Nintendo’s Switch Online game trials aren’t always the biggest reveals, but in Japan this month, Nintendo will be doing something a little bit different. Between 2nd May until 25th May, there’ll be four surprise trials released.
The first one has been revealed as Toby Fox’s Undertale game, with his next lot of chapters for Deltarune recently confirmed to be arriving this June. This first trial for May will run until the 4th and will be followed by the next three games – scheduled for the following dates:
Editor’s note: La Quimera was originally set to fully release on April 25, but it was unexpectedly delayed that same day. A developer update on April 29 didn’t provide a new release date, but did say La Quimera would now be launching in Early Access whenever it did arrive. This announcement came well after our review of what we were initially told would be the full game was largely complete – however, the update post indicates that the content at its new launch will be the same as what we played, so we have decided to publish this as a review of the Early Access version.
I have to admit, I’m a sucker for direct-to-video sequels. There’s something about being five Tremors movies deep where all pretense is abandoned, and we all know what we are there for: To watch some ridiculous action and give our brains a break for a bit. La Quimera reminds me a lot of popcorn flicks like that. This FPS is not particularly good-looking, well-written, or innovative. The action doesn’t do anything memorable, and its acting ranges from mediocre to terrible. There is admittedly a certain charm to be found here, especially if you bring a friend or two along to share this rocky ride in co-op. But by nearly every metric, La Quimera is about as good a game as Tremors 5: Bloodlines is a movie. Which is to say it’s not.
Set in the fictional South American city of Nuevo Caracas, the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Outside the city walls, some sort of robot apocalypse that’s never really explained is taking place. Inside, there are warring corporations and extreme poverty. That setup isn’t a socio-political commentary so much as a throwback to 80s sci-fi, complete with Power Loader-esque rigs that would look right at home on Ellen Ripley in Aliens. As a new PMC recruit, you and your squad get stuck in the middle of some nonspecific and uninteresting power struggle between corporations, leaving an equal mix of broken bodies and bots in your wake.
There is some legitimately cool environmental storytelling here. My favorite by far is the Bone Wall, a literal wall filled with what must be thousands of skeletons, that you get to see when one mission takes you deep through it. A voice in your ear describes the desperation that went into building the wall as all hell was breaking loose, and it’s neat to piece together how there was no time to slow down and help anyone who fell, whether that was due to exhaustion, injury, or dying from whatever encroaching threat drove the frantic construction.
In fact, La Quimera would have been better off if it let the environments do all the talking, because once its characters open their mouths, it is rough. The dialogue is awful, with obscenity-laced tirades that sound like someone watched a Quentin Tarantino movie once, and tried to mimic it without knowing how to make any of the lines land. The acting also ranges from a normal kind of bad to so awkward I can’t tell if it’s being purposefully campy or potentially using some sort of poorly implemented AI. Characters are very chatty too, and I found myself actively cringing on several occasions as allies shout out things like, “Oh perfect, robot dogs!”.
The dialogue is awful, and I found myself actively cringing on several occasions.
The story itself doesn’t make much sense, either. Apparently, saving a billionaire’s daughter gets your PMC conscripted because… you are afraid he will sue? Which, naturally, means the people in the PMC all have to get experimental and highly dangerous augmentations, too. I wouldn’t mind the nonsense, it’s fine enough as a vehicle to make me want to go shoot robots – but the story is so clearly unfinished, ending abruptly after just a few hours without resolving anything. Developer Reburn unexpectedly decided to delay La Quimera on the day it was supposed to launch, and then later announced its eventual release would have the Early Access label on it. Given development is largely based out of Kyiv in Ukraine, the fact that it’s still coming out at all feels like something of an achievement worth applauding. But while this campaign is planned to grow over time, the version that’s here now doesn’t have any semblance of a complete story.
