This review contains spoilers for Marvel’s Loki episode 5, ‘Journey Into Mystery’, now available to view on Disney+. To remind yourself of where we left off, check out our Loki episode 4 review.
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The penultimate episode of Marvel’s Loki does a great job of keeping up the pace set by last week’s final revelations. It displays impressive scale, ranging from stunning apocalyptic threats to tender character moments for both new and returning cast members. And while it may not move the overarching plot along to the same extent as Episode 4, it’s an enjoyable ride and one of Loki’s strongest episodes yet.
Episode 5 opens on a spinning shot of a TVA hallway, a clever visual indicator that the organisation’s world has been turned upside down by the thrilling conclusion to last week’s events. From here on the show pleasingly wastes no time in revealing exactly what happens when one gets pruned.
That all pruning victims are transported to an apocalyptic dumping ground means Loki is able to meet several more inventive Variants of himself. Each has their own quirks and charms, and many pull inspiration from lesser read pages of the comics, which will likely be particularly pleasing to long-term fans. Boastful Loki and Kid Loki have their moments over the course of the episode, but it’s Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki, with his enjoyably homemade looking outfit, and the absurdity of Alligator Loki that make a particularly strong impression over the course of the episode’s 45 minutes or so.
The chapter’s one and only real fight scene makes great use of these Variants, acting as a fun moment to showcase Trickster abilities. A brief appearance from Presidential Loki is brought to an amusing end via his best Captain Hook impression, with his hand bitten off by Alligator Loki. All of these variants may be different from one another, but this scene quickly demonstrates that if there’s anything we know, it’s that you can’t trust a Loki.
If we’ve learned anything else over the past four weeks, it’s that sometimes even Richard E. Grant comforting an alligator wearing a crown isn’t the most bizarre thing to wrap your head around. This week’s weirdest idea is firmly reserved for the situation that Loki now finds himself in, The Void.
While some episodes of Loki have taken their time to move the plot along, thankfully the same can’t be said here. We quickly learn that The Void is a place at the end of time where nothing ever returns. Here Alioth, a giant smoky Godzilla-like tempest, roams its skies, preying on all who have been pruned. Naturally, Loki considers the “nothing ever returning” part of this equation not to his liking, and so promptly launches a plan to kill Alioth. The manner in which the entity effortlessly destroys a battleship, though, is a fun method of indicating just how futile Loki’s plans are.
A new course of action is needed then. Luckily for the group’s chances of survival, it isn’t solely down to Loki’s way of thinking, as Sylvie has a plan of her own. Despite her importance here, though, the episode is oddly content to keep her stuck in the TVA offices for the first half of the episode. This is entirely to endure dull exposition scenes with Rennslayer, whose true motivations appear to flip-flop with every ticking of Miss Minutes’ clock. Rennslayer is a mysterious character that we still don’t really know a whole lot about, and it remains a shame that Marvel hasn’t taken the time to develop her character. At this point it’s unlikely she’ll evolve, as it feels like we’re full steam ahead on plot until the end.
That’s not to say there isn’t still time for things to slow down though, even amongst the chaos that reigns at the end of time. The standout scene in the episode is quite literally the calm before the storm, as Loki and Sylvie nervously chat away like two awkward teenagers discovering romantic feelings for the first time. Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino play the moment out beautifully, bringing a touching sense of humanity. In a landscape full of gods and monsters, it only serves to strengthen their bonds with each other, as well as with the audience.
Talking of character bonds, it’s a huge relief to see Owen Wilson return. As well as providing a second opportunity for him to supply some of his trademark dry comedy (which nicely off-sets the darkness of The Void), it also grants Loki and Mobius the opportunity to say the proper goodbye that appeared robbed from us last week.
It’s with Sylvie then, that Loki must work with to bring an end to this story, and it’s a real display of his growth as a character that he’s now willing to firmly put his faith in another. Armed with the theory that Alioth is guarding whoever is truly behind the TVA, the duo combine their power to enchant the gatekeeper. It’s a visually impressive ending that peaks with the apparition of Asgard, underpinned by the ever-fantastic Natalie Holt score.
