Coliseum

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is sailing into port soon, launching on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on July 9. I recently attended a preview event for the game – and I’ll have more to share about that soon, including my impressions after playing the game and interviewing key devs behind the remake – and there, I got the chance to speak to Edward Kenway voice actor Matt Ryan. And surprise: he’s a joy to talk to, and someone who genuinely loves this character as much as the Assassin’s Creed community (and it was also great to finally tell him that his Constantine kicks ass). 

To keep things simple, I’ll list my questions below, along with Ryan’s answers – enjoy!

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced: Matt Ryan Q/A

Game Informer’s Wesley LeBlanc and Edward Kenway voice actor Matt Ryan

Game Informer’s Wesley LeBlanc: How did you originally get involved with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag? 

Edward Kenway voice actor Matt Ryan: Well, originally, it was pitched as a pirate TV show because it was all top secret, so I did the first audition and I thought that the scenes – they didn’t give me a script – but the scenes that were given were great, and the description of the character was great. And when they invited me back, they said it was an Assassin’s Creed game, and I’d already played the first ones, so I was like, “Great, yeah!” But yeah, it was all in the writing.

Why do you think Edward is so beloved? 

For me, personally, I think it’s about his arc, the journey he goes on. He starts off as just a normal kind of guy who’s trying to get a better life for himself and his wife, but he’s also ruthless and he’ll do whatever he can to take it. And he thinks he can get to that place where, you know, he can provide for his family and have a better life. He thinks it’s fame and glory and riches, and it’s not; he really goes on this journey to get those things, but even though he doesn’t get what he needs and what he wants, through the way that he’s going about it, it does eventually lead him to something worthwhile.

What was the original direction they gave you for Edward?
What’s funny is that when I did the audition, Edward was based in the north of England with a completely different accent. So my audition was in a different accent, and it wasn’t until I went over to Montreal to start filming that they went, “Oh, you sound different.” And I was like, “Yeah, well, this is my real voice.” And they said, “Where are you from?” And I said, “I’m from a place called Swansea in Wales.” They asked me if it was on the sea, and it is, so then they were like, “Maybe we can use that.” So they made the character where I’m from, which I thought was great, because nobody knows where Swansea is in Wales, and it adds to the character – this guy coming from a small town, with no money growing up, and then wanting to change that. The other similarity, which is funny, is that I left Wales at 19; I left Swansea at 19 to go to Bristol, to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, to become an actor, and Edward actually left Swansea to go to Bristol too. It’s a really cool parallel.  

What was it like coming back to Edward? 

It was a strange and wonderful and nostalgic and beautiful experience, man. It’s like an old friend. The funny thing is, when I did the original game, you didn’t quite know what it would be. You want to do the best job you can; you do your research, you do your preparation, and you give it your all. Coming back to something that you know has been very successful and that [Assassin’s Creed fans] like, and you’re like, “Oh shit, where is he? How do I realign to him?” But he was there, man, and it was kind of easy to slip into. My voice has changed slightly; it is slightly lower now, but I trained as an actor for this. But yeah, what a joy to come back and after all this, all this time, doing new scenes. [These] new scenes just jumped off the page, and they really add to the character – they add depth to the character and the story. They’re not just there for the sake of filling it out. 

What are you most excited about? 

I’m excited for the fans, old and new, to discover this great character in this astoundingly beautiful, ruthless, cruel, wonderful world and go on a journey with [Edward Kenway]. And I think that all the people who’ve been on that journey with him before, I’m excited for them to go on it again, and for them to feel the depth that has been brought to the character through the new stuff that we’ve done and the physics engine that they’re using in the game, and how the game looks and feels. 

We’ll have plenty more about Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced from the recent preview event I attended, so keep an eye on Game Informer so you don’t miss it. In the meantime, read about all of the changes and updates made to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced as a remake, and then check out the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced PC specs and requirements. After that, read about how Ubisoft has launched a real-life $500,000 treasure hunt to celebrate the remake. 

At Game Informer, writing game reviews is one of our primary functions. As such, we cover hundreds of titles each and every year, hoping to turn you on to your next favorite game. However, within that field, a select few rise to the top as the games we most highly recommend. While you’re always welcome to peruse our reviews page for the latest and greatest (and sometimes worst) games on the market, we’ve gathered our highest-scoring reviews of 2026 right here. 

Be sure to bookmark this page and check back frequently, as we’ll continue to update it as more titles earn review scores on the top end of our review scale.

