Take Breath of the Wild, for instance, which puts you in control of where you’re going next by letting you survey the land from up high before setting off towards something interesting with the freedom to choose your own route to it. Throw in climbing and the paraglider, and that freedom could quickly become the source of many memorable journeys with interesting destinations at their end.

Tears of the Kingdom takes that to new heights with abilities that allow you to create interesting ways around obstacles. We’re not going to forget using Ultrahand to build our way to a new path, or help Link navigate certain overhead spaces with Ascend. Your skill set was a part of your explorative freedom, and it made for an experience in which the journey was half the reward anyway.

Knowing where you’re going doesn’t necessarily mean you know what’s waiting for you along the way, after all. That’s a sentiment we keep coming back to with every passing glimpse we get of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake. It’s likely that a lot of its players know the world it places them in like the back of their own hand. But things are different and more streamlined from what we’ve been told so far, with a more balanced approach to where you’re going next, now a part of the new experience on offer.

There’s a certain sense of direction that seems to guide Link through the new and improved world that houses his adventure, and we’re wondering if it could become one of the biggest pillars of the remake’s success. As always, we’re happy to elaborate.

Same World, Different Perspective

Nintendo has clearly leveraged the power of its handhelds to give us a world that looks and feels brand new despite being one that’s quite familiar to many players. However, while that air of familiarity is oddly comforting, it runs the risk of stagnancy if enough hasn’t changed to merit revisiting the adventure again.

Thankfully, we think that what’s been showcased of the game so far has enough evidence to suggest that the changes are a superb balance between a new approach to exploration and engaging with the world that does point to a more focused adventure. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the game is pointing you in the direction of the next big story beat; far from it.

But it’s hard not to notice how the improved camera, environments, mechanics, and visuals work together to present you with points of interest while leaving out enough of the world for you to discover on your own. Take the Forest Temple from the gameplay showcase as an example.

The lighting system does well to highlight a path to its entrance in a way that frames it front and center, nudging you quite naturally toward whatever’s waiting for you inside. We noticed a few instances like these where the game takes control, showing you where it wants you to go while simultaneously emphasizing that there are entire regions built around those interesting places that you should be engaging with. It also helps that the way items are spread out across the world, instead of being hidden behind secret interactions, now gives you more reasons to explore areas before you dive into the mina attraction that’s in front of you.

The camera is important here, since the way the game uses it to present important details in the environment deserves a special mention. The Deku Tree’s troubled visage is a great example. Your gaze is drawn to it, and we don’t know about you, but we were immediately curious to find out more about what could be wrong.

It’s also nice to have more control over what you’re seeing this time around, a feature that immediately makes the entire experience feel more immersive and sells a sense of agency that was perhaps missing from the game as long as it was limited by technology that’s now here to allow it to realize its fullest potential. Factor in manual jumping and the ability to swim, and even navigating the world feels like more control’s being passed on to the player, paving the way for curiosity-driven discovery.

You can see how Breath of the Wild’s usage of landmarks to guide your interest is now more directly baked into the gameplay loop, with the game’s camera pointing you towards interesting things even as you’re free to explore the area you’re in before you head there. You know where you’re going, but the mystery of what’s waiting for you is still there, and potentially even something that the tension builds to since you’re going to explore a little before you indulge your curiosity.

An example of how the remake is encouraging a more involved approach is in changes to how items you might remember in familiar locations now come with slight changes to how they’re placed that cleverly change how you interact with them. The addition of a simple platform to a chest that was once easily accessible, as shown in IGN’s coverage of the game, is a great example and a showcase of how the remake aims to encourage interacting with the world with tangible rewards.

Intelligent Tweaks To A Known Experience

It helps that the environments themselves contribute to the immersion and involvement. A treasure chest in the distance and a wooden bridge to get to it can become a source of a new adventure when the bridge cracks under your weight, decades of ruin acting as a catalyst for your creativity and curiosity when you respond to the situation.

Changed puzzles can remove the familiarity of the original for returning players, ensuring that everyone’s equally challenged when attempting to solve them. It’s a sort of level playing field for the remake, and it’s funny how even minor tweaks like the placement of important rewards, or even changes to the rewards themselves, are indicators of a world that’s been redesigned to match modern standards, while retaining the vibe of a very familiar game.

That the game retains loading screens between different regions is an intelligent choice in our book for two reasons. It does preserve the feel of the original game as intended, but it also helps sell a sense of scale even as the game makes traversal easier through the addition of a dash mechanic that negates the need for button-mashing your roll button.

If that philosophy is sustained across all the game’s environments, it means the remake’s making good use of its changes to balance pointing you where it wants you to go while leaving you enough room – and reasons – to engage with its environments more deeply than the main story requires. You know where the important stuff is, while everything else is still tucked away just out of reach, just waiting for the collector in you to sniff it all out with unerring determination.

The helpful tools Link collects along the way, and the way they’ve been integrated with tech that lets you use them in new ways, is another great touch. Take the Slingshot, for instance. The way you can quickly swap to it in the remake makes firing at distant enemies or helpful objects feel more organic, and by extension, makes everything you do feel like it’s in service of your next goal or getting to your next destination.

That you can use motion controls to guide your shots to their targets is an interesting wrinkle that makes good use of what the Switch and its successor can do. The same can be said for the titular Ocarina, which is among our favorite parts of what’s been shown off so far. The way in which it blends a minigame with important in-game mechanics, such as controlling the time of day to let you investigate stuff between day and night.

Once again, it’s a reflection of how systems and mechanics from earlier games have been intelligently tweaked to suit the new approach. Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand is an example we keep coming back to because it’s a showcase of how one simple gameplay feature influenced so many others, a facet of the experience that was crucial to its success, and apparent in the way Ocarina of Time Remake is weaving in useful tools with the Switch’s cool tech to make many of them feel unique as well as useful.

The feature that lets you hum into it is also an intelligent way to have you, the player, actually influence the world or even summon your mount an obvious draw and a way to tie you to the game’s underlying premise so securely that it can be hard to extricate yourself from the adventure it’s taking you on.

Of course, no adventure is complete without the people that you meet along the way, and while we can’t comment on how the story could benefit from changes until we’ve rolled the credits on it, it’s nice to see how important folks are woven into your moment-to-moment gameplay.

A look at how guidance is an important part of how the game presents you with useful, contextual information that’s been shown in gameplay previews is telling of how Nintendo aims to encourage curiosity whilst reducing friction. That’s an indicator of an intent to keep the experience moving along at a steady enough pace to sustain your curiosity and engagement throughout its runtime.

The Need For Cohesion

We’ve spoken a lot about how individual facets of the remake can work to make it feel more focused and player-driven than the game it’s trying to modernize. However,  with so many different ways to encourage a new way to encourage a familiar game, it can become a mess with each new addition clamoring for attention.

There’s a need for balance and cohesion, the measure of which is going to become evident once all of us spend a few hours in Hyrule’s new and improved world. Clear objectives can create momentum, yes, but the game must also leave enough room for investigations, experiments, and problem-solving that make Link’s journey feel personal.

That’s precisely why we think Ocarina of Time Remake is on to something, blending freedom with focus to present us with a remake that’s quite big on the nostalgia and spirit of the franchise while weaving in a touch of modern storytelling and design to produce tangible benefits for players that weren’t on offer in the original release. That’s possibly why it could manage to imitate the freedom of the games that inspired it, even if it doesn’t aim to fully replicate it.

What’s more, it needs to be a special entry point for newcomers to the franchise while still feeling good enough to warrant veterans going from a passing interest to a full-on playthrough. Link’s walking a thin line this time, but we’re cautiously optimistic that what we’ve seen so far is a major part of what we’re getting in the final release.

And that’s a reason to be happy about getting back to Hyrule, as far as we’re concerned.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Well, things are about to change (hopefully for the better), as the new Echoes of Central Park is now merely days away and is taking the action to the Upper West Side, where something bad has unfolded, and it’s up to you to find out what’s happened. If you’re considering taking on the mystery, we’ve put together a few things to keep in mind before you pick up a copy.

1. A New Corner of New York

Let’s start with the stage on which the action unfolds. Central Park is obviously a part of the new map, but it also extends to Lincoln Square and the Dakota District. It’s reportedly twice the size of Battle for Brooklyn’s map, which should give you a good idea of how far your area of operations extends.

Of course, a larger map doesn’t automatically mean meaningful content, but we’re fairly optimistic that Echoes of Central Park is gearing up to deliver something enjoyable on that front.

2. A Dash of Horror

There’s a lot of stuff for you to investigate. Mysterious disappearances, brutal killings, and a whole bunch of rumors to sift through are going to keep you quite busy if you decide to get to the bottom of things. It’s nice to see The Division 2 try something new, and everything we’ve seen of the effort so far points to an intriguing experience.

Of course, we’re expecting those mysteries to tie in well with the campaign’s overarching premise, which we’re getting to in just a minute.

