Unravel the Dark Fantasy World of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

Summary

Discover more about the world of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, coming to Xbox Series X|S on April 17.
Brian Mitsoda, who penned the story and its fantasy world, shares insights about development.
Branching narrative, where choices you make define your character’s fate and the fate of Faelduum.

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is an ambitious action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. Developed by Primal Game Studio, it features challenging Soulslike combat and an expansive story that promises over 40 hours of gameplay.

With six classes to master, an intricate Talent Tree system to progress, and a sprawling, interconnected world to discover, this is a world you can truly succumb to.

Find out more about how Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree immerses you in its dark fantasy with insights from writer Brian Mitsoda.

Defy Your Fate, Inquisitor

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is set in the world of Faelduum. Inspired by myths, folklore, and fairy tales, this is a land where magic is very real, but outlawed.

City-states are governed by tyrannical archmages, and justice is done upon magic-using ‘heretics’ by Inquisitors. You play one such Inquisitor, whose fateful decision at the start of the game sets them on a path of defiance that will lead them to the darkness festering in the heart of Faelduum.

“Personally, one of the things that drew me to the project was the strong Castlevania influence, as that’s one of my favorite games series of all time,” says writer Brian Mitsoda, who shaped the lore, characters, and worldbuilding in Mandragora together with the team at Primal Game Studio.

“The dark fantasy elements reminded me of Berserk, and there was also a bit of traditional folk tale and fairy tale influence.”

Some of that influence can be seen in the monsters. From wild wolves to bloodthirsty vampires and other creatures of the night, there’s a veritable bestiary out for your blood. Blades (or spells) at the ready, then.

Entropy Is Coming

At the beginning of your Inquisitor’s quest, they discover that monsters are bleeding into Faelduum through tears in reality created by the mysterious, parallel plane of Entropy. The path forward is clear: Entropy must be cut off if Faelduum is to survive. And to do that, you’ll have to contend with legions of beasts and even more challenging bosses.

But even with world-ending stakes, Brian says it’s important to keep players focused on having a good time.

“The most important part of the game is the gameplay, so for me, I always ask how I can complement it without bringing it to a grinding halt,” says Brian.

“For example, if you’re fighting a bandit, I want you to know why they’re in your path aside from the fact that they’re called “bandits” and they’ve got enemy HP bars over their heads. If you want to know more, you can get some information from the environments and bestiary. If you pay attention to background dialogue, you’ll learn more about the state of the area.”

Characters are vividly brought to life by a cast of incredible voice actors—including Aysha Selim (Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft)—with many unique regional accents fleshing out the geographical scope and cultures of Faelduum.

Ripples Through Reality

“I’ve been playing video games since I was old enough to hold a controller, but what made me want to write them is that, unlike traditional mediums, the player can have a more active role in deciding everything—from their relationship with a character to the way the world is changed by their actions. There’s an active element in game design that makes everything feel a lot more personal.”

With Brian’s background in branching narratives, it’s no surprise that players will be presented with choices at various points in the game.

“We let the player define who the Inquisitor is with their dialogue and story choices, so the main character’s fate isn’t set in stone,” says Brian.

And though the world is extremely dark and cynical, he believes there is “hope for redemption” for your Inquisitor. But that choice lies in your hands.

Finally, Brian has one piece of advice for new Inquisitors set to begin their quests in Mandragora: “Don’t sleep on the Caravan character quests. You get to learn a lot more of their secrets if you do these. Really happy with the way they came out!”

What will you become at journey’s end? Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree is coming to Xbox Series X|S on April 17. Add it to your wishlist and discover the fate of Faelduum for yourself soon!

Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

Knights Peak

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Slash, burn, and rage your way through Mandragora, a 2.5D side-scroller action-RPG with deep Metroidvania and Soulslike elements. Light your Witch Lantern, enter the dark realm of Entropy, and tear reality asunder.

UNIQUE SIDESCROLLING SOULSLIKE
Traverse 2.5D side-scrolling levels with skill-driven combat that deals punishment and reward in equal brutal measure. From the leering Caretaker to the Vampires of Braer Island, face ruthless foes and uniquely horrifying bosses that will make or break you.

