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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Director Talks About Creating Its Anticipated Ending and Teases Part 3

Spoiler Warning: This interview contains some spoilers for the ending of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as well as some of the major changes from the original. You have been warned!

Heading into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, fans had only one question on their mind: What was going to happen to Aerith? Final Fantasy VII Remake had upended the classic story, seemingly leaving the door open for all manner of changes, including to one of the biggest twists in gaming history. But if director Naoki Hamaguchi felt pressure to get the moment right, he isn’t saying it.

“In terms of whether there was pressure or stress around the scene, it was actually more so that within Nojima-san’s initial scenario we had this direction that was pretty set from his initial scenario. And so that was kind of quite solidified early on,” Hamaguchi tells IGN.

According to Hamaguchi, the anticipated finale for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which launched yesterday on PlayStation 5, didn’t inspire much internal debate. Instead, the development team mostly focused on executing on director Kazushige Nojima’s vision as best they could. “More of this kind of sense of determination as a team to best convey this based on Nojima-san’s scenario,” Hamaguchi says.

Early returns have been mostly positive. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth currently sits at 92 on Metacritic and is enjoying strong word-of-mouth. But despite awarding it a 9 in our review, we weren’t the biggest fans of how it wrapped up, writing, “It does fumble the execution of its ending, getting caught up in the mess of its multiple twisting timelines, but new moments and the overarching journey manage to evoke a deeper sense of reflection in spite of that.”

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s ending is indeed confusing, its vague nature bound to inspire lorehounds within the fandom. For Hamaguchi and his team, though, the confusion may be a feature more than a bug.

“HD games take quite long to develop…it’s not as so that we can release the final title the following year or anything like that. Of course, it takes a bit more time, so it is our intent and hopes that there will be many thoughts and conjectures and sort of guesses as to what this exactly means. And we do hope that players will kind of think about this and consider this up to the following title,” Hamaguchi says.

The journey to Rebirth and beyond

Whenever the third part of the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy releases — whether it’s called Remembrance or something else — it will mark the conclusion of a journey that has now spanned close to a decade and two separate console generations. It stretches as far back as the PlayStation 3, when Square Enix released what was then considered a beautiful tech demo featuring Cloud that sparked fevered calls for a remake, which were finally answered in 2020 with the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The first game was directed by Tetsuya Nomura, one of the key architects of the original Final Fantasy VII. When it came time for Rebirth, he handed the reigns to Hamaguchi, who had grown up playing Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII before finally joining Square Enix in 2006. As a child, he loved manga and was impressed by how Square’s RPGs were able to capture a similar range of depth and expression. He entered the games industry as a programmer, making him in some ways the opposite of Nomura, who has defined the look and feel of multiple generations of Final Fantasy games through his art.

Where Yoshinori Kitase, Nomura, Nojima, and Motomu Toriyama worried about the creative direction of the story, Hamaguchi was tasked with logistics. He talks about being in charge of the “structure of the game” — the meat and potatoes elements like the combat and the open world — and managing the overall development. Meanwhile, it was Nomura who came up with the “Rebirth” subtitle, which like Remake has something of a double-meaning (“I think having played the game, you will understand what Rebirth means to this title,” Hamaguchi says)

“Nomura-san is an extremely creative individual,” Hamaguchi goes on. “And since he was one of the creators involved with the original fan of Fantasy VII, he was vital in understanding the elements that were the most appealing and continue that were beloved from the original title and how we can best express this in a way that would make that kind of impact today as well. He has this immaculate sensibility in that way and his opinions were very vital in the development. He is a creator that I have massive respect towards.”

In his time at Square Enix, Hamaguchi has worked on numerous Final Fantasy releases stretching back to Final Fantasy XII. What makes Rebirth different, Hamaguchi says, is that its nature as a sequel means that it’s easier to take into account critical feedback and rework elements that don’t work quite as well. Rebirth was also able to retain between 80 and 90 percent of the developers who worked on Remake.

Asked if the team took any lessons from Final Fantasy XVI, which was being made at roughly the same time, Hamaguchi demurs, noting that the nature of development means that it can be difficult to suddenly change the direction of a game’s design.

“It is very often so that,even if there are other titles in which the timelines of development align or overlap, it can be pretty challenging to actually implement things from another title into our own simply because the overall structure is already constructed or determined early on,” Hamaguchi says. “So yeah, looking at the Active Time Lore or some of the cinematic elements of expression they deployed in Final Fantasy XVI, there were certainly a lot of elements that were inspiring or very intriguing…but it was quite difficult to implement.”

The grand finale

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth now complete and in the hands of fans, Square Enix can look ahead to the final part of the trilogy, which based on the current pace of development may not be finished until roughly 2028. If that winds up being the case, Final Fantasy VII Remake’s grand finale may well be a PlayStation 6 launch title if Sony’s comments about the PS5 being in the “latter stage” of its life cycle are anything to go by.

As for what the third part will entail, we do have some hints. Notably, Hamaguchi says that Cid’s home Rocket Town, which doesn’t appear in Rebirth, may be in the next game. “So as for Rocket Town, this was also not a part of Nojima-san’s original structure…And considering that how we introduce the character, Cid, for the Remake series this time is arranged a bit differently, Nojima-san, Nomura-san and I were all aligned with this decision to consider this for the next title.”

Fans are very delighted to see some of the characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles that they have really loved and enjoyed

According to Hamaguchi, Rocket Town was also cut at least in part to focus on Gongaga, a previously-optional area that gets more prominence in Rebirth. “Considering that in the original the Gongaga area was optional for the players, we wanted to delve into this and express this more in depth for Rebirth. And so that was also an additional consideration for this as well.”

