We’ve rounded up the best deals for Saturday, August 9, below, so don’t miss out on these limited-time offers.
The Best Deals for August 9, 2025
Doom: The Dark Ages for $44.99
Doom: The Dark Ages is on a major sale for the first time, and you can save $25 off a PlayStation 5 copy at Best Buy this weekend! This game takes the Doom Slayer back to the medieval ages, acting as a prequel to both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal. The latest update was just released this week as well, so really, there has never been a better time to hop in.
Stellar Blade Complete Edition for $59.99
Stellar Blade made the jump to PC in June, and just a few months later, you can save 25% off the Complete Edition at Amazon. This package includes the base game plus the two packs of cosmetic DLC. Crossovers include both NieR: Automata and Goddess of Victory: Nikke, so you can encounter Emil’s Shop and pick up an A2 outfit if you wish.
Pre-Order Evangelion 1.11 & 2.22 on Blu-ray
Following the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time, GKIDS is rereleasing and reprinting both Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. Both of these Blu-rays will feature the original Japanese dub and the latest English dub, in addition to bonus features on the disc. If you’re a fan of Eva, these are two items you don’t want to miss out on adding to your collection.
M4 MacBook Air for $799
This weekend at Amazon, you can save $200 off an M4 MacBook Air. This 13-inch model includes 16GB of Unified Memory and 256GB of SSD storage, making it ideal for multitasking and running intense applications. All 2025 models support Apple Intelligence features as well.
Star Ocean The Second Story R for $29.99
Star Ocean The Second Story R was a fantastic remake when it released in 2023, and the same still remains true today. As Square Enix’s first HD-2.5D game, this remake brings a new twist on the HD-2D formula seen from Team Asano. Action combat is the star here, with numerous sci-fi locations to discover. This weekend, you can pick up a Nintendo Switch copy at Amazon for $29.99, allowing you to take this adventure with you anywhere you go.
A2 Statue Up for Pre-Order at Amazon
Amazon has opened pre-orders for the Bandai Spirits Ichibansho A2 statue. Featuring her for The Glory of Mankind outfit, A2 stands at roughly eight inches tall, featuring her iconic blade in hand. If you’re a fan on NieR: Automata and have yet to add an A2 statue to your collection, now is an excellent time!
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for $46.99
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launched earlier this year, and it’s still one of the biggest RPGs you can jump into on any platform. The remaster introduced numerous quality-of-life updates that were much needed, in addition to a brand-new epilogue chapter. We gave the game a 9/10 in our review, stating, “Xenoblade Chronicles X was already one of the Wii U’s best games, and this Definitive Edition does more than enough to justify another trip to planet Mira.”
In the world of movies, prequels have a somewhat mixed reputation. There’s the ones that enrich their existing worlds and stories, like X-Men: First Class. There’s the ones that ruin the mystery, like the heinous Hannibal Rising. And then there’s the ones no one can actually agree on, like the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Over in the world of games, though, prequels tend to fare better than their cinematic counterparts. Just look at the recently released Mafia: The Old Country, an enjoyable romp through the early 1900s that chronicles the formative years of the earlier games’ criminal empires.
Prequel games often benefit from better technology and development tools, making them visually and technically more impressive than their predecessors. But truly great prequels aren’t just remembered for how they look or play, but by how they transform the way we experience the original games we fell in love with and add to the stories we already hold dear.
With that in mind, the following prequels were chosen not just for their technological and gameplay achievements, but because they forever changed the way we look at some of our favorite characters and worlds. That extra chance to develop and deepen what we already hold dear means some games on this list are even considered the best in their entire series. So without further ado, here are the 10 best video game prequels ever made.
10. Batman: Arkham Origins
Released in an effort to shorten the wait between Rocksteady’s Arkham City and Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham Origins is described as a “Year Two” story, taking place on Christmas night, eight years before the events of the first game. Developed by WB Montreal, it stars a 27-year-old Batman facing off against eight of Gotham’s deadliest assassins, including Bane, Deathstroke, and Deadshot, who have all been hired by Black Mask to kill the Bat for $50 million. These events also serve as an origin story for The Joker, who makes himself known to Gotham for the first time and introduces the city to his unique brand of criminal lunacy.
At the time of release, Arkham Origins was perhaps unfairly compared to Arkham City. But this comparison was a disservice to Arkham Origins, which acts as a fantastic accompanying act to Rocksteady’s second chapter rather than one-upping it. WB Montreal took everything that made Rocksteady’s games so great, held them faithfully in place, and used them to create a compelling early story for the Arkham-specific versions of Batman and the Joker. More than that, Arkham Origins sets the stage for the main Arkham trilogy by introducing TN-1, Bane’s super soldier serum that’s eventually used as the basis for Titan, a more powerful drug that has major consequences over the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight.
9. God of War: Chains of Olympus
Despite arriving on a handheld, the PSP’s God of War: Chains of Olympus was no smaller in scale than the original home console trilogy when it came to story.. A prequel to 2005’s God of War, Chains of Olympus takes Kratos and his Blades of Chaos to The Underworld and back on a foreboding tale that sets his’ story in motion, laying the building blocks for his disdain for the Gods.
