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

Posted

: Aug 21, 2026 1:06pm UTC

Welcome to a new weekly feature on IGN: a roundup of game preview coverage in case you missed anything we got to check out over the course of the week. We enjoyed quite the variety of games we looked ahead 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 might be FromSoftware’s most complex and interesting game yet. Miyazaki cites TTRPG influences for its gameplay systems and multiplayer mechanics.
As far as gameplay feel, it's comparable to Bloodborne or Nightreign with added mobility and fit into an eight-player phase-based PvPvE setting where you earn victory points to avoid elimination.
The lock-on targeting and camera can have trouble tracking fast moving opponents, but the combat is intricate and intense.

FromSoftware isn't new to multiplayer. Invasions have been a staple in the Souls games and we just came off of Elden Ring's co-op twist with Nightreign. But The Duskbloods is something very different and new territory for the team, and to simply label it as a PvPvE game is to woefully undersell what it is. It has that familiar tough action combat packaged in phase-based matches where eight players compete for what are essentially victory points on a map in order to advance to subsequent phases, which then concludes in a three-player PvP brawl. I got to play about eight hours of The Duskbloods on a visit to FromSoftware in Tokyo, and while there are a ton of nuances I'll dissect in this preview, I'll say upfront that it has the makings of another hit in the Souls lineage where fun is found in the challenge and the mysteries of its world propel you to keep pushing – just now in the context of a competitive multiplayer Switch 2 exclusive. If any team can pull off such a wild idea, it'd be director Hidetaka Miyazaki and company. So buckle up y'all, The Duskbloods just might be the most complex and most fascinating project to come out of FromSoftware yet.

Check out our full preview of The Duskbloods for more.

Tides of Annihilation

Key Preview Takeaways:

This Arthurian-legend action-RPG leans into its King Arthur inspirations in a really impressive way.
The two boss fights in my demo were extremely satisfying combat encounters.
Despite the combat being fun, Gwendolyn's movement controls still need some fine-tuning.

In Tides of Annihilation it isn’t just London Bridge that’s falling down, it’s the entire city that’s been razed to ruins by an unknown presence invading from a mysterious otherworld, and you’re the only human survivor left to stop it. This action adventure heavily inspired by Arthurian legend made a serious splash when it was announced early last year, but I was initially concerned that the fast-paced slash ‘em up from first-time developer Eclipse Glow Games may have been all style over substance. However, after spending roughly two hours of hands-on time with a preview build at a recent event, I’m happy to say that Tides of Annihilation feels just as exhilarating to play as it is utterly dazzling to watch.

Check out our full Tides of Annihilation preview for more.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2

Key Preview Takeaways:

Nails the look, feel, and sound of Aliens.
You’re never really comfortable, in a good way.
The Specialist class that lets you custom-assemble your own class is the way to go.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 seems like one of those lazy Sunday games, where you kill part of an afternoon playing a couple hours with friends. It gets Aliens and understands that forty miles of bad road Cameron envisioned. As a co-op game, it’s not going to change the world. Aliens already did that. But it’s a great excuse to play around in that world again, and I’m eager to see what else LV-558 has in store.

Read our full Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 final preview for more.

Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit

Key Preview Takeaways:

Smuggler's Gambit can connect to your MyDisney account to directly link to the Smuggler's Run ride at the Disney theme parks.
Fortnite players will feel right at home, of course, but it's approachable enough for Fortnite newbies, too.
Content does not seem to be lacking in this experience, with plenty of missions on offer.

Star Wars: Smuggler’s Gambit, which will be available on August 16, is a fun time with friends – it’s clearly preferable to playing solo – and it seems to be a clever way to either extend your theme-park experience outside of Disneyland’s walls and into your home, or vice versa. Hondo is a really great character to anchor this around, and I’d love to see Disney do more to extend the story of its theme park rides, be they Star Wars or otherwise. Just imagine playing as Finn during the events of the Rise of the Resistance ride, for instance…

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

Silver Pines

Key Preview Takeaways:

The unique visual style is instantly appealing.
The '90s-style adventure-meets-survival-horror gameplay makes it feel unique in 2026.
Monster variety is lacking in the short, early-game demo we played.

I’m continually impressed with how many interesting and unique ideas for video games still manage to pop out, even as we’ve got literally thousands coming out every year now. If you haven’t heard of Silver Pines yet, it’s a pixelated 2D survival horror that answers the question, “What might Alan Wake be like if it were made for the PS1 in the ‘90s?”, and it’s something I didn’t realize I needed in my life until now. After playing the first hour of this creepy, stressful demon lovechild of Silent Hill and The Secret of Monkey Island, I was completely pulled in by the strange and unsettling story, the deceptively beautiful pixel art, and the eerie sounds and music that made each new darkened hallway that much harder to explore. Though, with only a very small sampling, it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to continue the momentum after a very strong opening stretch. Either way, this is already quite easily one of the most stylish and unique games of 2026.

For more, read our full preview of Silver Pines.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Next-Gen Console Watch. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.