Unsurprisingly, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII works also figure to play a role of some kind in the third game. Orignally a collection side-stories and spin-off games, Square Enix has hardly been shy about including characters and story beats from its various works, even going so far as to feature elements from the much-maligned Dirge of Cerberus in the Intergrade DLC. Ahead of Rebirth’s release on February 29, the 2005 movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children briefly returned to theaters for a special showing.

Hamaguchi has said that the next game’s script is still in development, so plenty can change. However, he does tease still more potential additions from Compilation.

“So while I can’t comment on the sort of exact contents of the third title now, of course, whenever we present characters that have originally appealed and appeared in a Compilation title for Final Fantasy VII, we’ve seen very positive feedback. Fans are very delighted to see some of the characters from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles that they have really loved and enjoyed. So I hope that we can continue to touch on these. But at the time, in terms of the storyline, nothing is set in stone,” Hamaguchi says.

For now, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth seems like a win for Square Enix, earning more positive word-of-mouth than the series has seen in years. The real test will be whether it’s able to defy the odds and sell more copies than its predecessor, which sits at about 7 million units. Outside of its extremely popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy has been trending downward for a while now (granted, Final Fantasy XVI differed from its peers in that it was a platform exclusive), and direct sequels tend to see diminishing returns.

One way or another, Hamaguchi says he plans to see Square Enix’s ambitious Final Fantasy VII Remake project through. “At the end of Remake, I had a pretty lengthy discussion with Kitase-san surrounding this and that I would be devoted to this project for the next 12 years or so. I think we both had reached the consensus together and had some very good discussions around that. And so with that, I feel very much committed, and with the Remake series, as well as Rebirth, I feel very much confident about bringing it into this world. So I have this resolve for the Remake series and concluding the trilogy.”

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is now available on PlayStation 5. For more, check out our full Final Fantasy VII Rebirth walkthrough as well as our guide to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s romances and relationships.

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.

Helldivers 2 Players Are Calling in All Sorts of Unannounced Stratagems, and It Might Have Something to Do With Cheating

This week, Helldivers 2 has seen a glut of gameplay leaks showing off officially unavailable stratagems, including of the upcoming mechs and, more recently, of a vehicle reminiscent of Halo’s famous Warthog. But what’s going on here? The community has a number of explanations.

Amid claims developer Arrowhead is randomly letting select players call in these unannounced stratagems, or jumping into the live game itself to test these new features, a perhaps more likely explanation has emerged: it’s the work of cheaters.

Five days ago, redditor stodal posted a list of game file names they uncovered while digging through the game’s innards. It included reference to a potential third alien faction dubbed the Illuminate, mechs, the ability to call in AI-controlled soldiers, weapon customisation, new weapons, something called ‘ship bowling’, and even names of upcoming enemies.

Now, as more and more gameplay videos showing apparent leaked footage emerges across social media, the community is pointing the finger at cheaters who are working around Helldivers 2’s anti-cheat to unlock the use of some of these normally unavailable features in live lobbies.

Overnight, redditor Old-Improvement7331 said a player joined their game and had access to mechs and a vehicle for faster travel. “I can only assume he was cheating due to being able to spawn mechs for everybody from the party,” Old-Improvement7331 said. Posting screenshots of the incident, Old-Improvement7331 said they gave a mech a go, saying it “definitely” made the game easier.

A growing debate about datamining equating to cheating within Helldivers 2 has also emerged, which in turn sparked a response from redditor Flighterist, who provided useful context for what’s happening. Apparently unavailable stratagems such as the vehicle are already in the game itself, but not officially enabled. Knowing this, some players are going into the files of the game to unlock their use in any lobby. Flighterist warned more of these types of videos will emerge in the coming days as more players unlock mechs and the like.

The question now is whether Arrowhead will take action to prevent this from happening, or whether it is even able to. Cheating has been a problem for Helldivers 2 ever since the game came out earlier this month. This week, IGN reported on how cheaters were using hacks to add infinite ammo, increase speed, and, perhaps most worrying, obtain hundreds of samples from missions.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty to be getting on with (officially!) in the world of Helldivers 2, including the ongoing galactic war against the bugs and bots. As revealed this week, Arrowhead employs a “game master” who runs the Helldivers 2 campaign like a D&D dungeon master.

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.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Ending Explained

Warning: this article contains full spoilers for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original Final Fantasy 7.

The story of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is pretty easy to follow… until you get to the end, that is. Much like its predecessor, the final chapter of Rebirth heads into weird, uncharted territory, and it can all become a bit confusing. To save you from befuddlement, we’ve studied the ending and the storylines that lead up to it over and over to make sense of it all. And where we can’t make sense of it, we’ve theorised on what it means. Read on for all those answers, but be warned: it’s all spoilers from here on out, for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original game.

Zack and the Multiverse

In the finale of Final Fantasy 7 Remake it was revealed that there are two timelines; the one in which the main events of the game unfold, and a second reality in which Zack Fair survived the attack by Shinra guards. Rebirth goes one step further and reveals there’s not two realities, but multiple. Infinite numbers of them, in fact. Yup, welcome to the Final Fantasy 7 multiverse.

Sephiroth explains that “when the boundaries of fate are breached, new worlds are born.” And so when Cloud and the party defeated the Whisper Harbinger in the finale of Remake, they created the reality in which Zack survives.

But Rebirth demonstrates that even the smallest decisions can create new worlds. Towards the end of Zack’s storyline, he has to make a choice: will he save Biggs, Cloud, or Aerith? His choice creates three branching realities. Each unique universe is identified by its version of Stamp, a dog mascot who pops up everywhere. In the main reality, Stamp is a beagle hound wearing a helmet. In the second reality created at the end of Remake, the one that’s home to the majority of Zack’s story, Stamp is a border terrier with a cap. The version of Zack who goes to save Biggs creates a world where Stamp is a bulldog with a bucket hat, while the version who chooses Aerith manifests a reality where Stamp is a corgi with a collar. Follow the dogs, and you’ll know the reality you’re in.