Identity Crysis
La Quimera isn’t exactly shy about the influence Crysis has had on it. Early on, you and your crew gain access to exosuits, complete with energy-powered armor, cloaking, and scanning. That last bit is especially important – one quick ping allows you and your teammates to see any nearby enemies, even behind cover. That’s huge when your weapons operate like a poor man’s version of the FarSight from Perfect Dark, able to lethally penetrate shockingly thick obstacles. It’s extremely satisfying to drop a bunch of orange silhouettes in rapid succession from sight unseen.
That said, where Crysis tended to be more of an inverted funnel that pushed you toward open areas, La Quimera is decidedly about straight lines. Its levels are very linear, and your objective is almost always to clear enemies as you walk from point A to point B. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as a bit of a throwback like this can be a welcome palate cleanser in a time when wide-open gameplay is increasingly the norm, but it does all start to become a bland blur. That’s because so many areas repeat the same cycle of kill the enemies, open the heavy door, kill the next enemies, open the next heavy door, and so on. There are a handful of encounters that break that trend, most notably an extended gunfight on a slowly rising elevator in a corporate office building, but they are few and far between.
The gunplay itself is extremely basic, with your weapons effectively limited to a sidearm, shotgun, or rifle. You can’t change guns mid-mission, nor pick up any temporary options like a limited-use power weapon. You are given the choice between conventional firearms and electromagnetic weapons – the former works better against humans, while the latter tears through shields and robots more quickly – but you’ll be required to bring one of each into your missions anyway. Which one gets to be the more powerful primary weapon and which is relegated to your sidearm could have added a small strategic wrinkle, but the conventional arms are so poor against bots that there’s only one right choice, which is too bad.
The thing I like best about the fights themselves is the ammo economy. Bullets can become scarce, especially in later missions, which means you can’t just sit in one spot and pick off every enemy by shooting through walls the whole time. I had to keep moving to either scavenge rounds off of corpses or find more ammo boxes, which was just enough to create some badly needed forward momentum during otherwise slow fights.
Time is Money
As a PMC, you are, of course, paid for completing missions – but while there are things to buy between them, the progression is badly underbaked at this point. There aren’t enough items or upgrades for sale in the first place, and the stuff that is here isn’t very interesting. You could buy one of a very small number of generic guns, or invest in either of the two alternate versions of your exosuit’s head, arms, torso, and legs, each of which have differences like improved cooldowns or increased med kit capacity. But those effects are all so small that it’s hard to feel a need for any of them.
The way you get money is a little weird, too. In addition to completing missions, cash can also be found in containers mid-level – but you have very shallow pockets for some odd reason, hitting “max money” far too quickly (which is a problem I can say with all honesty I have never experienced in my life). That’s too bad, because collecting more would have given me a real incentive to go off the beaten path. There are some of the obligatory voice memos people seem to leave behind in every video game, but I can’t bring myself to opt into hearing more of this dialogue than I absolutely need to.
For as down as I am on La Quimera (and, believe me, I am), I did still have a strangely fun time with it. That’s due primarily to two things: First, you can play the entire campaign (minus the tutorial) in online co-op with up to two other people. A couple of buddies is the exact thing you need to transform cringey dialogue from something you’ll roll your eyes at into a hilarious shared experience. Having another gun or two covering your back makes the combat more exciting as well, and the ability to do things like alternate who is doing scans so that you are never waiting on that ability’s cooldown keeps the fights moving at a faster pace.
The other quality that keeps its many issues from becoming downright infuriating is how short La Quimera is. It took me right around four hours to complete my first playthrough. That could certainly be a negative if you put a lot of weight on “hours played per dollar spent” or whatever, but it does make a stronger case for going in with some friends, having a ridiculous time, and then getting out in a way that lets you enjoy the handful of high points while minimizing the impact of the lows. Of course, one of the reasons for this brief length is that La Quimera is outright incomplete in parts, and it would need to be significantly fleshed out to justify spending any more time than this in Nuevo Caracas anyway.
