Olivia Rodrigo is heading to Fortnite – and she's swapping headshots for heartbreak, butterflies and karaoke.

The three-time Grammy winner officially joins Fortnite's coveted Icon Series today (25th June), becoming the latest music superstar to cross over into Epic Games' ever-expanding digital universe.

Launching at 8pm ET (1am BST), the collaboration arrives just as Rodrigo's third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, continues its chart-conquering run. The record delivered another milestone for the singer-songwriter, making her the first artist to debut her first three lead singles at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while all three of her studio albums have opened atop the Billboard 200.

Now Fortnite players can step directly into Rodrigo's world.

SOUR skins

The crossover includes two playable skins inspired by different eras of the singer's career. The SOUR Olivia Rodrigo Outfit channels the purple-hued aesthetic of her breakthrough debut, while the Lover Girl Olivia Rodrigo Outfit celebrates her latest album. Both come with reactive styles and LEGO Fortnite variants.

Fans can also pick up a collection of themed cosmetics, including Olivia's Butterfly Wings Back Bling, new emotes based on good 4 u and maggots for brains, plus three Jam Tracks featuring drop dead, maggots for brains and the Rodrigo classic deja vu. Someone really needs to show her where that SHIFT key on her keyboard is.

The timing isn't accidental. Epic is also launching Fortnite Festival Karaoke on mobile, allowing players on iOS and Android to sing along to six Olivia Rodrigo tracks with performances scored in real time.

"I've always loved how Fortnite brings people together in a really specific way," Rodrigo said. "It's exciting to have my music brought into this world and to have players embrace different looks from my albums."

There's even a freebie for dedicated fans. Rodrigo now appears as an NPC on the Battle Royale island, and players who track her down and jam nearby can unlock a Heart Locket Spray and exclusive Loading Screen at no extra cost.

The Olivia Rodrigo takeover runs until 25th July.

• The best Steam Deck games: 35 essential titles for Valve’s handheld PC wonder

Sony may have plans to go way beyond the PlayStation 5’s DualSense tech, with gamepad buttons that can become harder and softer to the touch.

It sounds mad, but comes with a caveat. This is not a gamepad we expect to see any time soon as it’s a design outlined in a patent, not a product announcement.

But it is pretty wild regardless.

It uses what’s called a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer, a rubber-like material that can become harder or softer depending on how a magnetic field is applied.

This could potentially be adjusted to personal preference, mirroring how some gamepads have customisable triggers. Or it could reflect something in the game itself, which is a more interesting exploitation of this technology.

The most dynamic example discussed in the filing is of a squishy button hardening as the player’s finger is depressing it, in order to reflect the player character being grabbed by an enemy. Creepy stuff.

Sony’s filing also describes how you could achieve a similar effect using “fluid-filled” membranes.

It’s a completely different kind of techy feedback to what you get in a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller, which uses haptic motors to make the triggers feel softer or harder. The two forms of feedback are kinda related in effect, then, just not so much in how those effects are achieved.

This patent filing was submitted back in 2024, but wasn’t published until 2026.

We’d love to see this kind of next-generation gamepad tech become a reality, but tech giants publish loads of these patents, and heaps of them never actually amount to anything.

And even if does become a reality we’d still be facing the same eye-rolling thing that holds back DualSense — that barely any games really make proper use of this awesome haptic potential.

What’s actually next for PlayStation hardware? A wireless fight stick is coming in August, called the FlexStrike. Out in the rumour sphere, Sony is also reportedly working on a handheld, and one that can actually play games rather than simply streaming them like the PlayStation Portal.

• The 6 most exciting announcements from PlayStation's June State of Play

As part of its 25th birthday celebrations, Xbox has unveiled a new limited-edition Series X console and controller inspired by the look and feel of the machine that launched the brand back in 2001.

Dubbed the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition, the console takes the modern Series X and wraps it in a translucent OG Green finish that immediately recalls the chunky black-and-green aesthetic of the original Xbox.

It's the first time Microsoft has brought a translucent design to the Series X, and the nostalgia doesn't stop there. The console features a glowing green Xbox logo, special 25th anniversary branding and a number of hidden details designed as nods to the platform's history and the players who helped build it over the last quarter of a century.

The matching Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition follows a similar approach. Finished in the same translucent green, it features the original Xbox ABXY button colours, transparent rear housing and references to the infamous Duke controller, including shoulder buttons inspired by the original controller's black and white face buttons.

The announcement came during the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, where Microsoft used the occasion to celebrate both its future and its past. Alongside a slate of new game announcements, the company also confirmed that both Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will launch as Xbox console exclusives, underlining its renewed focus on the platform's hardware ecosystem.

For longtime fans, though, the anniversary collection will no doubt be the standout reveal. The original Xbox launched on the 15th of November 2001 and helped establish franchises including Halo, Fable and Forza, while laying the foundations for what would become one of gaming's biggest brands.

The Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition and Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition will launch in select markets this November. The controller will also be sold separately, with pricing and pre-order details expected to be announced closer to release.

• The 6 most exciting announcements from PlayStation's June State of Play

Sony officially kicked off this year's summer gaming showcase season with a packed June State of Play that leaned heavily on big first-party projects, long-awaited updates and a handful of genuine surprises.

While there weren't quite as many announcements as some fans had hoped for, the show still delivered plenty to get excited about, including the reveal of an entirely new God of War game, a substantial gameplay showcase for Marvel's Wolverine and the unexpected return of Until Dawn.

Throw in some impressive-looking action RPGs, a cult classic revival and one of the most unsettling horror games we've seen in a while, and PlayStation has given players plenty to talk about ahead of what's shaping up to be a busy few years for PS5 owners.

1. God of War: Laufey

The biggest announcement of the night came right at the end, with Santa Monica Studio unveiling God of War: Laufey.

Rather than putting players back in control of Kratos or Atreus, the new game stars Faye, Kratos' late wife and Atreus' mother, who fans have only previously encountered through flashbacks and stories. The extended gameplay demo opens with Kratos seemingly cremating Faye's body, before she awakens in a strange afterlife populated by creatures, gods and mythological threats from multiple worlds.

Deborah Ann Woll reprises her role as Faye, and the footage showcases the same brutal, cinematic combat the series is known for, albeit with a much faster and more agile protagonist. There was also, somewhat unexpectedly, a talking gelatinous cube voiced by Jack Quaid.

No release date has been announced yet, but it's already shaping up to be PlayStation's next major blockbuster.

2. Marvel's Wolverine

After a period of relative silence, Insomniac finally gave fans a substantial new look at Marvel's Wolverine.

The gameplay reveal showed Logan tracking down a group of kidnapped mutants, carving through enemies in gloriously bloody fashion while proving this is very much not another Spider-Man game. The combat looks heavier, nastier and significantly more violent than anything Insomniac has tackled before.

There was also a surprise appearance from Jean Grey, hinting that Wolverine's adventure could have wider X-Men implications than previously expected.

Most importantly, the showcase confirmed a release date. Marvel's Wolverine launches on the 15th of September 2026.

3. Until Dawn 2

One of the night's biggest shocks came with the reveal of Until Dawn 2.

The sequel swaps snowy mountains for a seemingly idyllic tropical island, where a group of ghost hunters quickly discover they've made a terrible mistake. Judging by the trailer, players can expect masked killers, supernatural horrors and plenty of opportunities to accidentally get everyone killed.

The original Until Dawn became a cult hit thanks to its branching storylines and choice-driven gameplay, and it looks like the sequel will be doubling down on that formula.

Until Dawn 2 is currently scheduled for release in 2027.

4. Phantom Blade Zero

We've seen Phantom Blade Zero before, but every new trailer somehow manages to make it look even more impressive.

The latest footage showcased its lightning-fast sword combat, acrobatic martial arts and horrifying supernatural enemies, blending wuxia action cinema with dark fantasy horror. It remains one of the most visually striking games currently in development and could become a serious contender among action RPG fans.

Following the showcase, developer S-Game confirmed Phantom Blade Zero will launch on the 29th of October 2026 for PlayStation 5 and PC.

5. Stuntman Hollywood

Perhaps the most surprising reveal of the entire showcase was the return of Stuntman.

The cult driving franchise, which first launched back in the PS2 era, is being revived with a new entry that appears to recreate iconic moments from famous films and television shows. Footage shown during the presentation included sequences clearly inspired by Back to the Future and Knight Rider.

It's a niche revival, but exactly the kind of unexpected announcement that State of Play showcases often do best.

6. ILL might be the most disturbing game Sony showed

If Resident Evil and body horror movies are your thing, ILL is worth keeping an eye on.

The trailer was packed with grotesque creatures, disturbing transformations and some genuinely stomach-turning imagery. Set in a world overrun by horrifying monsters, the game appears to lean heavily into realistic physics and graphic dismemberment, creating some of the most unsettling enemy encounters shown during the event.

There's still plenty we don't know, but based on this latest footage, ILL could end up being one of the most talked-about horror games of 2027 and makes the list because the trailer is absolutely minging.

State of Play didn't have quite the volume of announcements some fans were hoping for, but between God of War: Laufey, Marvel's Wolverine finally getting a release date, and the surprise reveal of Until Dawn 2, Sony certainly delivered a few major talking points. The biggest winner, though, was arguably God of War. We've been waiting for some time to find out where we will be going next after Ragnarok, and Laufey looks like a good evolution for the series. You can check out the full showcase below:

• Pac-Man, kart racing and alien battles are coming to London’s Southbank

Was Nintendo’s movement-based Wii a blip on the gaming cultural radar? The modern games console is usually designed around one thing: sitting still. Whether it’s sprawling online adventures or endless YouTube rabbit holes, most screen time now happens sprawled across the sofa with little movement.

Nex Playground wants to change that.

Launching in the UK and Ireland this summer after selling close to a million units in North America (it outsold the Xbox overseas last year), the motion-controlled console has quickly built a reputation as a different kind of gaming machine — one aimed squarely at families who want children to be active, social and safely entertained in the same space.

A tiny cube that sits in front of your TV and ditches traditional controllers for hands-free movement, the camera-equipped console tracks your frantic waves and weaves, and is designed to be as simple to use as possible. And it’s mighty good fun for all the family, from toddlers right up to nan and grandad.

Here are five reasons why it might become one of the most interesting family tech launches of 2026.

Nex Playground: In Short…

• A controller-free family games console that uses motion tracking
• Launches in the UK in late June 2026, with pre-orders opening from May 18th through retailers including Amazon UK, Argos and Smyths Toys
• Pricing starts at £269 in the UK, which includes the console and five starter games
• Play Pass subscription costs £90 annually or £45 quarterly, unlocking a library of more than 60 games
• Family-friendly franchises and games, with titles tied to Bluey, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sesame Street and more
• Focussed around child safety and privacy — with no ads, no in-app purchases, no open internet access

1. It Turns Screen Time Into Active Play

Perhaps the biggest selling point of Nex Playground is that it gets players moving.

Unlike traditional consoles that rely on controllers, Nex uses motion tracking to turn players’ bodies into the controller itself. A small camera on the front of the cube is able to see into your room, picking up the players in front of it, and translating the movements of their arms and legs into controls for the games. With Nex Playground games, you’ll be jumping, stretching, dancing, running on the spot and mimicking actions on-screen, making it feel closer to offline play than your standard game session.

That approach has already drawn comparisons with the golden era of Nintendo Wii-style gaming, but Nex is arguably simpler and more intuitive, seeing as no controller is needed — a remote control is included just for navigating menus.

For parents increasingly concerned about their kids being glued to screens, that physical element is a major draw. Nex is positioning the console as an antidote to endless scrolling and sedentary entertainment, and the timing is notable. In both Britain and Ireland, conversations around children’s screen time and online wellbeing have intensified over the past year, creating demand for devices that feel healthier and more purposeful.

2. It’s Built Specifically With Families in Mind

Games consoles from the big three manufacturers — Sony’s PlayStation, Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Switch — try to be all things to all people. Hardcore shooters sit next to cosy farming sims, horror games sit next to cutesy platformers. They are not especially tailored to children, meaning ensuring a child is playing an appropriate title can take a fair bit of preparation.

It’s here where Nex feels it can win, where previous motion-based consoles (like Microsoft’s mega-selling Kinect, which eventually fell from favour with core gamers who demanded more complex experiences) failed. Nex Playground feels different because families are clearly the priority from the outset.

The system is designed as a closed ecosystem, meaning there are no ads, no web browsing functions and no mature content unexpectedly surfacing through recommendations or online interactions. Every game on the platform is published directly by Nex, giving the company tighter control over quality and age suitability.

That safety-first philosophy has become a major part of the brand’s identity. Nex Playground aligns with GDPR requirements, carries PEGI 3 ratings on its starter bundle and maintains kidSAFE+ certification alongside COPPA compliance in the United States.

Importantly, the console also addresses privacy concerns in ways many larger tech brands have been criticised for ignoring. Motion-tracking data is processed locally on the device rather than uploaded externally, and every console includes a physical camera cover.

In a market where many parents remain uneasy about connected devices listening, recording or collecting data, that straightforward emphasis on trust feels refreshingly direct.

The same goes for hidden fees — while there’s a subscription cost to access the vast majority of games available on Nex Playground (a service which feels essential to get the most out of the console, and should be factored into any purchase price), the team has vowed to never allow in-app purchases in its apps. Pay that subscription fee, and that’s all — little Jimmy won’t be running up a thousand-pound bill for Dora the Explorer skins.

3. The Games Library Is Surprisingly Broad

A motion-controlled family console only works if the games are good enough to sustain attention beyond the first week. That appears to be where Nex has quietly exceeded expectations.

The platform now includes more than 60 games covering sports, dance, fitness and educational experiences, with recognisable children’s brands helping broaden its appeal. Bluey is there. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are there. Elmo and Cookie Monster make an appearance. You don’t even have to have kids to recognise the characters fronting games here.

That variety matters because it prevents the console from feeling like a novelty fitness gadget, and having access to all of them under one subscription lets you flit between them all without a major commitment.

Kids in the US that have been playing with Nex over the past couple of years have been seen to play a wide variety of games, Nex tells us, swapping between energetic party games, educational activities and collaborative family challenges. The ease of play encourages cross-generational appeal too — even those not interested in gaming can get involved immediately.

4. It Encourages Co-operative Play Rather Than Solo Gaming

Online multiplayer has never been more popular, but Nex Playground harks back to the lost-art of local multiplayer experiences. There’s still nothing quite like staring into the whites of the eyes of your competitor, or hi-fiving a game-playing comrade. And with Nex focused around living room play, practically every title on the machine offers multiplayer fun.

Most of its experiences are designed around people sharing the same room, taking turns, competing side-by-side or cooperating physically together. Instead of children disappearing into bedrooms with headphones on, the console encourages communal play in the living room. Parents are more likely to participate, younger siblings can watch and join in, and gaming becomes a visible household activity rather than a solitary one.

I can see it being a particularly big hit come those major family gatherings like Christmas — there’s no complicated setup or gaming knowledge required to get involved. Nex Playground doesn’t demand existing gaming literacy, meaning grandparents, younger children and casual players can all take part almost immediately.

5. It Feels Like a Fresh Alternative to Current Consoles

At £269 with five starter games included, Nex Playground is not necessarily a budget purchase. Yet compared with the escalating costs associated with mainstream gaming consoles, subscriptions and accessories, it occupies an intriguing middle ground.

More importantly, it offers something genuinely different.

Rather than competing directly with PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo on graphical power or blockbuster franchises, Nex has carved out a niche centred around movement, simplicity and family interaction.

And, it's a minor point, but boy, is it cute. With colour-matched cabling and a colourful construction, it's attractive but subtle, its playfulness expressed in the device itself in a way that more serious consoles don't match.

For families looking to make screen time feel more active — and safe from the worries of other digital experiences — Nex Playground may arrive at exactly the right moment.

• The best Nintendo Switch 2 games

The Steam Deck has quietly become the best way to play PC games full stop. Not because it’s the most powerful machine around — it absolutely isn’t — but because Valve’s handheld has nailed something the games industry spent years overcomplicating: convenience.

This is a machine that lets you chip away at a 100-hour RPG on the sofa, sneak in a roguelike run on the train, or replay an indie classic in bed with headphones on and the rain battering the windows outside. It’s the Nintendo Switch energy PC players had been craving for years.

And while every week brings another “Steam Deck Verified” badge, not every game actually feels right on a handheld. The best Steam Deck games are the ones that respect your time, suit shorter sessions, scale beautifully to the Deck’s screen, and don’t require a keyboard shortcut cheat sheet taped to your forehead.

From sprawling epics and endlessly replayable deckbuilders to indie darlings and old-school action classics, these are the Steam Deck games worth installing immediately.

New must-play games

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred

Buy it on Steam

There was a point where the idea of playing Diablo IV on a handheld sounded faintly absurd. Blizzard’s demon-slaying action RPG is huge, relentlessly online and visually dense — the sort of game traditionally associated with expensive desktop rigs glowing in dark bedrooms at 2am. And yet on Steam Deck, it feels unexpectedly perfect.

Part of that comes down to the structure. Diablo IV is built around loops: quick dungeon clears, gear grinding, seasonal objectives and endlessly tweaking character builds until entire screens explode into showers of gold and gore. Those rhythms naturally suit portable gaming. You can jump in for 20 minutes, complete a Nightmare Dungeon, salvage a mountain of loot and suspend the Deck instantly without disrupting the flow.

What’s also helped is Blizzard’s steady stream of post-launch improvements. The game today feels dramatically stronger than it did at launch, with smarter itemisation, faster levelling and far more satisfying endgame systems.

Vessel of Hatred, the game’s first major expansion, pushed the story deeper into Mephisto’s corruption while introducing the lush jungle region of Nahantu and the agile new Spiritborn class. Blizzard also added Mercenaries, the Dark Citadel co-op activity and major gameplay overhauls alongside the expansion.

Then there’s the all new Lord of Hatred add-on.

The new Skovos region swaps endless muddy wastelands and gothic misery, for an eerie Mediterranean-style island full of ancient temples, cults and sun-bleached ruins, and is one of the most visually interesting places Blizzard has made for Diablo in years.

And then there are the classes. The new Warlock class lets you play like a complete menace — summoning demons, corrupting enemies and chaining together ridiculous spell combinations. Meanwhile the returning Paladin scratches that classic Diablo power fantasy of becoming an unstoppable holy tank smashing through hordes of demons.

But the thing that will keep you glued to the Steam Deck is the loot and build variety. Blizzard’s finally leaned into the sort of experimentation that’s made rivals like Path of Exile such gigantic hits. Skill trees are more flexible, and the new Horadric Cube systems let you customise gear in genuinely interesting ways, letting you spend hours tweaking builds as almost everything feels viable now. Basically, if you bounced off Diablo IV originally because it felt a bit repetitive, the new expansion finally gives the game an identity of its own, not just within the Diablo franchise, but within the wider ARPG genre. Even cynical longtime Diablo fans on Reddit seem cautiously impressed, which honestly might be the strongest endorsement of all.

The result is a version of Diablo IV that feels bigger, darker and considerably more confident than the original release.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Loot-heavy dungeon runs, seasonal grinding and instant suspend-and-resume make it dangerously easy to play for “just 10 minutes” before accidentally losing an entire evening.

The best Steam Deck games

1. Animal Well

Buy it on Steam

One of the cleverest indie games of recent years, Animal Well drops you into a strange subterranean labyrinth full of cryptic puzzles, hidden pathways and deeply unsettling pixel-art creatures. It looks cute from a distance, but there’s something wonderfully eerie beneath the surface.

The joy here comes from Metroidvania-esque discovery. Every screen hides another secret, every item opens up fresh possibilities, and the game trusts players enough to work things out for themselves.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: The low-power visuals barely dent battery life, while the pick-up-and-play exploration loop feels perfect for handheld sessions. Just a few MB to download, you’ll hardly notice it on your hard drive, either.

2. Aperture Desk Job

Get it on Steam

Valve essentially made Aperture Desk Job as a playable Steam Deck instruction manual, but thankfully it’s also very funny. Set in the Portal universe, this short comedy adventure turns office work into total chaos.

It’s packed with sharp writing, absurd gadgets and enough in-jokes to keep longtime Valve fans grinning throughout, even if the runtime is only a couple of hours. But hey, it’s a freebie with every Steam Deck purchase, so just fire it up!

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: It was literally designed to showcase the Steam Deck’s controls, haptics and features.

3. Balatro

Buy it on Steam

The game responsible for thousands of destroyed sleep schedules, Balatro somehow transforms poker into one of the most addictive roguelikes ever made. Every run becomes an escalating whirlwind of jokers, multipliers and gloriously broken point-spiralling combinations.

It’s easy to learn, impossible to stop playing and dangerously suited to the “just one more run” mindset.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Short runs, simple controls and instant suspend-and-resume make it borderline too convenient.

4. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Buy it on Steam

Before superhero games became bloated live-service monsters, Arkham Asylum delivered a tightly focused gothic action adventure with brilliant pacing and still-excellent combat.

Roaming the asylum as Kevin Conroy’s Batman remains a genuine thrill, while Rocksteady’s detective mechanics and predator encounters still hold up remarkably well. Just note that you’ve got to mess around with an ageing launcher to get things running here, requiring some touchscreen use that isn’t best suited for hooking up a Steam Deck to a TV. A minor inconvenience for an all-time great.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Older AAA games are often ideal Deck material, and Arkham Asylum runs beautifully while barely touching the battery.

5. Blue Prince

Buy it on Steam

Part puzzle game, part roguelike mystery box, Blue Prince turns a shifting mansion into one of gaming’s most compelling mind-scratching challenges. Every room placement changes the shape of your run, and every clue drags you deeper into its layered secrets.

It’s exactly the kind of smart, conversation-generating indie hit that flourishes on PC.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Ideal for slower, thoughtful sessions curled up on the sofa with headphones.

6. Cuphead

Buy it on Steam

Studio MDHR’s run-and-gun masterpiece remains one of the most visually stunning games ever made. Every frame looks hand-animated, every boss feels wildly inventive, and every victory feels earned. If Walt Disney circa-1940 had a Steam Deck, he’d probably have commissioned something just like it.

Yes, it’s brutally difficult at times, but the sheer charm of its mid-century cartoon aesthetic makes repeated failure weirdly enjoyable.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Tight controls and quick retry loops make handheld play feel natural.

7. Dave the Diver

Buy it on Steam

One minute you’re harpooning sharks in a mysterious underwater trench, the next you’re managing a sushi restaurant. Dave the Diver should feel like total chaos, yet somehow everything clicks together perfectly.

