Drivers, ready your A buttons, because Mario Kart World’s countdown clock is finally about to tick down! Unfortunately, Nintendo opted not to send out the Switch 2 for any early coverage, so my review is still in the garage getting tuned up. The good news, however, is that I’ve already gone hands-on with Mario Kart World twice, and when this article is published, I’ll probably already be standing in line to pick up my copy so I can jump right back in. (Sorry, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer to get my 10 bucks.)
You can read my most recent thoughts on World from a preview earlier this week, but I also wanted to take a moment to briefly share who I am and why I’m assigned to this review. (Those who have been watching our video reviews to the end may have seen us sharing some context about our reviewer’s tastes and history there as well.) Earlier this year I took over hosting duties for IGN’s Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, and I’ve been excitedly reporting on Nintendo for roughly a decade. I’ve also been doing more and more Nintendo reviews for IGN, including both Super Mario Party Jamboree and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door last year.
I’m also an enormous Mario Kart fan. I’m not sure there’s a video game franchise I’ve spent more total hours playing than this one. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is my favorite entry – and in my top 10 favorite games of all time – and I’ve logged over 500 hours of track time there alone. That’s not even counting the base Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, which I proudly picked up at launch back in 2014 as one of the few Wii U owners out there at the time. (There were dozens of us!) With its gorgeous art direction, amazing track design, and impressive amount of content (including the return of F-Zero!), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe felt like the franchise reaching the finish line of the more-or-less linear Mario Kart formula that began on Super Nintendo, so I’m very excited that World is tackling something entirely new to this series rather than simply iterating on what came before.
I’ve logged over 500 hours of track time in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe alone.
Beyond that one, my favorites are Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart 64, which are the two I spent the most time playing with friends and family growing up. Double Dash’s two-character mechanic is such a blast and 64 is an undeniable classic, but I’ll also shout out the 3DS’s Mario Kart 7, which I believe is the most underrated entry in the series. I’ve always loved just playing as Mario in Mario Kart – which leads some of my friends to call me crazy – but I am looking forward to racing as the new-look Donkey Kong in World.
As I mentioned, I do have a bit of a head start here because I’ve already played a healthy amount of Mario Kart World at a pair of Nintendo preview events. I went hands-on with the Switch 2 and Mario Kart on the same day as their reveal Direct, and I was intrigued by what I saw from the new Knockout Tour mode – even though that initial demo was fairly limited. But earlier this week, we published my impressions from a more robust Mario Kart World preview event where I got unmitigated access to the launch version. You can check out my final preview while you wait for the full review, but there I said, “I’m confident Mario Kart World’s thrilling racing will kick off Nintendo’s eighth generation with a rocket start, even if I’m still not completely sold on its open-world exploration.” The combination of that hands-on time means I’m going into launch with roughly eight hours of gameplay already logged, so I can hit the metaphorical A button right after the “2” flashes to have a good boost off the line. I’m hoping to get our final, scored review published before the end of next week.
I’ll even be working on my review from the floor of IGN Live 2025, which is happening in downtown Los Angeles at The Magic Box this weekend, June 7-8. There’s a ton happening at the show, and you can come on down to IGN Live yourself for a chance to be part of the review process by playing against me. We’ll have an official “Game with IGN” setup featuring Mario Kart World where you can play against IGN editors like myself, our co-founder Peer Schneider, and many others – and if you see me on the show floor, you can channel your inner Pokémon trainer and challenge me to a race. (You can’t back out of a trainer battle once a stranger locks eyes with you, that’s just how it works.) Last year at IGN Live 2024, I had a great time playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe against fans that came out to the show, and I can’t wait to do it again – this time with a brand-new Mario Kart.
You can look forward to some updated thoughts on Mario Kart World in the coming days – and, if you managed to secure a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch, then I’ll see you on the open roads!
Magic: The Gathering (MTG), the world’s premier trading card game, is as popular as it’s ever been. Aside from the cards themselves, longtime Magic players (like me!) know that there are countless accessories and other goodies to enhance your experience.
With Father’s Day coming up soon (June 15), I’ve compiled a list of great MTG gifts, from playmats and card sleeves to dice and merch, for that special Magic player in your life.
As a competitive player of 10+ years, these are products I’ve had and would buy for my personal use, so rest easy knowing that these suggestions aren’t without extensive trial and error.
Properties like The Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Assassin’s Creed, and more have all received the MTG treatment, with Final Fantasy being the next crossover in June.
There’s even a full Spider-Man set coming later this year. So there’s plenty of great sets to choose from now, and incoming in the near future as well.
