EA’s long-awaited Skate reboot finally has an early access release date, and the good news is you’ll be able to play it for free in less than a month.
Skate’s early access launch begins on September 16 via PC (EA App, Epic Games Store, Steam), PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
As previously announced, you will need an internet connection to play the game, as well as an EA account to log in. Skate developer Full Circle previously explained the need for an online connection as something required for its vision of a “living, breathing, massively multiplayer skateboarding sandbox that is always online and always evolving.”
“You’ll see bigger things evolve, like changes to the city over time,” the developer continued, “as well as smaller things, like live events and other in-game activities.”
Indeed, today’s release date trailer focuses firmly on multiplayer gameplay, with squads of skaters seen traversing the streets of San Vansterdam. The game’s open-world features traffic, and what look like custom-made objects hung in the sky for you to try and skate upon.
Skate was originally announced by publisher EA way back in 2020, and development has continued slowly but surely ever since. The game has previously been playable by fans within closed community playtests that have even seen the introduction of microtransactions for cosmetic items, if you were wondering how EA plans to monetise the game. All purchases will be reset at the game’s impending early access launch — though if you’ve paid anything before then, your money will be refunded.
“I can clearly see the direction developer Full Circle is taking the series, but I can also say that Skate is shaping up to be a game worthy of being the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Skate 3,” IGN wrote in our Skate hands-on preview earlier this year. “The gameplay seems refined and lives up to its predecessors, the world is big and fun to explore, and the overall sandbox’s ‘do what you want’ vibe is really making me look forward to diving back in.”
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
The original 2006 Gears of War is the classic case of “don’t judge a book by its cover;” this seemingly meatheaded, bro-forward game has cemented itself as not only one of the best third-person cover shooter series with its iconic gameplay and weapons, but also one that shrugs at its stereotypes to both embrace them (when was the last time you heard someone called a dickwad?) and defy them with great storytelling and fantastic voice acting. Ten years after its first makeover, it’s gotten another with Gears of War: Reloaded. Unlike some games that get a premature remaster treatment a few years after their release, this one looks and feels like a noticeable improvement.
As we’ve come to expect from Xbox Game Studios developer The Coalition, the PS5 and Steam crowds are welcomed to the first game in this iconic series with gorgeous modern graphics and framerates, and no more waiting around on long load screens. Before we get into the details of Reloaded, here’s what IGN said about Gears of War’s first remaster from 2015:
From playing about seven hours, I can say that the glowing review of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and its few faults still stand true with Reloaded. The story begins by throwing you into the thick of a losing war. Things go from shit to shittier for Marcus Fenix and crew as they try to accomplish one task that spirals out of control, and while that may not be fun for them, it sure is exciting to play, especially with the technical updates. Here are the highlights:
Reloaded plays in 4K with up to 120Hz output (if you’ve got the screen for it).
The 60fps is a nice upgrade on consoles for the campaign, which previously only went up to 30fps at its launch and 60fps with the Series X performance boost, and 120fps in multiplayer is equally welcome.
There are more options to change up controls, audio, and more Reloaded than were in Ultimate Edition.
A Touch of Color
The 2015 Gears of War: Ultimate Edition did a great job upgrading the notoriously drab look of the Xbox 360 original with color adjustments, lifting the muddy grey and brown fog from the planet Sera. Reloaded takes that a step further, with an even more lively color palette and better lighting that resembles what we saw in Gears 5. The uplifted style gives extra vibrancy to splurting blood during a chainsaw kill, and the blue skies clouded by smoke and dust look nice, too. The Coalition added extra detail to the environment as well, like additional paintings in legal buildings, dense bookshelves, fridges with rotting food, more corpses, and other fitting decor like that.
Welcome to Delta Squad, PS5
It’s still mighty odd seeing Xbox Game Studios on the screen while I hold a DualSense, but I can only say that the shredding of exclusivity lines hasn’t hurt Gears of War one bit. If anything, it’s made a strong case for me to do a co-op run on PlayStation 5. The core of Reloaded is the same between all three platforms, but the DualSense adds a twist with the adaptive triggers and any comms done through radio output through the controller’s speaker. It was a neat surprise having dialogue and sound effects – like hitting the perfect active reload – presented this way.
That being said, the adaptive triggers can be off-putting in some situations, like when hopping on a Troika where the triggers feel like they’re on max resistance for firing the turret or when driving a vehicle, so I could see them being unwelcome to some. I got tired of it in the second act during a long driving section, so I ended up turning adaptive triggers off for a bit.
Another aspect of Gears that’s evolved over time is the heavy screen shake with the roadie run. It’s less pronounced in other Gears games that’ve come along since, but The Coalition kept the exaggerated effect for Reloaded by default. I appreciate its unique touch and that the shakiness encourages tactical use. Running around an encounter isn’t the way to play Reloaded, and if you do, you’ll likely be punished for it. Instead, you’ll want to run and bounce between cover, keeping yourself protected from the onslaught of enemy fire. If you don’t like screen shake, though, it can be turned off. It’s good to have options!
Some Minor Bugs
The cool additions are also joined by some minor bugs I’ve seen in the roughly six hours I’ve played on PlayStation 5. There was weirdness in checkpoints jumping me forward and facing a different way, characters’ voices would drop for a line randomly, and I saw some enemies get stuck in between cover. Those bugs have appeared infrequently and weren’t too bothersome, though, and are probably nothing a patch or two won’t fix. I didn’t see these happen much during my time with the Xbox version, but just because I didn’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Bugs are tricky like that!
Bad Squad AI
The one actively annoying gameplay issues I came across was how incompetent and overall wonky my AI companions were on the Hardcore difficulty level, which is a noticeable downgrade from how they performed in Ultimate Edition. In Reloaded, they go down constantly, whereas in Ultimate Edition they still went down occasionally, but seemed to be helping more. Hardcore is only a step above normal and below Insane, so I expected they should be able to hold their own at least a bit. I noticed Dom waltzing into the dark and dying to the lurking Kryll that shredded him in seconds in one mission, and every now and then, Dom or the other two companions, Cole and Baird, would get stuck far behind, unwilling to leave a doorway. I love Delta squad, but I’m not reviving them every encounter only to put myself in danger.
