The city-building genre is grossly overpopulated. Competing Simvilles predicated on wholly opposed theories about plumbing and traffic wardens stretch as far as the eye can see. As such, the genre must imitate real-life urban centres of the 20th century, and begin expanding vertically. Enter Stario: Haven Tower, the new strategy management sim from Chinese developers Stargate Games, in which you build upward through the realms of Sand, Mist, Rain, Frost, and Clear Skies until finally, your city stands among the Stars.
I’ve yet to fully consume Consume Me, so please take that headline with a pinch of salt (not too much, because apparently salt can cause short-term weight gain). Still, I thought I’d rush out a quick “on sale now” piece before the weekend because this game is extremely good, and I worry based on the Steam stats that it’s being overlooked.
It’s a fast-talking, mildly anguished pocket RPG about a high schoolgirl, Jenny, who is trying to lose weight while balancing schoolwork, domestic duties, an emerging social life, and her domineering mom. It broadly consists of household tasks and Coming Of Age Milestones couched as a bunch of Wario Ware-style timed minigame puzzles. Among other antics, you’ll fold laundry by clicking on cue, manage a (dis)interest bar during a terrible date, apply your make-up as though doodling yourself in Kid Pix, and surgically arrange food on your plate while passing carbier morsels to your absurdly squishy dog.
Dying Light: The Beast has rolled out a hotfix to ensure all players who pre-ordered the game can get their Kyle Crane Legacy Skin. This means that if you’ve updated to version 1.2.2, you only have to check your in-game stash to find it.
It follows a number of other brief updates deployed since the standalone zombie game released on September 18, most recently Hotfix 1.2.1 which addresse the “indoor rain and disturbed day/night cycle” issue and similarly popped the APEX Car Skin into the in-game stash for all who pre-ordered the game or own it through the Dying Light 2 Ultimate Edition.
Techland had spotted the weather abnormalities shortly after launch, promising players it was “aware that you’re experiencing issues with Indoor Rain and the Disturbed Day/Night Cycle, and fixing them is our top priority.” But because the bug only appeared in “rare situations, it takes a lot of extra testing.”
Commenters on the post expressed relief that the hotfix had been sent out, although some are still asking for more information about ray tracing, stuttering, frame drops, and memory leaks.
In Dying Light: The Beast you play Kyle Crane, a legendary hero who breaks free after years of brutal experiments. It’s currently sitting on a ‘Very Positive’ Steam review rating, and secured a 7/10 in our recent review, in which we called it “a goofy, bloody sequel with a monstrous twist, but doesn’t do much else to mix things up.”
Dying Light: The Beast Hotfix 1.2.2 Patch Notes:
If you’ve pre-ordered the game, this update makes your Kyle Crane Legacy Skin automatically granted from the server. After updating, check your in-game stash – if it’s not there immediately, it should appear shortly.
Dying Light: The Beast Hotfix 1.2.1 Patch notes:
The fix addresses the issues with Indoor Rain and the Disturbed Day/Night Cycle.
Once the hotfix will be live on all platforms, the APEX Car Skin will be waiting in the in-game stash for all of you who pre-ordered the game or own it through the Dying Light 2 Ultimate Edition.
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.
If you’re excited to dive deep into Dragon Quest I & II HD Remake on 30th October, well, you’ll be able to do that quite literally, as Square Enix has shown off a brand new region, added to Dragon Quest II specifically, in this remake (thanks, Gematsu!).
The Seabed is (as you’d expect) an underwater region that you’ll be able to access as soon as you get the boat. And it’s here where you’ll meet the merfolk, who live in the aptly-named Mersea. But there’s no time to relax, as they’re being threatened by monsters.
Next Week on Xbox: New Games for September 30 to October 3
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles Deluxe Edition
The Kingdom of Ivalice has fallen into civil war. Lead your party in exhilarating encounters where strategic positioning and forward planning determine the outcome. With improved graphics, fully voiced dialogue, and refined gameplay, the enhanced version provides the perfect way to immerse yourself in the world of Ivalice. The classic version unites the graphics and gameplay of the original 1997 version with the renowned War of the Lions translation for a unique way to experience this beloved title.
