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Trump appears in a boat with a bag of cash.
Game Reviews

Trump’s Tariffs Are A Secret Tax On GTA 6

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More price hikes are coming thanks to President Trump’s tariffs. Diapers, toothpaste, cars, it’s all about to get more expensive. Families are projected to collectively pay millions more for back-to-school supplies and $2 billion extra on new clothes. Home Depot just warned home repairs and renovations will get pricier too. In gaming, the latest wave of trade-war-fueled inflation is already here. The average console is now anywhere from $30 to $100 more expensive than it was a year ago. Trump’s tariffs are a lot of things—random, chaotic, nonsensical. They are also secretly a massive tax on playing Grand Theft Auto 6.

Rockstar Games’ next blockbuster is expected to help sell millions of new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, the only hardware you’ll be able to play GTA 6 on when it arrives next May. It’s the kind of release that gets people who have been holding out on upgrading or who dropped out of gaming altogether to walk into a GameStop or Walmart and pick up a new console. And doing so will now cost an additional 20-35 percent, more than the highest sales tax in Europe. And console pricing could get even worse. Who’s ready for Nintendo to announce a Switch 2 OLED in 2027 that starts at $600?

Microsoft was the first to pull the trigger on responding to Trump’s trade war with price increases. In May, the Xbox Series S went from $300 to $370 and the Xbox Series X went from $500 to $600. Controllers and headsets also got more expensive. Nintendo followed suit earlier this month, holding the line on the $450 price tag of its new Switch 2 but bumping the older models up by $50, with accessories getting multiple rounds of price hikes. Sony has now thrown up its hands, too. Having already raised the disc-less PS5 to $450 with the Slim redesign, it’s going to be $500 starting August 21, with the other versions, including the Pro, going up by $50 as well.

“Even though Sony is diversifying away from China (for US bound shipments), it’s still an important manufacturing center for Sony. 30% tariff on China, 15% tariff on Japan, 20% tariff on Vietnam, 19% tariff on Malaysia means Sony is impacted no matter what,” wrote Niko Partners research director Daniel Ahmad on X. “I was expecting a $50 price increase because Sony has been proactive in adapting in the wake of tariffs. Xbox’s price increase being slightly higher is because of the increased dependence on China (higher tariff).” He notes that prices could still go up again depending on whatever Trump decides to do next.

When GTA 5 launched in 2013, a new Xbox 360 was as cheap as $200, and a new PS3 was just $250. In today’s dollars, they would still only cost $280 and $350, respectively. Trump’s tariffs are far from the only reason console prices have gone way up, but they’ve certainly made an existing trend way worse in the U.S. Trade groups warned of billions being sapped out of the video game industry if Trump went ahead with his most draconian tariffs. We’re not even in that worst-case scenario, and things already suck.

None of this should be that surprising. Trump has been promising new tariffs for years. He campaigned on it. He got elected. He is doing it. And now we are stuck with the bill. The president has been promising for months to bargain his way out of dropping poll numbers and a possible economic recession by winning better trade deals and ushering in a new golden age of American manufacturing. So far, it hasn’t worked. It reminds me of lobbing a banana at the racers ahead of you in Mario Kart, only to miss them and end up driving over it yourself. Call it the art of the peel. Those are getting more expensive, too.



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Coinbase Helped Secret Service Crypto Seizure Operation
Crypto Trends

Coinbase Helped Secret Service Crypto Seizure Operation

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Crypto exchange Coinbase says it played a “key role” in supporting a US Secret Service investigation that resulted in the seizure of $225 million linked to crypto investment scams earlier this month.

On June 18, the Department of Justice filed to seize more than $225 million in crypto recovered by the Secret Service that was allegedly stolen by pig butchering scammers, which Agent in Charge Shawn Bradstreet said at the time was the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the agency’s history.

Coinbase said in a blog post on Tuesday that it joined several other exchanges in an “investigative sprint” with the Secret Service in 2024 to identify scam victims, analyze chain flows and help build a case to seize the crypto.

