sandstorm fog coats the land—it's impossible to see where the city starts and ends. Necropolis looks like an hourglass, yet it houses a ridiculously large threat: the Monster Baby. Crows also exist here, but there's not much for them to eat as the Monster Baby turns anything that moves into stone. This monster very much acts like the Eye we see time and time again in Little Nightmares, but in this case, the baby transforms residents into its playthings. Screenshot by Destructoid Residents once lived here until the Monster Baby arrived with its glowing eye, peeking through the curtains and delivering an afterglow in the sky that's never settled. Interestingly, the Monster Baby's main gameplay is to stand stationary and survey an area for movement, much like a security camera. Candy Factory Screenshot by Destructoid The Candy Factory is ominous because there are hundreds of Guests moving in and out of it on hanging conveyor belts. We know the Guests from the Maw would become ravenous at the sight of a live child and that the Lady could absorb a person's essence, transforming children into Nomes. It's heavily implied that the food in Nowhere is the flesh of its residents and children. The meat hanging up in Little Nightmare's freezers is human-shaped, and we see Mini-Kin enjoys consuming human flesh. The Guests work to mass produce the sweets, while others are likely ground down into candy, all stuck in a trance by the television's strange broadcast. Screenshot by Destructoid The Supervisor is an eight-limbed creature resembling a spider. If we're talking symbolism, a simple explanation is that Low has arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and entomophobia (insects) as there's also the Beetles residing in Necropolis. This factory may exist to get children hooked onto candy so they don't want to leave—to slowly transform them into little nightmares—like what Six became. The candy junkyard is surely a metaphor for overconsumption and waste. Carnevale Screenshot by Destructoid Similar to the story of Pinocchio, the leading antagonist of this chapter, the Kin, forces children to perform as entertainment at the Carnevale. Rather than consuming the children that get lost in Nowhere, he uses them as entertainment. Falling asleep to the static television that has nefariously twisted the shape of so many creatures before him, the Kin has a ventriloquist appearance, with a living hand (Mini-Kin) that can come off whenever it pleases. Evidently, the Kin's business is to force children to entertain the Carnevale goers (the Herd), who partake in violent games and magic shows. The Carnevale Puppets are incredibly similar to Little Nightmares II's Bullies. Could they be children transformed into wooden marionettes to keep the Herd entertained at the Carnevale? Screenshot by Destructoid This version of Nowhere behaves much like a conveyor belt, in that everything in it is recycled. The Herd move onto the Carnevale after gorging themselves on the Maw, just to be transported to the Candy Factory via hot air balloons, where they're turned into food or become mindless workers. Everything becomes a husk to the will of the Eye—broadcasting to all—taking everything you are. It is awake while everyone sleeps. The Institute Screenshot by Destructoid Everything we see has in some way been impacted by the Little Nightmares Eye. While the camerawork and depth perception the series uses could point to the player being the Eye itself, there's equally a ton of evidence pointing towards the Supermassive Games' version of Nowhere being more psychological than Lovecraftian—or both. Screenshot by Destructoid The Institute could be the real place Low was forced to spend time in, as the cell is the same in his flashbacks. We see the Institute Overseer (placeholder name) as a gigantic monster whose limbs contort around the Institute corridors, symbolizing how this character was everywhere, making it impossible for Low to escape. This could explain why both the Monster Baby and the Institute Overseer are significantly larger than anything we've ever seen before in Little Nightmares—being manifested and distorted trauma. Little Nightmares III ending, explained Screenshot by Destructoid The prison cell we revisited after every chapter showed Low trapped in some kind of youth psychiatric institution. Unlike previous entries, Little Nightmares III has three locations that clearly center around children: A Candy Factory, Carnevale, and the Institute, which has toy trains, lollipops, and spelling blocks. While it's heavily hinted throughout this title that there's something more to the dolls we kept picking up, the main reveal in Little Nightmares III's story is that Alone is Low's imaginary friend. She is the doll that Low held onto during his time at The Institute, the same doll that has magical powers capable of distorting reality back to how it was in the past. He created her through his time alone, left with nothing to do but draw. Screenshot by Destructoid Alone is spat out from the mirror as she can only exist in the Nowhere. She disappears without Low's imagination to keep her alive, leaving only her clothes and goggles. While Low draws himself and Alone at home atop a hill, that could never become a reality. Low's imagination came to life, where Alone acted as his best friend and pillar, ensuring he had the courage to keep going. This means it's possible to create something nice in Nowhere, but it wouldn't last long before the Eye replaced the good with evil. The final scene shows Low looking at the broken mirror pieces, hoping to fix it so that he may be reunited with Alone. While life on this side is a lot brighter, it may be another trick. The window is broken, where vines spill through the broken glass. There are moving boxes and torn wallpaper that have seen better days. You can see the doll of Alone beside the now broken mirror. But where exactly has Low ended up if he didn't include his family in his drawing of home? Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Little Nightmare 3 story and ending, explained appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

