Ichiban joins the race.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has been available for the Switch since September, and has already received some updates.
Now, in a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio live stream this week, the team behind the Yakuza series and Yakuza: Like A Dragon game have revealed the free guest character Ichiban Kasuga will be made available on 6th November 2025, with his festival event to run from 7th until 10th November 2025.
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I thought I was only going to play five or six hours of ARC Raiders on launch day before sitting down to write this initial review in progress, but after just a handful of matches, I suddenly couldn’t pull myself away – and before I realized it, I’d been playing for 10 hours. This is without question the most hooked I’ve found myself on an extraction shooter (and I’ve played a lot of them), with clean and tense gunplay, a progression system that’s been incredibly satisfying so far, and a loot game that has me sweating over what to put in my backpack and what to leave behind. I’ve still got loads more to do and see before I can draw any final conclusions, but what I have played has made an incredibly good first impression.
ARC Raiders follows the usual extraction shooter formula of dropping you into a zone to take down NPC enemies and scramble for loot, all while looking over your shoulder for rival crews who would love nothing more than to crack you open like a meat pinata and take everything you’ve collected. From what I’ve seen so far, ARC Raiders hasn’t done much to iterate on those fundamentals, but it does absolutely nail them, and that’s harder to do than it might sound – for example, a big budget attempt like Battlefield 2042’s Hazard Zone mostly fell flat, and the alpha for Bungie’s Marathon landed with such a thud it was delayed indefinitely.
One of the main ways it succeeds is in its stressful gunplay, where weapons only have a few rounds in each magazine, take a good deal of time to reload, and the robotic NPCs are either much faster than you or can rain down missiles to take you out in a single blast. This means I’m usually feeling like a rodent sneaking around to scavenge food and supplies from the world before slinking back to base – but when combat does break out, it’s charged with delightful anxiety thanks to the high-risk, high-reward situation of knowing you’re either about to lose everything you’ve fought for or grab some awesome gear off the corpses of those you’ve bested. This includes both AI-controlled and human players, as both can be found and fought out in the world, though it’s best to avoid either of them unless you know you’ve brought the gear and skills required for a fight. That’s because firing a shot has a good chance of drawing all robot enemies and loot-hungry players to your position, taking advantage of your vulnerability to do as much damage as possible.
All four of the maps I’ve seen so far have very cool and distinct vibes to them, from the ruined husk of a waterlogged dam to a city buried in red sand. It’s a good thing that they’re so great to look at, too, because you’ll spend a whole lot of time trekking back and forth across them in search of loot. I still feel like I haven’t seen most of the nooks and crannies of these areas, despite having played on them for dozens of matches already, but they are starting to feel a little familiar to me. Here’s hoping they’ve still got secrets to uncover that expand the amount of time I’m willing to spend on each.
As I work toward exploring every last zone, one thing I’m still looking for is an enemy combatant I haven’t faced yet (aside from the massive tanks, which I’m just steering clear of at this early stage). Most of my NPC combat encounters have been against the small roly poly bots and flying drones that are fairly easy to destroy, with my fellow players being the only proper challenge so far. I’m looking forward to the point where I’m powerful enough to actually engage with some of the chonkier enemies more seriously, but it still would have been nice to have a wider variety of low level AI combatants to shake up the early game a bit.
Thankfully, even as maps and enemies have begun to feel familiar, that hasn’t dampened my desire to play just because of how good the loot and progressions systems are. Every run, win or lose, has me excited to return to the cozy sanctuary of Speranza, where I can chat with vendors, turn in and accept new quests, upgrade my facilities that allow me to craft items and gain access to new upgrades, customize my character’s appearance, and spend skill points that make me slightly better at things like keeping quiet while rifling through loot during matches. There’s so much to do and unlock that I truly feel I’ve only scratched the surface in this regard, and that’s kept me glued to my controller and eager to dive into new matches.
Anyway, there’s still lots to do and robots to slay, so I’ll be headed back out to the wastes for more just as soon as I’m finished typing. You can expect a full, scored review early next week!
