Fighting game and Rare fans are in for a treat today with Nintendo adding Killer Instinct Gold to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.
As long as you have an active subscription to the Expansion Pack tier, you’ll be able to update your Switch app and play it right now. Here’s a bit more about it, courtesy of the official Nintendo description:
Toward the end of the call, Zelnick was asked whether he was concerned specifically about potential console price increases and their impact on the overall gaming ecosystem. This was referring to the recent price bump on Xbox Series consoles, and the expected PlayStation 5 increase that may follow.
Zelnick believes that confusing as the tariff back-and-forth is, Take-Two’s fiscal guidance is fairly set in stone, at least for the coming year:
“Our guide is for the next ten months, essentially, that’s the part of the fiscal year that hasn’t elapsed yet, and it’s very difficult to predict where tariffs will land, given how things have bumped around so far. We feel reasonably confident that our guide wouldn’t be meaningfully affected, unless tariffs ran off in a very different direction than we currently expect. In any case, there’s already a very substantial install base for all of our target platforms except Nintendo Switch 2, which is pre-launch. So we have, I think, enough insight that we wouldn’t be affected by any changes.”
Zelnick has reason to be confident. As he points out, most of the games Take-Two will release in the coming fiscal year are coming to platforms people largely already own. A few people buying or not buying an Xbox Series or a PS5 or even a Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t going to make a massive difference. What’s more, much of Take-Two’s revenue comes from digital purchases in ongoing games like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and its mobile business, which aren’t subject to tariffs at all.
Still, as Zelnick notes, everything is still up in the air. We’ve spoken to analysts numerous times over the last few months on the subject of tariffs, and all of them have reiterated that the situation is ever-changing and unpredictable, which even the CEO of Take-Two is leaving room for.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios are cooking. I’m not exactly sure what just yet, but there’s a faint aroma of a new game in the air, and it doesn’t seem like they’re ready to share anything about the game right now either. Still, after the runaway success of Helldivers 2, something new from the studio is still an exciting prospect. Interestingly enough though, whatever they’re making, it won’t have anything to do with PlayStation when it comes to funding.
As an ancient gamer (now 32), I’ve had plenty of experience playing Pac-Man. During my pre-teen years, many of my summer days were spent losing quarters to my local arcade, attempting to reach the mythical “split-screen level.” As a devoted fan of the franchise, I admittedly had reservations going into my PAX East preview of Bandai Namco’s new, unconventional take on the series, Shadow Labyrinth.
On paper, Shadow Labyrinth should not work. Pac-Man as a dark sci-fi metroidvania where he turns into a giant mech and shoots lasers out of his mouth sounds like bad gaming Wattpad fiction. Yet, that is exactly what it is…and Puck, Man, it was glorious.
The story takes place shortly after the events of the Prime Video animated short, Secret Wars, as the protagonist, the dark and brooding Swordsman No. 8, wakes up surrounded by monsters and aliens. He soon meets a mysterious figure known as Puck, a yellow circular creature who looks like he enjoys eating pellets, fruit, and blue ghosts. After a brief introduction, the duo vows to work together by combining their unique abilities of strength and mobility in the hopes that they can navigate the treacherous world and survive the darkness that awaits.
That darkness comes in many shapes and sizes, as the setting features a handful of different biomes, each with distinct personalities, backdrops, and characteristics. No two mazes in this 2D adventure will have the same layout, and enemy designs and types will change depending on the region that is being explored.
My preview started by placing me in an underground tech biome filled with various melee, flying, and ranged enemy types that could only exist underground, like bat-creatures and angry hedgehogs. Gameplay was straightforward and intuitive enough initially. Combat and dodging reminded me a lot of the original Castlevania titles, and its platforming elements are akin to a love child of Ori and the Blind Forest and Celeste, thanks to Puck’s ability to grapple onto spots, adding extra layers of maneuverability.
The story takes place shortly after the events of the Prime Video animated short, Secret Wars.
Combining the grapple with aerial attacks makes for interesting gameplay against enemies, especially when challenge rooms come into play. Like many other Metroidvanias, Shadow Labyrinth has rooms that will seal off once entered, requiring the Swordsman to defeat each combatant inside to unlock the room.
