Last week, Valve added in a feature that lets you browse Steam via a multitude of different accessibility tags. This week, it’s making Steam itself more accessible! Or more specifically, Steam in Big Picture Mode, and on devices running SteamOS, i.e. the Steam Deck of Lenovo Legion Go S. Valve shared word of the new accessibility setting in a blog post, though for now these are just a part of a beta update, so not everyone will have them just yet.
Plus Team NL’s best shots.
Mario Kart World is the biggest Mario Kart to date. The map is huge, with Easter Eggs and little secrets hiding under bridges, atop towering buildings, and in the middle of sprawling oceans. Knockout Tour is the most chaotic concoction of multiplayer I’ve ever seen. And I’m still knee-deep in unlocking characters (darn, Kamek…).
And yet, here I am to talk about photo mode. Bloody photo mode, you’re probably thinking. A modern-day video game checkbox. Probably 60% of games have a photo mode nowadays, either at launch or patched in at a later date. Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are just a few Nintendo first-party games that have some way of taking expressive pics of your characters.
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Get ready to solve a mystery set in the Taisho era in Atlus’ supernatural action-RPG, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, which is available starting today on Xbox Series X|S.
Raidou Remastered marks the first time Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army can be played on modern consoles. This fan-favorite Shin Megami Tensei spin-off combines action-packed gameplay with detective drama – and, as a standalone story, it’s the perfect game for new and returning Raidou and Shin Megami Tensei fans.
Raidou Remastered is a faithful recreation of the iconic 2006 RPG, but with additional bells and whistles afforded by modern technology, such as an overhauled battle system, enhanced graphics and full VO in the main story. While it’s technically a remaster, you’ll find we have so much more in store than your traditional touch-ups. Want to learn more about all the enhancements and quality of life updates you’ll find in this next-level remaster? This is the place for you!
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army was a unique entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series not only because of its mystery-driven narrative, but because it is a fast-paced, action-RPG. I know, quite a departure from the original Shin Megami Tensei combat style. Raidou Remastered takes the original game’s distinctive real-time action combat and evolves it with features from the game’s sequel, King Abaddon, as well as a host of new combat elements unique to this game.
Character progression is the key to success in Raidou Remastered. You can learn two types of Summoner Skills from your weapons – Combat Skills and Sword Skills. These skills take effect automatically when equipped and will give you a host of abilities and buffs. These skills can provide brand new, powerful attacks, increase your stats, and more. The difference between a student and a master detective is one who mixes and matches skills based on enemy weaknesses.
Raidou Remastered shifts the battlefield from 2D fixed camera angles to a 3D arena where you can move, dodge, and jump, adding a whole new level of strategy to combat. You’ll also now have two allies to battle by your side, with over 120 different new and returning demons to choose from. Quick side note: demons will not only fight by your side, but also help you crack the case as you investigate, so make sure you utilize your demons out in the world to find clues, eavesdrop, and more. Additionally, to save you the time and effort, if you are overleveled for particular demon battles, you will auto-defeat your enemies. Talk about efficiency!
If you played the original, you’ll quickly notice that the character models and 3D environments have been enhanced quite a bit. These adjustments add new detail and vibrance to the already gorgeous artwork, while still retaining the spirit of the original game. You’ll also notice the game’s user interface has received some much-needed streamlining, allowing you to summon, strike and search with ease.
One of the most exciting evolutions from the original game is that Raidou Remastered has full voice acting! This key update adds to the game’s drama and intrigue, making it so you can better immerse yourself in the story and world of Raidou Kuzunoha. You can also switch between English and Japanese voice over at your leisure. We recommend trying both – each cast is incredible! The voice cast features some familiar names, so keep an ear out and see if you recognize anyone.
This is just the beginning of the improvements and updates you’ll find in Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army. There’s enhanced save game functionality, which gives you not only more save slots, but autosave and quick save abilities – phew! Raidou: Remastered also introduces five difficulty levels, including the most difficult “Detective Legend” mode, unlocked through New Game+. If you decide to take on the ultimate challenge and put your skills to the test with maximum difficulty, good luck! You will need it.
