Play Madden NFL 25 Early with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play

Charlie Fortescue, Director, Global Corporate Communications, EA

Dominate the field like a bona fide superstar early in EA Sports Madden NFL 25! Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members with EA Play can kick-off a 10-hour trial of the game today – ahead of the game’s launch – and get closer to NFL action than ever before (see Terms).

With early Madden NFL 25 access, members on Xbox Series X|S will experience the newest iteration of FieldSense and all-new Boom Tech – a dynamic physics-based tackling system that unlocks the reengineered Hit Stick and a new level of ball carrier control – allowing you to dominate on the field. The game’s completely revamped visuals and presentation on Xbox Series X|S, including two additional commentary teams, delivers new levels of NFL authenticity and immersion through every mode of play. Alongside new levels of controls, Madden NFL 25 on Xbox Series X|S also brings signature styles and new mechanics with ball carriers, catching and pre-play, and a focus on football fundamentals within blocking, playbooks and more.

EA Play members can also score monthly rewards on select titles, including monthly Ultimate Team Packs, 10% off purchases of Electronic Arts digital content including game downloads, Season Passes, Madden Points and more.

In addition to Madden NFL 25, here are even more member benefits available now with EA Play:

Apex Legends Comedy Gold Weapon Charm – Now to September 2
Battlefield 2042 KA-520 Super Hokum Skin: Palatine – Now to August 20
EA Sports FC 24 Clubs We are FC Right Hand Tattoo – Now to Aug 29
EA Sports FC 24 Volta “We are FC” White Square Glasses and Coins – Now to Aug 29
EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team Draft Token – Now to September 14
NHL 24 Steampunk Set – Now to September 12
NHL 24 WoC Coins – Now to September 12
NHL 24 WoC Battle Pass XP Modifier – Now to September 12
EA Sports F1 24 5000 XP Boost – Now to August 31
EA Sports College Football 25 Loyalist Ultimate Team August Pack – Now to August 31
Madden NFL 24 MUT August Pack – Now to August 31

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Game Pass PC members receive EA Play with their Game Pass membership where they can enjoy great player benefits like in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, trials of EA’s latest games such as EA Sports Madden NFL 25, EA Sports College Football 25, F1 24, and EA Sports WRC. In addition, members get access to a wide collection of EA’s best-loved series and top titles, including Madden NFL 24, EA Sports FC 24, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Visit the EA Play page for more details, and to stay up to date on the latest from EA Play, follow EA Play on, Instagram, or X. Please visit here for complete terms and conditions.

Madden NFL 25 Xbox Series X|S

Electronic Arts

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★★★★★

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Free Trial

Hit like you mean it with FieldSENSE

powered by BOOM Tech on Xbox Series X|S. Experience how the new physics-informed dynamic tackling system unlocks realistic collisions & new gameplay animations on both sides of the ball. With a reengineered Hit Stick, perfect hit indicator, a new Ball Carrier Balance System, and physics-driven dives, trucks and stiff arms, timing has never been more important as each interaction reflects true-to-life motion and physical outcomes. (BOOM Tech, FieldSENSE

, and features described here only available on Xbox Series X|S.)

FRANCHISE IMMERSION
Recharged Franchise mode provides a rebuilt NFL Draft experience featuring Roger Goodell, team and rookie records, new environments, personalized storylines, more ways to customize your NFL team and season, a fresh Super Bowl celebration experience, and Franchise Central with simplified league creation tools and more information at your fingertips so you can drive your Franchise to victory. (Franchise updates on Xbox Series X|S only)

LIVE UPDATES IN ULTIMATE TEAM & SUPERSTAR
New rewards, feature releases, themed programs, and the ability to customize your style and skills in Superstar bring refreshed experiences across Ultimate Team and live game modes. (Superstar and certain content described here on Xbox Series X|S only)

PLAYBOOK EXPANSION
Evolve your strategy with a brand new set of featured plays, from some of the game’s most inventive team playbooks. (Updated playbooks on Xbox Series X|S only)

TEAM BUILDER
Create your own NFL franchise using Team Builder, a web-based customization tool that allows you to design a team that perfectly matches your style. (Content usable in-game on Xbox Series X|S only)

PLAY LIKE A PRO
Live out your dreams of NFL stardom in Franchise Mode, Ultimate Team and more.

