Sadly there is no noise cancelling to be found, which is a bit disappointing given the headset is priced at $199.99 / £179.99 - a lot more than its mid-range rival. Additionally, its heavy, bulky design prevents it from being the ultimate mid-range powerhouse. Regardless, there’s still a lot at play here, and Turtle Beach has proven again it can add an extra bit of pizazz to an already impressive piece of tech.

Key Specs

Design

• Sleek black and metal silver accented colorway
• Subtle branding
• Imbued with easily accessible onboard controls

The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3, for all intents and purposes, could have been named the Bulky 700. The wireless gaming headset is one of the largest pairs that’s ever crossed my desk for testing, with densely packed leather-covered foam cushions and overly large D-shaped cups. I get why they’re there, as they’re large enough to cup right around even the biggest of human ears. I also always prefer a leather, or fake leather, coating to my headset foam cushion over a fabric one as traditionally they’re softer and attract fewer cat hairs. However, they contribute to one of the most uncomfortable experiences with a headset I’ve come across.

It’s always worth noting that I do have a more sensitive head than most and am prone to migraine triggers of any kind. This headset also never gave me one, but even after adjusting the height on the cups, there was always an unnecessary tightness on the underside of each of my ears. Fortunately, this extra force (caused by the massive foam cushions) didn’t dig into the bands on my glasses. I’ve experienced that in the past with similarly heavy headsets, like the Logitech G Astro A50 X, but the Stealth 700 didn’t leave any imprints of my glasses on my head. In fact, the headset is designed to be “glasses friendly”, which is a nice accessibility win for those of us who need it.

The bulk isn’t just relegated to the leather-coated foam cushions. Each cup itself is pretty huge, likely to encase the booming 60mm dual audio drivers inside. If you’re after a more subtle headset to take out and about for music and podcasts, the Stealth 700 is not for you. The overall look is at least pretty sleek despite this, featuring a black colorway with some metal silver accents. There’s no garish cheap-looking lighting, and even the branding has a sleek sense of professionalism. The Turtle Beach logo is subtly located on either side of the cups, and the headband features an embossed logo that nicely catches any RGB lighting you might have around your gaming setup.

The silver accents to the Stealth 700 are also a nice distraction from the unsightly bulk of the whole thing. For the most part, the build quality also feels rigid and of high quality, and there’s a nice matte plastic coating, which holds out well against my aptitude for tech wear and tear. My only nitpick is that there are seam lines along each of the silver edges of the headset. They aren’t too noticeable, but any keen eye won’t be able to unsee them after a while as they give a bit of a cheap feel to an otherwise premium headset.

The cups also have a ton of onboard controls, which I’m always a fan of. The left features a small circular power button with a ring of LED lighting, which flashes green when connected to your Xbox Series X, PC or PS5. Above this, you can find the Type-C port for charging, a re-mappable dial with bumps for additional grip, a game/chat mix dial and a small EQ ‘mode button.’ The left cup is also where you can find the hidden microphone, which flips out on the front-facing side. Whereas, on the right cup, you can find the Bluetooth multi-function button, Bluetooth dial and the cross-play buttons.

Features

• Simultaneous Bluetooth & 2.4GHz connectivity
• ‘Superhuman’ hearing feature
• EQ & customization through the Swarm II app
• Hefty 80 hours battery life

The Stealth 700 Gen 3 has an impressive list of features. Despite the lack of active noise canceling, the D-shaped cups are large enough to entomb your ears, which does all it can to zone out the audio around you. But you won’t quite get that total exclusion of outside noise. Where it may lack in the ANC department, the Stealth 700 does come packed with the option for simultaneous connectivity. This is a new addition that wasn't present on the Stealth 700 Gen 2 model, and the setup just requires the usual Bluetooth pairing process, along with ensuring you’ve slotted one of the accompanying dongles into your Xbox Series X / S or Xbox One.

Unlike headsets like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X, the version of the Stealth 700 Gen 3 I tested is designed specifically for Xbox consoles in mind but also comes with two dongles, so you aren’t limited to Xbox platforms. As someone who primarily finds themselves playing the PS5, this was a pleasant surprise. There are now two tiny dongles you need to keep track of, and without an accompanying cloth bag or case to keep them in, they could go missing fast. But, either way, it makes switching to different platforms and setting up simultaneous connectivity an easier process. During testing, I connected the Xbox dongle to my PC tower to switch between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz, while the extra dongle was attached via the USB port on the front of my PS5.

Switching between hardware was not only incredibly simple but also pretty impressive. I can’t stand having a headset per-console,having to re-pair and switch out dongles, so this cuts down a lot of needless prep. When the PS5 was turned on, its audio instantly came through - even if I was initially using the headset with my PC in the other room. This came in tremendously handy when finishing up a day's work as it made switching from listening to Spotify to playing Marvel Rivals in the evening super speedy.

What also came as a tremendous benefit is the Stealth 700’s inclusion of ‘Superhuman’ audio. Also included on the Turtle Beach Atlas Air, this EQ audio pre-set allows you to hear your muddled gaming soundscape in a new way, in an effort to help you decipher the position of incoming bullets and footsteps. The audio tech isn’t available out of the box, and requires the downloading of the Swarm 2 app, either on your PC or through your smartphone. But when turned on, it allowed me to take full advantage of the spatial audio integrated into the headset. It’s worth noting that it’ll do absolutely nothing for music playback other than making audio sound hollow and lifeless as a result. So make sure to turn it off when you want to mellow out to some Chappell Roan over playing a competitive hero shooter.

The Superhuman Hearing mode can be easily switched on and off via a toggle on Swarm II, which also plays host to the test of the EQ customization. On both the PC and the smartphone app (available for iOS and Android-based devices) you can switch between ‘game’ and ‘mic’ modes, which each have their own lists of pre-made audio presets. Alternatively, you can easily create and save your own. As always, I like a beefy bass and so had the ‘bass boost’ preset selected, especially when listening to music. This did create more audio spillage but made my favorite bands from Bombay Bicycle Club to Nirvana sound dreamy. Fortunately, there wasn’t any visible distortion from any of the available presets, from the bass boost to the ‘Turtle Beach signature sound’ setting.

The battery life of the Stealth 700 is also one of the best things the Xbox headset has going for it. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro only has up to 12 hours of battery to contend with (per battery pack), and even the Stealth 700 Gen 2 only has 20 hours, but the Stealth 300 can muster up to 80 hours of playback. From weeks of testing, I only had to charge the headset fully once, and this is after multiple nights of staying up until 3am playing Unicorn Overlord, and catching up on PS Plus’s addition of High on Life. When I did finally give it a charge, it was done within a few hours, and the small LED ring around the power button politely lit up to tell me the job was done.

Performance

• Superb 60mmd dual drivers audio-quality
• Easy to set up crossplay audio system
• Crystal clear flip-to-use microphone

The Stealth 700 Gen 3 headset took the audio of games like Marvel Rivals, Dead by Daylight and Unicorn Overlord and propelled them to levels of immersive bliss. The 60mm dual audio drivers that Turtle Beach integrated this generation are no joke and can not only get very loud but make it difficult to drag myself away from spending too much time on my PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch.

I broke out Marvel Rivals to see how the headset dealt with a barrage of sounds, from bullets to the roars of the Incredible Hulk. With the out of the box audio settings, the low, mid and highs of the shooter’s soundscape sounded deep and expansive, which is exactly what you want from the world of Marvel. In fact, I actually got in a hefty amount of kills as my main Starlord and climbed up the scoreboard as a result. Not only was this more than my usual measly attempts, but the superhuman EQ setting propelled this further.

Without ANC, especially as I tend to game in the same room as my partner's PC, it was definitely harder to focus entirely on the game. But the ‘gunshots’ Superhuman audio setting in particular made it easier to suss out enemy team members who would try and surround our team. The EQ tech placed the audio in a 3D soundscape, so instead of getting lost in a sea of noise, I could hear Jeff the Shark's rendition of the Jaws theme in time behind me, before the adorable guy did his worst. Turtle Beach calls its Superhuman Hearing a “cheat code for the ears” which accurately describes the feeling of having it at my disposal. I’m still relatively new to the CS:2, growing up on Quake instead when it came to PC first-person shooters. With that in mind, I'm not the best at the game but the Superhuman pre-sets also went a long way in helping me identify not just where the enemy was, but also where my team members were running off to.

The headset was not just equipped to give me a competitive edge, but its microphone became one of the most stellar things about it. It’s detachable, and can’t be manipulated to place it closer to your mouth, which could be a deal-breaker for most. However, I grew to become a fan of its discreet hidden placement in the left cup as it was faster to flip it down when Marvel Rival match-making came to an end.

As a uni-directional microphone, also known as a dynamic mic, there’s only one spot where it’s going to best pick up your speaking. This inclusion, as opposed to other polar pickup patterns Turtle Beach could have gone for, makes sense as you can’t actually position the mic in any other way besides up. Regardless, it provided a lovely crisp tone and my friends’ heard me yelling through their own headsets with no issues. It’s worth adding that the mic was a little loud at first. So having the Swarm II app on your phone, or on your PC to adjust it will help not blow out your best friend’s eardrums.

The mic was flipped up and out of the way when testing on the Nintendo Switch, which connected easily through Bluetooth. Every sweeping instrument of the Super Mario Galaxy score sounded almost magical coming through the headset. I also tested the Stealth 700 Gen 3 while playing my latest gaming obsession, Unicorn Overlord, namely as the OST was written primarily by one of my favorite game composers, Mitsuhiro Kaneda. The triumphant medieval fantasy setting felt bustling and full of life thanks to the 60mm drivers yet again, as did the almost Shakespeare-like voice acting found within the game.

Should you buy the Razer Barracuda X Chroma gaming headset?

At a price point of $199.99 / £179.99 the Stealth 700 Gen 3 is one of the more expensive mid-range headsets I’ve had across my testing bench, but its densely packed premium features almost entirely justify its more-than-average cost. No matter if it’s the Xbox, PlayStation, or PC-designed version, this Turtle Beach headset comes with two 2.4GHz dongles to cover your bases. With its simultaneous audio system, you can also switch between using a Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz connection across an array of consoles. High-end alternatives, like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, allow you to connect to multiple consoles and platforms at once but with costs in the higher echelon of gaming headsets, coming in at $359.99. With the Stealth 700, you are getting a more limited version of this multi-platform support, but at a fraction of the cost.

Additionally, the Stealth 700 Gen 4 produces some of the best audio I’ve ever heard coming from a gaming headset. There’s no muffled gunshots, distorted highs and hollow lows at play here. Instead, the 60mm dual drivers show their stuff by doing justice to everything from competitive shooters like Marvel Rivals and CS:2, to Super Mario Galaxy on the Nintendo Switch. Every genre of music I threw at the headset, or audio from an array of streaming services also sounded their best.

The only thing preventing this from being an all-around perfect package is the lack of wired audio support, and its outright distracting and almost painful bulky shape and weight. I'd have loved to see ANC included too, however, that'd likely drive up the cost even further, and we tend to see it on more high-end headsets like the Alienware Pro Wireless rather than any mid-range rivals like the Stealth 700 Gen 3.

If you don't quite have the budget for a high-end headset but don't want to skimp out on too many premium features, the Stealth 700 Gen 3 is an ideal pickup. While I tested the Xbox version, there's also a PlayStation and PC model available, each with their own slight colorways. But even if you happen to stick with the Xbox Series X version like I tested, its two accompanying dongles make it a match for those who can't stick to one platform for long. Plus, no matter if you're playing the Xbox Series X, or PS5 or just listening to music, the headset's drivers can pack a punch that rivals the audio found on more expensive offerings.

These aren't going to be the comfiest things to pop on your head though. And if like me, you have a more sensitive noggin' than most, I'd recommend a mid-range alternative like the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) instead, which is much more lightweight. The Stealth 700 Gen 3 also doesn't have a detachable mic, and its bulky shape makes it more stuck to use indoors than something you can easily take out to listen to your favorite tunes. Regardless, Xbox and even PS5 and PC owners have a lot at their disposal with the Stealth 700 Gen 3, and again Turtle Beach has proven to me why they’re still one of the best gaming headset brands in the biz.

Ratings

How I tested the Razer Barracuda X Chroma

I spent over two weeks with the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 gaming headset. During that time I ran the mid-range pair of cups through a gaming gauntlet of plenty hours of the competitive hero shooter, Marvel Rivals. I also put the Stealth 700 through its paces by playing Dead by Daylight, Unicorn Overlord and even Nintendo Switch titles like Super Mario Galaxy (via Super Mario 3D All-Stars) and Super Mario Sunshine. When not gaming, I used it alongside streaming platforms like Netflix to watch the mini-series Apple Cider Vinegar and listened multiple music genres and bands, from Bombay Bicycle Club, OK Go and Chappell Roan. For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

If you're after a headset for your other consoles instead, check out our best PS5 headset, best Nintendo Switch headset, and best PC headset for gaming guides which are full of the brim with mid-range, and high-range, alternatives to the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3.

So, when the Billund-based brick builders decided to update the latter in 2023, with the Lego X-Wing Starfighter (75355), I would have bet my last galactic credit the TIE Interceptor would’ve been next. And with 2024 marking Lego's 25th anniversary, it was the perfect time to revisit this classic UCS set.

The Lego UCS TIE Interceptor retails for $229.99/£199.99 and occupies the smaller UCS vehicle slot in Lego’s annual Star Wars release schedule. Past incarnations include the Lego Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder (75341). This is not to be confused with the larger UCS slot, which boasts some of the biggest and best Lego Star Wars sets ever made. The most recent additions are the Lego Jabba’s Sail Barge (75397) and the Lego UCS Venator (75367).

I spent hours in the early noughties pouring over my Lego catalogs, and the original UCS TIE Interceptor and X-Wing Fighter were near the top of my wishlist. So, I couldn't wait to start piecing this set together. But is it worthy of the Empire’s finest or a bucket of studs? Let’s find out…

Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor features

Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor Build

• 1,931 pieces
• Tricky triangular sticker placement
• Very few Technic pieces for a build of this size

The TIE Interceptor comprises 1,931 pieces – 22 less than the X-Wing Starfighter – and took me around five-and-a-half hours to build. I was thrown right into the deep end at the beginning of the build by immediately making a start on the cockpit interior. This ultimately houses all of the set's 15 stickers, and bar the circular targeting computer, they’re all triangular. This makes them not only difficult to apply but extra attention must be paid to ensure you apply each sticker the right way around.

The fact some of the triangular pieces attach via clips makes it very easy to misjudge which way up the piece will ultimately sit within the cockpit. I’d also recommend using a pair of tweezers when applying them as they're all reasonably small and fiddly.

It’s worth making sure that everything within the cockpit snaps together tightly because as you progress with the build, anything that falls off within the cockpit will be mighty difficult to clip back into place, as you can barely squeeze a finger or two into the cramped space.

With much of the cockpit interior completed, you move onto the internal structure of the wing attachments, which includes a few Technic pieces. There are fewer Technic pieces here than your average UCS build, which I like. You then move onto the exterior plating of the wing-attachment arms and cockpit, which includes plenty of slopes, producing a largely studless aesthetic.

Once the cockpit is finished, it's time to build the stand. This then allows you to mount the cockpit on the stand while you build the wings. The first stage in building the wings is constructing the two rectangular mid-sections. They are virtually identical, but some excellent greebling keeps them interesting. You then move onto the four irregular quadrilaterals, which make up the rest of the wings.

The wing sections are repetition-heavy, with each wing comprising three layers of plates and a cleverly implemented gray border. Repetition is part and parcel when it comes to UCS sets, but the size and number of wing sections make them take up half of the build. This is an 18+ set for good reason. And probably a set most builders will want to split over a few days to make its repetitive nature more enjoyable.

Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor: Design

• Beautiful spherical cockpit with detailed interior
• Not minifigure scale, but the cockpit accommodates the minifigure well
• Absolutely nails the TIE Interceptor aesthetic

As a child, I must have spent hours looking at the original UCS TIE Interceptor (7181) from the year 2000 alongside the UCS X-Wing (7191) in the Lego catalog. The X-Wing is the better of these two retro models. Even back then, the TIE Interceptor looked boxy and spindly in comparison. But now, I think the tables have turned. Having built both the new X-Wing and TIE Interceptor, I have to say, the TIE is the better model.

Both sets look exquisite when compared to the source material, but the X-Wing suffers from a structural flaw that causes some serious wing droopage. And it’s gotten worse over time. Suffice to say, “lock S-foils in attack position” is easier said than done, since the mechanism seems to have come loose or simply worn, despite the model only sitting on display. Plus, the weight of the model on the pair of 2x2 curved slopes that sit at the very top of the X-Wing’s stand ping off within moments of being reattached to the point that I now leave them off entirely.

Time will tell if the weight of this hulking TIE Interceptor will produce similar problems. But I could tell while I was building it that it’s a much more structurally sound model. Sure, it’s a much more stable and compact design compared to the X-Wing’s exceedingly long wings and nose, but the model is more stable where it counts. That said, pieces do fall off. Plenty of tiny details are attached to a single stud or clip and they’re prone to vacating their station when the model is moved. Probably the most frustrating culprit is that instantly recognizable windshield. I try to avoid resting my thumb on it when moving the model because it almost always falls off.