This is just a taste of a few of the upgrades and enhancements you can find in this next-level remaster. I don’t want to spoil all the surprises for you, so the only way to see for yourself is to pick up your controller and play!
To learn more about Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, you can visit the game’s official website, and follow the official Atlus West pages on Facebook, Instagram and X. Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is available now on Xbox.
SEGA
As a special pre-order bonus, receive the cosmetic Raidou Glasses. With these glasses that were popular in the Taisho Era, his charm will increase beyond what one can handle.
*The pre-order bonus will be given for purchases made before 00:00 local time, Thurs, June 19, 2025.
Undertake the case of the century in this must-play classic from ATLUS. The studio behind Shin Megami Tensei remasters “Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army” with revamped visuals, QOL updates, new VO, and an overhauled battle system!
Taisho 20, in the Capital—
A young heiress approaches the Narumi Detective Agency with a strange request…to kill her. Without any further explanation, the girl is kidnapped. Apprentice detective Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, who moonlights as a Devil Summoner assigned to protect the Capital, is on the case. Raidou investigates all across the city, which includes entering the Dark Realm—a dangerous juncture between the real world and the netherworld where demons abound.
Become Raidou Kuzunoha and work with your allied demons to unravel the mysteries that block your path. What was once a missing persons matter soon spirals into a conspiracy that will shake not only the Capital, but the entire nation.
KEY FEATURES
An Enhanced Yet Faithful Remaster:
The supernatural action RPG classic returns, now revamped with visual, audio, and combat enhancements for modern consoles while staying true to the original game’s style. A brand-new UI, full VO, expanded 3D environments, and more invites both veterans and newcomers alike to a nostalgic and thrilling gameplay experience.
A Supernatural Detective Mystery:
Channel your inner detective in a gripping, supernatural adventure with a charming cast of complex characters. Uncover the truth behind collusion swirling around the Capital with unexpected twists and turns ahead. Use both your mind and the might of your demons to leave no stone unturned.
A Fantastical Taisho Era Adventure:
Navigate the historic streets of a fantastical 1930s era in Tokyo or delve into the haunting Dark Realm where demons lie in wait. With over 120 demons to summon, choose your allies wisely to prevent humanity from being consumed by darkness.
The post Raidou Reborn: How Atlus’ Newest Detective RPG Is So Much More than a Remaster appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Nintendo has confirmed the age of Donkey Kong Bananza sidekick Pauline, sparking questions regarding the young character’s timeline and how Bananza’s story will tally with previous titles — such as Mario’s original arcade game, where DK was famously portrayed as the villain and Pauline was his abductee.
In a character profile found on Donkey Kong Bananza’s Japanese website, Nintendo states that Pauline is a “13-year-old girl who loves to sing. She used to live above ground, but for some reason she was brought to the underground world and transformed into a rock.”
Yesterday’s reveal of this younger Pauline, during the Donkey Kong Bananza Nintendo Direct, strongly suggested she was the same music-loving version of the character seen in Nintendo Switch platformer Super Mario Odyssey, where a grown-up Pauline serves as both the mayor of New Donk City and the lead singer of a popular band.
Nintendo fans have been quick to highlight what this might mean for Pauline’s overall timeline — and the fact that DK and Pauline’s friendly team-up in Bananza is a very different vibe to the pair’s usual relationship of kidnapper and victim. Does something happen to DK, turning him evil? Or have we been getting Pauline and DK’s friendship wrong all these years?
Donkey Kong Bananza sees the two characters working together to help the teenage Pauline get back to the surface, in order to pursue her dream of becoming a world famous singer. Pauline’s appearance as a singer in Odyssey suggests that she does indeed make it.