3. Blasts From The Past

The DLC’s promos showcase a female narrator giving us an account of the expansion’s events, and it seems like the story is set in the summer following events in Warlords of New York. We’re expecting to flit between the past and the present at critical moments, with the shifts potentially explaining important discoveries or lending context to current events whenever it’s needed.

It’s a storytelling style that could work quite well if it’s handled correctly and presented with cohesion. We’re going to stay optimistic about that until it’s proven otherwise.

4. You Begin With A Rescue Mission

The entire affair begins with a distress call from Miranda Veer, CEO of the murky Veer Corp organization that’s been suspected of ties to the Green Poison virus. Central Park and its connecting districts have been cordoned off since the outbreak, which means that she must be truly desperate to reach out for help.

Of course, the rescue is interrupted by an unknown threat to kick things off in earnest, and we’re hoping to see more of the organization’s role in the game’s events, and perhaps even learn more about the apathy that has caused so much destruction for the city.

5. Three New Companions, Three New Styles

New to the DLC are new AI-controlled companions, each with their own unique skill set for you to make use of in the field. Brayleigh Callahan, a sniper, likes to keep his distance and dish out some serious damage at range. Elwood Franklin is a former mall cop and Protector and a field medic who brings a Black Tusk healing Station along with him to the field to keep you in the fight longer than you could manage without him.

Lastly, Morse Feeney is an absolute badass who uses his Grenade Launcher to devastate enemy cover and formations. He’s definitely somebody you want to bring along to a gunfight. Of course, other companions are set to join the fray and assist your search for answers, although the game has kept their identities a secret so far.

6. Earn The Trust Of Your New Allies

A very interesting wrinkle to the new working relationships you’re set to make in Echoes of Central Park is that you’re going to have to work to gain the support of your newfound allies. It makes sense if you think about it. They’ve been cut off from the rest of the city, having to rely on each other or themselves to survive. There’s no reason to give an apparent outsider unbridled trust.

With that being said, there are rewards to cultivating those bonds as you get new abilities for them to use to aid you in your fight, while adding an interesting layer of progression to the table, as you’re likely going to have to choose between them on missions based on the kind of objective you’re tackling.

7. Get Around The Old-Fashioned Way

An interesting part of Central Park’s new mystery is the fact that whatever sinister threat is behind its current problems has also messed with navigational systems. That means you don’t have your GPS when you’re investigating the root cause of what’s happened, which should make getting around more challenging, but potentially more satisfying and rewarding as a result.

It’s among the bolder changes in the DLC, and it’s something we’re quite eager to check out for ourselves once we get our hands on the new content.

8. A New Endgame Activity

If you’re like us, you’re probably going to blaze a path through the campaign in record time. If you’re also the kind to feel a certain emptiness once you run out of things to do in a game, you’ll be glad to know that the area becomes a nice endgame zone once you solve the mystery behind it.

It’s pretty exciting too, as your GPS is going to remain dead while you scavenge the zone for buffs to use against increasingly difficult threats. There’s even a new “Hunt” mode where your actions draw the attention of some apex predators you’re going to have to either avoid or take down once they’re on to your scent.

9. Six New Skill Variants To Unlock

We’ve been told we can look forward to six new skill variants, of which the Corrosive Trap and Gas Bomber have been confirmed. The former emits a poisonous cloud when it’s triggered, which highlights its obvious utility as a tool to set up a devious ambush. We expect it could come in handy against those apex predators, whatever they are.

The Gas Bomber is a drone variant that we suspect could prove quite useful against groups of enemies with its bombardier-style attacks. We can’t wait to find out more about the remaining four, although it’s looking like we’ll have to wait until we get to Central Park to begin finding out more.

10. Your New Skills Aren’t Restricted To Central Park

We hate it when there’s cool new stuff in any DLC that’s restricted to the new areas it adds. That’s not the case in Echoes of Central Park, and any new skill variants you pick up while you look into whatever’s troubling the area are going to be usable when you come back to the base game.

That’s a nice way to add some flavor to the already existing wide base of content for the game, and we welcome the chance to show off some new moves once we collect them all.

11. A New Exotic Weapon and Gear Set

If you like to hit your enemies hard and quickly, there’s a new Exotic weapon variant and a new gear set that can maximise its utility. The Ratel is an Exotic version of the Honeybadger, and takes that one’s power to new heights with its 79-round drum magazine and a number tracker mechanic that should let you output some serious damage.

Pair that with a new outfit that’s set to increase your skill utility and weapon damage in close-quarters encounters, and you might even be ready to take on even the hardest challenges in the DLC’s endgame.

12. Solo and Co-Op Support

While you certainly need the base game to access Echoes of Central Park, the DLC comes with a level 40 boost that should let you dive into its campaign right away. It also supports solo play in case you’re the type of Agent who doesn’t work well with others, or if you’re planning on taking as many of your new friends along for the ride.

Of course, co-op lets you bring your team with you, and that should be quite fun since it’s likely the lot of you already enjoy a solid working relationship in the field.

13. Fifty Additional Stash Slots

For those of you who are struggling to juggle different builds, the DLC is bringing fifty additional stash slots that should help you with that problem. It’s unclear how you gain those at this moment, but the fact that they’re a part of the package is very welcome news indeed.

14. The Deluxe Edition’s Extra Goodies

While the Standard Edition goes for €19.99/$19.99, the Deluxe Edition’s €29.99/$29.99 price tag comes with some cool stuff added on. There are three new outfits inspired by the new companions you’re set to meet, for starters. There’s also a new weapon skin for the Ratel, and even a preorder bonus on both variants in the form of the NY Purifier Mask.

There’s no reason for you to conduct your investigations while not looking your best, after all.

15. Launch And Crossplay Compatibility

Echoes of Central Park launches on November 3, 2026, for the PS5, Xbox Series X | S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, crossplay is going to be rolled out in phases after launch over the month, with full availability by Season 4 being the current target.

That’s something to keep in mind if you were planning on calling your buddies on other platforms for help with solving its exciting new mysteries.

And that’s about it. We’re stoked to get started with this one, and you can be sure we’re going to be here telling you all about the cool stuff we find along the way. Until then, keep your fellow Agents close, and your guns even closer.

But it’s also the month when you-know-what finally launches, and the excitement is palpable. So as we go over the 15 biggest new games launching in November 2026, let’s start with the biggest of all…

Grand Theft Auto 6

After years of rumors, anticipation and delays, Grand Theft Auto 6 finally launches on November 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PC. A map that’s triple the playable area of Red Dead Redemption 2, an 80-hour story with twists and turns, attention to detail that you have to see to believe – it’s simply unlike anything else that the industry may offer for the longest time. And it feels damn good to get to play it.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake

The other big release and one that’s still very much anticipated in its own right is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, out on November 5th for Switch 2. Graphical overhaul aside, there’s quite a few quality of life improvements, including swapping items with a button rather than going into your menu, a jump button, gyro controls for aiming and even Threads of Time for tracking progress. If nothing else, the fact that Kaepora Gaebora no longer traps you in an endless unsuspecting conversational loop is a win.

The Division 2 Echoes of Central Park

Out on November 3rd and described as the “darkest and most disturbing” DLC for the looter shooter, Echoes of Central Park finally opens Upper West Side and Central Park in an intriguing flashback narrative. You’ll unlock new gear, including the Ratel exotic; experiment with new skill variants; and have a new endgame activity that involves escaping hunters in Central Park while acquiring better gear to fight back. Touted as twice as large as Battle for Brooklyn, it could be a worthwhile addition to The Division 2, especially since it’s still receiving new content (unlike a certain other looter shooter).

Sonic Pico Park

What’s better than the psychological torment that only coordinating puzzle-platforming solutions with your friends can provide? How about adding Sonic and friends? Sonic Pico Park features co-op for up to 8 players and bringing classic techniques like the Spin Dash into the mix. Will that be enough to fight off any resulting stress when the mistakes begin piling up? We’ll find out on November 12th.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Encore Edition Switch 2

As disappointed as the developer may have felt about it, Eidos Montreal’s single-player-focused adaptation of the Guardians of the Galaxy remains one of the best superhero games out there. Hence, the Encore Edition is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5th with new glam rock outfits. Players can expect a Quality mode with 1440p resolution targeting 30 FPS or Performance, which runs in 1080p and targets 40 FPS in docked mode, with Handheld mode only offering a 30 FPS target.

DreamWorks Shrek 2 Remastered

You just know that someone, somewhere, considers this their GTA 6, and honestly, good on them. Who would expect that Shrek 2 of all games would ever get a remaster with improved textures, 4K support, Photo Mode, and cheats on November 10th? You can also throw in couch or online co-op for up to four players, or a mix of both. Whether it holds up after all these years or not, this is a venerable blast from the past.

Where The Seeds Fall

Parkour platformers often emphasize verticality and scaling up, but CygamesEdge’s debut title takes a different direction, literally. Out on November 5th, Where the Seeds Fall involves adopting a Fell Child and navigating down the World Tree. It’s not all precarious – sometimes, you’ll create platforms but with a three hour playtime, and the perfunctory time trial mode, it’s about the journey rather than the destination.

