Category: IGN

Ubisoft has released Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.3.0, which makes a number of significant changes to the game.

The patch, available across all platforms, focuses on improving Outlaws’ much-maligned stealth “to give players more flexibility in how they approach situations,” Ubisoft said. It also tunes enemy AI (another aspect of the game that came under fire) and speeder travel. The patch notes, courtesy of Ubisoft’s website, are below.

Ubisoft added that it’s aware of an ongoing issue affecting PC players after the 24H2 Windows Update, and is working to fix it. Elsewhere, Ubisoft has created a dedicated Bug Reporter tool where players can report issues and track their status, in a bid to “improve transparency and communication.”

Star Wars Outlaws has struggled since its launch in August, with Ubisoft admitting sales failed to meet expectations. Developer Ubisoft Massive has said it’s committed to improving the game, however, with more patches planned in the run up to the crucial Christmas sales period. Update 4 will arrive on November 21, featuring further combat and stealth improvements as well as free additional contracts. The upcoming story DLC, Wild Card, will “see Kay and Nix infiltrate a high-stakes Sabacc tournament where they will face off against the legendary Lando Calrissian.”

It comes amid a shakeup at Ubisoft following the collapse of the company’s share price and Outlaws’ aforementioned poor sales. Ubisoft has returned to Steam (Outlaws hits Valve’s platform on November 21) after years of Epic Games Store exclusivity on PC, delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows into next year, and is reportedly considering partnering with Tencent to take the company private.

Star Wars Outlaws Title Update 1.3.0 patch notes:

PATCH DETAILS (version 7199763.TU3):

• PlayStation 5: 3.48 GB (version 01.003.000)
• Xbox Series X|S: 5.07 GB (version 1.0.3.0)
• PC: 4.88 GB (version 1.0.3.0)

NOTABLE CHANGES:

• Implemented stealth changes to ‘False Flag’ and other missions to give players more flexibility in how they approach situations without the risk of failing
• Improved speeder travel by reducing collisions with objects in the environment
• Improved NPC combat behavior
• Increased auto-save opportunities in open world hostile areas (Imperial Compounds and Faction Territories)
• Scaled ‘Wanted’ difficulty based on player progression
• Improved AI speeder avoidance

FULL PATCH NOTES:

Performance & Stability

• Fixed an issue where the game would crash when ‘New Game’ was selected
• Improved overall stability and FPS drops
• Fixed an issue where the game could crash when using the Electrobinoculars on PS5
• Improved stability with GeForce Now

General Gameplay

• Increased and improved quest checkpoints
• Improved manual and autosave features including allowing more opportunities to save in the open world, compounds, and syndicate territories
• Removed autosave restrictions for combat/detection
• Improved NPC and player animations
• ‘Wanted’ difficulty now scales based on player progression
• Fixed an issue where Death Troopers would not spawn from search parties
• Improved enemy AI and combat behavior
• Fixed an issue where the Stun Shot would miss if shooting from cover when unholstered
• Fixed an issue where the Boonta Brawler Belt did not increase grenade blast radius
• Fixed an issue where grappling hook haptics were not present on PS5
• Improved camera detection for defeated enemies

UI, HUD and Settings

• Improved UI when detected
• Updated the keybind for Hyperspace jump
• Added segments to the VRAM meter
• Equipment screen now has an option to mark all items as viewed
• Fixed an issue where the map cursor could disappear when using a controller on PC

Audio

• Made NPC voice lines more consistent with player detection
• Fixed an issue where there was no music on Renpali station
• Fixed an issue where multiple sound effects would disappear after completing the game
• Improved ground wetness/snow footstep sound effect playback
• Improved airtraffic sound effect playback
• Improved audio for collisions

Cinematics

• Improved textures during cinematics
• Fixed an issue with blurred images during cinematics and dialogue scenes

Camera

• Improved the camera when interacting with vendors
• Improved camera re-center speed on the speeder

Worlds, Fauna and Flora

• Increased spawn rates for speeder races
• Made the Varaki predator on Toshara more formidable

Sabacc:

• Fixed an issue where music and ambiance were missing

Photo Mode:

• Enabled splitting camera inversion from gameplay camera
• Added option to disable UI sounds in photo mode
• Camera speed applies to both panning and movement
• Enable switching between 16:9 and 21:9 modes
• Implemented a color picker UI
• Added a black, white and neon cyan Star Wars Outlaws logo
• Fixed an issue where some UI elements could be seen in photos

Accessibility:

• Removed glitch effect while using Electrobinoculars
• Removed directional arrow for Kay’s captions when in standard gameplay camera view
• Added setting to show a visual reminder of the button used for Nix quick actions
• New settings from updates 1.2 and 1.3 added to accessibility presets
• Menu remapping section added, allowing some keyboard controls for navigating menus to be remapped
• The keys for Hyperspace menu and Hyperspace jump are now remappable through the keybind menu
• Added settings to invert X and Y axis of photo mode camera
• Moved menu narration to top of the UI menu & top of the vision preset menu
• Added setting to stop voice lines interrupting menu narration
• Menu narration now reads negative brightness slider values, the heal button while low on health, new quest notification, reputation changes in contracts menu, quest tracker ‘more info’ prompt, cloud upload/download notifications, that starting a Sabacc game requires a hold, and whether abilities of partially equipped gearsets are locked
• Fixed an issue where Nix sense was not affected by protanopia color preset
• Fixed an issue where ND5 and Gedeek would not appear as allies in high contrast mode for some missions
• Fixed an issue where some inputs would have a double action if remapped

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where NPC speeders could collide with each other
• Fixed an issue with the intel location for Thorden’s itinerary
• Fixed an issue where the Trailblazer’s auxiliary devices couldn’t be used during syndicate quests

__MAIN & SIDE QUESTS __(beware of spoilers)

Canto Bight

• Beginnings
  • Fixed an issue where Nix could get stuck when stealing credits

Toshara

• Underworld
  • Traversal opportunities are now better highlighted
• False Flag
  • Adjusted the mission to enable flexibility in how players approach situations in addition to stealth
  • Removed some alarm panels from the mission
  • Adjusted the text when failing the mission
  • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement
• ‘I’m here’ Intel
  • Fixed an issue where a rock blocking the fan wouldn’t spawn if the player left the area and returned later

Kijimi

• The Hive
  • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement
• Fixed an issue where Jet Kordo’s vault would not be able to be opened

Tatooine

• Jabba’s favor
  • Fixed an issue where Vail would not mount her speeder
  • Removed some alarm panels from the mission
  • Adjusted NPC and enemy placement

Akiva

• Viper
  • Fixed an issue where the rebels could remain stuck after the Viper droid fight
• The Scavenger
  • Fixed an issue where the speeder would not spawn after talking to Temmin
• Money Drop
  • Fixed an issue where the objective would be missing
• Revelator
  • Fixed an issue where players could not move or shoot the Trailblazer

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.

With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Update 4.1, the community is rallying against “gatekeepers” who have called on developer Saber Interactive to retire a reward given only to those who complete all PvE missions on the hardest difficulty.

Update 4.1, out now, follows hot on the heels of last week’s controversial Update 4.0, widely criticized by Space Marine 2 fans for making the game significantly harder. The backlash to Update 4.0 even spread to Space Marine 2’s Steam page, where disgruntled players review-bombed the game.

Update 4.0 added the Lethal difficulty to Space Marine 2’s PvE Operations mode, and with it exclusive rewards. One of these rewards, the Survivor’s Helm, is highly coveted by the community because all PvE missions must be completed on Lethal to unlock it.

Before today’s release of Update 4.1, Lethal difficulty was not only brutally hard, but unfairly so. It included the universally hated ‘Tight Formation’ system, which forced players to stick close together in an almost impossible fashion. Update 4.1 has stripped this mechanic out from Lethal mode entirely, with developer Saber admitting its mistake.

The rollback has caused some players who own the Survivor’s Helm to not only “act superior” online because they obtained it when Space Marine 2 was at its hardest, but to demand Saber now retire it or prevent it from displaying on characters who obtain it post 4.1. Some have even asked for yet another reward exclusive to those who completed a Lethal Operation on 4.0.