As the dust settles and the smoke clears we’re still left with the big question of who is behind all of this. Episode 4’s mysteries still remain, with the person behind the TVA’s curtain still shrouded in mystery. The episode may move along with pace, but we’re still not a whole lot closer to a conclusion. Sure, there have been some touching character moments and development along the way but there still feels a lot left to do in next week’s finale.
With theories flying around the internet as to who the “big bad” may be, Loki is walking the same thin line that WandaVision did before a finale that left many viewers cold. Here’s hoping Loki manages to end on a stronger note and deliver an ending as thrilling as the mystery weaved throughout deserves.
Update: Ubisoft has formally announced that Assassin’s Creed Infinity is in development, providing some extra details about the teams working on the project – although not confirming its structure or any gameplay details.
In a joint statement from the managing directors of Ubisoft Quebec and Montreal, Nathalie Bouchard and Christophe Derenne, the new development is introduced as “an important upcoming, early-in-development project codenamed Assassin’s Creed Infinity.” While no further details were revealed about what form Infinity will take, the language definitely appears to point to a project bigger than a single game, with Infinity described as
As reported by Bloomberg, the project will be worked on by a “new cross-studio, collaborative structure” made up of the Montreal and Quebec teams. The creative leads at each studio will be Quebec’s Jonathan Dumont (Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) and Montreal’s Clint Hocking (Far Cry 2, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Watch Dogs: Legion).
“Rather than continuing to pass the baton from game to game,” reads the statement, “we profoundly believe this is an opportunity for one of Ubisoft’s most beloved franchises to evolve in a more integrated and collaborative manner that’s less centered on studios and more focused on talent and leadership, no matter where they are within Ubisoft.”
Ubisoft is working on a new project codenamed Assassin’s Creed Infinity, which will reportedly be an online platform that would include multiple historical settings and evolve over time – not unlike the approaches taken by Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Bloomberg‘s sources say that Infinity is designed to run for years, and would include a number of settings, rather than the single historical locations the series is known for. The platform would seemingly encompass multiple different Assassin’s Creed games, which “might look and feel different, but they will all be connected.” Bloomberg’s sources also say the project is years from release.
Ubisoft confirmed project’s existence to Bloomberg, with a spokeswoman saying it wants to “exceed the expectations of fans who have been asking for a more cohesive approach”. No other reported details were confirmed.
It would mark a huge change for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which has seen a new game almost every year since 2007. Bloomberg’s report adds that that change has already caused some issues for Ubisoft developers, with some team members apparently unhappy with the scale of the project after working on huge games for many years. The report adds that Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec are being unified into a single team for Infinity, with Quebec leading the franchise.
Assassin’s Creed has been taking steps towards a live service approach for some years now, with Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla all employing tactics more familiar to live service multiplayer games, such as regular free updates and paid cosmetic DLC. Infinity feels like a step towards an approach familiar to Fortnite and GTA Online, both of which have kept huge playerbases invested by adding to and changing their worlds over years.
Coincidentally, recent reports have suggested that Grand Theft Auto 6 could be taking a similar platform-led approach, with rumours pointing to a version of Vice City that is altered over time. That game is reportedly due in 2024 or 2025.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
RoboCop: Rogue City – a first-person shooter based on the original RoboCop trilogy – has been announced, and will come to consoles and PC in 2023.
Developed by Teyon (Terminator: Resistance), published by Nacon, and made in collaboration with MGM, the game will put you in the big, silver boots of film protagonist Alex Murphy, and will tell a brand new story in the RoboCop universe.
“Faithful to this monument of science fiction, this first-person action-adventure game will ask you to save the city of Detroit from criminals and other crooked corporations,” reads a press release. We have no other details right now, but we’ll update you as we learn more.