But while Bananza looks story-wise to be an Odyssey prequel, the exact timeline here is somewhat unclear. Nintendo has never stated Pauline’s age in Odyssey, or in any of her other appearances, so it’s unknown how long before those events it is that Bananza takes place.
But by linking the character across these games through Pauline’s musical ambitions, it also highlights the fact that Odyssey’s Pauline does address her kidnapping by DK — something she describes as “traumatic.”
Pauline has been kidnapped by DK multiple times over the years. Most notably, she is saved from DK’s clutches in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, but she is then abducted again in various entries within the Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 series.
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Pauline is snatched by Donkey Kong after the she dares to pick a gift from Mario instead of DK. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, Pauline is kidnapped once more by an enraged DK, upset that he’s missed out on a theme park opening.
Later entries in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series paint Pauline’s interactions with DK in a kinder light, however, such as in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, where the two team up to host a mini-game, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, where the pair plan Mario a surprise party.
Does something happen to sour DK and Pauline’s relationship at the end of Donkey Kong Bananza, turning the ape from an ally to kidnapper? Will we see the events of the original Donkey Kong arcade game take place within Bananza, perhaps, with Mario coming in to save the day? Or have we been getting it wrong all these years?
Some fans have suggested that Bananza will turn the Mario universe on its head by revealing that DK and Pauline are in fact friends — and that Mario has been the villain all along, effectively stealing Pauline back when she’s just been hanging out with her pal.
Hopefully all will be revealed when Donkey Kong Bananza arrives as Nintendo’s next major Switch 2 launch on July 17, 2025.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Dune: Awakening developers Funcom have revealed in a post-launch Reddit AMA that they’re currently aiming to release a fresh update full of quality of life-related tweaks in early July, as well as adding “new contracts across the board” down the line.
However, if you’re after big new stuff to do, you’ll have to wait for the major updates that’ll be releasing alongside the game’s DLCs.
Yesterday, the new patch 1.01.3 went live for Elden Ring Nightreign. It was a seemingly small patch, centered on bugs and quality-of-life tune-ups. It seemed like most players saw it and went about their day. But then, gradually, some started to notice a new option in their Expeditions menu.
A new Gaping Jaw undertaking, dubbed the “Everdark Sovereign,” was appearing on the Expeditions menu. Soon it became clear that FromSoftware had delivered on its promise to add enhanced bosses to Elden Ring Nightreign this month, and it did so without warning, letting players potentially stumble into the new venture. Watching the community piece this together, in the late hours of the night, was truly fantastic.
As confirmed this morning on Bandai Namco’s site, enhanced versions of current Nightlords—duibbed Everdark Sovereigns—will start appearing in Elden Ring Nightreign over the coming weeks. Each week, a new Sovereign will arrive in Limveld, with Gaping Jaw as the current Sovereign and both Sentient Pest and Darkdrift Knight due to get new, more challenging versions as well.
Everdark Sovereigns are only available while online, and each Sovereign will hang around for a week, then leave and get replaced by another one. You have to have beaten the base, original form of the Nightlord to challenge its Everdark Sovereign form.
Early reports from players indicate that this souped-up Gaping Jaw is, truly, enhanced. Videos of the fights show the empowered Adel zipping aruond the field, creating massive storms, and generally wiping the floor with entire trios of players in short order.
While you can tackle the Everdark Sovereign solo, or with friends and/or strangers, it seems like the new fight is truly adding some challenge, even for those who have been putting a lot of hours into Elden Ring Nightreign. To me, it’s reminiscent of Monster Hunter’s upgraded fights that get added post-launch, like Tempered versions of monsters, that seem meant to add extra challenge as players’ knowledge and power rises exponentially over time.
What’s the reward for felling an Everdark Sovereign? Well, a brand-new shop located in the hub area will let you spend all the Sovereign Sigils you’ll earn from a clear, and even this shop is a pretty exciting update. Alongside offering special Relics and other items, the Sigils allow playes to change the Roundtable Hold’s lighting, acquire the currently available skins, and set shifting earth statuses. The latter has been a major request from the community, and it’s great to see it addressed.
