Polygon

Unstable Exotic Weapons may be your key to victory in Fortnite. Introduced in Chapter 6 Season 3, a.k.a. the Super Season, these weapons are the closest thing to fighting with special superhero abilities. As is usually the case with unusual weapons, however, they’re quite difficult to obtain.

Here’s a list of all Unstable Exotic Weapons in Fortnite, plus details about how to get them and how to use them.

How to use Unstable Exotic weapons in Fortnite

There are three Unstable Exotics in the Fortnite Super Season. Here’s what they do:

Unstable Yoink Shotgun: Some shots will “yoink” the person you shoot toward you. This can be a bit dangerous, as the opponent may have an easier time hitting you from up close, but then again, your shotgun is more effective when the target is nearby. Be aware that the Unstable Yoink Shotgun only holds two bullets, leaving little room for error.Unstable Voltage Burst Pistol: The first and final shots produce a shockwave effect around the area of impact. In other words, you will deal shock damage in a two- to three-meter area of effect twice.Unstable Frostfire Shotgun: On a successful shot, this gun will cycle between giving you a Pepper effect or giving your target the slowdown effect, which means you’ll either be faster or your enemy will be slower.

How to get Unstable Exotic weapons in Fortnite

There are two ways to obtain Unstable Exotic Weapons in Fortnite:

Defeat Overlord Spires.Loot them from Rank S Hero Caches.

The first method, defeating Overlord Spires, is arguably the best as the Spires always seem to drop at least one Unstable Exotic Weapon, whereas the Rank S Hero Caches are based on luck.

Up to three Overlord Spires will spawn per game, in randomized locations and at random times. To find them, open your map and look for the purple markers. Here’s an example of what that looks like:

Unfortunately, as the spawn location on the right shows, Overlord Spires may appear outside the Zone.

After reaching a spawn point, wait for the gargantuan floating rock monster to appear, then aim for the glowing parts on its body to take it down. Keep in mind that the real danger comes not so much from the Overlord Spire as from your fellow players, who may be going for the Unstable Exotic Weapons as well.

If you’d rather take your chances with the Rank S Hero Caches, you must first boost your Hero Rank by doing heroic deeds, which means eliminating enemy players and henchmen, surviving Storm Phases, and taking Sprites to their Shrines. Once you’ve reached S-rank (which will be displayed on your screen), you can open any S-rank Hero Cache you find.

Every available Hero Cache will be marked on your map, so as soon as you reach S-rank, be sure to check for nearby caches!

Every Hero Cache is marked with a large letter to show you its tier. If it’s red, your Hero Rank is too low to open it, but if it’s green, you’re free to collect the loot.

Remember that Unstable Exotics Weapons only drop from S-rank Hero Caches, but since the loot is randomized, you may have to open several S-rank caches before you get one.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Capcom unveiled Resident Evil Requiem (aka Resident Evil 9) at Summer Game Fest, and everyone immediately had more questions.

Requiem appears to reimagine the Resident Evil series, building on concepts introduced in the original game while shifting the focus back to horror over action. Rumors point to Requiem being a conclusion to existing storylines and a fresh jumping-on point for the franchise’s future, a direction strongly hinted at in the trailer.

With a February 2026 release date incoming, here’s everything we know about Resident Evil Requiem so far.

Protagonist Grace Ashcroft has ties to Resident Evil Outbreak

In the trailer released June 6, we meet Grace Ashcroft, the protagonist of Resident Evil Requiem, a technical analyst for the FBI, writing about a diseased individual being found at an abandoned government office. She’s interrupted by her boss, who is assigning her to a murder case at the Wrenwood Hotel. She receives horrific flashbacks of the dilapidated hotel before her boss says that’s where Grace’s mother was murdered. He then mentions that Alyssa Ashcroft (from Resident Evil Outbreak) died eight years ago and that it’s time for her to face the past.

Though Grace and Alyssa share a last name, their exact relationship remains unclear. Many assume Alyssa is Grace’s mother, but it’s never explicitly said.

There are first- and third-person modes

A gameplay demo featured during Summer Game Fest revealed that the game will be playable in both first- and third-person perspectives, and that players can switch between them. The demo itself takes place during one of the sequences in the trailer, with Grace latched to medical table, very much afraid as she attempts to navigate the creepy house she’s in before running into a big, snarling monster lady. After seemingly meeting her demise, the game starts again, showing Grace in third-person mode.

Grace is not a fighter

During the SGF presentation, representatives from Capcom described Grace as a protagonist who doesn’t know her way around a gun, making her much different from the average Resident Evil protagonist. Despite being a return to form of its survival horror origins, Capcom says the ninth mainline Resident Evil promises “deeply terrifying aspects of psychological horror with pulse-pounding action.” So, although she won’t be as skilled as Leon S Kennedy, fans should still expect some action to go along with their survival horror.

The story and setting

Tasked with investigating the Wrenwood Hotel, FBI technical analyst Grace Ashcroft must investigate all the deaths happening around that location, the same place where her mother was murdered.

Although it’s unclear where the hotel is located, it also appears players will visit the remnants of Raccoon City, following the bomb that dropped there at the end of Resident Evil 2. We see a crater from the bomb in the middle of the city before getting a glimpse of the wrecked police department.

“Prepare to escape death in a heart-stopping experience that will chill you to your core,” it says on Resident Evil Requiem’s website. “A new era of survival horror begins in 2026. Technological advancements combined with the development team’s depth of experience combine in a story with rich characters and gameplay that’s more immersive than ever before.”

Capcom is really touting the fidelity of this title, promising “spine-chilling realism like never before, with complex character details like lifelike facial expressions, realistic skin textures, and even high-fidelity sweat droplets that are sure to keep players on the edge of their seats.”

Resident Evil Requiem platforms

Resident Evil Requiem is set to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in February 2026, marking the series’ full leap into next-gen. Unlike Resident Evil Village and earlier entries, this ninth mainline installment has been developed exclusively for current-gen platforms, leaving behind the PS4 and Xbox One.

When is the Resident Evil Requiem release date?

Resident Evil Requiem releases on Feb. 27, 2026.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The annual Summer Game Fest is more than just livestreams of trailers and announcements; it’s also an in-person experience where many game developers are showing off their playable games for the first time.

Polygon was on the ground for the 2025 SGF experience and we played a lot of demos while we were there. Typically these are 20-, 30-, or 40-minute experiences, so they’re not always indicative of what the final product will be. Nonetheless, here’s a list of 12 game demos we played that made us the most excited for the potential that lies ahead.

Pragmata

“Big guy, little girl” has become a well-worn subgenre of video games, so I didn’t expect much from Capcom’s Pragmata, and yet the 20 minutes I had with the game were some of the most fun I had at the entire show. Our big guy is Hugh, a waylaid astronaut who ends up stranded and wounded on a space station overrun by evil robots. He’s rescued by one of the few non-evil ones, Diana, who also has been designed to look like a little girl. The two team up to get through the space station together, but Diana is no lightweight; it turns out her hacking skills are what’s truly needed to save the day, and Hugh’s third-person shooting abilities are only useful once Diana has stunned an oncoming robot first. Hacking as Diana means solving fun block puzzles even as a hulking, threatning robot is steadily approaching; none of them ever go so fast that Hugh and Diana can’t dodge out of the way, thereby giving the little girl time to do her thing so that her accompanying big guy can shoot the bots to bits. Somehow, instead of being frustrating, it just works, and after 20 minutes, I very much wanted more. —Maddy Myers

Tentative release date: 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

Sega’s ninja hero Joe Musashi returns in Art of Vengeance, a dazzling ode to the Genesis side-scroller era. The basic gameplay remains consistent with the history of the series: you’re running, you’re hacking, you’re slashing, you’re leaping up platforms to knock enemies off their guard. As Joe plows through sword-wielding brutes and lightning sorceresses to understand who burnt his village to the ground, he picks up a few new moves, including elemental magic and a rage-fueled attack of mass destruction — and it’s all deeply satisfying thanks to studio Lizardcube’s precision controls and a lush art style. Between splashy backgrounds and the hard-lined illustrations of the characters, the two stages of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance I played were as much a pleasure to stare at when Joe was standing still as it was to string together combos while he was whupping ass. OK, the whupping ass part is pretty fun, too. —Matt Patches

Release date: Aug. 29, 2025 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch, and PC

Lumines Arise

The team that crafted quite possibly the finest version of Tetris ever made, Tetris Effect, is back with a follow-up to one of my other favorite puzzle games. Lumines Arise uses the same general structure as the original PSP-launching Lumines, but tosses in modern, trippy visuals like giant chameleons that beat their heads along to the music, or psychadelically enhanced astronauts. There’s also a new “Burst” mode that allows you to activate a superpowered, screen-clearing ability once you’ve generated enough energy. There aren’t too many puzzle games that have ever held a candle to Tetris for me, but Lumines has always scratched that itch for me, so seeing what amounts to a full sequel to the original, rather than just a remaster, had me fully vibing. —Russ Frushtick

Tentative release date: Fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 with optional PS VR2 support and PC via Steam with optional PC VR support

Possessor(s)

For those of you who, like me, wonder why there aren’t more games set in demon-infested post-apocalyptic futurescapes, good news, the folks at Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter) agree. After an invasion by otherworldly forces leaves Luca with two crushed legs, a sly demon, Rehm, arrives just before death to strike a deal: he’ll heal her if she’ll let him possess a space in her corporeal self. With the snap of a finger, Luca is reborn with demon powers, and ready to fight her way through the wreckage of the world she knew. Imbuing Metroidvania play with Heart Machine’s signature aptitude for graphic style, Possessor(s) really grabbed me with its voice and story; Rehm is a jerk who still knows a thing or two about the conspiracy at the heart of this disaster, and he banters with Luca through Hades-esque dialogue cutaways. In Possessor(s)’ opening 30 minutes, the cleverness bleeds right into the gameplay, from the demon enemies who possess and turn everyday machinery into snarling foes, and the found weaponry you rely on to survive. Good news: kitchen knives do well against hell beasts. —MP

Tentative release date: 2025, with a demo out now.