The Space Marine 2 community accused one player who said those who get the helmet post-4.1 “don’t deserve it” of “gatekeeping.” “As someone who already has the helmet, who cares if people know?” said redditor veqtro. “I know I got it before the patch and that’s all that matters. I’m proud of myself and I don’t need others to be proud of me. Everyone deserves the chance to earn it.”

“It’s literally just a helmet in a game,” added Bantabury97. “You can be proud of your achievement but to act superior because of it is just sad. One day, this game will be offline, and your achievement will be lost to time. Worthless. Nothing to show for it. It carries no weight nor worth. If you come here to say you got it, great man, good for you for beating the challenge. But if you come here to dunk on others for NOT getting it, then you’re part of the problem and need to go outside and touch grass.”

“Anyone who says this should automatically have their precious helmet turned into a Leandros face,” joked kidmeatball.

One of the (many) silly things about gatekeeping this Space Marine 2 helmet is that it might have been obtained by cheesing the Bio-Titan boss on the new PvE map, as one player managed to do solo on Lethal.

This isn’t the first time a video game community has rallied against gatekeeping of virtual items and it won’t be the last. Indeed the communities for FromSoftware’s infamously hard action games often deal with gatekeeping around how the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring are “meant to be played.”

Meanwhile, most Space Marine 2 players are excited to jump back in now the game is less stressful across all difficulties, and Bolters have finally been given a buff.

IGN has plenty more on Space Marine 2, including a deep-dive on the game’s burgeoning modding scene and accompanying complications. Last month, Saber Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 had “changed everything” for the company. And eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Space Marine chapter now all-but confirmed to get a cosmetic pack after the Dark Angels, and even an unannounced new Thousand Sons enemy type.

Image credit: MrCha0s1 / reddit.

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.

Despite Nintendo’s warning to Switch owners not to breathe a word about its mystery online playtest, players have posted screenshots, gameplay videos, and even streamed it online now it’s live.

Earlier this month, Nintendo asked those who successfully signed up for its then mysterious Switch Online Playtest not to reveal what it was once it went live. Documentation includes a request “that you do not discuss or disclose content from either the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program test software or website with others.”

Users leaked details from the playtest’s website as soon as they had access earlier this week, and now the playtest has gone live the curtains have well and truly been pulled back.

Nintendo has worked to take down various streams and videos this morning, October 24, but it faces an uphill battle, with footage doing the rounds across social media and Discords. Remarkably, it appears Nintendo failed to disable screenshots and recording for the playtest, further fueling the “leaks.”

One Twitch channel that streamed the playtest now contains the boilerplate “Content from this channel has been removed at the request of the copyright holder” message. The owner of the channel took to reddit to say their channel is now “super dead.”

“Yeah I got fully DMCA’d, so channel super dead,” redditor BrettWils_ said, before threatening to share the footage. “I recorded everything locally, but not sure I want to take further risk and share it through other means. Open to it if anyone has a safe-ish way to do it tho.”

Spoilers for Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program test follow.

Gameplay shows a somewhat bizarre third-person MMO in which players move blocks about on a planet’s surface. The odd-looking avatars can use a rope to swing like Spider-Man and attach to surfaces in the world. It’s been likened to Minecraft and Dragon Quest Builders, with the focus on carrying blocks around and placing them to create ever higher staircases.

There is a player progression system, with avatars able to level up in the hub area. There’s a shop, too, and players can unlock new tools to help with the building part of the game. Footage shows the hub area packed with player avatars, and out on the planet multiple players stacking blocks within and without their Beacons.

The playtest looks a little barebones to be considered a standalone game in its own right, although players are reporting having plenty of fun with it. Nintendo may be using the playtest with future games in mind, or perhaps it plans to flesh the test out over time with new features. Nintendo’s secrecy over its playtest is almost as bizarre as the playtest itself.

The playtest is a Switch experience for now, but the big question is whether it will also be available on the upcoming Switch 2, which Nintendo has yet to formally announce.

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.

Under any other circumstance, The Lake House would sound like a nice spot for a serene summer getaway. In this case, though, it’s the setting for the second and final installment of Alan Wake II DLC, so it is naturally anything but. There’s no rest and relaxation to be found here, only another double-fisted dose of flashlights and firepower in this tightly paced two-hour tour inside the cold, concrete walls of a remote Federal Bureau of Control facility. In raw gameplay terms, The Lake House is not as eccentric a departure as Night Springs was a few months’ back, but as far as closing the book on Alan Wake II’s story and providing a bridge to the upcoming Control 2 goes, it’s yet another meta-storytelling slam dunk for the team at Remedy Entertainment.

You might remember The Lake House from the main Alan Wake II campaign, or at the very least the exterior of its grounds since it’s found behind a locked gate in Cauldron Lake near where the murder victim is found at the start of Saga Anderson’s story. This FBC research facility was strictly off-limits to Saga, but in this new chapter we’re able to fully explore it as returning FBC Agent Kiran Estevez. I liked Estevez in the main campaign and was happy to spend some time in her shoes, but the real show-stealing performances here come from the husband and wife scientist team of Jules and Diana Marmont. Initially I was laughing out loud at the petty bickering between them that occurs in the facility’s welcome video, but their relationship evidently took a much darker turn as evidenced by the many memos and emails I pored over as I continued my engrossing investigation inside the sinister shapeshifting structure.

The facility itself is only five floors, but thanks to its proximity to the Altered World Event in Cauldron Lake and the disturbing research experiments conducted by the Marmonts, The Lake House is as consistently unsettling a space as anything from the main Alan Wake II campaign. One floor finds Estevez caught in a disorientating loop, another has shifting canvases splashed in abstract Jackson Pollock-style sprays, while another still is just a near-never-ending room of ominously clattering typewriters, like a manifestation of the infinite monkey theorem minus the tiny simian scribes. It’s a superbly constructed bit of otherworldly office space that I delighted in exploring, whether I was thumbing through the chilling pages of another Alan Wake manuscript or having conversations with a possessed painting so angry it made Vigo the Carpathian from Ghostbusters II seem like a portrait of a puppy dog.

The Lake House is absolutely blanketed in an unnerving atmosphere, but it’s perhaps a little lacking as far as puzzles go. Aside from carrying battery cubes to electrical sockets, which stimulates the eye with its orange glow but isn’t particularly taxing on the brain, there are otherwise only a handful of computer passwords to figure out using calendar dates mentioned in memos and the like. These hackneyed hacking jobs are pretty easy to deduce, and it was a little disappointing that there was nothing new here to match the mind-bending magic tricks provided by Alan’s world-altering Angel Lamp in the main campaign.

Shadow Complex

Combat against the shadow-cloaked staff of The Lake House is equally as straightforward for the most part, but it’s still extremely tense thanks to its typically claustrophobic close-quarters encounters. Estevez might be an FBC agent, but sadly she doesn’t possess the shapeshifting gun or superpowers that Jesse Faden wielded in 2019’s Control. Instead, a pistol, shotgun, and a combination of flashlight, flares, and flashbangs are at her disposal, and I burned through every last round and spare battery as I desperately tried to illuminate and exterminate each sickle-slinging flanker and sledgehammer-swinging heavy that ambushed me along the way.

Outside of its main boss fight, there’s only one new enemy type to be found in The Lake House, but it’s a doozy. The long-limbed freaks that slither out of painted canvases seem like Remedy’s towering, tie-dyed take on the Slender Man, and since they seem immune to Estevez’s attacks I was going hard on the dodge button early on to frantically try and evade their outstretched clutches. Eventually Estevez gets her hands on a grenade launcher powerful enough to turn the tables on these paint-streaked Stretch Armstrongs, but that didn’t mean that dealing with them ever became too easy – grenade ammo is scarce, the painted shadows are slim enough that they’re somewhat easy to miss, and the fact you need to charge up each shot before you fire puts some added pressure into the timing of each takedown.

The Lake House’s challenge jumped up even further in its final boss fight – whose identity was a fun surprise from a story perspective – and it brought my brief return trip to the world of Alan Wake II to a dazzling and demanding denouement. My short stay in The Lake House was brutalist in its architecture and brutalising in its action, and although it’s bittersweet that my time with Alan Wake II has officially come to an end, the tantalising story teases of what comes next in the Remedy Connected Universe has me locked and loaded for Control 2.

The connections within Remedy’s shared universe continue to grow strong amid the release of Alan Wake 2’s new DLC, titled the Lake House. Included in the DLC is what looks like a pretty substantial teaser for Control 2, the upcoming sequel to the cult favorite supernatural horror game. You can watch the full scene in the video below.

Spoiler warning: This video contains spoilers for both the Lake House DLC and possibly Control 2.

The optional scene near the end of The Lake House DLC features FBC Investigations Agent Kiran Estevez being transported first to the Oceanview Motel and then to Panaopticon in The Oldest House — the setting for the original Control. There she has an extended conversation with Control protagonist Jesse Faden’ brother — Dylan Faden — who offers a glimpse into what lies in store for the future of the Remedy-verse.

Remedy hasn’t been shy about the connections between Alan Wake and Control as it continues to build its shared universe. Earlier this year, the studio teamed up with Annapurna to fund movies set within its universe, and it has continued to talk up the connections between the two series. Control 2, for its part, was first announced back in 2022, with director Mikael Kasurinen saying it will be an “unexpected journey.” Remedy is also working on the recently-announced FBC Firebreak, a three-player co-op game set to release in 2025.

In the meantime, Remedy is busy wrapping up Alan Wake 2, which was one of the best-reviewed games of 2023. The Lake House DLC is the second set of Alan Wake 2 downloadable content, pitting FBC agent Estevez (Janina Gavankar) against a series of supernatural horror. It’s out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

For more, check out our newly-updated list of the 25 best horror games ever made.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

The long-delayed sequel Beyond Good & Evil 2 officially has a new creative director, with veteran designer Fawzi Mesmar announcing that he is taking the reins in the wake of the sudden death of Emile Morel in 2023.

“Today I’m glad to share that I joined Beyond Good & Evil 2 as Creative Director. I have been working with those peeps for years now on this ambitious game and witnessed their talent firsthand,” Mesmar wrote on Linkedin. “I am standing on the shoulders of creative giants that have supported the team before me, and I look forward to continuing to craft a game that is truly unique for players to enjoy.”

Target is offering Target Circle members a 25% off coupon that is good for one toy or kids’ book. This includes just about every one of the thousands (!) of board games that’s sold from Target direct (note that marketplace vendors are excluded). The Target Circle membership is free to sign up, so everyone can partake in this deal. As long as you’re signed into your account, the coupon should automatically apply during checkout.

Note that free shipping is on orders over $35. You can choose in-store pickup if the option is available (many board games at Target only have a delivery option). Target Circle Card members get an additional 5% off and free 2-day shipping with no minimum on several of the board games. Circle Card is a credit card or debit card with no annual fee.

25% Off One Board Game at Target

We’ve added the most popular board games above (just swipe sideways), but we’ve also picked out our personal favorites below with some detail on why they’re worth adding to your burgeoning board game collection.

Wingspan

Splendor

Ticket to Ride: Europe

Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy

The Pandemic base game and all three seasons of Pandemic Legacy are eligible for Target’s 25% off coupon, although right now Season 2 is the best deal at only $40.49. In Pandemic Legacy, you and your friends work together to cure deseases. Building on the success of the original Pandemic, these new editions introduce “legacy” concepts to the game, which adds and removes elements as you progress through the game, based on your decisions, successes, and failures. After a few plays, your copy will be a unique record of your group’s style and experience. So in addition to offering a very personal tale to engage you, Pandemic: Legacy also individualizes your strategic experience.

Azul

The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive has announced Update 4.1, set to hit the game on October 24, and detailed its patch notes.

Update 4.1 follows hot on the heels of last week’s controversial Update 4.0, widely criticized by Space Marine 2’s community for making the game significantly harder, even on easier difficulties. The backlash to Update 4.0 spread to Space Marine 2’s Steam page, where disgruntled players review-bombed the game.

The Update 4.1 patch notes were published alongside a message to fans from game director Dmitriy Grigorenko, who, having digested the criticism of the last week, admitted: “The key takeaway for me, personally, is that I forgot that once the game comes out, it’s no longer a dev’s game. It’s yours first and foremost.”

To that end, Saber will establish Public Test Servers (PTS) that will let players try out major balancing updates and make their voices heard before they are pushed onto public branches. Expect PTS to go live early 2025.

As for the changes made with Update 4.1 there’s plenty to dig through (patch notes below), but overall they should make Space Marine 2’s PvE Operations mode feel easier via a series of buffs to weapons and the Space Marines, nerfs to the enemies, and in some cases the removal of controversial mechanics entirely.

Players of Space Marine 2’s new Lethal difficulty will be delighted to hear the universally hated ‘Tight Formation’ system, exclusive to Operations mode’s hardest difficulty, is not long for this world. Grigorenko revealed that the system was designed as a first step towards the introduction of gameplay modifiers down the line, both negative and positive, “but your feedback showed that the proximity requirements felt too restrictive.”

“Classes like Assault and Vanguard felt especially penalized as playing them effectively requires a certain freedom of movement,” Grigorenko added. 4.1 ditches the Tight Formation system entirely, and Saber will continue to work on modifiers until they’re ready.

There’s a nerf to the Tyranid’s dreaded Zoanthropes, too, with a reduction in their shield’s effectiveness. Indeed, enemy spawns have been nerfed across the board. From 4.1, Extremis enemy spawn rates in Minimal, Average, and Substantial difficulties will revert back to their pre-Patch 4.0 levels and will be significantly reduced in Ruthless difficulty.

Finally, Bolters are finally getting a buff. Ever since Space Marine 2’s explosive launch last month Bolters have underperformed, much to the disappointment of Warhammer 40,000 fans who love the weapons from the Games Workshop tabletop and lore. From 4.1, damage across the Bolter family of weapons is increased.

And if you were wondering whether 4.0 had nerfed the Space Marine roll, Saber confirmed that it had, although this was a bug and not a design decision. 4.1 fixes a bug that caused roll distance to be shorter than before.

These are all welcome changes, and players have already reacted positively, but what caused Saber to go so hard with 4.0 in the first place? Grigorenko said that Patch 3.0 had caused an increase in win rates (Ruthless went from 60% to over 80%, for example), and it had received feedback that Space Marine 2 had become too easy even at its maximum difficulty.

In addressing this, 4.0 went too far in a number of areas, particularly spawn rates even on lower difficulties. “Your feedback made it clear that the game had become more intense and stressful on lower difficulties, and this was never our intention,” Grigorenko said. “As I’ve personally emphasized in interviews, Space Marine 2 is all about the power fantasy, and Patch 4.0 negatively impacted it for many of you.”

IGN has plenty more on Space Marine 2, including a deep-dive on the game’s burgeoning modding scene and accompanying complications. Last month, Saber Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 had “changed everything” for the company. And eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Space Marine chapter now all-but confirmed to get a cosmetic pack after the Dark Angels, and even an unannounced new Thousand Sons enemy type.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Update 4.1 patch notes:

Gameplay and Balancing Tweaks – Operations mode

AI director and enemy spawns

DG: Here was our reasoning before Patch 4.0: When the game came out in September, the Ruthless difficulty win rate hovered around 60%. Weeks later, and with the changes introduced by Patch 3.0, we saw that the same win rate had jumped to over 80%, and we received a lot of feedback stating that the game had become too easy—even at its maximum difficulty (at the time).

With Patch 4.0, our aim was to tweak enemy spawns to increase the overall number of enemies rather than reverting to buffing their Health. Unfortunately, this had an impact on the easier difficulty levels as well.

For example, the win rate on the easiest difficulty dropped slightly after Patch 4.0, from 95% to 93%. This may not look like a lot, but numbers aren’t everything. Your feedback made it clear that the game had become more intense and stressful on lower difficulties, and this was never our intention. As I’ve personally emphasised in interviews, Space Marine 2 is all about the power fantasy, and Patch 4.0 negatively impacted it for many of you.