Team Builder content can be used in Franchise mode on Xbox Series X|S. Internet connection & EA account required. Applicable platform account may be required. Age restrictions may apply.

Boom Tech, FieldSENSE, Superstar mode, and certain updated features described here only available on Xbox Series X|S.

This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.

Conditions & restrictions apply. See www.ea.com/legal for details.

The post Play Madden NFL 25 Early with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Concord: Launch and the adventure ahead

With Concord’s launch next week on August 23, we wanted to take a moment to talk about the adventure that lies ahead. We see launch as just the beginning. The beginning of not only the vision we’ve set out for Concord, but also the beginning of how we support and grow the game with our players.

The base game is a foundation for us to build upon over time, through systems that will expand the universe, introduce new ways to play and master each character, give you hundreds of unique rewards to earn and unlock, and narratives to unfold week after week, alongside seasonal updates that will introduce new characters, new maps and worlds, new modes, new stories, new features, and more.*

As we look ahead to launch, here’s a glimpse of what’s to come in Concord:

Concord Season 1 launching this October

From the very beginning, we wanted Concord to be a complete experience, where all core content is available to you on day-one and moving forward—not gated behind paid expansions or a Battle Pass. We take your investment in the game seriously and want to ensure that we bring all players along for the journey.

Our first major content drop will arrive in October with the launch of Concord Season 1: The Tempest. Season 1 will mark the introduction of a brand new playable Freegunner, as well as a brand-new map, new Freegunner Variants, more earnable cosmetics and rewards, and a new season of weekly Cinematic Vignettes that will continue the story of the Northstar crew.

With season 1, we’ll also be introducing an in-game store for those looking to personalize their Freegunners further with additional customization items and to continue to support the game. These will supplement the hundreds of rewards earnable through progression and will be solely cosmetic, optional, and have no gameplay impact.

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We’re also hard at work on future seasons, beginning with Season 2 launching in January 2025 and more seasonal drops throughout year one of Concord. We can’t wait to fully unpack what we have in store for Season 1 ahead of its launch in October.

The continuous evolution of your crew

When we first formed Firewalk, we thought a lot about the type of game that we wanted to make and what we could add to the multiplayer FPS genre. We knew we had to focus on the fundamentals that can make an FPS game great: precise, responsive gunplay and fast, fluid mobility. Those qualities had to be the bedrock of everything.

However, we also wanted that special spice provided by character abilities. Beyond the impact their abilities, roles, and kits could have in moment-to-moment combat, we saw exciting opportunities to add strategic layers to how and when you choose to deploy them throughout a match. In effect, we wanted to infuse the theorycrafting of a deck builder with a PVP first-person shooter. This became the root of our Crew Builder system.

Crew Builder allows you to create Custom Crews of Freegunners that you bring into a match. Every Custom Crew offers 12 configurable slots, which you can fill with characters from what will become a growing roster of Freegunners and their Variants. Each Freegunner will have multiple Variants, which are unique versions of each character that have special modifiers to their base abilities and can be unlocked by completing various in-game challenges.

Each Custom Crew must have five unique Freegunners, but you can stack up to three copies of any given Freegunner’s Variants, empowering you to really focus on specific characters that you like to play as and that align best with the broader makeup of your team, the modes you’re playing, or your general playstyle.

However, while Crew Builder enables you to hone your own unique approach to combat strategy, it’s also meant to inspire experimentation with different characters as well. Each Custom Crew comes with four Back Up slots, which are randomly populated with Freegunners not otherwise in your Custom Crew.