RoboCop is an action classic, and one of the best-ever ’80s action movies, and a typically Paul Verhoeven mixture of ultraviolence and dystopian satire. There’s currently a prequel series in development for TV, based on the series’ depiction of Detroit and Omni Consumer Products, the company that goes onto create RoboCop himself.
Sony Pictures successfully revived the Jumanji series for a new audience with Welcome to the Jungle in 2017 followed by The Next Level in 2019. Both were box office juggernauts, but we still haven’t heard about another one. Actress Karen Gillan, who starred in the new Jumanji films, told Collider that no one has reached out to her about another entry, at least not yet.
“I actually don’t know anything about the next one,” she said. “Nobody has spoken to me, so I think–I don’t know. I assume they’ll make one and I don’t know how they’re gonna tackle that. But I hope they make another one because it’s so much fun.”
Given the enormous box office results for the new Jumanji movies ($1.7 billion combined), it would seemingly make business sense for Sony Pictures to pursue another entry.
The movies feature a long list of big names, so getting their schedules to line up could be a challenge. In addition Gillan, the films feature The Rock, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart in the main cast, with Awkwafina, Danny Glover, and Danny DeVito joining the cast for the sequel.
The series is based on the Jumanji book by Chris Van Allsburg. The franchise was first adapted for the screen in 1995’s Jumanji starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, and Kirsten Dunst. The new films were directed by Jake Kasdan, the son of Star Wars writer Lawrence Kasdan.
Watch live streams, videos, and more from GameSpot’s summer event. Check it out
Game Pass has a lot of games, and twice a month there’s more coming, and some leaving. It can be a lot to keep track of, not to mention figuring out what to play from its massive library. That’s why we created the Game Pass Show.
Join Dave Klein to learn what’s new, what’s leaving, and what you should consider playing. This week, Game Pass sees the arrival of Bloodroots, UFC 4, Farming Simulator 19, and more. Dave also takes the time to elaborate on his love for Hollow Knight.
Also, make sure to stick to the end for the pick of the week – a section where Dave hand picks either a hidden gem, or sheds some light on a game you should check out before it leaves Game Pass.
The defining feature of the Xbox Series S could be even more pronounced if a current Kickstarter project can make good on its promise to provide gamers with a portable screen that fits onto the smaller console.
Having already secured its modest pledge goal of $9,739–Currently over $15,000 at the time of writing–the xScreen is described as an integrated folding screen for the Xbox Series S that can create a laptop-like gaming experience. If you feel like making an early pledge, you’ll need to back the project with $195 for the early bird tier, as the xScreen will cost $250 when it hits the market next year. It’s not clear what the pledges from this drive will be spent on, although the final total could be used to show retailers just how much interest there is in the community before the product arrives.
The concept itself is a simple one: a plug-and-play screen that complements the design of the Xbox Series S, requires zero console modification and runs off of the power supplied to the hardware. As for the screen specs, the pending patent lists the device as being an 11.6-inch display with a 1080p and 60Hz output, weighs 24.5 ounces, and has integrated stereo speakers. There’s also a number of other controls on the bezels that can be used to fine-tune volume, brightness, and other screen settings.
There are even a few accessories planned, such as colored latches, a stand to provide some extra height, and a specially designed case to keep the screen safe when it’s not in use. Developer UPspec’s timeline has tooling and beta testing scheduled for August once the Kickstarter ends, with production kicking off in December, and delivery starting from January 2022.
This isn’t the first time that a hardware brand has attempted to create a portable monitor for gamers, with Asus having its own range of 17.3″ full HD screens available that can support anything with an HDMI port, but the xScreen does trump the more impressive specs of that hardware with its more compact design.
Just don’t tell Sony that the PS One LCD screen finally has a spiritual successor.
Watch live streams, videos, and more from GameSpot’s summer event. Check it out
Whether or not you already have your Monster Hunter guild card, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin stands on its own as a great JRPG. It’s accessible enough for newcomers and younger players alike to enjoy, but with intricate mechanics to keep a more experienced audience engaged. It’s also a beautiful love-letter to the Monster Hunter series, and presents an imaginative world I can’t help but dream about just existing in, as dangerous as that would be.