You have booster boxes, collector boosters, starter kits, commander decks, the list goes on. I recommend starting with bundles of the most recently released sets, or looking ahead to expansions like Edge of Eternities.
They make great gifts, as they include nine booster packs, an alternate-art promotional card, extra land cards, a spindown life counter, and the box itself is a great storage solution for extra cards.
Card Sleeves
You have all these fancy new cards, what are you supposed to put them in? Card sleeves are the perfect solution not only for protection but for easily shuffling.
Ultimate Guard and Ultra PRO are some of the best MTG accessories brands around, but Dragon Shield sleeves are my go-to recommendation as a gift for dad.
The Ultimate Guard Katana sleeves are great, too. The matte sleeves are crisp and feel great in your hands. No matter what you pick, make sure you get standard size sleeves, not Japanese card size — Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are much smaller than Magic cards!
Deck Boxes
Your cards are now sleeved up and ready for battle. Now you need a reliable deck box. Here, you can’t go wrong with Ultimate Guard’s sturdy options.
I’m a big fan of the Flip ‘n’ Tray myself, as it can hold a fully sleeved deck, sideboard, and tokens, along with a built-in dice compartment.
For larger storage solutions, there are massive boxes that can hold up to 500 loose cards. All Ultimate Guard options come in a handful of different colors, and the Ultra PRO boxes sport some great official MTG art.
Playmats
Playmats are a must-have for any Magic player, since playing without one can make it hard to pick your cards up off the kitchen table.
Usually made of the same material as a standard mousepad, many people (myself included) like to use mats featuring art of their favorite cards or of their proudest Magic accomplishments.
You can even buy blank white playmats if you find yourself at a Magic Con and want to commission your favorite artist to make it look snazzy!
Dice and Counters
Keeping track of Planeswalker loyalty, +1/+1 counters, or Finality counters are a massive headache without an efficient way of doing so. Luckily, a set of D6 will set you right.
Some more unique cards, like Qarsi Revenant, give other creatures ability counters that are hard to keep track of, so I highly recommend a set of ability counters to go along with your accessories arsenal.
Binders
If you have rare or valuable cards you don’t want to store in a bulk storage box, binders are the way to go to keep them nice and pristine.
You can get various sizes and colors from both Ultimate Guard and Ultra PRO, but the Zipfolio from Ultimate Guard is my go-to for expensive singles. These fit great in your backpack for when you’re heading out to your local Friday Night Magic
Other Accessories
These suggestions are just scratching the surface of what these accessory makers have to offer. There are countless other sleeves, boxes, and mats to pick from, so pick your favorite Magic player’s favorite for a great gift.
Other accessories I recommend are lifepads; some Magic player prefer to write their life totals down and take notes instead of using the MTG Companion app or a spindown counter.
Dry erase tokens are great for cards with copy abilities. A playmat tube is a great storage solution to keep your mats dry and safe, and the Ultra PRO land station is a good way to sort your basic lands or have lands ready for your booster draft night.
As players dive deeper into Elden Ring Nightreign‘s launch content, more discoveries are being made and Nightlords felled. Some Nightfarers would like a little bit of assistance, though, when it comes to knowing what’s dropped on the ground.
One post on the Nightreign subreddit that picked up a bit of traction is asking for more weapon info when items drop on the ground. Clearing a camp or point-of-interest in Nightreign tends to result in a decent amount of loot to sort through, and so the idea is that you’d like some more details to quickly scan over.
As commenters have pointed out — and I went in to verify with a quick run — you are able to see a weapon class type by hitting R3 for details. This also provides info on Weapon Arts and passives, which helps a ton. You can still get confused by an item name in the heat of the moment, but otherwise, you’ll need to pause for a moment and read over.
It still doesn’t account for scaling, though, and while commenters note scaling is incorporated into the overall damage number on a weapon, sometimes seeing scaling can help. For example, knowing a raw damage number only tells you the damage of one hit, not how fast you can swing it. It’s uncertain whether that incorporates split damage weapons, either.
In another, potentially more controversial post, one Redditor suggested loot names on the drops, in colored text. This one honestly got a mixed reaction from me, as I don’t know that seeing a bunch of cluttered names littered on the ground would help that much. I also like the stress of picking an item up off the ground and debating its merits, pit against the ticking clock and urgency of the Night closing in.
Still, in this thread, others are asking for the same clarity in the previous one. While scaling and other details can be found in the sparring grounds, through the equipment chest, that does mean internalizing a lot of knowledge or having a wiki handy. There’s some desire for even a few extra tidbits of info, to help make those swift calls and decisions.