Enemies spawn in from all over the room, attempting to overwhelm with quantity and variety, making for a bullet-sponge-like environment. I frantically grappled to avoid ground foe charges while dodging flying enemies simultaneously, failing to do so multiple times, and needing to respawn.
After getting the hang of their patterns and placements, I grappled up and used melee attacks to chain movements in the air, then slammed my sword down from above on the enemies below, making for an immensely satisfying victory. While I only experienced two challenge rooms in this particular build, I was impressed with how difficult but rewarding each room was. But despite how much I enjoyed this, the true beauty of Shadow Labyrinth’s platforming and combat comes to light when Puck becomes the controllable character.
The platforming element of controlling Puck is both clever and nostalgic, as the Swordsman will morph into him and ride waves of electricity to help them move around areas otherwise blocked by environmental hazards or inaccessible heights. While riding the wave, you’ll move identically to the old Pac-Man games, but with an added twist.
Puck is still limited to moving left, right, up, or down on the violet electricity line, but he is no longer limited to a lined grid and can also stop, aim, and jump. While this might sound simple, it adds a new layer to movement and combat. Some challenge rooms even feature these lines, which can be used to execute sword attacks, creating an entirely new approach to beating each room’s combat puzzle.
My favorite instance of this occurred halfway through the preview during the Kaiju boss battle (yes, you read that right). The fight is similar to a challenge room in the sense that it blocks off any retreat, but this time it is a one-on-one fight, as the boss is much bigger than Swordsman No. 8. To combat the size difference, Swordsman No. 8 can use Puck’s ability to ride up the wall to not only get a height advantage and deal extra damage to the enemy’s horn weak spot, but also avoid massive laser attacks that would otherwise kill them both.
As it turns out, the boss isn’t the only one wielding a laser, which leads to my other favorite, absurd moment in this preview: Puck can turn into a giant mecha named Gaia. Yes, this is a Metroidvania Pac-Man game where you can control a Gundam and fight Kaiju. Again, this should not work, but it does so marvelously, resulting in an epic crescendo to a fever dream of a boss battle and transformation.
Even after the boss battle ended, there was still plenty to explore in Shadow Labyrinth. The first thing I unlocked afterward was a pared-down version of Gaia’s laser ability, which the Swordsman can use by holding down the charge button. Not only is this move great for dispelling large groups of foes blocking an area, but it can also be thrown into attacks in locations like the challenge rooms to make for some delightful combo kills.
Alongside the new power move, I also unlocked a new location featuring another strangely familiar-looking set of enemies that would begin to float through the level toward me until they touched the ground. At first, I was confused about how to beat them, as hitting them with a sword wasn’t working.
It wasn’t until I started listening to the music and sound effects and remembering why the enemies’ movements looked so familiar that a lightbulb went off: these are the Pooka from Dig Dug. Just like the 1982 classic arcade title, the only way to destroy Pooka is to stun and inflate it when they are materialized. After experimenting, it turns out that using Puck’s grapple ability on them to knock them out and then using it again to inflate them is the only way to kill them.
This is just one of the many references to Bandai Namco’s library of beloved arcade games, as the story and setting of Shadow Labyrinth are set to include plenty of references and modernized takes on a handful of other iconic games. While there was no hint or mention of which one it would be, the developers teased that the war-torn world of Shadow Labyrinth itself will be a major reveal as the narrative progresses.
The story and setting of Shadow Labyrinth are set to include plenty of references and modernized takes on a handful of other iconic games.
If you had told me back then that one day someone would make a Metroidvania version of everyone’s favorite Puck Man, I’d probably think you’re insane. After playing Shadow Labyrinth at PAX East 2025, that statement is probably still true, but I’m right there beside you, enjoying the insanity.
Whether it is the fluidity of Puck’s grappling hook and wall traversal combined with Swordsman No. 8’s raw power and durability, or the fact that Pac-Man can turn into a mech that shoots lasers out of its mouth, everything about this Metroidvania is absurdly fun. The game features something for everyone here, as the platforming, combat, and puzzles each stand out on their own as enjoyable experiences.
I implore you to suspend your disbelief about how this bizarre concept can even work, and at least give Shadow Labyrinth a try when it is released, as this insane creative bet by Bandai looks like it might actually pay off.