Ashes of the Singularity 2

If you’ve missed the thrill of big RTS battles, primarily of the Total Annihilation kind, Ashes of Singularity 2 may fill that void. Like its predecessor, you can build structures and field an army of thousands, then zoom out to take stock. Oxide Games promises more focus on “skill” rather than “micromanagement or reflexes,” though you have to wonder how much that will matter when total chaos breaks out. Regardless, with a campaign, multiplayer (including co-op) and Instant Action, it could provide an acceptable RTS fix when it launches on November 10th.

World of Warcraft: Forever

A reimagining of the classic MMO, but without level increases and a focus on the base systems. Blizzard Entertainment’s latest may seem to only offer graphical improvements, but it also adds more than 1,000 new quests, the Skyborne race, class and specialization changes, and tons of other changes. Sure, it could just be another spin on Classic, but if the thought of an updated version of the base World of Warcraft without ever having to leave Azeroth sounds appealing, you may just be here forever come November 4th.

Lightyear Frontier 1.0

Between Valheim, Enshrouded and Palworld, FRAME BREAK’s farming with mechs title faces a pretty crowded field. Nevertheless, Lightyear Frontier’s 1.0 release, set for November 4th, could be a more relaxing experience, especially with new areas like the Sandswept Highlands and Hollow Marsh, rebalanced progression, new missions, and yes, new decorations. It may not exactly steal the show, but if it steals our hearts…well, that’s all that really matters, right?

Payday: Aces High

VR isn’t exactly bursting at the seams with high-profile new releases (especially in the wake of PlayStation reportedly transferring its patents to Meta), but Payday: Aces High didn’t get the memo. Developed by Fast Travel Games and coming to SteamVR and Quest on November 5th, it focuses on the Aces, four heisters of different skill sets seeking the next big score. With new skills and weapons to unlock, it could be a return to form for the franchise, especially after Payday 3…if you have the set-up, of course.

Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy

It only seems a given that Pikmin 4 would make its way to the Switch 2, especially after Pikmin 3 Deluxe received support. But this version expands significantly on Dandori with Dandori Academy, packing 72 stages – six monthly for the next year – with difficulty options, Exams to test your skills on a weekly basis, and even 4K support in Docked mode. It’s out on November 12th.

Football Manager 27

Following the cancellation of Football Manager 25 and the disastrous Football Manager 26, Sports Interactive has something to prove with this year’s title. Can a cleaner interface, weather and crowd updates, and various tweaks accomplish that? Or is history doomed to repeat itself? November 10th is D-Day, but it’s free from October 29th to November 3rd on PC if you’re curious for an early spin.

Burning Sword: Death Sun (Early Access)

If Phantom Blade Zero isn’t enough to satisfy your wuxia needs, then maybe venture into early access for one of the most metal-sounding names for a rogue-lite action title. Burning Sword: Death Sun launches on November 17th and focuses on Zhang Yixiang, near-dead after an encounter with the Northern Mountain’s Elder and seeking revenge. Promising bloody, fast-paced combat, it could be a palate cleanser after Soul’s journey, if nothing else.

VOID/BREAKER

Speaking of rogue-lites, why not add a first-person shooter where you’re trapped in a simulation against a hostile AI? VOID/BREAKER exits early access on November 4th and between new zones, enemies, modules, weapons, difficulty modifiers and so much more, it’s made steady progress. Version 1.0 promises even, including the story’s conclusion – a fitting end to the journey, especially with its present 93 percent “Very Positive” rating on Steam.

We’ve already told you a lot about what to expect from this one when it’s in your hands, but new information has come to light courtesy of an appearance by Will Powers, the Marketing Director of the game, on the Dropped Frames podcast. It’s given us a lot of reasons to think about how we’ve been looking at crucial parts of the expansion, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell you all about it.

Let’s get right to it!

1. More Perspective On The Story

Charting the Unknown is being written by a fresh set of eyes, according to Powers, and it’s the same writer who managed to give us a more streamlined path through a convoluted story in the base game’s Enhanced Edition. We already knew that we were going to have to finish the main campaign to get started with the DLC stories for Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka, but there’s now more context to it.

Apparently, each of them has been written to feel like a protagonist in their own right, which we suspect is a good enough reason to send one of them chasing down each of the main story beats we’ve talked about before. There’s also going to be a significant focus on their characterization, which is a good thing since that’s something the community is sure to appreciate, ourselves included.

2. Expansions To Pywel’s Existing Landmass

While the bulk of the underwater sections making their way to the game are going to be reserved for the shoreline that Pywel displays with so much pride, that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be areas where you swim below the surface in the base game.

Powers mentioned additions to Pywel’s existing map where exploring underwater was going to be a thing, and we can’t wait to find out what’s hiding beneath the surface of Pailune’s giant lake, or around the water bodies of the map’s southern regions. There’s sure to be a cool thing or two to find, and you can bet we’re going to be holding our breath for as long as we can in our search for every secret under the surface.

3. Important NPCs Visit You From Time to Time

The new base-building and castle-building mechanics just got a nice new incentive for you to invest time into ensuring the decor is fit to entertain. Important NPCs could visit your base or camp from time to time, depending on how much you like engaging with building mechanics.

That’s a welcome change, as it can work to make your camp feel more alive instead of seeing the same old Greymanes pacing about on their business, while also allowing your camp or base to be the catalyst for new adventures or points of interest that the NPC in question might bring news of. We can’t think of a better way for the game to encourage further exploration and perhaps even weave in a few narrative beats than this interesting addition to an already solid world.

4. Some House Rules

Your houses and estates can be built from the ground up in any shape you want, letting you truly leave a stamp on the land you’re working so hard to redeem. But as far as castles are concerned, it seems that they come pre-built, with incrementally better stages that you need to unlock via Dispatch Missions.

That certainly adds some spice to building up your presence in Pywel, and we think it’s a great way to balance out new building mechanics without making it all too overwhelming and perhaps even distracting from everything else that’s about to happen. The interiors and courtyards in your castles are still open to decoration, so you can still leave your unique imprint on them once you have them.

5. A Separate Progression System For Your Ship

In what we think is a great distinction to make, your ship’s progression and upgrade systems are entirely separate from your camp resources, aside from an initial investment that you make to build your vessel in the first place. After that, upgrading your ship is going to be a whole other thing, while your camp and base upgrades can continue in parallel with your naval pursuits.

That’s a nice touch since it immediately fosters a bond between your vessel and its captain, while also ensuring that you’re incentivized to get on the deck and chart a course to whatever is in store for you on the sea. Of course, it’s also a great way to ensure you encounter another welcome addition.

6. Watch Out For The Weather

You’re going to want to keep an eye on the horizon and skies when you’re steering your ship into the unknown, as the weather can work against you if you’re not careful. Powers described “new weather systems” that come with massive waves that can come crashing down on you in storms.

Our minds immediately went back to the rogue waves in Black Flag Resynced, and we’re hoping to see Charting the Unknown give us a more impressive way to handle bad weather, preferably with something from the Abyss for us to wield. Is that expecting too much? It’s really hard to tell in a game where the possibility is never too distant.

7. Prepare For Boarding

Of course, bad weather wouldn’t make the seas as dangerous as we’re expecting, and with Powers confirming that boarding is on the table, that immediately makes the rest of what he’s said about the DLC’s naval side of things make more sense as a result. It ties in well with the progression systems, for instance, as it could mean you’re going to have to get into a few scrapes to begin upgrading your ship.

It could also mean that naval combat and bad weather have the room to coincide, which would mean an epic battle on stormy tides. It’s not too hard to imagine at least one set-piece with a maelstrom at the center of an important battle. We’ve seen that in a movie already, but it certainly would be nice to be a participant in something that epic instead of a spectator, wouldn’t it?

8. New Gear Artifacts

Powers mentioned new Abyss Gear Artifacts as the sources of new abilities instead of new skills being added to the skill tree. Considering how much each character’s skill tree has been reworked and added to over the course of this year, that’s another sensible choice that can help weave in more depth to existing systems while leaving enough room for new meta builds to surface once the DLC is out.

It preserves the base game’s emphasis on experimentation while allowing for a potentially wider selection of new moves spread across the oceans and land, which could make engaging with even the base game’s new content feel fresh all over again.

9. A Slower Update Schedule

With the Enhanced Edition already out, and Charting the Unknown now as close to its release as it is, it makes sense that the developer is going to slow down on that blistering pace of new updates that it has sustained throughout the year. The weekly updates are going to make way for a slower cadence.

However, Powers was emphatic about more free updates to hit the game from time to time, which has us thinking that they could be pointed at refinements to existing and new content based on things that crop up as more of us begin to dig into Charting the Unknown. Well, we’re happy that the game is going to stay the same long enough for us to not be tempted to start over yet again.

10. The Release Time

We know this one’s out on Thursday, but we now know that it’s coming out at 3 PM Pacific Time, so set your alarms and perhaps call in sick for the next day while you’re at it. That’s anytime between 3-6 PM on Thursday, based on your time zone, with a few exceptions.

