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Game Updates

Everything You Need To Know About Borderlands 4

12 Tips For New And Returning Players

by admin September 19, 2025

Borderlands 4 is a very big and mostly great game that you’ll likely spend over 50 hours in if you try to do everything it has to offer. It also might be your first Borderlands in a long time, or possibly ever. This all might seem really intimidating. 10 billion guns! A giant open world! What should you do? Well, I’ve got your back. Here are 12 tips to help you get started and kick ass in Borderlands 4. And be not afraid, there are no spoilers below.

Don’t Get Distracted By Side Quests Until You Get Your Hover Bike

Look, I get it. Running around and doing every little side quest is fun, but I’d recommend focusing on the main story until you get your hoverbike. It won’t take more than two hours and it’s worth it. Well, unless you like walking everywhere in a big open-world game. And speaking of side quests and not doing them…

Maybe Don’t Do Every Side Quest Before Finishing The Main Story…

I’m a map cleaner in open-world games. I get it. I love to methodically clear out every piece of content in a big open world. But maybe don’t do that until you complete the main story. That’s because once you do that, regardless of your level, you unlock “Specializations,” which is a new set of passive bonuses and skills that act as an endgame grind. And you level this up with XP. So it might be better to mainline the story and then turn around and do all the side stuff later.

But…Focus On Getting SDU Credits To Make Your Backpack Bigger

While I advise not doing every side quest before the credits roll, I do suggest you look out for Propaganda Towers, Bunkers, and other open-world activities that reward you with SDU credits that can be used to upgrade how many items you can hold at once in your backpack. Trust me, you want to upgrade this ASAP. You are going to be grabbing so much random junk to sell and sort through, and running out of space sucks. So prioritize getting that backpack upgraded.

Use The Loot As Junk Button

New to Borderlands 4 is the ability to loot items as junk. This means that you can instantly sell it and every single item you’ve marked as junk with the press of a button just by walking up to a vending machine. It saves a lot of time and is one of the best features in Borderlands 4. Use it. You’ll thank me later.

©Gearbox / Kotaku

Keep An Eye Open For Elemental Weapons To Help You Kill Quickly

It’s very easy to focus exclusively on getting guns with bigger numbers. But hold up! It’s not all about DPS. You might want to keep that SMG or shotgun because of its elemental damage type. You see, enemies in Borderlands 4 all have different weaknesses to different elements. Enemies with red health bars burn fast, baddies with blue health bars are weak to shock, and aliens or robots with yellow health bars get melted quickly with acid.

So before you drop that slightly weaker SMG for a cool new one, stop and think. Does the weaker one do acid damage? Is it your only weapon that does acid damage? You might want to keep it, then, so you can fight robots with ease.

Don’t Have Four Of The Same Type Of Gun Equipped

I love a good assault rifle in Borderlands 4. I’m always on the lookout for a new Daedalus AR to add to my collection. But I never run around with more than one AR equipped. Why? Because if all your guns are the same type–like all shotguns or whatever–then you’ll burn through that ammo type much faster. Variety is the spice of life, and it also means you don’t use up all your shotgun shells in a matter of minutes.

Look Down Your Character’s Skill Tree Before Unlocking Anything

Simple one, but important: Before you start upgrading your character’s skills, take a moment to look at what you’ll be able to unlock later on. You might see a skill you just desperately want, or you might realize the particular skill tree you are examining features bonuses and abilities you’ll just never use. And sure, the game lets you respec everything, but why waste time earning skills you don’t like when you can take a moment to plan ahead and have a much better time.

When Playing Co-op, Use Your Buddies As Fast Travel Stations

Playing with your friends is always better, but in Borderlands 4, that’s especially true as you can fast-travel to them whenever you want. Tricky platforming section that you don’t want to do? Fast travel to your bud! Get lost and can’t find your way to the next part of the quest? Fast travel to your friend. Want to sell a bunch of stuff in the middle of a big fight? Fast travel to an area with vending machines, sell your junk, and then fast travel back to your friends. This feature is so useful and powerful that it almost feels like cheating.

Use The Newly Added Repkits!

It’s easy to forget about Borderlands 4‘s newly added Rep Kits, which are small items that can heal you during fights. They are brand new to the franchise and the game never warns you to use one when your health gets low. But use your Rep Kits! They can make a challenging ambush much easier.

©Gearbox / Kotaku

If Lost, Just Use Echo 4, aka Hit Up On The D-Pad

Remember, you can always ask Echo 4, your new robot companion, to guide you to your next quest objective or your custom marker. This can be really handy when deep in a cave or building filled with multiple rooms and hallways. Just hit up on the D-pad, and Echo 4 will generate an easy-to-follow holographic line in the world pointing to your target location.

Grab Contracts Before Heading Out

Whenever you return to one of the many hub and town areas in Borderlands 4, take a moment to check the bounty board and grab some bounties. Many of these are very easy to complete and just want you to kill a few random enemies. You were going to do that anyway, so why not get some extra XP and rewards for doing so?

