Nintendo seemed slow to react to the evergreen status of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a humble Switch port of a Wii U game that surpassed all expectations by becoming the top-selling game on one of its most successful platforms. Mario Kart World, the banner game for the launch of the Switch 2, carries with it the expectation that of course this will be one of the games most associated with the system for its entire lifespan. The challenge was crafting a new game that felt sufficiently suited to carry those expectations. Due to its blend of skillful mechanical tweaks, lovely aesthetics, and a general design philosophy built around delightful surprises, this one will go the distance.

The biggest standout feature of Mario Kart World--the one that its name, identity, and many of its mechanics revolve around--is the world itself. For the first time in the series history the races aren't built as standalone tracks, but rather as part of a large contiguous map. Iconic locations like Bowser's Castle or Moo Moo Meadows are physical locations connected to each other through a series of highways and byways. The Grand Prix cups, the ostensible story campaign of a Mario Kart game, are just routes through this world the same way a real street race will block off a specific route.

Within that context, though, the races themselves are more dynamic than ever. Nintendo has started licensing its properties out for theme park attractions since the release of the last Mario Kart, and it's hard not to notice the roller coaster-like approach to these tracks. Like a well-designed ride, you're consistently confronted with surprises and obstacles that keep things visually interesting and mechanically exciting. A race along the savannah will feature adorably plump animals like a herd of zebra, while a desert area surprises you with the Easter Island-like Tokotoko enemies from Super Mario Land, and another track may fling you into the air or have you navigate choppy waters. It's a treat for longtime Nintendo fans, especially, as the wealth of references goes much deeper than it has before.

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The newly announced ROG Xbox Ally handheld devices from Asus play Microsoft's PC games, but what about PlayStation's PC games? You betcha they do.

A spokesperson for Microsoft told Game File, "Because these handhelds run Windows, you have access to all the games you can play on Windows PC," and that includes Sony's PC releases. Some of Sony's PC releases so far include Days Gone, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Helldivers 2, Ghost of Tsushima, and God of War Ragnark, among others.

Additionally, it's expected the new ROG Xbox Ally devices should be available for PlayStation remote play from your PS5.

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The Nintendo Switch 2 has arrived, but the new handheld is missing some apps, including the popular YouTube app. Google now confirms that YouTube is on the way, but we don't know how long players will have to wait.

The YouTube app is available through the Nintendo eShop, but it is currently exclusive to the original Switch, meaning players swapping over to the Switch 2 are unable to use the app. Some players are already reaching out on social media to ask for an app to be added, and Google has replied to one of the requests.

We're working with Nintendo to make YouTube available on the Switch 2 soon. For a list of devices YouTube is available on, head over here: https://t.co/1teYC2AvM5

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 7, 2025

The official TeamYouTube account says, "We're working with Nintendo to make YouTube available on the Switch 2 soon."

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Loyal fans of one of Bethesda's recent original blockbusters are losing hope that Starfield won't see any new content soon. Players have been voicing their concerns about the future of Starfield after the game was absent from the Xbox Showcase.

“What a complete disappointment,” said Redditor totallynormalpersonz, who was originally included in a report by IGN. “What a joke the only thing we ever hear from Bethesda about this game nowadays is stuff off the Creation Club. The Xbox showcase would have been the perfect time to show off something new for this game. Unfortunately Bethesda doesn't seem to care. Wouldn't surprise me if Bethesda has abandoned this game and are hoping the community will make content for them. This does not bode well for future Bethesda game studio projects.”

The lack of an update for Starfield was particularly annoying for fans as other Bethesda titles were front and center during the Xbox Showcase. Both The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 received their share of attention with new content, seasonal updates, and even some new fishing features. Bethesda had previously promised an "exciting" year for Starfield.

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Look, I get it. You're 200 hours into the build of your life when suddenly a Phantom drops from the sky, knocking you from your Happy Ghast, plunging you to a certain death. Minecraft is no joke--all that XP gone just because you hyper-focused on your new castle and forgot to sleep for a few nights. That's where Minecraft cheats and console commands can come in handy, if you just want a little more help without flipping between the Minecraft game modes to turn Creative mode on and off. We've got all the console commands your heart desires right here.