Cherry on Top: Extras for Gears Fans
Gears of War: Reloaded includes a nice Extras section, which is something you’d want to see in a remaster like this to reward returning fans who’re buying it for the second or third time. What’ll interest most folks in the Extras section are the five different issues of the Gears of War comic. Grabbing the collectible COG Tags throughout the campaign unlocks pages in five different issues of the Gears of War comic, which is a nice reward for those who haven’t read them. This was available in the Ultimate Edition, and it’s a welcome return. Completing acts of the campaign also unlocks neat concept art.
And, while multiple sets of credits may not be what someone who’s new to this game cares about, for folks like me, seeing the credits available for Reloaded, Ultimate Edition, and the original are in line with Gears’ respect for teamwork.
Multiplayer Only Has Minor Tweaks
Multiplayer hasn’t changed (in terms of what content is included) between Ultimate Edition and Reloaded, though The Coalition upgraded to 60Hz dedicated servers, as opposed to the 30Hz we’ve had in previous versions. The maps got the remaster treatment too, with better lighting, visual effects, and best of all, an upgrade to 120fps on consoles (PC players also get a 240fps option). I expect weapon tuning to be in flux after launch; The Coalition already noted it’s making some improvements to the Gnasher, making perfect active reload damage fixed, and more tweaks based on feedback from the beta.
Get Your COG Tags
If this is your first time playing Gears of War, I recommend finding a friend to join you – the Gears of War teams have always designed these games with a partner in mind (and as I mentioned, the AI doesn’t really pull its weight on the higher difficulty levels). The Coalition thankfully maintained the option to play Reloaded couch co-op, which we don’t see enough these days, and of course, you’ve also got the option of online crossplay if your co-op buddy is on another system. I’m still undecided on whether or not I want to spend my next co-op replay on Xbox or PS5 or bounce between them (thanks, cross-progression!), but I’m excited to dive back in again either way.
A fresh report has detailed the difficulties faced by some developers keen to launch games for Switch 2 — but who remain unable to do so due to a lack of Nintendo support.
According to Digital Foundry, Nintendo is still restricting its supply of Switch 2 development hardware and instead telling some studios to launch their titles as Switch 1 games that can then be played via backwards compatibility.
This has sparked frustration among a number of developers, including at least one major AAA studio unable to launch a Switch 2-native version of their game, while hardware is given to some indie creators — including the team behind a campfire simulator.
“There’s been a lot of talk about this lately, that Nintendo seems to be almost discouraging Switch 2 development to some degree,” Digital Foundry’s John Linneman said during the team’s most recent podcast. “I’ve spoken with plenty of developers where they were told that their game, they should just ship it on Switch 1 and rely on backwards compatibility.
“There’s a lot of developers that are unable to get Switch 2 dev kits,” Linneman continued. “We talked to a lot of devs at Gamescom this year, and so many of them said the same things. They want to ship on Switch 2. They would love to do Switch 2 versions. They can’t get the hardware. It’s really difficult right now.”
One particular frustration has been the lack of transparency from Nintendo on why some studios have been given Switch 2 development kits, while others have not. IGN has contacted Nintendo for comment.
“I don’t really know what Nintendo’s mindset was with these sets of decisions,” Digital Foundry’s Oliver Mackenzie said. “I don’t really understand the strategy because, like you said, even now developers are struggling to get systems, and I know that some months ago when we were hearing things through the grapevine and talking to people, there were some weird exclusions with some big developers struggling to get kits for games.
“From what we’ve heard, there were some weird inclusions as well,” he continued. “Some indies were included, which is nice to see. But there’s that campfire game, you know, the camera campfire game, and they’re getting kits. And some big developers, on the other hand, who developed AAA stuff, aren’t necessarily in the pipeline there for kits.”
The camera campfire game here in question is Chillin’ by the Fire, an indie hangout game set around a campfire which makes use of the Switch 2 camera. On the one hand, the simple fact this makes use of GameChat and the Switch 2’s camera capabilities makes this impossible to launch on Switch 1, meaning that development hardware for Nintendo’s newer console would be required. On the other, it’s understandable why some AAA developers might be surprised to see this launch, after being told they wouldn’t yet receive a Switch 2 development kit for themselves.
“There’s weird stuff about discouraging Switch 2 development explicitly for some games, a limited subset of games like if you’re doing a pixel art game at 240p, you probably don’t need a Switch 2 kit,” Mackenzie added. “But there are very few games on the Switch 1 that wouldn’t benefit from being ported explicitly to Switch 2.
“The thing that’s really stark to me too is, at this point, we’ve seen very few proper Switch 2 Editions post-launch. I don’t think we’ve seen any, hardly at all really, from third-party developers in particular. Obviously we saw No Man’s Sky, I think one or two other games in the mix there. But really, it’s been a very slow trickle of titles earning that Switch 2 Edition badge.
“I really want to see more movement on that front. I hope it’s a temporary thing,” Mackenzie concluded. “I hope that in a year or two, we’re looking back and we’re like, that was a really weird decision, but it was fixed in time. I hope that’s what we’re looking at.”
Free-to-play hybrid action RPG Duet Night Abyss recently revealed in a special program that it will launch globally on PC and mobile on October 28 and that it’s making significant changes to its core monetization system.
For the uninitiated, Duet Night Abyss is developed by Pan Studio, a studio under Hero Games. It was first announced in 2023, and the story is told through a dual narrative from the perspectives of two protagonists. Pre-registration is open now, and you can sign up here. You can also get more info about the game’s world, characters, and weapons on the official website.
With the latest update, the dev team announced some major changes designed to make the game more player friendly. All weapons and characters are now free to acquire, there are no banners to pull for and hope for luck. Weapons no longer have star ratings, and all can be forged or acquired for free through grinding. And all stamina for commissions has been removed, so there’s no time limitation on grinding.
To get some deeper insight into these changes, as well as info about the game and its development process, we got together with two key figures in its development — Hero Games CEO Daniel Wu and game producer Deca Bear — to chat about it.