Wreak havoc across the dangerous new planet Kairos when Borderlands 4 launches on September 12, 2025. I’m Graeme Timmins, Creative Director at Gearbox Entertainment—and today, the team and I are thrilled to give you our deepest ever look at some explosive, carnage-filled gameplay, all running on PlayStation 5 Pro. We’re showing off two of our four new Vault Hunters and some of their Action Skills, intense looter shooter gameplay with details on all kinds of new gear, the deadly regions you’ll explore on the all-new planet Kairos, and much more.
Following the cataclysm seen in our teaser trailer and the contentious clash of our First Look trailer, the tyrannical Timekeeper is here to admonish us as we meet our four new Vault Hunters in this pulse-pounding Gameplay Trailer:
Ever since Gearbox created the looter shooter genre nearly 16 years ago, we’ve continued to refine the formula, delivering more loot and action with every entry. I’ve worked on every mainline Borderlands game since starting out as Lead Level Designer on the original Borderlands, and my Gameplay Deep Dive co-op buddy Anthony Nicholson, Senior Project Producer on Borderlands 4, has been with the series since Borderlands 2. With Borderlands 4, we truly believe that this team is creating the best, most ambitious Borderlands game to date.
This all-new adventure is the perfect entry point for new players—and for existing players, you’ll find the awesome gameplay you know and love cranked up to 11, with new movement abilities, our biggest and baddest enemies yet, a vast new planet to explore, and of course, billions of guns to loot.
Wreak havoc as a Vault Hunter
The Borderlands games are set in an unforgiving sci-fi universe, where life is cheap and guns are plentiful. You play as a Vault Hunter, a badass mercenary on the hunt for alien Vaults, wielding wild guns and devastating abilities. In the Gameplay Deep Dive, we’re showing off two of our four all-new Vault Hunters: Vex the Siren, who uses supernatural phase energy to empower herself and can conjure deadly minions, and Rafa the Exo-Soldier, a former Tediore trooper who wears an experimental exo-suit capable of digistructing an arsenal of weapons. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Vex’s spectral feline familiar Trouble, who can absolutely maul any enemies that try to attack my flank during a shootout.
Each Vault Hunter class in Borderlands 4 offers a unique playstyle that empowers you to choose from three signature abilities that serve as your Action Skills. We’re delivering our most advanced skill tree system yet, letting you enhance your Action Skills with special augments and capstone abilities. You can choose from three branching paths of passive abilities that enable an incredibly wide variety of distinctly powerful builds.
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Each Vault Hunter also has a unique Trait that shapes their playstyle; for instance, Vex’s Trait makes her Action Skills attune to the element of the weapon she currently has equipped, incentivizing an arsenal of elemental weapons to shock, burn, or freeze enemies based on the situation.
One of our guiding design principles for our Vault Hunters is that playing as them should make you feel like an unstoppable force on the battlefield, that unleashes Action Skills to control the flow of combat and blast through enemies with an arsenal of outrageous weaponry. You can also flex even more skill expression during battle with a wide range of new movement abilities, including gliding, dashing, double-jumping, and point-grappling.
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Welcome to Kairos
In Borderlands 4, we’re dropping you into the middle of Kairos, an all-new planet rife with warring factions, deadly fauna, and desperate inhabitants. For thousands of years, the oppressive Timekeeper kept the planet hidden, controlling its inhabitants with cybernetic implants called Bolts and an army of synthetic soldiers known as The Order.
But six years before the events of Borderlands 4, a rogue moon suddenly teleported into Kairos’ orbit, shattering the planet’s protective veil and plunging the world into chaos. Now the denizens of Kairos have started rising up, with some even ripping their Bolts right out of their skulls. That’s the situation our four Vault Hunters have crash-landed into: a planet with a population primed to explode, and you’re the spark.
