Nintendo has confirmed the age of Donkey Kong Bananza sidekick Pauline, sparking questions regarding the young character’s timeline and how Bananza’s story will tally with previous titles — such as Mario’s original arcade game, where DK was famously portrayed as the villain and Pauline was his abductee.

In a character profile found on Donkey Kong Bananza’s Japanese website, Nintendo states that Pauline is a “13-year-old girl who loves to sing. She used to live above ground, but for some reason she was brought to the underground world and transformed into a rock.”

Yesterday’s reveal of this younger Pauline, during the Donkey Kong Bananza Nintendo Direct, strongly suggested she was the same music-loving version of the character seen in Nintendo Switch platformer Super Mario Odyssey, where a grown-up Pauline serves as both the mayor of New Donk City and the lead singer of a popular band.

Nintendo fans have been quick to highlight what this might mean for Pauline’s overall timeline — and the fact that DK and Pauline’s friendly team-up in Bananza is a very different vibe to the pair’s usual relationship of kidnapper and victim. Does something happen to DK, turning him evil? Or have we been getting Pauline and DK’s friendship wrong all these years?

Donkey Kong Bananza sees the two characters working together to help the teenage Pauline get back to the surface, in order to pursue her dream of becoming a world famous singer. Pauline’s appearance as a singer in Odyssey suggests that she does indeed make it.

But while Bananza looks story-wise to be an Odyssey prequel, the exact timeline here is somewhat unclear. Nintendo has never stated Pauline’s age in Odyssey, or in any of her other appearances, so it’s unknown how long before those events it is that Bananza takes place.

But by linking the character across these games through Pauline’s musical ambitions, it also highlights the fact that Odyssey’s Pauline does address her kidnapping by DK — something she describes as “traumatic.”

Pauline has been kidnapped by DK multiple times over the years. Most notably, she is saved from DK’s clutches in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, but she is then abducted again in various entries within the Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 series.

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Pauline is snatched by Donkey Kong after the she dares to pick a gift from Mario instead of DK. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, Pauline is kidnapped once more by an enraged DK, upset that he’s missed out on a theme park opening.

Later entries in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series paint Pauline’s interactions with DK in a kinder light, however, such as in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, where the two team up to host a mini-game, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, where the pair plan Mario a surprise party.

Does something happen to sour DK and Pauline’s relationship at the end of Donkey Kong Bananza, turning the ape from an ally to kidnapper? Will we see the events of the original Donkey Kong arcade game take place within Bananza, perhaps, with Mario coming in to save the day? Or have we been getting it wrong all these years?

Some fans have suggested that Bananza will turn the Mario universe on its head by revealing that DK and Pauline are in fact friends — and that Mario has been the villain all along, effectively stealing Pauline back when she’s just been hanging out with her pal.

Hopefully all will be revealed when Donkey Kong Bananza arrives as Nintendo’s next major Switch 2 launch on July 17, 2025.

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

Yesterday, the new patch 1.01.3 went live for Elden Ring Nightreign. It was a seemingly small patch, centered on bugs and quality-of-life tune-ups. It seemed like most players saw it and went about their day. But then, gradually, some started to notice a new option in their Expeditions menu.

A new Gaping Jaw undertaking, dubbed the “Everdark Sovereign,” was appearing on the Expeditions menu. Soon it became clear that FromSoftware had delivered on its promise to add enhanced bosses to Elden Ring Nightreign this month, and it did so without warning, letting players potentially stumble into the new venture. Watching the community piece this together, in the late hours of the night, was truly fantastic.

As confirmed this morning on Bandai Namco’s site, enhanced versions of current Nightlords—duibbed Everdark Sovereigns—will start appearing in Elden Ring Nightreign over the coming weeks. Each week, a new Sovereign will arrive in Limveld, with Gaping Jaw as the current Sovereign and both Sentient Pest and Darkdrift Knight due to get new, more challenging versions as well.

Everdark Sovereigns are only available while online, and each Sovereign will hang around for a week, then leave and get replaced by another one. You have to have beaten the base, original form of the Nightlord to challenge its Everdark Sovereign form.

Early reports from players indicate that this souped-up Gaping Jaw is, truly, enhanced. Videos of the fights show the empowered Adel zipping aruond the field, creating massive storms, and generally wiping the floor with entire trios of players in short order.

While you can tackle the Everdark Sovereign solo, or with friends and/or strangers, it seems like the new fight is truly adding some challenge, even for those who have been putting a lot of hours into Elden Ring Nightreign. To me, it’s reminiscent of Monster Hunter’s upgraded fights that get added post-launch, like Tempered versions of monsters, that seem meant to add extra challenge as players’ knowledge and power rises exponentially over time.