Over 130 Coinbase customers caught by scam

Coinbase said that between Feb. 26 to Feb. 29 last year, its team traced millions in crypto transactions to illicit wallets and other account activity that could help flag victims for the Secret Service.

Source: Coinbase Support 

“This blockchain analysis and subpoena records production allowed the USSS to identify more than 130 Coinbase customers who were unknowingly defrauded, representing $2.3 million in losses,” Coinbase said.

The Secret Service also traced some of the frozen funds back to 140 accounts at the crypto exchange OKX, many of which were held in the names of individuals being held at scam compounds in Southeast Asia, according to Coinbase.

Tether burns $225 million in USDT

Stablecoin issuer Tether, which the DOJ acknowledged for its assistance in the investigation, froze 39 wallet addresses containing the $225 million in 2023, which were mainly in its self-titled stablecoin Tether (USDT). The stablecoin issuer later burned all the tokens.

Coinbase said the equivalent amount of new USDT was then reissued and transferred to a wallet controlled by the Secret Service.

“This process was visible onchain, offering a real-time example of how crypto can enhance transparency in law enforcement operations,” the exchange said.

Related: Australia unmasks $123M crypto laundering ring behind security firm

Burning tokens means they are permanently removed from circulation. Generally, this is achieved by sending them to an inaccessible wallet address.

Global authorities seizing stolen crypto

In May, the Australian Federal Police seized nearly 25 Bitcoin (BTC), worth over $2.6 million, which were allegedly linked to a heist of 950 Bitcoin stolen from a French crypto exchange in 2013.

A few months earlier, in February, German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in crypto from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s $1.4 billion hack. 

Magazine: Coinbase hack shows the law probably won’t protect you: Here’s why



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Coinbase Assists Secret Service in One of the Largest Crypto Scam Crackdowns Ever
NFT Gaming

Coinbase Assists Secret Service in One of the Largest Crypto Scam Crackdowns Ever

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US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed that it assisted the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) in recovering roughly $225 million worth of Tether (USDT) stolen via the so-called “pig butchering” crypto scams. 

Scammers typically lure potential victims by pretending that they are willing to start a romantic or business relationship. After some time, they eventually convince their potential victims to invest in fraudulent crypto projects. Expectedly, bad actors end up cutting contact as soon as enough money gets squeezed out of the victim. 

In late 2023, the stablecoin giant froze a total of 39 wallets connected to such scams. 

Coinbase joined forces with the USSS to track down stolen crypto on-chain and identify the exchange’s customers who were affected by such fraudulent schemes. They managed to find a total of 130 users who lost more than $2 million. 

Overall, the USSS confiscated a total of $225 million, and Tether burned the tokens on-chain. The same amount of stablecoins was then reissued in order to be distributed to potential victims.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has now initiated a restitution process. Victims have to prove that they got scammed by sharing their transaction history on Coinbase or another exchange. 

Pig butchering scams are treated as a top crypto crime priority by the FBI, the USSS, and other agencies. 



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Elden Ring Movie Director Has A Secret To Beating Malenia
Game Updates

Elden Ring Movie Director Has A Secret To Beating Malenia

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Image: FromSoftware

Everyone who plays a FromSoftware game gets to that point where it feels like they’re just smashing their head into a brick wall over and over again. It can come early in a playthrough or toward the end. Some people give up while others persevere. 28 Years Later writer Alex Garland, who’s also directing the upcoming Elden Ring movie, recently explained his secret to getting good at Dark Souls and the games that followed.

The Most Sought After Elden Ring Sword Has A Storied History

Asked who he thought the the hardest boss was in Elden Ring in an interview with IGN, Garland said “Radahn’s really easy” and instead it was “Malenia who’s the tough one.” Now on his seventh playthrough of the hit 2022 open-world RPG, he shared how he eventually overcame FromSoftware’s toughest skill checks, and it wasn’t by watching a bunch of YouTube videos.