In your quest to ignite a revolution against the Timekeeper, you’ll meet unique factions that you’ll need to recruit to your cause, including a slew of new characters and some returning faces that’ll be instantly familiar to Borderlands fans. We’re delighted to be bringing back fan-favorite characters like Claptrap, Moxxi, and Zane—but we’re also so excited for you to meet some of the charming allies and loathsome adversaries that await you on Kairos.
To help you get around Kairos’ sprawling, seamlessly connected spaces, you can now summon a personalized Digirunner vehicle at will and jet-boost your way towards the horizon. We’ve built a world that exudes craftsmanship and encourages you to explore it at your own pace—with the option for guidance provided by your ECHO-4 robot buddy—as you take on new enemies, encounter world events, and discover hidden treasures.
From Order patrols to world bosses, there’s always something to shoot and loot as you explore Kairos. You’ll also come across short gameplay experiences and new activities that auto-grant a tracked mission whenever you discover them—like Silos, which house old, decommissioned Order tech that you can hijack for the Crimson Resistance with the help of ECHO-4.
Once you’ve reclaimed a Silo, it will reveal the approximate location of a Vault Key Fragment. Collect enough fragments and you’ll unlock a hidden Vault—a high level dungeon with challenging combat and serious loot. Reclaimed Silos can also be used as Fast Travel points, or you can zipline up their hacked communications balloon to start gliding through the air towards your next objective.
Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends—which is why we’ve made it easier than ever to jump into co-op multiplayer, whether through 2-player splitscreen or via our improved lobby system with drop-in/drop-out action for up to 4 players online, with full crossplay at launch.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up, with instanced loot for each player, dynamic level scaling, individual difficulty settings, and the option to Fast Travel directly to other players to keep the party together and having fun through the whole campaign.
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Gearing up for a fight
In the new gameplay footage, you can watch us go on the offensive across the Terminus Range, where one of the Timekeeper’s generals, Vile Lictor, has been conducting nefarious experiments. We’re breaking into his secret blacksite with the help of Amara, an allied Siren and former Vault Hunter.
You can also see the destructive power of some deadly weapons from our eight unique manufacturers: Order, Ripper, Daedalus, Tediore, Maliwan, Jakobs, Vladof, and Torgue, each boasting their own devastating strengths. Longtime Borderlands fans will notice that the first three of these manufacturers are brand new, with fresh characteristics:
Order guns focus on precision with high-powered bursts
Ripper guns charge up to go fully automatic
Daedalus guns are easy-to-use and incorporate multiple ammo types
Tediore guns are reloaded by tossing them as grenades
Maliwan guns specialize in elemental damage to burn, freeze, and shock
Jakobs guns can fire bullets as fast as you can shoot with ricochets on critical hits
Vladof guns have a high rate of fire and huge magazines
Torgue guns have heavy-duty explosive rounds that can switch to sticky projectiles.
With the new Licensed Parts system, you can find guns that incorporate the behaviors and abilities from multiple manufacturers into a single weapon, fueling our wildest loot variety yet. In addition, Borderlands 4 reworks our approach to the iconic Legendary guns that have unique effects you won’t find on any other piece of gear. In Borderlands 3, Legendaries dropped too often, devaluing them and making other loot feel less special overall. In our new system, not only do all guns feel great, but now Legendary drops will truly be special events.
We’ve added the magic back to our loot chase, and we know you’ll love grinding all the great gear on Kairos. Farming coveted gear is much more intuitive now that you can replay entire missions or use Moxxi’s Big Encore Machine to fight bosses whenever you’d like. Speaking of bosses, Borderlands 4 makes them bigger and better than ever—like Vile Lictor himself, a monstrosity you can glimpse at the end of the Gameplay Deep Dive. These boss fights will put all your new skills, gear, and abilities to the ultimate test, requiring that you think quickly and adapt to whatever each boss throws at you.
