Category: IGN

Arachnophobia sufferers are having a tough time with Resident Evil Requiem, but there is help at hand from fellow players — as well as in the shape of a certain cheery choo choo train.

Warning: Spoilers for Resident Evil Requiem follow

Requiem features a giant spider as a major boss fight in Raccoon City, and the knowledge that this sequence is in the game has spawned many, many, many different threads on reddit from Resident Evil fans who experience arachnophobia. In most cases, fans are requesting more information on how horrible the game’s spider section is (it’s quite horrible), while others who made it through the battle are reporting in with their experiences.

Some fans are stuck in a dilemma — they want to play the big new Resident Evil game, but are also dreading reaching a section with a very realistic giant spider boss that’s creepy enough even for those without an actual phobia.

“Trying to be as vague as possible in the title, how is that f***ing giant spider mid-game?” reads one such message, from reddit user saekhama. “Does it come in a jumpscare or you can predict the moment it’s gonna make its first appearance/attack? For reference, I’d say the Skyrim and Witcher 3 spiders are some of the worst, as they’re hairy, realistic and move fast. I don’t think I’m gonna not buy the game because of it, but I might ask a friend to come and play this part for me.”

“It’s horrible,” answered another fan, Tasty_James, in reply. “As someone who can’t get through the Aragog/Shelob scenes in their respective [Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings] films, this has been a f***ing nightmare. It’s huge, hairy, detailed, and f***ing fast… Genuinely the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had during any videogame (and I could probably expand that to all media as well, tbh).

In other discussion threads, players have been offering tips on how to kill the spider boss fast, in order to get it off their screens as quickly as possible.

“I got to the spider boss section! I wasn’t expecting that until the last minute I was like ‘Wait a damn minute… these are webs!’ took me a while to realize it then BOOM, big spooder: Hello There >:)” wrote TheSkateDude6. “How many shots or melee attacks does it take to finish it off? I’ll be playing without my glasses since it will help slightly in a way. If it’s too much for me, I’ll wait for an arachnophobia mode.”

Common tips for this section are to make use of the areas explosive barrels, and of course your Requiem gun. (IGN’s walkthrough also has plenty of advice — and you can find the spider boss fight section here.) Some fans with arachnophobia have reported using less conventional tactics, meanwhile, such as playing without wearing their glasses, or even moving to a smaller TV screen.

“My strategy so far has been to take off my glasses (I’m severely near-sighted),” Tasty_James said, “and sort of look vaguely away from the screen so as to keep it blurry and in my peripheral vision at all times. I haven’t beaten its boss fight yet, obviously, and I have no idea if I’m going to be able to.”

“I played this without my glasses, it’s a blessing in disguise somehow,” wrote Typical-Mixture4376 in another thread. “The smaller ones are freaking me out more than the large one lol,” EqualAd-1348 wrote, in yet another conversation. “Thankfully, I think I will at least be able to manage by playing that segment on my other TV (32″).”

As well as an enormous spider that Leon has to fight, a swarm of mini baby spiders is also featured as part of the same area. On the upside, though, once outside of the one spider section, the game does not feature the enemies ever again.

“It was genuinely the worst experience I’ve ever had with my arachnophobia in a video game,” concluded TheUberMensch123. “It fucking sucks, and in a way is a complement, that the thing moves and looks so goddamn real. I almost had to shut the game off. Hopefully an arachnophobia mod comes out soon.”

While there isn’t an arachnophobia mode add-on yet, NexusMods does host the customary Thomas the Tank Engine mod. While unavailable on consoles, PC players can at least choo choo choose to see Thomas’ giant smiling face bearing down upon Leon rather than that of an enormous arachnid. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which is worse.

Choo choo! https://t.co/Ax5AFzhVEk pic.twitter.com/dsZFt2SIBN

— 🏳️‍🌈 ΛLISTΞR 🏳️‍🌈 (@xZombieAlix) March 2, 2026

Whether you’re battling spiders or zombies, IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don’t miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.

Image credit: xZombieAlix.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Battlefield 6 has unveiled what’s changing with update 1.2.1.5, which rolls out today (March 3).

Focusing on quality-of-life improvements and stability fixes, the new patch expects to resolve “several issues across gameplay,” including its UI, Battle Pass, and Battle Royale.

This update also restores missing store content and addresses “critical revive and gadget interactions.”

Here’s what’s rolling on to consoles and PCs later today.

