Category: Games

If you’re looking for something to play on your Nintendo Switch, GameStop’s Deal of the Day for August 5 discounts three fairly recent games: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, Daemon X Machina, and Dragon Quest Builders 2. These deals are only good until 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET, and it’s possible they’ll sell out sooner.

All three deals are on pre-owned copies of the games. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is down to $40, Daemon X Machina is $30, and Dragon Quest Builders 2 is $40. These are the best prices we’e seen on Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Daemon X Machina, but we should note that we’ve seen Dragon Quest Builders 2 for around $30. Still, it’s a wonderful game that regularly goes for $50, so this is still a good price.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, an enhanced port of the 2016 Wii U game, released earlier this year on Switch. Developed by Atlus, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is an amalgamation of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei with a musical bent. The original Wii U release earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE review, so if you’re in need of a 50-plus hour JRPG, it’s worth a look.

Daemon X Machina is a third-person mech game that released last year on Switch, offering fun solo and cooperative mech combat that’s highly customizable. It earned a 7/10 in our Daemon X Machina review.

For fans of Minecraft and action-RPGs, Dragon Quest Builders 2 makes a strong impression. The much-improved sequel has a lavish open-world to explore, great building mechanics, and varied quests to keep the lengthy experience fresh after dozens of hours. We gave it an 8/10 in our Dragon Quest Builders 2 review.

Nintendo has announced that Pikmin 3 Deluxe will be released on Switch on October 30, 2020 for $59.99 USD.

Pikmin 3 was originally released on the Wii U in 2013, and the deluxe version adds co-op for the whole story mode and new side-story missions that can also be played with a friend. Furthermore, all the Mission mode DLC stages from the original Pikmin 3 will be included.

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The side-story missions see Olimar and Louie exploring planet PNF-404, and Pikmin 3 Deluxe will also have a head-to-head multiplayer mode in Bingo Battle. There will also be a new Piklopedia feature that allows you to collect information on creatures and earn in-game badges by meeting certain conditions.

New difficulty options have been added to this version, as well as lock-on targeting, optional hints, and the choice to “play at a more relaxed pace.”

In our review of Pikmin 3, we said it “is a delight. There’s nothing else like its gentle combination of exploration, strategy and discovery, and it made me feel both empathy and responsibility for virtual creatures that most games would treat as disposable fodder.”

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Pikmin 3 Deluxe was announced in a similar fashion to Paper Mario: The Origami King, in a Tweet as opposed to a part of a Nintendo Direct.

It’s been a while since the last full Nintendo Direct, and while we know such big games as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 and Metroid Prime 4 are on their way, there is a lack of known release dates for the Switch.

There have been reports of Nintendo planning a 35th anniversary celebration for Mario by re-releasing such games as Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Sunshine. However, we have yet to hear anything official from Nintendo.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

It’s a rare and splendid thing to find first-party Nintendo Switch games on sale, and right now both Best Buy and Amazon are offering some of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time (and some of the best games, period) for 17% off.

Best Buy’s selection of discounted Nintendo Switch games is better than Amazon’s, but Amazon has Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze on sale for $49.99, which includes new Funky Mode at no extra cost.

Nintendo Switch Game Deals at Amazon

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Nintendo Switch Game Deals at Best Buy

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Be sure to bookmark our best Xbox deals and best PS4 deals, since we update them all the time to bring you the newest and best deals. Spoiler: deals for those two consoles are hard to come by thanks to the impending release of Xbox Series X and PS5. But a deal’s a deal!

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Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Instagram @sethgmacy.

Last year, Samsung upsized its biggest flagship phone with the Galaxy Note 10 Plus and now it’s introducing an even larger phablet with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.  Featuring a bigger 6.9-inch screen, faster Snapdragon processor, and the lowest latency pen yet, the Note 20 Ultra aims to be the most powerful smartphone you can buy for a hearty sum.

What Are the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra’s Specifications?

As with last year, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 comes in two sizes. The regular Note 20 features a 6.7-inch FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) display while the larger Note 20 Ultra integrates a 6.9-inch Quad HD+ (3,088 x 1,440) screen. The larger phone not only has a bigger display, but it also hits a higher refresh rate of 120Hz.

The biggest improvement to the Note 20 series is how much faster the S-Pen will feel as you’re scribbling on the display. According to Samsung, the latency on the integrated stylus has been reduced to as little as 26ms on the Note 20 and 9ms on the Note 20 Ultra.

Internally both phones come running with a Snapdragon 865 Plus processor that’s a step above the regular Snapdragon 865 found in all of this year’s flagships including the Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro. This new chip offers a higher clock speed of 3.1GHz over the normal Snapdragon 865 that runs at 2.84GHz.

You’re also looking at a minimum of 8GB of LPDDR5 memory in the Note 20 and 12GB of RAM in the Note 20 Ultra. Storage meanwhile starts at 128GB for both versions, but only the Ultra model offers a larger 512GB capacity that users can further expand with a Micro SD card.

The Note 20 Ultra also has a larger 4.500mAh battery whereas the Note 20 has a 4,300mAh battery.