That Hideo Kojima is a bit of an odd chap, ‘ey? It was only recently he said that he wants to make a game where the protagonist forgets their own abilities if you, the player, take a long break between play sessions. As a reminder this comes from the guy who made a whole game about delivering packages, another game where a character can die of old age if you wait long enough, and another game that knows if you’ve played Castlevania or not. The guy likes doing things differently!
What changed in those few months? That’s what I asked Zelnick in a new interview to coincide with Take-Two’s just-published financial results. He said that as GTA 6 got closer to launch, the need for more polish “became clear.”
“As we get closer to completion of a title that’s seeking perfection, the needs or lack thereof, for continued polish become clear,” Zelnick said. “In this case there was an opportunity with a small amount of incremental time, we thought, to make sure Rockstar Games achieves its creative vision with no limitations. And I supported of course that approach.”
GTA 6’s delay outside Take-Two’s current financial year into the next is a blow for the company’s numbers in the short term, but Zelnick told me he still feels really good about what he has coming up, including Gearbox’s Borderlands 4, Hangar 13’s Mafia: The Old Country, and of course new games in its NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises.
“I feel really good about how Fiscal 26 looks sitting here today,” he said. “And while of course, delays pain me — how could they not? — the most important thing to do is to support your teams in their search for perfection.”
Now, the obvious next question is a repeat of what I asked Zelnick back in February: how confident are you that Rockstar will hit May 26, 2026? This time around, Zelnick sounded even more certain:
“I think historically when we set a specific date, generally speaking, we’ve been very good about reaching it.”
That, to me, is saying GTA 6 won’t be delayed without actually saying it. Never say never, of course, but now GTA 6 has an actual release date, it would be a pretty big shock if it slipped again.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Diddy Kong has been strangely missing in action from much of Nintendo’s marketing, particularly around the Switch 2. At least he was there when Donkey Kong Country Returns HD came out in January…?
Anyway, the big question on everyone’s lips when Donkey Kong was shown off in Mario Kart World back in January, sporting a brand new design was: will Diddy Kong meet the same fate?
Tons of new content for fans of Shovel Knight and Roguelike platformers alike.
Top tips to help you thrive and survive.
Hey there shovelers! We are proud to announce that the ultimate edition ofShovel Knight Dig is finally coming to the Xbox Series X|S on May 15th! We poured our hearts into refining this ambitious game to make it the most polished version yet. So, grab your trusty shovel blade and get ready to dig in an –all new direction – Down!
Shovel Knight Dig is a direct prequel to our first title, Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope.
The story kicks off when Drill Knight and his crew loot and destroy Shovel Knight’s peaceful campsite. With his trusty Shovel Blade, Shovel Knight tunnels after them in a quest to keep the entire land from collapsing underfoot!
At its core, Shovel Knight Dig is a roguelite platformer. There are thousands of pixel-perfect level chunks, which are procedurally stitched together to create infinite adventurous combinations. Each trip down the well will bring you closer to discovering the secrets lying at the bottom. With that said, here’s four tips to surviving the dangers that await you in the well:
Plan your Route
Momentum is key but do not blindly delve into danger! The well is chock-full of baddies, level hazards, and surprises so, it’s worth taking a second to look before you shovel drop. If a certain level hazard feels too dangerous, do not be afraid to detour. As you progress in the well, you’ll even be able to choose between which stages you’ll encounter. Depending on your pick-ups (relics, armor, abilities, etc.) certain paths might suit your run more than others. It can feel tricky in the beginning but the more you play, the more muscle memory you’ll have on how to get through each stage.
Collect Everything
You’ll fare better in your run if you start collecting early on. Gems will give you the ability to buy food from Gastronomole, abilities from Master Argus, and nifty items and Relics from Chester. Collecting three golden gear pieces will grant you an award, but you must choose carefully between a free upgrade or leaving with your health restored. Entering side rooms can lead you to rewards like health and slot upgrades, chests, eggs, secrets, and challenges! There’s a ton to discover and encounter while on your run. Just keep your eyes peeled and you’ll feel like an unstoppable shovel-god by the time you get to the bottom of the well.
Visit the Surface Between Runs
Make sure to visit the Hoofman, Armorer, and Chester after your runs. They all own shops where you can splurge on various wares to assist you on your adventure.
As you progress through the story, new villagers will take residence at your campsite. Make sure to chat with them too. Some carry tales that’ll help you uncover more mysteries down in the well.
