Pokémon TCG: Surging Sparks Preorders Are Back in Stock at Amazon

The Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Surging Sparks set is now available for preorder at Amazon, bringing an electrifying twist to the TCG landscape ahead of its November 8 release. This expansion merges the highlights of two upcoming Japanese sets, Supercharged Breaker and Paradise Dragona.

At the center of Surging Sparks is a Terastallized Pikachu ex—a classic Electric-type Pokémon now supercharged to boost any deck. Pikachu is joined by Alolan Exeggutor ex, making a grand return with its Stellar Tera Pokémon ex status. With a mix of high-voltage power and formidable dragons, this set promises to be one of the most dynamic additions to the Scarlet & Violet series.

Pokémon TCG: Surging Sparks Preorders

Surging Sparks Elite Trainer Box

Packed with nine Surging Sparks booster packs, this box is a perfect starting point. The exclusive full-art foil Pikachu ex promo card is a must-have for any Pikachu fan, while the 65-card sleeves featuring Pikachu and other iconic Electric-type Pokémon keep your cards safe and stylish. Complete with energy cards, dice, and markers, this Elite Trainer Box has everything you need to electrify your gameplay.

Surging Sparks Booster Bundle

Surging Sparks Booster Bundle gives trainers a taste of the new set without committing to a full booster box. Containing six booster packs, this bundle is perfect for checking out new cards at a more accessible price point. It’s a great way to experience the mix of Electric and Dragon-themed cards that make Surging Sparks a standout expansion.

Surging Sparks Booster Box

Surging Sparks Booster Box holds 36 booster packs, offering a chance to pull some of the set’s most powerful and sought-after cards. Whether you’re chasing down the Stellar Tera Pikachu ex or looking for a new Dragon-type Pokémon, this Booster Box is where it’s at!

Surging Sparks Sleeved Booster

Surging Sparks Sleeved Booster provides one booster pack encased in a protective sleeve. Although we’d recommend a booster box for trainers looking to complete a master set or increase their chances of finding the best chase cards, Sleeved Boosters have an extra layer of protection that’s a massive win for collectors with grading in mind.

Surging Sparks Triple Blister Pack

Surging Sparks Triple Blister Pack combines value and variety with the bonus of an exclusive promo card and a collectible coin. Like the sleeved boosters, these boosters are well protected, and make sure those pulls are in the best shape possible!

We’re looking for the best Pokédeals daily, so don’t forget to stop by our Pokémon TCG and Pokémon Merch pages for the best deals! We’ve also recently previewed the upcoming Stellar Crown sets, and the pull rates are fantastic.

Christian Wait is a UK-based freelancer for IGN, you can follow him @ChrisReggieWait on Twitter/X.

The Nintendo Switch Game Deals I’m Hoping to See on Black Friday

Of all the first-party video game publishers, Nintendo is the most resistant to sales and discounts. The Switch is 7 years old, and Nintendo is still asking $59.99 for launch-year titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. That’s not great! However, there are certain times of year when Nintendo does drop prices, and Black Friday 2024 will absolutely be one of them.

With solid rumors and speculation pointing to the Switch 2 releasing next year, Black Friday 2024 is Nintendo’s last chance to make a big push to sell Switch hardware. Presumably, next holiday season will be all about the follow-up to the Switch (Nintendo expects to have plenty of stock available). So let’s hope for unprecedented discounts on all the best Switch games this year. Here’s what I’d like to see.

What We Already Know: Nintendo Switch Black Friday 2024 Bundle

Every year in the lead-up to Black Friday, Nintendo releases a Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle for the price you’d usually pay for a Switch without a pack-in game. This year, Nintendo is also throwing in a 12-month individual Nintendo Switch Online subscription for good measure. These bundles (one for the standard Switch and one for the OLED) are already available. You can buy them at the links above.

First-Party Switch Games on Sale for $24.99, Please

On Black Friday, Switch games made by other companies besides Nintendo often drop to extremely low prices at retailers like Amazon and Walmart, sometimes under the $10 mark. I don’t expect Nintendo to go that far, but how about a Black Friday doorbuster sale that drops some of the older Switch games below half price? I’d love to see some Mario or Pokemon games from the first three or four years of the console’s life span drop to $24.99. I’m talking games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. We’ve seen some of these games go as low as $30 before, but not below that. It’s time, Nintendo.

