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While you’re catching up on the latest rumors concerning a potential Nintendo Switch hardware revision later this year, don’t forget that your current Switch is still home to some stellar games. That will soon include Monster Hunter Rise, which has garnered rave reviews from critics.

Launching this Friday, March 26, Monster Hunter Rise is the first original game in the series for the hybrid console, following Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, a port of the Nintendo 3DS title. Many reviewers agree that the lessons learned with the highly successful Monster Hunter World have been thoughtfully applied here, complimenting a structure that is more akin to Monster Hunter titles of old while evolving the formula to be compelling to both newcomers and veterans of the series.

The biggest addition that critics almost universally adore is wire-dashing. This move allows you to pull off stunning dexterous maneuvers, speeding up traditional traversal though a level or saving you from a disastrous fall during a fight. Combined with the introduction of Palemutes–new mounts that will also fight with you during hunts–and there’s a lot of new possibilities to explore with the traditional Monster Hunter combat.

• Game: Monster Hunter Rise
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: March 26
• Price: $60 / £50 / $80 AUD

Below are a selection of some review excerpts to give you an idea of what critics think about Monster Hunter Rise. Head over to GameSpot sister site Metacritic for more reviews on the game.

GameSpot – 9/10 (Review In Progress)

“Going toe-to-toe with these intimidating beasts is the unmistakable core of the Monster Hunter experience, and Rise still feels like a distinctly Monster Hunter game, even if it’s more of a fully-fledged action title than any other entry in the series. This renewed focus doesn’t diminish its layered RPG mechanics, nor does it dumb down on any single aspect of the hunt. Certain changes make Rise a more approachable game for newcomers, but you also have the freedom to tailor the experience to your liking. The moment-to-moment combat is as impeccable as it’s ever been and puts Rise on a pedestal as one of the feathers in the Nintendo Switch’s cap.” — Richard Wakeling [Full Review]

IGN – 8/10

“Monster Hunter Rise mixes classic Monster Hunter ideas with some of World’s best improvements and a whole bunch of clever new mechanics of its own. Not all of them are slam dunks, but they are all fun–and the introduction of Wirebugs and the mobility they bring to every fight is so great I never want to give them up. The post-launch updates Capcom is already teasing can’t come soon enough, but Monster Hunter Rise is still a thrilling step forward in the series’ evolution toward the new normal World so boldly introduced.” — Tom Marks [Full Review]

VG247 – 4/5

“While it does feel like a smaller package in terms of grand story presentation, the new additions and quality-of-life fixes make it less grindy to play, with greater flexibility in exploration, navigation, and resource collection adding to the portable possibilities. With just five locales to house the vast roster of creatures though, it will be interesting to see whether Rise can have the same long-lasting appeal as its predecessors. More monsters have already been promised, with the first free post-launch drop slated for April 2021.” — James Billcliffe [Full Review]

Game Informer – 7.75/10

“Beyond mounting monsters and using the wirebug to wall-run in spectacular fashion, not much else distinguishes Monster Hunter Rise from the installments that came before. It has enough endgame content to keep you occupied long after the credits roll (if you don’t mind copious amounts of grinding) and multiplayer is still the optimal way to play, but the excitement of my early hunts waned before long. Monster Hunter Rise is far from being the next definitive chapter in the series. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a polished-but-conventional adventure with a few small-scale nuances, then you’ll be right at home in Kamura Village.” — Jason Guisao [Full Review]

Polygon – Unscored

“Monster Hunter Rise takes the accessible foundation that Capcom built in World and expands on it without breaking what makes Monster Hunter fun, including the deep combat and the feeling of progression as you defeat, skin, and wear one monster to fight the next. If World was the first step forward into a new era of Monster Hunter, Rise takes it even further. Monster Hunter: World was a game I would recommend to friends, with some caveats. But Rise’s gameplay variety and mobility — all fueled by that little Wirebug — make it a must-try game for Monster Hunter skeptics and hardcore fans alike.” — Ryan Gilliam [Full Review]

