IGN

Nightdive Studios announced that System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition — its modernized edition of the 1999 classic sci-fi horror action role-playing game — has been renamed System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster and is also coming to Nintendo Switch.

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster will soon be released on Windows PC via Steam and GOG and on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch.

If you’re a fan of the Paddington movies, you’ll be happy to know that the next installment is now playing in theaters across the United States. Titled Paddington in Peru, the third movie takes the beloved bear and the Brown family to the jungles of Peru in search of Paddington’s aunt. Check out IGN’s review of the film for more information.

We’ve laid out all of the details about how to watch the new Paddington movie below. This includes potential streaming and digital release dates for those who don’t plan on seeing this one in theaters.

How to Watch Paddington in Peru – Showtimes

Paddington in Peru is now playing in theaters. It was originally released in the UK back in November, so this is a U.S.-only release. You can check out out the links below to find showtimes at the local theaters near you. The movie will also be released in IMAX theaters at some participating locations.

• Fandango
• Regal
• AMC Theaters
• Cinemark

When will Paddington 3 come to streaming?

We don’t yet have any sort of official streaming release date for Paddington in Peru, but we do know that it will eventually be coming to Netflix. Considering new films usually end up coming to Netflix around 120 days after their initial release, this would put the streaming date sometime in May 2025.

What about the digital release?

Civilization 7 features some of the most significant gameplay changes the long-running strategy series has ever seen. Chief among them is the ability to, for the first time, mix leaders with civs they have nothing to do with, going by real-world history.

In previous Civ games, the civilizations themselves are tied to a specific leader, usually a famous head of state, in such a way as to make historical sense. Elizabeth I, for example, leads the English. Gandhi leads the Indians, and so on.

Civilization 7, however, lets players mix and match history for some crazy combinations, and while some players have said they are enjoying the gameplay possibilities this system unlocks, others have bemoaned what they consider to be an assault on historical accuracy — a quality the Civilization franchise is known for.

A full campaign in Civilization 7 is one that goes through all three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Once the Age is completed, all players (and any AI opponents) experience an Age Transition simultaneously. During an Age Transition, three things happen: you select a new civilization from the new Age to represent your empire, you choose which Legacies you want to retain in the new Age, and the game world evolves. The Civilization games have never had such a system.

In an interview with IGN, Civilization 7 lead designer Ed Beach explained Firaxis’ thinking here, and defended the gameplay changes as they relate to historical accuracy.

“I think what we actually did is moved it around to a different place,” Beach said.

“So if you look at previous Civ games, you would have historical anomalies such as America existing in 4,000 BC or Sweden and Canada in 4,000 BC. And none of those things actually made any sense. They were just accepted parts of the Civ canon.

“But now if you’re going to get to America, you’re going to start somewhere else. You’re going to start with Rome and go to the Normans and then go to America. I just did a Harriet Tubman playthrough where I was trying to honor her African heritage, and so I played as Aksum and then as the Songhai and then came over to America. So these are all valid pathways through history. You can set them up so that the leaders make good sense with this one, and arguably the history is more solid this way than it was before.”

Beach acknowledged, however, that Civilization 7 opens up the possibility for players to create combinations “that seem like we’re breaking history even more than before,” but insisted its fresh take on video game history “is a healthy one.”

“There are ways you can take the game that we’re putting together with Civ 7 and mix up the history in an even more scrambled fashion than you ever had before,” Beach said. “So you can take Confucius and you can have him lead Spain, or you can take Xerxes from Persia and have him lead the Mayan civilization.

“So absolutely, there are crazy combinations that seem like we’re breaking history even more than before, but there are some problems that we fixed. So I’d like to look at as we’ve moved it around. It’s a new way for players to experience and think about history, and I think that kind of fresh take is a healthy one.”

Generally speaking, Civilization 7’s changes have divided the franchise’s fanbase, although the game’s ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam has more to do with launch deficiencies Firaxis is working to address. Beach told IGN he never set out to deliberately cause a furore within the Civilization community, but insisted the changes came from a desire to have more players actually finish a game of Civilization 7 compared to previous titles in the series.

“Anyone who knows me, that’s really not sort of in my personality or DNA to purposely try to shake people up,” Beach said.

“There are people that do that for sure, but that’s not where I usually come from. We really just wanted to, I think, accomplish two things. One, we needed to really think about the Civ formula and what was working and what wasn’t working. And it’s not just the Civ formula, it’s the 4X strategy formula in general. There is this exponential explosion of objects in the world and decisions forced on the players. And in most 4X games that just sort of continues linearly from the beginning of the game, exploding outward in all directions. But it’s really hard to finish a 4X strategy game because the end of the game is so tedious to get through usually that it’s just a problem. So it was really that was the number one thing that we were trying to address.

“Now, I’d say the second point is that every time we do a new version of Civilization, it’s not okay for us to take the exact same gameplay that we had before, put a fresh coat of paint on it, sharpen up the units models and the way the game world looks and say, Hey, we’re done. We really want each version of Civilization to have sort of a signature element that people associate with it. And so if breaking the game up into big chapters where each chapter has a climactic finish to it and then you take a breath and reset and go into the next stage, if we felt like that was going to be an improvement to the whole 4X strategy formula, we wanted to do that. And it also gives a signature element for Civ 7.”

Executive producer Dennis Shirk chimed in to say Firaxis didn’t want to take the Madden team approach putting out an “iterative release” with Civilization 7. “We’ve got a highly polished Civilization 6 planted there right now,” Shirk said. “We’ve got a ton of players playing it. Ed and his team… every time they do a version of the game, everything is put on the table. We put everything into it as a team to make a new experience. It’s not something where we strategize over the next few iterations the kind of things that we want to do from version to version. It just gets all on the table.”