Crew Builder also incentivizes you to populate your Custom Crews with characters of different roles. Unlike traditional archetypes, like Tank or Support, each Freegunner in Concord is meant to deliver high-DPS and be effective in a gunfight. Instead, our characters are defined by one of six distinct roles and the impact they can have in combat—whether that’s locking down an area, dominating long sightlines, or flanking enemies.

Balancing your crew with Freegunners of different roles can give you an edge through special in-match benefits called Crew Bonuses. When you deploy Freegunners of different roles for the first time during a match, you’re granted special bonuses that can increase mobility, improve weapon recoil, reduce cooldown times, and more that apply to any character you deploy from that point on.

When you combine all of these systems—Crew Builder, Back-Up Slots, Freegunner Variants, and Crew Bonuses—there’s so much depth to how you can craft, refine, and master your builds in Concord as your experience grows. It also allows the meta to evolve continuously in exciting new ways, as you unlock new Freegunner Variants and new Freegunners and Variants are introduced over time with each season.

Ultimately, when we step back and think about what drew us to make Concord and what we love most about multiplayer games, it’s exactly that: the potential for continuous evolution. It’s the thrill of the potential possibilities of where we can take the experience moving forward. And it’s the sense of adventure of finding out, together.

Prepare for launch

We can’t wait to welcome you to the Concord galaxy and see how you learn and master each Freegunner and all of our systems in new and exciting ways, beginning with Concord’s Early Access launch for Digital Deluxe Edition owners on Tuesday, August 20 and followed by our global launch on Friday, August 23. Pre-load for all editions on PS5 will begin today, Tuesday, August 13.

Servers for Concord’s Early Access launch on August 20 will go live at 10:00am PDT | 7:00pm CEST | 2:00am (August 21) JST.

For all the latest on Concord, be sure to follow us on Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as by joining the community in the Official Concord Discord.

*Account for PlayStation Network and internet connection required. Paid for PlayStation Plus membership (sold separately) required on PS5.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster’s ‘Classic Controls’ Let’s You Play the Game on the Original Control Scheme

If you are looking forward to playing Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster but wish to use the original control mechanics, you’re in luck. The upcoming remaster includes a feature that lets players choose whether to use the control layout from the original game.

In the settings for Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, players will have two options: “Standard” and “Classic,” as shown in the image below. The former is the new control scheme, which includes quality-of-life improvements to Dead Rising’s gameplay, such as the ability to move while aiming. The latter is a control scheme similar to the one used in Dead Rising’s original Xbox 360 version and the 2016 HD re-release.

Of course, switching to the Classic Controls comes with its drawbacks. Most notably, you cannot move while aiming (just as it was in the original game). Additionally, the classic control scheme will not allow players to tweak the button assignments as the Standard control type offers.

This is not the first time Capcom has decided to keep a smidge of the original Dead Rising in the game beyond keeping the story intact. Last month, Capcom confirmed that players who pre-order either the Standard or Deluxe version of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will obtain a costume that lets players use the classic Frank West skin from the original game.

I recently had the opportunity to play an early build of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster hands-on. While I enjoyed the game, including the new control scheme, I did find myself at times pressing the button from the old controls when doing specific actions such as picking up an item or switching up which item I have in my inventory to equip.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will be released on September 19 for digital storefronts, while the physical copy will be released on November 8.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Even with some annoyances, game streaming can feel like a Steam Deck cheat code

The Steam Deck’s competitors, whether they’re the old guard Ayaneo family, the luxe Asus ROG Ally X, or the shapeshifting Lenovo Legion Go, usually share the same attack line: they can play more of your games. The Deck’s compatibility issues aren’t nearly as issue-some as they were at launch, but between its Linux-based SteamOS and its relatively mild processing power, but it is true that beefier Windows handhelds will more likely cater to your entire cross-launcher library.

