Minecraft candles can be used for a variety of decorative purposes. Whether you want a lower light level than placing torches everywhere, or whether you're looking for a spooky haunted house aesthetic to turn the survival game into a horror game, candles can fit anywhere. They come in a range of colors, and you can dye plain candles to get the look you want. You can even use them to light up a cake, turning it into a birthday cake. Here's how to craft candles, how to dye them, and how to light them.

Table of Contents [hide]

• Minecraft candle crafting recipe
• Minecraft candle dying

Minecraft candle crafting recipe

To craft a candle in Minecraft, you'll need one honeycomb and one string. Place the honeycomb in the center crafting square, with the string directly above it. You'll want to browse our Minecraft bees guide if you're wondering how to get more honeycomb, as it isn't the easiest material to obtain. String is most easily found by killing spiders and taking down cobwebs.

Candles can be dyed a variety of colorsMinecraft candle dying

To dye a candle in Minecraft, first use the above recipe to craft as many candles as you'd like to create. Then, use our helpful Minecraft dyes guide to get the color you'd like your candles to be. Place the candle in the upper-right corner of the crafting table with the dye directly beneath it, and you'll get a dyed candle. You can dye a candle any of the following colors:

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Minecraft now has so many animals, enemies, and entities that it can be hard to keep track of. If you're looking to build a wildlife sanctuary or just seeking some of the rarer mobs, you may want to know all of the animals, monsters, and other mobs in the game. Some of these can be tamed, bred, or even ridden, while others drop valuable loot when killed. Most mobs are also affected by the game's mechanics in the same way that you are--meaning they can be killed, drowned, or even catch fire. Here's the full list of the survival game's mobs.

Table of Contents [show]

• All Minecraft passive mobs
  • Allay
  All Minecraft passive mobsMinecraft AllayAllay

  The Minecraft Allay was added during The Wild Update and resembles a small, blue, fairy-like creature. You can find the Allay in Pillager Outpost cages or Woodland Mansion cages. Break the cage to set the Allay free, and it will become loyal as a thank-you for saving it from imprisonment. Give it an item to carry, and it will follow you, meaning leading it back to your base is simple. It'll also go and seek more of the same item, bringing it back to you.

  After an Ally becomes loyal to you, you cannot harm them even accidentally, but they can lose health if it's attacked by another mob. If that happens, it can regenerate its own health. Breeding an Allay is different from most other mobs in the game, too, as they can self-duplicate without the need for a partner. To do this, use an amethyst shard on an Allay while it's dancing to jukebox music.

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Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game physical edition

$40 | Releases July 29

Preorder on Switch Preorder on PS5

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is launching on PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on July 29. While the charming life-sim game will be available digitally on all platforms, those who want a physical release will be able to pick up a boxed copy on PS5 or Nintendo Switch on launch day. The Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game physical edition will cost $40, and preorders are available now ahead of launch. No preorder bonuses have been announced, but it does come with a fold-out map of Bywater village and a download code for a digital soundtrack, so it's probably worth securing your copy ahead of time.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game physical edition $40 | Releases July 29

As mentioned above, the Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game physical edition includes the base game on Switch or PS5, a 20-inch by 16-inch fold-out map, and a digital soundtrack, all for just $40.

Preorder on Switch Preorder on PS5

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is a life sim set in The Shire--y'know, the idyllic corner of Middle-earth where Hobbits like Frodo, Bilbo, and Sam call home. The game will cast you as a Hobbit and give you your own plot of land in The Shire to cultivate and tend. There will also be plenty of side quests and activities to engage in, like fishing, foraging, and trading with or cooking meals for other Hobbits in Bywater village.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is one of several games getting "small batch" physical runs this year from companies like iam8bit, Limited Run Games, and more. We've put together a list of some other notable upcoming titles like Tetris Forever, Shin Chan: Shiro and the CoalTown, and Metal Slug Tactics that are launching over the summer and are available to preorder now. Check the list below for more.

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Snow White may have earned mixed reviews from viewers and wasn’t quite as successful at the box office as anticipated, but it still managed to become one of the year’s biggest films. The live-action adaptation of Disney’s iconic animated movie makes a few significant tweaks to the story, offering a unique retelling that’s not afraid to buck tradition. If you’re interested in adding the controversial film to your home theater, multiple Blu-ray versions are planned to launch on June 24, including a $45 Snow White 4K Steelbook Limited Edition that's available to preorder at Amazon and Walmart. Preorders are also available for the standard Blu-ray and DVD editions.