Perhaps in the shorter term, Firaxis will be working to address Civ 7’s ‘mixed’ user review rating on Steam, which stems from various community complaints around the user interface, a lack of map variety, and a feeling that the game has launched without a number of key features fans have come to expect.

In an interview with IGN ahead of the release of its third quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick acknowledged that Civilization 7 had received some negative reviews from press and players, but insisted that the “legacy Civ audience” will come around the more they play, and called Civilization 7’s early performance “very encouraging.” Oh, and if you’re wondering, there’s hope for Gandhi yet.

Looking for tips to help you take over the world? Check out our guide to completing every Civ 7 victory, our run down of the biggest Civ 7 changes for Civ 6 players, and the 14 crucial Civ 7 mistakes to avoid. We’ve also got explanations on all the Civ 7 map types and difficulty settings so you know what you’re getting into.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Elden Ring Nightreign’s first network test — ongoing at the time of this article’s publication — is suffering from significant server issues that have prevented many from playing.

IGN staff with access to the test reported server problems so extreme they were unable to access the game for the test’s first hour.

The issues were bad enough that FromSoftware issued a statement on social media, confirming that players were struggling to find a match due to server congestion. The developer apologized, but encouraged players to try matching again after a while.

Exacerbating the problem is the fact the Elden Ring Nightreign network test is only available during five three-hour periods on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S from February 14 to February 17. Here’s the current schedule:

Elden Ring Nightreign network test session timings:

• February 14: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
• February 14: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET
• February 15: 11am-2pm PT / 2pm-5pm ET
• February 16: 3am-6am PT / 6am-9am ET
• February 16: 7pm-10pm PT / 10pm-1am ET

The network test is a “preliminary verification test in which the selected testers play a portion of the game prior to the full game launch,” Bandai Namco said.

“This large-scale Network Stress Test is designed to evaluate various aspects of the online system’s functionality and performance. We are looking forward to your cooperation to make Elden Ring Nightreign even better.”

It is of course better that Elden Ring Nightreign suffers server issues now than when it launches in May, but players who had earmarked time to try out the game now have expressed their frustration. Hopefully subsequent play sessions will run more smoothly.

Elden Ring Nightreign is FromSoftware’s standalone co-operative spin-off set in a world parallel to that of 2022’s Elden Ring. The network test will allow three players to team up and take their chosen Nightfarers to battle “against new terrors, and explore an ever-changing map to defeat increasingly challenging bosses and ultimately take on the Nightlord,” Bandai Namco added, before confirming the network test features a three day-and-night cycle squads must try to outlast.

Last year IGN had the opportunity to visit FromSoftware and go hands-on with an early build of Elden Ring Nightreign. We came away impressed, stating that Elden Ring Nightreign “takes the cautious dungeon crawls of Elden Ring and turbocharges them into propulsive, slash ‘n’ dash speedruns.”

Check out IGN’s interview with game director Junya Ishizaki for even more on Elden Ring Nightreign.

Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30, 2025 priced $40 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

With the arrival of Captain America: Brave New World, it’s time to yet again take a look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is now home to a whopping 35 movies. But, which MCU film is your favourite? Have a soft spot in your heart for early origin stories such as Iron Man? Or, prefer the spine-tingling team-ups that capped off the Infinity saga? Well, let us know using our handy tier list tool below.

There are many, many movies to pick from, and just a reminder that this is only including entries from Kevin Feige’s MCU empire, so no Sony Marvel films this time around (sorry X-Men. Apart from Wolverine, that is). Take a look at my personal tier list, based completely on what I’ve enjoyed watching the most over the years, here:

What happens to GTA Online when Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out? That’s a question a lot of GTA Online players have been asking ever since GTA 6 was announced. And now, as GTA 6’s fall 2025 release date approaches, they’re no closer to an answer.

GTA Online is Rockstar’s hugely profitable live service that continues to pull in players even now, well over a decade since launch. Its enduring appeal and ability to print money is thought to have influenced Rockstar’s decision to prioritize the live service over story DLC for Grand Theft Auto 5, much to the annoyance of some fans. But there is a more pressing concern looming over the horizon.

When GTA 6 eventually comes out, it is expected to bring with it a new and improved GTA Online. Perhaps this will be GTA Online 2. Perhaps it will be called GTA Online, as before. Either way, players of the existing GTA Online have expressed concern that all their time, effort, and money spent in the current GTA Online will be left behind for a potential clean break later this year.

So, why invest time and money into GTA Online now, in early 2025, when the new GTA Online is potentially due out in perhaps eight months or so? That’s a question IGN put to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick during a recent interview ahead of the company’s third-quarter financial report, and his answer makes for interesting reading.

While Zenick wouldn’t be drawn specifically on any new GTA Online because it has yet to be announced, he did talk generally about Take-Two’s form when it came to NBA 2K Online, a free-to-play online-focused version of 2K Sports’ hugely successful basketball franchise aimed at the Asian market.

NBA 2K Online launched all the way back in 2012, and then 2K Sports released NBA 2K Online 2 in 2017. Both games were maintained simultaneously, so fans of the first version could continue to play and invest their time and money safe in the knowledge they wouldn’t be left behind.

“I’m going to speak theoretically only because I’m not going to talk about a particular project when an announcement hasn’t been made,” Zelnick began. “But generally speaking, we support our properties when the consumers are involved with those titles. As an example, we launched NBA 2K Online in China, I think originally in 2012 if I’m not mistaken. And then we launched NBA 2K Online 2 in China in 2017. If I’m not mistaken. We did not sunset Online 1. They both are still in the market and they serve consumers and they’re alive and we have this massive audience.

“So we’ve shown a willingness to support legacy titles when a community wants to be engaged with them.”

That last line is of particular importance. It suggests — but doesn’t confirm at this stage — that if there is a GTA Online 2, it won’t come at the cost of GTA Online falling by the wayside. If people keep playing GTA Online, Zelnick is suggesting here, then Rockstar will continue to support it.