Art Is Rifle

This year’s award for Most Psychedelic Experience That Had Me Screaming “OH MY GOD WHAT THE” Every Few Minutes goes to Art Is Rifle. Thai developer Arman Pakan describes Art Is Rifle as an “open-world, FPS puzzle game with rhythmic bullets,” but that doesn’t totally capture the disorienting (in a good way) quality of the play, which I entered with zero explanation, zero hand-holding, and zero clue of what I was doing. When I first hit the ground, I was using a colored-ball launcher to change the colors of different black-and-white objects, and eventually, I figured out a correct order that would open the doors to another section of the hovering platform. Each puzzle required a new way of thinking about the “gun,” its “ammo,” and how projectiles would act in the loopy physics of the world. Eventually, I got stuck — and jumped off a platform into an entirely different part of the world. Was I playing Art Is Rifle the right way? I have no idea, and was happy to be so lost in such a vivid dreamscape. —MP

Release date: Out now

Shadow Labyrinth

I’m probably going to refer to Shadow Labyrinth as “grimdark Pac-Man” even after it gets released, because that’s what it is, even if its forgettable title doesn’t make that clear. And yet we must not forget Bandai Namco’s upcoming twist on one of the oldest and best-known IPs in the world. Inspired by the mega-twisted Secret Level episode “Circle,” itself a grimdark take on Pac-Man, Shadow Labyrinth is a Metroidvania starring a cloaked, sword-wielding figure who explores 2D side-scrolling levels alongside a small floating yellow sphere. Shadow Labyrinth has some typical contemporary Metroidvania mechanics — a double jump, a grappling hook, an air dash — but the best part is its take on morph ball mode. You inhabit Pac-Man — or, uh, sorry, he’s called “Puck” in this game — and roll across specific walls and surfaces to eat up tiny dots. I got 20 minutes with this game and loved every single one of them; I now can’t wait for the full release of this bizarre yet very welcome addition to Pac-Man lore. —MM

Release date: July 18, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2

Infinitesimals

Grounded 2 was not the only micro-sized adventure game on display at this year’s Summer Game Fest. Players who enjoy running around as a tiny guy need to check out Infinitesimals, which the folks at Cubit Studios have been toiling over in some shape and form for over a decade, beginning as a pet project for veteran game designer James McWilliams. At first glance, the game looks a bit like A Bug’s Life with guns, but in action it’s closer to the ideal Avatar experience that we didn’t quite get in Frontiers of Pandora. Players strap in as the leader of an alien military squad that crash-lands on Earth — but he’s only the size of an insect, forcing him to both outrun curious ants and a robot population that currently resides in the overgrowth. Built on top of third-person military shooter tactics is a number of other intriguing mechanics that open up the play, from a variety of weapon modifiers to a stealth path that finds you hacking intricately built electricity systems. Infinitesimals feels deceptively complex and vast for a pitch as simple as “Honey I Shrunk the Kids with aliens and guns.” —MP

Tentative release date: 2026 for PC on Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Neon Inferno

These days, there are about as many retro-inspired side-scrollers as there ever were actual of-the-era side-scrollers in the 1990s. Still, there are people out there making awe-inspiring new entries — and Zenovia Interactive’s Neon Inferno looked like one of them. Inspired by franchises like Contra and Metal Slug, with a 32-bit cyberpunk art direction that completely overdelivers, Neon Inferno is a shooter bursting with action from the first seconds. Russ Frushtick and I suited up as assassins Angelo Morano and Mariana Vitti to play co-op in various stages that showed off a number of the mechanics threaded into the typical run-and-gun gameplay. As you take out waves of cyber gangsters, Neon Inferno pits you against foreground and gallery-shooter-style background enemies, allows you to parry projectile gunfire, and throws in a few vehicle stages for good measure. It’s retro chaos that could still only be done with modern tech. —MP

Release date: Oct. 2 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with a demo out now.

Sol Mates

“Overcooked, but it’s on a spaceship” was the pitch that Sol Mates’ developers gave me and Matt Patches when we stepped up to play the game at their Summer Game Fest booth. That’s mostly true, although Sol Mates feels a bit less frantic; whenever I play Overcooked, my partners and I end up shouting at each other like we’re in an episode of The Bear. In Sol Mates, we moved like a well-oiled machine before too long; recharging the ship’s batteries, reloading its cannons, and repositioning its shields to protect from enemy spaceships all happened pretty seamlessly, but I can tell that with the right balance, Sol Mates could be just as gloriously chaotic and ultimately satisfying. This was definitely a game concept with strong potential and one I’ll be checking out when it gets a full release. —MM

Tentative release date: Early Access on Steam in 2025 on PC.

Ambrosia Sky

This upcoming game — the debut title from nascent indie studio Soft Rains — is probably going to be the only game that both revolves around a water gun mechanic and is designed to make me cry. In Ambrosia Sky, the player steps into the space boots of Dalia, an intergalactic explorer who’s revisiting her home planet after it’s been overrun by a hostile fungus that’s killed everyone. She uses a high-tech power washer to clean the fungal overgrowth from her former home, and it’s a very satisfying cleanup job, except that’s not Dalia’s real mission: She’s primarily here to rediscover the corpses of her friends and perform their funeral rites for them. What little I saw of the writing in my 20-minute demo already impressed me, and the music was the perfect haunting accompaniment to it all. —MM

Tentative release date: TBD to PC on Steam

Ninja Gaiden 4

It’s been a while since Ninja Gaiden players have had a new one, and now, they’ve got two on the way: Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, a 2D throwback to the spirit of the 8-bit Ninja Gaiden era coming to consoles this summer (which we also really dug for his high-speed revival of the classic style), and Ninja Gaiden 4, which represents an unlikely studio team-up between PlatinumGames and Team Ninja.

The former is known for splashy, button-mashing-friendly action games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, while the latter is known for mega-difficult hack-and-slash gameplay (in addition to Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja makes the Nioh games, which I would describe as being for people who think FromSoftware’s Soulslikes are too easy). Because of that combination, most players and I weren’t really sure what to expect of Ninja Gaiden 4, but the results really worked for me, a person who loves both a methodical Soulslike and a splashy Bayonetta-style action game. It’s a marriage of two methodologies that still totally works; it plays a bit like a 3D fighting game, with big fancy special moves to perform but still a necessity to learn specific combos and pay careful attention to enemies and their abilities. I spent all 20 minutes of my time with Ninja Gaiden 4 learning as much as I could just so I could keep up, and the results were very rewarding. —MM

Release date: Oct. 21, 2025 to Xbox (and GamePass), Playstation 5, and PC

Crisol: Theater of Idols

Blumhouse Games took over a corner of SGF to preview a few new titles, including an extremely cheeky, bloody farm sim/horror mash-up called Grave Seasons and Crisol, the first game from the Madrid-based Vermila Studios. The latter gave me the willies in a classic Doom, Quake, and Hexen did for me back in the day. Crisol says its first-person horror shooter was deeply inspired by the rush of playing Bioshock back in the day, the vibe of the demo — full of Spanish design elements and sparse-but-haunting encounters — felt like a refreshing AA twist. At the core of Crisol’s supernatural mystery is the blood gun, a deadly weapon that relies on the player’s own life well for ammunition. You can collect blood from corpses scattered around the map, but or often than not, I found myself draining my own life supply to survive fights with zombie puppets or straight-up fleeing from towering monsters who wanted to gobble me up. Like a great horror movie, Crisol forces you to ride the fine line between life and death and fear turning any corner. Mad by sickos for sickos. —MP

Tentative release date: 2026

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

While on the ground at Summer Game Fest 2025, I got to play a little bit of Grounded 2 and then had a quick chat afterwards with game director Chris Parker. In the brief time I had with the game, which is a sequel that continues the survival game story of kids shrunk down to itty-bitty size, I got to fight off some creepy little multi-legged mites with a spear I’d fashioned from twigs, pebbles, and twine. And as I fought off those bugs, even though they weren’t quite spiders, I thought about how they could still trigger somebody’s arachnophobia (thankfully, not an issue for yours truly).

I have good news for those of you who hate eight-legged freaks: Grounded 2 will also have an arachnophobia mode.

“I think the Grounded team — the Grounded 1 team — did a really good job in tackling this problem,” Parker said. “I mean, even though you’re mostly fighting what looks like balloon animals” — that’s how the spiders end up looking with the arachnophobia mode turned on — “that foundation made it easy for the Grounded 2 team to build on that.

“But we certainly have more challenges,” he said, referring to the new rideable bugs in Grounded 2 (the first game didn’t have mounts). There’s a big red ant that you can ride, which I got to try for myself in the demo, but what I didn’t know was what Parker told me next: There’s also going to be a rideable spider in the full game.

“And so we have to respect arachnophobia mode for that as well, which has been a little bit more tricky,” he went on. “We have to calculate feet, and things like that, so you can really understand what’s going on, and how to run that thing around the world, and how the world is going to interact back with it. It’s tricky, but it’s probably not as tricky as you think. We really just go onto the skeleton and put cute-looking spheres where claws and eyeballs and abdomens used to be. And as long as we take it far enough away from that eight-legged insect, that seems to work for people. So yeah, it’s not all that crazy.”

Of course, there are also players who are just a little bit scared of spiders but who don’t necessarily want to turn off the option to see them entirely. Creating the right balance between scary and fun, particularly in a game that’s intended to be family-friendly, has also been an entertaining challenge for the team. In Grounded 2, the characters have aged up a little bit, as some time has passed since the first Grounded, and also, the young players who tried the first game have grown up a little bit, too. So, I had to ask: How scary is too scary?

