Keep your hands at 10 and 2, drivers, as Ironwood Studios has just offered up a first look at Pacific Drive’s first big expansion, Whispers in the Woods. Where the survival game has a sort of Stalker-but-you’re-in-a-car kind of feel, this DLC looks like it’s fully leaning into some horror vibes. The first half of the trailer has some real ’70s era, found footage horror vibes, which feels laser targeted at my artistic proclivities.
Disney Lorcana launched its ninth set, Fabled, last week, and from stunning Goofy Movie cards to new Iconic and Epic rarities, there’s an awful lot to like about it.
For starters, that includes the new Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Prince (Iconic), which’s already selling for over $1000 on resale sites like TCGPlayer and eBay, while its new “Iconic” pairing, Minnie Mouse – Sweetheart Princess, isn’t exactly cheap either, and currently fetching around $865 market price.
Prices will continue to fluctuate in the coming weeks and months, but with the full set out now, we’ve also been taking a deep dive into all the prettiest, priciest cards from it.
While the first-ever Iconic cards are, understandably, fetching sizeable fees, plenty of the other “Enchanted” cards are also reaching hundreds of dollars already, and are definitely worth chasing as well. Using data from our friends at TCGPlayer, here are the most expensive cards in the Fabled set of Disney Lorcana, and where to find them.
Kicking off with a card that many were excited for when Fabled was revealed, Powerline – World’s Greatest Rock Star is sitting at around $172.
Aside from the fact that he turns song cards into card draw and cheats out big cards, the artwork is awesome (and he’s the only Goofy Movie entrant on this list).
Sitting just above Powerline is the Enchanted version of Circle of Life, coming in at around $177.
The artwork is gorgeous, you can bring back a discarded card, and I’m always happy to see anything from The Lion King. Which brings us nicely to…
Sitting at around $205, Scar – Finally King’s Enchanted version has more amazing artwork showing the one-time ruler of Pride Rock chatting to a skull and smirking.
He buffs allies, then turns that into card draw, which is basically what you’d expect from the self-centred brother of Mufasa.
Reprints are great ways to lower the cost of cards, but this Fabled version of Winnie the Pooh – Hunny Wizard is going for $220.
And you know what? We get it. Look at him, all happy with his borderless treatment.
Laying my (Lorcana) cards on the table here, Hades – Infernal Schemer (Enchanted) might be my favorite card on this list.
He’s another reprint, and looks incredible. His value is rising, too, with a market value of $250 but already selling for more than that.
This adorable Lilo – Best Explorer Ever card isn’t a reprint, and grants Challenger to allies. The standard artwork, with Stitch lurking in the background, is great, but this one makes him even harder to spot so that Lilo can be the clear focus in her spacesuit.
The card is sitting at $255, marginally more than Hades, but it does seem to be dropping slightly.
Belle – Accomplished Mystic marks the first of a quartet of ‘classic’ Disney characters that finish off this list, and she’s a reprint of a Super Rare that appeared in Ursula’s Return.
She’s at the $315 mark right now, but has sold for under $300.
Another new card, Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe is currently sitting at around $365 and selling for around that, too.
He’s not only adorable in this picture, but he’s handy to have if you’re looking to rack up lore with his abilities.
Surprising no one, it’s the new Iconic artwork that takes the top two spots of our list, starting with Minnie Mouse – Sweetheart Princess.
She’ll set you back around $865 right now, but has sold for around $120 less than that. Will she climb further, or is that a sign of an imminent drop? We’ll know more in the coming days.
“Oh boy!” – Mickey Mouse, upon seeing that his Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Prince (Iconic) card has a market value of over $1000, presumably.
Mickey’s the most expensive card on this list by some distance, and will set you back $1,022. Still, he’s sold for just shy of $900, so there’s some wiggle room.
Being one of the first iconic cards, and an absolutely beautiful looking one at that, I’m not surprised this is demanding a pretty penny right now. At the time of writing, it’s the most valuable Disney Lorcana card ever.
Thankfully, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get started with Lorcana.
The Fabled set sees the debut of a new Collection Starter Set to help you get started with collecting the heroes and villains of the Disney universe, and it includes 4 booster packs (a total of 48 cards), a portfolio binder for Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Tailor, a collector’s guide, and a Glimmer Foil variant of Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy.
Then there are preconstructed decks, Illumineer’s Trove boxes, and boosters you can buy, too.