There are also new gear slots to specialize your builds even further:
Ordnance, a shared slot for Grenades and Heavy Weapons like rocket launchers, recharges on a cooldown to keep you locked and loaded during especially tough encounters
Enhancements, which replace the Artifact slot seen in Borderlands 3, augment your weapons based on their manufacturer, rewarding you with extra firepower when you optimize your gear loadout
Repkits add utility by letting you heal yourself or activate temporary buffs to help turn the tide of an intense battle
We’re incredibly excited to unveil more Borderlands 4 when we host our first hands-on event this June, with tons to show off ahead of the full launch on September 12. Wishlist Borderlands 4 now and stay tuned as we reveal more in the coming months!
*Online play requires an Internet connection, a SHiFT Account, and a PlayStation Plus subscription. Terms apply.
The presentation hops right into the action with the promise that the 2025 Borderlands entry is the studio’s best and most grounded outing yet, promising major gameplay changes that range from new traversal abilities to loot drop formula changes. Gearbox managed to fill the 20-minute showcase with reveals about how Borderlands 4 ups the ante with new mechanics and refreshed existing features, and we’ve got all the highlights right here.
Movement Abilities
Every Borderlands title updates its traversal mechanics in new ways, and Borderlands 4 looks to be no different. We’ve seen hints of some of the new looter-shooter tools players will have at their disposal when its release date rolls around this September, but today’s gameplay footage gave us a clearer look at what’s to come.
Vault hunters can take advantage of a very Destiny-like midair hover this time around, giving players the freedom to shoot while airborne or reach faraway ledges. There’s also a grappling hook that can be used for both combat and exploration, as well as a dash for those last-second dodges. Vehicles, of course, continue to be a major component in Borderlands 4, too, and this time around, it appears we’ll have the freedom to spawn our rides, including the new Digirunner, wherever we please.
Guns and Manufacturers
We’ve gotten a taste of the new Vault Hunter traversal mechanics in previous showcases, but today’s State of Play really put the gun manufacturers in the spotlight. There’s a total of eight companies supplying players’ adventure this time around, meaning three new ones – Order, Ripper, and Daedalus – will be behind some of Borderlands 4’s new toys.
Like the other returning manufacturers, each newcomer features unique weapon designs and abilities. Borderlands 4 is taking things one step further, however, by introducing a new spin on its existing gun mechanics: the Licensed Parts System. Gun can now be comprised of a variety of different parts from different manufacturers, meaning you can find an assault rifle with elemental components developed by Maliwan, an ammo clip made by Torgue, and a shield from Hyperion. Higher rarity weapons come with more parts, making that quest for big loot drops more crucial than ever.
Story
The Borderlands 4 State of Play follows two Vault Hunters: Vex the Siren and an exosuit-wearing former Tediore soldier named Rafa. The former playable character uses Siren abilities to conjure beings to help in battle, while the latter builds tools like Ark Knives to tear enemies apart on the fly. Today’s gameplay sees the duo fighting through cold, open arenas throughout the Terminus Range, one of four zones to explore on the planet Kairos.
Borderlands 4 will follow the series’ trend of running into old faces while introducing new ones. Some familiar names that showed up during today’s State of Play include Moxxi, Zane, Amara, and, of course, Claptrap, though there were also a few hints that we might learn more about Lilith, too. New characters include a towering, armored individual named Rush and a helpful robot named Echo 4. The handy robot companion will follow players for the duration of Borderlands 4, aiding with exploration by scanning environments, hacking, and leading lost Vault Hunters to their next objective.
Multiplayer
Borderlands 4 players will be happy to hear Gearbox has made an attempt to streamline the co-op process this time around. In addition to what it calls “an improved lobby system,” it should be easier to join up with friends at a moment’s notice. Crossplay will be available at launch, too, with all loot instanced for each player and dynamic level scaling meaning you’ll have freedom with friends on any platform.
