Xenoblade Chronicles 3 developer Monolith Soft has revealed that it used significant procedural generation to cope with the vast increase in assets required to build the world of the critically-acclaimed Switch RPG.
As detailed by CG World (thanks, VGC), Monolith Soft’s map model designer Yoichi Akizuki, support engineer Mitsuhiro Hirose, and programmer Takashi Shibahara all discussed how the studio started incorporating software such as Houdini to aid in procedural generation.
Last week, we asked you to share pictures that represented the afterlife using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
secondcaptureshares Wander overlooking his lost love from Shadow of the Colossus
RhodWulfLeonshares Atreus standing in Helheim in God of War Ragnarök
gra_o_padashares V standing in front of the Afterlife in Cyberpunk 2077
BBSnakeCornshares Snake facing off with The End in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
JarrinWasHereshares a paranormal photo from Ghostwire: Tokyo
deogovakinshares a soldier saluting the fallen in Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
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THEME: Expressive SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on May 28, 2025
Next week, we’re exploring Expressive photos. Share expressive portraits where emotions are all over a character’s face using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is out, and it’s already quite popular. In light of this, Level-5 has announced some free DLC is on the way, in recognition of the new Fantasy Life’s positive reception.
Announced on the Level-5 site, the developer has confirmed free DLC is coming to Fantasy Life i. While no release date is set yet, the team is teasing some new recipes, as well as new content to “update the world” (via Gematsu). It will also apparently allow players to utilize high-rarity weapons obtained from Treasure Groves and other sources.
Level-5’s latest sits at a ‘Very Positive’ user review rating on Steam at the moment with over 3,000 reviews, and given the early confirmation of free DLC, it seems like the new game has certainly taken off.
It feels like a solid win for Level-5, even after the departure of Keiji Inafune last year to “reassess and restructure” the project. Business operations of Level-5 Comcept were transferred to the parent company after Inafune left. In a post from March 2025, Level-5 boss Akihiro Hino described Inafune’s departure as an “unexpected challenge.”
Fantasy Life i has taken off though, which hopefully bodes well for the rest of Level-5’s roster of upcoming games. The studio announced a slew of games in a February 2023 Nintendo Direct, and while some have released, others are still in development. The yet-to-be-released games include some heavy hitters, like futuristic detective RPG DecaPolice and the next installment in the Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.
While we wait to see when and how those games land, at least Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time players have some more chill life updates to look forward to. If you’re currently playing Fantasy Life i, make sure to head over to our Fantasy Life i Gift Codes hub, where we’re cataloguing all the Gift Codes and how to redeem them for some in-game goodies.
Stop Killing Games are a self-described consumer movement who are aggrieved about all the games with online requirements that become partly or completely unplayable, once publishers end official server support. They’re trying to persuade larger advocacy organisations like The European Consumer Organisation to propose new laws that put a stop to such shenanigans.
To support their campaign, they’ve carried out a survey of games with online requirements to work out how many are “dead”, dying or enduring thanks to developer or fan-implemented “end of life” plans, such as patched-in offline functionality. The resulting Google spreadsheet has 738 entries, of which a whopping 70% are apparently no longer playable or destined to become that way.
Elden Ring Nightreign will soon let players drop into the shifting lands of Limveld, exploring and fighting for survival either solo or in groups of three. For the duos out there though, it sounds like you’ll need to be open to a third.
In IGN’s interview with Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki, the Nightreign lead discussed the choice to lean on solos and trios as the core experience options. When asked why there’s no option for a pair of players to drop in together without a matchmade third player, Ishizaki said it was overlooked.
“The simple answer is that this is simply something that was overlooked during development as just a two-player option, so we’re very sorry about that,” said Ishizaki. “As we said before, we set out to make this a multiplayer co-op game for three players, balanced for three players, so that was the main focus and it’s at the core of Nightreign.
“Of course, I myself as a player understand that and often want times where I’m just playing myself, so this is something that we considered from the start,” Ishizaki continued. “And so we did put a lot of effort into creating this experience that was playable for solo players in as much as the rules and new systems allowed. So in putting all our efforts into that aspect, we kind of overlooked and neglected the duos aspect, but this is something that we are looking at and considering for post-launch support as well.”