It’s worth noting that there’s still a huge amount we do now know about GTA 6, given all we’ve had so far is Trailer 1 and a release window. But if GTA 6 is definitely due out fall 2025, potentially after Borderlands 4’s just-announced September release date, Rockstar will have to reveal more sooner rather than later. In the meantime, check out Zelnick’s comments on whether skipping PC for GTA 6’s launch is a mistake.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Rejoice! Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 30, 2025, across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. With the network test getting underway this weekend, there’s a great opportunity to try the game, and potentially lock in your preorder at a discount.

PC players can secure a solid discount by preordering from Fanatical, where the standard edition (Steam code) is down to $35.19 / £30.79 just under $5 / £5 in savings, while the deluxe edition is priced at $48.39 (down from $54.99).

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is set for Update 3 next week, Bethesda has announced.

Ahead of the full patch notes, Bethesda released initial details on Update 3 in a tweet. It’s set to make a number of fixes and improvements, as well as add support for Nvidia DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and DLSS Ray Reconstruction.

Players are hoping Update 3 fixes the various game-breaking bugs Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has suffered from since its launch in early December. Last month, Bethesda said the February update would add new graphical features and options, and the bug fixes would target issues that have prevented some players from 100%-ing the game and from climbing vines or squeezing through walls in Sukhothai. It’s unclear at this stage if any or all those changes have made it into next week’s patch.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launched on PC and Xbox Series X and S and, as a Microsoft-owned game, day-one on Game Pass, and has reached 4 million players so far. MachineGames’ latest release garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards, including three at the D.I.C.E. Awards. A PlayStation 5 release is set for this spring.

Indiana Jones actor Harrison Ford has said Troy Baker playing the beloved character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is proof “you don’t need artificial intelligence to steal my soul.”

Ford discussed alleviating control of Indy with The Wall Street Journal, saying he was very happy with the performance of The Last of Us actor Baker.

“You don’t need artificial intelligence to steal my soul,” Ford said. “You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent. He did a brilliant job, and it didn’t take AI to do it.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World has issued a major patch for the shooter, targeting some 1,700 fixes and improvements including to the A-Life 2.0 system.

Patch 1.2 is, as described by GSC Game World in a post on Steam, “a massive one,” and impacts all aspects of the game, such as balance, locations, quests, blockers, crashes, performance, and the aforementioned A-Life 2.0.

STALKER 2 launched in November to a positive reception on Steam and 1 million sales. It’s a success for the Ukrainian studio, a miracle, really, considering the harrowing circumstances that followed Russian’s full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. But Stalker 2 suffers from well-documented bugs and issues; chief among them A-Life 2.0.

A-Life was a key feature of the first STALKER game that governed AI behavior across the game world. At a high level, it is a system for simulating life in the Zone that works its magic seemingly independently of the player’s actions or whereabouts. It helps to create convincing AI and the emergent gameplay STALKER is famous for.

GSC had said A-Life 2.0 would make the Zone feel alive as never before, that it would fuel emergent gameplay on a scale previously thought impossible. Indeed for some fans, A-Life 2.0 was STALKER 2’s biggest selling point. But when STALKER 2 actually came out players discovered that A-Life 2.0 didn’t work properly, with some questioning whether it was even in the game at all.

In an interview with IGN, GSC explained what went wrong with STALKER 2’s A-Life 2.0, and vowed to fix the system. Patch 1.1, released in December, was the first step on that road. Patch 1.2, out now, is the next step. Patch notes are below.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl update 1.2 patch notes:

AI

• Fixed a bug with A-Life NPCs unable to properly approach corpses. Now they can pick up the best loot and weapons from them, and switch to more powerful weapons.
• Improved corpse looting behavior for NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could loot body armor and helmets from corpses.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could not loot the corpses of NPCs from another faction.
• Fixed NPC shooting accuracy
• Reconfigured bullet dispersion accuracy for all distances for all weapons.
• Added randomization of accurate shots in bullet sprays.
• Reduced wall penetration from certain NPC’s weapon bullets.
• Improved Stealth
• Fixed an issue where after a melee attack, the NPC could end up behind the player.
• Adjusted the time of identification of the player character by NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs at Malachite location could notice players at a long distance and through the objects.
• Improved mutant behavior in combat
• Fixed an issue where AI wouldn’t avoid obstacles and get stuck during scripted combat.
• Fixed an issue where jumping mutants could stuck in the air in certain conditions.
• Fixed that Controller ability does not work through grate doors.
• Fixed that mutants were not able to attack in certain positions.
• Fixed an issue where Chimera could jump through objects.
• Fixed issue where Chimera did not use jump attack.
• Fixed an issue where Deer summons could spawn in the player’s field of view.
• Fixed an issue where Poltergeist could activate an anomaly and receive damage from it.
• Fixed an issue where mutants with ability to jump were running around the Player on elevated, unreachable surface.
• Fixed an issue where Pseudodog couldn’t create summons when retreating.
• Added roar ability for Controller.
• Fixed an issue where A-life NPCs did not heal friendly wounded NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where A-life could spawn corpses near the player.
• Fixed an issue that could cause A-Life NPCs to have access to quest locations.
• Fixed the absence of some characters that could lead to a blocker during walkthrough of the main line.
• Fixed an issue where A-Life militaries could spawn endlessly near Rookie Village.
• Fixed the issue with a stuck guard NPC in the doorway at the Skadovsk location.
• Fixed issue where more rats spawned in the lair than there should have been.
• Fixed an issue where NPC may stuck after loading saves made right after Emission ends.
• Fixed an issue where weapons grabbed by the Burer ability would disappear.
• Fixed an issue with NPC animations when walking upstairs with a gun in hand.
• Improved animations for some mutants.
• Fixed that player takes damage near the NPC that is going through zombification.
• Fixed an issue where NPC may be stuck in the doorway after emission and block player.
• Fixed an issue where shooting at mutant limbs could stretch them.
• Fixed use of NPC rifle stand position when standing with a pistol.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could spawn in front of the player at the Sphere location.
• Fixed NPC’s repeatable cover animations.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs would stop in doorways on Rostok.
• Fixed NPC’s walking animation during stand in combat.
• Fixed an issue where enemy NPCs did not react to flying bullets.
• Improved open world combat with Pseudogiant near Abandoned Science Campus at Prypiat.
• Fixed an issue where an NPC with a closed helmet could eat, smoke and drink through the helmet.
• Fixed an issue where animations of death from an anomaly could be missing for some mutants.
• Fixed an issue where Lex Legend and his group could not return to the quest location after the end of Emission.
• Fixed a problem that made it difficult for rats to move in narrow places.
• Fixed an issue where Burer could snatch a quest weapon from the player’s hands.
• Fixed an issue where NPC could start searching for an enemy after warning players to hide weapons.
• Reduced spawn rate for Bloodsuckers before the completion of the Behind Seven Seals mission.
• Fixed the issue when NPC can block a doorway in the Quiets camp after the combat.