It’s at 10 PM if you’re working with GMT, 11 PM BST, while it releases at midnight on 30 October 2026 for those of you in the CEST time zone, although regional rollouts can see it hit an hour earlier. Lastly, that release time is at 7 AM on Friday if you’re playing in Japan or Korea, and an hour later than that if you’re in Australia.

And that’s about it. It’s safe to say that the next time we meet is probably going to be on the deck of our ship or somewhere along the horizon as we return to celebrate what’s good in Charting the Unknown, and perhaps even discuss what future updates could help improve. We’re stoked, and we’re sure you are too!

Granted, the past few years have seen terrible to above-average campaigns with these offerings. But Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (2026) is different because it’s genuinely enjoyable. As I noted in my impressions, Modern Warfare 4 (2026) really stepped up for the finale, delivering some great character work, strong mission design (even with some hiccups here and there), and excellent presentation…you know, for a Call of Duty campaign. So clearly, multiplayer, consisting of DMZ and PvP, can only follow suit. Right?

I’ll start with the former first and get the positives out of the way. Following the campaign, Hajin City is pretty much a no-man’s-land. So why are North Korean soldiers patrolling the zone? As it turns out, a weapons stockpile is hidden underground, and they want to find it before everyone else. Further complicating things are rogue operators. They’re far better equipped, which naturally translates to hurting a lot more than your average trooper.

Your job, potentially two weeks from retirement, is to infiltrate the zone and find the weapons before everyone else. But since this is an “off the books” mission, a standard Forward Operating Base and some starting weaponry are provided. The rest will have to be made up as you go, which is where the extraction gameplay loop comes in. Everything from the zone can be valuable in one way or another, whether it’s resources to upgrade the FOB and craft items, or even valuables to sell for money.

And despite the initially overwhelming UI and that annoying drop-down menu with its long list of tasks, I’ll admit: I like how it’s all presented. From the prologue with its infiltration and escape sections, teaching you the different elements of DMZ gameplay, to the adjoining story missions that require assailing locations and completing unique objectives, there is a solid if limited narrative backbone. It’s not really one that stands up to the campaign, but it adds a bit more weight to what you’re trying to accomplish in the zone, alongside some structured missions.

Of course, you don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) attempt these story missions right away. Instead, Dynamic Operations and Free Roam can familiarize you with the city while you gather resources. The former is more high-stakes since it awards a pretty healthy chunk of XP and cash, but either way, you shouldn’t expect any ARC Raiders-style matchmaking with plenty of “Don’t shoot!” to go around. My first expedition ended within minutes as a better-armed and armored player gunned me down. Another arguably ended even quicker when an entire squad rolled up in a sedan.

It’s frustrating, sure, but it’s a testament to Modern Warfare 4 (2026)’s DMZ that I kept going back in. Part of that is Hajin City’s inherent difficulty and tension. For instance, eliminating enemies brings reinforcements to your location or rogue operators to intervene. You can also hunt Lieutenants with their own unique mechanics (including one that possessed what I can only describe as Shadow Clone Jutsu before taking down our entire squad). In keeping with the risk vs. reward element of it all, you can sacrifice some of your max health to get back up from a downed state, effectively fighting at a disadvantage unless you happen to pack a med-kit that repairs the damage.

Of course, the map is laden with plenty of other objectives, from supply drops to scaling radio towers to locate said Lieutenants. I hate to use the cliché about how even failing will still net some progress for your FOB – but it is true, as long as you’re opening containers, taking down threats, and getting active within the zone, even if you couldn’t bring back any loot to show for it. Free Loadouts mitigate some of that risk, and the rate at which you’ll progress and unlock new recipes for crafting armor, consumables and other equipment isn’t too shabby.

Flip-of-a-coin matchmaking that determines whether you emerge with a decent amount of XP or get immediately bodied by other players while carrying a high-value loadout aside, my biggest grievance with DMZ is how it handles Operator progression. You can deploy three, and when one fails to extract, they’re considered MIA, so you can pay some credits to bring them (and whatever valuable loot they had) back.

The problem is that as they level up and unlock new passives, the cost increases, and after a string of losses, rescuing them gets costly. Of course, you could dismiss them and free up a slot, which feels even worse. Even if the key is keeping one slot open for an Operator who does scav runs for money, it’s still no guarantee of success.

Regardless, DMZ is mostly a win for the PvEvP extraction shooter crowd, even if it could have used a PvE-only mode for longevity’s sake. Which thus brings us to the less positive multiplayer offering: PvP.

Remember those earlier complaints about matchmaking and ping? Well, they’re still an issue here, as Modern Warfare 4 (2026)’s special version of skill-based matchmaking is in play, which means getting thrown into matches which feel less like uphill battles against impossible modes and more like a game of whose shots register first. Sometimes I’ll get the drop on an enemy only to be instantly melted; other times, they’ll do the same, and yet, somehow I survive.

The inconsistencies in shots remain as bewildering as the times when I died behind a wall (the low time to kill doesn’t help either). Business as usual in any Call of Duty game with PvP released in the last however many years, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying. And if you hate matches where other players slide around on repeat like their knees are made of grease, then PvP will get on your nerves.

Map design can also be very hit or miss. Transit 213 offers some fun free-for-all chaos at times, but terrible spawns turn it into a crude adaptation of Live, Die, Repeat. Rooftops is slightly better, though it really underscores the pointlessness of flanking given the general speed. I actually liked the concept behind Reactor U92 – a centralized room which can turn into a huge kill space, and exteriors with long sightlines and plenty of cover. Nautical is something I hope never appears again.

Kill Block is perhaps the most intriguing addition, creating maps from modules in random configurations…and it’s locked to Gunfight. Which is fine if you’re a fan of Gunfight. Less so if you don’t enjoy having one life per round. At least there’s a 10v10 option, so I have more people to share the blame. Overall, PvP’s gunplay feels crisp, and there is some fun to be had, but many of the same issues with the franchise’s multiplayer continue rearing their ugly head.

So to summarize Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (2026)’s: Very good campaign, pretty good DMZ mode, hang-ups and all, and so-so PvP. Which is a hell of a lot better than Black Ops 7. Even if each multiplayer offering is best recommended to specific audiences, with DMZ far more appealing than PvP based on quality and features alone, the overall package is a strong step-up from previous years.

All details and footage referenced in this article are sourced directly from officially revealed information.

To that end, we thought it a good idea to see what things have looked like in the franchise over time, a sort of timeline that begins in 1997 with the first GTA and ends just a little ahead of our present with the release of GTA 6. It’s not just a lovely trip down memory lane, but a showcase of how far gaming hardware and the minds that use it for excellent innovations have come. Let’s begin.

Grand Theft Auto (1997)

This one was the beginning of the beginning as far as its graphics were concerned, and they certainly don’t hold up well against the latest and greatest in the franchise. However, every great story has to start somewhere, and the ideas on display in its rather simple gameplay loop are beacons announcing great things to come, when you look at things with the gift of hindsight.

The overhead camera and simple sprites might have been an acceptable standard at a time when many of us were still too young to even think about asking for a copy of this one for any of its available platforms. Each of its areas, themselves reflections of real-life locations, had enough to differentiate it from its counterparts, although the lack of lighting and environmental detailing meant that this one relied on the premise of playing a criminal far more than its visual appeal.

Of course, indulging in your whims as a criminal, with the titular act of stealing cars and causing mayhem being a crucial part of what you do in each city. Sadly, things are once again too basic for this one to be comparable to the games that followed it.

On its own, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we must consider that, as a parameter that often helps sell the premise and experience that a game aspires to, the visual fidelity on offer in Grand Theft Auto is significant only because of how it represents design philosophies that would evolve both graphics and gameplay over the franchise’s future titles.

GTA 2 (1999)

We know how much things can improve in a space of two years in the gaming world, and that was as true back in the day as it is now. This one retained the same overhead camera, but Anywhere City came with so much flavor to it that it automatically stood out from anything its predecessors could bring.

Its streets weren’t as empty, and were often teeming with opportunities for the gameplay’s signature chaos to unfold. But it’s more than that. Anywhere City, when you look at it through the lens of what the franchise has evolved into since its release, marked the early beginnings of the GTA franchise’s distinct vibes.

The lighting is an immediately tangible improvement over the previous game, and was certainly quite important in lending each district of Anywhere City a unique flavor. The improved environmental detail and a more reactive world made sure your actions felt noticed, and that was an important part of setting up the game’s many systems in a believable way.

Collisions, explosions, and even gunshots felt more believable, while a hint of verticality in the form of overhead objects that played a role in the actual gameplay was brought into an already addictive loop. Better detailed cars, buildings, and streets also helped.

As a means of better selling the game’s mechanical improvements, GTA 2 is a significant title as it begins to showcase how the franchise’s graphical improvements often tied into gameplay features in meaningful ways, resulting in more cohesion and immersion for players.

However, its successor was where things began to get very interesting.

