While ARC Raiders fans continue to amass loot, Embark Studios has been steadily updating the game. That includes a recent update that adds a bone-chilling cold-weather effect. View the full article
We factory sim perverts have all known the joy of combing a mile of conveyor belt tagliatelle for that one empty hopper or unplugged furnace that’s stalled the entire production line. Now, imagine that the stalled production line is producing plasma swords for your army of ******* droids. You need your army of ******* droids to fight another army of ******* droids, but unfortunately, all of your ******* droids are now swordless, and therefore ******* droids no longer. They advance placidly into the firestorm, falling like mown dandelions, while you run your cursor desperately over the hexagonal smokestacks. There it is! A misfiring 3D printer, right in the centre. Read more View the full article
I've had my eye on Pioner for a while. I like my MMOs in 'shooter flavor,' for the most part - Destiny 2, Fallout 76, and the like. So when I saw GFA Games taking Stalker-esque vibes and a post-apocalyptic setting and throwing them in the MMO pot, I was immediately interested. Now, it's finally hit Steam Early Access and is firmly on my weekend to-play list (admittedly, alongside about a dozen other games right now). While that's cause for celebration, and it's achieving four-figure player counts already, it does appear to be in slightly rough shape, with performance issues and bugs being the main reason for a rather bleak user score. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Supervive, League of Legends' most promising competitor, is shutting down next year Inspired by classic RPGs like Undertale and Zelda, this new Steam Deck game is my latest obsession New automation sandbox game Alchemy Factory is basically a magical Satisfactory, and I can't stop looking at it View the full article
As the juggernauts of gaming and entertainment continue to forge new partnerships, Disney has made it clear that they are currently steering clear of any collaborations with the smash-hit online sandbox game Roblox, amid concerns for child safety. Roblox has rolled out a number of new security features that aim to protect all of its players, but many remain weary about the repeated lawsuits filed against the video game company that accuse Roblox of failing to remove predatory users and ensure the youngest fans have a safe space to play in. View the full article
It looks like Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone may be getting up to his old shenanigans again, and by 'old shenanigans' I mean turning a small, just one more thing update into a big, beefy add-on. Barone said shortly after confirming the Stardew Valley 1.7 update is on the way that "it’s hard to just stop improving it when there are still things that can be improved," but in a more recent post he pretty strongly implied that there's a lot more in the pipe than just improvements... Read more.View the full article
Superheroes, ronin, insect warriors, and postal service workers. Whatever your fantasy this year, PlayStation could deliver it. But which PS5 game was the best? We at IGN have voted and picked out what we think are the five most worthy of recognition from across 2025, naming one of them the very best PlayStation game of the year, as well as shouting out a few honourable mentions that were very close to making the cut. In an era where console exclusives are a dying breed, as Sony’s competitor, Microsoft, has shown us more than ever over the past few months, we’ve made the decision this year to branch out and open up the criteria for what can win our platform-specific awards. These aren’t the top five Sony exclusives, but the top five games that were released on PS5 in 2025, full stop. So, without further ado, let’s get on with it and crown the best PlayStation game of 2025 before we all die of old age. Honorable Mentions One of the best games from early in the year was Hazelight’s Split Fiction, the endlessly inventive co-op action platformer that just narrowly missed out on a top-five spot. Also just missing out are a pair of 2025’s breakout indie hits, Blue Prince and Ball X Pit. These two couldn’t be more different from each other, though, with the former brain-bending mansion full of puzzles a much calmer affair than the brick-breaking chaos of the latter. And then there’s two big shooters that came along at the end of the year. Battlefield 6’s multiplayer has seen it return to the glorious, huge-scale carnage that fans wanted, and Arc Raiders has proven a massive success thanks to its “just one more extraction” nature. Rounding out on honourable mentions are a pair of games that like to do things a bit differently when it comes to narrative: Atomfall and Silent Hill f. Both create uneasy worlds in their own ways, and we admire them for their freeform and steadily revealing approaches to storytelling, respectively. Runner-Up - Hollow Knight: Silksong It finally happened. 