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Epic Games has created its first artificial intelligence-powered NPC in Fortnite, and it's none other than Darth Vader. There are various non-playable characters on the Fortnite Battle Royale island, some hostile, some friendly. Each NPC has a purpose, so even those who shoot on sight can be useful, as they usually have a Mythic weapon or a Medallion that will drop upon being eliminated, or they guard a high-security location with great high-rarity loot. View the full article

This is a weird story to be reporting, but in a collaboration between Epic Games and Google Gemini along with ... Read more View the full article

An interesting Genshin Impact chart shows the sales difference between the two currently featured five-star characters, Fontaine's Escoffier and Navia. Every update in Genshin Impact consists of two parts, each featuring a separate Limited Character Banner. Since double banners were introduced back in Inazuma, they have become a standard practice for HoYoverse's most popular title. View the full article

A post on the official Fortnite X account states, "Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it." Read Entire Article View the full article

longside your standard dreamlight duties in Disney Dreamlight Valley, occasionally you'll come across an incredibly vague challenge. The Jungle Bungles duty is no exception to this rule, offering no real explanation as to what it means and how you can complete it. As part of the Cheshire Cat Chaos event, you're also restricted by how much time you have to complete this challenge too... Read more.View the full article

Stellar Blade's Steam rollout has been mysteriously blocked in countries like Egypt, Vietnam, Estonia, and Cuba. While there's been no formal statement on why sales have been blocked in over 100 countries around the world, it's thought the list broadly matches that of places where PlayStation Network is not available. But here's the confusing thing: Stellar Blade doesn't require players to sign up to PSN to play, which has left players wondering why on earth sales have been restricted. It's possible the block comes not because Stellar Blade requires a PSN connection, but because it offers an optional one. Though not confirmed by either developer ShiftUp or Sony itself just yet, some are speculating that it may be because players are invited to sign up via their PSN account to secure an optional skin for Eve. The game isn't available in ~130 countries on Steam and Epic Games Store. [Hidden Content] — Mikhail Shevkun (@MWorldII) May 15, 2025 More interestingly still, it seems ShiftUp itself has been surprised by the restrictions. While the team has responded to several unhappy tweets on X/Twitter, asking the complainants where they live, they've yet to provide any further information about why the game is blocked in certain countries. Despite offering millions of fans the chance to enjoy experiences that were otherwise locked behind console exclusivity, Sony has fumbled its rollout on PC, with many players blasting the company for its mandatory PSN connection requirement. It meant that players needed to have an account and link it in order to enjoy their chosen game at all, even if the title was a single-player game like God of War or The Last of Us. The requirement led to backlash from PC players in territories where PSN is unavailable. The drama first hit the Helldivers 2 community in May last year, when PlayStation announced that Steam users would need to connect a PlayStation Network account to play. The company, however, quickly took back that decision as it reversed course just a few days later. This has since been further compounded, however, by the fact PSN is not available in some countries, which resulted in Helldivers 2 being delisted in around 177 countries at the time. Most recently, in January 2025, Sony stated it would no longer require players to link a PlayStation Network account to enjoy some of its PC games, and instead offered bonuses for those who do. The PC version of Stellar Blade launches via Steam on June 11 along with a raft of PC-specific features, including AI upscaling via Nvidia DLSS 4 and AMD FSR 3, an unlocked framerate, Japanese and ******** voiceover, ultrawide display support, higher resolution environment textures, and DualSense support for haptic feedback and trigger effects. IGN's Stellar Blade review returned a 7/10. We said: "Stellar Blade is great in all of the most important ways for an action game, but dull characters, a lackluster story, and several frustrating elements of its RPG mechanics prevent it from soaring along with the best of the genre." Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article

Epic Games recently resubmitted Fortnite to the Apple App Store for their iOS devices, following their win against Apple in a ... Read more View the full article

If you've been thinking about buying yourself a new gaming monitor, but you don't have big bucks to spend, then we've found a deal that's perfect for you. Right now, you can buy a 27-inch Samsung Odyssey gaming monitor for just $149.99, saving you a massive $80 on the usual price, and landing you a decent-size screen that even has a fast 180Hz refresh rate. You don't often see 27-inch screens from the best gaming monitor brands drop below the $150 mark, which is why the current offer on this Samsung screen is so tempting. Usually priced at $229.99, the Samsung Odyssey G3 G30D is substantially larger than the 24-inch panels you usually see in this price range, and it also supports many top gaming features. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Win this Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 gaming GPU with Doom The Dark Ages artwork This new Nvidia GPU is 10% faster than an RTX 5090, if you can afford it Steam Deck owners will soon get a great new way to test their handheld hardware View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Stellar Blade PC system requirements are refreshingly light, meaning even a cheap rig from almost a decade ago can run Sony's NieR 'em up. With the onslaught of Unreal Engine 5 (Stellar Blade uses UE4) games launching, we can't expect every game to be as light, but my hopes are up that more Sony ports follow this trend... Read more.View the full article

Fortnite developer Epic recently suggested the game might become available on iOS in the US for the first time since 2020 soon, but it's now looking like that won't be happening. Why? Well, Epic's accusing Apple, its long-time sparring partner in an ongoing legal battle, of storeblocking. Read more View the full article

The YouTuber known as Bacon is, as our own Ted Litchfield wrote in an article yesterday, the undisputed king of Oblivion meme videos. If you've ever cracked up at a viral video of Oblivion's unmatched comic timing, odds are good it was a Bacon video you watched... Read more.View the full article

Labyrinth Of The ****** King is the concentrated awfulness of Silent Hill and Amnesia: The Dark Descent thrown into a toilet bowl with the stamina-based combat of From Software's old King's Field RPGs. Released this week, it is squalid, lumbering, vicious, desperate and untrustworthy. The setting is "mythical feudal Japan" - a time of devilry, manual savepoints, and dither filters. The story objective is to track down and slay the yokai boss who led your lord into an ambush. I do not greatly rate my chances. Currently, I am exploring a house full of bloated, whispering ******* and screechy little filthbastards with abbreviated limbs. The filthbastards all want to butcher me but they are no less keen to ******* each other. As far as they're concerned, I am just another filthbastard among many. Read more View the full article

The latest episode of VGC: The Video Game Podcast is out now, featuring Fatal Fury, Sony’s latest PS5 numbers, and more. VGC’s Andy Robinson and Chris Scullion discuss the week in news, including Hideo Kojima’s comments about Kojima Productions’ plans after he retires, and how he’s even left a USB stick full of game ideas for after his death. Plus, we discuss the news that beloved game publication Giant Bomb has been allowed to go independent, and answer reader questions. Read More... View the full article

When my colleague Kyle Orland submitted Tetrisweeper for a list of Ars' favorite 2024 games not from 2024, I told him, essentially: "Good for you, not for me." I'm a pedestrian Tetris player, at best, so the idea of managing a whole different game mechanic, while trying to clear lines and prevent stack-ups, sounded like taking a standardized test while baking a three-layer cake. And yet, here I am, sneaking rounds of Drop Duchy (Steam, Epic, for Windows/Linux via Proton) into lunch breaks, weekend mornings, and other bits of downtime. Drop Duchy is similarly not just a Tetris-esque block-dropper. It also has you: Aligning terrain types for resourcesPlacing both your troops and the enemy'sChoosing which cards to upgrade, sell, and bring into battlePicking between terrain types to leave behindUpgrading a tech tree with achievementsPicking the sequence of battles for maximum effectiveness Drop Duchy is a quirky game, one that hasn't entirely fused together its various influences without some seams showing. But I keep returning to it, even as it beats me to a pulp on Normal mode, based on decisions I made five rounds ago. It feels like a medium-deep board game, played at triple speed, with someone across the table timing you on how fast you arrange your tiles. Read full article Comments View the full article

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the campaigns of ****** Ops Cold War and the Modern Warfare reboot series. View the full article