Unless, that is, you get something else to run them for you. Streaming games on the Steam Deck has emerged as a nifty workaround for the portable PC’s lingering compatibility woes, making even officially unsupported games playable. Usually with much better performance, too, as the actual rendering work is done remotely – what you see on the Deck’s screen is basically a video feed of that remote device’s display output, with your control input beamed the other way via a low-latency connection. And because you’re not using SteamOS or the internal hardware to actually run the game, it’s not bound by their limits.

As long-time readers will know, I’m a piteous mark for weird little game guys. I’m currently trying to puzzle out what the titular Mother Machine in The Curious Expedition studio Maschinen-Mensch’s upcoming co-op platformer refers to. But, if it’s a reference to forming a parental bond with what the game has saw-me-comingishly named “chaos gremlins”, I’m way ahead of you.

Ah, the press release speaketh! Probably should have read some more before I began exclaiming “Chaos Gremlins!” over and over. Have an announcement trailer.

Stormgate Early Access Review

There’s a moment right before the start of a ranked RTS match that’s like nothing else I’ve felt in games, and even in Early Access, Stormgate delivers it. I see my name. I see my opponent’s name. I can feel my own heartbeat, and I take a deep breath. Then I’m looking at a colorful command center and a gaggle of workers, and it’s just me and some random stranger fighting it out for glory or ruin. Though it’s visibly lower budget than its Blizzard-made predecessors, Stormgate is moving the basecraft formula forward on a design level in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Unsurprisingly, since it’s made by a bunch of former Blizzard RTS devs, Stormgate has the feel and overall rhythm of a classic Blizzard RTS. At its best, it’s like home cooking for someone who was raised on Brood War and Warcraft 3. I order around my scrappy human Vanguard recruits while zipping back to my base to click an upgrade just at the optimal moment, and I imagine myself like the food critic in Ratatouille being transported back to his childhood. There is something that just works about the mental coordination and almost musical hotkey strokes in this type of game – even all these years later – and developer Frost Giant gets that.

They’ve also clearly put a lot of thought into what could be improved about that experience. And it’s here that I feel like the conversations I’ve had with people glibly calling it “StarCraft 1.5” are not seeing the big picture. On an underlying design level, it’s a thoughtful progression even from the flash and polish of StarCraft 2. And that’s the most important part.

Stormgate sits fairly comfortably somewhere between StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3 in terms of the moment-to-moment gameplay, though it feels a bit more like the former in skirmish and PvP due to the fact that those modes don’t use heroes. However, like Warcraft 3, both modes feature creep camps – neutral creatures clustered at specific locations – that can be slain for a number of useful buffs from a temporary increase in movement speed to an ongoing trickle of resources. And this ends up creating a lot more interesting decisions in terms of positioning and map control.

Stormgate sits fairly comfortably between StarCraft 2 and Warcraft 3.

StarCraft can, at times, feel like fighting with knives taped to a comically long pole, where the main goal is to cut your opponent’s jugular from severa l paces away before they get yours. Camps give you a reason to care about and fight over more places on the map than just yours and your opponent’s expansion bases, which meant I found myself fighting a lot more mid-map engagements of varying sizes. It also allows for more ways to stage an army for a big push, or hold a key junction. Drops and base harassment still happen, but I didn’t feel like they were so ubiquitous. And that’s nice.

That said, PvP balance is definitely still a work-in-progress. We got a patch just last week as I’m writing this addressing some problem match-ups, and it’s a lot of huge, haymaker nerfs and buffs. But I would expect that from a competitive RTS at the beginning of its Early Access journey. Be prepared to face some weird and aggravating nonsense in ranked games while they get that ironed out.

As a Terran and Human main in StarCraft and Warcraft respectively, it’s no surprise that the faction that spoke to me the most in Stormgate was the Human Vanguard. I know, I’m really fun at parties. They play very similarly to a standard RTS faction, making them a great point of entry. But like almost everything in Stormgate, there are little things here and there that raise the skill ceiling a lot.