Play as rogue Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks in the terrifying first chapter of a two-part saga set between the “Alien” and “Aliens” films. Sent to investigate a distress call on the remote planet Purdan, Zula uncovers a secret Weyland-Yutani blacksite overrun by deadly Xenomorphs. Pre-order now and get a cosmetic “Alien: Romulus” themed armor skin and weapon skin.
Compete against your friends in wacky Challenge Zones and 60 hilarious minigames from across your favorite LEGO sets like LEGO Pirates, LEGO Space, LEGO Ninjago and more. Join your friends online no matter their platform, or get together for a LEGO Party game night. Pre-order LEGO Party! now and score 5 awesome minifigures. Let the party begin!
Expect the Unexpected in Train Sim World 6! Be ready for anything as you master formidable trains across 3 routes. Handle the unexpected with random events, signals may take longer to clear, or speed restrictions may be in place. With Conductor Mode, Free Roam, Creators Club, Photo Mode and more, embark on your own journey in your own way. Pick up the Deluxe and Special editions to start playing early on September 25.
Digimon Story Time Stranger Ultimate Edition Pre-Order
Digimon Story Time Stranger is an RPG with monster-taming elements that explores the deep bond between humans and Digimon in an epic story that unravels the mystery of the world’s collapse. Embark on an adventure that spans across the human world and Digital World, collecting and raising a diverse array of Digimon to fight in turn-based battles.
Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is a vibrant, universe-spanning mashup that brings iconic Nickelodeon heroes into a world of fantasy-style tropes and real-time RPG action. With the Deluxe Edition, unlock a whole new costume for every hero with the Wardrobe of Wonder Pack. Gear up, cast spells, and charge into chaos—your destiny has never looked this good!
The Grinch: Christmas Adventures – Merry & Mischievous Edition
Explore more of Who-ville in the Merry & Mischievous Edition of The Grinch: Christmas Adventures. Snowboard down from the Grinch’s Caves in Mount Crumpit, sleigh through the Forest, and even parachute through the Village, spreading Christmas cheer. If you’re feeling Grinchy, join the Grinch and Max on a sneaky mission to steal presents. Do you think you can help his heart grow three sizes?
Keep an eye on the time to ensure you make the most of your week in the psychospherical house of Mouthole. Solve puzzles and unravel mysteries to forge convoluted paths of discovery and exploration. Navigate quotidian existence. Crawl into your mouth. Brush your teeth?
Being architect is easy: explore the level, craft the necessary building materials, and order workers to build. You can play alone or with friends up to 4 players. Discover all the architectural secrets!
Follow the rainbow, find the gold! In Cloud to Gold, every puzzle is a magical mix of logic and charm. You play as a mischievous leprechaun on a quest to push clouds, fill holes, and create rainbow paths that lead straight to the legendary pot of gold.
A new life awaits you in Honeywood! After washing onto the island’s shores, you’ll find yourself the newly minted owner to a humble plot of land. Pull up your sleeves, grab your tools, and get to work building a farm that will last not only a lifetime, but span generations! Echoes of Plum Grove is a casual, cozy farm simulator where your decisions have consequences! What to plant, what to stock for the winter, and who to befriend will shape not only the town of Honeywood, but the island itself.
Do you ever feel alone? Like no matter what you do, it is not good enough? Follow the characters along their journey of fighting negative emotions and finding purpose. The game includes 8 unique mini game styled boss fights that take you through a story loop across 3 gradually increasing difficulty versions, for a total of 24 levels, all with a special twist. Navigate the surprises of frustration, the doubts of confusion, and the challenges of arrogance to make it to the other side of this compact narrative adventure.
