First things first, the Boost Driver. It not only lets the player leap towards a monster quickly, but can also chain into a spiraling Falling Bash. Boosted Actions include your standard basic combo gaining a few more hits at the end. Boosted Perfect Rush seemingly benefits the most, especially since they seem to hit much harder than the base game.

One of the more surprising additions is the return of weapon oils. Known as Bladecoating Slash, it allows you to use items to coat the blade, resulting in different effects. The example showcased here turns it green, and each successful hit restores health.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance launches in 2027, and so far, Capcom has revealed how the Boost Bracer works with the Bow, Greatsword, Charge Blade, Dual Blades, Hammer, and Lightbow Gun. There’s still much more to showcase, especially with the expansion’s appearance at next week’s Capcom Spotlight (which could also reveal the release date). As always, stay tuned for more updates.

For those who’ve seen the launch trailer from last week’s State of Play, it borrows more than its fair share of shots. However, a few new snippets include one sequence where Logan tosses a Sentinel’s ripped-off tendril right back at it. That same tendril was revealed to be swinging him around in another fight, so it’s a nice measure of payback.

We also see Logan going toe-to-toe with Deathstrike, even though she’s wielding her mystical katana (which he narrowly avoids a slice from). Another shot sees him crashing some aircraft near a Trask Industries building, seemingly signaling his arrival. It’s not a lot, but for all intents and purposes, those 30 seconds showcase exactly what makes Wolverine the best there is at what he does, even if what he does isn’t very nice.

With Marvel’s Wolverine launching on September 15th for PS5 (physical edition that’s fully playable offline included), we’ll have the opportunity to delve into everything about him, imperfections and all. If you’re curious about what makes Insomniac’s title so notable, check out our feature.

It includes two custom Joy-Con 2s and a gorgeous-looking dock that features the Triforce and its three pieces. You can also purchase a 40th Anniversary Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and a Nintendo Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector. They all launch on October 29th, though keep in mind the console doesn’t include a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

As for the remake, it launches on November 5th for Nintendo Switch 2. Featuring completely overhauled visuals, the storyline appears to be a 1:1 interpretation of the 1998 classic. Quality-of-life features abound, whether it’s swapping items on the fly instead of going into your menu, holding down the dodge button to dash, or the dedicated jump button. There’s even voice acting in the cutscenes (and the results, especially for Ganondorf, aren’t half-bad).

Check out the standalone trailer here for even more, especially since it showcases Adult Link’s appearance and all the sights and sounds of Hyrule.

Of course, that’s not all. Sheik’s redesign looks fantastic, while Ganondorf looks and sounds as absolutely imposing as ever. Classic bosses, including Phantom Ganon and Twinrova, are also showcased. Certain interactions, such as with Princess Ruto, have been enhanced thanks to voice acting. Then there’s the infamous Water Temple. The less said about that, the better.

While the visuals have been overhauled and look downright gorgeous in many places (particularly the environments), the overall feel of the original is maintained. You’re still on a journey to stop Ganondorf from obtaining the Triforce, and rescuing Zelda in the process, but now with snappier combat, faster movement courtesy of dashing after rolling, and even the ability to hum songs to play them in-game.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches on November 5th for Nintendo Switch 2. More details should emerge closer to launch, so stay tuned in the coming months.

Considered a “faithful interpretation” using modern technology, the remake offers completely overhauled visuals and the option to completely rotate the camera (including in towns and villages). There’s now a dedicated jump button and you can swap between items with a single button, like with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

Combat is much snappier than before, and you can also use gyro controls for aiming. And before you ask, this isn’t an open world game – the loading screens to reach locations like Hyrule Field have been maintained to preserve the original’s spirit.

Other changes include Threads of Time, which acts as a journal to track progress, holding down the A button to dash after rolling, and time now flowing even within towns. Perhaps the coolest new feature is mic support, where humming songs (or playing them on the upcoming ocarina replica) will play them in-game. And while there’s no voice acting during conversations, they’re fully voiced in cutscenes and even have new dialogue.

As such, these tips and tricks remain relevant, whether you’re revisiting the franchise or diving in for the first time. Let’s get into it, starting with…

The Threat Ring (MGS4)

You’ll lean on the Solid Eye a lot in Metal Gear Solid 4, and not just because the series’ traditional radar is missing. But the Threat Ring can be just as vital when sneaking around. Appearing as a literal ring around Snake when crouching or crawling, it pulses when enemies are nearby, even when they’re behind walls. It points towards their location and even estimates their distance, making them easier to avoid.