GTA III (2001)

The turn of a new century brought us Liberty City, and the first 3D world that the franchise let us explore to our heart’s content. Claude’s time in it was marked by a major graphical leap for GTA, with a world that left behind animated sprites and the overhead camera for a perspective that immediately felt closer and more personal.

The third-person camera was immediately more immersive and an obvious leap forward on the graphical front. But it didn’t operate in a vacuum, and Liberty City’s streets made good use of the new point of view. Yes, they weren’t as populated or lively as what’s on offer today, and certainly not even in the range of what GTA 6 is bringing to the table, but they were certainly impressive for what they achieved back in the day.

The same responsive world was now a detailed labyrinth of streets and buildings that you were let loose in, free to navigate them on foot or in a car with a level of immersion hitherto unseen from the franchise. Character models and cars that showed actual damage from collisions joined an art style and lighting system that was very capable for its time.

Actual assets and reasonably good textures meant that getting in trouble now felt more akin to something likely to happen in the real world, although the underlying capability for what we’re expecting from the franchise today simply didn’t exist at the time. It’s hard to fault the game for that, and it remains a very impressive first step towards a very bright future for the franchise.

GTA: Vice City (2002)

A year later, we were taken to Vice City, where things were definitely better. But with only a year between the two titles, they were perhaps iterative improvements rather than evolutionary changes.

The streets were still showing the same NPC density and level of activity, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing considering how effective at being engaging it was at the time. But in the context of our examination, it was the early indicator that quantity wasn’t necessarily tied to quality.

However, what did change was certainly great, and improvements to the art direction certainly helped Vice City stand on its own merits. That was an area where there were marked improvements. Neon signs and colorful pastel buildings joined more tropical scenery.

Boats floated gently on waves, the water and lighting working very well together to make the ocean feel as endless as it is in the real world. Sunlight felt more natural thanks to a more vibrant tone to life in the city, a step-up over Liberty’s relatively drab overtones in hindsight. Getting into a chopper to take it all in from above felt very futuristic at the time, although it’s something we take for granted from the franchise today.

The presence of better vegetation and improved atmospheric effects also helped sell the experience of a living, breathing city that was just waiting for you to engage with what it was offering. The strong foundations established so far would soon begin to be the framework of the next major leap for the franchise.

However, there were a few other titles to go before that, each bringing something unique to the table that would then culminate in the next major leap.

GTA: San Andreas (2004)

Carl’s adventure saw the franchise expand the scope of its world to include three whole cities under San Andreas’s umbrella, and the good news is that it brought the scope for a lot of biome variety and distinctive vibes to districts that now showcase the franchise’s penchant for worlds that draw you in and keep you there almost effortlessly.

We can’t quite say this one was there yet visually, thanks to its character models, lighting, and basic geometry, which just feels so outdated today. But you have to remember that this was a title that let you ride on to a moving train on a motorcycle to deal with some bad guys. Getting to fly planes for the first time was also a welcome addition, bringing the sky into the mix in a way you’d never experienced before.

That’s a long way to come from animated sprites, all in a period of seven years, which is impressive even by today’s standards, and probably an interesting way to look at how long GTA 6 has been in development, and the expectations it carries because of it.

We’re going to talk about that when we get to the franchise’s latest, but there’s a little detour on our journey there.

GTA Advance (2004)

Taking things back to Liberty City, and all of its graphical goodness or lack thereof, might seem like a step back for a franchise that was already well on its way to the next big visual leap it was bringing. But weigh that against the Game Boy Advance’s hardware, and you begin to see a formula that could be adapted well across different platforms.

It’s probably GTA Advance’s biggest claim to fame, though, as what it was offering was more or less something you’d already seen in the franchise’s first two entries. But it did manage something else: it paved the path for future entires to wind the clock back, taking us to already familiar places that had more stories to tell us.

Yes, its streets were reliant on the overhead camera that was a part of the franchise’s humble beginnings, while the same sprites could be seen as a step back from the 3D models we’d already gotten used to. But as a title for the Advance, this one managed to be a world that could still immerse you in its gameplay loop if it weren’t for those cutscenes. Still, it’s a credible effort and is one that deserved its due on this list.

Of course, another trip to Liberty City on a different handheld must now take the stage.

GTA: Liberty City Stories (2005)

The Game Boy Advance wasn’t the only handheld to take a stab at Liberty City. This one brought the city’s magic to the PSP and did well to preserve the environmental detail that was on display in previous iterations of the world.

The 3D models, textures, and assets from Liberty City carried over well to Sony’s gaming on-the-go attempt, but there were compromises. Even contact with water was fatal, naturally removing a major part of Liberty City’s explorable area. The draw distance was also quite limited, though the game did a good job of keeping you in the moment.

But put those issues aside, and you see a city brought to life quite well on the hardware it was running on, and it was one that helped the gameplay loop on offer be immersive enough to make this one a very successful effort from a commercial perspective. It was certainly a strong offering, but one that did showcase a penchant for adaptability that had already begun with Advance, and is significant because of it.

GTA: Vice City Stories (2006)

Another PSP offering, but with Vice City as the playable stage this time around, this one brought all of the city’s color and flair to the console. However, the character models, animations, and environments were certainly getting stale in the run-up to the franchise’s next big graphical leap.

By this point, the franchise’s signature formula was established well enough to make its gameplay loop addictive and immersive on its own merits, but Vice City’s varied environments, colors, and lighting did well to sell it on the PSP. Would it have been nice to see the improvements that we’re yet to talk about make their presence felt in this one? Of course.

But was it fair to expect that kind of leap on a platform that might not have been able to handle it? We’d say yeah, and Vice City Stories might have done well to expand on the history behind our time on its streets, but it was only another step towards something bigger on the graphical front.

Well, that leap wasn’t too far away.

GTA IV (2008)

We’re getting closer and closer to the good stuff now. Returning to Liberty City this time around was a clear indicator that the franchise had moved forward with its presentation and visuals. The character models had believable faces now, which is probably among the most tangible improvements you can see right off the bat.

However, it wasn’t the only one, as the open world now had a level of detail that we hadn’t previously seen from the franchise so far. The streets were denser, packing more people and architecture into the playable real estate to make Liberty City feel like it had grown alongside the franchise.

The lighting felt way more believable and polished, lending an air of vibrancy or muted subtlety to scenes based on what was required of it. Assets, textures, and environmental objects were not only better, but woven in well to make this new and improved take on Liberty City stand out very well from anything that had been done with it before.

Improved verticality also let this one manage to make its world go toe-to-toe with anything that preceded it, alongside other details like damage to your vehicles after collisions, all of which were done before but not with the detail and polish that was on display this time around.

The water and tropical settings were important parts of making the presentation feel like such an evolution, with reflections and gentle waves to behold as you sped across the surface on your boat, or perhaps looked at it from the coastline. As far as the view was concerned, GTA 4 was definitely the finest the franchise produced at the time, and with good reason.

GTA: Chinatown Wars (2009)

We’re getting close to the end of our look back at how GTA has evolved over the years, and Chinatown Wars is a great showcase of how the earlier top-down perspective still had enough bite to carry it into an era with better hardware and potential for polish.

Both were used quite well in making this stylized take on Liberty City feel like a refreshing departure from anything that preceded it. The cel-shaded art style immediately stood out, allowing the overhead camera to make great use of the lighting and shadows to make the world feel immersive.

Character models and faces met the standards of what the franchise had achieved so far, while the world itself felt like a solid step forward from anything that the other overhead titles in the franchise’s lineup could manage. Of course, the PSP version did manage to look better than its DS counterpart, but that doesn’t mean that the latter was a slouch when it came to presenting a slick, stylish experience.

The comic-book-styled storytelling and the kind of experience this one aimed to be were well-served by the graphics on this one, and it remains a testament to how Rockstar has been able to evolve experiences without falling into a rut over the years.

GTA V (2013)

We’re finally through the franchise’s past, and GTA 5 is the current torchbearer for the franchise’s graphical evolution. It’s a well-deserved distinction, to be sure, with Los Santos marking the culmination of a journey that had begun so many years ago.

From its dense, populated streets, NPC interactions, excellent lighting and environmental detail, a draw distance that truly let you feel like you were a speck in a much larger world, and much better character models, GTA V was a leap forward in every aspect as far as its visuals were concerned.

Rockstar’s familiarity with the platforms it was making the game for notwithstanding, Los Santos’s effort to recreate the vibe and feel of Los Angeles was certainly helped along by visual fidelity that saw light gently glance off vehicles and people, lending an air of authenticity to every scene we witness.

The world around you was similarly engaging, with varied flora and fauna punctuating the urban vibe that Los Santos aimed for, while the surrounding wilds felt like sprawling areas that beckoned you over with the allure of discovery, working well with the visuals to be as enticing as it could be.

Combat and chases were similarly immersive thanks to well-rendered explosions, impacts from bullets, environmental damage, collisions with other vehicles, and so much more, all of which made the experience feel like a true simulation of a world where you were free to do as you pleased and deal with the consequences as you saw fit.