What Cameras Do You Get on the Samsung Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra?

Following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S20, Samsung has shaken up the cameras on the Note 20-series by including high-resolution cameras and optical zoom lenses for combined hybrid Space Zoom features.

One change we find a little disappointing is the 16MP Ultrawide camera has been cut down to only 12MP in resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

• 12MP Ultra Wide Camera: FOV: 120-degrees, Aperture: f2.2
• 12MP Wide-angle Camera: FOV: 79-degrees, Aperture: f1.8, Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, OIS
• 64MP Telephoto Camera: FOV: 76-degrees, Aperture: f2.0
• 10MP Selife Camera: Aperture: f2.2
• 3x Optical Zoom
• 30x Super Resolution Zoom

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

• 12MP Ultra Wide Camera: FOV: 120-degrees, Aperture: f2.2
• 108MP Wide-angle Camera: FOV: 79-degrees, Aperture: f1.8, PDAF, OIS
• 12MP Telephoto Camera: FOV: 20-degrees, Aperture: f3.0
• 10MP Selife Camera: Aperture: f2.2
• 5x Optical Zoom
• 50x Super Resolution Zoom

How Much Will the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra Cost?

The Galaxy Note 20 starts at $999 and will be available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray, Mystic Green. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra starts at $1,299 and will be available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White.

When Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Release Date?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra release on August 21st. Preorders for the Note 20 series open up on August 6 at 12:01 am ET.

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What Else Did Samsung Announce at Its Unpacked 2020 Event?

Of course, no Unpacked event would be complete without a few other announcements to go with Samsung’s smartphones. The most exciting side announcements of the event were Samsung first 120Hz tablets and a new pair of wireless earbuds with active noise-canceling.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus

Samsung’s flagship tablet is getting even bigger for 2020. Whereas the previous Galaxy Tab S6 had a 10.5-inch screen, the Galaxy Tab S7 has moved up to an 11-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) display. Samsung has also introduced a new Galaxy Tab S7 Plus model featuring its largest 12.4-inch Super AMOLED screen WQXGA+ (2,800 x 1,752). Both tablets also feature 120Hz display, four Dolby Atmos certified AKG speakers, and an octa-core processor. The Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 will release later this Fall for $649 and $849, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

Meet Samsung’s first pair of noise-cancelling truly wireless earbuds. These fully wireless earbuds feature 12mm drivers paired with three microphones. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live will be available starting on August 6th for $169.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam

At this point it’s starting to feel like if you’ve played one survival/crafting game, you’ve played them all. The tone and art style are typically realistic with a gritty flair, the gameplay loop is almost always the same, and they’re usually not polished enough to feel completed. That was the case at least until now. Grounded is delivering a delightful new take on survival/crafting games with its inventive creativity and now Windbound is here to blow a breath of fresh air into the sails of a genre that started to feel like it was sinking.

Developed by 5 Lives Studios, Windbound (out August 28 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Stadia) is a single-player survival game with a stylized watercolor aesthetic reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. It features sailing, ancient voices humming in the background, and whimsical themes further establishing the charm. It’s a bit like Raft and Wind Waker had a baby with a single-player version of Rust. I recently got the chance to go hands-on with the gorgeous survival game, featuring gameplay from the very start of Windbound and a midway save file to show some typical progression. Overall, I came away impressed.

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Windbound begins much like many games of this type, but doesn’t take long to feel fresh and unique. You awaken in a deserted region of the idyllic Forbidden Islands as Kara, an abandoned warrior, surrounded by stormy seas. You’re hungry and ill-equipped to survive. The goal is to explore and adapt to the landscape around you and embark on perilous adventures. That’s not very original, but the execution is where it truly soars.

Rather than simply scrounging for materials, there is a heavy ambiance of mystery and discovery at the core of Windbound. Within the first few minutes I had found an ancient, stone altar that imbued my necklace with powerful, glowing blue energy. There are hints of a really intriguing story here, or at least a well-realized setting that has room for lore expansion.

From the very first island creatures are immediately outlandish and the game’s general focus on becoming a traveling nomad immediately fosters a sense of constant discovery, which is a welcomed change of pace for a genre that’s usually about doing the same things over and over again.

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So instead of farming the same areas for identical resources forever, Windbound requires you to stay mobile. Each island is procedurally generated, ensuring you won’t have the same adventure twice, so once you hunt all the creatures, gather all the resources, and exhaust what’s available you’ve got to move on and continue crossing the Forbidden Islands.

Sailing presents its own challenges too. After building a ship by combining various parts like multiple hulls and types of sails together, you can set off on your own. Not only is wind direction a thing, but the waves can be downright perilous at times during big storms. Battling the ebb and flow of the water, while maintained balance, gets tough.

There are two difficulty options: Survivalist and Storyteller. On Survivalist, when you die, you’re booted all the way back to the start of Chapter 1 when you first awake. However, the main difference is that you get to keep any items in the ‘Held’ section of the inventory, but lose anything in bags. On Storyteller you keep your entire inventory, don’t lose Chapter progress, and combat is a bit easier.