But, this is a UCS Lego set. It’s not built for practicality and it’s not built for play. So long as it’s stable enough to hold itself together while being displayed and not touched, I’m happy. The X-Wing fails in that regard, but as far as I can tell, the TIE Interceptor should succeed.

As is often the case with a good Lego set, pictures cannot do this thing justice. Stacking it up against prototype imagery reveals a strikingly good resemblance. The cockpit is slightly more bulbous than it should be and the attachments that sit between the cockpit and wing are slightly thicker, but making these thinner would have probably impacted the model’s stability. Overall, this is a very faithful recreation of the source material – it blows its 25-year-old sibling out of the sky with a pair of laser cannons.

The greebling throughout is very tastefully done. Look at the model from the front and you’ll notice two Lego shovels, in between each wing, used to replicate the ship’s targeting sensors. On either side of the cockpit are a pair of cleverly positioned gray Lego video game controllers. And the laser cannons on the tip of each wing are represented using gray Mini Space Guns and gray lightsaber hilts. All fantastic little details.

The inner wings are covered in anti studs (the uglier rear of Lego plates). But I really can’t see a way around this, without the tooling of many new pieces (which would be far too expensive) or by increasing the thickness of each wing, which wouldn’t look right. Ultimately, the inside of each wing is plain and streamlined, with minimal structural inclusions and even some clever greebling. It doesn’t really damage the overall aesthetic.

Arguably my favorite part of the ship is the rear, which is where the twin ion engine is located (TIE being an acronym). In fact, there’s so much greebling goodness, it’s almost a shame the designers opted for the – admittedly great-looking – printed hatch on the top of the cockpit, instead of depicting it with pieces. But this certainly comes down to a matter of taste and is in no way a negative.

Talk of printed bricks brings me onto the UCS series’ famous printed plaque. The X-Wing Fighter’s plaque has a matt finish and I much prefer it to the TIE Interceptor’s glossy variant. Fresh from the box, I could see little scratches on it and it’s a fingerprint magnet, too. And since these ships go together like Han and Leia, it’s a shame the plaques aren’t uniform. Still, it’s a world away from the days when you had to apply a huge sticker, which was a nerve-wracking experience indeed.

It’s a shame the interior of the TIE Interceptor’s cockpit is so hidden because it’s a thing of beauty. Lego keeps pushing the boundaries when it comes to interiors and this might be my favorite small-to-medium-sized UCS vehicle interior yet. And while this ship is not minifigure scale, the TIE Pilot slots into the cockpit beautifully.

The little pilot is as fine a minifigure as you’d expect, with a finely printed male head, helmet, arms, torso (front and back), hip and legs. This is the gold standard in TIE pilots. It’s similar to the female minifigure included in the TIE Fighter & X-Wing Mash-up (75393) and the minifigure included in the TIE Bomber (75347) sets, but with printed arms, which is a bonus.

Although not technically a minifigure, you also get a mouse droid. This is a lovely little mini-build and sits next to the pilot on the stand nicely.

Should you buy the Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor?

As Lego Star Wars celebrates its 25th anniversary, few models illustrate just how far the theme has come quite like the UCS TIE Interceptor (75382). It makes the Noughties original look like something from Atari’s 1983 Star Wars arcade game in comparison, and even by today’s lofty standards, the TIE Interceptor is a very good-looking UCS set indeed.

I knocked off half a star because bits are prone to falling off in transit and sometimes they’re not easy to reinstall, as well as the move to a glossy plaque, which simply doesn’t work as well as the matt variant (nor match its counterpart, the X-Wing Starfighter). Otherwise, this is a fantastic ode to how far Lego Star Wars has come in a quarter of a century. The cockpit interior is unmatched by any other starfighter set, the greebling is exquisite, and even the TIE Pilot is a perfect representation of a modern minifigure. I’m wondering how Lego could improve upon this set, should it get revisited for Lego Star Wars' 50th.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested the Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor

I built the Lego Star Wars TIE Interceptor (75382) over roughly five-and-a-half hours and in three sittings. It sat in my living room on display for a couple of weeks and I also tested its durability by moving it around, especially when photographing it. I’ve also built and reviewed the closely related Lego Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter (75355) and many other Lego Star Wars sets, too. I’ve been collecting Lego since the early 90s, making me extremely well-versed in the world’s favorite construction toy.

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

For more brick-based goodness, don't miss our guides to the best Lego Super Mario sets. You can also get some money off with these Lego deals.

But, if you look at my list of the best PC controllers, the DualShock 4’s design strokes are nowhere to be found. Symmetrical pro controllers simply aren’t made these days, and it seems like Xbox’s design philosophies have well and truly won - even on the PS5 controller shelves. But GameSir is changing that. The Tarantula Pro is the DualShock 4 successor we never got from Sony itself. Sure, the DualSense arrived with the PS5, but even it feels so far removed from the PS4 controller that I for one, will always be a bit disappointed by it.

For $69.99 / £69.99, this feels like a direct jab at PlayStation’s “next-gen” controller, especially since it’s only the second gamepad to include advanced TMR thumbstick technology, which advances the stick drift-immune Hall Sensor modules that have become widely adopted today. The Tarantula Pro may not have Sony’s patented haptic feedback or adaptive trigger resistance, but it still feels like better value for money than the stock DualSense, and in some ways, it's a step up from its expensive Edge model too.

Design

Without opting for the pricey DualSense Edge, PC players really don’t have many symmetrical layout controllers to choose from these days. Sure, you can take the Victrix Pro BFG, swap around its facial components, and have yourself a PlayStation time of it, but we’re overdue some modern pro controllers that have the symmetrical layout as standard because not everyone likes the traditional Xbox feel.

Side by side with the DualShock 4, it’s clear that the exact same size and shape has been used. The Tarantula Pro isn’t wider or longer, but it does have more girth in its grips, offering just a touch more heft than the now skinny-looking PS4 pad. The Tarantula Pro also gives the DualShock 4’s triggers a much-needed growth spurt. While the concave shape of the DualShock 4’s triggers brought a lot of feel to PS4 games, they do now feel tiny by modern standards. The Tarantula Pro’s triggers still aren’t the longest, but they do have a more rounded shape to them that makes them easier to pull from an angle.

On the other hand, the facial panel of the Tarantula Pro feels like it has its own modern identity, whether that’s from GameSir injecting a bit of personality, or just a bit of a last-ditch effort to avoid patent infringement. A camo faceplate harnesses this controller’s main inputs, including a very traditional four-way D-pad which again, you don’t see often these days besides on nostalgic controllers like the PB Tails Crush Defender.

The face buttons are an act of creative genius. Visually, they’re so distinct since they don’t actually hold any specific symbols on their outside. When you turn the controller on, you can see and hear some gears spinning up, and depending on whether you’re connecting to PC or Nintendo Switch, the facial buttons can pivot into the layout you need. They do have a domed shape to them though, and a slightly deeper actuation than the very flat and shallow face buttons on the DualShock 4. I’ll talk more about this in the performance section, but it feels like speed is a victim as a result, and they’re the one part of the Tarantula Pro that lets the build quality down.

The thumbsticks harness a much more premium feel though, with metallic components that clack at their borders with a deeper sound than the DualShock 4 could ever muster. Two back buttons feel very much at home here, and an enlarged GameSir and “M” buttons give you easy power to bend the Tarantula to your every whim.

Features

As mentioned, the thumbsticks have TMR modules in them, making this just the second consumer-ready controller to use this futuristic technology. TMR stands for Tunneling magnetoresistance, and it’s an even more advanced version of the electromagnetic technology found in Hall Effect controllers. In practice, it makes sticks just as immune to stick drift but capable of registering significantly more positions on an axis, allowing for more accuracy and directional potential. At the same time, TMR sensors can communicate inputs at much higher polling rates. The Tarantula Pro is only capable of a 1,000Hz polling rate on PC, but TMR sensors are futureproofed to go much, much higher than that.

What’s nice is that you don’t need to deep-dive into the technicalities of this TMR tech if you don’t want to, but GameSir’s updated PC app does allow for it. Gone is the GameSir Nexus app that’s been used for all of the brand’s controllers so far. The new Cyclone 2 and Tarantula Pro both use the GameSir Connect app, presumably to give users more specific features for contemporary models. I was a big fan of the fact that the deadzones of the thumbsticks were already minuscule out of the box here, as usually with some of the best Xbox Series X controllers they’re far too big when you first start playing.

You can remap any of the Tarantula Pro’s buttons in the Connect software, as well as set your triggers to either be in adaptive mode, hair-trigger mode, or their regular setting. This is plenty of customization for a controller that has trigger stops anyway. These are good, and much better than the ones on the PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless which still have quite a long actuation in their strictest setting. The triggers here feel like instant microswitches when locked into their secondary mode, making them primed for more competitive play.

You may think that just two back buttons are all the extra functionality you get here, but actually, the four smaller buttons bordering the Tarantula’s touchpad give you more to work with. These can be set to any other function on the pad, or as a combination of up to three buttons at once. Beyond that, the touchpad has an actuator on either side of it, meaning you get a further two buttons to map if you so wish. As great as it is to have all of these at your thumbs disposal, they are a little confusing to distinguish from one another mid-game, and they’re all quite small. It’s a real shame GameSir opted for these over another set of back buttons, since the grips clearly have room for more. If you don’t want to use back buttons, there are some locking switches on the back of the controller that take them out of the equation entirely.

The Tarantula Pro comes with a USB-C to USB cable, and I’d highly recommend holding onto it because the USB-C port on the controller has one of those annoying narrow gateways that means not every shape of connector will fit into it. This bugs the life out of me, and I wish peripheral makers would let this design flaw die already, but I digress. Luckily, there’s also a USB Wireless dongle in the box, and the Tarantula is capable of Bluetooth connections as well. You’ll also benefit from a light-up charging stand, which I’m happy to report can connect via USB A or USB-C. If you use the USB-C side, this gives you a slot within the stand to holster your wireless dongle so you don’t lose it, although since this is actually a USB port, I wouldn’t suggest you push it in all the way because it will prove very difficult to get back out again.

Battery life is quoted as an inexact “long-lasting”. While I don’t have an exact time to share either, I can say that in over 10 hours of play testing, I’m yet to see it run out. When a charging stand is included in your purchase anyway, it’s much harder to find the faults with strange battery life claims, so I’ll let it slide for now.

Performance

I’m coming off the back of my review of the PB Tails Crush Defender and the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. Since the former, my standards of controller comfort have been well and truly raised, and since the latter, it’s going to take something with serious speed and feel to make me sit up and take notice. In many ways, the GameSir Tarantula Pro captures a lovely halfway point between them both. The comfort here feels as good as it did on the DualShock 4, except with added heft. The mix of membrane and microswitch functions on the shoulders and facial elements feel like they give a lot of grounds for competitive play too, just like Razer’s option.

Admittedly, microswitch face buttons may have offered more in twitchy games like Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, but I think to capture that DualShock 4 feeling, the designers at GameSir had to go for membrane ones. With the holographic symbols giving a unique design flare, I feel bad for criticizing them, but whether it’s their domed shape or slightly larger actuation, they don’t feel quite as snappy as the DualShock 4.

This small gripe doesn’t prevent the Tarantula from feeling like a super-cohesive gamepad in fast-paced games. In Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, I felt I had all the functionality I needed to string combos together during fights. In more complex games like Helldivers 2, there was a lot of functionality in macro-making thanks to those additional face buttons, although they just don’t feel as useful as two more back buttons would have.

I really do wish that GameSir would offer us four back buttons one of these days. The rest of this controller feels primed to be a competitive play masterpiece, and with just two more back buttons it would go from a controller I’ll use for a lot of single-player games to the main one I use for 90% of my playtime. This is the first time I really feel as though GameSir has missed a trick because there’s never been a symmetrical controller with four back buttons. People who prefer this layout want competitive options too, please. The longer, rounded grips on a DualShock 4-reminiscent controller would have been the perfect opportunity for GameSir to truly break the mold, and I’m a tad let down by the fact it opted for some smaller, confusing face button extras instead.

What I’m not let down by are the excellent thumbsticks, which without any size-changing toppers still managed to play competitively. Running around in Hunt: Showdown, I really felt the difference that TMR modules give. The smallest of aiming adjustments felt as possible as they do on the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox using its tallest thumbstick attachment. At the same time, sweeping shoulder aim flicks felt robust and controllable thanks to dialed-in thumbstick tension. I think the increased sensitivity you get from Hall Sensor thumbsticks applies here. It took me some time to get the feel for sensitivity changes, but on balance, this is a surprisingly good FPS controller.

As I do with any controller, I tested the Tarantula in the precise platforming of Celeste, and it felt like a natural habitat. Using the microswitch D-pad, directional inputs were speedy, and using the thumbsticks felt just as accurate. I did feel as though the out-of-box rumble was a little weak compared to the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, but you can tweak this in the GameSir Connect app to get the experience you want.

Thanks to the exquisite level of comfort the Tarantula Pro has, I’ve really been enjoying playing longer sessions in narrative experiences like 1000xResist as well. Using the back buttons or not, this is a controller I can play with for hours at a time without feeling any discomfort or awkward thumb cramps. It’s something I’d gladly record gameplay footage with too since those sticks can handle slow, cinematic camera pans with ease.

Should you buy the GameSir Tarantula Pro?

As someone who has always loved the DualShock 4 and has been dying to see more symmetrical pro controllers on the shelves, this is a no-brainer for me. As a casual controller for cozy gaming, the Tarantula is just as viable as it is in competitive fighting games, or in FPS titles.

I must admit, this is the first GameSir controller I’ve used that I truly feel the lack of two more back buttons, but if you’re desperate for the extra utility, those face buttons may come in handy.

In the end, this stacks up very well against the official PlayStation controllers, especially the DualSense Edge, which is more than double the price for essentially the same functionality and far less futureproofing. I can thoroughly recommend the GameSir Tarantula Pro. Besides a few changes I’d make, this is the pro-DualShock 4 I’ve always wanted.

How I tested the GameSir Tarantula Pro

I put the GameSir Tarantula Pro controller to the test over the last few weeks before writing up this review. In that time, I’ve used it for all of my gaming on PC. I put it through my usual suite of testing games, from Hunt Showdown to Celeste, to Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. I also enjoyed playing 1000xResist with the Tarantula in hand.

I compared my experience closely with the DualShock 4 since that was the controller this product was designed to mimic. I also compared the specs, features, and feel of this gamepad with other contemporary ones I’ve tested lately, like the PB Tails Crush Defender and the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro.

For more on how we test controllers, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

On the hunt for your dream controller? Take a look at the best PS4 controllers, the best joysticks, and the best Nintendo Switch controller.

I’ll start off by saying this is a clear sign that the Alienware Pro Wireless isn’t going to find its way into the hands of most players, but if you are at a high enough competitive level its focus on speed and precision could well pay off. It’s in direct competition with some of the best gaming mouse models money can buy, though, and it does fall short in some finer details.

I’ve been using the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse for two weeks, directly testing against similarly priced competitors, the $159.99 Razer Viper V3 Pro and $159 Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, as well as cheaper alternatives that still subscribe to that tournament-first approach; the $129.99 Glorious Series 2 Pro, $99.99 Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, and $74.99 Endgame Gear OP1 8K.

Design

Aside from the angular lines shaping the long main mouse clicks and soft, light gray Alienware logo on the rump, the Pro Wireless could be an everyday office mouse. There’s no RGB fanfare in this design, and both the black and white models fly under the radar with a simple matte finish and curvy silhouette. It’s a shape I’ve come to recognize in this new generation of FPS-first gaming mice. Gone are the skinny frames and low domes, instead we’re embracing comfort with wider bases and a higher profile. It means those with larger hands are well catered for, but my smaller grabbers feel a little less nimble when battling with the extra surface area.

I can easily spend hours in a palm grip, with the slight cinching in the middle of the device offering a good level of purchase to hit the two side buttons reliably, and the tail end nestling neatly in the base of my hand. However, I do prefer a claw hold and there’s just a little too much mouse here for me to fully retain control during more frantic moments. I have to adjust a little too much weight to keep those side buttons engaged in a claw grip, with the back of the mouse leaning more towards the base of my thumb than it does in skinnier models. Still, that palm grip remains nicely comfortable, with just the right amount of height to keep strain off the wrist.

This is a larger device than I would typically choose for myself, but looks can be deceiving. At 59g it’s one of the lighter wireless gaming mouse options on the market, beating the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 by a gram. It’s not, however, the lightest out of my comparison pool, with the wired Endgame Gear OP1 8K coming out top with just over 50g to its name. The Viper V3 Pro is 5g lighter with all that wireless functionality - but actual numbers aren’t the end of the story here.

There’s a reassuring weight that only makes itself known when you need it. With a set of particularly slick skates underneath and a well-balanced feel, the Alienware Pro Wireless mouse can keep its precision without sacrificing raw speed. It also means that, for the most part, it feels more luxurious in the hand, compared with the initially cheap-feeling OP1 8K. Dell says this is the optimum weight it’s found during tests with esports players and, since this is a mouse geared towards those same professionals, I’m not inclined to disagree. If, however, you prefer to keep things as floaty as possible, there are lighter options on the market.