The Demon Lord is attacking and it’s up to you to help Leena-senpai defend against devilish minions! Notice Me Leena-senpai! is a lighthearted tactical tower defense game with visual novel storytelling. As war breaks out between demons and humans, defend the All-Girls School of Magic with 28 unique towers across 10 worlds. Strategically place and upgrade units in grid lanes, earn gold for power-ups, and survive endless waves!
Embark on an epic adventure in Tiny Archer, a breathtaking 2D platformer set in a dangerous, slime-infested dungeon! As a nimble archer, fight through 20 treacherous levels filled with cunning slimes, each requiring clever tactics to defeat. Master wall-jumping to navigate deadly traps, collect crystals, and grab powerful quivers that unleash triple-shot barrages of devastating power. With precise controls and diverse enemies, Tiny Archer offers thrilling combat and exploration.
Galacticon is a video game with the look and feel of early 1980s arcade machines, in the style of Williams classics such as Defender and Joust, with the gameplay of the legendary Jetpac, and with puzzle elements.
Compete in a co-op party platformer, pitting up to 4 players against official and community-built devious dungeons filled with puzzles to solve, challenges to traverse, and ridiculous monsters to fight. Progression is more fun with friends, but there can only be one name at the top of the leaderboards.
Leaving his home colony while tracking a mysterious glitch, an android finds himself in the midst of a vast and dangerous structure, completely hidden from his people’s knowledge. Unable to go back, you must keep going to find out where he is being led… and why he left in the first place.
Sharpen your axes and get ready to slide into adventure! You play as a bold viking whose mission is clear: gather every chest of gold the land has to offer. Whether you’re after a casual puzzle to relax with or a series of smart challenges to conquer, Slide Viking delivers a journey full of brains, treasure, and plenty of sliding fun.
How long can you play with Death? Death comes for everyone, and now it’s your turn — but you didn’t expect it to want to read your future. Play your cards the right way and keep your Karma balanced — the closer to zero, the better. Try to achieve the highest score possible in this roguelike!
As a Slavic warrior named Svaran, you must overcome not only magical creatures and lethal contraptions, but also a terrible curse that has turned your body to stone. You need to keep your kill streak going—otherwise your body will begin to disintegrate, eventually costing you limbs and the ability to wield weapons! Castle of Heart: Retold is a massively upgraded and expanded version of the original game, featuring significant enhancements across gameplay, story, visuals, and more.
Car Driving School Simulator offers the ultimate experience for mastering car driving, from basic skills to extreme maneuvers, transforming you into a highly skilled driver. Whether you’re passionate about car drive simulator games, enjoy the challenge of car parking games, or seek a realistic bus simulator experience—even aspiring to be a school bus driver—this game caters to every car enthusiast. Immerse yourself in a car simulator world, tackling exciting challenges.
Go Fight Fantastic is a 1-3 player hack-and-slash starring a crew of interstellar smugglers, led by their space-dog captain Bowie. When they stumble into an invasion during a mission to Bird Planet, they become the only hope of this once peaceful world. Team up in co-op (local and online) or switch between the different characters on-the-fly in solo play.
Unleash chaos and creativity in Castle Crumble! Journey through colorful worlds, from lush jungles to mysterious islands, and destroy mighty fortresses with explosive power. Every castle is a unique puzzle, built to challenge your tactics and imagination. Use cannons, bombs, magical rays and devastating boosters like meteors or shockwaves to bring down walls in glorious chain reactions. With over 300 levels across six worlds, Castle Crumble offers endless fun for players who love strategy, destruction, and spectacular physics.
Judero is an action/adventure game inspired by the rich folk history of the Scottish Borders. You play as Judero, a Celt who can establish a rapport with the nature around him. Travel with Judero through a handcrafted landscape as he discovers there is an evil at work manipulating the unguarded.
Wild fireballs have gone haywire, and you must shoot them down using your special hookshot. Gain access to various powerups, such as freezing movement, replenishing countdown time, faster shots, upgraded defenses, and more. Can you clear each level before time runs out without getting burned?
