Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:43 AM  The famous young wizard and his friends won't be coming to Magic: The Gathering anytime in the near future |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:23 AM  The 'Sun Dial Pokéstop' was seemingly submitted as a point of interest via Niantic's game Ingress in 2020 or 2021 |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:47 AM  Capcom also shared more information about what to expect from the game's upcoming one-year anniversary update |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:25 AM  Yakuza Kiwami 3 may be the final straw for disillusioned fans |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:19 AM  The outspoken It Takes Two director Josef Fares is already teasing his next game on social media |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:03 AM  Get over 1,400 computer and tabletop games while funding those helping immigrants and refugees |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:06 AM  A new listing for an Xbox Series version of Resident Evil 5 indicates a remake could be on the way |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM  Another evocative action banger from Grasshopper Manufacture |
Kotaku Tuesday, February 10, 2026 8:07 AM  Created in Black Myth: Zhong Kui's engine, this is the most remarkable chef work |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:07 AM Farming Simulator 25 joins the ranks of countless other games in offering Steam Trading Cards, but the prices made me double-take. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:24 AM Bag yourself a free copy of Crimson Desert with select purchases of AMD Ryzen CPUs, Radeon RX GPUs, and laptops for the next few months. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:54 AM Blade Runner 2033 Labyrinth appears to be the first victim of Annapurna Interactive's public collapse, as it can't be searched on Steam. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:49 AM Escape From Tarkov and Escape From Duckov celebrate each others' different flavors of extraction mayhem in their new crossover updates. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 6:49 AM With a ground-breaking new analog click technology, including offering rapid trigger, Logitech's new gaming mouse isn't simple to assess. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 6:47 AM Overwatch developer Blizzard has come under fire for Anran's generic character design, but the team is already working on a change. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 6:32 AM Arc Raiders' new event rewards friendliness over violence, but I'm just thankful it's not a PvE mode Arc Raiders' Shared Watch event rewards you for teaming up and scrapping robots, and the Cold Snap map condition is back in rotation too. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 6:28 AM Here are all the Nioh 3 Kodama locations we've found so far, so reap the Kodama Merits and extra Elixir capacity awarded for your service. |
PCGamesN Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:03 AM As the possibility of a second Fallout 76 raid looms, Bethesda tells me why challenge is important and discusses new loadout options. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:47 AM  Until Dawn developers Supermassive Games have announced a release date for Dark Pictures sci-fi horror game Directive 8020. Following a delay announced as the studio laid off staff last year, Directive 8020's set to land this May. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:07 AM  Management at Scottish studio Build A Rocket Boy, makers of notoriously panned GTA-like MindsEye, have reportedly installed monitoring software onto the PCs of their staff without informing the workers beforehand. The move appears to be linked to ongoing claims from BARB executives that the game's prospects have been deliberately sabotaged by third parties. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM  Like the summonable, energy-shooting ghoul I cultivated on my spaceship's zombie farm, Romeo is a Dead Man is a bit of a grower. After an iffy start that exhibits plenty of Grasshopper Manufacture weirdness but not much Grasshopper Manufacture charm, its disparate parts do eventually coalesce, forming a lean yet muscular hack 'n' slash with a playful talent for mixing up its mediums. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM  Planet of Lana II, Wishfully's followup to their tremendous puzzle-platformer original, punched our news mouths with a double hit of announcements last week. First, it's got a release date of March 5th 2026, a mere three weeks from now, and second, there's a Steam demo coming even sooner, on February 11th. An embargo lift means I'm now at liberty to share my thoughts on said demo, and can report that it's exactly the same as the demo given to press last year, and as such, you can already read what I said about it here and here. Still, eh? Release date, eh? |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 7:51 AM  I don't want to alarm anyone, but a gaming mouse has just tried something new. New and, it turns out, brilliant. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 7:31 AM  Cthulhu games are a dime a dozen these days, with everything from JRPG parodies to well-meaning but flawed efforts that bear the official Call of Cthulhu license. But there aren't many point and click adventures showcasing H.P. Lovecraft's sanity-twisting mythos. Two very dated Infogrames efforts in the early 90s come to mind, but if you haven't played 1993's Shadow of the Comet and 1995's Prisoner of Ice, you're not missing much. The Dark Rites of Arkham, by indie developer Postmodern Adventures, rectifies this with a well-rounded effort filled with odes to all of Lovecraft's best stories. It has the quality of a Call of Cthulhu tabletop campaign assembled by a well-read fan. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:21 AM  2XKO, Riot's League of Legends fighting spin-off, is having its development team significantly cut back not long after release. Game Developer report a Riot spokesperson as stating the publishers have put plans in motion to lay off around 80 developers on the game, about half of the global team who've been working on it, with the potential for some of the affected workers to land in new posts at Riot. |
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Siliconera Tuesday, February 10, 2026 12:00 PM
Hololive Vtuber Hakui Koyori will debut as a voice actress in episode 19 of Digimon Beatbreak, which will air in Japan on February 15, 2026. The series is airing worldwide on Crunchyroll, so everyone everywhere will be able to hear her. She'll be voicing both Ikuhara Yume and her partner Tinkermon.