If you were wondering whether your favorite Little Nightmares characters appear in Supermassive Games' version of Nowhere, then here's everything you should know about Six and Mono's potential return in Little Nightmares III. Spoiler warning for Little Nightmares lore and how each game ends. Do Six or Mono appear in Little Nightmare 3? Screenshot by Destructoid Neither Six nor Mono appear in Little Nightmares III. This likely won't come as a surprise to you seeing as the third game is a sequel to the first, meaning Six has become a little nightmare herself and Mono—well he's just waiting for his time again as he's trapped in an endless loop, curtesy of our heroine. Little Nightmares II acted as the prequel to the first game, explaining how Six came to The Maw in the first place. The lore even dates back to Very Little Nightmares, as it explained Six's origins, where the Girl in the Yellow Raincoat helped her escape (I'm sensing a pattern here). But seeing as the third game in the Little Nightmares series follows on from Six devouring the Lady and developing powers that sucks the life force from other monsters, it's highly unlikely Six would appear again as her usual hungry self. There's also the added possibility that Mono stopped the paradox as the Thin Man, a theory that he potentially ended his life. Six passed a very tall, thin man hanging from the ceiling at the start of Little Nightmares. This, alongside the Secrets of the Spiral Expansion Pass for Little Nightmares III, may provide more lore on our old protagonists—or maybe Little Nightmares II is where their stories end. Screenshot by Destructoid What we do know, however, is that the Expansion Pass could provide more context or further clues to where Six ends up. We don't have much to go on outside of the Secrets of the Maw DLC for Little Nightmares, which showed the powers of the Lady, who transformed the Runaway Kid into a Nome, indicating all Nomes are captive children. This completely altered the scene of Six eating the Nome in the first game, and this storytelling method could reappear in the next Expansion Pass, potentially linking Alone's story to Six's. After all, there's no mention of Six or Mono in this game, as Little Nightmares III is a standalone product that takes place in the Nowhere. This means an appearance or reference could be made in a DLC. Six and Mono may be a Tarsier Studios exclusive. What we can confirm is that a hidden Little Nightmares III costume that looks just like Six in her yellow raincoat will be available for purchase, likely part of the Secrets of the Spiral Expansion Pass. We'll just have to wait and see whether this is just a bit of fan service to accompany the other Little Nightmares costumes or if something relating to Six is heading our way. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Are Six or Mono in Little Nightmares 3? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