By fueling that fire of hatred, developer Ready at Dawn not only created an entry steeped in exciting God of War lore, but performed borderline witchcraft in getting a PlayStation Portable game to both look so handsome and play so responsively. Perhaps the most visually impressive release to hit Sony’s first handheld, the studio managed to translate God of War’s breakneck action and signature head-splitting combos for the tiny device, ensuring those blades felt just as satisfying to swing with abandon despite the lack of a second analog stick. It’s a short, stylish burst of ungodly violent action that could easily stand alone, but as a prequel to one of PlayStation’s landmark trilogies, it serves as a fantastic expansion of Kratos’ blood-soaked Greek saga.
8. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
Following the release of Super Mario World in 1990 and with the 3D revolution looming on the horizon, Nintendo needed one last, great, side-scrolling Mario platformer for the SNES. So, with Miyamoto’s blessing, Yoshi creator Shigefumi Hino received the greenlight to develop a game starring his popular dinosaur creation. The result was Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time.
Nintendo’s headline act is not typically concerned with timelines and canon, but Super Mario World 2 jumps backwards to tell a story about how a group of Yoshis rescued Baby Mario before they all set off to rescue Baby Luigi from Kamek. It’s a cute origin tale that explains how an infant plumber became friends with a dinosaur, but narrative is really beside the point. With Yoshi’s Island, Nintendo set out with a goal to make a more “gentle and relaxing” game that encouraged exploration over precise platforming. To do this, Nintendo removed time limits for players so they can progress at their own pace, and Yoshi’s specific moveset, like the flutter jump, made it easier to control the character in the air.
But beyond just Yoshi’s unique abilities, Super Mario World 2 is an iconic send-off to the SNES era. The beautiful, marker-like art style was drawn by hand and scanned digitally, and Koji Kondo’s Yoshi’s Island theme is an earworm so perfect you can’t help but hum along with it whenever it comes on. It may show us some of Baby Mario’s very first steps, but as a full package, it is the culmination of a 2D-platforming development team putting all of their exceptional visual, audio, and technical design experience on display.
7. Divinity: Original Sin
While Divinity: Original Sin isn’t technically the earliest point on the Divinity timeline (that would be Dragon Commander, an unusual marriage of role-playing and strategy game systems) it is the only game in the series we’d genuinely consider a prequel. Taking place over a millennium prior to 2002’s Divine Divinity, this RPG charts the early years of Rivellon, Larian Studios’ original high-fantasy world. While not an essential foundational chapter of the land’s lore, Original Sin does a fantastic job of establishing the dangers of Source magic and the motivations of those who use it. And thanks to Divinity’s immortal wizards, longtime fans get to meet much, much younger versions of characters like Zandalor and Bellegar.
But Original Sin’s story is not what makes it special. Instead, this prequel’s triumph is in how it spun the fate of the Divinity series on its head, taking it from a struggling cult curiosity and putting it on the road to becoming an all-time RPG heavyweight. Larian developed a brand new turn-based combat system for Original Sin, fuelled by an elemental approach that allows you to combine effects to produce exhilarating results; freeze liquid with an ice spell and force your foes to slip on the blood that they spill, or bolster forked lightning with the help of a little electricity-conducting rain. All this makes battle a deeply tactical, flexible affair, and the same attention to detail is afforded to the RPG elements, too. With the freedom to approach quests in almost any manner you can think of, Original Sin laid down the rules for not just its exceptional successor, Original Sin 2, but also Larian’s multiple Game of the Year-winning Baldur’s Gate 3.
6. Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
Set several years before the first game, Devil May Cry 3 features a much younger Dante, once again sporting the cool and arrogant persona that had been lost in the moodier, more serious second game. Going back in time allowed developer Capcom to restore the personality that fans fell in love with in the first place. More than that, Devil May Cry 3 even retcons the early life of Dante’s twin brother, Vergil, ensuring a teenage version of the fan-favorite character could be alive for the events of Dante’s Awakening.
Devil May Cry 3 had the unenviable job of salvaging Dante’s sullied reputation and did so with aplomb. What’s more, while Devil May Cry 2 is still technically canon, the events of Dante’s Awakening serve as the foundations for all later DMC games, and explain important character motivations while fixing plot holes.
Beyond returning Dante to his cool roots and resurrecting Vergil, Devil May Cry 3 delighted fans by being wickedly difficult. To put things into context, Capcom famously made the Japanese version of the game’s hard mode the normal difficulty for the North American release. That posed a hurdle for some, but many fans relished the extra challenge, especially given how popular the changes to the battle system were.
While Dante was always able to mix-and-match melee and ranged weapons to chain stylish combos, DMC 3’s biggest improvement was adding different combat styles that changed the way Dante controlled. You could focus on either melee (Swordmaster), ranged (Gunslinger), dodging (Trickster), or parry (Royal Guard) styles and play using your most preferred playstyle, an overwhelmingly popular choice for a game that challenges you to chain the biggest, coolest combos.