A brand-new Starfield deal offers the space-based action RPG to players at its lowest price yet, but the game’s community is surprised to learn which source is supplying the *****. Unfortunately, Starfield didn’t receive the launch Bethesda was hoping for and currently stands with mostly negative reviews as of 2025. Players have reported several bugs plaguing gameplay and a lack of well-functioning features to make space exploration immersive enough. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Team 17: Chains of Command Humble Bundle is live with another pretty great set of games you can get for cheaps. Here's your usual expected run over compatibility across Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Civilization 7 has had a rough launch on Steam — that much is clear. The strategy sequel has struggled for players on Valve’s platform ever since its launch in February. Reaction is ‘mixed,’ according to Steam user reviews. And despite a number of patches issued by developer Firaxis to reverse the sentiment, Civilization 7 finds itself in the unenviable situation of having fewer players on Steam than Civilization 6 and even the 15-year-old Civilization 5. Civ 7’s Steam performance does not paint the entire picture, of course. The game also launched on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch (a Nintendo Switch 2 version that makes use of the new Joy-**** mouse controls will soon release). But Civilization’s bread and butter is PC, and there Civ 7 is clearly struggling. You’d think, then, that Firaxis parent company Take-Two wouldn’t be best pleased. But speaking to IGN in an interview ahead of the company’s latest financial results, CEO Strauss Zelnick told me he was “thrilled” with Civ 7 so far. “I'm thrilled with Civ 7 so far,” Zelnick began. “However, there were some issues initially, and our team at Firaxis has done a great job addressing those issues. There's more work to be done. I'm optimistic that work will be done and will suit consumers, and ultimately that we have a very successful title on our hands.” Zelnick then pointed to the Civilization franchise’s tendency to have a long sales cycle, at least compared to many other games, and his belief that Civ 7 will follow suit. “The history of all the Civilization releases is that initially some of the changes that we make cause consternation among our consumers because they love the Civilization franchise so much,” he said. “And then people realize, oh, this really is an improvement and over a long sales cycle, we do really well. I think that's what'll happen here too. “But undoubtedly, we had some issues in the beginning, which we've addressed partially and continue to address.” When Civ 7 launched, players highlighted issues with the user interface, a lack of map variety, and expressed a feeling that the game launched without a number of features they’d come to expect from the franchise. Zelnick’s mention of hardcore Civ players being a little nervous about Civ 7 at launch is no-doubt a reference to some of the dramatic changes Firaxis made to the game. A full campaign in Civilization 7 is one that goes through all three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Once the Age is completed, all players (and any AI opponents) experience an Age Transition simultaneously. During an Age Transition, three things happen: you select a new civilization from the new Age to represent your empire, you choose which Legacies you want to retain in the new Age, and the game world evolves. The Civilization games have never had such a system. Clearly, Zelnick believes Civ fans will come to love it over time. Take-Two has yet to announce a sales figure for Civilization 7, but in its financial report said it was "pursuing opportunities to expand the audience," including the recent launch of Civilization 7 VR for Meta Quest 3 and 3S, as well as the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 port. Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article