As I mentioned, Disney Lorcana has expanded its rarity system in the new Fabled set with two new tiers: Epic and Iconic. Epic cards sit between Legendary and Enchanted, making them rarer than the former but easier to find than the latter.
These are alternate versions of existing cards that reuse Standard artwork but get a premium treatment, including an “open air” frame, rainbow foiling, and glossy highlights.
Iconic cards, meanwhile, now take the crown as Lorcana’s rarest chase cards. Only two appear per set, each featuring alternate full-card artwork that continues behind the text box, along with a raised 3D hot stamp effect and a shimmering custom lore star foil.
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.
This article contains contributions from Robert Anderson.
Jump Space! It’s a game with a name that’ll have you thinking, “wait, that’s not what it was called, was it?” And you’d be right about that, as due to some trademark problems, the game was rebranded from Jump Ship to its new name Jump Space back in August. Later that same month, developer Keepsake Games announced the game would be launching into early access September 19th. And now, as in today September 9th now, Keepsake Games have shared an early access roadmap for the game, as well as how much it’ll cost you.
Including an icon change.
UFO 50, the excellent retro compilation for Switch, has received a fresh update to bring it up to version 1.7.8.30.
There are a couple of notable additions and changes here, including a new ‘pixel perfect’ scaling option, and a revamp of the icon for the Switch home menu. Let’s be honest, it wasn’t exactly the most inspiring design before, now was it?
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
We’re thrilled to announce that our Indie Selects Demo Fest has begun, featuring more than 40 exciting game demos available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Like our last Demo Fest, you can download and play these games anytime between September 9 and September 30.
You can start playing demos today, and we encourage you to keep exploring them all month long. All demos are available in the dedicated Indie Selects Demo Fest collection on the Xbox Store. We’d love for you to share your feedback with the developers!
Please remember that most demos offer an early glimpse of gameplay and may differ from the final version at launch, including which countries will have access as developers continue to polish their games.
We’re also excited to share that 6 newly announced games below are coming to Xbox!
Breaking Gates is a fast-paced 2D action-RPG with hand-drawn visuals and a focus on responsive combat and constant progression. Inspired by classic platformers and modern hack ’n’ slash titles, the game offers a dynamic mix of exploration, character upgrades, and frantic real-time battles.
The cult indie horror sensation finally arrives on Xbox. What you are about to do has not been approved by the Vatican. As a young priest, struggle against demons, insane cultists, and your own weakening faith in this pixel horror game inspired by the era of classic 8-bit gaming and the “Satanic Scare” of the 1980s. M O R T I S.
Slay hordes of terrifying monsters in this horde survival roguelite. Descend into the Halls of Torment where the Lords of the underworld await you. Treasures, magical trinkets, and a growing cast of heroes will grant you the power to vanquish these horrors from beyond. How long can you survive?
Possessions is a reality-twisting adventure that challenges the way you see the world. Immerse yourself in a minimalist, atmospheric world free from text and distractions, where every rotation and alignment uncovers hidden paths and silent stories.
Whether you’re looking for a relaxing break or a thoughtful challenge, Possessions offers an immersive journey that stimulates your mind and soothes your senses. It’s a game about discovery, perception, and the quiet thrill of seeing the world from a new angle.
Weave your own story in this dark fairy tale. In the mysterious ancient ruins, you will adventure with Tania to reveal her origins and fate. Is there any chance of survival in the darkest and desperate place?
A new life awaits in Honeywood! Build a thriving community that will last generations in this cozy farm simulator. Farm, socialize, make friends, cook, craft, forage and uncover the secrets of the island! If someone doesn’t want to be friends? There are always other means.