Customization within your parties goes even further, as Gearbox has implemented a feature that allows everyone to have their own difficulty settings separate from one another. Making the journey with friends easier is split screen couch co-op, which will be available at launch, as well as an addition that allows players to fast travel to their buddies if someone gets lost.
Borderlands 4 also features a lower chance for Legendary loot drops, dense new skill trees, and so much more. Rep Kit gear will have players choosing between a quick revive and temporary combat buff, while Ordnances give fans the option to fill a cooldown weapons slot with either grenades or unique heavy weapons. There’s also Enhancements, which replace Artifacts in favor of gifting bonuses to guns from specific manufacturers.
Borderlands 4 recently moved up its PC via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S release date 11 days from September 23 to September 12. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is due out at an unspecified point later in the year, too.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Ubisoft today revealed the year one update roadmap for open world weather-appreciate-em-up Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It includes a steady drip feed of new quest and story updates, some fan requested features like NG+, and a few additional quality of life bits. However! None of this matters. Shoo, less important details. The real headline here is that the series built around making jumping between rooftops feel good is making jumping between rooftops feel even better. Excellent news.
With the so many different reasons to celebrate Star Wars sprinkled throughout the year, there’s never a wrong time to shop for Star Wars merch. If you’re a fan of the franchise or know someone else that is, we’re here to make your Star Wars gift shopping a lot easier.
We’ve assembled a list of some of the best Star Wars gifts we’ve found online, from books and Blu-rays to video games, shirts, and LEGO gift sets. So, without further ado, here are some of the best ways to bring a galaxy far, far away into your home.
Star Wars Gifts for Gamers
There’s an absolute ton of great Star Wars video games available right now on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC, whether that’s Star Wars Jedi Survivor or LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. But if you’re looking to get a friend or family member the most recent major Star Wars game on the market, you’ll want to look into Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws. Offering a sprawling open-world adventure with hours of content, It’s a gift that’s sure to give any Star Wars fan plenty to do over the holiday break. There are also quite a few great Star Wars games for the Nintendo Switch if you’re looking to play there.
Best Gifts for Fans of the Books
When it comes to Star Wars novels, there are plenty of great choices out there, both from the current canon continuity and the non-canon Star Wars Legends books timeline. If you’re buying for a current fan wanting to keep up with the latest Star Wars lore though, there’s no better place to look than the High Republic series, which has been a key focus for Disney as they establish the latest new notch on the franchise’s timeline. If you’re gifting for a reader who’s new to the High Republic era, check out the High Republic: Light of the Jedi trilogy boxed set, which contains all three novels from the first phase of the series. If you don’t mind placing a preorder, there’s also a Revenge of the Sith deluxe edition coming out in October that’s worth checking out.
For Comic Book Fans
Classic recommendations for Star Wars comics include the following (as found in our best Star Wars comics shopping list).
Gifts for Fans of the Movies and TV Shows
Want to grab the cinephiles in your life a shiny new Star Wars collection? There are a lot of good options out there, with the most premium of the bunch being the Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Complete Collection. This absolute unit of a boxset comes with all nine movies in Blu-ray format as well as 26 hours of bonus content and special features. In short, it’s the collection to end all collections, and a great pick-up for any diehard fans of the Star Wars movies.
You can also pick up more recent seasons of the live-action Star Wars TV shows in 4K and Blu-ray. With Andor season 2 picking up on Disney+ right now, picking up the first season in 4K is an excellent option.
Gifts for Adult LEGO Fans
When it comes to buying a Star Wars LEGO set, you’re absolutely spoiled for choice, with this last year alone bringing us incredibly popular builds like Jabba’s Barge and the TIE Interceptor. However, if you’re looking for a fun set to pick up without breaking into the much pricier line of UCS builds that LEGO dropped last year a great option is the Imperial Star Destroyer play set. Retailing at $159.99, it offers a full star destroyer with a buildable interior, as well as the very first official Cal Kestis mini-figure, making it a great choice for young and veteran LEGO fans alike.