How to use cheats and console commands

Console commands, or cheats, are text commands you can enter into the in-game chat box to enable or disable certain features in Minecraft. While they're usually mostly used by developers during the creation of the game to test certain elements, they can be retained for use by players after the game releases.

Before you can choose the best cheat for your situation, you'll need to know how to use them. The process is slightly different for Java vs. Bedrock, and differs further depending on whether you're playing on a private world, a Realm, or a multiplayer server. If you're the owner of the world, Realm, or server, you can just head to the options menu and ensure console commands are turned on. If you don't own it, it's down to the person that does to decide whether they want to allow console commands.

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How do you play with your friends in Minecraft? It all depends which version of the game you're playing, as it's one of the many Java vs. Bedrock differences. We'll cover the prerequisites for joining friends in Minecraft, no matter which version you're playing, as well as troubleshoot some common issues found when trying to play Minecraft multiplayer.

Table of Contents [hide]

• How to join a friend's Minecraft world
  • How to join a friend on Bedrock
  How to join a friend's Minecraft world

  You can join friends in Minecraft via Realms or by playing together on a dedicated Minecraft server. In Bedrock, you can also join a friend's world directly. Firstly, you need to be friends on Minecraft, and both be online at the same time.

  How to join a friend on Bedrock

  To join a friend in Minecraft Bedrock, follow these steps:

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Mushrooms in everyday life are pretty standard. Not in Minecraft, though. Chuck some bonemeal on them and they have the potential to grow to intimidatingly towering heights. If you look carefully at specific Minecraft mobs, namely suspiciously red cows, you might find mushrooms growing on their backs. There are plenty of places to find mushrooms, and even more ways to use them. In this guide, we'll tell you all we need to know, including whether or not you can grow them in the same way as lots of other Minecraft crops.

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• How to get mushrooms in Minecraft

How to get mushrooms in Minecraft

Minecraft mushrooms can be found in a variety of locations. You can harvest them with anything. Mining a huge mushroom block will drop as many as two mushrooms of the same color, and having the Minecraft enchantment Fortune on your tools will not affect how many mushrooms are dropped.

A mushroom will break instantly and drop as itself if the block underneath it is moved or destroyed, if a fluid flows over it, or if the block next to it changes state.

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I walked out of my Summer Game Fest 2025 demo for Mixtape beaming like an idiot, a smile stuck on my face. I can't think of a game that has ever vibed as hard as Mixtape does. Beethoven & Dinosaur's debut, The Artful Escape, was a vibes game, too. Light on traditional gameplay mechanics and basically lacking any fail states, it instead leaned into aesthetics, mood, and tone. It was more of a feeling than a traditional game, but I loved it for that.

There are lots of vibes games, like Unpacking, Night in the Woods, and Firewatch, to name a few. I love a good vibes game, and Mixtape, the next game from the team behind The Artful Escape, feels like it could be the ultimate example. I played about 30 minutes of Mixtape and saw what you might call a few levels of the game, which plays like a '90s-set coming-of-age story but is meant to feel "sorta like channel-surfing [old-school] MTV at 3 AM," developer Johnny Galvatron told me.

In Mixtape, you play a group of three high-school pals on the cusp of graduating and looking to make it to a party on the beach to cap off their childhood. The party is going to rule if they can just get there, and each figurative step toward that end goal is played out to a different song that collectively makes up one of the best licensed soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game. Joy Division, The Cure, The Smashing Pumpkins, and many more bring so much life to this game. Something about the joining of gaming and music has always been incredibly powerful to me, and Mixtape's way of bringing these things together sincerely blew my mind.

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The Dark Pictures Anthology is up to its fifth horror story in the ongoing series. Supermassive creative director Will Doyle told me The Dark Pictures will go on "as long as people keep buying them," adding that the team has a list of nearly 40 horror subgenres it's interested in tackling in the future. But the next one, Directive 8020, is set on a spaceship, and though I expected it to play like Alien or Event Horizon, it's actually much closer to The Thing.