Hold Onto Gold Keys Until You Level Up

The moment you walk up to your first gold chest in Borderlands 4, you’ll be tempted to use any gold keys you currently have. Don’t do this. I know, it’s fun to open a big shiny box and get new guns, most of which will be pretty good. But if you’re below level 40, I’d avoid using your keys as the loot you get from them at that point will be made worthless in the not-too-distant future. That level 7 legendary sniper ain’t going to be worth using when, a few hours later, you’re level 12 and find a much better one. Save your gold keys for when you’re in the endgame portion of Borderlands 4.

And if you need help getting more (or any…) gold keys, don’t you worry, I’ve got a guide just for you that walks you through the process and even includes some codes you can use to get some fancy rewards.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

This Creepy Slasher Movie Inspired By An Iconic Disney Character Is Coming To 4K Blu-Ray

by admin September 19, 2025

There are immutable truths about our world: rain falls, wind blows, and the second a beloved IP enters the public domain territory, you can bet that a slasher movie based on it will hit theaters in record time. We’ve seen it happen to Winnie the Pooh, and last year it happened to Steamboat Willie, the 1928 Disney character who served as the prototype for what would eventually become Mickey Mouse. Steamoat Willie entered the public domain on January 1, 2024, and then earlier this year was reimagined as a horror movie villain with the animated horror-comedy short, Screamboat, created by . The movie is getting a Blu-ray release on December 9, including a fancy steelbook edition 4K Blu-ray that’s availabe to preorder for $43 at Amazon.

$43 | Releases December 9

This two-disc set includes both 4K and standard Blu-ray copies of the movie. The UHD version is in native 4K with HDR10 and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The cover is deceptively cute, as it features Steamboat Willie waving to the audience, but when you look closer, you’ll see that he’s surrounded by carnage. The back cover sports a CG-render of Willie overlooking the New York City skyline.

Screamboat Bonus Material

The Blu-ray doesn’t come with much in the way of extras, but you’ll at least get a few deleted scenes, a short behind-the-scenes documentary, and audio commentary with Willie’s actor, David Howard Thornton.

Audio commentary track with actor David Howard Thornton
Documentary: The Making of Screamboat
Deleted scenes

Screamboat was announced a mere day after Steamboat Willie entered the public domain. It tells the story of a late-night ferry ride in New York piloted by a murderous version of the formerly kind-hearted mouse, who has become warped and twisted after years of neglect. Passengers who use the ferry fall victim to Willie’s rampage. While the movie is admittedly forgettable and a cash grab at best, it is notable for its connections to a larger horror movie franchise, Terrifier. The producers of Terrifier 2 and 3 are responsible for this movie, and David Howard Thornton–who plays Art the Clown in the Terrifier movies–steps into the furry costume of Willie for this movie.

The movie has had a mixed reception since it was first released in cinemas in April, but if you want to see a tiny mouse horribly murder people and you’re a fan of practical effects, then Screamboat might be worth picking up. It’s impressively ultraviolent, and it’s the kind of movie you can enjoy without needing to overthink things.

$19

This isn’t the only beloved IP that has been turned into a slasher movie–nor will it be the last, we imagine–as, believe it or not, there are two movies that transform Winnie the Pooh and his friends into homicidal monsters. Billed as the first instalment in the Twisted Childhood Universe, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was released in 2023, and it’s a horror-parody of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s classic Winnie-the-Pooh books.

This time, Pooh finds blood to be sweeter than honey as he goes on a killing spree alongside his best friend Piglet. The movie hasn’t received a 4K release yet, but you can pick up a standard Blu-ray release of it. For special features, all it includes is the original theatrical trailer and a short documentary detailing its production. The film was made on a tight budget of around $100,000, but it grossed $7.7 million at the global box office.

$25

Naturally, a sequel wasn’t far behind, as Pooh returned alongside Piglet, Tigger, and Owl to take revenge on Christopher Robin for revealing his existence to the world. Again, don’t expect much in the way of special features, as all you’re getting with this Blu-ray is a theatrical trailer and an image gallery that collects various film stills. Walmart does offer an exclusive steelbook case version of the movie, and you can pick up both of them in an affordable two-pack on Blu-ray as well.

TKTKT

Watch the entire film series, if you dare

While slasher films aren’t nearly as popular in the 2020s as they were in the 1980s and 1990s, the exception to that rule is The Terrifier franchise. The series of movies starring Art the Clown is not for the faint of heart, as each movie ups the gore to a stomach-churning level. The character has become a modern-day horror movie icon since he first debuted, and there are several editions of the Terrifier trilogy to pick up. Fans looking to watch the first movie and the prequel anthology movie All Hallow’s Eve can grab a two-pack Blu-ray for just $27, and you can get both Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 in 4K Blu-ray formats.