It’s charming, funny and constantly introducing new mechanics before you’ve had time to get bored.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Bite-sized objectives make it dangerously easy to squeeze in “just 20 minutes”.

8. Death’s Door

Buy it on Steam

A moody little action adventure about a crow collecting souls shouldn’t work this well, but Death’s Door nails the balance between melancholy atmosphere and satisfying combat.

There’s a touch of Zelda, a hint of Dark Souls, and a gorgeous isometric art style tying everything together.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Smooth performance and compact dungeon design make it perfect for portable play.

9. Disco Elysium

Buy it on Steam

Still one of the best-written games ever made — if not THE best game ever — Disco Elysium transforms a detective RPG into something strange, political, hilarious and deeply human.

The real action happens inside your own head, as competing personality traits argue with each other while you attempt to solve a murder. It runs like a dream on Steam Deck, with a cracking soundtrack and some of gaming’s most memorable characters.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: It feels surprisingly close to reading a great novel on a handheld device.

10. Dispatch

Buy it on Steam

A stylish narrative adventure built around emergency-response decision making in a superhero-filled world, Dispatch mixes branching storytelling with tense real-time choices.

It’s one of those games where conversations matter as much as reflexes, making every decision feel loaded with consequence. Just keep an eye out for the surprise willies — this one's not for kids...

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Dialogue-heavy games feel wonderfully intimate on the Deck’s smaller screen.

11. Dredge

Buy it on Steam

At first glance Dredge looks like a relaxing fishing game. Then the fog rolls in, strange creatures emerge from the depths, and things become worryingly Lovecraftian.

Its blend of exploration, inventory management and creeping horror is quietly brilliant.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Slow-paced exploration and short voyages make it ideal for handheld gaming.

12. Elden Ring

Buy it on Steam

The idea of playing Elden Ring on a handheld still feels faintly ridiculous, yet Valve’s machine handles FromSoftware’s masterpiece surprisingly well.

The Lands Between remains one of the greatest open worlds ever created — vast, mysterious and packed with unforgettable boss fights. And it’s of course tough-as-nails, a trait that feels a little more manageable when you can chip away at its brutal combat gauntlets on the go.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Being able to chip away at exploration and boss attempts in portable sessions is genuinely transformative.

13. Hades & Hades II

Buy ‘em on Steam: Hades | Hades II

Supergiant’s Hades already felt like one of the greatest handheld games ever made, and Hades II doubles down on the formula with even slicker combat and richer storytelling.

Both games marry fast-paced roguelike action with genuinely excellent characters and writing. The comic-book-like isometric art style is bold without being demanding, meaning it's easy to get consistently great framerates to match the speedy combat.

• Why they're great on Steam Deck: Few games complement the Deck quite as perfectly as a quick Hades run before bed.

14. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Buy it on Steam

Six Halo games in one package is already absurd value, but the Steam Deck turns Master Chief Collection into a portable nostalgia machine.

Whether you’re replaying Combat Evolved or diving into Reach, Bungie’s original trilogy still delivers some of the best FPS campaigns ever made.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Older Halo titles run smoothly and feel surprisingly natural with handheld controls.

15. Hollow Knight & Hollow Knight: Silksong

Buy ‘em on Steam: Hollow Knight | Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight remains one of the defining modern Metroidvanias: beautiful, melancholy and deceptively enormous.

Meanwhile Silksong spent years becoming gaming’s most mythical sequel before pummelling waiting fans into submission with its difficulty upon release. But whether you’re revisiting Hallownest or stealing yourself for Hornet’s follow-up adventure, the series feels tailor-made for portable play.

• Why they're great on Steam Deck: Tight platforming and exploration-heavy design work brilliantly on the Deck.

16. Inside

Buy it on Steam

Playdead followed Limbo with something darker, stranger and even more visually arresting. Inside is a short experience, but every moment feels meticulously crafted.

Helping a mysterious boy navigate a dangerous, Lynchian world, it has perhaps the most memorable ending in indie-game history. It’s the kind of game that sticks in your brain for years.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: The cinematic pacing feels incredibly immersive on a handheld screen.

17. Into the Breach

Buy it on Steam

Subset Games took the tactical brilliance of FTL and distilled it into razor-sharp mech combat. Time travelling mechs take on city-stomping kaiju in a strategy game with the complexity of chess and the cool-factor of a Godzilla film.

Every battle in Into the Breach feels like a tiny puzzle box where careful planning matters more than luck.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Turn-based gameplay makes it perfect for quick sessions or travel.

18. Marvel Cosmic Invasion

Buy it on Steam

Dotemu’s retro-inspired Marvel brawler channels the spirit of classic arcade beat-’em-ups while modernising the action with slick visuals and co-op chaos.

It’s colourful, fast and gloriously comic-book ridiculous, letting you tear enemies to shreds as Wolverine, Spider-Man, and more Marvel superheroes than even an Avengers film can handle.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Beat-’em-ups have always thrived on handhelds, and this feels built for portable co-op.

19. Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Buy it on Steam

Commander Shepard’s trilogy still represents one of gaming’s greatest sci-fi sagas. The remastered collection sharpens the visuals while preserving everything fans loved about BioWare’s space opera.

The Steam Deck also makes those lengthy RPG campaigns feel far more approachable, with the revamped visuals giving some spit and polish to the classic games without giving the Steam Deck too much of a workout. If you’re the lucky owner of an OLED Steam Deck, the HDR mode here is a real showcase for the quality of that premium screen, too.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Being able to tackle missions in shorter bursts makes the trilogy less intimidating. For those that remember Mass Effect the first time around, playing it now on a handheld feels like a mini marvel.

20. No Man’s Sky

Buy it on Steam

A whole galaxy in the palm of your hand? Why not?! Few games have transformed themselves like No Man’s Sky. What launched as a disappointment is now one of the most expansive and relaxing sci-fi sandboxes around, letting you explore incalculable individual planets, and carving out your own personal story among the stars.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Great suspend-and-resume support makes interstellar wandering incredibly convenient.

21. Outer Wilds

Buy it on Steam

Explaining Outer Wilds without spoiling it is almost impossible. What starts as a charming space exploration game slowly becomes one of the smartest and most emotionally devastating mysteries in gaming. Go in blind if you possibly can — it’s quietly one of the greatest puzzle games of all time.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: The game’s slower pace and exploration-heavy structure feel ideal for handheld immersion.

22. Pentiment

Buy it on Steam

Obsidian’s murder mystery trades explosions and combat for illuminated manuscripts, theological debates and Renaissance politics.

That might sound wildly niche, but Pentiment turns historical storytelling into something utterly absorbing. There’s nothing else quite like it.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: It plays beautifully in handheld mode thanks to its slower pace and text-driven structure.

23. Persona 5 Royal

Buy it on Steam

Stylish to an almost absurd degree, Persona 5 Royal combines dungeon crawling, social simulation and turn-based combat into one of the best JRPGs ever made.

It’s massive, yes, but the Steam Deck somehow makes its length feel manageable. For anyone that ever wished they could have lived their youth out as a moody, impeccably dressed teenager on the streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, this is the one.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Daily in-game routines translate perfectly into shorter portable sessions.

24. Pizza Tower

Buy it on Steam

Imagine Wario Land after six espressos and you’re halfway towards understanding Pizza Tower.

Its manic animation, chaotic speed and wonderfully unhinged energy make it one of the funniest platformers around, with an animation style that’d make 90s Nickelodeon fans proud.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Fast levels and snappy controls feel superb on handheld hardware.

25. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Buy it on Steam

Ubisoft quietly delivered one of the best Metroidvanias in years with The Lost Crown. Combat feels fluid, movement is razor sharp and the time-manipulation mechanics are brilliantly inventive.

It deserved far more attention than it received, re-inventing the classic franchise for a new era. It’s also generously priced.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Smooth platforming and compact exploration loops make it ideal for portable gaming.

26. Resident Evil: Requiem

Buy it on Steam

Capcom’s latest survival horror entry proves the RE Engine remains astonishingly scalable. Resident Evil: Requiem balances tense horror with cinematic action while still running impressively well on handheld hardware.

It’s exactly the kind of technically ambitious game that makes the Steam Deck feel slightly magical.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Suspense-heavy gameplay works brilliantly with headphones and handheld immersion, and somehow manages to run at a decent pace on the modest hardware.

27. Slay the Spire & Slay the Spire 2

Buy ‘em on Steam: Slay the Spire | Slay the Spire 2

The original Slay the Spire essentially invented the modern deckbuilding roguelike boom, blending card strategy with endlessly replayable runs.

The sequel expands on that formula without losing the elegant simplicity that made the first game such a phenomenon, eating away hours while you battle monstrous foes in quick succession with a deftly-managed card hand.

• Why they're great on Steam Deck: It feels dangerously close to carrying an infinite time machine in your backpack.

28. Stardew Valley

Buy it on Steam

No list of Steam Deck essentials would be complete without Stardew Valley. Farming, fishing, mining and romance shouldn’t be this compelling, yet millions of players continue disappearing into Pelican Town for hundreds of hours.

Few games feel as comforting, and few games offer as much memorable player-steered storytelling.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: It genuinely feels like the game was born for handheld play.

29. Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Buy it on Steam

A gloriously daft comedy adventure packed with surreal British humour, Thank Goodness You’re Here! feels like an interactive cartoon made by people raised on The Beano and regional pub banter. It’s wonderfully silly in the best possible way, and the perfect way to wile away a gloomy Sunday with its explosive energy.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Short scenes and quick laughs make it perfect for casual portable sessions.

30. The Case of the Golden Idol & Rise of the Golden Idol

Buy ‘em on Steam: The Case of the Golden Idol | Rise of the Golden Idol

These brilliantly strange detective games ask players to reconstruct crimes using observation and deduction alone from mostly-static crime scenes.

There’s no hand-holding, no glowing objective markers — just your brain, a notebook and an increasingly bizarre conspiracy to unravel.

• Why they're great on Steam Deck: Solving mysteries on a handheld somehow makes the experience feel more intimate and tactile.

31. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Buy it on Steam

Yes, Skyrim has been re-released more times than anyone can count, but there’s a reason Bethesda’s fantasy RPG refuses to die.

The freedom, atmosphere and sheer volume of things to do remain wildly compelling over a decade later. And having all those ruins, forests and tombs to explore in the palm of your hand is a perfect reason to return to this all-timer.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Wandering Skyrim from a handheld still feels faintly impossible.

32. Undertale & Deltarune

Buy ‘em on Steam: Undertale | Deltarune

Toby Fox’s RPGs balance absurd comedy, emotional storytelling and inventive combat systems unlike anything else around. Both games thrive on personality, constantly surprising players with clever fourth-wall-breaking ideas. If you were raised on JRPGs and are looking for a series that understands what makes them great while having a wildly subversive streak, you shouldn’t miss out.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Their retro presentation and compact download sizes make them ideal handheld companions.

33. Unpacking

Buy it on Steam

A game about unpacking boxes shouldn’t be emotionally devastating, yet Unpacking quietly tells an entire life story through objects alone. Cosy, meditative and surprisingly affecting, it’ll churn up nostalgic memories while scratching that itch for a good tidy-up.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: The tactile drag-and-drop gameplay feels wonderfully relaxing on handheld.

34. Vampire Survivors

Buy it on Steam

Another game responsible for countless vanished evenings, Vampire Survivors strips action games down to pure dopamine. You move — controlling nothing else onscreen — while thousands of enemies explode, numbers go up, and suddenly two hours have disappeared.

It’s ridiculously cheap, endlessly replayable and impossible to uninstall.

• Why it’s great on Steam Deck: Few games better demonstrate the Steam Deck’s “instant gaming machine” appeal.

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LEGO has unveiled its latest retro-flavoured kit, which recreates the original version of the Sega Mega Drive. Or, sure, the Sega Genesis for the US folks out there. Its official name is the LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console.

It’s not a 1:1 size replica of the classic 16-bit console, but that also helps keep the price to a pretty reasonable — for LEGO — £34.99.

There are 479 pieces in the set, and a handful of bespoke Genesis-slash-Mega Drive bits let you build it as either the US Genesis or the Mega Drive, which the console was known as in the UK and Sega’s homeland of Japan.

It’s only the original design that’s represented here, though, not the Sega Mega Drive 2 some of your childhood memories may be based around.

The kit includes two controllers, a game cartridge, and the top part of the console can be lifted off to reveal a portrait of Sonic.

A real-life Mega Drive is around 27cm wide. LEGO’s Mega Drive is around 16cm wide, making it closer to the size of one of the retro console revivals that have littered shelves for years now.

Sega’s own effort, the Mega Drive Mini, was released in 2019. While it didn’t pick up quite as much heat as Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition and NES Classic Edition from 2017, it did receive great reviews.

This LEGO take doesn't play games, though.

The LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console will be available from June 1st. And just like the retro console scene, Nintendo got there first with this one. That said, LEGO has been making Sega sets for years. The first was announced in 2021.

A LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System set was released in 2020, and has since been discontinued. But you can still get hold of LEGO’s take on the Nintendo Game Boy. It’s a 421 piece set that costs £54.99.

LEGO recommends the LEGO SEGA: SEGA Genesis Console for builders aged 12 years and up.

• Best LEGO sets for kids, big and small

There’s a fine line between “retro-inspired” and just flogging you a grey box with a red button on it. This, thankfully, leans more toward the former.

Game Outlet Europe has announced that the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 Speaker - N Edition is landing across Europe today (the 27th of April), and it’s about as subtle as a nostalgia hit to the face. Think chunky, cubic, and unapologetically throwback, clearly riffing on the design language of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which, slightly terrifyingly, is now pushing 40.

It’s tiny, too. Under 90mm on each side, which basically means it’ll sit happily on a cluttered desk, disappear into a backpack, or get dragged along to a park hang without much thought. At 450g, it’s not exactly weightless, but you’re not going to resent carrying it either.

Where it earns its keep is versatility. You’ve got three ways to hook it up: Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, or good old wired USB, so it’ll play nice whether you’re pairing it with a phone, a laptop, or something a bit more niche in your gaming setup. There’s even a wireless charging dock bundled in, which doubles as a signal extender, so you’re not dealing with dropouts when you wander off mid-playlist.

The controls are pure fan service: a chunky D-pad up top handling volume, playback and pairing. It’s the kind of detail that could’ve felt gimmicky but actually makes sense once you’re using it.

Sound-wise, it’s doing more than just coasting on looks. Dual speakers push proper stereo audio, and there’s a built-in mic if you end up taking calls through it. Battery life clocks in at up to 30 hours, which is comfortably in “charge it and forget about it for the weekend” territory.

There’s also a toggle to flip between music and gaming modes, which is a nice touch if you’re bouncing between Spotify and whatever you’re currently rinsing.

At £39.99, it’s not trying to be your main speaker setup, and it doesn’t need to be. This is more about having something portable, functional, and just a bit fun to look at. A desk toy that actually does something useful, rather than just collecting dust.

If you’ve got even a passing soft spot for that old-school red-and-grey aesthetic, it’s going to be a tough one to ignore.

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The hugely-anticipated Elden Ring movie has begun filming in London — and we’ve got some exclusive photos from the set.

A24’s massive fantasy epic, based on the 2022 Bandai Namco game of the same name, has taken over the Greenwich Naval College in South London, with hundreds of members of cast and crew re-imagining the historical setting as a foggy medieval thoroughfare.

Closed to the public, we went down to see the filming in action. Here’s what we saw (and read on for everything else we know about the Elden Ring movie so far)...

If you were in any doubt that it’s the Elden Ring film being shot, here’s director / writer Alex Garland on set — he’s the one with the grey hair and beard:

There were dozens and dozens of extras near and on the set, all wearing medieval garb:

The area had also been covered in dry ice and smoke to add to the misty / mystical / mysterious feel. Though there were many actors and physical props on show, there was also the presence of green screens, likely to extend the setting and make it possible to add giant scenery like the game's iconic giant 'Erdtree':

The scene itself appeared to show some sort of market or town square, with many peasant extras, armoured soldiers (and a few goats) wandering around stalls, carts and tents:

Ahead of filming, we were also able to see some of the construction work for the sets in close up:

Additionally, Reddit user Continuent also came across the set during set up ahead of filming, and shared some photos online, littered with details:

This first image shows the area where the main filming was taking place today — a box to the bottom left reads ‘Leyndell Streets’. This would refer to the game’s Royal Capital city, which sits at the foot of the giant 'Erdtree' which dominates the game’s skyline. We can assume that's what Greenwich's Naval College is doubling up as.

A second image revealed a box of brooms and props labelled ‘Stormveil’ — a key castle location in the game, home to Godrick the Grafted boss.

A third image showed off an array of cages and lanterns which look the spit of those hanging from the ceiling in Raya Lucaria, the wizarding school of The Lands Between.

With the Naval College’s Painted Hall also closed off for filming, it’s easy to imagine it being decorated with these lanterns and acting as that location in the game. It’s pictured in its usual state above.

Finally, there’s this gallows-like beam — unremarkable by itself until you note that it’s identical to the one in the game’s opening cutscene, upon which the ‘Dung Eater’ character is hung (a bit of a wrong-un who curses his victims).

Who has been cast in the Elden Ring movie?

We’ve also now got a full, star-studded cast run-down for the film. The Elden Ring movie will star:

• Kit Connor (Warfare, Hearstopper)
• Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Perfume, Paddington)
• Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus, Pricilla, Civil War)
• Tom Burke (Furiosa, Mank)
• Havana Rose Liu (Tuner, Bottoms)
• Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina, Annihilation)
• Jonathan Pryce (Brazil, Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Ruby Cruz (For All Mankind, Bottoms)
• Nick Offerman (The Last of Us, Parks and Recreation)
• John Hodgkinson (Skyfall, Napoleon)
• Jefferson Hall (House of the Dragon, Tenet, Oppenheimer)
• Emma Laird (28 Years Later, The Brutalist)
• Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars: Episode I)

Eagle-eyed fans of Garland’s work will see plenty of familiar faces in that cast list, with the director turning to regular collaborators for Elden Ring.

Lead Kit Connor worked with Garland before on Warfare, while Cailee Spaeny was in Garland’s TV show Devs and movie Civil War. Sonoya Mizuno and Nick Offerman were both also in Devs, while Mizuno was in Ex Machina and Annihilation, too:

There’s no word yet on who is playing who (or what), but there seem to be some obvious character look-a-likes lined up here. Most notable is Emma Laird — the 28 Years Later star certainly has the hair for Queen Marika, and her Instagram post playing the game with her character outside the Church of Marika certainly raised eyebrows. We’d also imagine Spaeny as Melina, who follows the player character throughout the game. And as Kit Connor is to take the lead, we’re going to guess he’s down to play Vyke, the tragic knight on the game’s cover — a story that’s perhaps the most obvious in-game tale to adapt.

What’s the Elden Ring movie about?

While no plot details have been shared yet, knowing the game we can make a good guess as to what’s going to be happening in the Elden Ring film.

A dark fantasy tale set in ‘The Lands Between’, the Elden Ring is a powerful and mysterious artifact, destroyed, with its remains cast throughout the world. The goddess Marika’s monstrous demigod children collect these shards, leading to a war for power from which no one ruler emerges. In the game, the player faces a menagerie of warriors and creatures in an attempt to secure and reforge the Elden Ring. With the lore well fleshed out, we’d expect the film to follow the world’s fall into ruin and war.

Yes, it’s all a bit weird and silly, but beneath that high concept there’s great potential not only for a Game of Thrones-like tale of ambition and corruption, but also one of great spectacle — the beasts of Elden Ring are inventive and wild to behold.

It’s worth remembering that the original concept for Elden Ring’s rough story was put together by Game Of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin, along with Hidetaka Miyazaki, the lead at game development studio FromSoftware (and also responsible for the long line of influential Dark Souls games to which Elden Ring is a spiritual successor). It’s not clear yet how involved either will be with this new film project.

Where is Elden Ring filming?

Alongside the London locations, Elden Ring is filming across England, Scotland and Wales (specifically Conwy Castle in Wales), and will be heading to Iceland for additional scenes this summer. The country, that is, not the supermarket.

Leaked footage from an undisclosed location in England earlier this month revealed a recreated ruins set, which seems to depict the game's 'First Church of Marika':

More footage of the Elden Ring movie set! from r/Eldenring

What is the Elden Ring movie release date?

Filming for the Elden Ring movie may have kicked off, but we’re in for a long wait until its release. The A24 production is set to release on March 3rd, 2028. So that’s close to a two year wait until it finally hits screens.

Will the Elden Ring movie actually be good?

Is the Elden Ring movie the most ambitious video game adaptation to date? Quite possibly — it’s a difficult film to make for many reasons. Not only is it hugely beloved — it’s rated as one of the greatest games of all time, and has sold upwards of 30 million copies — its fans are rabid lore fiends who will want as accurate an adaptation of the source material as possible.

That won’t necessarily be easy — the game certainly has an interesting setting and aesthetic, but its narrative is quite loosely revealed, with the player character protagonist a silent adventurer rather than wisecracking knight. Not only that, but its world is vast and fantastical, meaning the art department has its work cut out for it.

But some of these issues could also be seen as a blessing for writer / director Alex Garland, who can use the flexibility of the source material to weave his own grand narrative through the iconic locations and themes of the game. Garland is one of the most interesting directors and writers of his generation too, working as either writer, director, or both on hits such as 28 Days / Years Later, Ex Machina, Devs, Civil War, Dredd and Annihilation. He’s definitely got an eye for the weird and creepy.

Perhaps most reassuring of all? He’s a MASSIVE Elden Ring fan, with as many as SIX ‘New Game+’ runs under his belt. We’d say it’s in safe hands, then.

• 10 upcoming video game TV and movie adaptations we can't wait to see

Nintendo has quietly dropped a new pop-up store in London, and it’s hiding in plain sight. The “Nintendo Experience Zone” has opened inside the Argos Tottenham Court Road, turning part of the shop into a surprisingly well-stocked corner of all things Mario, Zelda and beyond.

The discovery didn’t come via a big announcement, either. It was first spotted on TikTok by creator BadxGurlCosplay, with the find later picked up by VGC, which explains why it feels like one of those blink-and-you-miss-it setups rather than a full-blown launch.

At first glance, it’s just a regular Argos. Head inside, and you’ll find shelves stacked with Nintendo merch that’s usually a bit of a nightmare to track down in the UK. Plushies, action figures, and, most importantly for collectors, a solid run of amiibo are all on offer.