If you’re playing solo, it does sound like Elden Ring Nightreign takes that into account. Ishizaki said the parameters of Elden Ring Nightreign “adjust dynamically depending on the number of players in that session,” so lone wolves shouldn’t be too overwhelmed in single-player.
You’ll have to find and locate some self-revive options, which are incorporated for those opting for single-player. And if you’re playing trios, well, that’s apparently what Elden Ring Nightreign is built around. Whether duos support shows up or not, having an extra hand around can’t hurt against some of the fearsome bosses waiting in Nightreign.
Elden Ring Nightreign is out on May 30, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X and S.
There’s something magical about slicing open the seal on a fresh Pokémon TCG box. That quiet shfffft as the plastic slides away, the weight of a booster box in your hands, and the flicker of hope as each pack crinkles open. And after unboxing everything myself, Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet’s latest expansion, Destined Rivals, truly gets it.
After getting my hands on a full spread of Destined Rivals products early, thanks to The Pokémon Company, it was obvious from the start that this isn’t just another Scarlet and Violet set. The nostalgia hits hard, and the artwork is genuinely stunning.
Build and Battle Box
I kicked things off with the Build and Battle Box, which comes with four booster packs, a 40-card semi-constructed deck, and one of four stamped promo cards. Mine came with Team Rocket’s Tyranitar which immediately set the tone. That promo looks fantastic in foil.
From the four booster packs, I managed to pull an Illustration Rare and one ex card. The Tyranitar holo alone had me wishing I could clone it three more times. Putting together a quick deck using the included cards and a few pulls was fun, which says a lot for a product that’s often treated like a warm-up act.
Booster Bundle
This was my favorite product to open. The Booster Bundle packs in six booster packs and no fluff, and I hit gold with my favorite card of the set. I pulled Ethan’s Typhlosion IR from this bundle. Honestly? If I had stopped opening packs here, I’d have been perfectly happy.
Both cards felt like a reminder of how much thought and care has gone into the set’s design. And when you hit cards like that back-to-back, it’s tough not to start scrambling for more bundles just to see what else you might get.
Booster Box
There’s just something satisfying about cracking into a full Booster Box, and this one didn’t disappoint. Inside the 36 packs, I pulled eight ex cards, six Illustration Rares, one Special Illustration Rare, and one Gold Rare. That’s 16 hits that didn’t feel like filler.
Alongside the Ethan pulls mentioned above, I pulled Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex Gold rare, Arven’s Mabosstiff ex SIR and Team Rocket’s Crobat ex SR , both of which immediately got me thinking about new deck builds. The Mabosstiff ex artwork alone is enough to make me want to run midrange decks again, and Crobat looks like it was born for a damage spread archetype.
Team Rocket’s Houndoom IR also showed up late in the box, and it felt like the perfect closer. It’s aggressive, looks like it could punch a hole through your binder, and made me actually stop and appreciate an Illustration Rare that isn’t trying to be too cute.
Elite Trainer Box
Next was the Elite Trainer Box, with its slick red and black Team Rocket design that looks even better in person. Inside you’ll find nine booster packs, Rocket’s Wobbuffet promo card, a set of sleeves, dice, and all the other trimmings you’d expect.
Unfortunately the pulls were a bust for me. That’s the way it goes sometimes, but I will say the box design might be one of my favorites in recent memory. It feels like it was made for fans who grew up with Gen II and still have their Rocket’s Zapdos somewhere in a binder. Even when the hits don’t come, it still feels like a collector’s piece.
Typically, these drops occur around 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so get your Best Buy app ready and signed in, and add the ETB to your wishlist ASAP.
So should you pick it up? In my opinion, yes. If you’re a collector, a deck builder, or just someone who misses the feeling of opening packs that actually feel like they’re worth something, this is the set for you.
Get the Booster Box if you want the full ride. Grab a Booster Bundle if you’re chasing an IR like I was. Even the Build and Battle Box makes a solid case for itself. Just don’t be surprised if one product turns into three. This set has a habit of pulling you in, pack by pack.
Final Thoughts
Destined Rivals is the kind of set that doesn’t just lean on nostalgia, it uses it as a foundation and builds something new. The return of Trainer’s Pokémon opens up all sorts of creative deckbuilding potential. You’re not just building a deck around a type anymore.
