Bandai Namco will finally roll up another mainline Katamari game with Once Upon a Katamari when it launches for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S on its October 24, 2025, release date.

News about the first fresh Katamari game in 14 years arrived during today’s July 2025 Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase. It came with a full-on gameplay trailer, below, revealing the return of The King of All Cosmos and plenty of that classic Katamari, ball-rolling gameplay fans have come to love the series for. You can see it all — and catch some new music — in the Once Upon a Katamari gameplay trailer below.

As if there was ever any concern, players can expect Once Upon a Katamari to let them roll up the universe yet again when it launches this fall. It’ll be more than a carbon copy of the games it follows, though, with Bandai Namco announcing a planet-sized amount of new features to enjoy.

Included in the lineup of additions of customization options for the Prince and 68 available Cousins, as well as multiplayer support for up to four players. It’s chaos that will be backed by an all-new soundtrack to listen to as players roll throughout history and rebuild the sky.

“The King of All Cosmos and his family accidentally destroyed the Earth, the moon, and countless stars floating in the universe,” an official description from Nintendo says. “Travel through the Jurassic Period, Ice Age, historic Japan, and other eras to roll up objects with your trusty katamari and rebuild the starry sky. With all-new stages, a new soundtrack, character customization, a new four-player multiplayer mode that lets players compete online or battle CPU rivals offline and more, the quirky Katamari Damacy series returns when Once Upon A Katamari launches on Nintendo Switch October 24.”

Once Upon a Katamari on Switch will be up for pre-order through the Nintendo eShop later today. Those with save data from Katamari Damacy REROLL or We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie will also be able to unlock a special playable Young King at launch. A proper Nintendo Switch 2 version has yet to be announced.

In the meantime, you can check out everything announced during today’s July 2025 Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

At Gen Con 2025, Disney Lorcana celebrated its two-year anniversary in a big way by revealing A Goofy Movie and Iconic Mickey and Minnie cards headed to the Fabled expansion, details on Whispers in the Well, Winterspell, and Toy Story cards, and even a brand-new set of Disney Lorcana puzzles.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the ever-expanding world of Disney Lorcana, and you can check out all the latest news and cards below!

Fabled’s Iconic Mickey and Minnie Cards Are the Stars of This Expansion Alongside A Goofy Movie

Fabled is set to be released at local card shops on August 25 and everywhere else on September 5, and one of the biggest new additions it brings to Disney Lorcana is Iconic cards. These are even rarer than Enchanted and feature full alternate artwork, unique foil pattern, and foil hot-stamped text and stats. Kicking off this new rarity will be Minnie Mouse – Sweetheart Princess and Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Prince.

These cards not only look great, but they also complete a picture when placed together. Furthermore, Minnie’s Royal Favor adds Support to any Mickey Mouse cards, meaning their love for each other will also help you in-game!

Another new rarity being added with Fabled will be Epic, which are rarer than Legendary but more common than Enchanted, and one of these new cards will be A Goofy Movie’s Stand Out. A Goofy Movie’s arrival in Lorcana was long-requested, and Stand Out will celebrate this moment alongside Powerline – World’s Greatest Rock Star and I2I.

Dumbo is also getting some love in the new Fabled set, as Dumbo – The Flying Elephant, and Timothy T. Mouse – Flight Instructor will be just two of the card players that will be able to seek out.

There will also be a handful of promo cards to look out for in Fabled, including Alice – Accidentally Adrift (Buy a Box Promo), Cursed Merfolk – Usula’s Handiwork (Weekly Play Promo), Sisu – Daring Visitor (Weekly Play Promo), Strength of Raging Fire (Weekly Play Promo), and The Queen – Conceited Ruler (Pre-Release Promo).

Lastly, Maleficent in her dragon form will be featured as Fabled’s Set Championship, meaning there will be cards and play mats available to those who can win at tournaments held throughout the year.

The Collection Starter Set and Elsa Gift Box Are Made for Collectors and Newcomers

For those looking for even more ways to celebrate their love of Disney Lorcana or jump in for the first time, the Collection Starter Set and Elsa Gift Box will be worth a look when they launch on October 3, 2025.

The Collection Starter Set will cost $29.99 and will include a 4-pocket card portfolio featuring Mickey Mouse – Brave Little Tailor artwork, which had previously only been used at Disney Lorcana Challenge. There will also be a “Glimmer Foil” Tinker Bell – Giant Fairy promo card, four Fabled booster packs, and a Collector’s Guide.

The Elsa Gift Box, on the other hand, will also cost $29.99, and it will come with five Booster packs, one “Glimmer Foil” Elsa – The Fifth Spirit promo card, one storage box, and three punch-out card dividers.

