Hell-wandering roguelike Hades 2 has received its first proper patch, and it does everything the developers said it would. You now sprint faster and, significantly, you can gather more than one type of crafting resource per run (as long you’ve unlocked the tool that lets you gather that resource). This means Melinoë can now go fishing, dig up seeds, mine silver, and gain the trust of errant shades, all in a single night’s work. There is a catch though.
Being offered a 4X game for free is definitely one of those cursed-monkey-paw situations. Sure, you’re saving physical currency, but at what price in terms of that most treasured and least tradeable of commodities, time? In the hours it takes to properly clean out a 4X game, you could probably build an empire yourself. OK, not a huge empire. An empire the size of the Vatican or the Principality of Sealand, perhaps. Maybe an empire that only covers the distance between your desk and your fridge. But an empire nonetheless. Go on, pronounce yourself God-Tyrant of your bedroom while you download Amplitude’s Endless Legend, which is 100% off on Steam till 10am PDT, 1pm EDT and 6pm BST on May 23rd.
The Deluxe Edition comes with a new outfit set.
In case you missed the original announcement in April, Luffy and his pirate crew are sailing onto the Nintendo Switch this July in One Piece Odyssey.
In the leadup to the game’s release, Bandai Namco has now shared the “in-game opening movie” straight from the Switch version. This includes another look at the Deluxe Edition which will come with an additional scenario “reunion of memories”, a traveling outfit set, and the newly added “city of water outfit set” for the Switch version.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
A release could still be “quite far”.
It’s been a while since the previous Deltarune update, and now the creator Toby Fox (who is also known for Undertale) has sent out a “Spring 2024” newsletter, detailing the latest progress.
Following on from Chapter 3, the latest news is development on Chapter 4 is “going better than ever”. He’s hired “a few more people” to help out and the team is on track to meet its internal deadline:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The LEGO Minecraft builds are both attractive and simple, and although most of the builds depict pre-conceived designs, there are also sets that enable the sort of free play that both LEGO and Minecraft are famous for.
Minecraft’s retro, pixelated appearance lends itself to brick form, especially with how alternating color patterns create the impression of shadow, texture, and three-dimensionality. Below we’ve gather the 10 best LEGO Minecraft LEGO sets that you can purchase in 2024. You can also check out our picks of the best LEGO sets overall.
Set: #21255
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 352
Dimensions: 4 in. (11 cm) high, 8.5 in. (22 cm) wide, 5.5 in. (14 cm) deep
A battle scene on the border between the Crimson Forest (check out the mushroom trees) and the Basalt Deltas, this set also includes an Orc Warrior and a Ghast that shoots discs from its mouth.
Set: #21256
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 400
Dimensions: 4 in. (11 cm) high, 8.5 in. (22 cm) wide, 6.5 in. (17 cm) deep
Shaped as its name implies, the Frog House has a fully realized interior and a roof that detaches, allowing for easy access and roleplay.The set comes with a zombie, a drowned, three Minecraft frogs, and a slime to feed them.
Set: #21252
Age Range: 7+
Piece Count: 203
Dimensions: 2.5 in. (6 cm) high, 3 in. (9 cm) wide, 2.5 in. (6 cm) deep
This workshop for the Armorsmith contains an anvil, furnace, and cauldron along with a number of weapons, including two swords, two shields, a golden axe, and an enchanted trident.
Set: #21257
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 420
Dimensions: 5 in. (12 cm) tall
Your Hero rides atop a Big Beak as he fights a massive monster. The model of the Devourer does not disappoint; it is appropriately imposing and has launchable vomit from its mouth and mucus from its backpack.
Set: #21240
Age Range: 7+
Piece Count: 65
Dimensions: 3 in. (8 cm) high, 3.5 in. (9 cm) wide, 3 in. (8 cm) deep
At only 65 pieces, this is the smallest and most inexpensive LEGO set on this list, but don’t let that fool you. A compact, economical representation of a mangrove swamp biome, you rig the environment with TNT and blow up any enemies that come calling.
