Dragon Age star Alix Wilton Regan has given her personal response to the backlash faced by last year’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and blamed the “mixed reactions” on people who “wanted to see the game fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail.”
The actor, who plays the Female Inquisitor in both Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, told IGN that she was “absolutely devastated” to see BioWare’s latest game fail to find a larger audience, despite mostly positive review scores from critics.
Speaking during a new interview discussing her many iconic video game characters to date — as well as her role in Microsoft’s upcoming Perfect Dark reboot — Wilton Regan said she had loved her time as BioWare’s Inquisitor, though did not believe the character would now return.
“I feel absolutely devastated for BioWare as a studio that they got such mixed reactions to the game,” Wilton Regan said of the response to The Veilguard. “I personally thought it was a really strong game. I thought it was just BioWare being more BioWare.
“I also think a lot of people kind of wanted to see it fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail, either because they’re just really bad people on the internet — of which there are unfortunately many, as we have discovered.”
At launch, The Veilguard was review-bombed online. Criticism of the game being “woke” centred on its inclusion of a non-binary companion character, and the ability for the player to choose to be transgender. On Steam, Dragon Age: The Veilguard now sits with a ‘Mixed’ player respose, with user-defined tags for the game describing it under “LGBTQ+” and “politics” labels.
“People were attacking the game before it was released,” Wilton Regan continued. “It’s ridiculous. How can you judge a game, a book, a film, a TV show before it’s actually released? You can’t. It’s an idiotic stance to take.”
“I only ever want to see the folks from BioWare thrive, because I adore them,” Wilton Regan concluded. “And whatever they go on to do next I have no doubt their talents will be richly rewarded. We’re really lucky we’ll get more gold from them in the future.”
A slimmed-down BioWare is now working on Mass Effect 5, which currently does not have a release date.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Nintendo has been revealing all sorts of details about Mario Kart World each week in the leadup to the Switch 2 launch and we’ve now got even more footage.
First up is a glimpse of the game’s official title screen which features the driver (in this case, Mario) zipping about the world of the new game. It seems you’ll be able to jump straight into the action from this start screen and roam about the new open world by simply pressing the L and R buttons.
The development team behind Atelier Yumia have been working to improve the overall experience and it’s now rolled out its second major free update for the game.
Warner Bros. has confirmed what Mortal Kombat 1 fans feared after the recent launch of the Definitive Edition: no new DLC characters or story chapters will be released for the game.
Mortal Kombat 1 has sold 5 million copies, with the franchise now up to 100 million. Mortal Kombat 11 became the best-selling game in the franchise by passing Mortal Kombat X’s nearly 11 million units sold worldwide soon after launch. By 2022, Mortal Kombat 11 had sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Clearly, Mortal Kombat 1 has underperformed compared to previous games in the series.
In a tweet on the official Mortal Kombat social media account, Warner Bros. acknowledged the disappointment the news will cause players, “but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can.”
Warner Bros. failed to say what this new project is, but current speculation points to Injustice 3, a continuation of NetherRealm’s DC fighting game series.
Here’s the statement in full:
We are hearing players’ requests for continued game support of Mortal Kombat 1, and, while we will continue to support Mortal Kombat 1 through balance adjustments and fixes, there will not be additional DLC characters or story chapters released from this point on.
We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can.
March 2025’s release of the T-1000 guest character, which came a year-and-a-half after the release of Mortal Kombat 1 itself, now goes down as the game’s final major content drop. For context, in July 2021, NetherRealm announced it had started work on its next project (Mortal Kombat 1) and, as a result, there would be no further DLC for Mortal Kombat 11. That announcement came two years and three months after the release of the game. Today’s announcement comes one year and eight months after the release of Mortal Kombat 1.
Players are already bringing up prior comments from NetherRealm development chief Ed Boon, who had promised fans years of support. Indeed, many are now pointing to a September 2024 tweet from Boon, who at the time moved to reassure fans already concerned that the studio had moved onto its next game by saying: “NetherRealm is still fully committed to supporting Mortal Kombat 1 for a long time to come.”
What now for Mortal Kombat? Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated that it still believes the gory fighting game franchise has a future. In November, CEO David Zaslav said that on the games side of things, the company plans to double down on just four titles, one of which was Mortal Kombat. Movie adaptation Mortal Kombat 2 is due out later this year.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Having trouble deciding who to romance in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma? Well fear not, as Marvelous has a solution for you — timeline and world hopping (thanks Siliconera!).
