About a month ago, it was announced that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 would only feature four different clans in its base game, with two extra clans coming as day one DLC. This, unsurprisingly, was received like a wet fart on a hot Sunday at church, with publisher Paradox later saying that they would make “adjustments” based on the response. And as confirmed in a press release and new trailer, said adjustments are the fact that these two clans, Lasombra and Toreador, will be included in the base game at launch.
It’s been a long time coming, but the time has come: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond pre-orders are live for Switch 1 and 2.
You’ve had years to ponder this next chapter in the Prime series, so let’s dispense with the details and get down to things. In this guide, we’ve rounded up the best Metroid Prime 4 pre-order deals, including any pre-order bonus gifts from the biggest outlets in the US and UK.
Chris Slight – Head of Creative Marketing, Strange Scaffold
“Freeze!” shouts our protagonist, J.J. Hardwell, who in exploring the titular creepy mansion finds himself in a green room which has the statement piece of “T-Rex Head in a giant jar of green liquid”. “You freeze! I’ve got a gun!” responds the tiny Dinosaur – named Dino Guard Wally – holding a pistol that is only slightly smaller than the dinosaur itself. “Oh my God you can talk.” responds J.J. and, naturally, we begin a match-3 puzzle battle between the two of them. Welcome to Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3.
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is the world’s first “Matchroidvania”, by which we mean it is a match-3 game that also takes the “start again with new knowledge and abilities to unlock new parts of the map” element of a metroidvania. It’s also very much a comedy, which is inspired by classic survival horror games, and an RPG now I come to think about it. You know what, let’s watch the trailer together, it’s easier.
“But what about Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1 or 2, did I miss those?” Well, no, until very recently neither existed – Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 1: Re-Raptored from Pedalboard Games is actually in development right now – so you’ve not missed anything. CRDM3, in the universe of the game, exists as an intriguing sequel to the critically acclaimed original Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion, and the much more divisive big swing that was Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 2. Again, neither of these exist. I’m sort of getting ahead of myself though, because what you’re probably now asking is “Chris, mate, how did this game happen then? Come on now.” Well, don’t let me tell you, let’s ask the developers!
“We’ve had a few projects that come from my love of a specific mechanic, or angle on a mechanic.” says Studio Head Xalavier Nelson Jr. “And then there is a “bit” that I can’t let go of and over time I realize those two things can co-exist in the same space.” That angle on a mechanic was something Xalavier had loved about Puzzle Quest, the tantalizing idea that with a match-3 mechanic, you could really do anything.“You could negotiate with a guard via match-3, you could lock-pick a door!” It was taking this concept and just running as far as he could with it that unlocked Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3.
“I had also, for years, wanted to make a game called Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. When the lightbulb went off and I realised this game could be brought to life with this mechanic I really believed in? Suddenly it coalesced and something existed thanks to the talents of many people over the years.”
Here at Strange Scaffold we tend to make tightly scoped games which in turn means we can work with smaller budgets and shorter than usual development times. CRDM3 however, has a longer development history than other titles. “Like I Am Your Beast,” – Xalavier Nelson Jr, Studio Head – “this was a Strange Scaffold project that got cancelled like, two or three times.” Getting Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 up and running was not easy, with the team being told “nobody cares about match-3” during one pitch meeting. This, along with other projects like Bass Reeves Can’t Die being cancelled had left the game, and the studio itself, looking at a bit of a darker future.
The success of both El Paso, Elsewhere and I Am Your Beast, however, had begun to turn things around along with the support of publisher Frosty Pop. And what could make for a tightly scoped, shorter development cycle better than a game that had already had some work done on it? When Colin McInerney, CRDM3 Co-Lead, Content Designer and Writer, stepped into the project, “There was two years of development on three different versions of this game” so, to say there was a Task ahead of them would be an understatement.
“A bunch of that code ended up being weirdly load bearing” explained Dan Pearce, Lead Programmer and Designer, “it ended up being if I take these variables out that we’re not actually using, none of the stuff that has just been developed is going to work properly.”
Now, while at first this seemed like it could be like diving into a web, having Dan join the game after development on I Am Your Beast finished meant that you had someone who knew how everything worked! The dream of all game development! This in turn led to the rest of the team being able to navigate development at a greater speed.