Picking Up Duplicate Guns (MGS4)

The battlefield is a messy one in Guns of the Patriots, littered with weapons and whatnot that can be added to your collection. It might seem pointless to acquire multiples of the same gun, but they actually come in handy when Drebin becomes available later in Act 1. He’ll automatically convert any duplicates into Drebin Points for purchasing new weapons, parts and accessing ID-locked weapons. Even if you don’t have access to him for a while, it’s still worth picking up dupes since Snake will still obtain ammo from them.

Managing Stress (MGS4)

Solid Snake hasn’t exactly lived the most stress-free life, and in his old age, it can be his downfall in more ways than one. New to Metal Gear Solid 4 is the Psyche meter, which depletes as he takes on more stress and causes a multitude of effects. Poor aim? Potentially falling unconscious when taking damage? Liquid Ocelot-induced vomiting? All due to stress. The Threat Ring can also become less accurate as a result. While extreme temperatures, carrying too much and enemies detecting you will increase stress, it can be lowered by eating food, smoking, listening to music or being stealthy.

Playing Dead (MGS4)

That part about the messiness of battlefields? It also applies to the sheer number of bodies lying around. And while it can be tough to stomach, you can also use this opportunity to go prone and effectively play dead, thus avoiding detection. Think of it as a unique way to sneak around, even if the smell of corpses isn’t the most pleasant.

Non-Lethal Boss Clears (MGS4)

As challenging as it may seem in certain situations, a non-lethal approach is often the best in either game. For Metal Gear Solid 4, you should at least aim to defeat the FROGS in Act 1 and the Beauty and the Beast Unit in the remaining Acts without killing them, which will net five dolls. After finishing the game, the Solar Gun becomes available in the next playthrough, and it’s extremely useful. Besides being non-lethal, it causes enemies to drop their items, making loot farming much easier, and it can be especially potent against a specific boss later on.

Supporting the Guerrilla Fighters (MGS4)

The local guerrilla fighters in Act 1 and 2 may seem like just another faction like the PMCs, but there are benefits to getting on their good side. Kill enough PMC threats, and they’ll start to warm up to your presence, not attacking and even cheering when navigating through areas. Just don’t accidentally shoot them – they won’t like that.

FaceCamo Benefits (MGS4)

Besides OctoCamo, there’s also FaceCamo, obtained from defeating Laughing Octopus. On the surface, this can seem like a great customization tool, letting you change Snake’s appearance to Young Snake, the various Beauty and the Beast Unit members (assuming you defeated them non-lethally), and even Snake from the PS1 days. But it’s especially useful for raising your Camo Index to 99 percent when used with OctoCamo, resulting in the highest concealment possible. It may even help sneak by some PMCs depending on whose face you’re using.

Careful Solid Eye Usage (MGS4)

Going back to Solid Eye, the various functions can be a lifesaver at times. That includes the Night Vision, which is fantastic for navigating the dark. However, you need to mind the battery drain. Once depleted, you can’t use any of Solid Eye’s functions without it recharging. Night Vision can be particularly draining, so try not to lean on it too much.

Higher Challenges on the Next Playthrough (MGS4)

Aside from taking out the FROGS and Beauty and the Beast Unit in non-lethal fashion, it’s a good idea to save tougher challenges for the second playthrough. That’s because all your camos, weapons and even Drebin Points will carry over. So if you’re aiming for, say, the Big Boss Emblem – which requires completing the game in less than five hours on The Boss Extreme, the highest difficulty, without any continues, rations, or special items, without triggering any Alert phases or killing any enemies – this is the way.

R&D and Mother Base (Peace Walker)

Peace Walker is a different vibe from Guns of the Patriots because much of the gameplay revolves around Mother Base. The question is: What should you prioritize first? Rather than letting Auto Assign do all the heavy lifting, focus on R&D. Increasing its levels will ensure new weapons and items become available faster, providing more options early on.

Prioritizing the Medical Team (Peace Walker)

Another facet that you shouldn’t ignore throughout your time is Medical. Increasing it will provide improved tranquilizer weapons, making it that much easier to go non-lethal. It also improves your soldiers’ healing rate, getting them back into the action that much sooner.

Don’t Kill Enemy Soldiers (Peace Walker)

If going non-lethal is ideal in Guns of the Patriots, then it’s a way of life in Peace Walker. Any enemy that you come across can prove to be a valuable addition to Mother Base, so rather than going on a killing spree, use tranquilizer and other methods to knock them out. Even holding them up is ideal, after which Fulton away and reap the benefits.

Capturing Vehicles (Peace Walker)

In the same vein: Fulton away any tanks, APCs and even helicopters whenever you get the chance. Even if destroying them can seem tempting, it’s often better to take out their escort troops and then take down the commander rather than bombing everything to hell. Mother Base will thank you for the contributions in the long run.