2025 was the year that Hollow Knight: Silksong saw the light of day, and what a relief that we not only got to play it, but it was also extremely good. Team Cherry’s much-anticipated sequel may be a whole lot more punishing than the original, but it is still home to that same magic, which can be found all over its sprawling, bug-sized world full of secret nooks and crannies. The platforming pathways to get to those places are tight and challenging, with new lead, Hornet, showing off a fresh batch of skills stemming from her fundamentally game-changing diagonal dart. But it’s in combat where she really comes into her own, promoting a more aggressive style of play which lets you take the fight to Silksong’s bestiary of bosses. These tough creatures of all shapes and sizes with ****** tricks up their sleeves may have presented some of 2025’s biggest roadblocks, but persevere, and the glory waiting behind them leads to one of this year’s greatest games. Runner-Up - Dispatch Superhero drama Dispatch manages to recapture the magic of those Telltale-esque episodic visual novels that we all fell in love with a decade or so ago. Following the story of Robert Robertson, a hero who is nothing without his now-destroyed mech suit, it's a heartwarming tale of redemption that isn’t without its fair share of bite, too. Managing your many relationships, both personal and professional, as they intertangle at Robbie’s place of work, the Superhero Dispatch Network, is key, as is making sure your team of down-and-out supervillains successfully try their hand at crime-stopping. This half of the game adds a real-time sim management wrinkle to each chapter, as you boost the skills of your squad and send them out on missions that match their skillset. From the hot-head Flambae, to the internet’s new favourite ****** Mommy, Malevola, you’re in command of a vibrant and varied bunch that each offer a fun dynamic to each and every scene they’re in. But it's outside of the SDN office monitor that Dispatch really comes to life, as Robertson’s life crumbles around him, and your best attempts at rebuilding it are hidden behind dialogue choices. What comes of its cast of characters, headlined by Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Robbie, and with Laura Bailey’s Invisagal stealing most scenes, is up to you. One thing that is guaranteed, though, is a great time. Runner-Up - Death Stranding 2: On the Beach In many ways, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach finally fulfilled the promise of its flawed predecessor. Creator Hideo Kojima’s second slice of post-apocalypse delivery adventures dialled up the action, echoing his past Metal Gear Solid successes, whilst still maintaining that singular, lonely vision of a disconnected world. Taking Sam Porter Bridges to Australia, On the Beach hands you a much expanded range of combat options, from silenced sniper rifles to homing missile mechanical dogs, and permits you to go about completing its many, many postal orders however you’d like. This freedom is not just a combat feature, but is reflected in how you go about navigating each of these treacherous delivery routes, too, with new ways to travel over stormy deserts and raging rivers, including huge, looming monorail systems and bonkers coffin hoverboards. But the weirdness is just one aspect of Death Stranding — and there’s no shortage of it this time around, thanks to Troy Baker’s excellent return as villain Higgs — as its themes of love and loss ultimately dominate, no matter how large the spectacle on screen. Lea Seydoux is subtly brilliant as Fragile, and drives the story from start to finish as the connections between herself, Sam, and baby Lou are steadily revealed. It’s a fantastic example of a vision come to life, and easily one of the best PlayStation games to have come out in 2025. Runner-Up - Ghost of Yotei Following up on 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima was always going to be a challenge, but developer Sucker Punch rose to it impressively well with Ghost of Yotei. This sword-slashing epic borrows everything that we loved from its predecessor, but improves on almost all of it in a multitude of fun little ways. The pulsating combat opens up further, with new weapons and skills introduced to deepen its familiar dodge, block, parry, and swing system. Among those additions is the highly satisfying disarming mechanic that has your protagonist, Atsu, send her enemies' blades flying from their grasp. But it's this wandering ronin’s story that drives Yotei’s momentum, turning a simple tale of revenge into something much more beautiful as you explore each corner of its historical Japanese map and soak in both the audio and visual majesty on show Winner - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Surprise! Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has won another award. It really is that good, though, isn’t it? Sandfall Interactive’s ode to Final Fantasy of years gone by takes that age-old formula and thrusts it firmly into 2025 with lashings of style, soaring music, and a battle system that melds classic turn-based RPG mechanics with exciting real-time elements, making each and every encounter a thrill. All of that style would be nothing without substance, though, and while its combat excites from moment to moment, it’s Clair Obscur’s poignant story and layered cast of characters that make it live long in the memory. Jennifer English is pitch-perfect as Maelle at the heart of Expedition 33’s plot, with Ben Starr’s Verso a wonderful foil as its twisted themes of grief and what it is to love are untangled. All played out in front of a ticking backdrop of the Gommage — a yearly tolling doomsday clock for anyone of a certain age — it’s wonderfully cinematic, making it fit right in alongside many of Sony’s first-party blockbuster offerings. Taking inspiration from the original PlayStation’s library of Japanese RPGs and bringing those ideas into the future, thanks to an all-timer video game story supported by a combat system as satisfying as it is nuanced, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the clear winner of our award for Best PlayStation Game of 2025. What was your favourite PS5 game of 2025? Let us know in the comments! For more IGN awards, you can check them all out in one place here, including our picks for the best Xbox and Nintendo games of the year. IGN Awards 2025: The Winners Want to know more about each award? Our dedicated awards pages are a deeper dive into each category, revealing the criteria for each award and our thoughts on the big winners (and many of the runner-ups, too!) The Best Xbox Game of 2025The Best Action Game of 2025The Best Superhero Movie of 2025The Best Nintendo Game of 2025The Best RPG of 2025The Best Horror Movie of 2025The Best PlayStation Game of 2025The Best Action-Adventure Game of 2025The Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Movie of 2025[/url] Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social. View the full article
It’s a term used to describe a huge amount of games released every year, but what does “action-adventure” even mean? It’s a good question. Here at IGN, we classify any game that fuses combat with a genuine sense of exploration as action-adventure. They often take place in open worlds, but that’s not a mandatory requirement (see the likes of Uncharted and God of War), and so this flexible format allows for a wide range of different projects to make the cut this year, from the tightly crafted co-op platforming action of Split Fiction and the vast, isolated, do-it-yourself atmosphere of Death Stranding 2, to the adventures of banana-hunting apes and revenge-seeking ronin. So let’s get on with it as swiftly as a Hornet and reveal the runners-up and ultimate winner of our award for the Best Action-Adventure Game of 2025. Runner-Up - Split Fiction Following on from the wonderful It Takes Two, developer Hazelight took things to the next level when it comes to scale in Split Fiction and continued to hone its craft as the modern-day masters of the co-op game. Much of its story is spent platforming and puzzle-solving, but a healthy amount is also reserved for combat against its many varied sci-fi and fantasy-laced foes, as well as exploration of its larger-scale levels. It never once stands still, constantly evolving and switching up its mechanical ideas to match each world’s colourful set dressing. That sense of exciting propulsion along an ever-changing journey, balanced with areas designed for you to slow down a little and hunt for secrets and surprising side missions, is what makes Split Fiction one of our top five action-adventure games of the year. Runner-Up - Ghost of Yotei Perhaps the most traditional “action-adventure” on our list, Ghost of Yotei follows in a long line of PlayStation Studio exclusives that firmly fit that mold. Telling the story of revenge-seeking wandering Ronin, Atsu, Yotei takes everything that made people fall in love with its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, and tweaks it for the better. Where action is concerned, its slick sword, spear, and kusarigama combat is a real star of the show, with new-age weaponry such as firearms also brought into the mix to expand this ghost’s arsenal. In terms of adventure, 17th-century Hokkaido plays stage to as beautiful a looking and sounding world as you could step into in 2025, with no shortage of collectibles, side stories, and show-stopping duels to engage with. Sucker Punch’s latest is