There’s even a Terrifier 3 Amazon-exclusive Limited Edition Collector’s Box Set that comes with several extras, including a themed “box of soap” and barf bag. Trust us, if you’re watching the threequel for the first time, you’re going to need these items.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Build island factory towns for fat cats in Whiskerwood, the latest sooty strategy sim from Hooded Horse and the Railgrade devs

by admin September 19, 2025

Whenever possible, I like to sucker-punch everybody’s weekend plans by blogging the release of a huge 4X strategy game, factory sim or other managerial timesink last thing on Friday. In this case, I’m ambushing you with the avid rodent carpentry of Whiskerwood, the new city builder from Railgrade developers Minakata Dynamics and Manor Lords publishers Hooded Horse. It’s got 40 different commodities, an elaborate weather simulation, and a demo out now on Steam. Haha, yes! You are welcome.

In Whiskerwood, you are a mouse mayor setting up island colonies on behalf of some bastard fat cats. Yes, this one’s a straight-shooting allegory, but going by the release date trailer, any transferable learnings about the plight of the mouse proletariat come a distinct second to the joy of plaiting conveyor belts.

Watch on YouTube

“Though your ship arrives with an initial supply of resources and a starting band of mice, you must quickly establish core structures, essential services, and production capabilities to ensure continued growth and prosperity,” comments the Steam page. “Establish waste management and healthcare facilities, ensure buildings are properly heated and maintained, and send forth your mice to fell trees, mine mountains, and tend to the fields and fish.

“The cats will demand their due,” it goes on, “and your own citizens will abandon the colony if their needs aren’t met on a daily basis – you must strike a perfect balance between the needs of the mouse and the demands of the cat.” Cue opening bars of the Circle of Life.

Other bulletpoints stress the role of verticality. Given that you’re building on fairly titchy islands, you’ll soon need to layer them up by either plunging underground or stretching your production facilities up mountainsides. It doesn’t seem quite as extreme as All Wall Fall, in which your teetering metropoli are subject to actual real-time physics, but those mice factories do look rather cramped and precarious.

Your mice colonists have distinct attributes that fit certain tasks, together with preferences and weaknesses. Some are cool with labouring underground, others are all fine and dandy with air pollution. Up to a point, anyway. In good news for the bleeding hearts who feel bad about forcing virtual animals to breath smog for 100 hours, the Steam page suggests that you can one day overthrow the cats.

“Come rain or shine, the shipments must be fulfilled to feline satisfaction lest they call upon their henchmen to violently remind you of your duties,” it thunders. “Will you forever serve this oppressive paw? Or will you raise your whiskers in defiance?”

The game simulates a whole kaboodle of things. Different growing conditions per crop, for instance: you’ll want damp caves for mushrooms, good soil and sunlight for wheat, and high ground for potatoes. (I grow potatoes. I wasn’t aware they were best planted on hilltops.) If starting terrain conditions are suboptimal, you can lay hot water pipes to create greenhouse environments. All this and: naval combat! You’ll be able to send forth galleons of nautical nibblers to scout new islands and hopefully not get the shit kicked out of them by pirates.

One comparison is the beaver-powered Timberborn, one of our best building games, but I’m also slightly reminded of fellow Hooded Horse production Against The Storm, sans roguelike elements. Whiskerwood launches into early access on 6th November, and you can find that demo on Steam.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Devolver’s Steam sale is now on, so I’m using it as an excuse to tell you about its brilliant oddball horror adventure Look Outside

by admin September 19, 2025

Look Outside starts as it means to go on, hinting at a choice and then standing back smirking. The room’s dark; strange light leaks through closed curtains, and a beady eye poking through a crack in the wall urges you to peek out the window. You don’t have to do it; it’s not a formal decision point as such, just a gently presented possibility – and you can practically hear developer Francis Coulombe cackling as your curiosity wins out and all your innards explode through your eye holes.

Look Outside

Developer: Francis Coulombe
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platform: Played on PC
Availability: Out now on Steam

For reasons that may or may not eventually become clear, Look Outside’s world is in the grip of some cosmically peculiar meteorological phenomena, causing anyone that gazes upon its unnatural light to mutate in the most horrible of ways. Giant eyeballs bulge from gaping wounds as partygoers continue their endless reverie a few doors down from your apartment; teeth sprout through ruptured skin across the hallway, splitting heads into grotesque smiles; even the paintings have gone rogue a couple of floors below. But there’s hope: all this should pass in 15 days, you’re told, so if you can stay inside your apartment building – if you keep the curtains drawn, your fridge stocked, and your sanity in check – you might just make it through.

Despite its jovially cartoonish veneer, Look Outside is a wonderfully, surprisingly grim thing; a smothering, gooey miasma of seeping innards and gut-tightening existential dread that also happens to be a sly, silly, and relentlessly oddball adventure, all the while walking an impressively assured tightrope between humour and horror. Tonally, it’s very much its own thing, but if I had to make comparisons, I’d say its combination of oozing retro dread and top-down, turn-based battling feels something like the lovechild of Jasper Byrne’s cult survival horror hit Lone Survivor and Toby Fox’s ode to old-school JRPGs, Undertale.