How to Farm ZEKE Parts and AI Boards (Peace Walker)

If you’re interested in upgrading ZEKE, then it helps to prioritize what you want to farm beforehand. For instance, focusing on a boss’s AI pod and avoiding the body will net more components. On the other hand, if you want AI Boards, then target the body. Of course, the parts vary from boss to boss, but this should make it easier to target a specific category.

The True Ending (Peace Walker)

Even if it seems like completing the game is the end in Peace Walker, there’s plenty more to unlock, including the true ending. The conditions can be very stringent, though – besides completing the first four chapters and retrieving Zadornov whenever he tries to escape, you need to assemble ZEKE. It can’t be taken on any Extra Ops missions, though. As for Mother Base, Intel and R&D should be level 40 or higher while Mission Support is rank 2. Construct a second platform, and Kaz will inform you of Zadornov’s escape once more. Partake in Extra Ops 001 and head to the shooting range as Snake to kick off the fireworks.

“I have it on good authority that this is a single-player story kind of game.” In the same stream, Corden claims to have seen footage that’s “pretty pre-alpha,” but noted the existence of “cutscenes, voice acting, photorealistic graphics, or it was, you know, Blizzard-stylised graphics.” However, he noted the latter looked more like high-end graphics rather than something like Warcraft.

Interestingly, combat is allegedly in third-person and felt reminiscent of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. While noting the experience isn’t “anything like Helldivers [2],” he didn’t discount a potentially similar mode or multiplayer.

“I’m pretty sure it will have multiplayer stuff in it in the same way Gears of War: E-Day has multiplayer stuff, but it’s going to be a full-blown single-player story/co-op campaign.” He then described it as more “Space Marine 2/Far Cry” adjacent, though the gameplay loop remains up in the air.

Rumors of a StarCraft shooter first emerged in 2024 courtesy of Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. Dan Hay of Far Cry fame is reportedly leading the project, so Corden’s comparisons would feel pretty apt if true. With BlizzCon 2026 taking place from September 12th to 13th after a three-year absence, it would certainly make for a bombshell announcement.

And if we’re lucky, it may be called StarCraft: Ghost, paying homage to the stealth action spin-off that never was. Minus the cursed development cycle, of course.

Those living in New Zealand will be the first to access it, while Mexico and Central America will have to wait the longest. Of course, those living in the United States and Canada aren’t safe either, ranking second-to-last on the list. As a result, spoilers could emerge fairly quickly, even if it takes about 80 hours to reach the ending (depending on your playstyle).

Assuming Xbox Series X/S copies follow the same release timings, you can play Grand Theft Auto 6 early by setting your console’s region to New Zealand. For PS5, you’ll need a New Zealand account and a gift card to purchase the game. If this isn’t a way to push more people to play on Xbox, we don’t know what is.

Thankfully, at least you’ll be able to pre-load the title well in advance on November 12th. Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19th for consoles, and by all accounts, it may very well be the biggest game of the year.

You would think this means a release date announcement is imminent, and it could very well happen at Tokyo Game Show, which runs from September 17th to 21st. After all, Xbox first announced the title at the show last year. It would certainly be auspicious, if nothing else.

Available for Xbox Series X/S and PC, Forza Horizon 6 received rave reviews (check out ours here) and had over six million players at launch. Though sales numbers haven’t been announced, it reportedly reached almost five million in ten days, generating more than $325 million in revenue across both platforms.

Playground Games has remained relatively silent about the PS5 version since it was announced to launch separately, but it’s continued to support the open-world racer with new content and improvements. A new game mode, Drift Attack, recently went live, challenging players to score the highest drift in a single lap. While this sounds easy enough, executing drifts in specific zones adds multipliers, encouraging skill-based play. Head here for all the details.

But what’s even more interesting (as reported by Genki_JPN on Twitter) is how Revelation’s equivalent of the Job system was originally handled. There are four FITS, and each character would have had to unlock them separately as rewards or milestones throughout the story. However, Endo was against; instead, the entire party will have access to all FITS within the first five to six hours.

“Endo-san was like ‘No, we got to have everything accessible from the beginning.’ He was adamant about that,” said Haamguchi.

It’s an approach that encourages “greater freedom than ever before,” per one of the slides at the panel. If that wasn’t enough, Hamaguchi also announced a transmog feature that separates a character’s look and FITS. And while that’s good news for those who want Cloud to have his standard look even as a Knight, you can discover more skins by completing side content. Some are apparently “quirky and funny,” as Genki_JPN noted on Twitter. Moogle onesies for all? Time will tell.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches on April 8th, 2027, for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. It’s playable at Tokyo Game Show next week, so stay tuned for more gameplay and impressions.