From February 12, 2026, you'll be able to watch episodes 13 to 18 of Digimon Beatbreak on YouTube. These episodes make up the first half of the Tactics Arc, and this gives people a chance to catch up to the series before the new episode airs three days later. Hakui Koyori has QRT-ed this announcement tweet, praising the show for being very interesting, as well as saying that the first twelve episodes were also really good. She likes Gekkomon (adding, "Megumi Han-san's voice is the best") and the episode that's most memorable for her is the Haruko episode (episode 10).
Here's the official art showing the Hololive Vtuber alongside her Digimon Beatbreak character:
Digimon Beatbreak started airing in October 2025. The story focuses on e-Pulse, an energy source created from human thoughts and emotions, being used to power Sapotama, an AI support device. Digimon consume this e-Pulse, leading to bounty hunters needing to go after and eliminate them.
As for Hakui Koyori, she's a Hololive VTuber who debuted in 2021. She's part of the sixth generation (Secret Society holoX), debuting alongside talents like La+ Darkness and former member Sakamata Chloe. She currently has over 1.35 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.
Hakui Koyori will appear as two characters in episode 19 of Digimon Beatbreak, and the show is being simulcast on Crunchyroll. DLC based on the show is also available in Digimon Story: Time Stranger.
The post Hakui Koyori to Appear in Digimon Beatbreak appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:00 AM
The latest One Piece live-action season 2 trailer is here, and Netflix used cuts to celebrate some of the more notable moments and characters captured in this adaptation. As a reminder, it picks up once the Straw Hat Pirates have Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Zoro and are heading out on the Going Merry to the Grand Line. It immediately follows the events of the first season and sets the stage for at least one of two more crew members to join the cast. This is also one of the longer looks at the upcoming episodes of the show, as it comes in at about three minutes long.
Things begin with celebrations. We see Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Zoro celebrating as they had out to the Grand Line. There's also a brief scene with Chopper as he sits alongside Dr. Hiriluk and talks with him. A few of the islands they visit show up, as well as members of Baroque Works. We see a talk with Mr 8, for example, as well as Miss All Sunday, Miss Goldenweek, Mr 3, and Miss Wednesday. This also means seeing some of the in-combat moments with the crew.
Here's the latest One Piece season 2 trailer from Netflix:
Prior to this, a shorter trailer appeared that focused on Baroque Works members. In particular, Miss All Sunday and Miss Wednesday were featured individuals in it.
The first season of the One Piece live-action adaptation is on Netflix now, and season 2 launches on March 10, 2026. A third season is confirmed. The anime is on both Netflix and Crunchyroll. Viz Media handles the manga outside of Japan.
The post One Piece Season 2 Trailer Celebrates Reaching the Grand Line appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:00 AM
Sunrise has announced that it will close the Gundam Fanclub app at the end of March 2027. The Japan-exclusive mobile app will cease to exist after undergoing active service for over 10 years since its launch in 2015.
The app has let people in Japan subscribe to enjoy content from the Gundam metaseries. Monthly subscribers would be able to watch over 70 Gundam titles, comprised of TV shows, OVAs, and movies, including the 2025 TV show Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. They would also be able to read exclusive interviews and purchase early-bird tickets for Gundam events.
Sunrise has also provided a schedule for the app's eventual closure. Premium member subscription renewals will no longer be available on February 27, 2026, and Sunrise will also stop renewals for monthly subscriptions on February 26, 2027.
The last two newsletters for members will appear in March 2026 and September 2026, respectively. Sunrise will also distribute the last New Year's Card to Premium members on the 2027 New Year's Day, with an additional sale feature to regular subscribers also being considered. All other content, including birthday cards for each member, remains available until the closure date on March 31, 2027.
The Gundam Fanclub app is available in Japan on iOS and Android mobile devices until March 31, 2027. Sunrise has not announced a new service to replace it as of this announcement.
The post Gundam Fanclub Ending in March 2027 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM
With Mario Tennis Aces, it felt like Nintendo did some experimentation to make the Switch title feel more like a fighting game and go beyond standard expectations of the sport. With Mario Tennis Fever as the first big Switch 2 Super Mario sports spin-off, it feels like a natural evolution of the previous game. Its new rackets feel great! There are a lot of modes, ranging from more traditional style games to Mix It Up ones with stage effects. If the Adventure mode was stronger, perhaps it'd be perfect.
Mario Tennis Fever features all of the modes someone would expect from a Super Mario spin-off game. The most traditional types of tennis can be found in areas like the singles and doubles Tournament, the motion-controlled Swing Mode, and the standard Ranked, Local, and GameShare multiplayer matches. Both Trial Towers and Mix It Up involve certain restrictions in matches or special types of matches that could involve power-ups, Wonder Effects, or more unexpected challenges. Finally, the Adventure mode is a story about dealing with an unknown opponent with the power of tennis that feels like a really long tutorial.