5. Halo: Reach
For 10 years, fans journeyed alongside the silent Master Chief as he fought and ultimately defeated the alien invaders known as the Covenant. But for its final Halo game, Bungie rewound the clock to the early days of the intergalactic war, when humanity was very much on the losing side.
Set during the weeks before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Reach casts you as a member of Noble Team, a special-ops Spartan unit, on a fateful mission to protect the planet Reach from falling to the Covenant. The fully self-contained prequel feels almost liberated by the absence of Master Chief, with the varied personalities of Noble Team highlighting how different other Spartan soldiers can be from the series’ most famous character, despite their shared heritage.
This team’s doomed but nevertheless vital final mission sees them escort Cortana from a lab on Reach to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn ship, thereby kickstarting the events of the first Halo. It’s both a perfect send-off for Bungie and an excellent closing-the-circle moment for the Halo story. But those triumphs are tinged by tragedy; Noble Team’s actions may trigger Master Chief’s quest to save the universe, but their final mission demands heavy sacrifices. Noble Six remaining on the dying planet in a last-stand fight against the Covenant is now a legendary moment in the Halo franchise – its own Rogue One moment that arrived years before Star Wars did it – and one of the greatest final levels ever made.
4. Yakuza 0
Yakuza has long been one of Sega’s biggest Japanese series, but only relatively recently has it gained traction in the West. This surge in popularity can be traced to Yakuza 0, a prequel that reintroduces heroes Kazuma Kiryu and Majima Goro to a new generation of fans who may have missed out on the first Yakuza game back in 2005.
Yakuza 0 is set nearly two decades before the events of the first Yakuza game, and tells the curious story of a small vacant property lot that somehow drags all of Kamurocho’s biggest crime families into an unlikely turf war. To say anymore would spoil a wild story full of Yakuza bosses jockeying for power, Chinese assassins, and head-spinning betrayals. Luckily, due to its prequel nature, players need no prior knowledge of the series to jump right in.
While Yakuza 0’s engrossing story will please any fan of Japanese crime dramas, it’s the chance to see a younger Kazuma and Majima, who act quite differently in their youth compared to their later years, that delivers the game’s biggest surprises. Kazuma is more hot-headed, not yet the stoic elder gangster he eventually becomes, while Majima’s wild dog persona has yet to fully form, so the Joker-like gangster is instead more of a silent and cool protagonist. Their evolution into the characters they eventually become forms the backbone of Yakuza 0’s sprawling narrative, and makes this prequel the perfect starting point for anyone looking to get into Sega’s now massively popular series.
3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
There’s an argument to be made that Deus Ex: Human Revolution watered down a lot of what made the original Deus Ex a landmark success. It’s less flexible and more streamlined than its incredibly freeform forerunner. Despite this, Human Revolution earns its place among the greats, in part due to how its prequel story takes a deeper, more personal look at the series’ transhuman elements.
Protagonist Adam Jensen is robbed of his arms in an early-game disaster, his limbs forcibly replaced with mechanical prosthetics. But while they save his career, they unwittingly force him into a cultural war between the world’s wealthy, augmented elite and the deprived working classes. As both Jensen himself and his broken bathroom mirror tell you, he “never asked for this.” While the game’s central tale successfully takes on the conspiracy-fuelled sci-fi of the original, it’s the cultural and ethical questions posed by Human Revolution’s augmented society that really lift it high. Every character has their own take on the world’s dividing issue and, despite some slightly hamfisted racism metaphors, the story makes salient points on the dangers of unrestrained, capitalism-fuelled science.
Deus Ex’s Matrix-coded, nanotech-fuelled world was a far-fetched fictional future at the turn of the millenium, but it has only grown increasingly realistic with each passing year. Human Revolution successfully bridges the gap between the original’s almost satirical approach and something more knowingly serious, resulting in a deeply compelling cyberpunk dystopia.
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Hideo Kojima played the ultimate prank in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, making newcomer Raiden the surprise protagonist instead of everyone’s favorite spy hero, Solid Snake. Three years later, Kojima performed another variation of this prank by having Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater be a prequel starring Naked Snake, the man who would eventually become the series’ main antagonist, Big Boss.
We didn’t know when it was first announced, but Metal Gear Solid 3 would become arguably the most important game in the series, both from gameplay and story perspectives. It revolutionized the stealth genre by putting Naked Snake out in the open jungle and fulfilling Kojima’s dream of having a Metal Gear game take place in an expansive setting. A technical triumph, the PS2 hardware-pushing Soviet jungles were a major departure from the walled corridors of Shadow Moses or Big Shell, with a smart adaptive camouflage system replacing static hiding places like lockers. As a result of this new design, everything from stealth to boss fights is dramatically different in Metal Gear Solid 3 compared to previous games, with plenty of room to experiment with how to defeat a boss or infiltrate a compound.