Meaningful Discounts on 2024 Nintendo Switch Games

This year hasn’t been the most fruitful for Switch owners, at least in terms of new games. Don’t get me wrong: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is phenomenal, Mario Party people seem to love Jamboree, and there’s more upcoming Switch games than you’d expect. But a lot of this year’s first-party Switch releases were either remasters or smaller games that didn’t make much of a splash with audiences.

For instance, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a lesser game than the excellent Luigi’s Mansion 3. Endless Ocean: Luminous was a rare dud. Even Princess Peach: Showtime, the first game to star everyone’s favorite Mushroom Kingdom royal in forever, wasn’t exactly a blockbuster hit.

Maybe you took a pass on some of these games. So it would be great if we could see some deep discounts on them to entice Switch owners to pick them up before moving on to the Switch’s successor.

I’d also like to see deepest-ever discounts on other recent Switch games, like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Mario RPG. What better way to send off the Switch than by pricing these games low enough that fans will feel eager to pick them up?

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 and Bluesky.

If Sony Ever Gave a Diablo-Style Bloodborne Spin-Off the Green Light, It Might Look Something Like This

A fan-made top-down action RPG take on Bloodborne has given fans a clear picture of what a Diablo-style spin-off might look like.

Developer Maxime Foulquier, who had ditched plans to remake Bloodborne in Unreal Engine 5 out of fear of a cease and desist from franchise owner Sony, has now started a new project called ‘Bloodborne Top Down Arena,’ and in the tweet below, showed gameplay off.

The gameplay looks very much as you’d expect: FromSoftware’s hugely popular Bloodborne but with the camera pulled up into an action RPG perspective. The repurposed Bloodborne combat is action RPG snappy, perhaps a good fit for a Diablo-style game.

Foulquier said Bloodborne Top Down Arena is “less ambitious and different from a true remake” of Bloodborne, so hopes it will avoid falling into the crosshairs of Sony’s lawyers. “The Demake and the Minecraft Project didn’t receive CnD so I cross the fingers,” Foulquier added.

It’s worth noting that the developer behind Bloodborne Nightmare Kart ended up re-jipping the game after Sony got in touch, so perhaps Foulquier is being a little naive here. Foulquier insisted, however, that because Bloodborne Top Down Arena is not planned for release on Steam, it will avoid a similar fate.

Of course, what Bloodborne fans really want is a sequel to the PS4 classic, or, saving that, a next-gen update for the original game. Neither are so far announced from either FromSoftware or Sony. In February, ahead of the launch of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said that because the developer doesn’t own the Bloodborne IP, he can’t speak about its future. He did, however, admit Bloodborne would benefit from releasing on more modern hardware.

In the meantime, IGN has had a look at Bloodborne running on the PS5 Pro, which launches November 7 priced $700. And then there’s the Bloodborne cameo in recently released PS5 exclusive Astro Bot, if you’re desperate for a fix.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Has a Secret Mew Card That’s Not Super Difficult to Get

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket contains a secret, full art Mew card and continues the long-running tradition of only letting players grab the mythical pocket monster by completing some interesting quests.

The Mew card, which is part of the Genetic Apex set but comes unnumbered due to its status as an alternate art card (despite there not actually being a regular version), can only be obtained after players complete the Kanto Pokédex.

This means players must acquire the first 150 Pokémon from the original Red and Blue generation, meaning everything from Bulbasaur to Pikachu to Dragonite to Mewtwo. Once players have collected one of each of these Pokémon the 3 Star Mew card will unlock.

The only condition is the cards must also be from Genetic Apex, meaning, for example, that collecting the promotional Butterfree card from the special Lapras ex event won’t count towards the 150 total despite it being among the first 150 Pokémon. Any version of the Pokémon from Genetic Apex will work, however, whether it’s an ex or alternative art or regular or whatever else.

While simple, collecting so many cards may still take some time. One player recently worked out it could take almost two years of daily play to collect every card in the set, though thankfully hitting the 150 necessary for Mew will require considerably less time.