Look Outside trailer.Watch on YouTube

There’s definitely something of the classic survival horror feel to Look Outside, as you prowl the shadowy halls and gloomily lit residences of your apartment block while discordant throbs and hums fill out its ambient soundtrack. It’s there too as you fend off its parade of gleefully inventive abominations while hoovering up food, crafting materials, and makeshift weaponry – even if its turn-based battles lend a different sort of rhythm to proceedings. Sure, this might be a game where monsters disguise themselves as hats and you’ll encounter a crossword puzzle so boring it can completely drain you of resolve, but outside the safety of your apartment, things can be tense. Partly, that’s down to its unpredictably weird enemy encounters and the fact your weapons are prone to disintegration, but there’s also a canny XP progression system that rewards you for staying out and avoiding saving for as long as possible, push-your-luck-style.

Image credit: Eurogamer/Devolver Digital

But none of this, really, is what makes Look Outside so fascinating. Rather, it’s the game’s gleefully confounding spirit and relentless, wily narrative invention. As days pass, more of the apartment block opens up to be explored. As it does, more of its oddball residents enter your orbit, and things get brilliantly strange. It’s difficult to say too much without spoiling the fun, but this is a game crammed with imaginative scenarios and unexpected detours. At one point, for instance, you stumble into the domain of a resident apparently so enamoured with taxidermy they’ve decided to remodel their apartment out of themselves. The first floor of the building, meanwhile, has transcended the boundaries of time and space. Elsewhere, an artist’s having a hell of a week as his doppelgangers incessantly paint themselves into existence, and a nice woman upstairs is slowly inching her way along an ever-narrowing passageway, oblivious to the fact she’s started to leak out into the basement. And let’s not talk about the neighbours.

Look Outside’s horror might be softened by a tone that’s more menacing whimsy than outright nasty, but it’s surprising how often its sharp script manages a gut-punch swerve from daft to something genuinely troubling. Its absolutely favourite thing is to complicate a seemingly straightforward objective with a dash of moral ambiguity, then just leaving you to sweat your way to a deeply uncomfortable, often faintly harrowing conclusion. And, boy, does it love to twist the knife. These nine doppelgangers all think they’re alive, you say, and you want me to make friends with them so I can decide which eight to kill? I can sacrifice my shooting arm to get this hungry demon door open or I can feed it this adorable mutant rat baby?

Image credit: Eurogamer/Devolver Digital

There’s a lot of these kinds of decision points seamlessly threaded into the exploratory, turn-based action. Sometimes they’re obviously presented as choices, often they’re not; some prove beneficial, others comically, abruptly fatal. It makes Look Outside feel fascinatingly malleable, even as its mischievous unpredictability means you’re never entirely sure where your actions may take you. Perhaps your shoulder develops an ominous itch that chirps like a bird, or a shadowy creature with a porcelain grin takes a slightly unnerving shine to you – and you’ll wonder how, and why, and whatever next? And that’s without considering exactly why Look Outside might be tracking a strange swirl of slightly opaque stats as you brush your teeth, play video games, and pass time with pals in your apartment.

Even with its slightly one-note combat system, which tends toward serviceable rather than genuinely exhilarating, Look Outside was a real surprise when I played it earlier this year – a brilliantly unpredictable, wildly inventive, and surprisingly chilling little thing (also, it’s got a great synth-horror soundtrack). It’s currently discounted by a whole £1.80 in the Devolver Steam Sale, and it comes highly recommended. And if you fancy something thematically similar but substantially more harrowing, then hey, do I have the game for you.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Shadow standing on top of a hovering boat

Game Updates

Crossworlds’ Rival Interactions Are So Good

by admin September 19, 2025

There’s a lot to love about Sonic Racing: Crossworlds. The kart racer is just under a week away from launch, and I’ve been playing it and really enjoying Sonic and friends’ latest run around the racetrack. It’s got a surprising amount of depth with its customizable builds, a wide spread of tracks referencing Sonic history, and its races are chaotic, fast-paced fun. But one of the best things the game does happens just before the races. In single-player modes, you’re pitted against a specific Rival racer, and before the first race, they’ll exchange some words with whoever you’re playing as. These brief back-and-forths are absolutely delightful, and show that everyone in the Sonic cast is a professional trash talker.

pic.twitter.com/CNSbEod2FF

— Mlick (@Mlickles) September 18, 2025

When I play Crossworlds, I play almost exclusively as Shadow the Hedgehog, so I’ve seen just how vicious Sonic Team has made my boy when talking to pretty much everyone on the roster. Now that reviews are out and more coverage is circulating, I’m seeing a lot more of this banter and realizing that there’s some grade-A smack talk happening in this game. Crossworlds doesn’t really have a story like previous Sonic racing games, so most of the character interactions come from these pre-race rap battles. Everyone in the roster has a little bit of attitude, and it means that if you put them in a competitive situation, they’re gonna try to rustle their opponents’ feathers.

Not all of these interactions are hostile, though. These races are all in good fun, so if characters who vibe get paired up as rivals, they’re usually pretty chill, and it’s sometimes illuminating to hear them talk, especially if they haven’t really had much screentime together over the years. So sit back and enjoy some of the best exchanges I’ve seen online thus far.