Not only does November bring cooler weather, but it also offers an entirely new batch of PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC games to entertain us. We’re on the tail end of the big games of the fall, but the year isn’t done with us yet. This month we get big releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, Kirby Air Riders, and perhaps most importantly, Terminator 2D: No Fate. Read on to see release dates for all the biggest games and expansions coming out this month and beyond. Let’s have a look.
If you’re the preordering type, you can click the links for the platform of your choice to see the game at Amazon (if available).
For more release date fun, check out our ongoing list of 4K UHD and Blu-ray release dates.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Update: Download it now.
Hades II got off to an excellent start when it landed in September, and soon it will be getting its very first post-launch patch. Developer Supergiant Games has now released a preview of what fans can expect via the official Steam game page.
In addition to bug fixes and balance changes, Patch 1 will come loaded with True Ending Enhancements, Returning to a Real Possibility, Fated Prophecy Adjustments and Crossroads Renewal. There are also some spoilers in these patch notes, so if you don’t want to spoil any surprises, you might want to navigate away from this page now.
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Hey, everybody! Sid, Tim, and Brett are back this week to talk about the new indie darling Ball x Pit, the long journey to a Death Stranding 2 platinum, Silent Hill f, and the Battlefield series’ first battle royale foray.
Stuff We Talked About
Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE
Tim Turi – Content Communications Manager, SIE
Brett Elston – Manager, Content Communications, SIE
Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Three weeks ago on this day, I featured Mega Evolution in my weekly Crashers and Climbers article, which focused on the set doing the typical evening out after the drop of a new set. Some cards were going up, some were going down, business as usual. Damn sneaker heads!
Fast forward to today, after a seemingly massive print run, everything is crashing. Literally every card you can pick out of this set is seeing new lows. For me, this is a market correction after a year of inflated prices both on the sealed and single card markets for a variety of factors I’ve discussed before.
Whilst I don’t think we’re seeing the bubble burst on the market just yet, we’re seeing a massive market correction that could see a decline in scalped product and more availability across the board.
If you can’t tell by now, I won’t be including a “Climbers” section today, but I’ll be diving into just how much values have crashed in the last three weeks and bag my readers a few bargains in the process.
Here’s the top cards from Mega Evolution at a glance, and we’re seeing between 8% and 33% drops in just three weeks. Full disclosure, the “Original Prices” on these cards are what I recorded on 10th October, just so we’re on the same page.
Like N’s Reshiram Illustration Rare in Journey Together, this Bulbasaur Illustration Rare has a Mega Evolution Stamped version that’s packed into every Enhanced Booster Box.
So it’s a bit of a tough one to say which one is rarer, although I’d put my Pokédollars on the stamped version getting rarer over time. Needless to say it’s a gorgeous card either way that’s dropped by 23% from October 10.
It’s a similar scenario with the Mega Evolution Stamp variant of Bulby, but the floor on this card seems to be a little higher than the standard IR.
It still dropped by 23%, but we’re seein it retain a couple of dollars more in value. When you’re right, you’re right.
Mega Khankaskhan ex SIR has only had an 8% drop, but it’s a drop none-the-less. This card hardly broke expectations on the market, securing a low-end SIR level of value out the gate.
So whilst we’re not seeing dramatic crashes here, we’ve got a solid value on this card that should only rise over time.
Mega Absol ex SIR is an absolute banger, and in my opinion one of the best from this set.
For some reason this card didn’t go mad when Mega Evolution came out, but it’s still had a drop of 9% to a respectable $96.01 at the moment.
This is such an underated card, and I’d highly reccomend snapping it up whilst values are down.
Staff cards are always ridiculous value-wise due to the small distribution base and not being available in booster packs. A handfull are given out at Pokémon TCG events such as tournaments, and this one has actually dropped by 16%.
Secondary market prices always go off what people are willing to pay, but it’s still a coin flip situation. If you collect staff cards, It might be worth picking up whilst it’s nearly $30 less than October 10.