If you’ve ever tried to get hold of certain amiibo without paying resale prices, you’ll know that’s a pretty big deal. These things have a habit of disappearing quickly, and not always reappearing at retail.

There’s also the expected lineup of games and consoles, so if you’re after a new Switch title or picking up hardware, you’re covered.

Realistically, it’s the merch that makes this worth a visit, especially if you’re after something a bit more niche than what you’d find in your average high street shop.

It also taps into something Nintendo fans in the UK don’t get all that often: physical retail experiences. Outside of Japan and a handful of flagship stores in places like New York and San Fran, most of Nintendo’s more interesting products tend to live online.

London did briefly get a taste of that last year with a pop-up in Westfield, which pulled in exclusive items from those global stores, everything from apparel to homeware. That one only lasted a few weeks, though, and once it was gone, so was the stock.

This new Tottenham Court Road setup isn’t quite on that level in terms of exclusivity, but it still fills a similar gap. Reports suggest there are items here that aren’t widely available elsewhere in the UK, even if they’re not strictly “Tokyo store” exclusives.

It’s not huge, and it’s not trying to be a full destination store. Think of it more as a well-stocked pit stop, somewhere you dip into rather than plan a whole day around. But for fans, collectors or anyone after a slightly more interesting gift, it’s an easy win.

The Nintendo Experience Zone is set to stick around for the next couple of months, so there’s no immediate rush. That said, if past pop-ups are anything to go by, the more desirable bits won’t hang around forever.

So if you find yourself near Tottenham Court Road and fancy a quick nostalgia hit, or just want to see what’s actually on the shelves, it’s probably worth a look before it quietly disappears again.

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She’s long been rumoured to sing a Bond song, and now it’s confirmed: Lana Del Rey will be the next singer to perform a James Bond theme tune.

But! It’s a James Bond with a difference...

The Summertime Sadness singer will perform the title track to 007: First Light, the new big-budget, cinematically-styled game being developed by IO Interactive.

Fitting, giving Del Rey’s rise to stardom with the hit song Video Games? Whatever — you can hear the track for yourself embedded below:

The song gets some added Bond pedigree via its co-writer, David Arnold, who has scored five Bond films — Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace.

“The music of James Bond has always been a huge part of its identity. A title song has to tell us about the world we are about to enter into. It has to intrigue, excite, and beckon us in,” he said in a release accompanying the news.

“This song joins a long line of genre defining songs, each one creating a benchmark of style that adds to the magnificent heritage that is ‘The Bond Song’. That’s why I was so excited to work with Lana, an artist who brought elegance, atmosphere, and her totally unique character to this piece, which I hope will open the world of Bond to a whole new audience.”

It’s a great coup for the gaming world, but I can’t help feeling just a little bit sorry for Del Rey — she seems like the natural choice to do the bigscreen James Bond tune and, as cool as the game is, it won’t have quite the prestige that the main franchise has. It’s unlikely she’ll get a chance now to do both.

Still, 007: First Light is looking like a stonking game. Visually impressive and with a great developer behind it (IO Interactive previously worked on the excellent, Bond-like Hitman games), it will follow the adventures of a rookie Bond on his earliest missions. will release on May 27th, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and Summer 2026 on Nintendo Switch 2.

For a bit more on 007: First Light, tune into IO Interactive’s YouTube channel at 8pm on April 17th to see the reveal of their take on the iconic Bond opening title sequence.

• All the artists rumoured for the next Bond theme song

We’re deep into the era of “every game you’ve ever played is now a film”, and Street Fighter is the latest to step into the ring.

A new trailer for the live-action adaptation has landed, giving us a better look at what’s coming when it hits cinemas this October.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film is set in 1993 and follows Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken (Noah Centineo), who are dragged back together by Chun-Li (Callina Liang) for the World Warrior Tournament. There’s also a bigger conspiracy bubbling away in the background, led by M. Bison, which no doubt means a lot of fighting with slightly higher stakes.

Tone-wise, it’s going full ‘90s. There’s karaoke, there are dramatic standoffs, and there are people kicking each other through walls like it’s just another Tuesday. Jason Momoa pops up as Blanka, while Roman Reigns adds to a cast that feels deliberately stacked with big, chaotic energy.

Alongside all the obvious action, the trailer is packed with nods to the games, some subtle, some very much not.

Here are five you might’ve missed:

1. Ken vs. Ryu

One of the more unexpected beats in the trailer is Ken doing what can only be described as slightly tragic karaoke. It’s not just there for a laugh, it ties into the idea that he’s become a sideshow, a washed-up version of himself.

That’s a bit more character depth than you might expect, and hints the film is pulling from later Street Fighter storylines where Ken’s life isn’t quite as straightforward as “rich guy who fights well”. All of which is the backdrop for his rivalry with Ryu which in this iteration is clearly already well established.

2. Ryu’s Hadoken gets a full cinematic glow-up

Thankfully, the Hadoken is in here, and it looks exactly how you’d want it to so make sure you watch the trailer until the end to see it.

Ryu’s signature fireball attack has been given the full big-screen treatment, complete with dramatic build-up and a lot of glowing energy. It’s a small moment in the trailer, but also one of the biggest indicators that the film isn’t shying away from the more over-the-top elements of the games.

3. The soundtrack is doing a lot of heavy lifting

Setting the film in 1993 is one thing, backing the trailer with “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes is another. It’s an extremely on-the-nose choice, but it works. It immediately locks in the era and adds to that slightly scrappy, throwback feel the whole trailer is going for. You can tell they’re aiming for nostalgia, not realism and the whole score will no doubt be playing in your ears for weeks after you see the film.

4. Chun-Li’s legs get a knowing nod

There’s a quick line referencing Chun-Li’s famously powerful legs, often dubbed “thunder thighs” by fans, which have been a defining part of the character for decades.

It’s a slightly tongue-in-cheek inclusion, but it shows the film is willing to have a bit of fun with its own legacy rather than playing everything completely straight and will no doubt include more references to memes the iconic games have generated over the years.

5. A blink-and-you-miss-it parade of fighters

Beyond Ryu and Ken, the trailer quickly flashes through a wider roster that includes characters like Cammy, Blanka, Dhalsim, Vega and more. None of them gets much screen time here, but their presence suggests the film is going all-in on bringing as many familiar faces into the mix as possible, which checks out given the cast list.

Whether that turns into meaningful roles or just a series of cameos is another question, but from what we've seen so far, your favourite character will likely pop up in some capacity.

• A Metal Gear Solid movie is finally moving forward at Sony

If you like your tech a bit less polished, and a lot more interesting, this might be one to keep an eye on.

The 'hOMMEMADE Game Console' is a custom-built retro machine that looks like it’s been pulled from an alternate-universe Nintendo lab. It runs on RetroPie, packs a flip-up LCD screen, and comes wrapped in a clean cream-and-blue shell that leans hard into that late-90s aesthetic.

It’s got all the right bits, too. Dual red analogue sticks, a bright blue d-pad, classic four-button layout, plus Select and Start where you’d expect them. Round the back, there’s USB support and a power toggle, nothing flashy, just properly thought-through. You also get two SNES-style wireless controllers in the box, which tells you exactly how this thing’s meant to be used: on a sofa, arguing over split-screen.

What’s pushed it onto people’s radar, though, is who’s already been spotted using it. A$AP Rocky himself has been seen trying it out on Instagram, giving the console a bit of early hype before it’s officially on sale. And that should come as no surprise, given that hOMMEMADE is backed by AWGE — A$AP Rocky's own creative agency.

That low-key rollout fits with the brand behind it. hOMMEMADE isn’t your typical tech company chasing mass production, it sits somewhere between design studio, streetwear label and hardware tinkerer.

The focus is on small-batch, design-led pieces that feel more like collectibles than off-the-shelf gadgets, often blending nostalgia with modern functionality. Which explains why buying one isn’t straightforward...

There’s no listed price and no standard checkout, if you want the console, you’ll need to enquire directly through the website. That suggests limited quantities, custom builds, or at the very least something that’s not being churned out at scale.

The appeal here isn’t just playing retro games, it’s owning something that feels deliberately made, slightly rare and a bit different from the usual identikit tech. We still don't know anything about software or how the console runs, but its certainly one to keep an eye on.

In a world of identical consoles and endless digital downloads, this is the opposite: tactile, niche and built with actual personality. Whether that’s worth the mystery price tag is another question, but it’s definitely got people paying attention.

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After years of rumours, Bloodborne is officially getting the big-screen treatment, and it sounds like it’s not holding back.

Sony Pictures has confirmed that an R-rated animated feature based on the cult PlayStation title is in development, with the studio promising it will fully embrace the violence and gothic horror that made the original game such a hit.

Announced during CinemaCon, the film is expected to stay close to the tone of the source material, which follows a lone traveller navigating a plague-ridden city overrun with grotesque creatures. Sony’s Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch said the adaptation will be “very true” to the game’s spirit, a clear nod to the blood-soaked combat and unsettling atmosphere fans will be expecting.

The original game was developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and has built a reputation over the years as one of the most distinctive and punishing action RPGs around. Set in the decaying city of Yharnam, it leans heavily into cosmic horror, body horror and a general sense of dread, all of which the film looks set to carry over.

Production-wise, the project brings together a slightly unexpected mix. It’s being co-produced by PlayStation Productions and Lyrical Animation, alongside Seán McLoughlin, better known online as JackSepticEye, who has long been associated with the game through his playthroughs and fan following. He’s said he’ll do “everything in [his] power” to make it the best adaptation possible, which suggests this is one aimed squarely at existing fans as much as newcomers.

Details are still fairly thin at this stage. There’s no confirmed director, cast or release date yet, but the expectation is that the story will centre on a hunter battling through the nightmarish streets of Yharnam, experiencing the core loop that made the game so compelling in the first place.

The project also lands at a time when video game adaptations are having a serious moment. Big-screen versions of major titles have become some of the most reliable box office performers in recent years, and Sony in particular is going all in on its gaming catalogue. Alongside Bloodborne, the studio has projects in the works based on Helldivers and The Legend of Zelda, with the latter already wrapped.

More broadly, there’s a clear push to bring FromSoftware’s catalogue to screens. An Elden Ring film is currently in development at A24, with Alex Garland attached to direct, while a Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice animated series is also said to be on the horizon.

For fans, that means Bloodborne is no longer the outlier; it’s part of a wider wave of adaptations built around some of the most atmospheric (and punishing) games of the last decade. The real question now is whether the film can capture what made it so memorable in the first place, without sanding off the edges that gave it its bite.

• A Metal Gear Solid movie is finally moving forward at Sony

After years of false starts, delays and near-misses, a live-action Metal Gear Solid movie is finally moving forward, and it’s coming together quickly.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein have been tapped to helm the project for Sony Pictures, as part of a major first-look deal with the studio.

If those names sound familiar, it’s because the duo are coming off the back of Final Destination: Bloodline, a revival of the long-running horror franchise that ended up being both a box office hit and one of the best-reviewed entries in the series. That success has effectively fast-tracked them into one of the more in-demand directing teams in Hollywood right now.

Under the new deal, their production company Wonderlab will develop and produce projects across Sony’s various film labels, with a focus on big, commercial, character-driven genre films. The Metal Gear Solid adaptation is one of the headline projects to come out of that agreement.

For anyone who’s been following this one, it’s been a long time coming. A film adaptation of the franchise, created by Hideo Kojima, has been stuck in development since 2012, with various directors, ideas and casting rumours coming and going over the years.

At one point, Jordan Vogt-Roberts (best known for Kong: Skull Island) was attached to direct, and Oscar Isaac had been lined up to play protagonist Solid Snake. There’s no confirmation yet on whether any of those earlier plans will carry over into this new version.

What is clear is the scale of the ambition. The original Metal Gear Solid games blended stealth gameplay with dense, cinematic storytelling, mixing military espionage with sci-fi elements in a way that was pretty groundbreaking at the time. Translating that to film has always been the challenge, and the reason it’s taken this long to get off the ground.

Lipovsky and Stein seem fully aware of that legacy. In a statement, they described the game as “a groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece” and said they’re aiming to bring its “iconic characters and unforgettable world” to life on screen.

There’s no release date or casting confirmed just yet, so it’s still early days. But after more than a decade of development limbo, the fact that it’s now locked in with a studio, directors and a broader production deal suggests this might finally be the version that sticks.

• The BIG London Cinema List 2026: Film festivals, seasons, Q&As and rep screenings

If you’ve been quietly losing hours to Pokémon Pokopia, there’s now a way to log off and still stay in that world. A real-life Pokémon garden has landed in London, and it’s completely free to visit.

Called Pokopia Gardens, the pop-up has taken over The Mount in Acton, first opening on the 31st of March and running through to the end of September. It’s open 24/7, costs nothing to enter, and sits just a short walk from Acton Town station, meaning you can swing by whenever, whether that’s a quick wander after work or a slightly more intentional weekend detour.

The whole thing is part of a wider push from The Pokémon Company, which is also rolling out similar gardens across Paris and Berlin. The idea is to take the core concept of Pokopia, rebuilding a soft, nature-filled world designed to bring Pokémon back into it, and recreate that feeling in real-world public spaces.

In practice, that means a curated mix of plants and greenery designed to mirror the game’s gentle, slightly dreamlike aesthetic. There are “living walls”, Pokémon-inspired terrariums, and little visual touches that make the space feel like it’s been lifted straight out of a Nintendo screen without going full theme park.

It’s not trying to be loud or overly interactive. Instead, it leans into the same slower, more relaxed rhythm that makes Pokopia work in the first place, somewhere between a garden, an art installation and a low-stakes spot to chill out

There’s a bit more going on if you’re playing Pokémon GO, too. The site includes themed Gyms and PokéStops, meaning you can spin for items, collect gifts and send them on while you’re wandering around. It’s a small detail, but it ties the physical space back into the wider Pokémon ecosystem in a way that actually makes sense.

Pokopia has quickly become a daily ritual for players, the kind of game you dip into for a bit of calm, and this feels like a natural extension of that. A way of turning a digital experience into something you can walk through.

While it’s easy to roll your eyes at branded pop-ups, this one’s at least doing something a bit different. No tickets, no queues, no pressure to buy anything, merely a free, open space that happens to be themed around one of the biggest franchises in the world.

If nothing else, it’s a solid excuse to get outside, slow down a bit, and pretend, even briefly, that your walk through Acton is part of a much nicer, more carefully designed world.

You can visit the Pokopia garden at The Mount, Acton, London W3 9NW

• LEGO finally catches ’em all with first-ever Pokémon sets

You’ve collected every star, moon and shine in the Super Mario Games. You’ve visited the Universal Studios theme park, you’ve bought a Switch 2 and you’ve lined up IMAX tickets for this year’s big Super Mario Galaxy movie cinema release. What next for the die-hard Nintendo fan?

Picking up one of the best books about Nintendo, that’s what.

A gaming juggernaut more than a century old, Nintendo is one of the few major video game companies to be richly covered in literature, despite the company’s own reluctance to speak openly about its inner workings, or to document its own fascinating history. Thankfully, journalists, enthusiasts and specialist publishers have done that job for the Japanese giant, meaning the making of Mario, the lore of Link and the… yarns of Yoshi are all ready and waiting among the pages of an incredible line-up of tomes.

From reportage to coffee-table sized art books, we’ve pulled together our absolute favourite books about Nintendo, covering some of the best writing and little known facts about the singular gaming force.

The best books about Nintendo

• The best Nintendo Switch 2 games

There was a time when the sharp metallic clink of a coin hitting the tray of an arcade machine felt like possibility itself. One coin, one chance—no downloads, no updates, no tutorials. Just you, a joystick worn smooth by strangers, and the quiet belief that this next go might be the one. You’d hover before pressing start, glance at the leaderboard, and imagine your three initials sitting there like a tiny monument to greatness.

Arcade gaming is having a glow-up, and the biggest names in the industry recently gathered at the Entertainment, Attractions and Gaming Expo to show where the whole glorious business is heading. The offer of free play had us speeding down there quicker than you could say Pole Position, jostling for joysticks, hitting buttons with aplomb, and getting hands-on with some of the quirkier cabinets that blur the line between game and spectacle.What hasn’t changed is the atmosphere. That heady mix of questionable carpet, electricity overload, and the magnetic pull of a machine where you’ve just entered your initials still defines the experience. It was the ultimate hangout then, and remains so now—a place to say goodbye to your coin collection while pretending you’re investing in skill.

The arcade scene is undeniably having a revival. Retro machines from decades past are everywhere again, humming away in dedicated venues and hybrid entertainment spaces. But nostalgia alone isn’t enough to sustain a comeback. The question is: what’s actually new?

First, a quick word on what shouldn’t be new. Card payments can do one. There should be a coin machine at the door—non-negotiable. The ritual matters. As for ticket rewards, we’re not impressed. The wildly inflated exchange rate for something like a single Chupa Chups feels less like a prize and more like a life lesson in diminishing returns.

Still, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most innovative and exciting years in coin-op culture—possibly since Pac-Man swallowed our pocket money whole. Think cutting-edge tech, wildly inventive concepts, and interactive fun that demands more than just hands-on. The big difference? You shouldn’t need to scavenge down the back of the sofa for shrapnel first.

From forever-rigged claw machines to VR experiences that make you the entertainment, arcades are leaning into what makes them unique. Because here’s the simple truth: screens at home are fine, but the cumulative effect of everything an arcade offers—the noise, the competition, the mild chaos—is hard to beat. And manufacturers know it. They’re in creative overdrive to ensure every machine offers something worth shouting about (or shouting at).

So, what’s actually worth your coins this summer?

1. Hyper-Haptic Racing Seats That Punish Your Spine

These latest racing simulators don’t just rumble—they actively recreate every pothole, collision, and questionable driving decision through seats that feel engineered by sadists. You don’t just play the game; you survive it. Emerge from a ten-minute session feeling like you’ve been waltzing with a sumo.

The immersion is undeniable. You’ll believe you can take that hairpin bend at excessive speeds—and you can—but it will inevitably end as a pixelated pile-up delivered directly to your lower back. Our only gripe? The limited music selection and the absence of a fake window to rest your arm on, which would do wonders for confidence. Keep a chiropractor’s card close by.

2. Trash Talking Basketball Games

Not content with a game where you rapidly launch balls toward a net a few feet away, someone decided basketball arcade machines needed personalities. So now, they heckle.

Miss three shots? The machine questions your life choices. Hit a streak? It becomes your loudest, most over-the-top supporter. Powered by adaptive AI, these games learn your patterns and adjust difficulty accordingly—which sounds helpful until you realise it’s essentially a robot designed to humble you in public.

It’s part game, part performance, and entirely addictive. There’s something uniquely motivating about being roasted by a machine while a group of strangers—often children—watch your form unravel in real time.

3. Collaborative VR Escape Rooms for People Who Hate Their Friends

These multiplayer VR pods trap you and three teammates in virtual puzzle scenarios that require communication, cooperation, and patience—three things gamers are famously inconsistent at.

Watch your friendships crumble as someone inevitably ignores instructions, touches the one thing everyone said not to touch, or just stands there admiring the graphics while the clock ticks down. It’s less about escaping the room and more about discovering who you’ll never invite out again.

The twist is that you’re not just playing—you are the entertainment. Spectators gather, laugh, and occasionally offer unsolicited advice while you flail around in a headset, arguing about levers and codes. It’s chaotic, brilliant, and slightly revealing.

4. Retro Cabinets with Modern Guts

Classic arcade cabinets are back—well, they never really went away—but now they’re appearing in abundance with a modern twist. Think original exteriors paired with emulation boards packed with thousands of games.

Purists complain these aren’t authentic, but conveniently forget they can’t afford rows of original cabinets anyway. These machines let you jump from Galaga to BurgerTime in seconds—before remembering why you never actually liked BurgerTime in the first place.

It’s nostalgia without commitment. A greatest hits album you didn’t ask for but somehow keep playing. And while it may lack the purity of the original experience, it makes up for it in sheer accessibility.

5. Prize Machines That Dispense Useful Stuff

The claw machine has evolved. Gone are the dusty plush toys that look like they’ve been waiting since the era of leg warmers. In their place? Smartphones, AirPods, designer trainers—the kind of prizes that justify the effort, at least in theory.

Of course, they’re still fundamentally rigged. That hasn’t changed. But now the stakes are higher, and arcades have realised something important: people will happily throw money at impossible odds if the prize photographs well on Instagram.

It’s less about winning and more about the attempt. The spectacle of trying, failing, and trying again—fuelled by the faint belief that the next grab might be the one.

• From back-room rebel to retro royalty: Pinball is nudging 95 years old — and is more popular than ever

Filming on the TV adaptation of Tomb Raider has hit a temporary pause after star Sophie Turner suffered what’s being described as a minor injury. Thankfully, it sounds like more of a brief hiccup than anything that’ll derail the show.

According to Amazon MGM Studios, production has been halted “as a precaution” to give Turner time to recover, with filming expected to resume relatively soon.

While there’s no official word on how the injury happened (on set or otherwise), reports suggest the delay could last a couple of weeks, hardly catastrophic, but enough to press pause on one of Prime Video’s more high-profile projects.

Turner, best known for Game of Thrones, is stepping into the boots of Lara Croft, a role previously owned by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, and early looks suggest Amazon is leaning into a fairly classic take on the character.

Dual holsters, shades, and that familiar action-hero edge, just with a slightly more modern polish.

Behind the scenes, there’s a serious pedigree too. Phoebe Waller-Bridge (of Fleabag fame) is leading the charge as writer and exec producer, with Jonathan Van Tulleken on directing duties. The cast is also enjoyably stacked, featuring Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs and Celia Imrie.

All in, it still feels like Amazon is building something pretty substantial here, especially off the back of its success with Fallout, and a short production pause isn’t likely to change that.

There’s no confirmed release date just yet (2027 feels like the safe bet), but assuming Turner’s recovery goes to plan, this should be back on track before long.

• EXCLUSIVE: Riz Ahmed on the best kebab in London, playing Bond and the best smelling man in showbiz

If you were to tell us prior to September 2025 that a Super Mario Galaxy movie would be hitting cinemas within a year, we’d have fobbed it off as an April Fool’s joke.

It’s not that we weren’t expecting a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie – that sucker made an astonishing $1.36 billion at the box office, making a follow-up nigh-on guaranteed.