I’m not a professional esports player, but I still found the shape and weight to be well-tuned with each other. That said, when I first laid hands on the Alienware Pro Wireless, I was concerned. This is a boxy shape with only a very slight groove on the thumb and pinky rests. In everyday play, I found the deeper curves of the Razer Viper V3 Pro to be more comfortable and controllable. Like Razer’s newer releases (and Logitech’s Superlight series) the matte finish coating everything feels smooth under the hand, but does provide a good friction grip that means it never slipped during my testing.

Features

The biggie here is that 8K polling rate. For the uninitiated, mouse gaming mice poll (send information to the PC) at a rate of 1,000Hz. You can get a more reliable response by upping that rate to 4,000Hz - your mouse will send these packets of data to your PC four times more often, ensuring fewer missed messages. A lot of mice also offer this feature nowadays. The Alienware Pro Wireless can up that polling rate to 8,000Hz for an even more consistent response, but only over a wired connection. This is a feature seen in competitive-oriented pointers, but it’s also making its way to the mainstream thanks to the magic of marketing. Unfortunately, the vast majority of players simply don’t need it, nor will they see a difference in their experience.

This is a spec for the fastest players among us, and we regular folk are generally wasting money opting for a gaming mouse that prioritizes such a feature over other, more useful, customization options. However, it’s a feature being quickly adopted in competitive circles for peace of mind. The problem here, though, is that the Alienware Pro Wireless doesn’t do 8,000Hz polling as well as other, cheaper, mice.

That’s because you’ll need to plug in for that full speed, whereas the Glorious Series 2 Pro can have you hitting the full polling rate with just the wireless connector. The Razer Viper V3 Pro needs the brand’s separate dongle to do so, but it can also poll at 8,000Hz wirelessly. Even the sub-$100 Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed can hit these heights without a cable (though you’ll be paying extra for the receiver to do so). Alienware has gone all-in on this speed, so for it to fall short against cheaper alternatives in the very arena it’s placing its bet is disappointing.

Instead, Dell should have been screaming about its battery life. Save for the Turtle Beach Kone II Air (130 hours), this is the longest-lasting rechargeable battery I’ve used in a gaming mouse when running a 1,000Hz polling rate over a 2.4GHz connection. Alienware’s 120-hour suggestion rings true in my own testing - I’ve been running this rodent all day for two weeks now and I still have 20% charge left. Considering both the Viper V3 Pro and Logitech Superlight 2 come in at 95 hours per charge, that’s pretty impressive. Bumping things up to 4,000Hz does drop that battery considerably, but there are settings in the Alienware Command Center software that automatically drop your polling rate when the battery hits a certain threshold.

Command Center is a fairly basic piece of software, but it still provides access to DPI, polling rate, lift-off, battery, and keybinding settings in an easily digestible menu format. I’m a fan overall, it covers all the basics without throwing ads in your face - even if Razer’s Focus Pro sensor means it can offer additional settings within the brand’s Synapse program. There’s space for five onboard profiles here, which is pretty standard fare.

The actual device features everything you would expect to find on a competitive gaming mouse, though its 26K / 650 IPS Pixart PAW3395 sensor is neither the fastest in Pixart’s own line nor the highest spec on the market (the Razer Viper V3 Pro reaches up to 35K with 750 IPS and space for extra fancy mapping features). The two main click buttons use optical switches, but with Alienware’s magnetic-force system that promises enhanced speed. Essentially, two magnets oppose each other on each side of the switch, allowing for a snappy bounce when returning back to their original positions after a press. It’s a benefit over similar options from Razer, Logitech, and Endgame if you’re looking to tune speed in all areas of the experience.

Extra buttons are limited to the two side clickers you’ll find on similar mice, with a DPI / profile shifter button placed underneath. It’s a faff to flip the mouse over every time I want to change settings, and it’s a placement I’ve criticized on even the best Razer mice in the business. If you’re ultra-competitive and prefer to set and forget, though, it’s kept neatly out of the way.

Performance

The sensor at the helm of everything does a fantastic job of keeping up with the action, though very few gaming mice can’t zip across a battlefield these days. The skates underneath and fantastic weight distribution, however, make the Alienware Pro Wireless feel particularly smooth in action. I was twitching and flicking my way through Counter Strike 2 in near serenity, thanks to the float-like feel of the chassis overall and the extra space afforded by a chunkier base. While my smaller hands mean that I didn’t exactly feel as nimble as I do with a slimmer device, like the Razer Viper V2 Pro or, more recently, the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless, I was still able to hit my marks with speed and ease. I didn’t notice any jittering at any of the set polling rates, but equally couldn’t feel the difference between a 1,000Hz and 8,000Hz experience - other than the extra sensation of the cable plugged in.

I was initially surprised by the main click switches, and not in a good way. Coming from the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless, with its particularly short, tactile click-feel, the Alienware Pro Wireless almost felt too heavy at first glance. After a week of work and play, I realized it wasn’t a sensation of weight that stopped me in my tracks, but one of space. There’s a minute feeling of extra depth to these clickers, but the snap of those magnetic contacts was masking the slightly longer travel distance. I generally prefer a shorter stop, so I was confused at why I wasn’t hating the experience of using them day to day. It’s because the debounce is so fast and so responsive, you get the best of both worlds - a more precise initial press and a faster return to neutral.

The very thing that initially had me worried about the Alienware Pro Wireless quickly became my favorite part of the experience (other than not having to charge). Shots felt incredibly fast but I was in complete control of them the whole time, with laser-focused repeat presses that felt both measured and intuitive.

Unfortunately, I can’t sing quite so loudly about the side buttons. A $150 gaming mouse with so much emphasis on a smooth, luxury feel has no business using these clickers. They feel hollow and cheap while also being too heavy in their actuation to truly feel intuitive and fast. They’re positioned in a perfect spot for my thumb, but compared to the soft, quiet main clicks they’re obnoxiously loud and could threaten to ruin the experience if you rely on them day to day.

Should you buy the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse?

There’s a lot that I love about the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse; its excellent battery life, responsive main clicks, smooth glide-feel, and intuitive software. Its focus on competition-level play means its price won’t make sense to the majority of players, but I could say the same about the Razer Viper V3 Pro, my current favorite gaming mouse overall. If you’re an everyday player looking for a wireless mouse that can still keep you at the top of your game you’ll find far better value in the extra features of the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed. You’re dropping out-the-box 8,000Hz polling but you don’t need it - instead, the DeathAdder has a range of additional sensor controls while beating both the Viper V3 Pro and Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 in battery life.

That’s fair enough, the Alienware Pro Wireless is a competitive mouse with its sights firmly set on tournament-level players with cash to burn. Unfortunately, Razer still wins the matchup, with a faster sensor, better side buttons, wireless 8,000Hz polling, and better grip curves on its Viper V3 Pro model. It’s $10 more at MSRP, but it’s also older and those numbers move south far more regularly. Yes, you’ll need to use the Razer HyperPolling dongle for the full 8K speed whereas Alienware can get you there straight out of the box (albeit with a wired connection), but the overall package is better value for money.

That’s not to say nobody should be looking at the Pro Wireless. Those magnetically debouncing main clicks have me excited, and that battery life can’t be denied. If you’re sticking to 4,000Hz in wireless mode, prioritize glide-feel over extra grooves for grip, and always forget to plug your mouse in overnight, the Alienware Pro Wireless should be your go-to.

How I tested the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse

I used the Alienware Pro Wireless gaming mouse for two weeks, running the device for all my daily work while also playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Counter Strike 2, The Sims 2, Fallout 4, and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I tested in direct competition with the Razer Viper V3 Pro, Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, and Endgame Gear OP1 8K. For more information about how we test gaming mice, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

I’m also on the hunt for the best Logitech gaming mouse on the market, as well as all the best left-handed gaming mice available. Or, check out the best mouse pads for gaming to get that glide right.

Features

• Biggest kit in the series yet
• Comes with K.K. minifigure
• The town hall building is iconic

While technically the centerpiece of the Lego Animal Crossing sets, there's an odd assortment of accessories in K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza. There's the town hall building and some minimal furniture for the inside like the ATM, a small, surprisingly complex cafe stall, a concert setup, the notice board, and K.K.'s traveling van. The set also comes with three minifigures, K.K., Isabelle, and Audie. It's not a bad amount of stuff by any means, but it's a somewhat odd combination.

Build

• Less than 3 hours to build
• Fairly straightforward though big in scale
• One or two complicated modules

The most complex bit in K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza might, at first blush, seem like the town hall building – and it does admittedly have a fair amount of LEGO bricks in it. But if you've built one building, especially from the Animal Crossing line, you've essentially built them all, and the town hall is no exception. In reality, the most captivating part of this set is actually K.K.'s travelling van.

Product shots of the van might be a bit deceptive as it's quite complex – more than I certainly expected. There are a lot of little parts that go into making the whole, and in a different universe I wouldn't have balked at seeing the van as its own, slightly cheaper set instead of part of the larger K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza one here. The back opens up to reveal little touches like a little spot for K.K. to leave a drink or the functional storage area on top, and generally there's actually an overall sense that it might have been even better if the van had been larger in the grand scheme of things.

Design

• Just as modular as the other Animal Crossing sets
• Clearly meant to be the centerpiece
• Not as complicated as it looks

Of all the Lego Animal Crossing sets that I've reviewed so far, K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza is the one that feels most like it is let down by design. It's by no means a bad set, but for being the biggest, most expensive set, it's actually somewhat minimalist. While it has 550 pieces in total, a huge number of those are part of the building or K.K.'s van.

Compared to, say, the Lego Nook's Cranny & Rosie's House set, there is a surprising lack of details. All the buildings in the aforementioned set have involved insides and complex roofs, and both are shockingly simplistic in K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza. The little cafe modular piece with its tiny pastries and tea and stall is quite charming, but it is hard to beat the feeling of having K.K. at all looms large over the rest of the set and is meant to be a significant amount of its value.

Should you buy Lego K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza?

At this point, if you're building more than one set from the Lego Animal Crossing line, you're going to want to have this one despite my caveats. The whole line is designed with the idea of customizing a series of modular builds to build the "island" that you want to have, and what's an Animal Crossing island without the town hall and plaza?

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Lego K.K.'s Concert at the Plaza

This set was built over the course of a single, 2.5-hour session. We made it a priority to directly compare it to other builds from the same line as we went and explicitly combine with other sets to see how it meshed.

For more on our process, see our 'how we test' guide.

Of course, the latest Geralt will be no stranger for fans of the franchise as iconic voice actor Doug Cockle takes on the mantle, after voicing the monster hunter in The Witcher games. And thankfully too, as his iconic take on the character helps carry this potentially confusing addition into a satisfying new Witcher adventure that harks back to the live-action series' heyday.

Set very specifically between episodes 5 and 6 of the main Netflix show's first season, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep tells a standalone, fantastical story that both enriches Geralt's character and would be a satisfying entry point for those unfamiliar with this golden-eyed monster hunter.

Part of your world

Based on Andrzej Sapkowski's short story 'A Little Sacrifice', the animated adventure film picks up with Geralt and his trusty companion Jaskier (voiced once again by Joey Batey) on a new mission. This time, they're hired to investigate a series of mysterious attacks in a seaside village. Naturally, it proves to be more than what the monster hunter bargained for as he's drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople that shows no sign of abating.

It's a great premise, and one that feels particularly suited to this mode of storytelling. South Korean animation studio, Studio Mir – who previously worked on The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf – has great fun depicting the underwater, fantastical world. The design of the merpeople is particularly beautiful, blending blue and purple tones to create something quite visually arresting.

This lean deeper into monsters and fantasy is something that the best episodes of the live-action series did too. Focusing on a small, contained story, rather than a heavy reliance on ongoing conflicts reminds me of some of its best episodes, like season 2's opener 'A Grain Of Truth' or season 1's 'Rare Species'. Yet, here there is even more time to delve deeper into both the story itself and the backstories of our beloved protagonists.

Character study

Jaskier in particular gets a lot more to tackle, and we find out some interesting details about his past. While we won't venture into spoilers, it's a real joy to learn more about him, especially because Batey and his musical character remain a real high point of Netflix's take on the world of The Witcher. Geralt too gets some growth with the memories of his relationship with Yennefer (voiced by the returning Anya Chalotra) plaguing his every decision. This is particularly interesting when brought into contrast by new love interest, Essi Daven.

Daven is a fascinating character, with links to Jaskier's past as well as being a refreshing new heroine in The Witcher franchise. Voice actor Christina Wren does bring warmth to the character, but sadly it's a performance weighed down by a distracting accent that makes it hard to follow her narrative at times. As the film progresses, it evens out a bit, but unfortunately a barrier remains for audiences to truly engage with her story.

It's not just Daven's accent which hampers the film either, but some of the action sequences don't flow as well as you would hope. While the animation is wonderful at capturing the unique world of The Witcher, it gets a bit clunky in fast-paced scenes which can't hold a candle to some of the incredible fight sequences of its live-action counterpart.

Full of potential

Yet, if you're able to look past these quibbles, there's a lot to like about The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. It remains an enjoyable watch throughout thanks to its pacy, well-woven storytelling that broadens the lives of familiar characters while exploring previously untouched areas of Sapkowski's world. Director Kang Hei Chul does a stellar job, and props go to writers Mike Ostrowski and Rae Benjamin who understand the delicate balance of a standalone tale that fits into an existing narrative.

All this is anchored by Cockle's impressive handling of Geralt, which will feel nostalgic for The Witcher 3 fans and will hopefully introduce a whole new audience to his deft genius at playing the monster hunter. Quintessentially, the animation feels like a breath of fresh air in The Witcher's increasingly controversial franchise – and it's enough to make you wonder that if while the future of The Witcher live-action may be limited, cut down from its original seven-season plan to just five, anime could be where it finds its future.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is out now on Netflix. For more on what to watch, check out our guides to the best Netflix movies and the 10 best fantasy movies on Netflix to stream now. If you're after more Witcher, here's our guide to The Witcher season 4.

With an entirely new army rule, eight detachments, and balance updates for practically every unit in the army, the Aeldari have undergone the biggest revamp compared from Index to Codex so far in 10^th Ed. – and they're looking fierce as a result. Codex: Aeldari also packs in plenty of background information and character profiles for those interested in the current goings-on in the craftworlds and beyond. But, even with radical rules changes and up-to-date lore, the question of how valuable physical army books are in 2025 is as inescapable as the soul-devouring hunger of She Who Thirsts.

Refocused

The most notable change for Codex: Aeldari is that Fate Dice is out and Battle Focus is in. Aeldari players now gain Battle Focus tokens at the start of each round, which can then be spent to buff a unit with one of six Agile Manoeuvres. These manoeuvres range from adding extra movement to an infantry unit or vehicle so that it can storm across the battlefield, to immunity to the Fire Overwatch Stratagem and being able to move after getting shot at.

It admittedly adds a lot more complexity to an already quite tricky army, particularly compared to the previous Fate Dice rule. Battle Focus tokens are yet another resource to manage and some of the Agile Manoeuvres have quite specific triggers, but it's a far superior rule that adds flexibility and realizes the Aeldari's grace in combat much better than Fate Dice.

Being tactical with a range of movement tricks is much more interesting than blowing your opponent to pieces with Fate Dice-empowered bright lances. The best part is Fate Dice's number substitution mechanic isn't even completely gone from the army. Now all Aspect Warrior infantry units can finally use those Aspect Shrine tokens that come in every kit to get an automatic six on a Hit or Wound roll once per battle.

In fact, the Aspect Warriors and their respective Phoenix Lords have all had quite substantial reworks resulting in notable improvements. Dire Avengers have gone from what felt like skilled infantry to Rambo gunners, Howling Banshees are now blenders thanks to gaining Anti-Infantry 3+ on all their melee weapons, and Swooping Hawks have gone from hyper-agile airborne infantry to Aeldari-sized attack aircraft capable of performing bombing runs. Attaching the respective Phoenix Lord to these Aspect units lets them fulfil their niches with even more lethality too.

The Aspect Warriors are also just a part of the army, and the rest of the Asuryani, Harlequins, and Ynnari get explored in the eight detachments available in Codex: Aeldari. Of the Detachments I tested, the all-rounder Warhost seems like it could be the most disruptive, doubling down on Battle Focus to grant frankly ludicrous mobility with extra movement distance for certain Agile Manoeuvres and extra Battle Focus tokens.

Similarly, Aspect Host goes all in on the Avatar of Khaine and the newly buffed Aspect Warriors, coming into its own with its Stratagems. These are all quite powerful, providing moments of extreme lethality when the stars align, particularly as you can improve two of them by also spending an Aspect Shrine token. My favourite was Preternatural Precision, which I used to give Ignores Cover and Lethal Hits to some Dire Avengers and Asurmen who were already benefitting from their Bladestorm Sustained Hits 1 ability, letting them shred a horde of Genestealer Cultists and their Primus.

Elves shelved

Even Spirit Conclave, Windrider Host, and Seer Council provide unique rules that fit well with the Craftworlds they evoke and seem like they'll be able to hold with an optimized list and capable player. However, the Aeldari Codex definitely feels like it's lacking in places when it comes to Detachments and datasheets.

I'm far from a disciple of Yvraine but even I can see why the Devoted of Ynnead Detachment is a step down from the previous Index rules that simply let you have up to half your army consist of Drukhari units. Now the Ynnari are granted a narrow selection of bespoke Drukhari datasheets (conveniently included in the Codex, however) to draw from.