the Seattle studio’s most accomplished effort to date, and one of this year’s very best action-adventures. Runner-Up - Donkey Kong Bananza Donkey Kong Bananza encourages you to explore its many sandbox levels, not through careful investigation, but by smashing every corner of them into tiny pieces to see what secrets lurk inside. Nintendo’s modern 3D reinvention of what its beloved ape could be in 2025 quickly became the Switch 2’s must-have game, and for good reason. Bananza is a feast for treasure hunters, with hundreds of glowing bananas begging to be uncovered through destruction courtesy of DK’s pounding fists and many special abilities. Those skills are at the heart of it all, with the titular Bananzas powering inventive new ways to adventure through each of its themed levels. From the rampaging Kong Bananza that allows you to unleash a monstrous fury capable of breaking the toughest of terrain, as well as any enemy’s soon-to-be dust skeleton, to the wing-flapping Ostrich Bananza that allows for new heights to be soared to. It’s far from conventional, even by Nintendo 3D platforming standards, but Donkey Kong Bananza is one of this year’s very best when it comes to action-adventure. Runner-Up - Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Speaking of unconventional, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach certainly isn’t worried about obeying genre norms. An action-adventure that’s never afraid to show, tell, or have you engage with things you’ve never quite seen before, Kojima Productions’ latest is the fulfillment of a promise made in its predecessor. That’s not to say that there isn’t the familiar to be found here, with its increased focus on combat echoing memories of its creator’s Metal Gear Solid roots, thanks to an expanded range of options when it comes to approaching its stealth-action. It’s in its adventure, and the exploration of themes of grief and human connection at its centre, that make each of Sam Porter Bridges’ challenging steps through a post-apocalyptic Australia in Death Stranding 2 really sing, though, and one of this year’s very best action-adventures. Winner - Hollow Knight: Silksong Not only is it a huge relief that Hollow Knight: Silksong finally came out in 2025, but an even ******* one that it turned out to be so great. Placing an even greater emphasis on the action part of “action-adventure” than its predecessor, Team Cherry delivered a challenging, yet incredibly rewarding sequel via the tip of protagonist Hornet’s needle. That rapier-like blade will get plenty of use, too, with sprawling caverns laden with all manner of darting foes and patience-testing bosses possessing all manner of attack patterns, which once learned unlock the path to ultimate satisfaction. Boss battles are only half of the, well, battle, when it comes to Silksong, though, with exploration still providing the meat of this Metroidvania/Soulslike soup. Breakable walls hide valuable materials behind them, and side quests encourage careful investigation into each of its many biomes, whether on the hunt for precious bounties or searching for missing fleas that need to be reunited with their traveling caravan companions. It’s this balance of both action and adventure that has turned the Hollow Knight series into such a phenomenon, and, in turn, Silksong into the winner of our award for best action-adventure game of 2025. Is Silksong your pick for the best action-adventure game of the year, or would you have chosen differently? Vote for your favourite in the poll above, or let us know in the comments below. IGN Awards 2025: The Winners Want to know more about each award? Our dedicated awards pages are a deeper dive into each category, revealing the criteria for each award and our thoughts on the big winners (and many of the runner-ups, too!) The Best Xbox Game of 2025The Best Action Game of 2025The Best Superhero Movie of 2025The Best Nintendo Game of 2025The Best RPG of 2025The Best Horror Movie of 2025The Best PlayStation Game of 2025The Best Action-Adventure Game of 2025The Best Sci-Fi or Fantasy Movie of 2025[/url] Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social. View the full article