9.75

Resident Evil Requiem

A masterclass in refinement and a tour de force of gameplay, Requiem is Resident Evil at its finest. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC

Release Date:
February 27, 2026

9.25

Cairn

Cairn is more than a remarkably gripping mountain-climbing game. It’s also a deeply affecting narrative of anguish, loss, and the steep cost of obsession. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC

Release Date:
January 29, 2026

Forza Horizon 6

Even for a series built on delivering approachable racing action that appeals to both newcomers and hardcore players, Forza Horizon 6 impresses at each turn, delivering one of the greatest racing games of this generation. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date:

May 19, 2026 (Xbox Series X/S, PC), 2026 (PlayStation 5)

Marathon

Bungie’s excellent audio design and gunplay, paired with increasingly complicated level design borrowing from over a decade of expertise designing Destiny raids coalesce into something special. Marathon is proof Bungie is still at the top of its game. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date:
March 5, 2026

Saros

Moving, shooting, improving (both in stats and skill), winning, and even losing is an unequivocal joy, and I only wish I could write this final sentence faster so I can hurry up and get back to planet Carcosa and attempt another run. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5

Release Date:
April 30, 2026

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park

Super Mario Bros. Wonder was a joy to play through in 2023, and now, a few years later, it’s even better. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2

Release Date:
March 26, 2026

9

Deadzone: Rogue

Thanks to superb gunplay, a compelling mystery, and terrific use of the roguelite formula, Deadzone: Rogue avoids getting lost in the crowded sci-fi shooter genre. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC

Release Date:

August 11, 2025 (PC), September 3, 2025 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S), March 17, 2026 (Switch 2)

Mixtape

Mixtape’s stellar writing, concise runtime, and inspired use of its licensed soundtrack make it an instant classic and a heartfelt trip down memory lane. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC

Release Date:
May 7, 2026

Nioh 3

Nioh 3’s consistently rewarding approach to open-world design, combined with its entertaining Ninja gameplay style, cements it as the best entry in the franchise. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC

Release Date:
February 6, 2026

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is a brilliant modern adventure game, filled with mysteries, delightful characters, and gorgeous art. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2, Switch, PC, iOS, Android

Release Date:
February 19, 2026

Pokémon Pokopia

Despite minor complaints, Pokémon Pokopia sticks out as one of the best examples of a third-party developer using the Pokémon license to the fullest extent possible. Read review

Platforms: Switch 2

Release Date:
March 5, 2026

World of Warcraft: Midnight

Now more than ever, Azeroth feels like a home away from home. Read review

Platforms: PC, Mac

Release Date:
March 2, 2026

8.75

Death Howl

Death Howl is a cohesive and well-crafted fusion of deckbuilders and Soulslikes. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Release Date:

December 9, 2025 (PC), February 19, 2026 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch)

High On Life 2

High on Life 2 is the kind of game that you can put on, laugh at for a while, and forget what’s troubling you, even though reminders might slip in through the pointed social commentary. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date:
February 13, 2026

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Even with my dissatisfaction with stealth and some minor glitches, the latest Lego Batman is a rain-slicked success. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PC

Release Date:

May 22, 2026 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), 2026 (Switch 2)

MIO: Memories in Orbit

Taking cues from the likes of Hollow Knight and Ori, this punishing platforming and exploration game is well worth your time if you’re up for a big challenge. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, PC

Release Date:
January 20, 2026

8.5

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred

Lord of Hatred is an exceptional cherry on top of Diablo IV, further cementing the entire package as among the best action RPGs of the generation. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Release Date:
April 28, 2026

Fur Squadron Phoenix

Nintendo may not know what to do with the Star Fox franchise, but Fur Squadron Phoenix makes a great case that the genre can still flourish in 2026. Read review

Platforms: Switch, PC

Release Date:

February 18, 2026 (PC), February 25, 2026 (Switch)

Invincible VS

With a solid foundation built upon approachability and personality, Invincible VS is easy to recommend to both seasoned fighting games fans and Invincible enthusiasts. Read review

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Release Date:
April 30, 2026

For more of our top reviews from recent years, head to the links below.

• 2025
• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014

Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s first two DLC characters are now available for purchase, introducing a new X-Man and the game’s first Fantastic Four member: Cyclops and The Thing.

Cyclops, rocking a pretty sweet jacket, can fire his optic beams to keep foes at bay while pummeling them in hand-to-hand combat. The Thing is, as you would expect, a powerhouse who pummels foes using his rocky fists, living up to his catchphrase “It’s clobberin’ time!” Both characters can be purchased together for $3.99. Check them out in action in the trailer below.