Major Updates for 1.2.1.5

• Implemented additional stability improvements to reduce client crashes.
• Improved frontend tile loading times for a smoother menu experience.
• Restored missing Store items to player inventory from the Bountiful Harvest, Pax Vanguard, and Devil Dogs bundles.

CHANGELOG

PLAYER

• Addressed a crash that could occur during camera behaviour transitions.
• Implemented further stability improvements to reduce client crashes.
• Resolved an issue where initiating a revive while equipping a mask could cause the mask to remain in hand and block weapon usage.
• Restored previously owned items that had disappeared from player inventories, including content from the Bountiful Harvest, Pax Vanguard, and Devil Dogs bundles.

WEAPONS

• Improved the visual fidelity of the Objective Ace skin when viewed at longer distances.

MAPS & MODES

• Updated spawn logic with an additional out-of-combat area check to prevent unintended spawn locations.

UI & HUD

• Corrected an issue where the Tier Skip deeplink in the Bulletin directed players to an empty Store screen.
• Improved frontend tile loading times to reduce delays when navigating menus.
• Resolved an issue where Battle Pass rewards on the active path could display placeholder text or missing icons.

PORTAL

• Addressed a crash related to area validation checks.

REDSEC

PLAYER

• Resolved an issue in Battle Royale where the Tracking Pulse Recon trait could activate when destroying any deployable gadget.

UI & HUD

• Addressed an issue in Battle Royale Duos where pings were not displayed in the elimination feed.

AUDIO

• Resolved an issue in Gauntlet where Gas Mask voice-over lines would play while inside armoured vehicles.

Battlefield 6 got off to a strong start in 2025 but has faced backlash from its community in recent months, bringing its Steam user score down to ‘Mixed.’ As some players review-bombed its battle royale REDSEC offshoot and others pleaded for larger maps, many began to question if two maps per season were enough to keep players engaged. Confusion then reached new levels in January, when EA and BF Studios announced Season 2 was delayed to February 17.

While we wait to see how the team plans to continue building on Battlefield 6, you can read about some of the ways BF Studios is adjusting its controversial cosmetics.

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.

Capcom has removed a controversial new form of DRM from Resident Evil 4 Remake, following complaints that its recent addition was impacting performance.

An update to the game’s Steam database listing shows that the Enigma DRM was removed earlier today, March 3, after an earlier listing showing its addition at the beginning of February.

Capcom has not commented publicly on the changes, though fans were quick to spot the publisher replacing the game’s previous Denuvo anti-piracy protection with Enigma, and the hit to performance that followed.

It’s a subject recently covered by Digital Foundry, whose tests showed a 40 percent deficit in performance within the game’s intro cutscenes, though more modest differences during gameplay. In a video published last month, DF’s Alex Battaglia noted that Denuvo was believed to operate as a subscription service, and that at some point publishers typically remove the software when its cost outweighs any perceived losses from piracy.

It’s at this point that fans believe Capcom switched to Enigma instead — a decision it has now seemingly U-turned on.

“Updating years old software with new DRM is just stupid,” Battaglia said. “Like, stop, don’t do that in the first place. Regardless of any possible performance degradations, what it’ll do to your game is just piss off your audience. It’ll make your modding scene really upset.”

Now, word that Enigma DRM is gone from Resident Evil 4 is being celebrated by fans on reddit, even as the decision to add it in the first place is being criticized.

“This was the most mid level executive that’s detached from gaming move I’ve seen,” wrote Resident Evil fan CoDog. “Like who would’ve thought it was a good idea to put in DRM on a two year old game that’s been regularly on sale that tanks low to mid level pc hardware’s performance? Seriously mind boggling move from Capcom.”

It sounds like a good time to revisit Resident Evil 4 Remake, though not before you’re done with the brilliant Resident Evil Requiem first. If you’re still exploring Leon S. Kennedy’s latest adventure then IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don’t miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Though millions of us are still busy with Resident Evil Requiem, it seems developer Capcom isn’t content to leave us playing as Raccoon City’s unluckiest cop for long — a presentation showing off what else the developer has in the works is set for Thursday, March 5.

Capcom Spotlight is a digital event that brings us up to date on the latest news from Capcom and the developer’s upcoming releases. Set for 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm UK time), the half-hour show will be subtitled in 13 different languages.

The 30-minute digital event will update us on several upcoming Capcom games, and in particular Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Pragmata, Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fights Edition, Mega Man Starforce Legacy Collection, and Megaman Dual Override.