Eurogamer – Essential

“It’s all enough to make me believe that this really might be the Monster Hunter for all, and as much as World pushed the series into the mainstream it’s Rise that could yet propel it to be a phenomenon – and at the very least it’ll earn the series some new fans along the way. If you’ve been put off by the challenge, the investment or even the action, Rise does its very best to smooth the path and open up Monster Hunter’s charms to all. If you’re already smitten with the series like I am? Well, Monster Hunter Rise might well be as good as video games can get.” — Martin Robinson [Full Review]

VentureBeat – 4/5

“Rise is great by yourself (with the help of your Palico and Palamute) or with online hunters. Capcom did have its servers active for a portion of the review period. Joining someone’s game was easy, and I was surprised by how smooth the online experience felt. When it comes to Switch, my expectations are always low when it comes to online capabilities, but Capcom seems to have it figured out. Of course, we’ll see just how stable things are once the game launches and many more players flood those servers. Honestly, I’d be just fine playing Rise by myself. The core gameplay loop of hunting monsters so you can make stronger equipment in order to hunt more monsters is captivating, and Rise has put that formula into a package that works great on Switch.” – Mike Minotti [Full Review]

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

The latest teaser for Call of Duty: Warzone‘s rumored nuke event has arrived, this time suggesting that zombies are headed to Verdansk’s bank. Activision is sending out piggybanks to influencers with a message that warns of zombies headed to the Acropolis National Bank.

“Acropolis National Bank has been operating as a zombie institution for years, but nobody thought their assets would end up six feet under … Hope you have Diamond Hands, Operator,” the message says.

Previous teasers included hospital scrubs and a prison jumpsuit that referenced how zombies were headed to Verdansk’s other major points of interest.

Players have speculated that the zombie infestation could grow more and more out of control until eventually, Verdansk will get nuked to solve the undead problem. This event is supposed to happen sometime around the end of Season 2, which would be in April. The ongoing theory is that Warzone will then re-launch with a Black Ops theme after the nuke event.

In addition to these swag-related teasers, Activision has released a few notices from Armistice Central Command telling players about the zombie spread and informing them it’s no problem at all. This is likely in-universe propaganda–the zombie infestation is looking more real all the time.

This is all happening as part of Activision’s effort to tell some kind of a narrative in the multiplayer game. In other news, a double XP event is taking place this week in Warzone.

Fortnite Season 6 is the first in the game’s long history to introduce wild animals for hunting and taming. With creatures like chickens, boar, and wolves roaming the island, they can provide some crucial support at just the right time, but only if you know how to tame them.

Here we’ll walk you through how to tame animals in Fortnite so you can turn any frightened chicken, charging boar, or hungry wolf into a new best friend.

How to tame boar in Fortnite

First we’ll go over the boar. All animals can roam anywhere on the island, though woodsy, more natural areas seem to populate them more often. We recommend looking west of Lazy Lake or in Weeping Woods, or just anywhere that isn’t covered in stuff like gas stations, houses, and other buildings.

To tame a boar, you’ll need to feed it a foraged item. Fortnite has quite a variety of foraged items, including apples, bananas, peppers, and more. These are typically used as health items and other buffs for you, and the boar doesn’t seem to be picky. Find foraged items inside green boxes like the one you see below, or head to the farm at Colossal Crops where cornstalks stand ready to be chopped down into equippable corn on the cob.

Keep the food in your inventory and find a boar. You can usually hear them making their grunting noises before you see them. Unlike wolves, boar don’t tend to attack on sight, so move in and throw the food nearby. It should approach and eat it, and you may notice a visual cue hinting that it’s eyeing the food: blue streaks surrounding the animal, like an aura. While it’s eating, quickly move close to the boar and select the interact button when you’re prompted.

If you do it fast enough, the boar will then have little hearts over it signifying it’s been tamed. From there, it’s a bit like hiring an NPC. The boar will follow you and lend you a tusk in battle. Note that it can die, though, and while they can be helpful, boar aren’t so quick to keep up with you as you move across the island.

How to tame wolves in Fortnite

The process to tame wolves in Fortnite is nearly identical to taming boar, with one exception. Wolves don’t want fruits and veggies; they want to eat meat. To acquire meat, you’ll first need to kill other animals, so look (and listen) for a chicken, wolf, or boar. Frogs can be spared as they don’t drop meat.

Once you’ve found an animal, killed it, and placed its meat in your inventory, look for a wolf. The convenient thing about wolves is they usually spawn in packs, so if you kill one, you can use its meat to tame another right away. Throw the meat near the wolf and, like with the boar, you’ll have a short window in which you can approach the animal while it eats and select the interaction to tame it when it appears. If done right, you will have a new furry friend by your side until you win–or until one of you is eliminated.

How to glide with a chicken in Fortnite

While you can’t tame a chicken, they do still offer their own unique gameplay feature for Fortnite Season 6. You can glide with them, just like Link himself. When you approach a chicken, it will likely run away. You can chase it down eventually, though it may take a bit longer than you want it to in a mode like Battle Royale. Instead, you could try using a Hunter’s Cloak which masks your scent and allows you to get in close. We’ve already got a complete guide on how to craft a Hunter’s Cloak too.

Once you’ve got a hold of the chicken, simply jump from anywhere and you’ll see how it allows you to glide softly back to earth without fear of fall damage. Just don’t touch your inventory while wielding a feathered friend or you’ll unequip it and crash back to the island.

More animals to come

While frogs don’t offer meat or bones (get those stink sacs for crafting though), other animals are rumored to show up later this season, namely velociraptors. We’ll be sure to update this guide if and when you can tame raptors like Chris Pratt’s Jurassic World character later in Fortnite Season 6.

The Final Fantasy XI Reboot that was in joint development with Nexon and Square Enix has been officially cancelled. Originally announced in 2015 and scheduled for a 2016 launch, the reboot would have brought a new version of the PS2 MMORPG Final Fantasy XI to mobile platforms.

As spotted by Gematsu, and confirmed by Japanese-language outlet Gamebiz.jp, the two companies agreed that the game did not meet the quality standards expected by fans of the Final Fantasy series. All staff working on the reboot have been reallocated to other projects.

Though screenshots of the game were revealed in 2016, the project itself was rarely mentioned by both companies in the intervening years, with occasional statements from Nexon or Square Enix confirming that the game was still under development. Back in December 2020, the Korean news network MTN announced in a report that the project had been cancelled in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, Square Enix refused to comment.

In other Final Fantasy remake news, the next-gen upgrade Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will come to PS5 in a few months, which will improve the acclaimed RPG’s lighting, textures, and frame-rate.

Epic Games has removed Cuddle Fish from Fortnite’s competitive playlists due to “an issue,” the studio has confirmed. Posting on Twitter, the developer said it will reinstate Cuddle Fish when the issue is fixed, but the company did not elaborate on what the issue is in the first place.

It appears Epic may be making this change due to an exploit of sorts that players have discovered using Cuddle Fish, a new item that was introduced in the Season 6 update. These fish can be used as sticky grenades, and when stacked on top of each other, they do impressive damage. Perhaps Epic is not happy with this and is looking to make a change.

As you can see in the video below (via Sportskeeda), a player sticks a handful of the fish onto a truck, then drives it close to a nearby player, jumps out, and then shoots the fish to detonate a chain reaction explosion that kills the opponent.

Players have complained that Cuddle Fish, which are inspired by real-world cuttlefish and can be fished out of Fortnite’s waters, are too overpowered. You can see more video evidence of this in the gameplay clip below.

In other Fortnite news, Epic has introduced a new Tomb Raider mission that takes players to the spooky halls of Croft Manor where they can earn a special spray. You can also read up on the latest crossover event with Rocket League and Fortnite.

The latest update for Red Dead Online has arrived, and if you’re looking to earn extra rewards while being the fastest horseman in the west then now’s the time to saddle up. Bonuses for joining a posse, time-limited clothing, and plenty of discounts to help you start a stable full of thoroughbred stallions are also being offered this week.

Developer Rockstar Games has detailed all of this week’s updates and more in a new blog post that you can read about below.

Double rewards on all races, A Land of Opportunities, and A New Source of Employment

Plenty of extra prizes are up for grabs this week, as entering your faithful steed in a race will reward out double XP and cash for the next seven days. Exacting revenge in A Land of Opportunities and delivering telegrams in A New Source of Employment missions will also see rewards doubled.

Posse bonuses

There’s always strength in numbers, and playing in a posse at any time this week will earn you an offer for 30% off a stable slot, and all persistent posse setup fees will be temporarily waived.

Time-Limited Clothing

Gallery

If you’re looking for some fancy new threads, the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Catalogue still has the following high plains fashion up for sale:

• Fernwater Coat
• Hopeman Vest
• Morning Tail Coat
• Strickland Boots
• Vaquero Baroque Spurs
• Squat Stovepipe Top Hat
• Hitched Skirt
• Concho Pants
• Gardenia Hat

Discounts

• All horses – 30%
• Saddles and horse equipment – 50%
• Coats and ponchos – 30%
• Bandoliers – 30%
• Moonshine bar themes and the cost of the band expansion – 40%
• All wilderness outfitters offerings including camp dogs – 40%

Prime Gaming benefits

Rockstar announced that everyone who connects their Rockstar Games Social Club account to Prime Gaming will be able to start a career as a Bounty Hunter and outfit their wagon with a new livery:

• A free Bounty Hunter License
• An award for the Trimmed Amethyst Bounty Wagon Livery

Players who connect to Prime Gaming before April 12 will receive an offer for 30% off select multi-class horses, an offer for 30% off select horse care pamphlets from the Fence, and an additional offer for 40% off any saddle.

Red Dead Redemption 2 has so far sold more than 36 million copies and has become one of Rockstar’s biggest critical and commercial success stories. Red Dead Online has also proven to be successful as well, with player numbers continuing to rise in the months since the multiplayer component became a standalone offering and constant updates made the sandbox a more interesting environment to explore.

The upcoming Bethesda sci-fi RPG Starfield will likely release in 2021, according to a reporter. In a recent podcast, GamesBeat reporter and frequent newsbreaker Jeff Grubb stated that he thinks that Starfield has an “seven [or] eight out of ten” chance of releasing this calendar year. He also stated that if the game doesn’t come out in 2021, it will likely come out in March 2022.

“I think for coming out this calendar year, I’m like an eight [out of ten], maybe seven,” Grubb said. “It’s in that range still, because if you expand that to by March 2022, I’m probably an eight or a nine. Getting revealed this year feels like it’s at a nine or a ten. We’re on the pathway toward getting that game probably in the next 12 to 18 months one way or the other.”

This isn’t the first time that Grubb has made public predictions about Starfield’s release date based on presumed sources. In a recent interview on YouTube, Grubb stated that Bethesda is targeting a late 2021 release date for Starfield, and that the game will be revealed at this year’s E3. Of course, since we don’t know if this year’s E3 is going to even happen yet, these claims should be treated as unverified rumors until we hear otherwise.

However, we do know that Bethesda and Microsoft will reveal more news this summer around the usual E3 time, so it’s possible that the game will be revealed there. Grubb himself even stated in that interview that the pandemic may change those plans. When reached for comment on these claims, Bethesda executive Pete Hines said: “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation.”

While we don’t know much about Starfield, Bethesda did give a recent update on that game and The Elder Scrolls VI as part of a joint briefing with Microsoft, who recently purchased the publisher. Managing director Ashley Cheng suggested that the two games will fall under the open-world RPG umbrella that Bethesda Game Studios is known for, similar to games like Skyrim and Fallout 4.

In the same podcast, Grubb stated that the next Battlefield game will likely be revealed this May. He and his fellow co-hosts also suggested that there is a “nine out of ten” chance that Halo Infinite releases this year, which would probably be for the best, considering that the game was supposed to come out last year.

We will be announcing our BRAND NEW GAME during this @ID_Xbox event! 🚨
It’s something completely new from us, not a sequel, and we’re stoked to tell you more about it!!
Next Friday See ya then! 👀 https://t.co/TZmEBPHCl5

— DrinkBox (@DrinkBoxStudios) March 18, 2021

This video is going around with the “actual” translations of Groot lines from the script (which, yes, I always have). The last one “Dad” is correct (because I’ve shared this before). The others are close, good guesses, but not exact. Still good work! pic.twitter.com/CX532X4vPk

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 22, 2021