With additional 70+ issues fixed.

Balance

• Weird Water arch-artifact anti-radiation effect was reduced
• Fixed issue when a grenade could deal damage to Burer when the shield was active.
• Now NPCs need less shots to kill Pseudodog summon.
• Increased frequency of Jump Attack for Blind Dog mutant.
• Rebalanced pistols and silencer attachments.
• Decreased spawn rate for NPCs in exoskeletons.
• Reconfigured the number of armor NPC are wearing. Increased the chance of spawning low and mid-tier armor, while the chance for top-tier armor to spawn was reduced.
• Increased damage from radiation depending on accumulated rad-points
• The chance of spawning NPCs with high tier weaponry in early stages of the game was reduced.
• Added ability to trade with additional NPCs at Hubs.
• Economy tweaks for A Job for the Barkeep repeatable missions on Veteran difficulty.

And a few more minor balance tweaks were made.

Optimization and crashes

• Fixed FPS drops during boss fight with Faust.
• Fixed an issue with performance drop on closing PDA or Pause Menu.
• Slightly improved performance by disabling navigation mesh rebuild properties for multiple objects.
• Fixed memory leak related to item manipulation.
• Fixed over 100 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION crashes and other errors, including some other minor memory leaks.
• Fixed input lag after enabling VSync with enabled FidelityFX Frame Interpolation.
• Added Framerate lock during the pause menu, main menu and loading screens.

And some other optimization tweaks.

Under the Hood

• Player’s flashlight now casts shadows on objects.
• Fixed the issue where relationships with NPCs didn’t change.
• Changed names of some ammo types.
• Fixed the issue where the title could unexpectedly freeze during the dialogues.
• Fixed the issue where some quest logic couldn’t start after the NPCs death.
• Improved transitions from cutscene to game.
• Fixed a generic issue where mission logic could break if Player gave an item to a NPC via dialogue option.
• Fixed the issue where the dialogue with NPC was closing after exit from the Trade/Upgrade.
• Fixed an issue where the Player was teleported outside the playable area.
• Added custom Aim Assist logic for invisible targets for all supported controllers.
• Fixed an issue where save backups could be missing after losing game saves.
• Fixed NPC’s broken animations while smoking.
• Fixed an issue where NPC could teleport outside the playable area of the map.
• Fixed achievement to sneakily clear the lair.
• Fixed the issue where In Game saves become corrupted after deleting local saves and unsuccessful cloud saves sync.
• Polished PDA models look in low light areas.

With over 100 other improvements implemented in both sections: Optimization & Crashes, and Under the Hood.