It’s an understandable desire, even if I’m not sure that any of the suggestions yet have looked like the right implementation. FromSoftware is clearly paying attention to player feedback though, as evidenced by its quick patch to nerf solo player difficulty and the commitment to adding a Duos mode. We’ll see if this is an area FromSoftware feels like it needs to fine-tune, or if it’s left as-is. Either way, some study time in the sparring grounds could ultimately do every Nightfarer some good, in their quest to take down the Nightlord.
A new adventure set in Lumiose City of Gen 5’s Kalos region, launching on October 16th, Legends Z-A is on average priced a good number of pounds higher at other online stores.
The Switch 2 version of the game is currently priced at £59.99 at shops like Very, Smyths, and Game UK. Some retailers’ prices are even higher, with ShopTo asking for a whopping £66.85, making Amazon or TCG the best options by far right now.
If the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Switch vs Switch 2 comparison is anything to go by, following our first look at the older game’s free update, the new console’s upgraded hardware will make the higher price tag worthwhile.
While some older Switch games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have the option to buy an upgrade pack for the Switch 2, those two being for £7.99 each, it’s currently unconfirmed as to whether Pokemon Legends: Z-A will have the same option.
Based on that pricing, though, it’s possible the Legends: Z-A upgrade pack will cost even more since it will be a brand-new game. While still in stock at The Game Collection, we’d recommend jumping on this lower price for the Switch 2 edition now, so you won’t have to worry about potentially paying more in the future.
Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney believes small teams will soon be able to use AI prompts to make video games on the scale of Nintendo masterpiece The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Speaking to IGN at Epic’s State of Unreal 2025 event (where CD Projekt revealed a stunning The Witcher 4 tech demo), Sweeney said AI prompts will be “a fundamental part” of game engines, and will result in “entirely new genres of games invented that weren’t possible or practical before” without it.
“Every significant advance in technology has led to the rise of new games,” Sweeney explained.
“I remember 3D gaming just became possible and then Doom and Wolfenstein introduced the 3D shooter. The battle royal genre itself only became possible when you had enough performance on hardware and engines that you could have a hundred players in a single play space.
“AI characters giving you the possibility of infinite dialogue with a really simple setup for creators means small teams will be able to create games with immense amounts of characters and immense and interactive worlds. What would it take for a 10-person team to build a game like Zelda Breath of the Wild in which the AI is just doing all the dialogue and you’re just writing some character synopsis? That’s totally going to be within reach over the next few years.”
Sweeney’s enthusiasm around AI is no secret, of course, and Epic Games is all in. AI Darth Vader hit Fortnite last month in a first for the all-encompassing battle royale. He can serenade you, join and leave squads at will, respond intelligently to the player, issue impromptu dialogue, summarize gameplay events, and warn the player if something’s about to go down.
Darth Vader is voiced by the inimitable James Earl Jones, who died in September 2024 at the age of 93. This AI version of his voice, powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash model and ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5, is used with the Jones family’s permission.
This sparked a debate about the ethics of generative AI, particularly when it comes to NPCs such as Darth Vader that revive the voice of dead actors. Sweeney, though, believes AI technology is ultimately of net benefit to society, despite some drawbacks.
“I see AI as technology that’s ultimately there to empower human creators to create stuff more efficiently,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing. It’s unfortunate that the advent of modern AI has been tainted by companies just ripping massive amounts of content off of other companies and individuals on the web. But as a base level technology, it should be a multiplying factor and multiplying force on our abilities.
“Certainly enabling indie teams to build bigger and better games means also enabling AAA teams to build staggering, immense huge games and to polish it ever further. So I think there’s going to be a massive evolution as everybody scrambles to learn new skills as you get on top of what’s possible here. But I think as with any other technology that’s improved our lives, the ultimate net opportunity for people is higher.”
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.
A Switch 2 Edition for No Man’s Sky will be available alongside the launch of Nintendo’s new console, developer Hello Games has announced.
This version will come as a free upgrade for current No Man’s Sky owners, and offer a range of improvements such as full multiplayer, high-res texture support, and improvements to resolution and frame-rate.
No Man’s Sky on Switch 2 also offers cross-save and cross-play, so you can pick up exactly where you left off on Switch 1 — or elsewhere.
Hello Games has said the Switch 2 version of its successful sci-fi adventure survival game is the product of 12 month’s work getting to grips with Nintendo’s new hardware, after receiving development kits a year ago.
This new version arrives alongside (and, unsurprisingly, also contains) the latest big update for No Man’s Sky, entitled Beacons. This overhauls settlements and adds town management to the game, with some surprising new features.
Alongside new homesteads to discover, you’ll be able to become mayor of multiple locations. This will let you design hangout locations such as bars or fishing ponds, defend your towns from attack, and even get involved in the lives of your settlers, welcoming them in and helping them resolve disputes.
