Final Fantasy Tactics is probably, all things considered, my favourite Final Fantasy. As someone who isn’t really a huge video game lore person at the best of times, as in I forget most of it because my brain needs the storage space for memories of food, in my eyes it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best in the mainline series.
This is a game that gives me the tight, strategic combat fix that I want, you see, whilst delivering a world, characters and story that fit into the overall Final Fantasy vibe incredibly well, without requiring a degree in finalising all known fantasies to understand or fully enjoy. The narrative, which sees you slip into the shoes of Ramza Beoulve as he drops nobility for rebellion, is an epic one, make no mistake. It’s got all the twists and turns you’d expect, and a few more besides, making it easier to get into the groove of.
Hack and Slash with New Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox Design Lab Controllers
Mekias BekaluProduct Marketing Manager, Xbox Accessories
As the endless rain of miasma hangs over a near-future Tokyo, a young ninja prodigy, Yakumo, must reconcile a destiny he shares with the legendary Ryu Hayabusa to stop the ancient curse that brought this city to its knees.
Embark on a cutting-edge adventure in Ninja Gaiden 4 with Xbox Design Lab and the all-new Xbox Wireless Controller – Ninja Gaiden 4 and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Ninja Gaiden 4.
These designs have something for veterans and newcomers alike, featuring both Ryu Hayabusa’s legendary Red Dragon Katana and new protagonist Yakumo’s blue handled katana. Within the manga print-inspired top case, you’ll also find Yakumo’s striking Oni mask. Both controllers are available now with Xbox Design Lab.
As you hack and slash through enemies, the Xbox Wireless Controller on Xbox Design Lab offers endless customization to help you play your way. Choose from a variety of button styles curated for your chosen Ninja Gaiden 4 color scheme, perfectly accenting the red and blue textured side grips.
You can adjust your controller further with upgrades like metallic triggers and D-Pad, rubberized side and back grips, and even free 3D printed adaptive thumbstick topper files. Take your Ninja Gaiden 4 controller with you on all your adventures – with Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth, it can connect to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles, PCs, and iOS, Android, and cloud devices. Share pictures and videos taken in the heat of combat with friends through the dedicated share button.
The Elite Series 2 version of this design comes with all the features you’ve come to love. This includes shorter hair trigger locks, wrap-around rubberized grips, and adjustable-tension thumbsticks for even more precise gameplay.
For further customization, you can add back paddles for even more input refinement. Just as you swap between characters in game, you can easily swap between different button profiles with the dedicated middle button on the controller. You can listen to the action-packed OST through the 3.5mm jack – just connect any compatible headset to get further immersed in Ninja Gaiden 4.
If you’re prepared for a legacy reborn, head over to Xbox Design Lab today to design yours. These controllers are available today, starting at MSRP $94.98 for the Xbox Wireless Controller and MSRP $184.98 for the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller exclusively here. Visit Xbox.com for more information.
Ninja Gaiden 4 arrives on October 21 – and is available for pre-order now. Coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox Cloud, Steam and PlayStation 5. Ninja Gaiden 4 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, and you can play it day one with Game Pass.
Today, we’re turning our focus to the game’s Photo Mode.
Like its predecessor, Ghost of Yōtei will give players free reign to freeze the on-screen action at (almost) any point and access a multitude of adjustments to freely mould the moment into an eye-catching still photograph, an evocative cinemagraph, or an impressive tracking shot. Let’s look through the feature set, as well as some suggestions as how to use those settings to snap your way across Ezo.
Ghost of Yōtei’s Photo features
Tracking Shot
Record up to 16 placement positions for your camera for an animated tracking shot when you hit Triangle.
Note: The example shots below avoid any story spoilers, and are all taken early on into the game, and around the opening area.
Beginner’s guide and tips
If you’re interested in trying out Photo Mode, you’ll find a list of tips and example shots. It’s in no way exhaustive or a deep dive into the technical aspects of photography, but more reflecting on things I consider when taking photos myself. To my fellow virtual photographers: feel free to add your own tips in the comments section!
The basics
Photo Mode activation is activated by tapping right on the D-Pad. You can activate it at almost any point, be it exploring, in the middle of combat or even when lining up the perfect long range shot.
You can reset individual settings within their submenus, or reset to default with Square (a confirmation prompt avoids an accidental full reset). The game will save your last set of customisation settings even if you dip in and out of Photo Mode.
There’s an auto-focus mode that can be toggled on and off.