Rather, it’s the specificity of the sequel (which hits cinemas on 1st April) that took us by surprise. Super Mario Galaxy seems to have lifted both its title and its basic premise from two idiosyncratic entries in the sprawling Mario video game franchise.

Super Mario Galaxy was released onto the Nintendo Wii console in 2007. Many fans rate it and its 2010 sequel to be among the very best games in the series, notable for introducing bold gravity-defying mechanics to Mario’s previously earth-bound formula.

All of which got us to thinking about which other Nintendo games would make for a good movie treatment. In some instances, we’re talking about single entries that don’t necessarily represent the wider IP, much like Super Mario Galaxy itself.

1. Pikmin

All four Pikmin games to date follow the same basic formula, so let’s just start at the beginning. Released onto the Nintendo GameCube in 2001, and inspired by creator Shigeru Miyamoto’s love of gardening, Pikmin casts you as a pint-sized alien astronaut who crash lands on an Earth-like planet. Your tiny explorer is forced to corral the local fauna – tiny plant-like creatures called Pikmin – and put them to work collecting, building and fighting. We’re thinking it would make a charming action-comedy movie that mines the game’s exaggerated sense of scale in a Toy Story/Honey I Shrunk the Kids/Ant-Man fashion.

2. Splatoon

Few would have predicted that Nintendo would attempt to make an online competitive shooter, but that’s exactly what it did with Splatoon and its two incrementally improving sequels. Of course, Nintendo’s family-friendly nature means that this doesn’t play like your teenage nephew’s slur-filled military simulator. Rather, it’s a delightfully colourful, deeply cooperative action game that doesn’t even require you to shoot people if you don’t wish too, thanks to a tactile level-painting mechanic. It also features an excellent single player campaign that fleshes out the squids-vs-octopi lore. Ample material for an animated movie, in other words.

3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If any game in this series should serve as the basis for a film, it’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This 2020 Switch game was by far the biggest entry yet, providing solace and a precious sense of community for millions during the global lockdown. It’s not worth being too pedantic about which Animal Crossing entry you would choose here, however. There isn’t really a story to be adapted, just the premise of a mute avatar (that’s you) rocking up on an idyllic island filled with assorted anthropomorphic animal characters and building a blissful virtual life filled with building, trading and fishing. As the Minecraft movie proved, you don't have to have a grand narrative attached to a gaming property to put together an entertaining trip to the cinema.

4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Yes, yes, we know. There’s already a Zelda movie in the works. But we’re petitioning for a full-blown animated adaptation of a very particular entry. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker landed on the Nintendo GameCube in 2003, and is quite unlike any Zelda entry before or since. Its gorgeous cel-shaded art style is a total one-of-a-kind, and the game generally feels like you’re playing a cartoon. Add in its distinctive maritime twist on familiar Zelda staples, and you have all the material for one special animated feature.

5. Metroid Prime

The Metroid series has a long and varied history, but we’re particularly interested in adapting Metroid Prime. This series pinnacle took the hitherto 2D series into the third dimension, switching the style and perspective from zoomed-out side-on platformer to first person adventure. The result was arguably the most immersive game in the series. Three solid sequels have been released since, the latest in 2025, so it’s likely to be fresh in people’s minds. Nintendo might be slightly squeamish about the unabashed influence of Ridley Scott’s Alien, but we think its world is distinct enough to warrant its own cinematic entry.

6. Star Fox

Also known as Starwing here in Europe, Star Fox was released onto the SNES in 1993 with a then-revolutionary deployment of 3D graphics. The adventures of Fox McCloud (who is confirmed to be making his debut in Super Mario Galaxy, voiced by Glenn Powell) and his fellow fighter pilot buddies could make for a cracking slice of family-friendly sci-fi, if it was handled properly. Think of the epic against-the-odds space battles of the original Star Wars trilogy – and particularly those Death Star trench battles – but with a gaggle of babbling animals taking the place of Luke Skywalker and co. Doesn’t that sound ace?

7. F-Zero

Largely thanks to the all-consuming success of the Mario Kart franchise, Nintendo’s other major racing game IP has been somewhat neglected over the years. What better way to relaunch the F-Zero IP than with a movie spin-off? OK, so I may just be angling for a new standalone game in this lightning-fast futuristic racing series, but the original 1990 SNES game (and its mighty fine sequels) could be turned into a unique family-friendly sci-fi racing film. We’re thinking Speed Racer meets the pod racing bits of the Star Wars sequels, plus a little F1.

8. Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong played a fairly major part in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and we think it’s high time the character got his own production. If the past decade has shown us anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as too much Seth Rogen. In the spirit of Super Mario Galaxy, we’d rather Nintendo picked out a specific entry in the great ape’s oeuvre. In this case it’s Donkey Kong Country, the first game in a series of highly regarded side-on platformers initially developed by British developer Rare. The game’s epic production values (it was one of the most visually spectualar games of the 16-bit era), vibrant characterisation, and cheeky sense of humour warrant further exploration on the big screen.

• The best video game books to read right now: 10 brilliant books about gaming

Independent Swiss brand Krayon has taken one of the most niche complications in watchmaking and somehow turned it into a tribute to Pac-Man. The result is the Pac-Man Anywhere, a limited run of just 15 pieces, each one unique, each one made from platinum, and each one costing somewhere in the region of £170,000.

At its core, this is still Krayon’s Anywhere watch, an impressive bit of kit that tracks sunrise and sunset based on your exact location. It’s the type of thing that’s usually reserved for serious collectors who like their watches complicated and on the nerdier side.

What Krayon has done here is swap out the usual astronomical display for something a lot more playful. Instead of the sun moving around the dial, you’ve got Pac-Man doing the rounds, marking the transition from day to night as he goes.

It sounds gimmicky, but the execution is anything but. The dial sits on a polished onyx base, with a barely-there maze design that only really shows itself when the light hits it properly. Floating above that are tiny, hand-painted elements, ghosts, fruit, dots, all placed on rotating sapphire discs that shift depending on the length of the day.

When midnight hits, the ghosts turn blue, just like in the game. On equinox days, the whole thing balances out into a perfectly symmetrical display. It’s clever, slightly mad, but it does look class.

Under the hood, it’s just as serious. The manual-winding movement packs in over 400 components, with a 72-hour power reserve and all the mechanical complexity needed to track daylight cycles in real time.

The watch is certainly nostalgic without being tacky and just self-aware enough to pull it off. Each of the 15 watches has a slightly different layout, too, so no two are the same, which only adds to the sense that this is more of an art piece than an accessory.

Will you ever see one in the wild? We wouldn't have thought so. But as a concept, and as a reminder that watchmaking doesn’t always have to take itself so seriously, it’s hard not to like. You can see more of the watch on the Krayon website and even enquire.

• The Camden Watch Company drops its first-ever pocket watch

If you’ve ever played Angry Birds and thought “this would be better if I could absolutely leather it,” your oddly specific wish has just come true.

TOCA Social, the immersive football entertainment venue inside The O2 and Westfield White City in London and the Bullring in Birmingham, is launching a brand-new Angry Birds game this Easter, and it’s exactly as chaotic as it sounds.

For the uninitiated, TOCA Social is what happens when five-a-side football collides with arcade gaming. You and your mates step into a private booth, fire footballs at a huge interactive screen, and take on a series of skill-based challenges, all while food and drinks are delivered straight to your table. It’s fast, competitive, and just the right level of ridiculous, whether you’re a seasoned baller or someone who hasn’t kicked a ball since Year 9 PE.

From the 30th of March, things are getting even more frantic. The new Angry Birds experience takes the global gaming phenomenon, with more than 5 billion downloads, and turns it into a full-body event. Instead of dragging a slingshot across your phone screen, you’ll be using your foot to ping balls at targets, sending birds crashing into towers, setting off TNT explosions and wiping out the ever-annoying Bad Piggies.

There are multiple difficulty settings, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, so you can ease yourself in or go full competitive mode. It’s designed to work for pretty much everyone, making it a strong shout for families over the Easter holidays, groups of mates, or even a slightly chaotic date night. And because it’s all indoors, it’s also a very handy option when London inevitably decides to chuck it down for a week straight.

The game marks TOCA Social’s first collaboration with a major gaming brand, teaming up with Rovio Entertainment to bring the colourful chaos into the real world. It’s also the first of several new experiences set to roll out across 2026, so expect more where this came from.

If you’re looking for something a bit different to fill an afternoon, or just fancy proving you’ve got better aim than your pals, this might be one of the more fun ways to do it.

• London’s Leicester Square is getting a new activity bar with axe throwing, shuffleboards, DJs and more

Back in 1930s America someone decided watching a tiny metal ball rattle around a slanted wooden box just might be brilliant. Early pinball tables had no flippers, barely any control and just enough chaos to distract a nation deep in the Great Depression. But when times are tight, creativity gets loud - Jazz was booming, Art Deco was everywhere, and pinball was quietly rolling onto the scene.

Fast-forward almost a century and pinball is nudging its 95th birthday, enjoying a full-blown renaissance. Modern machines now glow with screens, soundtracks and storylines, while vintage tables command eye-watering prices from collectors who know their bumpers from their bonus lanes.

But how did we get here? And what about the next century of pinball?

Pockets and Prohibition

It all started with Baffle Ball, Gottlieb’s 1931 hit - a simple pin table inspired by French bagatelle. Cheap to play and even cheaper to buy, operators often made their money back in a single day. Production ramped up to hundreds of machines daily, waitlists stretched into the tens of thousands, and competitors like Bally and Williams jumped in fast. Bigger tables arrived, like Ballyhoo, pockets were added to the play surface and suddenly pinball wasn’t just a novelty - it was a phenomenon.

But not everyone loved it — the fun police were on patrol. By 1942, America’s war on gambling turned its sights on pinball.

Electricity had been added in 1933, bumpers in 1936, and the game’s reputation grew murkier by the minute. New York’s mayor led a dramatic crackdown, branding machines the tools of organised crime. Police raids seized thousands, others were smashed to pieces on the spot. For decades, pinball lived in a legal grey area, half entertainment, half alleged vice.

The man who saved the game

Then came the flipper in 1947, the moment pinball became less luck, more skill.

Yet bans lingered until one Roger Sharpe, often dubbed the original pinball wizard, walked into a New York City Council hearing in 1976 and proved his point with a perfectly called shot. The council relented, the ban lifted, and pinball’s golden age kicked into gear.

If you want the cinematic version, the docudrama Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game tells that story - a 28-year-old journalist, a courtroom showdown and the ultimate ball save. It sounds absurd, but that moment flipped the narrative: pinball wasn’t a shady gamble anymore, it was a legit game of skill.

Manufacturers wasted no time shaking off the old stigma. Creativity exploded. Gottlieb led the charge, while machines cheekily nodded at authority without poking the bear too hard. The very table used in Sharpe’s demonstration using the deceptively named Bank Shot became a quiet icon. If you knew, you knew.

The late 70s leaned into rebellion. Themes got louder, artwork bolder. Bally released Evel Knievel in 1977, then pushed boundaries again with a Playboy machine a year later. These tables today are the Holy Grail, collectors’ gold - even their backglass panels sell for serious cash.

Technically, everything was changing too. Mechanical score reels gave way to digital displays, electronic sounds replaced bells, and arcades started to glow like futuristic playgrounds.

But more change was on the horizon. Just as pinball peaked, video games crashed the party. Companies merged, some vanished, and for a while the machines drifted into the dusty corners of arcades - still alive, just waiting for their second act.

A modern renaissance

Enter Stern. Not exactly newcomers, being part of Chicago’s pinball lineage for decades. But over the past ten years they’ve driven the modern revival.

Their machines come loaded with licences like Star Wars, 007, The Beatles, Godzilla and Stranger Things, turning pinball into an immersive, story-driven experience under glass. Each table is still handmade, often costing over £12k, with limited editions pushing £20k - and they rarely stay in stock for long.

Peter Heath of Kent’s Pinball Parlour – finders, fixers and all-round pinball obsessives - sums it up, “One minute everyone’s chasing the future and old stuff’s worthless, then suddenly nostalgia hits and people want the good old days again. We deal purely in retro, so we’re always looking back at the classics. Come down to Margate - the showroom’s full of surprises.”

Stern’s Zach Sharpe, son of Roger, grew up surrounded by the machines that shaped the industry.

“I own a very rare game called Cyclopes,” he says. “Only 400 were ever made, and between me, my brother and my dad we’ve got almost one per cent of the total run in the family.”

For him, pinball’s appeal is simple: “Once you connect with it, it never really leaves you. Stern keeps pushing what’s possible, building whole worlds inside these machines.”

And yes, skill still matters.

“There’s an old saying: if you’re not tilting, you’re not trying,” says Zach. “But no machine lets you win by tilting. You’ll lose bonuses, and on older tables you could end the whole game.”

Despite its rebellious past, pinball today is surprisingly universal. Collectors chase machines for their art, their nostalgia or just the thrill of fixing something mechanical. Newbies fall for those alluring flashing lights and that unmistakable ding. Different reasons, same obsession.

Which brings us to now. Once contraband, pinball lurked in smoky back rooms like a chrome-plated speakeasy. Today it’s enjoying an unlikely renaissance, with arcades across the country once again dedicated space to tables new and old, while gamers — looking to escape the digital confines of their favourite hobby — turn to the physical fun of a rattling pinball machine. Maybe it’s the tactile chaos, maybe it’s the nostalgia, or maybe we’re all just tired of staring at flat screens.

Either way, there’s something irresistible about a game that lights up, dings and clatters at volume and occasionally rewards you with a free ball - proof that sometimes the best way forward is backward, preferably with flippers.

• Sounds on 45: How the jukebox is making a modern-day comeback

A new system update for the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to breathe new life into your catalogue of older Nintendo Switch 1 games.

Well, in handheld mode at least.

System update 22.0.0 adds an optional ‘Handheld Boost Mode’ that will lift performance of games released for the original Switch console when played in handheld mode on the newer Switch 2.

Effectively, it allows Switch 1 games to play as if they are using the console’s docking station when played handheld on the Switch 2 console — meaning that many games will see a boost to resolution and to frame rate, as was allowed by the first-generation console’s dock, by virtue of the additional horsepower the newer console offers.

Nintendo power

This is a much-requested feature for Switch owners — though the Switch 2 is backwards compatible with 99.9% of Switch 1 games, the previous console’s limited 720p screen meant that playing them on Nintendo’s latest hardware could look blurry, and wouldn’t take advantage of the frame rate boosting power of Switch 2. This update should address that, boosting older titles where possible to the Switch 2’s native 1080p resolution, and potentially pushing framerates higher, too, without the need for developers to go back in and manually patch the games.

It will not be possible for every single title however — those that make use of touchscreen controls in handheld mode, for instance, or those that rely on docked motion controls, will likely not be able to take advantage of Handheld Boost Mode. But a vast swathe of the Switch 1 games library should see a marked improvement.

To activate the new optional feature:

• Select System Settings on the HOME Menu.
• Scroll down through the System Settings menu and select System.
• Scroll down on the right and select Nintendo Switch Software Handling.
• Select Handheld Mode Boost to enable or disable this setting.

The update comes alongside a bunch of other smaller improvements and tweaks to the Nintendo Switch 2 system, including new ways to manage storage, the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List, and more — alongside the usual system stability and performance improvements.

• The 14 best Nintendo Switch 2 games

Chappell Roan just made headlines for her Grammys dress, but her garb is potentially about to earn a whole lot of cash as she joins Fortnite.

She is a headliner act of Fortnite Festival season 13, which is the rhythm game side of Fortnite.

This sees her mega-hit Pink Pony Club join the Jam Tracks selection, while her other songs Good Luck, Babe, Hot To Go! and The Giver also return to the library.

There are also two Chappell Roan outfit styles incoming, each complete with a set of accessories and emotes. And you’ll need to fork out for two bundles to get access to them.

The first is the Heartcore Music Pass, which features an outfit based on on-stage looks from Roan’s tours, referencing Pink Pony Club. Because, well, it’s a very pink look, complete with pink cowboy hat. There's a red version of the dress too.

Fortnite is also getting a Battle Royale-ready Chappell Roan look, dubbed Roan of Arc.

This outfit is a metallic armour costume based on what the singer wore during her 2024 performance of Good Luck, Babe at the VMAs. And it pairs with a flaming sword and a pink pony piñata as part of another bundle about to go on sale at the Fortnite shop.

This Fortnite content drops on February 5th at 2PM, UK time. We expect the Fortnite Festival Heartcore Music Pass to cost 1400 V-Bucks and the Roan of Arc bundle to cost upwards of 3000 V-Bucks, based on Epic’s usual pricing.

These drops represent Chappell Roan’s biggest Fornite collab to date, but not the only one.

A Hot to Go! dance emote came to Fortnite in December 2024. And in early 2025 Roan told Radio 1 she liked nothing more than eating an edible and playing Fortnite, as Ariana Grande. She also begged Epic to make her a costume back then. A year later, it’s happened.

Chappell Roan currently has zero UK gigs in the calendar, but is currently touring Australia this month, ahead of dates in Argentina, Chile and Brazil throughout March.

• The BIG London gig list 2026: Your guide to this year's very best shows, festivals and concerts

The London Card Show is back for its first outing of 2026, and it’s starting the year exactly as you’d expect: bigger, louder and packed wall-to-wall with cardboard.

Running from 13–15 February 2026, the UK’s largest card event will once again take over Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, welcoming more than 10,000 collectors across three days of trading. With 1,000 tables and an estimated two million cards expected to change hands, this is about as close as Europe gets to a full-scale cardboard frenzy.

This year marks the show’s 19th edition, and for the first time, Friday’s trading will expand into the first third of the upstairs hall, giving early attendees more space, more vendors and a stronger sense that the weekend has properly begun.

It’s a small change with big implications, especially for serious collectors who like to get in early.

Founder Harry Reynolds says the expansion is all about momentum. “Our mission has always been to bring card collectors of all types under one roof,” he explains. “Opening up more space on Friday means more vendors, more interaction and more opportunities for fans to discover something special.”

Heavy hitters from across the trading card world will be in attendance, including eBay, Fanatics Live, Goldin, Whatnot and Ace Grading, alongside a broad mix of sports cards, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, TCGs, retro gaming and memorabilia.

There’s more than just buying and selling, too. Highlights include a Main Stage packed with live interviews, unboxings and raffles; a Kids Zone for younger collectors; a Saturday night Trade Night session; creator and vlogger areas; on-site grading services; and eBay’s oversized Live Van broadcasting straight from the show floor.

Tickets range from VIP to family passes, with VIP entry from 9am and general admission from 10am each day. Doors close at 4pm — assuming you haven’t lost track of time digging through binders.

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When Resident Evil Requiem closed out the Summer Game Fest 2025 showcase, it did something refreshingly rare for a modern AAA game: it announced itself and locked in a release date. No years of vague teasers, no endless speculation. Capcom confirmed that the ninth mainline Resident Evil lands on 27 February 2026, and that was that.

Set roughly 30 years after the Raccoon City outbreak, Requiem returns players to the Midwest ruins of the city following a missile strike. You’ll switch between two protagonists with very different energies: FBI technical analyst Grace Ashcroft and long-time series survivor Leon S. Kennedy. The pair are drawn to the abandoned Wrenwood Hotel to investigate a suspicious death, a location with personal stakes for Grace, whose mother was murdered there years earlier.

Capcom is positioning Requiem as its most immersive entry yet. Classic survival horror when playing as Grace, puzzles, investigation, careful resource management, and full-blooded action when you step into Leon’s boots. You can switch between first- and third-person perspectives, a first for the series.

Into all of these steps Hamilton, not with a background cameo, but with two watches designed to exist inside the game’s world, and on your wrist, if you’re quick enough.

Leon S. Kennedy’s Khaki Field Auto Chrono

Leon’s watch is exactly what you’d expect: functional, tough, and quietly loaded with character detail. The Khaki Field Auto Chrono worn by Kennedy leans into military utility, with a crown shaped like a sniper scope dial and chronograph pushers inspired by bullet cartridges.

There’s symbolism, too. A black wing motif at 9 o’clock and an engraved emblem on the caseback serve as a nod to fallen comrades, a subtle reminder that Leon has been doing this for a long time, and it’s never been easy.

It’s not flashy, and that’s the point. This is a tool watch built for survival horror, not the red carpet.

Grace Ashcroft’s Pan Europ

Grace Ashcroft’s Pan Europ is a different proposition altogether. Where Leon’s watch is about endurance, Grace’s reflects intelligence and control. Finished in a striking ‘gold and noir’ palette, it pairs a black PVD-coated case with gold detailing across the dial, bezel and strap.

The result is sleek, composed and quietly confident, much like Grace’s gameplay style, which focuses on deduction, analysis and staying one step ahead of whatever’s lurking in the dark. Geometric details on the caseback and restrained gold accents keep it elegant rather than showy.

Both watches appear in Resident Evil Requiem and will be available in the real world, with 2,000 units of each produced. They launch alongside the game on 27 February 2026.

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Grab your khaki shorts, draw those dual pistols and lock your butler in the fridge: Amazon’s just lifted the lid on the full cast for its upcoming Tomb Raider TV show.

A couple of details we already knew — Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame takes the lead Lara Croft role, writing duties are covered by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Sigourney Weaver had previously told Shortlist about her exciting role. But we’ve now got word of how the rest of the cast is fleshed out for one of video gaming's biggest TV adaptations.

According to the press release, Tomb Raider will also star:

• Martin Bobb-Semple as Zip: Lara Croft’s long-standing tech support and friend.
• Jason Isaacs as Atlas DeMornay: Lara’s uncle.
• Bill Paterson as Winston: Long-standing Croft family butler sure to be stuffed in a freezer before too long.
• Jack Bannon as Gerry: Lara’s personal pilot and snack collector.
• John Heffernan as David: An exhausted government official who finds himself tangled up in Lara's unusual world.
• Celia Imrie as Francine: The Head of Advancement at the British Museum, focused solely on raising funds and glasses of champagne.
• Paterson Joseph as Thomas Warner: A senior government official brought in to clean up an almighty mess.
• Sasha Luss as Sasha: A fierce, deeply competitive new adversary of Lara’s.
• Juliette Motamed as Georgia: A devoted, by-the-books curator at the British Museum, dedicated to the ‘proper’ preservation of history.
• August Wittgenstein as Lukas: An illegal raider who shares history with Lara in more ways than one.

Sigourney Weaver’s role remains shrouded in secrecy, but is revealed as “Evelyn Wallis a mysterious, high-flying woman who is keen to exploit Lara's talents.”