You’re building it around a character. And for once, the common cards feel like they belong. I’m finding myself looking at every card in the pack instead of instantly bulk-sorting anything without a foil.
And the artwork. I know everyone says this every time a new set drops, but I actually mean it. The card illustrations in this set are more expressive, more dynamic, and just plain more fun to look at. That’s something I didn’t realize I was missing until I opened 40-plus packs and found myself lingering on commons. Obviously my favorite box opening experience was with the booster box, absolute mad scenes.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
An Elden Ring live action film is in the works from Ex Machina director Alex Garland, film production company A24 and game publisher Bandai Namco. It’s not clear whether developers From Software are involved, but Game Of Thrones novelist George R. R. Martin – who worked on Elden Ring’s story and characters alongside From boss Hidetaka Miyazaki – is contributing as a producer. All of this comes via Deadline.
You might remember the Kanto Redrawn project we covered back in 2024, and the Johto Redrawn project in 2021. Well, we’ve got another.
It’s not Pokémon this time, though. Nope. This latest effort from dozens of artists tackles Koholint Island from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, breathing new life into the Game Boy classic. The whole piece is now live via the ‘Retro Redrawn‘ website thanks to the efforts of Blindeduif for organising the whole thing.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
A standalone adventure within the Elden Ring universe, crafted to offer players a new gaming experience by reimagining the game’s core design. Join forces with other players to take on the creeping night and the dangers within. Take command of uniquely skilled heroes, each possessing their own abilities and distinct flair. While individually formidable, their skills create powerful synergies when they unite as a team.
F1 25 introduces enhanced gameplay features, including team customization, updated tracks utilizing laser scanning technology, multiplayer co-op events, and a compelling narrative mode with the return of Braking Point 3, allowing players to immerse themselves in the world of Formula 1 racing like never before. Pre-order F1 25 Iconic Edition to start playing three days early on May 27.
to a T – May 28 Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox / Xbox Play Anywhere
Available on day one with Game Pass! A charming, colorful adventure game from the creator of Katamari Damacy and the uvula team about a teen navigating life in a small town with their cute dog companion. While their body is stuck in a T-pose, they do their best to make the most of it.
Available on day one with Game Pass! Spray Paint Simulator is a relaxing, satisfying game that invites you to build your own painting business from the ground up! Meet with quirky clients in Story Mode and take on each job right from the start. Paint everything: rooms, homes, cars, bridges, even giant robots! Unlock Free Spray mode and play alone or with a friend to make the entire town your canvas! Playable on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Malt has vanished without a trace! The children are led by a mysterious voice into the forbidden cave, where they discover the Taranis, the powerful tank thought lost in the sea of clouds. Determined to save Malt, the children reboard the Taranis and set off on a daring mission to infiltrate the heart of the Berman Empire. However, the Crimson Knights stand in their way, strongest of the Berman!
Join Mickey & Friends on a quest to explore the mysterious island of Monoth and recover three mystical books to save the world from disaster! Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends includes the base game plus the Keeper Up, Mystery in Monoth, and brand new C.A.S.H. update featuring Scrooge McDuck.
Cattle Country straddles the saddle of cozy wholesome gaming and action-adventure. Serving up hours of the slice-of-life you’d expect on the frontier – including mining, fishing, crafting, and farming – along with deep-rooted Wild West Quests delivering stories of romance, cattle drives, bandits, and robberies.
The world has fallen to the undead. But hope isn’t lost — after years of research, brave scientists have discovered an antidote that can reverse zombification. The result? Zombie-human hybrids called humbies. Your mission: build a cutting-edge lab, cure the infected, and lead humanity back from the brink.
A humble black pawn decided to challenge the first rule of chess. The white pieces were not happy about this at all. The result? War. Control the black pawn across various chessboards, following the rules of movement, defense, and attack from classical chess but with a twist: the black pawn has the movement capabilities of a king and can push black pieces, commanding them to attack on your orders.
Elemental War Clash combines classic tower defense with roguelite and RPG mechanics as well as different elements to combine and create more powerful towers. As a “best of” of Elemental War 1 and Elemental War 2, it provides the most content, best features and stunning visuals while you defeat your portal, beat other players in PvP or build new maps in the level editor.