While these different realities are the stages for different stories, Rebirth does suggest that everyone has a destiny that’s hard to outrun. In the realities where Zack chooses to save Cloud and Biggs, both versions of him are hunted down by squads of Shinra soldiers – echoing the way he died in the main reality. We see this with an alternate version of Aerith, too, where it’s implied that Sephiroth will always hunt her down. This, along with the return of the Whispers (the arbiters of fate we met in Final Fantasy 7 Remake) suggests that the party didn’t totally break the concept of destiny in Remake, and that there’s still a canon path that the multiverse expects its inhabitants to tread.

Homecoming

So what’s the deal with these multiple realities? Well, unsurprisingly Sephiroth wants to mess it all up. In the original Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth’s plan was to cause a meteor to collide with the planet. The impact would cause the world’s spiritual energy, known as Lifestream, to leak out, which Sephiroth could then absorb to fuel his ascent to godhood. Rebirth’s version of Sephiroth plans something similar, but his goal is now greater than becoming a mere god. He wants to rule over infinity – to lay claim to the entire multiverse. To do so, he plans what he calls a ‘Homecoming’, the union of the multiverse’s many realities.

Sephiroth explains that all worlds are doomed to fade from existence. We see this in a couple of instances, with the skies of some realities torn asunder. When these worlds die, they apparently return to the “planet’s embrace”. Essentially, it’s the Lifestream on a multiversal level. Sephiroth doesn’t speak plainly about his plans for this convergence of realities, but since he still seeks the meteor-summoning Black Materia, it’s logical to assume he wants to unite the multiverse and then obliterate it. If absorbing the Lifestream of one reality can make him a god, then absorbing the Lifestream of multiple realities would likely help him achieve that whole ‘King of Infinity’ ambition.

Aerith’s Fate

For Sephiroth to destroy the multiverse with meteor, he’ll need to ensure nothing stands in his way. And so that means killing Aerith, the last of the Cetra and the only person capable of using White Materia to pray for Holy, a magical barrier that will protect the planet. And so that’s exactly what he does.

But let’s rewind, because there’s a lot that happens leading up to Aerith’s death. As revealed in her trial in the Temple of the Ancients, Aerith was given the White Materia by her dying mother. But across the events of the first game, her every encounter with the Whispers sapped the White Materia of the knowledge and memories that power it. By the time Aerith left Midgar, it was nothing more than an empty, useless globe. As such, if Aerith is to protect the planet, she needs a new White Materia.

Thankfully, the multiverse means there are multiple Aeriths, each with their own materia. Through the guise of a dream, an alternate Aerith pulls Cloud into her reality – a world where the sky is crumbling and there’s no hope of salvation. This version of Aerith gives Cloud her White Materia and sends him back to his reality, just before Sephiroth arrives to stop her. Returned to the main reality, Cloud gives Aerith this new White Materia, putting destiny back on track.

Of course, as we well know from the original Final Fantasy 7, that destiny involves being impaled on Sephiroth’s sword. And, perhaps as expected, that’s exactly what happens. But it’s more complicated than that. We see Cloud deflect Sephiroth’s blade, saving Aerith from the killing blow. We even see moments of her alive in Cloud’s arms. And yet, she still dies. As far as I can tell, there’s no concrete answer to what’s exactly happening here. The burst of rainbow colour in this scene suggests another branch of fate (this motif is used in other scenes in which the multiverse is crossed or adjusted) and so this could be Cloud catching a glimpse of a reality where Aerith survives. Meanwhile, the tiny green lights around Aerith ‘alive’ in his arms points to her spirit communicating via the Lifestream, offering Cloud a moment of reassurance from the beyond. But the glitch editing in this sequence suggests it could all just be a result of Cloud’s degrading mind. As hinted at throughout the entirety of Rebirth’s story, Cloud’s body is gradually breaking down, causing him to be something of an unreliable narrator. We’ll return to this topic a bit later if you want to know more.

Aerith’s death is immediately followed by an incredibly long, multiphase boss battle. And in the final phase, none other than Aerith arrives to help defeat Sephiroth. While Rebirth features multiple versions of Aerith, it seems that this is actually our Aerith… well, her spirit form, at least. Following Sephiroth’s defeat, we see Aerith fade away in those little green lights – a sure sign that she’s returned to the Lifestream. But while she’s returned to the planet, that doesn’t mean she’s gone forever.

Promises

The final cutscene shows the party mourning Aerith’s loss. Yet, in almost all of these scenes, Aerith is clearly standing among them. Sadly, she’s not miraculously alive – this is just her spirit. But while the majority of the party cannot see her, Cloud can. Not just that; he can even talk with her.

In Rebirth’s final moments, Aerith makes a promise to Cloud. “I’ll put everything I’ve got into my prayers. I’ll stop the meteor.” Cloud makes his own promise to stop Sephiroth. This is an echo of the original game’s ending, in which it’s hinted that Aerith’s spirit protects the planet using the Lifestream while Cloud defeats Sephiroth in battle.

Over in another reality, Zack also makes something of a promise to himself. Sephiroth explained that worlds unite and part, and Zack witnessed this when his reality overlapped with Cloud’s, allowing them to fight Sephiroth Reborn together. Their worlds are now separated, but Zack wonders if they could be reunited once more. It’s a spark of hope for him, as in his universe Cloud is terminally ill from mako poisoning and Aerith is in a long-term coma following the disaster in Midgar. If his world can merge with another, then there’s a chance he can be reunited with healthy versions of Cloud and Aerith once again.

Reunion

While the ending suggests that Aerith will be able to stay by Cloud’s side as a spiritual guide for the rest of the journey, it’s not all roses for our spikey-haired protagonist. He’s the only person able to see the tear in his reality’s sky, perhaps as a result of having travelled across multiple worlds himself. More ominously, it could be related to Cloud’s mental connection to Sephiroth.