In the midst of a child's worst fears brought to life, you can find some comfort in gathering the Little Nightmare III dolls, though they're scattered across the Nowhere like a cruel cosmic joke. But a child's plaything could be enough to keep the monsters at bay, so the hunt is on to find Low's light in the darkness. There are 25 dolls to find in Little Nightmares III, scattered across the four chapters. Here are the locations of all of them, shown chronologically. Table of contentsAll Doll collectibles in Little Nightmare 3All Necropolis DollsAll Candy Factory DollsAll Carnevale DollsAll The Institute DollsAll Doll collectibles in Little Nightmare 3 This article is a work in progress and will be updated when we find the remaining two dolls. All Necropolis Dolls One Screenshot by Destructoid The first is scripted for you to find as it's directly next to the gigantic ladder Low and Alone climb to scale the concrete wall at the start of the game. Two Screenshot by Destructoid You go down an elevator after evading the eye that turns people into stone, and upon surviving the first encounter with Monster Baby's hand. Use Alone's wrench on the breakable wall to your left when the elevator reaches the ground. The doll is at the center of this hidden room. Three Screenshot by Destructoid The doll is at the top of a spiral staircase (in the background of the image), just behind the floor fan you fly up using Low and Alone's umbrella to progress. Four Screenshot by Destructoid After the Monster Baby grabs and drops Low and Alone, the first cutscene with Low in a prison cell is shown. When you regain control of Low and Alone, go to the left, past a rocking horse and enter go into the adjacent room to find the doll. Five Screenshot by Destructoid At the end of a long corridor (walking away from the camera/out of bounds area) after escaping from the Monster Baby for the final time (at the end of the Necropolis chapter). You float across a big gap using the umbrella to reach this area. All Candy Factory Dolls One Screenshot by Destructoid Inside the filing room of the Supervisor. You need to avoid her by climbing upwards, towards the metal walkways overhead. The doll is on the far-left side of this room, in the opposite direction of where you're supposed to go. Two Screenshot by Destructoid You will naturally pass by this room when you need to climb the stack of dinner trays and hold onto the meat hook to reach a fuse. Pick up the doll at the back of this freezer room with the piled high trays and a lever on the left wall. Three Screenshot by Destructoid Walk across the beam of the monitor room as the Supervisor passes through. Enter the small adjacent room of the main monitor room when you've reached the ground. Four Screenshot by Destructoid Enter the long corridor after defeating the Supervisor and go to the very last room on the left-hand side. Crouch and enter this sewing room to find the doll atop the workshop table. All Carnevale Dolls One Screenshot by Destructoid When you enter the building at the start of this chapter, break the glass pane on the door to your immediate right, opposite the breaker box where you need a fuse to activate the elevator. The room in question is a restroom, found in on the corner of a long vertical corridor. Two Screenshot by Destructoid Climb the observatory device to reach a room with a dartboard visible near the entrance. Climb atop this room via the cabinets next to the door to reach the vent and into the small crawlspace for the doll's spawn. Three Screenshot by Destructoid You have to scale this room with basic platforming, using the suspended bathtub and dangling chain. There's a hole underneath nailed wooden planks fixed onto a broken door. Ignore it and head in the opposite direction, towards the rope that is suspending the bathtub to find a hole in the wall. Crawl through for the doll. Four Screenshot by Destructoid Head down the staircase on your immediate left after Low helps Alone open a door. This leads to a very dark vertical corridor. The doll is at the dead end of this area following the staircase heading down, far from where you're supposed to go next. Five Screenshot by Destructoid When you're crossing a pipe to enter the main carnival area, head towards the camera and enter the hole in the metal wall of the building you just left. Cross the beam, climb the AC, and find the doll. Six [EMBARGOED] Screenshot by Destructoid Find the room with a piano at its center at the end of the near-dark vertical corridor. The room opposite it has the body of a Guest-like monster. Jump onto the piano and walk on every key from the left to the right, ensuring you step on all piano keys. The bookcase is a secret door with the doll hidden inside. Seven Screenshot by Destructoid Climb up from the crawlspace on the floor after picking up the gold key to enter the carnival. Go left as soon as you exit the crawlspace and reach the top of the tower, where you can see Guest-like monsters moving around in the background. Use the hook to go back so you don't die from the fall after picking up the doll. Eight Screenshot by Destructoid Find and enter the well after the shooting gallery game of Nomes and children Low and Alone can play. The well is right before you go on the scripted carnival rollercoaster ride. Nine Screenshot by Destructoid You will cross a wooden beam to press forward after escaping from the Kin by jumping down the chute into a pit of teeth. There's a short metal ladder you should go down to find the next doll. All The Institute Dolls One Screenshot by Destructoid Find the large wooden plank Low and Alone need to pull off at the start of the chapter. Go into the room opposite the wooden plank, past the knocked-over lamp, and into a small room with another lamp, a painting, and coat rack to find the doll. Two Screenshot by Destructoid You will pick up the magic doll from the Institute's prison cell when you need to find a fuse to replace the broken one at the shutter door. With the magic doll in hand that shows a glimpse into the past, return to the vertical corridor and enter the only open room that has kids' toys and a television inside. You need to throw the magic doll through the window by standing on the seesaw. The collectible doll only appears when you have the magic doll with you. Three Screenshot by Destructoid Open the shutter with the new fuse and pull the trolley into the next room, placing it underneath the vending machine to reach the doll on top. Four Screenshot by Destructoid Climb up the vines after escaping the hand for the second time and head away from the camera when you're inside one of those vertical corridors. The doll is at the very top of this corridor, next to a bookcase. Five Screenshot by Destructoid Following the world's longest elevator ride, find the hole in the wall next to the wooden plank you need to cross over. There's a gold key here, and you can find the final doll in this room. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post All Little Nightmare 3 Doll locations appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Overwatch 2 is making a few changes to how Mythic hero skins are unlocked, with purchases now following a specific pattern that should help players feel more satisfied as they buy each tier. These fundamental changes to the Mythic skin unlock system are coming in Overwatch 2 Season 19 on October 14, starting with Divine Druid Lifeweaver. View the full article