Megaman Dual Override is, of course, the brand-new entry in the classic action platforming series expected to release next year, while Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection is a compilation of Mega Man video games, including Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus, Mega Man Star Force: Leo, Mega Man Star Force: Dragon, Mega Man Star Force: Zerker x Ninja, Mega Man Star Force: Zerker x Saurian, Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace, and Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker. (Phew!)

Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighters Edition, currently expected in June, includes 26 characters released from Years 1 & 2, including their Outfit 1 Colors 3-10, and 20 stages (Alex is out later this month), while Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection tells the story of two nations on the path to ruin and the discovery of a mysterious egg gives cause for hope. It’s out next month.

Last but not least is Pragmata, an all-new sci-fi action adventure with its own unique hacking twist. Set in the near future, protagonists Hugh and his android companion Diana must work together as they make their way through the cold lunar research station.

Of course, that’s just what Capcom has confirmed will be shown — there’s usually a surprise or two, too, so make sure to tune in on Thursday.

On the subject of Capcom: we may now know the solution to Capcom’s devious Resident Evil Requiem Final Puzzle, but a whole new mystery is just beginning for fans — one centered on Leon S. Kennedy, and a huge secret that’s only hinted at in the game’s closing moments. Here’s what we know so far…

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.

Woot’s latest video game sale – titled the ‘Video Games For All!’ sale – is stacked with exciting offers at the moment. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is one of the many great games on sale there that’s crossed our radar, with big discounts on its standard edition for PS5 and its Ultima Limited Edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Just how big are these discounts at Woot? Well, the standard version of Space Marine 2 for PS5 is 50% off, down to $24.99. If you’re looking to splash out on the Ultima Limited Edition instead, the Xbox Series X version is also 50% off right now, down to $49.99, while the PS5 version is 45% off, down to $54.99. Check out these deals below.

Space Marine 2 Deal at Woot

Pokémon TCG’s next Mega Evolution expansion, Perfect Order, is set to release on March 27. It’s been hard to come by at major retailers, at least at MSRP prices.

But a recent preorder surge at Target (which is now out of stock again) has seemingly added to the ongoing price crash for Perfect Order products, such as the Elite Trainer Box, at resale marketplaces at like TCGplayer.

For a limited time, Target had preorders available for the Perfect Order Elite Trainer Box at $59.99, which is the best price we’ve seen on an ETB in a long time. If you missed out, hard luck this time. But, not all hope is lost, as long as you’re okay with paying just a bit more.

Over the past month, the Perfect Order Elite Trainer Boxes have dropped from a high of $145.92 resale at trusted marketplace TCGplayer, to an all-time low of $94.48. Market price is currently sitting at $95.88, and has been on a steady decline, dropping -26.76% in just the past 30 days.

Target’s latest restock could potentially even sink the ETB market price further, and we’ll have to keep an eye on it over the next couple of weeks to see how things stablize.

The cryptic Final Puzzle challenge in Resident Evil Requiem seems to have been fully solved, with video evidence of the method now circulating online.

Earlier today, Pokémon YouTuber Gengar Collects provided proof they were the first in the world to complete the Final Puzzle — but there was still confusion over how he’d done it, despite his attempts to try and help other fans.

Now, a repeatable method for finishing the puzzle has been published online — albeit only after datamining work was carried out to reveal the necessary requirements. The solution is bizarre, and there’s still discussion among fans now over why exactly it works this way. But first… here’s what you have to do.

RE9s Final Puzzle SOLVED!!!👀(Huge Game Wide Easter Egg Puzzle)
by the datamining tool that’s been solving Call of Duty Zombies Easter Eggs…

This hunt has taken 4+ days & has been driving people INSANE

Solved by: Rantsy, @KyroGeorge & the entire RE9 Community
(Me & @Nanik0s… https://t.co/uVnyHgB399 pic.twitter.com/uQVcTxD8fO

— ZoneX (@ZoneXbez) March 2, 2026

Warning! Spoilers for Resident Evil Requiem follow:

In a video published to YouTube, Resident Evil fan Kyro says they and fellow player Rantsycancy “spent two days tirelessly working through” Requiem’s Final Puzzle challenge based on a “datamining background.”

Step one requires you to wait 15 minutes at the game’s meat processing plant, where a conveyor belt of bodies are dumped into… well, a meat processor. In the following meat grinder sequence, you then must ensure all zombies die to the grinder, rather than shooting them yourself. All of this is to ensure that enough zombies have been harvested here, something the game quietly counts in the background.