But it’s not just in how you fight each boss that magic can be found, but in the story that each of them tells. The events of Metal Gear Solid 3 set the foundations for everything that came before and after it. Not only does Snake Eater reveal the origins of the Patriots, the shadow organization and ultimate antagonist of the series, but also the tragic origins of Big Boss. The aftermath of his face-off with The Boss forever changed the way we view Kojima’s iconic villain. As his mission progresses, Naked Snake transforms from CIA spy into a tragic figure, whose betrayal at the hands of his country sets him on a path that leads through every Metal Gear game, all the way to the saga’s chronological ending in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
How do you follow up a masterpiece? Well, if you’re Rockstar Games, you simply make another masterpiece.
Taking full advantage of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Rockstar created one of the most breathtaking, expansive open-world games ever put on a disc with Red Dead Redemption 2. The level of detail the studio put into it is simply head-spinning, from the way new protagonist Arthur Morgan’s weight fluctuates depending on how much he eats, to how animal carcasses will decompose almost in real-time. And yes, Rockstar may have gone a bit overboard when they made it so your horse’s testicles shrink and grow depending on the temperature, but it all goes towards fully recreating a beautiful(?) vision of the Old West.
But the technical achievements almost pale in comparison to Red Dead Redemption 2’s epic story of a dying Wild West on the cusp of a new, industrial century. Arthur Morgan is a man whose time is coming to an end, not because of his criminal lifestyle, but because he’s slowly being made redundant by the rapidly changing United States as it evolves into a modern nation. Roger Clark’s performance as Morgan is frankly staggering, portrayed with equal parts confidence and vulnerability as his accomplices, lifestyle, and own body continue to betray him. Across the twilight years of his criminal career, Arthur sees firsthand how his beloved gang disintegrates due to the negligence of its leader, Dutch, and that downfall provides a strong platform for the passing of the baton from Arthur to John Marston, the original game’s protagonist.
Red Dead Redemption 2 does everything you could ever wish for from a prequel — from improving on every aspect of a series’ gameplay, to telling a story that builds out its world’s mythos to incredible effect — and is why it tops our list of the greatest video game prequels.
And there you have it, our picks for the best prequels in video games. Was your favorite included? Let us know what you think of our choices, or share your favorites in the comments below.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. Additional contributions from Matt Purslow and Simon Cardy.
Prismatic Evolutions is still one of the most valuable Pokémon TCG sets out of the whole Scarlet and Violet era. Its main chase card (Umbreon ex-161/131) is commanding over $800, with lower-end SIR cards still pulling well over $100.
The difference between now and a couple of months ago is getting these insanely valuable cards for the right price instead of paying over the odds. Here’s a quick look at the top 10 most valuable cards to add to your collection, or deck if you’ve got Pokécoins coming out of your ears.
I’ve gone into a bit more detail on every card, a touch more into the article, but the gist is that it’s a good time to start collecting Prismatic Evolutions chase cards.
Believe it or not, prices have actually been correcting over the past two months, with some cards holding double their current value just a couple of months ago.
This is very positive, meaning players and collectors can get their chase cards for the right price and watch them climb in value as time goes on.
Prismatic Evolution: Honorable Mentions
Wait! Before we start: My favorite thing about Prismatic Evolutions is the sheer number of SIRs featuring non-Eeveelution Pokémon.
They deserve some recognition too, so I’ve put together this extra list to balance out the usual Eevee dominance. Here are my top ten honorable mentions for Prismatic Evolution, with artwork that’s arguably among the best we have ever seen.
They’re considerably more affordable too, peaking at just under $94. That’s where the value in Pokémon TCG is for me, the overlooked cards that are fantastic showpieces.
Looking to collect Prismatic Evolutions for cards that will increase in value over time without breaking your credit rating? This is where savvy collectors need to be looking in my opinion.
10. Eevee ex – 167/131 – $112.98
Eevee ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions is a flexible card with a unique ability that allows it to evolve into any Pokémon ex that evolves from Eevee. Rainbow DNA opens up a wide range of build options and can slot into multiple strategies that rely on type variety or quick evolution plays. It can’t evolve on your first turn or the turn it’s played which helps keep the ability balanced.
Its attack, Coruscating Quartz, deals 200 damage for three Energy in Fire, Water, and Lightning. That Energy mix makes it a tough addition to a trainer’s deck, especially in formats where consistency and type synergy are key. Most players will lean on it for evolution plays rather than raw damage output.
Eevee ex SIR remains a popular pull for collectors looking to complete their Eeveelution lineup. Its price has softened since release, but at $113, it is still one of the more valuable base Eevee cards we have seen in years and a vital piece for collectors aiming to build the full Prismatic Evolutions set.
9. Roaring Moon ex – 162/131 – $143.67
Roaring Moon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions is a high-risk attacker built for aggressive plays. Its first attack, Frenzied Gouging, knocks out your opponent’s Active Pokémon instantly but deals 200 damage to itself in return. It can swing the game fast but leaves you wide open if you don’t have a backup plan. Calamity Storm is a more flexible option, hitting for 100 or 220 if you discard a Stadium in play, which makes it a strong follow-up or setup attack in the right deck.