It was clear that the five-year gap between this one and its predecessor was used well, and the subsequent releases of this game on not one but two future generations of gaming hardware are a testament to its popularity and the flawless execution that has made it as legendary as it is.

That brings us to GTA 6, but it’s important to remember a rather controversial effort to modernize GTA 3, San Andreas, and Vice City in the Trilogy: Definitive Edition that came out for current-gen consoles a while ago. It was a mixed effort that did retain the magic of the games it aimed to modernize, but with GTA 5 already in play, those improvements haven’t landed as well as they might have in its absence.

GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition (2021)

This one comes with a bit of context that needs to be set. With the franchise dormant for a while up until that point, and with no indication of a sequel to GTA 5 at the time when this one was released, it’s important to know that it came out to a rather passionate fan base who would have much rather had a new addition to its ranks.

That the sequel is now a month away, almost five years later, is a story of its own best tackled over another conversation. But The Trilogy’s improvements, such as better visuals, more polished character models and textures, and lighting improvements that helped things along, were outshone by other issues that brought things down by a lot.

Our own review of that release laments an uneven experience that we believed was going to be an easy win for Rockstar, but ended up being among the year’s most disappointing experiences. Of course, credit must be given to the numerous fixes that its 2024 update brought in to fix a lot of those complaints, but this was one flawed release in a long line of successes that stood out, and continues to do so.

However, that might soon be in the past if Leonidas City has anything to do with it, and the franchise is poised to enter a new chapter to usher in its future.

GTA VI

It’s taken a while to get here, but Leonidas is now a month away at the time of writing. We’ve seen enough of it to know that it is certainly a leap forward for the franchise’s graphics thanks to the beauty of current-gen hardware and a very ambitious effort to make Leonidas an open world that should serve as a benchmark for the genre if it manages to click with its players.

Jason, Lucia, and everybody they come into contact with look so darn real it feels unreal, a sentiment that extends to the city and its infrastructure. From materials, textures, the level of detail in the environment, the foliage, lighting, shadows, and the way everything responds to your actions, it’s definitely a leap forward, and could be a very giant one that justifies the thirteen-year gap between this one and its predecessor.

Simply comparing it to GTA 5 is going to make that leap feel so tangible in so many ways. It’s evident in how rays of light now look so much better thanks to ray tracing being a part of its underlying systems. Cars, roads, the ocean, and so many other visual cues exist to show you just how far we’ve come as far as representations of dense cities that have unpredictability woven into their very fabric are concerned.

It’s been a hell of a journey, but we’re thinking that GTA 6 is only the latest stop in a franchise that clearly knows how to stay afloat with the times, and even surge ahead of them thanks to the effective use of a well-established formula and visual leaps that make each subsequent entry now feel like a sort of beacon for the rest of the gaming world to follow.

We can’t wait to see how it all comes together in Rockstar’s latest, and perhaps begin speculating on what it could bring to the table once it’s done with Leonidas. With a journey as fascinating as the one it’s already had, it’s hard not to expect greatness from GTA, and we’re hoping we get to do more of these showcases over the years.

Complete The Main Story

Starting with the obvious one: make sure you’ve finished the base game’s main story. Not only does this give you the best understanding of the characters and conflicts that have shaped Pywel, but it also clears the way for each of the three protagonist’s new DLC storylines. In Charting the Unknown, Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane get their own narrative paths for you to follow, and they’re not diversions you can pick up midway through the campaign. It’ll be interesting to see how Oongka and Damiane’s arcs evolve in the expansion given their stories were arguably underserved in favour of Kliff in Crimson Desert. And, just another note: the new tough-as-nails Garden of Trials boss-rush mode can only be attempted once the main story has been completed, too.

Complete Luke’s Request in Chapter 3

While completing the main story is necessary to see the continuation of Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane’s stories, Charting the Unknown doesn’t lock all of its content until the DLC’s endgame. No, you can access the expansion’s upgraded housing system much earlier in the campaign; you’ll just need to complete Luke’s request under the Grounds of the Sunrise Greymane Faction quest in Chapter 3. It’s unlikely you’ll overlook this 38-stage quest either way, seeing as progressing through it gives access to essential camp upgrades, workstations, vendors, and more. But, if you want to get a start on Charting the Unknown’s freeform construction straight away – designing layouts, laying walls, fabricating windows – make sure Luke’s request is done.

Finish Chapter 3

Actually, you’ll need to finish chapter 3 in its entirety before the DLC arrives anyway. Yes, complete the Howling Hill sequence and establish your Graymane camp; in doing so, you’ll unlock the expansion’s sea-faring, island hopping activities, including the ability to construct a ship. Given a huge part of Charting the Unknown takes place across the open ocean, a galleon of your own will prove rather important. And, with purportedly plenty to discover both above and beneath the water’s surface, making sure you can dive into it right away could ensure the DLC feels worthwhile even if you haven’t yet finished the main story.

Level Up Oongka and Damiane

Even though Kliff might be the face of Crimson Desert, and the Greymane plight the game’s narrative pillar, there’s still sentiment out there amongst the community that Oongka and Damiane could have served bigger roles. As such, there is a reasonable chance these other two characters haven’t received the same amount of attention when it comes to leveling up and improving their abilities. Now, before the DLC drops, is a good opportunity to address any imbalance. Developing their combat capabilities should leave you better prepared to face whatever the expansion’s endgame story throws at you.

Finish All Camp Upgrades

You’re going to need all the help you can get, what with island strongholds, castles, and house construction. The most sizeable workforce will serve you well, so you should make sure you’ve finished upgrading your camp and recruited every available Greymane. It’s also worth completing their individual quests rather than leaving potential recruits and their associated tasks sitting in your journal. After all, with the wealth of construction and expansion projects that Charting the Unknown promises you wouldn’t want to find yourself without support.

Stockpile Crafting Materials

Yet, despite all the promise of grand manors and impressive galleons, the one thing that can bring the excitement of a new adventure or project to a grinding halt would be discovering that you don’t have enough materials to construct what you want. With the expansion bringing shipbuilding, housing, dive suits, and additional new items to refine, it’s more than sensible to build up your reserves ahead of time. The exact requirements for every new item may not be clear until you’re actually playing the DLC, so going in with a healthy stockpile of crafting materials should give you the freedom to begin prospecting right away rather than return to resource gathering.

Build Up Your Gold Reserves

And, just like crafting materials, you’re going to need gold in abundance too if you’re going to take advantage of all the new construction possibilities straight away. See, sea-faring vessels can be built, yes, but they’re also available for purchase. Fleet managers can be hired, strongholds can be upgraded, and furnishings can be bought to make your drafty castle feel just that little bit more homely. These don’t sound like free activities. No, they’re going to put a dent in your savings, so best to consider setting some money aside before the DLC drops.

Stock Up On Healing and Stamina Items

Exploration might be unpredictable. You are charting into the unknown, after all, so it’s probably best to ensure you have adequate supplies before heading out. It makes sense to stock up on high-tier healing foods, Golden Apples, and stamina-restoring items. During extended voyages and ventures into unfamiliar territory, there’s no doubt a generous selection of restorative items will be useful. Again, like crafting materials and currencies, ensuring you have plenty of healing and stamina items in stock now means you can get straight into exploring new lands rather than spending time on preparation.

Acquire the Water Stride Ability

With much of your time spent on or near water throughout the DLC, acquiring the Water Stride ability seems like a no brainer. A skill where you can sprint across the surface will obviously prove useful, but there are a few caveats to bear in mind: Water Stride burns stamina, and once that stamina runs out you’ll drop into conventional swimming. You’ll need to have unlocked the Spirit Skill tree using Abyss Links, too, and purportedly if you venture too far away from shore you increase the chances of encountering one the expansion’s more unsavoury sea creatures.

Install the Latest Update and Play The Enhanced Version

Finally, ending with another semi-obvious one, but you should make sure you’re running the most recent version of Crimson Desert before jumping into the DLC. Important performance fixes aside, the developer has worked tirelessly refining, improving, and adding through a string of updates, but the Enhanced Edition itself brought the updated Abyss Skill system, UI changes, camera modes, and more. The Abyss Skill system, in particular, will prove especially useful if you need to level up Oongka and Damiane as per our earlier recommendation, but the host of changes Enhanced brought will make practically everything else on this list more feasible. It’s best to do it now if you haven’t already, just so you’re acclimatised to its systemic changes ahead of time.

All details and footage referenced in this article are sourced directly from officially revealed information. This piece is a wishlist of personal expectations for GTA VI.

Turn Vehicle Combat into Dynamic Chase-Shootouts

One of my biggest frustrations with GTA 5’s drive-by shooting was how tacked-on it felt. It was more of an imprecise aside than something baked into vehicle handling itself. For GTA 6, it appears Rockstar is evolving vehicle combat into a fluid sequence of decisions: drive, shoot, switch characters, take the wheel or stick your head out of the rear-passenger window – whatever you feel is best in-the-moment to keep the chase moving.