Unlike Monster Hunter’s action-focused gameplay loop of hunting, crafting, and then hunting some more, Wings of Ruin plays like a tried-and-true JRPG. It can be played if you skip its predecessor, too: while there are some returning characters you befriend along the way, you don’t have to have played the first to understand the second. There are plenty of likable new characters thrown in as well, and its incredibly well-paced tutorials both teach well while letting you roam and do as you please early on. Wings of Ruin carries with it many great changes from the original, but some are, unfortunately, a bit of a letdown.
Like its predecessor, it swaps real-time combat for turn-based battles, deep customization systems, a copious amount of side tasks, and a heartfelt story. It translates the classic Monster Hunter formula well, except instead of being a Hunter you’re placed into the role of a Rider. Riders primarily befriend monsters (though they still make them into pants out of necessity, too), resulting in a party-building mechanic with somewhat similar to Pokemon, where each Monstie (monsters that are your besties, of course) has different stats, elemental strengths and weaknesses, and skills. This includes your Rider, too, who fights alongside your Monstie of choice and has armor and weapons to craft and equip. Each of the six weapon types have different mechanics, skills, and damage types, and you can equip three at a time. Being able to switch both weapons and Monsties out once a turn without losing an action makes switching between your three weapons and up to six Monsties a viable, necessary tactic and method to keep things from getting repetitive.
Rock Paper Scissors – Battle!
Turn-based combat is focused on a Rock-Paper-Scissors format with Power, Technical, and Speed type attacks, with each monster species (and Monstie) favoring one of these types. Wings of Ruin includes more intricate mechanics in a majority of battles than its predecessor, with monster parts to break and readable attack pattern changes rather than seemingly random ones.(You can read more about these changes in detail in here).
Though the previous method to reading an opponent’s intent was a near-impossible task, now it requires you to simply pay attention. If a monster becomes enraged, takes flight, or otherwise changes its appearance — like when a Zamtrios becomes iceclad — odds are it’s going to change the type it attacks with, giving you a heads-up to potentially switch to a Monstie that prefers the advantageous type of Speed, Power, or Technical to attack with. It’s way more doable and deliberate than memorizing a dubious pattern with variables like in the first.
Overall, I appreciate the combat changes. They make battles engaging, thought-provoking, and more reminiscent of classic Monster Hunter — attacking Duramboros’ legs specifically will eventually make it topple over, attacking Kulu-Ya-Ku’s rock with a blunt weapon will break it faster, or hitting it with a Flash Bomb will make it drop entirely. Early on, NPCs will hand out tips like these, but further into the campaign these more often become rewarding personal discoveries (or exercises of previous Monster Hunter knowledge).
There’s even more nuance to these battles, too, like the Kinship Gauge used to fuel skills and cool very anime “ultimate” Kinship Attacks, Head-to-Heads, your classic elemental strengths and weaknesses, quick-time events, and more. I wish I could turn off the QTEs so I could avoid button mashing, but that option isn’t available.
Eventually though, the length and tediousness of battles against your average overworld monsters began to wear on me — even though you can triple the animation speed (thank goodness), and use a “Quick Finish” function when facing something significantly weaker than you. The latter was only useful when backtracking, but since the Kinship Attacks that require you to completely build up a skill gauge with other moves don’t actually do all that much more damage than regular attacks and exploiting an enemy’s elemental weakness doesn’t have that drastic of an effect, there’s not really a reliable way to end battles quickly against monsters on par with your own power. It makes sense in a Monster Hunter context for battles to be hard-fought, but for a turn-based JRPG, the idea is less fun in practice.
Luckily, grinding specifically for experience generally wasn’t necessary because of a range of entertaining side tasks I’ll come to a little later, and the awesome new innate system that grants a huge EXP boosts for under-leveled Monsties. What a relief, since I loved experimenting with new Monsties on my team.