Mew holds a special place in the set as one of just four 3 Star cards, meaning it’s one of the special immersive cards with fully animated artwork. It joins Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwo in this category, the three Pokémon which feature on the booster pack covers of Genetic Apex.

Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived in October as a streamlined, digital version of the beloved trading card game. It has players opening packs, collecting cards, building decks, and battling others; a simple formula that’s already proved popular given it made $12 million in four days.

Players may otherwise want to keep an eye out from cards from the two decks currently dominating the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta, headlined by usual suspects Charizard ex and Mewtwo ex. Those who love a conspiracy theory can also discover what some players think is the best way to obtain such cards.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

It Takes Almost 2 Years to Complete Just the First Pokémon TCG Pocket Set, Unless You Spend Money

A Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket player has calculated just how long it takes to complete the first set, Genetic Apex, and those not looking to spend any money can expect to be collecting ’em all for towards two years.

Kotaku spotted a Reddit post from TCGPCollector, who broke down how different methods of collecting resulted in different completion times, revealing that the most optimal way to collect the 286 Genetic Apex cards without spending money will take 655 days.

Those put off by the huge amount of time, which requires players to log in every single day and always have access to a card they need in the often unreliable Wonder Pick feature, can take solace in knowing this number includes the 60 alternate art cards not included in the regular numbered set (which totals 226 cards).

It also doesn’t take into consideration the incoming (but currently undated) trading feature, which will allow players to pick up those last few cards much easier than using the otherwise random odds. Those paying $9.99 a month for the Premium Pass can collect all cards in 437 days, though the subscription would add up to almost $150 in this time.

Those not desperate to collect every alternate art card, identifiable by their artwork expanding beyond the normal borders to cover the entire card, can do so in just 130 days, or 87 with the Premium Pass. Developer Creatures Inc. will presumably release a new set of 200 to 300 cards every three or four months, so those playing every day should just about be able to complete one before another comes out.

Pokémon TCG Pocket, like many other free-to-play mobile games with microtransactions, floods players with dozens of packs on their first day as they complete simple quests and gain large amounts of experience. But this generosity soon dries up as the option to pay real money for packs is waved in front of players, and those not willing to spend can open one new pack just every 12 hours. The Premium Pass lets players open one extra pack a day.

TCGPCollector also provided some tips on how players can optimize their collecting, recommending that Wonder Picks only be used to collect 2 Star rarity cards. Pokémon TCG Pocket cards are classified by rarity, with the standard 226 ranging from 1 Diamond to 4 Diamond.

The 60 alternate art cards range from 1 Star to 3 Stars, followed by three super special gold background Crown cards. Regular alternate arts are 1 Star, ex Pokémon are 2 Star, and the special immersive cards with fully animated artwork are 3 Star.

The most efficient way to collect cards is therefore only to pick out alternate art ex Pokémon in Wonder Picks, though it’s far from guaranteed one will appear in the regularly rotating spots.

Elsewhere, players should only use Pack Points to obtain the 3 Star and Crown cards. These are the points players acquire for opening regular booster packs, obtained at the rate of five per pack. Cards at 3 Star cost 1,500 points, demanding the opening of 300 packs, and Crown cards cost 2,500 points, meaning 500 packs.

It will obviously take a long time to get there, but TCGPCollector is essentially recommending players play the long game and not be tempted to exchange Pack Points for cheap cards they’ll come across in booster packs eventually.

Finally, the last recommendation implores players not to use Poké Gold to buy packs, noting that the Premium Pass and, again, a little patience, is a much better way to spend money. Spending $9.99 on a Poké Gold bundle instead of the Premium Pass, for example, would allow players to open just nine packs compared to the 30 accrued over the course of a month.

Even the best shop bundle, which grants 690 Poké Gold for $99.99, grants just 115 packs and therefore averages out at 87 cents per pack. This is much more than the 33 cents per pack average from the Premium Pass.

This financial logic isn’t enough to stop many, many players from buying bundles of Poké Gold, of course. Pokémon TCG Pocket pulled in a whopping $12 million in its first four days, so the simple routine of opening packs, collecting cards, building decks, and battling others is certainly enticing enough to open the purse strings of players.

The digital, streamlined version of the traditional Pokémon Trading Card Game is keeping players entertained in other ways, with Creatures Inc. having already launched two events including one that allows players to win a Lapras ex.

