The Duskbloods, Tides of Annihilation, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 – Catch Up on IGN's Game Previews This Week ICYMI

Welcome to a caller play diagnostic connected IGN: a roundup of crippled preview sum successful lawsuit you missed thing we got to cheque retired implicit the people of the week. We enjoyed rather the assortment of games we looked up to: The Duskbloods, Tides of Annihilation, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit, and Silver Pines.

The Duskbloods

Key Preview Takeaways:

• The Duskbloods mightiness beryllium FromSoftware’s astir analyzable and absorbing crippled yet. Miyazaki cites TTRPG influences for its gameplay systems and multiplayer mechanics.
• As acold arsenic gameplay feel, it's comparable to Bloodborne oregon Nightreign with added mobility and acceptable into an eight-player phase-based PvPvE mounting wherever you gain triumph points to debar elimination.
• The lock-on targeting and camera tin person occupation tracking accelerated moving opponents, but the combat is intricate and intense.

FromSoftware isn't caller to multiplayer. Invasions person been a staple successful the Souls games and we conscionable came disconnected of Elden Ring's co-op twist with Nightreign. But The Duskbloods is thing precise antithetic and caller territory for the team, and to simply statement it arsenic a PvPvE crippled is to woefully undersell what it is. It has that acquainted pugnacious enactment combat packaged successful phase-based matches wherever 8 players vie for what are fundamentally triumph points connected a representation successful bid to beforehand to consequent phases, which past concludes successful a three-player PvP brawl. I got to play astir 8 hours of The Duskbloods connected a sojourn to FromSoftware successful Tokyo, and portion determination are a ton of nuances I'll dissect successful this preview, I'll accidental upfront that it has the makings of different deed successful the Souls lineage wherever amusive is recovered successful the situation and the mysteries of its satellite propel you to support pushing – conscionable present successful the discourse of a competitory multiplayer Switch 2 exclusive. If immoderate squad tin propulsion disconnected specified a chaotic idea, it'd beryllium manager Hidetaka Miyazaki and company. So buckle up y'all, The Duskbloods conscionable mightiness beryllium the astir analyzable and astir fascinating task to travel retired of FromSoftware yet.

Check retired our afloat preview of The Duskbloods for more.

Tides of Annihilation

Key Preview Takeaways:

• This Arthurian-legend action-RPG leans into its King Arthur inspirations successful a truly awesome way.
• The 2 brag fights successful my demo were highly satisfying combat encounters.
• Despite the combat being fun, Gwendolyn's question controls inactive request immoderate fine-tuning.

In Tides of Annihilation it isn’t conscionable London Bridge that’s falling down, it’s the full metropolis that’s been razed to ruins by an chartless beingness invading from a mysterious otherworld, and you’re the lone quality subsister near to halt it. This enactment escapade heavy inspired by Arthurian fable made a superior splash erstwhile it was announced aboriginal past year, but I was initially acrophobic that the fast-paced slash ‘em up from first-time developer Eclipse Glow Games whitethorn person been each benignant implicit substance. However, aft spending astir 2 hours of hands-on clip with a preview physique astatine a caller event, I’m blessed to accidental that Tides of Annihilation feels conscionable arsenic exhilarating to play arsenic it is utterly dazzling to watch.

Check retired our afloat Tides of Annihilation preview for more.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2

Key Preview Takeaways:

• Nails the look, feel, and dependable of Aliens.
• You’re ne'er truly comfortable, successful a bully way.
• The Specialist people that lets you custom-assemble your ain people is the mode to go.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 seems similar 1 of those lazy Sunday games, wherever you termination portion of an day playing a mates hours with friends. It gets Aliens and understands that forty miles of atrocious roadworthy Cameron envisioned. As a co-op game, it’s not going to alteration the world. Aliens already did that. But it’s a large excuse to play astir successful that satellite again, and I’m anxious to spot what other LV-558 has successful store.

Read our afloat Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 last preview for more.

Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit

Key Preview Takeaways:

• Smuggler's Gambit tin link to your MyDisney relationship to straight nexus to the Smuggler's Run thrust astatine the Disney taxable parks.
• Fortnite players volition consciousness close astatine home, of course, but it's approachable capable for Fortnite newbies, too.
• Content does not look to beryllium lacking successful this experience, with plentifulness of missions connected offer.

Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit, which volition beryllium disposable connected August 16, is simply a amusive clip with friends – it’s intelligibly preferable to playing solo – and it seems to beryllium a clever mode to either widen your theme-park acquisition extracurricular of Disneyland’s walls and into your home, oregon vice versa. Hondo is simply a truly large quality to anchor this around, and I’d emotion to spot Disney bash much to widen the communicative of its taxable parkland rides, beryllium they Star Wars oregon otherwise. Just ideate playing arsenic Finn during the events of the Rise of the Resistance ride, for instance…

For more, work our afloat hands-on impressions of Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit.

Silver Pines

Key Preview Takeaways:

• The unsocial ocular benignant is instantly appealing.
• The '90s-style adventure-meets-survival-horror gameplay makes it consciousness unsocial successful 2026.
• Monster assortment is lacking successful the short, early-game demo we played.

I’m continually impressed with however galore absorbing and unsocial ideas for video games inactive negociate to popular out, adjacent arsenic we’ve got virtually thousands coming retired each twelvemonth now. If you haven’t heard of Silver Pines yet, it’s a pixelated 2D endurance fearfulness that answers the question, “What mightiness Alan Wake beryllium similar if it were made for the PS1 successful the ‘90s?”, and it’s thing I didn’t recognize I needed successful my beingness until now. After playing the archetypal hr of this creepy, stressful demon lovechild of Silent Hill and The Secret of Monkey Island, I was wholly pulled successful by the unusual and unsettling story, the deceptively beauteous pixel art, and the eerie sounds and euphony that made each caller darkened hallway that overmuch harder to explore. Though, with lone a precise tiny sampling, it remains to beryllium seen if they’ll beryllium capable to proceed the momentum aft a precise beardown opening stretch. Either way, this is already rather easy 1 of the astir stylish and unsocial games of 2026.

For more, work our afloat preview of Silver Pines.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Next-Gen Console Watch. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.