Story

Main Story Line

• Fixed an issue where Col. Korshunov and/or Cpt. Zotov could not spawn during the Wishful Thinking mission.
• Fixed a bug that caused the reputation with Sultan bandits or Shevchenko stalkers not to increase after completing the Three Captains mission.
• Fixed an issue that caused Scar NPC to be hostile to the player during the Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from a stealth walkthrough during the Shock Therapy mission due to being identified by NPCs instantly.
• Fixed an issue where the final dialogue with Gaffer could not start during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed an issue where objective Kill Dalin remains active after Korshunov kills Dalin during the Down Below mission.
• Fixed an issue where Inductor could despawn if Skif goes too far from it during the Hot on the Trail mission.
• Fixed a bug that made the stage of killing monolithians not-optional during the The Eternal Shining mission.
• Fixed an issue where the player Character was able to jump down the pod chamber after taking the elevator during stage Find Cartridge with no possibility to take the elevator back up during the Legends of the Zone mission.
• Fixed an issue where the dialogue with Dr. Dalin and Col. Korshunov was looped during the Wishful Thinking mission.
• Fixed an issue where the player could not trade with Wreck during the The Boundary mission.
• Fixed an issue where the doors to STC Malachite could not open during the A Minor Incident mission.
• Fixed multiple issues that could cause NPCs to move during the dialogue with the player.
• Fixed an issue where Spark squad did not attack wardens during the Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed an issue where objective Bring the Shah’s PDA to Varan could be marked as completed after trading with Huron during the King of the Hill mission.
• Changed Chimera’s behavior during the Ad astra per aspera mission, now it should retreat after losing a certain amount of HP.
• Fixed an issue where Ocheret ignored the battle between the player and Ocheret’s squad.
• Fixed an issue where A-life NPCs could spawn in Claw during the Dead Frequency mission.
• Changed positions of Ward guards near the entrance to X18 lab during the Answers Come at a Price mission.
• Fixed an issue where the monolithians were not present outside the Enerhetyk Palace of Culture during the The Road to the Foundation mission.
• Fixed an issue where the stage “Discover the whereabouts of the escaped Wardens” of the Shock Therapy mission remained active after killing Beard.
• Fixed an issue where Player could lure Chimera into a peaceful zone and make it non-hostile during The Road to the Foundation mission.
• Fixed an issue where scientists constantly attack player during Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed an issue where Noontiders would not become hostile if a friendly NPC was killed in front of them near the entrance of Noontide base during the Hot on the Trail mission.
• Fixed an issue where phantoms were spawned in the front of the player during the Eye of the Storm mission.
• Fixed an issue with auto completing Three Captains mission right after taking it from Sonya Kalyna.
• Fixed an issue where Players couldn’t finish Shift Change mission, if they didn’t talk to Jumper at WPS after killing Hog’s squad.
• Fixed an issue where Zakhar Babay and Akopyan could end up dead or missing with no ability to finish Deceive the Deceiver mission.
• Fixed an issue where Player was still able to ask Beard about missing wardens after killing them in Shock Therapy mission.
• Fixed an issue where Just Like the Good Old Days mission would not progress if the Player exited Shelter base via roof route.
• Fixed an issue where Strider disappeared instantly after completing Dark Times mission near Doctor’s hut.
• Fixed an issue where Find a way into Prypiat objective would not finish if the Player reached Prypiat via shortcut during The Boundary mission.
• Fixed an issue with a missing encounter mission at a checkpoint near Icarus Camp.
• Fixed an issue where Hosha Mohyla could one-shot Player during Answers Come at a Price mission.
• Reduced amount of rats at Offloading Terminal during The Road to the Foundation mission.
• Fixed an issue where Rainy weather persisted through the rest of the game after completing The Boundary mission.
• Fixed an issue where several stashes, markers, and journal objectives were not completed/removed after completing Budmo! mission.
• Fixed an issue where Pomor could die during The Poppy Field mission.
• Fixed an issue where aggressive Strider was present near Doctor’s house after a cutscene during An Act of Mercy mission.
• Fixed an issue where Warden guards near the fence had no reaction to Player sneaking right in front of them during Answers Come at a Price mission.
• Prevented issues where corpses with important quest items could get despawned during Bullseye and Shift Change missions.
• Fixed an issue where Strider was dead/missing at Ranger Station during the Extreme Simplicity mission.
• Fixed an issue where psi-effect applied on Player would not disappear after completing A Light in the End of the Tunnel mission.
• Fixed an issue where Talk to Chornozem objective failed from the start and picking up PDA from Chornozem’s corpse wouldn’t progress Answers Come at a Price mission.
• Fixed an issue where Dark would not help Player to fight the Pseudogiant which blocked progression in Legends of the Zone mission.
• Fixed an issue where Player was not able to interact with Shcherba during In the Name of Science mission.
• Fixed an issue where a cutscene with Scar at the Sawmill during Back to the Slag Heap mission would not start properly.
• Fixed an issue where Skif could die from bleeding effect after bossfight cutscene with Korshunov in Down Below mission.
• Fixed an issue where during the Strelok branch of Down Below mission journal entry in PDA would have Ward branch description instead.
• Fixed an issue where Player was unable to give Sultan his briefcase after killing ambushing stalkers too fast in The Mysterious Case mission.
• Fixed an issue where mercenary squads would not spawn on the way back from Faust’s cell during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
• Fixed an issue where optional journal objectives to fight off Ward/Spark remain active if one side dies due to emission during Extreme Simplicity mission.
• Fixed the issue of stuck Dr. Kryvenko during the A Long Overdue Visit mission.
• Removed the ability to use guide during the The Boundary mission while assault is going.
• Fixed the issue where Richter is absent or dead during the To the Last Drop of Blood, A Minor Incident, The Boundary missions.
• Fixed the issue where some phrases were missing during the On the Edge mission in the final dialogue.
• Fixed the issue where Dalin could be stuck at one place during the Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed the issue where Objective “Return to Gaffer” is impossible to complete during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed the issue with infinite reward from Gaffer during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed the issue where NPCs were blocking the doorway during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed the issue when Gaffer could exit the building and start fighting during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed the issue where several Warlock NPCs could be present in the clubhouse during the On the Edge mission.
• Fixed the issue where some Monolithian NPCs weren’t attacking the player during the An Act of Mercy mission.
• Fixed the issue where Dalin didn’t inspect Ozerskiy`s body during the Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed the logic of radio messages from Scar after the Bossfight with Faust.
• Fixed an issue where infinite psi-effect was applied to Player after completing A Light in the End of the Tunnel mission.
• Fixed an issue where monolith troops didn’t spawn after activating substation during the Happiness for Everyone mission.
• Fixed an issue where Sgt. Metlov was missing in a place of Diode during the Back to the Slag Heap mission.
• FIxed an issue where Skipper’s mercenaries squad didn’t attack Player on returning Emitter to Lodochka during Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
• Fixed an issue where Scherba was missing at Dvupalov’s office during emission in In Search of Past Glory mission.
• Fixed an issue where Player was unable to progress during Dangerous Liaisons mission if decoder was sold.
• Fixed an issue where Player was unable to interact with Dvupalov to give suppressor’s blueprint during In Search of Past Glory mission.
• Fixed an issue where Player could get softlocked during the Dangerous Liaisons mission.
• Fixed an issue where mercenaries squad near Brain Scorcher spawned right in front of Player after accepting a collar collecting mission from Shcherba.
• Fixed an issue where Player was able to get stuck behind two NPCs in Zalissya’s shelter during A Race against Death mission.
• Fixed an issue where Player was unable to start dialogue with Dvupalov or Scherba to return suppressor during In Search of Past Glory mission.
• Fixed an issue where Dr. Kaymanov and Strider could disappear during An Act of Mercy mission.
• Fixed an issue where the objective “Fight off the Monolith assault” was getting stuck during The Boundary mission.
• Fixed an issue where A Big Score and Deceive the Deceiver missions were able to start twice and have contradicting objectives.
• Fixed an issue where Prof. Lodochka was not interactable at toxic waste storage during the Hot on the Trail mission.
• Fixed an issue where Bandits were starting to fight at Slag Heap if Player escorted Zakhar Babay after emission in Deceive the Deceiver mission.
• Fixed an issue where Take the instruments to Mykolayich objective failed after talking to Gaffer in On the Edge mission.
• Fixed an issue where Ricochet died in Zalissya’s house after the second monolith wave during On the Edge mission.
• Fixed an issue where the objective to complete the request without killing the Monolithians failed after hitting monolithians during An Act of Mercy mission.
• Fixed an issue where Monolith soldiers were able to spawn in front of Player during Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed the issue where friendly NPCs could be stuck at one place during the The Assault on the Duga mission.
• Fixed that mercenary NPC were spawned in inaccessible areas during the Legends of the Zone mission.
• Fixed an issue where some zombies were able to get stuck in an idle state during bossfight with Scar.
• Improved AI behaviour of Korshunov during bossfight with him.
• Improved Korshunov’s shield during the bossfight with him.
• Increased Korshunov’s armor during bossfight.
• Tweaked Col. Korshunov health points during bossfight in Down Below mission.
• Improved Scar’s aiming behaviour during bossfight with him.
• Fixed an issue where Strelok was able to dash outside the playable area of the arena, blocking bossfight with him during The Eternal Shining mission.
• Fixed an issue where Faust’s clones could be transparent during a bossfight if the Object Details graphic option is set to low.
• Fixed an issue where the stage “Talk to Korshunov” could stuck when player returns to Korshunov via elevator during the Visions of Truth mission.
• Fixed an issue where hunting could not progress after interacting with Borodulin while he is moving to the hunting spot.
• Fixed an issue where Strider could block the entrance to the warehouse during the Hot on the Trail mission.
• Fixed an issue where Scar could be missing at Rostok Depot during the Take the Emitter to Scar stage of Just Like the Good Old Days mission.
• Fixed an issue where the monolithians could not spawn when the player escaped X-5 lab during the In Search of Past Glory mission.
• Fixed an issue where Korshunov could stuck during the bossfight.