I only failed against a story scenario twice in the 70ish-hour campaign (which could have been a lot shorter if I didn’t tinker so much, more on that later), as it normally would require my own carelessness to lose. To counter the first, I simply upgraded the armor and weapons I had neglected. The grind for materials is also much more streamlined than in classic Monster Hunter; you don’t need specific materials, just a handful from a certain monster or two you want to forge equipment out of.
When nearing the end of the campaign, I found myself and my Monsties getting one-shot by a story boss. It took many hours to finetune my team, catch new Monsties up to speed with the rest, and craft equipment specifically for that fight. I indirectly gained a few levels in the process, and the new set-up then carried me to the credits, which I was thankful for.
Storied Exploration
While ‘Stories’ is right there in the title, the one told here isn’t actually Wings of Ruin’s main draw. The cutscenes are often thrilling visual spectacles, and there were plenty of surprising moments that made me gasp or even get a tad emotional – but this is primarily a lighthearted story that isn’t anything groundbreaking, complete with a mascot-worthy mouth-piece for your silent protagonist named named Navirou who speaks heavily in cat puns. The writing can be funny, and I laughed quite a bit, but there were only so many times I could hear “pawsitively clawdatious!” before I wanted to pawsitively claw Navirou’s tongue out of his meowth. Sorry.
The plot itself is actually pretty standard fare for Monster Hunter: something is making monsters run amok, forcing Hunters and Riders to face them. Odds are it’s being caused by some bigger, unknown threat, and it’s up to you to figure out what’s going on and to stop it. But while that’s not exactly breaking the mold, there are some exciting subplots that keep things moving at a decent pace, like your newly hatched Rathalos’ prophesied “Wings of Ruin” rumored to be connected to the disasters, your renowned grandpa’s past, and lots of interesting characters to meet and team up with in battle.
All throughout, the musical score acted as a brilliant companion, and I could not stop commenting on how great the music was within cutscenes and beyond. There is no repetitive battle music in Wings of Ruin, either, as this changes often depending on a variety of factors, making it so nothing ever got old.
The story held on just enough for me to stay invested, but the actual gameplay gripped tight and never let go. I wish I had an endless amount of time with Wings of Ruin because it’s filled to the brim with fun activities to distract you from the main path, and I wanted to do everything it threw at me. I really cannot praise enough how much stuff there is to do in Wings of Ruin, and how enticingly fun it all is.
There are tons of Subquests to take on outside of the core campaign missions. Some take the form of especially challenging monsters to track down and defeat out in the field, while others task you with collecting ingredients, a specific monster, armor, or weaponry.
Beyond the specific Subquests, from the Quest Board alone you can also choose to take on Trial Quests, compete in a Tournament Mode, and even do rewarding Multiplayer quests – the latter of which can be completed with a real-life buddy, although you’ll be paired with a fairly competent NPC if you want to try them alone. My favorite of the new Multiplayer quests were the Exploration quests, which let me pick up multiple random eggs (containing Monsties) at once. Though I was never able to actually try any of these with an actual person, I’m looking forward to riding with a friend in the future.
While I easily spent hours doing tasks at the Quest Board, the world outside it is, obviously, pretty vast as well. When you’re not in a town, you’ll be riding around one of Wings of Ruin’s six main hubs (among dozens more side areas) on your Monsties, gathering materials, fighting monsters, and exploring dens in search of eggs to hatch into more possible party members. The scenery is beautifully colorful, and just exploring on the back of my favorite monsters is a treat. Seeing new areas, like the bustling city of Loloska, or perpetual blooming cherry blossom grove of Pomore Garden, and new monsters always put a smile on my face.
Incidentally, beyond the credits there’s even more to do, including some truly exciting post-game content.