The triple Darkness Energy cost means it’s better suited to decks that can ramp quickly or recycle Energy efficiently. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck, but one that rewards calculated aggression and tempo-heavy play. Roaring Moon isn’t for slow setups or cautious turns. It thrives when the goal is to close games quickly and apply pressure early.
Roaring Moon ex SIR Is also one of the few Paradox Pokémon in this set that commands significant value, and at over $140, it remains one of the most powerful and visually striking cards outside the Eeveelution lineup. The SIR artwork leans into the Paradox Pokémon’s primal energy with a dark, dramatic design that gives it real shelf presence.
8. Flareon ex – 146/131 – $153.99
Flareon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions brings powerful fire-type pressure with two solid attacks. Burning Charge hits for 130 and accelerates energy by letting you search your deck for two Basic Energy and attach them to one of your Pokémon. It’s a strong early or mid-game setup option, especially in decks that need to build up attackers quickly. Carnelian deals a huge 280 damage, more than enough to take down most threats, though it comes with the drawback of preventing Flareon from attacking the next turn.
That limitation makes careful sequencing important. You’ll want to pair it with switching effects or find ways to reset the attack clause. The energy cost across both attacks is manageable for Fire decks that already use acceleration tools, and Flareon’s 270 HP helps it stay on the board long enough to make an impact. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck and shines brightest when built around a fast, punchy game plan.
Flareon ex SIR is now at a reasonable $153.99, and I think it’s worth every penny for its design alone. The SIR artwork is warm and energetic, showing Flareon in mid-leap with embers flying around it. It’s one of the more visually dynamic Eeveelution cards in the set, and while the price has dipped, but it’s a hot pick for collectors and aggressive Fire-type builds.
7. Glaceon ex – 150/131 – $179.99
Glaceon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions is a flexible attacker that can set up pressure early and close out games with precision. Frost Bullet deals 110 damage and chips 30 to a Benched Pokémon, which is useful for spreading damage or finishing off low-HP targets. Euclase is where the real power lies—it lets you instantly Knock Out a Pokémon that has exactly 6 damage counters on it. Timing this move well can swing the game by removing key threats without needing to hit massive numbers.
The 270 HP and one retreat cost make Glaceon reasonably durable and mobile on the field. It slots well into decks that aim to spread damage and play a patient control game. The Euclase setup does require planning, but it rewards clever players who can sequence damage properly. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck and particularly rewarding for those who enjoy outplaying their opponents with calculated board control.
Glaceon ex SIR is up for grabs at $179.99 at the moment, making it one of the most valuable cards in this set whilst being much more reasonable than a couple of months back. The artwork captures Glaceon jumping infront of an snowflake-themed stained glass window, glowing with cool tones that perfectly reflect its icy theme. It’s a visually striking SIR and while the price has taken a hit, the card remains a strong pickup for control-focused decks and collectors alike.
6. Jolteon ex – 153/131 – $179.99
Jolteon ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions offers a lot of burst damage potential in an aggressive Lightning deck. Flashing Spear starts at 60 damage but can scale up fast by discarding up to two Basic Energy from your Benched Pokémon, adding 90 more damage for each. With a proper setup, that’s an easy 240 damage for just two Energy on a Stage 1, which can take out most threats in one shot. Dravite is a powerful finisher at 280 damage, though the downside is Jolteon can’t attack next turn after using it.
With 260 HP and free retreat, Jolteon is easy to pivot in and out of the Active Spot, making it great in fast-paced, tempo-focused lists. Managing your Energy between the Bench and Jolteon becomes key to maximizing damage output. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck and best suited for players who like high-risk, high-reward plays that can swing a match quickly.
Jolteon ex SIR has dropped in value by nearly half since may, but $179.99 value for an SIR card is still a very valuable card. With this price stablizing, the only way for Jolteon ex SIR value is up a year from now. The artwork is packed with energy, showing Jolteon mid-sprint with lightning crackling around it. The bright yellow tones and motion lines give it a real sense of speed and power, making it one of the most kinetic-looking cards in the set.
5. Vaporeon ex – 149/131 – $200.98
Vaporeon ex SIR is one of the more disruptive cards in Prismatic Evolutions thanks to its board-wide pressure. Severe Squall hits every Pokémon ex your opponent controls for 60 damage, ignoring Weakness and Resistance. It’s a great way to chip at multiple threats at once, especially in formats where players rely on multiple evolved ex attackers. Its second move, Aquamarine, deals 280 damage, enough to take out nearly anything in front of it, though it comes with the usual drawback of preventing Vaporeon from attacking next turn.
With 280 HP and a Water typing, Vaporeon holds its own against a wide pool of current meta threats, especially when paired with support that can move it in and out of the Active Spot. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck and rewards players who enjoy spread damage and multi-turn strategies that slowly wear down the board.