Overall, over 300+ quest issues were addressed within the Main Story.

Side Missions and Encounters

• Fixed an issue where the player could use the guide’s services for free.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs from car scam encounters turned hostile after the Player ran away and came back to them.
• Fixed an issue when a player was unable to take Just Business mission from Carl Clinch if he was previously healed during the Emission.
• Fixed an issue where NPCs could teleport during dialogue after combat in encounter at Wild Territory.
• Improved Rodents’ spawn in open-world encounters near Rostok.
• Fixed an issue where relationships with the Scientists’ faction were spoiled after completing Black Sheep side mission.
• Added new notes in the open world and hubs.
• Fixed inconsistencies in rewards for repeatable missions.
• Fixed an issue where no travel options were available in dialogue with the guide at Noon base.
• Fixed narrative inconsistencies for loudspeaker announcements at Skadovsk.
• Fixed narrative inconsistencies with available encounter missions after the Monolith comeback.
• Fixed an issue where Spark branch specific encounter mission was able to start after completing In Search of Past Glory mission on Ward branch.
• Increased loot value for stash near Bloodsucker village in the Industrial Zone region.
• Fixed an issue where repeatable missions could get stuck in the Journal tab, preventing other repeatable quests from appearing in dialogues with vendors.
• Fixed an issue where Malachite Hub could get locked for Players on Spark Branch after completing Visions of Truth mission.
• Level Design improvements in encounters near Rookie Village.
• Fixed an issue where Player was unable to start a dialog with Zhenya Hulk during The Key to Freedom mission near Fish Farm, if the door to captives room was opened during combat.
• Fixed an issue with missing Kostya Dry’s dead body after the player runs away and comes back to his observation point during an encounter near Duga.
• Fixed an issue where Pseudodog couldn’t spawn its Phantoms during Arena: Round Two mission.
• Fixed an issue when Player could loot armor and helmets from dead NPCs during The Key to Freedom mission.
• Fixed the issue where players could be stuck inside the building after the fast travel to Malachite with a guide.
• Fixed the issue where guides at Yaniv station were missing after the player already got to Pripyat.
• Fixed receiving several shotgun rounds during the The Freedom Colosseum mission.
• Fixed the issue when the NPC was not going to search for the player character during the fight at Arena.
• Fixed an issue where doors to STC Malachite were closed on reaching it during A Minor Incident mission.
• Fixed an issue where peaceful NPCs remained in STC Malachite during the fight in Visions of the Truth mission (Spark branch).
• Fixed an issue where the voiceover line for Skif’s phrase didn’t play in dialogues with guide NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where two groups of bandits did not start combat in the encounter between Poisonous Hole and Commissary Store locations.

With additional 130+ “anomalies” being discovered and neutralized.

The Zone

Interactable Objects and Zone Experience

• Level design improvements for interactive doors at Wild Territory, Rostok.
• Level art polish for destructible medical boxes.
• Added missing icon of damaged state for weapon looted from NPCs.
• Fixed an issue where arch-artifacts were able to spawn again, after Player’s rank is updated.
• Rebalanced loot for stash near Hydrodynamics Lab.
• Fixed an issue with some artifacts models being overexposed.
• Fixed an issue where Burner anomalies were able to damage a Player in discharged state.
• Fixed an issue where Weird Kettle archartifact applied a permanent PSI effect on the Player instead of temporary.
• Fixed that dead bodies could stay in A-pose for several seconds during Wishful Thinking mission.
• Fixed that the first destructible wood plank always destroys without effects.
• Fixed the issue where the door to the tunnel of the Red Fortress was closing after using a key during Just Business mission.
• Fixed an issue where fake psi artifacts didn’t disappear after save/load.
• Improved strafing jump mechanics for artifacts.
• Fixed an issue where the Vortex anomaly could damage the player at the Yaniv Station territory.

