Epic has spent the past few years trying as hard as it can to will the Fortnite metaverse into being--and now, at the end of 2025, it's actually starting to look like it's getting there. Things are still very messy, but Epic's moves in that direction--which frequently seem to involve trying random things just to see what happens--may have finally borne fruit.

Back at the end of 2023, Fortnite attempted to usher in its metaverse in earnest by launching Fortnite Festival, Rocket Racing, and Lego Fortnite all at once. It didn't quite work, because all three were half-baked and missing key features. The only way to play Racing was in Ranked, Festival lacked instrument support and still doesn't have a practice mode, and Lego Fortnite had the feel of a generic early-access survival game wearing Lego clothing.

Two years later, we've got a much prettier picture, but not because Epic went all in on those modes. Instead, Epic has simply kept churning out new modes, some of which have done consistently. Likewise, Fortnite Creative has produced its first blockbuster map with any staying power. Thanks to some key legal victories, Fortnite is once again available on mobile devices in most places, which has dramatically increased the game's potential footprint. And the new cosmetic types added in the past year have proven a lot more popular than the cars and musical instruments that were introduced in Chapter 5.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Drop into the lagoon in Donkey Kong Bananza. Sure, you need to chase Void Kong to the Earth's center to save the day, but maybe you just want to soak in some water-adjacent locales as you explore this new world beneath the surface. There are plenty of secrets tucked away in each level's hidden crevices. When you first hop in there is really only one thing to do: pick a direction and start smashing.

Donkey Kong Bananza takes Nintendo's hallmark sandbox exploration and pushes it somewhere the studio rarely goes--pure chaos. Bananza is not interested in the kind of precision platforming that defines Mario's visits to Peach's Castle, Delfino Plaza, or outer space. It captures that same cheerful vibe, but lets players rip through it.

There is a long-running design idea at Nintendo that movement should feel good on its own. Shigeru Miyamoto once said he wanted players to enjoy moving Mario around an empty room. The reason Mario is so fun to control in Super Mario 64 is that Miyamoto and the small team behind the N64 classic spent months making sure he felt great to play, even if the only action possible was running around an empty space.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Headset (Gen 2)

$180 (was $200)

See at Amazon

If you're looking for a headset for your new gaming console, handheld, or PC, one of the best options for all devices is on sale at Amazon. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is discounted to $180 (was $200) for a limited time. Released in October, the Nova 7 Gen 2 is updated version of one of the best wireless gaming headsets you can buy today.

You can choose between the Nova 7P (PlayStation), Nova 7X (Xbox), or Nova 7 (PC) in black, white, or magenta. The 7X offers wireless support for all platforms, while the 7P and 7 work on all devices except Xbox consoles. If you game on Switch 1/2, mobile, Steam Deck, or another device with USB-C or Bluetooth audio support, any of the three versions will work great. For a more premium wireless headset, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is on sale for $300 (was $380).

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Headset (Gen 2) $180 (was $200)

When considering price, audio performance, and comfort, the Arctis Nova 7 was hard to beat when it launched back in 2022. That remains true over three years later with the Gen 2 model, which offers 40% better battery life--over 50 hours compared to 38 hours--and adds support for the Arctis Companion App.

The free iOS and Android app lets you adjust audio settings and switch between over 200 custom sound profiles designed for specific games. Along with these 2.4GHz Wireless profiles, there are a handful of Bluetooth profiles, including Bass Boost and Focus, that come in handy when using the Nova 7 to listen to music.

The original Nova 7 worked with the SteelSeries GG desktop app for PC and Mac, but the mobile app is easier to use and allows you to adjust audio settings on the go. The Arctis Companion App was introduced in 2024 alongside the entry-level Nova 5 Wireless Headset, and it only works with select SteelSeries audio gear.

If you own the first-generation Nova 7, upgrading probably might make sense if you take your headset with you during your daily commute or use it frequently for handheld gaming. But if Arctis Companion App integration isn't of interest to you, you'll want to stick with the original. But for everyone else, the Nova 7 Gen 2 is a terrific all-around gaming headset that remains my favorite in the $200 and under category.

SteelSeries designs the most comfortable gaming headsets on the market, and the Nova 7 is no exception. The adjustable elastic headband and lightweight, memory foam ear cushions are superb, and the sturdy steel frame holds up well. The custom 40mm neodymium audio drivers offer rich, high-fidelity sound; the audio is even more impressive and dynamic when using the custom presets created by SteelSeries. It has a retractable boom mic with AI noise reduction to block out ambient noise like keyboard and controller clicks.

Along with 2.4GHz Wireless with the included USB-C dongle, the Nova 7 supports Bluetooth and wired via a detachable 3.5mm audio cord. It also has simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth audio streams, so you can stay connected and hear sound from two devices at once.