Beacons launches as a free update on all No Man’s Sky platforms today, ahead of the game’s Switch 2 version launching tomorrow, June 5.
Nintendo has a swathe of Switch 2 Editions also set to arrive tomorrow, although some of these will need paying for, while others (Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) also come included with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
Mario Kart 8’s souped-up 200cc difficulty isn’t yet included within Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World — but Nintendo has hinted at the possibility of its reappearance via a post-launch update.
Nintendo added 200cc mode to the Mario Kart series for the first time in Mario Kart 8, though it only turned up in a post-launch patch. Could Nintendo be planning to do the exact same thing for the series’ follow-up? It seems very likely.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki acknowledged that 200cc had been a popular addition to the series, but stopped short of confirming anything around its return — for now.
“Some players are really happy with the addition of high difficulty modes likes this,” Kosuke teased. “However, does that mean we’re going to consider adding engine sizes that are larger than 150cc to Mario Kart World? I’m afraid I can’t say just yet.”
It’s not surprising that Nintendo has not included 200cc within Mario Kart World at launch. The mode’s arrival at a later date allows the game’s fans to learn courses and get used to playing at the standard 150cc (or lower, if you need) before the tougher challenge of 200cc arrives at a later date.
This will likely only be more of a consideration with Mario Kart World’s multiplayer-friendly gameplay, in which groups of players are encouraged to team up and explore together, their GameChat open, and cameras switched on.
Presumably, whenever Mario Kart World’s 200cc update does arrive, all players will need to be playing at the same level to explore the game’s map together. It’s therefore better, once again, to let players get to grips with 150cc first before things step up a gear, or engine size.
The developer of Balatro has confirmed the reason his viral hit poker game doesn’t have any microtransactions or ads is because seeing games with those types of things “makes me want to put my computer in the dishwasher and set it to pots and pans.”
“The honest reason I don’t have microtransactions/season pass/ads/100 DLCs/etc in Balatro isn’t just about the ethics of those practices, but because when I play other games that have those things it makes me want to put my computer in the dishwasher and set it to pots and pans,” Localthunk posted on Bluesky.
“Like, I get why people add those things, but you’re shooting your UX in the foot if players are having their first impression and also being bombarded with a bunch of nonsense that isn’t actually the game.”
When asked if he was “subskeeting” free to download digital collectible card game Marvel Snap, Localthunk replied: “This isn’t about them, but I’m not letting them off the hook either lol. There’s, like, a 95% chance that if the game is [free-to-play] then the main menu UI is more complicated than the actual game UI.”
Localthunk was recently compelled to denounce AI art after a subreddit moderator erroneously claimed neither the developer nor publisher Playstack had an “issue” with AI-generated art. Localthunk came out on the record to say: “Neither Playstack nor I condone AI ‘art’. I don’t use it in my game, I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds. The actions of this mod do not reflect how Playstack feels or how I feel on the topic. We have removed this moderator from the moderation team.”
Balatro is the viral deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping and outrageous combos. IGN’s Balatro review returned a 9/10. We said: “A deck-building poker roguelike of endlessly satisfying proportions, Balatro is the sort of fun that threatens to derail whole weekend plans.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
The developers of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 have essentially said “it’s what the Emperor would have wanted” and made a big weapon change in the game not for balance reasons, but because it’s just really, really cool.
Saber Interactive released patch notes for the Siege Update (Patch 8), which is available now on the Public Test Realm (PTS) for PC players, and in those confirmed it had extended the weapon arsenal in PvE to add the Thunder Hammer for the Bulwark class.
Thunder Hammers are perfect for bonking the crap out of Tyranids and Chaos Marines with wide, swinging attacks that have great reach, but the weapon type is limited to the Assault class. The Bulwark class is also great, with its huge shield and overpowered, game-saving abilities. But up to this point the Bulwark was unable to wield a Thunder Hammer. It made sense that it couldn’t, given you need two hands to bring a Thunder Hammer to bear on a heretic’s noggin, and you can’t do that while holding a Storm Shield.
Now, a Bulkwark can equip a Thunder Hammer, but there is an understandable catch: if the Bulwark uses a Thunder Hammer, it can’t also use a Storm Shield. This significantly changes what the Bulwark is all about, which is being a Space Marine who hunkers down for proper last stand stuff. The class has various abilities tied to using the Storm Shield, such as Shield Bash, which when using a Thunder Hammer are no longer available.
What I love is the patch notes explanation from Saber Interactive justifying this change. It basically amounts to an admission that it doesn’t make a great deal of sense lore wise, but they’re doing it anyway for FUN.