The team was also incredibly fortunate that back in 2022 Background Artist Judith McCroary had already created a whole bunch of stunning artwork that was ready to populate the various rooms you can explore in the mansion. “Our inspirations then were more click-based games, in the early iterations it was more roguelite.” But they still had a solid visual identity in place, “we wanted to keep it painterly, because we already had the character artist Marianee Canales, and she had already established a lot of that look.” And when it came time to expand the idea of the Mansion as a “Resident Evil”-like exploratory space, again, Judith absolutely nailed the look everyone was imagining.
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 was a labour of love, from a studio known for throwing a lot of passion and heart into their titles. Honestly, to tell you too much more about Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 would spoil it, so, I won’t! I will say this, however. Of all the Strange Scaffold games, Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is my personal favourite.
We have put out some wonderful games, but none have encapsulated the weirdness, the humour, the confidence and the open heart that I see in the studio quite as much as CRDM3. It has the “okay, I’m gonna try one more run” addictiveness packed with laughs, a wonderful soundtrack and beautiful artwork. I doubt many would expect to feel very emotional at the end of a game called Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3, but there I was on first completion – proud and overcome with emotion. I can’t think of a higher recommendation than that.
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 is “committing to the bit” so hard that it hurts. It’s a sequel to a game series that doesn’t exist, complete with lore and a fictional development team. It’s a game where match-3 is used not just for combat, but for lockpicking doors, debating robots, and swallowing a bunch of diamonds in front of a notorious gem thief so that he can’t steal them first. It is, all genre elements considered, a match-3 survival horror comedy RPG metroidvania, and it’s rad as hell.
20 years ago, Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion emerged as a smash-hit genre fusion, casting fan-favorite protagonist Jack Briar in a fast-paced puzzle adventure.
8 years ago, Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 was announced on the biggest stage in gaming.
The thing that makes Battlefield feel like Battlefield is the enormous scope of its maps and the many ways you’ll fight your way across them. After Battlefield 6’s open beta test, I got another hands-on chance to play the game—this time, on two of its biggest maps and with the game’s full slate of vehicles strafing through combat.
While my first hands-on experience with Battlefield 6 gave a sense of weapons, the return of character classes, and the variety in map design, this look focused completely on Battlefield at its biggest and most explosive. Here’s everything I saw through the four-hour play session, including the return of Operation Firestorm and the new Escalation mode.
New maps, new mode
This hands-on session featured two of Battlefield 6’s biggest All-Out Warfare maps: Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm. It also featured the new Escalation mode, which makes excellent use of those huge maps, with players fighting spread-out battles in the beginning of a match, only for the area of operation to become smaller to make for more intense skirmishes.
Mirak Valley — Battlefield 6’s largest map at launch is set in Tajikistan, just like the Liberation Peak map. It combines wide-open spaces with a big, burgeoning construction zone in the center and a small village at the far side, supporting both close-quarters infantry gameplay in and around the structures, and plenty of vehicle combat outside of them. Trenches cut through part of the map to allow infantry to move around while keeping their heads down to avoid snipers, although staying out of the sights of tanks is tougher.
Operation Firestorm — Operation Firestorm turns an oil field and refinery into a huge combined-arms battlefield with a mix of wide-open outdoor areas, high smokestacks that are great sniper nests, and lots of interior spaces. What was most notable was the application of Battlefield 6’s new destruction system to this revived Battlefield 3 map. There are plenty of buildings for infantry to fight in and use for cover, but with tanks, fighter jets, and attack helicopters on the prowl, you can never take the safety of four walls for granted.
Escalation — This mode is new for Battlefield 6, combining elements of Conquest and Breakthrough to offer both a wide-open approach to a battle, but with some more strategic aspects. The game starts with capture points littered across the map. When one team holds the majority of capture points, they start to “capture territory,” with a bar filling up on the screen. If the team manages to hold the majority of capture points until the bar fills completely, they score a point. The first team to score three points this way wins, but each time a team scores, one capture point is removed from the map. That forces players closer together, making them fight harder for fewer capture points.
Class training
Choose your class training — When I went hands-on with Battlefield 6 at its multiplayer reveal, I only got to see half of the class “Training” elements that will launch with the game. These are specializations that let you alter a particular class’s focus and role. Each class has two training options.