Next, head to the toilets in the restroom area and flush one eight times. This is all you reportedly need to do to spawn Marie’s Doll during the facility escape sequence — the same doll that Gengar Collects accurately reported finding and using to complete the puzzle himself (though he wasn’t sure what he’d done to make it spawn).

From here, the solution resolves as Gengar Collects previously stated. You’ll need to complete the game, start a new save, then have Marie’s Doll in your inventory when inputting the now infamous code sequence into the DNA sequencer machine that players previously worked out last week. And with all of that done, The Final Puzzle is finally complete.

Fans are still working to deduce why this process is the solution to the puzzle. There’s speculation about a note referencing Marie that mentions extracting “a 2.3 millilitre sample from the 524.3 litres of blood collected from 115 infected,” which may be the count of bodies (or bodies not wrapped up) on the conveyor belt. Why you then need to flush a toilet eight times, though, remains to be seen.

For now, however, Resident Evil Requiem’s biggest mystery does at least have a full working solution. Are you planning to give it a go yourself?

IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don’t miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Resident Evil Requiem released last Friday, and while many players are slicing up zombies as Leon S. Kennedy and creeping around as Grace Ashcroft, players of the Japanese version have noticed something is amiss. Namely, Requiem’s censorship of gore in its home country is being criticized for being immersion breaking and uncreative compared to past games in the series.

Warning! Resident Evil Requiem spoilers follow:

With Resident Evil being one of Japan’s major survival horror series, Capcom has previously come up with creative ways to censor domestic releases to meet the strict requirements of Japan’s CERO game ratings board. As The Gamer pointed out, in Resident Evil 7’s Japanese release, Capcom replaced the decapitated head found in a fridge with a photo of the deceased character. Other times, gory scenes (particularly decapitations) were removed entirely in Japan, including some of Leon’s most brutal death scenes in Resident Evil 4.

In a pre-release interview with Japanese news site Game Watch, Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi commented on the CERO Z (18+)-rated trial version of the game, noting: “While it’s not completely identical to the global version, I think that the content you will experience in (the Japanese release of) Requiem is quite comparable.”

However, many players of the Japanese version have since voiced their dissatisfaction with censorship in the final release.

As one player of the Japanese version pointed out in a (NSFW) Reddit post, Capcom started to show cutting off limbs in Resident Evil 4, implementing a workaround whereby gore and entrails would be blacked-out. With Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom has also opted for blacking out the gore, however, this has extended to covering whole missing areas of bodies in black to the point where it is really noticeable.

For example, in one puzzle in Requiem, you have to find an artificial heart and lungs to place inside a dead body in order to get the Level 2 ID wristband. In the Japanese version, the entire upper body and the heart and lungs themselves are completely black. As the Redditor noted, this “censorship is way more noticeable imo, to the point where it really kills immersion.”

Reliable video game leaker billbil-kun has revealed the release date and price for Starfield on PlayStation 5 ahead of an official announcement from Bethesda and Microsoft.

In a post on Deadlabs, billbil-kun said Starfield will release on PS5 on April 7, and it will indeed have a physical edition.

Assuming this release date is true (billbil-kun regularly and accurately leaks PlayStation Plus games, so we have no reason to doubt it), Bethesda’s sci-fi game launches on PlayStation two-and-a-half years after it debuted on PC and Xbox Series X and S, back in September 2023.

Billbil-kun also revealed Starfield will launch on PS5 in Standard and Premium editions, as you’d expect, but there’s no early access for the Premium edition.

As for a price, billbil-kun said it will cost €49.99 / £44.99 for the standard edition, and €69.99 / £59.99 for the Premium Edition, with pre-orders expected on March 18. There’s no word yet on when the announcement will be made.

That price is interesting though as it’s cheaper than Starfield’s PC and Xbox Series X and S launch price from 2023. The Standard Edition of Starfield currently costs £59.99 on Steam, and the Premium Edition costs £85.99, so perhaps a price-cut to align all versions is coming soon.

Last month, Bethesda boss Todd Howard confirmed that Starfield is not getting a huge 2.0-type update. “Obviously, we’ve been working on a lot of Starfield content. I can tell everybody we are going to be talking about [the new content] really soon,” Howard told Kinda Funny. “We’re moving into a phase where we’re ready to talk about Starfield. And really show that in the right way, and what’s coming to the game. We’ve been doing a lot of work that we like a lot.”