FALL INTO A DARK FANTASY WORLD
Get lost in a rich and atmospheric world brought to life by timeless painterly art direction and the epic, twisted music of Christos Antoniou. Discover every detail with Metroidvania exploration, tearing down crumbling walls, utilizing new skills such as ground strike, and scaling buildings with your grappling hook.

A BRANCHING TALE OF LOST HUMANITY
Acquire the legendary Witch Lantern and enter the otherworldly plane of Entropy through tears in the fabric of reality. Make devastating choices in a sinister and immersive story by acclaimed writer Brian Mitsoda.

SLAY YOUR WAY
From Vanguard to Spellbinder, master one of multiple unique classes and customize your skills and powers through a deep and satisfying character development system. Find Artisans to join your Caravan and unlock new upgrades, and craft powerful weapons, armor and trinkets to help you die less and deal death faster. And when all is said and done, restart stronger and wiser with new difficulty levels in New Game Plus.

The post Unravel the Dark Fantasy World of Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree appeared first on Xbox Wire.

The Cooperative Board Game Jumanji Stampede Is on Sale for $9

Some of you may have fond memories of a 1986 game called Fireball Island, which was notable for incorporating physical obstacles into play, in the form of marbles that rolled down random paths on the 3D board, knocking over player figures. That got a middling 2018 rework in the form of Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar (see it at Amazon), but if you want similar game concepts at a cheaper price, married to a blockbuster movie licence, then Jumanji Stampede is the game for you. And right now it’s on sale at Amazon for just $9.06, which is less than the cost of lunch.

Save 46% Off Jumanji Stampede

Jumanji Stampede is a cooperative board game in which players move around the 3D island, uncovering tokens that will either result in the drawing a card, for good or bad effects, or finding one of the crystals they’ll need to win the game. Crystals need to be returned to the correct locations for victory but there’s also a villain figure who moves according to a dice roll, and you all lose if he reaches the mountaintop before you finish placing crystals. It’s a fun race, in other words, with lots of excitement and some basic tactical elements that make it a great family board game or board game for kids.

What makes it stand out, however, are the dangers lurking at spots around the island. Boulders will roll down paths, animals will physically launch out of trees or hidey-holes and fly over the board. Anything in their way gets knocked over, in a moment of high tension as you wait to see what will collide with what. Player figures lose life bars, which is another way to lose the game if too many injuries are accumulated.

While Jumanji Stampede isn’t about to win any awards in the hobby gaming sphere, it does what it does extremely well. It looks great on the tabletop, appealing to the primal part of all of us that likes silly, novel toys, but also uses those components in a fast, fun game with plenty of surprises and some basic strategy that doesn’t run on and outstay its welcome.

See more cool board games

Matt Thrower is a contributing freelance writer for IGN, specializing in tabletop games. You can reach him on BlueSky at @mattthr.bsky.social.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Gets Surprise Free Weapon DLC After Months Without an Update

BioWare has almost entirely moved on from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but that isn’t stopping its remaining team from sneakily adding a small DLC weapons pack to the game.

Dragon Age fans gathered in shock after the RPG’s Steam page was updated to include free add-on content in the form of the Rook’s Weapons Appearance Offer yesterday. It’s not much but still more than welcome considering EA had previously signaled that Dragon Age: The Veilguard wouldn’t receive much support in the future. As its fifth patch promised that future updates would largely focus on tackling game-breaking bugs all the way back in January, brand-new content feels like a bit of a miracle – even if it’s not much.

Strangely, the Rook’s Weapons Appearances bundle is only available to those who currently own the game and those who purchase it on PC by April 8, 2025. There’s no description of what is specifically included in the bundle either, though players have worked out that it grants access to a set of Watchful skins that can be accessed in their Rook’s in-game room. It’s unclear if the offer will become available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S versions of the game.

“Even if these appearances aren’t the most, uh, beautiful things ever,” one Steam review says, “they do give spooky eldritch horror vibes!”