“I just throw myself at them again, and again, and again, and again,” he said. “That was the technique I learned with Dark Souls. It’s not that you get better, it’s more like monkeys and typewriters. You just keep doing it, and eventually, one day they’re dead.”

That wisdom might sound useless for most players struggling with a particular boss fight or frame-perfect dodge-timing, but it’s actually an inspiring message for anyone out there who’s been put off by Soulslikes and their notoriously punishing difficulty curves: keep trying and eventually, through practice or just dumb luck, you’ll succeed. Not everyone has that sort of time, but it’s an outlook that certainly takes the pressure off of actually feeling like you need to get better or show progress for all those failed attempts. Just keep playing and let destiny take the wheel.

Garland was otherwise tightlipped on his actual plans for the Elden Ring movie. Deadline reported that Kit Connor, who appeared in this year’s Warfare which was co-written and co-directed by Garland, was in the running for the Tarnished role, though everything’s just rumor and speculation at this point. Garland’s intimate experience with the game itself will certainly give him extra credibility with the fans no matter what direction he decides to take the adaptation in. He’s previously espoused his love of FromSoftware’s uniquely esoteric brand of storytelling, likening it to an “existential dream.” We’ll see how that translates to the big screen.

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FNAF: Secret of the Mimic review
Game Updates

FNAF: Secret of the Mimic review

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Screenshot by Destructoid

Can the origin story of Five Nights at Freddy’s deliver a frightening setting with intriguing lore?

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Published: Jun 18, 2025 10:34 am

Having played all mainline FNAF games, I was eager to see how far the series has come and if an origin story without William Afton can deliver. Could a tale about corrupted software and a broken family truly replace years of child murders and haunted animatronics?

The latest Five Nights at Freddy’s tells the origin story of the Mimic as a prequel to Fredbear’s Family Diner. Steel Wool Studios has fully left behind Scott Cawthon’s unforgiving point-and-click adventures, in favor of a 3D, more kid-friendly world that’s heavily focused on stealth. Lore is to be expected with any FNAF game, and while it delivers in abundance, there are a lot of areas where Secret of the Mimic falls flat. So let’s get into it.

Is it scary? No, not really

Screenshot by Destructoid

Secret of the Mimic takes place inside Murray’s Costume Manor, a brand new setting for the series, where we play as Fazbear Entertainment technician, Arnold. The main threat is introduced off the jump, for the abandoned facility isn’t so abandoned (classic). The Mimic is waiting for your arrival, and it can take the form of any animatronic. This camouflage is an effective way of introducing horror because it creates uneasiness and paranoia, suggesting that you’re never truly safe. The idea is fantastic because the environment is full of unused animal suits just collecting dust, yet they are perfect for a hostile entity to jump inside at any moment. Isolation is prevalent in this entry, a feeling I don’t think Security Breach captured.

Screenshot by Destructoid

However, the horror quickly fizzles out when the Mimic just spawns inside an animatronic that wasn’t in the room to begin with, making the main threat seem more like an annoying poltergeist than a predator stalking its prey. The concept of the Mimic gets tiresome fast and becomes frustrating to deal with, especially when you’re trying to enjoy the innovative way Secret of the Mimic handles collectible hunting.

Repetition kills horror

Screenshot by Destructoid

The scare factor is removed completely, even before you meet Jackie in the Box, the first “boss” in Secret of the Mimic. The chase sequences in this entry are underwhelming, repetitive, and have a strong likeness to Poppy Playtime.

Each boss arena concludes the same way, with Arnold falling and losing consciousness. The plot and your objective are simple and follow the same formula throughout, where you complete a task, run from a boss, upgrade your Data Diver, talk to Dispatch, and repeat. Because it relies on the same format, there’s nothing about Secret of the Mimic that feels fresh or inviting. Engagement is difficult when you’re playing the same hour of gameplay on a loop. By the time I was looking for the last eight collectibles in New Game+, I’d gotten so fed up with the Mimic and wondered if getting the secret ending was even worth it.