Developer Tribute Games also teases that DLC 2 arrives this fall, though we’ll have to wait a few months to see which characters it will include. In the meantime, be sure to check out our review of Marvel Cosmic Invasion here. 

Reviewed on:
PlayStation 5

Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Publisher:
Warner Bros. Games

Developer:
TT Games

Release:
May 22, 2026
(PlayStation 5,
Xbox Series X/S,
PC), 2026 (Switch 2)

Rating:
Everyone 10+

As a lifelong Lego Batman fan, Legacy of the Dark Knight is nothing short of a dream come true. While I will praise the revamped combat, detailed open world, and charming story, it’s the design philosophy they’re spawned from that makes the game so successful. Legacy of the Dark Knight leaves no meat on the bone, with no corner of Batman’s mythology left unturned as it depicts every version of the Caped Crusader fans have come to love. Even with my dissatisfaction with stealth and some minor glitches, the latest Lego Batman is a rain-slicked success. As I played, I heard developer TT Games’ thesis ringing through, loud and clear: People love Batman; here are all the reasons why.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Review:

Story mode takes players across decades of Bruce Wayne’s life, from young child to rookie vigilante to greying patriarch of the Bat Family. To do so, TT Games pulls sequences from most of Batman’s live-action appearances, remixing them into a single narrative. Despite recognizing every reference, I never got tired of seeing Batman’s highlights in goofy, brick-based form, and I was always curious to learn how TT Games would transition from one movie villain to the next. Ultimately, however, Legacy of the Dark Knight combines these pieces into a new story, which I appreciated. The ending and final boss fight are particularly exciting, as they alter expected twists to tell an original conclusion.

Each chapter also introduces a new companion for Batman. You train alongside Talia al Ghul at the League of Shadows, take on Carmine Falcone with Jim Gordon, battle Mr. Freeze with Batgirl, and even get to see Dick Grayson’s journey from Robin to Nightwing. That said, I was left wishing Nightwing felt more distinct from his younger self, as both wield escrima sticks and their gadgets are nearly identical. Catwoman is also present, and while I enjoyed playing as her early on, she feels cast aside by the story’s conclusion compared to the rest of the cast.

Players inhabit these characters to use the game’s overhauled mechanics, which are the most complex a Lego game has ever had, while remaining comprehensible to younger audiences. Plenty of prior Lego games were specifically designed for children, but with skill trees, gadget upgrades, great level design, and a new combat system, Legacy of the Dark Knight is truly meant for all ages.

The aforementioned combat system is lifted almost verbatim from the Arkham games, with counter-based gameplay and familiar enemy variants. While there are also three included difficulty levels (a first for the Lego franchise), the highest level was only mildly challenging. It’s likely my prior Arkham playthroughs altered my experience, but I played the whole game without upgrading my health and never lost all three of my lives. However, it’s certainly engaging enough to hold my interest, and I still had lots of fun punching henchmen.

Meanwhile, stealth is Legacy of the Dark Knight’s least consistent element. It’s an option in many story encounters, but it’s either far too simple, with enemies lined up with their backs to you, or simply intended as an entrance move, with enemies so clustered up that you can only take out one or two before being seen. Luckily, it’s also not very punishing, as a failed stealth approach just turns into normal combat, but I wish more thought had been put into this side of the Dark Knight’s skillset.

You’ll spend time between story missions in open-world Gotham City, which is easily one of the game’s most successful features. Across its four islands, it’s dynamic and organic, full of diverse architecture, pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and just about every Batman-related landmark you could hope for. There’s plenty to discover just by driving the city’s roads, but it’s also built with Batman’s verticality in mind, with puzzles and collectibles scattered across the skyline. There’s no shortage of things to do here, with hundreds of puzzles and short sidequests appearing on the map as you progress through the campaign. It will take me hours and hours to scour the city in the quest to reach 100-percent completion, and I plan to enjoy every second of it.

I should also note that I encountered some scarce bugs across my roughly 15-hour playthrough, usually because of the game’s physics. I’d grapple to a ledge but fail to hold on, characters would oddly vibrate on uneven surfaces, and a few times my camera clipped out of bounds. No issues were game-breaking, but all were distracting, even though they only happened about a dozen times.