When director Hugo Martin explained that the mantra for Doom: The Dark Ages was “stand and fight” during Xbox’s Developer Direct earlier this year, I was instantly enticed. It's an idea in direct opposition to id Software’s previous game, Doom Eternal, a shooter built on hyper-kinetic, perpetually mobile firefights. There is, however, a single enemy in Eternal that does demand you “stand and fight” – the Marauder. Perhaps the most controversial enemy ever featured in a Doom game, it’s hated by many… and loved by me. And the moment I realised that the trick to Doom: The Dark Ages’ combat was reacting to bright green lights – the very same thing that’s key to killing a Marauder – I knew I was all-in. Don’t worry, The Dark Ages doesn’t force you into a cage fight with an enemy that’s as fast and fiddly as Eternal's Marauder. Sure, there is the Agaddon Hunter, who’s protected by a bulletproof shield and lashes out with a deadly combo attack, but the legacy of Eternal’s infamous battles lives on not through a single enemy, but every enemy. Rethought, recalibrated, and reforged, the ideas behind the Marauder have been applied to The Dark Ages’ core combat design. The result? Every encounter has the smarts of a Marauder face-off with none of the frustrations. The Marauder is a bit of an unusual beast. Fights in Doom Eternal typically have you running loops around a combat arena, cutting down fodder enemies and bouncing between larger foes. Eternal has often been called a management game, and that doesn’t just apply to your resources; through the use of speed, space, and shotguns you have to manage the horde. That all goes out the window when the Marauder turns up. This tough-as-nails, axe-swinging powerhouse demands your complete focus, hence why it’s so often fought in one-on-one situations. On the odd occasion one turns up in larger battles, the best tactic is to avoid its blows, clear the deck of mobs, and – finally – stand and fight. That doesn’t mean literally standing still, of course – this is Doom Eternal, after all. Rather, it’s about asserting dominance over the space through careful positioning. Get in too close and the Marauder will catch you with a deadly shotgun blast that’s near-impossible to dodge. Fall too far back and he’ll bombard you with projectiles that are much easier to dodge, but you’ll be out of range of his axe swing. The thing is, you want him to try and hit you with that axe, because the only time in the entire fight that the Marauder is vulnerable to damage is during the attack’s wind-up animation. His energy shield soaks up every bullet you fire, so you need to position yourself in the sweet spot where he’ll drop his guard and go in for the kill. When his eyes flash bright green, that’s your cue: you’ve got a split-second window to blast his brains out. A flash of bright green is also what you’re looking for in Doom: The Dark Ages. In a nod to the series’ first outing, demons fire out volleys of bullet hell-like projectiles. Within those volleys are special green missiles that can be parried with the Doom Slayer’s new shield, deflecting the ordnance back to its source. In the opening hours of the game this is largely a defensive move. Later on, though, once you unlock the shield’s rune system, the parry becomes an invaluable offensive tool, stunning demons with bolts of lightning or triggering your shoulder-mounted, auto-targeting cannon. Your travels across The Dark Ages’ battlefields become a collage of pocketed one-vs-one fights with a variety of powerful demons. Unlike in a Marauder fight, survival is not entirely dependent on reacting to these green lights. Good use of your more straightforward tools can carry you to victory. But the shield runes make parrying one of the strongest components of your arsenal – one worth activating as many times as possible. And if you weave it into your combat approach, you’ll soon find that the foundations of The Dark Ages’ parry share common ground with Eternal’s Marauder fights. You’ll need to find the right distance, since demons won’t fire projectiles at close range, and when the green orbs appear, you’ll need to maneuver into the right position to catch them. And then, like catching the Maruader mid-swing, you need quick reactions to score the parry itself. All this demands focus, so your travels across The Dark Ages’ battlefields become a collage of pocketed one-vs-one fights with a variety of powerful demons. You stand and you fight. Just as you did against the Marauder. Perhaps the most cited argument against the Marauder was how it interrupted Doom Eternal’s flow. You simply cannot fight it using the techniques you’ve conquered every other challenge with. This switch-up is actually the reason why I love the Maruader so much: while the rest of the game asks you to do ballet, it insists you break dance. Doom Eternal was a game built on breaking the rules of first-person shooters, demanding that you think about resources, weapons, and engagements in new ways. The Marauder breaks the rulebreaker’s rules and so poses the ultimate challenge. But as much as I relish that challenge, I understand why many hate it. Doom: The Dark Ages overcomes that problem by ensuring different “dances” are part of the grand disco hall of battle. Every major enemy type has its own unique green projectile or melee strike, and so your approach changes with each foe you encounter. The Mancubus, for instance, fires staggered bursts of wide energy “fences” that feature green “pillars” at either end, and so you must weave left and right to score the parry on each one. The Vagary launches an abacus-like volley of deadly spheres, forcing you to sprint towards the rows you can deflect as if they were deadly tennis ****** arriving on your side of the court. The skeletal Revenant, meanwhile, replicates the Marauder even closer; it’s invulnerable to damage until you can deflect one of the green skulls it fires in alternating patterns from its shoulder launchers. Because every single ****** demands a different kind of footwork, it’s never jarring when a new foe is introduced with a left-of-field approach. Sure, the Agaddon Hunter and Komodo both pose a bit of a difficulty spike thanks to their intense melee combo attacks, but you’re already used to constantly adapting the way you move and react by the time they arrive on the scene. That wasn’t the case for the Marauder, because Eternal’s ruleset was based on using the right gun for the right ******, not the position and reaction-based tactics needed to defeat this unique threat. The Marauder’s problem was never its design. It was that it broke the rules and players weren’t prepared for it. Doom: The Dark Ages trains you for something similar by making its own reaction-based twitch mechanic a core component of the entire experience rather than a mid-game curveball. Such a shift does mean that the challenge has largely disappeared – the shield’s parry window is much more generous than the split-second required to react to the Marauder’s eye flash, even at higher difficulties. But the underlying concept of the Marauder – locking step with an enemy, waiting for the perfect moment, and striking when the light shines green – is all here in every single battle. Doom: The Dark Ages may offer a very different take on those ideas, but they’re still completely recognisable. You stand and you fight. Matt Purslow is IGN's Senior Features Editor. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Blizzard has made something of a surprise announcement: the developer is almost ready to talk about Diablo 4’s next season. The fact that we’re getting information ahead of time isn’t surprising, it’s just how far off from the season it’s dropping that’s a little unusual. Read more View the full article

The hope that Fortnite players will play the game on their iOS devices might never come true as the tussle between Epic and Apple continues. In a fresh twist, Epic has announced that the popular battle royale isn't going to be available on iOS devices in the US and European Union. The main reason seems to be at Apple's end, as the bitter fight continues without any end in sight. The latest decision will also affect the availability of Fortnite on all iOS devices worldwide. Fortnite might never come to iOS devices at this rate Fortnite was expected to launch soon for iOS devices, which include both iPhones and iPads. As of May 16, those plans have been binned. An official post was made on the game's X account, which reads as follows. Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it. There are two important takeaways from this notice. Apple has blocked the game from being available both in its own store (in the US) and on Epic's game store for iOS devices (European devices). The problem also seems to be much more universal, as the decision means that Fortnite will be offline on all iOS-based devices all around the world. [Hidden Content] At this point of time, it will be foolish to expect a swift resolution. There have been previous attempts for the two companies to find an amicable solution that would have allowed players to enjoy the game on their Apple devices. Sadly, those wishes might not ever matter, at least in the near future. The latest decision also makes it a win for Android devices all around, as Google's mobile OS has no tussle with Epic. You can play the game on your Android mobiles and tabs as long as they have the required system specifications. The post Apple blocks Fortnite on iOS yet again as bitter war continues appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Our first look at the very beginning of Trails, reborn. View the full article