Dinosaurs went extinct once, don’t let it happen again! Runasaurus Rex: Origins is a thrilling endless runner where you take control of Rex, a fearless T-Rex on a desperate race for survival. Dash, jump, and dodge your way through dangerous terrain as you try to outrun extinction itself!
Rent a house for one night and find out why no one ever stays. In Stay Still, you play as Nam, trapped in a home scarred by a 2008 crime. Explore oppressive rooms, solve environmental puzzles, and avoid at all costs the spirits that stalk you. There’s no combat here—if you want to live to tell the tale, you’ll need to run, hide, and sharpen your ears.
In Possessor(s), you’ll play as Luca, a girl trapped in the ruins of her city in the aftermath of an attack by extra-dimensional demons.
Luca doesn’t exactly have a lot of experience fighting anyone… she used to be a pretty regular kid! But Sanzu City is full of demons who need killing, and Luca doesn’t exactly have any weapons lying around to kill them with.
To defend herself and Rhem, her allied demon, Luca will have to scrounge for makeshift weapons all over Sanzu. Rhem will give her the power to turn some of the simple household items she finds into much-more-deadly ones.
Wield what you have
Luca has two kinds of attacks: Weapons, which she can use at any time to batter her enemies, and Special Weapons, which spend Charges. Luca can earn additional Charges of her Specials by making successful hits with her regular Weapon.
When Luca wakes up in the ruins of Sanzu, the only Weapon she can find is a pair of kitchen knives. But soon, she’ll start collecting some even stranger items.
In the Campus, Luca can get her hands on an Electric Guitar. She can charge it up and perform a massive ground smash, sending a shockwave at her enemies. The Guitar is a slow but powerful weapon. When you’re wielding it, you’ll have to choose your timing well!
In the Sunken City housing development, Luca might find the Hockey Stick. This weapon is great for performing quick, deadly sweeps, and hitting enemies who are standing further away. Its attacks can also be chained into aerial combos against flying or juggled enemies.
Luca can pair either of these Weapons with up to three Special Weapons by assigning them to different directional inputs. This allows you to build your own combos.
For example, Luca’s Computer Mouse Special is great for knocking enemies into the air, where they can be juggled by the Hockey Stick’s aerial combo. The Cell Phone special shocks enemies around the player, which may stun them long enough for her to smash them with her Guitar.
One of Luca’s strange Specials is a pair of cool Sunglasses. Activating them right before an enemy strikes you allows you to do a massive counterattack! My favorite Special, however, is her Katana. It’s the only one of her Weapons which is genuinely a weapon – Luca finds it in the Mall! It works as a gap-closer, helping Luca zoom close to her enemies and damage them with a powerful swipe.
Search the city
To find these weapons, Luca will have to search every inch of Sanzu City. The city is overgrown and destroyed, and a lot of the places that used to be familiar to her now feel strange and dangerous.
The SanZooQuarium, a local aquarium she used to visit on field trips, is now full of possessed sea creatures… and demonic penguins with something suspicious to sell you. She’ll have to fight her way past shattered fishtanks to find the last human hiding there. What kind of deal did he strike with these demons to keep himself alive? Luca will have to find him and get some answers!
Luca can also explore her old high school Campus. The classrooms and libraries are now filled with possessed books, filing cabinets, vases, and lamps. There’s a human hiding here, too – Luca’s old teacher, Professor Foss. He wants to help her… but he seems unwell, and he might be hiding a secret in the basement of the school. Luca will have to get some answers from him, too!
Survive with what you have
Luca and Rhem are all on their own in Sanzu. But with Rhem’s powers, and Luca’s tenacity, they’ll be able to hold back an army of demons with a pile of scrounged items. To see how she does it, you’ll have to check out Possessor(s) at release for PlayStation 5 on November 11!
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 director Naoki Hamaguchi has assured fans that despite Square Enix admitting last year that Rebirth “did not meet expectations,” the second part of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy has been “doing very well” on both PC and PS5, and the team has been able to channel that success into a “high-quality third instalment.”