Still, I am utterly delighted by Legacy of the Dark Knight. Its story is charming and effective, its combat is engaging, and its open world is top-notch. It’s a no-holds-barred approach to the revered character, and though there are spots where the execution could have been better, TT Games included everything I could have asked for in one wholly entertaining package. The Dark Knight has a storied legacy, and this adventure does it justice.

Score:
8.75

About Game Informer’s review system

In this week’s episode, we dive into the exclusive details of our Blood of Dawnwalker cover story, including an early look at romance options in the vampiric role-playing game from The Witcher 3’s former game director. The crew also discusses Forza Horizon 6 and where the racing game goes next, why Directive 8020 disappointed executive editor Kyle Hilliard, and Call of the Elder Gods, another puzzle game from Out of the Blue Games. Finally, we wrap the podcast with a new wave of listener questions! 

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Support the show by subscribing to our physical video game magazine! Submit a question or topic you’d like to hear us discuss: Podcast@GameInformer.com

Sponsored: Logitech G just changed the game again with the new PRO X2 Superstrike. This isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a total reimagining of the mouse click. Stop playing fair and start playing faster. Go to LogitechG.com and enter code GAMEINFORMER25 at checkout to save 25% off Logitech G products.

Watch or Listen to the Podcast:

Listen to “The Blood of Dawnwalker Exclusive Details & Forza Horizon 6 Review” on Spreaker.

Follow our hosts online:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Kyle Hilliard (@KyleHilliard)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)
• Brian Shea (@BrianPShea)

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

05:02 – Forza Horizon 6 Review

25:46 – Directive 8020 Review

38:39 – The Blood of Dawnwalker Exclusive Details (Cover Story)

01:11:44 – Call of the Elder Gods

01:23:11 – Listener Questions

It’s the freakin’ weekend, baby. It was a busy week here at Game Informer. We revealed the next cover and launched the issue! We’re highlighting The Blood of Dawnwalker, a new game about vampires from the director of Witcher 3. There’s plenty more to the game than that, but you will have to read the cover story for the full picture. That issue also includes a big interview with Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, which subscribers can read right here and lots more.

Here’s some other articles that we put online this week before we offer up some weekend gamin’ recommendations.

• Cover Reveal – The Blood Of Dawnwalker
• Forza Horizon 6 Review – Remaining On The Podium
• Directive 8020 Review – A Failed Copy
• Call of the Elder Gods Review – Maintaining Sanity
• Best Buy May Have Leaked Grand Theft Auto VI Preorders Going Live Monday
• As Early Access Fav Witchfire Nears 1.0 Launch This Year, Its Devs Make Clear You Won’t Ever Find Generative AI In It

The NFL season will commence this September, but ahead of Week 1, all 32 teams in the league released their schedules today to let fans know the teams they’ll face. There are a lot of unique and funny ways the teams went about this, but nothing tops the Los Angeles Chargers spoofing Halo and the Cleveland Browns spoofing Street Fighter 2. 

These aren’t just creative workarounds either – the Chargers worked directly with Halo Studios to create various in-game Halo matches, complete with custom armor and other creative touches to showcase each football team in the style of the long-running FPS. They even got Jeff Steitzer, the man behind the iconic Halo multiplayer voice, to provide new voice lines for the video, and it rules. You can check out the Chargers’ Halo-inspired schedule release video here (the Chargers have annoyingly blocked the videos from being embedded on websites). 

The Cleveland Browns dug even deeper into the nostalgia bag, utilizing an old-school aspect ratio, grainy film, hiring MatPat as a corny host, and displaying plenty of arcade cabinets to spoof Street Fighter 2 for the team’s schedule release. Each NFL team is represented with a pretty good approximation of a Street Fighter 2 character in this fake version of the game, and you can see the Browns’ fighter face off against them. Check it out below (shout out to the Browns for letting this video be embedded, unlike another NFL team…): 

For more, read Game Informer’s Street Fighter 6 review, and then head to our Street Fighter 6 coverage hub (from when the game graced our cover back in 2022) for behind-the-scenes interviews and more. After that, check out the Halo: Campaign Evolved reveal trailer for a look at this Halo: Combat Evolved remake coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Which schedule release video do you think is better? Let us know in the comments below!

Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Publisher:
Bandai Namco

Developer:
Rebel Wolves

Release:
September 3, 2026

Rating:
Mature

We recently announced our latest cover story as The Blood of Dawnwalker, the debut title from Rebel Wolves, a studio co-founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who directed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. We spent a full day in the Rebel Wolves’ studio in Warsaw, Poland, seeing an extended hands-off demo and speaking with key members of the development team. After watching a long demo consisting of the prologue (read our impressions of that here), we went into a small room with Tomaszkiewicz to get an exclusive look at an extra sequence that hints at how relationships will play out as you play through this extremely promising action/RPG built on player choice.

In the extra quest I see, protagonist Coen, a Dawnwalker who is a human by day and vampire by night, visits the town herbalist, Anca, to procure an elixir to strengthen the body and mind of his mother, Esme. Coen does this so that the primary antagonist, Brencis, and his clique of vampires don’t know Esme’s been starving herself. When Coen arrives at Anca’s house, he asks her about a concoction that can calm his mother’s mind and fortify her body. However, a surprise storm rolls in, trapping Coen and Anca in the house. Anca asks Coen if he’d like to use this opportunity to practice his Latin; it turns out she’s more than just an herbalist. Choosing to stay consumes a time segment, a finite resource that dictates the passage of time within the daily calendar.

They begin working through a poem that Anca originally indicates might be a bit much for Coen, but they dive into it anyway. The ode to the poet’s lover certainly sets the mood, and small facial expressions indicate there might be a bit more to this teacher/student relationship. The fact that I can read their facial expressions stands in stark contrast to how romance options used to feel even just a few years ago, where it felt like two mannequins talking, flirting, and getting physical, highlighting how far the technology has progressed in recent years.

“Now, you can believe that they are really characters or people,” game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says. “Our goal is to allow you to believe that and to feel that, because then immersion is totally different, you know, and emotions are different because you believe that you are speaking almost with a real person.”

However, that mood is interrupted as the storm knocks over a tree, smashing through the roof of Anca’s herb shack. Since those herbs are her livelihood, it’s a “drop everything” kind of situation. Coen and Anca run outside, but in the pouring rain, Anca slips and cuts herself. Coen saves the herbs, but now he must address Anca’s injuries.

Though she’s resistant to the idea, Coen insists he helps patch her up. She agrees and removes her shirt so he can see the wound on her back. Now, the chemistry between the two feels even more intense. Through an interactive scene, Coen dresses the wound while the two make small talk. Nothing too risqué occurs in this sequence (aside from the shirt being removed), but Coen certainly gets in a few flirtatious lines on the way out. 

Player choice is at the center of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and that includes not only what quests you take on and how you complete them, but how you interact with people in the world. “We have a number of systems around this; some of them are kind of exposed to you as a player,” creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz says. “The system we have in place for that, we call ‘infamy.’ And this system tracks your actions throughout the game and how known you become to the vampiric court and to the people of Vale Sangora in this negative way. This can be done in multiple ways: If you go on rampages, if you just kill people, if you steal things and people catch you, you, of course, get this bad rep. But also, like, quest choices and just choosing to go after Brencis, his retinue, and their organization will definitely bump you up on their ‘bad people’ list. There are consequences to this, negative and positive. On the negative side, Brencis will take notice, and he will enact these edicts that basically are meant to make your life harder. So, for example, he might send bounty hunters after you, or he might put the city on lockdown, in an extreme case, where it’s very difficult to get in and get out and get to those shopkeepers, or you have to find your way around it. [He might] put more military patrols on the street, and so on.”

But it’s not all negative, as infamy can aid Coen in his quest to take down Brencis and save his family. “On the positive side, there are people that hate Brencis and work against him, and raising your infamy will provide them with proof that you’re on their side, that you’re not just another vampire that is working against them,” Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz says. “It also might make it easier for you to intimidate people because now, suddenly, you have this reputation of this infamous guy that goes around and wrecks the [vampire] organization.”

But it goes beyond widespread infamy and Coen’s reputation, as Rebel Wolves also tracks your interactions with people on a micro level, building a database of Coen’s relationships, which can eventually lead to romance. “We track your choices individually on a more detailed level,” Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz says. “Because of that, we have a lot of reactivity to your choices in the quests. NPCs might remember certain things you do and react to it in other places.”

“You can build relations in our game, not only through normal dialogue, but also action,” Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says. “We have a lot of different activities and quests in the game. Some of them are flashy and you have combat or magic, and some are subtle or more calm, but you have people with whom you can speak or do some other thing to help them and build your relation. Sometimes, maybe romantic relations will come out of it.” 