As Cloud discovers he has the Black Materia in his pocket, his mind glitches for a moment. He mutters “the reunion”, and fits the apocalyptic materia into his Buster Sword. What all this means will almost certainly be covered in the final game of the Remake trilogy, but if you want more context now, we need to look at the full events of the original game. As hinted to in Rebirth’s Shinra Mansion basement scenes, Cloud was experimented on by Professor Hojo, who injected him with Jenova cells. The robed figures seen all throughout Rebirth are also victims of the same Jenova trials. The Reunion of which both they and Cloud speak is the reunion of Jenova’s cells – a ritual triggered by Sephiroth himself from a crater far in the north. That’s where the robed men are headed, and that’s why Cloud miraculously knows that Sephiroth is north; he’s being subconsciously summoned to the Reunion. You can probably now see why Sephiroth wants Cloud to keep that Black Materia safe…

Shinra vs. Wutai

The other significant reveal in the finale is that Glenn Lodbrok is actually a puppet of Sephiroth. As revealed earlier in the game, Lodbrok is attempting to reignite the war between Shinra and Wutai. In a public address he blames the murder of several Wutai soldiers on the company, as well as the emergence of the Weapons from the mako reactors. But the reveal that Lodbrok is actually a manifestation of Sephiroth lays clear the whole purpose of the conflict: it’s a ploy to distract Rufus Shinra.

As noted in the scene between Rufus and Glenn, it was Rufus’ fathers dream to discover the Promised Land; a place overflowing with mako energy where he could build the city of Neo Midgar. After President Shinra was killed, Rufus continued his father’s work, tailing Aerith in hope of discovering this fabled place. But Sephiroth also wants to find the Promised Land – in the original game he needs its abundance of energy to use the Black Materia and summon meteor, and presumably that remains true in Rebirth. And so by creating the manifestation of Glenn Lodbrok, Sephiroth can brew a conflict between Wutai and Shinra that will distract Rufus away from the Promised Land. Rufus works it all out and guns down the robed man who took Glenn’s form, but it seems like it’s too little too late. The Shinra Resistance Committee is ready for war, and it looks like it’ll all get messy in the final game of the trilogy.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.

Valve Pulls Fake Steam Helldivers 2 Games, but Devs Express Concern They Appeared in the First Place

Valve has pulled a handful of fake Steam listings for Helldivers 2 that were different games, potentially even cracked games, disguised as the hugely popular co-op shooter to fool people into spending money.

Helldivers 2 community manager Twinbeard posted a warning on the game’s Discord that shone a light on the scam.

“There are unfortunately two (three now?!) fake games being marketed as Helldivers 2 on Steam at the moment,” Twinbeard said. “THESE ARE FAKE. They are not made by Arrowhead but they claim to be. We do not know what they contain, but they are not affiliated with us in any way.

“Our legal department is on it and we hope Valve will remove the products as soon as possible.

“The only two genuine copies are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2: Super Citizen Edition. BOTH OF OUR GENUINE GAMES WERE RELEASED FEBRUARY 8TH. All remaining Helldivers 2 games are fake.

“People posting as us trying to scam people is obviously very sad and frustrating, and for that as well as for security reasons we urge you to stay clear of them. Again, the only two Helldivers 2 products we market are Helldivers 2 and Helldivers 2 Super Citizen Edition. (I haven’t had time to check the details on the fake store pages yet since I just got up.)

“Additional information will follow if or when there is any new information.”

Thankfully, Valve did pull the fake Helldivers 2 listing, per an update this morning from Twinbeard: “All fake store pages now seem to have been taken down by Valve, who acted very swiftly after we reached out. We´ll assess everything in due time. Also, a big THANK YOU to everyone who DM:ed or pinged me/us about the fake pages and games. Together we stand.”

While Valve moved quickly to stamp out the scam Helldivers 2 pages, it appears the problem is not isolated to Arrowhead’s shooter. Palworld community chief Bucky tweeted to say there had been a “wave” of fake games that suddenly appeared on Steam today, a development they called “quite concerning.” According to Bucky, Steam took down a fake Palworld listing almost immediately after developer Pocketpair got in touch. “Hope no one was tricked into buying it!” Bucky said.

Valve is now facing questions over how these listings were able to make it onto Steam in the first place. The hope is of course that the high-profile nature of the fake Helldivers 2 Steam listings will cause Valve to close whatever loophole was exploited here.

Meanwhile, there’s plenty to be getting on with in the world of Helldivers 2, including the ongoing galactic war against the bugs and bots. As revealed this week, Arrowhead employs a “game master” who runs the Helldivers 2 campaign like a D&D dungeon master. Gameplay leaks have offered fans a closer look at the upcoming mechs, too.

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.

Today Only: This Color Shifting Xbox Wireless Controller Is 30% Off With This Best Buy Deal

For today only, Best Buy is offering the official Xbox Series X|S Core wireless controller in Stellar Shift for only $49.99. That’s almost 30% off the original $69.99 MSRP. Aside from the difference in color scheme, this is the same controller as the one that’s included with your Xbox Series X or S console.

Xbox Core Controller in Stellar Shift for $49.99

Stellar Shift is a color-shifting, blue-purple pearlescent shimmer that, in my opinion, looks better than most of the other Xbox color schemes out there. It also features a rubberized purple swirl grip that has different pattern varations among each individual controller.

This is the same official controller that you get bundled with the Xbox Series X and S consoles. It features textured grips, hybrid D-pad, button mapping with the Xbox app, a 3.5mm audio jack that works with any wired headset, and a Share button to send your screenshots and video out into the world.