During a chase shown in the extended gameplay footage, we see the player switch from Lucia’s driving to Jason’s shooting and vice versa, giving the impression that dynamism in these moments is in your hands. Rather than fulfilling one role throughout, I’m looking forward to switching characters during a getaway; destroying a stubborn pursuer then steering into an unconventional escape.

Find my Ideal Free-Aim

Through GTA 6’s refined free-aim system – replacing GTA 5 and RDR2’s auto-lock gunfire – I’m hoping that a specific balance between deliberate shooting and cinematic momentum can be struck. I want enough assistance to keep encounters moving, but I don’t want to feel like I’m playing a military sim nor blasting my way through a static shooting gallery. Gameplay footage does show a degree of target assistance – a sort-of soft-lock once your reticle is near-enough to an enemy – but, according to Rockstar’s Rob Nelson there are options to fine-tune this system.

What I’d like is to experiment with different settings; gradually reducing assistance until aiming feels deliberate without upsetting momentum. In other words: a sweet spot between precision and spectacle. Depending on the breadth of these settings, deciding where that balance sits could vary, and be explorable player-to-player too.

Use the Focus Ability to Shape My Ideal Firefight

GTA 6’s footage shows a focus-style, bullet-time effect, which underpins my desire for cinematic spectacle during shootouts. But, this style of slomo-aiming could also offer the control I said that I wanted in free-aiming, so I’m hopeful I can use this ability to shape my ideal firefight, too. And, seeing as this system is firmly inside Rockstar territory already – Red Dead’s DeadEye, Michael’s Area Kill… freakin’ Max Payne – GTA 6’s version appears to be its most refined, with colour-coded targeting shaping how the system operates.

While there’s obvious appeal in slowing down the action to make otherwise chaotic exchanges feel choreographed, I’m looking forward to testing whether different targeting choices affect the overall experience. Will GTA 6’s bullet-time make favouring incapacitation over lethal-force feel more satisfying? Will it make me feel like an unstoppable killing machine without becoming, say, too easy?

Make Handguns My Go-To Weapon

For me, Red Dead Redemption gave handguns a better shot at viability than Grand Theft Auto. I was never particularly attached to GTA 5’s pistols and the like, but I’m optimistic GTA 6 is set to change that. See, footage shows handguns being carried and concealed differently compared to earlier entries, alongside NPC reactions which appear to scale depending on your firepower’s visibility. What this suggests, to me, is that handguns will feel like the more appropriate firearm for a broader array of criminal activity.

Hold-ups, robberies, perhaps even heists, will be grounded in handgun effectiveness far more than an arsenal of machine guns in your back pocket. I am intrigued by these NPC reactions though, and I’d like to start a standard hold-up with a gun in hand versus entering a store with it holstered, just to see if things play out differently. I’m not expecting stealth runs, but I do think a higher dependence on handguns will give GTA 6’s gunplay more tactical variety than 5 ever managed.

Experiment With a Deliberate Loadout

I like the idea of having to think about my arsenal before each mission, and GTA 6’s restricted loadouts appear to support the notion that your decisions matter. I’m not outfitting Jason and Lucia for a military operation after all, and while we cannot argue that GTA will ever be 100% realistic, it’ll boost my immersion at least to approach each problem without the benefit of carrying every possible solution.

So, to that end, with weapon choices feeling more consequential this time around I’m looking forward to living with my choices before a fight even begins. Although, as per gameplay footage, there might be a few things dotted around that I can improvise with should the operation go south – more on this later.

Shoot Without Relying on a Minimap

Despite reshaped loadouts, refined aiming, and handgun viability, one of the simplest ways to change how I approach a gunfight might be to minimise the information available on the minimap.

During police shootouts, we see in gameplay footage that the minimap removes any indication of enemy location, forcing you to read the environment and be more present in the encounter, rather than rely on indicators. Whether this extends to every gunfight remains to be seen, but tension akin to Red Dead Redemption 2, where you check corners and look for enemy cues over following icons, would be welcome in Leonida too. If the game allows it, I’ll probably disable all HUD assistance during gunfights.

Engage in Close-Quarters Fighting With On-Screen Prompts

All this talk of shooting, and I’ve completely overlooked fighting with fists. Watching gameplay footage, it’s evident close-quarters brawling will play a significant role, and I’m excited to see what GTA 6 will bring as this is another area I felt earlier GTA’s struggled with. Lucia we see punching, dodging, and blocking with aplomb, but it’s also the on-screen prompts which pique my interest.

One in particular is the satisfactorily gruesome high-heel through the eyeball of an assailant pinning Lucia down, and it seems during this standoff that you have a choice whether to fend off Lucia’s attacker or opt for the environmental weapon. I doubt this kind of interaction will appear in every fist fight, but it does suggest brawling could be as dynamic as shooting.

Switch Between Lucia and Jason During a Fight

GTA 6’s character switching could be more than a convenient way to change perspective, with Jason and Lucia appearing to be two working parts of the same operation. The extended look, for instance, demonstrates character switching where the inactive protagonist continues to operate organically under AI control. And, I don’t mean they continue pushing forward with suppressive fire, but they’ll hold up opponents, complete objectives, and foster getaways.

Even though missions are likely heavily scripted, these perspective changes mask the code working underneath. Plus, switching perspectives to find a better position or more appropriate weapon feels a more useful benefit to the system than GTA 5 managed.

Use The Cover System to Reposition

GTA 6 also appears to change how using cover works, with the goal now closer to using cover between moving, repositioning, and reacting to pressure. Footage shows all this, alongside peeking around corners and suppressive fire, and I’m hoping to use cover as a way to assess the situation before firing back and repositioning rather than staying rooted throughout the exchange. Rockstar’s gunfights have often leaned on using cover as a central means of surviving a gunfight. Now, I want to see how dynamic GTA 6 makes these encounters feel.

Improvise When Things Go Wrong

Even the best laid plans can fall apart, and Grand Theft Auto has a habit of weaving in the unexpected during missions. This time, however, it appears that even the opportunities for improvising can emerge dynamically rather than being baked into linear mission design.

When running low on ammo, when I need a different weapon, or even needing to abandon my original idea, it seems as though GTA 6 provides some flexibility in how I’ll make it through these situations. Case in point: Jason and Lucia are seen picking up dropped weapons, which could well be a starting point for wider improvisation. Again, arsenals are limited, but GTA 6 looks to ensure combat remains interesting and decisive whether you’re packing an entire garrison of weapons or a simple handgun.

See, the upcoming expansion doesn’t necessarily need to persuade millions of people to start an unfamiliar open-world RPG from scratch, but it does need to give existing players a compelling-enough reason to return – that is, if they even left in the first place. So, while we can assume the pool of newcomers is relatively small compared to Crimson Desert’s current players, there is another, arguably bigger challenge facing Charting the Unknown beyond convincing players new and old that there’s more to see in Pywel. And, that challenge is the competition for players’ time.

Right now, we’re smack-bang in the middle of a packed release calendar. Launching on October 29, Charting the Unknown arrives alongside the hotly anticipated Phantom Blade Zero. Then, World of Warcraft: Forever and Ocarina of Time’s remake follow in November. And, with the irresistible atom bomb that is Grand Theft Auto VI looming later on in the month, you have plenty of options for where your time and money goes.

This puts Crimson Desert’s upcoming expansion in an interesting predicament; it might just find success by bringing existing players back into the fold, with any potential for introducing players who missed it the first time around of less significance. This DLC can absolutely compete for attention alongside the gamut of other releases, but the appeal is concentrated among those who have already invested in the base game. And, to be fair, this appeal is shared across the upcoming titles just mentioned, the all-new Phantom Blade Zero notwithstanding.

World of Warcraft has millions of active players, while Ocarina of Time is arguably Link’s greatest adventure with decades of goodwill behind it. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t played a Grand Theft Auto title, and while the hype for GTA 6 might not be resonating with everyone, Rockstar reportedly aren’t having any trouble convincing players to pre-order. Charting the Unknown, then, must lean on its existing audience as the competition already has audiences of their own.

But, an established audience can only provide a headstart. It is by no means a guarantee. Yet, for Crimson Desert, there is, at least on paper, a substantial playerbase to draw from. The developer confirmed back in June that the game has sold six million copies worldwide, following the two million launch-day sales. Those numbers are undeniably impressive for a new IP.

However, sales figures only tell part of the story. The more pertinent question for Charting the Unknown is how many of those players remain invested in Pywel, and how many can be persuaded to return.

Steam’s concurrent player figures offer an indication of how the game’s audience has changed since launch, although this, of course, shouldn’t be mistaken for the entire picture given total sales are reportedly split down the middle between PC and console. That said, Crimson Desert peaked at more than 276,000 concurrent players on the platform, while its most-recent activity has tapered gradually. This decline, however, doesn’t indicate anything beyond players moving on after launch, but it does support the notion that Charting the Unknown might need to do more than simply exist if lapsed players are to come back.

Interestingly, and sticking with Steam data, the game’s completion figures suggest there could be scope for players to re-engage. According to the Steam achievement percentages in SteamDB, 76.9% of players have completed Chapter 1, but only 28.9% have reached the end of Chapter 7. Just 10.7% have completed all the main quests, demonstrating that owning Crimson Desert and finishing its main story are two different things.