Yes, that's sadly one of my biggest takeaways from the Adventure story mode in Mario Tennis Fever. Here's the thing about it. While this is still a Camelot game, the campaign still isn't as solid as the one we saw in Mario Tennis on the Game Boy Color. The story honestly is pretty entertaining. After going to get a legendary fruit Wario and Waluigi said could heal Daisy from an illness, the expedition Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, Waluigi, and Donkey Kong are on leads to them being assaulted by mysterious monsters. (Basically, Wario and Waluigi got greedy and intended to use the journey as an opportunity to steal treasure from the adjacent ruins.) Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, and Waluigi are turned into babies in the process. So, the two pairs of brothers head to the tennis academy to regain their strength to go back and fight in the hopes of defeating the foes and returning to normal.
The problem here is while there are eventually some fun matches with unusual situations and setups, so much of Adventure acts as a massive tutorial with tons of handholding. For example, the "singles" part of it just teaching basic shots and tennis skills before Luigi is even assigned to Mario as a doubles partner took me about 40 minutes. And then when Luigi does join up, that means unlocking and being guided through each of these minigame stations designed to grant experience and build up stats related to physical performance and shot strength one at a time. Once you do get past the extended tutorial elements, it's generally fine, but there constant Talking Flower commentary and directing is a lot.
Speaking of which, I absolutely abhor the Talking Flower in Mario Tennis Fever. I understand that, as the most recent mainline Super Mario game, there are a lot of elements of it here from courts and rackets to Mix It Up mode elements. But the Talking Flower is somehow even more obnoxious due to how prevalent the commentary is. Moreso because in the Adventure and Tournament modes said jibber-jabber can't be turned off. (In options, you can turn it off for other modes.) It's worst in Tournaments, as by the final matches in the brackets I'd likely have my or my partner's HP down low following so many matches, and every 30-60 seconds the flowery commentator would say, "Oooh, might be running outta steam!"
On the plus side, if you're not in Adventure mode, the gameplay and features in every other part of Mario Tennis Fever feels pretty great. When it comes to selecting a court, character, and racket, the UI is clear about how you unlock inaccessible things. (And the requirements usually aren't obscenely tedious or difficult.) There's a wide range of characters that all feel quite balanced. The Fever Rackets with special Fever Shots are genuinely amazing. And the general match structure is strong with even some generally solid CPU intelligence. (I do wish my NPC allies in doubles tournaments would use their Fever Shots more, though!)
Really, the Fever Shots feel revolutionary. They really do make Mario Tennis Fever feel special. There are tons of options and, as I mentioned in my preview, each one makes it feel like you're equipping a fighter to head into a battle. My favorites are the ones that deal HP damage, especially if it makes a part of the course feel "off limits" due to hazards, like the Fire Bar, Volcano, and Fire Fever Rackets. However, the more unusual ones that offer support or negative status effects to the field, like the Shadow one that creates a doppelganger of yourself on the field or Banana one that leaves slippery banana peels can be handy too. It comes down to picking one that suits your playstyle to assist with your assaults, and the fact that they're optional (unless you pick a mode that requires them or the Racket Factory Mix It Up mode that makes them essentially mandatory) makes it even better.
As for the Mario Tennis Fever modes that aren't the Adventure one, all of them feel mechanically sound in this Super Mario sports game. I felt like Trial Towers ended up being my favorite single-player experience, since it let me get right into different types of matches, though the Tournament is solid too and fantastic for unlocking things. Mix It Up stages, with confounding stage effects that can make things more challenging and end up being free-for-alls with pinball, piranha plants, and Fever Racket elements, are absolutely fantastic if you can get actual people to play with you. I felt like all the multiplayer modes also worked well, though I primarily tested out online multiplayer outside the preview session. There was a little lag in the Wonder Court Match, I think due to the fact that the ton of Trottin' Piranha Plants were on-field at once, but Ring Shot, Forest Court Match, Pinball Match, and Racket Factory Match all worked wonderfully online. And Free Match is generally solid for customization purposes.
While I'm a bit disappointed in the Adventure campaign, Mario Tennis Fever feels generally strong thanks to its Fever Rackets and range of modes. There are a lot of different ways to play tennis packed into this Super Mario sports game spin-off, and they often play with the idea of using special abilities to make things more exciting. Which can mean things like Mix It Up and Trial Towers modes can feel a little extra entertaining. I appreciate what Camelot and Nintendo did here and how it built on Mario Tennis Aces.
Mario Tennis Fever comes to the Switch 2 on February 12, 2026.
The post Review: Mario Tennis Fever Is Stronger Than Aces appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:25 AM
Skyrim lead developer Bruce Nesmith shared some harrowing thoughts regarding Morrowind with PressBoxPR. He claims fans only like it for nostalgia's sake and wouldn't enjoy playing it nowadays, for it is overcomplex and outdated. If Bethesda shares Nesmith's idea, this doesn't bode well for TES6.
Skyrim is Bethesda's biggest game, but it's not even the best game of its year.
Naturally, execs would like to repeat Skyrim's numbers, but they won't achieve that by making TES6 in Skyrim's image. While Skyrim is easily the biggest hit in Bethesda's catalog, that could be because it followed the company's upward turn with Morrowind and Oblivion, and greatly benefited from the massive gaming boom of the 2010s. While its combat is definitely one step above Morrowind's less action-y take, it's undeniable that Skyrim also faced serious criticism from players who found its gameplay systems too shallow and its world too barren, even for an ice-covered continent.
