Despite some initial umming and ahhing about how a comedy co-op FPS would translate into a single-player autoshooter – if I press the Rock and Stone button and nobody hears, did I say Rock and Stone? – DRG: Survivor quickly won me over, thanks in particular to the tension and horde-dodging trickery afforded by its adaptation of the original game’s pickaxe mining. I’ve also had a little go on the 1.0 build ahead of release, and it does indeed feel like the most complete, well-tuned version yet.
Subnautica 2 developer Unknown Worlds has dropped a new vlog.
Offering a behind-the-scenes look at the all-new deep-sea predator, and “how the team has used Unreal Engine 5 AI for lifelike behavior, real-time reactions and tense encounters for players,” the 10-minute vlog is one of the first development updates we’ve had since the studio’s entire leadership was fired amid a messy public falling out over a $250 million bonus from parent company, Krafton.
The update claims new giant squid-like predator Collector Leviathan represents “the next step in the franchise’s evolution with a creature that is both visually striking and powered by advanced AI to create tense, dynamic encounters.” The video shows off the “aggressive” first encounter players will endure when they meet the enemy in Subnautica 2.
Here’s the official blurb on the Collector Leviathan from Unknown Worlds:
The latest developer vlog provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Collector Leviathan, from early concept art by Visual Development Lead Cory Strader to insights from the Unknown Worlds development team. This creature was designed to push boundaries of immersion and threat in Subnautica 2.
Aggressive First Encounter: The Collector Leviathan is the first hostile leviathan players will meet in Subnautica 2.
Responsive AI: Powered by Unreal Engine 5 behavior trees and stimulus systems, it reacts to light, sound, and player actions in real time.
Lifelike Movement: Fully simulated tentacle animation creates more natural and unpredictable interactions.
Immersive Combat Design: A terrifying roar and powerful shockwave attacks amplify the sense of danger.
Antonio Muñoz Gallego, AI designer for the creature, said: “The Collector Leviathan is not just a monster that blindly attacks players. It is an intelligent and highly threatening deep-sea lifeform that actively reacts to player behavior and pursues them.” He added: “Our main goal with our creatures was to make them feel reactive, so the Leviathan is constantly re-evaluating the situation in real time. To achieve that, we use Unreal Engine 5 behavior trees and our AI stimulus system.”
The vlog will be a welcome update for Subnautica fans. For months now, most coverage about the game has concerned the painful breakdown between Unknown Worlds’ founders and Krafton, which acquired Unknown Worlds in October 2021. Over the summer, reports came to light that Subnautica 2’s early access release was delayed to 2026 just months before Krafton was due to pay a $250 million bonus to the development team “against the wishes of the studio’s former leadership.”
Then, last month, Unknown Worlds itself sued Cleveland, former CEO Ted Gill, and studio co-founder Max McGuire for allegedly stealing game design files shortly before they were fired.
It’s worth noting that now Hollow Knight: Silksong has come out, Subnautica 2 is the most wishlisted game on Steam, which suggests that despite all the legal drama surrounding the game, there’s huge interest in it. That’s perhaps little surprise given how big a hit Subnautica was, but it will be interesting to see how fan reception evolves as the sequel gets closer to launch.
Subnautica 2’s Early Access release was recently delayed to 2026.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A new Hollow Knight: Silksong mod lets folks load directly into any of the metroidvania‘s boss fights from a dedicated menu, essentially turning the game into a choose your own bottom kicking adventure.
After all, who doesn’t crave the ability to deliberately battle the one boss they’re actually good at beating over and over again, ego juice coursing through their veins, a roar of sheer powerful ecstacy reverberating around their quarters? Or, you know, you might just fancy some practice ahead of your next full run through the game.
Assassin’s Creed fans are reacting with disappointment after a new report on Ubisoft’s long-expected Black Flag remake has stated that the game will no longer contain any modern day gameplay.
The report, published by French outlet Jeuxvideo, states that all of Black Flag’s modern day sections have been removed from the upcoming piratical remake.
In the original Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, players occasionally pop out of the Animus to explore the offices of Abstergo Entertainment, unlocking clues to how the story of pirate Edward Kenway is tied to the series’ overarching modern day narrative.
Ubisoft is reportedly adding extra content from Kenway’s pirate era to make up the lost gameplay hours (including additional story for his fellow pirate Mary Read that never made into the base game, which would indeed be welcome).
Other changes for the remake include overhauled combat and gear systems that act closer to other more modern Assassin’s Creed games.
Overall, though, the excision of Black Flag’s modern day portions looks to be the most noteworthy change — and one that is not going down well with some fans, especially after the threadbare modern day storyline in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
“I hope it’s not true that they removed the modern day sections,” wrote havewelost6388, in a long reddit thread discussing the report. “Without the modern day storyline and ancient aliens sci-fi stuff, modern AC games are just Witcher 3 clones with stealth mechanics.”
“They need to stop removing modern day content,” added ZeroZelath. “It’s honestly one of my favorite parts and that stems from the earlier games. I was actually looking forward to it in Shadows after how Valhalla ended but then… Shadows had literally nothing. It was such a big disappointment on that front. Like genuinely, the modern day stuff is part of how the franchise works so it should always be present in some form and be telling an overarching story.”
