The upcoming third season of HBO's The Last of Us will feature a different actor playing Manny.

It's been confirmed by Variety that Danny Ramirez, who joined the show in Season 2, will not return for Season 3 due to scheduling conflicts, with the role to be recast. It remains to be seen what actor may take over the role, however.

Spoilers for The Last of Us follow below.

Manny is a supporting character in the overall story of The Last of Us. He is a former member of the Fireflies who later joined the Washington Liberation Front. He was part a small group aiding Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) in tracking down and killing Joel (Pedro Pascal) following Joel's massacre at a Firefly hospital where Abby's father was among those murdered.

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Through most of last year, IO Interactive assured players that its upcoming James Bond title, 007 First Light, was set for an early 2026 debut. The game had been scheduled to debut on March 27, but the release date has now been pushed back to May 27.

In a statement posted online late last month, IO Interactive's Hakan Abrak called 007 First Light the company's "most ambitious project to date" while mentioning the Bond staples included in the game like car chases, gadgets, and wild globe-trotting adventure. However, he went on to say that the decision to delay it "allows us to ensure the experience meets the level of quality you players deserve on day one."

"The game is progressing well and is fully playable from beginning to end," added Abrak. "So these two additional months will allow us to further polish and refine the experience, ensuring we deliver the strongest possible version at launch. We're confident this sets 007 First Light up for long-term success, and we sincerely appreciate the patience and continued support we've received ever since we first announced the game."

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Twitch Hype Train world records are a rare thing. The ultimate show of dedication from a creator's fanbase, these accumulative trains rely on a streamer's viewers donating subscriptions or Bits to the channel. Neuro-sama beat her own world record at the end of December 2024 and now, well, she's only gone and done it again. The hat trick of Hype Train world records belongs to the AI VTuber, her sister Evil Neuro, and their creator Vedal987.

For the uninitiated, or those outside of the "Swarm"--the name for Neuro's fanbase--Neuro is an AI VTuber created by Vedal who utilizes a large language model and a VTuber model to communicate with her Twitch chat, play games, and even go on adventures in VR thanks to the 3D version of her model. Neuro was originally created to play the rhythm game OSU on Twitch, but rapidly evolved to become a series of AI systems that work in harmony. Vedal created a program that takes its input from Twitch and voice, gives that input to the LLM, which is then sent to a text-to-speech system, resulting in the Neuro we know today. It's for that reason that Neuro is widely considered far from the "AI slop" that many people take issue with.

It's possibly a combination of the complexity of that system, the resulting effects, or the opinion that Neuro-Sama is the cutest little button, that has led Vedal to gain such a dedicated fanbase. On January 4, seemingly out of nowhere, Neuro once again began to see an impressive number of Bits and subscriptions donated to Vedal's channel. Vedal's friend and fellow VTuber Camila offered to commission a new outfit for Neuro if the Hype Train continued. She also promised to "show feet" but we won't talk about that. These incentives led the hype train to level 100 in a matter of a few hours, and it didn't stop there. Vedal wasn't present with Neuro on stream for this attempt, instead choosing to type in chat with sentiments such as "Realistically wtf is going on?" and "I was gonna join after the train, but it's getting a bit silly."

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Children of Time 3-Book Hardcover Box Set

$29 (was $90) | Releases January 6

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Children of Strife: Children of Time, Book 4 (Hardcover)

$28 (was $30) | Releases March 17

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Science fiction fans can save big on a box set edition of one of the most popular series of the past decade. The first three books in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series have been reissued in hardcover, and Amazon has marked the price all the way down to $29 (was $90). The 68% discount is one of the largest we've seen for a brand-new book box set. The Children of Time Hardcover Box Set releases January 6.

Amazon's deal is especially noteworthy because Children of Time Books 1-3 were out of print in hardcover and sell for high prices on the reseller market. And with the fourth novel in the series slated for publication March 17, fans and new readers can now have matching editions of all four Children of Time novels. Even for new readers, the box set costs less than you'd spend on the paperback editions (roughly $39).