This is the Internet, a place where a game that sold dozens of millions of units will always spawn dissenting voices that can very well even be bots. Still, I can invoke an elder and prescient IGN scroll called "Top Five Reasons Dark Souls Will Eat Skyrim's Face," to shed light on the matter.
Among its various points, it cites Dark Souls' level complexity and challenge as a positive over Skyrim, a bold move considering this post was made before everyone had fallen head over heels for Souls games.
That piece came out even before the release of Dark Souls, but it was evident that Dark Souls would only double down on what made people love Demon's Souls, whereas Skyrim was just a simplification of Morrowind.
I believe that the challenge level alone makes Dark Souls ultimately the better game for me, but, more importantly, it also puts Dark Souls much closer to Morrowind than to Skyrim. And, guess what, the Souls games have also done very well saleswise. There's just no telling how Skyrim would have sold had it been more like Morrowind.
I agree that Bethesda shouldn't be working on a Morrowind remaster, because I want them to focus on new stuff. Still, the never-ceasing activity on Morrowind mod pages and the constant work on fan-made Morrowind remasters easily disprove the theory that people don't like it.
I wasn't the only one getting irked by Nesmith's take. Even Larian's Michael "Cromwelp" Douse had to intervene, commenting that a Morrowind remake with modern combat would sell like expletive deleted hot cakes.
Nesmith also talked about The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, and its remaster, which he described as less outdated, but still so. Despite having sold well, Nesmith believes players only got the game to revisit some areas they're fond of, then dropped it. Now, whether many players dropped the game because it's outdated, you cannot deny that Oblivion has a rather short campaign, so it's not surprising for a veteran to finish it quickly. The Oblivion remaster is also infamously plagued by some serious optimization issues that cause the game to run poorly on most machines, another possible explanation for such sudden abandonment. But maybe, just maybe, it's because the actual lack of depth and challenge doesn't captivate the much more proficient gamers of today to keep playing an unchallenging title they already excel at.
Any reading on modern gaming history shows that players want to pay AAA money for rich and complex experiences
Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3, and Expedition 33 have all excelled critically and commercially because the truth is, players like difficult and complex systems, and they actively dislike dumbed-down experiences. It's AAA publishers who somehow believe we don't. Even after people have grown to like Fallout less after its simplification from Fallout 2 to 3, and then its absolute dilution into Fallout 4.
Players want to be challenged in areas they know, and to be surprised with new challenges. Two years ago, players didn't know they wanted turn-based games with actual mechanical parrying action; now we might never enjoy classic turn-based RPGs because we'll be missing Expedition 33's kinetic revolution.
We also want RPGs with deep and complex gameplay systems and big maps filled with hard-to-find stuff, and always will. I believe Skyrim is the game that would struggle to sell nowadays, were it releasing for the first time, if its reissues weren't such a tradition already.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 10:18 AM
When it comes to live service games, sometimes it takes a while for changes to happen, with so many moving parts at any studio.
One such studio that's gotten quite good at live service, though, is Blizzard Entertainment. And the way the Overwatch team has acted on some criticism over the past five days must be commended, along with how most of the situation has been handled.
During last week's Overwatch Showcase, which revealed five new heroes coming to the game later today, along with a number of other overhauls to the base game (like removing the 2 from the title), fans were quick to point out that one of the game's new heroes looks a bit different from what they were expecting.
New Damage hero Anran, older sister to Overwatch Support hero Wuyang, indeed looks quite different from her initial appearance in a comic last year. And many players and fans were quick to point it out, showcasing how her face is eerily similar to other heroes such as D.Va, Kiriko, and Juno.
Many fans called out how her face is unnecessarily innocent-looking, along with being different, with one saying that her strong older sister design was replaced in-game with a "male gaze stereotyped harmless, cute Asian girl" aesthetic.
One prominent Overwatch fan, content creator Fareeha, also happens to be the English voice actress for Anran, and she posted a very respectful and composed video calling for changes to be made (the video has since been deleted). And now, last night, game director Aaron Keller confirmed that Anran will be redesigned sometime during season one, which should run from today through the middle of April.
"The team is currently discussing what it will take to make Anran look and feel more like the fierce, older sister that we all envision her to be," Keller said. "We're so proud of the work that our team has put into Anran and the rest of the five heroes launching in season one, and we agree that she can be even better if we get this aspect of her right in-game."
The Overwatch team's quick response to the situation is admirable, as is their aim to have such a quick turnaround on the design. Everything at a big dev studio like this takes time, so it won't happen overnight, but Anran's design change should hopefully represent the character a bit better and add some more variety to the overall hero design in the game.
The important thing is to be kind and respectful when it comes to delivering feedback on something you'd like changed in a video game, and then these sorts of things are more likely to happen. By and large, the Overwatch community has been just that in this situation, and it's been nice to see it all materialize.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM
Mario and co. are returning to the court for Mario Tennis Fever. It's been almost eight years since Mario Tennis Aces, but the franchise is doing more than just adding a fresh coat of paint in its latest entry.
With a new set of gameplay mechanics, additional characters, and updated graphics for the Switch 2, Mario Tennis Fever appeals to longtime fans of the franchise, as well as those who may have never even considered picking up a tennis racket. Though the game's Adventure mode leaves much to be desired, its diverse modes and fun gameplay loop make it a title to get lost in for hours at a time.