No, we’re not joking; the official Rune Factory PR account announced that you can date and marry multiple different characters in the upcoming Rune Factory game by using the “Technique to Travel Between Worlds”. The mechanic doesn’t have a name in English just yet.
Hey, everybody! Sid, Brett, and I are back this week to discuss the latest news and what games currently have us locked in. This episode also includes interviews with Arrowhead Game Studios Production Director Alex Bolle and Design Director Niklas Malmborg.
Stuff We Talked About
Next week’s release highlights:
To a T | PS5
F1 25 | PS5, PS4
Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends | PS5, PS4
Elden Ring Nightreign | PS5, PS4
Hypercharge: Unboxed | PS5, PS4
Helldivers 2 — Super Earth is under attack and learn how you can defend it
Mukti — Gameplay reveal of the upcoming narrative title from Sony India Hero project
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — See the new maps and modes coming to season 4 May 29
Zenless Zone Zero — Season 2 launches June 6 with new features and anniversary rewards
The Cast
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Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE
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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.]
Hot off the heels of Palia, a great life sim that just consumed dozens of hours of my life, I actually can’t believe I’ve been sucked into yet another one only a few days later. With its witty writing and seemingly endless supply of charm, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has already stolen plenty of mine. The characters and story so far are both wonderfully goofy and much more substantial than I’m used to seeing in this genre, the RPG-like Life system of leveling up various jobs is really easy to get lost in, and it seems to have nailed the balance between day-in-the-life cozy activities and more action-packed exploration to the point where it’s really hard to predict what might happen next. I’m still pretty early on in what’s starting to look like quite a lengthy adventure, but I’m already head over heels for this delightfully light-hearted romp filled with talking birds and time-traveling dragons. There go my weekend plans.
Fantasy Life i is an interesting hodgepodge of chill game mechanics lovingly arranged into one killer mixtape that’s repeatedly surprised me thus far. One moment I’ll be mining for ore with a pickaxe to craft an iron ingot and think, “ah, okay. I get what this game is” – only to find myself walking through a time vortex moments later that leads to a prolonged open-world trek filled with combat against brightly colored monsters. Though that can be a little jarring at first, after a few hours I started to appreciate the way it keeps things fresh by enticing you to jump between its various attractions.
If I’m ever feeling a bit bored by helping villagers with their random requests, I can go run around a desert on the back of a camel in search of hidden treasure chests and fire-breathing lizards for a bit, or get myself chewed out by an entitled mimic. The thing that brings these disparate activities together is that they all have a low-impact vibe to them, one where I never felt the need to lean forward in my chair or worry about min-maxing my character’s loadout. It’s part life sim, part action-adventure RPG, all unified by its universally mellow tone.
I’m especially surprised by how quickly I started to care about its cast of characters, too. That could be Edward, the adventure-seeking archaeologist, Trip, the talking bird who loves to sass humans, or Rem, the musically-inclined princess who seems to enjoy slumming it up with us common folk. The humorous dialogue and larger-than-life personalities have made me chuckle a lot more than I usually do from life sims, and I am quite interested to learn more about the time-skipping plot I’ve found myself in the middle of.
It’s impressive just how much this goofy life sim does.
It’s both surprising and impressive just how much this goofy life sim does, and how much of that is almost immediately super engaging. Of course, it’s totally possible that some of that charm will wear off as I become more familiar with its system and get further into the grind. It could be that Fantasy Life i just has an incredibly strong opening, but even if that does turn out to be the case, I’ve really been enjoying my time so far and am feeling pretty good at its chances of holding my attention.
I’m still early on in my adventure, and have yet to try out the multiplayer features (which include both online and local co-op for up to four people), get into the later stages with any of the job paths, or finish more than a few chapters in the story. After what will almost definitely be a sleepless weekend dominated by shanking wolves and helping a merchant bear heal his bee wounds, I’ll have much more to say – but for now I’ve gotta go help this cat with his personal problems.
Memorial Day weekend is here and the sales seem to be spilling out even for PC gamers. To be fair, these sales are typically a great time to find a reasonable discount on the latest gaming PCs, laptops, and everything else. While it’s not as dramatic as, say, Black Friday or Prime Day, there are still some proper savings to be had if you know where to look.
