Roguelike deckbuilders! They’re everywhere! It’s a bit of an epidemic, honestly, sorting the wheat from chaff is a tough job. Of course, once in a while a genuinely novel take on the genre rolls around, and PinKeep has done just that, a pinball game where you change the playfield as you progress through runs. And it’s from the devs behind the Far series and Herdling!
Expect the unexpected, no?
“A message from the dev team:”
Maybe in years past, such an intro would fill us with excitement and anticipation; after all, a peek behind the development curtain is always a welcome treat. But in 2026, the line is a signifier of bad news.
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Highguard was never a game that was going to win me over, as I generally only like single-player shooters if any, but it isn’t helped by the fact that since its announcement there hasn’t been a lick of actual marketing to help it prove itself. This, of course, has been the subject of much discourse, to which I will contribute slightly in the coming paragraphs, but the main point of all this is to say that actually, against all odds, Highguard is in fact sticking to its January 26th launch date, and will even show off some gameplay… on its release day.
Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed set is here, with plenty of pricey cards for you to keep an eye out for. Still, if you’re looking to build a typal deck, or just want to find out a little more about the creature types in Lorwyn Eclipse, then this is the page for you.
Below are some of our favorite cards from the set, from Goblins to Elementals, to Giants, Treefolk, and much more. Planning to build a deck around any of these? Let us know in the comments!
In a lengthy blog post, Wizards said it wanted to stay true to the original Lorwyn creature types, and pushed to ensure the Limited environment brings creatures together with a playstyle in mind.
Kithkin lean into the green-white colors and a ‘go wide’ strategy, and while they might seem relatively adorable, Champion of the Clachan shows they’re able to tame bigger beasts, too. It’s a 4/5 with Flash, and buffs your other Kithkin with +1/+1.
Merfolk excel in white-blue and lean into blue’s general mischief and white for buffing your other creatures into a tangled web of counters.
Our favorite is Sygg, Wanderbrine Shield. He’s a 2/2 that can’t be blocked, but transforms into Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom. Doing so protects one of your cards, and when he transforms, he can turn damage into card advantage.
As is often the case, Elves exist in Green primarily, but don’t discount black, either, with handy mill and graveyard payoffs like Dawnhand Eulogist and Gloom Ripper.
We’re a big fan of Selfless Safewright. It’s a 4/2, five-cost Elf Warrior creature with Flash and Convoke, and turns creatures of a chosen type hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn.
Goblins and Red go together like a dream, and Hexing Squelcher takes our pick. It’s an uncounterable 2/2 creature for two mana that has Ward (2 life) and stops your other spells from being countered while also giving them Ward (2 life).
Elsewhere, Auntie Ool is already becoming pretty popular since they appeared in the Blight Curse precon deck.
Elementals take up all five colors, just like their precon, and there are big-hitters like Avenger of Zendikar and Muldrotha the Gravetide to be found in there.
As for our pick, I’ve gone for Moonshadow. It’s a 7/7 card that only costs one mana, but you don’t unlock its full potential until cards hit the graveyard and you get rid of its -1/-1 counters.
Just as mischievous as they were in Wilds of Eldraine, Faeries exist across primarily blue and black.
For our favorite, I’ve picked Bitterbloom Bearer. It’s a low-cost flying card with flash, but it turns your life into small Faerie creature tokens.
There aren’t a ton of cards in the Giant category, but cards like Grave Titan are reprinted.
Burdened Stoneback, not unlike Moonshadow, enters with counters present. These ones can be removed, however, with a mana ability that can turn other creatures indestructible.
Again, not a huge number of treefolk here, but still some great options like Blighted Blackthorn and Sinister Gnarlbark.
Still, it’s Ferrafor, Young Yew who takes our top spot for Treefolk. It’s a 4/7 Treefolk Druid that doubles counters with its tapped ability, and creates a bunch of Saproling creature tokens when it enters, too.
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.
Tifa and claws.
Switch 2 has been graced with a few ‘impossible’ ports in its first months on the market, and this week, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade joined the ranks.
While playing Square Enix’s acclaimed 2020 remake on Nintendo’s old hybrid would have felt like a pipedream, FFVII looks, runs, and feels exceptionally good on Switch 2. Sure, there are some technical downgrades from the PS5 version here and there *cough* 30fps *cough*, but overall, this is a rather wonderful display of what the new hardware can muster.
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When I gave extraction shooter Arc Raiders a glowing review in November, I wasn’t certain it would keep me hooked.
Two months later and I’m 250 hours deep. Despite clear flaws – and developer Embark Studio’s insistence on retaining AI-generated voice lines – I feel its pull every day, and not for the reasons I would’ve thought.
I used to think what was special about Arc Raiders was that every round was different, that anything could and would happen when you met another player mid-round. What’s kept me coming back, however, is not the ways it’s surprising but the ways it’s predictable – the ways I can master its systems to squeeze more fun out of it, more high-tier loot, and more of its special, absurd moments.
On Cloud nine.
Well folks, you made it! The weekend is here again, which means it’s time to get some all-important gaming done.
Before that though, let’s quickly recap the week. Our big review was for Final Fantasy VII Remake on the Switch 2, and as expected, it’s a bit of a banger. We also heard from director Naoki Hamaguchi who confirmed that the upcoming two sequels will have “exactly the same” gameplay as other platforms.
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Tangle and Whisper join the race next month.
Last November, Sega announced three more characters for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. This included the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW duo, Tangle and Whisper.
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Thanks for everything, Konno-san.
Following the news of Kensuke Tanabe’s retirement, it’s now being reported game designer, director, producer, and Nintendo veteran Hideki Konno has also called time on his career at the Japanese firm.
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Riftbound, the League of Legends trading card game, is set to launch its next expansion, Spiritforged, in the West on February 13. Like Origins before it, there are a handful of different products you can buy to crack packs and build out your collection.
But also like Origins, getting your hands on sealed product was tough, with stores and even Riot’s own merch store selling out fast. With Spiritforged, you can pre-purchase these products on TCGplayer, although at significant markups, so just keep that in mind.
Riot’s online merch storefront still has each item at MSRP, and will likely resupply their preorder stock soon, even if it’s currently sold out, so be sure to check back often and sign up for a Riot account.
Otherwise, as always, one of the best ways to buy any TCG product is through your local game store, and Riftbound is no different. Be sure to utilize the official store locator to find shops in your area and support local businesses.
Spiritforged has four main products with its upcoming launch, with a total of 221 new cards to play with. You can get individual booster packs, each containing 14 cards to bolster your collection; you’ll receive seven commons, three uncommons, one rare, one foil of any rarity, another random foil or rare, and either one token or Rune card.
One booster pack is currently going for $14.75 on TCGplayer. Then you can pick up a booster box, which is a sealed box of 24 booster box. With boxes, drop rates aren’t entirely random. One in three boxes will contain an alternate art Overnumbered edition, while one in 30 will contain an ultra rare signed version. From here, you can purchase a booster display case, which is a collection of six booster boxes, if you can stomach the price.
For newer players, you can two preconstructed Spiritforged Champion decks. Fiora and Rumble are the Champion decks this time around, featuring a 56-card prebuilt decks focused on their respective mechanics. You’ll receive their Legend card, their corresponding Chosen Champion cards, their Signature Spells, three Battlefields, and a Spiritforged booster pack.
Still enjoying cracking Origins packs? If you’re able to find them in stock, there are a handful of different product to get your hands on before Spiritforged drops.
Myles Obenza is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Bluesky @mylesobenza.bsky.social.