OMEGA REALLY SAID YOU HAVE NO MONEY, NO LEADS NO BITCHES

OH MY GOD😭😭😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/n97aAGjRxF

— Chonzo (COMMS OPEN) (@chonzodraws) September 18, 2025

I get the feeling Shadow might not like Charmy.

Though to be fair he doesn’t seem to like a lot of people. #SonicRacingCrossWorlds pic.twitter.com/ZhyKA60fqu

— The Sonic Stadium ✪ 25 YEARS OF SONIC NEWS (@sonicstadium) September 18, 2025

I don’t think you can blame Shadow for this TBH they’ve barely even interacted beyond that one recent #IDWSonic issue. #SonicRacingCrossWorlds pic.twitter.com/C1ubko6qvn

— The Sonic Stadium ✪ 25 YEARS OF SONIC NEWS (@sonicstadium) September 18, 2025

Damn, Jet is really mad at Big pic.twitter.com/8u3lIcKwzz

— Funkin 🦉🐓 (@funkin03) September 18, 2025

This is why Shadow is the best Sonic character. Zavok slander is very welcome! pic.twitter.com/qW9gszebR7

— Shamaboy (@Shamaboy11) September 18, 2025

Knuckles….is calling the Chaotix…the boys. 😭

He’s acting like they go way back. Knuckles and the Chaotix are old friends again? In *my* modern Sonic game? #SonicRacingCrossWorlds pic.twitter.com/yNPPsyNTjO

— The Sonic Stadium ✪ 25 YEARS OF SONIC NEWS (@sonicstadium) September 18, 2025

Looks like they fixed Jet’s animation, he doesn’t disappear anymore!! And holy shit Silvers animation is so tuff they cooked 😭😭

Silver’s aura is back pic.twitter.com/6ozzj4q4vr

— NERO / ネロ (@roxochixo) September 18, 2025

YEAH CHARMY JUST ENDED JET LMAOOOO pic.twitter.com/t1qs0sJpsn

— Funkin 🦉🐓 (@funkin03) September 18, 2025

TELL HIM CHARMY 🗣️🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/03haWU869v

— Funkin 🦉🐓 (@funkin03) September 18, 2025

The fact Espio’s actually thinking about leaving the Chaotix to work for Blaze if the job pays more! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #SonicRacingCrossWorlds pic.twitter.com/U6XbAhnJn7

— EdwardSabaVO (@EdwardSabaVO) September 18, 2025

OMG ESPIO CALM DOWN, IT’S NOT THAT SERIOUS 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/w6ZKP07y0M

— Funkin 🦉🐓 (@funkin03) September 19, 2025

Alright, Cream definitely knows what she’s doing here. #SonicRacingCrossWorlds pic.twitter.com/yrjDlideIl

— The Sonic Stadium ✪ 25 YEARS OF SONIC NEWS (@sonicstadium) September 18, 2025

Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is coming to PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on September 25, with a Switch 2 version planned for later this year.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart Bundle In Stock At Amazon With Same-Day Delivery

by admin September 19, 2025

If the recent Nintendo Direct has you thinking about upgrading to the Switch 2, it just became easier to buy the new console from Amazon. The online retailer has removed its invitation system from the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle ($499) and the standalone Switch 2 console ($449). Up until this week, Amazon required customers to request an invite and then wait for an approval email. The invitation sometimes arrived the same day, while other times you had to wait a week or longer (if you received an invite at all). But now you can purchase either model just like any other product, and both editions are eligible for Prime shipping; you may even be eligible for same-day delivery.

The removal of the invite system comes a week after Amazon opened preorders for the Pokemon Legends: Z-A Switch 2 Bundle. The new bundle retails for the same price as the Mario Kart edition and launches alongside the brand-new Pokemon adventure on October 16.

Check out all three Nintendo Switch 2 console options at Amazon below. And if you want to pair your new console with more Nintendo games and gear, take a look at our roundup of Switch 2 games and accessories available at Amazon.

$499 | Available Now

The Mario Kart World launch bundle comes with the Nintendo Switch 2 and a digital copy of the exclusive kart racing game. Since Mario Kart World is one of the few Switch 2 games with an $80 MSRP, this bundle saves you $30 compared to buying the standalone console and game separately.

The Mario Kart console bundle is expected to be discontinued this fall. Nintendo hasn’t stated an exact end date for the bundle, but we imagine once retailers sell out of their current stock, it will be gone for good.

There are two versions of the Mario Kart Bundle in the US: This one has printed artwork on the box, while the other one is a regular Switch 2 box with a sticker. Most people probably won’t care too much, but if you like displaying your game console boxes, this version looks nicer.

$500 | Releases October 16

The Pokemon Legends Z-A Bundle effectively serves as the replacement for the Mario Kart World Bundle. Nintendo hasn’t revealed how long this one will stick around for, but it’s likely considered a 2025 holiday bundle.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A retails for $70 on Switch 2, so you’re saving $20 versus buying the console and game separately. But unlike Mario Kart World, Z-A will also launch on the original Switch for $60.

The Pokemon Switch 2 Bundle has printed artwork on the front and sides of the box. Inside the box, you’ll find a voucher to redeem the digital version of Pokemon Legends: Z-A from the Nintendo eShop.