Servin' up new mechanics
You might think you know tennis, but Mario Tennis Fever puts a special spin on things. You have the same shot types and directional mechanics as in Aces (minus the Zone Shot feature), but where the gameplay really heats up is with the introduction of Fever Rackets, which grant players powerful abilities after being charged throughout the course of a match.
Some Fever Rackets lob fireballs at your opponent or cover their screen with ink, while others coat the court with layers of ice, turning the playing field into a slip-and-slide. Most of these Fever Shots can be returned and backfire against whoever uses them, upping the ante for quick counterplay. When you successfully pull off a Fever Shot, you gain the upper hand in a match through zone control or by limiting your opponent's visibility or access to the ball. When you're on the receiving end of one, though, you'll be forced on the backfoot with an extra challenge to overcome while your opponent's (or your own) racket's effect is active.
On occasion, you might find that these effects can make the playing field quite chaotic, which can either be very fun or very frustrating, especially when you're playing doubles. There were a handful of times where I couldn't even see the ball—not because my opponents had used a Fever Racket that affected visibility, but because there was simply so much going on in the field of play, so many fireballs or mud splotches, that the visual effects obscured the ball's position. When all four players activate their Fever Rackets within the same window, gameplay can become quite disorienting. And if all four racket effects end up littering your side of the net—well, you're gonna want to forfeit the match right then and there. Luckily, this doesn't happen all too often when you're playing against CPUs, but you'll want to be ready for the chaos in local or online play, which can host you and up to three other players.
Fever Rackets aren't the only mechanics that affect gameplay, though; characters also offer their own variations on gameplay. Like in Aces, each character has a class and a set of stats that change their speed, power, control, or spin. From Donkey Kong and Princess Daisy to Dry Bones and Goomba, there are plenty of familiar faces to choose from—38, to be exact, 8 more than the previous game in the Mario Tennis franchise.
Like with Fever Rackets, you'll have to unlock most characters by playing matches or completing various challenges, which gives you a reason to keep playing. The vast majority of the unlockable characters are earned by simply playing matches, though, and I wish there were more variety to the character unlock requirements.
Mixing and matching characters and rackets keeps the gameplay fresh, giving you access to different special abilities and playstyles on the court and challenging you to switch up your own approach when you face a new combination. These variations make the core gameplay loop quite addictive, and I found myself playing for hours without getting bored as I tried out new rackets and characters.
Too much tutorial, not enough Adventure (mode)
Like in other Mario games, Fever has its own Adventure mode for you to play by yourself against AI-controlled opponents in a story-driven campaign. Its plot is actually very simple: Princess Daisy is sick. To cure her, Mario and co. must find a golden apple. They travel to mysterious temple ruins, and while Mario and Luigi recover the fruit, Waluigi and Wario set off to rob the place of its riches. In doing so, they unleash a horde of shadowy monsters that exact their revenge by turning the entire group into babies. Yup. You read that right. Babies.
How will Mario and his friends reverse the curse? By playing tennis… of course!
Okay, maybe it doesn't make a lick of sense, but this is a Mario spinoff after all. We're not here for a narrative masterpiece; we're here to hit some balls with rackets.
And hit balls with rackets, you shall. After being babified, you join the Mushroom Tennis Academy, where you'll climb the ranks from the Junior Varsity class all the way to Rank A. Eventually, you'll leave the academy and head back to where the adventure started to defeat the monsters. You'll unlock rackets on your way and use them to take on bosses in unique fights (all while utilizing the skills you learned at the academy, of course).
Unfortunately, the Mushroom Academy, which really acts as a tutorial for the game's core mechanics, takes up the majority of the Adventure mode, and it's quite the slog, especially if you've been playing the game for a while. While you're at the school, you'll play a few easy mini games in between promotional matches and multiple-choice quizzes, but it's a rinse-and-repeat formula for a few hours before the campaign finally turns you loose. Though the rest of the Adventure mode is fun and introduces interesting boss matches, it goes quickly compared to your time at the academy.
Mario Tennis Fever really isn't designed as a campaign mode-first game, though; its heart lies in its Free Play mode and online options. I got to play a couple of ranked matches online, and the process for finding an opponent was seamless (minus the fact that server traffic was low in the days leading up to the game's release). The connection also held steady the entire time. My only complaint is that I got absolutely stomped, but hey, that's just a sign I need to get more games in.
No rain delays here
If you ever get tired of the core gameplay loop, you can hop over to one of the other game modes Mario Tennis Fever offers. Yoshi's Ring Shot has returned, but it's not the only Special Match you can play. There's Forest Court, which adds or removes surface area to the court if you aim your shots right, Pinball Match, which fills the court with pinball bouncers, and Rocket Factory Match, which lets you fight with your opponents for randomized Fever Rackets. There are also tournaments, Trial Towers, and Swing Mode, a returning feature where you swing the controller like a racket.
Whichever mode you play, you can expect it all to be against a gorgeous backdrop. The animations and graphics are crisp and colorful, as you would expect from a Mario game. Each character is full of life, and you can tell there was plenty of personality injected into each entrance scene or celebration pose. Not to mention, the replay scenes are epic, showing slow-motion close-ups of a character striking the ball across the net or jumping up into the air as they activate their racket's ability.