Players may otherwise want to keep an eye out from cards from the two decks currently dominating the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta, headlined by usual suspects Charizard ex and Mewtwo ex. Those who love a conspiracy theory can also discover what some players think is the best way to obtain such cards.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Bloodborne on PS5 Pro: Can You See The Difference?

One of the biggest selling points of the PS5 Pro is that it can boost the image quality of PS4 games, even though they have not technically been “enhanced” for the console by either Sony or developers. And while there are over 3,000 PlayStation 4 games to date, there’s one many of us hold dear to our hearts: Bloodborne. With a sequel now seeming little more than a pipedream, we’re left with only one option – to play through the original again on PS5 Pro to make the most of the console’s Enhanced Image Quality feature.

But does the PS5 Pro actually make Bloodborne look any better? If you’ve pre-ordered a PS5 Pro then you can check it out for yourself, but if you’re still sitting on the fence then check out the video below and see if you can tell the difference.

We’ve also compared some of the other 50-plus games that are enhanced for PS5 Pro at launch, starting with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. We tested it in both Pro modes – Fidelity and Performance – and you can see the results for yourself in this 23-minute gameplay video.

Hogwarts Legacy was one of the big showcase games from the console reveal. We’ve now had the chance to play it on PS5 Pro in Fidelity mode with ray tracing, which promises to improve lightning and shadows, as well as adding better reflections. Take a look at the game running on PS5 Pro.

Finally (ahem), we have 16 minutes of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth running in Versatility mode, which enhances the quality of the visuals and delivers better frame-rates.

Can you tell the difference? If so, is it enough to make you pay the extra money for a PS5 Pro? Let us know in the poll below. Meanwhile, make sure you check out IGN’s full review of the PS5 Pro, which tells you everything you need to know about PlayStation’s latest console.

Best PS5 and PlayStation Deals Today (November 2024)

With massive sale events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the horizon, the holiday season of savings is kicking off. In the meantime, though, there are still quite a few discounts for PlayStation fans to check out. And with the brand new PS5 Pro up for preorder now with a hefty price tag, there’s really no better time to take advantage.

We’ve gathered up some of our favorite offers below, including some excellent discounts on games like Final Fantasy 16 for $25. That only scratches the surface of what’s available now, though. Below, you can also find other deals on everything from accessories to SSDs and even information on where to buy a PS5 now.

Best PS5 Video Game Deals

One of the standout video game deals right now is Final Fantasy 16 for just $24.97 at Amazon—a substantial discount from its original $69.99 price tag and the lowest Amazon price since launch, according to CamelCamelCamel.

It’s unlikely we’ll see a further price drop during Black Friday sales, so this is a prime opportunity to pick it up while it’s still available. Given the demand, this deal may not last long once word spreads, so consider acting quickly to secure a copy.

Where To Preorder a PS5 Pro

If you’re itching to get your preorder in for the PS5 Pro, you now can. Preorders are live at a variety of retailers we’ve listed out below, with the upgraded console officially releasing on November 7.

In his PS5 Pro preview, Bo Moore said: “From what I’ve seen, it seems to be capable of achieving similar results to what DLSS has done for PC gaming over the past few years, and I can’t wait to see how developers push the graphical envelope now that the hardware can better keep up with their ambitions.”

“Of course, it’ll be a good while before we see games designed to take advantage of this power from the ground up. But until then, if you choose to invest in its high price, you’ll at least be getting peace of mind that you’re getting the best possible PlayStation experience money can buy.”

What to Buy Ahead of the PS5 Pro’s Release

It was also revealed during the 9-minute presentation that the new console does not come with a disc drive or the vertical stand. So we thought it best to point you in the direction of these items so you can purchase them now in the event they sell out. The PS5 Disc Drive will cost you $79.94 and the vertical stand will set you back $29.94.

Perfect PS5 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $139.99

SSD prices have been rising in 2024 but, with significant discounts available, now is the perfect time to buy. This is one of the best deals on a 2TB SSD at the moment: You can score the 2TB Seagate FireCuda 530R PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $139.99 at Amazon. This deal isn’t the only one worth checking out right now, either. You can see even more of our favorite SSD deals below.