$449 | Available Now

If you really aren’t interested in Mario Kart World or Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the Switch 2 console on its own is available for $449 at Amazon.

Here’s a list of what comes with all three editions of the Switch 2:

Switch 2 with 7.9-inch LCD display
Joy-Con 2: Left and Right
Joy-Con 2 Straps
Joy-Con 2 Grip
Dock for TV Mode
Ultra High-Speed HDMI Cable
USB-C Cable
60W AC adapter

And here’s a quick rundown of the Switch 2’s key specs:

Screen: 7.9-inch LCD touchscreen
Video:
- Handheld: 1080p with HDR10
- TV: 4K with HDR10
Refresh rate:
- Handheld: Up to 120Hz with VRR
- TV: 120Hz up to 1440p / 60Hz in 4K
Audio: Stereo
- Linear PCM 5.1ch surround sound
- Built-in monaural microphone
Storage: 256GB UFS
- Expandable with microSD Express
Ports:
- HDMI
- USB-C (x2)
- USB 2.0 (x2)
- 3.5mm audio
Controls: Joy-Con 2 with magnetic connectors
- Accelerometer / Gyroscope
- Mouse Sensor
- HD Rumble
Battery: 2-6.5 hours
Dimensions: 4.5 x 10.7 x 0.55 inches
Weight: 0.88 pounds

Heads up for new Switch 2 buyers: All physical editions of Switch 2 exclusives include the full game on the card, but most third-party titles utilize Nintendo’s Game-Key Cards. These look like regular cartridges, but they are simply unlock keys. You will still need to download the full game if you purchase a Switch 2 physical game marked on the front of the box as a Game-Key Card.

The Switch 2’s onboard 256GB storage can be filled quickly with AAA third-party titles. Many Switch 2 players will need to expand the console’s storage space with microSD Express. You can double your storage with the officially licensed Samsung 256GB microSD Express Card for $59. Alternatively, you can snag the 512GB SanDisk Gameplay microSD Express Card for $78 at Walmart.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Creators of Reigns, Streets of Rage and Saturnalia launch Palestinian Voices in Gaming to support indies from Gaza and the West Bank

by admin September 19, 2025

A group of game industry folks including Reigns studio Nerial, Saturnalia creators Santa Ragione and Streets Of Rage 4 outfit Lizardcube have launched Palestinian Voices in Gaming, an international volunteer network to support current and emerging independent Palestinian developers.

First convened in May 2024, the network are currently looking to connect Palestinian game devs with volunteers and funding partners. They’ll provide administrative help to any developer trying to get access to funding, and assistance managing resources and volunteer contributions, once secured. They aim to follow and boost each project from “production to announcement to publication”, and are already working with a range of smaller independent games, many of which explore recollections of pain and loss through speculative fiction and fantasy.

Dreams on a Pillow | Image credit: Rasheed Abu-Eideh

As you might expect, the network is a response to Israel’s on-going mass killing and dispossession of Palestinians in Gaza, which has now formally been defined as a genocide by a UN inquiry, together with the long-term killing, oppression and mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and inside Israel’s own borders.

“The dehumanisation of Palestinians is tied to their rare visibility in the cultural sphere,” the organisers note on their website. “This dehumanisation costs lives – as the world remains indifferent to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and to the surge of violent oppression across the West Bank and inside Israel.

“We want to push against the dehumanisation of Palestinians, not simply through representation but also through professional and economic support, so that Palestinian game developers may tell their own stories and reach global audiences.”

Being 2 | Image credit: Iasmin Omar Ata / Delta

Among the Palestinian game developers PVG are working with is Iasmin Omar Ata, whose forthcoming sci-fi adventure novel Being 2 is set in a Palestinian space colony. “You would have to fix the space colony during a black out, which would lead to flashbacks/hallucinations allowing to see past memories of Palestine,” reads a summary from the developer’s portfolio.

Another partner developer, Yusra, is working on RiYafa (pictured in this article’s header), an underwater experience “that combines testimony and symbolism to tell the story of her family and community based in the West Bank”, in the words of a press release.

Yasmine Batniji’s Pomegranates is also set in the future. “Travel to the year 2048 and play as a memory keeper in the reclaimed and rebuilt Gaza City,” reads the summary. “You will be tasked with tracing echoes of the current war at the renovated Al-Ahli hospital.” You can find a version of it on Itch.io.

Image credit: Yasmine Batniji / Gabbah Baya

Lastly, there’s Rasheed Abueideh, creator of Liyla and the Shadows of War and the forthcoming Dreams on a Pillow. Nic interviewed Abueideh about the latter game last year – amongst other things, they discussed the absence of support structures for Palestinian game developers in the occupied West Bank. “You need to experiment many things, and you have to make many iterations to reach something that is beautiful and people can actually enjoy,” Abueideh told Nic. “And to do this, you need an ecosystem that helps you.”

If you’d like to apply for support from the network, you can do so via this form. If you’d like to sign up as a volunteer, you can do so here.