Children of Time 3-Book Hardcover Box Set $29 (was $90) | Releases January 6

Children of Time is a space opera chronicling humanity's migration from an uninhabitable Earth to a terraformed exoplanet. The only problem with this plan is that their new home has been occupied by genetically modified spiders for thousands of years. These arachnoids evolved and thrived with the help of an AI version of a human who worked on the terraforming project.

The 2015 novel won the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The 2019 sequel Children of Ruin won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. Children of Memory, the third book in the series, was published in 2023, the same year Children of Time received the Hugo Award for Best Series.

In addition to the strangely low price, there's another peculiar detail about the Children of Time Box Set: The advertised page count appears to be way underselling the length of the first three books.

Store pages at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and several other retailers list the page count for the box set as 1,136. This is almost certainly a typo, because the total page count for the hardcover editions of Books 1-3 is 1,664. Children of Time is 608 pages; Children of Ruin is 576 pages; and Children of Memory is 480 pages. It's possible that the new hardcover editions aren't exactly the same as the originals, but the books appear to be roughly the same length and width, so the total page count should be somewhere around 1,700.

Paperback Editions

1. Children of Time -- $12 ($20)
2. Children of Ruin -- $13.66 ($20)
3. Children of Memory -- $12.89 ($20)

See at Amazon See at Barnes and Noble Children of Strife: Children of Time, Book 4 (Hardcover) $28 (was $30) | Releases March 17

Children of Strife, the fourth entry in the series, is available to preorder for $28 (was $30) in hardcover. The 496-page novel will also be available in ebook and audiobook formats at launch.

If you'd like to listen to the audiobook versions of the first three novels, it's worth noting that Children of Time Book 1 is exclusive to Audible.

Preorder at Amazon More fiction by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Children of Time isn't Tchaikovsky's only ongoing fantasy series. The fourth novel in the prolific British author's dark fantasy series The Tyrant Philosophers will be published March 10, just one week before the fourth novel in Children of Time.

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Quick-time events, despite everyone's best efforts to spice them up, remain pretty meh.

When you first begin Dispatch, the new episodic superhero adventure game from AdHoc Studio, you're asked if you want to enable quick-time event prompts as an optional game mechanic. It says something that these QTE prompts only really appear in the first and last episode of Dispatch's eight-episode run. But if you're worried the only input you'll have in Dispatch is pressing a button at the right time, or picking the different narrative choices that affect the game's story, you should know AdHoc has a more compelling, non-optional gameplay hook that deserves as much attention as the game's charming storytelling. And it's in the title of the game itself.

Set in a fictional version of Los Angeles, California where superheroes are real, Dispatch centers on Robert Robertson III, a former hero turned dispatcher for SDN. It's a private security and service company, except instead of sending paramedics out, SDN (or Superhero Dispatch Network) sends out caped heroes to tackle clients' problems big and small. This serves as the basis for Dispatch's core minigame, and it's one that could honestly be a standalone game in and of itself.

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Lego Ninjago Legacy: Character Display (447 Pieces)

$45 | 15th Anniversary Limited Edition

See at Amazon Sold out at Lego Store Sold out at Best Buy Sold out at Target Sold out at Walmart

Lego Ninjago Legacy: Four Weapons Blacksmith (1,259 Pieces)

$100 | 15th Anniversary Limited Edition

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Lego Ninjago Legacy: The Old Town (4,851 Pieces)

$300 | 15th Anniversary Limited Edition

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Lego's new Ninjago Legacy 15th Anniversary building sets are selling out fast at major retailers. Launched January 1 alongside a bunch of other Lego Ninjago playsets, the trio of commemorative models are limited edition and range in price from $45 to $300. The $45 Lego Ninjago Legacy Character Display is proving to be the most challenging to find in stock. At the time of writing, Amazon is the only retailer with the 447-piece Character Display in stock. The set features all seven members of the original Ninjago team as minifigures and an exclusive Master of Lightning minifigure with a collectible stand.