Screenshot by Destructoid

I experienced my fair share of performance issues playing Secret of the Mimic, which I feel is incredibly important to mention, as this game costs $40. I lost an hour of gameplay during Foxy’s stage play and Nurse Dollie’s sections because it was permanently autosaving, yet didn’t actually save, which reset my progress when I loaded in from a “game over” just to freeze in front of Nurse Dollie’s face. I also had to manually close the game repeatedly because the mouse cursor became tiny and couldn’t line up with the continue or main menu buttons.

Murray’s Costume Manor tugs at your curiosity

Screenshot by Destructoid

There are some strong points with Secret of the Mimic, such as its distinct level design and exploration, which reminded me of System Shock, Fallout, and Alien: Isolation. I really enjoyed the Data Diver mechanic and how you slowly but surely upgrade your permission level so you can backtrack and enter new areas for collectibles, audio logs, and mail. The exploration perfectly pairs with the lore, like you’re uncovering a dark secret the further you go—something that was very much missing in the original FNAF games, as lore was exclusive to the mini-games, which gave the series an overall arcade-y feel. It’s classic survival horror level design that I’m happy to see make a comeback. Outside of its level design, the text-based adventure of Moon.exe hidden inside Secret of the Mimic carries most of the mystery.

Where FNAF always does well is in its storytelling, and Secret of the Mimic definitely shines brightest here. Intrigue peaked for animatronics like the White Tiger and Moon, but this was confusing as it felt like I’d discovered multiple entities, rather than being stalked by just one.

Screenshot by Destructoid

The development of Edwin’s story and the reveal in the non-default endings was great, even if the default ending is predictable. But, if you have the patience to see the entire story out, you will surely appreciate the conclusion in New Game+. Annoyingly, replayability is exclusive to the secret ending that is locked behind New Game+, for the only difference is a collectible you cannot get in the base game. You may miss out on some secrets in your first playthrough, but the only standout area lies in the depths of the Retail Showroom.

As much as I enjoyed these aspects, it was infuriating to play through the entire game again and be unable to skip Fiona’s quirky dialogue (which was only nice to hear the first time around), and forced to stealthily avoid the Mimic over and over because there’s no other gameplay option.

Final thoughts

Screenshot by Destructoid

Secret of the Mimic doesn’t feel like a Five Nights at Freddy’s game at all. There isn’t that strong urge to hunt down information because so much is handed to you without any real fight for it. The gameplay is too similar to Poppy Playtime, venturing too close into being a children’s horror game than an adult’s. While I’ve always felt mascot horror shouldn’t be targeted towards kids because of its content, Secret of the Mimic does just that. There is literally nothing scary about this entry, and it sadly lacks what made the original games so strong: the challenge. Because of this, I clocked out of Secret of the Mimic for the third and final time feeling disappointed.

6

Alright

Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.

Underwhelming in horror and gameplay departments, but fantastic in its level design and core mechanics; Secret of the Mimic is an average entry in the series. Having equal strengths to weaknesses, FNAF retains its mystery, but at the risk of losing its identity. Replayability is ruined by the repetitive hunt of the Mimic and inability to skip dialogue. The environment is memorable, pacing is good, but the threat in Secret of the Mimic grows tiresome fast because of its never-ending formula of stealth gameplay finished off by chase sequences. FNAF fans should enjoy the lore and conclusion to Edwin Murray’s story, but Secret of the Mimic may be one of those horrors best enjoyed as a viewer—not as the player.

Pros

  • Great level design that invites exploration
  • Memorable environments
  • Fantastic gameplay mechanics of the Data Diver
  • Engaging collectible hunting that feels innovative
  • Classic FNAF lore, executed perfectly in “game within a game” feature
  • Strong non-default endings that will satisfy storytelling enthusiasts

Cons

  • Predictable at times
  • Tiresome and repetitive stealth gameplay
  • Weak bosses
  • Horror peaks at its conception
  • Occasional but frustrating performance issues
  • Weak replayability value

A copy of this game was provided by Steel Wool Studios for review. Reviewed on PC.

