Tasty-looking space games filltheatmosphere nowadays like satellite launch debris, but perhaps you’ll find room in your weirdly adapted magnetic fishing net for one more – Kaigan’s Nullspace. I came across it in yesterday’s Indie Fan Fest stream, and I quite like the cut of its torpedo bays.
Nullspace grabs me for a couple of reasons. One is its “retrofuturistic universe”, which strikes me as both sleek and cosy. It’s kind of chibi Homeworld. The kitbashed ships come alive with swivelling turrets and manoeuvring jets, but something about the way they’re proportioned, patterned and lit also makes me think of freshly piped cake icing. I also quite like the Star Fox-style jabbering heads of unit commanders in the bottom corner.
The now-officially-announced NAMMO is a soulslike boss rush game that, according to developer Guild Studio, is “set during Korea’s Silla Dynasty, which spanned from 57 BC to AD 935 (nearly a millennium). It combines a dark fantasy world with a Soulslike boss-rush experience.”
NAMMO promises “tight 2D combat with brutal, mythology-inspired bosses and precision parries” in which you’ll “use ‘the Eye of Spirit’ to reveal hidden paths, boss weaknesses, and alternate storylines.” And it’s all rendered in handcrafted pixel art. Check out the official announcement trailer below.
The story is described as follows: “Born in an ancient Korean kingdom, Nammo grew up under the warm and loving care of Junjeong, who was like a sister to her. The two became beloved by their people, and blossomed into flower-like beauties. But fate twisted cruelly beneath the moonlight. With nothing but sorrow in her eyes, Junjeong struck, slashing Nammo’s eyes and leaving her blind. After waking up in an unfamiliar cave, Nammo starts on a journey to uncover the truth behind Junjeong’s betrayal.”
You can wishlist NAMMO on Steam if you’re interested.
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.
A former developer on massive Elder Scrolls mod project Skyblivion who called its current 2025 release goal “unachievable” has suggested March 2026 as a “fitting” release window for the task of remaking Oblivion in Skyrim‘s engine.
Around the time of the mod’s most recent showcase, ex-Skyblivion level and world designer Dee Keyes put out a tweet accusing its project lead and implementation lead of rushing the mod out the door to meet a 2025 release goal that Keyes dubbed “pointless and unachievable”. The modder also accused the pair of mismanaging the project by not keeping up communication between leads and other developers in terms of key decisions. Keyes’ claims and very public split from the Skyblivion team naturally led to questions being asked of the remaining Skyblivion devs, with the mod’s comms lead telling fans: “Our aim is that it will be by the end of the year, if we as a team decide that it isn’t we will be sure to share that.”
Borderlands 4 has been out for two weeks now, which means players have come to understand much about how Gearbox’s looter shooter works. But there’s one quest in particular that I keep seeing cause fans trouble — through no fault of their own.
Warning! Spoilers for Borderlands 4 follow:
The quest in question is called Vend of the Line, which IGN has a helpful walkthrough for if you’re wondering how it all works. In brief, it involves a vending machine that, eventually, lets you pick one from a hefty lineup of Legendary-tier weapons, all priced just $1. You only get to pick one weapon, and once you do, the machine shuts down permanently.
The problem is, players are inadvertently locking themselves out of the legendary item reward by immediately selling all the junk in their inventory out of habit when they interact with the vending machine at the end of the quest. For some reason, the game considers this a transaction and the vending machine shuts down, leaving players who’d soldiered through the quest’s many steps empty handed.
I started noticing players complaining about the quest about a week ago, when threads on subreddits, posts in Discords and on social media expressed frustration and confusion about the situation. “Possibly the dumbest move ever,” declared redditor iwasagummybear. “So, I just finished the legendary vending machine quest for anybody who knows that one, and at the end you get one shot to buy something from it, yes? So what do I do? We’ll, I immediately sell all the junk in my inventory, and since it considers that a transaction the machine shuts down and I get absolutely nothing for my efforts. Please have a good laugh at my expense.”
There are many, many more reports of exactly the same thing happening to other unsuspecting Borderlands 4 players.
For anyone playing Borderlands 4….. Don’t ABSOLUTELY DONT accidently sell your junk to the vending machine at the end of Vend of the Line…… Thank me later….
@GearboxOfficial BL4, Vend of the line.. Zane says you can only buy one item before the legendary vending machine shuts down forever…. however, it also shuts down forever if you sell an item!! Fix it Gearbox, give me the vending machine back 😭😭🤮
“PSA: Don’t press the ‘sell loot’ button on the legendary vending machine at the end of the Vend of the Line quest,” warned another player. “Doing so counts as your one use, and the machine will shut down, ending the quest. I definitely didn’t do that on instinct, and I absolutely did it for the sake of testing so that nobody will make a stupid mistake like that……..”