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is getting a New Game+ mode as part of a free anniversary update that's set to go live on October 10—and yup, that's tomorrow... Read more.View the full article

The trailer also features a music track composed by Go Shiina. View the full article

Blue Protocol: Star Resonance from publisher A Plus and developer Shanghai Bokura Network Technology gets a launch trailer for today's release as well. View the full article

Logitech's Pop buttons for smart home automation will soon become completely useless e-waste. The company released the devices less than a decade ago but is now abandoning early adopters, claiming the market and technology have outpaced the product. Read Entire Article View the full article

I'm sure this fact frequently causes someone at the New York Times to wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, but here's the harsh truth: Wordle is gonna run out of valid five-letter words sometime in 2027. There just aren't that many left that haven't already been used... Read more.View the full article

Amanda Ripley almost didn't make the cut as Alien: Isolation's protagonistView the full article

Just Dance 2026 Edition's release date is closing in as the popular dance simulator will be getting its next major update in the middle of this month. Developers Ubisoft have been drip-feeding all the new stuff coming to the game as part of the update. This includes a fresh list of tracks and new features that will be available once the edition goes live. This guide will help you keep track of the upcoming release. Table of contentsJust Dance 2026 Edition release countdownWhat to expect from Just Dance 2026 EditionJust Dance 2026 Edition release countdown Just Dance 2026 Edition will be released worldwide on Oct. 14. It will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. The exact time of launch is slightly unclear since Ubisoft. However, the following countdown will potentially help you keep track of the release. [hurrytimer id="1127937"] The countdown is based on the following timings. 1am PT3am CT4am ET8am UTC9am BST10am CEST This is based on when Ubisoft typically releases updates in Just Dance 2025. Just Dance 2026 is essentially a major overhaul, as you get to keep all your owned content from Just Dance 2023 onwards. Keep a window of one hour from the countdown. If Ubisoft reveals the exact time of launch, I will update it on this guide. What to expect from Just Dance 2026 Edition Just Dance 2026 Edition will feature 40 new tracks that will be added to your existing library once the update goes live. The following tracks are just a few of many that will be available to you on Oct. 14. APT. By ROSÉ & Bruno MarsHoudini by Dua LipaCounting Stars by OneRepublicHung Up by MadonnaAll Star by Smash Mouth You can enjoy Just Dance in a new way by using the Camera Controller feature on your phone. The Workout Mode will also help you track the calories that you burn in the sessions. You can also compete with up to six players in local multiplayer. The new Party mode will force you to prepare for an unpredictable dance showdown, while you can move your body for the bragging rights in the Challenge mode. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Just Dance 2026 Edition release countdown: Exact date and time appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

It's hard to imagine 90,000 people playing a video game while most of them also trash-talk it. That's what's happening to Blue Protocol: Star Resonance on Steam, which became the ninth game with the most online players on the platform this Thursday, in the afternoon of its release, while having 34% positive reviews. Curiosity and no cost are probably the two reasons that drove players to try out Blue Protocol. This action MMORPG has a 3D anime art style that resembles many other games of the same genre, like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. And just like these two, Blue Protocol is a gacha game, but that's not what's driving all the negative comments. According to player reviews, Blue Protocol locks player progression behind time gates, has bad frame rate drops, and feels overwhelming with dozens of different currencies used for multiple events. Cutscenes are bugged with some characters having no animation or voiceover. The autobattle and auto-walk systems essentially play the game for you, which sparked comments of the title being "shallow" and having "zero depth." Comments get harsher, though. In the r/MMORPG subreddit, some users say the game is an "asset flip," which means the developers made a new game by just reusing existing assets. "The new characters' art style clash with the original one, you can see it on the NPCs and Player characters," one player wrote. "Cutscenes are really weird, animations are bad, expressions are bad," another added. [Hidden Content] Predatory microtransactions are near the top of players' complaints, too. Despite the game being out for less than 24 hours in the West, it's been out since July 17 in China, where this issue is reportedly visible in the late game. "It's undeniable that it's pay-to-win," one player wrote. "It is the epitome of soon-to-be-shuttered cash grab slop, and it will be dead within a year," a disgruntled fan concluded. Adding insult to injury, performance issues are plaguing people in Europe and regions far from North America. "I’m on EU and I’ve had a lot of trouble dodging basic attacks," a struggling user explained. "No EU server so I am out," a second European giving up on the game commented. The few defenders highlight the character creation system, which appeals to fans of role-playing customization, but it doesn't seem enough to make their voices heard on Steam and Reddit's endless streams of bad reviews. If you're looking for the next great action MMO, Blue Protocol: Star Resonance might not be it. And if all the negativity holds, the player peak the game is seeing on Steam shouldn't last too long. The post This anime game is dominating Steam charts despite players absolutely trashing it appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