Plus an additional 30+ issues were spotted and dealt with.

Player Gear and Player State

• Fixed an issue where character’s hands are misplaced after moving the character by expulsion anomaly during examining artifacts.
• Fixed availability to unlock locked doors with grenades.
• Fixed the consumption of grenades when switching to the weapon immediately after throw.
• Fixed grenade disappearing when throwing it at one’s feet.
• Added parkour animation from crouch state.
• Fixed receiving of the damage from razor anomaly when already out of it.
• Added NPC’s death animations from anomalies.
• Fixed an issue when auto lean and weapon up moves were triggered by small trees and bushes.
• Fixed an issue when the character was not always performing auto lean moves over obstacles.
• Improved NPC footsteps sync.
• Fixed an issue with changed movement keybindings that blocked player from climbing the ladder.
• Fixed an issue when psy effect was not removed after leaving the psy damage area.
• Fixed an issue where the Player was able to become unkillable during gameplay.
• Fixed an issue where dropped NPC corpses could clip with surrounding objects.
• Fixed availability to skip reload animation.
• Added cancel for reload animation of the weapons with under-barrel launcher attachments.
• Adjusted acceleration of the player after sprinting from a standstill.
• Fixed an issue where phantoms could kill regular NPCs with a grenade.
• Decreased amount of artifact slots available by default for X7 suit.
• Fixed an issue with position of upgrade slots on Bulwark Exosuit being mixed up.
• Fixed inconsistencies in PA-7 Gas Mask upgrade tree.
• Rebalanced available upgrades for PSZ-5D Universal Protection armor suit.

With additional 50+ bugs gotten rid of.

Player Guidance and Game Settings

• Fixed map tooltips not containing region descriptions.
• Fixed map zoom from gamepad.
• Fixed the presence of a dimming effect in the inventory and item selector.
• Fixed an issue where in some cases technicians did not show already installed upgrades.
• Fixed issues with ammo counter visibility on HUD.
• Fixed that the firing mode of the under barrel grenade launcher is not displayed in the inventory.
• Fixed there was no notification on HUD about finding new stashes locations.
• Fixed an issue where, in certain conditions, players could not drag and drop items into loot or stash windows with a gamepad.
• Fixed that caliber on the HUD does not change after upgrading weapon caliber with a technician.
• Fixed a problem where the player could not skip a cutscene with gamepad with proper key if subtitles were off.
• Fixed that “Track” status is present for completed missions in the Completed tab of Journal.
• Fixed incorrect display of the time and equalizer in audiolog.
• Fixed the missing mouse cursor in the attachment selector when shotgun equipped.
• Fixed an issue with not working controls for MSI Claw A1M.
• Integrated Razer Chroma Illumination effects for supported devices.
• Integrated haptic Razer Sensa effects for supported devices.
• Added key binding options for Journal and Notes. Changed default key bindings for leaning left and right.
• Fixed an issue where the new grenade/bolt throw keybinds were not working.
• Fixed missing flashlight button in key bindings.
• Fixed an issue where the Speaker Name UI size didn’t change when changing the size of subtitles.
• Fixed that the mission stage about founding shelter does not finish when the player enters shelter during emission.
• Added fire mode change animation when item selector is open.
• Fixed losing input when enemy shoots player while he is in the inventory.
• Increased the duration of the “Point of no return” message.
• Improved UX in the upgrade menu.
• Fixed an issue where the ammo counter for grenades was not displayed.

And other 120+ fixes were made.

Regions and Locations

• Fixed multiple issues where the player could get stuck in X-17 Lab.
• Fixed the issue where players could be Soft locked at the Cooling Tower’s location.
• Fixed that it was possible for NPCs to reach a burning tank at Sphere location and die in it.
• Teleport anomalies were added in Old Barge and Fishing Hamlet areas.
• Fixed an issue when a shelter mark appeared on an inaccessible building if emission was started in the Red Forest area.
• Removed several invalid artifact spawners and anomalies
• Fixed issues with the weather system after leaving Pripyat region.
• Beautification/visual improvements to multiple locations and regions.
• Level design, and terrain improvements for multiple locations and regions.
• Adjusted the foliage placement in multiple locations
• Lighting improvements for multiple locations.
• Tweaked collision for multiple objects in multiple locations.
• Fixed that foliage appearing was noticeable after loading save.
• Fixed an issue where the player could leave the playable area between Cordon and Zaton region.
• Fixed an issue when Monolithians were spawned in the safe zone in Zalissya.
• Adjusted positions of anomalies at the Waste Processing Station location.
• Fixed the load on distance of some objectives around the map.
• Updated the stashes inventory around the Cordon region.
• Added artifact spawn in electrofield at Datacenter of SIIRCA.
• Fixed an issue where ducks sound effects were missing.
• Polished glass and stucco materials in the open-world.

Overall, over 450+ improvements were made in this section.

Audio, cutscenes, and VO

Cutscenes

• Fixed an issue when both elevator buttons were interactable during entering the cutscene with Korshunov in The Last Step mission.
• Fixed an issue where Agatha’s model disappeared when dialogue options were displayed in a cutscene during Wishful Thinking mission.
• Fixed an issue when no videos were playing at screenwall displays during Dangerous Liaisons mission for PC Microsoft Store players.
• Fixed an issue with missing haptic feedback in multiple cutscenes
• Fixed an issue with disappearing hair with different NPCs in multiple cutscenes

And some other stuff was fixed.

