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Marvel Cosmic Invasion is kicking off December on Xbox Game Pass in a big way - and the new Marvel brawler is out now, which means early reviews are starting to trickle in for the newly-released Xbox title. So, we're going to gather up some of those early reviews down below for you take a look at. Spoiler alert; Marvel Cosmic Invasion sounds like it'll be a lot of fun on Xbox Game Pass! Console Creatures (9/10) TechRaptor (8.5/10) Nintendo Life (8/10) Push Square (8/10) GamesRadar (4/5) PlayStation Universe (7.5/10) At the time of writing, Marvel Cosmic Invasion has a score of 78 on Metacritic and a rating of 82 on OpenCritic; pretty good going for this one so far, then. The new Marvel beat-'em-up is now live on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with two other titles arriving later this week!

Rockstar's new current-gen upgrade for Red Dead Redemption is starting to roll out in certain regions, and with the game now live in some parts of the world, we're seeing that this new version has a 50% launch discount on Xbox Series X|S. Available for seemingly the first two weeks after release, Red Dead Redemption has a half price offer right now. Here's how that's looking on the New Zealand store at the moment, with the upgrade expected to go live in other regions over the next few hours: Of course, we must note that existing owners of the Xbox 360 backwards compatible version will get this new upgrade for free anyway, so if you have that old version tied to your account, you'll be good to go when the upgrade launches in your region. This free version is only applicable to digital purchases though - physical owners won't be able to upgrade for free. So, if you have a disc version of Red Dead Redemption or are simply picking this one up on Xbox for the very first time, you can grab the game's current-gen upgrade at 50% off for the first two weeks of release (until roughly December 14th).