Best PS5 Headset Deals

There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.

How to Trade in Your Old PlayStation Consoles

If you’re looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.

While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.

With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and we keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Stardew Valley Dev Says if the 1.6 Update Is Causing Performance Issues, Remove All Hats From Pets

This week’s release of Stardew Valley 1.6 on console and mobile has come with a number of problems, including disappearing chickens. Now, players are reporting performance issues following the release of the update, although the game’s developer has a solution.

In a tweet, Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone suggested removing all hats from pets if you’re experiencing performance issues in Stardew Valley 1.6. “We will address the problem as soon as possible.”

Earlier this week, Barone came up with some Stardew Valley lore to explain the disappearing chickens issue, blaming it on a wild coyote on the farm.

Barone also has some lore to explain the performance issues, tweeting: “There’s rumors of a strange rash affecting pets’ ears in Zuzu City and we just want to make sure those ears can breath for a few days.”

Yesterday, November 5, Barone revealed that Stardew Valley 1.6 added a hidden experimental multiplayer feature to the mobile version of the game. It’s unlocked using a take on the Konami Code.

The free 1.6 update, which sparked a fresh 10/10 Stardew Valley review from IGN, launched on PC in March. Barone initially expected the console and mobile ports of 1.6 would be released a month later.

Barone has apologized to disgruntled fans and promised not to return to work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, until Stardew 1.6 is finalized. Haunted Chocolatier, revealed in 2021, doesn’t have a release window.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Nintendo Switch 2 Will Officially Be Backward-Compatible With Original Switch Games

Nintendo has confirmed that the yet-to-be-announced Switch 2 will be backward-compatible with original Switch games and will feature Nintendo Switch Online.

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shared the news during the company’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, revealing a bit more about the successor to 2017’s Nintendo Switch.

“This is Furukawa,” Nintendo wrote on X/Twitter. “At today’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing, we announced that Nintendo Switch software will also be playable on the successor to Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online will be available on the successor to Nintendo Switch as well. Further information about the successor to Nintendo Switch, including its compatibility with Nintendo Switch, will be announced at a later date.”

We have a ton left to learn about this new Switch as we are still waiting for its actual announcement, which Nintendo has previously said will happen by the end of March 2025.

The Current State of the Nintendo Switch

Nintendo also shared more about sales of the current Switch and its software, including that it was cutting the sales projection of its current hardware for the financial year ending March 2025 from 13.5 million units to 12.5 million units.

Nintendo had a 17% revenue drop and a 69% profit drop versus the same quarter from its last financial year, and it sold 4.72 million Switch units in the six months ending September 30. That latter figure is down from the 6.84 million units sold during the same period last year.

On the software side from April to September 2024, Nintendo said The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom sales have reached 2.58 million, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s have jumped up 2.31 million, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s have climbed to 1.94 million, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD’s have scared to 1.57 million.

For context, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has now crossed a whopping 64.27 million units sold and is far and beyond the best-selling Switch game. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is currently in second place with 46.45 million units sold.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.

Planet Coaster 2 Review

When we already have a theme park simulator as good as Planet Coaster, it can be tricky to imagine what a sequel might add. And Planet Coaster 2, most of the time, does feel pretty similar to the first one. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing since I really liked the original. Adding water rides is exciting and refreshing, and even deeper visual customization is downright impressive, while equally daunting in how the options are presented. But this is still much more of a park decorating sim than a park management one.

Where the recent Frontier games (Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo) have really excelled is in the nearly ridiculous amount of visual customization options available. Hundreds of modular pieces that can be recolored, resized, rotated, and overlapped allow you to create just about anything you can imagine. The terrain editor is more powerful than ever here, and the tools for carving my dreams into the landscape are pretty intuitive. It does feel a bit like being thrown into the deep end, though. I get decision paralysis from the sheer amount of choice, and risk getting bogged down in making each little decoration perfect.

I don’t find that level of fiddliness to be as enjoyable as designing rides or running a park, but the pre-made decor doesn’t quite fill the gap to where I feel like I can skip that step and still get the theming I want. Plopping down an unadorned ride feels boring, and the pre-decorated ones don’t have quite enough variety. What I really found myself longing for was something in-between the extremes of fussing over every handrail and accepting unthemed or pre-themed attractions. But thanks to Steam Workshop integration – always a great addition – I’m sure the community will have me covered after the true detail masters have more time to tinker.

Where I do really like that fine control is when I’m building rides, and the coaster editor is more powerful and easier to use than ever. Creating banks, corkscrews, spirals, loops, and bends of all sizes feels intuitive and almost effortless thanks to the great UI. The option to automatically finish a track with one click when you’re getting close to the end works really well this time around, too, and allowed me to skip the hassle of fishing for the right angle to bring everyone safely into the station.

Sandbox mode presents a beautiful canvas for almost anything I can dream up.

Despite how much I enjoy the act of building my ideal park, the original Planet Coaster was neither challenging nor interesting as a management tycoon game, and that has unfortunately not changed. Even after messing with the difficulty settings, of which there are several, I found it almost mindlessly simple to generate infinite money with a small number of flat rides and a high entry fee. You can now sell what are basically Disney’s Fast Passes as another income stream, in addition to charging extra for a pool pass on water rides. There are deeper systems for guest preferences and even things like sunburn in sunny climates, which is all neat in theory. But when I’m making so much money that I can basically ignore all of it, why would I care? Power management is also new, but why am I building generators in a theme park game? What theme park supplies its own electricity?

Staff management is still mostly hands-off, with some nice new quality-of-life features like being able to select from three different preset pay levels instead of typing in the numbers yourself. The annoying thing this time is that, unless I was entirely missing some core feature, the ride maintenance system seems to be broken currently. No matter how many mechanics I hired – at one point I had one per ride, plus a couple extra to cover breaks – I was constantly getting notifications about rides being in poor condition or breaking down. Once they had broken down, my staff was pretty quick to address the issue. But I’m not sure what they were doing the rest of the time. Am I supposed to manually dispatch them every time a ride drops below a certain repair level? Because they don’t seem to pay attention to that until it’s too late.

I couldn’t really get my head around the scheduling screen, and the in-game tutorials are not much help. In fact, they seem to start from a point of assuming you already know how to play Planet Coaster, skipping over a lot of the basics.

Thankfully, the sandbox mode is still the star of the show for me, presenting a beautiful canvas on which to realize almost anything I can dream up. The underwhelming management layer doesn’t detract from the joy of laying out everything with ease and total freedom, building whole attractions from scratch, and getting to ride my custom coasters in glorious first-person. All of the reasons I already loved the first Planet Coaster are not only alive and well here, they have all been improved in some way. So if I sound a bit down on this sequel, it’s only because I don’t feel the need to go back over every single thing that was already great about this series, but you can check out my review of the first Planet Coaster for a refresher.

Customizable pools, flumes, splash rides, and even water coasters open up the opportunity to create totally new kinds of parks, which kept me from feeling like I was playing the same game again but a little bit prettier. I do wish the pool editor would simply let me paint a shape rather than fiddling with polygons and a somewhat iffy rounding tool. But getting the shapes I wanted was really just a matter of time.

There’s also a career mode that features a handful of increasingly complex scenarios and challenges to master. It does an okay job of introducing some new concepts, like those water rides, but I still think it’s missing some major steps to onboard someone who might be new to the series. Also the dialogue is just… ugh. I think I would rather listen to cats dancing on stainless steel sheeting than these painful little skits that wouldn’t pass muster in most modern childrens’ cartoons.

Water rides kept it from feeling like I was playing the same game.

What I did like about these scenarios, similar to those in the first game, was that they show off the kinds of things you can do with the tools available to you, serving as a source of inspiration for my own parks. I was never going to stick with them once I’d earned enough stars to move on (it’s just not as fun to finish something someone else already started than it is to build from the ground up), but I definitely stole a lot of cool ideas.

Performance is also very respectable. Even at 4K, I was getting 60+ fps on my RTX 4070 Super most of the time, though a bit below that in the absolute most elaborate parks. I was able to do really silly stuff like recreating the Erdtree from Elden Ring using what must have been hundreds and hundreds of golden pyrotechnics, and the level-of-detail swapping refused to let my shenanigans, however ridiculous, banish my park to slideshow territory.