There’s some heavyweight talent lined-up there then — not least of all being Paterson Joseph, AKA Peep Show’s devilishly bureaucratic Johnson. And it seems writer Waller-Bridge is chuffed to have them all.

This cast is beyond my wildest dreams!” she said of the news.

“Tomb Raider boasts a plethora of iconic characters. I am thrilled to have been able to bring some personal and fan favourites to the screen while also introducing a few new rascals of our own to the mix.”

For now there’s no release window for Tomb Raider — it'll be an Amazon Prime Video exclusive — but we’ll be keeping a close eye on how the show develops.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers has a lot to shout about at CES 2026, but the headline-grabber here is its unexpected, beautifully unhinged collaboration with Kojima Productions. Because if you’re going to celebrate 20 years of gaming innovation, you might as well do it alongside the industry’s most eccentric auteur.

At the heart of the partnership is the ROG Flow Z13-KJP, a limited-edition 2-in-1 gaming tablet that looks like it’s been lifted straight out of a Death Stranding cutscene. Designed with direct input from legendary artist Yoji Shinkawa, the device draws heavy inspiration from Ludens, Kojima Productions’ space-suited mascot and philosophical avatar for play, creativity and experimentation.

The Flow Z13-KJP blends art and engineering into something genuinely collectable: an angular CNC-milled aluminium chassis, carbon fibre detailing, bespoke typography, exclusive packaging, custom Armoury Crate themes and Ludens wallpapers baked in. It’s the kind of hardware that feels less like a laptop and more like a prop from a future sci-fi epic… It’s incredibly on-brand.

Under the hood, it’s no slouch either. Powered by AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, Radeon 8060S graphics and a 50 TOPS NPU, the Z13-KJP is designed to handle high-end gaming, creative work and local AI tasks in a tablet-sized form factor.

A 13.4-inch 2.5K Nebula HDR touchscreen with a 180Hz refresh rate delivers slick, cinematic visuals, while the detachable keyboard lets it shift effortlessly between gaming console, creator tablet and ultraportable workstation.

The Kojima crossover doesn’t stop there. ASUS is also launching a suite of Kojima Productions-branded peripherals, all bearing Shinkawa’s distinctive artwork and the suitably dramatic slogan For Ludens Who Dare. Highlights include the ROG Delta II-KJP headset with 50mm titanium-plated drivers and marathon battery life, the ultra-light ROG Keris II Origin-KJP mouse, and the ROG Scabbard II XXL-KJP mouse mat, complete with a hand-drawn Ludens motif.

It’s merch, but merch done with taste. We’re still waiting to find out more regarding pricing but this is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Everything else ROG announced at CES 2026

Once you pull yourself away from the Kojima gear, there’s still a lot going on at ROG’s CES showcase. Highlights include:

• World-first dual-screen gaming laptop: The new ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 features twin 16-inch Nebula HDR OLED displays, designed for serious multitasking, streaming and creative workflows alongside high-end gaming.
• Next-gen Zephyrus G14 and G16 laptops: Ultraportable powerhouses with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or AMD Ryzen AI processors, up to RTX 5090 Laptop GPUs, AI acceleration built in, and stunning new 1100-nit Nebula HDR OLED displays.
• ROG G1000 desktop PC: A statement gaming tower featuring the world’s first holographic AniMe Holo fan system, extreme cooling, and support for top-tier RTX 50-series GPUs.
• Cutting-edge OLED monitors: Including the ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM with dual-mode 4K/240Hz and FHD/480Hz gameplay, and the ultrawide PG34WCDN, pushing colour, contrast and refresh rates to new extremes.
• AR gaming glasses: The ROG XREAL R1 glasses offer a giant virtual screen experience with a 240Hz micro-OLED display, spatial audio by Bose, and seamless PC, console and handheld connectivity.
• New audio and peripherals: From the audiophile-grade ROG Kithara planar magnetic headset to open-ear Cetra wireless earbuds and the lightning-fast Falchion Ace 75 HE keyboard.
• Cases, cooling and components: Including new Crosshair and Strix motherboards, advanced AIO liquid coolers, panoramic PC cases, and high-performance ARGB fans.

It’s a suitably stacked line-up for ROG’s 20th anniversary, but the Kojima collaboration is the one that turns this from a tech showcase into a genuine cultural moment.

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2025 was absolutely jam-packed with fantastic video games, but if you feared that meant that there would be nothing left on the slate for 2026, well, you’d be very wrong indeed.

There’s every chance that the best games we’re going to be playing in the next 12 months aren’t even on this list. In fact, we might not even know that some of them exist yet. And of course, some will inevitably get delayed into 2027. But we've scoured the tentative release calendar to see what is confirmed right now, and there’s a lot to get excited about, from the return of a beloved British RPG series, to a Marvel game that doesn’t feature Spider-Man and a little known open-world title from a studio called Rockstar. Not really sure what to make of that last one...

Time to get your 2025 backlog out of the way before it gets loaded up with this lot — here are nine games to watch out for in 2026, plus, where available, how to pre-order them, too.

1. Resident Evil Requiem

Capcom has been on a hot streak with Resi since 2017’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, so we have every reason to feel very confident about Resident Evil Requiem. The ninth mainline game in the long-running survival horror series features a new protagonist named Grace Ashcroft, an FBI analyst who’s sent to what remains of Raccoon City to investigate a series of mysterious deaths.

Resident Evil Requiem also brings back fan favourite Leon S. Kennedy as a playable character. The campaign will have us switching between Grace and Leon, with the former’s sections serving up the scares, while Leon’s segments will seemingly be combat-driven and closer to Resident Evil 4 in style.

In the last decade, Capcom has shifted towards a first-person perspective for Resident Evil, but Requiem will offer third-person and first-person from the off, allowing you to switch at any time. It sounds like a bit of a Resi grab bag, then, and it’s only a few months away.

• Due: February 27th

2. 007: First Light

2024 saw Indiana Jones burst back onto the big-budget video game scene in some style, and in 2026 it’s the turn of another pop culture giant. 007: First Light is the first James Bond game of any significance for well over a decade, and it’s being developed by IO Interactive, best known for the Hitman series. Unlike the majority of 007’s video game outings, First Light isn’t a movie tie-in, but something of an origin story, in which we’ll play as an up-and-coming agent likely still working out his cocktail preferences.

Patrick Gibson will portray the 26-year-old James Bond still chasing his 00 status, and the story will feature plenty of other familiar characters. Gameplay shown off so far points towards a game that blends the player freedom that is signature to IO’s Hitman games with the cinematic flair we expect from Bond. Expect shooting, sneaking, wise-cracks and plenty of fast cars.

• Due: March 26th

3. Mouse: P.I. for Hire

Of all the games due to come out in 2026, few are as irresistibly stylish as a Mouse: P.I. for Hire, a black-and-white FPS inspired by 1930s rubber hose cartoons. You play as Jack Pepper (voiced by Troy Baker), a private investigator and, crucially, mouse, in what appears to be as much as a rodent-themed detective sim as a shooter. There will be plenty of the latter too, though, with combat that’s apparently inspired by the likes of Doom and BioShock.

Mouse: P.I. for Hire is also inevitably going to be compared to Cuphead, the rock-hard 2017 run-and-gun platformer that channels the same era of American animation with its stunning hand-drawn visuals. Time will tell if Mouse: P.I. for Hire makes as much of an impact as Studio MDHR’s masterpiece, but if its sleuth ‘em up gameplay is as mesmerising as its art, this one could be quite special.

• Due: March 19th

4. Saros

The first major first-party PS5 game of 2026 is set to be Saros, the next game from Returnal developer Housemarque. Like its predecessor, Saros is a sci-fi third-person action game with roguelike elements, in which you play as Arjun Devraj, a Soltari Enforcer investigating an off-world colony on the planet Carcosa.

Returnal is one of the best games of the PS5 generation, but it’s also mercilessly difficult. Luckily, it sounds like Saros could be a bit more forgiving. Unlike Returnal, you’ll be able to permanently upgrade your gear and weapons after each death, so while the game’s procedurally generated world will ensure you never get too comfortable, you’ll at least head into every run a bit more powerful than you were before.

From what we’ve seen of it running so far, Saros is going to be another AAA technical showcase for the PS5 with refreshingly indie sensibilities, and there aren’t many games you can say that about.

• Due: April 30th

5. Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

It’s been more than 10 years since Rocksteady signed off its legendary Arkham series with Batman: Arkham Knight, and while we have had a VR game and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League since then, a proper Bat-focused continuation of the beloved trilogy feels a long way off. Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight might be the next best thing. Lego Batman games are nothing new, but this one looks like a celebration of the character’s entire history across comics, TV, films and games.

You’re given a huge open-world Gotham to explore, and while Legacy of the Dark Knight is obviously taking itself a lot less seriously than Rocksteady’s games, it certainly looks like developer Traveller’s Tales is riffing on the Arkham combat. If you’re a Batman fan of any kind, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will likely have something for you, and if you’re still not sold, know that UK comedy icon Matt Berry is voicing Bane. What more could you ask for?

• Due: May 29th

6. The Duskbloods

It was pretty clear from the moment Nintendo unveiled the Switch 2 that it wants third-parties to flock to its console this generation, but I’m not sure anyone would have had a Switch 2-exclusive FromSoftware game on their bingo card. The Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer is currently working not on a Bloodborne sequel (that we know of anyway), but the equally Gothic-y The Duskbloods, a multiplayer action RPG that lets up to eight players fight it out across various maps.

You choose from over a dozen playable characters known as the Bloodsworn, vampire-like creatures that can wield guns, and as in other From games, you can summon in companions to aid you in a particularly testing fight. Hidetaka Miyazaki’s recently released Elden Ring Nightreign, a co-op-focused spin-off of its 2022 RPG with roguelike elements, and with The Duskbloods being a PvPvE experience, it is clearly keen to keep branching out.

Whether the Switch 2 exclusive will be able to tempt the FromSoftware diehards over to Nintendo’s platform remains to be seen, but it will be fun to watch it all play out.

• Due: 2026

7. Fable

There are countless fantasy RPG series out there, but to my knowledge there's only one that places as much importance on the dedicated fart button as the one you press to swing your sword. For all of the overpromising of its famed creator Peter Molyneux, the Fable series is beloved by its fans, and the upcoming reboot has been Xbox’s most hyped game since it was announced more than five years ago.

The keys to Albion have been handed to Forza Horizon developer Playground Games, which has already proved on numerous occasions that it knows a thing or two about designing open worlds. But an RPG? That’s new territory for the Leamington Spa-based studio. We’ve seen precious little gameplay of the new Fable since it was announced, but expect another third-person action RPG with magic-enthused combat, lots of player freedom and a host of immediately familiar British actors in the voice cast. I just hope that it A) retains the slapstick humour of its predecessors and B) actually does finally come out in 2026.

• Due: 2026

8. Grand Theft Auto VI

Grand Theft Auto VI has already been the victim of two delays in 2025, and if it gets pushed any further than its current release date of November 19, 2026, then we’re surely getting dangerously close to GTA skipping this troubled generation altogether. But assuming Rockstar does manage to get its game out next year, the long wait will only add to what is almost certainly going to be the biggest video game launch of all time.

GTA 6 is set in the fictional state of Leonida (essentially Florida) and will let us finally return to the Miami-inspired Vice City for the first time since 2006. The game follows the law-breaking lovebirds Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, and the trailer released so far hints at a more grounded story, a la Red Dead Redemption.

That said, it wouldn’t be GTA without all the open-world silliness that made it the biggest series in the world, and whatever Rockstar is cooking up with GTA 6, you can be pretty sure that it will raise its own very high bar once again.

• Due: November 19th

9. Marvel’s Wolverine

With its superb Marvel’s Spider-Man series, Insomniac Games has cemented itself as one of the most exciting AAA studios in the world, and arguably the most prolific that PlayStation has. Spidey is taking a bit of time off, but while we wait for the next one of those, the studio has been hard at work on its first Wolverine game, and it looks as unflinchingly violent as you’d hope.

Judging by the information Insomniac has released so far, Marvel’s Wolverine is going to be a love letter to the angriest mutant, with Logan (Liam McIntyre) on a mission to uncover the secrets of his past that takes him to the Canadian wilderness, the neon streets of Tokyo and the lawless fictional nation of Madripoor. Basically if you’ve ever read an X-Men comic, you’re in good hands here.

We already know how good Insomniac is at combat, and if you thought webbing up goons as Spider-Man was satisfying, I’d imagine that jamming adamantium claws right into someone’s face is going to feel even better. No game is a complete banker, but Insomniac’s Logan simulator is probably as close to one as you’re going to get.

• Due: 2026

AI may be the buzz-word bingo term of the year but, for once, we’re able to embrace it without reservation — thanks to artificial intelligence, I’m getting to recreate the greatest Christmas of all time: Christmas 1997.

Why? How?

First the “why” — Christmas 1997 was the year I got a PlayStation 1, and with it the home port of arcade lightgun classic, Time Crisis. Many a pound coin was saved as I blasted away baddies at home rather than with the coin-op arcade machine. Santa did me proud, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship between me and my PS1.

And the” how”? That’s because, thanks to the nifty new G’AIM’E hardware and some AI wizardry, we’re finally able to get a faff-free lightgun experience at home on modern flatscreen TVs. And it’s brilliant.

Want to make a retro gamer’s Christmas dreams come true? The G’AIM’E might just be the answer. Read on to find out why.

G’AIM’E Lightgun: In short…

• AI powered lightguns that bring arcade shooters to your living room
• Easy to set up
• Works with TVs and projectors
• Comes pre-loaded with classic games
• Available now, starting at £99 for a single gun, console and Time Crisis
• ‘Premium’ bundle costs £149.99 and throws in three additional games and an arcade-authentic foot pedal
• ‘Ultimate’ bundle costs £199.99, includes two guns plus the pedal, all the games, and throws in bonus physical collectibles

An AI-fuelled arcade revival

Gamers of a certain vintage will have fond memories of the many lightgun games you could find in your local arcade. These point-and-shooters, with accessory guns that you pointed at a screen to aim and fire, were big business in the arcade’s hey-dey, and in the era of the bulky CRT TV screen, they were a core part of the at-home gaming experience, too.

But flat screen TVs changed all that. The aim tracking methods changed with the TV technology, old accessories no longer worked, and motion tracked consoles like the Nintendo Wii could never really match the experience of dedicated lightgun shooters. Plus, the decline of the arcade meant the lightgun shooter as a gaming genre fell out of vogue, and fewer games were available to be ported for home play.

It’s no wonder then that the G’AIM’E lightgun, created by Tassei Denki, cooked up a crowd-funding storm when it was revealed on Kickstarter. It managed to raise more than £860,000 by promising a dedicated console with AI-trained lightguns that would accurately work on all manner of TVs, including projection screens. Gamers starved of the arcade-at-home experience lined up to pledge their cash.

And, despite some small gripes, it was money well spent.

The hardware and set-up

To be clear, modern lightguns do exist, but they’re quite notoriously convoluted to set up, and are predominately for enthusiasts willing to work with emulators and PC software to get them up and running, making the plug-in-and-play nature of the G’AIM’E very appealing.

The fact the hardware on offer here is so satisfying and easy to use is just the icing on the cake. The G’AIM’E package consists of a main console unit (seemingly running a fork of Android) that plugs into your TV, plus the USB-C cabled gun. No wireless shooters here.

There’s two USB-C ports on the front of the console (a small black box the size of two CD cases stacked on top of each other), allowing for a second gun to be added for multiplayer play, or a pedal for arcade-accurate ducking and reloading in supported games. Those added extras are included in the pricier Premium and Ultimate bundles — you get just the console, a single gun and a single game at the basic tier.

Set up is surprisingly simple. Plug the power supply in, hook up the HDMI cable to your TV or projector (yes, projection screens work here!) and the console fires up into its calibration mode. You’ll be tasked with shooting a number of onscreen markers a few times, and then boom! You’re in the game selection menu.

A few pointers are shared to make sure calibration is as accurate as possible. You’ll need a distance of about 3 metres between you and the TV for a 50-inch TV, and 3.5m to 4m+ for 65-inch TVs and larger. Try to play in a darker room if possible, or at least minimise lights near your TV — lamps, other screens, or windows should be switched off or covered up, as it can confuse the camera tracker built into each gun. Also, make sure you’re using a high-quality USB-C charger — I started off using one I had laying around, and the guns kept disconnecting as a result. Only the Ultimate bundle includes a charger in the box.

Those boxes ticked, it’s a joy to play. Accuracy is as good as I remember from the PS1 days, and the blue-with-orange-highlights guns themselves are chunky and sturdy, walking that line between toy and not-quite-a-firearm satisfyingly. The force-feedback accompanying shots is a little weaker than you’d get in an arcade, but that’s a minor point, and the option for playing with a pedal will bring back fond memories of the original experience, very well recreated here. Rubber pads on the bottom keep it from sliding around too much underfoot.

The games

The star of the show here is undoubtedly Time Crisis, bundled in at every tier of the G’AIM’E package. Its innovative-for-the-era cover mechanic remains as satisfying as ever, and its against-the-clock shootouts against polygonal baddies as tense and thrilling as remembered.

A new conversion from original developers Namco Bandai is included here, based on the arcade original, meaning it's as close to that initial experience as you’re likely to find these days outside of a retro arcade. Note it is based on the arcade version — not the PS1 version which included a secondary campaign to fire through, meaning you might see all it has to offer relatively quickly.

Stump the cash for the Premium and Ultimate bundles, and you get three additional games — Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and its sequel Steel Gunner 2.

Of all the games offered, Point Blank may be the secret best of the bunch, certainly in terms of replayability. Offering a two-player mode that Time Crisis lacks, it’s a madcap point-chasing shooting gallery, full of minigames and manic ideas. You’ll likely spend most of your time here.

Steel Gunner and its sequel are 2D sci-fi shooters, and the oldest games included on the console. They’re still good fun, but show their age more than Time Crisis and Point Blank.

Notes for next time

We’ve had a lot of fun playing with the G’AIM’E kit, but there’s a few gripes we hope will be ironed out should any next-gen model appear, or variants of the hardware be produced.

Though accurate, the calibration can be a bit picky about the environment the kit is best played in. The ‘AI’ here has been baked in during development to work with as many TVs as possible, but doesn’t account for individual setups — this isn’t an actively learning model that can adapt to the unique characteristics of your living room. Likewise, it’s not saving any information about your setup, meaning you’re going to have to go through the calibration process every time you fire it up.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, there’s no plans to offer further games down the line. There’s no Wi-Fi onboard, and though the developers say the USB-C ports can be used to issue firmware updates in the future, the business model as it stands today is to sell the guns alongside preloaded consoles. So if any more games become available via the G’AIM’E, at present you’d have to buy the kit all over again to play them. Hopefully the manufacturers see sense and offer downloadable gaming updates, or at the very least offer future console units as sold-separately options without the guns.

Final verdict

Those small concerns aside, the G’AIM’E lightgun is a metaphoric and literal blast. Using the best of today’s technology to hark back to a golden age of gaming’s past, this is retro revivalism at its best. Well considered, well made, and with a bunch of classic games to play through, it’s time to party like it's 1997 all over again.

The biggest night in games is almost here, and once again Geoff Keighley is polishing his autocue for a three-hour extravaganza of awards, orchestral crescendos and enough “world premiere” stingers to pierce the atmosphere.

The Game Awards 2025 land on 11 December, promising the usual cocktail of celebration and spectacle: think emotional dev speeches cut between trailers, celebrity walk-ons, and the inevitable moment someone whispers “wait… is that actually happening?” at 3am.

Game of the Year will dominate headlines the next morning, but the electricity of the event always lives in the unknown. The reveals. The shocks. The games you didn’t know existed at 12:31am that suddenly become your next obsession.

Here’s everything UK viewers need to know ahead of the show.

Where to watch

British night owls, your annual ritual awaits. The Game Awards 2025 begin at 12:30am GMT on 12 December, streaming free on YouTube, Twitch, X, Facebook Live and Steam, plus, for the first time, Amazon Prime Video.

Prime members can tune in directly, which means far fewer frantic tab-switches if your internet starts doing its best impression of a PS2 boot screen.

If you're elsewhere, the show kicks off at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET / 1:30am CET, with Asia-Pacific viewers catching it over breakfast.

Wherever you are, you can watch Geoff summon trailers like some sort of gaming druid.

What to expect

The build-up to this year’s ceremony has been pure Keighley theatre. Last week, he shared a mysterious demon-covered monolith plonked in the Mojave Desert with the caption: “Regal. Inspiring. Thickness.” Naturally, the internet ignited — is it Diablo? God of War? Elder Scrolls VI? After a wave of debunkings, the truth remains up in the air, but the guessing is half the fun.

What we do know is that some heavy hitters are already locked in. Invincible VS will unveil a brand-new playable character, a welcome update for the cult-favourite fighter riding the wave of Invincible fandom. Exodus, the sci-fi RPG from ex-BioWare staffers at Archetype Studios, will also take the stage, promising another glimpse at a world steeped in Mass Effect DNA. And after its 25th anniversary, Total War is officially ready to reveal its next instalment.

There’s also a fresh release date and a new trailer incoming for Phantom Blade Zero, the ultra-sharp, ultra-punishing action game from S-Game. And in peak “only at The Game Awards” fashion, Evanescence will perform “Afterlife” from Netflix’s Devil May Cry.

What might be announced

Beyond the confirmed appearances lies the real adrenaline: the possibilities. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has smashed the show’s all-time nomination record, and the smart money is on some kind of update, maybe even the new dungeon tease, or a shadow-drop of the upcoming free expansion.

Hades II, still only on PC and Switch, feels primed for a long-overdue console announcement. And with Fallout Season 2 landing on Amazon Prime Video just days after the ceremony, it would be extremely on-brand for Geoff to summon Ella Purnell or Walton Goggins on stage for a sneak peek.

Big-screen energy is also gathering around 007 First Light, IO Interactive’s stylish Bond prequel. With a March 2026 release window, we might finally learn who’s voicing or playing the villain, or even hear its theme live on stage. Marvel’s presence should also be felt; Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is deep into development, making a full gameplay blowout feel increasingly likely, while Marvel’s Wolverine, still set for late 2026, could easily make a reappearance.

PlayStation’s lineup also has some clear candidates. Housemarque’s Saros, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and the long-rumoured original project from God of War director Cory Barlog are all circling the reveal zone.