Snow White Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) $45 | Releases June 24

Along with a 4K version of the film with support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, this version comes with a gorgeous steelbook. Depicting Snow White on one side and the seven dwarfs on the other, it should look great in most collections. You’ll also get a standard Blu-ray and digital copy of the movie. The steelbook is packed with bonus features, too, which we've listed below.

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Walmart Snow White Blu-ray Edition $40 | Releases June 24

If you don't want the steelbook edition, standard Blu-ray and DVD editions of Snow White are also available to preorder. The Blu-ray version is listed for $40 while the DVD edition is $35. The special features for the Blu-ray version appear to be the same as those in the 4K Steelbook Edition.

Preorder Blu-ray at Amazon Preorder DVD at Amazon Snow White 4K Steelbook EditionSnow White Blu-ray Bonus Features

The Snow White Limited Edition Steelbook and Snow White (Blu-ray) are packed with bonus features. Disney notes that some of these features may vary between the two, but here’s a look at what you can expect to find on your Blu-ray:

• Fearless, Fair, Brave, and True: Making Snow White documentary
• Merry Tunes: A look at the creation of the movie’s songs
• Fairy Tale Fashion: An in-depth look at the fashion of Snow White
• Sing alongs
• Deleted scenes
• Bloopers

Snow White joins a growing list of Disney steelbook releases. This includes the Moana 2 Limited Edition Steelbook for $43 (was $66), the Mufasa: The Lion King Limited Edition Steelbook for $45, and the Lilo and Stitch Limited Edition Steelbook for $32 (was $41).

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Sometimes being a millennial has its payoffs. Sure, a lot of us will probably never own a home and are riddled with student-loan debt, but anyone born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s was blessed to witness and experience the incredible evolution of both video games and skateboarding.

I remember the first time I played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games. It was Christmas 2001 when I got Pro Skater 3 for GameCube, along with my first skateboard ever, a World Industries Flame Boy deck. I got obsessed with playing Pro Skater 2 on N64 with my fellow gaming buddies and had to finally snag a copy of my own. Not only did Pro Skater inspire me to explore the world of skateboarding more, leading to binge-watching X Games and convincing my parents to take me to Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam, but it also got me to explore more of the Southern California punk scene, which basically became my main playlist for the next 20 something years of my life. Those years were crucial to developing my personality, and although I stopped playing the series after Pro Skater 4 and Underground, I often bring up how much those early THPS games shaped the 35-year-old dorky punk I am today.

Fast-forward many years, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remakes were released and became a huge success that essentially turned the series around after the failed Pro Skater 5. When I heard that a combined Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake was finally happening with a new studio, Iron Galaxy, who previously worked with Activision and Vicarious Visions on the 1 + 2 remakes, I was ecstatic to see how it would turn out. Will my muscle memory come back, or will it feel like learning a brand-new game? Will it keep the same silliness and passion as the originals, or fall off the rails--no pun intended? After having the opportunity to explore a few hours of the remake, I've just got to say: The sassy, skating 12-year-old me could not be happier.

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Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate was announced way back in 2021 at the series' 35th anniversary event, where publisher Square Enix showed nothing more than a logo. Since then, the game has been under wraps, and so little has been said about it that many fans speculated that it may have been shelved. However, series creator Yuji Horii recently confirmed that he and his studio continue to be hard at work on the game.

In an interview with Gamereactor, Horii stated that work on Dragon Quest XII was still underway. Despite not being able to share any details about gameplay, Horii said, "I am making it, putting lots of work into it... I can only say that the next work will be great too, [I'm] working really hard." He also called for fans to remain excited for the future of the franchise: "Please look forward to it, is the only thing I can say."

With the game now very likely to launch after the release of the Switch 2, Horii was asked if there are any plans for the new console, especially considering the franchise's past commercial successes on the original Switch. Although Horii is vague in the interview about what Dragon Quest properties might come to the new system, he mentioned, "I believe it could be compatible with Switch 2 as well."

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Following the announcement of the Switch 2 last month, many players remarked on how similar it looks to the original Switch. Especially compared to the jump between the Wii U and the Switch--or even the Wii and Wii U--the Switch to Switch 2 transition is more iterative than revolutionary, at least in terms of the form factor. From recent comments in an investor call, Nintendo itself is aware of this, and it stresses that the Switch 2's hardware has been built "from the ground up."

Responding to a question about the Switch 2's apparent lack of generational change, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged that "it may appear that there is not a major change between Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch." However, Furukawa told investors that the Switch 2 was designed as a full new console, not beholden to the hardware of the original Switch. "We have created new hardware and accessories from the ground up," Furukawa said, "and these are products very characteristic of Nintendo, packed full of our development team's dedication to quality through various creative efforts and integrated hardware-software development."