When the original Parks released in 2019, it quickly became a modern classic, thanks in large part to its gorgeous artwork celebrating the U.S. National Parks. See our review for details on that first edition. But Keymaster Games didn’t just slap a fresh coat of paint on the 2nd Edition and call it a day. Instead, it thoughtfully combined the base game with its expansions, streamlining the gameplay, updating the visuals, and introducing new features, all while preserving that cozy game feel.
The result is something that feels like both a sequel and a revision. Either way, the 2nd Edition of Parks is a great excuse to hit the trails, snap some photos, and fill your canteen all over again.
What’s in the Box
Like the original version, the second edition of Parks comes in a beautifully designed box packed with components that live up to its iconic design. Right on top, you’ll find a textured, high-quality rulebook that’s easy to follow and includes a QR code that links to a helpful video if you prefer to learn by watching.
While Parks is relatively straightforward to play, it includes a wide variety of components. Two log-shaped containers hold the game’s colorful wooden tokens, representing the resources you’ll collect while hiking the trail. Beneath those is a tri-fold game board with clearly marked spaces to guide you easily through setup. The game board has been completely redesigned and expanded, with an all-new permanent trail area, canteen tile drafting section, and more.
The real standout is the built-in storage tray at the bottom of the box, which is the best I’ve seen across the 60-plus board games I own. Everything has its place, from tokens and tiles to dice and cards, all packed efficiently to keep the game’s footprint compact, while making cleanup a breeze. The tray holds decks for the Parks, Gear, Passion, Ranger Teddy, and Volunteer Projects cards, along with solo reference cards, Season and Campsite tiles, Photo and Hiker tokens, Trail Site tiles, and more.
Each player gets a board featuring an empty backpack and water bottle, with clearly marked sections around the edges for organizing visited and reserved parks, purchased gear, and more. The Backpack holds up to 12 resources, while the water bottle has six spaces for Canteen tiles you can fill as you play.
One of the biggest updates in the 2nd Edition is the expanded card set, which now includes all 63 U.S. National Parks, up from 48 in the original. The cards feature all-new artwork and clean iconography that better matches the game’s updated, more colorful design. While some fans may miss the original illustrations from the Fifty-Nine Parks print series, the new art feels more cohesive and fits well with the rest of the game’s style. Each card includes the park’s name, founding date, and a short blurb about what makes it unique.
Rules and How It Plays
Gameplay in the second edition of Parks is a streamlined take on the original, incorporating elements from both expansions. The goal is simple: score the most points by hiking the trail, visiting parks, snapping photos, and completing optional objectives.
To set up, each player takes a pair of hikers and the matching player board. They also receive a random Canteen token, placed on their board, and a Campfire token flipped to its lit side if playing with more than three players. Each player is then dealt two Passion cards and chooses one to keep, discarding the other. Lastly, the First Hiker token is given to the designated starting player.
Gameplay in the second edition of Parks is a streamlined take on the original, incorporating elements from both expansions.
Passion cards provide small thematic goals to chase during the game, such as visiting parks with specific icons, using Wildlife tokens to take photos, or buying Gear from the item shop. Once completed, you can flip the card to choose one of two rewards: an ongoing effect that lasts the rest of the game, or an endgame bonus that adds extra points to your final score. Some Passions are easier to complete than others, and I usually leaned toward the endgame bonuses as those extra points were often the difference between winning and losing.
Each round in Parks takes place during one of three seasons: spring, summer, or fall. All three seasons are drawn randomly at the start of the game and each offers a unique bonus, such as rewarding players for collecting the most of a specific resource or visiting parks with certain icons. While spring and summer don’t grant any extra points, the fall season awards three bonus points to the winner, making it especially appealing. Players can choose to ignore these objectives, but they offer useful incentives if they align with your goals.
On their turn, players move one of their two hikers forward along the trail, collecting resources or performing the action on the Trail Site tile above the space they land on. Since you can only move forward toward Trail’s End, careful planning is key. Trail Site tiles can offer specific resources like sun, water, forest, and mountain; let you buy Gear from the item shop; allow you either to take a photo by exchanging any resource or add a token to your Canteen; roll the Trail Die for a random bonus; or trade any resource for a Wildlife token (which, fittingly, acts as a wild resource token). Every tile is shuffled each season to keep things fresh and unpredictable, except the Parks space, which is permanently located in the middle of the trail.
Landing on the Parks space lets you either reserve a park or visit one by paying its resource cost. If you have enough resources, you can even visit multiple parks on the same turn, making this space crucial for scoring points. Because of that, it’s often the most hotly-contested spot on the board. Thankfully, there’s no limit to how many parks you can reserve, and no penalty for not visiting them before the game ends. However, since you can’t reserve and visit in the same action, each choice on this space carries real weight.