This information is noteworthy because Charting the Unknown doesn’t make all of its content available immediately. According to the developer’s breakdown of the expansion’s prerequisites, the sea-faring storylines become available after completing the Howling Hill quest, while the individual narratives for Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane require the main story to be finished. In other words, you can access some of the expansion’s content without completing the campaign.

And, anecdotally, given the community chatter across services like Reddit, there are plenty of you who have invested hundreds of hours into Crimson Desert’s diversions instead of focusing solely on the main quest. If understood in earnest, there’s a potential upside which contradicts our earlier point. See, for Crimson Desert’s already captured players, Charting the Unknown’s existence could well prove enough incentive to finish the main story before diving into the DLC.

If you have spent time away, leaving before the Enhanced Edition brought new mechanics, gameplay, abilities, and so on, a new learning curve might just establish itself. But, this isn’t a new multiplayer season; Pywel is vast, and can be unhurried if you like. There’s no deadline on remembering everything apart from the one you impose on yourself. Any hesitation, it seems, skews squarely onto new players.

See, the game, in some ways, is morphing into a life sim. The sheer scale of activity could put newcomers off. There’s plenty of things to ‘manage’, for instance; farming, harvesting, building, trading. Away from combat and exploration, these tasks could feel like a full-time job. While the game’s breadth is inarguably its selling point, it’s also a barrier to entry. And if you are put off by Pywel’s many commitments but you want a swashbuckling open-ocean adventure… well, there are alternatives for that. Likewise if you want to play a medieval open-worlder. So, in summary of our original argument – that Charting the Unknown’s appeal is concentrated among existing players – its ringing truer.

That said, no matter which demographic picks up Charting the Unknown, the expansion has potential to maintain interest beyond launch day if players find enough unexpected experiences to share. New storylines, oceanic exploration, customisable housing, castle ownership; there are plenty of avenues to anticipate and discover. And here, instead, is where the developer has an advantage over competing titles: the already established community provides the foundation for conversation to spread, sustaining its visibility.

There is a conversation on price we could be having here, too, and this could be another one of Charting the Unknown’s advantages during the crowded release calendar given expansions typically ask for less cash than a brand-new game. Again, newcomers face a different calculation as they’ll need to purchase Crimson Desert itself before buying the additional content. While the combined cost could prove attractive compared to buying multiple new releases, affordability alone isn’t a guarantee of interest. Circling back to time, players must still decide whether they’re willing to commit what Crimson Desert demands, whether the game is filled with meaningful substance or not.

So, all in all, Charting the Unknown could well end the year as one of its biggest releases, but that success hinges on how effectively its existing audience engages. There are, however, countless reasons to believe current and returning players will find something worthwhile, while newcomers not put off by the odyssey ahead of them will be tempted to experience the complete package. There’s no denying though: that same substantial time commitment together with competition elsewhere could limit Charting the Unknown’s reach – at least, initially.

Enough reminiscing, though. Here are the ten biggest things you need to know about Update 2.5, and why you should jump back into Cyberpunk 2077, starting with the most obvious new addition…

Edgerunners 2 Prequel Quest

While Update 1.6, aka the Edgerunners 1 Update, offered a quest that clued you in on the fate of David and his team, 2.5 is going far beyond that, instead serving as a prequel to Edgerunners 2. In Clampdown, V will work with King’s team – Meshuga, Miguel and Emily, all reprised by the show’s voice actors – in what’s their last job. Of course, if you watched the first episode of the new season, that last part is a bit fuzzy. Regardless, the development team is staying relatively mum on what to expect…except that it somehow has to do with entering Night City PD.

You’ll need to complete The Heist and two of Wakako’s gigs (which you should do anyway for Byakko) to access Clampdown, but the rewards, including a new gear set based on King, look to be worth it. V even wields his iconic handcannon, though one has to wonder how it ended back with its owner.

Night City Tours ft. Richard Night

Another side quest awaits, but this one leans more towards the…unusual. Instead of hunting down a target or taking on a job, V will embark on a tour of Night City, narrated by none other than the founder, Richard Night. You know, the one who was murdered, leading to the city receiving its name. CD Projekt RED describes this as a lore-focused quest, where you’ll learn from a digital version of the man himself about Night City’s culture and creation. Observing the environment, especially since there’s a mystery to solve, is important, but it’s a far more relaxed outing compared to V’s other escapades.

Edgerunners-Dedicated Radio Station

You’ve hung out with companions and had “I Really Wanna Stay at Your House” blaring over the speakers, reminding you of broken promises and early demises. Occasionally, it comes on 98.7 Body Heat Radio. But what about a dedicated station for other Edgerunners songs, both Season 1 and 2? That’s exactly what HKGN 102.0 FM aims to offer, packing a whopping 16 songs. While the full tracklist has yet to be revealed, “You Can’t Run From Me” is confirmed to be included.

Dual-Wielding Pistols

Aside from the Edgerunners content, however, arguably the biggest new addition with Update 2.5 is Double Trouble, a new perk in the Cool tree that lets you dual-wield pistols. An homage to Jacky, if you will, complete with the ability to wreak absolute mayhem.

Now, there are penalties – each weapon deals 37.5 percent less damage when dual-wielding – but the benefits include 15 percent less recoil and 15 percent less bullet spread. At level 2, your Quick Melee is replaced with Heywood Hurricane, which fires both guns simultaneously for a second with 50 percent more bullet spread. The kicker is that any ammo spent on successful shots – which likely means hitting and not necessarily killing a target – is refilled.

Combine this with other perks like Deadeye, which grants 25 percent headshot damage and weak spot damage, along with no bullet spread at level 3 when you’re above 85 percent stamina, and V can become a menace befitting of a John Woo action flick. The fact that each weapon’s effects are retained, and you can mix and match different types, including Iconics, makes it all the more appealing.

40+ New Arm Cyberware Cosmetics

You’ve created perhaps the best melee build to leap at people with the Mantis Blades and dismember them before they can blink. But what about actually painting that cyberware and really making it your own? That’s where the new Glamdocs come in. Five brand-new characters, each with unique voiceovers and animations, will sell different skins for the Monowire, Projectile Launch System, Gorilla Arms and Mantis Blades. You can even choose from different brands, including Arasaka and the Mox, to really distinguish them, and a painting tool similar to the one used for vehicles. With 40+ new variants, you’re sure to find something nice to look at while running riot through Night City.

New Outfit Sets

Of course, you can match these new cyberware looks with some new threads. To that end, new outfit sets from Maxiwear, Jinguji, NetWatch and IconAmerica will be available to purchase. You can also finally purchase the NUS Infiltrator set, previously exclusive to Phantom Liberty’s Twitch drops, in Kabuki and Japantown. CD Projekt RED also teases another set that will arrive in Night City “soon,” and your guess is as good as ours, but we’re still excited.

Cross-Platform Mod Support

The Cyberpunk 2077 modding scene may seem small, but it’s a dedicated bunch – beyond all the improvements at launch, they’ve resulted in a third-person perspective, even more customization for V, and more. Update 2.5 isn’t just sharing that functionality with Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and Mac users through cross-platform mod support – it’s also adding a dedicated menu for players to navigate and install mods within the game itself. Beyond readable shards, cats in every apartment, and new quests, it may seem a little sparse now, but CD Projekt RED will add more mods over time and expand functionality.

FOV Slider on Consoles and DLSS 4.5 Support

As great as Cyberpunk 2077 runs on consoles – imagine saying that in 2020 – it’s always lacked one particular quality-of-life feature that fans have demanded for a long time: A field-of-view slider. Whether you’ve wanted to see more or less to reduce motion sickness, it’s finally coming to consoles in Update 2.5. But there’s also good news for PC players: DLSS 4.5 is officially supported, complete with Dynamic and 6X Multi Frame Generation, and the 2nd Generation Transformer Model, which the development team says removes all noise.

12 New Minor Arcana

Remember that side quest that involved hunting different Arcana? They served as hints for what’s to come in the story, and you can even use them to get a reading from Misty. Beyond the Major Arcana, this update adds 12 new Minor Arcana, with a unique reward to unlock upon scanning them all. What insights could they provide? You’ll have to collect them all to find out.

New Hairstyles Previously Exclusive to NPCs

Rounding out the character customization features are new hairstyles, or, more specifically, hairstyles that only NPCs could have. Well, they’re finally available for V, and even with some restrictions, it’s a welcome addition all the same. And if these aren’t enough, you can always download mods to expand your choices.

Keep in mind that all of this doesn’t cover minor quality of life changes and additions, including save files now being grouped by different playthroughs, item filters for your apartment and vehicle stashes, new dual-wielding poses in Photo Mode, ray tracing and PS5 Pro improvements, and more. While the team hasn’t confirmed whether this is the final, last update for really real, it’s another excuse to revisit Night City. And for the low, low price of free, that’s good enough for us.