At over $20 cheaper and a 13% price crash, I’d bit for Mega Latias ex SIR for under $150. It’s a gorgeous card and has ridiculously expresive artwork.
I can’t see this card loosing a lot more value, so i’d recommend picking this bad boy up before it shoots back up.
Venusaur is the best generation one starter and i’ll live on that hill, because I can’t die with Venusaur at my side. Correct opinions aside, this card is getting more and more affordable has time goes on, In just three weeks this card has dropped by over $30, or 20%, to $174.80.
Personally I think this card can settle to $150, but that’s just a gut feeling. Considering how playable it is with the help of Meganium, this feels like a good price.
This is arguably the chase card of the set for those who don’t like Gold Hyper Rares, just look at it. Not only is Gardevoir a fan favorite (Let’s forget about that life-sized weeb plush), but its a work of art. This has crashed massively by over $80, to a much more respectable $234.99, and i’d put a solid bet on this card climbing right back up in no time.
This is my favorite card of the set, featuring an expresive sky-high battle over Luminoise City between Mega Lucario and Mega Venusaur. For me it’s a continuation of the Charizard V Alt Art from the Sword and Shield era featuring Venusaur. Top tier artwork and two fan favorite Pokémon and it’s 20% down on Oct. 10, it’s a great time to buy this card.
This gold rare has had one of the biggest drops i’ve seen for a while. This was going for $600 on Oct. 10, and it’s dropped by a massive 33% to $399, which I think is about the right value for it now. If history teaches us anything, Gold Rares go down not up. But the unique embossed patterns and rainbow holo effect Mega Evolution Gold Rares have seems to be turning more heads. Personally it’s not for me, but it’s a tied top chase card with Mega Lucario ex Gold Rare.
If you think $530 is eye-watering, this card was a massive $630 three weeks ago, so it’s deffinately moving in the right direction. One thing i’ve noticed about Mega Evolution cards today, is that we’re at the point where the cards have hit a new flooor. This will bring more buyers in, create more demand and we’ll see a rise once again. So if you were after this card, now is likely the best time to get locked in.
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.
It’s often pointless to wish a game series would come back once it’s been thrown on the great pile of dormant names. I try, and regularly fail, to stop myself yearning too forlornly for a new Midnight Club, a new Motorstorm, or a new Burnout.
Mostly because it means that when a game like Wreckreation comes along, there’s a temptation to go into it with lofty expectations inflated by a rose-tinted longing for something the game more than likely isn’t. Despite drawing plenty of elements from the anarchic arcade racer and the Criterion credentials of devs Three Fields Entertainment, Wreckreation isn’t Burnout, coming home after all these years getting takedowns in the wilderness.
Europa Universalis 5 is a forever game. Insofar as you might be able to play this grand historical strategy forever, but also because – my god – it takes forever to play. After a mere 45 hours of conniving, trading, battling, and scratching my head at menus, I have just about scraped my way through 150 years of Neapolitan history. I have yet to come across a single pizza with buffalo mozzarella on it, but there are approximately 250 years left to find one. This is the blessing and curse of a typically dense playthrough of Europa Universalis. Paradox’s trademark blend of intricate geopolitical clockwork, hands-tied confusion, and “one more year” compulsion is all here. You just need to set aside a few centuries to enjoy it.
Scrème de la scrème.
You already have too many choices on Halloween — Which outfit should I wear? Which candy should I take from the bowl? Am I brave enough to finally watch that one movie? — so let’s not let ‘which games should I pick up on sale?’ be one of them. We’ve got a rundown of the very best in the ‘Screaming Deals’ sale below, so you can enjoy your trick-or-treat haul in peace…
Another week, another blistering eShop sale to bolster your backlog. Yes, Nintendo is running its ‘Screaming Deals’ sale again this year in North America, with discounts on Switch 1 and 2 games both spooky and otherwise, just as on the other side of the pond where it’s called, more boringly, the Halloween Sale.
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