“It’s cosmetic DLC, but it’s essentially free DLC for a game that’s practically no longer getting newer content,” one Redditor said. “I’ll live with that.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard launched to positive reviews from critics in October but, according to EA, failed to “resonate with a broad enough audience.” Lead members of its team announced they would be leaving BioWare in late January as much of its staff was either laid off or moved to other roles within the company. At the time, EA told IGN that the studio had shifted to put its “full focus” on the next Mass Effect.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard joined the lineup of PlayStation Plus March 2025 titles, just four months removed from its launch. No other plans for its future have been announced.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition’s PEGI Rating Adds ‘Sex’ Label, Spurring Confusion Over What the Heck Changed

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is out now for the Nintendo Switch, and European fans are picking up their copies, turning them over, and getting a bit of a surprise when they see the PEGI Rating lists “Sex” among the labeled content warnings.

As spotted by NintendoLife, fans noticed a difference between the Wii U and Switch versions of Xenoblade Chronicles X. While the original Wii U version from 2015 is rated PEGI 12 for Violence and Bad Language, the Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch retains a PEGI 12 rating but adds Sex to its labels.

Naturally, the addition of that label has spurred confusion. As one fan on X/Twitter put it bluntly: “WHAT DID THEY ADD??”

WHAT DID THEY ADD?? pic.twitter.com/hUVx0qjOge
— molly! (@starfallblossom) March 20, 2025

The label didn’t escape the notice of players across various forums, who promptly began to jokingly speculate about the actual content differences. “First game came out before they invented sex,” one user said.

Granted, there are outfits that can be a little form-fitting, but the outright “Sex” label was a little surprising. As it turns out, the answer might be fairly mundane.

Over on the PEGI website, the ratings board specifically notes the PEGI 12 rating is for “moderate violence, use of bad language and sexual innuendo.” The content-specific issues dive deeper into the details; here’s the passage, with the innuendo portion bolded for emphasis:

This game contains depictions of non-realistic violence towards human characters. Throughout the game the player and their party will be struck and hurt by enemies. Human characters grunt in pain and can be knocked back or down to the ground with no visible blood or injury. This game also features depictions of realistic violence to fantasy characters. One cut-scene in the game depicts a character impaling an alien creature, accompanied by blood effects. This game contains the use of bad language including ‘bastard’, ‘piss’ and ‘asshole’. Players can choose text and voice lines for characters to use in combat. Some of the female options have sexual innuendos, such as: “I’m going in for a quickie”

The Wii U rating notes none of this, though users on Reddit have noted that Xenoblade Chronicles X’s script did contain at least a few mentions of reproduction and suggestive language. Considering the PEGI rating itself has changed, this seems like a reflection of the ever-changing decision-making around ratings boards and labels, rather than some notion of a drastically tone-altering addition in the Definitive Edition’s expanded content.

For our review of Xenoblade Chronicles X, we gave the updated version of Monolith Soft’s sci-fi open-world RPG a 9, saying: “Xenoblade Chronicles X was already one of the Wii U’s best games, and this Definitive Edition does more than enough to justify another trip to planet Mira.”

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the Steam Deck surprise of the year so far

Who can say what made Ubisoft change their minds on Steam Deck support for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the pretty good samurai stealther that previously stated an intention to go without. Perhaps a high-ranking executive, visiting family to invite them to a trip on his spare yacht, had his frozen heart melted by the sight of a Naoe-cosplaying granddaughter clutching a Steam Deck OLED in her clearly-too-small-for-it hands. Perhaps.

It works, is the main thing. And works well – remarkably well, actually, considering not just the previous denial and 11th hour U-turn, but the game’s high PC system requirements and at least partially mandatory ray tracing. This does come at the cost of a severely stripped-down quality settings menu, and you’ll still need to sign into a Ubisoft Connect account even if you own Shadows on Steam, but there’s no doubt that its Steam Deck Verified status is deserved.

Random: Xenoblade Chronicles X On Switch Has A New ‘Sex’ Warning, But Why?

It’s not as risqué as you might think.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on Switch has been rated 12+ by PEGI (Pan European Game Information), just like every other entry in the series.