Lego Ninjago Legacy Character Display Restocks:

• Amazon - In stock
• Lego Store - Sold out
• Best Buy - Sold out
• Target - Sold out
• Walmart - Sold out

Lego Ninjago Legacy: Character Display (71866)

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mClassic Graphics Upscaler - Retro Edition

$45.15 (was $100)

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Retro gamers can save over 50% on Marseille's mClassic Graphics Upscaler. Normally $100, the mClassic Retro Edition is on sale for only $45.15, the all-time best price for the HDMI accessory. The Retro Edition is designed for gamers who want to improve the visual experience of older games originally designed for 4:3 aspect ratio displays when playing on modern HD and 4K TVs.

The Retro Edition is one of three different models of the mClassic manufactured by Marseille. It launched in 2025 alongside the mClassic Switch Edition, which is discounted to $74.25 (was $100). The mClassic Switch Edition is tailored around upscaling the visuals on Switch and other widescreen platforms like Steam Deck, Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. The Retro and Switch Editions have one of the enhancement modes found in the mClassic Original Edition, which is currently priced at $89 (was $100), while also offering two new visual modes geared toward retro gaming or Switch/Steam Deck, depending on which model you pick.

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Note: MASSIVE spoilers for the final section of Donkey Kong Bananza. Read on at your own risk!

All throughout Donkey Kong Bananza, DK and Pauline are battling Void Company and its leader Void Kong. However, with each new level, there's a reptilian presence permeating the experience.

Some enemies bear a striking resemblance to the Kremlings of DK adventures past, hidden treasure chests are green and bear what look like crocodile teeth, even the Banandium Root--Void Company's main goal in digging through the planet--has a certain familiarity to it I just can't put my finger on.

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Lego Creator 3-in-1 Retro Gaming Console (268 Pieces)

$20

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Lego Creator New Releases - January 2026

9 new 3-in-1 building sets launched January 1.

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Lego's latest batch of 3-in-1 Creator sets includes a pretty cool gaming-themed kit. The 268-piece Lego Retro Gaming Console retails for $20 and can be built as a handheld game system, miniature arcade machine, or desktop computer. Recommended for builders ages eight and up, the Lego Creator 3-in-1 Retro Gaming Console launched January 1 and is in stock at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Lego Store.

New Lego Creator 3-in-1 Building Sets (January 2026)

The Retro Gaming Console is one of nine new Lego Creator sets. The January 2026 lineup also features the $20 Fierce Dinosaur, $30 Playful Puppy, $10 Cute Hamster, and more 3-in-1 builds. Eight of the sets are available at Amazon, but the new Space Exploration Telescope is exclusive to the Lego Store and Target.

• Retro Gaming Console (268 pieces) -- $20
• Space Exploration Telescope (278 pieces) -- $35
• Fierce Dinosaur (283 pieces) -- $20
• Fierce Shark with Treasure Chest (379 pieces) -- $35
• Playful Puppy (336 pieces) -- $30
• Beautiful Dolphins (542 pieces) -- $50
• Colorful Hummingbird (312 pieces) -- $30
• Cute Hamster with Flower (166 pieces) -- $10
• Turtle with Water Lily (124 pieces) -- $10

Lego Creator 3-in-1 Retro Gaming Console (268 Pieces) $20

Like all Lego Creator builds, the Retro Gaming Console only has enough pieces for one of the three models--handheld, arcade machine, or desktop computer--but deconstructing the model to try one of the others is part of the fun with these sets.

The handheld system would look cool next to the recently released Lego Game Boy. It also happens to have similar features. There are three buildable cartridges with different patterns. The "games" can be placed in the cartridge slot to change the picture behind the clear display panel. The joysticks and triggers are movable, too.