You can’t rollback saves in Borderlands 4, of course, so if you mess this one up there’s no going back. And making matters worse, Vend of the Line is a non-replayable mission. And, it’s worth noting that completing Vend of the Line in co-op will only allow one player to claim a legendary, and since the mission is non-replayable, the player who does not receive the weapon will be locked out of the quest entirely. Bummer!
Honestly, the “vend of the line” quest in @Borderlands#borderlands4 pissed me off so much, I had to take a break. Playing in coop, other person sells to vending machine, it closes for both of us. Can’t get a lego. Quest says you can only BUY once. All that work to get boned. Thx
@GearboxOfficial at least put a fucking warning pop up for players playing vend of the line in a coop session that the mission needs to be completed solo fucking insane that this needs to be said
The question is whether this is intended by Gearbox or a bug, and, if it’s the latter, whether it will be tweaked. Gearbox has said it’s keeping an eye on feedback so you’d like to think it’s aware of the situation with this quest in particular, and we know patches are on the way.
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.
Firaxis and 2K Games are working on a Civilization 7 update that revamps the game’s map generation, while adding a couple of city states and rounding out Napoleon’s skillset. It’s slated to land sometime in the week of September 29th. Why am I writing about it right now? Because senior graphics engineer Ken Pruiksma has just posted a little blog about the intricacies of strategy game map generation that caused Beethoven’s Ode To Joy to play tinnily in my head.
This is almost certainly a reflection of emotional diarrhea brought on by minor insomnia brought on by a nagging foot injury. Still, there’s something… uplifting about the motions of plate tectonics as approximated by computer code. Perhaps you, kind stranger, will be similarly moved.
I admit it. When this review came along, my gaming patience was being tested to its limit by Silksong’s brutal difficulty. So I rolled pretty enthusiastically towards an alternative I hoped would be more relaxing. (I genuinely regret the hours I spent defeating The Last Judge.)
Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac seemed the ideal pellet-shaped breath mint to freshen things up. But while this ground-up remake will likely please fans of the 2002 original, it’s ironic that I found myself haunted by similar frustrations that I was experiencing elsewhere – including bosses that crossed the line from being challenging to becoming a bit of a chore. For newcomers more generally, you’ll have to decide whether the price point of £34.99 at launch fits your budget for what is, at its core, a six-to-seven-hour experience in a genre where there are so many other options.
Where Winds Meet is an ambitious free to play open-world ARPG that seeks not just to emulate but to embody the very soul of Wuxia.
Wuxia is a captivating genre typically found in fiction and cinema, featuring warriors from ancient China performing superhuman martial arts feats, think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or House of Flying Daggers. The world of Wuxia is often mistakenly conflated with Kung Fu. But where traditional Kung Fu emphasizes the realistic, disciplined mastery of martial arts, Wuxia is a seamless blend of martial prowess, eastern philosophical depth, and aesthetic elegance. In this world, warriors glide across rooftops, inner energy defies gravity, and even everyday objects can become instruments of profound beauty and deadly precision.
Central to this mission is its combat system, where weaponry is far more than a tool for violence – it is a demonstration of character, philosophy, and art. Weapons in Where Winds Meet are deeply integrated into the core gameplay of its Wuxia open world. Players can equip two weapons simultaneously and easily switch between them during combat. Weapons are a crucial component that determines the player’s fighting style; players can learn different weapons based on their interests and flexibly replace or match them. The combination of weapons with various Martial Arts and Internal Arts forms the core element of character build in the game.
Where Winds Meet features a wide arsenal of weapons: Spear, Sword, Dual Blades, Rope Dart, the enigmatic Mo blade, and more, each meticulously crafted with distinct weight, speed, and feel. Yet among these, one stands out as an embodiment of Wuxia’s spirit – a weapon that should be impractical, yet in this world becomes poetry in lethal motion – the umbrella.
The Umbrella: where poetry meets combat
In reality, an umbrella is merely a shelter in the rain, but in the Wuxia world of Where Winds Meet, it becomes a vessel for romance and lethality. It’s soft yet sharp, defensive yet aggressive. It’s light as a feather but can strike like a storm. When it opens, it can shield you. When it closes, it becomes a blade. We drew inspiration from classics – like the umbrella vs. pole blade fight in Zhang Yimou’s movie, “Shadow”- but we also wanted to add our own flavor.
