Author: Game Infliction

With the Nintendo Switch 2 finally in my hands, naturally the first thing I set out to do was play the stuff that didn’t run great on the original Switch, just to see how much of an improvement the new console is. One at the top of the list was Hogwarts Legacy: an ambitious open-world game that really struggled on Switch. First, let’s look back at why I loved it the first time around, when I reviewed it on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Hogwarts Legacy is Close to Unplayable on the Switch 1

Before booting up Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch 2, I replayed through the first hours on the original Switch to see how it ran, and the result was pretty awful. This thing runs like a wounded animal, with extremely low-rez characters and environments, unstable framerates, and extremely long load times every time you fast travel. Exploring the Hogwarts campus, which is one of the best parts of this adventure on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or PC, is especially irritating anytime you try to walk through a door and find it locked while it takes a couple seconds to load, sometimes even showing a little loading icon after a while. It got to the point where I’d sometimes think a door wasn’t interactable, until it suddenly swung open after I’d started to walk away.

The gap in performance between this version and the versions available on other platforms is so huge that I honestly can’t even recommend playing it, even if you’ve got no other recourse. There’s just no way to experience all the things Hogwarts Legacy does really well when it’s chugging along like this.

The Switch 2 is a Massive Step Up, Even If It Still Lags Way Behind the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Modern PCs

Thankfully the Switch 2’s significantly more powerful hardware fixes a whole heck of a lot of this. It’s still not at parity with the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or high-end PCs, but at least feels akin to what I remember the Xbox Series S feeling like – not 4K or anything, but more than good enough, especially considering that it all runs on a mobile device. (That’s pretty shocking.) I still noticed some pop-in and had a bug at one point that required me to reset, which are all the kinds of issues I saw in other versions, but it’s an absolutely massive improvement over the Switch 1 and plays great in docked and handheld mode.

There Are Some Neat Updates Since the Last Time I Played

There are also just a bunch of things added to Hogwarts Legacy since the last time I played, including a photo mode, which feels very important in what is essentially a Harry Potter Isekai life sim, and the ability to reset your skill tree selections so you don’t lock yourself into some rookie build. Plus, my personal favorite upgrade: they removed all the annoying platform-exclusive stuff, like the side quest that was only available on PS5, and added some new cosmetics to collect.

For the Switch 2 specifically, Hogwarts Legacy also supports the new mouse mode, which allows you to swap between traditional joystick controls and using one of the Joy-Cons like a mouse if you prefer to aim that way. The mouse controls work surprisingly well, and I was able to aim in combat without issue. Still, I can’t really see myself using this over the standard joystick mode, just because it’s sorta uncomfortable to hold the Joy-Con on its side for extended periods of time and there’s really nothing wrong with just doing it the old way. But it’s definitely a neat option to have!

I Still Really Like This Game

It really stood out to me how much I still enjoyed playing this after over two years. Hogwarts remains one of the most detailed settings I’ve ever seen in a game, and I could lose hours exploring the grounds and practicing my spellcraft. Combat is also surprisingly interesting considering how lame it looks in the movies. They actually made whipping around a stick a lot of fun, as you juggle enemies in the air, parry and counter enemy attacks, and consider whether or not to just murder people with very illegal curses.

The main story is definitely still a weak point, with a pretty generic and uninteresting goblin villain and lots of vague talk about ancient magic. However, the characters you spend the journey with, from your fellow classmates to the professors who lecture you each day, more than make up for that shortcoming.

I’m still bothered by all the stuff that bothered me about it two years ago, especially enemy variety, which somehow feels worse than I remember it being (boy, oh boy, does this thing make you fight spiders a lot). And some technical issues are still alive and well after all this time, which isn’t great. But this is still an incredibly good game that gave me almost everything I wanted as a Harry Potter fan. The fact that it’s now available on a device you can play on the subway without major sacrifices is just insane, and it makes me want to play through it all again the next time I get on a plane.

Our most recent sighting of Silent Hill f came during Sony’s State of Play June 2025 showcase, and with it came our first look at Hinako in action. Literally.

For some, the emphasis on combat encounters may be surprising, as Silent Hill is a series that has tended to focus on environmental storytelling and psychological horror over combat. However, this latest trailer — the first we’ve seen to offer a meaningful glimpse at gameplay and combat — coupled with a new interview with producer Motoi Okamoto, suggest that our protagonist may have to endure a more physical experience.

“The game features unique combat,” Okamoto said in a post on PlayStation Blog. “The encounters are as challenging as the obstacles that Hinako must overcome in life. The combat will have a heavier focus on melee and be more action-oriented compared to last year’s Silent Hill 2.”

That last sentence surprises me, as Silent Hill 2 Remake itself involved significantly more combat that the original game — or, indeed, any other game in the series bar perhaps Silent Hill Homecoming.