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The sinister secret that Mario Kart World is hiding: where do those Dash Foods come from?
Game Reviews

The sinister secret that Mario Kart World is hiding: where do those Dash Foods come from?

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Last week, I spent most of my time working on Mario Kart World, explaining to others how to unlock its roster of characters, and costumes for them to wear, among guides for other new mechanics. It was while I looked into Dash Foods – those yellow lunch bags with a tasty treat inside that have the possibility of unlocking a new costume – that I had a particularly damning realisation.

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These Dash Foods, which range from bottles of milk to burgers to meals as outlandish as the Prehistoric Feast, can be picked up from various food stalls across the open-world map. Sometimes, you’ll even pick them up from the back of a food truck or van, or may even find them laying on the side of the road. This only raised more questions for me later.

The main question at hand is where exactly do these Dash Foods come from? Now, we know Peach and Daisy seem to have their own bakery – Royal Patisserie Desserts – which produces all kinds of baked goods, but head over to Cheep Cheep Beach, and sushi is on the menu. Immediately, my mind imagined the worst: all those Cheep Cheeps I’ve crashed into and called every name under the sun… they’re meeting a fate much worse than 2nd place.

Head on over to Mario Bros. Circuit and burgers are being served. We all know that your average burger comes from a cow, and guess which track is just a short drive away? Moo Moo Meadows. It’s getting worse.

While I have always had my suspicions that Moo Moo Meadows wasn’t the idyllic petting farm I’d once imagined it to be – after all, it’s clear as day now that Mario Kart World’s characters are not vegetarian – I didn’t quite expect the Meadows’ beloved cows to also be getting turned into burgers once myself and my friends crash into them repeatedly. I mean, there’s still every chance these are Yoshi burgers, and honestly, that might be even harder to come to terms with.

Are they even concerned about this? | Image credit: Nintendo/VG247

Let’s not forget that the iconic Moo Moo Meadows’ Cow is now among the character roster in Mario Kart World, as well as Cheep Cheep. Does this mean that cannibalism is also widely accepted in the Mario Kart universe? Is the lava moat surrounding Bowser’s Castle part of the Kingdom’s corpse disposal plan? Is Toad’s Factory actually being used for the production of Dash Foods as well as item boxes now? That would definitely explain all of the factory’s contraptions that are intent on squishing you and your fellow racers…

As well as burgers and sushi (and fish and chips!), there’s shish kebabs made of meat, veggies, and mushrooms, suggesting that Toads, Toadettes, and Goombas everywhere may not even be safe. Though, I’ll give the kebab vendors the benefit of the doubt mushroom-wise, as their mushrooms look a lot like they’ve been stolen from an item box rather than plucked from a Toad. Though, Mario Kart World’s crimes against its own characters don’t stop there.

My final concerning observation was the Prehistoric Roast served over at Dino Dino Jungle and Far Away Oasis. Composed of a huge meat joint, vegetables, and an egg, my first thought was that Moo Moo Meadows’ cows are being put through the worst of it. If they’re being shipped off in World’s trucks and vans, then that would explain the rogue lunch bags found around the map or on the back of trucks, but then it hit me.

Yoshi is no stranger to Mario’s antics. He’s been punched and jumped on for as long as most Mario fans can remember. Yoshi has even been thrown to his death – multiple times – by his ‘friend’. Are Yoshis being used for food supplies? Is it these small dinosaurs that are being served in Prehistoric Roasts? Is this how the Mushroom Kingdom is trying to make a stand against Yoshi’s years of tax fraud?

I don’t know. What I do know is that Mario Kart World isn’t as hunkydory as it first seems, that’s for sure. And at least Luigi’s cream isn’t involved.



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Squid Game Fortnite
Esports

Fortnite drops mysterious Squid Game phone number for secret audio clues

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Fortnite has just shared a phone number you can call to get a secret message regarding its Squid Game crossover.