Furukawa also explained that the Switch 2 is meant to allow Nintendo to continue innovating in gameplay and software. He noted that the original Switch's processing power has become an obstacle for game developers working with the platform. "Over the course of these eight years and counting," he stated, "it has become necessary to increase hardware processing performance in order for software developers to realize one of Nintendo's most valued tenets: offering new gameplay experiences. Thus, this time we decided to design the hardware with enhanced processing capability."

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Ubisoft has announced that it has entered into a three-year partnership with credit card giant Visa in Europe. For the companies' first act as corporate partners, Ubisoft is launching exclusive in-game DLC that is only accessible to Visa cardholders in the UK and Europe.

In a press release, the companies revealed that Visa cardholders will get access to a dance in Just Dance 2025. This dance is inspired by Kika Nazareth, a Visa-sponsored soccer player for Barcelona F and the Portuguese National Team.

This effort is just the first of what the companies describe as a series of "co-branded marketing promotions" throughout Ubisoft's catalogue of games. They also stated that "select" Visa cardholders in Europe and the UK can expect Ubisoft+ promotions, game codes, and other exclusives.

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In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud has the ability to take one of his companions on a "date" to the Gold Saucer Skywheel, and Square Enix has yet to confirm which of the companions is the canon choice. Its reappearance in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is said to be non-canonical, but a card from the upcoming Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy expansion might have inadvertently provided an answer to the canon question, thanks to a few versions with alternate art.

The card in question is Secret Rendezvous, which appears in the Final Fantasy VII-themed preconstructed Commander deck Limit Break. Secret Rendezvous depicts Cloud on the Skywheel date, and there are four versions of the card, each showing Cloud sitting across from either Tifa, Yuffie, Aerith, or Barret.

The four versions of Secret Rendezvous

However, on the official Magic: The Gathering website, it's confirmed that the default version of Secret Rendezvous--the version of the card included in the deck itself--is Tifa's version. The other three versions can only be found in Collector Booster packs. Considering the Sephiroth card shown at PAX East may be hiding a secret for the upcoming third game in the FF7 Remake trilogy, perhaps this is one way to officially set the record straight--or it's the MTG team choosing their favorite partner.

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Battlefield 6, or whatever the new game is called, is getting its full reveal later this summer, but for now, some of the developers working on the game's campaign have teased what to expect in terms of the story.

Creative director Roman Campos-Oriola of EA Motive told Inverse that the game's campaign was inspired in part by the Taylor Sheridan TV show Lioness. The show stars Marvel's Zoe Saldana as a CIA officer who heads up the "Lioness" program of female operators.

Senior producer Philippe Ducharme, meanwhile, said he was a big fan of Oscar-nominated director Alex Garland's 2023 war movie, Civil War, which followed a team of journalists covering a new American civil war. "Some of the things that we're pushing [in this game], the film is actually a good reference," Ducharme said.

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In the latest offer to end a strike by actors' union SAG-AFTRA, a consortium of video game companies has made key concessions to strikers. Specifically, the consortium has removed some provisions from the proposed agreement that would have given game companies more ability to create and profit off of "digital replicas"--AI-generated likenesses--of unionized actors.

As originally reported in Variety, this proposal is referred to as the "Last, Best, and Final" offer on AI issues, following a "Last and Best" offer sent in late April that quickly sparked a SAG-AFTRA counteroffer. The latest proposal delivered to SAG-AFTRA focuses on the generative AI sticking points that have been central to the union's demands since the beginning of the strike.

Among the changes included in this offer, it eliminates a one-time payment for unlimited digital replica buyout clause, which would have given companies the ability to pay a one-time fee to an actor to own the rights for unlimited use of digital likenesses for a certain period of time. SAG-AFTRA asserts that this type of provision would give game companies undue leverage over the vast majority of actors and that buyouts would serve essentially as "a purposeful discount for employers," according to the previous counteroffer. In the new offer, companies will have to pay more in line with actual usage of digital replicas, bringing the pay structure into closer alignment with how actors are normally paid.

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The Switch 2 is launching in early June amid ongoing drama and uncertainty about tariffs, and now Nintendo has put a dollar amount to how much of a negative impact it's forecasting as a result.

Speaking to analysts and investors as part of the company's latest earnings briefing, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo has factored in a negative impact of "several tens of billions of yen at the profit level." Ten billion yen equals about $67 million, so it's not a small amount.