Try these focus lengths for portraits, landscapes
Ghost of Yōtei’s Photo Mode camera has a focus mode stretching from 12mm – 300mm, which covers pretty much any type of setup you need. There’s a general rule of thumb on which focal lengths are a good fit for certain shot types. But it’s not a hard rule: getting creative with focus lengths can lead to great compositions. My advice? Keep experimenting.
Landscapes: 24mm or below.
Portraits: 35mm is good for those environmental ‘slice of life’ snaps, 50mm for headshots, 80mm for full body portraits of single subjects (especially if you combine with a narrow field of focus, which turns everything in the foreground and background blurry, keeping attention on the subject).
Macro shots: In Ghost of Yōtei, 100mm upwards can help you zoom in on finer details, or bring us up close to moments in the far distance.
Take time to look around
Got your shot? Great. But before you leave Photo Mode, investigate the surrounding landscape with a pan of your camera around. You might catch sight of an until then unobserved detail – be it an NPC interaction, nearby wildlife, or even an alternate composition for your existing shot.
[right] This eagle was but a distant speck over Atsu’s shoulder during a portrait.
Play with natural light to get the shot right
You’ve got time on your hands. Cycle through a 24-hour day to test how the accompanying daylight or nighttime lighting impacts your shot. You may welcome harsher shadows due to a midday sun, the softer, warmer light of golden hour (the time just after sunrise or just before sunset), or enjoy the epic nighttime sky. You can also shift natural light until it illuminates a specific part of the photo that you want to draw attention to.
Same shot, a few hours apart. Overcast sky and weak sunlight makes for a strong, but cool first image. Scrubbing the timeline to golden hour coupled with a slight tweak of cloud cover makes for a warmer take in the second shot. Additional tip: tilt the camera angle by a few degrees to inject extra energy into the shot (called a Dutch Angle).
Day and night portraits. The first uses the rising sun to profile Atsu, with part of her body in shadow. The second, moonlight, with Atsu placed in the lower third of the shot, emphasising the sheer scale of the night’s sky behind.
Animated Vs Still Camera
As default, Photo Mode’s camera is set to animated. Atsu and other characters will remain still, but movement caused by the wind, or flocks of birds in flight, remain unaffected. Perfect if you want to generate a cinemagraph-style shot. A dedicated Particle option lets you introduce moving leaves, embers, insects, or birds (as well as the volume of each), with the Wind Direction option helpfully dictating which way particles will flow.
In the first image, we went with a wide focus (24mm or so) to capture the size of the galloping herd and used a Dutch Angle to add a sense of energy. Leaf particles suggested debris being kicked up by hoofs. One mistake I made: I should have chosen Violet Petals as Particles to keep consistent with the flowers in the field.
The second shot is the exact same instance, but using my own advice to pan the camera round to test a different composition, removed particles and changed time of day to golden hour.
Colour grading: set mood, direct focus, get artistic
Ghost of Yōtei’s excellent colour grade options is partly why my photo count is already in triple digits. I’ll snap multiple versions of shots with different colour grades. Let’s take a look at some executions.
Above are four photos at the same location. The only differences? Switching colour grades, and introducing heavy fog. A serene landscape scene is given an almost abstract artistic twist with a few tweaks.
I wanted to highlight the figures in the bottom left to better emphasize the scale of this landscape. I could alter the time of day to find a point when their stretch of field was flooded with sunlight. But a quick colour grade switch gave the area the pop I needed.
Here’s a more creative treatment of colour grading. The Maple Colour Grading desaturates an image of all but the colour red. It helped me notice – and highlight – the scratches on Atsu’s hands. Gingko Colour Grade does similar for yellow, as you can see in the second photo.
Get creative, experiment
As always, it’s how you put everything together to create the final result. I love discovering how Colour Grades and tinkering with Exposure and Contrast really adds extra oomph to a key moment, or sets me off in an entirely different creative direction.
Even a duel gone wrong offers opportunity. Caught by activating Photo Mode as my opponent landed the death blow, orientating the shot to portrait, dialing up contrast and leaning on Maple Colour Grading to emphasize reds.
Your turn
You’ll be able to test out Photo Mode yourself from October 2, and look out for a Share of the Week requesting entries for Ghost of Yōtei in the very near future!
Silent Hill f only launched in ‘advanced access’ on September 23, but modders are already at work, with one stripping out the series’ signature fog completely.
The horror adventure released yesterday for those who bought the more expensive digital deluxe version, but for everyone else, it goes live tomorrow, September 25 (check out the Silent Hill f global release times for more).