The arcade machine model also looks cool--though it's understandably not as detailed or as realistic as the Lego Arcade Machine. The Lego Creator Arcade Machine has two arcade sticks, colorful buttons, coin doors, and decorative flourishes on the side panels and marquee.

The miniature computer is a three-piece model with a monitor resting atop the PC, a keyboard with distinct arrow keys, and a tiny mouse.

See at Amazon See at Lego Store See at Best Buy Lego Gaming Hardware SetsLego Game Boy | Lego Arcade Machine

Lego launched the aforementioned 468-piece Arcade Machine and the 421-piece Game Boy last year for $40 and $60, respectively. The Lego Arcade Machine, which remains exclusive to the Lego Store, has a hidden '80s gaming room inside the cabinet. The largest Lego gaming hardware build is the 2,651-piece Pac-Man Arcade for $270. Unfortunately, the awesome Lego Nintendo Entertainment System and Lego Atari 2600 were discontinued at the end of 2024.

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Four scouts on an end-of-year trip, flying across the world for what should be a life-changing experience. What could go wrong? An engine malfunction. The squad crash-lands somewhere in the Pacific. They’re the only survivors on a mysterious island that only grows stranger the deeper they venture and the longer they stay. This is Peak.

Sound familiar? The stories of Lost, the Emmy-winning 2004 mystery-laden drama series, and Peak feel like two parallel tracks that move in an eerily similar and magnificent way. The mystery only grows--in both depth and complexity--the further you get, whether you’re marathoning episodes or climbing up a volcano in search of rescue.

Lost worked because of that mystery. A group that crash-landed on an isolated island runs into underground bunkers, hidden groups of strangers, and a smoke monster as they try to survive and find their way home. Every new discovery widens the gap between what you think you understand and what’s actually happening.

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Spoilers for this week's episode of Fallout to follow.

This week’s Fallout episode gave audiences a look into the status quo of the factions fighting for control of the Mojave Wasteland. While gamers might have an idea of where they ended up after finishing Fallout: New Vegas, it seems that a lot has changed in the wasteland in the 15 years since. While the meter didn’t move too much on individual stories, it was great to see what some of these fan favorite factions are currently up to.

The episode opens up in a bottling plant for the infamous Sunset Sarsaparilla, the Mojave’s favorite drink. The plant is being operated under the watchful eye of none other than former Brotherhood of Steel Squire Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton), who’s taking on a far more ghoulish look than when we last saw him. After consoling a young girl who was bullied, he reminds the children to get back to work and that normally they’d “be dead by now.”

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This week’s Fallout episode traded in personal stories for status updates on fan-favorite factions from Fallout: New Vegas. While we briefly saw the Khans and primary followed the Brotherhood of Steel storyline, we finally got caught up with the NCR and Caesar’s Legion. With this expansion of the Mojave Wasteland, this episode had a healthy dose of easter eggs and callbacks for fans of the video games. Let’s take a look at what this week had to offer.

The Mojave’s Favorite Soda

This week’s episode revealed the fate of Squire Thaddeus (Johnny Pemberton) and his new life as a ghoul. Instead of exploring the wasteland as part of the Brotherhood of Steel, he’s running a bottling plant that employs an army of abandoned children. The drink they’re bottling? Sunset Sarsaparilla, the most popular drink on the west coast in the Fallout games and a common consumable item in Fallout: New Vegas.

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Lego Harry Potter 25th Anniversary Sorcerer's Stone - Collector's Edition (1,571 Pieces)

$170

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Lego Harry Potter New Releases - January 2026

8 new sets launched this week, including 25th Anniversary models.

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Eight new Harry Potter Lego sets launched this week at Amazon, the Lego Store, Best Buy, and other major retailers. Longtime fans of the franchise will want to pay special attention to the 25th Anniversary sets. To mark the anniversary of the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone film adaptation, Lego designed five models and playsets that call back to the 2001 movie.