How would you describe Duet Night Abyss? Where do things stand with the game as of now?
Deca Bear: Duet Night Abyss is a thrilling hybrid action RPG, featuring a dual narrative. Our goal is to provide players with pure, enjoyable gameplay in a relaxing, stress-free environment.
Globally, we have conducted one Technical Test and two Closed Beta Tests. Based on player feedback and data performance, we have continuously refined the game. Today, we are excited to announce that the global launch is scheduled for October 28, 2025.
For this release, we have made significant adjustments to the stamina system and monetization model. In the release version, all characters and weapons will be fully accessible for free. Meanwhile, we are actively working on future updates and will continue to deliver high-quality content to players in the coming versions.
The anime-style game market has been expanding in recent years. What inspired you to support this project, and what do you see for the future of these types of games?
Daniel Wu: The team behind Duet Night Abyss is a perfect fit for Hero Games — they carry that bold, slightly rebellious creative spirit, with a remarkable artistic vision. This reflects a deep passion for, and understanding of, the ACGN (animation, comics, and games) culture, enabling them to craft content that truly resonates with fans of this genre.
For content-driven ACGN titles, the core lies in the “content” itself. I believe that truly exceptional content — whether in ACGN or any other form — will always find its moment to shine in this era.
Before Duet Night Abyss was greenlit, we had already built extensive experience through investments in leading studios. Kuro Games, for example, had released the globally acclaimed Punishing: Gray Raven and was, at the same time, preparing the development of Wuthering Waves. Meanwhile, Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong — another project we backed — was already generating tremendous anticipation among players worldwide.
The strong, positive feedback from these investments inspired a new ambition: to create a project that could truly be called Hero Games’ own. That ambition became the starting point for Duet Night Abyss.
When was the concept of this game first brought to you? Has it changed or evolved since then?
Deca Bear: Duet Night Abyss is inspired by the deep understanding of anime-inspired culture and high-quality action games. As both a producer and a passionate gamer, I have observed the growing demand for anime-inspired game titles that combine engaging narratives with thrilling combat experiences. I believe this niche market will continue to expand, and that outstanding content, innovative gameplay, and player-friendly systems will become key factors in a game’s success. It was with these ideas in mind that we created Duet Night Abyss.
The core concept and vision of the game have remained consistent throughout development. Through continuous refinement and effort, we aim to convey our creative philosophy and passion to players worldwide.
The story is told from the perspectives of two protagonists. How did the idea of this dual narrative originate, and what benefits does this approach provide?
Deca Bear: The story in Duet Night Abyss is complex, and experiencing it from a single perspective only offers a limited view. By introducing an additional viewpoint, we add another dimension, allowing players to perceive the world in a more nuanced and multidimensional way. This was the very reason we chose the dual narrative in Duet Night Abyss.
With a dual narrative, players can experience the story through the eyes of different protagonists. Each character has their own storylines, roles, and connections, allowing players to experience two perspectives within a single game. At a certain point, when these storylines intersect, players will encounter unexpected and exciting surprises.
In the upcoming version, we have also made the protagonists playable characters, aiming to give players a stronger sense of immersion as they experience the story.
Could you give us an overview of the game’s hybrid action RPG combat system? What makes Duet Night Abyss unique in the genre?
Deca Bear: In addition to basic movements like jumping, we have added Helix Leap, allowing characters to traverse long distances at high speed. Each character can equip both melee and ranged weapons, seamlessly switching between close- and long-ranged attacks in battles.
Regarding skills, we opted for a short cooldown system — and in some cases, even no cooldown at all — so that most characters can continuously unleash skills as long as they have sufficient Sanity.
Additionally, both characters and weapons can be equipped with Demon Wedges, which not only provide stat boosts but also introduce changes to mechanics and attack patterns, offering a wide range of options for flexible and customizable builds.
During commissions, players can select two characters as AI companions to assist in battles, significantly reducing gameplay pressure.
Some of the most common issues players have with gacha games are pay-to-win mechanics and excessive grinding. What does Duet Night Abyss do to address these problems?
Deca Bear: Drawing on years of experience in art and design for anime-style games, I’ve long dreamed of creating an action RPG with a distinctive anime aesthetic. At the same time, I’m aware that the current anime-style game market often has a reputation for grind-heavy and pay-to-win mechanics. That’s why we set out to develop a truly player-friendly free-to-play (F2P) RPG, where players can enjoy the game freely at their own pace.
With this goal in mind, balancing monetization and player experience has been a core focus for our development team. In the latest updates to Duet Night Abyss, we’ve made major changes on the monetization system: character banners and star ratings for both characters and weapons have been removed, and all characters and weapons are now completely free to obtain.
From the perspective of reducing player burden, the Demon Wedge system provides fixed stat boosts and can be applied universally within its category once obtained. In commissions, the Sigil System allows players to summon AI companions to assist in combat, improving efficiency and reducing grind. Additionally, the stamina system for commissions has been completely removed. Our goal is to ease player’s burdens while maintaining a player-friendly experience for F2P users.
Those changes are pretty significant. What went into that decision? As producer, did you have any concerns about that choice?
Deca Bear: As mentioned, our core vision for Duet Night Abyss is to build a high-quality, long-term, and truly player-friendly game ecosystem for users around the world. Monetization has to serve the gameplay experience, not compromise the fun.
The choice to remove character banners and weapon star ratings was driven by extensive player feedback and our team’s commitment to creating a fairer, more sustainable progression system.
While this may mean letting go of certain short-term monetization opportunities, I believe that, over time, it will deepen player engagement and trust, paving the way for a healthier and more enduring business model.
These changes mean giving up some common monetization methods. As the CEO, what were your feelings on that decision?
Daniel Wu: On this matter, I share the same vision as our producer. As a gamer myself, I truly value player-friendly design, which is why we place such importance on player feedback. The direction of our adjustments is focused on meeting player expectations and delivering an experience that genuinely resonates with them.