Overall, I had a blast with Mario Tennis Fever—even when I was getting curb-stomped in ranked. Never did I think I'd be addicted to a Mario Tennis game, but here we are. It's a fun spin on tennis, and the customization options kept each match feeling fresh. Even when I felt like I needed a break from the core gameplay loop, I had another mode to keep me occupied for an ungodly amount of time.
Now excuse me while I go try to redeem my name on the ranked ladder.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM
The underrated and absolutely stunning 2023 puzzle-platformer, Planet of Lana, is set to return in Q1 2026, and with it, Lana and Mui's story continues beyond a simple fight against a technological threat.
A demo divided into segments—a glimpse into five chapters—this demo provides a look at Planet of Lana 2's new platforming and stealth mechanics, and intriguing solutions to its challenging puzzles. Relaxation and satisfaction are guaranteed, but what exactly can we expect from this sequel?
Here are our first impressions of Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf.
The unknown force has returned to civilization and now risks being placed in the wrong hands
In Children of the Leaf, the singular threat of invasion from a mechanical enemy has shifted into corruption and power dynamics between the Novo tribes. The demo provides little information about the sequel's story aside from the piqued interest in Mui's abilities, and the advanced technology of some tribes who are far closer to us than Lana's community from the first game.
Surveillance cameras scan for motion, and robots appear to be used for industrial purposes such as mining and fishing. Civilization is clearly advancing rapidly in the sequel, and it shows not only in the environment but also in the added threat of humans and updated stealth mechanics.
Planet of Lana is no longer about how Lana will overcome her obstacles, but how the pair will work together to achieve their common goal
Moving around Novo isn't as flat as before, when it resembled old-school platformers the likes of Rayman or Oddworld with its formulaic platforming and stealth elements. The gameplay has clearly expanded beyond placing Mui in a spot and clicking on a button while you wait for an enemy to pass by. This shows the sequel is modernized and wants to improve upon the first game as our loveable duo now have their own strong abilities to keep themselves alive, and the game feels fresh.
You can now transfer control over to other lifeforms inside Novo, where Mui's consciousness seemingly moves over to other animals. Mui can now remove blockades, shoot ink to blind aquatic threats, or shower rain from a beetle-like creature to make plants grow. This change is both fun and positively alters the pacing of the puzzle-platforming sections by adding unpredictability, a learning curve to every new mechanic, and invites new ways of problem-solving.
It's also a welcoming change to see Lana able to climb and hop walls, demonstrating that she's grown since the first game and that she learnt a lot since we last saw her. She clearly knows what she's doing in this installment, and this development—though simple—is subtle and effective storytelling.
The puzzles are streamlined, balanced perfectly with Mui and Lana's new abilities, and are more advanced than the original. The challenge to solve the puzzles is as satisfying as ever, aiming to keep the series feeling cozy and exciting to play.
The art style is just as gorgeous and dynamic as the first game
The scenery no longer feels like just something to gawk at when a cinematic cutscene plays, but environments now feel like a living, breathing thing. Think The Wild Robot or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Children of the Leaf seems to reference the legendary Princess Mononoke with their own Forest Spirit, adding a layer of mystery and cosmic intervention to Novo's fauna.
We only got a glimpse of the soundtrack, but it's just as lovely as the original and provides a calming atmosphere, which naturally lessens the stress of figuring out an ongoing puzzle.
What kind of journey is Lana on?
My one qualm with this demo is that it's very much a showcase of the new mechanics and gameplay on offer for the sequel. There is no explanation or context given for what Lana and Mui are up to this time around. We have nothing to go off outside of other humans researching Mui's mysterious powers. Our feline-like companion seems to take center stage, but it's uncertain what caused Lana to leave her home again.
I would have loved to see how the sequel starts, what the main conflict is, and the inciting incident that pushes Lana onto her next adventure. The choice to show segments from five chapters is an interesting one, and while fans of the first game know that a stunning experience with upgrades and thoughtful puzzles is coming, it doesn't hold much weight for newcomers.
Planet of Lana 2 will release on March 5, 2026 on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 7:52 AM
The infinite duplication glitch has been known in the secret corners of ARC Raiders for a few weeks at least, but it has now spread like wildfire.
The exploit, or glitch, doesn't use any external tools. However, it allows you to basically create as many throwables as you want. This can be abused to pretty extreme levels, and some players aren't hesitating to do just that. So, what is the method actually, and why should you refrain from using it?
Table of contents
What is the ARC Raiders infinite duplication glitch
Update: The duplication glitch has now been patched out as of Feb. 10.
This duplication glitch is slightly different from the older one. This one is only applicable to throwable items. For some reason, it also includes the ducks that are actually trinkets.
We won't share the exact method, but it makes it so that you can throw an infinite number of items, as long as they're throwable. If it's a grenade, you obviously can't pick it up. If it's a duck, however, you can. Once you extract successfully, you can then sell these ducks to make as many credits as required.
With grenades and explosives, things aren't that simple. Some players are using it to get a large number of grenades. Having free Trigger Nades isn't funny and can spoil the session for other players if they're engaging in PvP.