Furukawa said Nintendo is basing this off the US tariff rates effective April 10. It's now mid-May, and things have developed since then. Just recently, the US and China reached an agreement that sees the US drop its previous 145% tariff rate on China down to 30%, with China lowering its rate on the US from 125% to 10%. This deal is set to last for 90 days, which would take it beyond the Switch 2 release date.

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For as much as change can be scary, it can be all the lonelier to remain stagnant while the world and the people in it continue moving on without you. That's the crux of Old Skies, a point-and-click adventure game in which you play as Fia Quinn, a professional time traveler immune to the effects of the shifting timeline. On the surface, Old Skies first appears to be your typical time-travel story about the pitfalls of affecting time, but the story surprises in how it instead delves into the negatives of not influencing the flow of time, of being someone that no one remembers, regardless of what you accomplish. It makes for an incredibly affecting tale, one that has stuck with me since the credits rolled.

As Fia Quinn, you're tasked with traversing the timeline through a handful of moments in New York's history, ranging from the Gilded Age to the morning of September 11, 2001 to an impactful afternoon in 2042. Fia works for ChronoZen, an agency that takes wealthy clients back in time to relive moments of the past, solve their long-forgotten mysteries, or change minor details about their life that they regret. The work rarely goes as planned, forcing Fia to adapt on the fly and deduce the best way to get the client what they want without affecting aspects of history that the algorithm-following higher-ups have decreed must remain unchanged.

Old Skies' opening mission does not pull any punches and sets the tone right away.

For better and worse, Old Skies is extremely linear, with only one solution to each of the problems that Fia comes up against. In terms of narrative theming, I like this a lot--it reinforces that Fia's fate in this story is unyieldingly static and that the timeline in general must follow a set series of events. But this structure hurts the gameplay, too. There were times when I thought of a way to solve the problem at hand, and it didn't work--forcing me to guess a bunch of random solutions instead--and if the right answer was nonsensical, I'd grow irritated, especially if the solution I'd presented utilized a throughline of logic the game had already established in an earlier puzzle. If I have to use cash for Fia to bribe someone in the very first mission, using money to bribe people should be a valid way of collecting information later when speaking to people who are clearly looking for cash. And yet, I don't think I could bribe a single other person for the rest of the story, despite money appearing in Fia's pocket with every time jump--a constant reminder of an item I could not use and was foolish for thinking otherwise.

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There are a few people more synonymous with Final Fantasy than Yoshitaka Amano. Amano's art has been part of the franchise since its inception, and now the iconic artist is bringing his designs and talent to Magic The Gathering's Final Fantasy collaboration. Amano will supply brand-new art on some of the franchise's most legendary characters in his trademark style.

Amano explained some of the new art he's creating on Wizards of the Coast's and Magic's social media accounts. We also get to witness his surprise when seeing the art in card form for the first time.

"I've been drawing Final Fantasy art for a long time," he began before jumping into explaining his compositions for the new art for Kefka, both in his original and final boss forms. "In this picture, I tried to make it as crazy as possible. So I drew it without following any rules. For this one, the situation is what is crazy. He puts himself in the fire. The best word to describe Kefka is 'chaotic.' I imagined the colors would be swirled and all mixed together, turning a vague idea into something tangible. I like this process of exploring the details."

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Marvel Rivals developer NetEase has announced some good--and bad--news for cosmetic completionists, as the studio is considering bringing back older battle passes to the game, albeit at a higher price. The Season 0 battle pass that will be available to purchase once again starting May 15 when the Galacta's Gift event begins, but instead of paying 490 Lattice for it, the price has now increased to 590 Lattice.

The battle pass will also be available until May 29, but once purchased, the rewards contained in it can be unlocked at your leisure. In terms of price, this works out to roughly $7 for the battle pass if you don't have any of the premium in-game currency saved up. NetEase added that it is considering bringing older battle passes back in the future, but these will cost at least 20% more. There'll be no free rewards in these limited-time battle passes either, as NetEase noted that access to all rewards will require the purchase of the Luxury Battle Pass.

"Future Battle Pass returns might occur, but any such plans will span at least two seasons and be priced at a minimum of 20% higher than the original seasonal rate," the studio said in a blog post.

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Bruce Lee, the legendary martial artist who passed away in 1973, is now in Minecraft. His family's Bruce Lee Enterprises has announced a partnership with LogDotZip to bring Lee to the game as part of the Bruce Lee: Dragon Fury DLC in the Minecraft Marketplace.

Lee's daughter Shannon Lee said, "This was a true collaboration and we're excited for gamers to dive in and play."

Lee is not a playable character, but instead players can toss a spawn egg that summons Lee to battle. He'll join players as their companion and will follow players and defend them. Every time Lee defeats an enemy, he gets experience points that increase his overall level that in term unlocks more skills.