It’s been over three years since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge was released, and Tribute Games has been really busy. Stuffed like a return-trip suitcase, Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s enormous cast of heroes and villains is here united in a rapturous beat-'em-up fanfare. Its pixel art positively simmers, with beautifully rendered backgrounds, giant set-pieces, and solid, impressively animated sprites. And, in addition to primary antagonist Annihilus, nemeses like Galactus, Hela, and Thanos make sufficiently heavy-duty appearances. What’s particularly endearing is that the production feels wholly comic book. Its story mode, fleshed out with superbly rendered cutscenes and spot-on voice acting, really honours the source material. From Wolverine’s growl to Spider-Man’s quips, Venom’s brusque manner to Nova’s heroic fortitude, the exchanges really capture the Marvel feel. The slightly squat sprite styling works well, too, and the soundtrack is on-point throughout. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) Outside of palette swap options, there are no Marvel movie elements here, and the roster is interestingly formed, teaming up the likes of Captain America and Iron Man with lesser-knowns like Beta Ray Bill and Phyla-Vell. In total, there are a whopping 15 playable characters, several of whom are unlocked during playthroughs. Any modern scrolling beat 'em up worth its salt requires a creative and dynamic combat system, and Cosmic Invasion rises to the challenge with a dual-character tag-team setup. In Story Mode, you choose a fresh duo each time you begin a stage, selecting your destination of choice via a bullet-pointed map that runs along branching paths. Certain stages need to be beaten before you can progress, and finishing a stage will level up your team with increased power and health. Story Mode also comes with a set of optional Challenges. These include tasks like defeating a set number of enemies with a specific move or finishing a boss with a specific character. The challenge list shows which heroes properly align with a stage’s cutscenes and narrative. Characters that are narratively required for each level have glowing boxes around them on the select screen, too, although that could be signposted better. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) Arcade Mode operates in true linear fashion: your initial character choices remain fixed for the entire game, there’s no levelling up, and you’re restricted to a limited number of stages across optional routes. For many, this will be the most enjoyable way to play. The cast’s fighting properties are amazingly varied, with differing speeds and weights, and enough unique attack forms to make each one feel interesting. Some can fly with a double-jump tap, patrolling the air, while others, like Rocket Raccoon, dominate from range with heavy artillery. Each wields a basic tap combo, a double-tap rush attack, and a dodge or block that, when timed right, enacts a parry. Every character can charge a unique breakout move, and the 'X' button lets loose their special attack. The 'R' button is reserved for big, flashy supers, requiring a “Focus” energy that recharges while battling. Tag-teaming works entirely around the left trigger. Tapping switches characters, who can swing in and break you out of holds. You can also combine attacks, whereby pressing the trigger mid-combo will have your partner appear alongside you, dealing out extra blows. Interestingly, you can combine the tag function with different buttons, creating different partner effects like aerial dives or rushing slashes. All tag battling eats into your Focus energy, a point to consider if you’re trying to build a team super: a devastating dual attack engaged with 'ZL' and 'R' that requires maximum Focus for both characters. Cosmic Invasion is flashy and superbly slick, and mining all the little details is quite the adventure. There’s not much included in the rather threadbare tutorial, so it’s down to you to experiment, discovering which grabs can be turned into throws with D-pad combinations, and which characters have functions that respond to simultaneous button presses. The fastest hack here is to hit pause and read through your character’s movelist. In a world post-Absolum, Cosmic Invasion doesn’t quite land in the same way Shredder’s Revenge did. While it does get furiously heated, its pace does feel a tad slow overall. What's surprising, though, are the numerous oversights in the visual feedback department. The map points on Story Mode, for example, don’t change colour when you clear a stage or complete its challenges, and post-toilet break it can take a moment to recognise which you just did. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) Tribute Games clearly aren’t fans of prominent combo counters either, which is a shame as Cosmic Invasion seems to be crying out for one. Here, the combo counter is small, tame, and seated inconspicuously beside your health bar. As such, your building of blows isn’t as rewarding, and, being a comic-book-themed game, classic onomatopoeia or “Dazzling!”, “Amazing!”, or “Super!” would have been the perfect way to celebrate combo milestones. The feedback element that really needs bolstering, though, surrounds the tag mechanic. With so many different usage combinations, some additional visual, aural, or haptic cues to delineate each state would have been helpful amidst the game’s flurrying pyrotechnics. For example, a short pad vibration upon engagement, and perhaps character colour flashes could give some idea of how much Focus energy is being consumed. And, as the tag function can be combined with different buttons for different dual attack types, some kind of visual feedback to articulate each state wouldn’t have gone amiss. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) It’s not the end of the world, but your tag mechanics tend to get drowned out in the fighting stew, lacking a sense of tactility. For your mammoth dual super attack, too, any kind of wind-up effect or chime would have been welcome, just to let you know you’re primed to go. Additionally, recovering the secret green cubes hidden on each stage is so perfunctory it’s like a fart in the wind. There’s no indication it even has value, no message screaming “Cube Recovered!” or the like. In fact, it’s quite possible to pick one up accidentally without realising it. These aren’t criminal offences, and they certainly don’t diminish the effort involved. But anyone who understands arcade games knows that good feedback aspects can really elevate the experience. As such, while impressively deep with its dodging, parrying, and potential for wild mix-ups and tag-team juggling, Cosmic Invasion's combat doesn't feel quite as satisfying as something like Streets of Rage 4, the recent Absolum, or even Shredder’s Revenge, which was a touch more honed in the battling department. The more overt problem with Cosmic Invasion, though, is its difficulty balancing. Credit-feeding arcade games robs them of their value, largely because of their routine nature, and a lack of challenge has a similar effect. For some reason, Cosmic Invasion’s default Medium difficulty setting is a total cakewalk. Bosses, whose attack patterns are often thoughtfully designed, go down to first-attempt spamming in all but the last few stages. Health items are scattered all over, and being able to tag characters, regularly deploy super attacks, and regenerate not only Focus but your health too, actually makes the campaign a tad mundane. It’s much like the Marvel movies themselves in this respect: when there are no stakes, you start to switch off. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) Now, there is a Hard Mode, but it isn’t available from the outset. Instead, you need to earn cubes to be spent on a hexagonal grid, unlocking additional character palettes and other in-game adjustments. For your information, you want to go right to the top middle of the hexagon and unlock that Hard Mode option, because frankly, it’s transformative. Playing Arcade Mode on Hard Difficulty suddenly makes Cosmic Invasion both reasonably challenging and, with it, far more interesting, requiring thought and skill over mindless button mashing. All aspects of your moveset take on genuine importance, with different enemies and situations demanding experimentation — and the dodge and parry become crucial. While, in my opinion, the default difficulty should have been set somewhere between Medium and Hard Mode — and that means Tribute Games didn’t quite get either quite right — Hard Mode is still the place to go lest things get boring. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) Now, if you’re primarily here for the multiplayer aspect, all this challenge criticism goes out the window. With friends, it’s just a blast, even if the four-player is a little too chaotic, all things told. In terms of delivering campy Marvel magic, however, in which iconic superheroes smash iconic supervillains, Cosmic Invasion comes through with flying colours. ConclusionPure cartoon fun, and all the better for it, Tribute Games has not only totally honoured the source material, but delivered one of the best arcade Marvel games ever made. The aesthetic is beautiful, and the effort involved in creating such a varied cast of beat-'em-up protagonists is admirable. Yes, there are areas for improvement, and some of its combat-feedback oversights feel like missed opportunities. But if you primarily want multiplayer action, to unlock and grind and level up your cast, and to get knee-deep in Marvel mayhem, it’s right on the money. If you’re working through its single-player Story campaign, you’re likely to get bored before the end owing to its ease, but unlock Hard Difficulty and Cosmic Invasion becomes all it was destined to be.

We might have to wait a little while longer than expected until we can see Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition in its full glory on Switch 2, but the title is still popping up at games expos around the world, giving us plenty of opportunities to see it in action. The latest slice of hands-on time came from the Milan Games Week 2025, where 'Corey Da Flame' captured the over-the-shoulder footage found above (thanks, Nintenderos). It's the same opening section that we have seen played on Switch 2 a couple of times now, and off-screen recording is never the best way to get an idea of things from a performance perspective, but things seem... less tarnished than we were expecting. Okay, it's no PS5 build, but as far as talk of the Switch 2 version goes, it looks pretty darn fine. Our initial impressions of the game in handheld were rather rough, and while things certainly seemed to be a step in the right direction when getting our first look at the game in docked, the latest footage suggests that things are getting better still. Again, we won't know for sure until the full game comes our way at some point next year — and we don't only have over-the-shoulder footage to go off. At the time of writing, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is still hanging with a vague '2026' release window after FromSoftware decided to delay the port back in October.

Last Friday saw the broadcast of The Mario Kart World: Knockout Tour Streamer Showdown, sponsored by Nintendo and overseen by our friends at IGN Entertainment. Featuring 24 UK variety and gaming influencers, the event showcased Mario Kart World's Knockout Tour at its most chaotic. The selected streamers were split into six teams of four, and commemorative trophies were offered to the quartet that accumulated the most points throughout the competition. Clearly, much more than honour was at stake here. Hosted by IGN UK’s George Forsyth-Nash (aka Nash) and Outside Xtra’s Jane Douglas, The Mario Kart World: Knockout Tour Streamer Showdown also benefited from insights by Outside Xtra's Mike Channell and presenter Jules Hardy, both of whom were on hand to supply colour commentary and general Mario-related waffle. The final rankings — Image: IGN UK Some of the UK's biggest streamers took part, including TooBizyGaming, GetMadz, OwengeJuiceTV, KickThePj, InTheLittleWood, TheOrionSound and ReadySetBen. The event delivered a true masterclass in Mario Kart skills, but ultimately, it was the Orange Team (TheOrionSound, Solidarity, InTheLittleWood and Ravs) which emerged victorious, while the poor old Red Team came in last. Better luck next time, guys! If you caught the karting action and feel the need to demonstrate your own talents, then you can enter IGN UK's Streamer Showdown giveaway over on X, where a brand spanking new OLED TV is up for grabs. Entries close on 14th December, 2025, and are open to UK residents aged 18 and over (full T&Cs can be found here). If you want to revisit what happened, then head over to IGN UK's YouTube and Twitch channels – or you can watch the full stream below.

Jennifer Hale, one of the most iconic voice actors and best known for playing Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy and Naomi Hunter and Emma Emmerich in the Metal Gear Solid series, has spoken about her experience in playing Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3. Hale, who took over the role from Hellena Taylor for the third entry in the series, told GAMINGbible (via IGN) that she "got thrown under the bus by that whole thing." "I was unable to speak on my own behalf because I was under not one but two NDAs. Eventually, I was allowed to make a statement, which I appreciated, and I was able to present the facts,” Hale continues. Following PlatinumGames' announcement of the new voice actor, Taylor urged fans to boycott the game due to a pay dispute. She claimed that the studio offered her only $4,000 "to do the whole game...as a flat rate". Fans rallied around Taylor initially, before reports emerged that Taylor had been offered that rate for between four to five sessions. Hale says that “There were some things said [that were] presented as facts, but were false. I would have never taken a role otherwise. Before I accepted the audition, I checked everything thoroughly, and I trust the director." Bayonetta 3 made a number of changes to the game beyond just the titular character's voice — Images: Nintendo "Thankfully, playing Bayonetta was so much fun, and the community was so welcoming to me, especially after the fiasco had passed and the facts came out." Following Hale's initial statement, PlatnumGames came out in support of the actor, stating "We give our full support to Jennifer Hale as the new Bayonetta, and align with everything in her statement." Fortunately, the controversy died down following those additional reports and Platinum's own involvement, and the experience hasn't put Hale off of the idea of returning to the role: "It was not fun getting thrown under the bus like I had, but I was happy to come out on the other side.” While the drama has largely subsided, earlier this year, series creator Hideki Kamiya shared his thoughts on the ordeal: "Man, that was seriously lame."

Ahead of its PS5 version launching tomorrow, the Trophy list for Red Dead Redemption has gone live, sharing what is an identical list to the PS4 edition. Exophase has the complete list of 52 Trophies, which is mostly focused on the base game, with some Trophies for the Undead Nightmare expansion to go along with it. As this is the same list as the PS4 version, we can pull on the Trophy guides published for that edition to confirm we're looking at a very achievable Platinum Trophy on PS5. PSN Profiles lists just one missable Trophy, which requires you to "complete 20 story missions without switching to a new horse at a hitching post". The advice is to never hitch your horse after earning one from the Bonnie mission, and never use horse deeds or let your horse die. There are certain situations involving this Trophy you'll want to be aware of, though, so check the site for all the details. Anyone who owns the PS4 version of Red Dead Redemption gets a free upgrade, and the PS5 edition is also launching straight into PS Plus Extra tomorrow, 2nd December. It's not known yet if the PS5 version will also be folded into the GTA+ subscription service. Will you try to earn the Red Dead Redemption PS5 Platinum Trophy? Let us know in the comments below.

The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red is reportedly sticking to its plan to release not one, not two, but three new games within a six year period. To be clear, the company's referring to the new trilogy, which starts with The Witcher 4. The Ciri-led adventure doesn't have a release date (or even a release window) yet, but the idea is that once it's out, you won't have to wait too long for The Witcher 5 and The Witcher 6. "As we had stated before, our plan still is to launch the whole trilogy within a six-year period," co-CEO Michal Nowakowski reiterated during a recent financial call. Nowakowski suggests that the (much) shorter development cycle will be, in part, thanks to the studio's move to Unreal Engine 5: "We've been using Unreal Engine 5 for The Witcher 4 for four years now, and we're very happy with what we've achieved." But it's hard not to be cynical, isn't it? CD Projekt Red is, rather infamously, a company that has a history of lengthy development and release delays. And on top of that, its two biggest hits — The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 — required significant post-launch support to get them in good shape. It's difficult to envision a future where we get three new Witcher titles in the space of six years, then — even if Unreal Engine 5 turns out to be the developer's holy grail. In truth, we think Nowakowski is just bigging the company up for the sake of its shareholders here, but it'll still be interesting to see what the next decade or so brings for CDPR as a whole. Can you ever see Ciri's whole trilogy releasing in such a timeframe? Show us some Geralt-style cynicism in the comments section below.

With awards season just a few weeks away, Sony's official PlayStation Blog has opened all of its Game of the Year 2025 deliberations to the public, allowing PS5, PS4 fans to vote for their favourite titles released this year. Voting across 19 categories is live now until midnight on Tuesday, 9th December, giving you a full week to consider your picks and then submit them. You can do so through the link, with the following categories available: Best New Character Best Story Best Graphical Showcase Best Art Direction Best Audio Design Best Soundtrack Best Accessibility Features Best Use of DualSense Best Rerelease (Remaster) Best Multiplayer Experience Best Ongoing Game Best Expansion Best Sports Game Best Independent Game Best PSVR2 Game Best PS4 Game Best PS5 Game Studio of the Year Most Anticipated Game of 2026 and Beyond While each category does list a handful of titles to vote for, there's also the option to input your own entry, even if it's not present. Therefore, there isn't really a definitive list of nominees; PlayStation is accepting anything. The results will be revealed in a few weeks, with the winners receiving the same accolades as our category GOTY articles: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Trophies. Of course, our own Game of the Year deliberations will begin around Christmas time, and the likes of Ghost of Yotei and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have already picked up a few awards. We suspect they shall be strong contenders for other outlets and the PlayStation Blog awards, too. What are you voting for? Let us know in the comments below.

