Author: Game Infliction

Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda has revealed what’s coming up in the May 28 Ver. 1.011 update, including “an abundance of new features and changes to the game including a collaboration with Street Fighter 6.”

In his latest Director’s Letter, Tokuda said the team wanted “to provide more great content for you to enjoy as well as make various adjustments to make Monster Hunter Wilds even more fun to play,” including new challenger, Street Fighter’s Akuma. You’ll get a full Arkuma armor set as well as layered armor, and whenever you have either set equipped, three items will be added to your item bar — assisted combo Akuma, Drive Impact, and Gou Hadoken (you can find out more about them on the official Monster Hunter website).

We’re also getting eight-star “challenging” monsters in Ver. 1.011 — Gore Magala, Rey Dau, Uth Duna, Nu Udra, and Jin Dahaad will become available to hunt at HR 41 and higher; this will give players options for hunting eight-star tempered monsters other than Arkveld — although they will still be available to hunt at seven-star difficulty. The eight-star versions, however, will be more resilient, with increased health, wound resistance, and “tweaks to multiplayer scaling.” Tokuda warns that Tempered Gore Magala is a “particularly tough challenge to even the best of hunters.” You can expect higher-difficulty quests and quests with multiple monsters to pop up more often, too, as your HR increases.

A slew of “player-centric balance adjustments” are also on the way in both Ver. 1.011 and Title Update 2. The Hammer, Hunting Horn, Gunlance, Light Bowgun, and Heavy Bowgun all had various adjustments made, and “certain aspects” for Gunlance Artian weapons have been increased.

“While some weapons have had certain parameters adjusted downward, other parameters have been adjusted upwards, and viewed in totality I think you will find that all weapon types have had their possibilities expanded, so I encourage you to give them a try for yourself once the update is out,” Tokuda said, adding that the Hammer and Dual Blades are additionally receiving “various improvements.”

As part of other QoL tweaks, Hunters will be able to rest in the Grand Hub and Suja, Peaks of Accord. Resting restores all destroyed Pop-up Camps, a confirmation window will no longer appear after obtaining an item when your item pouch is full (the obtained item will automatically be sent to your item box), and the visibility of the remaining time of meal effects is improved — the countdown will display 10 minutes before expiration. In fact, all notifications have been adjusted, with their frequency in locales lowered so only higher-priority targets will be displayed in the environment overview. They will also no longer block the input for opening the map.

“As mentioned in the previous director’s letter, you will be able to view individual endemic life you captured,” Tokuda added. “In the Windward Plains, select Check Endemic Life in Ecological Research to view your creatures and their names, as well as the size and weight of fish you caught. You can also favorite creatures so that they’ll be kept even if you go over the maximum storage capacity! Individual creatures can have different patterns or other unique elements, so if you find one you particularly like, be sure to use this feature to keep it around!”

You can also expect stability improvements — particularly on Steam — and with the addition of eight-star monsters, the rewards for eight-star investigations and field surveys have also been increased. Guild Point rewards for fishing have also been “rebalanced,” although how has yet to be explained.

Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest mainline installment in Capcom’s longrunning Monster Hunter series, boasting dynamic, ever-changing environments, and a story of monsters and humans in a world with two faces: one in which the lands are harsh and unforgiving, where monsters fight for scant resources and another in which the lands are vibrant and brimming with life. We gave Monster Hunters Wilds an 8 in our review, writing: “Monster Hunter Wilds continues to smooth off the rougher corners of the series in smart ways, making for some extremely fun fights but also lacking any real challenge.”

Did you see that Monster Hunter Wilds players have discovered an unconventional method of dodge attacks by using their emotes?

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake will release on October 30, 2025, on PC (via Steam and Microsoft Store), PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Square Enix has just confirmed the RPG is also coming to Nintendo Switch 2, too.