This is why we’re rolling back these changes. Extremis enemies’ spawn rates in Minimal, Average, and Substantial difficulties will revert back to their pre-Patch 4.0 levels and will be significantly reduced in Ruthless difficulty to hopefully strike a balance between how hard the game was at launch and how “easy” it became with Patch 3.0.

Minimal, Average, and Substantial Difficulties:

• Reduced spawn rate of Extremis enemies to match pre-Patch 4.0 levels

Ruthless Difficulty:

• Significantly reduced spawn rate of Extremis enemies

Weapons (only in Operations mode)

DG: We’ve been wanting to address the Bolter family for a while, as they’ve been underperforming across all difficulty levels. This has been a frequent piece of feedback from many of you, and the data confirmed improvements were needed across the board. The percent Damage increase is based on which classes have access to which kind of weapon and how the Bolters compete with the other options available.‎

• Auto Bolt Rifle -> Damage increased by 20%
• Bolt Rifle -> Damage increased by 10%
• Heavy Bolt Rifle -> Damage increased by 15%
• Stalker Bolt Rifle -> Damage increased by 10%
• Marksman Bolt Carbine -> Damage increased by 10%
• Instigator Bolt Carbine -> Damage increased by 10%
• Bolt Sniper Rifle -> Damage increased by 12.5%
• Bolt Carbine -> Damage increased by 15%
• Occulus Bolt Carbine -> Damage increased by 15%
• Heavy Bolter -> Damage increased by 5%

Difficulty

⚙️ Ruthless: Player’s Armour is increased by 10%

DG: We are partially rolling back the change from the previous patch on Ruthless difficulty following your feedback. With Patch 4.1, we’re hoping to find the right compromise between how easy Ruthless difficulty felt after Patch 3.0 and how it felt after last week’s Patch 4.0.

The reason why it was reduced last week was that we noticed a very substantial bump in win rates on Ruthless after Patch 3.0, as Minoris enemies would no longer remove the entire Armour bar with their attacks, ranged AI Damage was nerfed across the board, and the ability to regenerate Armour by parrying normal Minoris attacks was added.

Additional note: Despite the last patch notes listing a decrease in Armour in Substantial difficulty, this change was mistakenly left out of our last update, hence why you won’t see it being reverted as part of this week’s patch.

⚙️ Lethal: “Tight Formation” system is removed

DG: Before anything else, let us clarify our reasoning for the introduction of this mechanic. As we worked on adding a new difficulty tier, we needed to make sure this new challenge was meaningful and interesting. With “Tight Formation”, our objective was to add a new layer of challenge for our most skilled players by adding horizontal progression rather than just vertical progression (i.e., dealing more damage to ever stronger enemies). This game is about the power fantasy, and enemies that take dozens of melee hits break it. Thus the challenge needed to come from other sources.

This system was also designed as a first step towards the introduction of gameplay modifiers down the line, both negative and positive—something World War Z players will be familiar with—but your feedback showed that the proximity requirements felt too restrictive. Classes like Assault and Vanguard felt especially penalised as playing them effectively requires a certain freedom of movement.

As a result, we’re removing the system entirely and will continue to work on modifiers until they’re ready. We will continue to monitor your feedback after the deployment of Patch 4.1 to make sure Lethal difficulty feels as challenging and rewarding as it should.

⚙️ AI

DG: A recurrent piece of feedback we’ve seen is that the AI allies can feel useless at times. We already improved allies’ behaviour in Patch 3.0, and we hope this additional buff will help solo players complete their Operations.

• Bots deal 30% more damage to bosses.

DG: Fighting Zoanthropes is often reported as a source of frustration. Alongside the changes to the AI Director, we’re taking away some of their shields’ effectiveness to alleviate some of that frustration.

• Zoanthrope: Shield swap cooldown with another paired Zoanthrope is increased by 10%.

General Fixes & Tech

• Fixed a bug that caused roll distance to be shorter than before.