The games industry at large has a… complicated relationship with Palestine. While many large publishers halted game sales in Russia following the outbreak of a murderous invasion of Ukraine, there hasn’t been a similar wave of divestment from Israel, even given some well-supported accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

In particular, Microsoft and Xbox are the subject of a boycott in response to their alleged collaborations with the Israeli military to surveil and target Palestinians using cloud technology and generative AI. Nic and I recently interviewed a number of people participating in the boycott, amongst them a former Microsoft developer who called attention to Microsoft’s “double standard” toward internal discussion of Israel and Palestine. Microsoft declined to comment on this allegation when approached by RPS.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

The main character of Silksong holds a sword against a red/orange background.

Game Updates

Silksong Devs Talk Difficulty As Fans Debate If It’s Harder Than Elden Ring

by admin September 19, 2025

Hollow Knight: Silksong ratchets up everything from its predecessor. The world is bigger, more detailed, and more dangerous. Team Cherry co-founders Ari Gibson and William Pellen recently spoke about some of their thinking behind making the Metroidvania Soulslike sequel harder, and what players can do to navigate the higher difficulty.

“Hornet is inherently faster and more skillful than the Knight–so even the base level enemy had to be more complicated, more intelligent,” Gibson said during an interview at the ACMI Game Worlds exhibition in Melbourne, Australia, according to reporting by Dexerto. Even basic enemies in Silksong hit harder and can be much more aggressive. That’s because the hero Hornet is much more agile, and Team Cherry wanted to balance that out with more effective adversaries.

“The basic ant warrior is built from the same move-set as the original Hornet boss,” Pellen added. “The same core set of dashing, jumping, and dashing down at you, plus we added the ability to evade and check you. In contrast to the Knight’s enemies, Hornet’s enemies had to have more ways of catching her as she tries to move away.”

If you keep dying, go somewhere else

That was essentially what Gibson’s advice seemed to be from the interview. He argued that Silksong is much less controlling than its predecessor when it comes to where the player can go and explore at various points in the game. “The important thing for us is that we allow you to go way off the path,” he said. “So one player may choose to follow it directly to its conclusion, and then another may choose to constantly divert from it and find all the other things that are waiting and all the other ways and routes.”

The logic is reminiscent of Elden Ring which, despite its punishing enemies and brutal boss fights, was arguably more inviting than previous FromSoftware Soulslikes because the open world allowed players to approach each challenge in unique ways. In addition to being able to grind additional levels, they could also explore off the beaten path until they found a weapon or spell that would tip the balance of power in their favor.

“Silksong has some moments of steep difficulty–but part of allowing a higher level of freedom within the world means that you have choices all the time about where you’re going and what you’re doing,” Gibson said, adding that players “have ways to mitigate the difficulty via exploration, or learning, or even circumventing the challenge entirely, rather than getting stonewalled.”

A clash of design philosophies

There was recently a mini-debate about whether Silksong is actually harder than Elden Ring. The Washington Post‘s Gene Park came down on the side that it is. I would agree, though I think that’s in part because Elden Ring isn’t necessarily one of the harder games out there. Elden Ring is just a hard game that happened to sell over 30 million copies, meaning that its reputation is partly derived from tons of people who wouldn’t normally play a Soulslike actually giving it a try.

Ryan Thompson, an assistant media studies professor at Michigan State, teased out what I thought was an interesting observation about one of the core differences between Silksong and Elden Ring. It’s not just that one is a 2D side-scroller and the other is a 3D open-world RPG; it’s also the way the roots of those genres diverge. “3D games are designed for you to win eventually,” he argues. “2D platformers are originally designed to take your quarter and tell you to piss off.”

That’s an oversimplification, but a helpful one when it comes to a Metroidvania Soulslike like Silksong. As the genre name denotes, it has its feet in two related but distinct traditions. One is 8-bit action platformers of the NES era that seemed to be perfectly content if the kid they were sold to was never able to beat them. The other is a baroque RPG adventure in which the expectation is you’ll be able to level up or learn your way out of any challenge.

Silksong is as much a 2D bullet hell game as a Metroidvania, maybe even more so. The margin for error on screen is more circumscribed than in its 3D counterparts, and its arsenal is more streamlined. It’s borrowing from Castlevania III: Dracula‘s Curse more than Dark Souls, and the result can be more uncompromising. That might be easier to accept if Silksong didn’t also tell an evocative and whimsical story that’s constantly dropping devilish obstacles in your path. But I’ll take that challenge over the original Mega Man any day.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Gets Ridiculously Easy Mode on Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S

by admin September 19, 2025

After several years of being a PlayStation console exclusive, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is headed to Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 in early 2026. Depending on how confident you feel, the game can be fairly challenging with its blend of real-time combat and action-RPG elements. But if you’re looking to cruise through each battle and just focus on the story, then you can choose to play the game with the “Streamlined Progression” options enabled.

This makes Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade even easier than the old-school combat mode that slows the action to a crawl with menu-based commands, giving you an extended window to choose your tactics. Streamlined Progression gives you unlimited MP and HP at all times, unlimited limit and ATB gauges during battles, and every attack will deal a whopping 9,999 points of damage.

