Following the gameplay reveal of Bayonetta 3 at the latest Nintendo Direct, director Yusuke Miyata has delved a little further into one of the trailer's newly featured mechanics, called Demon Slave.

The new ability, which can be seen in the video below at around the two-and-a-half-minute mark, allows players to take control of demons and enter into kaiju-like battles that look likely to play a significant role in the game's combat.

"Unlike the Climax Summons of previous games that automatically defeated enemies and returned to Inferno, this mechanic lets players control demons during gameplay and unleash a host of intuitive actions," says Miyata.

"Each demon’s abilities vary and the kinds of abilities that are advantageous in a certain situation can change at any time. Just how many are there? What else can you do? Well, there’s a lot more I’d like to tell you, but I have to stop here for now. However, there’s a lot of info hidden in the trailer that I didn’t go into here, so please consider watching it again until the next announcement."

During the trailer, the new ability allows Bayonetta to control a variety of different monsters that she uses to take down opposing kaiju. Bayonetta can be seen using the Demon Slave mechanic across a number of different areas in the game, including a tensely fought battle with a formidable spider. Trigger warning, this takes place around the three-minute mark of the clip above.

Across the rest of the trailer, fans were provided a glimpse of Bayonetta 3's upcoming combat areas, which included an empty subway train and a colossal fight scene set across collapsing skyscrapers. The trailer's final shot also gave fans a brief look at a character that some believe to be Vergil from Devil May Cry. As speculation mounts around the fleeting cameo, it's certainly hard to ignore the character's resemblance to DMCs devil-human hybrid.

Bayonetta 3 is slated for release on Nintendo Switch in 2022. For more on last night's Nintendo Direct, make sure to check out our full run-through of everything announced at the event.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

343 Industries has revealed the full schedule for the latest Halo Infinite Multiplayer Technical Preview for the weekends of September 23 - 26 and September 30 - October 4.

343 shared the details on Halo Waypoint, also saying that the goal of this weekend's preview is to "test our services and systems at scale, gather data on a breadth of real-world hardware configurations, and obtain feedback on Arena, Training Mode, as well as the new Halo Waypoint web and app experiences."

During the weekend of September 30 - October 4, "Big Team Battle will go live and take it up a notch."

While Training Mode and Weapon Drills in this Halo Infinite Multiplayer Technical Preview will be playable the entirety of both weekends, there will be specific play sessions where players will be able to team up with friends and matchmake. These dates and times are as follows;

Weekend 1 - September 23 through September 26 - Arena

• Friday, September 24 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT
• Saturday, September 25 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT
• Sunday, September 26 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT

Weekend 2 - September 30 through October 4 - Big Team Battle & Arena

• Friday, October 1 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT
• Saturday, October 2 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT
• Sunday, October 3 @ 10am-2pm & 5-9pm PT
• Close: Monday, October 4 @ 10am PT

Players will also be able to play in Halo Infinite's Social Arena and Bot Arena multiplayer playlists during set times, and Big Team Battle will feature Capture The Flag, Slayer, and Total Control on Fragmentation.

As with the first preview, a preview of the Battle Pass will be available, and each account has been granted Credits (cR) so that the Battle Pass and certain items can be purchased for testing during the flight.

This test flight is only available to certain players who had a fully registered Halo Insider profile by September 13. If you have yet to complete your profile on Halo Waypoint, be sure to do so, as that will be the best way to get invited to future tests.

If you did get an invite, you can check out the Installing on Xbox and/or Installing on Steam articles on the Halo Insider Support Site to help get you in the action as quickly as possible.

For more on Halo Infinite, check out 343 explaining multiplayer's challenges to ease fans' worries about progression and the sly Destiny reference that is part of Halo Infinite's Big Team Battle.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The Initiative has announced that it will be partnering with Marvel's Avengers and Tomb Raider's Crystal Dynamics to develop the upcoming reboot of Perfect Dark.

The Initiative shared the news on Twitter, saying that the two teams "couldn't pass up a chance to work together."

Perfect Dark update! We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation. pic.twitter.com/EiqjU99wMa

— TheInitiative (@TheInitiative) September 24, 2021

"Perfect Dark update! We are partnering with Crystal Dynamics, the world class team behind character-driven games such as Tomb Raider, to bring this first-person spy thriller to a new generation," The Initiative wrote. "The teams couldn’t pass up a chance to work together. We’re still early in development, but incredibly excited to use this unique opportunity to deliver on the vision for Perfect Dark!"

Crystal Dynamics Quote Tweeted The Initiative's Tweet, saying that not only is it excited to "join forces," but that it is "thrilled to add Perfect Dark to our development efforts alongside Marvel's Avengers and Tomb Raider."

"We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with @TheInitiative to bring Perfect Dark to a new generation of gamers! We thrive on reimagining epic heroes and can’t wait to realize this first-person spy thriller together," Crystal Dynamics wrote. "We’re thrilled to add Perfect Dark to our development efforts alongside Marvel’s Avengers and Tomb Raider."

These studios actually have a lot more in common than many may realize as The Initiative's studio head Darrell Gallagher was the head of studio of Crystal Dynamics from 2009-2016.

Perfect Dark was revealed at The Game Awards 2020 as a first-person shooter with an "eco sci-fi" theme. While it was only unveiled with a cinematic trailer, game director Dan Neuburger said that "there really isn't a game out there that's hitting that sort of blockbuster secret agent vision." The team, which was founded in 2018 and is billed as an "AAAA" studio, will hopefully solve that problem.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The long rumoured Castlevania Advance Collection has been revealed, bringing four classic Castlevania games to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. It's out today and costs $19.99.