“There are some healthy debates about this, actually,” said Parker. “So I think in general, we try to just push that as hard as we can, and at some point we go, ‘Oh, I think we pushed this too far.’ And we do bump into certain assets that we’ve created where we’re like, ‘Well… I don’t really know. Let’s take that out.’ Or, ‘Let’s put it in there, and see what user research has to say about it.’ Now that we’re finally able to talk about the game and we’re going into early access, we can talk to the community about it. But those are the kind of conversations that we want to have with the community out there, see what they have to say about it too.”

To be specific, Grounded 2 will be available in early access on July 29 for Windows PC and Xbox Series X, as well as on Game Pass. And you heard them — if it’s too scary, Obsidian Entertainment wants you to say so.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Capcom first announced Pragmata, an original sci-fi action game, way back in 2020 during a PlayStation State of Play. Three years have passed since its target release date, with the Japanese company only offering the occasional bleak update. Even when Capcom announced that it would finally show Pragmata off at the 2025 Summer Game Fest, many assumed the finished product was doomed.

Sucks to be wrong?

Who knows if Pragmata, which Capcom swears will arrive in 2026, will be the real deal in its final state, but after 20 minutes of hands-on time at SGF, I was left dying to play more. The fluid, frictionless demo offered a combat-forward third-person shooter experience that felt totally fresh — a rare feeling in an SGF sea of Soulslikes and Hades-esque rougelite riffs.

In the demo, spacefarer Hugh meets lost android Diana aboard a lunar research station overrun by killer AI. There’s little time for introduction, as the pair are immediately ambushed by a rickety robot looking to laser them in half. Considering Diana presents as a little doll of a girl — major M3GAN vibes — Hugh’s instinct is to protect her as he fires like mad into the metal assassin. But this is a video game, and Diana turns out to have her own role to play in an adventure that’s maybe more poised to be Capcom’s spin on Banjo-Kazooie than Dadcore classics like The Last of Us and God of War.

As it turns out, Hugh’s bullets are basically useless against the robots’ defenses, at least until Diana climbs up on his back and uses her hacking skillz to crack their interiors. That means each encounter in Pragmata is a combination of both puzzling and shooting. First, players target a bot to execute one of Diana’s hacks, a block puzzle that can either be swiftly completed to briefly stun the robot or more intricately solved to buy Hugh more time. Of course, if the robot is already right next to Hugh, you’ll have to settle for Diana’s speedier solve, hoping to then gain enough distance to do one of her more intricate hacks. Either way, once the bot’s been hobbled by Diana, it’s time for Hugh to open fire — or run like hell to a more strategic vantage point.

This simple gimmick makes those early Pragmata fights a blast. The play is not hyperactive — a two-step combat process means the robots stalk more like George Romero’s slow-walking zombies than the T-1000 — but combinations of bipedal killers and flying drones set a ticking clock to solving the face-offs. A light-touch UI makes it all go down easy, with easy-to-decipher pop-ups that allow you to keep an eye on incoming waves of bots as well as your in-progress hacks.

Most of the demo was set in the lunar base, a highly detailed set that really took advantage of the PS5’s graphical power (will 2026 finally be the year of the current-gen game?). Hugh and Diana navigate the space with the usual array of run and jump moves, plus a jetpack that, in a landscape full of janky aerial mechanics, felt noticeably smooth and as seamless as any other motion in the game. The jetpack was a welcome way of platforming around the lunar base and dodging robots who eluded Hugh’s initial traps. (The astronaut can find the electrical equivalent of a net gun to slow down his adversaries and give Diana much-needed hacking time.) Right off the bat, Pragmata offered a number of equally calibrated item-and-combat combinations that let me play the way I wanted to play based on whatever seemed most fun.

In the demo, there are traces of a story — shit clearly went down at the station, and glimpses from eons ago during the State of Play tease hinted that Hugh might eventually make it down to Earth. But on a play level, Pragmata was a polished and propulsive surprise. One day, we may understand the cost Capcom paid to toil away on a game meant to drop at the height of the PlayStation 5 era, and if there’s even a pathway to success for what was envisioned as a “new, original IP” that took close to a decade to publish. But luckily, very few of us are personally invested in the creation of Pragmata — we just get to play the damn thing. And after SGF, the game will be on my chrome, futuristic space radar until the moment it lands next year.

Capcom says Pragmata will be available in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

DC Studios head James Gunn has revealed several key things about the future of its cinematic universe, including confirmation that a Wonder Woman movie is currently in development.

James Gunn clarified to Entertainment Weekly that Wonder Woman is “a separate thing” from the upcoming HBO series Paradise Island, which centers on the Amazons of Themyscira. While he acknowledged the series is “slow moving, but it’s moving,” he also shared an update: “We’re working on Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is being written right now.”

Although we’ve heard news that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, starring Milly Alcock, will premiere in June 2026, and a Batman film inspired by Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son story is expected, this is the first piece of news for a Wonder Woman film.

Diana of Themyscira has had a rough go of it in recent memory, following the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3 led by the previous team of Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins. Speaking in 2022 about the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3, Jenkins said, “I was open to considering anything asked of me. From my understanding, there was nothing I could do to move things forward at that time. DC is clearly undergoing major changes, so I understand that these decisions are difficult right now.” Warner Bros. Games recently shut down three of its studios and canceled all projects in development, including the long-anticipated Wonder Woman game.

James also explained that although an actor has yet to be cast for the role, Batman, Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman are important figures for the future of DC Studios. “I wouldn’t say only those four characters, but I would say that those four characters are incredibly important to us. Right now, I feel great about where two of those characters are, and then we’re dealing with the other two.”

Needless to say, the upcoming Superman film has fans excited and ready to see the DC Universe’s brand new take on its favorite cap and cowl characters.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Time is a concept that is very hard to master in video games, and few creators have been fascinated by it as much as Hideo Kojima. The legendary designer behind the Metal Gear Solid series and Death Stranding, whose second installment, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, showed off some impressive gameplay footage at Summer Game Fest, recently shared on his KOJI10 podcast some ideas for future games that he felt could revolutionize the use of time in the medium. However, something very similar to Kojima’s concept was already attempted — back in 1987.

Nihon Falcom Corporation is the most important Japanese video game developer you may have never heard of. In the 1980s, Falcom pioneered role-playing games and action-RPGs in Japan, creating iconic franchises such as Ys, Dragon Slayer, and The Legend of Heroes. One Falcom game, part of the Dragon Slayer series, was the most innovative and experimental in terms of its gameplay: Sorcerian.

Sorcerian came out in 1987 (the same year as the original Metal Gear) for the PC-8801 personal computer. On the surface, it’s a simple side-scrolling action game with RPG elements (a successful formula for Falcom), which allows the player to create several parties of characters and send them out to adventure in many different scenarios. The scenario system was one of Sorcerian’s biggest innovations, as it made the game modular and expandable; more scenario packs were released over the years, with some even created by players. However, the most forward-thinking element of the game was one that, 38 years later, Hideo Kojima is thinking about implementing in his future games: The characters grow old.

During episode 17 of his podcast, Kojima reflected on how some of his most innovative game ideas had to do with time. For example, Metal Gear Solid fans will remember how, in the iconic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (a remake of which is about to be released), the food Snake could salvage by killing animals during his missions would spoil after a few days passed in real time. More famously, perhaps, the boss fight against The End could be bypassed by leaving the game and coming back after a week (or manipulating the internal game clock). The legendary (and very old) sniper would simply die of old age, which at the time was seen as more of a fun Easter egg than anything else.

However, Kojima’s attraction to the concept of time in video games is clearly deeper than that. In 2019’s Death Stranding, one of the main hazards players have to face is Timefall, an otherworldly rain that speeds up the aging and deterioration of objects and people. In his podcast, Kojima revealed more time-related ideas that he would like to implement in future games. As translated by IGN: “It starts out with the player being born, you’re a child and then gradually over time you become an adult. In the game, you fight various enemies. Like with the previous example, if you keep playing the game, you will become a 70- or 80-year-old man. However, at this age you will be weaker, your eyesight will worsen. When you are a teenager you’ll be able to run faster but by the time you reach 60 you’ll slow down a bit.”

A revolutionary idea for sure, but one that was already present in Sorcerian. In Falcom’s game, each character starts at a set age, and playing each scenario advances the in-game calendar by one year. More importantly, some necessary activities also take a lot of time to complete. Training to increase a stat, which you will need to advance past certain points of the game, takes two years. Enchanting an object by adding magic to it, the only way to use magic in Sorcerian, requires three years for each element added to it, and you need at least two to create a spell. Add to this that you will surely need to play certain scenarios more than once to make sure you collect valuable items and enough XP to tackle the more difficult scenarios, and your characters have a good chance to reach what the game defines as “old age” (which varies depending on their class /race (they are the same thing in the game, just as in the earliest iterations of Dungeons & Dragons).

Once your characters reach a certain age in Sorcerian, they are hit by random penalties and negative effects, just as Kojima imagined. Moreover, in the podcast, he mentioned another idea for a game in which players have to create things that take time to mature, such as cheese or wine… or Sorcerian’s magic items.

While Sorcerian’s actual side-scrolling gameplay is far from impressive, and the game failed to reach the same popularity as the Ys series, it remains incredibly forward-thinking for its time. The complexity of the character management (besides the four classes, there are also 60 jobs to choose from, each with its own bonuses and disadvantages), of the magic system, and of the time-related elements stand out, even 38 years later.

In the podcast, Kojima jokingly said that no one would buy a game in which the protagonist grows old, but I beg to differ. If there is anyone who can pull this off, it’s him. Unlike many other creators, Kojima hasn’t let technological innovations stifle his creativity; quite the contrary. The same out-of-the-box genius that was present in the first Metal Gear (and, in parallel, in Sorcerian) is clearly present in Death Stranding. Just like carrying equipment and weight were aspects that video games never considered seriously before Death Stranding, in regard to showing it on screen, so the concept of growing old and weaker could be the next revolution that Hideo Kojima brings to the industry. Just remember that Falcom and Sorcerian did it first.

