Hyper Light Breaker, the upcoming roguelike prequel to Hyper Light Drifter, tasks you with trekking into the Overgrowth alone or with a friend in order to restore peace by defeating the Abyss King. Today we have two exclusive new gameplay videos to share with you. Both are boss fights.

The first, which you can watch above, pits you against Dro, described by the developers at Heart Machine as “a furious wolven warrior.” And the second, which you can watch below, showcases Exus, whom Heart Machine calls a “fierce gladiator.”

Hyper Light Breaker launches into Steam Early Access on Tuesday, January 14. Check out our first hands-on preview from 2023, and if you still want more, we previewed it again last year. Oh, and check back on Monday for one more exclusive gameplay video!

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.

Dale, Mat, and Jesse storm into 2025 with their opinions on Squid Game season 2 and discuss Jesse’s mad playstyle for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at length. “What do these have in common?” I hear you yell. Mass murder… lots of mass murder.

We also have an increased amount of feedback this week, with some juicy questions about cardigans and goodie hunting. Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you’re enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 782: Squid Game and Jesse’s Shocking KCD2 Playstyle

• IGN UK Podcast 781: The Big 2025 Movies and Games Preview
• IGN UK Podcast 780: The Alternative Game Awards 2024
• IGN UK Podcast 779: The Alternative Movie and TV Awards 2024
• IGN UK Podcast 778: The Game Awards Reveals and Ferry Fights
• IGN UK Podcast Special Episode: We Visited CD Projekt Red to Talk About The Witcher 4

Registrations for Elden Ring Nightreign’s hotly anticipated network test go live today, January 10. Here’s everything you need to know to put your name down.

The network test will be held on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S only, whereas the full game will also launch on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

To register, head to the Bandai Namco website and enter your details. It’s worth noting that registration closes January 20, and only offers a chance to join the Elden Ring Nightreign network test. The test is open to those who do not subscribe to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass Core.

Elden Ring Nightreign network test registration times:

• 6am PT, January 10
• 9am ET, January 10
• 2pm GMT, January 10
• 3pm CET, January 10
• 11pm JST, January 10

The test itself begins February 14 and ends February 17, with various session times planned. This means you won’t be able to play the network test throughout the entire four days, rather during five three-hour periods only.

Elden Ring Nightreign network test session timings:

• February 14: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
• February 14: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET
• February 15: 11am-2pm PT / 2pm-5pm ET
• February 16: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
• February 16: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET

The network test is a “preliminary verification test in which the selected testers play a portion of the game prior to the full game launch,” Bandai Namco said.

“This large-scale Network Stress Test is designed to evaluate various aspects of the online system’s functionality and performance.

“We are looking forward to your cooperation to make Elden Ring Nightreign even better.”

Bandai Namco has yet to say exactly what the Elden Ring Nightreign network test will offer, but did warn some text and game features may be different than in the final version.

Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware’s standalone co-operative spin-off set in a world parallel to that of 2022’s Elden Ring. It was announced at The Game Awards 2024 with a debut trailer, below, and a 2025 release window.

Last year IGN had the opportunity to visit FromSoftware and go hands-on with an early build of Elden Ring Nightreign. We came away impressed, stating that Elden Ring Nightreign “takes the cautious dungeon crawls of Elden Ring and turbocharges them into propulsive, slash ‘n’ dash speedruns.”

Check out IGN’s interview with game director Junya Ishizaki for even more on Elden Ring Nightreign.

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.

Ubisoft has seemingly leaked the first expansion for Japan-set Assassin’s Creed Shadows following its announcement of another delay.

As reported by Insider Gaming, the game’s Steam page was momentarily updated to include information on a 10-hour piece of downloadable content called Claws of Awaji, which will add a whole new map to the open-world game.

“Pre-purchase now to get a bonus mission and the upcoming Claws of Awaji expansion,” the Steam page read. “Travel to a new region, get over 10 hours of additional content, and unlock a new weapon type, new skills, gear, and abilities.”

The phrasing is a little confusing, as it makes it sound as though Claws of Awaji will only be available to those who pre-purchase the game, similar to the previously announced “bonus mission” Thrown to the Dogs. This would be unusual, however, as major expansions such as this are usually reserved for Season Passes.

That being said, Ubisoft is ditching the Season Pass model for Assassin’s Creed Shadows following major practice shake-ups in the wake of Star Wars Outlaws underperforming. Alongside scrapping the Season Pass, which would typically let players access two larger expansions for an additional $30 or so, Ubisoft is cancelling plans to charge players more to play on launch day. It is therefore assumed DLC expansions such as Claws of Awaji will be made free for all players.

Though details are restricted to the brief paragraph published to Steam, the name Claws of Awaji does shed some light on what players will find in the DLC. Ubisoft quietly revealed Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ world map in the Collector’s Edition trailer, which showed nine detailed regions plus one small island left blank.