Meanwhile, Xbox fans will be watching closely for Fable, Gears of War: E-Day, and the Tokyo-set Forza Horizon 6, which has been teased but only in the vaguest possible manner.

Then there’s Kojima. It wouldn’t be a Game Awards without spooling at least one strand of the Hideo Kojima Extended Universe. We know Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be present, but could OD: Knock or even his espionage project Physint resurface? With Kojima, chaos is always part of the deal.

FromSoftware are also heavily tipped. Maybe The Duskbloods. Maybe a brand-new soulslike. Maybe something no one has even theorised yet, with a 40-minute lore breakdown already being storyboarded by YouTube channels. As for Larian, a hint at their post-BG3 future feels possible, even if that future is a decade away.

The dreamers, of course, will be whispering: Half-Life 3. Rumours have swirled for weeks. Logic says no. History says no. Valve says no. But every awards season, hope wins out until the moment it doesn’t.

The nominees

Here are the full Game Awards 2025 nominees:

• Game of the Year
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Donkey Kong Bananza
  Hades II
  Hollow Knight: Silksong
  Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
• Best Game Direction
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Hades II
  Split Fiction
• Best Narrative
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
  Silent Hill f
• Best Art Direction
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Hades II
  Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Best Score & Music
  Hollow Knight: Silksong
  Hades II
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Best Audio Design
  Battlefield 6
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Silent Hill f
• Best Performance
  Ben Starr – Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Charlie Cox – Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Erika Ishii – Atsu in Ghost of Yōtei
  Jennifer English – Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Konatsu Kato – Hinako Shimizu in Silent Hill f
  Troy Baker – Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• Innovation in Accessibility
  Assassin's Creed Shadows
  Atomfall
  Doom: The Dark Ages
  EA Sports FC 26
  South of Midnight
• Games for Impact
  Consume Me
  Despelote
  Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
  South of Midnight
  Wanderstop
• Best Ongoing
  Final Fantasy XIV
  Fortnite
  Helldivers 2
  Marvel Rivals
  No Man's Sky
• Best Community Support
  Baldur's Gate 3
  Final Fantasy XIV
  Fortnite
  Helldivers 2
  No Man's Sky
• Best Independent Game
  Absolum
  Ball x Pit
  Blue Prince
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Hades II
  Hollow Knight: Silksong
• Best Debut Indie Game
  Blue Prince
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Despelote
  Dispatch
  Megabonk
• Best Mobile Game
  Destiny: Rising
  Persona 5: The Phantom X
  Sonic Rumble
  Umamusume: Pretty Derby
  Wuthering Waves
• Best VR/AR Game
  Alien
  Arken age
  Ghost Town
  Deadpool VR
  Midnight Walk
• Best Action Game
  Battlefield 6
  Doom: The Dark Ages
  Hades II
  Ninja Gaiden 4
  Shinobi: Art of Vengeance
• Best Action/Adventure Game
  Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
  Ghost of Yōtei
  Hollow Knight: Silksong
  Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  Split Fiction
• Best Role-Playing Game
  Avowed
  Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
  Monster Hunter Wilds
  The Outer Worlds 2
• Best Fighting Game
  2XKO
  Capcom Fighting Collection 2
  Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
  Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
  Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
• Best Family Game
  Donkey Kong Bananza
  LEGO Party!
  LEGO Voyagers
  Mario Kart World
  Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
  Split Fiction
• Best Sim/Strategy Game
  The Alters
  Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
  Jurassic World Evolution 3
  Sid Meier's Civilization 7
  Tempest Rising
  Two Point Museum
• Best Sports/Racing Game
  EA Sports FC 26
  F1 25
  Mario Kart World
  Rematch
  Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
• Best Multiplayer Game
  Arc Raiders
  Battlefield 6
  Elden Ring Nightreign
  Peak
  Split Fiction
• Best Adaptation
  A Minecraft Movie
  Devil May Cry
  Splinter Cell: Deathwatch
  The Last of Us: Season 2
  Until Dawn
• Most Anticipated Game
  007 First Light
  Grand Theft Auto 6
  Marvel's Wolverine
  Resident Evil Requiem
  The Witcher 4
• Content Creator of the Year
  Caedrel
  Kai Cenat
  MoistCr1TiKaL
  Sakura Miko
  The Burnt Peanut
• Best Esports Game
  Counter-Strike 2
  DOTA 2
  League of Legends
  Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
  Valorant
• Best Esports Athlete
  Brawk – Valorant
  Chovy – League of Legends
  Forsaken – Valorant
  Kakeru – Street Fighter
  MenaRD – Street Fighter
  Zywoo – Counter-Strike 2
• Best Esports Team
  G – League of Legends
  NRG – Valorant
  Team Falcons – DOTA 2
  Liquid PH – Mobile Legends
  Vitality – Counter-Strike 2

• Apple MacBook Pro (M5) review: Two months with the entry-level ‘Pro’ laptop – and why not to overlook it

Twenty years after Kill Bill carved its place into cinema history with katanas and an unhealthy amount of fake blood, Quentin Tarantino is finally releasing a missing chapter from the saga, and he’s doing it in the most 2025 way possible: inside Fortnite.

The Bride is back, digitally. The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge will premiere in-game on 30th of November at 7pm GMT, with a virtual “waiting room” opening 30 minutes earlier. It’s a fully animated short made using Fortnite’s Unreal Engine, written and directed by Tarantino, and starring Uma Thurman as Beatrix Kiddo once again.

The story itself isn’t new, at least not to hardcore fans. Yuki’s Revenge is a long-rumoured sequence originally written for Kill Bill Vol. 1, following Yuki Yubari, the sister of schoolgirl assassin Gogo Yubari, as she hunts down the Bride to avenge her sibling’s very stylish and spiky death. The scene never made it to the silver screen, though its script has floated around online for years (although we imagine there wasn't a walking banana in the original draft). Now it’s finally being brought to life, only via a battle-royale platform better known for emotes and silly skins.

It’s not as strange a pairing as it sounds. Fortnite has spent years morphing from a game into a full-blown pop culture venue, hosting concerts, crossovers and, most recently, a Simpsons event that lured back millions of lapsed players. Kill Bill’s blend of stylised violence, pulp fun and pop-comic energy feels pretty at home there.

Players logging in between now and the 1st of December will also get a Yuki Yubari skin, while those buying tickets to the limited theatrical release in the US, starting 5 December as part of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, can snag a Gogo Yubari outfit with a redeemable code.

This also marks the first time anything Kill Bill has debuted outside of cinemas. Tarantino’s original duology, released in 2003 and 2004, became instant cult favourites thanks to their mash-up of samurai cinema, spaghetti westerns and Shaw Brothers swagger. The movies even dipped into animation for O-Ren Ishii’s origin chapter, making this new Unreal-animated short feel like a strangely authentic extension of that world.

As for the elusive Kill Bill Vol. 3, both Tarantino and Uma Thurman have said it’s unlikely to ever happen. But for now, fans get something almost as mythical: a lost scene resurrected, re-cut and dropped into one of the world’s biggest games.

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Considering Windows is on most gaming PCs on the planet, it's wild that Microsoft has taken this long to put its Xbox stamp on a dedicated PC gaming device. But, with PC gaming having never been more popular, Microsoft has finally done just that, teaming up with ASUS for the ROG Xbox Ally X, and its lower-powered stablemate, the ROG Xbox Ally.

Building on the concept of ASUS’s own impressive ROG Ally handhelds, the ROG Xbox Ally X sprinkles some Xbox magic on the portable PC format, promising a familiar gamepad-like hardware design and access to Xbox Game Pass alongside all other Windows gaming storefronts. That’s a key differentiating factor to the class-leading Steam Deck from Valve and, alongside the ROG Xbox Ally X’s sheer under-the-hood horsepower, it’s enough to make hardcore gamers sit up and take notice.

It’s a touch more complicated than your average console, but the ROG Xbox Ally X is an absolute beast in play. After a month playing with the handheld, here’s 5 reasons why you’ll want to take this device on the road with you.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X: Core specs and features

Here’s an at-a-glance rundown of what the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X offers:

• PC flexibility and Xbox familiarity: A hybrid operating system lets you do everything a Windows PC can, while also giving you a stripped-back gaming interface for focusing on play
• Power that packs a punch: AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor 2.0 GHz and 24GB of RAM put even AAA games within reach
• Looks like a handheld, feels like a gamepad: It’s a chunky device, but its gamepad-like build makes it comfy to use over long periods of time
• Striking screen: The 7-inch, 120Hz, 16:9 display has a 1920 x 1080p resolution for sharp and fluid play
• Strong connectivity: Two USB-C ports plus a microSD slot make expansion easy and adding accessories simple too
• Big battery: 80Wh capacity will fuel long play sessions
• Loads of storage: 1TB lets you take dozens of games on the go, with microSD support for adding even more
• Price and availability: Premium pricing for a premium device — £799, available now

1. Part Xbox gamepad, part handheld PC

The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X is a chunker, there’s no arguing that with its 715g weight and its 29.0cm × 12.1cm × 5.09cm size. It’s par for the course with Windows-based handheld PCs, but what’s special here is that ASUS has gone out of its way to make the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X as ergonomic as humanly possible.

How? By essentially chopping an Xbox gamepad in half, and sticking a touchscreen PC in the middle. You’ll be happily playing with the ROG Xbox Ally X for hours before fatigue kicks in, thanks to just how much its pronged grips feel like a regular Xbox pad. Lightly textured, its stick and Hall Effect triggers are a dead ringer for Microsoft’s home console controller (even if the face buttons are a bit clicky-clacky), while you also get a pair of programmable rear buttons, too.

Its industrial design does well to straddle the “I’M FOR GAMERS!” aesthetic (all RGB lighting sticks and angled venting) with well-considered ergonomics. Its vibrant 7-inch, 120Hz, 1920 x 1080 touchscreen, for instance, is angled just slightly away from you in use — smart, considering you’re likely going to be resting it on your lap and looking down slightly at it most of the time. And though their placement takes some getting used to, the additional face buttons for settings management and access to your game library mean regularly-used features are always within reach.

Connectivity is well covered here too, with speedy Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 onboard, a fingerprint-packing power button, microSD slot support, and two USB-C ports (one USB4, one USB 3.2), with a headphone jack along the top edge rounding things off.

2. AAA power

With an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme (24MB Cache, up to 5.0GHz, 8 cores, with 16 Threads) under the hood, backed by 24GB of RAM, the ROG Xbox Ally X is among the most powerful gaming handhelds ever built. Its integrated graphics, powered by AMD’s RDNA 3.5 tech, mean high-end, AAA gaming experiences are at your fingertips in a way previous Windows handhelds could only dream of.

Now, expectations should be tempered before going any further — even being in the top-tier of PC gaming handhelds, you’re still not going to get near the performance you would from a computer with a desktop GPU, or even a gaming laptop. For best results, you’re looking at playing games on lower graphical presets, and more often at a 720p resolution rather than the 1080p native pixel count of the screen.

But with those concessions accepted, we had many fun hours playing titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Horizon Zero Dawn on the handheld. For Cyberpunk 2077, setting the resolution to 1080p, graphical settings to medium and upscaling level to ‘Quality’ saw framerates hover between 45 and 54 frames per second, an admirable performance. With Horizon at original graphics settings and upscaling set to ‘Quality’, things were a bit more uneven, with extremes of 20fps to 70fps, but the 50fps average was very enjoyable.

Even the particularly demanding Indiana Jones and The Great Circle was very playable on the ROG Xbox Ally X — a game that sees the competing Steam Deck crumble. While these tests were conducted in the highest power-draw turbo setting (the battery-sapping 25W setting, best suited to play when plugged into a wall), the difference when dropping down to, say, a more reasonable 17W is only a matter of a few frames. It’s a very efficient chip.

And keep in mind that we’re talking here about three considerably power hungry 3D games. If you’re looking to play older titles or 2D indies, you’ll be reaching sky-high framerates at high resolutions with ease.

Expect to get around 3 hours of battery life for demanding titles — but you'll happily triple that with indie games.

3. Pick-your-platform

Perhaps the greatest strength of the ROG Xbox Ally X is its openness. The Xbox branding may make you think you’re locked into playing titles from Microsoft’s Xbox Game Store and Xbox Game Pass library. But that’s not the case — like a true Windows PC, you’re free to download and play titles from any Windows-based service that you like, be that Steam, Epic Games, GOG or any other storefront. It’s what makes PC gaming so great compared to closed-off console experiences, letting you shop around for great deals, easily installing decades-old games without backwards compatibility faffing, and offering online play without additional subscription charges.

What’s perhaps more surprising, though, is how Microsoft has gone out of its way to accommodate games picked up from services other than its own. The onboard Armory Crate interface from ASUS guides you to download portals for competing stores, while the Xbox app library is regularly scanning your device to find games installed from elsewhere, and happily integrates all those titles into a single view.

Yes, you can also play what you want on other Windows handhelds, and you can just about do the same on a Steam Deck, provided you’re willing to jump about with some complex Linux install methods. But no other PC gaming handheld has made it so easy to compile all your disparate gaming collections in one place.

4. Where Xbox meets Windows

From the marketing that preceded the release of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the handheld was essentially an Xbox console in your hand. But as the earlier points in this review have proved… it’s more complicated than that, for better and worse. But mostly for better!

This is very much a PC. You’ll set it up like a Windows PC on first boot, signing into your Microsoft account and deciding whether you want OneDrive backups and Office 365 accounts and the like — it’s a jarring first impression.

But things change when you get to the Windows level — essentially, Microsoft has created a kind of virtual Xbox environment on top of regular old Windows, the ‘Xbox Full Screen Experience’. This puts the PC Xbox game launcher front and centre (an interface that’s very similar to what players of the Xbox home consoles will recognise). From here, you can launch and download your games, keep games in a suspended state, and swipe through other apps by swiping up on the touchscreen to reveal an app switcher. Microsoft reckons you claw a bit of performance back in this mode by keeping the full Windows experience out of sight.

HOWEVER! You can also switch to the full Windows experience at any time, and even run the Xbox Full Screen Experience in the regular Windows interface (at the expense of a small performance drop). Within the full Windows interface, you can do any Windows-y things you like, from web browsing to downloading additional apps, and then jump back into the full-screen set-up whenever you like.

On top of both of these sits the ASUS Armory Crate software. It’s here that you’ll tweak performance settings, screen resolution, RGB lighting and more. It’s very handy, works well, and has its own dedicated hardware button, so often you’ll be jumping into it. But it’s another layer of complication you wouldn’t find on a console, meaning finding the exact setting you’re looking for can be spread over multiple interfaces.

So it’s a best of both worlds sort of compromise, rather than a focused console experience. It has its quirks — you’ve got two game library launchers, for instance, with one in the Xbox app and one in Armoury Crate, and multiple menus where the power off function lives. There’s room for refinement for sure, but with a bit of patience, the flexibility it offers up is worth the learning curve.

5. Speakers that SHOUT, and fans that whisper

It may seem like a strange thing to highlight on a device of this price, but ASUS really deserves some praise for the quality of the speakers on this handheld.

Though we expect most players will have a headset connected to the ROG Xbox Ally X, the front-firing speakers have a real punchiness to them, and surprisingly high volume levels without distorting. Paired with the large screen, they really do help with immersing you in the game you’re playing.

On top of that, the fans on the ROG Xbox Ally X stay surprisingly quiet even when demanding games are causing them to work overtime to keep everything cool. We’ve used Windows handhelds that sound like they will take off when playing intense games, but ASUS’s device rarely sounded louder than a whisper.

Alternative options

There’s a tonne of different PC gaming handhelds on the market now, from companies as diverse as AyaNeo to MSI. But other than the ASUS ROG Ally line, the key alternative is Valve’s Steam Deck.

Rather than being a Windows device, it’s Linux-based, which means getting access to storefronts like Xbox Game Pass or Epic can be a bit of a pain. But if you’re doing most of your gaming through the uber-popular Steam store, it’s a dream device, as Linux remains better optimised for handheld gaming than Windows. There’s plenty of room to tinker with the Steam Deck if you want (though Linux takes some getting used to), but its core gaming-focussed interface is more responsive than the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X’s, even if it’s a weaker device. You can push the ASUS model further with high-end games, which may be the deciding factor for the most demanding gamers, but considering the Steam Deck starts at a mere £349, it’s an excellent option.

ASUS is also putting out a stripped-back version of the Xbox ROG Ally X — the Xbox ROG Ally. It’s similar in most respects to the ‘X’ variant, but comes with less storage (512GB), less RAM (16GB) and a weaker processor. It costs £499, so it is significantly cheaper. However, its performance felt compromised during our testing, and so at that price point, we’d definitely recommend the Steam Deck instead.

Final verdict

The ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X isn’t without its quirks, but for those who can afford its high asking price, it makes for a great PC gaming handheld.

Though navigating its competing interfaces takes some getting used to, having the flexibility to play PC games from any of the major download stores without issue is a fantastic feature — and may end up letting deal hunters save some cash in the long run when it comes to buying games.

There’s oodles of power at your disposal here, and a very comfortable design that will let you enjoy hours of play. It may not be quite the mobile Xbox console replacement that many were expecting, but in some ways, what we’ve ended up with is better. All the grunt, plus all the games, for a modicum of extra faff. If you’ve got the cash, it’s a fair trade in our books.

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Ever jumped out of your skin at a noise in a game? That’s not by accident - that’s sound design doing its job.

Few people understand that better than Alan Wake composer Petri Alanko. The three-time BAFTA-nominated Finnish composer’s work on Alan Wake and its 2023 sequel has helped shape one of gaming’s most iconic horror series. The original game remains on multiple ‘most terrifying games’ lists, while Alan Wake 2 was named Time magazine’s Game of the Year, too.

Alanko has truly mastered the art of manipulating unsuspecting gamers through noise, he tells us when we sit down to go behind the scenes of making seriously spooky games.

“It’s manipulation, more or less,” he explains, “Either brain manipulation or instrument manipulation - that’s the core of it all.”

So good is he at scaring the crap out of players, in fact, that the Alan Wake soundtracks have been known to do that quite literally, he reveals to us. But more on that later...

In fact, when it comes to composing scary soundscapes for our favourite games, the accomplished sound designer studies psychology to create real terror. Alanko tells Shortlist that he studies how sound “can make you do something - or prevent you from doing something.”

Still, despite being one of the world’s leading experts in scary game sounds, some game noises still get under Alanko’s skin, as well. In honour of Halloween and all things Really Damn Scary, here the prolific video game music composer reveals the game sounds that still give him nightmares.

Want to dive in and get spooked too? Grab a controller, turn off the lights and turn up the volume...

1. ‘Alien: Isolation’ (2014): The footsteps of the alien

For the Alan Wake composer, there’s one game that stands above all others when it comes to properly scary sounds - and it’s got nothing to with sudden jumpscare stabs of sound or typical musical cues.

“Number one is easily Alien: Isolation, because silence in there speaks louder than any music, any sound effects,” he says.

“That’s easily number one - and the music in that one is actually quite spot on.”

But it’s not just the absence of sound that gets under the audio pro’s skin. Alanko singles out one specific detail - something so simple it borders on cruel: “It has to be either the footsteps of the alien in Alien: Isolation, or the clacking sound it makes just before your head is split into two,” he explains.

“When you hear the footsteps, that’s more scary, because you still have a marginal possibility of escaping. You may be happy… but when you hear the clackings, you’re lost. You’ve lost it, and you’re going to die, and you have to load in the game again.”

That, he says, is the genius of the game’s sound design - finding horror in the player’s imagination even more so than in the soundtrack itself.

“Even that simple thing can be horrible, horrendous, scary.”

2. Silent Hill (1999): The sound of humans… gone wrong

If there’s one sound that truly haunts Petri Alanko, it’s not a jump scare or a screeching violin - it’s the way Silent Hill made humanity itself sound so wrong.

“A good number two is Silent Hill,” he says, recalling the PlayStation 1 and 2 era, “That series had quite a few really, really lovely cases of spooky things.”

It wasn’t the monsters themselves that got him, of course: it was how they sounded.

“Usually when there was a monster that resembled a human being, and they made some kind of a noise… combining a human-like posture or human-like body with something inhuman coming out of where there used to be a mouth - well, that’s kind of unnerving, to say the least.”

As a sound designer, he’s highly aware of how these noises were made, and the sheer physical toll they must have taken on whoever created them.

“It’s kind of funny what people can do with their voice chords,” he tells Shortlist, “I imagine it would be rather painful to try to replicate any of those without any special skills or extra equipment.”

The sound designer knows this from experience. On another project, Alanko once had to record the sound of someone being strangled - and ended up playing the victim himself. “I once lost my voice totally for two weeks because I had to be the one who got strangled,” he shares, “I had to speak at the same time I strangled myself. I had bruises all over my throat.”

He adds: “My philosophy is, if you do something, do it properly.”

Silent Hill, he admits, hit him so hard he couldn’t play it at night. “It really kicked my ass,” he tells us, “I avoided playing it during evenings or nights - I had to do it when there was light outside.”

3. ‘Impossible Mission’ (1984): The Commodore 64’s mangled robot voice

Long before Alan Wake or even Silent Hill, a much simpler sound gave Petri Alanko the chills… and it came from an 8-bit classic on the Commodore 64.

“There was a game called ‘Impossible Mission’ on the Commodore 64,” he recalls, “You know the graphics and you know the sounds, but there was this boomy, very early sampled sound saying something along the lines of… ‘Impossible Mission!’”

It wasn’t the visuals that unsettled him. Heck, the platform adventure isn’t even a ‘horror game’ by genre - but its digitised, barely-human voice coming out of a little speaker was creepy as hell to young Alanko.

“When you changed the room, you could suddenly run into a robot or something, and there was this very bad quality human voice saying that line,” he says.

“But for some reason, maybe because it was so mangled and beyond recognition, maybe that was the reason why it felt so spooky.”

Plus, he wasn’t a small child at the time. “I wasn’t that young,” he confesses, “I wasn’t three or four - I was almost in middle school!”

4. ‘Resident Evil: Village VR’ (2023): ‘Disgusting’ noises and a creepy Granny

Even a veteran horror composer like Petri can be caught off guard - and when it comes to modern sound design, Resident Evil Village in VR did it like no other.

“When Sony released their VR set, there was this horror game, Resident Evil Village,” he recalls, “That had a rather nice score, and it had really lovable sound effects.”

What made Resident Evil stand out to him was its unsettling combo of ordinary noises mixed in with the truly grotesque.