Obviously, this was to end the age of dark and bright lance spam with Scourges and Ravagers, but it's arguably those weapons combined with Fate Dice and Battle Host re-rolls that made the Ynnari so threatening. Now that those are gone too, interesting buffs to Yvraine, the Visarch, and the Yncarne can't distract from the feeling that the Ynnari have been hit doubly hard.

My own gripe with the Aeldari Codex Detachments is the lack of an "Outcast Fleet" catering to Rangers and Corsairs, thematically fitting with Craftworld Alaitoc (the only major Craftworld to get snubbed) or even Prince Yriel's Eldritch Raiders. Of course, the biggest issue there is that Prince Yriel's datasheet has been removed, along with the likes of ranger hero Illic Nightspear and, most frustratingly, Striking Scorpion Phoenix Lord Karandras.

Seeing his Scorpions get updated for Kill Team, along with his Phoenix Lord brethren most recently, is a little painful, even if culling his sculpt from the 1990s is understandable. I can only hope that he makes a triumphant return in the not-too-distant future, but the fates of Yriel, Nightspear, and even the Autarch Skyrunner are uncertain.

Should you buy Codex: Aeldari?

Despite issues with the Ynnari Detachment and important datasheets not carrying over from the Index, the 10^th Ed. Aeldari Codex is a huge improvement on the previous rules, with Battle Focus revitalizing the army and adding significantly more tactical depth. The Detachments, for the most part, help with this a lot too, allowing you to build your army around specific aspects of the Asuryani forces or the Aeldari diaspora more broadly, all in all making the Aeldari one of the most interesting armies in Warhammer 40K.

However, despite my praises for these rules and the physical book itself, which is of the usual high quality we expect from Games Workshop with the most current lore, it's difficult to actually recommend buying it. $60 / £37 is an absurd amount to spend on a book that will be almost redundant upon release thanks to a day one errata document on the way, and an even more absurd amount to spend on just a code for digital rules. I can only hope the Farseers have glimpsed a better system ahead.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Until the last 18 months or so I didn’t really care about ensuring I had the best webcam for all my digital needs. It feels bad to say, but it’s true. I just used whatever I had on hand to get the job done. After all, finding the webcam that's right for you is a very tough job - one that I hope I can assist you with – especially with so many different selling points and price points to go along with them.

So it was a very pleasant surprise to find out that the Opal Tadpole really does seem to put simplicity and price accessibility at the forefront, all while advertising 4K - the keyword being ‘advertising’. Hitting the market for $129/£130 it’s a fairly simple price to wrap your head around, especially compared to the likes of the OSBOT Tiny 2 or the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra. However, it still feels like a very small tadpole in a very big pond.

Design

Potentially my favorite aspect of the Opal Tadpole webcam is its aesthetics. It is an absolutely stunning piece of kit that appeals to my enjoyment of minimalist technology. This may sound like a negative but it reminds me of a LEGO piece - it certainly has the size of one. A “large”, sleek, white aluminium square houses the lens that will sit atop your laptop. The Tadpole feels both retro and futuristic at the same time but is never dated by its basic design language. You’ll notice I put the word ‘large’ in quotations as it really is anything but that. The actual size of the device is 35 x 40 x 20mm, so yeah, it's as tiny as advertised, weighing in at just 45 grams.

The deep, black lens contrasts nicely with the rest of the webcam, almost like this inky pupil of an eye staring back at you. This contrast really gives the webcam a premium feel that can be lacking from competitors which are more ambitious with their designs. It doesn’t just look premium though as it features chemically strengthened glass to ensure that you won’t be paying a premium to replace it anytime soon.

At the back of the webcam, you’ll find the clip mechanism that allows you to attach it to your laptop. Once again the prevailing word here is “simple”. If you’ve ever used an alligator clip before then you’ll know exactly how to get the Opal Tadpole attached and ready to use. The clip has a range of 35 degrees which means it will fit the majority of the best gaming laptops. However, if you’re trying to use it on your PC and monitor then you’ll likely struggle, for reasons I’ll come onto.

Also on the rear of the Tadpole is a fittingly tiny cable. I found this to be far too short at only 55cm in length. This isn’t helped by the bead that sits in the middle of the woven cable which means it never fully extends to its full length. However, it does mean that you won’t have to worry about cables getting in the way of things - I personally don’t want to do much cable management when using my laptop.

Features

Underneath the Scandinavian-style hood, there is actually a fairly robust and well-rounded camera. The Tapole features a Sony IMX582 RS sensor which in plain terms is a 48-megapixel image sensor often utilized on mobile phones such as the Samsung Galaxy A range. It does a good job of providing clean images with minimal noise, even in lower-light situations - making this ideal as a potential tool to add to your gear for streaming setup. Additionally, it provides vibrant enough colours giving you an image that has a nice pop to it.

The 48 MP camera will likely be a big draw for people, especially in combination with that Sony sensor which is capable of 4K imagery. Despite a lot of 4K marketing claims you’ll see on the Tadpole’s retail page though, make no mistake that this camera is locked to 1080p. This will likely be more than enough for most people as it still looks sharp, but one of the big draws of this webcam is an affordable 4K option you can take on the go with you.

I mentioned low light situations and the f/1.8 lens on the Tadpole does let in a decent amount of light to assist with that and ensure that the image is best represented. However, it is worth noting that it did struggle a bit more in highly lit situations with some scenarios being a little overexposed and lacking details.

It isn’t just the camera that you get here however, it also features an on-board microphone, something which is even more impressive considering how small it is. Opal has decided to use a directional microphone to only capture audio in front of the webcam. I found this to be both incredibly helpful and incredibly annoying at different times. Yes, it allows for any sound outside of a specific window of direction to be ignored, but it does mean that you need to ensure you are directly in front of the camera whenever you want to speak. The cable features a clever capacitive mute button on one end, meaning you can tap to mute yourself if need be. This is a nice trick, but when you can do the same thing with a simple push of the space bar in most video calling programs, it feels like fluff.

Unfortunately, the cable is attached to the back with no way to replace it with something longer, so if you need more than the 55cm length then you are out of luck.

Performance

I was very excited to try the Opal Tadpole. As I’ve said, the aesthetics are perhaps my favorite aspect of the whole package. I could picture myself in my local coffee house, book on the table, MacBook on a desk, and sitting atop would be the Opal Tadpole. This was an attractive mental image, but unfortunately, one that didn’t quite come to pass. When I realized that the Tadpole was locked to 1080p, 30fps video recording, and when it became apparent that both my MacBook and iPhone had better camera quality, the fantasy I had became suddenly diluted.

The next big issue I ran into was that it wasn’t compatible with my PC/monitor setup at home. Yes, I know it is primarily designed for your laptop but if you’re paying $129/£130 I would expect more versatility. The clip unfortunately doesn’t have enough range on it to be attachable to most monitors, plus the cable being as short as it is means that this use case is pretty much off the table.

When I do have my very expensive MacBook sitting right next to it, I can make peace with some PC incompatibility. So I hooked it up and was similarly underwhelmed by the experience. That isn’t to say that it doesn’t produce a nice image (as you can see by the examples that I have provided). It does look good and does exactly what you expect from a sub-$200 webcam. But it just feels like it does the bare minimum, especially compared to options like the Elgato Facecam MK2, or even the more basic Logi Stream Cam.

What I am wrestling with is the fact that it’s such a brilliantly designed webcam from a visual standpoint, but when using it I just find myself gravitating to better options. My MacBook Pro webcam does a decent enough job and I don’t have to carry around an extra webcam in my pocket if I’m traveling. Failing that, I have my iPhone in my pocket at all times which can double as a capable webcam on its own. What remains is an additional purchase that's tricky to justify. This isn’t better than an average phone camera, it requires a USB-C connection, and it even struggles to compete with standard laptop webcams without delivering on its 4K claims.

For example, I stream fairly frequently and I wanted to stress test the Tadpole in a content creation scenario. Unfortunately, it just made it a very difficult experience and I reverted back to using the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite fairly quickly. In terms of the microphone, I was actually fairly impressed by what it can do. Despite the fact that the range isn’t great, it does do an impressive job of capturing your voice with detail and clarity. Alongside this it does a good enough job of eliminating any background noises – although it did struggle when I did venture out to a public place, specifically a train. I’d still recommend you get yourself one of the best microphones rather than using the built-in one, but if you need to use it then it does the job.

While disappointing generally for me, I must admit that I found the Tadpole's best use case was when I needed to jump into online meetings Zoom calls, or Discord video chats. The simplicity factor of its design extends to its usage too, you simply plug it in and it works. Not much more to it. This made it super convenient for me to attach onto my laptop when needed and I’d be in the call without delay.

Should you buy the Opal Tadpole?

This was incredibly tough for me. As I have reiterated throughout this review, the design and visuals of the Opal Tadpole are brilliant in my mind. Even the way it's presented in its box is visually appealing and minimalist. So, if you want a webcam that has no frills, looks great and just does the job then sure, this is a decent purchase.

However, it falls short for me compared to some of the other webcams you can get today. If I want something small, then the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite is sitting right there, can actually record in 4K, and has AI pan, tilt, and zoom features. If I want something with better overall performance, then the Razer Kiyo Pro is more compatible with PC setups and is significantly cheaper. If I want a content creation webcam with 4K abilities, there are plenty of options out there nowadays.

I really wanted to love the Opal Tadpole, but unfortunately, I don’t. I am sure there is someone out there that this specific device is perfect for, it just isn't me. I want to be clear, it is by no means a bad webcam, it could just be so much better.

How we tested the Opal Tadpole

I used the Opal Tadpole day-to-day where possible with my MacBook Pro. This included video calls on Discord, some light streaming, and facetime calls. I tested the device extensively over a period of a month or two.

For more on how we test the latest content creation gear, check out the full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

Looking for more production value? The best green screens, the best capture cards, and the best ring lights for streaming can help.

It's the kind of attention to detail I wish we got from the official D&D Monster Manual. Alongside video game-inspired behaviour loops it features cues your party can pick up on to anticipate attacks. Throw in an impressive model you can use for all manner of homebrew content and Epic Encounters: Symbaroum – The Corrupted Coloss delivers on its promise.

Features & design

• Features a ready-to-run boss battle
• Includes a high-detail (but unpainted) model
• Can be used standalone or in a series

All Epic Encounters packs provide you with a combat scenario, a mat to play on, and miniatures to use in your games. The Corrupted Coloss is no different, but it's a 'boss' box – and that means you get one massive showpiece model rather than multiple foes.

This adventure takes us deep into the forest's heart in pursuit of an enormous tree-being that's gone mad. These creatures – known as Coloss – are normally bound to the witch who created them and seek to protect the Davokar woods. However, that connection is broken when the witch dies, leaving the Coloss to wander aimlessly in search of food. While this can be enough of a headache for locals (the book describes lost Coloss like hungry bears just trying to find a meal), it's so much worse if the tree-being has been corrupted. Then it actively starts hunting people down and twisting the landscape.

I'll give you one guess as to the state of the Coloss you have to fight in this pack.

Because this is designed to work with the best tabletop RPGs (be that the Ruins of Symbaroum or D&D), you get multiple routes into the encounter and have plenty of options to spice it up with more powerful foes. It can also be used by itself or as a sequel to Epic Encounters: Symbaroum – The Gem in the Barrow.

For the miniature itself, you don't need to worry about assembly; it's ready-made. All you need to do is add a lick of paint, should you so desire.

Gameplay

• Monster behaviour loop is a fantastic addition
• Plenty of cinematic moments to shake things up
• Some attacks feel a little unfair

Seeing as this is a boss fight in every sense of the word, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Corrupted Coloss hits hard. We're talking 'dump truck driving at full speed down a hill' hard; even at lower levels, its legendary action on top of bludgeoning hooves will make short work of the unwary. Meanwhile, versions of the monster for higher-level parties will absolutely wreck shop. This thing has three legendary actions to use on top of mutations that can be used at the GM's discretion.

The latter are particularly exciting, and remind me of mid-battle boss buffs in video games. Oh, so you thought you'd gotten the hang of this? Sorry, the big bad evil guy is gonna throw in an extra attack or effect to kick your ass. Happy birthday! Anyway, the Corrupted Coloss has the ability to boost its armor class, regain health, get an extra attack for a limited number of turns, and more.

This video game-style approach is one of the best things about this encounter, if you ask me. Alongside the above, single-use mega-attacks (called 'Cinematic Moments' here) can pull the rug from under your players in a suitably epic way. Equally, Coloss Abilities are available if you want to keep the party on the edge of their seat and ensure "the combat doesn't just become a series of rolls." GMs are advised to use these sparingly because they're so powerful.

The downside? I'm not sure these are always fair. Don't get me wrong, characters can almost always avoid these attacks if they roll well. One Cinematic Moment sees the Coloss crash to the ground in death, for example, crushing whoever is in the way with 10 times standard bludgeoning damage if they fail a Dexterity save. That seems entirely reasonable, and you could probably anticipate it if you think things through. But anyone within 30 feet also receives five times bludgeoning damage from falling debris if they fail a Dexterity save. I understand the logic, but it feels somewhat underhand after your characters have survived what will probably be a tricky fight. There's no way to predict that this will happen, either.

Similarly, the 'Seething Corruption' ability deals damage even if you succeed the associated Wisdom save. I know these are to shake your players up, but I'm personally not a fan of attacks that automatically get you regardless of skill, tactics, positioning, or rolls.

Still, that's the only complaint I have – and these issues can be easily modded with minimal effort.

The way the creature's behaviours are laid out is top-tier, too. You're given a flowchart describing what the Corrupted Coloss will do in specific situations, like when characters stay at range (meaning you break out the ol' Wooden Darts) or are obviously the most heavily-armed (it tries to take out the biggest threat quickly with multiattacks). These are all accompanied by flavor text describing what the monster does or sounds like at that moment, so canny adventurers can start to work out what's coming before it hits. I love this. It makes the encounter so much more alive, and provides a far more structured fight that avoids the monotony of "I roll to hit you, you roll to hit me." It's reminiscent of Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste, and I wish we had more of this in the D&D Monster Manual.

Should you buy Epic Encounters: Symbaroum - The Corrupted Coloss?

If you're looking for a good boss fight with high stakes, a memorable foe, engaging combat, and vibes all the way down, The Corrupted Coloss will be your jam. Thanks to a comprehensive guide to monster behaviour and plenty of surprises to keep your party on their toes, it'll serve as the perfect cap to an adventure.

Is it perfect? No, but there aren't any problems that can't be fixed with a quick edit. It can be easily modified to fit with your own homebrew campaign or setting as well, especially if you want a stand-in treeant/woodland fey model.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

The film itself may not be the most popular, but there's no denying how iconic this moment was. That makes it perfect for a brick-based adaptation, and Lego The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron does the team-up justice. Besides recreating a shot I doubted would be possible in Lego form near-flawlessly, it's crammed with clever solutions to make the scene work.

Yes, there are bigger and more impressive Marvel kits. But for my money, this will be one of the best Lego sets for the majority of fans.

Features

• Full OG team lineup
• Lots of interactivity with blasters and breakable terrain
• Is built for display or play

As the name would suggest, this kit brings together the team's original MCU lineup to recreate Age of Ultron's opening battle. You know the one – that fight where they assault one of Hydra's last remaining bases in snowy Sokovia.

Practically speaking, that means you're getting mini figures for Captain America (on his WWII motorbike), Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man. A jeep for them to dramatically leap out of is featured here too, as are defences for the icy forest. This includes a bunker for Hulk to smash, complete with a swivelling turret. Three Hydra soldiers are included too, all with mini blasters that actually fire studs.

Build

• Takes an hour or two
• Posing the minifigs is so satisfying
• Fiddly to (Avengers) assemble 'hovering' pieces

While there were some hiccups, I really enjoyed building Lego The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron. For starters, it's a surprisingly varied process. Although you'd assume it'd get monotonous with its many snowy plates and gunmetal gray siege defences, the designers have wisely broken it all down into chunks that don't see you repeating yourself very often.

Secondly, putting the minifigs into their mid-air poses after finishing a few pages is the sort of reward that makes me feel like a kid again, playing with his action figures. Don't get me wrong, these can be a pain to install and are fiddly in places (much like the jeep's roll-cage, which I can see being hard for young children to construct). But there's something satisfying about clicking the characters into such an energetic action scene.

I didn't appreciate the instructions as much, though. Lego frequently flip-flops between outlining the necessary pieces on-page or not highlighting what you're adding at all, and this The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron is in the latter camp. I wouldn't say it's hard to muddle your way through, but it's frustrating that fans have to play spot the difference when building this set.

Design

• A very dynamic scene with lots going on
• Characters are at their most iconic
• Interactive elements add kinectic energy kids will love

You can't go far wrong when the OG Avengers are teaming up in a boxset (something that doesn't happen too often, sadly). Add some dynamic poses and a striking background for Lego brick perfection.

No, really. I've got almost nothing to complain about with the finished article. Actually, I'd go so far as to say it's the best Marvel kit for most people. Avengers Tower and the Daily Bugle may be more visually impressive, yes, but The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron does a lot with very little. There's no wasted space here; it crams the franchise's most beloved characters and one of their most memorable moments into just over 600 pieces.