In addition to those newly announced titles, you’ll find an impressive collection of creative and unique games available for you to experience firsthand! Check out the line-up below for a list of participating games and their developers in this year’s ID@Xbox Demo Fest:
A Pizza Delivery – Dolores Entertainment
Adventures of a Cat in Space – Tall Story Games/Little Seeds Music
Aikyam – Thousand Stars Studio
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit – Mega Cat Studios/Programancer/Retroware
Awaken – Astral Blade – Dark Pigeon Games/ESDigital Games
Baki Hanma: Blood Arena – Purple Tree/Purple Play
Beacon of Neyda – Ghost Creative Studio
Before I Go – J’s Labratory
Biped 2 – META Publishing
Bit ESC – Essssam
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime – Bonte Avond Studios/offbrand games
Breaking Gates – Ylun Games/Nuntius Games
Brews & Bastards – Mune Studio
Bylina – Far Far Games/ESDigital Games
Cats on Duty – Prikol Team/ESDigital Games
Cyberwar Neon City – CyberMonkey Studios/GoGo Games
Dead Reset – Dark Rift Horror/Wales Interactive
Deck of Haunts – Dangen Entertainment
Detective Dotson – Masala Games Private
Echo Weaver – Moonlight Kids/Akupara Games
Echoes of the Plum Grove – Unwound Games/indie.io
Faith: The Unholy Trinity – Airdorf Games/New Blood Interactive
Floralis – SolidCore Games
Forgotlings – Throughline Games/Hitcents
Fractal Space – Haze Games
Gloomy Eyes – Fishing Cactus/Untold Tales
Halls of Torment – Chasing Carrots
Imagine Earth – Galaxies DLC – Serious Bros.
Ink. – Linked Rooms Games/Brainium Games
Labyrinthine – Console Edition – Valko Games Studios/Klabater
Military Logistics Simulator – Nano Games/Aerosoft
Mina The Hollower – Yacht Club Games
Neon Inferno – Zenovia Interactive/Retroware
Node: The Last Favor of the Antarii – Lapsus Games/Beep Japan
Polterguys: Possession Party – Madorium/Amplified Games
Possessions – Lucid Labs
Potions: A Curious Tale – Stumbling Cat
Radiant: Guardians Of Light – Chorrus Games
Rhythm Towers – innoloop
RoadOut – Dangen Entertainment
Schroom Siege – Upside Down Bird
Sulfur – Perfect Random
The Jackbox Party Pack 11 – Jackbox Games
Tormented Souls 2 – Dual Effect/PQube
Townseek – Whales and Games/Super Rare Originals
Truck World: Australia – HypeTrain Digital
Under Par Golf Architect – Broken Arms Games
Yet Another Zombie Survivors – Awesome Games Studio
Yooka-Replaylee – Playtonic Games/PM Studios
Head over to your Xbox and start enjoying these incredible game demos now! And yes, we’d love to hear what you think. Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, Discord, Twitch, Bluesky and YouTube. Stay tuned to Xbox Wire to learn more about what Team Xbox has planned and of course, have an awesome month of gaming!
The post ID@Xbox Indie Selects Demo Fest Starts Today – Check Out All the Games Included appeared first on Xbox Wire.
It’s been a really long wait, but Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry’s sequel to the beloved side-scrolling search-action game Hollow Knight is finally here. The game introduces a whole lot of changes and additions to what made Hollow Knight great, expanding on both the formula of a classic and some key elements of the side-scrolling exploration-action genre in general.
Here’s a semi-spoilery look at what I’ve seen in Pharloom so far — we won’t talk about the story or any major developments, but if you want to discover all the new mechanics and touches yourself, dig into the game before reading on.
Spoiler warning: If you’d like to avoid light spoilers for Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight: Silksong, do not continue.
Hollow Knight’s healing system is one of its essential features, setting the pace of combat and creating an intense risk-reward calculus within every fight. As long as you’ve got enough Soul stored up from hitting enemies, you can hold Circle to heal a single point of health at any time — but you need to stand still for about three seconds to do it.
Silksong gives you a faster, more versatile heal. You still charge it by hitting enemies — gathering Silk rather than Soul — but hitting Circle once activates Bind, a healing move you can use anywhere, even in mid-air. Instead of getting one point of health back, you get three, but you can only heal when your Silk is full and healing always costs all your Silk. And like in Hollow Knight, Silk powers some of your strongest abilities.
Those adjustments to healing completely change the calculus of when and where to heal, setting a faster tempo for combat in Silksong that’s just as tactical.
You’ll often find your opponents feinting, backstepping, and guarding against your attacks and trying to counter. Many opponents are aggressive, but also defensively minded, forcing you to think about your moves and fight carefully.
This feels like a story choice as well as a gameplay one; in Hollow Knight, most enemies were almost like zombies due to a strange infection. The enemies of Silksong are aggressive and dangerous, but often still have their wits about them, and it shows in how they fight.
Hornet is more acrobatic than Hollow Knight’s protagonist, with the ability to grab the edges of platforms and pull herself up. You can also jump straight from the edge of a platform to your next ledge, which speeds up platforming significantly. Mantling also seems to provide a few invincibility frames — great if you’re on the run from a pesky flying enemy.