Fallout 5 will indeed take into account the canon events of the Fallout TV series, Bethesda development chief Todd Howard has confirmed. While Fallout 5 is years away (Bethesda is still working on The Elder Scrolls 6, which doesn’t have a release window), Howard said that what we see in the Fallout series will impact the game. "In short, yes," Howard told BBC Newsbeat. "Fallout 5 will be existing in a world where the stories and events of the show happened or are happening. We are taking that into account." The Fallout TV show, which is set after all the existing Fallout video games, has sparked much debate within the fandom. Questions on how it fits into the overarching Fallout timeline and whether it makes particular video game endings canon have dominated discussion in the run up to each season’s release. Indeed, Fallout Season 2 had left fans wondering about the fate of New Vegas following the events of the video game, although the show’s creators have avoided making a clear call. What Howard is confirming here is that TV show characters such as Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul and the events of the show must now be factored into Fallout 5, although we don’t know when or where the game will be set. Could either actually appear in Fallout 5? It sounds like it’s possible, but we’ll have to see what happens in the show itself. It’s worth remembering that we’re guaranteed Fallout Season 3, and the hope is there will be more seasons after that. There’s a long way to go before the show wraps up, and there’s a long way to go before Fallout 5 comes out. In the meantime, could Bethesda follow The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and release a remaster of Fallout 3 or New Vegas, or perhaps even a Fallout: New Vegas 2 as a stop gap? In a recent interview with IGN, Howard remained coy on the possibility. We’ve got plenty more on the Fallout TV show. Check out IGN's Fallout Season 2 Episodes 1-6 review to find out what we think of it, as well as our roundup of details and Easter eggs. 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
Falloutfans have been hoping against hope that a Fallout 5 announcement or update would be announced by Bethesda by the end of this year. On the heels of a disappointing Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition launch and no major Fallout news throughout the year, it appears Bethesda director Todd Howard may have provided a clear timeline on when the next game will take place. View the full article
New sales data shows it may have been a rough year for Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7, as the latest entry in the series appears to have failed to break into the top five best-selling games of 2025. While Activision's smash-hit first-person shooter franchise has been going strong for over two decades now, its limelight appears to have finally been stolen as titles such as Battlefield 6, NBA 2K26, Monster Hunter: Wilds, and many more have outperformed Call of Duty: ****** Ops 7. View the full article
It's been a decade since the release of Fallout 4, and Bethesda is finally offering some clues about the future of Fallout games. The development of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 has clearly been the priority at Bethesda in the intervening years, and there's never been any word on Obsidian Entertainment taking another swing after Fallout: New Vegas. A new interview with Variety doesn't provide all the answers, but it's more than we've had in a while. View the full article
Several months ago, Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe spilled the beans that update 1.7 was in the works. While they're typically cheeky about whether the modern classic will continue to receive support, over the years, they've slowly delivered game-changing free updates. View the full article
While 'necessary evil' might be too strong a phrase for the latest D&D book, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, I feel justified in calling it a 'necessary irritable'. It brings some of D&D's most beloved classes and species up to speed with the new rules, and it offers the odd character option that is so powerful, it shouldn't be missed. That's pretty damn necessary. I just wish the book was structured in a more approachable manner - or that all of its contents were this useful. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Get this classic D&D side scrolling adventure game for less than a good cup of coffee Fans frustrated as new Eberron D&D book attempts to turn tiny campaign ideas into 20-level sagas The next DnD game after Baldur's Gate 3 is already making fans grumpy View the full article
2025 was a huge year for Xbox Game Pass, as a staggering number of games were added to the catalog, even with the subscription service’s reorganization into a tier-based system a few months ago. There are several titles constantly being added to the service, and the Xbox Game Pass lineup in December is a perfect example of that, with games like Lost Records and Marvel Cosmic Invasion. View the full article
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment will add in new challenges, quests, and improved rewards tomorrow with its newest Switch 2 update. View the full article
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While ARC Raiders fans continue to amass loot, Embark Studios has been steadily updating the game. That includes a recent update that adds a bone-chilling cold-weather effect. View the full article