If you want to know more about Sorcerian, you should check this video from the amazing retrogaming channel Basement Brothers. You can also play a port of the game on Nintendo Switch; it’s available in the eshop under the name “EGGCONSOLE SORCERIAN PC-8801mkIISR.”

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The Alters, a science-fiction game and the next big release from Frostpunk dev 11 Bit Studios, is out this week. You’re cast as Jan Dolski, a miner who crashed on a less-than-hospitable planet. To survive this ordeal, you must build a base, explore his surroundings, and create alternate versions of yourself. It present a mix of action, adventure, survival, and management sim genres at once.

If that sounds like your type of game, here’s what time The Alters releases in your time zone, plus.

Is The Alters on Game Pass?

Good news for Xbox Game Pass subscribers: The Alters will be available on day one. That said, it’ll only be available if you subscribe at the Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass tiers. It won’t be part of the Xbox Game Pass Standard or Core libraries at launch.

The Alters release time in your time zone

You can play The Alters on Windows PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, where you can buy it for $34.99.

As 11 Bit Studios announced in a recent Steam post, The Alters releases on June 13 at 8 a.m. EDT. If you’re in a different timezone, here’s when that is:

5 a.m. PDT for the West Coast of North America8 a.m. EDT for the East Coast of North America1 p.m. BST for the U.K.2 p.m. CEST for west mainland Europe9 p.m. JST in Japan10 p.m. AEST for Australia

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The Splatoon franchise is headed to Switch 2 with a new game called Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo announced Tuesday. Described as “the first-ever Splatoon spinoff game,” Splatoon Raiders will cast players as a mechanic who explores the mysterious Spirhalite Islands alongside Splatoon 3’s Deep Cut trio: Frye, Shiver, and Big Man.

A short trailer for Splatoon Raiders shows the Deep Cut gang on an exploratory mission, and the helicopter they’re traveling in crash-landing on a remote island. What little gameplay we do see shows the game’s main character exploring the island (with a mechanical sidekick), Frye and Shiver fishing, and Big Man getting hosed down with ink. While Nintendo hasn’t announced much in the way of gameplay details, Splatoon Raiders looks like it may be some sort of survival game, in which players need to build up a base and explore a remote island for food and supplies.

Splatoon Raiders does not have a confirmed release date.

Nintendo also announced Tuesday that Splatoon 3 is getting a free update later this week, which will add 30 new weapons as part of the Splatlands collection, consisting of new guns and gear from the Barazushi and Emberz brands. Urchin Underpass, a stage from the original Splatoon on Wii U, is also being added.

Splatoon 3’s new update drops June 12, for both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The update, Nintendo said in a news release, will bring with it “more detailed visuals and a smoother appearance in locations like Splatsville and the Grand Festival Grounds” on Switch 2. Splatoon 3 will feature cross-play between the original Switch and Switch 2.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Hideo Kojima, progenitor of the Metal Gear Solid series, is one of gaming’s most idiosyncratic personalities. If you read a headline about the Japanese developer, there’s a good chance the adjective of choice used will be “weird” regardless of the topic. But if you ask the man himself, he can get weirder — and there’s a reason he’s not going down that pathway.

In a fantastic profile with GQ Tuesday, Kojima details everything from intense COVID-era health issues that made him contend with his mortality to the shocking revelation that, despite his constant movie reviews on X, he apparently doesn’t know what Letterboxd is.

In it, there’s also a snippet where Kojima talks about his outlook on making games and the things that fuel his creative drive. Becoming ill during COVID made Kojima consider his age (62) and what he can accomplish before his time expires. He says he wants to die making something, and there’s a ton he wants to do. Right now, for example, he’s working on at least two games and two movies.

Despite his long list of projects and existing accomplishments, Kojima says he feels “rushed.” He estimates that in a decade, at best he can dole out about three titles if everything goes well. But even on a micro level, he’s at the point where it feels like a single hour flies by in a way it didn’t when he was younger.

He continues:

I thought I could do anything if I was independent, but the reality is that I can’t. I always thing of other, more weird stuff to make. But if I do that, and it doesn’t sell, my studio will go bankrupt. I know all the staff. I know the families of the staff. I have this burden on my shoulders.

Later on, he says that he’s had experience making “flops” before at Konami, which gives further insight on his thinking about commercial success. Sequels, he says, are easy to pitch. “But a game that no one has ever seen before? Even if I write something, people won’t understand it.”

In the aftermath of Death Stranding, a franchise with a complicated storyline and unusually deliberate mechanics for a AAA game, the idea that Kojima is taking refuge in safe ideas might seem inaccurate or unusually self-critical. But while the social mechanics in Death Stranding are unique, they’re built on the concept colloquially referred to as “walking simulators.”

The more meditative approach to gameplay preceded Death Stranding by over a decade, and Kojima’s take on it appeared on the tail end of mainstream acceptance for a design approach that was initially controversial. In 2012, people derided the genre as a repudiation of the medium as a whole, because interactivity was sometimes more conceptual than it was tactile. The people who made “walking simulator” games before Death Stranding (or P.T.) arguably took the bigger risks with the genre, and they didn’t have the benefit of movie stars to curry public favor.

When we’re dealing with babies who can sense the supernatural, though, weird might not be a totally off-base descriptor. And if anyone might be able to convince their audience to take a chance on a strange concept, it’s going to be an auteur like Kojima. It’s slightly disappointing to know Kojima isn’t using his rare position in game development to tell new stories in experimental ways, especially as most major studios take fewer and fewer chances.

But then you look at the numbers surrounding layoffs the gaming industry, which have only gotten more exponential over time, and it’s hard to fault Kojima for worrying about commercial success. Depending on the time it took to develop or the budget, a modern game can now sell millions and still be considered a failure.

Death Stranding 2 is out on June 26. In the meantime, you can read more about Kojima’s inner turmoil here.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die stuck its hooks in me after just a few rooms. Dashing between enemy projectile attacks and then slicing those enemies up, I quickly got into a rhythm with the roguelike’s combat, which reminded me of Hades in all the best ways. It also has enough fresh gameplay ideas to set it apart as a unique and invigorating addition to a crowded genre.

The Eternal Die spins off from Zoink’s 2021 action-adventure game Lost in Random, which I quite enjoyed thanks to its unique aesthetic and gripping storytelling. It featured a world (the titular Random) divided between six realms (one for each side of a cubic die) and ruled by random chance; each character’s fate was determined by the roll of a die.

I enjoyed The Eternal Die just as much, and new players don’t need to fret — you can fight through The Eternal Die on its own without having played the first one. While the IP has shifted hands and is the first game released from new studio Stormteller Games, the charm, the weird world, and the quirky designs from the original game carry over to The Eternal Die, even as the series shifts genres into a roguelike.

You play as Queen Aleksandra, the ruler of Random. She used The Black Die, an ancient power, to rule the kingdom, but its corruptive powers broke out, dividing the lands. In the process, Aleksandra lost her sister. Now on a path of vengeance, the Queen is trapped by and must fight her way out of The Black Die via pulse-pounding, isometric roguelike runs. Inside, she also contends with characters who’ve suffered from her reign, giving the narrative an air of atonement alongside Aleksandra’s quest for revenge.

Aleks starts with a sword and can acquire a hammer, a bow, and a lance as well. The weapons are somewhat basic at first and play how you’d expect — the hammer is slow but does a good amount of damage, while the lance is the opposite. You’ll be able to upgrade and augment them between runs to fit your preferred playstyle. An early favorite of mine was Aleksandra’s bow as I found success changing its charged attack to an exploding shot that could deal heavy damage to any enemy who happened to be in the wrong place.

While mixing regular and charged attacks is fun on its own, The Eternal Die’s combat is really supported by all the different ways you can use Fortune — a sentient die who aids you in battle and loves terrible jokes — and card attacks in combat. You throw Fortune at enemies to dole out significant damage, giving you the ability to attack from a distance when you find yourself in a bind. Fortune won’t run to your side in a fight, however; his attacks are balanced by the fact you have to retrieve him, meaning you can’t spam your way to victory.

After clearing rooms, you’ll receive various rewards, one being a relic coffer that presents options for passives and augments for Aleks and Fortune. Some of them can make your little die buddy not just more powerful, but more versatile too. Sometimes I’d get a relic that let Fortune rain down volcanic stones on enemies when he was thrown. Others would trigger an effect depending on what number Fortune rolls, like increasing the damage of Aleks’ next charged attack. With the right combination, Aleks will be more than ready for the tough enemies found deep into runs.

Card attacks also add nice variety to combat. There are 15 in the game, and each of the four levels in a run will typically have an encounter room with a new card attack for you to swap for or leave behind. They range from poison daggers to a swirling vortex of ice to a wave of sand that freezes enemies in time. Like Fortune’s throw attack, card attacks can be enhanced by relics as well.

My favorite room to find, one I would explicitly seek out even after finding the exit to the boss’s arena, was a Candyland-like game room. You’ll step right up and roll Fortune to move a game piece around a board. Smaller rolls are better, allowing you to reap more rewards like coins and relic coffers. I attribute a good part of my first successful run to rolling well in one of Rollins’ games; I was able to not just increase Aleksandra’s max health a couple of times, but also top it off in addition to securing some shiny gold coins to purchase items at the shop found on each level.

Luck is a part of every roguelike, with Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, “random” is right there in the name. Sometimes, runs will be aided by the luck of the draw, gracing you with a build playing to your strengths. But during other runs, you may get nothing you deem worthwhile. It’s part of the challenge (and part of the fun) of a roguelike, and winning a run even with a less-than-stellar build is all the more satisfying.