“The second entry, FFVII Rebirth, has been doing very well on both PS5 and PC,” Hamaguchi told Automaton. “I know some fans have expressed concerns, but please rest assured, we’ll be able to deliver a proper, high-quality third instalment.”
Hamaguchi also took the opportunity to assure the community that development on Final Fantasy 7 Part 3 is going “extremely well,” adding: “The game is shaping up nicely. A lot of the content is already playable, and the game’s direction and form are firmly set in place. Right now, the team is united around refining everything.”
And though he was still being a little coy with the details, in a separate interview with German outlet JPGames, Hamaguchi revealed that the “key words […] that underpin the design philosophy and then the theme for each game” were “reunion” for Remake, and “bonds” for Rebirth. The third instalment also has a key term, but Hamaguchi’s keeping that to himself for now.
“In terms of development [of Part 3], we’re working on that right now,” he added. “We’ve got builds running where you can actually experience what that theme is through the gameplay. And we know where we’re going with it. It’s looking like it’s going in the right direction, and we’ll keep working on it and make it even better. So hopefully in the near future we’ll be able to reveal some of that.
“And yeah, this is going to be the climax, the finale of the series. And we’re going to make it a suitable finale, a really great send-off for the game. It will be something ideally we hope will please fans, will delight the fans of this much-loved series, and really reward everyone for sticking with us to the end. So look forward to that. More information in the not too distant future. It’s all in safe hands!”
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.
In May this year, despite being deep in development on The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, CD Projekt revealed that they’d be whipping out one more patch for The Witcher 3 in honour of its tenth birthday. Said update was originally set to drop in 2025, but has now been pushed back into 2026.
It’s a little bit of an extra wait for cross-platform mod support, and given what the studio have been like witch Cyberpunk 2077’s seemingly never-ending string of last updates, I’m not ruling out them having secretly decided to add more new stuff to the RPG masterpiece while they’re at it.
Borderlands 4 developer Gearbox has asked PC gamers to wait 15 minutes for shaders to compile in the background while playing after some said this week’s update had caused increased stuttering.
The update, released September 25 (check out the patch notes here), was meant to improve Borderlands 4’s high-profile performance issues on PC, but soon after it rolled out, some players complained about stuttering.
Borderlands 4 is still on a mixed Steam review rating, with most of the negative comments revolving around PC performance. The tech experts at Digital Foundry have said their initial analysis of Borderlands 4 on PC showed significant stutter problems, and advised against running the game on its ‘Badass’ graphics setting.
Responding to the increased stutter issues reported by PC gamers, Gearbox issued a statement on social media, below, calling on players to give the looter shooter 15 minutes of gameplay to continue to compile shaders in the background, by which time those stuttering issues should resolve. If that doesn’t work, Gearbox suggested manually clearing your shader cache via your video card manufacturer’s approved method. And, if all else fails, Gearbox pointed to its support ticket process.
We’ve received reports that some players are experiencing reduced stability after downloading today’s update.
Stuttering issues should resolve over time as the shaders continue to compile in the background while playing. If you’re still experiencing issues after 15 minutes of…
As anyone who’s played Borderlands 4 on PC knows, when you first boot up the game you must wait for shaders to compile before you spawn into the virtual world. But this process doesn’t appear to catch all the shader compilation that might have to be done during gameplay, causing stutter. At least, that’s the running theory.
Meanwhile, some players are recommending traveling to certain zones in the game to brute force shaders to compile before moving on to what they actually want to do in-game.
To expand on this: quit the game once after launching and relaunch it. Now travel into a zone and back out (Idolator Sol’s or a Vault will work) this should compile a BUNCH of shaders and start improving the smoothness.
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.
Yes, this is news. You can bet your bottom it was news to me when I loaded up Nexus Mods for my daily look this morning and found that Hollow Knight: Silksong‘s adult section had tripled in size overnight. It’s the sexy Hornet mods, they’ve broken containment, truth-telling hips and all.