Can the duplication glitch get you banned in ARC Raiders
In one word - yes. The duplication glitch is an exploit, and it directly breaks the terms and conditions. As of writing, Embark has only announced that they're aware of the duplication glitch and are working to fix the problem. Hence, there's no official word of a ban.
However, you should refrain from using the glitch unless you are comfortable risking your account. ARC Raiders has already banned players for cheating in the past, and continuing to use the duplication glitch could land you in more trouble with your account.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to stay away from exploits in multiplayer online games.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 7:08 AM
WoW, aka World of Warcraft, will be having a lengthy stint of server downtime on Feb. 10 ahead of the upcoming update.
Once the servers are down, you won't be able to access the game for a while. The only option will be to wait for the maintenance to be over. Thankfully, we have received the details surrounding the maintenance from Blizzard in case you want to plan ahead of time.
WoW server maintenance schedule (Feb. 10)
The servers will be taken down at 7am PT/9am CT/10am ET on Feb. 10. Since this is big maintenance, the servers will be down for a longer period of time. According to the announced schedule, the servers will be back when the maintenance is over at 3pm PT/5pm CT/6pm ET.
Unless there are any more delays, the maintenance will last for a whopping eight hours. If you're in parts of Europe or Asia, the maintenance will actually stretch until Feb. 11 in most of the regions. Once the servers are down, only WoW Classic will be available for those still looking to grind their levels.
Interestingly, the patch notes announced by Blizzard are quite different from the reason behind the server downtime. The downtime is stated to be caused by UI changes and general optimizations. As per the patch notes, several classes will undergo major tweaks in tomorrow's patch.
Here's a list of all the official changes coming in tomorrow's update, as announced in the official forums.
CLASSES
DEATH KNIGHT
Hero Talents
Unholy
DRUID
Restoration
HUNTER
Beast Mastery
PALADIN
Hero Talents
Herald of the Sun (Retribution)
Templar
Holy
Retribution
Class
Holy
SHAMAN
Enhancement
Restoration
WARLOCK
Demonology
WARRIOR
Arms
TRANSMOG
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:59 AM
You can use Ctrl+F on PC or the Find/Search option on mobile to browse recipes by character. I've also sorted them all by anime/manga and I'm constantly adding new ones so stay tuned. Here are all Craft Anime recipes listed.
Table of contents
Craft Anime All Recipes
You can search any element/ingredient or character with Ctrl+F or you can browse above (Table of Contents) or below by anime category. The current available ingredients are:
And the available events and multipliers are:
New! - Ghost Ingredient Recipes
For now these new Ghost recipes will be in their own Update category. I'll sort them into their respective anime/manga/series below in the next update. Here are all the new Craft Anime Ghost ingredient recipes.
Attack on Titan
Black Clover
Bleach
Demon Slayer
Dragon Ball
Fairy Tale
Hunter X Hunter
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Jujutsu Kaizen
My Hero Academia
Naruto
One Piece
Seven Deadly Sins
Vinland Saga
YuYu Hakusho
Kuroko no Basuke
Code Geass
KonoSuba
Full Metal Alchemist
Spy X Family
Sailor Moon
The Puella Magi
Sword Art Online
Violet Evergarden
One Punch Man
Death Note
Higurashi When They Cry
Fire Force
Overlord
Akame Ga Kill!
Tokyo Ghoul
Solo Leveling
Toaru Majutsu no Index
Steins Gate
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Gurren Lagann
Re:Zero
Owari no Seraph
Chainsaw Man
Berserk
Fate Series
Hellsing
Gintama
Angel Beats
Lycoris Recoil
Umamusume
Genshin/Honkai/Zenles Zone Zero
Quintessential Quintuplets
Bocchi the Rock
Cardcaptor Sakura
High School DxD
Kakegurui
Darling in the FRANXX
Roshidere
Jobless Reincarnation
Vocaloid
Miscallenious
That's it for my guide on all Craft Anime recipes. Check out our Craft Anime codes for free goodies.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:53 AM
The Shared Watch event is live in ARC Raiders, and you can earn up to 21 rewards for free.
Available for the next two weeks, the Shared Watch event encourages cooperation between raiders. Engaging in PvE activities will earn you Merits, which convert into rewards. Let's look at all the items we can earn during this event.
Table of contents
All Shared Watch rewards in ARC Raiders
How to get Shared Watch event rewards in ARC Raiders
To get the rewards, you have to earn 1050 Merits (cumulatively). Every 100 XP you get will convert to one Merit. This isn't your standard XP. You'll get this event XP by destroying and damaging ARCs. You'll also get XP by helping other players bring down ARCs. Any damage you do to another raider won't reward you with any extra XP for the event.
Hence, your priority is to bring down as many ARCs as possible. The bigger ARCs, like the Queen and the Matriarch, will give more rewards. However, you can also gain Merits by damaging and destroying smaller ARCs like the Wasps and Ticks. You have until Feb. 24 to unlock all the available rewards.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:36 AM
Merits is a brand new currency you can earn in ARC Raiders Shared Watch, which can earn you different rewards for free.
There are various ways to earn Merits in ARC Raiders. This currency is exclusively used within the Shared Watch event. Let's find out how it all works.