Set: #21245
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 445
Dimensions: 8.5 in. (22 cm) high, 4.5 in. (11 cm) wide, 4 in. (10 cm) deep
This massive, pixelated panda is secretly a three-story, furnished house, which you can open from the back if the panda is ‘sitting’ on its haunches. Outside, you get two actual Minecraft pandas plus a bamboo forest.
Set: #21249
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 605
Dimensions: Fortress: 8 in. (21 cm) high, 14 in. (36 cm) wide, 8.5 in. (21 cm) deep. Cat House: 5 in. (13 cm) high, 14.5 in. (37 cm) wide, 7.5 in. (20 cm) deep
Emphasizing the value of free play over strict adherence to guidelines, the Crafting Box 4.0 contains instructions for two possible builds: The River Towers and the Cat Cottage. It also includes suggestions for three other possible builds, which should help get your creative juices flowing if you need Minecraft build ideas.
Set: #21166
Age Range: 7+
Piece Count: 248
Dimensions: 5” (14cm) high, 7” (19cm) wide, 4” (12cm) deep
You play as Steve, on the hunt for mining materials. There’s also a gimmick that allows you to create a rock slide, so you can crush the zombie, spider, or whatever else tries to stand in your way.
Set: #21178
Age Range: 8+
Piece Count: 193
Dimensions: 3.5 in. (10 cm) high, 6.5 in. (17 cm) wide, 5 in. (12 cm) deep
An animal-as-house build, the fox lodge is open in the back and comes with a detachable roof, allowing for access to the furnished interior. The outer shell is a facsimile of a Minecraft fox, curled up in slumber.
Set: #21250
Age Range:9+
Piece Count: 968
Dimensions: 9 in. (23 cm) high, 12.5 in. (31 cm) wide, 4.5 in. (12 cm) deep
Another 2-in-1 build, the Iron Golem Fortress can transform into massive Iron Golem with articulable, moss-overgrown arms. At close to 1000 pieces, this set enables larger scale battles than the other, more compact builds.
There are currently a total of 33 LEGO Minecraft sets available at the LEGO store. This includes 30 full sets, 2 video game sets, and 1 keychain.
There’s something charmingly redundant about crossing LEGO with Minecraft. One is based around physical building blocks. The other is based around digital building blocks. And now, we have physical blocks of those digital blocks. So If you’re a digital builder who’s looking to branch out into the physical world, Minecraft LEGO provides an easy gateway for that transition.
Developer Player First Games has published a video that walks players through the new MultiVersus PvE Rift Mode ahead of its relaunch in a few weeks.
The developer detailed the mode in a highlight video hosted by Scooby Doo’s Velma and Adventure Time’s Finn and Jake. While MultiVersus is known for its PvP modes that pit Warner Bros. icons against one another, Rifts offers players the chance to sharpen their skills with single-player and online co-op activities.
Rifts launch players into gameplay scenarios with twists to keep you on your toes. Each Rift has Nodes that range from a standard battle to a mini-game challenge. One example of the many shown in the trailer sees Bugs Bunny attacking targets while collecting stars. Nodes also have unique mutators, which can add additional challenge or even story elements into the mix.
As mini-games and bosses are taken down, players will earn Gems that can raise stats and grant special effects. Player First says Rifts give players an assortment of activities to enjoy outside of PvP, with more content said to be added in future updates.
Player First has been busy prepping players for MultiVersus’ return later this month. Last week, it was announced that legendary DC Comics villain, Joker, would join its roster of playable Warner Bros. characters. He’ll be voiced by longtime actor Mark Hamill, reuniting him with the late Kevin Conroy, who provided his chops as Batman for the game before he passed. More information about the re-release was announced in March.
MultiVersus launches for free on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S come May 28. For more, you can check out our 8/10 review of the project’s 2022 release. At the time, we said, “MultiVersus may not be a must-play at social gatherings, but its refreshing team-based battles make it a great platform fighter online.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Grand Theft Auto 5, an 11-year-old game that’s been released on three generations of consoles and which continues to sell roughly five million copies every three months, has at last surpassed a big milestone: over 200 million copies sold in its lifetime.