Assault: Frontliner and Breacher — The Frontliner training puts focus on damage recovery and a faster capture rate on objectives, while the Breacher training gives you additional grenades and a faster reload for room-clearing weapons like the Incendiary Shotgun and Breaching Launcher.
Support: Combat Medic and Fire Support — Everybody knows Support’s focus on keeping other players alive, but if you don’t like running around with defibrillators to resurrect squaddies as a Combat Medic, you can also go the Fire Support training route. Its focus is on creating defensible positions, providing suppressing fire, and dropping smoke to cover allied movements.
Engineer: Anti-Armor and Combat Engineer — Engineers’ Anti-Armor training gives them an advantage in taking down opposing vehicles, providing extra rockets and dampening the effects of enemy repairs. If you’re not a fan of always carrying a rocket launcher, however, there’s the Combat Engineer training, which can boost the rest of your team’s gear to make it more effective and enhance the repair capabilities of your tools.
Recon: Sniper and Spec Ops — The Sniper training gives Recon players better awareness, spotting targets at a longer range and dropping players with headshots so their teammates can’t revive them. With the Spec Ops training, you’re harder to detect, producing less sound when you move and leaving the In Combat state faster when you’re prone, so your teammates can spawn in on your location more quickly.
Adjustments since the beta
The Battlefield team has taken on a lot of feedback from players since its open beta in August, and we saw some of those adjustments in matches.
Tactical movement with less momentum — In the open beta, players could be pretty quick and pretty bouncy with the new Kinesthetic Combat system. Momentum has been dialed back a bit since then so that players can’t chain so many quick movements together. Moving around maps still feels quick and responsive thanks to lots of options, like sliding, diving, and moving more quickly when you put your weapons away.
A little less sniper dominance — There are some very long sightlines on both Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm, and snipers were a major force in all the matches I played. That said, both maps have been designed with a wide variety of terrain and structures that provide a lot of cover. Snipers have also been tuned down a bit; they’re still dangerous, but you’re a little less likely to get dropped before you know you’re under fire.
More weapons feel useful — You can also feel the adjustments the Battlefield team has made to some of the weapons. In my first hands-on with the game, some guns didn’t feel especially viable; the light machine gun that’s default for the Support class, for instance, felt like it struggled to secure kills at any range. I’m happy to report that Medics can now secure a few kills as well as lay down covering fire for teammates. And the M87A1 Shotgun that dominated the beta is now a little less terrifying, but still feels great when clearing corners or a trench.
Speedy vehicles — The variety of vehicles in Battlefield 6 makes for some very intense and surprising moments, especially with its destruction system. All ground vehicles now also have a brief boost, which is especially great for dodging fire or getting heavy tanks over treacherous terrain.
Battlefield 6‘s launch is quickly approaching—it hits PS5 on October 10—so you won’t have to wait long to jump into a tank or a helicopter and try some of those new maps, modes, and adjustments for yourself.
Publishers Paradox Interactive and White Wolf, as well as developer The Chinese Room, have announced that the Lasombra and Toreador clans will be available in the base Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 experience following backlash from players.
The team behind the long-in-development sequel revealed its launch shakeup today alongside two new story packs, which will be available as part of the Premium Edition’s Expansion Pass in 2026. Additionally, Paradox, White Wolf, and Chinese Room have pulled back the curtain on a new Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 overview trailer for players to sink their teeth into while they wait for its October 21, 2025, release date.
“Thanks to our community for the frank feedback on Bloodlines 2 and the Premium Edition. That feedback made it clear: Lasombra and Toreador belong in the base game, so that is what we are doing,” White Wolf executive vice president and Bloodlines 2 executive producer Marco Behrmann said in a statement. “We’d also like to thank The Chinese Room for their quick turnaround on the concepts for the post-launch Story Packs. We’re constantly impressed by their creativity and skill in weaving enticing narrative threads that expand on the main story in Bloodlines 2.”
Developing…
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer 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).
Lost Skies has left its early access release today, entering into its 1.0 version of the game. If you feel slightly surprised by that news, so do I, because it only launched into early access in April of this year, pretty much exactly five months ago. Every game will do early access differently of course, but it seems like Lost Skies could have done with a bit more time in the oven.