While you may be wondering why someone would remove such a key part of all Silent Hill games’ atmosphere, toning down the fog effect gives you a much better look at Ebisugaoka’s gorgeous environments (thanks, GR+).
You may recall a similar mod for Silent Hill 2 Remake and, like this one, gave us a better look at the titular town and its interior and exterior spaces.
Silent Hill f takes us to 1960s Japan, where we follow Hinako Shimizu, a teenager struggling under the pressure of expectations from her friends, family, and society. It’s official release date is tomorrow (September 25) across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S.
IGN’s Silent Hill f review returned a 7/10. We said: “Silent Hill f presents a fresh new setting to explore and a fascinatingly dark story to unravel, but its melee-focussed combat takes a big swing that doesn’t quite land.”
In case you’re wondering, no, Silent Hill f is not a sequel to any of the existing Silent Hill games, so you can play it even if you’ve never jumped into a Silent Hill game before. Instead, it offers a standalone story “independent from the series.”
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.
It looks like we have one announcement set for Sony’s State of Play in already: the release date of Nioh 3.
As reported by Gematsu, listings on Amazon Japan revealed a February 6, 2026 release date for Nioh 3 on PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. The listings, now removed, relate to the standard and Treasure Box editions of the game, and included box art.
The Treasure Box edition includes a B5-size official art book, a selection soundtrack CD, an original desk mat, and an Sunekosuri fur ball key chain.
PS5『仁王３』
2026年2月6日発売とAmazonが掲載してしまう。 「State of Play」で発表なのでは？
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.
My first game of Lost In The Open came to a sticky end in the borderlands, when my ragtag group of dog-eared bodyguards and hastily-recruited vagrants encountered the full flower of the Strathian military. Outnumbered, underlevelled and already bloodied, my warriors struggled to make a dent on the gleaming Strathian plate, and were swiftly surrounded and slaughtered.
It was at this point that I realised I had fled too efficiently through the mountains and forests. I should have spent more time grinding bandits, looting old forges, and putting aside resources for the inevitable midboss encounter. I’m not sure I can be blamed for my haste, though. After all, I am a nearly-dead king, the survivor of an assassination attempt during a diplomatic dinner, and there is a whole army sweeping over the countryside behind me.
Overnight, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio director and executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama introduced RGG Direct 2025, a livestream chiefly dedicated to a remake of the previously leakedYakuza 3, which will be released alongside the spin-off game, Dark Ties.
Yakuza 3 was released in 2009 — that’s over 15(!) years ago now — and Yokoyama said this remake “is the best iteration of the original game, Yakuza Kiwami 3.” Dark Ties, however, is a “new, never-before-seen story,” which means this essentially bundles two games in one package.
“Like a Dragon & Yakuza series will celebrate its 20th anniversary on December 8 of this year,” the team said. “We sincerely appreciate your continued support of RGG Studio.”
Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties
“We’re developing [Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties] based on the concept ‘a legend is reborn and a new legacy begins,'” Yokoyama added, after which chief producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto said that both Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 “directly link to this title.” Producer/director Ryosuke Horii introduced details about the upcoming game, which is out in February 2026.
“[Kiwami 3] is a total remake of 2009’s Yakuza 3,” he explained. “We’ve rebuilt it from the ground up using the latest technology developed by our talented staff. The game has evolved enormously with loads of new cutscenes and newly added game elements. I can proudly say that we’re delivering a game worthy of the Kiwami title.”
We had a good time with the original, awarding it 8.5/10 back in 2010, but while the remake follows Yakuza 3’s story, RGG has added cutscenes “that we weren’t able to fully deliver before.”
“Whether it’s Kiryu and his pal Rikiya Shimabukuro, or enemies like Mine, Kanda, and Hamazaki, we’ve further detailed their thoughts and actions to better depict the human condition and connection,” Horii added.
Additional scenes are not the only new things coming to the game, either. Players can expect re-recorded voice lines as well as brand new ones, and “overhauled” animations, with some scenes “changed drastically with different developments and outcomes.”
“In order to greatly outdo ourselves and make a game that everyone will love, we didn’t take the safe, defensive route by glorifying the past with a simple remake, but instead took a more aggressive approach to make Yakuza Kiwami 3,” Horii said.
🐉A LEGEND IS REBORN AND A NEW LEGACY BEGINS🐉 Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties releases Feb 12, 2026 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch™ 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam). 👉Digital pre-orders now live (link in bio)! Physical to follow in coming days.#YakuzaKiwami3… pic.twitter.com/hhIei4IUYv
— RGG Studio | Like a Dragon & Yakuza Series (@RGGStudio) September 24, 2025
The battle system has also been reworked so you can expect two kinds of battle style, Dragon of the Dojima: Kiwami and a brand new battle style, Ryukyu, which is inspired by generational Okinawan martial arts.