“We are adding this option only because we think it will be very cool and it’s a shame that only one class can use the Thunder Hammer,” Saber explained. “We are not done with Bulwark, more interesting gameplay things are to come.”
As a result, the Bulwark’s perks have been updated, which you can find detailed in the patch notes below.
Elsewhere, there is a hugely exciting tease for expanded customization options coming to Space Marine 2, one that’s already got fans hyped for what’s to come in future patches.
We are preparing a very big update for customisation, players will be able to reuse chapter champion armour parts on other classes (with lore accuracy, clipping and technical restrictions). While it’s not going to be in this patch, we wanted to mention this in this patch notes to assure you that we are going to continue expanding our customization system.
The patch notes do not reveal any new weapons or Operations mode maps, so it seems the focus here is squarely on Siege, which arrives in fully fleshed out form as part of Patch 8 on June 26. But Saber has confirmed new content is set to hit the game, including a new class. Season 4 also includes a new game mode for PvP and a new Chaos enemy. Check out IGN’s exclusive interview with Saber on Space Marine 2’s Siege mode for more information.
Siege Mode expands on our PvE operations, emphasizing endless enemy waves that challenge even the strongest teams. When overwhelmed, players may call reinforcements for assistance. Engage in intense battles across three distinctive sectors, each requiring strategic adaptation. Side objectives emerge during combat, providing essential resources used to summon elite Space Marines or a formidable Dreadnought, drastically shifting battlefield dynamics.
The Battlefield
The battle unfolds within a fortified Imperial stronghold on Kadaku, relentlessly attacked by endless waves of Tyranid and Thousand Sons enemies. The fortress has three rotating sectors: Defensive Positions, the Arsenal, and the Control Room. In each sector, you will face five waves of enemies before your squad advances to the next sector, ultimately cycling back to reinforce earlier positions.
Survival Against Waves
Face increasingly challenging enemy waves, with direct assaults from Tyranids and cunning sabotage by Chaos forces. Brief (1 minute) intermissions between waves offer strategic opportunities, clearly indicated through UI notifications.
Side Objectives
Dynamic tasks such as capturing strategic points or retrieving Data-slates from fallen allies deepen tactical gameplay and supply critical resources essential for continued survival.
Shop and Reinforcements
Earn Siege Mode resources through successful combat and Side Objective completion. You can spend these resources at the fortress Shop. You can:
1) Buy ammunition, medicae stimms, equipment, armour boosts, guardian relic (these items have the same exact behaviour as in Operations Mode).
2) Summon specialized Space Marines providing targeted support and bonuses. Each player can have only one summoned Space Marine.
3) Deploy Cadian Troopers to provide additional firepower.
4) Collectively pool your resources to unleash the devastating power of a Dreadnought.
Boss Encounters
Every fifth wave introduces formidable boss battles, occasionally facing multiple elite foes simultaneously. Triumph in these encounters to progress to new fortress sectors.
Infinite Waves
If your resolve endures through fifteen brutal waves, prepare for endless combat of increasing difficulty, reduced resources, and shorter preparation times. Even the Primarch of the Ultramarines understands that ultimate victory here is unlikely — but your bravery will echo through the halls of eternity.”
Added option to disable bots spawn in Private Mode.
Perfect if you’re looking for a challenge
RTAO experimental feature added — enables in in-game video settings
DLSS 4 — better upscale for 50xx series cards.
New Season Pass Content
Added White Scars Chapter Champion.
Added White Scars Chapter Weapon Skin Pack.
Added White Scars Chapter Customisation Pack.
Added Blood Angels Customisation Pack.
GAMEPLAY AND BALANCING TWEAKS
Extended Weapon arsenal in PvE
Added Thunder Hammer for Bulwark. Picking this weapon will prevent you from using the Storm Shield.
We are adding this option only because we think it will be very cool and it’s a shame that only 1 class can use the Thunder Hammer. We are not done with Bulwark, more interesting gameplay things are to come.
New Finishers for Bulwark
Adding new finishers for Bulwark with shield — 1 for Hormagaunts and 1 for Tzaangors.
Terminus Update for Absolute Difficulty
A second Terminus can now appear during a mission.
The Terminus’s HP has been increased by 66% and additional enemy packs will appear upon its spawn and again when its HP is reduced to 50%
These additional packs are now slightly more challenging featuring more Extremis enemies
Mission with final bosses can now also spawn Terminus enemies (previously, missions like “Decapitation” didn’t allow any Terminus spawns)”.