From a company perspective, while this may mean forgoing certain quick monetization opportunities in the short term, I believe that in the long run, it will help strengthen player engagement and reputation — ultimately building a healthier, more sustainable business model.
Throughout the process of development, how important has player feedback been? What areas of the game have been most popular, and what areas do you still need to improve based on the feedback you’ve gotten?
Deca Bear: We’ve always placed the highest importance on player feedback. Some players have previously expressed concerns about our monetization system. For a live service game, we believe a business model built on player trust is essential. That’s why, in this update, we made those adjustments — aiming to improve player experience while ensuring the game’s long-term sustainability.
Naturally, there were discussions and concerns along the way — whether these changes might impact our revenue model or affect core player engagement. But we’ve remained committed to the belief that a healthy ecosystem and strong player goodwill are worth far more than short-term returns.
We’re fortunate to have the full support of our leadership — especially our CEO, Daniel — as well as our publishing team. We all share the goal of creating a game that players genuinely want to stay with and can form lasting connections around — this is where our efforts invested most. We’ll monitor the new designs and refine them to ensure they deliver.
You’ve now announced the upcoming global launch, so what’s next on the roadmap? Do you have a set cadence for the release of new information going forward?
Deca Bear: The next step, of course, is preparing for the global launch, which is a critical moment for our entire team. We need to ensure that the upcoming version is stable and delivers a smooth, enjoyable experience, and we’ll continue to make optimizations and adjustments leading up to the launch.
All the content for this version is currently in development. The special program already showcased some of the new visuals, but this is just a small part of what’s coming. There’s still a lot more new content, including trailers and characters, which we’ll be sharing on Duet Night Abyss’ social channels — stay tuned!
What are you most looking forward to hearing from players about once they get their hands on the game after launch?
Deca Bear: For us, every piece of feedback from players is extremely valuable — whether it’s about the story, combat, characters, or visuals. We welcome all feedback and will continuously refine and improve the game based on it.
We know about the PC and mobile versions of the game. Are there plans to bring it to other platforms?
Deca Bear: We are working to make the game fully compatible with controllers, and the previous CBT included an initial trial. Apart from this, we also aim to expand the game to more platforms, giving players more ways to play.
What does success for Duet Night Abyss look like to you? What is your goal for the game, and how do you expect it to grow in the future?
Daniel Wu: From a business perspective, return on investment may be the most straightforward measure of a game’s success. However, for me, chasing short-term gains is neither the core goal nor the main focus. I have always believed that a product’s true success should go beyond purely commercial metrics. What we value more is the team’s continuous growth and capability accumulation throughout the process, technological iteration and innovation breakthroughs, the long-term health of the product’s ecosystem, and building deep, meaningful interactions with players.
As long as we stay aligned with the right overarching direction and keep improving along these dimensions, the likelihood of achieving success naturally increases.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to players who are interested in Duet Night Abyss?
Deca Bear: We sincerely thank all players for their continued attention and support. With the global launch of Duet Night Abyss just around the corner, we hope players give it a try. If any gameplay issues are encountered, please let us know — we’ll keep refining the game and developing more fun and engaging content to deliver the best possible experience for everyone.
A fresh Nintendo Direct broadcast will air in September, according to a new report.
Speculation around the next major Nintendo Direct date has been rife following a series of other presentations over the past few months focusing on third-party games or individual titles, including a recent deep dive on Kirby Air Riders. Now, VGC has said it has heard of a mid-September date for the next Direct.
Such a showing would be timely, as several major questions currently hang in the air for Nintendo fans — including, most importantly, a release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Previously promised to arrive in 2025, Nintendo has not shown anything new of the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 since the Switch 2’s full unveiling back in April. The silence has led some to fear the game could suffer a fresh delay — something Nintendo will likely want to avoid if at all possible.
And then there’s the small matter of Super Mario Bros.’ 40th anniversary, which comes at an interesting time for Nintendo’s mascot plumber. Nintendo celebrated the game’s 35th anniversary with its time-limited Super Mario 3D All-Stars package and Super Mario Bros. 35, plus the opening of the first Super Nintendo World theme park.
How will Nintendo celebrate Super Mario Bros.’ 40th? Well, we already know that the coming year will include the launch of Nintendo and Universal’s Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel. On the game front, what plans Nintendo might have remain to be seen — but there are other 3D Mario games Nintendo could serve up for a fresh re-release, if it so chooses. Could we even get a glimpse of Switch 2’s big new 3D Mario, also?
The stage is set for a strong Nintendo Direct in September, should the company officially announce plans. Alongside all the speculation, there remains the fact that Nintendo has broadcast a major Nintendo Direct every September since 2016 (except for last year, when it held news back for the announcement of Switch 2).
Currently, Nintendo’s Switch 2 line-up for the remainder of 2025 looks like this: Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World arrives on August 28, before Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition launches on October 16. After that, Kirby Air Riders is up next on November 20.
If it makes this year, could Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sneak into September, or will it squeak into 2025 just before Christmas in December? Here’s hoping fans don’t have too much longer to wait and find out.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
You’ve heard what we think of Ninja Gaiden 4 — from an expert point of view. But what if you’ve never played a Ninja Gaiden game before? Will this latest entry in the notoriously difficult action series offer newcomers something they can get to grips with? Will the story make sense if you don’t know your Ryu Hayabusas from your Yakumos?
That was my angle of attack going into my gamescom 2025 session with Team Ninja’s Masakazu Hirayama and PlatinumGames’ Yuji Nakao, co-directors on this eye-catching new co-production from Xbox Game Studios. As Nakao expertly dispatched a boss on a big screen overlooking our behind closed doors presentation, I couldn’t help but marvel at the slick, fast-paced ninja action I was seeing. But I also felt intimidated. I’m no stranger to action games; I love Capcom’s Devil May Cry series, for example, but I know Ninja Gaiden operates on a whole other level.
I also know that Microsoft, which is publishing Ninja Gaiden 4, hopes that that this latest entry appeals not just to hardcore fans of the franchise, but to the wider action game fanbase. That it will, essentially, convince the likes of me to give it a shot. And so my line of questioning is probably a little different compared to what you’ve already seen from the illustrious Ninja Gaiden experts IGN has on-staff. Read on to find out how Team Ninja and PlatinumGames convinced this worrisome action game fan to give Ninja Gaiden 4 a shot.