What folks have seemingly noticed, however, is that the new release comes with an added ‘sex’ warning as part of the overall rating; something that wasn’t present on the original Wii U version. Observe the below post from @starfallblossom on social media; they post a comparison of both physical editions with a caption that reads “WHAT DID THEY ADD??:

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Detective Dotson Puts You in the Shoes of a Reluctant Hero in Modern Day India

Category: ID@Xbox

March 21, 2025

Detective Dotson Puts You in the Shoes of a Reluctant Hero in Modern Day India

Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor

Detective Dotson is far and away one of the most charming games I’ve played this year. It’s as if you were to throw Ace Attorney and classic Monkey Island games together, wrap it up in a Bollywood film, and then set it in modern-day India. That should give you an idea of what independent developer Masala Games is trying to achieve, as Detective Dotson is fast approaching its April 24, 2025, release date for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC with support for Xbox Play Anywhere.

The developer, which houses talent that has worked at studios like Pixar, Electronic Arts, and Prana, was one of the featured teams at this year’s ID@Xbox Showcase during GDC and it was a standout experience for me at the show — I also had a chance to speak with Director Sharlin Shodhan separately about the game’s support for Xbox Play Anywhere.

In Detective Dotson, you take on the role of the title character, an aspiring actor turned amateur detective who is trying to track down who killed his father. That’s the high-level pitch. But the fun of the game are the wild adventures he’ll embark on as he becomes a more honed gumshoe, taking on unexpectedly riveting cases like who shunned someone from attending a prominent tea party, or who’s responsible for stealing someone’s lunch to ruin a film production.

These lighthearted quests play out in a traditional adventure game style, where you guide Dotson across a 2D plane with a brightly colored, Indian-influenced 3D backdrop, talking with other characters for clues, picking up objects for your inventory, scanning the environments for hints, and taking down notes to later piece all your evidence together.

Once all your notes and clues are assembled, you’ll then head to an evidence board to solve the active case. Here you’ll effectively move sticky notes with clues on them like, “Broke Up With,” “Trained by,” and “Hides in,” to then draw lines between all your suspects to solve the mystery at hand.

What I enjoyed the most during my time with the game is that it taps into classic adventure gaming, a genre I love. It’s not quite point-and-click, but it’s similar enough in its functions that it scratches that adventure game itch. It also feels like an incredibly accessible, cozy experience that gamers of all skill levels will be able to enjoy.

It also looks like nothing I’ve seen before, with its brightly colored world, diverse characters, and dance-offs. I’m not proficient in the realm of Indian customs, but the game does a good job of easing you into the experience with its terminology, presentation of characters, as well as the cases you’re given. There’s a reason why being shunned from a tea party can have a dramatic impact on someone’s social standing, which makes it the kind of thing Dotson would want to solve for – who seems to not only be a better detective than advertised, but also a standup dude who is just trying to do right in his community.

Even though my demo was short, it’s clear there are many more layers to explore within Detective Dotson, ones that I’m eager to uncover. This lighthearted story of a reluctant hero has already moved to the top of my “Can’t Wait to Play More of This” list – which thankfully isn’t a long wait: Detective Dotson is set to launch April 24, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC with support for Xbox Play Anywhere.

The post Detective Dotson Puts You in the Shoes of a Reluctant Hero in Modern Day India appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Share of the Week: Monster Hunter Wilds – Monsters

Last week, we asked you to focus your lens on the various monsters of Monster Hunter Wilds using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

shimo_ps shares their hunter taking on an Arkveld in the desert

xenobitz shares a Lala Barina in the dark forest

SyrenSigh shares a slimy Nu Udra

Lny_Trpr_EE7 shares an angry long-horned Rey Dau

Photoingame shares a Guardian Rathalos

LeeeshP shares a Arkveld attacking in a cave

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Assassin’s Creed Shadows
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on March 26, 2025

Next week, leap into Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and share epic moments of Naoe and Yasuke exploring feudal Japan using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Gets Shiny Pokémon, Ranked Matches, and More in Update Next Week

It’s time for a new booster set in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and it’s introducing quite a bit to the game when it arrives. Shining Revelry, the next themed booster pack for Pokémon TCG Pocket, arrives on March 27, 2025, introducing Shiny Pokémon, ranked matches, and the Paldea region’s trainers and Pokémon.