“Especially when you start playing the game, there are quite a few almost normal sounds that have this kind of really disgusting layer,” he explains, “For instance, somebody creeping at you - the creepy Granny - that’s horrible.”

It wasn’t just the horror itself, it was how completely it surrounded him.

“Although I tried to remind myself constantly that I was only playing a game, I got lured in because of the sound effects, and they were so spot on.”

“There were quite a lot of delicious, delicate details all over the place. I really love that it was so rich - when you had the VR goggles on and your headphones, it surrounded you and kind of hugged you, but in a very wrong way. A totally wrong way!”

5. Alan Wake 2 (2023): The noise that made someone ‘sh*t their pants’

For Alan Wake’s composer, some of the game’s most disturbing sounds weren’t synthetic or digital - they came from actual, IRL aggression with instruments. One in particular has haunted players for years.

“Somebody once told me that they literally had sh*t their pants when they heard one of the stingers that were taken from a piece I did for the game,” Alanko laughs, “And the thing was, the guy in question was an adult when he played it!”

And what created such a guttural response (literally)?

“It was basically me scraping a piano string with a saw as viciously and aggressively as I could,” he explains, “When you’re dealing with such a large thing as a handsaw, it’s almost impossible to hit just one string. It usually means that if you scrape one string, you also scrape the neighbouring string and so forth.”

“The result was quite an aggressive one,” he says, “Later on, I tried tuning all those neighbouring strings so that they slowly bent towards the main string - their tuning was corrected so they gathered together, so to speak.”

It made a kind of ultimate horror sound device - the type that creates a physical reaction in those it spooks.

“It worked pretty well,” Alanko says, “That provided quite a playground for scary stuff in the game.”

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LEGO Party is hard. And as a — cough — 40 something year old, I've have played my fair share of hard games.

Whether it's the infuriating but beautiful Demon's Souls, the fun but frustrating Cuphead, the almost impossible Lion King (seriously) I've played them all and enjoyed them, despite their near impossible impenetrability.

And then there's LEGO Party. There's no denying that this is a Mario Party rival, riffing on the similar mini game gameplay where you win studs, instead of coins.

But where Mario Party keeps the hardness level to manageable, LEGO Party isn't afraid to make some of its games complex — and I'm not just saying this because my nine-year-old son beat me frequently when I played him.

LEGO Party is hard and unapologetically so, and it makes for a game you will want to come back to again and again — which means it is the perfect game to fill up what can be a very long half term.

Party, LEGO style

While I played LEGO Party on the Nintendo Switch, the key thing here is that LEGO Party is available on the likes of PlayStation and Xbox which means that those users finally get a Mario Party rival that's decent.

The idea for the game is simple: you play against (up to) four LEGO figures — co-op or online — where you go around a virtual 'board game' trying to get to the end first, while playing mini games to win points and become an eventual victor.

The board you roll a dice on and play on is packed with areas that will reward you with things like golden bricks or punish you and take studs from you.

You can create your own Minifigure, which is a lot of fun and ties in nicely with the physical world of LEGO. Once this is done, you have the choice of playing just the Mini Games or playing the full fat version of the game.

If you go down the board route, then there are a lot of fun LEGO elements, such as being able to building bits that are in keeping with the style of whichever board you choose.

Seriously, just doing this and choosing the Mini Figure can be hours of fun, depending on how detailed you want to go with creating your perfect brick-based specimen.

And then there are the games themselves. They are lovely and varied. For the most part you are on your own, competing against other Minifigures but there are a couple of team games where you need to work together to win.

There are 60 minigames in total and there's a number that will have you tearing your hair out — but in a good way, as there's endless replayability factor here as you will always want to better than you did before, even if you did win or lose.

Some of my favourite games on show included a Guitar Hero clone, called Dance Off, where you have to hit the right notes that come down fast on the screen. Another reminded me of Rocket League, called Saucerlord, where you had to get a massive UFO into your colour space and there are a number of logic puzzles as well that require pin-point accuracy for you to win. And let's not get started about how tough Forklift Fumble was. I was dreaming about that game days after playing iy.

I really appreciate that LEGO has gone down this route with its mini games. If you win one, then you get a real sense of achievement. And if you lose, then you get right back on the horse and try again.

There is plenty of promise with LEGO Party and it is a game that has a fantastic replay factor. It is also cross-play, so platform agnostic — unlike our friendly little plumber.

While LEGO's IP isn't quite up their with Mario and his world yet, the fact that you can go to a land of pirates, head to a Ninjago themed area, go to space and otherwise shows that the scope is pretty endless and it's made this half term one to remember!

LEGO Party is out now on PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Steam.

Here's a fact that will shock you: Chicken Run is 25 years old this year. Yep, the Aardman stop-motion classic was released in 2000, the same year as the likes of Gladiator, The Dark Knight and Avatar.

It was a huge success for Aardman — bringing in some $225 million in box office — and spawned a decent sequel 23 years later in Dawn Of The Nugget.

Skip to 2025 and another stealthy sequel of sorts has arrived.

Aardman and Outright Games have teamed up for Chicken Run: Eggstraction, a stealth game that's available now on — deep breath — Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store.

Shortlist was lucky enough to get a sneak peak of the game — we had to heat up some chicken eggs to get our game code which was a lot of fun — and while it's definitely skewed towards children, it kept this adult who was old enough to watch Chicken Run in the cinema a quarter of a century ago very entertained, while playing alongside a very eggs-citable nine year old.

This is one star-studded game

The first thing you will notice is the calibre of voice talent on board. Reprising her role as Molly is The Last Of Us' Bella Ramsey.

Romesh Ranganathan is back as Nick, while Josie Sedgwick-Davies returns as Fizzle. And in one of the most genius castings in years, Chicken Shop Date's Amelia Dimoldenberg also joins the cast.

Plot-wise, everything kicks off some three months after the events of Dawn Of The Nugget (there's a nice explainer so if you aren't up to date, there's no need to worry) and you have to try and save the chickens from a number of places that they really shouldn't be in, including disused car parks, restaurants and factories.

Each chicken has its own special ability — and you can unlock more special abilities — and while there are a number of chickens in each level, you control one as the leader (or two if you opt for co-op).

There are also two modes you can play: Classic and Story Mode.

As for the gameplay, there's a lot of voiceover throughout which is fun, while you are wondering around each screen looking for a way to collect cogs or corn and save the chickens — there's a count for how many chickens you save, Lemmings-style.

The cut-scenes before and after the levels have been animated to as high a quality as the movies, which shows there's a lot of love that's been put into this game.

Chicken Run: Eggstraction is a lot of fun, offering a way into stealth games for a younger generation. That's not to say the adults in the room aren't catered for either, with some smart scripting and lovely world building within the Chicken Run universe.

Chicken Run: Eggstraction is available to buy now

Xbox head Sarah Bond has teased that a future Xbox console will be “very premium,” amid speculation Microsoft might be considering leaving the traditional console market altogether.

As part of an interview with Mashable (embedded below) intended to big-up the ROG Xbox Ally X, Bond had a few words to say about the next mainline Xbox console.

“The next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience,” said Bond.

“You’re starting to see some of the thinking that we have in this handheld.”

This also suggests the next Xbox is probably not going to be a traditional console in the way the Xbox Series X and S are. The ROG Xbox Ally X is basically a handheld Windows gaming PC, but one with an Xbox frontend that gives it a more console-like feel.

It also has haptic feedback triggers, just like those of an Xbox pad.

Bond talks up how most people are playing games that live across platforms and devices, downplaying the important of console exclusivity.

“The idea of locking it to one store or one device is antiquated to most people,” Bond says, talking about games like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite.

The important background to this is current Xbox console sales are not even close to those of the PlayStation 5. While Sony is estimated to have sold upwards of 80 million PS5s, the last solid figure we heard for the Xbox family was 28.3 million, back in summer 2024. Xbox has lost the console war, leaving Microsoft trying to find a way to make the business work.

This new era of “everything is an Xbox” downplays the importance of singular central hardware, putting the focus on games. And Microsoft certainly has a lot of game-makers under its umbrella, including Call of Duty creators Activision Blizzard.

The next Xbox, then, could basically be a somewhat standardised handheld or living room friendly PC, but one with a friendlier interface than a classic gaming desktop. Tech veterans may be reminded of Valve’s Steam Machines initiative, which tried and failed to get a similar idea off the ground a decade ago in 2015.

Since then, of course, Steam pivoted to bring back similar concept with the brilliant Steam Deck.

All this also means, though, Xbox gaming in future may get more expensive. And we’ve had our fill of that recently, after Microsoft bumped the cost of Game Pass Ultimate from £14.99 a month to £22.99 a month.

• ROG Xbox Ally X price revealed as handhelds go up for pre-order

For the hardcore Mario maniacs in the UK, a pilgrimage to one of the world’s few Nintendo stores has just got a little easier — from October 22nd to November 16th, a Nintendo pop-up retail store is opening its doors in London’s Westfield White City shopping centre.

And we’ve been down to see what it’s got.

Considering the might of the Nintendo brand, there’s relatively few Nintendo stores around the world. Nintendo’s native Japan, as you’d expect, has the most outlets, dotted around Tokyo, Osaka and Nintendo’s hometown of Kyoto.

• Nintendo Switch 2 review: Powered up in all the right places

But outside of Japan, the only permanent Nintendo stores are situated stateside in New York and San Francisco, making the London pop-up a rare opportunity to pick up official, exclusive Nintendo gear from iconic franchises like Super Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and loads more.

Shortlist headed down to a preview ahead of the store opening this week, and ended up so deep into our overdrafts you’d think Bowser himself had been raiding our accounts. Here’s just a peek at some of the stuff we spent our golden coins on…

1. Pikmin planters

The tiny garden dwellers are instantly recognisable, thanks to their little flower heads, and these mini planters make for the perfect single-flower vases to dot around your flat or garden. There’s three to collect (yellow, red and blue) — but it’s the blue one’s bemused face that had us smitten.

£19.99

2. Super Mario Pipe pen holders

Mario’s preferred form of transport, the green pipes will cheer up any drab desk, with this pencil pot letting you organise your favourite scribblers in style.

£17.99

3. Korok plushies

Now that the trauma of hunting down the many hundreds of helpless Korok’s in Tears of the Kingdom has passed, these cute little plushies will let you celebrate your achievements over the land of Hyrule. There are a few different faces to collect here, too.

£19.49

4. Mario hanafuda playing cards

Before Nintendo made computer games, it was in the playing card business, and made its name selling Japanese hanafuda cards. This little Mario-themed set is a great little nod to Nintendo’s roots.

£19.99

5. Goomba Shoe Mario soft toy

Mario soft toys are ten-a-penny, but we couldn’t help but be tempted by this Goomba Shoe plushies, bringing to life one of the best powerups from one of the best Nintendo games of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3.

£19.99

6. Mystery Block storage boxes

Put a bit of retro gaming charm into your plain old IKEA Kallax unit with these colourful storage boxes. As well as the iconic Mystery Box, there are also POW and brick blocks to nab, too — gold coins not included.

£17.99

7. Pikmin terrarium

These are wicked — Pikmin are the perfect size for a terrarium, so why not build one around them? Ready-made and with no gardening skill required (these are full of plastic scenes), there’s a dozen of these diorama terrariums to collect. Note that these are blind boxes though, so unless you can sneakily crack a couple open before buying, you’ll have to grab a few to get the whole set.

£12.99

8. Tom Nook’s hawaiian shirt

Every Nintendo fan’s favourite mortgage lender / loan shark, now you too can dress like Animal Crossing’s capitalist racoon with this replica hawaiian shirt. The perfect gift for the landlord in your life.

£29.99

9. Mario and Luigi denim tote bags

Yes, you’ve already got a dozen tote bags. Yes, you don’t need any more. Yes, you’re going to get one of these anyway. Stuff your Trader Joe’s, were all here for the plumber-special dungaree look, bringing some denim-chic to your shop.

£39.99

10. Super Mushroom salt and pepper shakers

Playful, practical, and adding a little pizazz to your plates, these 1-up and Super Mushroom salt and pepper shakers add a little fun to your dining room dinner parties. Just be sensitive to these little guys watching alongside your cutlery, and go easy when dining on the funghi.

£19.99

The Nintendo Pop-Up store is open until November 16th 2025, Monday – Saturday: 10am – 9pm, Sunday: 12pm – 6pm. Find it at Westfield Shopping Centre, London, Ariel Way, Shepherd’s Bush W12 7GF, on the ground floor.

• The best Nintendo Switch 2 games

If your idea of celebrating Halloween is less about pumpkin carving and more about staying up till 3am with your monitor glowing like an eldritch portal, good news: the Epic Games Store Halloween Sale 2025 is officially live.

Running until the 3rd of November, the sale is cutting prices by up to 80% across hundreds of titles, from cult horror to blockbuster thrillers. Epic also boosted Epic Rewards to 20% back at checkout when you pay through Epic’s own system. That bonus even applies to Fortnite, Rocket League, and Fall Guys purchases until the 8th of January, 2026.

But with so many deals lurking in the shadows, where do you start? We’ve rounded up the best of the bunch — the games that’ll keep your heart racing and your hard drive full.

Our top picks from the Epic Halloween Sale

• The Witcher 3 – £6.99: A modern classic for the price of a pint. Revisit Geralt’s monster-slaying saga in one of the best open-world games ever made.
• Dead Island 2 Ultimate Edition – £16.19: The sun, the sand, the zombies. This gory, LA-set apocalypse is packed with personality and plenty of weapons, so you can carve your way through the apocalypse
• Disco Elysium – £8.74: A booze-soaked detective RPG with more dialogue than your last breakup. Sharp, strange, and unforgettably written.
• Control: Ultimate Edition – £5.39: For less than the price of lunch, get a telekinetic thrill ride through one of the most stylish, mind-bending shooters ever made.
• Alan Wake 2 – £11.99: The king of psychological horror returns, darker, sharper, and moodier than ever. It’s the perfect game for a long night in with every light off.
• Mortal Kombat 1 – £11.24: Fatalities for a tenner? Don’t mind if we do. The iconic brawler is back and bloodier (and better looking) than ever.
• Still Wakes the Deep – £10.19 A claustrophobic oil-rig horror that’ll make you want to sleep with the lights on. Beautiful, eerie, and absolutely nerve-shredding.

Whether you’re fighting monsters, rewriting reality, or just trying to stay alive until sunrise, this sale has something for everyone.

The Epic Games Store Halloween Sale 2025 is live now until the 3rd of November.

• Women’s football gets the spotlight in FM26’s biggest update ever

It’s been almost a decade since the world first heard whispers of a Sleeping Dogs movie, and just as long since anyone believed it would actually happen. But according to Shang-Chi star Simu Liu, the dream is very much alive, with the first draft of the script now complete.

“In honour of our Sleeping Dogs script draft being done, here’s my sleepy dog,” Liu posted to X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend, alongside an image of his own snoozing pooch and a heavily redacted photo of the screenplay’s cover page.

When a fan asked whether things were finally smoothed out with rights holder Square Enix, Liu replied: “They’re absolutely great, it’s the studios that don’t seem to understand how important this IP is. BUT we will get them there.”

It’s the latest update in a saga that’s felt almost as chaotic as the game itself. Originally announced back in 2017 with Donnie Yen attached to star, the adaptation vanished into development purgatory before Yen confirmed earlier this year that it had been canned. Weeks later, Liu, who has long been open about his love of gaming, revealed he’d taken up the mantle, producing and starring in a new version through Story Kitchen, the team behind Sonic the Hedgehog and Netflix’s Tomb Raider series.

The script is written by Tze Chun (I’m a Virgo), though Liu blurred out the name in his post. Details are otherwise thin, but if all goes to plan, Liu will take on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, infiltrating Hong Kong’s Sun On Yee Triad and doing his best impression of a one-man demolition squad.

It’s been a passion project for Liu, who’s spent months publicly fighting to get the adaptation made, telling fans earlier this year: “Pitching execs who don’t understand the game has been tiring. Everyone’s overwhelming love of Sleeping Dogs here has really given us life! First a movie, then a sequel game for everyone… that’s always been the dream.”

The 2012 original, part crime thriller, part open-world martial arts chaos, developed a cult following for its slick combat and unapologetically Hong Kong cinema flair. It’s the kind of property that feels tailor-made for a big-screen redemption arc, especially with Liu at the wheel, and hopefully, we get to see it on the big screen one day.

• Horizon Zero Dawn movie release date plans revealed

Sony’s rolling out a seriously stacked October lineup for PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra members, and it’s tailor-made for Halloween. Subscribers can expect a fog-soaked, jump-scare-filled month, led by the highly anticipated Silent Hill 2 remake, which finally makes its PlayStation debut on the 21st of October.

Joining the psychological horror classic is Until Dawn in its new PS5 definitive edition, the slasher hit that’s equal parts teen drama and gruesome death simulator.

There’s also V Rising, a vampire survival game that lets you rebuild your castle and hunt humans under the moonlight, plus Poppy Playtime: Chapter One, for anyone who fancies being terrorised by sentient toys.

Balancing all that fear is a hit of high-energy chaos. Yakuza: Like a Dragon returns with its wild RPG combat and big-hearted storytelling, As Dusk Falls brings a dose of narrative tension, and Wizard With A Gun rounds things off with some stylish spell-slinging sandbox mayhem.

For retro fans, Tekken 3 joins the Premium Classic Catalogue, arguably the fighting game’s golden era and still one of the best button-mashers ever made.

The full lineup arrives on the 21st of October for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers. Meanwhile, Essential members aren’t left out of the fun; October’s games include Alan Wake 2, Goat Simulator 3 and Cocoon.

Whether you’re in it for scares, street fights or surreal storylines, this month’s PS Plus drop is one of Sony’s most complete lineups and is perfectly timed for a long, spooky weekend indoors.

• Doja Cat joins Fortnite for Fortnitemares Halloween season, among a host of horror icons

In what may be the most expansive Pokémon leak in franchise history, a new cache of data, dubbed the “Teraleak”, has revealed potential future projects for the series. It includes early plans for Generation 10, a Pokémon MMO, and even concept ideas for a third Pokémon Legends game.

The information, allegedly lifted from Game Freak’s servers in August 2024, only began surfacing publicly this week, around the launch of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. As exciting as these leaks are, they should still be read with a pinch of salt.

Gotta leak 'em all

The newly disclosed files reportedly include working titles, in-engine animation tests, early gameplay concepts, and prototype builds. Among the biggest claims: Pokémon Wind/Waves, a dual-theme Gen 10 entry with weather mechanics; a codename “Seed” project described as an online, multi-region Pokémon game connecting Sinnoh, Hoenn, and more; and a Gen 11 roadmap targeting release in 2030. There’s also sketch material for a Pokémon Legends 3 set in Galar, supposedly 1,000 years in the past and ambitious remake ideas spanning multiple regions.

But none of this is confirmed. Leaks, especially of this scale, often contain outdated plans, discarded ideas, and internal prototypes that never make it into final releases. As seen in past leaks (including prior Legends beta builds), many features get cut or altered before a game ships. What appears in the Teraleak may have been abandoned, reworked, or never intended for public release.

Nintendo, along with The Pokémon Company and Game Freak, have not verified these rumours and is taking legal steps to contain the fallout. In April 2025, Nintendo filed a subpoena in U.S. courts seeking Discord’s cooperation to reveal the identity behind the Discord handle “GameFreakOUT,” who allegedly posted much of the leaked content online. The request aims to gather the leaker’s real name, address, phone, and email, under claims of copyright violation.

Historically, Nintendo has vigorously protected its intellectual property: the company has sued leakers, enforced copyright takedowns, and pursued subpoenas in past cases involving Pokémon-related leaks.

For fans, the Teraleak provides tantalising glimpses into what could be next. But until Nintendo or Game Freak makes official announcements, treat these leaks as speculative blueprints, intriguing to discuss, but not authoritative.

• The 10 best Nintendo Switch 2 games (plus our most-wanted titles still to come)

The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X gaming handhelds are finally up for pre-order, starting at £499.99.

Microsoft throws around the term Xbox like that meme of Oprah giving everyone in sight a car. But this latest incarnation of what an Xbox is has a bit more weight to it.

The ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are handhelds made by Asus in partnership with the Xbox team. You’ll pay £499.99 for the standard edition, £799.99 for the more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X.

You can pre-order now, ahead of their October 16th release date.

Wondering which to buy? While they look like twins there are major upgrades in the ROG Xbox Ally X.

It has a much more powerful AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor and Impulse Triggers, to deliver the same kind of haptic experience offered by the Xbox Series pad. The more expensive model also gets 24GB RAM and double the storage — 1TB instead of 512GB.

There may be a £300 disparity between the two, but the difference is far greater than that of the cheapest Steam Deck and the most expensive one.

What this dynamic duo has over the competition is an interface designed to give you something closer to the Xbox console experience. Make no mistake, these are full-on handheld PCs. But they also boot into a full-screen Xbox interface.

Could it be the future of Xbox? That’s one hope. But one important part to note is the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds won’t simply play absolutely everything in your Xbox library, because these things play PC games, not Xbox ones. It’s just a handy fact there’s a whole heap of overlap between the two libraries these days.

Asus has already made a couple of pretty similar-looking handhelds, just without the Xbox extras, the Asus ROG Ally and Ally X. However, Asus claims the ROG Xbox Ally X delivers “up to 30%” better performance in games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle compared to the non-Xbox version.

It makes sense, given the ROG Xbox Ally X has a newer processor.

• Best retro games: the best classic video games around

The first major teaser has been dropped for OD, the videogame that auteur game director Hideo Kojima is working on with auteur film director Jordan Peele.

In classic Peele / Kojima fashion, almost three-and-a-half minutes of game footage later, we’re left largely none the wiser as to what OD is all about.

OK, that’s not quite fair. We already knew OD was a horror title, and the “Knock” teaser re-affirms some of the cast and the technologies the game will adopt.

OD will star Sophia Lillis — star of Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves and the IT movies — who we appear to be adopting the POV of during the trailer.

Other actors mentioned in the trailer include Udo Keir and Hunter Schaefer, both of whom have real horror pedigree.

“Ten years since the XXXX horror XXXX, XXXX. The cursed XXXX have once again XXXX into the forbidden,” the teaser’s partially obscured teaser text reveals. Nice and clear, then.

The first-person view, domestic setting and deeply ominous sound effects may remind some of P.T., the iconic playable teaser game demo made in anticipation of a Silent Hills game that never came out. It was to be made by Kojima Productions.

