I had a moment of realisation while flipping my Switch 2 around in my hand and tapping at the screen in an effort to solve yet another clever-but-abstract puzzle. I realised that the Simogo Legacy Collection was one of the most unabashedly original sets of experiences I had encountered in a long time.
The funny thing was that I had already played every game in this collection years before. It had been so long that the zenith of mobile gaming had slipped into the realm of half-forgotten memories.
I can see it now… in the near future, the review embargo for Suda51’s next game Romeo is a Dead Man, and as far as the eye can see the digital realm is scorched with 7/10s. Its maximalist shenanigans, techno-blasting soundtrack, and ridiculous premise puts it in a position where it couldn’t possibly be for everyone, even if such a score is actually ideal for such a game, but when has that ever been the case for a Suda51 game? However, as I said, this vision I have is in the near future, because the hyper-violent action game now has a release date.
We’re into December now, and while there are still late-coming games showing up, it’s time to start looking back at the goodies the last 12 months have brought us. Yes, it’s GOTY time.
2025 has been a bumper one across the board, with brilliant games big and small — indie, are-they-indie?, and absolutely-definitely-not-indie — launching every single month. This is the year that Silksongfinally came out, for heaven’s sake! Oh, and Nintendo launched a whole new platform. Just looking at the software, the quality in 2025 has been top-shelf.
Part turn-based RPG, part-survival horror, with a sprinkling of metroidvania goodness, Look Outside was always going to be my jam. But where it sank its grotty little hooks into me was how gleefully punishing it was. My first playthrough quickly became a cacophony of mistakes, but each one moulded my adventure in ways I never expected.
We are one week into December, and how many games have already been released? *Checks notes* All of them. All of the games have been released. Welcome, folks, to a busy edition of What Are You Playing.
After the huge success of the Amazon Fallout TV show, some have wondered whether The Elder Scrolls, Bethesda’s fantasy video game franchise, might be next in line for an adaptation. But what does Bethesda boss Todd Howard think?
In an interview with Eurogamer ahead of the launch of Fallout Season 2, Howard refused to rule out the possibility of an Elder Scrolls TV show, but did suggest the post-apocalyptic sci-fi franchise Fallout was better suited to an adaptation.
“I will say this, the Fallout journey was like a 10 year one,” Howard replied to the suggestion of an Elder Scrolls adaptation. “After Fallout 3, people were asking to do a movie or show for Fallout, and we really took our time.”
Howard “can’t rule in or rule out an Elder Scrolls thing in the future,” Eurogamer said, but he also believes the Fallout franchise was “more uniquely suited” and had “more to say in its genre.”
Howard continued: “But, you never know. I think the impact of the show on Fallout as a franchise has been bigger than I expected, so it does make you think like, ‘Hey, is there a path?’ But, nothing today… [and] I’m willing to say ‘no’ for a decade.”
“You could have zombies in it, you have deathclaws, you have monsters and things like that,” he said. “I mean, gosh, you have aliens. You name it, you can throw it at the wall. Even Fallout 76, I mean, the Mothman is now fair game. It is that kind of stuff. There’s no really shape to it. You can kind of stick any kind of shape piece into that hole.”
“When I signed on to do the series, we would have a starting point and they gave me the endpoint,” Moten said. “And that endpoint hasn’t changed. But it is Season 5, 6 type of endpoint.
“We’ve always known that we were gonna take our time with the development of the characters.”
Perhaps when that is done and dusted, Bethesda might turn its attention to an Elder Scrolls adaptation. Will The Elder Scrolls 6 be out by then? One can only hope.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Pikmin 4 received a free update in November adding new content, but it wasn’t a Switch 2 upgrade and didn’t include any enhancements for the game on the new hybrid platform.
With this in mind, the same Switch title has now reportedly popped up in a section on the eShop, which focuses on first-party Nintendo “games with free updates” and also notes how select titles are enhanced when played on the Switch 2.
One phone that was apparently having some issues functioning in USB webcam mode when connected to the Switch 2 was the Google Pixel. According to the website Android Authority, this bug has now been resolved. As of the ‘November 2025’ update for this phone, the webcam feature on Switch 2 is now working.
I’ve always loved The Lord of the Rings. I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m fanatical about it, though. I already own copies of the books and the movies, so I’m not usually swayed by the endless barrage of Lord of the Rings gifts the internet seems to throw my way. I do really like the look of this Battle for Middle-Earth Chess set, however. I’ve seen a lot of really cool chess sets in my day, but this one appears to be surprisingly well done for how affordable it is. I don’t even play that much chess and I’ve found myself adding it to my Christmas wishlist this year.
The Lord of The Rings Chess Set: Battle for Middle-Earth
This chess set is made by The Noble Collection, which I do actually have some experience with already. They create all kinds of gifts for various popular fandoms like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. You might be most familiar with its collection of Harry Potter wands, which the company first began releasing back in 2004. The Noble Collection is generally known for making high quality products at affordable prices, including a variety of chess sets like this one. There’s even a high-end $500 version of this same thing that is absolutely glorious, though that is way out of my price range.
More Lord of the Rings Gifts
If you’re on the hunt for more Lord of the Rings gifts like this one, we have found quite a few. There’s the deluxe illustrated version of the books, Lord of the Rings puzzles, board games, and even a LEGO book nook available.