Still Stars Echo is a “meditative space odyssey” with minimalist puzzles that takes you on a journey across the galaxy to uncover the mystery behind a lost civilization. It’s in development for PC and due out in 2026.
There’s no combat and you can’t fail, so you can just mellow out and traverse through Still Stars Echo’s five chapters, solving puzzles along the way. But as the saying goes, it’s not always about the destination but the journey itself, and Still Stars Echo promises a myriad of massive environments and an atmospheric soundtrack that developer Semidome, Inc. recommends you experience with headphones on. Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.
You can wishlist Still Stars Echo on Steam if you’re interested.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
The long-awaited next-generation entry in the skateboarding series Skate is finally here, and some of the best moments we’ve seen shared by players so far don’t even include a skateboard.
A cursory glance on social media will bring up a whole host of viral clips wherein players are rolling, spread-eagling, falling, and sliding across Skate’s maps. Or, as this player puts it: “Bro what am I even playing rn why is this faster than skating.”
Apparently, anyone can move like this, too. As KontoLetzPlay explains, you just need to hold forward and then move back and forth between a roll and a spread eagle as you go.
“The roll is quick and pushing off with a jump in the roll is good,” they said. “Meanwhile; the spread eagle gives you speed in the air, as well as a slight boost once you land on the ground, since it puts you into a slide. It’s extremely simple, but it does take some slight getting used to, considering the devs definitely didn’t build the movement to be used this way. But it’s just: Roll > Push off from roll > spread eagle > automatically land in a slide > slide into a roll > push off from roll > repeat.”
Flailing around the map hijinx aside, Steam reviews suggests not everyone’s having as good a time, though, as the 6,300+ user reviews left so far have put Skate on a ‘Mixed’ aggregate score, with PC players complaining of crashing, poor voice acting, and “missing” features like Hall of Meat and Pro Skaters.
“If you’re looking for a true successor to Skate 1, 2, and 3, this isn’t it,” wrote one reviewer. “Aside from the controls, every other gameplay element from the previous titles has been stripped away. No Hall of Meat, no Game of Skate, no missions or storylines with real-life pros. In their absence, we got a soulless cash-grab with a fully functional cash shop inside a 7GB beta. I can’t believe I waited years for this.”
“Online only slop with day one server issues, same challenges over and over for ripoff chips for a spin on the lootbox casino for frankly terrible cosmetics, none of the gamemodes that made the previous games fun, No S.k.a.t.e, deathraces, own the spot career or hall of meat, the art style is not what the devs promised in earlier playtest builds, character creation and customisation is abysmal,” opined one unhappy player.
It’s not all bad news, though. “I figured people would review bomb it when it came out,” said a less critical fan. “Listen, this game is great. It’s one of the best feeling skate games that we have out right now. I understand people are upset about no story mode and missing features but it’s in early access… what don’t people understand about that?”
“I can clearly see the direction developer Full Circle is taking the series, but I can also say that Skate is shaping up to be a game worthy of being the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Skate 3,” IGN wrote in our Skate hands-on preview earlier this year. “The gameplay seems refined and lives up to its predecessors, the world is big and fun to explore, and the overall sandbox’s ‘do what you want’ vibe is really making me look forward to diving back in.”
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.
Supermassive Games have put out a demo for Little Nightmares 3, so you can give the spooky co-op puzzler a whirl before it arrives in October. “Step into the Necropolis“, the studio say. Go on then, that sounds like it has zero potential to end badly.
Defensive tweaks, new playbooks, more Limp Bizkit!
EA Sports has dropped a huge new update for the recently released Madden NFL 26. The September 17th patch introduces a large number of fixes, adjustments, and other bits and bobs to a game that does a very solid job of bringing the full Madden experience to handheld – so long as you can take the frame rate hit.
Focusing in on highlights here, this patch (which brings the game to version 1.7) brings defensive adjustments in the midfield that should make runners a little easier to catch, whilst a new mechanic that’s been brought over from EA’s College Football franchise allows you to make your own default pass protection system to suit your chosen coach philosophy. Audio and visual effects, some quirky animations and other bugs also see fixes.