Whispers in the Well Will Feature Zootopia’s Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde

Whispers in the Well is the next set after Fabled and will have its pre-release on November 7 and official release on November 14. For Disney Lorcana lore hunters, this set will introduce Whispers, which are partially-formed Glimmers that we’ll encounter in the “depths of the Great illuminary.” To find these Whispers, certain detective Glimmers like Mickey Mouse, Judy Hopps, and Nick Wilde will need to lend their expertise to the cause.

We were given a look at a few of the Zootopia cards that will be part of Whispers in the Well, including Judy Hopps – Uncovering Clues, Nick WIlde – Persistent Investigator, and Putting It All Together. The Deck and Booster Pack art was also revealed, and they feature such characters as Daisy, Demona, Gaston, Simba, Megara, Judy Hopps, and Robin Hood.

Winterspell Promises ‘Flurries of Fun’ With Stitch, Angel, and More

In Q1 2026, Disney Lorcana will be releasing Winterspell, a new expansion that promises “Flurries of Fun.” We don’t know too much about this set yet, but the art you can see above features Stitch and Angel, and they appear to be in a tropical setting that is covered in snow!

Toy Story to Arrive in Disney Lorcana in Q2 2026

As one final surprise, the team at Disney Lorcana revealed Toy Story characters will be joining the TCG in Q2 2026. The only info we have is from a piece of artwork that features both Woody and Buzz on a seemingly alien planet. More details will be shared in the future.

Disney Lorcana Puzzles From Ravensburger Feature Original Art from the TCG

Disney Lorcana is venturing into the world of puzzles as it will be presenting six 1,000-piece puzzles from Ravensburger – one for each Ink color, that will feature original art from the TCG and each will even come with a Disney Mickey Mouse – True Friend promo card. These puzzles will cost $29.99 each in the US and Canada and will be released on September 1, 2025.

You can check out the Amber, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire puzzles in the slideshow above, and there are still two – Amethyst and Steel – that have yet to be revealed. Furthermore, those last two will be exclusive to Disney in its stores and online.

For more in the world of Disney, check out our exclusive interview with Disneyland’s president for the park’s 70th anniversary, our thoughts on Walt Disney – A Magical Life, and the news about The Magic of Disney Animation headed to Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.

As PopCap announces a “definitive” new version of its beloved original Plants vs Zombies, the studio has reflected on the evolution of its garden tower defense franchise — and revealed why now is the right time for it to go back to the series’ PC and console roots, after a pair of sequels focused on smartphones.

Speaking to IGN, PopCap studio general manager Nick Reinhart said the freshly-announced Plants vs Zombies: Replanted was an opportunity to “reestablish” what fans loved about the series, while making it accessible on modern consoles, with polished-up 4K graphics.

Plants vs Zombies: Replanted will arrive on October 23, 2025 priced at $19.99, for PC (via EA app, Epic Games Store and Steam) and on consoles for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

New features include local co-op and PVP options, two additional game modes (a roguelike permadeath offering named Rest in Peace, and Cloudy Day mode, which ups the difficulty by limiting sunlight), plus an art gallery showing previously-unreleased concepts.

Describing the package as “the definitive PvZ remaster,” executive producer Jake Neri said it was PopCap’s way to “preserve the magic of the original while also giving it a freshness that allows it to live for another 20-odd years.”

“We’ve heard for quite a while now that that people would love a remaster of this game,” Neri continued, when asked why Replanted was surfacing now. “Timing is important.”

“PopCap just celebrated [PvZ’s] Sweet 16, which may seem like a little bit of a strange one but, at PopCap, we are strange,” added Reinhart. “It certainly has been swirling around sort of for a little bit, as we’ve been talking about getting things pulled together.”

Replanted’s announcement comes at an interesting time for the Plants vs Zombies franchise, following at least six years of work by PopCap testing various versions of Plants vs Zombies 3 on smartphones. Finally released worldwide in January 2024, PvZ 3 was then taken offline in October 2024 for another “major overhaul” — and, nearly a year later, it is still to resurface.

“My official answer here is that I don’t have anything to say about PvZ 3 at the moment,” Reinhart said when asked for an update on the MIA threequel’s status. For 2025, at least, the franchise’s focus appears to be Replanted — though there are “no plans” for Replanted to also launch on smartphones, something that would leave the runway clear for PvZ to return there at some point.

Can I reminisce for a second, gang? Is that cool? Almost four years ago, I reviewed Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles for IGN. It was my first IGN review. Now, with exactly 25 more IGN reviews under my belt, I’m back to review its sequel. Time flies, and a lot has changed in the last four years, including within this series. The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is a bigger, better version of its predecessor that adds new ways to play while maintaining what worked and tweaking what didn’t, even if it’s not exactly out here discovering new forms of demon slaying.

Let’s start from the beginning. If you’re unfamiliar with Demon Slayer from its manga or anime, it follows Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado after demons murder their family and transform Nezuko into a demon herself. Determined to avenge their family, the two set out to slay demons and figure out a way to make Nezuko human again. The original Hinokami Chronicles went through the end of the Mugen Train Arc, and The Hinokami Chronicles 2 picks up from there. There’s some effort to play catch up if you missed the original game, with a bit of narration from Tanjiro in the Story Mode explaining what’s going on and who characters like Inosuke and Zenitsu are, but for the most part The Hinokami Chronicles 2 kind of expects you to have a familiarity with what’s going on. This is a sequel, after all.

If you don’t, you can hop into Path of the Demon Slayer, which allows you to replay a truncated version of the original story. And when I say “truncated,” I mean it, as it’s comprised of just six one-on-one fights. That’s it. It was still a useful way for me to refresh on the story so far, but none of the big, flashy fights against the massive bosses from the original game are here, and even some of the smaller fights are missing. Worse, the ones that are here are based on the playable, versus mode versions of the bosses you fought, which means they’re essentially just glorified Vs CPU matches. Don’t get me wrong; I am grateful The Path of the Demon Slayer is here at all, but it feels like there should have been more to it. As it is, you can knock the whole thing out in maybe half an hour.

For most folks, I imagine the appeal will be Story Mode, which allows you to play through the Entertainment District, Swordsmith Village, and Hashira Training Arcs. The story compelled me less than last time, though I remained interested even if it is a little goofy. Characters (especially the usually-cowardly-but-brave-when-it-counts Zenitsu) yell a lot, but it’s usually pretty funny in context, and Tanjiro is a goody-goody’s goody-goody, but at least his heart’s in the right place. This is a CyberConnect2 joint, so everything is absolutely beautifully animated and just about every sequence looks remarkable. There are a lot of cutscenes in the Story Mode, so maybe make some popcorn, but things are generally well-presented. Do characters talk too much and have too much internal monologue about how they can’t believe the other guy is doing some crazy stuff? Yup. Lots of yelling? Yup. Still fairly interesting anyway? Yup. It’s an anime game, y’all. Just, you know… don’t take a shot every time someone yells about something. You’ll be dead before the Entertainment District Arc is over.

Between cutscenes, you’ll walk around and explore the world, talk to other characters, find items, and hunt down demons or clues to their whereabouts using Tanjiro’s incredible nose, Zenitsu’s super hearing, Inosuke’s spatial awareness, and so on. All of these essentially boil down to the Demon Slayer version of Detective Vision. Turn it on, follow the path, profit. As you explore, you’ll also be able to collect Memory Fragments, which are short movies that combine voiceovers and stills from the anime series, and Kimetsu Points, which can be used to unlock rewards like characters, system voices, alternate costumes, quotes, stamps, various art and decorations to customize your profile, and songs from the soundtrack, a lot of which you’ll also find scattered around the environments. I’m particularly fond of finding some momento that causes characters to pause and remember times past; it makes the world feel more lived in, and is a good reminder of how we got here.

I complained about all the walking around in my review of the original game, but I’m feeling it a bit more here for three reasons: first, the areas are smaller and more “big area where you run around and find stuff” rather than “travel this exceptionally linear path.” Secondly, you can run this time around, at least when you’re outside. Thank God, y’all. Thirdly, there’s side quests now, which break things up nicely, whether that means helping a shy servant confess his love to one of the women he serves or joining forces with a Hashira to take down a demon. These are fun, and they add variety. Plus, you usually get one of the aforementioned rewards. There’s even some amusing minigames, like Demon Slayer’s version of Guitar Hero, too!

When you’re not walking around, you’ll be throwing down with one demon or another. Like the first game, the fights are pretty sick, whether you’re fighting another member of the cast or engaging in one of the more elaborate fights against characters you’d never see in a versus match, like a giant demon fishman or a demon made of sashes or a 3 on 1 brawl. Even ones that you’ll fight multiple times, like Daki and Gyutaro, are compelling because you’ll use different characters each time, or fight under unique conditions, like having one of your characters be poisoned or using an alternate version than you’re used to. The boss fights are flashy and engaging throughout The Hinokami Chronicles 2, and easily the highlight of the story mode.

Locking Swords with Demons

When it comes to the actual battle system, this sequel doesn’t make a ton of changes. Attacks are on one button and specials another. You can vary things up by pushing the stick in a direction while pressing one of those buttons to either perform different specials or one of three unique combos: one that launches, one that keeps foes on the ground, and one that knocks them down.

Each fighter can also throw, dash (particularly useful to follow up a launcher for an air combo), perform an Ultimate Art, use heavy attacks, and activate two special power ups: Boost and Surge. Boost powers up your attacks and adds an extra combo route, while Surge gives your character unlimited meter for a short time. The controls are simple, but there’s a lot of depth to this combat if you’re into that, and I enjoyed learning how to build combos with each character, figuring out advanced techniques like Quick Dodge so I could keep my attacks from becoming predictable and keep my combo gauge going a bit longer, and identifying the best way to parry certain characters.

I’ll also sing the praises of the few changes CyberConnect 2 has implemented. First, heavy attacks are no longer bound to forward plus the attack button. Instead, you’ll hold guard and press attack. No more accidental regular attacks when you want a heavy strike to lay on the hurt. Secondly, while the combo gauge is still here (and still, I think, a smart addition for a game like this), I haven’t noticed characters falling out of combos if you run out of gauge during multihit attacks like the original game. These are both very, very good changes.

While you’ll sometimes fight solo in Story Mode, The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is meant to be a tag game. In two-on-two battles, you can call in your tag partner for an assist that utilizes one of their special moves for half of your assist gauge, or spend all of it to have them save you from a mid-combo beatdown. You can also fully swap between your characters provided you have the gauge for it, and since health is shared between them, you’ll never have to fly solo, even when things are looking bad for the home team. In a new twist, some characters are so strong they don’t get assists at all, like Nezuko in her Advanced Demon Form, while others, like Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma, come as a pre-built tag team. Certain teams even have unique Dual Ultimate Arts, which incentivizes you to pair characters like Tanjiro and Nezuko, who already have a bond in The Lore.

As before, the real strength of this system is movement and positioning. Finding the sweet spot between being far enough away from an attack to dodge it and close enough to punish when you do is as compelling as landing that huge combo, especially when you cash out with a particularly flashy Ultimate Art.

The best Story Mode bosses force you to learn their patterns, pick your spots, and execute when you find your moment. Last time, I complained that bosses could knock you back at will, even when you’re laying the smacketh down, and that their Boost Modes are so powerful that you’ll spend a lot of time playing defense once they activate them. Both are still true, and while they can be annoying, it doesn’t feel quite as bad this time. Maybe I’m used to it, or maybe the dance feels more natural. For whatever reason, I’m less bothered. And when you finish that fight and transition into a flashy quick-time event called the Final Clash to cap off the brawl? Still cinema. And like last time, it’s nice that you can replay the encounters without doing the map sections that accompany them once you’ve beaten them.

But Wait, There’s More!

Once you’re done with the Story Mode, you still have some options as a solo player. The most interesting one is probably Hashira Training, a roguelike where you guide your team down a board, choosing fights with unique win conditions (switch a character, win with X amount of health remaining, and so on) or rewards and healing items. Your health won’t regenerate between fights unless you choose to head to a square that offers it, but you’ll get boosts that can buff you up for the next fight. Your goal? Make it to the Hashira you’re training with, and take them down. It’s a simple mode, but an engaging one, and just like Story Mode, it’s a good way to earn new goodies for the Archive and up your Character Mastery, which… also earns you new stuff for the Archive. There’s a ton of stuff to unlock here, so if that’s your bag, The Hinokami Chronicles 2 has the juice to keep you here for the long haul.

If there’s one thing I don’t like about Story Mode and Hashira Training, it’s the addition of gear. Why does everything need to be an RPG? I’ll never know, but here we are. You can equip up to three pieces of gear in three slots. Each has its own slot requirement and does different things, like boost your attack or recover your health if certain conditions are met in combat. It’s… fine, I guess? I just don’t see the point and wish it wasn’t here, because it’s just another menu I have to mess with when I want to be fighting in my fighting game.

Thankfully, you can turn gear off in versus mode, though it’s there if you want it. As expected, there is online and local versus, as well as a practice mode to help you get to grips with how every character works and an endurance mode for testing your skills against enemy after relentless enemy. The original Hinokami Chronicles was hamstrung by its relatively small roster – only 18 characters at launch, several of which were just Academy versions of characters you already had, with jokey Ultimate Arts. The Hinokami Chronicles 2 has more than 40, greatly upping the multiplayer value and offering far more variety. It’s a huge win. I wasn’t able to test out the online play pre-release this time, but given that I had stable matches cross-country in the original, I’m not overly concerned, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is just as compelling.

My only real complaint regarding modes is the lack of a decent tutorial. Yeah, there’s text-based tips and tricks, but what’s here in the Story Mode is sparse and doesn’t hit on the more advanced stuff. On some level, I get it. This is a sequel. You’re kind of expected to know how things work. But when the text-based tutorials tell me what parrying is without telling me how to do it, that’s kind of an issue, right? Good teaching tools are a must in a fighting game, even an arena fighter, and The Hinokami Chronicles 2 doesn’t really have any. It’s a shame.