Disorder is a dark, twisted word puzzle horror game where your mistakes hold irreversible consequences. Players will be challenged to play through a series of challenging rounds in an attempt to ‘Save Your Family’ if the player fails a round they then ‘Choose Who Dies’
Slime Color is a platform game that combines precision and puzzles! Control a slime on a journey to unlock colorful doors, needing to open them in the right sequence and at the right time to progress. Test your skills and master each level using your intelligence and reaction time.
In Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo, you’re a budding yoyo master facing off against enemies using the weapon you know best: your prized yoyo! As Pippit, you’ll be quite literally thrown into the shocking story of your auntie’s business empire, a soul-stealing mega-laser, and four dastardly crime bosses!
Ashpaw, a lone cat warrior and last of the Flamekeepers must stop a creeping corruption frin consuming the land—an ancient plague that turns everything it touches into undead abominations. Once bright cities and vibrant forests now echo with moans of the cursed. In the heart of this doomed land lies Cindersctratch, a fallen city that once discovered a way to end the corruption for good. But before they could start the ritual to bring salvation, the city itself was swallowed by the rot and death.
Return to the style of 16-bit JRPGs in Starlight Legacy, a non-linear adventure inspired by genre classics! Set in a post-medieval world in the Evaria Kingdom, explore a vast kingdom created with lush 2D pixel art, a nostalgic turn-based battle system and non-linear story where the four provinces of the kingdom can be explored in any order of your choosing.
Copycat is a narrative-driven indie game about a pet who learns to deal with abandonment, and a human forced to surrender. Together, two souls go on a journey to discover the meaning of family and home. The game’s colourful visuals delight the senses while exploring dark thematic depths. Journey on an emotional rollercoaster that pulls at the heartstrings and reminds you how it feels to be left behind.
Higgs Boson Collection is a trilogy of brain-bending puzzle games where every rotation counts and every second matters. Your mission? Guide mysterious spheres through a precise network of pathways — but there’s a twist: you don’t move the spheres… you rotate the world around them.
Grab your bricks, get building, and race to the finish line before your rivals even lay their first stone! Collect bricks of your color and build your bridge to the next level. Got some extra bricks? Use them to expand your castle and unlock quirky new brick designs!
In Eternal Evil, you’ll immerse yourself in a dark, blood-soaked atmosphere filled with terrifying enemies and a gripping, mysterious storyline. Armed with a diverse arsenal of firearms, you’ll experience realistic shooting mechanics as you battle evolving ghouls.
A first-person science-fiction horror game, set in the harrowing depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Face the horror of being submerged at the bottom of the ocean. Find resources and weapons, investigate terminals and secret documents, and discover the hidden truth in the underwater facilities where you are trapped.
Battle Puzzle 2048 – Space Girls is a thrilling twist on the classic 2048 puzzle game! Slide tiles to combine matching numbers, build powerful combos, and strategize your way to victory. Play in Infinite Mode to achieve the highest score possible or take on one of seven adorable but challenging space girl enemies, each with a unique ability like shields, healing, tile downgrades, or random destruction.
Alex is persuaded by his childhood friends to reconnect on a fun camping trip together. He feels superfluous in the company of students, and his confusion grows when the buddies venture further into the forest. Alex’s fears are well-founded, because in the remote wilderness the carefree travelers await something much more sinister than the usual dangers. Enter a nightmare in the dark caves to save your friends and unravel mysterious past events.
Immerse yourself in a gripping visual novel made in anime style, where dark secrets are hidden behind the usual everyday life. The story tells about ordinary teenagers living a measured life in Kuznetsk, a city that seems familiar to them from childhood. But one day, an accidental discovery turns everything upside down. The deeper they dig, the more they realize: this city holds a terrible truth.
A unique experience where every move counts. By controlling both allies and enemies, you’ll be challenged to think strategically, balancing quick actions with careful decisions. The game smoothly combines fun and challenge, with intuitive gameplay and moderate difficulty, making it accessible to all ages. It’s the perfect pastime for those seeking engaging and enjoyable entertainment.