This change is made according to the community poll that we made a while ago. We think that Absolute difficulty wasn’t that hard to begin with and now with a slight power creep of constant weapons buffs, perk buffs and prestige perks the situation is much worse.
After doing multiple test we have scrapped the idea of having 2 Terminus enemies in Operations mode at the same time (except in Siege mode), because this meant that you would have to encounter them all of the time, otherwise one run with dual terminus spawns would be much harder than a run with 2 Terminus enemies spawning one by one.
Instead we’ve tried to make Terminus spawns harder and more intense. We are going to continue to monitor how Absolute Difficulty is, and make necessary tweaks.
Prestige Perks Class Update
Bulwark Prestige Perks Update
“Rally Point”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Emboldened Stand”.
Old: “Chapter Banner additionally removes negative Status Effects while active.”
New: “When the Chapter Banner is active, all Squad Members do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and cannot be knocked back within its zone.”
Assault Prestige Perks Update
“Boosted Recharge”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Unyielding Oath”.
Old: “Collecting an Armour Boost restores Ability Charge by 100%.”
New: “When charging a Ground Pound, you become Invulnerable for 3 seconds.”
Sniper Prestige Perks Update
”Boosted Recharge”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Materiel Upgrade”.
Old: “Collecting an Armour Boost restores Ability Charge by 100%.”
New: “Equipment Damage radius increases by 15%.”
Heavy Prestige Perks Update
“Restorative Capacity”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Honed Precision”.
Old: ”Activating Iron Halo removes negative Status Effects.”
New: “Equipped Weapon’s Maximum Spread decreases by 25% when firing without aiming.”
Tactical Prestige Perks Update
“Skilled Supplier”: Fixed a bug preventing the player from getting the maximum ammo.
Class Perks Updates
Bulwark Perks Update
Perks have been updated to reflect the addition of the Thunder Hammer to the Bulwark’s arsenal.
“Forward Momentum”: The perk has been updated.
Old: “After a Shield Bash, Melee Damage increases by 30% for 10 seconds.”
New: “After a Shield Bash or Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash, Melee Damage increases by 30% for 10 seconds”.
“Concussive Force”: The perk has been updated.
Old: “Shield Bash deals 200% more Damage.”
New: “Shield Bash deals 200% more Damage. Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash deals 100% more Damage and deals area-of-effect Damage within a 7-metre radius. Cooldown is 5 seconds.”
“Merciless Resolve”: The perk has been updated.
Old: “After a Shield Bash, Melee Damage increases by 15%, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds.”
New: “After a Shield Bash or Thunder Hammer Pommel Smash, Melee Damage increases by 15%, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits, and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds”.
“Focused Restoration”: The perk has been buffed.
“Every 40 seconds, all Squad Members automatically restore 1 Armour Segment “ -> Cooldown decreased from40 to 30 seconds.
Tactical Perks Update
“Final Shot”: The perk has been reworked.The new perk is “Emperor’s Judgement”.
Old: “After a Finisher, the equipped Ranged Weapon reloads automatically.”
New: “After a Finisher, the equipped Ranged Weapon reloads automatically, and your Primary Weapon deals 20% more Damage for 10 seconds”.
“Communion of Fire”: The perk has been reworked. The new perk is “Secure Stockpile”.
Old: “Recoil is reduced by 25% and Ranged damage against Extremis-level enemies is increased by 10% for all Squad Members.”
New: “Equipment Charge is restored by 1 for all Squad Members. Cooldown is 60 seconds.”
“Steady Aim”: The perk has been buffed.
“Weapon Spread and Recoil is reduced by 20% and Ranged Damage against Terminus-level enemies is increased by 10%” -> Ranged Damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%.
Assault Perks Update
“Winged Fury”: The perk has been buffed.
“Damage from Melee Attacks executed while sprinting or dashing increases by 40%.” -> Damage increased from 40% to 100%.
“Hammer of Wrath”: The perk has been buffed.
“After a Ground Pound, you take 15% less Ranged Damage, do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and you cannot be knocked back for 10 seconds” -> Damage reduction increased from 15% to 20%. Knock back immunity duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds.
Vanguard Perks Update
“Moving Target”: The perk has been buffed.
“Each Melee Attack you land reduces the Ranged Damage you take by 2% (up to 20%). If you do not land a Melee Attack for 5 seconds, the effect ends.” -> Consecutive hit multiplier increased from 2% to 5%. Max bonus increased from 20% to 30%.
“Retribution”: The perk has been buffed.
“After you are grabbed or knocked back, you deal 25% more Melee Damage for 15 seconds.” -> Bonus damage increased from 25% to 30%. Duration increased from 15 to 20 seconds.
Sniper Perks Update
“Precision Targeting”: The perk has been buffed.
“Weapon Spread is reduced by 25% and Ranged Damage against Extremis-level enemies is increased by 10% for all Squad Members.” -> Ranged Damage increased from 10 to 15%.
“Dexterous Hands”: Instigator Bolt Carbine is now also affected.
“Bolt Carbines reload 20% faster, and their Weapon Spread and Recoil are reduced by 15%.”
Weapon Perks Update
Inferno Pistol Perk Update
“Know no fear”: The perk has been reworked.
Old: “When your Health is below 10%, Reload Speed increases by 30%.”
New: “If your Armour is fully depleted, Reload Speed increases by 20%.”
Neo-Volkite Pistol Perk Update
“Combustive momentum”: The perk has been buffed.
“After a Gun Strike, heating speed increases by 30% for 6 seconds.” -> Duration increased from 2 to 6 seconds.
Combat QoL
If a Sniper type enemy aims at you, using Assault’s Jump Pack ability will allow you to dodge the shot. The sniper will shoot instantly, but the shot will miss.
Fixed an issue where Neurothropes’ Warp Storm afterblasts could stun-lock the player with heavy hits. Now, afterblasts will damage the player but not control them. Additionally, Neurothropes’ shots now have a slightly longer delay between them.
Fixed a lot of minor issues improving overall combat responsiveness
Firearms (PvE Only)
There are not many weapon balance tweaks in this patch because our statistics show that usage and win rate for all weapons is in a good spot right now. With the next big update we are going to focus on weapon versions balance inside each archetype, because this is where we see a big room for improvements.
Bolt Pistol
Hip-Fire spread decreased by 50%.
Velocity of spread increasing in minizoom state is decreased by 15%.
Inferno Pistol
Gun Strike Damage increased by 20%.
PvP
With the next patch we are going to take a closer look at PvP weapon balance.
Large amount of small fixes in level geometry collision.
Lots of minor fixes for private lobbies gameplay modificators.
AI
Spore Mines: Explosion damage is reduced by 55%.
Neurothrope: Temporary invulnerability is replaced with high damage resistance when it flies up from the ground.
Lots of minor animation fixes for various enemies.
Customisation
We are preparing a very big update for customisation, players will be able to reuse chapter champion armour parts on other classes (with lore accuracy, clipping and technical restrictions). While it’s not going to be in this patch, we wanted to mention this in this patch notes to assure you that we are going to continue expanding our customization system.
Added Red, White and Blue weapon skins as Siege mode rewards
Added Prestige reward shoulder pad on left shoulder as well.
Added left pauldron decal “Ultramarine Sergeant”.
Lots of other minor fixes for customizations of armour parts and emblems.
Levels
Large amounts of small fixes in level geometry collision and Terminus enemies getting stuck in some areas.
General Fixes
Fixed an issue where spore mines could spawn on top of the player.
Fixed several cases where contested health may decrease while performing a finisher.
Fixed: Combining Sniper’s prestige perk “Emperor’s Grace” with “Lingering Concealment” perk drains the ability charge while linger is active
Fixed: Weapon perk “Reloaded Restauration” was not activated by the Sniper’s perk “Efficient Readiness“.
Fixed an issue where the Bulwark perk’s “Intimidating Aura” was not triggering with a Perfect Block.
Intimidating Aura is probably the most overpowered perk right now, but we think that it should still work independently from selected weapon
Fixed a bug with the “Final Shot” perk not increasing damage in some cases.
Fixed a bug affecting Heavy’s “Bonds of brotherhood” perk not granting full health when the player is revived by a bot.
Fixed an issue where some pick ups were inaccessible as a consequence of the interaction button failing to appear.
Fixed rare camera bugs after finisher.
Lots of minor animation fixes for the player.
Minor UI, sound and VFX fixes and improvements
Tech
Crash fixes and general stability improvements.
Matchmaking and network stability fixes.
Minor memory optimization.
Improvements to game modding capabilities.
Main Known Issues
PvE Quick Match – Returning to the Battle Barge from a PvE mission in Quick Match makes the game switch to Offline.
Performances: Horde Mode – FPS drops may occur.
PvP – The players are assigned to a random server instead of the one closest to them, which may result in higher latency than usual.
Localization is not fully integrated in other languages than English.
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.
The Nintendo Switch 2’s launch is imminent, and with it, free Switch 2 updates for more than ten existing games from the original Switch’s library. A pair of these are Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, which are pretty widely criticized for their relatively poor performance on the Switch. I got to play the newly updated Pokémon Scarlet on the Nintendo Switch 2 for thirty minutes, and the Switch 2 upgrades are incredibly clear.
The official Nintendo website says the free Switch 2 updates for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet include:
“Visuals: Optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2 display and high-resolution TVs for improved image quality.”
“Frame rate: Improved for smoother movement on Nintendo Switch 2.”
The vague description definitely put me off at first, but now I know Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet on the Nintendo Switch 2 run in 4K at 60FPS. Or, at least, those are the settings–I didn’t have the equipment to measure if that 60FPS is indeed steady–but by the naked eye, I can still recognize it as markedly improved. As soon as I loaded into the game, on a huge 4K TV, I was stunned by how nice everything looked. No jagged pixelated edges on blades of grass, or even Pokémon, here.
The Switch 2 updates have also increased the number of Pokémon that can appear on screen, and from a further distance. For instance, flying over Casseroya Lake on the Switch 2 was a drastically different experience compared to on the Switch: I saw numerous Pokémon swim along the surface from a distance and didn’t experience any noticeable stuttering once I began to swim. Even when it began to rain, Pokémon Scarlet on the Switch 2 still didn’t struggle even a little. In fact, it continued playing like normal, as if the weather effects were meant to just… work.
Even when it began to rain, Pokémon Scarlet on the Switch 2 still didn’t struggle even a little.
The framerate improvements are especially immediately obvious when viewing faraway moving objects, like the windmills by West Province (Area One) – Central, or distant Pokémon and people. I also didn’t experience stalling or glitches when in a raid battle or when Terastalizing. I didn’t get to play online or co-op, however, so we’ve yet to see if the updates improved those aspects (that desperately need it.)
Visuals are subjective, so there’s only so much I can say to emphasize that the difference is certainly noticeable, but you can watch the comparison video on this page. I can also report on some favorable loading time comparisons that will let you judge for yourself.
These approximate comparisons are between Pokémon Violet running on a V2 Switch (the Monster Hunter Rise special edition, specifically) in 1080p, and Pokémon Scarlet running on a brand new Nintendo Switch 2 in 4K.
Loading from title screen:
Switch: 19 seconds
Switch 2: 5 seconds
Fast travel from North Province (Area One) to Casseroya Lake:
Switch: 9 seconds
Switch 2: 4 seconds
Fast travel from Blueberry Academy to Paldea:
Switch: 17 seconds
Switch 2: 5 seconds
Besides the fast travel loading time improvements, the menus are also so much snappier. Models in menus load in pretty much immediately, a stark contrast to the agonizing seconds you’d have to wait on the original Switch between trying on clothes in the menu; or hairstyles or accessories in stores.
To be completely honest, the performance of these games didn’t prevent me from enjoying them the first time around. I still appreciated the new open-world format, more fleshed-out characters, and never-before-seen new Pokémon friends, lag be damned. I certainly was frustrated enough that I avoided switching out Pokémon because of how long it took, sure, but overall, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were fun for me regardless. However, now that I’ve played it on the Switch 2, the performance and visual issues of the original are certainly less ignorable, and thankfully I never need to play it on an original Switch again.
This, I’m relieved to say, isn’t the case on the Switch 2. Sure, they’re still not perfect–I did experience one stutter when dashing on Koraidon, and there are still texture issues and texture pop-ins–but the visuals and performance are far from garbage. They’re so much better, in fact, that I’m tempted to say the free Switch 2 updates are closer to a light remaster than just an optimization – even though it really should’ve just run better to begin with. I’m that impressed, but to be fair, I did go in with somewhat low expectations–how much better could a simple update make a game that ran with so many issues in 1080p on the original Switch?
Just how well Scarlet runs on the Switch 2 makes me question if this iteration of Pokémon was planned for the Switch 2 all along. The update does this much and is free? Suspicious.
Conspiracy theories aside, if the performance of Scarlet and Violet on the original Switch turned you off from playing, it’s absolutely worth giving them another shot on the Switch 2. I’m certainly going to go back and play more of the Indigo Disk DLC with these updates intact. These games are right at home on the Switch 2 and feel like they should have been here all along, and this gives me so much hope for the performance of the Switch 2 version of Pokémon Legends: Z-A later this year.
These were my first impressions from just thirty minutes of hands-on play, so there could certainly be issues I missed or that reveal themselves later, but I encountered significantly less issues in these thirty minutes on the Switch 2 compared to the thirty minutes on the original Switch I spent capturing the comparison footage. You’ll be able to see the differences between the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet Switch versions for yourself once the free updates are out on June 5, alongside the launch of the Switch 2. Simply connect your Switch 2 to the internet and perform a system update to download free updates.
We’ll also begin re-reviewing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Switch 2, so look out for that full evaluation in the near future!