Alongside these older sets, LEGO is also releasing new Star Wars sets for May the Fourth in 2025.
Star Wars Gifts For Board Game Fans
For those on the hunt for a fun Star Wars board game, you can’t go wrong with Star Wars: Outer Rim. Casting you and three other players as intergalactic outlaws, your mission is to venture across the galaxy and strategically build your reputation by smuggling cargo, hunting bounties and meeting various iconic Star Wars characters. If you reckon your friends or family would jump at the chance to become a legendary scoundrel, Outer Rim is a safe bet. But it’s far from the only option on offer, with other great board games like Star Wars Rebellion and Star Wars Imperial Assault sure to bring hours of intergalactic entertainment.
Gifts for Puzzlers
If you or someone you know just so happens to be a chronic puzzler on top of being a Star Wars fan, there are quite a few options. Our overall top pick for the best Star Wars puzzle for adults is this 2,000-piece jigsaw we’ve featured above. It depicts numerous different characters from episodes 1-6 along with a variety of machines, ships, and the Death Star looming in the background. It is a pretty big puzzle, however, so you may want to sure whoever you’re giving it to has a decent puzzle table or board that can hold it.
Alongside this puzzle, there are quite a few other options. There are ven model kits that act as 3D puzzles you can check out,
Apparel and Accessory Gifts
If you’re looking for clothing-related gifts, Star Wars has a nigh-on endless range of wearable merch that make for great presents. Whether you’re searching for Star-Wars-inspired Hawaiian shirts, tees sporting iconic poster graphics or a funny festive jumper that will stand out from the crowd, here are some of our favorites.
Gifts For The Home
Much like with shirts, Star Wars has plenty of novelty homeware that make for great gifts. Whether you’re on the hunt for a Darth Vader Waffle Maker or an R2-D2 lava lamp, we’ve assembled some fun kitchenware, lights, mugs, and other homeware that are sure to put a smile on any Star Wars fan’s face.
Callum Williams is an IGN freelancer covering features and guides. When he’s away from his desk, you can usually find him obsessing over the lore of the latest obscure indie horror game or bashing his head against a boss in the newest soulslike. You can catch him over on Twitter at @CaIIumWilliams.
The recent round of layoffs at Respawn parent company EA reportedly lead to around 300 to 400 job losses, plus cancellations of two incubation projects. It’s since come out that one of those projects was likely an extraction FPS set in the Titanfall universe, codenamed ‘R7’. This joins an unannounced single player Titanfall game cancelled in 2023, alongside the perpetually rumoured but yet-to-materialise Titanfall 3. It has, in brief, been a rough forever to be a fan of Respawn’s exciting mix of parkour shooting and mech piloting combat.
But what’s this? Nestled in the replies to this good Bluesky post lies the promise of a mechful consolation prize. “Oopsie I dropped this legally distinct fan project,” writes Diesel Knights developer Xavier B. Johnson, alongside one of those Steam links I know you all enjoy. “Diesel Knights is a 6-v-6, Mech/Movement Shooter set in a pulp-inspired, dieselpunk world”, and you can request access to the upcoming playtest right now.
Those latter two launched on the same day, with Expedition 33 seemingly getting the lion’s share of the attention on social media. But those who have played The Hundred Line, the latest game from Kotaro Uchikoshi and Kazutaka Kodaka (of Zero Escape and Danganronpa fame) cannot stop raving about it. Including the director of Expedition 33, Guillaume Broch.
Ra Ra Boom comes to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC this summer.
Stop the threat of the rogue AI as one of four ninja space cheerleaders in a fully voiced story.
Fun new twist on classic couch co-op, including shoot ‘em up mechanics.
Ra Ra Boom is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One this summer, as part of what we consider the summer of beat ‘em ups. As beat ‘em up fans, we can’t wait to play some of the great titles that will make this probably the biggest year for beat ‘em ups since Castle Crashers launched forever ago.