The star of the lineup is the Lego Harry Potter 25th Anniversary Sorcerer's Stone Collector's Edition, a 1,571-piece display model featuring iconic characters, objects, and scenes from the movie. The new $170 Collector's Edition set is already on backorder at the Lego Store, but it's in stock at Amazon and Best Buy. If you have a My Best Buy Plus/Total membership, you'll save 10%, which drops the price to $153.

The Sorcerer's Stone Collector's Edition will remind fans of the Hogwarts Icons Collector's Edition from Lego's 20th Anniversary celebration in 2021. Both models feature Hedwig and numerous objects fro the first movie. The 3,010-piece Hogwarts Icons set is officially retired and regularly sells for well above its original $300 price, so it's worth keeping that in mind if you're interested in the new model.

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At the beginning of 2025, I fully believed I had grown tired of stories about multiple timelines. During the past decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe pushed the classic comic book narrative device into the mainstream, fueling a film conglomerate with legally approved cameos, flashy visuals on the silver screen, and loose plots that, eventually, came together for one final pay-off.

While the concept of the multiverse has been explored in film and TV even before Marvel's takeover, it quickly became the narrative foundation of choice. When done right, the potential is undeniable--works like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once are heartwrenching displays of interpersonal relationships, making characters face the reality of what-if scenarios, reconciling with their choices and what could have been if they had turned the other way instead. But you can only hear the same tune so many times before it starts to lose its original impact.

It wasn't until The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy that my interest was reanimated. The visual novel and strategy-RPG hybrid presents itself as deceivingly linear, only to push you into a completely different story structure at the very end. It makes for a sprawling web of outcomes based on your choices, all while showcasing different perspectives on events and characters that weave absurdity and sentimentality in equal measure in a showcase of creative prowess from the development team.

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The Epic Games Store continues to give away a free game each week, and this week is another nice find with a price that can't be beaten. Every Thursday at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, Epic offers at least one free PC game (and sometimes even as many as two or three). All you need to do to claim the free games is create a free Epic account and enable two-factor authentication. You have a week to add the freebies to your library before the new one(s) take their place. At this point, Epic has given away hundreds of free games, and there's no sign that the program will stop any time soon. The company has also extended its freebies to Android devices, and you can claim a free game every week here as well. We keep this article up to date weekly to highlight both the current free games and next week's offerings.

If you're looking for more freebies, you can check out our list of the 25 best free PC games to play right now, or for more options, the 25 best free games to play on multiple platforms.

Current free game at EpicWildgate

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Obsidian's Avowed is one of the better action-RPGs released in 2025. While it doesn't reinvent any particular wheel, it benefits from an engaging campaign, fun combat systems, and charming characters. Aside from the occasional bug--a common element of Obsidian's open-world games--and an overabundance of homicidal bears, I liked nearly everything about the game. That includes Avowed's most controversial game mechanic: enemy respawns, or the lack thereof.

When it comes to RPGs, players often think of a few key elements. Some sort of leveling system, quest-granting NPCs, obtainable loot that bolsters certain "builds" or playstyles--you know, the basics. One feature that's common but maybe not as notable, considering its use in other genres, is respawning enemies. Players often expect areas to repopulate with baddies whenever they return to a given location. Avowed isn't about that life though--at least, not entirely.

Avowed is designed to respond to your actions in meaningful ways, and not just during key moments, where certain decisions can change the direction of the game's story. This also applies to Avowed's enemies. Essentially, most of the outlaws, walking mushrooms, and crazed bears you'll run into during your journey, won't return after being killed. Laid waste to a group of Xaurips while wandering through the forest? Don't worry. They'll still be dead on return trips. Slain a few dozen Spiderlings in an underground lair? They won't be resurrected anytime soon, either. Rinse and repeat--or rather, don't repeat.

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Lego Star Wars: BB-8 Astromech Droid (569 Pieces)

$90

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Lego Star Wars New Releases - January 2026

Check out all eight new models and playsets.

