Against all odds, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was a charmingly weird success, fusing Nintendo mega-star mascot Mario with Ubisoft’s less-than-inspiring little rabbit oddballs and throwing them into a turn-based strategy game, of all things. It was an open question then whether Ubisoft, which took the lead on the project, would be able to capture the ineffable Nintendo magic while borrowing some of the company’s most iconic characters. With that question now answered, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope sets its sights higher, managing to not only be a surprisingly good Mario spin-off, but legitimately be better than some of Nintendo’s own recent games starring the plucky plumber.

Like the original, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is very strange. It occupies a …

As if to answer the decades-old query posed by Iron Maiden in the single “Can I Play With Madness,” Bethesda Softworks brings you The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, an expansion in which you most definitely can play with madness. Shivering Isles is an expansion to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and introduces a new world along with a lengthy major quest. It also includes several minor quests, new spells and items, and dozens of completely insane characters with which to interact. The theme of the new world is madness, which is manifested in the batty characters and the twisted yet beautiful landscape. Aside from the new realm, there isn’t anything in this expansion that will significantly alter or enhance your experience with the rest of the game. So if you’re content with …

Nintendo has commented on the possibility of acquiring more companies, saying that while it is considering all options, the Mario maker would prefer to “organically expand” instead.

As part of Nintendo’s latest earnings announcement, the company said “we do not rule out the possibility of further mergers and acquisitions.” At the same time, though, Nintendo said its priority is on the aforementioned organic expansion, and for a good reason.

Nintendo said organic expansion allows new staff to “fully learn and understand our creative culture,” whereas this might be more challenging if Nintendo simply bought a company outright.

Nintendo has made a number of acquisitions since 2021, including Next Level Games, SRD, and Shiver in the world of game development. Nintendo also…