Table of contents
How to earn Merits in ARC Raiders
To earn Metits, you'll need to get yourself XP. For every 100 XP you get, you'll receive one Merit. However, this XP is different from that which you normally earn in-game to level up your account.
To receive all the available rewards, you'll need to earn plenty of Merits. Incidentally, the Shared Watch event isn't a PvE-exclusive mode. You can still hunt and be hunted by other players. However, taking down a player won't earn you any Merit or event XP.
If you solely want to focus on earning Merits to finish the event, you should hunt down as many ARCs as possible.
How to earn Merits fast in ARC Raiders
The core method of earning Merits is pretty simple. However, there are a few things you can do to increase the rate of earnings.
Ideally, stay away from PvP for now, as you won't want to get killed while trying to farm all the rewards.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:32 AM
I'm ranking all Swords, Combat Specs, Fruits, Races and Traits in Rogue Piece so that you can make the best build. This tier list will also include equipment tips for all categories as well as how to get everything. Here's my ultimate early-mid-late PVP/PVE Rogue Piece tier list for everything in the game.
Table of contents
Rogue Piece Combat Spec and Fruit Tier List
Both Combat Specs and Fruits scale with the Power stat in Rogue Piece (RIP Strength stat). On average, Combat Specs tend to be equal to swords. Fruits are weaker than swords with Light (the strongest fruit) being comparable to B-Tier swords (See above). Let's analyze them individually.
SSS-Tier Specs & Fruits
S-Tier Specs & Fruits
A-Tier Specs & Fruits
B-Tier Specs & Fruits
C-Tier Specs & Fruits
D-Tier Specs & Fruits
Rogue Piece Sword Tier List
This Rogue Piece sword tier list focuses on both how good the moveset is for PVE and PVP while taking DPS into account (But it's not a DPS-only tier list). The higher tiers will usually be the best options for PVE and PVP while the B-Tiers are only good for PVE. That said, note that lower-tier swords like Wado or Gryphon are still really useful for PVE grinding. Also, Metal Bat and Tanjiro are in the same tier as Epics and Rares because while they have much better DPS, their movesets are slow and awkward. Let's analyze each sword individually below.
S-Tier Swords
A-Tier Swords
B-Tier Swords
C-Tier Swords
D-Tier Swords
Rogue Piece Race Tier List
The best race in Rogue Piece goes a long way to boost your DPS based on your build. You get them from Race Rerolls and for some like the Demon race you can use specific items like Muzan's Blood. The three races in S-Tier are almost equal depending on whether you're going for a Sword stat build or a Power stat build. A-Tiers are good alternatives and B-Tier are situational picks that can be good but underpowered. C-Tier are weak but good for beginners and D are pretty much useless.
S-Tier Races
A-Tier Races
B-Tier Races
C-Tier Races
D-Tier Races
Rogue Piece Trait Tier List
The best traits in Rogue Piece are much easier to determine than Swords or Specs since it's just a simple numbers game. That said damage tends to be the best stat to boost as well as cooldown since most of the game is PVE farming and it's better to kill faster than tank more damage. That's why you'll see that some Traits that boost damage or cooldowns better are placed higher. Here's what each Trait does below.
All Rogue Piece Traits Listed
That's it for my complete Rogue Piece tier list for swords, combat specs, fruits, powers, traits and races. Check out our Rogue Piece codes for a fast start to the game that you can use to get your Celestial Dragon race and buy a Dual Katanas for fast farming.
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Destructoid Tuesday, February 10, 2026 5:15 AM
Update 1.15.0 has arrived in ARC Raiders, and it includes plenty of changes and fixes.
This is February's first big patch that follows the recently-released Headwinds update. The patch marks the start of the Shared Watch event, so let's go over the main things to look out for.
Complete ARC Raiders update 1.15.0 patch notes
Here's a list of miscellaneous changes in the current patch.
The Trailblazer grenade has also been nerfed, as it will no longer deal damage through walls. It will also deal less damage to bigger enemies like the Leaper and the Bastion. You can find all the changes in the full patch notes. Embark is also investigating several known issues that have been reported by the community.
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Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:19 AM According to claims in a recent podcast. The post A General Nintendo Direct Will Allegedly Happen This Month appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, February 10, 2026 8:20 AM Riot Games announced. The post The 2XKO Team Has Been Downsized After A Disappointing Launch appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, February 10, 2026 7:57 AM According to leaker. The post The PlayStation 6 Console Will Have 30 GB GDDR7 RAM, PlayStation Handheld Will Have 24GB appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 10, 2026 11:00 AM Announcing a board game IP is being attached to a video game is news I generally meet with a nod and a sip of my coffee. I have a few friends who are into board games, but we don't get together nearly enough for me to be attached to any one intellectual property. When Artefacts […] |
MonsterVine Tuesday, February 10, 2026 9:00 AM Romeo Is A Dead Man takes style over substance beyond its breaking point. A game that features cool and outlandish ideas at every turn, with a 2D pixel hub space ship, a maze navigating upgrade minigame, and outlandish sci-fi ideas, like the Space-Time FBI. Any surprises it might hold or fun ideas it has are […] |