Howard added: “You know, I’ve seen some of that, so for expectation-setting, I think it’s the kind of thing where if you love Starfield, we think you’re going to love this. It’s updates and things that change the game, not in an isolated way, but sort of meta. Using outer space and things in ways that we haven’t.”

Interestingly, Howard made a point of saying that ​​”if Starfield is something that didn’t connect with you right away, or you bounced off it, or found it boring in places, I don’t think this is going to change that fundamentally.”

Though Howard was coy about timelines, he did say we may find out more “soonish.”

Starfield launched in September 2023 as Bethesda’s first brand new IP in 25 years, but it was not as well received as the studio’s previous games in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises, and the Shattered Space expansion, released a year later in September 2024, has a ‘mostly negative’ user review rating on Steam.

Starfield went on to reach 15 million players, but the question of whether Bethesda might walk away from the game to focus on its other franchises has been a running theme since release. In June 2024, Bethesda insisted it remained committed to supporting Starfield, and confirmed at least one other story expansion would come out following Shattered Space. And in an interview with YouTube channel MrMattyPlays, Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard said the developer was aiming to release an annual story expansion for “hopefully a very long time.” That, obviously, hasn’t happened. In August last year, it was reported that Starfield’s second expansion and much-anticipated PlayStation 5 port would now arrive in 2026, following the poor reception to Shattered Space.

Bethesda has confirmed plans to improve Starfield space gameplay “to make the travels there more rewarding” after datamined fragments of code suggested the developer had a more streamlined space travel experience in the works. Based on this datamine, while you may be able to travel between planets within the same system, you won’t be able to fly all the way between systems, nor fly directly from a planet’s surface into orbit, like No Man’s Sky.

In a new video discussing his career, veteran Bethesda developer Tim Lamb confirmed that the studio had been working on Starfield’s space gameplay, and that a new DLC story was still coming at some point.

“I think as it comes to Starfield, I’m really excited for players to see what the teams have been working on,” he said. “We have some cool stuff coming, including free updates and features the players have been asking for, as well as a new DLC story.

“I can’t go into all the details just yet, but I will say part of the team has been focused on space gameplay to make the travels there more rewarding. We’re also adding some new game systems, and a few other smaller delights. There’s also some really interesting stuff coming down the pipe from our verified creators. There’s some fun stuff.

“I just want to say thanks. We really appreciate the support and the enthusiasm. We can’t wait to get it into the hands of our players.”

Last month, Bethesda teased new content for Starfield — at least that’s what fans thought after they spotted a hidden message in a social media video released to celebrate the game’s two-year anniversary.

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.

Resident Evil Requiem looks like a smash hit for Capcom, with record-breaking Steam concurrent player numbers suggesting big sales. But it’s also a hit on Metacritic, where it has the joint highest user score of all time.

Requiem has a user score of 9.5 on Metacritic, which is the same score last year’s breakout hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has. It surged past Metal Gear Solid, The Witcher 3, and Disney Cory in the House’s 9.3 (if you did a double-take at Disney Cory in the House being up there, well… there’s a whole thing about it being on this list that is well worth checking out). Also on 9.3, perhaps more deservedly, are the original Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3.

Website user review scores can be manipulated, of course (Disney Cory in the House shows that!), and not just with games either (Breaking Bad vs. Game of Thrones is a thing). But clearly fans are loving Resident Evil Requiem, which also has an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ user review rating on Steam. IGN’s own Resident Evil Requiem review returned a 9/10. We said: “Like the result of an experiment conducted in an underground Umbrella Corporation lab, Resident Evil Requiem successfully splices two separate strains of survival horror together into the one highly infectious new mutation.”

Resident Evil Requiem’s overall Metascore is 88, which isn’t enough to make Metacritic’s top 250 games of all time. The highest-rated Resident Evil video game is the original Resident Evil 4, which has a 96 Metascore. Still, Resident Evil Requiem is the second highest-rated video game of 2026, behind only Pokemon Pokopia for now.

We’ve got plenty more on Resident Evil Requiem, including the hunt for the solution to its cryptic Final Puzzle solution, which has been confusing fans for the past week. Today, one person does now appear to have solved the Final Puzzle — but the mystery around the challenge remains, as it’s unclear exactly how they did it.

IGN’s Resident Evil: Requiem guide will help you every step of the way through RE9. Take note of these key tips and tricks before you get started, and focus on finding these important items early. Plus, our comprehensive walkthrough will make sure you don’t miss a single Bobblehead or file as you try to survive from the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center all the way to Raccoon City.

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.