Author: Game Infliction

Slay the Spire 2 has enjoyed an enormous early access launch on Steam, breaking into the top 20 most-played games of all time on Valve’s platform.

Mega Crit’s sequel had already become the most-played roguelike ever on Steam after it launched last week, but now, after hitting an astonishing 574,638 peak concurrent players over the weekend, it’s joined the special top 20 club — and there are some big hitters within its sights.

Chief among them in the indie space is Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight: Silksong, which hit a peak of 587,150. And it’s that game the developers at MegaCrit cheekily pointed out as its target in a social media post celebrating their success.

“Our team is TOTALLY blown away by the amount of people who have been playing and sharing their love for the game we’ve been working on for the past half decade,” MegaCrit tweeted. “We’re excited to continue to make StS2 the best that it can be!! Also obligatory joke: we’ll getcha one day Silksong.”

Mega Crit had already playfully took aim at Bungie’s Marathon, which came out the same day as Slay the Spire 2, in a tweet they eventually admitted came off meaner than intended. But the truth is Slay the Spire 2 is the hottest video game on Steam right now, and is behind only the eternally popular PUBG, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2 in terms of current popularity.

You might be wondering what MegaCrit will do to capitalize on its success. Many developers would go hard on microtransactions, but it doesn’t sound like they’re coming to Slay the Spire 2. “We’re microtransaction haters,” Casey Yano, MegaCrit co-founder, told Destructoid, despite the fact that “a lot of our players threaten to buy all and any cosmetics we may ever release.”

I’m among the many playing at the moment, and I initially found it a tad confusing having not played the original. If you’re new to Slay the Spire, our Slay the Spire 2 Beginner’s Guide can help you get familiar with the basics, and for fans of the first game, take a look at the biggest changes in Slay the Spire 2. We’ve also got a guide to all the Slay the Spire 2 characters and how to unlock them, plus how to play co-op with friends.

Not only are a huge number of people playing Slay the Spire 2, but the vast majority are loving it. On Steam it enjoys a user review rating of ‘overwhelmingly positive,’ with nearly 14,000 user reviews already online. Check out IGN’s Slay the Spire 2 Early Access Review So Far to find out what we think.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Amazon has unofficially made Pokémon Pokopia an $80 Nintendo Switch 2 game, after the retailer suddenly increased the price for the new life sim’s physical edition amid supply constraints.

Numerous retailers have completely run out of Pokémon Pokopia boxed copies, though Amazon still has availability in the U.S., albeit now at the higher price of $80.

It’s the second time in as many months that Amazon has jacked up the price of a physical Switch 2 game while demand is high. A couple of weeks ago, the retailer was selling Resident Evil Requiem on Switch 2 for $76.84, almost $7 more than its recommended retail price.

Pokémon Pokopia has an RRP of $70, which Amazon has maintained if you just wish to buy a digital download code. But, right now, a boxed copy of the game will cost you $79.99, up $10 for seemingly no reason other than the fact its stock is hard to find.

Physical copies of Pokémon Pokopia appear limited outside the U.S., too. This morning, The Game Business chief Chris Dring wrote on social media that the game was “seriously undersupplied at UK retail,” which has resulted in less than half the Switch 2 physical launch sales of last year’s Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

So, what’s going on here? Has Nintendo intentionally kept physical stock low? Pokémon Pokopia’s physical edition is just a Game-Key Card launch, something the company may have expected would push more people towards its digital version. The game’s Animal Crossing-esque life sim genre may also have been considered more likely to attract digital sales, so that the game is always available as people continue to play for weeks and months to come.

Officially, Nintendo has only marked Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World as an $80 game, though the full price of several Switch 2 Edition re-releases of existing Switch 1 games have also hit the same high price point (such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV). Previously, Nintendo has said it will experiment with variable pricing for games on its latest console, while retailers are of course able to charge whatever they like.

IGN’s Pokémon Pokopia review returned a 9/10 score, and dubbed the game as “an enjoyable building and town simulator that capitalizes on the charming personalities of its monsters in a way that appeals to both the creative and collector alike.”

Wondering which Pokémon you’ll be able to live alongside? Check out our list of all the Pokémon in Pokopia, and take a look at our Things to Do First in Pokopia guide to make the most of your first few days. To help you get started, we’ve also got a list of 17 things that Pokopia doesn’t tell you, plus How to Raise the Environment Level and How to Raise Pokémon Comfort Level.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Today brings an ultra rare Pokémon card from the upcoming Mega Evolution — Perfect Order expansion, and it’s the first time this Mega Evolved ex creature has appeared in the Pokémon trading card game.

Mega Skarmory ex sees the recently-revealed Mega Pokémon appear in powerful form, with 260 HP and a punishing special attack.

Sonic Ripper will require two Steel energy and one Colorless energy to pull off, and comes with the requirement that you shuffle all energy attached to the creature into your deck. In return, though, you’ll be able to damage any one of your opponent’s Pokémon, including those that are Benched.

The team behind Project Motor Racing has acknowledged the game did not meet expectations upon its initial release in November. The admission comes via a new newsletter update from developer Straight4 Studios, which also announced a major update is set to arrive at the end of March.

“When we launched Project Motor Racing in November, we set out to build a racing sim that captured the intensity, immersion, and discipline of real motorsport,” the studio wrote.

“So let’s start with the simple truth: we didn’t hit the mark. Not on the stuff that mattered most. We let you down, and we let ourselves down.”

Conceding “more than one thing” went wrong, the studio explained it has been focusing on working “tirelessly to right the ship.”

“Patch by patch, we’ve listened closely to your feedback – the good, the bad, and the blunt – and we’ve acted on it,” the studio continued. “We’re now seven patches into making PMR the experience you want. Are we there yet? No. Not yet. But we’re moving closer to the standard you deserve and the standard we expect of ourselves.”

“At the end of March, we’ll be delivering a really significant update aimed at resetting PMR’s foundation and bringing the sim much closer to what a serious motorsport title should feel like. We’ll share a lot more detail about what this looks like throughout March.”

The most recent update for Project Motor Racing arrived just days ago, introducing the 2013 Ford FG Falcon V8 Supercar as a free vehicle for all players, plus a “total overhaul to the GT4 class.”

IGN’s November 2025 review of Project Motor Racing noted the sim’s great selection of cars and praised its self-contained nature, which overtly shunned a subscription model or “free-to-play chicanery,” but noted that, unfortunately, “Project Motor Racing feels like an early access game that hasn’t actually been identified as such” and made for a “mediocre single-player racing experience” at that time.

Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.

A new weekend has arrived, and today, you can save big on select Mario games for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Check out our top picks for Sunday, March 8, below.

Mario Kart World for $64.99