That first successful run felt like a confluence of everything that makes a great roguelite so much fun to play — mastering a weapon, lucking out with some great bonuses, and having as big of a health pool as possible. Typically I close the book on a game after seeing its ending, even if there are additional endings to seek out. However, that’s not the case with Lost in Random: The Eternal Die. Its gameplay is too much fun to simply abandon, and I’m looking forward to what I’ll find over the course of more random runs.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Dieis out June 17 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PS5 using a prerelease download code provided by Thunderful Publishing.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Webtoon is deepening its partnership with Dark Horse Comics by bringing five major franchises to its English-language platform. Newly reformatted for Webtoon’s signature vertical-scroll format, the lineup includes Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins, The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Plants vs. Zombies, and fresh stories from Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra.

Dark Horse Comics’ The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia on new, mostly original adventures. The Legend of Korra (a Webtoon-exclusive vertical scroll) picks up where Avatar: The Last Airbender left off, following Avatar Korra and her friends on new adventures. Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins (also a vertical-scroll exclusive) brings the beloved tabletop RPG series to life, tracing the high-stakes exploits of a mismatched group of heroes.

Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 dives into the neon-drenched streets of Night City with a collection of explosive new stories set in the universe of the acclaimed video game. And finally, Plants vs. Zombies (another vertical-scroll exclusive) returns with more showdowns between brain-hungry zombies and their unlikely plant foes.

“Webtoon has made it easy for a new generation of fans to fall in love with comics,” said Yongsoo Kim, CSO and head of Global Webtoon at Webtoon Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to work with Dark Horse to bring this new slate of world-class titles to Webtoon. Whether we’re helping new creators build their fandoms or working with marquee publishers like Dark Horse to bring beloved franchises to fans around the world, we’re committed to delivering the highest quality storytelling to our passionate community of readers.”

The new slate joins Webtoon and Dark Horse’s existing partnership to bring Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender comics to the platform, where it has accumulated over 13 million views. The platform is also home to several video game-related comics, like Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple and Dimension 20’s Fantasy High.

These titles are set to debut on the platform throughout the second half of 2025.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Maelle may be one of the strongest damage-dealers in **Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but she can be the most stylish too. It all depends on which of Maelle’s outfits you strive to unlock.

Throughout your time with Expedition 33, you’re bound to come across many cosmetic options for your party, but a lot of them are missable. Take the creepy recurring Mime enemy — many of the most fashionable cosmetics are hidden behind these monstrosities of boss fights, and the game incentivizes you to avoid them. (Mime fights are hard.)

In this Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 guide, we offer a list of all Maelle outfits and hairstyles and how to unlock them.

All Maelle outfits in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

There are 12 outfits you can unlock for Maelle. We’ve only unlocked 10 so far, though, we can confirm through community sources how to unlock the other two. We’ve included screenshots of the Maelle outfits we’ve unlocked to date, and have added an asterisk below to indicate those we’ve yet to unlock.

Here’s how you unlock the following Maelle outfits in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:

Expedition — Available from the beginning of the game.Civilian — Purchase from Geranjo the Merchant on an island near the Stone Wave Cliffs.Baguette — Defeat the Mine in The Reacher location in Act 3.Clea* — Defeat Clea in Flying Manor, then speak with the Young Boy. Select Maelle to receive the gift.Pure — You must correctly answer the Grandis Fashionist poems in Monoco’s Station as Maelle. The correct answers are as follows: **While shadows fade to silence, gone beyond our sight.****Death untangles threads, revealing what’s begun.****Eternity then cradles us, a promise to appease.**Lumiere — Purchase from Carrabi the Merchant on the beach east of Gestral Village.Sakapatate — In Gestral village, complete Ono-Puncho’s 9,999 damage request.Skirt — Access The Manor through the door in Stone Wave Cliffs, and you’ll find this outfit in a closet.Swimsuit* — Complete the climbing challenge on the Gestral Beach. You can only access this challenge after unlocking flight with Esquie.Obscur — Purchase from Kasumi the Merchant in Forgotten Battlefield.Painted Me — Collect the Manor Family Canvas from The Canvas location and then place it in the empty frame in The Manor. You’ll find this outfit in the Painting Room.Real Maelle — Available as soon as you reach Act 3 of the main story.

All Maelle hairstyles in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

There are 17 hairstyles you can unlock for Maelle. As with her outfits, we’ve only unlocked 11 so far, though we can confirm through community sources how to unlock the other six. We’ve included screenshots of the Maelle hairstyles we’ve unlocked to date, and have added an asterisk below to those we have yet to unlock.

Here’s how you unlock the following Maelle hairstyles in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:

Artist — Purchase from Blabary merchant to the west of Gestral Village.Bald — Defeat the Mime in Sunless Cliffs with Maelle.Braid — Defeat the Mime in Yellow Harvest.Clea* — Defeat the Mime in Flying Manor.Double Braid — Purchase from Colaro the Merchant on the beach behind Stone Wave Cliffs.Double Braid White* — Purchase from Colaro the Merchant.French Bob* — With the Paint Break ability you receive after finding 4 Lost Gestrals, help Grandis break the ice in The Carousel.Gestral — Talk to Sastro in Camp after finding one of his lost gestrals.Messy Bun — Purchase from Papasso the Merchant on the beach next to Monoco’s Station.Painted Me — Defeat Alicia in Act 3.Ponytail White* — Complete all Stages and Trials in the Endless Tower.Rebellious — Access The Manor through the door in Gestral Village. Navigating through the kitchen will lead you into the cellar where you’ll find this hairstyle.Short — Defeat the Mime in Flying Waters.Short White* — Purchase from Sodasso the Merchant near the Visages on the world map.Vintage — Purchase from Geranjo the Merchant on the island near Stone Wave Cliffs.Voluminous — Defeat the Mime in the Tainted Cliffs.Baguette* — Defeat the Mime in The Reacher.

For more Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 guides, here’s our recommendation for the best Maelle build and how to get all endings.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

If you’re just getting started in Dune: Awakening, the ins and outs of making it through each day on Arrakis might seem more than a little overwhelming. There’s a detailed prologue that walks you through some of the basics, but it doesn’t tell you everything and leaves a lot to the assumption that you’ll figure it out as you go along. Dune: Awakening is much more forgiving than some survival games, but not having to learn things the hard way means you can focus your time and resources on things that matter.

We’ve compiled a list of Dune: Awakening beginner tips and tricks to help get you started on Arrakis, everything from how to keep hydrated to the best skills to focus on early in the game.

1. Don’t build your base on the sand. Zantara, your guide, only tells you this after your first construction project, but if you build on the sand, the foundations will get swept away whenever a storm blows through.

2. Don’t get too attached to your first base, either. You’ll have to abandon it after making some story progress, and even though demolishing constructions will refund your building materials, carting everything you stored to your new base is a pain.

3. Focus on raising your faction reputation in between completing main and side quests. Raising faction reputation is key to unlocking some of Dune Awakening‘s bigger features, including the option to buy your own Ornithopter.

4. Don’t neglect the main quest, either, as completing story quests unlocks new technologies and teaches you how to use some of Dune: Awakening‘s more nuanced systems.

5. Kill scavengers and extract their blood whenever you can. It sounds gruesome, but their blood is the most reliable way to have fresh water on-hand after you craft the blood refiner.

6. Scavengers respawn after a short time, the same as resources, so you won’t lack opportunities to harvest fresh blood.

7. Pay attention to the sunstroke bar, and avoid letting it max out. Sunstroke won’t kill or damage you, but it does make you dehydrate more quickly. Dehydration lowers your stamina and, at full dehydration, you lose health.

8. Keep a stock of purified water on-hand at your base at all times. The Stillsuit’s hydration mechanism is a helpful top-up, but it charges too slowly to make it your primary water source.

9. Daytime exploration exposes you to dangerous heat, so if you have to go out before night falls, make sure you plot a path that includes areas where you can rest in shade.

10. Ignore your pistol for a while. Zantara makes a big deal out of using ranged weapons, but they’re incredibly weak for much of the early game. Knife attacks are much faster and safer unless you’re dealing with more than two enemies simultaneously.

11. Grab all the granite, plant fiber, copper, and metal you can find. These materials are required for building walls, foundations, and most other base- and progress-related machines and crafting recipes.

12. Craft a few storage chests early, and dump all your extra rocks, plants, and resources in there before heading out. Your base’s sub-fief has limited initial storage space, and you don’t want to have to waste or discard anything you find on Arrakis.

13. Once you scan an area and can examine nodes on the map, look for Intel nodes. Completing these rewards you with a lot of XP, and they’re usually in outposts or other areas with valuable resources to pick up.

14. Dying is less of an obstacle than you might think in most cases. You’ll respawn with every piece of equipment you died with and can return to collect your pack with all your resources.

15. If a sandworm kills you, though, you lose everything. Plan your trips across open sand carefully.

16. You can’t kill sandworms, so don’t try. The only options for dealing with them are “get eaten” or “run away.”

17. Falling from ledges or other high place can damage you, but never kill you. At worst, it drops your HP to critical, which isn’t ideal if enemies are nearby, but it does mean you can quickly get down from a high place without much worry.

18. It’s completely possible to play solo, even if group play makes things easier. You’ll just need to rely on item trades to cover gaps in your resource management.

19. Mobility is far more important than combat, so invest your skill points in movement and survival skills before spending them on improving weapon damage.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Finding plant fiber locations in Dune: Awakening is essential during every stage of your adventure, but particularly in the first few main story quests. You’ll need plant fiber to craft healing bandages and clothes, including your first Stillsuit, among other things, and you need it in large quantities. It sounds cumbersome, but Dune: Awakening‘s generous respawn times and resource mapping mean that, once you know where to look, you’ll be able to find all you need and then some without much hassle.

Below, we explained where to find plant fiber locations in Dune: Awakening and how to spot them using the survey probe’s mapping tool.

Plant fiber locations in Dune: Awakening

Plant fiber locations, like all resource locations, change every week when the Coriolis Storm sweeps through and shakes up everything in the desert. However, there are a handful of areas where you can almost always find the bushes that yield plant fiber.