The Xbox Core controller features both Xbox wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. That means you can also use it for your PC or mobile device as long as it supports Bluetooth. In fact, the Core controller is considered one of the best PC controllers you can get. If your PC doesn’t have Bluetooth, then you can connect your controller via a USB cable or with the Xbox wireless adapter.

For more discounts on the Xbox and accessories, check out the best Xbox deals today.

Kingdom Hearts 4 Rears Its Head to Celebrate Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Release

We may have just gotten our latest look at Kingdom Hearts 4 (kind of) in the form of a social media post celebrating the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Earlier today, the official Kingdom Hearts X/Twitter account shared an image of Sora on what looks like the streets of Shibuya, glancing up at various big-screen advertisements featuring Sephiroth. The reason we’re counting this as a look at Kingdom Hearts 4, however, is that it’s set in Quadratum, the bustling city in which the sequel will take place.

We can tell because the intersection in which Sora is standing, with the big 104 building in the background, is one of the few true glimpses we’ve seen of Quadratum. The setting is based on Tokyo, specifically the Shibuya district.

In a cute touch, the image references a real-life ad campaign that’s currently taking place in Shibuya, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth taking over various billboards and screens, as captured by @Genki_JPN on X/Twitter below.

It’s not much, but it is the latest crumb we’ve gotten on Kingdom Hearts 4, with Square Enix officially announcing the sequel in 2022. We got a brief trailer back then, but little information since, including a release window (see everything we have managed to figure out right here).

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, meanwhile, officially released on PlayStation 5 today, so fans are just starting to dive in. For more, check out our 9/10 review, as well as our spoiler-filled breakdown on why that one script change from Remake actually makes perfect sense.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

The Best Cooperative Board Games to Play in 2024

Sometimes it’s fun to match wits in a board game with other players in competitive matches. But many of the best board games go the other way and embrace the spirit of cooperation. Co-op board games come in a wide variety of themes, with varying levels of complexity so you can find one for players of all ages. Below, we’ve selected our favorites on the market. For more game night ideas, check out our other roundups, including the best board games for kids and the best two-player board games.

TLDR: Best Co-op Board Games

Have no time to read blurbs? The links above lead directly to retailer pages where you can buy the games in question.

Nemesis: Lockdown

Lots of board games have tried to replicate the success of the Alien franchise, but it took this unlicensed homage to perfect it. Players must work together to survive a terrifying incursion of hostile life-forms into a Martian base. You’re on a constant high-wire between staying slow and quiet or getting things done fast but attracting alien attention. It’s full of detailed mechanics that can spin the game out in crazy directions, from literal firefighting to a gung-ho battle against the extraterrestrial foe. The challenge is tough, the narrative detailed and the tension always escalating. But the real kicker is that it’s possible for your friends not to be friends at all thanks to hidden goal cards that could be supportive or could be murderous, or the corporate military wing could be coming to take you all out to ensure your silence.

Sleeping Gods

Narrative-heavy board games have always faced a content problem: there’s only so much variety you can achieve with boards and cards. Sleeping Gods belongs to a family of adventure games that bypassed this problem by putting everything into a huge flip-book, featuring a mix of maps for different quests. Sleeping Gods stands head and shoulders above its peers thanks to two things. First, it’s outstandingly rich storytelling, as you run through a rich mixture of encounters, characters and side-quests as you attempt to guide the lost ship, The Manticore, and her crew home from the strange dimension in which it finds itself. Second, is the detail with which the ship is brought to life, both in terms of strategic resource management to keep her going and her presence in the game world. Such is the wealth of content available that you can easily see a whole different story on a second play through, and such is the fun of doing so that you’ll surely want to try.

Marvel Champions: The Card Game

This is a “Living Card Game”, which means it’s kind of collectable, like Magic: The Gathering, but there’s no random element. You just buy sets and expansions knowing what cards are in each. And unlike a lot of LCG’s, deck building is easy because it’s modular, seeing players pick fixed sets of cards to create decks for their hero and the villain you’re all working against. The meat of play features some classic concepts like dual-use cards alongside novel ideas like each player being able to flip from their hero to their alter-ego, with different abilities and hand sizes. This sets up some really interesting combo-based play where you pull off cinematic moves as you work together to thwart the villain’s schemes and save the day.

Frosthaven / Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion

To call Gloomhaven a fantasy adventure game is technically accurate, but a bit reductive. It tells the story of mercenaries chasing different goals in a changing world, and the legacy they leave behind. Gloomhaven takes the legacy system from Pandemic Legacy and weaves it into an epic fantasy campaign that takes place over generations. Each hero comes with a personal goal that, when completed, sends the hero into retirement and unlocks new classes and story elements. Upon retiring a hero, you will take control of another, which results in an impressive sense of time progression. The game includes several sealed boxes that are only opened upon reaching certain milestones, which makes Gloomhaven a game with a grand scale that is unmatched in the board game medium.

This epic game now has a sequel, Frosthaven, with an all-new narrative and fresh subsystems which see you expending and guarding the titular town. And if the price and length of either of the big-box titles turns you off, the excellent prequel Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion has most of the gameplay value at a fraction of the price.

Exit: The Game (Series)

An escape room in a box, the Exit series of games does a surprisingly good job of simulating the real thing. Players work together to find clues and solve riddles in real time in an effort to complete the scenario. Each scenario tells you to bring some pens and a pair of scissors because you’ll be permanently modifying your game throughout the session, making these games a one-and-done experience.

There are many different scenarios available for purchase, with titles like The Secret Lab, The Abandoned Cabin, The Sinister Mansion, The Forgotten Island, The Mysterious Museum, and a lot more. Priced at around $15 each (and usually cheaper on Amazon), the Exit series is an ideal replacement for a night at the movies and one of the best escape room board games.