Be Curious
The game rewards curiosity! So, if something looks suspicious, dig into it. Tunnel through all of the sparkly dirt. Explore every side room. Hatch an egg or two. Gently boop Altius the owl into the well. Buy that broken cog (I’m sure it’ll be useful somewhere…..). Uncovering all the secrets will lead you to more surprises than you can count! So get digging!
Well, That’s it for Right Now
Shovel Knight Dig is our most ambitious project yet. It was truly a labor of love and we hope you enjoy playing the game as much as we did making it. We’re excited for you to delve in on Friday! See you down the well!
When Drill Knight and his dastardly digging crew blast apart Shovel Knight’s peaceful campsite and steal his loot, he grabs his trusty Shovel Blade and starts tunneling after them!
Meet new friends and foes, visit strange lands, and outfit yourself in your quest to keep the entire land from collapsing underfoot! Jump, slash, and dig your way down an ever-changing chasm of mystery in Shovel Knight Dig, an all-new Shovel Knight adventure!
Dungeons & Dragons is an iconic brand, a brand to contend with, a brand that’s launched a million fantasy campaigns across a million unique worlds of their player’s devising. Yet for all its popularity and success there are times when every player and dungeon master has thought: isn’t it all a bit too much work? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have all the fun exploration, and exciting combat, and satisfying looting and levelling up without having to put in quite so much effort into world-building and rules overhead?
Well the answer is yes: play a board game instead. There are dozens and dozens of board games that riff on the basic premise of the fantasy quest, but a large number of them are either too abstract to truly scratch that itch, or so complex that they’re essentially a lifestyle commitment in their own right. Here is a selection of titles between those two extremes that fit the bill perfectly, from licensed spin-offs to stone classics, for those nights when you want the fantasy, but you don’t want playing to be a heroic quest in its own right.
Featured in this article
Want a clean list without the blurbs? The horizontally scrolling catalog above has you covered. But if you want some info about each of the games, read on.
D&D Waterdeep: Dungeon of The Mad Mage Adventure System
If you really want a board game that re-creates the Dungeons & Dragons experience, there’s no better place to start than the Adventure System games, which are literally a slimmed down version of the 4th edition rules in a box, with a board. There’s no DM to run the game: you pull tiles at random as you explore the dungeon and monsters behave according to simple, yet varied, AI routines printed on their cards. But there’s still a narrative campaign, divided into individual scenarios, with secrets to uncover, monsters to kill, and treasures to loot. Dungeons of the Mad Mage is the most recent set, but there’s a range of these and they’re all a blast to play.
HeroQuest Game System
Although one of the fun things about D&D board games is often the fact that you don’t need someone to take the DM’s role, having someone to narrate the experience and control the bad guys can make the experience richer for all involved. And if you do want to retain that role, this modern reprint of 1989 classic HeroQuest has you covered. Mechanically it’s almost exactly the same, with one player controlling the evil wizard and his minions, while the others are heroes, exploring a series of dungeons on their quest to gain experience and treasure and end the evil once and for all. As a bonus it’s also pretty simple, making a great choice for a parent to play with their kids (also see our picks for more family board games).
Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated
Both our previous picks are pretty old-school games. If you want something more modern, consider this version of the fantastic deckbuilding game Clank! It has both the branding of the hugely popular Dungeons & Dragons podcast Acquisitions Incorporated and the legacy structure meaning the game is a campaign that changes the components physically as you progress, ensuring your copy, and your adventures with it, are wholly unique. The game itself marries the exciting, chaotic deck construction and adventure of the original with a more considered, characterful narrative framework, full of surprises and humor. For more, see our Clank! buying guide.
Dungeons & Dragons Onslaught
While the Adventure System games above tried to slim down 4th edition D&D in a traditional adventure game format, Onslaught ports the 5th edition rules into a skirmish board game where two adventuring parties fight for dominance in a dungeon room. While this isn’t exactly how the role-playing game tends to run, every player has had a full-on party-on-party clash at least once in their gaming career, and the game thoughtfully includes treasure chests to loot and characters to level to make it feel more authentic. Plus, the tabletop translation of the well-loved 5th edition rules is really engaging and tactically challenging.