Vaporeon ex SIR Is rocking up at $200.98, and that’s now a stable value on a very expensive card, which no doubt will climb as time goes on. The art here is peaceful but detailed, showing Vaporeon calmly hopping atop of a body of water lit with soft blue tones. It’s less action-packed than some of the other Eeveelutions, but the underwater atmosphere makes it visually striking and a beautiful card for collectors.
4. Leafeon ex – 144/131 – $209.99
Leafeon ex SIR delivers high reward for players willing to build around its unique pressure and healing kit. Verdant Storm scales off Energy attached to all of your opponent’s Pokémon, dealing 60 damage per attachment, which makes it a strong counter to energy-heavy decks. Moss Agate hits for 230 and heals 100 damage from each of your Benched Pokémon, creating a swing turn that can punish aggressive decks while helping stabilize your board.
With 270 HP and access to reliable healing, Leafeon ex is hard to remove once established. It fits best in decks that expect long games where sustaining your own board matters just as much as chipping away at your opponent. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck and shines brightest when piloted with patience and timing.
It’s a great time to catch Leafeon ex SIR at $209.99, its a highly valued card whilst being at the best price we’ve seen for it. The artwork features Leafeon resting in a lush, sun-drenched forest, blending soft natural lighting with delicate linework. It’s tranquil and earthy, offering collectors a scenic moment that stands out in a set full of dramatic poses.
3. Espeon ex – 155/131 – $204.99
Espeon ex SIR brings hand disruption and evolution control into one clean package. Psych Out hits for 160 and forces your opponent to discard a random card, which can slow down setup decks or break up combos. Amazez is where the real strategy lies. It devolves every evolved Pokémon your opponent has, shuffling their highest Stage back into their deck. Against evolution-heavy boards, this can completely reset your opponent’s progress and swing the game in your favor.
With 270 HP and a single retreat cost, Espeon ex is easy to slot into Psychic decks that want control elements. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck that rewards careful timing and matchup knowledge, especially against Stage 2-heavy builds or archetypes that rely on multi-turn setups.
Espeon ex SIR is holding its value at just above $200 and is still one of the most premium non-Umbreon options in the set. The art captures a serene moment as Espeon perches in a moonlit field, its gaze piercing through lavender-toned shadows. The subtle lighting and dreamlike backdrop make this one of the more visually contemplative designs in the Prismatic Evolutions set.
2. Sylveon ex – 156/131 – $315
Sylveon ex SIR plays a strong support-control role with disruptive attacks that can shut down your opponent’s strategy fast. Magical Charm hits for 160 and reduces incoming damage from the Defending Pokémon by 100 on your opponent’s next turn. It’s a simple but effective stall tactic that can keep your key Pokémon alive longer. Angelite is the big closer, letting you choose two of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon and shuffle them and all attached cards into their deck. It’s a powerful reset that can dismantle a board in one move, though you can’t use it on back-to-back turns.
With 270 HP and Psychic typing, Sylveon ex is a strong defensive piece in control-heavy decks or formats where board building is essential. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck that works best when played with patience and a plan to disrupt your opponent’s bench-focused strategy.
Sylveon ex SIR is going for $315 right now, which is a reasonable price whilst being the second most valuable Prismatic Evolutions card. The card’s art shows Sylveon in a soft, storybook-style meadow filled with blossoms, with warm pink tones and flowing ribbons that capture its fairy-like charm. It’s one of the most elegant designs in the set and continues to attract collectors even at a lower price point.
1. Umbreon ex – 161/131 – $869
Umbreon ex SIR brings high-impact utility and pressure to Darkness decks with two strong attacks. Moon Mirage deals 160 damage and Confuses the opponent’s Active Pokémon, forcing a coin flip before their next attack. That disruption can buy valuable time or force a retreat. Onyx is the showstopper. It discards all Energy from Umbreon ex and lets you take a Prize card outright, no matter the opponent’s board state. It’s a massive swing when used correctly and fits well into decks that want to finish games with surprise plays.
At 280 HP and with straightforward costs for its attacks, Umbreon ex SIR is a flexible threat that earns a spot in slower control strategies or as a closer in prize race decks. It’s a tough addition to a trainer’s deck because of the high discard cost, but when timed right, it can steal games.
This is the crown jewel of the Prismatic Evolutions set. Even after falling from its $1300 high, Umbreon ex SIR still holds an incredible value at $869. Let’s not forget that the market for this card is now stable, which means it’s only going to climb in value as the months go on and Scarlet and Violet becomes the previous generation to Mega Evolution. The SIR artwork is dark, moody and abstract, showing Umbreon sitting on some kind of plynth with darkness energy bursting out and surrounding a moon. It’s dramatic and the crazy kind of artwork that makes collectors look closer. Umbreon ex SIR continues to be the most premium chase cards in the set.
Want to pull these cards yourself? Sealed Prismatic Evolutions product pricing is dropping significantly on TCGplayer. You won’t find anything for MSRP, but nine times out of 10 it’s a cheaper option than big box retailers such as Amazon.