Additionally, you’ll gain a faster weapon ability charge, and with some exceptions, you’ll always possess the maximum number of items at all times. This mode can be toggled on and off at any given time from the main menu.

Sephiroth won’t be smiling for long.

Square Enix has also revealed several of the preorder bonuses for the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade on new platforms. Players who preorder the digital edition will receive the original Final Fantasy 7 game to download and play–this offer expires on January 31, 2026–and if you preorder the physical edition, you’ll get a Magic: The Gathering Final Fantasy Play Booster pack of 15 cards with it.

While it doesn’t have a release date yet, Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will also be headed to Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S in the future. As for the final chapter in the remake trilogy, producer Tetsuya Nomura recently said that Square Enix knows exactly when it will officially reveal the game.

It’ll still be a while before it arrives, but in the meantime, you can scratch your JRPG itch with upcoming games like Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, and Octopath Traveler 0.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Steam is now blocking NSFW updates for published adult-only games, according to a raunchy RPG developer

by admin September 19, 2025

The great ‘dematuring’ of videogames continues with reports that Valve are now forbidding “post-launch NSFW content” for games on Steam, even those that are already “adult-only”. That’s according to Crimson Delight Games, the developers of fantasy RPG Tales of Legendary Lust: Aphrodisia. They launched it on September 15th with adult content warnings, after submitting it to Valve’s review process in August, and had planned to add sexy scenes through updates while working on a big DLC expansion for 2026.

These updates are not going to happen anymore, apparently because everybody’s favourite PG-rated cartoon villains, global payment networks, are putting pressure on Valve. Instead, the updates will need to be submitted as proper official DLC so that Valve can give them a formal review.

This will likely mean more work for the devs and potentially, release delays, compared to the relative ease of publishing an update or patch – as Valve explain in their FAQ, “Steam makes it easy to patch your game or add content at any time that you need to in order to best serve your audience on your schedule”.

“We were told all new adult content for our game has to go through DLC, presumably so it can be reviewed and approved,” the developers wrote in response to a Reddit post about the situation this week. We don’t know the inner workings of Valve / Steam, but we’re in a couple of NSFW dev communities and these new rules weren’t in place before the Collective Shout uproar and subsequent payment processors’ censorship.”

If you’re new to Collective Shout, they’re an Australian activist group who campaign against “the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls in media, advertising and popular culture”, and are also affiliated with conservative groups who campaign against sex work and pornography at large.

Back in July, Collective Shout claimed credit for stampeding Mastercard, Visa and other payment processing companies and networks into forbidding the transaction of a vast number of sexually themed or otherwise “NSFW” adult games on Steam and Itch, including a lot of games from queer developers. Collective Shout have yet to properly explain which individual games they consider unfit for sale and why.

Steam and Itch have now changed their policies to give the payment networks some control over what counts as acceptable “adult” material. They have also delisted or removed a lot of games, with Itch electing to seek out new payment partners while revising their catalogue. Valve are reportedly denying the release of “mature” games under Steam early access, possibly because (to echo Crimson Delight’s point above) the platform holder needs to be able to review the finished work before approving it for sale. I say ‘reportedly’ and ‘possibly’ because Valve still haven’t made a formal comment on these recent events. I’ll ask them again now.

In the Reddit thread about the rejected NSFW updates, Crimson Delight have only good things to say about Valve’s handling of the situation. “I have to say the reviewer was kind and forthcoming, we didn’t feel threatened or bullied in any way, and we got the feeling they were trying to do their best to help devs navigate the process,” developer Frenzin writes. “But the fact of the matter is that Valve has payment processors breathing down their neck, and the rules keep getting stricter as time goes on.”

“Valve isn’t the problem here,” Frenzin continues. “The big credit card companies are. If anything, Valve has stood up to them and pushed back. They could’ve simply nuked the 18+ section of Steam, but they didn’t, they stuck up for developers. Obviously adult games make Valve money, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of Steam’s catalogue. Silksong itself probably earned Valve more than most NSFW titles put together.

“Given that we’re erogame devs, we’re against any sort of censorship (as long as the content isn’t sexualizing minors or nonconsensual in any way),” the developer comments. “But it’s important to understand where the real problem lies, and it’s not with Valve.”

My very Lukewarm Take regarding the on-going NSFW/mature game crackdown is that people should be allowed to get their rocks off to whatever responsibly created fictitious media they choose in the absence of evidence that they are doing harm, and large finance corporations with no actual mandate to serve the public interest shouldn’t play the part of moral sentinel.

I’d flesh that argument out with reference to Tales of Legendary Lust, but my efforts are hindered by the UK’s new Online Safety Act, which requires me to verify my age to visit the game’s Steam page and visit the developer’s subreddit (thanks to Automaton for being the messenger). I don’t have a credit card for Steam verification, and Reddit’s camera age verification widget seems to think that my age defies categorisation. Which, you know, fair dos. You can find a SFW version of the game on Itch, though.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments