Action News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

We review HeroQuest, the updated version of this classic dungeon crawling classic. Published by Hasbro, this new version of HeroQuest reprints this long sought after grail game.

We know that the Illuminate will join the galactic war in Helldivers 2, but we don't know when or why. However, leakers have just uncovered a shot of an exploding planet, which some claim will be the catalyst for the Illuminate's arrival.

Apple is finally taking some strict action on apps that claim to use AI technology to generate nude images of people who have not given their consent. Apple has removed at least three AI nude image generator apps who offered services like face swaps or ‘undressing' where AI was used to remove clothes in images of people. These deepfake apps gained popularity through Instagram ads. While Meta was quick to take down the ads redirecting users to download such apps, Apple took a while to respond. It was only after a report by 404 Media that Apple took steps.

Blizzard has posted hotfixes which includes a nerf to Neltharus — Melt now goes on cooldown when stopped!

To be able to get your gaming fix while you’re on the go, you may want to check out the Razer Edge gaming tablet and Kishi V2 Pro controller. The bundle, originally priced at $380, is down to a more affordable price of $300 from Walmart following an $80 discount. It’s not going to stay this cheap for long though, so if you’re interested in this mobile gaming device, you’re going to have to push through with the transaction as soon as possible if you want to pocket the savings.

poncle has released the version 1.10 update for Vampire Survivors, which is dubbed the “Laborratory” update.

Developer Microbird and Curve Games have confirmed that the action RPG Dungeons of Hinterberg will be available from July 18th, for PC and Xbox Series X|S. It has also been confirmed that Dungeons of Hinterberg will be available on Xbox and PC Game Pass on day one too.

Beginning May 3, the arena gates will open once more for the 2024 Dragonflight Season 4 Arena World Championship (AWC)! Tune in to the final two Cups on Twitch and YouTube to see how far the gladiators will go.

poncle has released the version 1.10 update for Vampire Survivors, which is dubbed the “Laboratory” update.

Publisher Enhance and developer tha ltd. will release puzzle game HUMANITY for Xbox Series and Xbox One, as well as PC via Microsoft Store on May 30, the companies announced.

Microsoft just held its latest ID@Xbox, a digital showcase showing many fantastic indie games headed to Xbox and PC. From existing games getting updates, such as Palworld and Vampire Survivors, to new details on existing indie games, like 33 Immortals and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, today's showcase likely had a game for just about every type of player.

In , players will need to find Extreme Polymer Material in order to craft Nano Suits. Many action RPGs these days feature an outfit crafting system that allows players to customize the appearance and stats of their characters. continues this trend with the various Nano Suits available, which have to be crafted using various materials.

Publisher Apogee Entertainment and developer Fuzzy Sock Studios announced Rising Heat, a shoot ’em up / roguelike action game for PC (Steam). A release date was not announced.

All existing and future pre-orders for Gundam Breaker 4 in the Americas will receive a free upgrade to the newly announced Launch Edition, publisher Bandai Namco and developer Crafts & Meister announced.

Last week Dan Henderson, a former product manager at PC water-cooling manufacturer EK Water Blocks, made a public post on LinkedIn, in which he described almost four months of no pay, and being “strong armed and bullied into signing a new contract through fear of losing my job and also financial ruin.” He also accused the company - one of the biggest in the space - of “blatant racism...psychological manipulation, plain bare faced lying, [and] severe unprofessionalism.”

Looks like a crossover with all the good stuff-ing is going to drop soon in China. It’s the Reverse: 1999 China x Pizza Hut collaborations that’s about to drop for the Chinese servers. Bluepoch, the publishers of the game, is all set to bring three of the most popular characters of the game into Pizza Hut’s world. Who are they and what else is going down? Keep reading to find out!

Escape From Tarkov developer Battlestate Games has been called "shameless" and "tone deaf" over its response to controversy caused by a $250 expansion, with fans and even its esports associate calling out the studio.

An iPad's battery life plays a pivotal role in its usability. Whether you're streaming movies or working on tasks, a robust battery ensures uninterrupted usage. However, when the battery starts to dwindle faster than usual, it can significantly hinder your iPad experience. Here are key factors contributing to battery drain and tips to optimise your iPad's battery life.

It's time to press start on another week of mad savings. I'm mighty keen on a few double packs (like Quake 1 + 2, Deathloop + Ghostwire, etc). Not to mention "whole shebang" collections going for a fraction of the price of a single game (see: Yakuza Remastered Collection, Trine Ultimate Collection, etc).

Despite some early bumps in the road, Sonic the Hedgehog's live action movie adaptations have been a big success. A third film is due to arrive at the tail end of 2024, and if it's anything like its predecessors, it'll not only boom at the box office, but it'll also be another entertaining all-ages flick the whole family can enjoy. We have confidence it can achieve that after watching Knuckles, a TV mini-series spin-off that's just as fun as its big screen counterparts, if not more so.

Party action game Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash will launch for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam on August 30, publisher Cygames and developer Arc System Works announced.

Shōgun, the limited TV series based on the historical-fiction novel by James Clavell, quickly asserted itself as one of this year’s best new series, thanks to a captivating cast of characters and a stirring performance by lead Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga.

The SkyrimVR streamer who previously spent $15,000 on the "most immersive" virtual reality setup possible has once again upgraded their rig with a second haptic suit that converts in-game damage into real-life pain.

It sometimes seems surprising that tennis doesn’t inspire more movies. Its one-on-one gladiatorial clashes are inherently dramatic and psychological, while the devious scoring system means no match is ever lost until it’s lost. Nail-biting climaxes and last-minute turnarounds are baked into the design. On the other hand, the fast-moving, seesawing action is technically difficult to frame in a way that’s both exciting and legible — and that same scoring system might drastically confuse anyone who doesn’t follow the sport.

Ori maker Moon Studios is trying something different with its new, upcoming title No Rest for the Wicked, an isometric action RPG that can be just as colourful as it is dark. The game is slated to launch for PS5 when it reaches a 1.0 state, but until then, an early access phase is being conducted on PC, where its initial release has been met with positivity.

Stellar Blade, the latest PS5 exclusive, is out now on Sony's current-gen console. This is a big budget, out-and-out action game — something of a rarity these days — and it's been met with a slew of high scoring reviews. Needless to say, a lot of PlayStation fans have been waiting for this one.

Greetings, Polygon readers! Each week, we round up the most notable new releases to streaming and VOD, highlighting the biggest and best new movies for you to watch at home.

The most crucial thing to know going into the action-thriller Boy Kills World is that it eventually features a phenomenally bloody fight scene — a brutal extended throwdown where faces are smashed, fingers purposefully dig into open wounds, and combatants slowly drag a sharp object through each other’s bodies, ripping through skin and muscle with a tactile squelch. It’s a fight so grueling and brutal that even seasoned action-movie veterans might clench their teeth and mutter in reflexive empathy.

Ubisoft and Microsoft appear to be tag-teaming a legal crackdown on people who try to pass off fake versions of Minecraft and Assassin's Creed official merchandise as the real thing.

The next set of cards for Disney Lorcana is heavily inspired by The Little Mermaid. Called Ursula’s Return, the action centers around a plot by the eponymous tentacled terror to corrupt the realm’s many glimmers. But another beloved Disney franchise has come to the rescue. The Madrigal family from Encanto is putting their weight behind the forces of good. Today, Polygon can reveal more Madrigal-themed cards, and just as in the hit movie, the family does best when they all work together.

Splotter Spellen Games have stayed with me since I started gaming and before I started logging plays in 2017. My tastes have dramatically changed over the years, but owning and playing Splotters hasn’t stopped. In fact, I rarely pre-order games (Kickstarters included) and I pre-ordered 2023’s release. I think all their games have unique ideas, themes, and a lot of strategies through fairly condensed rules. They aren’t games that have wide appeal, as their designs are built under a philosophy: “If you can’t lose the game on turn one, what is the point of having a turn one?” Of their 15 released games, only seven of them received multiple print runs or wider releases. It would have been six, but they happened to release a game last year. Those seven are all good, but allow me to rank them based on my taste and preferences.

No Rest for the Wicked's creative director has defended the idea of launching a game in early access following criticism of the game's current state.

Knuckles, Paramount Plus’ spinoff series of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, could have been a shameless IP cash-in. And the premiere isn’t far off! Following the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, we find Sonic and Miles “Tails” Prower living an idyllic life in Montana, and helping their new red echidna friend get the hang of Earth life. Without the budget for a big action spectacle, it’s mostly a kid sitcom with the Sonic gang — until it very much is not. In the subsequent five episodes, Knuckles (voiced again by Idris Elba) pairs up with dimwitted Green Hills sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) on a road trip to Nevada, where they both hope to find meaning in the world. The result is basically Tommy Boy for Sega buffs. It’s bananas.

Stellar Blade is rolling out across the world today, but launch certainly isn't the end since its director has teased a crossover between the hack-n-slashin' action game and the studio's previous gacha release, best known for its - checks notes - butt-jiggling physics. 

A new trailer for Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact (yes, that's really the name) has revealed two new characters who will be on the roster - Uvogin and Machi Komacine.

Cardy and Matt are here in a rare two-hander this week as they discuss their time with the new action RPG Stellar Blade, the early access version of No Rest for the Wicked, and Netflix dark comedy, Baby Reindeer. Plus, as always there's time to talk about various uses of gravy.

Lost Soul Aside, the upcoming action RPG hack-n-slash from Chinese developer Ultizero Games, has been rated in China.

MY.GAMES has just launched a new rogue-like first-person shooter, Zombie State. Since its beta release, this game has skyrocketed to nearly 1 million installs. In case you’re not in the know, MY.GAMES has dropped other hit titles like Rush Royale, Left to Survive, War Robots, Rush Arena and Warface.

Well, I know it’s not quite a fan-favourite anymore, but let’s be real. This game (especially its animation) has seen better days. I’m talking about Artery Gear: Fusion. Maybe this game isn’t in its prime anymore, but it’s dropped a collab that looks … good! It’s Artery Gear × Megadimension Neptunia VII.

Playing through to the credits in can take a while, but anyone particularly enraptured with the game might want to keep the adventure going after the ending. tells the story of a futuristic soldier named Eve working to retake a ruined Earth, a task that requires fighting plenty of hostile creatures with uniquely challenging attacks to parry and overcome. It can be tempting to rush through to keep the focus on the action, but there's also an appeal in ferreting out secrets in its harsh world.

Cross-play is now available for “boss rush” cooperative online action game TrinityS across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam, publisher Phoenixx and developer Indie-us Games announced.

Inti Creates has announced Inti Creates Gold Archive Collection for Switch. It includes Mighty Gunvolt, Mighty Gunvolt Burst, and PuzzMiX on one physical cartridge. It will launch on August 20 in Japan for 3,278 yen.

Sonic the Hedgehog is having a great year with plenty to look forward to. The third Sonic movie is coming out in December, Knuckles is getting his own show on Paramount+, and Sonic is sharing the spotlight with Shadow in Sonic x Shadow Generations. In the last few years, the Blue Blur has become such a popular video game character in the multimedia landscape that Sega has produced toys to introduce the next generation of fans to the franchise. Older fans can add those toys and plushies to their collection for the sake of nostalgia or for sharing their love of Sonic with their children.

Light novel and anime hit That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is being adapted into video game form for the first time on consoles. Featuring a title that's going to kill us every time we have to type it out — That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Isekai Chronicles — it's a side-scrolling action RPG featuring a bunch of playable heroes.

The PS5 exclusive action game Stellar Blade launches tomorrow, 26th April, and as with most game launches these days, a day one update will arrive alongside it. While the patch will no doubt fix some bugs and get the title in better shape for release day, this one also throws in a big new feature: New Game+ mode.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is finally giving Goku Black his iconic scythe weapon as part of his Ultra Supervillain form in the upcoming Future Saga DLC.

Escape from Tarkov players are in an uproar over a new $250 upgrade called The Unheard Edition, with many deeming the pack “pay-to-win” and “selfish."

Publisher PM Studios and developer Half Human Games will release tower defense dungeon crawler RPG Dwerve for PlayStation 5 on August 1 alongside a physical edition for PlayStation 5 and Switch, the companies announced.

Monomi Park will release Slime Rancher 2 in Early Access for PlayStation 5 on June 11, the developer announced. Pre-orders are available now via PlayStation Store for $29.99 and include four days of advance access to the game on June 7, as well as the exclusive in-game item “Slime Toy.”

Publisher Spotlight by Quantic Dream and developer Sand Door Studio will release hack-and-slash action game Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior for Switch via Nintendo eShop on May 14 for $24.99, the companies announced.

BINGOBELL has announced a major update for open-world action RPG KAKU: Ancient Seal, which is currently in Early Access for PC via Steam. Described as a “major remake,” the update includes new character models, a new prologue, new gameplay, and more. The company also confirmed a full release for this summer, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions at a later date. The previously announced PlayStation 4 version is seemingly no longer planned. A new demo is also available.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer SHIFT UP have released the launch trailer for Stellar Blade, which is due out for PlayStation 5 on April 26.

We love movie recommendations here at Polygon. Whether it’s horror, sci-fi, action, comedy, thrillers, or just the best of the year, we’re always trying to introduce readers to new and exciting movies they’ll love. But now we want to find the perfect movie for you. (That’s you.)

Corey Konieczka, acclaimed board game designer of strategy games such as Star Wars: Rebellionand Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, launched his own studio, Unexpected Games, in 2021. After a series of high-concept titles, including puzzle-based The Initiativeand the dynamic 3,000 Scoundrels, he’s back for another stab at a licensed franchise. The Mandalorian: Adventures is a cooperative board game with multiple modes, and itarrives at hobby shops and online in the third quarter. In a recent interview with Polygon, Konieczka revealed some of its secrets — including what promises to be a highly anticipated traitor mode.

People Can Fly has cancelled a co-op action RPG codenamed Project Dagger after several years of development.

Compile Heart has released a new trailer, information, and screenshots for “motorcycle action” game Neptunia VS Titan Dogoo, which introduce some of the game’s unique dogoos, “Compulsion Shots,” and customization.

Astrolabe Games will publish Patapez Interactive-developed side-scrolling roguelite action game Dunjungle for PC via Steam when it launches, the companies announced. A release date was not announced.

Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler has taken the time to sing the praises of early access, going as far as to say that FromSoftware’s seminal action RPG, Dark Souls, might have benefited from the communication-driven model if it had been around upon its release.

Following the collapse of a «verbal agreement» reportedly worth $2 billion with the Saudi-funded Savvy Games, Embracer Group entered into a brutal nine-month restructuring programme that resulted in the loss of some 1,400 employees and the cancellation of dozens of unannounced games. CEO Lars Wingefors, whose actions were recently defended by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch («give Lars a break»), in a new interview, says: «As a leader and an owner, sometimes you need to take the blame.»

The recently released and evocatively named Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered starring Lara Croft allowed an entirely new generation of gamers to experience the formative action platformers for the first time. But it seems that in the last update, released a couple of weeks ago, sexy pinup posters of Croft herself have quietly gone missing, a change not mentioned in the patch notes. Fans, as you might imagine, quickly noticed and were unimpressed, already pointing fingers at Crystal Dynamics.

Debuts don’t get much stronger than Stellar Blade. Korean developer Shift Up – already financially flush from the success of its saucy smartphone gacha NIKKE: Goddess of Victory – has chosen the path of most resistance, turning its hand to AAA territory with this rambunctious action-adventure outing. Despite the inherent risks involved, it’s stuck the landing like an acrobatic anime heroine, backflipping her way between deadly laser beams. That is to say, this is a PS5 console exclusive well worth playing.

Originally published all the way back in 2000 as a standalone manga, it's strange, but not unwelcome, to see Sand Land be revived as both an anime series and a video game almost a quarter of a century later. Authored by the late and legendary Akira Toriyama, Sand Land is an incredibly charming story about a post-apocalyptic world, where a cocky demon prince is roped into helping out what's left of humanity.

Okay, who remembers Project Awakening? First revealed way back in September 2018 — for PS4 — it's an action RPG from Granblue Fantasy developer Cygames. That initial trailer, which debuted during a PlayStation showcase, garnered a lot of attention because of how next-gen it looked. In fact, it looked so impressive that many people questioned its authenticity.

Another Crab's Treasure might not look like a soulslike action RPG, but it is one. Take out the dark, oppressive nature of FromSoftware's output and replace it with SpongeBob, and you're more or less there. Purposely juxtaposing the established tropes of the genre, this title offers a fresh, more lighthearted experience without sacrificing the level of challenge you'd expect.

Conquistadorio, the point-and-click adventure game by Morion Studio, just slashed its price from $9.99 to $0.99! Yep, you read that right. If you haven’t tried the game out yet, it might be a good time to do so now. Want to know more about the game? Keep reading!

We have the solution to Wordle on April 24, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We’ve placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don’t ruin the surprise before you’ve had a chance to work through the clues. So let’s dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday’s answer.

Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle.

The Karasuno boys’ volleyball team is finally back in action — though instead of a new season of beloved sports anime Haikyu!!, we’re getting a movie highlighting one of the most anticipated manga moments: the legendary Dumpster Battle.

This week’s Famitsu review scores are in.

One of the most annoying Achievements in the game has been adjusted so it is now soloable. Show Me Your Moves!, the Achievement for the final boss in Mogu'shan Vaults, the Will of the Emperor, required coordination by at least 10 people with no mistakes made to Achieve it. Notoriously difficult to get, it was originally part of the meta for Glory of the Pandaria Raider, but was later removed to make the Glory Achieve more attainable. Now it has been made more attainable itself.Show Me Your Moves! can now be soloed by a character who has a pet (Death Knight, Hunter, Warlock) or an ability (Monk) that can keep one of the two bosses occupied while the character «dances» with the other boss.Show Me Your Moves! Defeat the Will of the Emperor in Mogu'shan Vaults on Normal or Heroic difficulty after all members of the raid execute an Opportunistic Strike on the same construct within a single Unbalanced phase.

SEGA has released a new trailer, information, and screenshots for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble introducing the game’s new multiplayer battle modes, through which players can race and roll with two players locally or up to 16 players online.

Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors is taking the brunt of responsibility when it comes to the company's most recent round of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancelations.

Final Fantasy 16 players are aghast as the action RPG's new chapter features what can only be described as 'dummy thicc Tonberries.'