What’s the reward for felling an Everdark Sovereign? Well, a brand-new shop located in the hub area will let you spend all the Sovereign Sigils you’ll earn from a clear, and even this shop is a pretty exciting update. Alongside offering special Relics and other items, the Sigils allow playes to change the Roundtable Hold’s lighting, acquire the currently available skins, and set shifting earth statuses. The latter has been a major request from the community, and it’s great to see it addressed.

So while the patch notes for 1.01.3 were fairly unassuming at first, players now seem to feel like this is a huge update. The roll-out of enhanced bosses has already brought some new life and challenge back to Nightreign, and the promise of more to come is enticing, as are the new short-term pursuits to chase after.

Bandai Namco is also teasing this as the start of something: “This is only the beginning of the Everdark Sovereign cycle. As the power of the Night ebbs and wanes, the Sovereigns will soon return to the abyss they came from.” We already know Elden Ring Nightreign is due to get full updates down the road, so if this is an early indication of what we can expect, the long-term prospects for FromSoft’s new co-op survival action game seem good.

We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

We’re a little less than a month away from the release of Donkey Kong Bananza, and now it’s getting an adorable amiibo to release alongside it. The brand new amiibo for the game (which you can see here at Best Buy) features Donkey Kong and Pauline, who was recently confirmed to be your trusty sidekick in the game. She’s catching a ride on DK’s back, holding on to his necktie.

This new amiibo is currently listed for $29.99 and is set to release on July 17, which is the same day as Donkey Kong Bananza. If you want the full Donkey Kong setup for launch day, don’t miss out on picking up this amiibo at the link below.

Preorder Donkey Kong Bananza Amiibo

Fan-favorite rhythm game Beat Saber is ending support for PlayStation consoles.

From here on in, you shouldn’t expect any further updates or music packs if you play on PS4 or PS5, and from January 21, 2026, multiplayer support will also be withdrawn.

“As we look to the future and plan the next big leap for Beat Saber, we have made the decision to no longer release updates for PS4 and PS5 starting in June 2025,” the developer explained in a new FAQ entitled “End of Support for PS4/PS5” (thanks, Eurogamer).

“Our passion for VR remains unwavering. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and what we can bring to Beat Saber fans who have been on this journey with us over the past [seven] years.”

The update stressed that you will still be able to play Beat Saber and have access to all of your previously purchased content, and cross-buy “remains active” between the PS4 and PS5 base game. You can also still buy songs and music packs that were released on or before June 18 — just nothing added to the catalog from today (June 19) onwards.

“We’re grateful for the incredible support you’ve shown us over the years, and we’re excited to share what the future holds for Beat Saber,” the update concluded.

For many players, this feels very much like the final nail in the coffin for PlayStation’s VR aspirations, as Beat Saber is still one of PlayStation’s biggest VR titles. Fans seem split between laying the blame with Sony and the lack of support its given to its VR headset, and Meta “wanting their game to be the best on Quest.”

“Absolutely baffling decision,” said one player on the subreddit. “Beat Saber still regularly tops the sales charts on PSVR1 and 2, I think dropping support for PSVR1 is understandable but not supporting PSVR2 feels like an absolutely insane move given how popular the game is on that platform.”

“This is a massively stupid f***ing decision,” added another. “I can’t overstate how mad I am about this.”

Despite its impressive technical specs, the PSVR2 seemingly lost momentum following its release in 2023. In June last year, Android Central reported that Sony made “deep cuts to funding for VR,” with only two first-party PSVR2 games allegedly in development. Sony eventually gave PSVR2 a new lease on life by adding PC VR support, but mentions of the device have been few and far between since. PSVR2 recently dropped to match its all-time low price thanks to the PlayStation Days of Play sale.

“The PlayStation VR2 may seem pricey, given that it costs $150 more than the base PS5 Digital Edition console you’ll need to use it,” we wrote when we reviewed the PSVR2 on release. “Even so, it’s such a quantum leap over the original PSVR in terms of ease of use, visual quality, and immersion that any PlayStation owner who loves VR should upgrade as soon as possible.

“Its 4K HDR OLED screen and excellently tactile Sense controllers are the most obvious improvement, but plentiful quality-of-life changes and the raw horsepower of the PS5 set a new standard for how VR games should play and feel on console. The downside is that, like any new platform, its thin launch lineup makes its lack of backward compatibility with original PSVR games a significant problem, but one that will only improve as Sony and other developers roll out new games that take advantage of the PSVR2’s unique features.”

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.