The general guidance is “look for rocky locations,” but in our experience, that’s only half true. In the starting area, for example, the rocky area where you complete the first story trial had no plant fiber bushes before or after the first Coriolis Storm blew through.

Your best bet early on is in the two rocky areas southwest of the Alcyon wreck and west of the area where you undergo the Trials of Alq. There’s a small cluster of bushes yielding plant fiber around the northern outcrop, but even more around the southern one, where you’ll also find a moisture-sealed cavern and a scavenger’s camp inside.

The shrubs where plant fiber comes from respawn after roughly 30 seconds of real-world time, so once you exhaust all the available fiber in an area, don’t waste time and resources trying to track down more unless you have business somewhere else. Just grab other items in the nearby vicinity, circle back to the plants, and pick up some more fiber after it respawns.

Scavengers will occasionally have plant fiber on them that you can loot after battle, and the storage containers in scavenger camps sometimes include plant fiber as well. The chance of plant fiber showing up on a scavenger or in their camp seems random, though, so your best bet for finding it is checking and re-checking shrubs.

A little ways into the Touch of Civilization main story quest, you’ll need to craft and fire a survey probe to map the nearby area. Resource nodes will show up on your map once you survey an area, and the one that denotes plant fiber is a little bundle of sticks called “Brittle Bush.” Note that these icons are more like reference points telling you that an item is in the general area. They don’t actually show exactly where the resource in question is, so you might need to do some scavenging.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news Tuesday that Pixar Animation Studios is going through with a new sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles, but that Incredibles and Incredibles 2 writer-director Brad Bird won’t be at the helm. The movie, first announced at Disney’s D23 expo in 2024, will instead be directed by Peter Sohn, a Pixar animation and voice veteran who made his directorial debut with the short “Partly Cloudy” in 2009, and went on to head up 2015’s The Good Dinosaur and 2023’s Elemental.

It’s unclear whether or how Bird will be involved with the film. At D23, Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter (director of Up, Inside Out, and Soul) said Bird was “developing” the movie, but the THR report had no further information about his current involvement. It did note that Bird is currently busy with pre-production on the science fiction movie Ray Gunn at Skydance Animation, the company where Pixar chief John Lasseter landed after sexual misconduct accusations led to him leaving Pixar.

Sohn heading up The Incredibles 3 isn’t inherently a problem. The Good Dinosaur is arguably Pixar’s least emotionally satisfying and evocative movie, but that may have been inevitable after its significant mid-production retreads, with Sohn promoted to take over from original director Bob Peterson. Elemental, for its part, is a crowded movie that may be trying to do too much. But both movies are gorgeous, featuring some of Pixar’s most evocative and impressive animation, and Elemental in particular found its audience over time, lingering in theaters for four months and becoming a stealth hit. Also, I’m a big fan of not wildly speculating about or getting outraged over possible directions for movies that no one’s seen yet — or in this case, that hasn’t been made yet.

That said, there’s something just a little dispiriting about Sohn’s next project being a sequel to Bird’s signature series, and how that reflects on both directors, and on the current state of Pixar itself. One of the things that most defined Pixar Animation in the days of its ascendance over all other animation studios was the mandate for directors to find personal angles into their work: Andrew Stanton based Finding Nemo on his own overprotective urges toward his son. Docter made Inside Out to reflect his experiences with his own daughter. Bird based The Incredibles on his own struggles with middle age and balancing artistic ambition and his family life.

Dig into most Pixar movies, and you’ll find stories like these, all the way up to recent releases like Turning Red (very much a personal story for director Domee Shi) and Sohn’s Elemental, inspired by his parents’ immigration story. Personal investment and personal storytelling has been a major part of Pixar movies for decades. One of my all-time favorite Pixar interviews was talking to Sanjay’s Super Team! director Sanjay Patel about how Lasseter in particular pushed him to overcome his shyness and put his own family history and relationship with his father into that short.

So learning that one of Pixar’s brain trust is going to take over another member’s signature series is just the smallest bit deflating, because I have to wonder: How is Sohn going to make this story his own, particularly if he’s directing from someone else’s script? One of the primary things that makes the original Incredibles so powerful is the deep, understandable well of frustration and dissatisfaction Mr. Incredible is navigating over the collapse of his superhero career — emotions Bird took from his own life. One of the primary things that makes Elemental land is Sohn’s sensitivity in exploring what his own parents went through in navigating prejudice, culture shock, and assimilation. Putting Bird’s series into someone else’s hands just to get a sequel out faster doesn’t seem like a recipe for that kind of personal engagement.

There may well be ways for Sohn to relate to the Incredibles series and own it; there may be a way for Bird or other members of the brain trust to put themselves into Incredibles 3 in a meaningful way. Pixar has navigated these waters recently with Inside Out 2, with director Kelsey Mann taking over from Docter as a writer-director, and not only drawing on personal family experience, but also bringing in a team of teenage girls to vet the film for emotional and factual authenticity.

But given that the best things at Pixar always seem to happen when creators are allowed to find fantastical, imaginative ways to tell their own personal stories, it’s just a little discomfiting to see their visions packed off into other hands. There’s certainly plenty of time for the studio to develop Incredibles 3 and find an angle that feels meaningful for it; the release doesn’t even have a projected date yet. Let’s hope Pixar — and Sohn, and Bird if he’s still involved — use that time to find a new Incredibles story that feels like it really belongs to the person who’s now assigned to make it.

And if nothing else, let’s hope Brad Bird comes back to continue his role as the voice of endlessly snippy superhero costume designer Edna Mode. Where would an Incredibles movie be without a word from Edna?

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Dracula is one of the most iconic villains of all time, leading writers and filmmakers to constantly search for new ways to portray him, from focusing on his underling, to putting him on a boat to having him fight the X-Men. The latest version, starring Titus Welliver of Bosch as Dracula’s nemesis Abraham Van Helsing, is changing things up by keeping the Count in the shadows while building up family drama in a way more reminiscent of a haunted house story than a vampire one.

Based on a short story from NOS4A2 and Locke & Keywriter Joe Hill’s first book 20th Century Ghosts, Abraham’s Boys follows Van Helsing’s sons Max (Brady Hepner of The Black Phoneand The Holdovers) and Rudy (Judah Mackey of The Young and the Restless and Stillwater) as their father becomes paranoid that Dracula is coming for their mother Mina (Jocelin Donahue of Doctor Sleep). Clocking in under 90 minutes, it promises to be a tight story about confronting their family history and legacy while wondering if their dad has lost their mind. Set in 1914, the trailer ditches the gothic horror trappings for a more Western vibe, with the family living in an isolated ranch home that they are trying to fortify against the vampire lord.Abraham’s Boys is directed by Natasha Kermani of Lucky and Imitation Girl. It will premiere in theaters on July 11 before heading to Shudder.

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Epic Games is going after the maker of cheating software for Fortnite that lets players see through walls and auto-aim at opponents in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday. But Epic isn’t stopping there; it’s also suing a quintet of resellers of those cheating tools, seeking unspecified damages from the defendants.

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of North Carolina, where Epic Games is headquartered, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine alleges that Ediz Atas (aka Sincey Cheats and Vanta Cheats) has developed, maintained, and sold cheat software for the battle royale game “since at least January 2023.”

That cheat software, Epic’s suit alleges, gives cheaters an unfair competitive advantage over non-cheating players; breaches the Fortnite end-user license agreement and circumvents Epic’s anti-cheat systems; and harms Epic by causing non-cheating players to stop playing Fortnite and purchase in-game passes, cosmetics, and other items.

What’s more, the suit alleges that after Epic Games submitted DMCA takedowns to YouTube to remove videos that featured the offending cheating software, “Sincey Cheats sent multiple emails to YouTube’s designated copyright agent impersonating an Epic employee and falsely claiming that Epic wanted to ‘formally reverse [its] claim of copyright infringement’” by spoofing Epic Games email addresses.

Epic said in its lawsuit that it has issued “tens of thousands of bans against Fortnite accounts” that used Sincey Cheats cheat software since February 2022, “including over 15,000 bans against accounts in the United States” alone.

The lawsuit is also targeting five unnamed defendants who sell Sincey Cheats and Vanta Cheats through various websites, Discord servers, and Telegram channels.

Epic did not mention specific monetary amounts it’s seeking in damages from Atas and the five other defendants in its lawsuit. But it’s looking for the usual relief: statutory and compensatory damages for lost profits, attorney’s fees, and other costs associated with the lawsuit.

The Fortnite maker’s lawsuit against a prominent cheat maker follows similar moves from developers like Bungie and Riot Games, who have sued the creators and distributors of cheats for games like Destiny 2 and Valorant — in some cases winning multimillion-dollar judgments against them.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Few enemies are as deadly as dehydration in Dune: Awakening, a foe you can’t slice or shoot to prevent them from killing you. You can, however, use a Blood Purifier and control how much water you have access to before starting to explore for materials.

In Dune: Awakening,simply existing in the world is a major threat. Not having water to raise your hydration level is in some ways as deadly as facing Arrakis’s famous sandworms. The Blood Purifier is a machine that can help you with that sinceit converts blood extracted from enemies into water.

If you’re afraid of seeing your tank of water empty, do not fret. In this Dune: Awakening guide, we’ll teach you how to unlock and how to build a Blood Purifier.

How to unlock the blood purifier in Dune: Awakening

Before you can build one of these machines, you need to unlock the Blood Purifier by progressing in the “Water from Blood” main quest. This is part of the first quests you need to complete in Dune: Awakening, so missing it is not possible. If you haven’t unlocked the Blood Purifier, just keep playing the game.

The “Water from Blood” quest is a three-part quest and the game gives you the schematic for the Blood Purifier only in the last one. First, you need to collect Salvage Metal and Plant Fiber. In the second part, you unlock the research for the Basic Exsanguination Kit, which adds the Improvised Blood Extractor and the Small Blood Sack to the list of items you can craft. During the third segment of the quest, you unlock the Blood Purifier’s schematic.