A key priority for us was ensuring that even the most fantastical movements feel believable and impactful. To achieve this, we partnered with Action Director Wei Tung, a multi-award winner (Hong Kong Film Awards, Golden Horse Awards) whose legendary filmography includes Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, Kung Fu Killer, As Tears Go By, and Swordsman II.
Behind the scenes motion capture
Rather than relying solely on digital animation, Mr. Tung insisted on real martial artists performing every move. All actions, including solo techniques, were captured with at least two stunt actors interacting – this preserved the sense of impact, reaction, and spatial awareness.
We employed full-body simultaneous motion capture, requiring performers to execute every movement with perfect coordination. The result is a combat system that feels visceral, intentional, and cinematically expressive, whether you’re wielding a sword, a spear, or an umbrella.
Ranged Assault – delicate form, overwhelming force
The Floating State – a dance above the battlefield
Heavy Blow- returning strike with weight and impact
Solo Combat – a portable stronghold
Partnered Combat – the umbrella as a fighting companion
A living world: the seasonal journey ahead
We believe that a Wuxia world should continually grow and unfold. That’s why Where Winds Meet will be structured around a seasonal update model, with each season lasting approximately three months and introducing new map areas, gameplay and narrative to explore.
Our launching season will include two expansive regions – Qinghe and Kaifeng– each with its own story arc, allowing players to delve deeper into the game’s storyline and unravel their character’s past.
The seasonal updates will differ in focus. Some may advance the main plot through new regions and characters, others may introduce new gameplay and time-limited in-game activities, or enhance social features and character progression. Most importantly, we will continuously optimize and adjust the gaming experience based on feedback from the player community. It’s our way of building this world with our players, not just for them.
A shared wuxia dream for all
For us, Where Winds Meet is more than a game – it’s an invitation to experience Wuxia as we’ve always imagined it. We aim to take the romanticism, the philosophy, and the grounded-ness of Wuxia and weave them into a living, breathing, and endlessly evolving world. We can’t wait for you to enter this world with us!
Where Winds Meet will be free to play and will launch globally on November 14, 2025. The game is now available to wishlist on PlayStation Store. An exclusive pre-order bundle for PS5 is also available, including an outfit pack, a PS5-exclusive namecard background and more:
Sequels are opportunities to either build upon a predecessor and push boundaries, or refine what was already great and deliver that again with a stronger focus. With Ghost of Yotei, developer Sucker Punch leaned heavily into the latter approach, and the result is more captivating open-world action and unbelievably striking visuals at every turn. It doesn’t try to revolutionize things, sticking pretty close to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima in general, but I don’t necessarily mind when that means it can expand in aspects that matter and offer a tighter distillation of the samurai fantasy that was originally promised. Not many games in recent memory can hang their hat on having combat as fluid and satisfying as this, and it’s packed into a revenge tale that makes for a more human story.
Coming off of Tsushima, the novelty of imitating filmmaker Akira Kurosawa may have worn off a bit, but the cinematic stylings of his samurai classics still effectively seep into Ghost of Yotei’s look and vibe. Whether it be the cinematography of cutscenes, the standoff before a duel, or the letterboxed framing of riding horseback across the gorgeous fields of Ezo (which is modern-day Hokkaido, home of Mount Yotei), it had me mashing the screenshot button and frequently pulling up photo mode (conveniently mapped to the D-pad). We’ve seen technically impressive worlds across Sony’s other PS4 and PS5 games in recent years, but it’s the artistic flourishes and intentional environmental effects that elevate Ezo’s lush plains, snow-covered mountains, and vibrant forests – it’s a sort of biodiversity Tsushima didn’t entirely have.
The picturesque vistas and dense flower fields lend Yotei its own identity, but it’s the new lead character, Atsu, who gives the wandering samurai tale a more enticing edge as well. It’s a story far less concerned about the romanticized idea of the samurai and instead focuses on the lengths one would go to exact their justice. Tsushima’s protagonist, Jin, was just fine for the purpose of its story, yet he wasn’t a particularly interesting lead on his own. Moving to Atsu who’s fiery and brash gives Yotei the kind of personality it needs. Actor Erika Ishii lends their likeness and voice (if you play with English audio) to Atsu and brings something that’s more rough around the edges for a more believable character. She’s stubborn and has trouble seeing beyond bloodlust, sometimes frustratingly so, and the ways the world and people around her push back on her kept me curious enough to see things through.