Epic has just dropped the teaser for the upcoming Squid Game collab, and it’s safe to say that it’s unlike any other. Generally, a lot of collabs in Fortnite usually get leaked by dataminers early, followed by Epic releasing teasers or trailers shortly before they go live.

Alternatively, devs may also add Easter eggs in-game that suggest a particular character is coming, such as the case with Hatsune Miku’s leek back in Chapter 6, Season 1.

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While the Squid Game collab has already been officially confirmed, Epic has now caught fans off guard by suddenly sharing a new cryptic teaser that mimics the hit Netflix series.

You can call this phone number from Fortnite for a secret Squid Game message

The teaser itself wasn’t exactly announced in a social media post; it was actually a reply to a post by well-known leaker HYPEX.

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Without elaborating much, Epic dropped an image of a card with the iconic Llama logo as well as the number “121334 81760” next to it. These aren’t just regular numbers, though, as you can actually dial them to receive a message.

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Those who have watched the series will likely be instantly familiar with this reference, given that it looks similar to the invitation to the games.

If you call this number, instead of hearing someone speak, you’ll hear several sound effects, including the sound of a rift opening and faint applause in the distance, for about 30 seconds.

But wait, there’s a twist. As pointed out by leakers, running this audio through a visualizer reveals a secret message consisting of the following:

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When you call the new Squid Game x Fortnite phone number you get a ~25 second teaser audio where a rift can be heard in the background.

When put into a visualizer it reveals a secret message: pic.twitter.com/WXKVhrw1kn

— iFireMonkey (@iFireMonkey) June 12, 2025

  • Red Greens
  • Square Meals
  • Affluent Arrivals
  • June 27

June 27, 2025, is precisely when Season 3 will premiere, and now that the message has been decoded, it’s confirmed that this is when the collab will be dropping as well. 

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It’s still a while until then, but if you’re really excited, there are several Squid Game maps you can try out in the meantime.





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Elden Ring Nightreign players are currently obsessed with an ultra-rare item they believe hides a major secret
Game Reviews

Elden Ring Nightreign players are currently obsessed with an ultra-rare item they believe hides a major secret

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It wouldn’t be a FromSoftware game without some deep, deep lore, and secrets that send you down rabbit holes, and it looks like Elden Ring Nightreign players have come across the first one of those in the co-op game.

It all comes back to an incredibly rare item that players initially didn’t know what to do with, but after a bit of work, they figured it out… only to realise it was just the first step in what could be a major secret.

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The Nightreign item in question is called Cord End, which – by some estimates – seemingly has about a 0.05% chance of dropping in one of the churches you find all over the game’s world of Limveld.

After some sleuthing, players found an actual use for it. The item opens a door to a cave underneath a castle that sits in the middle of the map. Though the castle itself is a pretty popular spot, the way the door itself is hidden likely made it invisible to most players.

If you have Cord End in your inventory, the door will open. Inside, you’ll find three Sacrificial Twigs. Now, here is when things get interesting. Officially, Sacrificial Twig items prevent you from losing your runes upon death, which is obviously very useful to have, especially in the first two days of a run.

As nice of a boon that is, it’s not enough to warrant how rare the item is, and the process involved in using it to open the secret door. This is part of why players believe there’s more to it than that, and the clue they’re going off of is in the item’s description – where all rabbit holes begin.

It all begins with an item’s description, like all good secrets. | Image credit: FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Hawkshaw.

The Cord End’s description makes a reference to a “cutting-gifted tribe” that “vowed to sacrifice their flesh” to conceal some sort of secret. In the Roundtable Hold’s Crypt area, there are two coffins you can interact with, which also mention cutting.

Even more interesting, however, is that they both also ask that you “bestow branches”, which players believe is a reference to the twigs you gain from the secret area. The text is slightly different between the two interactables, and each points to a different area.

Players believe that one message is likely referring to Recluse, while the other could be about Wylder, and Duchess. Each one also references an area of the map, which could be the home of their respective characters, and may end up playing a role in solving the puzzle.