It's going to take a little longer than expected for Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, the throwback turn-based strategy game announced in 2024, to be ready for its early access release. Instead of rolling out this year as planned, Unfrozen and Hooded Horse now say the game will arrive sometime in 2026... Read more.View the full article

Kluge Interactive today announced its latest title, Synth Riders: Overdrive, a standalone follow-up on the VR game Synth Riders. Overdrive is a cyberpunk rhythm game that will launch on the Nintendo Switch in time for the holidays. Depending on the edition, the game contains up to 64 songs, with a story mode and multiplayer support for up to four players. According to the developers, Synth Riders: Overdrive was built with the Switch in mind, featuring reimagined gameplay with new mechanics. It features versus modes and couch co-op, three difficulty levels and customization options for their Synth Rider avatar. The base game includes 40 songs, with the Deluxe and Ultimate editions having 54 and 64 songs, respectively. Arturo Perez, Kluge Interactive founder and CEO, said in a statement, “As experts in music rhythm games who’ve created a successful VR immersive experience, we’re excited to bring our expertise and passion for music to Nintendo Switch gamers with Synth Riders: Overdrive. The Switch’s portability and local multiplayer capabilities make it the perfect platform for friends and families to experience this fast-paced musical adventure together.” In addition to the songs in each of the editions of Overdrive, Kluge also teases future inclusions to the roster, including DLC packs for Gorillaz, Monster Cat, Synthwaves 3 and others. The studio says that, “Additional well-known artists will be unveiled in the coming months.” The post Synth Riders: Overdrive announced for Switch holiday launch appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article

Invincible VS just announced its eighth playable character: Cecil. Quarter Up, developer of the 3v3 tag fighting game based on Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, revealed intelligence agent Cecil Stedman with a gameplay video, below. Check out IGN's interview with Kirkman and the developers at Quarter Up to find out more about how Cecil works and the Invincible VS story mode. Cecil’s announcement means we now know of eight playable characters in Invincible VS, voiced by the actors who play those characters in the hugely popular Prime Video animated series. They are Mark Grayson (Invincible), Atom Eve, Bulletproof, Thula, Rex Splode, Battle Beast, Omni-Man, and now also Cecil. Here’s the official blurb on Cecil: A fan-favorite from the Invincible TV series and comic books, Cecil has been one of the most requested playable characters. Most often heard as a voice in Mark’s earpiece, Cecil enters the fight in Invincible VS with specialized weapons, including plasma pistols, projectile launchers and grenades to keep opponents at a distance. His ranged gameplay style is paired with tactical combat, allowing him to play cat and mouse with enemies. Want more? Cecil can also summon a limitless supply of Reanimen for backup; with access to The Hammer — a massive orbital laser — he is a devastating force on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Quarter Up talked more about the Invincible VS Story Mode, which is a standalone narrative set in the Invincible universe. It’s written by Invincible TV show co-executive producer and writer Helen Leigh and Invincible VS narrative director Mike Rogers, in collaboration with Kirkman. Expect over 25 minutes of bespoke animation in the Story Mode, which “plays like a special extended episode of the show,” featuring every announced playable character so far. Interestingly, the Story Mode teases the arrival of a brand-new character who hasn’t yet appeared anywhere in the Invincible Universe. Quarter Up wouldn’t say who, but did confirm Cecil plays a pivotal role in the story. “Invincible has always been as much about compelling storytelling as it is about bloody beatdowns and fights you can’t tear your eyes from,” said Kirkman. “It was really important to me that we capture the essence of both the comic and television series, and bring key characters into the game. With Story Mode, our hope is that fans feel like they are right back in the show, but experiencing the universe in a whole new way.” Invincible VS will launch in 2026 on Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, and PC. Players can register for an upcoming Invincible VS Closed Alpha later this year here. Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

Invincible VS just announced its eighth playable character: Cecil. The no-nonsense director of the Global Defense Agency is a surprise addition to the roster. He lacks any superpowers, so it’s hard to imagine him lasting more than a blink of an eye against the likes of Omni-Man and co. But Invincible creator Robert Kirkman was adamant Cecil be in the game, and left it to the developers at Quarter Up to figure out how to make him work. Their answer is to lean on all the cool gadgets we see Cecil use in Invincible, which in this 3v3 tag fighting game levels the playing field somewhat. But there’s more: Invincible VS has a sizeable Story Mode in which Cecil plays a crucial role. Kirkman and Quarter Up won’t say much about it, but they describe is as a “playable episode,” so expectations are high. In this interview with IGN, Kirkman, Invincible VS executive producer Mike Willette, art director Dan Eder, and narrative director Mike Rogers, talk as much about Story Mode as they are allowed to right now, and delve deep into how Cecil actually works in the game. Read on to find out if Invincible VS is canon to the show, details on Cecil's kit, and much more. IGN: It must have been an interesting challenge with Cecil. He doesn’t have any superpowers, but he’s smart and can teleport and uses a lot of weapons. So how did you go about making him work in a fighting game? Mike Rogers: From a lore and narrative perspective, Cecil's always in control. We often see him as the man in the ear or the man watching the screen, but people forget that he's a trained agent. He knows how to get his hands dirty and he's got all the tech and all the money of the U.S. government behind him that can allow him to do that. There's just a lot of cool things that we've got in there that allow Cecil to be a really different character. We wanted him in there. There was no way we wanted to exclude him. And we saw opportunities like using his teleporter, like using Reanimen, like using The White Room, to get him in there in a unique way that people might not expect. Mike Willette: From a gameplay perspective, you have all these different types of archetypes, and where Cecil really fits in, in a really unique fashion in our system, is manipulating space, almost like he manipulates people, right? So the ability to put out projectiles like his Sonic Mine, that will basically just hover in space and then detonate after a few seconds. So he can put hazards, put roadblocks, put almost like a bullet hell for the opponent to try to get through. And because of our active tag system, he connects one time, he can tag in one of his assists. And so he's got a lot of utility for just manipulating the screen, getting around it, pelting the opponent from afar, making it frustrating for them, and then putting him back into our combo system. IGN: So is he a zoner, would you say? Mike Willette: Yeah, absolutely. So his combo structure, while he does have auto combos like most of our characters, and the magic chain of light, mediums and heavies, he has a lot of utility for the mid and the long range. He can make people try to chase him down. He has a lot of boosted moves that can cause pop-up or hard knockdown. Or for his… we call it Shellhock, he goes down with a Flaxan weapon and he basically launches like a grenade, but when you boost it you can launch multiples. You can do it while retreating and try to fill the screen and try to just set up roadblocks, so you can kind of like reset and then continue to pelt from afar. So he can manipulate a lot more than other characters can, because he has to use these tools. He doesn't have an air dash. He doesn't have double jumps. He uses the teleportation a lot to make those old bones work. IGN: Robert, I'd love to know what your input was on this. He’s not the obvious choice for a fighting game when you look at the characters in Invincible. I'm sure fans will love that he's in there. Was he a character you were keen to see realized in a fighting game particularly? How did it come to be that he was in the game? Robert Kirkman: His presence in the game is something that's really exciting for me because it shows the versatility of what these guys are trying to accomplish with the game, by having characters that you wouldn't expect and working out how Cecil can be equally matched with all the other people that are coming into it. It's really great the way they're pulling in story elements. There's a lot of character that is intact from the comics and the show that is clear in every frame of these characters. Cecil actually puts his hands in his pockets when he moves backwards, which to me was something that I thought was just absolutely brilliant. And it's just a really fun aspect of the character that's there visually as he's moving around. There's definitely a wish list of characters that I wanted in the game. And Cecil was one where I thought it would be really cool and unexpected if he were to show up in the game. Never in a million years did I think they would be able to pull it off and pull it off this well. I'm gonna tease too much… I'm going to get in trouble, I can't say anything! But I'm very excited about this game! IGN: I wanted to ask you about the story and the story mode. I don't know if that's something that you can talk about at this stage, but it'd be great to get some input on the narrative side of things, because I do understand that you're going big on that. Robert Kirkman: I've been working very closely with Mike Rogers, the narrative lead, and Helen Leigh, who's one of the key writers on the series. She wrote the Adam Eve special episode with me and has done a lot of great episodes for the show. What we're really trying to do is provide an in-game experience that is like watching an episode of the television show. It’s a really cool story that uses the characters in a really exciting and authentic way, and I think goes into some directions that people are really going to be surprised by. There's a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Mike Rogers: We wanted it to feel like a playable episode. It's this standalone narrative. In the same vein that the Adam Eve special is like a special episode, this is a special episode, too. And just getting to work with Robert and Helen and really craft something that feels right for the Invincible universe, it's been a real treat. IGN: Is this canon, or is it like a What If? sort of scenario? I know it's an original story, so it's not something we've seen before. But, you know the fans will wonder how it all ties in with everything. They always do. I mean, I do! So what do we actually have here? Robert Kirkman: It definitely fits very neatly into the narrative of the show. There's a tremendous level of care going into making sure that the characters are authentic and that everything works. Internally, there's actually a window where we're like, ‘Yeah, could fit there.’ But, you know, we're not going to talk about that. Mike Willlette: Just sit back and enjoy yourself! IGN: You’ve got Cecil going up against Omni-Man, for example, which on the face of it would be impossible. But as designers of a fighting game, how do you balance everything where that can be a valid matchup, even though you would think that Omni-Man would essentially tear everyone to shreds? Mike Willette: What's so awesome about just jumping right into this universe, there's so much deep lore and personality with these characters and things to pull from, from like all that comic resource. And then you have the show. And it's kind of the rule of cool, what makes this character and what's really fun for gameplay? And then merging these ideas together. And then you get to see what archetypes do they fit within or it's like, are they rushed down? Are they a grappler, are they strikers? Are they long range? You have this kind of triangle and then you're like, ‘Oh, do they fit more along these two aspects or these two?’ And then things just naturally start to fall in place, and especially within the meta that we've created of like, it's not just a single character, it's three characters that actually represent your kit. So you get to mix and match all these different things. I want to play pure keep away, or I want to have something that's a little bit more balanced where I do have a big bully who can push the corners and then I support that character with a bunch of ranged or mid-range characters. So when it comes down to balance, it's really just seeing what's the essence of the character, what belongs in their kit, and then how it works within our omni tag system, how do characters play well with each other or support each other, whether it's through the assist systems and the different types of assists that they can have, or how they naturally tag into each other. You can play almost any character like a point character or have it dedicated for a very specific role. It's really play the way that you want. And again, we're just given this beautiful sandbox by Robert and company that's just like, God, we have so much great source material. Dan Eder: I will say one of the challenges of using an established IP is that you have to find the middle ground between being authentic to the IP but also making a fighting game that's gonna work. If you're authentic to the quote unquote power levels of the show, then that wouldn't be a very satisfying experience because it just wouldn't be very balanced. And if you know anything about fighting games, it’s that balance is key. We do want to allow people to be able to play with their favorite character and not be completely demolished just because the other one is so OP. So I think as long as you're authentic to the character and there's some sort of plausibility of, okay, that character would use those powers, right? Then I think a lot of it comes down to pure skill of whoever is playing that character. And that's how you stay true to the source material, but also just make it stand on its own. Because I think the reality is that not everyone is going to be intimately familiar with Invincible. We don't want to make this game just for the fans. We want to make this game for people who may not be aware of Invincible, and this would be their starting point. So then that wouldn't matter as much to them. ‘Hey, why is Omni-Man so…’ Mike Willette: We're gonna turn them into fans, Dan! Dan Eder: Exactly. So I think there's a big opportunity to do our own thing, make the game stand on its own, without relying on the fandom, but also make it very pleasing for the fans. At the end of the day we're gonna have a lot of Easter eggs, we're gonna have a lot of small touches and character moments as much as we can. And I think it's gonna be an all around great experience. Mike Rogers: And Cecil was a character where we got to think about this also. Every character has a round reset in between rounds of the fight where they fly at each other, their fists smash and like, okay, if Omni-Man's fist is smashing into Cecil's, that's not gonna end well for Cecil, but he's got these Reanimen and can jump in and do that for him. He's got the teleporter that can allow him to dash around, sort of in the way he has a conversation with Nolan at the end of Season 1. And we got to interpret that and bring those into like, how do they work in a fighting game? And I think it brought an extra level of authenticity to the character. And that challenge for a character like Cecil yields more specificity, which is great. IGN: Did all you fighting game developers all over the world get together one day and decide 2026 was going to see the return of tag fighters? Mike Willette: It's the most insane thing — and it's true — that all great minds think alike! Because we haven't seen a really awesome tag battle fighting game since like Dragon Ball Fighterz, and that's like, what? Eight years now. And then before that, the gold standard was Marvel vs. Capcom. So there was this huge void. And we all approached it differently. Our competitors are different from us. And that's actually a really good thing. And it's interesting, everyone has their own take, and we really like our take. We really like the universe that we get to play in, and we like the violence of it, the brutality of the stakes that are involved, and our unique style of combat and what it means to read someone — you read your opponent and be able to have large amounts of counterplay. Yeah, it's an exciting time. 2026 is crazy! IGN: Why was a tag fighter right for you? And then 3v3? Mike Willette: Obviously being a huge fan of the comics in the show, when I was asked like, ‘Hey, Mike, what game do you want to do?’ I'm like, ‘I want to do an Invincible tag battle fighting game.’ There's so many factions and teams that exist within the universe, whether it's like the Teen Team or The Guardians or The Lizard League or The Order, like there's just so many. And when you watch people fight, like yeah, there's solo fights, but there's also a lot of team fighting that takes place. There's been this lack of team fighter games for such a long ******* of time. And then this IP had lots of strengths when it came to teams and team synergy, and I always thought about the ideas of like, what happens when these characters team up and do ***** together? Like when Eve and Mark fight together, how awesome is that? So we just wanted to play out those fantasies, and what better method than in a fighting game? Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