All of this revolves around a fairly by-the-numbers revenge plot, where Atsu seeks to take down the Yotei Six led by an equally vengeful villain, Lord Saito. They’re a group of outlaw samurai who killed her family when she was young along their path to becoming the de facto leaders of Ezo by force. (If you played Assassin’s Creed Shadows from earlier this year, you may notice Yotei closely mirrors the story of Naoe, one of its two protagonists.) While they don’t have much screentime and aren’t really nuanced characters, they’re easy to hate, making vengeance pretty sweet. In its roughly 30-hour journey, a large majority of the story unfolds in predictable fashion, and gives you the runaround more often than I’d like. Multiple times events build up to a big moment, only for the target to conveniently escape in a cutscene without much of the plot moving forward or evolving.
It’s a story far less concerned about the romanticized idea of the samurai.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments, however. A couple of clever twists in a middle chapter show signs of brilliance, and some bittersweet scenes throughout had me emotionally invested in ways I didn’t expect. Atsu has a few companions on her journey, like Oyuki who is one of the standouts and adds a little depth with her wisdom and contrasting perspective on the revenge motif. So is Atsu’s mom, who brings texture to Yotei’s themes of music and family being tied together, as you see through childhood flashbacks that flesh out their past. But when it came time for Atsu to square up against one of her targets, I couldn’t help but grin, sit forward for the fight, and sense that intensity of dealing a final blow. Although I wish it took more creative swings with its storytelling, it is a strong-enough vehicle to carry you through what it does best.
And what Ghost of Yotei does best is combat – very few open-world games compel me to clear out optional content across the map just for the sake of starting fights. Movement has an unmistakable fluidity, as does the flow of each attack, ability, and parry, yet each weapon carries a certain weight that makes landing hits and those impact frames so satisfying. Without a lock-on mechanic, encounters feel natural at the expense of frustrating mishaps with the targeting system. But because you’re given so many tools, being able to weave them into your rotation or use them at opportune times keeps each fight consistently exciting.
Whereas Jin had stances with his katana in Tsushima to counteract the different enemy types, Atsu carries multiple weapon-types of her own. She’s skilled with the sword, but relies on a chained sickle, spear, and dual-katana setup, as well as a hulking odachi blade for heavy units. This creates a rock-paper-scissors dynamic against enemies – with the right weapon, you can inflict more stagger or bypass some of their defensive techniques, letting you cut through them with greater efficiency. All of these weapons control distinctly, especially with the kusarigama being a highlight since it lets you break shields, swing it around for crowd control, and even assassinate enemies from a distance by yanking them towards you like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. Weapon-switching is smooth and fast so it’s not as much of a pain as it may sound, and mastering the cadence of combat makes me feel (and Atsu look) like a badass.
The role of projectiles has also expanded with the advent of firearms during this time period (Yotei takes place X years after Tsushima). So, not only does Atsu not give a damn about honor, she also has no qualms about letting her chopper sing (well, musket or flintlock pistol). Sure, the musket takes forever to reload, but landing a shot comes with an emphatic punch that pierces through armored foes, and the flintlock pistol is handy for staggering or finishing off enemies at point blank; man does it make me miss Bloodborne. Then there’s smoke bombs and metsubushi dust to obscure enemy vision, and a flame attachment that temporarily sets your blades ablaze, all of which are effective in their own right. This is all to say that you have a lot to juggle and no shortage of options for overcoming Yotei’s challenges whether it be an entire camp’s battalion or a high-stakes one-on-one.
Few games in recent memory have combat as fluid and satisfying as this.
Stealth is still a prominent part of the mix, but largely relies on basic mechanics we’ve seen time and again in these kinds of action games. Tall grass and enemies with their backs conveniently turned and no vertical vision; we know the deal. I won’t deny that an aerial assassination or triple-kill chain feels great in the moment, though, and let me shout out the kusarigama ranged assassination one more time. Broadly speaking, there’s seemingly a lighter emphasis on stealth than we saw in Tsushima, and Yotei never really pushes you hard in that direction – if you get caught, then you just fight, like…oh no, I have to engage in combat, the best part of this game! What a shame! I found that teeing up as many stealth kills as possible before going loud to be the most enjoyable way to play, and it seems like Sucker Punch understood how to make that approach work well.