IGN: I’m a newcomer to the series. For people who have never played a Ninja Gaiden game before but have perhaps heard about it by reputation as a very difficult action game, will they be able to get some enjoyment out of this, or is this very much aimed at people who are veterans of the series who know how to play?
Masakazu Hirayama: So with Ninja Gaiden 4, first and foremost we wanted to stay true to the tradition of intense combat. But with that said, it has been quite a while since the last mainline Ninja Gaiden came out, and we also want to make sure that a wide audience can approach our game and enjoy it.
So to that end, we’ve prepared not only difficulty options, but other features for those new players. In terms of difficulty settings, there is a mode called Hero Mode. So when you choose Hero Mode, it’ll automatically enable a number of assists. So these assists include Auto Guard, Auto Dodge, and another assist that allow you to perform more complicated actions, moves more easily. And these individual assists, once you select Hero Mode, you’re not stuck with the assist. You can actually go into the menu at any time and toggle them on and off individually.
So if you start out in Hero Mode and then you feel like, oh, I want to start dodging manually now instead of having automatic dodge, you can go to the menu and toggle it off and see how you fare. But not only that, the difficulty settings themselves in your first play through, you can freely change between hero mode, normal mode, and hard mode.
So for example, you start your game on hero mode with all the assists. After you beat the first chapter, you turn off the assists, and then after you beat the next chapter, you feel like you’ve developed as a player and it’s getting too easy. You can go to the menu, change to normal, and then after that, if you feel like you need more of a challenge, you can go back and change it to hard, and then you can adjust it on the fly. So you can really curate your combat experience based on your progression as a player.
So for newcomers who may feel like this game might be too difficult for them, I want to assure them that the tools are available for them to train themselves and allow them to progress as a player and enjoy that core intensity of the combat while also providing that tools to allow them to progress through the game.
IGN: And for newcomers who aren’t familiar with Ninja Gaiden but are perhaps familiar with the action game genre, what sets Ninja Garden apart? What are its signature mechanics that other games in the genre perhaps don’t have?
Yuji Nakao: Ninja Gaiden is a series that has been developed by Team Ninja up until now. One of the main characteristics that sets apart Ninja Gaiden from other action games is just that feeling you get when you’re gripping the controller in the sense of precision and responsiveness. Ninja Garden has an intricate feeling of control, but at the same time it’s elegant and precise, and that’s what really sets it apart.
And since this is a collaborative effort — it’s not just Team Ninja, it’s PlatinumGames that’s developing the game — PlatinumGames has injected their own flavor into Ninja Gaiden 4. And that’s best represented in the Bloodraven form, which is the main new system in Ninja Gaiden 4, where Yakumo can unleash these over the top, really expressive attacks. Ninja Gaiden 4 fuses that over the top expression with that elegant precision of a Ninja Gaiden.
IGN: On the story, this is Ninja Gaiden 4, so newcomers will be aware this will be the fourth mainline game in the series. Do you feel that newcomers will be able to understand the story without having played the previous games in the series, or would they benefit from catching up? And how does the story differ from what’s gone before? What do you hope to achieve with the story this time around?
Hirayama: New players can rest assured that they can just jump into Ninja Gaiden 4 and enjoy the story from the jump. It’s not directly connected to the prior games. The world and the setting is the same, but the story itself stands alone. So as long as you know that Ryu Hayabusa is the badass ninja, then you’re good to go with Ninja Gaiden 4.
IGN: You mentioned previously that it’s been some time since the last mainline Ninja Gaiden game. What have you been able to achieve with this game that was impossible before that makes use of all the new technology that has been created since then?
Nakao: In prior Ninja Gaidens you weren’t able to seamlessly switch your weapons on the fly. With the new technology and the new hardware that’s available, we’re actually able to realize that, which really opens up the possibilities in combat.
And then another point is how violence is depicted. So Ninja Gaiden 4, as well as other prior Ninja Gaidens, when you dismember an enemy and you cut into them and there’s blood splatters, we were really able to amp that up in Ninja Gaiden 4 and provide an even more elevated sense of satisfaction and catharsis when you are devastating your enemies.
IGN: You’re collaborating with Platinum this time for Ninja Gaiden 4. What made Platinum the perfect choice? What is it that they bring to the table that’s unique that no other developer perhaps could?
Masakazu Hirayama: PlatinumGames, they have a lot of accomplishments in the action game genre, and they’re really known for their expressive stylish action. So with Ninja Gaiden 4, because it’s a collaborative effort, we really wanted to allow PlatinumGames to bring that to the table in development. And we previously touched on Bloodraven form — we think Bloodraven form is the best representation of how we were able to incorporate it. But not just incorporate it for the sake of adding new things, really incorporating it into the foundation of Ninja Gaiden, so it doesn’t just exist on top of it, but it exists within it.
IGN: Why was now the right time to make a new Ninja Gaiden mainline entry? How will Ninja Gaiden 4 expand the audience for Ninja Gaiden as a whole so it is more popular than it has been in the past?
Hirayama: In terms of the timing of bringing a new Ninja Gaiden into the world, it wasn’t necessarily that we wanted this to happen right now. It was more the result of a series of events.
At Team Ninja we had wanted to make a new Ninja Gaiden for quite a long time. And when that opportunity started to present itself, there was a conversation that took place between the president of Koei Tecmo, Hisashi Koinuma, and the president of PlatinumGames, Atsushi Inaba. They’re actually friends, and they were talking about, wouldn’t it be great if we could work on something in the future? That’s when the idea of creating a new Ninja Gaiden together came up. And then Phil Spencer from Xbox caught wind of this idea and just threw his support behind the project. That’s what got it off the ground.
Like you said, it’s been a long time since the last Ninja Gaiden game. To the end of providing a fresh entry point for new players, we introduced a new protagonist. This protagonist was a proposal from PlatinumGames, actually. And I think we were able to allow PlatinumGames to really incorporate their own take on Ninja Gaiden through Yakumo.