It manages to nail the look of frigid Sokovia with minimal parts, too. Despite being little more than a handful of white plates and snowy trees at base, the addition of the bunker, guard tower, and concrete defences immediately bring Age of Ultron's opening to mind. These were among the centerpieces for that battle, so even though they're not full-size here, their inclusion makes the setting instantly recognizable.

Speaking of centerpieces, it's fun to see Lego getting creative with a tricky task like this. Having the heroes assume those iconic but gravity-defying moves without cluttering things up is a tall order, and I think the team pulled it off. Translucent stands were a given, of course, but I appreciate how they're often hidden behind other elements or disappear into the background entirely because there's so much else to take in.

Not that you have to sit and stare at this thing. It's perfectly good as a diorama to stick on your shelf (that's certainly what I've done), but it's very interactive and makes an excellent playset for younger children as well. Whether it's Hulk knocking the bunker off its perch by jumping onto the seesaw in front of it or Hydra agents shooting at the superheroes with their fireable blasters, kids will have a blast here.

Should you buy Lego The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron?

Whether you're a grown-up Marvel fan seeking a display piece or a kid wanting a cool toy of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Lego The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron will tick that box. It's a dynamic diorama that's neither too big nor too expensive, while also being interactive enough to provide ample entertainment for younger fans.

It's true that bigger kits such as the Sanctum Sanctorum are more eye-catching. However, the value, price point, and broad appeal of this set make it a great option for most people.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Lego The Avengers Assemble: Age of Ultron

This build took between 1 to 2 hours across a couple of days, and I made it during the work day as a brain break from writing. While constructing it, I took plenty of notes about high points or drawbacks as I encountered them. I also took into account other Marvel sets and how this one compares to them.

For more, don't miss our guide to how we test Lego or the broader GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

Want something a little more cosmic? Check out the best Lego Star Wars sets. As for boosting your collection for less, be sure to visit our page of Lego deals.

If you're asking yourself whether Wingspan is really worth it, and if it's really one of the best board games, you'll be surprised at the breadth of play styles this game affords as an asymmetric game. With each player's individual spread taking on a life of its own as a unique avian machine, there's enough strategic variety for your mind to become caught in an updraft.

Let's take a gander, shall we?

Features & design

• Your goal is to attract birds to your wildlife reserve
• Collect birds to earn resources that allow you to collect even more birds
• Work toward shared goals on your own personal board

In Wingspan, players take on the role of avian enthusiasts whose goal is to collect birds, growing their habitats to gain the most points. The standard goal board makes for a less competitive game, while the green goal board increases direct conflict. There's also a solo mode.

In multiplayer, players work toward their own personal bonus, as well as shared, per-round goals that are visible to everyone. Whoever gets the highest score will win.

Unsurprisingly, birds are a big part of that equation. You attract them to their preferred habitat with the right food and egg cost listed on their card, and these feathered friends often have special abilities that earn you more resources when activated. After collecting a selection of birds in each habitat, you'll be able to chain powers in a domino effect.

This is where the magic happens. During your turn, you move down your row of birds from right to left, activating any powers on cards placed there. There are a few powerful combinations, with some even being passively activated by other players.

The art is every bit as strong. Wingspan is famously pretty; the watercolor bird paintings are beautiful, while the boards and components are a pastel rainbow. Tiny plastic eggs you'll use in-game are a highlight, as is a cardboard dicetower made to look like a birdfeeder.

That tower is something of a pain to put away (it doesn't fit neatly into the box unless you take it apart), but everything else about the game's storage solutions is top-notch. Numerous plastic containers are on-hand to help you keep things neat and tidy in-between sessions.

Gameplay

• Steadily increasing tension keeps every stage exciting
• Opportunity for powerful and satisfying ability combos
• Phenomenal replayability

The game is paced well, gently but steadily increasing tension as players forfeit an action cube per round to indicate their current score from shared goals. Not only does this give everyone an idea of how close the final score will be, ramping up the competitive action, it also means earlier rounds are more forgiving of mistakes, while the lack of actions in the late game make it feel more tense as you work more carefully toward your goals. This reduction also negates the extra length of later turns.

Still, there's a certain momentum to Wingspan that keeps everything rolling along. You never feel entirely blocked in as you might in the best family board games like Catan, for example. There's no end to the strategies you can form, and while you might end up relying on randomness for one to play out, failure never leads to an inability to move. You may just have to deal with making the less efficient move.

Efficiency is important to economics gamers, and it can be disheartening to have your plays thwarted by randomness. Wingspan combats this feeling with heaps of player agency. You are in complete control of your own board and plays. There's also less direct conflict and more indirect cooperation thanks to passive (between turns) bird powers inadvertently helping but never hindering.

There's also something to be said about the incredible replayability. Thanks to the incredible number of bird cards, and power chaining potential, no two games are ever the same and you'll be left wanting to come back and test new strategies every time. It does mean that people who prefer to stick to a strict strategy every game will have to adapt. But, of course, in a game about ecology adaptation is king.

The main drawback for me is the convoluted scoring in competitive mode, in that when players tie they must "add the values of the tied and next places and divide by number of players, rounded down." The math checks out, but it does feel like an unnecessarily complex layer to an otherwise simple scoring system.

Otherwise, it's clear that the community agrees five players is too many for a game with this much going on. Rounds can already take up to half an hour with four players, and since four already reduces replayability and momentum a lot, five really feels like a stretch.

Should you buy Wingspan?

If you want a deeper strategy game that you can still enjoy as a family, Wingspan fits the bill (sorry). It's more complex than other family-friendly games like Carcassonne, but it'll keep you so much more engaged once you've got the hang of it.

Not convinced? Photosynthesis is a slightly more straightforward alternative that shares a lot of the same DNA. Similarly, its spiritual successor Finspan uses many of the same mechanics but is pitched as a more accessible entry-point.

Those who are patient enough to learn Wingspan's ins and outs won't regret it, though. This is one of the greats.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Wingspan

We played Wingspan numerous times with different player counts over a course of weeks to get the most complete overview of its gameplay and longevity. Our reviewer also examined the game in context now that it is a few years old.

For a more in-depth look at our process, see this guide on how we test board games. You can also find out more via GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

Want something that lets you work as a team? Don't miss the best cooperative board games. As for those wanting a head-to-head challenge, try the best 2-player board games.

Dough Spectrum Black 32 prices start at $899 for the matte version, and that’s honestly not half bad for a 31.5-inch 4K 240Hz dual-resolution that rivals the best gaming monitor options. It’s a chunk cheaper than my current favorite screen, the LG Ultragear ‎32GS95UE, despite using the exact same WOLED panel, not to mention the $1,099 model I’ve been testing boasts that extra layer of glossy Gorilla Glass. You’d think that would help it steal the crown, I mean, I was rooting for it. However, when you combine those aforementioned firmware issues with the fact it doesn’t come with a stand, LG’s own screen still comes out tops.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, the Dough Spectrum Black 32 is one of the best 4K monitors for gaming. It also happens to be a killer 1080p screen since it can moonlight as a 480Hz panel. I’m just not sure most players should buy it by default over the Ultragear ‎32GS95UE as, while both experiences are fairly close, Dough’s display isn’t quite as tight.

Design

Dough monitors tend to look more like professional Apple-esque screens than gaming displays, and the Spectrum Black 32 is no different. The screen maker started leaning into the Apple Studio vibe with the Spectrum Black 27, and it makes a nice change from brands forcing RGB lighting and weird ridges into aesthetics as a check box exercise.

From the front, the Spectrum Black 32 keeps things fairly conservative. We’re talking about a black rectangle with a not-quite edge-to-edge design, thanks to the usual black border around OLED screens. It’s slick, but not exactly what I’d call a head-turner even with its optional square pedestal stand attached. What it does embody, however, is a premium vibe that will add an element of elegance to your gaming desk setup using a blend of metals and high-quality plastics.

The back sings a similar tune, keeping most of the guts to a rectangular hump while keeping everything else pretty thin. The monitor’s ports also fire outwards rather than being tucked under a lip since the protruding parts of the case are flush with the bottom, but I much prefer this approach since it makes hot-swapping cables out from the front easier.

You’ll find the OSD controls, power button, and dual resolution toggle in that bottom region too, and yes, it uses one of those dreaded menu joysticks. While the buttons on the Spectrum Black 27 used to face outwards on the back, they’re now underneath the front, which does result in less fumbling around. Does that help the OSD nub control a little better? Actually, no, as it’s smaller this time around, which means I can’t quite grip the edges with my finger as well for enhanced tactility.

I’d occasionally find myself accidentally pressing one of the directional shortcuts for things like crosshairs and source input rather than a center press, which is incredibly annoying. If Dough, or any other monitor maker for that matter, wants to stop me moaning about this in every review, I’d start adding in a small remote control. I get that there are cost implications, but it’s the sort of luxury I want from a premium monitor in 2025.

Features

Dual-resolution monitors are all the rage going into 2025, and I’m totally here for it. Being able to (sort of) instantly hop between 4K 240Hz and 1080p 480Hz should save you thinking about buying a high refresh rate monitor for years to come, and the Dough Spectrum Black 32 fully embraces that.

Of course, it’s far from being the first 4K 240Hz dual-resolution monitor on the market, and just like its rivals, it's ultimately a spin on the LG Ultragear ‎32GS95UE. That’s less a case of Dough copying homework and more the company adding some enhanced spice, or at least that’s the case with the glossy Gorilla Glass version. If you pick up the base model, you’re getting something that’s incredibly close to LG’s WOLED screen, whereas the top model adds a USB-C hub with power delivery into the mix.

The model I’m testing sadly lacks the USB-C extras, which means no fooling around with gaming handhelds and using single-cable Power Delivery abilities. It’s a future that’d be nice to have, but you can grab a Steam Deck dock for less than the difference between models ($1,099 versus $1,299), although you’re getting DisplayPort 2.1 instead of 1.4 with that yet-to-be-released variant.

But hey, I can only speak for the non-USB-C glossy model, so let’s dive into what it offers beyond dual-resolution. The panel itself is armed with LG’s MLA+ tech, the same feature that earns the LG OLED G4 the best gaming TV crown, FreeSync Premium Pro, Variable Refresh Rate, and HDR True Black 400 support. On top of that, you’re getting a myriad of maintenance settings that ensure burn-in is never an issue, including logo extraction algorithms, menu bar detection, and even a “transistor wear compensation” option that’ll help prevent image retention even as the hardware starts to suffer from old age.

I don’t want to dunk on the number of options in the Spectrum Black 32’s OSD, but it is a little overwhelming. The menu is packed to the brim with features most players might not even have a second thought about, which does hammer home the screen’s enthusiast market. That’s both a good and a bad thing, as it makes the monitor extremely customizable while making general use a little harder and increasing your chances of weird quirks.

Performance

Here’s where things with the Dough Spectrum Black 32 get interesting, as it offers up killer 4K capabilities laced with glossy goodness. However, I came across multiple instances of the monitor’s firmware being a pain, and while it didn’t completely hamper things on a visual level or make the screen completely unusable, it left me feeling like the dough had to go back in the oven.

Starting with HDR, I initially had to install a firmware update to tackle issues with brightness. The fix worked, but High Dynamic Range content seems to still feel a little off on this screen. Windows 11 normally looks a little weird at first with the setting switched on, but even after some calibration and playing around with color options, tone mapping seems to be providing inconsistent results. I found myself switching HDR off in those instances, but it's another step I’d rather not have to take to use the feature.

My second gripe is a bit of a weird one, and it may very well be a one-off. After a few weeks of using the screen’s dual resolution toggle without a hitch, I found that it’d no longer jump from 4K 240Hz to 1080p 480Hz. I was still able to switch resolutions in the OSD, but the fact the button wouldn’t work was grating, to say the least. The issue still remained following both a reset and reinstalling firmware, which made me think something had gone seriously wrong.

I eventually managed to fix things by switching the toggle in the menu to another function and then back again. I’m not sure why resetting things didn’t produce the same results, and I’m willing to admit that it could have been either a one-off or something that occurred during testing. For that reason, I’m not going to hold the instance against the Spectrum Black 32, but it’s worth recording the blip so that I can stop gaslighting myself.

I eventually managed to fix things by switching the toggle in the menu to another function and then back again. I’m not sure why resetting things didn’t produce the same results, and I’m willing to admit that it could have been either a one-off or something that occurred during testing. For that reason, I’m not going to hold the instance against the Spectrum Black 32, but it’s worth recording the blip so that I can stop gaslighting myself.

Okay, on to the pros of using the Dough Spectrum Black 32, as they thankfully outweigh the cons. Just like with the Spectrum Black 27, the display takes a physical approach to elevating contrast using a glossy screen, building on top of the vibrancy already provided by the wonderful OLED panel within. This naturally helps 4K visuals pop even harder when put to good use, but I’m pretty impressed with how it benefits 1080p 480Hz scenarios too.

For my sins, I still play a lot of Overwatch 2. I’ve become accustomed to playing the shooter at 1080p since it enables me to boost fps to match even the fastest monitors out there. Hitting 480fps to match the Spectrum black 32’s max refresh rate is pretty easy, but the thing that caught me off guard before taking off as Pharah was how nice the visuals remain compared to 4K.

Yes, there are some jaggies and softness when playing at 1080p, and using a 32-inch monitor exacerbates that. However, I found myself noticing it less thanks to the gorilla glass coating, as it helped highlight the visuals and colors regardless. I will admit that 1080p mode isn’t designed for leisurely walks, the whole point is that you’ll be able to treat this screen like an esports screen. And I certainly did just that playing competitively at 480Hz, but the setup does go the extra mile to help even its fastest visuals look nice.

For a change, I’ve also been giving Marvel Rivals a go, and while it’s much harder to hit 480fps consistently in that shooter, even with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, the screen’s responsiveness came through. 0.03ms GtG response times are a staple of OLED displays at this point, and it does give the Dough Spectrum Black 32 an advantage over IPS and VA rivals. That’s not to say I’ve been playing the comic book romp like some sort of esports pro since I mainly just cause chaos as Squirrel Girl, but speed still helps firing nuts and critters around the map feel more enjoyable.

The funny thing about dual-resolution monitors is that 4K 240Hz could also be considered suitable for competitive play. It feels like only yesterday that anything above 165Hz was considered ultra-fast, and since some games aren’t good at matching higher refresh rates with an appropriate frame rate, some of you might not benefit from the resolution-switching toggle. I happen to think being able to hot-swap between two different screen configurations is pretty game-changing, but I’d say it fully depends on the games you play and your PC configuration.

At 4K, the Dough Spectrum Black 32 hammers home the benefits of glossy gaming monitors. The extra sharpness provided with UHD resolutions is highlighted by the screen type, with text popping and textures standing out that bit more compared to a matte panel. When HDR isn’t misbehaving, it pairs with the coating to produce beautiful results, and I was pretty taken mersmurized upon checking out the streets of Night City with Cyberpunk 2077’s RT Overdrive mode switched on. Ray-traced reflections and the glow of neon lighting excel on glossy screens like this, and the elevated richness certainly enhances immersion.

I ended up testing the Dough Spectrum Black 32 alongside the brand new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, which allowed me to check out fresh releases like Dragon Age: The Veilguard for the first time. Let’s just say that I’m glad my eyes got to experience the fantasy outing on this glossy screen first since it breathes extra life into Bioware’s latest RPG romp. The adventures’ detailed textures and role-playing text elements all punch harder thanks to the Gorilla Glass gloss, and the same benefits apply across the genre. Considering I had a blast playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on the 27-inch QHD version, it’s safe to say that ramping things up to 4K will only make the D&D epic more magical.

I’d love to say that there are no caveats tied to glossy monitor coatings. For what it’s worth, Dough does a nice job combating existing cons, but the 32-inch Spectrum Black is a bit more susceptible to glare than its 27-inch sibling. The screen fairs much better with HDR switched off and brightness cranked to max, but the extra surface space manages to catch more reflections otherwise. I sit next to a fairly bright window, so my tests are a little more brutal than other usage scenarios. Nevertheless, being able to see the outside world in the top-left corner had me pining for the anti-glare superpowers of the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6.

Should you buy the Dough Spectrum Black 32?

The Dough Spectrum Black 32 is a 4K heavy hitter that takes the dual-mode gaming monitor format and revamps it with glossy Gorilla Glass. It’s certainly a display designed with fidelity enthusiasts in mind, and its elegant design, excellent build quality, and abundance of protective OLED measures will help it stand the test of time. Sadly, finicky firmware ultimately keeps the screen from taking the crown right now, as quirks with HDR and functionality keep perfection out of reach.

Again, I do consider the Spectrum Black 32 to be one of the top 4K gaming monitors out there right now. The main issue is that it shares DNA with screens like the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE that feel like a more rounded experience. If you’re looking for 4K visuals with an extra kick, opting for the glossy model is well worthwhile. Otherwise, you’ll want to go straight to LG’s model for reliable HDR and extras like built-in speakers.

How I tested the Dough Spectrum Black 32

For two weeks, I used the Dough Spectrum Black as my main gaming monitor for casually playing games and benchmarking graphics cards. During that time, I tested the display’s dual-resolution capabilities by running Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard specifically with 4K Ultra settings enabled while also playing Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals at 1080p 480Hz. To assess brightness capabilities, I assessed the screen both in daylight and in a darkened room, which also helped provide insight into any glare with the glossy coating.

For more information on how we test gaming monitors and other displays, check out our full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

The Ryzen 8000G family arrived early in 2024, and people immediately looked to the Ryzen 7 8700G because it was the first chip to bear that name since the somewhat revolutionary Ryzen 7 7800X3D - still touted by many as the best CPU for gaming. Stripped of that chip’s 3D V-cache technology though, this version isn’t necessarily trying to be “better” at gaming, because it takes a slightly different approach.

The ethos of this CPU is to provide people with enough integrated graphics power that they no longer need a separate graphics card in order to own a gaming PC. Of course, we here at GamesRadar+ don’t really believe that, because although you can get by with just a CPU if you’re playing non-demanding games at 1080p, a graphics card is really going to be the sword that knights your rig with its “gaming” status. So, is the Ryzen 7 8700G still worth considering as a performance leap over the Ryzen 5 from this generation, or should you look to AMD’s other options instead?

Specs & Features

A few onlookers weren’t too happy with the specs sheet of this processor when it was first revealed, particularly because there are a few side-by-sides with the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G that don’t exactly warrant its price increase. For example, both processors use the same 16MB L3 cache, and the Ryzen 5 actually has a slightly faster Base Clock speed of 4.3GHz. Admittedly, the Boost Clock speed of the 8700G is faster in a head-to-head, so it’s not all bad. Still, if I were paying more for a Ryzen 7 model, I’d want faster speeds in both categories.

Of course, the internal graphics are going to be a big draw for people with this processor, and with the AMD Ryzen 8700G rocking Radeon 760M graphics, 12 dedicated graphics cores, DirectX12 compatibility, and a graphics clock of 2900MHz, it’ll do as a stop-gap for anyone building one of the best gaming PCs if they’re pulling parts together gradually and waiting for a graphics card. Again, let me stress that as games continue to get more demanding, a dedicated graphics card is going to become a necessity for you, but internal graphics processing power has come a long way, and AMD has been at the forefront of that for a while now.

The Ryzen 8000G family all feature Zen 4 architecture, the same as the Ryzen 7000 range, and as a result, they sit on the same AM5 CPU socket. It may please owners of previous AMD processors that this socket has converted to Intel’s design philosophy to make installation easier. The connecting pins of these CPUs are on the socket, meaning slotting a processor into place is a real breeze, and there’s less risk of you bricking it before your first boot-up.

Up from 6 cores and 12 threads on the 8600G, the Ryzen 7 8700G sports 8 cores and 16 threads. As usual for AMD, this isn’t anywhere near the equivalent Intel processor in comparison. The Intel Core i7-14700K is next on my list of processors to test, and since it’s the direct competitor to this chip in terms of generational tiers, it may surprise you to know that it rocks 20 cores and 28 threads. Even compared to the Intel Core i7-13700K, the Ryzen 7 8700G looks a bit behind the times, with that chip utilizing a similar 16 cores but 24 threads to support them.

All of that said, the Ryzen 7 8700G comes in cheaper than the Intel competition, especially now that the Ryzen 9000 family has hit the shelves. At launch, this chip would set you back $329 / £270, but it can frequently be found discounted in 2025, with a $255 price tag at Amazon at the time of writing, and a £239 sticker at Overclockers in the UK.

For that money, you get your expected DDR5 compatibility, and if you’re planning on pairing it with the best RAM for gaming, you’ll have all the AMD EXPO abilities you could want to play around with clock speeds and RAM timings. Also in the box is a chunky CPU fan, which is a nice addition considering a lot of desktop processors refuse to launch with them these days.

Performance

Besides a brief initial test, I put the Ryzen 7 8700G’s integrated graphics power to one side for this review. I was able to launch and play simple games with very few demands like The Red Strings Club, but wavering into deeper territory I struggled. I couldn’t launch STRAFTAT 1v1, for example, and while using integrated graphics I felt the PC slow down more generally, so your mileage may vary here. Regardless my main interest in this CPU is in whether or not it’s capable of offering decent performance when paired with a GPU, and whether or not it gives enough of a gaming boost compared to the more affordable Ryzen 5 8600G.

For that reason, I decided to stick to the exact same set of benchmarking games as I did for the Ryzen 5. I would usually perform the same formal benchmarks with a few different games thrown in for good measure, but I was curious to see how both processors would compare directly, especially running gaming tasks at 4K.

Before getting to the gaming stage though, I have a quick caveat to address. Although I do all my CPU testing these days with RAM set to 6,000MHz, I couldn't get this processor to post above the advertised 5,200MHz recommended speed from AMD. This was despite having the same RAM set to 6,000MHz during my Ryzen 5 review, which is a bit strange. I’m unsure whether this is our AMD testing motherboard being quirky, or a fault of the CPU, but nonetheless, it’s something to be wary of if you end up choosing this processor.

To get the CPU warmed up before jumping into gaming benchmarks, I ran it through Cinebench and Blender’s assault courses. To tell the truth, having not been too pleased with the Ryzen performance in these benchmarks in either the Ryzen 5 8600G or the Ryzen 7 7800X3D housed in the Maingear Zero Ruby, I didn’t have high expectations. With the scores the 8700G produced though, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, they were tested in different systems, but the Maingear Zero Ruby’s processor (3D V-cache and all) scored a Single Core Cinebench result of 1829 pts. The 8700G showed on-par Single Core performance with 1821 pts.

I’m used to the Cinebench tests making chips audibly sweat, with fans kicking up to high heaven, but in both the Single and Multicore benchmarks for the Ryzen 7 8700G, it didn’t peak above 73 degrees, which is cooler than its smaller sibling Ryzen 5 - and that’s while using the same cooler. In fact, this chip needs to be commended for its temperature control, because there wasn’t a stress test I threw at it where it went above 73°C, with ambient temperatures being as low as in the 20s, and average gaming temperatures sticking around the 40-50°C mark. Could this extra cooling performance be down to the different thermal pastes applied? Potentially, but the fact this processor is capable of staying so cool compared to Intel’s equivalents is a massive boon.

Next, it was time for some gaming tests, and since I discovered in my Ryzen 5 review that unexpected 4K performance was the name of the game, this Ryzen 7 was going to be thrown through the same wringer.

As you may expect from the spec comparison, this chip performed very similarly to the Ryzen 5 in these benchmarks, likely due to the exact same L3 cache and slower base clock. What’s interesting is that the Ryzen 7 ran cooler, and had a much lower percentage of use than the Ryzen 5, but both produced almost identical frame rates. The 7 8700G of course had higher power demands, as you may expect from a higher-tier product.

These weren’t the only games I tested in though, and before you go thinking that there’s literally no benefit in buying this CPU, let me tell you about where 4K gaming results were improved. Planet Zoo, for example, running the exact same scenario as in my Ryzen 5 review, came out with a rock solid 4K 60fps result. With the Ryzen 5, I got 59fps but wasn’t what I’d call steady. It needed some settings dialed down in order to achieve the 60fps “playable” mark. Yes, this Ryzen 7 was only a slight improvement, but it did make a fairly tricky city builder run very smoothly indeed.

Homeworld 3 was a similar story. The Ryzen 5 scored 45fps in its benchmark with every setting set to its highest, and although I had to scale back a few settings to really get it up to 60fps, the Ryzen 7 had a 10fps boost out of the gate, scoring 56fps at the highest settings.

And finally, it was time to put the Ryzen 7 to the test in some less-optimized gaming scenarios. Cities Skylines has some incredibly demanding fan-made scenarios, and if I were shopping for a new CPU these days knowing I was going to point it at these types of games, I’d want an idea of how they’d be handled. Keep in mind that the following results aren’t as formalized as the benchmarks in Total War, since they’re an average taken from playing rather than a standard benchmarking test.

There are slight improvements over the Ryzen 5 here, particularly in the percentage used, and how stable the frame rates were while playing. Still, the story of the numbers here shows that there really isn’t as much of a performance gain for this Ryzen 7 when it comes to gaming. Single-core performance, content creation tasks, and staying cool under pressure are going to be big benefits for some users, but if anything, this review just goes to show how good the Ryzen 5 8600G is for its price.

Should you buy the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G?

For its lack of gaming performance boosts over its Ryzen 5 sibling, there are still reasons I’d recommend the Ryzen 7 8700G. First of all, if you’re building a gaming PC and you can’t get a graphics card right away, or you’re mainly building a PC for work and you’re only planning on playing some cozy games every once in a while, this might be enough for you until you want some upgrades. If you plan to branch out above 1080p though, maybe don’t set your expectations too high.

If you like the look of the Ryzen 5 8600G but do more content creation, this Ryzen 7 gives you the extra headroom I felt the Ryzen 5 from this generation was missing. Keep in mind, too, that this went toe-to-toe with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D in Cinebench and Blender, so there's some really decent performance to have here without spending extra money on a 3D V-Cache option.

Overall, you do get a solid Ryzen 7 processor from the 8000G family, although to sound like a broken record, the majority of gamers will get by just fine without spending the extra money on it. If you don’t tend to play many city builders or RTS games, save your money and opt for the Ryzen 5. The 8700G feels more like a slightly souped-up version of that processor with more of a focus on single-core performance and integrated graphics. I’ll let you be the judge of which one would suit you better, although with either you’ll be saving money versus Intel.

How I tested the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G

After installing the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G inside our AMD testing PC, I put it through our usual gauntlet of demanding CPU benchmarks. This includes industry-standard software like Cinebench and Blender, as well as city building and RTS games that processors need to simulate a lot of moving parts.

I used HWinfo to keep a close eye on voltages and temperatures and tracked average frame rates and percentages of use through Windows Game Bar and MSI afterburner. I compared my experience closely to my tests of the Ryzen 5 8600G since the two are part of the same family and were reviewed using the exact same testing process.

The rest of the components used in this test were as follows:

• CPU Cooler: Asus ROG Strix LC III 360 ARGB
• CPU thermal paste applied: Prolima Tech PK3 Nano Aluminum High-Grade Thermal Compound
• Chassis: Fractal Meshify 2 RGB
• Number of fans: 3 intakes, 4 extractors, 1 radiator
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE
• RAM: XPG Lancer Blade DDR5 RGB
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Hero
• PSU: Corsair RMx Shift Series RM850x ARX PS

For more on how we test, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

There's more where that came from. Check out the best computer speakers, the best graphics cards, and the best Alienware gaming PC.

I was testing this retro-styled thrower at the same time as the Sony Bravia Projector 8 - a 4K theatre-grade projector at the very top of the price range. That turned out to be a matchup that would win Yaber some serious points - while it’s by no means in the same league as a $15K specialist device, it’s incredible what you can actually get for your money at the lower end of the price range. It’s never going to be the best projector on the market, but it’s a solid contender among the many portable and outdoor options.

Design

That much might not be too evident from the design alone. While that handle is a big indicator that this projector has its sights on travel, it’s a tall and fairly chunky device overall - far larger than the likes of the Samsung Freestyle and Anker Nebula Capsule. It’s heavy as well, too heavy to comfortably carry for a long period of time. If you’ve only got a short hike to your campsite or you’re setting up in a garden, though, it’s well worth the extra heft considering the battery life and brightness levels.

It’s also dressed particularly well. A beige plastic chassis and felted material cover wrapping around the top makes for a low-key aesthetic, with the additional tan section along the top of the handle bringing an extra visual spice. It looks far more expensive than it is, and feels great from a durability standpoint as well. I’d still be concerned about it in the rain, but for dry days the plastic seems like it will be able to take a tumble.

The front is dedicated to the lens itself (thankfully there’s a dust cap included, but unfortunately it’s not attached and is incredibly easy to lose) with a speaker grill/vent etched into the panel. You’ll also find the automatic adjustment sensor and camera at the bottom. This is a slightly awkward placement - when placed straight on a table it can sometimes misread the edge of the surface as an obstruction. The handle swings down to form a stand, which makes setup so much easier - but when set to its lowest angle the handle actually blocks this sensor, which feels like a design oversight.

The power port is located on the left flank, with more vents and grills on the rear panel, as well as your ports. These connections are right at the top of the device, providing easy access.

Features

This is one of the best portable projectors I’ve tested because it packs everything you need into a price tag that doesn’t inflate itself. All the basics are covered here - a 2.5-hour battery, easy carrying handle, Google TV streaming stick (that means Netflix is back on the menu), super easy autofocus and keystone correction, and simple screen sharing processes. Of course, there are a few quirks that could be ironed out with future releases.

The most difficult to overcome during my testing was the figure 8 power port. This is a strange sight on a portable projector, and it essentially means you’ll need a full-sized power pack (with mains ports) to keep it plugged in out in the wild. Still, that 2.5-hour battery means you’re covered for at least a movie, and in Bluetooth speaker mode the Yaber T2 Plus can run for up to 18 hours.

I also wouldn’t trade the easy setup for easy charging. While I’m not a massive fan of auto-keystone adjustments (and keeping these settings on does result in a grainier, slightly darker picture on the T2 Plus), it’s an exceedingly fast setup system. The projector re-calculates its image every time it moves, and it does it particularly well. That means it’s a real sit-and-shoot device, I was surprised by how little faff went into the initial setup.

All of this is controlled by Yaber’s own operating system, a neat and clean interface that provides access to a good range of basic controls, from choosing between different presets to tweaking your picture yourself across brightness, sharpness, contrast, and saturation. Plugging in the Google TV dongle provides access to the full smart experience, with apps from Netflix to Disney Plus included.

That’s a massive benefit for the T2 Plus - previous portable projectors have relied on their own app systems for streaming, and many struggle to get rights to Netflix. Not only that, but Yaber has implemented this in a handy manner, a small adapter acts as a go-between for the stick and the projector, keeping it at a right-angle so as not to stick out the back of the device while also making sure it can run without needing to be plugged in separately. Many projectors use these streaming sticks, but often keep them tucked inside the device (like the BenQ X300G). This way you can use the included gadget or any Fire stick you happen to have already. However, it does mean that the single HDMI port is already taken up, which means I needed to swap cables whenever moving over to PS5 gameplay.

Rear ports are simple overall, with a USB 2.0 and 3.5mm audio out sandwiching that video connection. There’s also an ethernet port on the end of the lineup, a strange choice for a device that requires a separate WiFi connection for its streaming stick.

Like all great portable projectors, the Yaber T2 Plus comes with a substantial sound system baked in. This is a dual 8-watt speaker setup provided by JBL and I was pleasantly surprised by the power behind those drivers when I first booted it up. At the price, I was expecting to test these speakers and then ditch them for a separate system (either via the 3.5mm cable or the Y2 Plus’s Bluetooth connection) - but I generally found myself content with the audio on offer whenever I returned for more viewing. It’s not going to replace the best gaming headsets, but these speakers provide a robust sense of detail and a good level of power for everyday TV and movies. It’s not quite strong enough to hold up as a Bluetooth speaker, though, so I wouldn’t rely on the T2 Plus to provide tunes all too often.

Visuals run in 1080p resolution at 60Hz, with 450 lumens of max brightness, and there’s no HDR or fancy pixel-enhancing tech going on in the background - but that’s pretty much all you can expect from a $350 device that still punches above its weight in the battery and brightness department.

Performance

I needed to make a few visual tweaks before truly enjoying the picture thrown out by the Yaber T2 Plus. It’s certainly workable straight out of the box, but needed that max brightness setting to offer any kind of detail in darker scenes (particularly with ambient light at play). I was impressed that bumping this brightness up (while plugged in) brought out those shadow details without over-blooming lighter scenes. I did need to fiddle with the contrast and sharpness settings to get those high-key moments looking as best they could, but considering the price I was pretty amazed by what I was presented with.

The only real sacrifice I could notice in the picture quality (aside from the cheaper 1080p resolution) was in color saturation. Compared to a more expensive BenQ model, Astro Bot’s incredibly vivid landscapes and characters were noticeably more muted straight from the off. The streets of Shibuya lacked that vibrant zeal I was used to in Ghostwire Tokyo. If that’s the only real visual downgrade from a $1,000 projector that most everyday viewers will notice, though, I’m pretty happy.

Ambient light really does throw off both darker and lighter scenes, which is why I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for the best outdoor projector on the market. The Conjuring suffered significantly from these drops in detail and definition. That all changed once the sun set, with a much better picture overall, and far more visual information coming to the forefront.

Speed is an issue if you’re looking for a gaming device. The latencies on offer here are nowhere near as low as you’ll find in the best projectors for PS5 and Xbox Series X - and they make themselves known during more frantic moments. It’s just fine for casual play during all but the fastest solo adventures, but I wouldn’t count on it for competitive endeavours.

Should you buy the Yaber T2 Plus?

If you want big-screen entertainment at home or on the go, but don’t want to invest in a machine with a price that matches its resolution, the Yaber T2 Plus is a fantastic choice. I can see this easily settling into the home of someone who prioritizes TV viewing for everyday entertainment, but wants a larger display for certain movies and sports events. Similarly, I’d recommend the Yaber T2 Plus to anyone hunting down a projector simply to keep in a secondary space. I’ve kept this device in my bedroom for the past few months and wouldn’t regret spending the cash on this more casual use-case afterwards.