If even one of the biggest games in the world, with all the money it generates on a daily basis, is now embracing AI tools for art production, how much hope is there left? Following the end of the Zero Hour live event this weekend and the beginning of Season 7, Fortnite players have started pointing out parts of the map and in-game items that look suspiciously AI-generated. The game's main Reddit page (via Eurogamer) has now been taken over by posts debating the suspected images and items, with some accusing them of being AI and others pulling up artist defences. The two main examples people are pointing to are in-game posters. The first can be seen below, which features an animal relaxing in a hammock, with its legs dangling over the side. Its right foot has five toes, but its left foot has four. Then, an advertisement for a piece of jewelry in-game has been accused of having the trademark "AI smudge": Further, a new emote in the game uses an AI-generated song from a K-pop artist. There were accusations surrounding a new Spray that looked to have used the infamous Studio Ghibli AI filter, but the artist has come out and denied the claims. The game's Reddit page is now running a poll to gather the community's thoughts on the potential use of AI in Fortnite. So far, following more than 2,000 votes, 84% of the community thinks AI "doesn't belong in Fortnite or other video games". This follows on from the use of AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, where it appears AI was used to generate certain Calling Cards and art assets. At the time, Activision said it uses "a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players". Epic Games founder (the developer behind Fortnite) Tim Sweeney seems in favour of the use of AI in video game development, as he's spoken publicly about storefronts dropping the sort of AI disclaimers you currently see on Steam. "The AI tag is relevant to art exhibits for authorship disclosure, and to digital content licensing marketplaces where buyers need to understand the rights situation. It makes no sense for game stores, where AI will be involved in nearly all future production," he claimed last week. What do you make of this situation? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

If you enjoyed building simple (or complex) vehicles to solve puzzles in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, then you’ll absolutely love what PS5 open world Where Winds Meet is cooking. The game, which launched globally last month, is getting a massive update in China which will see it incorporate mechanics where you can build simple cars, boats, and aircrafts. It works similarly to Nintendo’s flagship franchise, where you combine components to construct your makeshift machines. For example, a plank of wood paired with four wheels and an engine will give you a basic car. Add steering to give yourself more manoeuvrability. You’ll be able to save builds and share them with other players, while the blueprint for a helicopter-type aircraft known as the Flying Chicken will serve as the mode’s tutorial, and will be given to all players for free. We must stress that Where Winds Meet has been available in China for over a year now, so the global servers you’re likely to be playing on are many months behind. That means you shouldn’t expect this feature to roll out globally for quite some time. The good news is that dev Everstone Studios should have ample time to test out the feature and refine it, meaning we should hopefully get a more polished version of the system when it eventually releases overseas. As an aside, the mobile edition of Where Winds Meet is scheduled to release on 12th December will full crossplay across all platforms. Pre-load is available on iOS and Android now. Furthermore, the wuxia outing has now attracted nine million players across all platforms in just two weeks, making it another incredible success story.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been a pretty steady Steam performer since it was introduced to the platform back in 2019; especially over the last three or four years where it regularly hits about 10k concurrent players at peak times. Over this past weekend though, the collection peaked a little higher than usual; hitting a Steam player count not seen since late 2021. Yep, over the weekend, Halo: MCC surpassed 12k players on Steam for the first time since December 2021. To be specific, the title brought in 12,306 players on Sunday, November 30th - in what's turned out to be the game's most popular day on the platform in almost four years. The game is currently discounted pretty heavily as part of the Steam Black Friday sale, which may have contributed to this. Of course, this isn't a huge increase on the norm, but it is interesting to see the game hit this 3-4 year high over the weekend. Halo Infinite recently got its final major update, so maybe some of those players are moving over to MCC now? Maybe it simply had a small bump from that Black Friday sale we mentioned? Either way, the collection enjoyed a successful weekend it seems. If you'd like to take a look at what's included in said final Halo Infinite update, we'll chuck a link to that news down below, alongside last year's feature on how Halo: MCC has turned things around massively since 2014. It's been quite the decade for Xbox's big Halo collection!