Yotei’s main questline does hit you with a handful of large-scale battles to drive a sense of scale, but feature plenty of duels are spread throughout its world, packaged as deadly boss fights where you’re chipping away at their stagger meter and health. Here, mastering the timing of parrying and dodging is of utmost importance, and even though they play out quite similarly, I still got a kick out of connecting on multiple parries in succession (lest I get one-tapped myself). Parrying and countering is one of the great joys in games, and Yotei delivers wonderfully – I see that blue glint, I lock in. So much so that I almost exclusively played with the Bounty Master armor equipped, which disables normal parries to slightly increase the perfect parry timing window. And it was worth the high-risk and high reward because nothing is cooler in this series than flawlessly deflecting an attack and slicing an enemy Bushido Blade-style. Standoffs are back, letting you go mano-a-mano to kill an enemy (or two or three) in a timing-based Iai sword swipe before going all-out on the rest of your foes; it’s another way Yotei (like Tsushima before it) adds a satisfying variety to combat.
It was smart for both entries in this series to do away with level-based experience points and relegating progression, relying more heavily on teaching us to improve our own skills and understanding of our toolset. Progress in Atsu’s skill trees is tied to finding shrines, many of which are optional, making its open-world activities more meaningful. Unlocking charms for genuinely effective perks, getting new armor sets that emphasize specific gameplay mechanics, collecting cosmetics, and improving weapon efficacy are mostly woven into sidequests, and thankfully they often don’t feel like throwaway objectives to check off of a list. Some of Yotei’s more interesting skills and techniques are found deeper in these skill trees, and it’s a bit of a double-edged sword – part of me was somewhat irked at how much Yotei relies on optional quests for progression, but ultimately, it’s a smart move.
A few surprising turns in these quests thrust you into tough duels and chaotic battles, ushering you through more of the map than you probably would have seen otherwise. While this works mostly because Yotei’s fundamentals are solid, there are also enjoyable little stories along the way, like supernatural mysteries to solve, elusive outlaws to chase, and even a superboss that took me well over an hour and countless retries to defeat. A few cultural nods that show a bit more appreciation for the region and its history. With the latter, I’m talking specifically about the inclusion of the indigenous Ainu people who are from what is now known as Hokkaido. Some of their traditions are celebrated in a way that is a natural extension of what Yotei does in certain parts of its story.
Like Tsushima, Yotei’s map is built with a veneer of discoverability, finding ways to nudge you in certain directions without plastering waypoints or markers on screen. The wind navigation mechanic is back where swiping up on the touch pad visualizes a wind gust toward your active objective. I also appreciate how songs Atsu learns on the shamisen, that you can play at any moment to guide you to finding collectibles or hot springs to boost health, create a little extra thematic coherence through music as well as a way for completionists to do their thing. Although the activities themselves may still feel formulaic after a while, especially ones where you’re exclusively doing Uncharted-style platforming and rockclimbing, at least there has been an effort to dress them up organically as the map expands.
As someone generally burnt out on traditionally structured open world games, I appreciate the way Yotei expresses just enough restraint with its separate zones while maintaining the impression of a gigantic map. And letting the vibe carry you from one thing to the next doesn’t feel at odds as this is Atsu’s path of vengeance that mostly works on her terms. With aesthetic options like the returning Kurosawa mode that turns everything black and white with Japanese audio, or new modes like the Takashi Miike option that ups the blood and gore by 1000% and the Samurai Champloo-esque Watanabe mode that turns on the lo-fi beats, Ghost of Yotei has several nice touches atop its penchant for spectacle.
Agent 47 is teaming up with kung-fu legend Bruce Lee in the new Hitman World of Assassination The Infiltrator Elusive Target mission — and it’s out today.
Developer IO Interactive announced the latest content update for its long-running stealth series at the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2025 presentation on September 25. Along with the news that it’s now available for players across PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S, the studio confirmed Hitman World of Assassination is also out for PCVR players as part of a free update.
Players will once again step into the sneaky shoes of Hitman assassin Agent 47 to work with Agent Lee to take out any threats.
“Bruce Lee stars as Agent Lee, an operative aiming to infiltrate the Concord Union, a powerful criminal syndicate based in Hong Kong,” an official description from IO Interactive says. “The organisation hosts a secretive martial arts tournament, which takes place this time at the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok. For this occasion, Agent Lee, a legendary martial artist, is back in action and invited to compete. His mission: win the tournament and uncover the identity of the Concord Union’s supreme leader.”
The Hitman World of Assassination Elusive Target mission allows players to team up with Lee for free from September 25 to November 20. Players can gain permanent access to the content with The Bruce Lee Pack DLC, which comes with The Yellow Tracksuit, The Kali Sticks, The Jade Dagger, and more, for $4.99.
Launching alongside the Hitman World of Assassination The Infiltrator content today is what IO is calling the Season of the Dragon. This seasonal run of content includes additional Elusive Targets and challenges through November, as well as the Halloween-themed Mills Reverie event.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer 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).