But of course, Ryu Hayabusa is the icon of the series, so we’ve also made sure that Ryu Hayabusa is playable and has a strong presence in the game as well. So I think through this collaborative effort we’ve been able to provide a fresh experience, but it still feels like Ninja Gaiden, and it will be a fresh entry point for new players.
IGN: Why did you accept the proposal for a new protagonist from PlatinumGames, and what exactly is it about this new character that sets him apart from Ryu Hayabusa?
Hirayama: In terms of the reason why we accepted Platinum’s proposal to bring a new protagonist, it was really what I touched upon earlier: providing that fresh entry point for new players, but also because this is a collaborative effort, really allowing PlatinumGames to bring their own ideas to the table. And Yakumo was a vehicle to allow that to happen.
Nakao: So with Ryu Hayabusa, he really retains his distinct qualities from the prior games. In Ninja Gaiden 4, he’s really all about that power and that sense of speed. So when you’re playing as Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden 4, you can really experience that raw, primitive Ninja Gaiden experience.
Contrasting with Ryu, Yakumo has this savviness. There’s a cleverness to the way he fights with his arsenal, and he also has those more expressive combat techniques through the Bloodravenform. And through that he has this stylish take of the Ninja Gaiden combat.
So even though they both share the Ninja Gaiden fundamentals, there’s this very distinct difference that you will feel when you are picking up the controller and pressing the buttons and seeing how they respond to those inputs.
IGN: And what is the split in terms of play time, roughly? Is there one character we will spend more time with than the other?
Hirayama: In terms of the story, Yakumo is the protagonist, so the playtime split, Yakumo will have more playtime. So more than half of the story you’ll be playing as Yakumo. With that said, there are dedicated segments in the story for Ryu. And you won’t be playing as Ryu Hayabusa just for a short time and then you’ll be done with it. There’ll be a very robust amount of content for you to enjoy playing as Ryu.
And once you complete the story once, you’ll actually unlock a chapter challenge mode. This will allow you to freely play different chapters in the game and you’ll be able to play as either character. So you could, after your first playthrough, play through all the chapters as Ryu. Conversely, you could play Ryu’s story chapters as Yakumo. So there’s a lot of content that you can enjoy after you do your first playthrough.
IGN: I’d love to know your favorite new mechanic we’ve not seen in a Ninja Gaiden game before.
Hirayama: My favorite new aspect is the Bloodraven form. So Bloodraven form, it really captures the new kind of expressiveness that PlatinumGames has brought to the table in Ninja Gaiden. But not only that, there was a lot of back and forth with regards to Bloodraven form throughout the development of this game. So Team Ninja would get the build from Platinum and then play the game and provide their feedback. But a year ago Bloodraven form was just so OP, like as long as you activated Bloodraven form, you could really just defeat any enemy. And we were looking at it as like, well if Bloodraven form dominates everything, we’re going to lose the Ninja Gaiden essence. And there was a lot of interesting back and forth that we went through to arrive where we’re at today.
You’ll see that when we were incorporating Bloodraven form into the Ninja Guide game cycle. For example, when you use Bloodraven form and you attack an enemy, it’ll increase the likelihood of doing a dismemberment. When you dismember an enemy in Ninja Gaiden, you can perform an Obliteration Technique. Obliteration Technique is basically just a finisher, like an execution style attack. And then once you execute an enemy, they’ll drop a blood orb essence. Essence was in previous Ninja Gaidens, and it basically functions the same way in Ninja Gaiden 4. And then once that essence drops, you convert it into an Ultimate Technique using Ultimate Guidance. I know I’m throwing a lot of terminology at you! But we were able to bring this Bloodraven form into Ninja Gaiden and really incorporate it into that foundational Ninja Gaiden game cycle. Finding ways of exploring that was very interesting from a development perspective.
Nakao: In addition to the Bloodraven form, there’s also the base form. Within the base form I feel like we’ve been able to evolve Ninja Gaiden in terms of the new type of techniques that are available. Ninja Gaiden 4 introduces Just Guards and Just Dodges. In Ninja Gaiden, the dodging move is called the Reverse Wind. In Ninja Gaiden 4 you can actually do a Just Dodge Reverse Wind. And this really opens up the variety and possibilities of Ninja Gaiden’s combat and serves to continue to evolve that high speed back and forth between offense and defense that really makes Ninja Gaiden distinct.
Hirayama: And building on the new possibilities that are available in Ninja Gaiden 4, sometimes you’ll see enemies glow up in red when they’re about to unleash a powerful attack. You can actually use Bloodraven form to counter that attack using an offensive ability. This especially becomes apparent in the boss battles, where you can not just be defensive, but you can actually use aggression to counter enemy attacks. And because of that, Ninja Gaiden 4’s boss battles especially feel very distinct and provide a new kind of intensity compared to our previous entries.
Ninja Gaiden 4 launches on October 21 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.
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.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s 2019 hit Death Stranding, was well-received at launch. It’s “incredibly exciting and original,” and “bold work that deserves to be encouraged,” at least, according to our review. As a result, fans might be hoping for an eventual third game in the series. But for right now, Kojima isn’t planning to make Death Stranding 3…even though he already has a concept written.
Kojima said this in an interview in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, as a part of the Death Stranding 2 World Strand Tour. When asked by the interviewer about Death Stranding 3, he replied with the following:
“I’m not planning to do that at the moment, because the ending of Death Stranding 2 was my finale of 1 and 2. But I already wrote the concept of DS3, so I have that in data. I hope that someone would create it for me.”
This isn’t the first time Kojima has suggested that someone else might pick up the mantle of his games after him. Back in May, he said that he’d been thinking more and more about his own death lately, prompting him to create a USB stick “kind of like a will” that lays out the future of his studio, Kojima Productions, if he dies.
“I gave a USB stick with all my ideas on it to my personal assistant, kind of like a will,” he said. “Perhaps they could continue to make things after I’m gone at Kojima Productions… This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I’m gone? I don’t want them to just manage our existing IP.”