How to build a blood purifier in Dune: Awakening

To build a Blood Purifier, start by completing the research of this machine’s schematic in the “Research” tab. When done, use your Construction Tool and go to the “Refineries” tab to find the Blood Purifier.

Like other elements for your shelter, you choose where the machine will be placed using a projection, which you can rotate and move freely. Although you can put a Blood Purifier outside of your shelter, you need to put it near the Sub-Fief Console (which you’ve built during a previous quest); otherwise, it won’t work. You’ll need 70 Savage Metal to complete the machine.

Once you’ve built it, you can interact with the Blood Purifier to produce water using the blood you extracted from enemies. To do so, look for any camps close to you, kill the enemies you find there, and pop the Improvised Blood Extractor to collect their blood. It is possible to have more than one blood bag with you, which might come in handy if you’re planning a longer exploration session.

With the blood in your inventory, go back to your base and deposit it into the Blood Purifier. The machine will start the process automatically, which might take a few minutes depending on the amount of blood you put into the machine. Keep in mind that this machine uses power from your Fuel-Powered Generator. If it runs out of Fuel Cells, the Blood Purifier won’t work.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Switch 2 backwards compatibility is pretty comprehensive across console generations, but there are still some original Switch games that don’t work on Switch 2.

Although Switch 2 arrived June 5 with the new Mario Kart World, some ports, and the possibility of upgrading big games (like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) to their respective Switch 2 versions, the launch lineup is relatively slight. As a result, you may lean on your original Switch backlog for things to play.

Below, we’ll explain how backwards compatibility works on Switch 2, plus include a list of all original Switch games that aren’t working (for various reasons) on Switch 2.

Switch 2 backwards compatibility, explained

You don’t need to worry whether you can play that long list of games in your backlog on Switch 2or not, because Switch 2’s backwards compatibility covers most original Switch games, whether developed by Nintendo or other studios.

To play an original Switch game on Switch 2, simply download the game or insert the physical copy. You might have to load the Virtual Game Card if you were already playing the game in the original Switch.

According to data shared by Nintendo, almost 100% of Switch games work on Switch 2. However, while Nintendo says they are continually working on backwards compatibility in order to make every Switch game accessible across console generations, some Switch games aren’t working at all or don’t play as expected on Switch 2.

The reasons differ, but according to Nintendo’s data, the games that don’t work on Switch 2can be broadly broken down into three categories:

Games with issues to be resolvedGames with issues that prevent progressGames that require the original Switch joy-cons

Below, you will find the games and in which category they fit among the ones that are having problems on Switch 2*.*

Switch games with issues to be resolved on Switch 2

This list of games is the most promising one, since Nintendo indicates they are going to eventually receive an update to solve the problems, implying that studios have identified the issues already.

Abyss Memory Fallen Angel and the Path of MagicBeyond Enemy Lines – Remastered EditionCapcom Fighting Collection 2Car Detailing SimulatorDadishDairoku: Agents of SakurataniEveryday Today’s MENU for EMIYA FamilyGenso ManègeGiana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – Owltimate EditionGo VacationGodlike BurgerGuardian TalesKero BlasterLAYTON’S MYSTERY JOURNEY: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy – Deluxe EditionLIMBOMotoGP 21MotoGP 22MotoGP 23Nintendo Switch SportsNorn9: Var CommonsPikmin 3 DeluxeRedemption ReapersRetro Classix 2-in-1 Pack: Express Raider & ShootoutRetro Classix 2-in-1 Pack: Gate of Doom & Wizard FireRetro Classix 4in1 Pack: Sly Spy, Shootout, Wizard Fire & Super Real DarwinS.N.I.P.E.R. – Hunter ScopeSkateboard Drifting with Maxwell Cat: The Game SimulatorSportitions’24Street Fighter 30th Anniversary CollectionSuper Fowlst 2Super Neptunia RPGSuper Smash Bros. UltimateTomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara CroftTrials Rising Standard Edition

Switch games with issues that prevent progress on Switch 2

The issues in most of the games in this list are still being investigated. These games might present start-up issues or other kinds of problems that are interfering with your progression.

3 out of 10: Season OneA Boy and His Blob Retro CollectionA Long Way DownA Time Traveller’s Guide To Past DelicaciesAeons Must Die!Aeterna NoctisAfterdreamAinda In DangerAmanda the AdventurerArcade PartyAssault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn TributeAstral FluxBacon Man: An AdventureBill & Ted’s Excellent Retro CollectionBloodshoreBoot Hill HeroesBorderlands 3 Ultimate EditionBotany ManorChickens MadnessChronicles of 2 Heroes: Amaterasu’s WrathCHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITIONClock Tower: RewindCrash Bandicoot N. Sane TrilogyCrypt of the NecroDancer: Nintendo Switch EditionDark Nights with Poe and MunroDC Universe OnlineDragon’s Lair TrilogyDreamwalkerDust: An Elysian TailEscape from Chernobylfig.FlanForgotten MemoriesGang BeastsGelly Break DeluxeGRID AutosportGUILTY GEAR XX ACCENT CORE PLUS RHappy HotelHighrise Heroes: Word ChallengeHITMAN 3 – Cloud VersionHouse BuilderIn My ShadowInferno 2INSTANT Chef PartyJurassic Park Classic Games CollectionKarmaZooKILL la KILL -IFKilling Time: ResurrectedKingdoms of Amalur: Re-ReckoningLaboratory Rat Escape Simulator ProLabyrinth of Galleria: The Moon SocietyLayer Section & GalacticLibrary Of RuinaMalignant SurvivorsManticore – Galaxy on FireMARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade ClassicsMega Mall Story 2Megaton RainfallMia and me – Magic FriendsMinigolf AdventureMODEL Debut3 #nicolaMortal Kombat 1My Memory of UsNASCAR RivalsNEKOPARA Vol.1NEKOPARA Vol.2Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced EditionNieR Automata The End of YoRHa EditionNinja Five-ONinjalaNobody Saves the WorldOddworld: Stranger’s WrathOK K.O.! Let’s Play HeroesOttoOvercooked! All You Can EatOverdriven Reloaded: Special EditionOverwatch 2Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for NeighborvilleQuell MementoQuell ZenQuick RaceRadiation CityRaiden III x MIKADO MANIAXRaiden IV x MIKADO remixRemothered: Tormented FatherRetro Classix 2in1 pack: Bad Dudes & Two Crude DudesRICORiftTrax: The GameRiver City Girls ZeroRoller ChampionsRoot Double – Before Crime * After Days-Xtend EditionSaviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City RevisitedSecret NeighborSkies AboveSmileBASIC 4SNACK WORLD: THE DUNGEON CRAWL – GOLDSoul Dog TDSouth of the CircleSouth Park: The Fractured but Whole – Standard EditionSTAR WARS Republic CommandoSTAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith LordsStranded Sails – Explorers of the Cursed IslandsStrania – The Stella Machina – EXStumble BuysSuper Mega Baseball 4The Final StationThe Mean Greens – Plastic WarfareThe Wild CaseThey Bleed PixelsThis War of Mine: Complete EditionTimespinnerTiny LandsTokyo Xanadu eX+Tomba! Special EditionTony Hawk’s Pro Skate 1+2Touhou Genso Wanderer ReloadedTouhou Gouyoku Ibun ~Sunken Fossil WorldTrenga UnlimitedTrip World DXTroveTrover Saves the UniverseTT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3TY the Tasmanian Tiger HDUncle Chop’s Rocket ShopWarface: ClutchWarframeWarp ShiftWARRIORS: AbyssWhat the Dub?!Where the Bees Make HoneyWild SeasWildfireWRC 8 FIA World Rally ChampionshipWRC 9 The Official GameYomawari: Lost in the DarkZikSquare

Switch games that don’t work with Switch 2 Joy-Cons

These games work on Switch 2, but only if you use the original Switch Joy-Cons. They do work on the new system – we tested them! However, Switch 2 can’t be used to charge these controllers.

Ring Fit Adventure1-2-SwitchEverybody 1-2-SwitchGame Builder GarageNintendo Switch SportsWarioWare: Move It!Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety KitNintendo Labo Toy-Con 02: Robot KitNintendo Lado Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit

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Stellar Blade, a former PlayStation 5-exclusive action game with elements ofDark Souls and the NieR franchise, will make the leap to Windows PC this week. If you’ve been eagerly waiting to join the PS5 players who’ve been stomping Naytibas since last year, now’s your chance.

Here’s when Stellar Blade releases on PC in your time zone.

Stellar Blade PC release time

Stellar Blade will release on Windows PC at 6 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11th. Here’s when that is in your time zone:

3 p.m. PDT for the west coast of North America6 p.m. EDT for the east coast of North America11 p.m. BST for the U.K.12 a.m. CEST on June 12 for western Europe7 a.m. JST on June 12 for Japan

What to expect from Stellar Blade on PC

Stellar Blade is a third-person action adventure game where you control a woman named Eve on a mission to save humanity from creatures known as the Naytibas. Initially released for the PlayStation 5 in 2024, the game was well-received by both fans and critics, widely praised for its visuals, combat, and beautiful soundtrack.

The Windows PC release of Stellar Blade will include both the phenomenal base game and numerous new features and customization options, such as the following:

Over 25 new outfitsNew accessoriesBoth of Stellar Blade’s ExpansionsNew boss battlesHigher resolution and framerate support

Stellar Blade will be available for $60 for those the base game, while the Complete Edition goes for $80.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Squanch Games is keeping the party going — it announced Sunday that High on Life 2 is coming in winter 2025. The reveal went down at the Xbox Games Showcase, with a glimpse at some of the gameplay in the second installment in the wacky intergalactic franchise.