The trailer’s last moments show a lifelike rendition of Sophia Lillis with tattoo-like markings that gradually become more apparent as what appears to be a horrible monster approaches from behind her. It’s creepy stuff.

As also hinted at in the trailer, OD uses Unreal’s Metahuman tech to create those super-realistic renditions of human characters, based on an actor’s real performance.

You can get more of a look behind the making of the game from the recent Kojima Productions 10th Anniversary livestream, which features Kojima talking about the studio’s history.

In that 10 years, Kojima Productions has made Death Stranding and Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, showing quite what a departure from "business as usual" OD is.

These latest teasers don’t tell us anything about the nature of Jordan Peele’s involvement with the production.

OD was announced in December 2023 at the Game Awards, during which Peele was described as “one of several talented storytellers involved in the project.”

Kojima also described OD as a “totally new style of game – or rather, a new form of media.”

The game is being made in collaboration with Xbox Game Studios. But in this era of Xbox, such a partnership is no indication OD will be limited to Xbox consoles rather than PlayStation 5. No release date for OD has been announced as yet.

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach reviews are in — this is what the critics are saying

One of the most hotly anticipated games of the year, if not the decade, hits digital storefronts on September 4th. What’s most remarkable about Hollow Knight: Silksong is that, unlike GTA 6 or Battlefield 6, it was made by a team of just three people.

Australian indie developer Team Cherry has been working on Silksong ever since its original Hollow Knight game became a word-of-mouth hit back in 2017.

This graphically lavish, deeply atmospheric 2D action-adventure game is the latest example of a sub-genre known as the Metroidvania – a contraction of the two signature game series that came to define a certain kind of ambitious platformer. Nintendo’s Metroid and Konami’s Castlevania kicked off within a year of one another in the mid-‘80s, and between them over the next decade set out a compelling formula.

There’s no universally agreed set of rules to qualify for Metroidvania status, but these games tend to involve a certain degree of free exploration, often through expansive 2D platformer worlds.

Your progress through these worlds is steered by the acquisition of new tools and abilities, which then enable your character to access new areas. There is often a detailed map to fill in and check in on along the way. Tense combat, while far from essential, often plays a central role, as do epic boss encounters.

The fact that there are so many Metroidvania games still being made to this day is a sign of the genre’s enduring appeal. We think these 10 examples are the best of the bunch, but we left another 10 equally worthy candidates on the cutting room floor.

10. Yoku’s Island Express

Yoku’s Island Express hits different to every other Metroidvania on this list. Yes, it’s a free-roaming 2D platformer of sorts, but the core mechanic takes as much inspiration from Metroid’s morph ball mechanic as its more traditional attributes. Your cute little beetle mail person can be propelled around this verdant world through flippers and bumpers ingeniously integrated into the level furniture. Specific dungeons and challenges resemble intricate pinball tables, waiting to have their secrets spilled by a well-timed flick or ping.

9. Guacamelee! 2

With a vivid and unique fantasy universe built around Mexican culture, and far more humour than most other Metroidvanias on this list (it can be a somewhat dour genre, we have to admit), Guacamelee! 2 is a real feelgood hit. Despite the levity, combat forms a key part of the game’s appeal, with a bold luchador theme that lends itself well to a hard-hitting (yet agile) combo-based system. There are some strong scrolling beat-‘em-up vibes accompanying the usual platforming and steady exploration.

8. Blasphemous 2

Fancy some religious-themed dread with your Metroidvania? Blasphemous 2 is sick stuff, and we mean that in the best possible way. With its densely packed world offering a fevered vision of hell in all but name, alongside weighty melee-based combat and boss encounters that are as punishing as they are inventive, Blasphemous 2 is as close as this list comes to a 2D take on Dark Souls. However, you still have a bunch of traditional Metroidvania virtues like nimble platforming and a steadily unfurling, ability-gated world to discover.

7. Dead Cells

Dead Cells often finds itself lumped in with the roguelike/roguelite crowd, thanks to its run-based nature and procedurally generated levels. But it deserves just as much to be counted amongst the brainy Metroidvania crowd, even if it’s one of the more unruly members. This gleefully kinetic 2D action-platformer throws an endless combination of melee, ranged, and automated weapons your way, and tasks you with using them to cut a swathe through increasingly formidable pixel-art enemies. Through all this action, you’ll find yourself exploring a mysterious fantasy world and unlocking key abilities to help you travel that little bit further.

6. Animal Well

The newest entry on this list is also the only Metroidvania here that doesn’t lean on combat in any significant way. Rather, Animal Well plays out like one big ingenious interlocking puzzle, as you and your cute blob-creature juggle an array of unorthodox tools and objects, and concoct new ways to put them to use. It’s all set in a magical yet unforgiving world that doesn’t hand out any easy answers or even clear sign posts, and that demands your full attention if you’re to emerge successful. A little lateral thinking wouldn’t go amiss, either.

5. SteamWorld Dig 2

The SteamWorld Dig games (this being the second of two) move with a more single-minded purpose than other Metroidvanias, forcing you ever deeper into the earth. That’s not to say that it’s at all predictable or restrictive, as your cute little robotic miner carves their way down into increasingly deadly (and correspondingly lucrative) areas. SteamWorld Dig 2’s more handcrafted biomes are an absolute pleasure to explore, as you constantly balance your urge to see what’s around the next corner with the imperative to get back up to the surface and spend your resources.

4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

It might be five years old now, but Ori and the Will of the Wisps hasn’t aged a day. In fact, it’s one of the most downright gorgeous games on the market – a 2D platformer with more depth to its world than any number of lavish 3D RPGs. This sequel to 2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest sees you taking control of a humble forest spirit, who must negotiate a world that appears to have been grown rather than built. The storytelling is similarly organic, with the expressive wordless animation of its wonderful characters speaking a thousand words.

3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

If you were to set out to carve a Mount Rushmore of Metroidvanias, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would probably be either the first or second game you’d start chipping away at. This 1997 action-platformer, which launched initially on the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, is often seen as the apex of the series responsible for the latter half of the Metroidvania genre’s name. It’s notable for adding an engrossing amount of RPG depth and a liberating free-roaming structure to a franchise that had grown increasingly linear.

2. Super Metroid

As the other of the two foundational games on this list, Super Metroid pretty much has protected status on any Metroidvania list worth its salt. Thankfully, it more than earns its place some 30 years on from its SNES debut. It still plays gloriously, as you guide bounty hunter Samus Aran through a hostile alien planet, restoring her iconic power suit to full working order. The sense of isolation and of venturing into the unknown is nearly unmatched, and doubtless proved hugely influential to the tone and direction of Hollow Knight and its Silksong sequel.

1. Hollow Knight

There’s one reason and one reason alone why we’re so excited for Hollow Knight: Silksong, and that’s the enduring quality of the original. While its weighty movement and tactile combat proves instantly alluring, the true majesty of Hollow Knight unfurls slowly and steadily in countless minute details. It’s an audiovisual treat. The aim is to guide your sword-wielding bug hero through a dank underworld that appears to be suffocating under a sense of melancholy and decay. Which makes it sound like a total trudge, but for the charming and funny characters you’ll meet along the way. And, oh, what sights you’ll see.

• Silksong, the most anticipated game of the year, will also be one of the cheapest

From the synthwave and chiptune influences on Tyler The Creator and The Weeknd, to the rise of barcades across the country, to the reports of a Sydney Sweeney-starring Michael Bay movie based on all-time classic Sega racer Outrun – it’s clear that the golden era of arcade games is experiencing a full-throttle comeback in today’s pop culture.

Re-living those rose tinted visits to the seaside or your local video shop to bash away at the likes of Golden Axe or R-Type has become big business, as demonstrated by the growing popularity of retro gaming handhelds made by the likes of Anbernic and Retroid Pocket. But what if you want the full size experience at home?

Gaming hardware makers Xgaming’s somewhat unique solution is the Arcade2TV-XR — an arcade-style gaming controller that can be paired with a Meta Quest VR headset, allowing you to create your very own virtual games room packed with 80s and 90s coin-ops while still maintaining a tactile feel when playing.

As is often the case with VR experiences, seeing is believing, and it can be a little difficult to get across the experience without trying it out for yourself. This sizzle reel from Xgaming gives you an idea of what to expect:

Arcade2TV-XR: In short...

• VR-compatible controller creates a virtual arcade with classic controls and a trackball.
• Mixed reality enables placing virtual arcade cabinets within your physical room.
• The setup involves self-assembly of the pedestal and pairing with Meta Quest virtual reality headsets.
• The system requires users to source their own ROM files for games.
• While immersive, the Arcade Ranger app may experience occasional bugs.
• The unit's size and non-folding design present a notable space challenge.
• Available now, priced £299

Xgaming has a long history of making arcade-style controllers for retro play, but this dual-stick unit takes things up a notch. The reassuringly robust device features an array of classic-style buttons and a pair of clicky ball-top joysticks, along with dedicated mounts for Meta Quest controllers — more on those later.

It’s not just shoot ‘em up and fighting games like Space Invaders and Street Fighter that are catered for either. The controller also boasts a trackball built into the centre of the unit, allowing you to play the likes of palm-mashing classics like Marble Madness, Missile Command and Golden Tee Golf just as the makers originally intended.

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The main unit can also be attached to an optional height-adjustable metal pedestal which features a suitably showy led-lit panel.

If you want to use the controller in a more conventional way rather than with a VR headset, the device can also be connected to a PC, Mac, PlayStation, Switch or Xbox — though some consoles require additional adaptors which are sold separately.

D.I.Y before P.L.A.Y

Setting things up takes a bit of work. The pedestal is self-assembly and its construction is a tad more fiddly than your average IKEA flatpack, though the controller itself pairs nice and easily with a Meta Quest via a small included dongle which plugs into the headset’s USB-C port.

The Arcade2TV-XR comes with a number of bundled apps that need to be downloaded onto your Meta Quest — the key one being Arcade Ranger.

Developed by Xgaming alongside Pumpkin VR, Arcade Ranger lets you create your own personalised virtual reality game room, complete with working cabinets, 80s-themed furniture, old school posters and a working jukebox.

The app cleverly uses the positioning of the Meta Quest controllers in the Arcade2TV-XR’s holes to correctly map its sticks and buttons to the correct height of your virtual arcade cabinet, creating a genuinely convincing effect that bridges the physical unit nicely with the arcade machines that appear in your headset.

You can also place virtual coin-ops in your actual living room using the app’s mixed reality mode, allowing you to plonk a full size Double Dragon machine next to your sofa should you so wish.

The app lets you install several open source emulators — software that mimics the original arcade machine or console’s hardware — but it doesn’t ship with any games. That means you’ll need to source your own ROM files (digital copies of the original game’s data, taken from the arcade machine’s storage chips), something that remains a well-documented legal grey area.

If you’re able to get past that hurdle, then Arcade Ranger offers up an immersive, if at times buggy approximation of the arcade experience. I regularly ran into issues with the app incorrectly mapping the location of the controller, but when things clicked, the experience was a wonderful trip down memory lane.

The also bundled Pinball FX VR is thankfully a bit more polished, allowing you to play strikingly accurate, fully licensed versions of classic tables such as Knight Rider and Star Trek: The Next Generation alongside more current machines.

Like Arcade Ranger, it uses the positioning of the Meta Quest controllers mounted on top of the for Arcade2TV-XR’s tracking, but uses the unit’s two side buttons to operate the flippers. The app comes with three free tables, with others available via in-app purchases.

Virtual gaming, real-world space

While offering an undeniably authentic experience, the Arcade2TV-XR nevertheless runs into the same key issue that prevents many gamers from owning a real-life arcade cab – space. It might not be a hulking lump of wood like an actual arcade machine, but with the pedestal attached it takes up the same sort of footprint.

That frame is also pretty hefty, meaning moving it around your house is a somewhat cumbersome endeavour. I can see many owners opting to use the controller detached and placed on a table instead. You’re also left wondering why Xgaming didn’t opt for a more versatile design that could also fold down for storage when not in use.

Despite these criticisms, I still really enjoyed putting the Arcade2TV-XR through its paces. It’s an ingenious use of VR that really transports you back to those dimly lit rooms where time and your pocket money slipped away.

XGaming’s recent release of an optional spinner controller add-on for games like Tempest and Arkanoid meanwhile suggests they’re committed to improving what it offers, giving hope that they might iron out the bugs with using the controller with Arcade Ranger at some point.

It’s far from a plug-and-play experience, but if you’ve ever dreamed of having your own games room and happen to have a Meta Quest lying around, the Arcade2TV-XR will get you remarkably close — all without the hassle of maintaining those bulky old CRT displays.

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First we had Charli XCX x Converse for a Brat special, and now we’re getting another popstar making a departure into the world of throwbacks.

Billie Elilish, popstar behind hits like Bad Guy and Birds of a Feather, has teamed up with Barbie maker Mattel for a special UNO pack.

It’s not come completely out of the blue, as Billie has spoken about her love for the classic game. Chatting to Amelia Dimoldenberg on Chicken Shop Date, she added “it gets a little but violent,” when she plays the game. She also commented on some of the official rules confirmed by the company: “Uno just announced some agrbage about, Oh you can’t stack pluses.’ Sorry, the game’s not fun then?” Although luckily it sounds as though her critique hasn’t gotten in the way of the two collaborating.

The description on Eilish’s website says the artist designed the deck which features colours, symbols, and numbers that showcase her artistic aesthetic printed on 300-gram premium card stock. She also posted a photo on INstagram sharing the news of her own deck, writing “Weeeeee, my own UNO.” To be honest, we’d probably have the same reaction.

It’s not the first time UNO has done a quirky collaboration, having teamed up with design company BLVCK, known for the sleek all-black designs. The deck was - you guessed it - an all black version which was definitely giving Wednesday gives. UNO cosplaying as Cards Against Humanity.

Billie’s deck is comprised of 112 orange, green yellow, and blue cards and her Blohsh logo is integrated throughout. It’s available to buy from 14th November and is retailing at £21.

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In 2020, the Pokémon Go level cap was raised from 40 to 50. Five years later, Niantic has flung it all the way to level 80.

The concept is that from October 15th, when the cap rises, Pokémon Go will use a progress system designed to feel “more fun and engaging.”

As anyone who spent months grinding their way through the current level system, seemingly making barely any progress, this will make a lot of sense. Some will also see their level change automatically once the new system is in place.

“A number of players can expect to jump in level based on their total earned XP, but don’t worry, no player will go down in level,” says the Pokémon Go team.

The new era will see new research tasks introduced for the higher levels up to 80, and those required for levels 41-50 at present will change too.

Already feeling miffed your previous hard work is going to be downgraded in favour of a more approachable system? Pokémon Go is going to mark the occasion with unlocks.

Up until October 15th, you can continue earning levels to unlock a set of commemorative cosmetics and — just for the current level 50 crowd — a smug avatar pose. Here are those unlocks and the level you’ll need to be by October 15th to get them:

• Level 1-49: Special Commemorative medal
• Level 41: Glasses
• Level 43: Avatar pose
• Level 45: Hat
• Level 47: Avatar pose
• Level 49: Boots
• Level 50: Jacket
• Level 50: Avatar pose
• Level 50: Special Commemorative medal

These will not be available to unlock after October 15th. And to help you along, Pokémon Go will offer XP boosts up until that cut-off.

XP gains from “Nice, Great, and Excellent Throws” will be doubled while raids and Max Battles come with a 3000 XP bonus. “Timed Research” will be available to players level five and up, worth up to seven million XP according to the Pokémon Go team.

If you’ve dropped off the now 9-year-old Pokémon Go, it’s not the worst time to drop back in .

Elsewhere in the world of Pokémon Go, a Sunkissed Shores event is currently in progress. It sees the Dondozo Pokémon introduced, with a chance to encounter one in three-star raids.

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If your thumbs are itching for some brand new games to twiddle with, Gamescom 2025 is the shop window for the gaming industry — thousands of exhibitors take to a Cologne enormodome to show off all the new titles set to eat up your free time over the coming months.

Except, at Gamescom 2025, the ghost of gaming past loomed over proceedings.

We’re not just talking about sequels to storied series, like Resident Evil Requiem — the 9th entry in that most gruesome of survival horror franchises. We’re not talking simply about remakes, like the big-budget Metal Gear Solid 3 do-over. And we’re skipping over the return of long-dormant series like Onimusha, with Way of the Sword the first new entry in that demon-slaying samurai franchise since 2012 (and that was some browser-based rubbish, anyway).

Those are giant concerns of the big developers, and each in their own way looks to push the limits of current hardware, even if they may tip their hats to decades-old fandoms.

But elsewhere at the show was a pervasive nostalgia — a sense that the thrills of the past could, and should, stand shoulder to shoulder with the hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars epics of today.

If you’re a veteran retro gamer or an 80s/90s revivalist, the games industry looks set to have you comfortably catered for. Here’s 7 retro highlights from our time spent walking the halls of Gamescom 2025.

1. Lightgun gaming is back

I’ll always have a soft spot for Christmas 1995. It was the year the Lynch family got the PS1 — and better still, it got the ace Time Crisis arcade conversion with it too, along with the lightgun accessory. It brought the arcade to the living room and, though a pricey bit of kit, saved my dad a fortune in 20 pence coins.

Lightgun gaming fell out of favour in the flatscreen TV era — the tech that made them work didn’t play nicely without a CRT telly to point at. But the developers at Tassei Denki are offering a blissful blast from the past with their new G’AIM’E mini-console, which combines a flatscreen-friendly lightgun with four point-and-shoot greats — the aforementioned Time Crisis, Point Blank, and Steel Gunner 1 and 2. Each trigger pull during a Gamescom 2025 demo was like a shot of pure nostalgia. Building funds on Kickstarter now, it’s set to top our Christmas wishlist, 20 years after the original became an obsession.

2. '80s cartoons x '80s games = WIN

Before TikTok, YouTube and AI psychosis, kids had the joy of Saturday morning cartoons. And, just in time for his silverscreen cinema revival, the king of 80s toyboxes, He-Man, is making his way to consoles. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction is a pixel-perfect nod to Prince Adam’s animated hey-dey. If the theming wasn’t enough of a nod to the 80s, the gameplay certainly will be — our hands-on revealed a side-scrolling beat-em up in the vein of arcade classic Golden Axe, which feels like a match made in heaven. This one’s not got a release date yet, but it’ll run on everything with a power button.

3. Past masters for tomorrow’s games

I’d wager that most of the kids playing Fortnite have never heard of John Carpenter, the horror maestro that made his name with classic horror flicks like Halloween and The Thing. Which makes the fact that developers Saber Interactive saw marketing potential in putting his name against their latest shooter, Toxic Commando, all the more indicative of the nostalgia-baiting older gamer the industry now courts.

Carpenter is a pretty serious gamer himself though, so his input is no mere cash-grab, and Toxic Commando is looking pretty darn good — a quick hands-on demo revealed it to be a surprisingly sharp-looking team-based shooter, with tight gunplay, some gruesome baddies and a banging synth heavy soundtrack that sounded like the best bits of Carpenter’s own self-penned movie scores. This one’s due in early 2026 on PC, Xbox Series consoles and PlayStation 5.

4. Yesterday’s controllers, reimagined for today

8BitDo is perhaps the best third-party controller manufacturer on the market — and it sets itself apart with a style laser-focussed on attracting vintage gamers. Not only do its keyboards, mice and gamepads ape the look of the controllers of yesteryear, regularly riffing on Nintendo classics, but it’s now catering directly to those that want to play older titles with comfort. Among its latest wares are a gamepad that looks to bring an ergonomic layout to Nintendo’s bizarre N64 ‘trident’ pad, and a customisable purple pad with swappable buttons and stick tops that is a dead ringer for the Gamecube pad.

5. Even minor hits can get a HD makeover

Even at the height of its powers, the R-Type shoot-em-up series was something of a cult pursuit. Its biomechanical baddies and drone-paired player ship made for wonderfully twitchy arcade action, but it’s never been a mega-hit series. And so the HD remaster of R-Type Delta (“HD Boosted”) shows that even relatively small titles can get a re-appraisal with the retro revival. R-Type Delta, originally a PS1 title, is worthy of another look, with its anime-styled shooter polygons scaling well to modern resolutions, and its gunplay as tight as ever. It’s coming to all major platforms on November 20th.

6. Drawing inspiration from the swinging '60s

This one’s particularly fascinating — Mars Attacks started off as a bubblegum trading card series in the 1960s, with artwork so iconic that it inspired a Tim Burton movie of the same name in 1996. But it lives on today only as a cult-and-collector property.

So we were surprised to find Mars Attracts on the show floor — taking the misanthropic big brained aliens and making them the custodians of a theme park designed to attract human victims to their doom. The fact that top-down park builders and god games enjoyed their heyday primarily in the 90s only fuels the retro-inspired trend-watching we’re seeing at the moment — if it’s old, it’s gold, as the presence of the Mars Attacks branding here proves. This one’s coming soon to early access on PC, and a demo can be downloaded on Steam now.

7. The gaming PC of yesteryear, resurrected

Before GPUs grew to the size of cars — and had price tags to match — the Amiga was the king of the home computer, and was a powerful gaming machine in its own right even as the console giants started to dominate. The Amiga 1200 version of the machine is set to get a full-sized comeback, with The A1200 NG on show behind closed doors at Gamecom 2025. A full remake of the classic system, it’ll play all its old titles and software, but will be updated with modern conveniences like HDMI-out and wireless networking. You can pre-order its board now for £205, with the complete keyboard kit coming soon too.

What’s fuelling the retro revival?

Gamers have always been fond of the old rose-tinted glasses? We’re suckers for a remake and a remaster — anything that can rekindle or recapture those earliest, innocent gaming delights.

But that nostalgia has kicked up a gear in recent years and over recent console generations. There’s definitely a fatigue kicking in — and against — the idea of the ‘forever’ games, live service titans that demand your constant attention. And gaming generally feels like more of black hole for your wallet than ever before, whether that’s the now de rigueur subscription demands of platform holders, or the rising cost of games and hardware. Buying a PS5 today is literally more costly than it was when it first launched.

Retro games hark back to a simpler time, one where system requirements weren’t quite so demanding, when turning on a console didn’t immediately greet you with a lengthy wait for a system update, when games were launched in an immaculate state rather than patched into good health long after you’ve paid for them.

Trading on our fondest memories isn’t a new tactic in the battle to separate you from your hard-earned wages, but as the once-youthful games industry grows older along with its players, expect to see video gaming history increasingly mined and repackaged.

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