This news comes from Take-Two’s earnings report today. For years now, we’ve been reporting, like clockwork, that GTA 5 has sold another 5 million copies every quarter. It has simply never slowed down! The success of GTA Online has been a huge part of this, but GTA 5 on its own is a beloved hit that’s released across the last three console generations and netted a coveted 10/10 when we reviewed it back in the day.
Elsewhere in the earnings, Take-Two also notes that the 6-year-old Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 64 million units worldwide.
GTA 5’s incredible sales over more than a decade have ensured it a spot among the best-selling games of all time, where it’s been for a while. It’s long since surpassed the sales of Wii Sports (over 82 million copies) and PUBG (75 million at last count), and even its Rockstar sibling Red Dead Redemption 2 has *only* sold over a massive 61 million in comparison.
In fact, the only two games that have done better than GTA 5 are Tetris, and Minecraft. Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies as of October 2023, which includes its sales across all of the many, many platforms it’s released on. And Tetris remains undisputably the best-selling game of all time, having sold over 520 million copies, including 425 million paid mobile downloads and 35 million on the Game Boy alone.
Will GTA 5 sales ever slow down? Perhaps, with GTA 6 looming on the horizon. But with a release date set for 2025, GTA 5 has a little more time on its hands to keep racking up sales before it’s potentially outshone by its new sibling.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
A monster medley.
Dave The Diver‘s next free DLC is just on the horizon, and you better get running, because a kaiju is on the loose.
Godzilla will be stomping its way into the Blue Hole next week, on 23rd May, developer Mintrocket has announced. However, at the bottom of a detailed blog post over on PlayStation.Blog, there’s a little asterisk mentioning that the “Godzilla Content Pack is a time-limited free DLC, only available from May 23 until November 23 “. It isn’t quite clear whether it will only be available during that period or will be paid DLC after this period. Still, if you nab it next week, it’ll be free! So it’s time to dive in.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
College Football 25 is set to release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 19 for the standard edition, and July 16 for the pricier deluxe edition. The cover athletes for this installment in the long-dormant series are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter, and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards. Below, we run down what comes in each edition, how much it costs, and more.
PS5
Xbox Series X|S
In addition to the game itself, anyone who preorders College Football 25 will receive the following extras:
The digital-only deluxe edition comes with the game itself, plus the following:
If you want the full football 2025 experience, this is the digital bundle to get. It gets you the deluxe editions of both Madden NFL 25 and College Football 25. Here’s what comes in those:
Madden NFL 25 Deluxe Edition
College Football 25 Deluxe Edition (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
The preorder bonuses you get with each edition are listed above. However, if you make your purchase of the standard edition at Best Buy, you’ll also receive a free $5 Best Buy gift card with your purchase.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.
Madden NFL 25 is set to release August 16 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC — or August 12 if you choose the more expensive deluxe edition. The latest in one of the longest-running series in video games, Madden NFL 25 promises a “re-engineered physics system” and “the next level of FieldSENSE.” Below, we run down what comes in each edition, how much it costs, and more.
PS5
PS4
Xbox Series X|S
PC
Preorder the standard edition, and you’ll receive the game itself, plus the following:
Like the standard edition, the digital-only deluxe edition works across generations within the console family. So, the PlayStation version works on both PS4 and PS5, and the Xbox version works on Xbox One and Series X|S. In addition to the game itself, here’s what you get in the deluxe edition:
If you want the full football 2025 experience, this is the digital bundle to get. It gets you the deluxe editions of both Madden NFL 25 and College Football 25. Here’s what comes in those:
Madden NFL 25 Deluxe Edition
College Football 25 Deluxe Edition (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only)
The digital bonus items are listed above, but if you preorder a console copy of the game from Best Buy, you’ll get a free $10 Best Buy gift certificate.