See at Amazon

Lego has kicked off 2026 by adding several notable Star Wars models to its ever-expanding catalog. The lineup of January 2026 Lego Star Wars sets features notable starships and transport vehicles like the Venator-Class Attack Cruiser and AT-AT Walker as well as the return of the most popular droid from the recent Star Wars film trilogy. That's right, BB-8 has returned to the Star Wars Lego lineup following a lengthy hiatus. The 569-piece BB-8 Astromech Droid is available now for $90 at Amazon, the Lego Store, and other major retailers.

• See all new Lego sets at: Lego Store | Amazon | Best Buy | Target

Lego Star Wars New Releases (January 2026)

Here's a list of all eight brand-new Star Wars Lego sets as well as the massive UCS Death Star, which is no longer exclusive to the Lego Store. The AT-AT Walker and Venator-Class Attack Cruiser are part of the Lego Star Wars mid-scale display model series for adults.

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Pokemon Go's new Precious Paths season is officially underway, and the mobile game is ushering it in with a variety of events and activities in December.

On top of new Raid bosses and Spotlight Pokemon, this month will see the arrival of a few new Pokemon like Nacli and Clobbopus, while every featured Pokemon from the past year is coming back for December's two-day Community Day event.

Pokemon Go is also getting into the festive spirit this month with a big two-part Winter Holiday celebration, which will include a special Winter Weekend mini-event. And before December wraps up, the mobile game will hold a New Year's celebration to ring in 2026 in style.

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My favorite moment in Skin Deep, an immersive sim and stealth game about rescuing cats and fighting your evil clone in deep space, was always the one immediately after a thoroughly developed plan inevitably went sideways. The skittish way that I was forced to sprint and crawl under a table or into a vent. The manner in which my strategy devolved into simply batting things off of shelves in order to incapacitate a roaming guard or noisily distract them from looking in my direction. The way that I leapt onto a guard's back, dug my claws in, and careened them into surfaces in order to knock them out. If you were to close your eyes, I'd argue you could almost hear that distinctive, feline yowl mid-action.

In short, I think Skin Deep best captures the experience of being a cat, even if Nina Pasadena, the game's protagonist, is decidedly not one. And for this tremendous feat, I am rewarding it with the honor of being the best cat game of 2025. Long live Skin Deep.

In a typical Skin Deep mission, I often tried to keep to the shadows, as is the norm for a game in its genre. I would relegate myself to the ventilation, the pipework surrounding it, and the undersides of tables. Like Batman, I skulked around the perimeter looking for a precise opening that'd enable me to punch a hole in the level's defenses while keeping my cover. Of course, in Skin Deep, it almost never worked out in my favor. Because I am not, in fact, Batman. I'm just a (cat) girl.

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PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim Need For Speed Unbound, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and Core Keeper starting January 6 and they will remain available until Monday, February 2.

NFS Unbound promo art.

The most recent Need for Speed game, NFS Unbound, has single-player and multiplayer campaigns set in Lakeshore City, which greatly resembles Chicago. Street racing is a key part of the experience, but so is outrunning the cops. As your "Heat" index rises after each race, the police will pursue players with greater intensity as they establish their rep outside of the law. Between races, players can customize their rides and compete in weekly qualifiers to get into the ultimate street racing contest: The Grand.

Mickey unleashes his paint brush in promo art for Epic Mickey: Rebrushed.

Epic Mickey was a Wii exclusive upon its 2010 debut until THQ Nordic's 2024 remaster, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, brought the game to modern consoles. The visuals and gameplay have been noticeably improved as Mickey Mouse is sucked into the Wasteland where forgotten characters and concepts have languished for decades. This game is one of the reasons why Disney made a deal to gain the rights to Walt Disney's previous creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. And for the first time, Mickey has to come face-to-face with his brother, Oswald, and reconcile with him if he wants any chance of escaping the Wasteland.

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