Descent: Legends of the Dark
There are an increasing number of modern adventure titles that farm the task of running the game out to an app, leaving players free to enjoy the mysteries and advance their characters through the campaign. Descent: Legends of the Dark is perhaps the most advanced in every respect. The app is very comprehensive, revealing dungeons, controlling monsters, narrating downtime and even tracking your resources to feed into an item construction feature. The physical components meanwhile, are outstanding, with a fully 3D cardboard dungeon and superbly detailed miniatures bringing the adventure to life on your tabletop.
The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth
Dungeons & Dragons is well known to have counted Tolkien’s epic novel amongst its inspirations. So a board game that includes both overland and dungeon adventures alongside combat and character advancement certainly counts as a parallel. Fortunately there’s a lot more to enjoy under the hood: this is another app-driven affair, letting the players focus on the fun, while also taking the time to challenge the group with puzzles and riddles that simply wouldn’t be possible in purely physical production. Set in the time between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, it allows players to create a little slice of Middle-earth that is all their own.
Tiny Epic Dungeons
One thing that unites all the picks so far – aside from their similarity to D&D – is an eye-watering price-point. If you want a dungeon crawl on the cheap, look no further than this cute entry in the popular Tiny Epic series, which consistently succeeds in shrinking big themes down into small boxes. A band of heroes ventures into a unique dungeon in an attempt to level up enough to challenge the boss, but they’re up against a tough timer as their torch burns down. With a snappy playtime and a novel combat system that gives you the chance to mitigate bad results, it really feels like a huge dungeon unfolds from this very modest box.
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
You might have heard of Gloomhaven and Frosthaven, two of the – literally – biggest and most acclaimed board games around. What powers their popularity is the beguiling mix of adventure narrative, challenging tactics and novel mechanics, with each class given a unique deck of cards from which you have to mix and match two of your actions each turn. They’re both RPG-length campaigns in their own right but they have a little sibling, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, which gives you all that mechanical goodness at a fraction of the cost and with a much more manageable campaign. Plus it’s a prequel, so if it gives you a taste for the longer fare you can jump right in and continue the story.
Legacy of Dragonholt
You’re likely familiar with the concept of choose-your-own-adventure books, where you read a paragraph of text and make choices at the end about which numbered paragraph to flip to next, thereby telling your own version of the story. Legacy of Dragonholt expands that concept multifold and makes it multiplayer, creating a hugely detailed campaign with a dizzying number of options and branch points. Add in an activation token system that lets everyone have their place in decision making as well as some strategic nuance over what skills and abilities to deploy and you’ve got the ultimate text adventure to enjoy with friends, although it also works as a good solo board game for that classic old-school feel.
Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate
This one’s a little different from the fantasy quest fare that dominates the rest of the list, but it still evokes the feeling of a certain kind of D&D session and it has the Forgotten Realms branding, so it’s a close fit. Your team of heroes starts out working together to explore the cursed city of Baldur’s Gate by flipping tiles and looting items but, at some point, a haunt will begin. This is revealed from a narrative book which will give you the win conditions for your game and often pits one player as a traitor, working against the others. It’s an exciting setup with tons of variety that often boils down to a thrilling conclusion of heroism trying to win out against the encroaching darkness.
Dungeons & Dragons: Bedlam in Neverwinter
Another off-the-wall pick that focuses on the puzzle aspects of dungeoneering over the adventure, this is an escape-room style board game which sees you having to figure out a variety of traps, tricks and riddles as you investigate a mystery in the iconic Icewind Dale setting. It’s aimed at all ages, and is only playable once, after which you can trade or sell it, but it’s got a unique spin on the genre which mixes in some simplistic exploration, role-playing opportunities and combat mechanics for that real tabletop RPG flavor, and the unfolding narrative builds toward an epic conclusion.
Matt Thrower is a contributing freelance writer for IGN, specializing in tabletop games. You can reach him on BlueSky at @mattthr.bsky.social.
Fancy a jaunt back into The Zone? GSC Game World released the long awaited Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl last November, steadling improving it after an (understandably) rocky launch. There’s been several hefty updates for the sequel released along the way, and it turns out the developer has been even busier than expected. GSC Game World announced Stalker: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition today, a revamp of the original three games, Shadow of Chornobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Prypiat, that mostly brings in some visual upgrades.