See at Amazon Nova 7 vs. 7P vs. 7XSteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 (Gen 2)

As mentioned, there are three versions of the Nova 7 Gen 2. In the past, SteelSeries has included green or blue accents on the headset to differentiate between the Xbox and PlayStation editions, but the Gen 2 looks the same across the board. The only tangible difference between the three is the dial on the right earcup. The Nova 7X and 7 have a game chatmix dial, but since the PS5 doesn't have this feature, the Nova 7P has a Sidetone dial for mic monitoring.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Is there a more infamous monkey-paw wish than the collective dream that all our favorite games could last forever? Well, the finger curled, because it seems like all major game publishers in the world only want to make games that go on to infinity.

With the rise of live-service games, it's been a struggle to know when to put the controller down, especially when games like Fortnite release seasonal content like The Simpsons season pass that ask you to play long enough to unlock stupid sexy Flanders. Luckily, for us, episodic games, perfectly portioned into bite-sized morsels, have come back to rescue us from the endless grind.

In this case, I am talking specifically about Dispatch, the new episodic superhero game from AdHoc Studio. If the name is unfamiliar to you, AdHoc is a new game company founded by former members of Ubisoft, Night School, and perhaps most notably, Telltale Games, who blew up the episodic gaming scene with 2012's The Walking Dead. The studio would later close due to a variety of factors internal and external, some of which I covered previously as a reporter. But by then, the episodic-games formula was starting to feel a bit played out, and the mood appeared to be shifting towards either more complete single-player experiences, or the early live-service games we know today.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

In November 2017, Bethesda Softworks and port specialists Panic Button performed what seemed like a miracle: They released a Switch port for id Software's recent reboot of Doom. The game, a famously fast-paced, intense shooter with modern graphics, seemed ill-suited to Nintendo's handheld and its capabilities, but despite some visual blurriness and a reduction in the frame rate, the game held up well on the hybrid system. In GameSpot's 8/10 review of the Switch port, Peter Brown praised the game as "an impressive port that begs you to consider gameplay over graphics."

Doom was the first Switch "impossible port," a colloquial term that players took to using whenever a third-party game designed for much more powerful hardware arrived on the Switch in pretty good shape. Over the course of the system's lifespan, it would receive many more so-called impossible ports, including versions of Wolfenstein 2: The New Collossus, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, The Witcher 3, No Man's Sky, and Ace Combat 7--large, visually-intensive, action-heavy games, all of them translated to the system with immaculate care. Seeing how the Switch handled these games was always exciting--even when the ports were less-than-ideal, there was still something special about seeing them run on a handheld from 2017.

Prior to the Switch 2's launch this year, Nintendo, in typical fashion, did not tell us much about what the Switch 2 was capable of on a technical level. We knew that the new 7.9-inch 1080p screen was capable of displaying gameplay at up to 120fps and was HDR-compliant. Nvidia announced that the system's custom chip would allow for DLSS, which is capable of upscaling games regardless of native resolution, and that the new system would be, of course, much more powerful than the old one. For early adopters, though, the system's first six-plus months of availability has involved a lot of curiosity over what the system can and can't do, speculating on what games the system could or couldn't handle, and pondering just how close these ports can come to other console versions.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

When it comes to Roblox games, Blox Fruits might just be the biggest, and that doubles for both popularity and scope. With a level cap of a whopping 2800, working your way up from the beginning is one hell of a journey. Luckily, we’re here to help you with Blox Fruits leveling and offer some small tips that’ll help you as you battle enemies and try to get more powerful in this thrilling Roblox experience.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Blox Fruits Leveling Explained

Blox Fruits Leveling Explained

There are plenty of ways to level up in Blox Fruits, and even more reasons for doing so. Naturally, like any other RPG, you will get stronger with every level, and this is the key to taking on more powerful enemies on different islands.

For clarity, leveling up will give you access to several new things, including:

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Earth Directorate Commander Ash was sent to settle a labor strike issue on behalf of Auntie's Choice, in an effort to gain favor with the corporate conglomerate. A bit of an outlaw, and someone who excels in shooting, lockpicking, and smooth-talking, I felt like my character was primed to work out a result that was favorable for the workers without too much of an issue.

I was able to enter the closed-off facility and even nab some blackmail on the manager in charge before confronting her directly about the labor strike. I conveyed the workers' demands, and expected to be able to convince her to see things my way--after all, I invested a decent amount of points in speech.

It quickly became clear that no amount of talking was going to solve this dispute. As far as the manager was concerned, any concessions she might make would prevent the factory from hitting its quota. Someone with engineering or hacking skills may have been able to solve this issue by messing with the equipment in the factory, but my character wasn't built for that. My character was good at three things, and I'd already exhausted the lockpicking and talking options.

Continue Reading at GameSpot