Vanguard units gain veterancy from fighting, for instance, which increases their stats substantially. This means, to play them at a high level, you want to minimize casualties as much as possible in every engagement. And you especially don’t want to lose your fully-promoted units. This might, unexpectedly, make them one of the most micro-heavy factions if you want to truly master their advantages. And it presents an opportunity for their opponents to focus-fire down veteran units as well. This sort of, “Easy to learn, difficult to master” philosophy is all over Stormgate, and I love to see it.

The Vanguard’s exact opposites are the edgelord Infernal Host, a demonic army from space that can store up summoning charges at their production buildings and amasses energy for their top bar abilities when units die – including their own. They encourage a gleefully swarmy, high-pressure playstyle where you don’t necessarily want to simply throw the lives of your legions away, but you’re not going to sweat the losses as long as you win the battle.

The “Easy to learn, difficult to master” philosophy is all over Stormgate.

More killing leads to more demonic power, which can let you drop temporary shroud totems – think of this as their versi on of Zerg creep – and then give a temporary buff to everyone standing around it. If you know how to capitalize on momentum, you can turn one mildly successful push into a runaway victory before the opponent can catch their breath, which is always satisfying.

The Celestial Armada is the faction I’ve spent the least time with overall, and they also seem like the hardest to get into. While the Vanguard accumulates energy over time and the Infernals get it from units dying, the Celestials require a special base structure to generate Power, which is used for global abilities and required to run all of their buildings. I frankly never got the hang of this, but I wasn’t able to spend dozens of hours with every single faction for this Early Access review, so we can put a pin in it. Their units are very slick, and considering how many times I got my ass handed to me by a Celestial player, it seems like they do pretty well at the direction of a seasoned commander.

Up until now, I’ve been mostly talking about the competitive PvP mode, which is where Stormgate currently shines the brightest. So that would make the campaign – which is currently only six, 15- to 20-minute missions, with more to come in the future – sort of the grimy underside. Everything about it feels kind of low budget, though the mission design is reasonably varied and I did enjoy Warcraft loremaster Chris Metzen dealing AOE damage to the scenery as Maloc, a demonic lieutenant straight out of the Saturday morning cartoon realm.

The story is… well, I don’t want to just come right out and spoil it. But there have been many jokes made in the past about how Blizzard knows how to tell exactly one story. And this is that story again, just with different characters. Or at least, it seems to be. Maybe they’ll surprise us in future episodes. Wait, wait, hear me out… what if there were five Frostmournes?

My biggest let-down with the campaign, though, in addition to the fact that you can finish it in an afternoon, is that it only features the Vanguard as playable so far. I’m sure there are Infernal and Celestial chapters planned. But compared to even StarCraft 1, in which we spent multiple hours with each faction, I think this really hurts the onboarding. You get a decent idea of what the humans are about by playing as them, and a fair bit of info on the Infernals by fighting against them. But the Celestials haven’t even shown up yet.

The currently brief, Vanguard-only campaign really hurts onboarding.

That means one of the game’s three playable factions has barely any lore context at the moment, which makes it hard for me to get excited about them. What are they even doing here? What are their ideals? What is their society about? Almost everything we know comes from an announcement trailer and unit descriptions.

Similarly, I’ve always learned how to play each faction in most prior RTSes from their campaign missions first. Different missions can highlight different units or faction mechanics, and ease you into thinking about how to use them. It can be very intimidating to simply jump into PvP and sink or swim. Stormgate currently doesn’t feature much help for new players in terms of how to think about Infernal shroud, or the neat things you can do with Celestial Arcships. There’s a “Learn to Play” link on the main menu, but it just sends you to a web page with some short YouTube videos. I don’t know… does that even count?

Novice players can enable a feature called BuddyBot in non-ranked matches that helps you out with some busywork like base management, but I honestly find this to be the worst kind of assistance. It doesn’t actually teach you how to play. It just does things for you. I’d much prefer a “buddy” that notices when I’m doing things like banking too many resources and pops up with some tips on what I could improve.