There are also terrain obstacles while you’re out and about, like breakable rocks or climbable vines blocking certain paths, which only monsters with specific field abilities can traverse. That put pressure on me to choose my team based not only on battle strategy, but field usefulness, too, as each Monstie in your party of six only has one or two field abilities. There are many useful field abilities that make exploration easier and restricted areas accessible, like Diablos’ Roar or Yian Kut-Ku’s rock breaker. But there are equally as many Monsties with less useful ones (some of which I can’t say for fear of spoilers), forcing me to leave some otherwise interesting Monsties on the bench in favor of Monsties more useful in the field. I opted for the opposite near the end of the campaign, where I ignored off-limits areas in favor of a more battle-ready team, and overall had become tired of actively exploring every nook and cranny for items that usually weren’t all that impactful anyway.
Though there is a fantastic fast-travel system, some areas are a far ride from warp spots, and schlepping back to those areas for a potential rare item just didn’t appeal to me enough to go through the effort considering all the other things I wanted to do. This fast-travel system has been upgraded from the original Stories by removing the need for an item to warp to one of dozens of Catavan Stands throughout the world, and you can warp to any Catavan Stand from anywhere — which also gratefully pop up automatically as a quick link when looking at a monster’s location in the Field Guide, too.
Constant, Delightful Distractions
While exploring these open areas and completing quests, there is a near-neverending stream of distracting shiny objects in the form of new monsters, crafting materials, rare and challenging Royal Monsters, treasure chests, Monster Dens, and the ever enticing golden Rare Monster Dens. The procedurally generated dens where you find new monster eggs are the most important of the lot because they drive my favorite part of Monster Hunter Stories: hatching and customizing my Monsties, of which there are more than 80. However, Speed-type Monsties are essentially non-existent besides Velocidrome until you approach the end of the second area, which took me almost around 15 hours to reach. This is remedied with more variety, complete with a few fan favorites, right after that–but I also learned a few of my personal favorites are disappointingly unridable, like the adorably large Duramboros.
There’s much more to a Monstie than just its species and preferred attack type: each one has nine gene slots, which can be filled upon hatching with either passive abilities like elemental defense boosts or active abilities like a Khezu’s Thunder Breath. Each species can hatch with only certain genes, but some genes are incredibly rare and powerful. Because any gene from any Monstie can be transferred over to any slot on another, there’s tons of freedom in how you can build and tweak your team, and duplicate Monsties aren’t so disappointing since they could have a cool gene! So if you want, you could make a Nargacuga with Thunder-element boost and Zinogre’s powerful Thunderfist, or a Barioth with a huge critical hit rate and the ability to heal when landing a crit.
The pattern, smell, and weight of the egg gives you a bit of intel on what kind of Monstie is inside, how many and how good their genes could be, and generally just how happy you should be with your pull. Anyone familiar with gacha mechanics will know the drill here, but without the microtransactions and artificial scarcity to drag it down, this system feels genuinely rewarding.
No matter the quest, the monster collection and customization mechanic had me searching for rare eggs and happily spending hours tweaking my team. It’s a fantastic system, but it also has one oversight I have a huge gripe with: you can’t see an individual Monstie’s full stats like you could in the first Monster Hunter Stories. You can only see an individual Monstie’s best and worst elemental stats — which I assume is tied to the overall simplification of elemental stats in Wings of Ruin. Even if that is the case, it’s still baffling for a JRPG, especially when Monsties can be born with stat variations and genes that make it no longer match the stats represented in Wings of Ruin’s version of the Pokedex.
You can change a Monstie’s elemental attack and defense type if you increase that stat enough, and like in the original Stories, a change to the attack will change the Monstie’s color (though in Wings of Ruin this change only appears in the overworld). However, I’m confounded by this, too. I can reliably change most Level 1 Monsties’ attack element easily, but never for a higher level Monstie. For example, Yian Kut-Ku’s base fire attack stat is rated a five out of ten, and its thunder element a four. After giving it both Extra Large and Large Thunder attack genes, plus a 150% increase bonus, it still reverted back to a fire type after reaching only level 15. I wish I could see its hidden stats to see if that’s the reason, and if this system can even be strategically useful–even if it wasn’t, maybe I’d just want to rock a Red Khezu with icy blue lips! But right now, I haven’t figured out how to get a high-level monster to change attack elements, though I’ve started chipping away at the postgame which has yet to reveal anything.