“For beyond a remake, Yakuza Kiwami 3 is a brand new title, vastly evolved from the original,” Horii added, after which Sakamoto explained the new Dark Ties story sees Yoshitaka Mine — chairman of the Hakuho Clan and a “popular character from the series” — as protagonist for the first time, joining the yakuza to “pursue unwavering bonds.”
Essentially a spinoff, Dark Ties is an action-adventure game that depicts the events leading up to Yakuza 3. It’s a story of the “gritty reality of human relationships in the criminal underworld,” with a “refined but cool” combat style centered around boxing.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties are out on February 12, 2026. You can pre-order now.
Yakuza Kiwami 1 and Yakuza Kiwami 2
Meanwhile, both Yakuza Kiwami 1 and Yakuza Kiwami 2 are coming to Nintendo Switch 2, with both physical and digital editions available, on November 13, 2025.
They’re also coming to PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S, albeit a little later on December 8, 2025.
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut
Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut is already available on Nintendo Switch 2, but it’s now also coming to PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S on December 8, 2025. Again, it’ll available both digitally and physically.
Live-action Yakuza 3
Details were slim here, admittedly, but a live-action production featuring Kazuma Kiryu is also on the way. The team working on this previously worked on one of Japan’s most popular crime series, Nihon Touitsu.
“Through the collaboration of the game and the live-action drama themed around the underworld, we’re creating a work to make Yakuza even more accessible to those unfamiliar with the series,” Yokoyama explained, adding that multilingual localization will also be available “to make this more accessible for those of you around the world.”
Stranger Than Heaven
To close out the livestream, fans were treated to a brief behind-the-scenes snippet of Stranger Than Heaven, which is also in development. We don’t get to see much, unfortunately — the video is only a couple of minutes long — but the team is making good progress, as showcased by a BTS peek at programming, mocapping, and more.
New Virtua Fighter Project
I’m afraid I have nothing additional to report here other than to reiterate that Yokoyama said a “new Virtua Fighter project” was on the way. Watch this space…
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.
Whoops, actionRPGNioh 3‘s release date has reportedly leaked via some swiftly pulled Amazon Japan listings. The apparent leak, which precedes a PlayStation State of Play showcase set for later today (September 24th), has also laid bare some deets as to what the game’s swankier Treasure Box Edition includes.
Accessory manufacturer HORI has lifted the lid on its latest licensed Switch 2 controller, the Wireless HORIPAD Turbo. It’s a colourful affair, with an overall design that looks uncannily close to Nintendo’s official offering, but there are a couple of caveats that stop it from quite toppling the mighty Pro Controller.
But let’s start with the positives. The Wireless HORIPAD Turbo boasts TMR sticks to reduce chances of the dreaded drift, full gyro control, mappable face and back buttons, a C Button, and a neat ‘Button Lock’ function to prevent you from accidentally hitting any of the middle buttons (+, -, Home and Screenshot) during particularly sweaty online matches. It also comes with its own HORI Button in the middle, which can be used for rapid inputs and setting up profile preferences.
Tokyo Game Show promotion comes to PlayStation Store on 24 September*! Enjoy up to 75% off on a huge range of incredible games until 8 October. Highlighted titles include DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Metaphor: ReFantazio and ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™.
Head to PlayStation Store to enjoy savings now!
PlayStation Plus
Players who join PlayStation Plus during 24 September to 8 October can save up to 33% on a PS Plus 12-month membership!
Current PlayStation Plus members can save up to 33% on the remainder of their membership when upgrading a current plan to PlayStation Plus Extra or Deluxe.**
With PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe, get access to monthly games, exclusive discounts, online multiplayer, and hundreds of games through the Game Catalog and Classics Catalog, including hit titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077 and many more. Explore the Classics Catalog with PlayStation Plus Deluxe, try select games like the epic DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH with Game Trials, and more.**
*Tokyo Game Show Promotion starts on 24 September 00:00 JST and concludes on 8 October 23:59 JST. Each title may have different sale periods. Please refer to the information in the title details page. Games featured in this promotion may not be part of this year’s Tokyo Game Show.
**Availability of Classics and Game Catalog varies over time, region/country, and plan. See https://www.playstation.com/Plus for details and updates on PlayStation Plus offerings. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose at purchase until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms