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Speaking of combat, since Windbound is a third-person action-adventure style game from a gameplay mechanics perspective, the flow of battle is better than most in the survival genre. There’s an enemy lock-on function, plus a variety of weapons from your indestructible knife to spears, slings, and bows. You’ve even got the ability to dodge roll and be stealthy by crouching and sneaking. It’s fast-paced and just a tad bit floaty, something I liked since it made things feel unique.

Another unexpected standout is just how good it felt to explore and roam around the islands. Character animations are surprisingly fluid, especially while climbing and swimming, with a really slick physics system behind it all that reminded me a little bit of Breath of the Wild when Kara inevitably falls or gets hurt. It’s just silly enough to be endearing but not wonky.

Windbound It’s a familiar formula in a foreign package that effortlessly blends together elements of survival/crafting games along with roguelikes and procedurally generated sandbox adventures. The story is all still a bit of a mystery, but based on just an hour or so with the game I’m already intrigued to learn more and see where the waves take me next.

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David Jagneaux is a freelance writer for IGN. Talk RPGs with him on Twitter at @David_Jagneaux.

Fortnite‘s latest update makes the game a little more like a racer–or a certain other popular online game–with the addition of drivable cars. The update adds four new vehicles, and a trailer shows how they can be used for some wild battles.

There are four cars in all: the Islander Prevalent, Victor Motors Whiplash, OG Bear, and Titano Mudflap. You can find gas pumps or refillable gas cans around the island to keep your motor running and head out on the highway. Plus you can play music from your car using one of the new radio stations.

Epic has been teasing the update with a look at some of the different cars and trucks, starting with the Whiplash. The options already run the gamut with a handful of road-ready racers, but the studio could always add more if the feature is a hit.

Meanwhile, the map in Fortnite recently revealed a new Atlantis-like area called Coral Castle. The game is also partnering with Marvel’s Avengers to give out a few superheroic rewards by playing the beta. For even more on Fortnite, check out our latest challenge guide.

Mortal Shell, the Souls-like game from new developer Cold Symmetry, has finally set its release date after completing its public beta last month. The full game will be available on August 18, on both PC and consoles.

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While the beta was only available on Epic Games Store on PC, the full game is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and all will launch at the same time. A Steam version for PC will be made available, but not until later in 2021.

The game, created by a small team, is priced at $29.99/£24.99, and so comes in at a cheaper price point.

Mortal Shell takes a lot of inspiration from Dark Souls, both in its mechanics and its grim-dark aesthetics. But despite those similarities, Mitchell explained in our preview that Mortal Shell has its own voice and personality, even if it does lean into the format established by From Software.

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For more, check out the first 16 minutes of the demo, as well as a boss battle in action. You can also see the developers from Cold Symmetry walk through a segment from the game and explain how it all works.

Despite the fact that the PS5 is looming, the PS4 has had a banner year when it comes to exclusive games, with hit titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II releasing all in the span of a few months. Given the wealth of great new games already in 2020, it’s understandable if you haven’t grabbed all of the must-play new PS4 titles. And if that’s the case for you with Final Fantasy VII Remake, you’re in luck. Final Fantasy VII Remake is on sale for $40–its best price yet–at Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop.

If you prefer a digital copy, the PlayStation Store is selling Final Fantasy VII Remake for $39.59 until August 19. GameStop’s deal also ends August 19, so it’s safe to assume Amazon and Best Buy will likely have FFVII Remake for $40 until then as well. Those who already own the base game can purchase the Digital Deluxe Upgrade for $13.20, down from $20. It comes with a digital art book, mini-soundtrack, Cactuar Summon Materia, and Carbuncle Summon Materia.

The long-anticipated remake of one of the most iconic JRPGs of all time earned a rare 10/10 in GameSpot’s Final Fantasy VII Remake review, with managing editor Tamoor Hussain praising the reworked combat system, deftly told story, and modernized version of Midgar.

“Regardless of your history with the original game, Final Fantasy VII Remake is an astounding achievement,” Hussain wrote. “The wait for its release was a long one, but in gameplay, story, characters, and music, it delivers–the wait was worth it. For first-time players, it’s an opportunity to understand why Final Fantasy VII is held in such high regard. It’s the chance to experience a multifaceted story that grapples with complex subject matter, be in the company of memorable characters, and be moved by their plight. For returning fans, this isn’t the Final Fantasy VII your mind remembers, it’s the one your heart always knew it to be.”

Though just the first part of the Final Fantasy VII story, the remake offers a full-length experience of around 40 hours. Square Enix recently confirmed that part two of the remake is in full development and will be released “as soon as possible.”

A bunch of 4K UHD and Blu-ray collections and special editions have popped up for preorder in recent weeks. Better yet, some of them are available at significant discounts below the MSRP. We thought now would be a good time to round them all up in one place. From Game of Thrones on 4K UHD to Back to the Future and Princess Mononoke, these collections and special editions are all shipping in the coming months.

And thanks to the Amazon preorder guarantee, if you preorder one of these sets and the price drops lower before it ships, you’ll pay the lowest price it drops to, even if it goes back up prior to release.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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