If you need to travel with your portable projector, I’d recommend something a little smaller and lighter, like the Anker Nebula Capsule 3.

How I tested the Yaber T2 Plus

I used the Yaber T2 Plus for two months, testing it alongside the Sony Bravia Projector 8 for a short amount of time as well. During my testing process, I generally used the device for evening viewing after dark, watching a variety of 1080p movies from both Netflix and Disney Plus. I also spent time directly testing under different lighting conditions, using The Conjuring, Cocaine Bear, and Astro Bot (via PS5 Pro). For more information on how we test projectors, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

If you want a higher resolution, check out the best 4K projectors available now - or to maximize your setup, take a look at the best projector screens. We’re also rounding up all the best gaming TVs for a more traditional approach.

That said, if you pick up the BenQ GR10 Steam Deck dock for $109 / £99, you’ll technically get something that offers better performance than most options. Sure, you won’t really need 4K 120Hz output when running newer games on the Steam Deck OLED since it struggles to hit 60fps at 1080p. But, I’ve certainly got use for those sorts of speeds when it comes to the best gaming handhelds, as plenty of PC releases will happily use those specs and deliver elevated visuals on external screens.

No matter how you spin it, BenQ's Steam Deck dock is expensive. The majority of you out there will be choking at the idea of spending above $20, but there certainly is a place in the scene for a HDMI 2.1 docking station. Would I personally wait for a cheeky discount before trying to pick it up? Absolutely. Is its MSRP slightly less offensive compared to certain other options that opt for RGB lighting over improving video output? I think you already know the answer.

Design

Measuring 5.12 inches long and just 2.15 inches wide, the Steam Deck dock is impressively compact. The space-saving qualities can be in part attributed to some really smart design choices by BenQ, but the monitor maker has also simply managed to squeeze a tremendous amount into something the same size as an NES controller.

Yes, it is around the same size as other options like the Jsaux 5-in-1. What you’ll want to keep in mind is that this hub has six ports, including Power Delivery, two full-size USB, Ethernet, and a side USB-C port for good measure. But it’s not just the space-saver elements that are impressive here - BenQ has also opted for an integrated cable and folding cradle that help it travel extremely well.

The cable that connects to the top of your handheld extends out from the right-hand side while tucking in underneath when not in use. There’s even an extra angled adapter on the wire, just in case you want to use it with a laptop or position your device differently. That marries with the flip-down cradle to create something that’s almost a hybrid between a dongle-style hub and the widely adopted Steam Deck dock format, adding a nice sense of versatility that’ll no doubt benefit further generations of gadgets.

As for build quality, this is a solid bit of kit, BenQ’s blend of metal, plastic, and rubber comes together to create something that feels like a nice, weighty accessory. The grey and black two-tone finish feels like the perfect aesthetic to universally appease different desktop setups, as it’ll have no trouble blending in. I am in two minds about the ridge-cut effect used on the front of the cradle - it adds nice visual texture but the grooves are begging to get bits of dust and grime trapped between them. Did someone say toothpicks?

One of my biggest concerns with Steam Deck dock designs is tied to the protective rubber on the cradle. Not every accessory maker has learned from the sins of the OG Nintendo Switch dock, and I’ve used a couple that have a bit too much sharp metal going on near my handheld’s screen. BenQ has tackled this by sticking with plastic for the cradle specifically and adding rubber pads that cover the entirety of the surface. Nice.

Features

Every Steam Deck dock is charged with the noble cause of hooking your handheld up to an external screen and accessories. BenQ’s docking station shares that same quest, but its shiny HDMI 2.1 abilities help put it ahead of the rest. With this hub, you’ll have enough bandwidth to hit 4K 120Hz, and while that doesn’t mean you’ll be magically running everything at 120fps, it’s still pretty neat.

In regards to current generation handhelds, you’ll mostly be looking to run older releases, smaller indie games, and lightweight romps at 4K 120Hz. Even some smaller adventures will give the Deck a hard time as soon as you crank things beyond 1080p, but trust me when I say there are plenty of games that’ll make sure of the output. I can’t tell how many times I’ve been disappointed at seeing refresh rates cap out at 60Hz while testing Steam Deck docks, but this BenQ model will let me fool around more with the best gaming monitors and their speedy panels.

It’s worth highlighting that the BenQ Steam Deck dock wields faster Gen 2 USB ports too, with both the full-size connectors and USB-C running at 10Gbps. That’s not going to matter much for standard accessories like gaming keyboards or your PC controller, but it will let you put your external SSDs to full use. Naturally, the benefits will hinge on whether you’re using a drive that needs extra bandwidth, so you’ll want to check what you need before buying this docking station specifically for faster ports.

Performance

At this stage, I’d fully expect any accessory that dubs itself a Steam Deck dock to provide video output and peripheral connectivity without a hitch. BenQ’s dock certainly passes that mark, but it has the added burden of pulling off HDMI 2.1 abilities bestowed upon it. That means no flunking on implied 4K 120Hz abilities or providing even higher refresh rates when dealing with 1080p.

The weird thing about BenQ’s Steam Deck dock is that it feels better suited to other handhelds. At least that’s what I learned after testing it for a week, as those HDMI 2.1 abilities really came in handy on premium portables. Therefore, if you’ve got an Asus ROG Ally or something even fancier like the Ayaneo Flip DS, you’ve more to gain from using this accessory.

That’s not to say it doesn’t work nicely with the Steam Deck. I’ve visited a bunch of my usual PC library haunts and was able to make use of the dock’s HDMI 2.1 output. I even managed to play the N64 homage Cavern of Dreams at 4K 120Hz, which felt ironically wonderful since Ninty’s original console largely capped out at 30fps.

My main issue with using BenQ’s dock with the Steam Deck specifically is that finding a game that’ll run at 4K 120fps is a rarity. I’m not exactly surprised by this, but even older releases either outright don’t support 120Hz or have archaic frame rate caps that hamper any benefits. So, to properly continue testing, I cracked out the Ayaneo Flip DS mentioned above to better test the docking station’s elevated output.

Thankfully, Ayaneo’s 3DS tribute act had a far better time feeding the BenQ dock with appropriate performance. Tomb Raider Trilogy automatically started running at 4K 120Hz as soon as Lara’s feet hit the ground, and I think I might start playing the cavern-caper using this handheld setup. Sure, I could use the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and a full-blow PC, but now that my handheld can match it on refresh rate, using it instead feels more satisfying.

Another lighter indie game that really punched hard on the BenQ dock is Signalis, The PS1-style horror easily matched fed the 4K 120Hz output with a matching frame rate, hammering home the docking station’s low-spec gaming benefits. I do want to stress that even if you’re armed with an Asus ROG Ally X, your scope for making the most of HDMI 2.1 will be limited right now, which makes this docking station feel like an early-bird accessory.

Outside of resolution testing, I also made sure to put the dock’s 100W Power Delivery capabilities to the test. The last thing you want is your Steam Deck or one of its rivals complaining about power draw after putting together a setup, and while it’s up to you to provide a suitably beefy charger, I can confirm it avoided any power pitfalls. I will admit that helping your Deck connect to accessories while keeping the battery topped up and providing output should be a given, but it’s always worth checking in case something is awry.

Should you buy the BenQ Steam Deck dock?

Boasting a versatile design and ahead-of-the-curve HDMI 2.1 abilities, the BenQ GR10 Steam Deck dock is an excellent premium option for handheld enthusiasts. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend splashing out $100 on it if you’re a casual player, especially when HDMI 2.0 options like the Baseus 6-in-1 exist for far less, but its 4K 120Hz output will benefit those of you who’ve already splashed out on a premium handheld.

I’ve said this before, but the fact the scene universally refers to most handheld docking stations as “Steam Deck docks” is amusing. I’d honestly say this feels like more of a Steam Deck 2 dock than anything, but since we’re about to get a wave of next-gen portable PCs like the Lenovo Legion Go S, the dock’s timing is arguably impeccable. So long as you keep in mind that 4K 120Hz is a big stretch for Valve’s handheld, I can see BenQ’s accessory serving as a futureproof investment for anyone who doesn’t want to buy twice.

How I tested the BenQ Steam Deck dock

For a month, I used the BenQ GR10 Steam Deck dock as my main handheld docking station. During that time, I used both Valve’s device and the Ayaneo Flip DS to test video output and general connectivity while assessing the accessory’s functionality and design. To ensure that the add-on HDMI 2.1 abilities work as intended, I used games like Cavern of Dreams, Tomb Raider Trilogy, and Signals in a bit to hit a matching 4K 120fps frame rate while also looking out for any connection-based glitches or caveats.

For more information on how we test docking stations and other accessories, swing by our full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

While that often means progression can be a more pedestrian affair, having the patience to meet the game on its terms makes for a more genuine form of role-playing, where drawing your sword is rarely the first choice for solving a problem. Which isn't to say Kingdome Come: Deliverance 2 has a slow start, instead thrusting you in media res into a full-scale castle siege.

Our returning protagonist, the likeable and occasionally bumbling Henry of Skalitz, has come some way from being an illiterate blacksmith's apprentice. But even in the context of warring allegiances in the kingdom, some of your immediate concerns when you're set out questing into the world involve simply trying to find your missing dog, or helping the reclusive herbwoman who saved your life find her daughter. It's a reminder that you aren't a powerful hero, but a small cog doing your best amid grand political machinations.

Nonetheless, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a sequel on a much larger canvas, painted in a variety of brushstrokes. The emphasis on realism may mean life is hard and brutal, especially if you don't have a groschen to your name, yet there is an equally bawdy tone, backed by colorful characters using equally as colorful language, or where even a seemingly mundane quest can stretch into relatively epic proportions that'll dominate your next few hours of play. Even if some friction can lead to frustration while occasional glitches break the immersion, its realization of medieval life remains utterly absorbing.

Audentes fortuna iuvat

For an RPG with no spells, the real magic of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is just how believable and beautifully rendered with CryEngine its open world is. That's especially evident when simply walking or riding across open countryside in the early morning or sunset, without being spoiled by the usual clutter of collectibles or waypoints. Come across a village and it will be about the size that a real medieval village would be with humble amenities. Larger towns are fortified with a few specific guarded entrance points, and waltzing into someone's private property will immediately be unwelcome, albeit still giving you reasonable time to clear off before escalating.

Naturally, wielding a sword in a tavern or market needlessly will also draw ire from the locals. Instead, you're encouraged to use your powers of persuasion to affect a favorable outcome, which can depend as much on your appearance as much as your stats. High charisma points alone aren't enough to charm someone if you don't dress the part and haven't had a wash for a week.

This isn't to say that there aren't videogamey conveniences available to you, such as fast-travelling to towns you've previously visited or being able to advance time so you don't have to potter around while waiting for a rendezvous. It's nonetheless intriguing how these systems have some consistency. While time advances while you fast travel, for instance, poor Henry's hunger and sleep stats will decrease, and he'll begin to grumble at you for leaving him unrested and unfed should the numbers get dangerously low.

What there's no getting away from is that progression is purposely slow, even without including the times you may find yourself having to reload a save to try again, contributing to an already lengthy campaign well beyond 60 hours and split between two large regions of Bohemia. Some of that comes naturally as you play, and early on when circumstances leave Henry penniless in beggar's clothing, you're primed for a slow and steady climb to go from surviving to thriving, where every coin in your pouch matters.

The first main quest, for instance, has you attempting to gain access to a wedding, which means taking on a handful of menial and tertiary tasks before you can even get close to receiving the coveted invite. But ultimately, you need to put in the work, because much like in real life, the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it. That's quite literally the case when it comes to crafting weapons or brewing potions, each with their own involved and methodical minigames. There's no shortcutting these processes, at least not without causing problems down the line.

Despite usually preferring the stealthy approach, I found myself avoiding lockpicking or pickpocketing in the early hours as successfully pulling them off is difficult at first – your novice hand moves wobbly. Yet while the open-ended design for most quests means there's usually other ways to get what you want, including outright bribery, it also meant when it came to a later quest that required me to sneak into a house to steal an item, opting out of lockpicking earlier on meant my thievery stats and perks hadn't made any meaningful progression, rendering medium-level locks impossible to crack.

You're not completely (ahem) locked out, as potions can temporarily supercharge stats. But then that also means acquiring the recipe for it and having the ingredients to brew it. In other words, it all takes time and planning, one way or another.

Such is the breadth of options available to you that violence rarely needs to be the answer. Though, at times, the dangerous world will require you to rise up to meet it with steel. It's tempting to avoid bandit skirmishes on the road when you see them coming, but ultimately those will be experience points you lose out on that may put you at a disadvantage in unavoidable scraps later. Of course, beyond combat mastery, other factors like having your weapon sharpened or actually having armor equipped are also vital.

Even then, combat is one of the least appealing aspects of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, more like something you have to do rather than something you'd go out of your way to engage in – arguably a realistic response to violence. Its directional system for attacking, blocking, and parrying can feel weighty one moment, yet hard to parse the next. At times, inconsistent animations have hits on enemies you swore connected fail to register.

It's especially messy during group fights, exacerbated by an annoying targeting system that I found could all too easily disengage at inopportune moments. Of course, you would expect being outnumbered by the enemy to be unwieldy and difficult in real life too, but it's also unsatisfying when some of these encounters are just about enduring long enough before a cutscene arbitrarily moves things along. Expect to see the partying skeleton on the Game Over screen many times.

The less said about firearms, the better. They're introduced as a new and devastating weapon but are so horribly cumbersome to use to the point of being useless unless you're prepared to waste a lot of shots just so you can gradually improve your skill with them. You can understand why it would take longer to load a single shot than to loose an arrow, but there is something especially wilful in the design that the game has an onscreen crosshair by default almost all the time… apart from when you're holding a ranged weapon.

Getting medieval

For those who really want to be transported to medieval Bohemia, however, there is much to enjoy by slowing down and taking everything in the minutia. The city of Kuttenberg is especially impressive, with each of its districts distinct and faithfully realized, while you could go as far as follow any citizen's daily routine.

Sometimes that's actually the best thing to do, too, since some quests have Henry play detective, asking the locals and trying to find leads in his investigation to puzzle out the location of clues – without a marker on the map, mind you. Quests are often lengthy and involved affairs, and will sometimes tangentially lead to other stories beginning to unwind, blossoming the narrative quite naturally.

While it will of course help your stats, it's just as easy to break away from your main objectives and spend your time gambling with dice, smithing and selling weapons, or hunting animals in the wild (although you'll also run into trouble as you'll technically be guilty of poaching the king's game). But you can also find side quests to undertake from the unlikeliest of sources. Ironically, the best way to find new adventure is by fast-travelling, where there's always a chance you'll be interrupted by a random encounter, whether that's bandits trying to rob an innocent passerby or a stranger who may or may not have good intentions. One of my most surreal moments was encountering a man walking around with an arrow still lodged in his head.

Even if you can't talk to everyone, the larger scale of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 means a much larger script, reportedly more than 2.2 million words. Players may bristle at the quality of the writing, which can flip from earnest and serious to coarse and bawdy, with liberal droppings of c-bombs and 'Kurva'. The constant reference to women as 'wench' can also be cringe-inducing despite being common usage in the middle ages. Katherine, a quick-witted spy Henry teams up with regularly in the story, subverts the mostly silent or servile housewives and bathmaids you encounter, but that doesn't stop the game from pointing out her other assets first.

Yet these different facets to the tone also add to the authenticity, where life is diverse and riddled with contradictions. Talk of God is in earnest in between drinking, cursing, and whoring, death can come suddenly but the game doesn't revel in gratuitous violence. Even a mission that requires you to torture someone allows you to weigh up the moral unpleasantness of the task and even avoid it altogether, not least because you'll find yourself on the receiving end. In contrast to the exclusively white population of the first game, this sequel makes the effort of including other ethnicities in Bohemia, which impact both the narrative and the gameplay.

Overall then, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a vast accomplishment, an even more complete and immersive follow-up that paints a wide picture of medieval life. Provided you have the patience with its pacing and are willing to put in the hours to get deeper into its systems rather than just trying to min-max your way out of a problem at optimal speed, it's a thoroughly absorbing RPG that's quite unlike anything else.

Looking for another epic adventure? Check out our best RPG games!

But it's Mark's bloodsplattered disposal of his nemesis, not any Viltrumite threat, that sets in motion a terse, paranoid season that sees Invincible's situation souring quickly on some fronts. As friends rapidly turn into foes, he becomes more erratic and aggressive.

Unlike other Amazon superhero series The Boys, it's immediately noticeable that Invincible doesn't pull any punches this year with shaking up the status quo. Case in point: Mark (Steven Yeun) frequently butts heads with Global Defense Agency director Cecil (Walton Goggins) as their warring philosophies threaten to tear apart more than just a frosty working relationship, while the season's underlying theme – metamorphosis – is only further pushed forward by the exponential growth of new half-brother Oliver.

"You can be the good guy or the guy who saves the world. You can't be both," Cecil spits during the show's electric opening three episodes (a towering tone-setter, wisely batched together for release this week on Prime Video).

It's not an especially new thread for superhero stories to pull on, but it's helped immensely here by two things: Mark ditching the yellow costume and entering his blue suit era (comic fans know only too well what a portent of doom that is) and a far more distinct, refined approach to its storytelling.