This demo, when combined with these systems, plants the seed for how romance can play out in Rebel Wolves’ debut game, but the studio isn’t quite ready to share much beyond what I saw. “We have a rule that we are not speaking about romances,” Konrad Tomaszkiewicz says. “You will see it after we release the game, but there will be some romance options that you can do. [Regarding this demo], we are taking a lot of care about the details to create those people to be really rich and interesting, and you’ll need to build your relations to achieve that.”

If you’re a subscriber, you can read more about this sequence, as well as get the most comprehensive look at The Blood of Dawnwalker yet in our cover story. It’s available online for both print and digital subscribers right now, with the print issues arriving in mid-June. The Blood of Dawnwalker launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on September 3.

Games Done Quick (GDQ) has announced that its flagship speedrunning marathon, Summer Games Done Quick, will return to Minneapolis this July to benefit Doctors Without Borders. The full schedule has been released and will feature a wide range of speedruns from July 5 to July 11, including a game-breaking Balatro run, a unique tool-assisted Super Mario 64 run, the NES Tetris Tournament Finals, and so much more. 

The in-person event will be held at the Hilton Minneapolis Downtown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to benefit Doctors Without Borders, a private international humanitarian organization founded in 1971 to provide lifesaving medical care to those most in need around the world. The money raised helps Doctors Without Borders’ mission – last year’s Summer event raised more than $2.4 million. 

You can check out the full Summer Games Done Quick schedule here. 

Here’s a quick look at some of the speedruns GDQ is highlighting for this year’s Summer event: 

• Super Mario 64 – GDQ’s first-ever 120 Star TAS (tool-assisted) run.
• Total Nuclear Annihilation – Runner Ryan McSquid will be doing a Total Nuclear Annihilation pinball run, all while explaining his advanced techniques.
• NES Tetris Tournament Finals – The finals hit the mainstage! Online qualifiers will be live on GDQ Hotfix in June, with a last chance qualifier for attendees on-site.
• Balatro – Runner adef will attempt to reach a score in Balatro so high it breaks the game.
• Gordon & Daxter – A one-of-a-kind hybrid run where Half-Life 1 movement is imported into Jak & Daxter.

Summer Games Done Quick will be available to watch in person (with a pass) or live on the organization’s YouTube and Twitch accounts. 

Bungie revealed earlier this week that Season 2 of Marathon will begin on June 2. Ahead of the new season’s start, the studio has released a massive blog post detailing plans for Season 2 and beyond, what went wrong with Season 1, what went well, and more. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the post is the news that Bungie will implement experimental PvE modes in Marathon during Season 2. 

In a section of the blog post titled “More Options To Chill And New Survival Experiences,” Bungie says it is looking to evolve Marathon as a whole to be an experience where you can find more novel ways to play when “you’re stressed out from a nail-biting run and just need to cool off.” In steps experimental PvE modes. 

“In Season 2, we will be experimenting with two modes, one at the beginning of the season and one towards the middle/latter half of the season,” the blog post reads. “The experimental mode at the beginning of the season will focus more on PvE, but with a light touch of PvP. The second experimental mode will be a PvE-only mode that’s focused on crews being tasked with completing objectives together and making some progress across matches.” 

While I, personally, quite enjoy Maratho’s PvP stress, I can understand why the intense focus on it might be a turn-off for some would-be players, and PvE modes would likely draw them in (and maybe convince them to give the excellent PvP a go, too). 

Bungie says it will continue to run experimental queues beyond these two offerings in Season 2 and beyond, testing the waters around other mechanics, like a more purely PvP-focused mode) with potential for these modes to become part of the core game loop. 

In Season 3, Bungie says it plans to introduce many revisions to Marathon’s early experience, including major updates to Perimeter, a new Runner shell, and additional content. Season 4 will focus on building more depth into the existing extraction loop, and Season 5 will be about bringing the “whole ecosystem of (Pv(P)vE) play together and evolving our weird sci-fi world in new ways.” 

Bungie

The upcoming Sentinel Runner shell

Elsewhere in the post, Bungie Duos will return in Season 2 alongside Vault size expansion and increased faction progression rates. It will dive deep into more Season 2 content, like Night Marsh, the new Cradle progression system, and the brand-new Sentinel Runner shell (pictured above), the week of May 25. 

The blog post goes into extreme detail on plenty of other topics, so if you’re a more hardcore Marathon player, check it out here. 

For more, read Game Informer’s Marathon review to find out why it’s one of our favorite shooters of the year. 

If you’re not already playing Marathon, would PvE modes bring you in? Let us know in the comments below!