Perhaps, some theorise, you need these specific classes to carry the Sacrificial Twigs all the way through to the end of the run, and survive. Maybe that’s going to unlock the next step of the quest.

Does Wylder have something to do with this?w | Image credit: Bandai Namco/From Software

Part of what makes this particular secret difficult to crack is just how rare the item’s drop rate is, which slows down progress considerably. Without modding and datamining, we may never end up finding what the deal is with Cord End.

There is, of course, the chance that it may end up amounting to nothing. Not every word in FromSoftware’s games is meant to be part of a larger picture; sometimes it’s just flavour text. We’re going to be following this one, though, because of its potential to be hiding something cool.

Our Elden Ring Nightreign guide may not hold an answer to that particular dilemma, but it will help you get better at the game. And yes, that includes proven strategies to beat Nightlords such as Darkdrift Knight Fulghor, Sentient Pest, and the final boss: the Night Aspect.



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Elden Ring Nightreign’s rarest item could be hiding the game’s biggest secret
Game Updates

Elden Ring Nightreign’s rarest item could be hiding the game’s biggest secret

by admin


The first time I saw the Cord End on the ground in Elden Ring Nightreign, I was vexed. The enigmatic item had a simple description: “Gain entry somewhere.”

Where is somewhere, you might ask? Good question. I didn’t find out during that playthrough. Painfully, I relinquished the item on the floor in the waiting area before the final boss on that run to make room for articles with more immediately apparent uses, like healing. Every single teammate stopped what they were doing to inspect the object, which silently exhibited its rarity with a golden hue. Classic Souls experience right there: Something, somewhere, can be interacted with, if only you could figure out the exact conditions. The game will helpfully not tell you. Only your curiosity or willingness to Google the answer can solve the mystery.

I’ve kept an eye out since then, but to some degree, it felt useless. Nightreign’s design forces players to zip through the map from icon to icon in the hopes of building up a character who can withstand a Nightlord on the third day, which the game enforces by periodically corralling players with a Fortnite-like storm. But while Nightreign’s pacing is speedier than that of the original Elden Ring, the intricate level design and secrecy remain. Areas will have winding hallways leading to deep chambers with multiple pathways and doors that you may never see if you have any sense of urgency. One time, I dove deep into the magma area of the map only to find that the level extended so deeply, I couldn’t figure out how to get out before the storm claimed my runes.

In my 60 hours playing Nightreign, I’ve seen the Cord End exactly once. I figured that the likelihood of ever figuring out what to do with it was small, so I recently allowed myself to look it up. Turns out, it opens a door near the castle residing in the middle of the map. In it, there are three Sacrificial Twigs, which prevent you from losing runes or levels when you die.

Looking at a picture of the door itself, it’s evident why I couldn’t figure out where the Cord End might lead to. The area is poorly lit and barely visible. I had probably run by it many times, on most of my runs — the castle is a popular destination — without ever realizing it.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco

Puzzle solved… kind of. Figuring out what it does, hilariously enough, was the easiest part of the Cord End debacle. Players now know that the Cord End will sometimes drop in churches that house extra flask charges, but hell if anyone can get the item to drop again.

“I found one of these on my very first game and in the fifty-something games since I’ve never seen another one and now I’m going insane,” reads one comment on the Fextralife website detailing the item.

“I want to say I’d looted over 50 by that time, so it isn’t a very common drop at all,” another remarked.

“In 44 hours, I’ve only found 2,” says a comment on a YouTube video about the item.

Sacrificial Twigs are useful items, to be sure, but they’re not necessarily critical to beating Nightreign. Part of what’s driving the interest here is that lore junkies are convinced that the Cord End might do more than simply open a door.

As one player points out, there’s a crypt area in the game where a description reads, “The Ways of Cutting point to the deep woods, bestow branches to those who are worthy and wise.” Another description in the same area says, “The Ways of Cutting point to the deep woods, bestow branches to those who wander and roam.”