Parks is ultimately a game about opportunity cost. Every move asks the question: What am I giving up by going here? Many Trail Sites offer one-time bonus resources, so players are racing to grab what they can before others beat them to it. Since each Trail Site is unique each season, and you can’t share a space with another player (including yourself) unless you use a lit campfire, every decision matters. You might skip ahead to grab a key resource or reach a specific site, but doing so means sacrificing everything you passed along the way, with no chance to go back until the following season.
Like many worker placement games, the real strategy in Parks comes from using both of your hikers in tandem to block opponents from collecting key resources or taking valuable actions. In higher player count games, the trail can get crowded fast, so refreshing your campfire to share spaces becomes essential. In lower player count games, there’s more room to breathe, allowing you to slow down and hit more spots along the trail. When a player reaches the Trail’s End, they choose one of three actions: take the Parks action, pay any resource to take a photo, or buy Gear. The first hiker to arrive at each space also gets a one-time bonus, adding an incentive to rush the trail. This constant push and pull between slowing down to gather resources and racing ahead for rewards is the real special sauce that makes Parks shine.
Parks is ultimately a game about opportunity cost. Every move asks the question: What am I giving up by going here?
Because your Backpack can only hold 12 resources, you need to manage your inventory carefully by spending resources when possible, or you risk having to discard valuable ones at the end of your turn. The Canteen, by contrast, offers flexible bonuses whenever you collect water. Instead of placing the water in your Backpack, you can slot it into a Canteen to gain a resource or perform an action, depending on what you’ve collected. Some tiles even grant powerful effects, like taking the important Parks action. Once used, Canteen bonuses remain unavailable until the next season, so timing matters. Overall, they’re a clever way to give players alternative paths to key actions and resources without relying solely on open trail spaces.
Another way to earn points on the trail is by taking photos. This is most commonly done by visiting a Trail Site or the Trail’s End space with a photo icon, where you can exchange any single resource to take a photo worth one point. The player with the most photos at the end of the game also earns bonus points, giving you a good reason to snap a few along the way. If you land on a space with the Shutterbug badge, you’ll claim the Shutterbug token, which lets you take a second photo each time you use the photo action, as long as you can pay for it. However, the token can be taken by other players, so make the most of it while it’s yours.
During your expedition, you’ll have chances to visit the Gear shop and purchase items to help you along the trail. Gear costs between one and three sun resources, depending on the effect. While Gear doesn’t directly earn you points, it offers light engine-building opportunities like gaining bonus resources at specific Trail Sites, filling your Canteen after certain actions, or refreshing your Campfire more often. That said, I found the Gear shop to be hit or miss, unless it directly benefits your overall gameplan. You’re usually better off saving your resources for visiting parks, since that’s where the real points are.
While Parks supports solo play and up to five players, I found it shines best with two or three players. However, the strategy feels much more cutthroat at two players (a cooperative board game, this is not). Regardless of player count, when only one player has hikers left on the trail, they must move both hikers to Trail’s End on their next turn. This rule keeps players from being too greedy with trying to hit every space along the way, as they risk being rushed and missing out on more valuable opportunities. In a two-player game, this is even more noticeable, since one player can jump to the end early and force the other to skip potential turns needed to catch up.
Once you have a few hikes under your belt, you can add optional modules to Parks to increase variety or raise the difficulty. The Camping mode introduces three tents to the trail, allowing you to choose from a pool of powerful bonuses. However, using a tent means you cannot collect resources or use the action at that Trail Site. Volunteer Projects add more challenge by introducing restrictions that players must follow, such as spending extra resources when visiting parks, limiting the number of Wildlife tokens you can hold, or only being allowed to visit parks you’ve already reserved.
Parks includes a full solo mode that pits you against Ranger Teddy, an automa made up of two sets of hikers that take actions by flipping cards to determine their movement. Your goal is to achieve the highest score possible, which adds plenty of replayability. While Ranger Teddy’s hikers don’t collect resources, purchase Gear, or visit parks directly, they discard those elements when landing on the corresponding spaces, effectively simulating the pressure of competing players. Because their movement is often unpredictable, you’ll need to stay on your toes in order to succeed. You can also add Ranger Teddy to multiplayer games to simulate more players on the trail and add some variety.