It’s not like Wings of Ruin is that hard, and its combat is more dependent on decisions made in battle than a Monstie’s minutely different elemental stats, but it’s still disheartening for people like me, who enjoy toiling away in menus to piece together that perfect strategy. My real worry is that this might not be the case when facing other genetically modified beasts in PvP, which I wasn’t able to try ahead of launch — without the kind of stat micromanagement that powers Pokémon’s PvP, for example, I do wonder how much myself and others will be drawn to play it here.
The Simpsons: The Good, The Bart, and The Loki is set to debut on Disney+ on July 7, and IGN can exclusively reveal first look images of The Simpson’s take on Loki, Lisa as Thor, Ned Flanders as Ant-Man, Ralph Wiggum as The Hulk, and Barney Gumble as Iron Man.
This Marvel-themed short starring Tom Hiddleston as the voice of Loki is an “ultimate crossover event” that will see the God of Mischief banished from Asgard once again and forced to “face his toughest opponents yet: the Simpsons and Springfield’s mightiest heroes.”
This special treat for fans of The Simpsons and The Avengers on the same day as Loki’s fifth episode on Disney+. In our review of episode four, we said, “Loki’s fourth entry jogs in place. The story grinds to a halt so it can re-tread and speed through character beats, and the plot, ironically, begins to feel as deterministic as the Time Keepers, leaving little room for tension or possibility.”
Hot Wheels Unleashed, the upcoming arcade-y racing game due out on September 30 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S that aims to channel the playful spirit of the tiny die-cast toy cars you played with as a kid, is adding a custom track builder to its list of features.
Watch the trailer for the new mode above, and then watch lead designer Federico Cardini from developer Milestone take you on a tour of it in the gameplay walkthrough below. The team promises over 20 modules to mix and match from, including Hungry Cobra, T-Rex Escape, and Spider Ambush. And, of course, you’ll be able to share them online and try out tracks made by others in the Unleashed community.
Compared to the Xbox Series X and PS5, the Series S is arguably a much lighter console to carry. While it’s no Nintendo Switch, if you have been looking for a way to play next-gen games on the go, and play endless titles on Game Pass, this new portable monitor is designed to do just that. Clearly, it’s a popular idea, meeting its Kickstarter funding goal in just 20 minutes.
xScreen by UPspec Gaming is an attachable monitor that turns the Xbox Series S into a laptop-like design, and allows you to play your Xbox Series S games when you can’t connect your console to a TV or monitor. It features an 11.6-inch 1080p IPS screen with a refresh rate of 60Hz., and also includes in-built speakers. The screen plugs directly into both the HDMI and USB ports on the back of the Series S.
The xScreen also includes a pass-through so the device won’t get in the way when you need to plug in the power cable or a storage expansion card into your Series S. UPspec also makes clear that the screen doesn’t require its own power source, nor does it require your Series S to be modified in any way. The final model will be designed to match the colour and finish of the Series S case.
Additionally because it has a laptop-like form factor, the design allows you to fold the screen onto the console for easy portability. According to UPspec, when the xScreen is connected to the Series S it can fit inside a 15-inch laptop bag.
The Kickstarter for the device launched at 10am ET this morning, and it was fully funded just 20 minutes after the project went live on the crowdfunding website. While it has reached its funding goal already, if you are interested in backing the project, you can still do so as the project is slated to close on August 6.
Pledging $249 AU (approximately $187 USD / $135) to the project guarantees you will receive one xScreen display for your Xbox Series S. Keep in mind that the Kickstarter page mentions that an estimated delivery for the xSccreen is for January 2022.
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Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.