World of Warcraft has officially revealed Patch 11.2.7, which includes early access to Player Housing, a return of the Brawler’s Guild and Turbulent Timeways, the prologue for Midnight, and more. Titled “The Warning,” the final update for World of Warcraft: The War Within is set to release on December 2. View the full article

The new boxed physical includes both Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Rebirth on three Blu-ray discs for PS5. View the full article

"The crunch at the time was brutal"View the full article

For gamers of a certain age, gibberish character sequences like idkfa, torg, ABACABB, and UUDDLRLRBA are akin to long-lost magical incantations. They evoke an era where game developers frequently and routinely let players use cheat codes to customize their gameplay experience with everything from infinite health and instant level selection to full debug menus or gigantic anime-style giant-headed avatars. There were even external cheat devices that let players hack console games with cheat codes the developers never intended. While the cheat code's heyday is long in the past, the idea of letting players manipulate their gameplay experiences in similar ways is coming back into fashion for some developers. Last month, Square Enix announced that upcoming Switch 2 and Xbox ports of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade would include new "streamlined progression" features. As the name implies, the new options menu will give players the opportunity to blaze through the game with infinite health, magic, and money, quicker leveling, maximum damage attacks, and more. "Constant Max HP" is a funny way to spell and pronounce "god mode." Credit: Reddit / Square Enix While some responded negatively to what they derisively called a "cheat mode," director Naoki Hamaguchi defended the new options in a recent interview with Automaton. "Personally, I like to try many different games just to keep myself up to date, but I don’t really have the time, so I only get so far," he said. "I personally believe that, with digital entertainment today, the player should have the choice in how they interact with content. That’s why I pushed for it." Read full article Comments View the full article

Following a successful year that featured the launch of the sci-fi survival horror game Cronos: The New Dawn, developer Bloober Team has unveiled its plans for 2026 and beyond, including sharing brand-new details on four upcoming games. Bloober Team earned considerable positive attention for its remake of Silent Hill 2, and with Cronos now spurring greater interest in the studio's original content, the developer is eager to share more information on the other projects audiences can look forward to. View the full article

The Final Fantasy XIV x Monster Hunter Wilds collaboration now available is not a limited time duty. View the full article