DG: This was probably the most impactful and annoying consequence of Patch 4.0. While i-frames were the same, the distance difference made it much less effective versus ranged attacks. With this bug fixed, you should feel a great improvement in your fights against ranged enemies and bosses.

• Fixed bug with unlocking Lethal difficulty rewards decals.
• Crash fixes and general stability improvements.

Our teams are constantly working on improvements to the game’s stability. This patch is no exception, so you should encounter fewer crashes.

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.

Bloober Team created its incoming Cronos: The New Dawn as a sci-fi survival horror to avoid stepping on the toes of its recently released Silent Hill 2 remake.

Cronos: The New Dawn director and designer Wojciech Piejko told IGN that, after releasing The Medium and beginning work on the project which eventually became Cronos, the team at Bloober chose to veer away from a more grounded setting in order to differentiate the game from Silent Hill 2.

“We of course knew that we were doing the Silent Hill game, so we didn’t want to overlap with, let’s say a more grounded story,” Piejko said. “We said, ‘okay, we will be doing this, so we need to go somewhere else to have a different world, to not repeat ourselves.’ So yeah, that’s how we came up with Cronos.”

Piejko said the studio was eager to return to sci-fi after releasing Observer in 2017 too. Cronos was revealed just a handful of days after the Silent Hill 2 remake was released and is a sci-fi survival horror set in an unforgiving post-apocalyptic future in 1980s Poland.

It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC in 2025, though a more specific release date hasn’t been shared yet.

In our 8/10 review of Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake, IGN said: “Silent Hill 2 is a great way to visit – or revisit – one of the most dread-inducing destinations in the history of survival horror.”

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

Fallout: London has passed the major milestone of one million players, cementing its place as one of the most successful video game mods of all time.

Fallout: London is a total conversion mod developed by Team FOLON for Bethesda’s Fallout 4. It ditches Fallout’s traditional United States setting for a post-apocalyptic London packed with famous British landmarks and references. It even secured the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3’s Neil Newbon for its voice cast, with former UK Speaker of the House John Bercow in the game, too.

IGN’s Fallout: London review returned a 7/10. We said: “Fallout London is a massive mod that makes good use of its untapped setting, with an impressive scope and some great stories – you’ll just have to be prepared for technical issues and occasionally obtuse design choices along the way.”

The mod was originally due to arrive on April 23, 2024 but actual Fallout developer Bethesda announced a surprise update for Fallout 4, which the mod developer feared would impact Fallout: London’s release.

Team FOLON lead project manager Dean Carter later lamented how Bethesda, which had made clear it was aware of Fallout: London, failed to inform Team FOLON of its plans. “That has, for lack of a better term, sort of screwed us over, somewhat,” Carter said at the time.

Fallout: London eventually launched in July in partnership with GOG, which made the announcement today, October 23 – aka Fallout Day (October 23 is the day the bombs first fell in fallout lore).

“Today, we couldn’t be happier to see the success that Fallout: London has become – reaching the entirety of one million owners on our platform, and achieving it on Fallout Day no less,” GOG said. “We’d like to take this moment to wholeheartedly congratulate Team FOLON on their groundbreaking record!”

In a statement posted on the Fallout: London Discord, the mod team added: “You’ve made this journey unforgettable. We’re blown away by your support, and we can’t wait to share what’s next.

“We’ll keep calm and carry on fixing those bugs, and we’ll see you at our next milestone.

“Stay safe, and remember. Mind the gap.”

The Fallout: London announcement comes ahead of an official Fallout Day broadcast from Bethesda, which promises to reveal more of what’s to come with Fallout 76.

It’s a busy time in the world of Fallout, of course, which was boosted by the smash hit Prime Video Fallout TV show. Bethesda continues to update Fallout 76, and plans for Fallout 5 at some point in the future, perhaps when it’s done with The Elder Scrolls 6. In June, Bethesda Softworks head Todd Howard said he wasn’t interested in rushing a new Fallout game out the door, just because Fallout is hot right now. Could Fallout eventually leave the United States for a setting on foreign soil? No chance, Howard has said.

While fans wait they have mod projects such as Fallout: London to get stuck into, and there’s always Fallout 76 and the existing Fallout games available to play.

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.