Right, so. Over the past day or so, a pretty serious glitch has been plaguing Helldivers 2 - it let cheeky players spawn in so many stratagems at once the game would ******. Thankfully, Arrowhead's quickly gotten on the case and released an "emergency hotfix" to tackle it. Read more View the full article

Steam’s charts continue to be one of the best sources of information across the entire industry when it comes to sales, player activity and a lot more. Steam has always had the big Top Sellers chart, which lists the platform's top-grossing games, and tracks their movements within it each day. Read more View the full article

Last updated May 21, 2025 - Checked for new Grow a Garden codes! [/url] Looking for Grow a Garden codes? Well, a code redemption system is finally here! It was added to the popular gardening experience as part of the Lunar Glow event. This big change means it's likely there will be codes relesed in the future, so IGN will keep you covered as and when new codes are released! Working Grow a Garden Codes (May 2025) There are currently no active Grow a Garden codes! As soon as new ones are announced, we'll update this article to include the new ones. All the codes above have been tested as working at the time of submission. However, codes with unknown expiry dates may stop working at any time. Spotted a new code we haven't included or tried one only to find it's expired? Let us know by reporting them here. [/url]Expired Grow a Garden Codes (May 2025) Unfortunately, these codes have now expired: LUNARGLOW10 - This gave players 3x Seed Packs.How to Redeem Grow a Garden Codes Now that there's a code redemption system in the Roblox experience, here are the steps you need to follow to use Grow a Garden codes: Launch the Grow a Garden Roblox experienceLook in the top left corner to find the Settings cog next to the icon of the backpackClick settings and scroll down to the bottomCopy and paste codes from this article into the Redeem Codes boxPress claim and enjoy your goodies!Why Isn't My Grow a Garden Code Working? There are usually two reasons why a code isn't working. It's either because: The code is expiredThe code has been entered incorrectly If a code has been entered incorrectly or is expired, it will say the "code is invalid." To stop this from happening, we'd recommend copying and pasting the code directly from this article. We check and test each of the codes before we add them to our articles. However, when copying them, you can sometimes accidentally include an extra space somwhere, so always double check there's no additional spaces! Where to Find More Grow a Garden Codes If new codes are added to the game, we'll update this article, so you can always check back here and keep up-to-date with the latest codes. Grow a Garden has its own dedicated Discord server where codes will be announced, as well as game updates. What is Grow a Garden in Roblox? Grow a Garden is a new Roblox experience that's become incredibly popular since it launched. The gardening simulator allows players to show off their green fingers, as you buy seeds and plant a variety of crops from basic carrots to exotic dragon fruit trees. As fruit and vegetables finally sprout, you'll be able to harvest them to sell for Sheckles. To go from a beginner gardener to a pro worthy of awards, you'll want your crops to experience mutations that increase their value. This can happen randomly, with Gold and Big mutations being down to chance, while weather events like snow can increase your luck of a Frozen mutation. There's also gear, and even pets now, that can affect how fast your crops grow, their value, and more. When is the Next Grow a Garden Update? Grow a Garden hosts new events each weekend, where players can come together and try out the fresh content for the ever-expanding game. For the next event, The Garden Game are looking to set a World Record! On Saturday May 24, 2025, players are encouraged to login and take part in the Monster Mash World Record. The plan is to have the most people doing the Monster Mash in-game as possible. This will also be the day that cosmetics are introduced to the game. So, if you've been looking for ways to make your garden more aesthetic, this update is for you. The Garden Game promises a huge update that will allow players to customize their farms, adding in items such as gnomes and water fountains. It's always worth logging on early before an event begins in Grow a Garden. The most recent event was the launch of the Blood Moon event. If you were lucky enough to login as the event began (like I was), you'll have participated in a special celebratory Disco and got the super rare Disco Mutation. On top of that, you would've also been able to get the Chicken Jockey ****. It's likely something similar will occur -- even if it's just a rare weather event -- when everyone performs the Monster Mash together, so be sure to check it out. We've been covering Grow a Garden and creating guides to explain features such as how gear works, a weather and mutation guide, and the different seeds that are available to purchase. You'll also find information on updates such as the Lunar Glow Event and recent **** Egg update that took place this month, and more over in our Grow a Garden guide. [/url] Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures. View the full article