The comical trailer shows off the protagonist skateboarding in a futuristic building as Tobacco’s “Constellation Dirtbike Head” blares in the background. Scenes switch, with the player skateboarding and blasting through a couple of robotic monstrosities, all with the handy, talking alien gun. Additionally, scenes show off strange weaponry, such as a flame-spewing lizard and a pair of reality-bending pistols.

High on Life 2 is set to be released on Windows PC and Xbox Series X.

High on Life, released in 2022, was recently ported over to the Nintendo Switch in 2025. That game featured a character who is fresh out of school and unemployed when Earth is hit with an alien invasion. The main character becomes an intergalactic bounty hunter, teaming up with talking guns to stop these invaders’ machinations.

The original High On Life is also playable on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X through Game Pass.

Now, the story continues this winter with a sequel to the comedic shooter.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

Video game launches are typically fairly rote endeavors. Outlets publish reviews when an embargo lifts, usually shortly before a game launches, and the public will use those reviews to inform its purchasing decisions. Occasionally, you’ll have a controversial launch, like how CD Projekt Red lost all its goodwill with the bug-filled mess of a launch that was Cyberpunk 2077 back in 2020.

The launch of Mindseye, however, isn’t controversial, or even highly anticipated. But it is straight up weird.

Let’s start with the basics: Mindseye is a third-person action-adventure game with a mix of shooting and driving as the foundation for its gameplay. According to the official Steam description, “You’ll play as Jacob as he fights to uncover his truth in a world where AI, hi-tech experimentation and unchecked military power shapes every encounter. What starts as a personal quest quickly becomes a mission that’s critical to all of humanity’s survival as sentient robots rise, propelled by human greed.” It’s described as a narrative-driven game, though that narrative sounds fairly generic and it lacks a unique hook (this ain’t no story about fighting a deity-like being who turns people to flower petals each year).

Despite that, many outlets and prospective players have kept an eye (heh) on Mindseye because of who is developing it. Mindseye is the debut game from Build a Rocket Boy, the studio formed by ex-Rockstar North leader Leslie Benzies. He was a producer on many of your favorite Grand Theft Auto titles, including 2013’s Grand Theft Auto 5. Judging by the gameplay trailers, you can easily see the GTA influence on Mindseye.

Mindseye started as a game within Build a Rocket Boy’s Everywhere — think of it as a cross between an MMO and a Roblox-like platform — but grew to be a standalone release. Buzz steadily built since it was first teased in 2022, but things got weird in May 2025 as Mindseye neared launch.

Negative pre-release reception shared on X, including one fan calling Mindseye “a broken mess, filled with bugs,” prompted Build a Rocket Boy co-CEO Mark Gerhard to say anyone who was sharing negative feedback about Mindseye was “100 percent” being funded by an ubiquitous someone. On the game’s Discord, he said it’s “not wild when it’s true…..” and that it “doesn’t take much to guess who” would be behind a negative publicity campaigned targeted toward Mindseye and Build a Rocket Boy. Benzies was embroiled in a legal battle with Rockstar after he and the company parted ways, so one can guess Gerhard was likely referring to the GTA publisher.

If accusing someone of financing a smear campaign against your game weeks before its launch wasn’t weird enough, Build a Rocket Boy also lost executives one week before launch. Both chief legal officer Riley Graebner and CFO Paul Bland left the company before Mindseye made it to store shelves. As one member of the Mindseye Discord succinctly put it, “People don’t bail right before they think they’re releasing a hit usually” (via Eurogamer).

Despite the head-scratching press leading up to Mindseye, some of us here at Polygon still wanted to play it and find out for ourselves if it really deserves all this digital ink. However, in a sign something’s amiss, it doesn’t seem like any games media outlet, Polygon included, received a review code for Mindseye. Much like press not receiving Nintendo Switch 2 for review, this means you’ll be going into Mindseye blind if you decide to bite the bullet and pick it up day one.

And Xbox players nearly should have avoided Mindseye entirely on launch day. After saying its 16 GB day one patch with “gameplay improvements, visual polish, stability fixes, and performance tuning” wouldn’t be ready for Xbox Series X on launch day, Build A Rocket Boy confirmed to IGN the patch is now on its way for launch.

After a Summer Game Fest appearance last week, Mindseye releases into the wild June 10 for Windows PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 5. Whether it’s worth playing is still a mystery, but for the curious who want to save themselves a clean $60, you can already watch the entire campaign on YouTube. Because for Mindseye, when it rains it pours, and it’s been pouring a lot.

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) appears to have reached a tentative agreement with the various gaming studios and publishers it’s been negotiating with for months.

“[SAG-AFTRA and the gaming companies] have reached a tentative agreement on terms for the Interactive Media Contract, subject to review and approval by the National Board and ratification by the membership in the coming weeks,” the guild announced via a press release on its official website. “Specific details of the agreement will be released with the ratification materials.”

But despite the good news, SAG-AFTRA has made it clear that the strike — which began on July 26, 2024 — will continue until the updated Interactive Media Contract is reviewed and approved by the National Board, and ratified by SAG-AFTRA’s members.

“It is expected the terms of a strike suspension agreement will be finalized with employers soon,” the press release added. “Until such agreement is reached, however, SAG-AFTRA members will remain on strike against these employers.”

A major point of contention in the negotiations has been the use of AI in video game production, especially as it relates to voice-acting. Various games have been impacted by the voice actor’s strike, including games like Destiny 2, League of Legends, and Genshin Impact.

“Everyone at SAG-AFTRA is immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by video game performers and the dedication of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout these many months of the video game strike,” SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers’ livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains.”

The game studios and publishers SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating with include Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.

“Our video game performers stood strong against the biggest employers in one of the world’s most lucrative industries,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said of the agreement. “Their incredible courage and persistence, combined with the tireless work of our negotiating committee, has at last secured a deal. The needle has been moved forward and we are much better off than before. As soon as this is ratified we [will] roll up our sleeves and begin to plan the next negotiation. Every contract is a work in progress and progress is the name of the game.”

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From Polygon via this RSS feed

The first Outer Worlds has a very tight scope. The 2019 Obsidian Entertainment RPG, according to our review at the time, is “expansive when it needs to be, but never falls into the trap of believing that bigger is always better.” You could beat the game in 15 hours if you wanted — unlike, say, Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas. But that also meant Outer Worlds’ anti-capitalist satire could only go so deep. In an interview at Summer Game Fest 2025, design director Matt Singh and creative director Leonard Boyarsky told me about how the scope has widened in Outer Worlds 2 — ideally without the team losing sight of what made the first game work.

“First and foremost, we are an Obsidian RPG, and we want to make sure that that’s the foundation,” said Singh. “But what’s nice is, we had that foundation built from the first game, and what we looked at was, what are the aspects that we want to improve on? OK, we know how to make Obsidian role-playing games. Oh, here’s an avenue for improvement, which is, how do we upgrade our gunplay? How do we get more variety in there, right? How do we add more to our stealth toolkit that allows people more ways to express their character build? Which is ultimately where we’re coming from. Our motto is ‘your world, your way.’ What we’re really saying is, we value player agency. And so if you want to go just shoot, you want to just engage with all of that combat loop, you actually don’t even want to do a whole lot of the conversation stuff — OK, you can totally do that. We are leaning into all of those conversations, we’re leaning into all of that reactivity — but we let you play it however you’d like.”

A key part of Outer Worlds is its sense of humor and social satire, which is something else the developers wanted to expand upon in the second game. “I was really proud of the first game,” Boyarsky told me. “I think it came out really well, but it was smaller. We were introducing people to the world. So it was very much kind of like — a little too much the same joke over and over, a little one-note. I mean, I think we did a good job with it, but I still felt like it could have been more.

“In this one, we now have the different factions,” he continued. “Each has their own kind of flavor of humor. So we’re able to juxtapose those things, or have moments that are mixed in with a lot of the darkness — with the silliness a little bit more than we were in the first game. It’s just kind of like with everything here, we’re just kind of expanding the whole world. We’re expanding the universe, we’re expanding the themes.”

Each of the factions has its own motivations and in-game propaganda. One of the factions, called Auntie’s Choice, isn’t so much a faction as a corporation; it represents a corporate merger between two factions from the first game, Auntie Cleo’s and Spacer’s Choice. And in Outer Worlds 2, Auntie’s Choice is all about advertising its products — “that’s part of their identity,” as Singh put it. That’s expressed through dialogue, of course, but the devs also wanted to find a way to turn the faction’s devotion to commercialism into an in-game weapon.

Here’s the result, via Singh: “You can shoot out ad drones to distract your enemies. And so they’ll come out and they’ll just do slogans and stuff, and people are like, ‘What the f? Get away from me!’ But then now you can use that as a distraction, so that you can capitalize on taking them out or you can even detonate them as little remote minds that can go kind of scurry around the place.”

That’s far from the only comedy weapon in the game. “So we had the shrink ray in the first game where you could kind of shrink somebody down to half size,” said Singh. “I really wanted to finish that gameplay fantasy. And so in the second one, you shrink [your enemies] down to this size” — he held his fingers about an inch apart — “and then you can run over ’em and then just get ’em, and it’s super fun. It never gets old. So I love that one.

“But I mean, with the game as a whole — weapons, we wanted to increase the variety of them, and then make the moment to moment gunplay feel better. We also wanted to synergize well with all of our perks and flaws and companion abilities. So we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how all of the different skills and perks could play well with those weapons across a couple number of different archetypes that we defined so that you can do some really cool stuff depending on what your goals are.”

Outer Worlds 2 will have more perks than its predecessor, including some that sound like they’re going to lead to very funny outcomes. “You could take one where it’s like, you can tell the most outlandish lies and people believe you,” Boyarsky said. “But if you take that flaw where it forces you to pick the lie every time, if it happens to be one that’s also tied to a skill, it ignores the skill requirements.” The result, Singh added, is “a lot of fun.”

Outer Worlds 2 will be released Oct. 29 on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

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