We’ve also had an update on what, exactly, players can get if they pre-order the game in advance, as well as details of an all-new Collector’s Edition.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake Pre-Order Bonus

• Elevating Shoes x 1
• Seed of Agility x 3
• Seed of Magic x 3
• Seed of Defence x 3
• Seed of Life x 3

Players with existing save data for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and using the same account will get the following bonus in-game items in Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake:

• The Marvellous Makeover Kit contains:
  • Dragon Quest I: One dog suit
  • Dragon Quest II: One cat suit

The cat suit’s design will change depending on which character it is equipped to.

Square Enix stresses that all these items can also be obtained by playing the game — pre-orderers merely get them early.

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake Collector’s Edition

We’ve just discovered that a collector’s edition of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake is also on the way. Square Enix says quantities are “limited,” so if you’re keen, better hop on over to the Square Enix Store sooner rather than later.

The set includes a physical edition of the game, a set of character and monster acrylic blocks, the Outstanding Outfit Kit, and two exclusive digital wallpapers. You’ll also secure the pre-order bonuses outlined above, too.

A collector’s edition of #DragonQuest I & II HD-2D Remake is now available for pre-order exclusively on the Square Enix store! Quantities are limited.

The set includes:
⚔️ A physical copy of the game
⚔️ A set of character and monster acrylic blocks
⚔️ The Outstanding Outfit Kit… pic.twitter.com/2Zu8fKxUe7

— DRAGON QUEST (@DragonQuest) May 27, 2025

Dragon Quest I and II HD-2D Remake is a from-the-ground-up remake of the first two games in a series that all but defines the classic JRPG as a genre. While the Final Fantasy series has gone to great lengths to reinvent itself with each new installment, Dragon Quest has stayed much more true to its original aim. These are straightforward RPGs in which you guide a hero or heroes from town to town, solving problems as you go, while progressing through an overarching narrative.

“In a way, Dragon Quest’s, let’s say ‘classic’ storyline and trope-ish setting is easier to appreciate today than maybe a decade ago,” we wrote in IGN’s Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake preview. “Nowadays, with graphics as advanced as they are and storylines trying to compete with the biggest movies and TV shows, Dragon Quest is a reminder that some stories are timeless for a reason.”

Square Enix dropped an update for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake last week, improving boat travel speed, critical hit rates and abilities, and introducing a new shortcut button that lets you map spells and abilities to specific buttons.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Anecdotally, it’s been said that in its native Japan, Dragon Quest is more popular than Final Fantasy, which is more popular abroad. This is most obvious for any fans of fantasy anime who will find Dragon Quest’s undeniable influence over the genre, from monster designs like Slimes to other fantasy tropes pioneered by the early Dragon Quest games.

As someone who grew up primarily in the United States, I’m in the camp of gamers more familiar with the Final Fantasy series, with only a passing familiarity with Dragon Quest. Plus, while newer entries like Dragon Quest 11 have been rapturously received by fans, it’s the older Dragon Quest games that hold that certain air of history and mystique for someone like me who’s more interested in the legacy of the series.

Which also means it’s been a pretty good couple of years for me as Square Enix is finally remaking these older, beloved, Dragon Quest games for modern systems – and with a fresh new look. Rather than a full, polygonal upgrade, Square Enix is utilizing the retro-modern fusion they call HD-2D from its Octopath series to revive games like Dragon Quest 3 for modern audiences. And that continues with its next remake, Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, coming later this year.

Despite being released before Dragon Quest 3, Dragon Quest 1 and Dragon Quest 2 are actually sequels, so playing Dragon Quest 3, 1, and 2 in that order is chronologically correct within the game’s universe. I got a chance to play those next two recently on PlayStation 5, and I came away even more excited to finally discover these early Dragon Quest titles.

The Best Way to Play the Original Dragon Quest Games

The first three Dragon Quest games comprise the “Erdrick Trilogy” – named after the hero of Dragon Quest 3. It’s no spoiler to say that in Dragon Quest 3, Erdrick is successful in his mission to save the kingdom from evil. You will then play as Erdrick’s descendents in Dragon Quest 1 & 2. Thus, Square Enix is actually releasing these games in chronological order, which is nice of them.

Up until these remakes, these have only been released as ports on mobile and certain game consoles, but there’s no need to bother with those now, unless you want a truly classic experience.