So while the patch notes for 1.01.3 were fairly unassuming at first, players now seem to feel like this is a huge update. The roll-out of enhanced bosses has already brought some new life and challenge back to Nightreign, and the promise of more to come is enticing, as are the new short-term pursuits to chase after.
Bandai Namco is also teasing this as the start of something: “This is only the beginning of the Everdark Sovereign cycle. As the power of the Night ebbs and wanes, the Sovereigns will soon return to the abyss they came from.” We already know Elden Ring Nightreign is due to get full updates down the road, so if this is an early indication of what we can expect, the long-term prospects for FromSoft’s new co-op survival action game seem good.
We’ve got plenty of Nightreign tips and tricks to help you take down all the eight Nightlord Bosses, and if you’re wondering how to unlock the two locked Nightfarer Classes, check out How to Unlock the Revenant and How to Unlock the Duchess, plus How to Change Characters.
Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.
I swear I don’t actually have anything against the Nintendo Switch 2, other than its suspect attempt at Zoom Meetings But Games and some slight jealousy that it got DLSS support before a PC handheld did. Even so, I do feel obliged to warn Steam Deck owners – and, in fact, anyone who has any current portable PC – away from microSD Express cards, support for which is one of the Switch 2’s key storage upgrades.
We’re a little less than a month away from the release of Donkey Kong Bananza, and now it’s getting an adorable amiibo to release alongside it. The brand new amiibo for the game (which you can see here at Best Buy) features Donkey Kong and Pauline, who was recently confirmed to be your trusty sidekick in the game. She’s catching a ride on DK’s back, holding on to his necktie.
This new amiibo is currently listed for $29.99 and is set to release on July 17, which is the same day as Donkey Kong Bananza. If you want the full Donkey Kong setup for launch day, don’t miss out on picking up this amiibo at the link below.
In our first hands-on preview of Donkey Kong Bananza, IGN’s Logan Plant said, “on Switch 2, Nintendo is finally giving one of gaming’s biggest icons the love he deserves with a brand new, flagship, launch window 3D action-platformer, and if the first 30 minutes we spent with Donkey Kong Bananza are any indication, Mario’s original rival is looking poised to stand tall once again.” If you haven’t yet preordered the game, it’s worth checking out our Donkey Kong Bananza preorder guide to set yourself up with a copy ahead of its release.
If you’re already stocked up on Switch 2 games and are looking for some accessories to add to your Switch 2 setup instead, we’re here to help there, too. In our roundup of the best Nintendo Switch 2 deals, you can see some very nice discounts we’ve come across recently on a variety of items, from carrying cases to screen protectors and so much more. With Amazon Prime Day on the horizon as well, we’ll probably see some more Switch 2 accessory discounts popping up throughout the sale event. Keep your eyes peeled (get it?) when the sale kicks off on July 8.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Rematch, the game about kicking it in the goal from Sifu and Absolver devs Sloclap, have launched today, June 19th. The folks behind it have rung in that occasion by outlining a bunch of their future plans, as well as saying they’re very sorry you can’t currently show off your mouse and keyboard skills by nutmegging some fool who owns one of those ex-boxers.
Don’t worry, though, crossplay and a bunch of other stuff are in the works for future updates to the foot-to-ball thing Nic and James dug the beta of, and that currently sits fourth in Steam’s top sellers list.
That really is updating the world.
Just under a month ago, Level-5 revealed that it would be releasing free DLC for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which has been a huge success for the Japanese developer. The game has sold over 1 million copies across all platforms, and the Switch 2 version in particular is absolutely fantastic.
Now, the developer has shared more details about that upcoming free DLC, Update the World, and it really is updating the world, as Ginormosia will be transforming into a base for a roguelike, open world adventure (thanks, Gematsu!). A date hasn’t been announced, but Level-5 is aiming to bring it to fans “as soon as possible.”
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