Okamoto said that tougher combat, with the visuals and music’s “juxtaposition between beauty and terror,” along with the “terrible beauty of the game’s monster design,” makes for a terrifying adventure. Even the puzzles are apparently “grounded in psychological anguish and suffering.” Yikes.

Silent Hill f is not a sequel to any of the existing Silent Hill games. Instead it will offer a standalone story “independent from the series.” That came from publisher Konami itself, which finally confirmed on X/Twitter that the latest instalment of the horror series — which is usually, if not always, based in a sleepy resort town on east-coast America — will be “a completely new title” that “people who have never played the Silent Hill series can enjoy.”

Silent Hill f takes us to 1960s Japan, where we’ll follow Hinako Shimizu, a teenager struggling under the pressure of expectations from her friends, family, and society. The story was written by Ryukishi07, creator of the When They Cry visual novel series. As displayed at the beginning of the Japanese-language reveal trailer back in March, it is the first Silent Hill game to get an 18+ rating certification in Japan.

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 what looks like a leaked trailer is anything to go by, Lies of P’s upcoming DLC, Overture, could shadow-drop very soon.

The trailer — which is already making the rounds on social media — concludes with the statement: “Available now.”

This trailer has leaked just hours ahead of the Summer Game Fest showcase and two days before Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase, so perhaps we’ll get an official announcement and release at one of the presentations. Summer Game Fest kicks off at 2pm PT / 5pm ET today, June 6, while Xbox Games Showcase starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET on June 8.

💫Lies Of P’s Overture DLC release trailer leaked

This DLC will be released during the Summer Game Fest.#LiesofP pic.twitter.com/JegpSZDKAX

— EliteGamingNews (@Elite_Gaming_X) June 6, 2025

Lies of P is a unique, darker twist on the classic story of Pinocchio, offering a challenging action game with a unique “lie” system where what you do and say dynamically affects gameplay. The upcoming new DLC — which features new locations, new enemies and bosses, new characters, and new weapons — also introduces Death March, a new mode that enables you to face off against the game’s myriad of bosses all over again. In all, the DLC will take experienced players roughly 15-20 hours to complete, and will unlock once they’ve passed a “certain” chapter of the game. Neowiz has also already announced a full-blown sequel to Lies of P.

Interestingly, Overture will introduce difficulty options for the very first time. As a “Soulslike” game, Lies of P can be punishingly difficult, especially for inexperienced players perhaps attracted by Lies of P’s dark story and setting. Director Jiwon Choi had said the team didn’t think Soulslike games should have difficulty options and it shipped without any.

Neowiz changed its mind, however, following feedback from players, saying: “We wanted to make sure a wider audience of players could play the game. We have a lot of feedback from customers, and from our developers. So by making development adjustments and introducing these difficulty options, we can offer the experience to different types of players. This broadens the base.”

We had a good time with Lies of P, awarding it 8/10. We said: “Lies of P might not branch out particularly far from its soulslike inspiration, but it plays the part extremely well.”

For all the news coming out of Summer Game Fest and IGN Live this weekend, we’ve got you covered.

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.

Persona 4 Remake — one of the worst-kept secrets in video games — is reportedly set for an official reveal during Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase.

Both Windows Central and MP1st reported that the so-far unannounced game will finally get confirmed at the Xbox showcase this Sunday, June 8.

While Atlus’ Persona 4 Remake will be announced during the Xbox Games Showcase, it’s set for launch across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. A Nintendo Switch 2 version remains up in the air.

Persona 4 Remake has endured a number of remarkable leaks from voice actors who have said they are not in the game. Last month, three of the original voice actors said they weren’t coming back for Persona 4 Remake — despite Persona 4 Remake not being announced yet.

That includes Yosuke Hanamura voice actor Yuri Lowenthal, who took to BlueSky to say he would not be reprising his role for “the Persona 4 remake.” You know, the one that no one’s officially announced yet.

“And for those who keep asking, no, I will not be returning as Yosuke for the Persona 4 remake,” said Lowenthal in a since-deleted post. “I asked. Maybe I even begged, but they don’t want me to come back.”

Two more actors from the original game subsequently spoke up, saying they wouldn’t reprise their roles. Erin Fitzgerald, the English voice of Chie Satonaka, said she hadn’t been asked to come back. And then Amanda Winn Lee chimed in to say she wasn’t coming back as Yukiko Amagi.

There have been rumors to this tune bubbling up over the last year, with a recent domain registration fueling hope that its announcement might be coming soon.

Xbox Games Showcase 2025 will be livestreamed on Sunday, June 8, starting at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK time.

Xbox Games Showcase 2025 will offer a look at upcoming titles from across Microsoft’s first-party studios, Microsoft said, “in addition to incredible new titles from our third-party partners across the globe.”

It seems likely Persona 4 Remake is among them.

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.