While we won’t be getting a Death Stranding 3 anytime soon it sounds like, there’s plenty coming from Kojima’s mind in the near future. Death Stranding is getting a live-action film adaptation in partnership with A24, and Kojima is busy working on two different games: horror project OD, in collaboration with Xbox, and Metal Gear successor Physint.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
After a high-profile failure in Concord and a high-profile success in Astro Bot last year, PlayStation is looking to adjust its strategy to incorporate fewer live service games, more big franchises, and stricter oversight of its owned studios.
In an interview with Financial Times, PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst says the company is hoping to mitigate future big, expensive risks with future games. “I don’t want teams to always play it safe, but I would like for us, when we fail, to fail early and cheaply.”
The differences between the two games are myriad, certainly, and their development stories are quite different as well. But what Hulst has taken away from this is that there needs to be more supervision of Sony’s owned studios to ensure that games veering in the direction of Concord are spotted before they become expensive failures, so they can be canceled or corrected in time.
“We have since put in place much more rigorous and more frequent testing in very many different ways,” Hulst said. “The advantage of every failure . . . is that people now understand how necessary that [oversight] is.”
Financial Times spoke to multiple Sony studio heads, who said that this oversight means more focus on group testing, more communication between internal Sony studios, and closer relationships between the studios’ top executives. “If we’re heading towards a giant landmine, like there’s another studio making exactly the same game, that’s good information,” said Jason Connell, art director at Ghost of Yōtei studio Sucker Punch.
That comment rings especially poignant in light of Concord’s failure, which analysts say occurred for a number of reasons, including an oversaturation of multiplayer, live service shooters. Hulst suggests in the interview that PlayStation isn’t as intent on churning out live service games as it used to be. That said, PlayStation does have Bungie’s Marathon coming up before March 2026, a game that has a number of Bungie fans concerned amid delays, staff layoffs, and a general lack of information as to what the game entails.
But there’s another strategy Hulst also wants to pursue: he wants more, massive Sony IP. Astro Bot’s success has come about over the course of multiple games, with the little robot icon growing in popularity each time. According to Financial Times, Hulst wants studios to be thinking about how their IP can be turned into bigger and bigger franchises over time, following in the footsteps of The Last of Us and Uncharted. “We take a very intentional approach to IP creation . . . understanding how a new concept can turn into an iconic franchise for PlayStation, that can then again become a franchise for people beyond gaming,” he said.
Currently on the docket, PlayStation has Ghost of Yōtei and Lost Soul Aside coming this year, with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and Housemarque’s Saros for 2026. Other games such as Fairgames, Marvel’s Wolverine, Naughty Dog’s Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Marathon, and more remain in the works.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
The Magic: The Gathering product release schedule continues, with anticipation building for the arrival of Spider-Man next month, but there are plenty of price changes to come before then. From classic cards seeing new life and staggering value changes, to big drops for some of Edge of Eternities’ most popular cards, there’s plenty to keep up with. Here are the big shifts this week for August 28, and why they’re happening.
This Week’s Climbers
Need for Speed debuted in 2001 (the card, not the video game series) and it lets you sack lands to give creatures haste, but folks have noticed that Toph, the First Metalbender from the upcoming Avatar set can take advantage of its effects.
Toph means all nontoken artifacts are counted as lands, while also taking cards, making them creatures, and bringing them back when they die or are exiled. This means a buffet of lands to get rid of and haste to pass around. It’s up to $7 from around a dollar as a result.
Toph’s also seen Ugin’s Nexus get some attention, but as the folks at Wargamer pointed out, a potential Toph/Ugin’s Nexus combo doesn’t work. The card has been climbing in value to around $5 because players think that Ugin’s Nexus will give them a bunch of extra turns, but the card actually says ‘If a player would begin an extra turn, that player skips that turn instead.’ It’s still a cool card, but be mindful before you buy.
Terra Eternal is our final Toph synergy this week, and it’s seen a price spike up to $7 from $1 thanks to its ability to make lands indestructible. With Toph’s ability to make artifacts into lands, that means they’re indestructible, too.
Scrapheap has been around since 1999 (the good ol’ days) and gives you life for sacrificing your artifacts or enchantments. It’s simple, but it pairs nicely with Ragost, Deft Gastronaut (remember him?) because he’s chomping through artifacts all day long. Scrapheap is up to almost $8 from around ninety cents.
Repurposing Bay can work nicely with it, too, with this Aetherdrift card powersliding up to a dollar or two in the last few days, having been around 50 cents just a short time ago. It’s seeing some use in Standard right now, hence the popularity.
This Week’s Crashers
Once one of the most sought-after cards of Edge of Eternities, Breeding Pool (Borderless) is a looker, and it’s seeing a drop. Not long ago, it was well above $100, but has dropped to around $35 now and could drop further.
Ouroboroid has also seen a drop, and it’s now around $20 having been upwards of $25 in recent weeks, while Tannuk, Steadfast Second has trailed off to around $7 from double that not long ago.
If you’ve been looking for The Endstone, this card draw engine is now close to hitting $5, while Terrasymbiosis is a dollar or so less, with both cards commanding around double those fees recently.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Considering it was revealed to the world with a trailer that featured four zombie-blasting soldiers singing along to Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”, I expected John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando to be much funnier than it is. Inspired in equal measure by the supernatural horror and buddy action movies of the 1980s, it is big and dumb and goofy… yet never as batshit bananas as you’d expect for a game that’s quite literally about fighting an entity called the Sludge God. But while it may not be that funny, it is fun. You may have already forgotten about that 2023 reveal trailer, but after playing three hours of its co-op missions, I don’t think Toxic Commando is going to fade into the background thanks to its surprisingly solid Left 4 Dead-alike antics.
While it is presented akin to a story campaign shooter with cutscenes, plot points, and a lore-dropping man-in-the-chair vaguely modelled after John Carpenter himself, Toxic Commando is clearly designed to be a regular destination for a team of four friends who can run through its missions on repeat. Each expedition takes place on a reasonably-sized open map, dotted with a handful of optional objectives and loot caches alongside the quest’s main goals. With no ticking timer or shrinking circle, you can take your time to collect everything, scour every point-of-interest, and generally mess around with your pals before pushing onwards to the mission’s finale. It’s surprisingly leisurely… at least until the horde applies the pressure.