Theoretically, both of these text snippets may not only reference specific areas of the map, but they could also be attached to characters in the game. The descriptions are tied to coffins that players speculate belong to each individual class. The Recluse, for example, is described in the game as a witch of the deep woods. Crucially, this area also appears to have something that resembles an altar, and it’s accompanied by text that says, “To atone for the first sin, we elect to become the foundation.”

It could just be stuff to set the ambiance; while Souls games do have distinct narratives, you can’t assume every bit of text is an intentional tie to a wider storyline. Sometimes, descriptions will conflict with one another or plainly not make sense in the larger context of the game. Still, this is a lot of references to branches, all hailing from an apparently important place in the game. The altar is suggestive; is the player supposed to do something there? What happens if players bring the twigs to the areas on the map?

Twigs are obviously useful, but why does it give you three? A single player can only carry two branches, as it is classified as a Talisman, not a normal item. If the game expects you to share the twigs, is there a chance something might happen if specific characters hold those branches in the right area of the map? It’s the sort of thing that sounds like a classic Souls puzzle.

“I think there is some way to get those three branches to these 3 spots within the Roundtable,” muses a Redditor who is convinced there’s a deeper mystery afoot.

Another thing that’s fueling this quixotic search is the knowledge that being given a legendary item merely prevents you from losing runes doesn’t feel like a proper reward for something this unlikely.

“I believe that to solve this Easter egg, you need to have a group with specifically Recluse, Wylder, and Duchess, and happen to get a cord drop and open the secret door,” another Redditor says. “Then everyone needs to equip the branches. After that? Who knows?”

The hunches could be right, and there could be a wilder secret no Nightreign player has figured out yet. Then again, Souls games are not above simply trolling players. Famously, the original Dark Souls offered players a choice to begin the game with a pendant that players convinced themselves must be tied to some other elaborate thing in the game. Later, everyone found out that the developers just wanted to prank players. Nightreign is also slated to get updates, so it’s possible that whatever the twigs do — if indeed they do anything — might not be in the game yet.

We can’t know until someone successfully tests out the myriad theories floating around. Good luck getting the item to drop, though. Even if you do get the twigs, you’ve got to survive long enough to bring the branches to the right locations, or end a run with the items still in your possession. Most runs aren’t successful, and dying is a constant in Nightreign. Woof.

Perhaps one Redditor puts it best when they wrote, “I wish I had a consistent team just to run around the map to try and find cords, but to whoever can do this first and see if there really is more to the secret door, you’ll be a legend!”





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Nintendo's Switch 2 has a secret GameCube startup sound
Game Reviews

Nintendo’s Switch 2 has a secret GameCube startup sound

by admin


The launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2 has finally brought GameCube games to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, but there’s also a secret startup sound.

Once downloaded, the GameCube collection features three games so far: F-Zero GX, Soul Calibur 2, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Open the collection and it works just like others for the N64, SNES and more.

But! If you hold the Switch 2’s left stick in any direction as the collection loads, you’ll be treated to the iconic GameCube startup screen with its plinky-plonky sound effects and rolling cube. Cute!

Classic Nintendo GameCube games are coming to Nintendo Switch 2! Watch on YouTube

YouTuber Spawn Wave shared a video of the screen over the weekend. I then had to try it myself for that hit of nostalgia.

I tested it with other buttons too – the face buttons and the shoulder buttons – but only the left stick works for this little Easter Egg.

If you’re planning on playing F-Zero GX – and you should be, it’s great – note the default controls mean the game is virtually unplayable. You’ll need to enter the suspend menu to remap the controls, specifically moving boost to a more easily accessible button.

So far only three games are available in the collection, though you can buy a GameCube controller too. Other games on the way include Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Mario Smash Football, Chibi Robo, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pokémon Colosseum.

What other GameCube games are you hoping to see added to the collection? Personally, after splashing around in Mario Kart World over the weekend, I am hopeful Nintendo will whip out Wave Race: Blue Storm from its vault.



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