As part of the new booster, Shining Revelry will introduce Shiny variants of popular Pokémon, including Charizard ex, Lucario ex, and Pachirisu. You can see a preview of what they’ll look like in the latest Pokémon TCG Pocket teaser below:

The Shiny variants not only add some extra sparkle and shine to these Pokémon, but also change their color schemes. For Pokémon TCG Pocket, the Shiny Pokémon cards will sparkle when tilted, adding to the effect. Fans of the Shiny look can also get a Shiny Charizard display board and binder starting on April 1.

Themed booster sets, like Mythical Island or Triumphant Light, are typically smaller sets with fewer cards compared to larger sets like Genetic Apex or Space-Time Smackdown. That doesn’t mean they aren’t making some interesting additions to the sets, though. Shining Revelry will bring the Paldea region from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to Pokémon TCG Pocket, introducing the likes of Tatsugiri and Sprigatito, as well as the trainer Iono.

Ranked matches are also launching on March 27, letting players battle and earn emblems based on their end-of-season rank to display on their profile. The first season will run from March 27 to April 26.

Recently, the Pokemon TCG Pocket team confirmed it would be changing the trading system, which has earned the ire of players looking to exchange cards and round out their collections. The actual changes will be rolling out gradually though, so we’ll see if the suprisingly robust drop for Shining Revelry mollifies the community or not.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Amazon Is Having a Massive Resurge in Pokémon TCG Stock, Uses International Resources to Tackle Shortage

I expected Pokémon TCG restocks in 2025, but not this soon. While everyone scrambles for Prismatic Evolutions and floods paid Discord servers hunting for Rival Destinies, the smart move is picking up older sets from the Scarlet & Violet and Sword & Shield eras before they disappear—especially now that Amazon just got a massive restock.

You won’t find Prismatic Evolutions or much Surging Sparks stock just yet, but for collectors, this is a gold mine. ETBs, Big Boxes, Booster Bundles, and more are all here—straight from Amazon Global. That means stock has been pulled from the UK and other regions to ensure wider availability.

This is exactly what the community needs: a flood of inventory that makes botting and scalping far less appealing. I’ve dug through everything, and just to make things easier, sorted it all by category alongside a handy TL;DR just below.

Pokémon TCG: Elite Trainer Boxes

All of these ETBs are harder to come by thanks to Pokémania 2025. There’s some amazing cards to be found in these sets, from Greninja Secret Art Rare (214/167) found in Twilight Masquerade to The Loyal Three Secret Art Rare set found in Shrouded Fable.

Pokémon TCG: Booster Bundles and Blisters

Surging Sparks Booster Bundle is the biggest restock here thanks to the infamous Pikachu ex Secret Illustration Rare (238/191) and the sets other amazin cards such as Latias ex Special Illustration Rare (239/191) and Milotic ex Special Illustration Rare (237/191). It’s also a great time to snap up from Brilliant Stars boosters, with chances of pulling Charizard V Alternate Art (154/172) and the stunning trainer gallery sub-set.

Pokémon TCG: Big Box Products

Whilst these are the most awkward thing to display or store for collectors, there’s some cool promo cards and accessories for TCG players. There’s even some discounts knocking around, such as the Paradox Fury Premium collection down 12% at $60.11. This is probably one of the better boxes to buy from this restock as it’s a 2024 Amazon holiday exclusive.

Pokémon TCG: Tins

There’s a collectors scene for just the tins people, and they come in handy for storing bulk, dice, sleeves and whgatever else trainers need to their battles.

A good tip here is to buy anything with a Pokémon V card as their promo card. This means you’ll get Sword and Shield era booster packs inside, which are going to be harder and harder to find as we move into the second half of 2025.

If you looking for frequent updates on Pokémon TCG products, I’m constantly updating Where To Buy Prismatic Evolutions, Prismatic Evolutions Super Premium Collection, and Best Pokémon TCG deals.

Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.