Developed by Saber Interactive, Toxic Commando is built on the studio’s now-signature horde technology that renders hundreds of sprinting zombies simultaneously, allowing for enemies to clamber up walls like a reverse waterfall of rotting flesh. In many ways, Toxic Commando feels like a successor to the game where this tech originated, World War Z, and even features near-identical mechanics – during frequent hold-the-line defence objectives, you mow down incoming enemies with the same array of emplaced machineguns, mortars, and electrified grids. It’s just that this time it’s all rendered with a gloriously gross horror aesthetic. Who wants zombies to look like humans when they can look like lamp-eyed freaks from the death dimension?
Those freaks burst and break when they’re introduced to the hot lead dispensed by a very healthy arsenal. They’re all based on real-world guns (aside from the wildly powerful rail gun, which scatters foes like bowling pins) and divided up into your regular groups of shotguns, SMGs, sniper rifles, and other formats not beginning with “S”. Saving them from feeling utterly ordinary is how they fire with the exaggerated bravado of an ultra-violent b-movie – all sputtering muzzles, wide bullet spread, and explosive impacts. Legs are severed, ribcages torn open, and brains pinwheel out of busted skulls. It’s all as squelchy and sinewey as you’d hope from a game associated with the director of The Thing.
Your choice of loadout defines the combat experience much more than the four character classes, which feel like minor augmentations to standard FPS action rather than crucial battlefield roles. Each is defined by a single special ability – the Operator uses a drone that automatically bombards enemies for a few seconds, the Strike can unleash a barrage of energy blasts, the Medic has an area-of-effect heal, and the Defender can put up a damage-absorbing barrier. At least during my hours of play, these abilities came in handy during a pinch but did little to direct how I played. Perhaps filling out the skill tree will give each class stronger definition, but right now it seems like the regular shooting is the main event.
There’s admittedly very little new or experimental in Toxic Commando, but what’s here is genuinely good fun.
Mowing down a lot (a lot) of zombies is the crux of Toxic Commando’s objectives. Sometimes that’ll involve the genre-trademark special infected that largely work exactly as Left 4 Dead dictated (sticky ones that grab you, tanky ones that charge at you, gross ones that spit at you.) Elsewhere you’ll need to unload a belts-worth of ammunition into a tangled mess of tentacles, or use demolition charges to blow some kind of growth to smithereens. It’s mostly by-the-numbers co-op shooter fare, but across the few missions I’ve played there’s the odd one that shines brighter. One quest sees the map covered by a Fortnite-ish, life-sapping storm, and the only way to navigate between the shielded pockets of safety is to drive an ambulance that can trickle heal those sitting inside it. It’s a really coherent meshing of environment, situation, and equipment design.
Regardless of if the mission requires one or not, vehicles are as significant to Toxic Commando as its zombies and guns. The spaced-out objectives and open nature of the maps mean you’ll need some wheels to effectively cover ground, especially as that ground is so often practically carpeted by the undead. Cars like the armoured Maverick are good for both protection and doubling as a battering ram – you’ll just need to occasionally deal with the zombies who clamber aboard like particularly diseased monkeys at the safari.
All vehicles have a special ability, such as the ambulance’s healing aura or the Thunder pick-up’s flamethrower, but it’s the winch attached to all but the family sedans that really makes a difference. Essentially a grapple hook that can be fired into a variety of anchor points, it can be used to rip gates off their hinges, bust open treasure containers, and pull your vehicle up slippy inclines. See, the Sludge God, in his infinite sticky wisdom, has covered each map in great big stretches of gloop, and so without a MudRunner-lite approach you’ll be spinning tires and going nowhere.
There’s admittedly very little new or experimental in Toxic Commando, but what’s here is genuinely good fun. It’s a more open take on Left 4 Dead’s horde-filled adventures, fuelled by the same “arcane evil” feel that’s made Call of Duty’s zombie mode feel so aesthetically solid. There are some issues that threaten that fun, though. Every mission I played felt like it had had the wind kicked out of it by the final stretch thanks to dwindling resources. Health kits are in short supply, ammunition can get a little tricky, and spare parts – a currency that unlocks special weapons and defensive structures – can only be found in a limited number of loot caches. By the end of a mission it can feel like the odds are really against you, and while I appreciate the need to ratchet tension and create a challenge spike in the final objective, in a game where zombies arrive by the truckful, restocking ammo only to find you’ve been given a single magazine does feel a bit unbalanced. I was having a lot more fun during the earlier minutes, when bullets were plentiful and the blood spilled like wine, so I’m not sure if the flow and tone really mesh with the current resource levels.
The more concerning thing, though, is progression. All weapons have individual XP bars, and must be levelled up to particular milestones to unlock different modifications. When you unlock a mod, you then need to spend a currency to actually fit it to the weapon, and each one costs several thousand. I can’t help but look at the entire armoury and envision the hundreds and hundreds of hours I’d need to sink into Toxic Commando to achieve a decently functioning, varied loadout. It’s the sort of system that funnels you into picking a single favourite, rather than encouraging you to constantly switch between missions. This, combined with a trio of different currencies and palette-swap character skins, has me a little suspicious that the sludge of live-service has tainted something I’ve otherwise had a pretty good blast with. But these grindy woes can also be found in Saber’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, and they didn’t stop it from being one of my favourite games of 2024.
That’s not to say I’m expecting John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando to have anywhere near the same impact Space Marine had. But, provided the full game has a solid range of missions that genuinely prove replayable, I do think the strong shooting and entertaining enemies have a decent enough chance to secure it a home among friendship groups who’d happily re-watch gloopy ‘80s horror over and over until the VHS wears out. Whether they’ll ever unlock the attachments they want for their favourite weapons… well, we’ll have to wait to find out.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s Executive Editor of Features.