With that being said, I’d still recommend saving up for single cards whilst they’re at their lowest, as Prismatic Evolutions is a very hard set to pull hits from.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Diablo general manager and Gears of War veteran Rod Fergusson has left Blizzard.
Fergusson confirmed the news on his personal Twitter/X account:
After five years of driving the Diablo franchise forward with four big launches, it’s time for me to step away from Blizzard/Microsoft, sword in hand, and see what’s next. The teams are set up for success, with an exciting slate of releases ahead. I’m incredibly proud of what… pic.twitter.com/Fsh4gjmgVl
“After five years of driving the Diablo franchise forward with four big launches, it’s time for me to step away from Blizzard/Microsoft, sword in hand, and see what’s next,” Fergusson wrote. “The teams are set up for success, with an exciting slate of releases ahead. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and looking forward to what comes next for Diablo, and for me.”
Blizzard confirmed this news to IGN today as well, but declined to offer further comment as to why Fergusson has left the company, or who will run the Diablo franchise going forward.
Blizzard president Johanna Faries responded on Twitter/X, with the following:
Guiding a franchise like Diablo takes rare talent, vision, and collaboration. Thank you, Rod, for bringing all of those in spades. Sanctuary’s future is brighter because of the impact you’ve had! 🙏🏽✨ https://t.co/r479RGDkm3
Xbox head Phil Spencer also responded on BlueSky: “You brought strength, hellfire, and vision to one of gaming’s most iconic franchises. Playing Diablo IV with you was a blast—thanks for everything you gave to the game and the community.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Wizards of the Coast is gearing up to release a brand-new introductory D&D set. Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Heroes of The Borderlands is set to release September 17, but it’s now available to preorder over on Amazon. It comes with everything you need for you and your friends to get started on your first three adventures.
Dungeons & Dragons – Starter Set: Heroes of The Borderlands
The idea of a starter set, a box that includes everything a group needs to try out the legendary tabletop roleplaying game, isn’t new, but this brand-new set changes up the formula a bit to help make the onboarding and learning process even more welcoming. To that end, Heroes of the Borderlands forgoes the more traditional character sheets for a character board that has slots for cards. These cards cover the various backgrounds, species, spells, equipment, magic items, and more for their character, removing the need to manually write them down or scour through a book to find.
The goodies included aren’t just tailored to new players, though. It comes with plenty of tools and items to make the process smooth for new game masters, too. The included adventure booklets are built to highlight a particular adventure style, be it combat, exploration, or roleplaying. It also comes with maps and a combat tracker to ease new storytellers into their important role.
One particularly neat thing about this starter set is its connection to the legacy of Dungeons & Dragons itself. The area known as the Borderlands was first introduced all the way back in 1979 with the adventure module, “The Keep on the Borderlands”. This adventure was design and included in early iterations of the game’s starter sets, referred to as the Basic Set, so this release almost feels like the game is coming home.
Dungeons & Dragons – Starter Set: Heroes of The Borderlands releases on September 16, 2025 for a retail price of $49.99. Preorders have also gone live for a Stranger Things-themed set ahead of the Netflix series’ final season.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
However, one bright spot on the horizon appears to be signs of Bethesda finally adding the highly-requested ability to travel in your spaceship from one planet to another — rather than what happens now, as you load up a loading screen to enter orbit, and from there load up another loading screen to get to where you’re going.
Fragments of code uncovered by Starfield fans now suggest Bethesda has a more streamlined experience in the works, though potentially still with some caveats. While you may be able to travel between planets within the same system, fans say it looks like you won’t be able to fly all the way between systems. Oh, and you also won’t be able to fly directly from a planet’s surface into orbit, like No Man’s Sky. Oh, well.
References to the new offering, referred to in the game’s code as “Cruise Mode,” were detected by players this week and shared on reddit, though Bethesda has reportedly now issued another small patch to scrub them from view.
Borderlands 4 will cost $70, publisher 2K Games confirmed in June. That seemingly innocuous fact was big news after the price of the upcoming looter shooter was thrust into the headlines when Gearbox development chief Randy Pitchford sparked a backlash with a series of controversial tweets.
A) Not my call. B) If you’re a real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.
Pitchford ended up having to address the negativity surrounding his comments, which some suggested might have harmed Borderlands 4’s chances of success. But this was hardly the latest drama revolving around Randy Pitchford, who often gives the press plenty to talk about whenever he addresses hot topics within the video game industry.
So, in an interview with Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Gearbox parent company Take-Two, ahead of the company’s latest (and impressive) financial results, I asked whether he has a mini heart attack whenever Pitchford tweets anything.
In his response, Zelnick admitted Pitchford can be a controversial figure, and even suggested some of his antics are deliberate, but ultimately he’s a big fan.
“I love Randy, first of all. Let me just say that on the record,” Zelnick began. “And I love his big personality. I love his passion and he is one of the all time great game makers. He also can be controversial at times — sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. I still love him to death.”