If you’re a fan of beat ‘em ups, you’re in for a great summer. And we hope you consider adding Ra Ra Boom to your list of must plays.
In Ra Ra Boom, you and up to three friends play as one of four ninja space cheerleaders. There’s Aris (the leader), Ren (the blade), Vee (the shield), and Saida (the cyborg). Zoi, an AI gone rogue, has overtaken earth and our four heroines are the only ones who can stop it.
Beat ‘em Up/Shoot ‘em Up Mash Up
As the saying goes, you don’t bring pom poms to a boss fight. So, we had to ensure our heroines were armed for the AI menace they were facing. Where most beat ‘em ups focus on melee with limited-use ranged options, we did things a little different.
Ra Ra Boom can be played as a pure beat ‘em up. Each character has their own melee attack and you can be effective with them. Or you can play it as a pure shoot ‘em up, because you also have an effective ranged attack with unlimited ammo. But it’s best to mix the two, getting into your flow and finding the attack combos that suit the moment.
We think that after you play Ra Ra Boom, with its speed and fluid mix of melee and ranged combat, it will be hard to go back to the standard we’ve all gotten used to.
Play the Lanes
Most beat ‘em ups you’ll play today are in 2.5D, meaning that you don’t just move your character left and right, but also can move up and down on a flat plane. This adds more freedom to dodge and position yourself. The challenge we’ve found from past games is that it’s often hard to tell if you’re lined up right with an enemy. If you’ve ever thought, “Why did that hit me?” you’re not alone.
In Ra Ra Boom, we’ve color-coded the lanes and designed the levels to make use of these clear indicators. It was harder than you might imagine for us to implement, but it makes a big difference in your effectiveness while giving enemies a beat down.
Fully Voiced Story
Hearing characters helps make them come to life. Whether that’s in the 2D cinematics you watch between levels, or the many quips heard while playing, you’ll get to know the personalities and quirks of our heroines.
We wanted to provide a meaningful story for players about four individuals thrust into an impossible situation. It’s a coming-of-age tale amidst an AI apocalypse and it was important that each hero had their own moments, so you could get to know and care about them.
But When Can You Get It?
Good question. Ra Ra Boom is coming this summer. We’re not ready to announce the official release date just yet, But you can wishlist Ra Ra Boom today to be the first to hear the latest updates.
Gear up for 4-player co-op action with a modern twist! Ra Ra BOOM rockets you to a future Earth overrun by rogue AI. Battle waves of enemies and upgrade your ninja cheerleader’s skills as you beat ‘em up, shoot ‘em up, and smash through the chaos!
Even ninja space cheerleaders know you don’t bring a pom-pom to a boss fight. Whether you’re cracking skulls with close combat or blasting bots from across the screen, Ra Ra BOOM has your back. Play it like a classic side-scroller, treat it like a shooter, or mix it up for combos so smooth, even evil AI can’t keep up. The only wrong way to fight is not bringing your A-game—because these overlords don’t mess around.
HOMEWORK CAN WAIT
Who needs perfect grades when rogue AI is trashing Earth? The planet’s in pieces, robots are running wild, and only four ninja space cheerleaders have the moves to save it. Silly when it can be, heartfelt when it needs to be, Ra Ra BOOM delivers a beat ‘em up with a story that hits harder than your math final.
PLAY THE LANES
Why settle for chaos when you can dominate with precision? Ra Ra BOOM’s combat lanes make every fight smarter and slicker. Dodge fire like a pro, pick your targets with ninja-like accuracy, and decide where to strike for maximum impact.
BECOME THE ULTIMATE NINJA CHEERLEADER
Aris, Saida, Ren, and Vee are more than just pompoms and sass—they’ve got branching skill trees that let you mold them into your perfect hero. Customize your squad to fit your playstyle, because the fate of the world—and your team’s vibe—is in your hands. NBD.