The saving grace here might be the 3vAI co-op mode, which lets you pick heroes from each of the three factions and fight for objectives like shutting down enemy spawn points or intercepting convoys. The lower difficulties are very forgiving, and probably the closest thing Stormgate has to a shallow end of the pool where you can start to familiarize yourself with its mechanics. The Warcraft 3-style heroes with hotbar abilities also bring a bit more variety and micro to the formula. And they have some pretty cool meta-progression, including new units that replace some of the base faction ones, like Blockade’s tanky Crusader.

There are only five heroes so far – and one of them is a $10 DLC purchase, which seems a bit steep to me. Also, who is this guy? He looks like a fallen Celestial? What’s the story here? We need more lore!

Random: Bull-Airs Range Of Nintendo-Inspired Sneakers Is Extremely cool

Power dressing.

New York City-based clothing and sneaker company Bull-Airs has recently released a retro-inspired collection heavily referencing Nintendo’s classic consoles, and a new set of pre-orders will be going live this Friday (thanks, GoNintendo!).

The sneakers come in four different varieties, each one inspired by the colour scheme and typeface used on each console. Most of these have been available before — as recently as July, even! — but this rereleased line includes a brand new colour design.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

UK Deals: Space Marine 2 Preorder Prices Slashed At Fanatical

It is the 41st Millenium. In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only savings. The Emperor of Mankind wages a constant battle to protect humanity from the horrors of overspending. But seriously, there are some epic preorder savings on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 on Steam! Standard is down to £48.39 (Was £54.99), Gold is down to £70.39 (Was £79.99) and Ultra is discounted to £79.19 (Was £89.99).

If you don’t fancy doning power armour and becoming “The Weapon of the Soul”, SEGA is currently enjoying a Fanatical sale with some sweet bargains. Highlights include Sonic Frontiers Deluxe Edition down to £17.59 (Was £54.99), with the standard edition available for £1.10 less at £16.49 (Was 49.99). We’ve found plenty more bargains online today too, so here’s the bull run down:

TL;DR Today’s Best UK Deals

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (Steam) Preorders

Space Marine 2 has been over a decade in the making, with the latest previews hinting at this Games Workshop title becoming the definitive Warhammer 40k experience as far as third-person hack ‘n slash RPGs go. Hold your ground as one of the Adeptus Astartes for less than RRP.

SEGA Publisher Sale: Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers, Sonic Superstars, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Shin Megami Tensei: Vengance, Company of Heroes 3, Like a Dragon: Inshin, P4G (Persona 4 Golden, PST (Persona 5 Tactica) and many more hits are available with massive discounts. Don’t sleep on this sale!

Google Pixel Watch 2

It’s hard to find Google Pixel Watch 2 with a decent discount right now, but 35% off and down to £149, this is the right time to dive in. Featuring Google OS and great compatability features with Google Pixel smart phones, this is a great addition for those already in the Google Assistant eco system (Such as Google Nest Doorbell Battery Model. Heads up, Google Pixel 8 Pro (Unlocked – 256GB) is down to £759 with an on-site voucher at Amazon too.

Dune Messiah (Kindle)

Dune Messiah is arguasbly one of the best sequels to an already world renowned sci-fri novel in Dune. With War now being waged as a result of the previous books events, will Paul Atreides be able to keep on top of his new Empire? This is a must read for 99p!

Samsung Galaxy Buds FE

Following suit with Samsung Galaxy FE models, Galaxy Buds FE take some of the best features of the previous premium models and puts them into an affordable product “for the fans”. They might not feel as premium as the high-end inspiration, but Galaxy Buds FE have the specs and performance to pack up it’s RRP, so £49 is an absolute steal!

Mattel Games UNO

A family classic that can be played pretty much anywhere, with Uno Reverse cards coming in handy to insult your loved ones or to get out of any situation worry-free. For £3.99, this is both a fun game and arguably the most powerful deck of cards the world has ever seen. (Please note that Uno Reverse only reverses projected comments onto the accuser and is not a time travelling device).