How Square Enix is Modernizing Dragon Quest

Given the legendary status of these games, Square Enix has to walk a bit of a tightrope trying to maintain parts of them that fans already love while modernizing some of the more dated bits. These changes, aside from the art style, are typically related to gameplay and storytelling, I’m told. In Dragon Quest 1 for example, there was no party system in the series yet, so the whole campaign is played using a single character who fights one enemy at a time. This has been changed so that now the player, while still solo, faces multiple enemies at once.

The two games are also “shorter” compared to modern RPGs, with How Long to Beat clocking Dragon Quest 1 at around 10 hours, while Dragon Quest 2 dials it up to 16 hours of playtime. Square Enix says they’ve beefed up some of the content and cutscenes to try and push those numbers up a bit, but don’t expect to be suddenly playing a 100-hour RPG.

Even Better Looking Than Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D

Today’s Daily Deals are all about getting more bang for your buck, specifically for the most popular trading card games and Peacock TV. Missed out on your Final Fantasy and Marvel’s Spider-Man Magic: The Gathering preorders? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

TL;DR: Deals For Today

I’ve also had my eye on the Pokémon TCG collectors market, and I’ve found prices on sealed product cheaper than big box retailers such as Amazon. It’s been a big issue trying to get a fair price on stock for the past few weeks, but I’ve got the best prices on sealed and single cards. There’s even some absolute gems to pick up for your Pokémon binder with this week’s crashes and climbers. Let’s get into it:

MTG Marvel’s Spider-Man Preorders

Whilst there’s only the Play Booster Box and Scene Bundle for MTG: Marvel’s Spider-Man live on Amazon right now, TCG Player has every sealed product that will hit the market on launch day. I’ve even found some pricing on cases of sealed product for those looking to rip open a tonne of boosters, so get on it before the market value on these products shoot up.

MTG Spider-Man Single Cards

Unfortunatley there’s no listings for Spider-Man single cards right now considering we’re a few months out from release, but I’ve managed to round up the listings for cards currently sitting on TCG Player waiting for presale allocations, so keep your eyes peeled.

MTG Final Fantasy TCG Player Preorders

MTG: Final Fantasy is set to be the biggest Magic: The Gathering set ever, which is a shock to absolutley no-one. Preorders are drying up at retail, but there’s plenty of choice available on TCG Player right now. I’ve found all the preorders listed so far (including prerelease boxes) alongside massive cases on booster displays. Don’t sleep on these preorders, MTG FF is going to fly off the shelves on release.

MTG Final Fantasy Single Cards

The single card market for MTG Final Fantasy is flying right now, so I’ve included over 40 of (in my opinion) the most popular Final Fantasy cards collectors and players will be chasing once packs start getting ripped. Don’t want to spend money on boosters and hope? Secure your chase cards for release day instead.

Expedition 33 Merch

Pokémon TCG Stock Update

Long story short; things are looking bleak at retail for Pokémon TCG right now. Almost everything is way above MSRP and seems to becoming the new normal for big box retailers. I could write a whole article and why this is and what should be done to stop this practice, but here we are. If you have your heart set on opening booster packs, have at it, but you might want to check out the sections below to save money.

TCG Player Has The Same Products For Less

TCG Player and the Pokémon TCG secondary collectors market is significantly cheaper than big box retailers at the time of writing. This will likely be the case unless you can secure preorders on new sets such as Destined Rivals, Black Bolt and White Flare. Make no mistake products are still over MSRP, but If small businesses can undercut large retailers on TCG Player, there’s something fundamentally broken in the supplier-distributor-retail chain.

This Weeks Pokémon TCG Crashers and Climbers

The Single Pokémon TCG market on the other hand is going through a grand reset right now, which is down to a few factors. The crypto bro mentally to reselling products is dying down a little and more product is becoming available thanks to reprints. We’re not out of the woods yet by any means, but this weeks Crashers and Climbers show recent cards going down in price and cards from the X and Y era shooting up in value. We’re 100% moving in the right direction.

Javascript, Scripting And Web Development Book Bundle

Peacock TV