Voiceover and Localization

• Improved facial animations for idle NPCs.
• Updated NPC animations in the multiple dialogs.
• Improved facial animations for several important story NPCs.
• Fixed EN voiceover playing for UA localization during car scam encounter at Buryakivka.
• Fixed voiceover desync issue during dialogue with Richter in The Boundary mission.
• Fixed mismatch in subtitles and VO during first dialogue with Strider in Hot on the Trail mission.
• Minor fix of Serbian localization in dialog phrase.
• Minor fixes to multiple localizations

With over 25+ other issues being addressed.

Sound and Music

• Reworked sound effects of Carousel anomaly.
• Fixed an issue where Clicker Anomaly was inaudible at close distance.
• Changed the sound of receiving damage from some anomalies to better reflect the type of damage received.
• Fixed an issue where Poltergeist sounds would play after loading a save that was made after the player killed him during the There and Back Again mission.
• Reworked sound effects for opening weapon selector menu.
• Fixed an issue where mutants were too loud at long distances.
• Reworked sound effects for opening weapon selector menu.
• Minor audio improvement for weapon sounds occlusion.
• Improved audio environment in 10+ locations and regions.
• Fixed issue when Region/Location music could disappear when Player moved between different Region/Location
• Fixed issue when combat music could end and start immediately during the same fight
• Fixed an issue where Rostok Region Music could disappear after loading a save.
• Created a new night music theme for Zalissya.
• Added missing music to discball visual anomaly.
• Fixed an issue with disappearing ambient sound at The Poppy Field after loading savefile.
• Fixed an issue where lightnings and visual anomalies were missing sound effects.
• Added audio for grenades underwater.
• Fixed an issue when sound of critical damage was not played when the player was dealing critical hits.
• Fixed duplicated footsteps sound when holding the detector.
• Added different sounds for the bolt depending on the surface.
• Improved sound of mutants while the player is affected by psy.
• Added sounds for actions in Upgrades and Journal tabs in PDA.
• Added sound for exiting to the main menu.
• Fixed the sound of walking over the wooden sleepers.

And some other minor improvements.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

The first two episodes of Yellowjackets’ season 3 are now streaming, and will air at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 16 on Paramount+ with Showtime.

In the first episode of Yellowjackets season 3, a morose Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) pleads with her former soccer teammates and fellow plane-crash survivors: “What’s it all about?” She’s asking if there’s any meaning in their disappointing lives, but maybe that’s a question for the series’ writers as well. What started out as an absorbing thriller with tinges of horror and mystery has gotten so far afield from Shauna and company’s harrowing experience in the Canadian wilderness (and the aftershocks it still causes 25 years later) that it’s not clear what the show is building to anymore. Aside from revealing just how the Yellowjackets get back home, it’s clearer than ever that there’s nothing left to know about any of these characters, which deflates the excitement of continuing on this journey with them.

The focus of season 3 seems to be “women behaving badly, and maybe that’s ok.” In the past, our main characters have reverted to mean girl cliques who barely address the cannibalism they resorted to when the going got tough. In the present, their adult selves are miserable and aimless because everything that was bad (yet stimulating) in their lives has blown over. By the end of season 2, Shauna’s murder of her lover was effectively covered up and forgiven by her husband, Jeff (Warren Kole); Juliette Lewis wisely exited the story as adult Natalie after she took a bullet for a random new character; and then maybe the trees told Lottie (Simone Kessell) during her psychotic break that Nat’s death has “pleased” them – which means they barely talk about her. In season 3, no one seems to care about that death spirit wanting sacrifices, except for Tai (Tawny Cypress), so it doesn’t really drive any of the story in the four episodes provided for this review.

All of the grown Yellowjackets proceed to make some selfish choices to feel something, which gets an innocent person killed. But the guilt passes quickly in favor of date-night plans. There’s a frustrating conscience applied to these women that makes their actions mostly bland and comes across as a fear that we’ll really hate them instead of living vicariously through them.

Their lives in the woods are almost idyllic in comparison. In the ’90s storyline, spring has enveloped them; post-cabin destruction, they’ve created a new community of yurts and huts, and killing game to stave off death is no longer an issue. It’s like a summer camp now, a feel-good dynamic threatened only by Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) and Mari (Alexa Barajas) acting up to create some discord. But it’s incredibly maddening that they’re not even trying to find a way home. They’ve got food, better health, and longer days, but no one is trying to walk out of this forest. They’re making paper lanterns, but not for signaling to any planes that might fly overhead. This is their home now, which wipes out any tension in the struggle to survive. Instead, conflict and consequence are ginned up through silly scenarios like a mock court trial or a cave encounter that elicits waking nightmares.

A large part of what used to make Yellowjackets so addictive was how its parallel storylines fed into and off of each other. In the first season, that meant swapping back and forth to paint a compelling picture of how each character endured an unthinkable catastrophe in 1996 and how the unaddressed trauma from that experience affected their seeming suburban “normalcy” in 2021. By season two, the pivots between then and now grew more random and less deliberate; in season three, there’s almost no reason for the storylines to touch anymore. What once worked in tandem now operates independently. Potential cult leader Lottie (Courtney Eaton) is far less ethereal and intriguing in her adult skin. Young Misty (Samantha Hanratty) is still weird, but she’s passionate and loyal for a reason. In 21st century New Jersey, Christina Ricci plays a Misty who’s just quirky to be quirky, and to provide some comic relief.

Things take a major turn at the end of episode 4, “12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis,” but only time will tell if it gives Yellowjackets a desperately needed renewed sense of purpose. What’s clear at this point in the season is the writers seem determined to snuff out any belief that something strange, mystical, or supernatural is motivating the characters in either timeline. Now the real mystery is ”What’s still holding these stories together?” More cannibalism? Karmic justice, which Jeff seems to believe in this season? In truth, Yellowjackets was a “must watch” when we knew less about everyone on screen.