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A major update is live in Helldivers 2, which brings new Illuminate enemy types, loadout and customization changes, as well as an improvement to the game's Superstore.

The Helldivers 2 update unleashes a new invasion of the Illuminate alien faction with larger, more powerful enemy types. The Illuminate have emerged from the Meridian singularity, and they're bringing the fight to Super Earth. As detailed by Arrowhead in the latest Sony blog, this update includes the Stingray, which are enemy fighter jets that provide aerial support for the Illuminate. Stingrays can target players and line up devastating strafing runs. Another new threat is an enemy called Fleshmob, which the developer describes as being a failed Illuminate experiment and a "Frankenstein's monster of Voteless parts."

These are just some of the new enemy types players can encounter. The developer also alludes to other threats by saying, "There have been sightings of other, even larger ships, though details remain unclear on their abilities," so players will likely have a few surprises to discover.

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Tetris Forever earned positive reviews when it released last year, and now it’s gearing up for a physical release on August 28 for PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Previously only available digitally, this upcoming Limited Run product includes the base game and a bunch of documentary featurettes. A Collector’s Edition was also briefly available but quickly sold out. If you’re worried the same will happen with the standard edition, consider reserving a copy soon.

Tetris Forever Standard Edition $35 | Releases August 28

This physical release is part of Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series. That means you’ll get over an hour of all-new documentary featurettes alongside the base game. These cover the development of Tetris and take a look at the partnership between Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov and the founder of The Tetris Company, Henk Rogers. There’s also a new game mode called Tetris Time Warp, which sees up to four players jumping between Tetris eras as they battle for a high score while dealing with shifting game mechanics and art styles.

Of course, you’ll also get the base game, which includes over 15 playable Tetris games from across the series’ history.

Preorder at Amazon Tetris Forever Collector’s Edition $140 | Sold Out

Though it quickly sold out, a Collector’s Edition was also up for grabs. Along with the base game, this included:

• Original soundtrack CD
• Woven patches
• Handheld unit with stand
• Modular Tetrimino box
• Poster
• Tetrimino magnets

Preorder at Limited Run

We’ve seen a number of games from Limited Run, Digital Eclipse, and iam8bit arrive on Amazon recently, including several for PS5 and Switch. If you’re looking for a cool companion for Tetris Forever, here are a few of our favorites to consider.

More Preorder Deals

• Tales of the Shire -- $40 | July 29
• Victory Heat Rally -- $40 | July 31
• The Making of Karateka -- $35 | July 31
• Omega 6: The Triangle Stars -- $35 | July 31
• The Phantom -- $35 | July 31
• Raiden Nova -- $35 | August 15
• Llamasoft The Jeff Minter Collection -- $35 | August 15
• Shin Chan: Shiro and the CoalTown -- $40 | August 15
• Metal Slug Tactics -- $35 | August 28
• Tetris Forever Standard Edition -- $35 | August 15

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It has come to light that the Switch 2 may include a helpful new feature for people who encounter error messages when using the console.

Someone at a recent Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event discovered that when an error message prompt pops up, the page also includes a QR code. This QR code then takes players to a support page where they can learn more about the specific issue and how to fix it.

The person who shared this on Reddit (via Nintendosoup) said while they were waiting in line to play Drag x Drive they saw one of the demo Switch 2 consoles encounter a connection error that triggered an error screen. The screen displayed the error code, an explanation of the issue, a link to Nintendo's website, and a QR code.

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The Witcher fans can now introduce their kids to the fantasy franchise with the help of a new collection of comics for aspiring monster slayers of all ages. Published by Random House Worlds on May 13, The Little Witcher follows young Ciri as she learns how to be a witcher from Geralt, Yennefer, Vesemir, and others. The 80-page hardcover book features full-color illustrations and is available for $14.88 (was $16) at Amazon.

The Little Witcher (Hardcover) $14.88 (was $16)

With Father's Day coming up (June 15), The Little Witcher could make for a great gift for fans who read bedtime stories to their kids each night. That's exactly the idea behind the book, as it contains bite-sized stories that trade the franchise's mature dark fantasy themes for a lighthearted tone. The Little Witcher is about relationship between an adoptive father and his daughter. As Ciri is learning what it means to follow the Witcher Code, Geralt is learning how to be a dad.

You can check out a few sample pages from The Little Witcher below. Though there are monsters in The Little Witcher, the art style makes them look cute instead of scary, and tales of battle include humorous details like "monsters who fart when surprised."

See at Amazon

The Little Witcher (Random House Worlds)Gallery

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