“Omg, Ubisoft! STOP REMOVING THE MODERN DAY SEGMENTS!!!” added kamuigui. “The best of the series is the fact that was very clear that we were in a simulation!”
As well as adding to Assassin’s Creed’s overarching story, the modern day sections in Black Flag tie closely into the narrative of Kenway’s historical quest — leading some fans to question how Ubisoft will handle the lack of wider context.
“Wouldn’t removing the modern day scenes remove a pretty big part of the story regarding the sage?” questioned Ari441.
“I don’t see how you can do the story without the modern day stuff tying it all together,” Pizzaplanet420 added. “The ending of the game [in the modern day] is literally the bookend to the entire story…”
Of course, delving back into the series’ previous modern day storyline featuring long-term antagonist Juno would require a bit of re-explaining at this point — but considering how that storyline ended up being dropped and concluded in a spin-off comic, this could have been a good opportunity to do more there.
Many moons ago, I missed my chance to join a weekly Twilight Imperium play session. Missed my chance, or dodged a bullet? Twilight Imperium is an infamously complicated and backstabby boardgame, the kind of baroque strategy space opera that can swallow up entire days and expose any number of terrible character flaws along the way.
Thank goodness there’s now a PC version in the works for Steam, which will at least remove the need to set up the pieces and remember what they do. Here’s a trailer.
Super Mario’s 40th anniversary celebrations are now officially underway, and apart from all the exciting announcements during last week’s Direct broadcast, Nintendo’s official websites have also been updated with the series’ timeline.
More Switch titles are slowly beginning to receive Switch 2 game upgrades, and Dragami Games has now announced its own plans for Juliet’s zombie hack-and-slash Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP.
The title will be getting a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition featuring “high frame rate”, “high resolution”, and it will be made available as an upgrade for existing Switch owners. It’s scheduled to arrive at some point in November 2025. It hasn’t been revealed just yet if this will be a free or paid upgrade for existing owners.
Mario Tennis Fever is set to release exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on February 12, 2026. Announced during the Mario 40th anniversary portion of the September Nintendo Direct, the game features a new Fever Shot mechanic, 30 Fever Rackets, and 38 playable characters – the most of any game in the series to date. It’s now available to preorder for $69.99 at all the usual retailers (see it at Amazon). Read on to see what this game is, where you can buy it, and more.
There aren’t any special editions for this one, so the standard edition is all you get. Note that, as with all first-party Nintendo Switch 2 games released so far, the full game is included on the cartridge.
Mario Tennis Fever Preorder Bonus?
So far, no preorder bonuses have been announced for Mario Tennis Fever. If that changes, I’ll update this section.
What Is Mario Tennis Fever?
Mario Tennis Fever is the latest in a series of Mario-themed tennis games dating back to the Game Boy era, and the first since Mario Tennis Aces arrived on the original Switch in 2018. Fever brings back familiar shots like topspins, slices, and lobs, but introduces some new defensive maneuvers like slides and dives to help you whack the ball back across the court.
Keeping rallies going builds up your Fever Gauge. Once full, you can unleash a powerful Fever Shot with an augmented effect based on the Fever Racket you have equipped. You can create an icy spot under your opponent with an Ice Racket, shrink your opponent with the Mini Mushroom Racket, and create a shadow self to play beside with the Shadow Racket.
The game has numerous modes to play, including a competitive Tournament mode and a Trial Towers mode that has you complete various objectives during matches. Then there’s Mix-It-Up mode, which introduces new rules as you play. That mode also includes Wonder Flowers you can touch to get some trippy additions to the court. There’s also an elaborate-looking Adventure mode that involves the baby versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, and Waluigi re-learning how to play the game. It looks pretty silly, in a fun way.
Online, you can play casual matches against opponents in the Online Room, or you can choose to play in Ranked Matches. And if you’re feeling nostalgic for the Wii era, you can also swing your Joy-Con 2 to hit the ball.
Other Preorder Guides
Looking for what games are now available to buy? Check out our guide to all of the Switch 2 game preorders now live after the September Nintendo Direct.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
From an outside perspective, I think it was probably fairly obvious that MindsEye was never going to do very well. There was barely any game to show off, so they mostly didn’t. What they did show didn’t look very good either, and when it came out, it was a glitchy mess. This all put 300 staff members at risk of being laid off, the full extent of which still being not particularly clear. And in a recent interview, the game’s lead actor Alex Hernandez has shared his own experience of being the face of the game (spoiler alert: it’s not great).
There are a bevy of games available in the world that let you play as what can only be described as “a little guy.” However, you can throw all of them out of the window, because I have found the game that has the perfect iteration of such a creature. It is called Letters to Arralla, and in it you quite simply play as a turnip, who has the juiciest derriere I’ve ever seen in perhaps any game ever. Yes, even more so than one of those anime gacha games, this turnip’s rump has got some serious jiggle physics.