MEGA BLOKS First Builders Toddler Building Blocks (60 pieces)

A hefty discount for building blocks that will likely outlive mankind, Mega Bloks can sometimes cost the earth, but toddlers can enjoy this classic set for 80% off. We’re all about cognitive development here (games are good for that), but getting kids of screens and using their imaginations for a while is never a bad thing!

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) preorder

In what is a top-down Legend of Zelda: Tears fo the Kingdom, Princess Zelda takes the lead role by creating echoes of objects around her to traverse and wipe out enemies. On the fence about this one? Check out this world overview trailer.

Comfort Ultimate Care Fresh Sky 58 Washes

This deal is fairly straight forward. Make your clothes smell like fresh air for 58 washes for a bargain price of £2.50, that’s 4p per wash!

TCL 98P745K 98-inch 4K Television

Looking for an over-top-top sized TV that’s got all the specs a gamer would want? TCL are really upping their game byu offering premium features for a lot less than flagship brands. The TV market is changing thanks to budget brands like this, and this half price sale tag prooves it!

Nemesis Board Game Buying Guide and Expansions

Ever want to blast off to another planet? In Nemesis, you get to do that… but of course there’s a catch, because why would something so inviting not have a twist? There’s always got to be something to ruin a fantasy, right?

Fans of the franchise Aliens will likely enjoy Nemesis, as the monsters in the game are reminiscent of that series. These aliens create a lot of chaos, and you and your fellow players will do everything possible to escape alive in this semi-cooperative board game.

Wait, semi-cooperative? Yes, each player has secret objectives, so your friends might not really be your friends. They might help you one moment and betray you the next. Complete your goals by finishing your secret objectives (altruistic or nefarious) and escape without getting eaten by aliens or killed by your friends to win the game. Nemesis will absolutely test your real-life friendships.

The Base Games

Nemesis (Original Version)

MSRP: $44.95 USD
1-5 Players (best with 3)
90-180 minutes
Ages 14+

This is the original base board game. It’s great for newcomers to the bleak world of Nemesis.

Nemesis: Lockdown

Contents: new alien race, new character skills, elevators and staircases, more computer actions, hatch system, contingency process

MSRP: $153.10 USD
1-5 Players
90-180 minutes
Ages 14+

This is the basic Nemesis game, but with a heap of new options that change up the gameplay quite a bit. New characters and abilities allow new mechanisms to explore new rooms. You can power up elevators to go up and down levels. Doing so allows for advantages that can attack aliens. You can use special computer actions. There’s now a contingency process telling folks who is worth saving and who isn’t. You’ll work together to determine what the act is depending on your goal. You can also escape via pods, exit via a rover, or isolation.

Expansions

Expansions add more elements to the game but require one of the base games to incorporate them. Some expansions add more depth than others. All of the expansions listed below add something different to the game in their own way.

Nemesis: Aftermath Expansion

Contents: new alien race, 5 new characters with new skills, 4 new rooms, turrets, shuttle board

MSRP: $89.92 USD
1-5 Players
90-180 minutes
Ages 14+

This is an expansion. You’ll need a base game of Nemesis or Lockdown Edition to play it.

The shuttle board goes next to the original side of the ship. It changes the gameplay, allowing you to move around the ship and giving you new tiles to explore.

Aftermath also allows you to play in three different ways. The first way is by simply adding the elements of the expansions you like and playing the game. You can add the characters, character traits, new rooms, or the turrets. The next way you can play (also called Epilogue) is by extending the game in an epilogue with some exploration of new characters and objectives that you’ll have to complete within 5 turns. The last way is called “research mode”, which adds even more exploration and modifiers. The last version takes the longest as it integrates all three game elements.

Nemesis: Carnomorph Expansion

Contents: new mechanics, new monster miniatures

MSRP: $79.99 USD
1-5 Players
60-120 minutes
Ages 14+

This is an expansion. You’ll need a base game of Nemesis or Lockdown Edition to play it.