Some had expected Take-Two to follow Nintendo’s (and at that time, Microsoft’s) lead and make the jump to $80 for Borderlands 4, which it’s now decided will hold the line at $70. I asked Zelnick why that was the right decision for the looter shooter, and his response was along similar lines to his answer to 2K’s Mafia: The Old Country being set at $50.
“We’ve always engaged in variable pricing and we really want to make sure that the consumer’s experience of the title is that Borderlands 4 is a great, great game, which we believe it is, and that we’re offering a terrific value at the same time,” Zelnick said.
Zelnick has used this sort of response to answer questions about GTA 6’s price (some believe it will be $80, some as high as $100). “We always want to make sure that we deliver way more value than whatever we charge consumers, because we think of the consumer’s experience as an intersection of the thing itself and what you paid for it,” Zelnick said, talking generally of Take-Two’s strategy.
“So we just want to make sure we’re always delivering way more value than whatever we charge.”
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.
Not only does the update add new skins and bug fixes, but a new Ripatorium adds an infinite arena for, well, ripping through foes ad nauseum. Better yet, you can get this new and improved version of the Doom Slayer for under $45.
So what about that new update? Combat is always at the heart of DOOM, and the new Ripatorium in Update 2 lets you pick your opponents, the quantity of them, a time limit if you want to challenge yourself, and tweak respawn settings.
Or, just throw everything on and work to stay alive as long as you can.
As you’d expect from a game where the soundtrack is so core to the experience, you can choose the music for your showdowns, too, as well as your arena, with three to choose from.
In his review for IGN, Mitchell Saltzman awarded The Dark Ages a 9 out of 10 score, and said “Doom: The Dark Ages may strip away the mobility focus of Doom Eternal, but replaces it with a very weighty and powerful style of play that is different from anything the series has done before, and still immensely satisfying in its own way.”
Should I Buy Now or Wait for Black Friday?
It really depends on your preferences. In my opinion, Doom: The Dark Ages will likely be even cheaper by the time Black Friday rolls around.
At $45, it’s still a significant saving with $25 off the MSRP. But, Black Friday could potentially hold even better discounts, if you can wait another three months to find out.
My best guess is it will drop to $30-40 during the Black Friday sales that tend to kick off around the beginning of November. If you can hold out, you could find yourself with a better deal. There’s also other 2025 sale events like Prime Day in October, or any post Gamescom sales to consider as well.
However, some folk are old enough to know you can pay yourself with time as well, so if you want to play Doom: The Dark Ages now, without having to pay the eye watering $70 price tag, there’s nothing wrong with dropping $45 on a Game of the Year contender today.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Bethesda has confirmed Heretic + Hexen — the definitive re-release of two genre-shaping first-person shooters — are out now on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
id Software worked “in partnership” with Nightdive Studios to release this updated collection, featuring the “two classics that helped shape the genre.” The games have “been restored with improved performance for modern platforms with an enhanced soundtrack from Andrew Hulshult, online cross-platform and local split-screen deathmatch and co-op modes, in-game mod support, and more.”
Here’s what you get in the new collection:
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
Two all-new episodes created in collaboration between individuals at id Software + Nightdive Studios:
Heretic: Faith Renewed
Hexen: Vestiges of Grandeur
That’s not all, either; at today’s QuakeCon stream, we also learned that Doom: The Dark Ages‘ Update 2 is now live, bringing “all-new free content, tons of bug fixes, and quality of life improvements, inviting players to continue their fight against the forces of Hell in the Ripatorium.” The latter is a brand-new endless arena mode to the game, offering customisable waves and time-limit challenges.
Jump into Doom: The Dark Ages between now and September 2 to secure two free skins, and complete the three new arenas available in the Ripatorium to earn the Perfection Doom Slayer skin, too.
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.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is now just weeks from launch, though fans will have to wait a little longer to play Fox Hunt, the game’s online multiplayer mode.
While the main, single-player portion of Snake Eater will launch for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on August 28, Fox Hunt will arrive via a post-launch update sometime this “fall”. And yes, that’s as specific as publisher Konami is currently willing to get.
Announced back in June, Fox Hunt is an entirely new multiplayer offering unrelated to Metal Gear Online, which came bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots back in 2008. MGO lasted four years, before its servers were switched off in 2012.
“Fox Hunt is a completely original online multiplayer mode,” said veteran Metal Gear Solid developer Yu Sahara, who now acts as the mode’s director, back in June. “Although it shares the same world with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the gameplay is completely different.
“When we say Metal Gear multiplayer, many fans will probably think of Metal Gear Online, but Fox Hunt will be its own new type of mode. We very much appreciate all the long-time fans of MGO who have always wanted to see it make a comeback, but the landscape of multiplayer games has changed a lot since MGO. It took a lot of careful consideration to think about what a new online mode should look like.”
Sahara continued by saying that Fox Hunt would focus on Metal Gear series’ stealth and survival elements, and take “camouflage and hide and go seek to the next level” in order to ensure the mode offered “more than just a shootout.”
Outside of Fox Hunt, Delta is a remake of the 2004 classic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Original Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has said he won’t be playing, however.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