The collection brings together three much-loved games made for the Game Boy Advance – Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – and throws in 1995 SNES game Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss (known as Dracula X in the Americas).

Released as a celebration of the Castlevania series' 35th anniversary, Advance Collection has been co-developed with M2 (the studio behind the well-received Sega 3D Classics ports on 3DS) and Konami promises "the best possible recreation" of the originals. The new ports will also allow you to "record, replay and rewind" gameplay.

It sounds like a very complete package, giving players access to a full 71-song soundtrack of all the music from the games, allowing you to create customizable playlists of tracks. An in-game gallery includes never-before-seen art, package designs, sketches, work-in-progress drawings and more. The game also comes with an encyclopedia comprising all four games, offering information on enemies, equipment, and more.

All three Castlevania GBA games scored at least a 9/10 in IGN's original reviews, with Aria of Sorrow our pick of the bunch. "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was a fantastic intro to the series on the Game Boy Advance, and an excellent launch title," we wrote in 2003. "Harmony of Dissonance was, and still is fantastic. Aria of Sorrow is better."

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

The Shadowrun Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022.

The collection of cult classic RPGs feature turn based combat, branching narrative paths, and more. They take place in a dystopian future, and are described as, "cyberpunk-meets-fantasy."

Paradox Interactive's trilogy includes Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Dragonfall - Director's Cut, and Shadowrun Hong Kong - Extended Edition. The trilogy is already available on PC.

The games take place in locations across the globe, including Seattle, Berlin, and Hong Kong. The trailer showed off combat reminiscent of XCOM. In our original Shadowrun Returns review, we called the game "good," saying, "the light tactical combat has enough depth to make it a worthwhile adventure."

The series was originally created as a tabletop RPG more than 30 years ago. About a decade ago, the series came back in the form of new, single player RPGs. The games were released originally in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

For more, check out everything announced in the September 2021 Nintendo Direct.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The Shadowrun Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2022.

The collection of cult classic RPGs feature turn based combat, branching narrative paths, and more. They take place in a dystopian future, and are described as, "cyberpunk-meets-fantasy."

Paradox Interactive's trilogy includes Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Dragonfall - Director's Cut, and Shadowrun Hong Kong - Extended Edition. The trilogy is already available on PC.

The games take place in locations across the globe, including Seattle, Berlin, and Hong Kong. The trailer showed off combat reminiscent of XCOM. In our original Shadowrun Returns review, we called the game "good," saying, "the light tactical combat has enough depth to make it a worthwhile adventure."

The series was originally created as a tabletop RPG more than 30 years ago. About a decade ago, the series came back in the form of new, single player RPGs. The games were released originally in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

For more, check out everything announced in the September 2021 Nintendo Direct.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Bayonetta 3 has finally gotten a gameplay reveal, and a release date. Nearly four years after its original announcement, we finally got to see Bayonetta's new moves, new enemies, and her new hairstyle.

Shown during today's Nintendo Direct, we were treated to Bayonetta going head-to-head with a massive kaiju monster. The trailer also provided glimpses of new areas and monsters, including a subway train and a monstrous spider. All of this takes place in a devastated Tokyo, which seems to be one of the game's key settings.

The final shot of the trailer gave us a glimpse of a character that some are speculating to be Vergil from Devil May Cry, or at least someone who looks a lot like him. Could we be in for a big crossover? We shall see.

After a teaser and announcement in 2017, we've heard very little about Bayonetta 3, and seen even less. Director Hideki Kamiya said that it would be safe to expect news on the action game this year, and we're delighted that's come true today.

Bayonetta 3 will be out on Nintendo Switch in 2022. Go here for our full recap of today's Nintendo Direct, which just concluded.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

Bayonetta 3 has finally gotten a gameplay reveal, and a release date. Nearly four years after its original announcement, we finally got to see Bayonetta's new moves, new enemies, and her new hairstyle.

Shown during today's Nintendo Direct, we were treated to Bayonetta going head-to-head with a massive kaiju monster. The trailer also provided glimpses of new areas and monsters, including a subway train and a monstrous spider. All of this takes place in a devastated Tokyo, which seems to be one of the game's key settings.

The final shot of the trailer gave us a glimpse of a character that some are speculating to be Vergil from Devil May Cry, or at least someone who looks a lot like him. Could we be in for a big crossover? We shall see.

After a teaser and announcement in 2017, we've heard very little about Bayonetta 3, and seen even less. Director Hideki Kamiya said that it would be safe to expect news on the action game this year, and we're delighted that's come true today.

Bayonetta 3 will be out on Nintendo Switch in 2022. Go here for our full recap of today's Nintendo Direct, which just concluded.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

ActRaiser, the classic Super NES god game, returns in ActRaiser Renaissance, an HD remaster that launches today on Nintendo Switch.

Announced during the September Nintendo Direct, ActRaiser Renaissance updates the classic game with HD visuals, new stages and boss battles, and rearranged music.

In ActRaiser, gameplay consists of two phases: a side-scrolling action platformer where you fight monsters with swordsmanship and magic, and a city-building phase where you must manage development of your burgeoning society. As you progress through the city-builder, you level up, increasing your powers in both modes.

ActRaiser, the classic Super NES god game, returns in ActRaiser Renaissance, an HD remaster that launches today on Nintendo Switch.

Announced during the September Nintendo Direct, ActRaiser Renaissance updates the classic game with HD visuals, new stages and boss battles, and rearranged music.

In ActRaiser, gameplay consists of two phases: a side-scrolling action platformer where you fight monsters with swordsmanship and magic, and a city-building phase where you must manage development of your burgeoning society. As you progress through the city-builder, you level up, increasing your powers in both modes.