Carnomorph adds a new mechanic with an intruder race. Character mutations also allow players to get infected and turn into aliens. Be careful. When this expansion is added, those aliens and sometimes your friends will bite back in more ways than betrayal.

Nemesis: Terrain Expansion

Contents: 29 new miniatures

MSRP: $59.99 USD
1-5 Players
60-120 minutes
Ages 14+

This is an expansion. You’ll need a base game of Nemesis or Lockdown Edition to play it.

This expansion gives you new miniatures which will add unique experiences to gameplay. The miniatures are highly detailed.

Nemesis: Voidseeders Expansion

Contents: new alien race, new monster miniatures, new game mechanics, new event cards and tokens

MSRP: $64.14 USD
1-5 Players
60-120 minutes
Ages 14+

This is an expansion. You’ll need a base game of Nemesis or Lockdown Edition to play it.

You might go insane with this expansion, as it adds character insanity as a new mechanic to the game. Alien Void Seeders can manipulate you to their bidding. Intruders seek you out to defeat you. So will your friends. Do you have what it takes to escape the void and make it out alive?

Miniatures

If you’re a fan of the art, there are a couple of sets of miniatures that you can get for fun. They are only for show, though. They do not have anything special for use in the game.

Nemesis: Kings Miniatures

Contents: one Intruder King, one Void Seeder King, Three Carnomorph Kings

MSRP: $50.97 USD

These are purely cosmetic cardboard alternative king alien figures that do nothing additional for gameplay.

Nemesis: Space Cats Miniatures

Contents: four plastic cat miniatures

MSRP: $39.99 USD

These are purely cosmetic figures that do nothing additional for gameplay.

More Ways to Play

Although there are two games inspired by the Nemesis series, there is no version that mirrors the physical versions of the game.

Nemesis Lockdown was released in 2022 on Steam to mixed reviews.

Nemesis Distress is currently available as an early-access game on Steam.

Bottom Line

Nemesis is a stunning game with a lot of complexity. Board Game Geek reviewers rank it an 8.3 out of 10. It offers an immersive experience to those dedicated to learning and sitting for a bit. The game can be difficult due to the many elements at work. Bad luck can make for unpredictable elements, making the game extremely frustrating, especially for new players. The game is best suited for serious board gamers willing to commit the time and the funds to enjoy it.

Aside from the learning curve and uncontrollable elements, it has a lot of replayability. The miniatures are highly detailed and artwork in themselves. While it’s not officially an Alien franchise game, it’s got major H.R. Giger-styled features that make me wish I was back in Greyere sitting at the H.R. Giger Bar playing this.

Jennifer Stavros is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything from comics, games, technology, and nerd culture. Follow her on Twitter or watch her on Twitch under the handle @scandalous.

Alien: Romulus has turned Alien: Isolation’s savegame mechanic into a way of spoiling its own scares

Among the many, Gigery beauties of 2014’s Alien: Isolation is that you save using an in-game, wall-mounted Emergency Phone – a maddeningly analog process of slotting a keycard into the machine and waiting for three beeps. Doing this requires you to stand upright in full view, with your back turned upon an entire space station’s worth of shiny domed technology and guttural industrial noises. Delightful!

Amongst the players harrowed and compelled by this fixture is Fede Álvarez, director of the 2013 Evil Dead remake, 2016’s Don’t Breathe and, most recently Alien: Romulus – the seventh and avowedly “back to basics” Alien movie. Isolation is the Alien experience that convinced Álvarez the Alien could still be scary, after decades of milking the creature’s dugs for spin-off movies and making it share a screen with the Predator, the Pepsi Max to Alien’s Dom Pérignon 1921. In possibly self-defeating homage to Creative Assembly’s work, he’s filled the movie with Emergency Telephones, turning them into a straightforward-sounding form of foreshadowing.

Category: Video Games