Unlike in Hollow Knight, which took place in a ruined kingdom, Silksong’s setting of Pharloom is very much alive. You’ll meet plenty of people on your journey, many of whom will give you side quests. Those quests are now tracked in your menu, a marked departure from the minimalist, Souls-like approach in Hollow Knight. It’s worth checking back in at settlements you find and with characters you meet, too, as their stories unfold.
You’ll eventually unlock all the abilities that Hornet used against you in boss fights in Hollow Knight. These include the thread traps she can set that are activated if enemies walk into them or hit them with an object, throwing knives, and a whole lot of other options. There’s a large variety of tools to unlock, giving you a lot of options for how to approach a fight.
Pharloom is full of deadly traps, and certain locations have some particularly devious ones. Hollow Knight had the occasional breakaway floor, but in Silksong, you need to keep your wits about you, lest you break a tripwire and get skewered by spikes.
Alongside tools and traps are Hornet’s Crests, which you can unlock throughout your adventure. Crests change your whole combat style — the Wanderer crest gives you speedy attacks with a shorter range, for instance, while the Beast crest’s strikes are more like raking claws over your enemies and cover a larger area.
Crests all have different layouts for charms, affecting your loadout, and some come with different takes on your Bind ability. When you Bind while wearing the Reaper crest, for instance, you get a short period where your attacks will generate more Silk — great for boss fights where you need to heal often.
With such a long development, Team Cherry has had time to put in a lot of great little extras. Watch for tiny ants to carry the pieces of your defeated foes back to their homes for dinner. And once you unlock the musical Needolin, try playing it for different characters to see what happens.
This only scratches the surface of what there is to discover in Hollow Knight: Silksong. You can start your journey up Pharloom’s pilgrim trail right now — grab it at PlayStation Store.
I want to give Hollow Knight: Silksong a thrashing. A fully suited C-suite bollocking. I want to verbally repay unto it every cruel death, every pernickety jumping puzzle, every time-thieving runback it’s inflicted on me across the past five days.
But I can’t. For every moment of frustration, there are five of relief, of joy, of beauty even. As in Hollow Knight, Silksong stretches itself over a vast Metroidvania map, and yet its intricacies – its narrowest tunnels leading to grand new regions, its more acrobatic and tailorable combat movesets – make for constantly rewarding exploration, as well as some thrillingly free-flowing bugfights. There have been a couple times when I never wanted to play it again, and many more when I wish I never had to stop.
Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake was one of my favorite games of last year. I scored it a 9 in my review, finding it to be a shining example of how to remake a classic RPG. Square Enix took everything that made Dragon Quest 3 an all-time favorite and leaned into it with a modern retelling that preserved its classic sensibilities: satisfying turn-based combat, a classic story full of heart, and gorgeous towns and dungeons to explore. Now, Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake looks to follow in 3’s brilliantly executed footsteps, and if the hour I spent with the upcoming pair of remakes is any indication, they appear to have been recreated with the same level of love and quality as last year’s hit.
To get any initial confusion out of the way, the original Dragon Quest 3 was a prequel to Dragon Quest 1 and 2. When Square Enix sought out to remake the original NES trilogy, it decided to do so in chronological order, starting with Dragon Quest 3 leading into 1 and 2. So, if you’re reading this and you haven’t played Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, that’s really the “correct” starting point for what’s being called the Erdrick Trilogy.
My hour of hands-on time was split evenly between 1 and 2, which are being sold as one combined package where you select which game to play from an introductory menu. I caught glimpses of an early town and dungeon in Dragon Quest 1; a tall, intimidating tower in Dragon Quest 2; and a healthy dose of the overworld in both games; and was pleased to find that the gorgeous HD-2D art style seen in games like Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy remains a perfect fit for Dragon Quest’s cozy, homey vibes. It’s pleasant to simply exist in the world of Dragon Quest, with its familiar melodies and traditional RPG storytelling. 1&2 HD-2D Remake looked and ran great in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch 2, which is surely where I’ll play the full version later this year.
But beyond its graphical enhancements, Dragon Quest 1 is noticeably older than 3, even in its remade form. Dragon Quest 3 is recognized as one of the godfathers of the RPG genre, setting the framework that party-based RPGs have built upon for the last 35+ years. 1 and 2 are each a little rougher around the edges for their own reasons, and while I wholeheartedly respect the decision to keep the original skeleton intact for these remakes, the result is what’s setting up to be a significantly more hardcore RPG experience.
The main reason for this is that Dragon Quest 1 specifically only features one playable character throughout the entire journey. There are no party members to recruit, and thus no help on the battlefield – it’s just you. As I ventured out of the Roadside Inn across Dragon Quest 1’s overworld to go take on the series’ recurring thief Robbin’ ‘ood, I found that I had to approach battles in a very different way now that I was totally alone. Moves that raised my character’s evasiveness that I would have never selected in Dragon Quest 3 suddenly felt essential. Usually, my hero would just go all-out on the offensive while a healer would make sure he stayed on his feet, but in this one-man show, I had to keep myself alive while also dealing as much damage as possible. I defeated Robbin’ ‘ood after completely using all of my healing items, and it was a satisfying nail-biting victory. I probably prefer having a whole party of different characters with unique classes at my disposal, but I’m excited to play a different style of RPG.
Dragon Quest 2, on the other hand, does give you a full party of four characters on the battlefield, which was a welcome breath of fresh air after the intense isolation of Dragon Quest 1’s combat. Here, Square Enix wanted to challenge us at this preview event, presenting us with a towering dungeon we were clearly underleveled for. My team got appropriately stomped, but I did get to check out some of the new combat options that have been specifically added in 1&2. 3’s remake introduced a ton of fantastic battle options, including choices to speed up battles, have your characters make decisions on their own according to a set list of strategies that you choose, and an easy mode called Dracky Quest where your characters can’t die. 1&2 brings all of these options back and introduces a few new ones, like the ability to still play in easy mode but without the invincibility option that was mandatory last time around. But the most notable addition is an option to highlight which moves and spells are strong against each enemy type that you’re fighting. This can be turned on or off at any time, and will surely make EXP grinding sessions much smoother, or give new players a crash course on the best moves to pick.
Even though the original Dragon Quest 1 and 2 aren’t quite as beloved as Dragon Quest 3, I can’t wait to dive into the full release of this RPG remake duology. Plus, there are apparently more surprises in store, as Square Enix is teasing a new twist that will add a lot of content that wasn’t present in the original games. Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake is out October 30 on Nintendo Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. You can add it to your IGN Playlist wishlist below.
Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.
Dune: Awakening has received its first “major” free update, a continuation of the MMO survival game’s story following the revelations of Act 3. What revelations were these? Honestly, lads, I never made it that far. My character is presently a furry chunk of worm jerky, crammed into a half-built shack after accidentally encasing herself in the furniture, so I couldn’t spill the beans even if I knew. But I can reveal there are “gruesome murders” to investigate from this point on, and further opportunities to dig up the misbegotten secrets of Arrakis. Here’s a trailer.
A social hub in the vein of Destiny 2’s Tower is “on the feature list” for Helldivers 2‘s successor, developer Arrowhead has indicated.
Helldivers 2 uses spaceships as a small staging area where up to three players can prepare for missions, fussing over their appearance and loadouts. There is no larger scale social hub, which some fans have called for Arrowhead to consider given the social nature of Helldivers 2’s community-driven galactic war.
When a fan suggested on Discord that they would “really appreciate a social hub space station (like the tower in Destiny),” Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani responded with an unequivocal: “it’s on the feature list for the next one.”
That sounds pretty definitive, but we still have no idea when Arrowhead will get around to Helldivers 3. The studio has indicated that it plans to support Helldivers 2 for years to come, and only recently launched the Sony-published game on Xbox Series X and S. Indeed, it’s a particularly great time for Helldivers 2, whose Into the Unjust update added Hive Worlds.
In April, Helldivers 2 production director Alex Bolle told IGN “we want it to be around for years and years and years to come.”
“And it’s almost like, how do we stay true to the Helldivers 2 fantasy, challenging enough that we keep making amazing new features and new systems and all that while we stay true to who we are?” he continued. “And I think it’s something that is so motivating for the years to come.
“The more we figure out how to thrive in a live environment, and we still have a way to go to figure out a lot of things around that, the more we can let creativity loose on new systems that we would’ve never thought about a year ago when we released. I’ve worked on live games before and it’s where you feel like you have something you can figure out: what if I would do this cool thing I’ve seen in other games and adapt it to our sauce, that still makes it true to ourselves? I’m looking forward to this moment.”
Check out IGN’s review of Helldivers 2 on Xbox Series X and S to see what we think of the game as it is today.
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.