Paleo

At first glance, this game of stone-age survival doesn’t look anything special. You create a deck of cards for the scenario you want to play and distribute them between the players. Then you take it in turns to flip a card from your pile and face the challenges thereon with the skills and stone tools available to your tiny tribe. The magic happens when tribes come together, pooling their resources to overcome one tough encounter, but doing so loses them the chance to interact with the other tribe’s card. All at once, this mirrors a real slice of stone-age life, agonizing over passing up opportunities in order to secure an important prize, while giving players real emergent cooperation in how much they choose to aid each other. The survival narrative and variety of scenarios are just the icing on the rock cake.

Pandemic Legacy

Pandemic put cooperative games on the map, and for good reason. Much of the genre’s hallmark mechanics originated here, from action point allocation to player roles with unique abilities. It also spawned a bevy of expansions and spinoffs, but Pandemic Legacy is the best and more revolutionary take on the virus-eradicating co-op game.

It takes the core rules of Pandemic and stretches them into a campaign-length adventure played out over several sessions as you race to cure disease and prevent epidemics. This version introduces permanence as a mechanic, as the rules force you to rip up cards, sticker the board and alter the physical components in other ways as things (inevitably) don’t go your way. The only potential drawback is that you must play with the same players each session, but because the game is so good everyone will be eager to jump back in.

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island is a daunting and dark game, but players willing to wade through the sea of iconography, hefty rulebook and stifling theme will be rewarded with a satisfying survival simulation that rewards communication and teamwork. Based on the 1719 novel, players take on the role of survivors of a shipwreck that are must work together to gather food, build shelters, stave off attacks and explore the island. The combination of different scenarios and player characters ensure good replayability, while the survival mechanics do a fantastic job of selling the theme.

Just One

A lot of games on this list are, to a greater or lesser extent, strategy affairs. But cooperation is a great mechanic to use in party games too, and Just One tops the list. All the players bar one get to see a clue, and they have to write down a word related to that clue. Then all the clues get revealed to the remaining player who has to guess the original word. Sounds too simple, except the catch is that if any of the clues are the same they get wiped, leaving the guesser far less to work with. It’s an ingenious idea that leaves players caught in an uncertain vice over just how obscure they cant get away with being, while still being worried they might be the victim of doublethink.

The Crew: Mission Deep Sea

You likely know trick-taking games from long time classics like Whist and Bridge. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea cleverly repurposes the concept into a cooperative game through the use of missions, demanding that certain players win tricks of particular types. So you might have to win a trick containing a yellow one, for example, or two consecutive tricks or even no tricks at all. This would be easy if you could show each other your cards, so your communication is limited to one card for the entire hand, recasting the game as a strategic puzzle with plenty of tension as you wait to see whether having to follow suit will tease out a critical card or fail the mission. Fast, fun and with fifty varied undersea missions, this is a pearl of a design. This game earned a spot on our best family board games list as well.

Return to Dark Tower

Some of you may have childhood memories of the original Dark Tower, an extraordinary 1981 fantasy board game powered by an electronic gizmo that gave it a real sense of magic and wonder. Most copies of that original no longer work, but it’s been resurrected and revamped in this new edition, which features an all-new, all-tech tower that connects to a mobile app via bluetooth. It allows you to select from a far wider variety of characters and quests, villains and monsters than the original. The board layout and major concepts of the original, such as collecting warriors, are retained, but between the app and a raft of new mechanics, the game is transformed into a narratively rich, strategic challenge where you must prioritise and deal with a series of ever-growing threats: it can also be played cooperatively as well as the competitive setup of the original. The app provides detail such as dungeon exploration, while the tower lights up and rotates of its own accord, spilling deadly skulls out into the kingdoms below.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most enduring fictional characters of all time, and for good reason. Watching him solve a seemingly impossible mystery with all the confidence and bravado of a stage actor has been a favorite pastime of generations of book readers and television watchers.

With Consulting Detective, you finally get the chance to step into the shoes of Holmes and test your own deduction skills in a series of nonlinear mysteries. What makes the game great is how it refuses to hold your hand; each mystery presents a short setup and then sets you loose on London, leaving you to visit notable locations, interview suspects, and make educated accusations. Be warned, however, that these mysteries are tough, and may make you question your intelligence on more than one occasion.

If you like these types of games, you can also check out our guide to murder mystery board games for similar options.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game

If your co-op group could use an eldritch touch, get Arkham Horror: The Card Game to the table. In this cooperative card game, players take on the role of detectives who are investigating various supernatural occurrences within HP Lovecraft’s world of cosmic horror. It’s a scenario-based experience with each mission at the mercy of an arcane Mythos, a set of conditions that must be met lest the investigators succumb to insanity.

Arkham Horror features customizable decks that are built around each investigator’s special abilities, and most scenarios can play out over a handful of sessions, lending a feeling of progression to the game. As you investigate new location cards, gather clues, and fight monsters, your detective will amass weaknesses that can hinder future games which, thematically, illustrate the mental toll of dealing with arcane horrors. It’s a great horror board game you can play with loved ones.

Spirit Island

Protect your island from a vicious mob of colonizers in this heavy co-op experience. Players are spirits of the land, and must use their unique powers to fend off settlers. Every turn, you’ll play a card from your deck of powers. Matching a card’s element with the element of the spirit usually grants a bonus effect, meaning that careful planning is necessary.

As the game goes on, the colonists will inevitably spread and ravage the land, making Spirit Island a race against the clock. They’re predictable, though, and if you plan efficiently you can head them off before they do too much damage. Players’ cards combo off of each other nicely, too, and there are few things in tabletop gaming as satisfying as eliminating a host of settlers in one fell swoop. Spirit Island is substantially more complex than other games of this style (Pandemic, Forbidden Island, etc.), making it an ideal choice for those seeking a meatier co-op experience. This game can also be found on our list of the best board games for adults.