"Since we made [2015's] Until Dawn, we've had people saying to us, 'Make The Thing, make The Thing!' It fits our mechanics really well. We have multiple characters that you control. We have multiplayer components, you're playing different characters. And we have choices. So that kind of 'Who do you trust?' element just fits the mechanics of the games we make."

Doyle's right; it's a great fit. In the game's multiplayer mode, each player is assigned a character or multiple characters. These characters thus become your wards, in a sense. And it's always tough when you lose your character, yet your friends are able to press on with theirs. Typically, every one of these playable characters can live or die, so there's long been a fun social element baked into The Dark Pictures: Who can get their people out still breathing?

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Obviously, it's personal preference, but Nintendo GameCube has one of the most smile-inducing system startup sequences with its purple cubes rolling around to a catchy tune. Thankfully, Switch 2 owners can experience this delightful moment every time they open the GameCube app with one simple trick: holding the left stick in any direction.

The GameCube library is new to the Nintendo Classics collection with the introduction of Switch 2, though accessing it does require subscribing to the premium Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier ($50 annually for an individual, $80 for a family). As such, the regular bootup for the app just showcases the purple GameCube controller overlaid on a red background, similar to the Nintendo 64 or NES apps.

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Nintendo of America boss Doug Bowser has spoken up to assure people that the Switch 2 should be in stock through the holiday. Appearing on CBS Mornings, Bowser said Nintendo has a "steady supply of manufacturing" for the Switch 2 that should continue to make its way to retailers.

"We believe we'll be able to meet that demand all the way through the summer... and on into the holiday period," Bowser said.

The Switch 2's initial preorders sold through, and the console is still not in regular supply for anyone who wants one. You can consult GameSpot's Switch 2 buying guide to help secure a console for yourself.

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The Complete History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set

$106 (was $250)

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The Complete History of Middle-earth is on sale for a better price than we saw during last fall's Black Friday and Prime Big Deal Days sales at Amazon. You can get the entire 12-volume series in an enormous three-book, 5,440-page hardcover box set for $106 (was $250). Alternatively, all four of the 2024 hardcover box sets compiling The History of Middle-earth and The Silmarillion are eligible for Amazon's B1G1 50% off book sale this week. Plus, each of those decorative box sets is up for grabs for roughly 50% off on their own.

All History of Middle-earth Deals The Complete History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set $106 (was $250)

Published in 2020 with an MSRP of $250, The Complete History of Middle-earth is remarkably readable and well-made. Each volume comes with a dust jacket and the books are stored inside of a high-quality custom display case emblazoned with a Tolkien logo.

Based on Tolkien's legendarium--a massive collection of backstories, lore, and notes covering Middle-earth throughout thousands of years--The History of Middle-earth was originally published from 1983-1996. Christopher Tolkien, the author's son and literary executor, compiled, edited, and added to the legendarium to create 12 distinct books.

The Complete History of Middle-earth contains all 12 volumes in their original publication chronology:

1. Book of Lost Tales, Part I
2. Book of Lost Tales, Part II
3. The Lays of Beleriand
4. The Shaping of Middle-earth
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings
6. The Return of the Shadow
7. The Treason of Isengard
8. The War of the Ring
9. Sauron Defeated
10. Morgoth's Ring
11. The War of the Jewels
12. The Peoples of Middle-earth

At 5,440 pages across three books, it's probably safe to say that these would be the largest books on most fans' bookshelves. Each of the three volumes was also published individually on the same day as the box set, but at current prices, you'd spend more for two of them than you would for the box set.

• The Complete History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set (3 Books, 12 Volumes) -- $106 ($250)
  • Part 1 - Vol. 1-5 in Hardcover (1,920 pages) -- $64 ($80)
  • Part 2 - Vol. 6-9 in Hardcover (2,032 pages) -- $44.58 ($80)
  • Part 3 - Vol. 10-12 (1,488 pages) -- $53.85 ($80)

See at Amazon The History of Middle-earth Box Sets (2024) - B1G1 50% Off

Get all four box sets for $191.57 ($475)

• The History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set 1 (4 Books) -- $64.69 ($125) | B1G1 50% off
• The History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set 2 (3 Books) -- $56.24 ($100) | B1G1 50% off
• The History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set 3 (4 Books) -- $65.83 ($125) | B1G1 50% off
• The History of Middle-earth Hardcover Box Set 4 (4 Books) -- $65.85 ($125) | B1G1 50% off

History of Middle-earth 2024 Box Sets

Though The Complete History of Middle-earth is the most economical way to read all 12 volumes in physical format, the 2024 box sets are certainly worth a look, too. These gorgeous sets include splashy, fully illustrated dust jackets and display cases. If you prefer a more traditional look, the other side of the reversible dust jackets feature the original graphics with solid-color backgrounds.

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There are numerous ways to improve your skills and success in Mario Kart World, and not everything is totally obvious. As an example, it's been discovered that Mario Kart World brings back a feature from Mario Kart DS that allows players to get an edge they might have overlooked or been unaware of.

Clips on social media reveal that holding Boo item allows players to drive offroad without a speed penalty. Normally, it only makes sense to drive offroad if you have a mushroom to speed you up, but using Boo effectively helps you drive as if you have a mushroom. Beyond this, the Boo item makes players temporarily invisible and steals items from other players.

PSA for Mario Kart World ft. new Boo mechanics (just like DS days) pic.twitter.com/YEp20DGMPd

— Bear (@BearUNLV) June 6, 2025

What's more, it's been discovered that you can aim green shells left or right by moving the camera so your racer is looking in the desired direction. This is balanced out somewhat by virtue how players need to look away from where they are driving, making it a risk-reward tactic.

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Dying Light: The Beast was once going to be an expansion to the main game, but it grew to be so big that developer Techland eventually spun it off into a standalone experience. It's not Dying Light 3, but the team told me it feels The Beast is the best version of what the Dying Light series has been since it debuted a decade ago. I played 30 minutes of The Beast during Summer Game Fest Play Days 2025, and though its story still seems to be a comic-booky saga I struggle to get invested in, I'm definitely on board for some of what's it's bringing--and bringing back--to the series.

My demo started just before nightfall, and if you know Dying Light, you know it's not so easy to survive when the sun goes down. The new map in The Beast features a lot of forest area, which I really liked playing in. A developer told me the game is meant to be scarier than before, and the signature parkour gameplay has actually been dialed back a little bit to match The Beast protagonist Kyle Crane's canon abilities. He can't jump quite as far as Dying Light 2: Stay Human's Aiden Caldwell, which grounds the game a bit, even as so much of it remains over-the-top.

Crane is a fan-favorite protagonist from the first game and returns to this one on a revenge mission, chasing down the man who ruined his life. The story in these games resonates with a great number of its fans, but I've not counted myself among them. I don't expect The Beast to change that, but the series has always achieved its core gameplay goals, and that aspect seems well in place once more.

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Earlier this month, Hitman developer IO Interactive officially unveiled 007 First Light, the first James Bond game for consoles since 007 Legends in 2012. The first trailer for the game revealed a new origin story for Bond and the action that goes with it. However, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak recently stressed that 007 First Light is going to be about more than just James Bond shooting his way out of trouble.

"We don't want to make a game where it's only about shooting and running," Abrak told IGN. "It's also about delivering that fantasy for a Bond where he can traverse in social spaces and speak to people and figure out in creative ways how to solve the obstacles in front of him. So there's a lot that we know from from Hitman: World of Assassination that we brought into that, but James Bond is a very different experience than Hitman."

Abrak went on to explain that IO's game engine was modified to allow the team to create the "spectacular action set pieces" that James Bond is known for. That includes hand-to-hand combat as well as driving sequences, which are a staple of almost of every Bond film and video game.

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The Call of Duty series is an annual franchise, and Activision's 20-year streak of releasing new Call of Duty games every year continues in 2025 with the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The game was formally announced during the Xbox Games Showcase, and it's coming this year.

In this post, we're rounding up everything we know, and what's been rumored, about Black Ops 7. It's a notable release in part because this is the first time ever that Activision is releasing Black Ops games in back to back years.

Table of Contents [hide]

• What is Call of Duty 2025?

What is Call of Duty 2025?

This year's Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Announced at the Xbox Games Showcase, Black Ops 7 takes place in the year 2035 and is a sequel to both Black Ops 6 (set in the '90s) and Black Ops 2 (set in 2025). You can check out the cinematic announcement trailer below.

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Nintendo has delayed its live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto--who created Zelda--said in a statement that the delay comes down to "production reasons." The film is slipping from March 26, 2027 to May 7, 2027.

"For production reasons, we are changing the release date of the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda to May 7, 2027. It will be some weeks later than the release timing we originally announced, and we will take the extra time to make the film as good as it can be. Thank you for your patience," Miyamoto said.

No specific reason for the delay beyond "production reasons" was disclosed. Hollywood movies get delayed all the time, so this is not all that surprising, and the shift is not all that long as delays go.

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The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set (Hardcover)

$94.69 (was $225) with coupon

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The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set (Paperback)

$97.23 (was $160) | Eligible for B1G1 50% off

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Calvin and Hobbes is one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. If you grew up stealing the comics section of the newspaper from your parents to read the humorous and insightful adventures of Calvin and his stuffed Tiger, make sure to check out Amazon's deal this week on The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. The three-volume hardcover box set has dropped to $94.69, which is substantially cheaper than its $225 MSRP. To get the full discount, you need to click the coupon box on the store page below the price to slash an additional $31.56 from your total at checkout. This is the lowest price of the year for this wonderful collection of comics.

The hardcover edition is actually slightly cheaper than the paperback box set right now, but the $97.23 (was $160) paperback collection is eligible for Amazon's B1G1 50% off book sale this week.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set (Hardcover) $94.69 (was $225) with coupon

The premium hardcover box set features three volumes compiling every single comic strip from Calvin and Hobbes' run. All told, you're getting 1,440 pages of comic strips, some in color, others in black-and-white. The included slipcase features one of the illustrations that is most-associated with Calvin and Hobbes.

I've owned this box set for years and can attest to its quality. The comic strips are printed on thick art paper, and the bindings have held up well. Fair warning, though: The premium materials make these books quite heavy. With all three books in the slipcase, you've got yourself 22 pounds worth of comic strips, so each book weighs roughly 7.3 pounds.

See at Amazon The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Box Set (Paperback) $97.23 (was $160) | Eligible for B1G1 50% off

The paperback version of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes is on sale for $65.33. Amazon's listing shows $67.61, but you can save an extra couple bucks by clicking the coupon on the store page.

The paperback version has 1,456 pages, but the complete run is spread across four volumes instead of three. If you're buying the collection for a younger reader, this is probably the better option. While the full box set is still a hefty 17.75 pounds, each book is roughly 4.3 pounds. And with over 100 fewer pages per volume, these are easier to hold for kids and adults with smaller hands.

The slipcase features a different, but also well-known, illustration of Calvin and Hobbes dancing merrily.

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Calvin and Hobbes, at least according to Amazon, is recommended for kids ages 12 and up. Based on the titles of the books above, it makes sense. I read Calvin and Hobbes when I was much younger, and many adult fans probably did as well. It's not so much the content that is inappropriate for early readers, it's that much of what makes Calvin and Hobbes so great is its wit. The cleverness and social commentary can fly right past younger readers. I gained a greater appreciation for Calvin and Hobbes when I read it as an adult.

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Konami has announced that it'll be holding its own summer showcase, Konami Direct, and this will kick off on June 12 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET. The event will be livestreamed on YouTube, and it'll provide new information on upcoming games like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Silent Hill F. Konami says that other titles will also be included in the stream, and it's currently planned to run for 37 minutes.

The last couple of years have seen Konami bounce back into the spotlight following several relatively quiet years. Recently, Konami has published compilations of classic Metal Gear Solid games, the critically acclaimed Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Studio, and Suikoden remasters, with big projects planned for 2025 and beyond.

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