Zombicide: Black Plague

Who doesn’t like to bond over some good old fashioned zombie slaying? Zombicide is a cooperative survival game where players work together to complete scenarios. The Black Plague version puts a fantastical spin on the original game, and drops players into the role of paladins, magicians, and knights to take down the evil necromancers responsible for the zombie outbreak.

You’ll pick up new weapons like crossbows and swords, explore a citadel crawling with the undead, and take on several missions in this dungeon-crawling adventure. It’s a tense and thematically-refreshing take on the tried and true zombie formula with surprisingly easy-to-learn rules.

Cthulhu: Death May Die

Cooperative games where you try and save the world from some deranged monstrosity out of the work of arch-racist HP Lovecraft are ten a penny. What makes Cthulhu: Death May Die stand out isn’t just the beautifully horrible miniatures in the box but the way it integrates help and harm. In order to gain new skills, your characters have to also lose some of their sanity, resulting in a clever balance of tactical trade-offs while encouraging you to come up with daring gameplay plans that deliberately expose yourselves to danger. The resulting reel of cinematic action-horror moments doesn’t feel much like Lovecraft but it is a ton of fun.

For more ideas, check out our roundups of the best board games for adults and the best trivia board games.

Matt Thrower is a contributing freelance board game and video game writer for IGN. (Board, video, all sorts of games!)

EA Sports WRC Crashing on Start-Up Today, Feb. 29, Because 2024’s a Leap Year

EA has joined Square Enix in failing to see the leap year coming, as just like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy on Nintendo Switch, EA Sports WRC isn’t working because it’s February 29.

Fans of the rally racer took to social media to complain about the game crashing upon launch today, and EA soon published a statement explaining it was looking into it. “We are aware of an issue on console in which the game may crash on startup,” it said on X/Twitter. “This is currently being investigated and will be fixed as soon as possible.”

The fix isn’t complicated despite involving a little bit of time travel, as EA returned soon after telling players to change their hardware to March 1. This isn’t just an in-game solution, however, as players have to change their entire console’s date in the system settings.

Not including functionality to have a game work on February 29, which of course arrives every four years, may seem a tad ridiculous, but EA Sports WRC developer Codemasters isn’t the only studio to make the mistake.

Fans also flagged that rhythm Final Fantasy spin-off Theatrhythm Final Fantasy remained on an infinite loading screen until system settings were changed away from the date. Time will tell if another studio makes the same blunder.

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

How No Rest for the Wicked’s Gorgeous Art Direction Was Found – IGN First

When No Rest for the Wicked was first revealed at The Game Awards last year, its painterly art style was unsurprisingly a big topic of discussion. Simply put, it was the most striking trailer of the show. While it looked akin to Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook artwork in motion, the gorgeous art also made it somewhat obvious as to who was behind the images.

“This is almost like our DNA,” says Gennadiy Korol, co-founder of Moon Studios and its director of technology. “That’s the trademark of Moon, we want our games to look timeless. We want them to look like a painting that is animated.”

That much was obvious to anyone who played Moon’s Ori games, but No Rest for the Wicked seems to take that idea and push it into the next dimension. By transitioning to 3D, Moon has left the ‘illustrated’ vibe of Ori behind for something that looks like a painted reality. It’s hard not to draw parallels to projects like Netflix’s Arcane or the Spider-Verse films, which make their 3D animation appear like 2D, hand-drawn artwork. Those projects will likely prove timeless, and Moon Studios hopes the same for No Rest for the Wicked.

Achieving art design immortality requires an approach that bucks many industry trends. Aiming for higher visual metrics than that used in other games simply won’t cut it. “I think it’s always about art direction and art style more than just ray tracing and polygons,” says Thomas Mahler, Moon co-founder and No Rest for the Wicked’s creative director.

“We definitely make a conscious choice to always go against the trend, because the trend right now is doing physical-based rendering and all of this stuff,” he explains. “My problem is that a lot of these games that do that start looking the same.”

Mahler also notes games that chased huge technical innovations a decade ago haven’t all stood the test of time. Technology continues to evolve, and what was astonishing back then can look old today. “But, if I go into a museum and I look at these paintings that are literally 500 years old, I still think, ‘Oh, my God, that looks amazing,’” he says. “That’s the path that we are going down.”

Physics doesn’t matter, it’s what people feel when they play that matters.

On one hand, abandoning the tech race is liberating. You don’t need dozens of people solely focused on squeezing the most polygons out of your engine, or implementing photo realistic ray tracing. But freedom from those problems creates another equal challenge. Korol notes that there’s no “handbook” for a painted art style. Where developers chasing photorealism can turn to literal science for the answers on how to recreate light and reflections, No Rest for the Wicked’s art direction is entirely based on Moon’s own creativity. That can be somewhat mentally exhausting, but it allows the team complete control over the game’s look and feel.

“With the way we approach it, it really doesn’t matter what the physics is if the end result is boring, if the end result is not exciting,” says Korol. “Because physics doesn’t matter, it’s what people feel when they play that matters.”

While Moon had learned a huge amount about crafting a painted art style while creating Ori, the shift to three dimensions for Wicked required a whole new way of thinking. “I think the big challenge was to find something that works in 3D, that works with all of these 3D pipelines,” explains Korol, “but that still gives you this really direct artistic control and allows our artists to really create something that feels like a painting, as opposed to more of this ray-traced or normal-mapped 3D look.”

Creating a set of rules and principles for this art direction ensures that No Rest for the Wicked looks striking in every shot. But the direction ultimately fails if the characters, creatures, and world are bland and forgettable. As such, the project relies as much on its design as it does the digital brush strokes they’re painted with. That’s why Moon has tried to craft a fantasy setting that feels believable and relatable, while also being fresh and unusual.

“We don’t want our games to look like stuff that you’ve seen before,” says Mahler. “Obviously we take inspiration from historical stuff, and so on. We look at armor designs, like crazy stuff that was done hundreds of years ago, but then we always try to give it our own touch.” The result of this can be seen in the golden suits of armour featured in the trailer, with their bizarre coin-like headpieces and an unnerving lack of eyes.

“I think it goes back to world building,” adds Korol. “It’s exciting to build a world that people have never seen before, that we have never seen before, and go through that creative process of exploring and imagining it, and see what it can be.”

As technology evolves and we could potentially do photorealism, I still hope there’s going to be a part of the industry that does not just do that.

Part of Moon Studio’s approach to creating this exciting new world is a strict attention to detail. Like the paintings that inspired it, each frame of No Rest for the Wicked is filled to the edges with flourishes and carefully placed elements.

“Despite it not being photorealistic, we do like detail,” says Korol. “We didn’t go for this more simplistic, cell-shaded look. You will see a lot of detail in the reflection and the specular, in the way the materials react, because we did want this game to feel immersive.”

While it had to be adapted and evolved for 3D, much of this philosophy is the same as what powered the Ori games. Unsurprisingly, Moon hopes for similar results. “A lot of people would say that Ori [and the Blind Forest] still feels and looks great to play, and it’s eight, nine years later,” says Korol. “We hope the same thing happens with No Rest for the Wicked.”

That hope doesn’t just come from looking inwards, though. “I think it’s very interesting how people react now to games like Zelda: Wind Waker,” says Mahler. “Here’s cell shading, and even 20 years after, it still looks pretty good.”

“As technology evolves and we could potentially do photorealism, I still hope there’s going to be a part of the industry that does not just do that,” he continues. “That actually also just makes sure that, ‘Here’s this really unique looking game that looks unlike anything else in the market.’”

Of course, it goes without saying that Moon Studios will likely always be a part of that industry segment that holds the torch for unique art design. But as for the here and now, I look forward to seeing even more of No Rest for the Wicked’s strange creatures and beautiful landscapes in action, both as part of Wicked Inside on March 1, and when the game releases in early access later this year.

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.

Best Nintendo Switch Deals Today (February 2024)

Like many video games, ones from Nintendo don’t come cheap. This was especially true when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was revealed to be $69.99 on release, a whole $10 more expensive than other Switch titles. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be had for Nintendo fans. In fact, there are plenty of sales on games, Switch consoles, and various accessories that are worth checking out throughout the year, and we’ve made sure to gather the very best going on at the moment below.

TL;DR – Best Switch Deals

You can also follow @IGNDeals on Twitter or Threads for even more updates on the latest discounts, or check out all our handpicked Switch deals just below.

The Best Nintendo Switch Deals – Navigate to:

Save On Nintendo Switch OLED Models at Walmart

Walmart’s offering some great discounts on Nintendo Switch OLED models. Right now, you can save on the Mario Red OLED model, the White OLED model, the OLED model with Neon Red and Neon Blue Joy-Cons, and on a White OLED model that comes bundled with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Keep in mind, though, that the bundle is an imported model, so make sure to check the shipping time. This model also ships with a US plug and Switches aren’t region locked, so it’ll boot up your games just fine, including your brand-new copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!

Celebrate International Pokémon Day with These Game Deals

International Pokémon Day landed on February 27, but there’s still plenty of deals leftover that are worth checking out. In particular, in the world of Pokémon video games, there are a few marked down to $40 at Walmart. You can check out these excellent game deals below, and to see even more Pokémon deals outside of games, check out our roundup of the best Pokémon deals today.

The Best Nintendo Switch Game Deals

Outside of the Pokémon game deals listed above, there are still quite a few Switch games discounted right now that are worth adding to your collection. Our favorite deal is on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which you can get for $20 off at Walmart right now for $49.90. You can save on other big hits from last year as well, like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG, which we’ve listed below alongside some more game deals.

More Switch Video Game Deals

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Perfect Switch SD Card for $25.99 (and More Deals)

The best Switch SD card should be fast, reliable, and as future-proof as possible. That last one is important, as it’s quite likely we’ll be getting a Switch successor / the next Nintendo console within the next year or so (if rumors are to be believed). Therefore, you’re going to want to opt for the latest in SD card tech, which is a micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 V30 memory card. That’s a lot of random letters, so to save you a bit of time we’ve left our top suggestions and deals just below for your convenience. To see even more SD card deals, make sure to check out our roundup of the best SD card deals.

More Switch Micro SD Card Deals

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Nintendo Switch: Budget to Best

While an outstanding deal might not always be available at the time of searching, there are still some incredibly affordable Switch-related products out there if you look hard enough. You can see our favorite budget to best items here, including deals on the best Switch micro SD Card, power banks, and an affordable Switch Pro controller alternative.

More Switch Budget to Best Picks

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Official Guide for $27 (Save $18)

With these, you’ll have a detailed overview of Hyrule, a helpful walkthrough to get you through the game, and much more. Not only that, but they have gorgeous covers as well, especially the Collector’s Edition. The Standard Edition has an MSRP of $29.99 but is on sale for $18.74, and the Collector’s Edition normally runs for $44.99, but you can get it for $26.85. Plus, if you want to complete the set, the Breath of the Wild guidebook is also down to $22.38 right now as well.

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When Should You Buy a Nintendo Switch?

The short answer is that you should buy a Nintendo Switch whenever there’s any kind of sale, regardless of the time of year. Amazon will likely offer the same console bundles on any other sale as it will on Black Friday, so there’s no real reason to wait if you’re in need of a Nintendo Switch.

That being said, there are sometimes some unique bundles and promotions during Black Friday that you won’t find any other time of the year. They usually includes additional games (like the infamous Mario Kart 8 bundle) or accessories for free, but quantities tend to be limited. As always, do your research into the seller before you make a purchase.

Where to Buy a Nintendo Switch in 2024

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

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