Power play

This season, every single episode either comes bundled with a great villain-of-the-week that meaningfully progresses Mark's arc or involves a killer high concept hook. They include dealing with Powerplex (Aaron Paul, whose presence only swells Invincible's roster of incredible talent), a new figure who holds a personal vendetta against Invincible. There's even development to be found as Mark battles against the power vacuum left behind by Machinehead in Chicago, the sort of scenario that would often feel isolated and skippable in previous seasons.

Everything here is in service of Mark's struggles – and occasional failures – in juggling being a brother, son, and a hero. That's not to say other supporting characters fade into becoming background noise, but the creative team's decision to rein everything else in slightly so it can properly tell Mark's story is only a net positive for Invincible in season 3.

The show's renewed focus on its main story means that when Invincible does take narrative detours, they feel more impactful – such as the surprisingly powerful and risky dialogue-free cold open charting the rise and fall of two villains, or the standout second episode that delves into Cecil's backstory in a frenetic 45 minutes to understand what makes the shadowy GDA director tick.

The only downside to the scattershot approach is that there are several plotlines that could have warranted multiple episodes, with Mark's brief foray away from his usual surroundings into completely uncharted territory – one we aren't at liberty to spoil here – being something that could have been explored further. However, that fast-moving attitude ensures nothing outstays its welcome: Invincible season 3 is all killer and no filler.

Art Attack

If the first season was about Mark's first tentative steps as a hero and the second season was about flying as far away from his father's long shadow as possible, season 3 finally digs into the person Mark wants to become – and it's all the better for it. Every interaction with Eve (Gillian Jacobs), The Guardians, and a rogues' gallery filled with fresh and familiar faces alike carry more emotional weight because of how increasingly comfortable the show gets in poking away at Mark's flaws.

Despite its step up in storytelling, however, there are still some nits to pick when it comes to Invincible. Yes, the animation still doesn't stack up when placed alongside best-in-class examples such as Demon Slayer's furiously-drawn cacophonies of color. But there is a marked improvement this year, with a handful of big set-pieces being evidence enough of a real step up in quality. At some point, viewers will have to admit defeat on this front: the style is ultimately chained to the comic book aesthetic, even if it's at the expense of allowing its artists to cut loose and treat viewers to a real spectacle.

The main thing that sticks in the craw is the show's continued lack of urgency in some areas. While nothing ruinous, the six episodes we were given for review still features Omni-Man tiptoeing towards an inevitable escape and return to Earth, while Anissa is a surprise non-factor. While understandable given how closely it's following parts of its source material, Invincible failing to capitalize on her devastating debut last season is a slight disappointment.

Invincible season 3, though, is a show operating at the peak of its powers. The rapid pacing, improved animation, and Mark's own development has supercharged the Amazon series beyond even its formidable first two seasons. A full, uninterrupted run of episodes does wonders, too – and ensures whoever was responsible for splitting the second seasons across two calendar years won't be making that same mistake again.

Now, if it can stick the landing in the final two episodes (and hopefully feature Omni-Man finally heading back to Earth), we could be looking at an early contender for one of the year's best shows. Forget leaping buildings in a single bound, the sky is the limit if Invincible continues on this trajectory.

Invincible season 3 is streaming weekly on Prime Video from February 6. Never miss an episode with our Invincible season 3 release schedule.

For more, check out our picks for the best shows on Prime Video and best movies on Prime Video.

As evidenced by its marketing (more on that later), a lot of people perish in Osgood Perkins' horror-comedy The Monkey. Unlike the similarly-themed Final Destination, though, it has something profound to say, all be it with a maniacal grin: death has already won if you spend your life in fear of it. The reaper is coming for us all, so you might as well boogie until he rocks up. It's not advisable, however, to get yourself involved with a creepy-looking conduit of evil that seriously speeds up the proceedings…

Based on King's short story of the same name, The Monkey opens in the late 1990s, as sweet-natured Hal Shelborn (Sweet Tooth's Christian Convery) and his asshole twin brother Bill (also Convery) stumble across the titular toy while raiding their absent father's closet. "Organ grinder monkey, like life," Hal reads from the box, before his sibling teases, "Lifelike, dumb shit." "No…?" Hal whispers to himself, looking puzzledly at the lid as Bill grabs a deck of cards illustrated with scantily clad women and leaves the room. 

It doesn't take long for Hal to realize why the phrase is mixed up. Turns out, winding the key on the sinister simian's back sets off an unpredictable countdown of sorts, before the thing picks a victim at random to off in gruesomely inventive ways. You won't know who ("it doesn't take requests") or when, but you'll know its horrible handiwork when you see it. There's no real rhyme or reason as to who it smites, it's just down to chance and luck. Like a magic, macabre game of Russian Roulette. Like…well, life.

Gorilla marketing

To tell you why the key keeps getting turned would be spoiling the few surprises the film has up its sleeve but it does, despite Hal and Bill's best efforts to dispatch of the murderous monkey. When chopping it to pieces doesn't work, the pair chain it inside its container and throw it down a well and for 25 years, all is good. So long as you don't count the scars it has left behind, anyway.

In the present day, we catch up with Hal (Theo James) as he's gearing up to spend his one-week-a-year with his son Petey (Colin O'Brien). The limited contact is his choice, tragically, as he's terrified the monkey will reappear someday and pass the curse on to those closest to him – not that he'd tell Petey, his ex-wife, or her new eccentric author husband (Elijah Wood) that. He might just have to, though, when his plan to take Petey to theme park Horror Haven is quickly derailed by a panicked call from his now-estranged brother; the monkey is back and this time, they can't stop until it's vanquished.

Bloody carnage ensues as Hal sets out to find the pesky primate, with Perkins conjuring up a plethora of weird and wonderful kills. Much has been made of The Monkey's gore and it certainly doesn't disappoint – that said, once you've seen one person exploding into chunks, the others that follow don't pack so much of a punch. After the director's more somber works, it's fun to see him step into splatterpunk territory. There's an argument to be made that he should've been here the whole time.

Given his creativity in that arena, it's a shame that the trailers spoil the majority of the gnarly deaths. While the teasers obviously don't provide context for the devilish demises, you'll know how certain scenes are going to end just as they're being setting up, which zaps them of much-needed tension and robs them of their gasp-worthy moment; that nervous chuckle when you realize what you've actually just witnessed. It's a baffling decision from NEON's marketing team, who did such a stellar job of keeping certain plot points – and Nicolas Cage – hidden from the promos for Perkins' previous hit Longlegs.

More than gore

Fortunately, the movie has more going on behind the bloodshed than most are probably anticipating. It's not often in films, especially in horror, that twins really don't get along. Given that the story is inspired by a King creation, I was expecting the brothers to come together to best the beast, but there's none of that heartwarming bravery here – and it's kind of refreshing (even if Bill being such a jerk does render a late-stage twist disappointingly obvious).

James is fantastic in the dual role, cementing himself as so much more than the pretty face fans wrote him off as following his performances in the Underworld and Divergent series. Hal and Bill couldn't be more different; one skittish and sensible, the other brash and broken and given that they don't look all that different, in terms of their clothes etc, it's quite astonishing how effectively he sets them apart. If only Perkins had come up with more interesting ways than over-the-shoulder shots to position them on screen together, and matched up to cinematographer Nico Aguilar's stellar work elsewhere.

Every actor in The Monkey is clearly having a ball, from supporting players Rohan Campbell (fabulous as a shaggy-haired skateboarder who gets mixed up in the ape's antics) to Tatiana Maslany, whose brief appearance as Hal and Bill's mom sets the campy tone for the rest of the flick, while also anchoring its touching, emotional throughline. There are a few delightful cameos, too, one of which King – who often inserts himself into adaptations of his tales – would be proud.

Perkins has stated that when he was writing The Monkey, he was thinking a lot about the deaths of his mother, Berry Berenson, who died in the September 11 attacks, and his father, Psycho actor Anthony Perkins, who passed away from AIDS-related causes when the filmmaker was just 18 years old. He's evidently well versed in the universal feeling of grief but also the more unique shock of losing someone suddenly and horrifically, and it's actually rather beautiful how he blends that heartache into a movie this goofy and energetic. The Monkey isn't afraid to pose existential questions but whenever Perkins senses things getting a little too deep, he confidently breaks away to a decapitated head, a smiling portrait at a funeral, or a red-eyed chuckling chimpanzee and undercuts it. It might be a horror, but it's a laugh riot, too. It's all things, all at once. Just like life.

The Monkey releases on February 21. For more, check out our picks of the most exciting upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Civilization 7 brings a lot to the table, and not all of it requires abandoning your morality to play with. Fans of the series will find a map that's livelier than ever, city management that won't overload your brain, and one of the most engaging endgames ever devised. While predecessor Civilization 6 crammed in similar depth without quite managing to convey all of it clearly, Civilization 7 feels like a cohesive next step for the franchise – and when a few quirks are ironed out, this will be the series' best modern iteration to date.

Next turn

Whether you're a returning fan or stepping into Firaxis' iconic 4X (exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination) strategy series for the first time, Civilization's core premise remains largely the same. Starting with one settlement, you'll grow your empire across a randomly-generated world with the goal of seizing victory through scientific, cultural, militaristic, or economic means. It's a tried-and-true formula, but Civilization 7 takes a couple of big risks that shake it up creatively.

The first thing you'll notice is that you no longer pick a Civilization and get to work. Instead you choose a leader – who remains with you through an entire campaign – while your Civilization choice changes at several points based on your playstyle and leader's historical background. Rolling with Confucius, for example, opens up Ming China as an option, due to his real-world background, but with multiple iron mines in the bag, I could also go Norman.

I was worried this feature would dilute the identity of factions, but that's not the case. Rather than picking a civilization with a unique unit that's obsolete 50 turns in (or one that doesn't turn up for another 200) you now get to pick a total of three civs that are relevant for their entire duration, all with the nifty perks and special units you would expect from past Civ games.

Likewise, I've been dreading how Ages would work since Civilization 7's reveal. Since the '90s, Civilization's whole deal has been unleashing players in a sandbox and letting them do their thing (see: war crimes) uninterrupted. Now, each match is divided into three segments – the opening Antiquity Age, followed by Exploration, and finally Modern.

It's not always a smooth transition, as each Age has a hard stop that resets the board a little. This is particularly frustrating if you're in the middle of something important. In one match, I was closing in on the end of a particularly bloody war and within reach of my mortal enemy Amina's capital when the Age shifted from Exploration to Modern, ending our war and warping my soldiers back to my own distant territories. The rancid cherry on top? Some of the no-name civs who were trailing on the leaderboard got a major science boost through the interim, meaning my empire was promptly invaded by landships while its citizens were still marveling at the wonders of the wooden wheel.

That's not an indictment, though. Since then, I've realized that it takes time to learn how Ages work. In previous entries you'd slowly build strength through the course of each game – conquering capital cities, hurtling towards space flight, or hoarding cultural wonders like a well-read toddler – until it all came to a head. In Civilization 7 victory is more measured, and to carry your momentum through to the next Age you need to complete Legacy Paths: a series of win conditions for each individual age, rewarding permanent bonuses. If you want to win through science, for instance, you'll start by rushing to build libraries and academies in Antiquity, prioritize housing specialists in your cities through Exploration, and finally try to be the first civ in space during Modern. Doing so lets you carry powerful perks across Ages, whilst neglecting them is a surefire way to fall behind.

I've got mixed feelings. Legacy Paths and Ages make the early and mid-game feel a lot more dynamic, and freshen up a campaign's later stages. But at times it feels like you're being railroaded into one path – a little jarring, given the freedom of Civ's sandbox approach up to this point. Although I'd like to see more objective varieties or pathways through these Legacy Paths, I do think that Ages (even if they're a little heavy-handed) are an improvement to the formula, if only because the endgame is no longer ticking boxes until you reach a surefire win.

I'll stay right here

When all of that clicks, Civilization 7 is a thrill. Outside of the big gambles, the core Civilization experience is lightyears ahead of anything we've seen from the series before. Moving from one turn to the next is near-instantaneous, and besides the world looking sublime with its visual glow-up and warmer palette, it feels livelier than ever. Volcanic eruptions change surrounding tiles, rivers flood, and powerful storms can wreak havoc. I nearly missed out on colonizing a new continent (boo-hoo, I know) because a huge hurricane kicked up as my army was crossing the ocean, gaining on their ships as I furiously fear-hammered movement commands to reach the coast.

That liveliness extends to combat's impressive fluidity. Army commanders allow you to stack units and transport them around in-sync, and can order simultaneous attacks that are worth utilizing – having every archer in range fire at once gives each unit involved more combat strength, for example, but you can also command mass pillaging or have everyone construct makeshift fortifications on their tiles.

During my first campaign as Xerxes, a three-way war with my continental neighbors Machiavelli and Himiko drew the attention of meddling outsiders Ben Franklin and Ashoka, World Renouncer. The latter two factions had no settlements in the continent, but decided to wade in anyway, landing masses of tanks and gun-toting infantry on our shores and transforming the countryside into a fiery wreck until I turned the sea into a killing field of my own with a blockade of battleships. I've sunk hundreds of hours into Civilization, but that single conflict is the most fun I've ever had with combat.

All's fair

Commodifying diplomacy is an interesting choice (see Strong Influence). Firaxis has long tried to play around the fact that AI motivations can be inscrutable, and reducing it to a resource is an inelegant but mostly effective solution. Besides using it to push trade, scientific, and commercial agreements with other civs, Influence can boost your support for a war back home – whichever side of the battle has lower support takes some pretty harsh penalties in combat, so it's important to keep the troops happy. But it's also a step back in some ways, as gold can no longer be used to tantalize other civs into settling wars, and you can't buy or sell settlements.

This is particularly frustrating because razing settlements in war permanently penalizes your war support for every future conflict, which means that since you also can't milk your rival for gold during peace negotiations, you sometimes have to absorb rubbish settlements rather than burn them to the ground. That in itself is another can of worms, as Civilization 7 goes big on expansion. Settlements are now divided into towns and cities, with the former acting as lower-maintenance support hubs for your cities.

All of that, paired simpler iteration of Civilization 6's district system, means juggling your empire is far less of a headache. Because there are fewer penalties to expanding, you (and AI factions) tend to manage significantly more settlements. Finding unclaimed land is now genuinely scrappy, and racing to plant my flag in undeveloped continents has been the highlight of my time in Civilization 7. I've admittedly found myself engaging with the cultural side of Civ less because of it, though, and AI has an irritating habit of squeezing a town right outside of your established borders.

I had no idea what to expect from Civilization 7. Firaxis has a habit of scaring fans by announcing wild choices (hello, Marvel's Midnight Suns) then pulling them off so slickly you forget there was ever any doubt. Civilization 7 isn't quite so slick – with its heavy-handed Ages diplomacy rework – but it's certainly a huge stride forward for the legendary strategy series, joining the clarity of Civilization 5 with the added depth of Civilization 6.

Ages will be more divisive – I personally think the system does wonders for the usual tedium of late-stage campaigns – while other features, like pairing Leaders with evolving civs, should be a staple going forward. Civilization 7 already feels like the best entry point yet, and with Firaxis' habit of saving the real polish for expansions, I think this is going to become a grand strategy titan. Just keep an eye on that Ben Franklin fella – and don't believe a word he says about any "war crimes".

Whether you prefer turn-based or real-time map-painters, here are the best strategy games you should check out

MOZA looks to have the answer with its latest offering, the R3 Racing Bundle. Having quickly established a name for itself among PC gamers with an impressive range of wheels and wheelbases, the £399/$399 R3 is MOZA’s first attempt at making one of the best Xbox steering wheels. Combining a licensed wheel, direct drive base, desk mount, and pedal set, the R3 bundle has everything a racer needs to get started.

So while the MOZA R3 may not be the first direct drive wheel for the Xbox, there’s an opportunity to quickly jump the field. Existing options have critical flaws; the Logitech G Pro is excellent, but super expensive, and the Turtle Beach VelocityOne is still pricey but lacks performance, if the R3 can avoid these bumps it could quickly race into P1.

Design

The MOZA R12 has been my sim racing daily driver on PC for nearly a year. It’s excellent and I’m pleased to see MOZA carry plenty of its DNA over into the R3. Like the R12, the MOZA R3 wheelbase is sleek and industrial, a little black box with stylishly simple details. The black aluminium shell feels solid, premium, and most importantly bucks the trend of other Xbox racing wheels which rely far too much on plastic for my liking. Even the eye-wateringly expensive Logitech G Pro was an all-plastic affair so I’m glad MOZA has taken the opportunity to stand out here.

What’s immediately striking about the MOZA R3 wheelbase is just how compact it is, at less than 14cm across and 10cm deep it’s definitely living room friendly. Sticking with comparisons against the Logitech G Pro, it’s almost unbelievably small, almost half the width and a third of the depth which makes a massive difference in person. I’ve been testing it mounted on the RacGTing Challenger 301, a similar folding sim racing seat to the Playseat Challenge X, and even on this smaller rig the MOZA R3 still almost looks too small for it. Even with this stature the R3 still packs the same connectivity as MOZA’s more expensive offerings with full support for a range of inputs on the rear. The included pedals connect here and while they’re not part of the standard bundle, you could connect an e-stop, hand brake, shifter, and digital dash all at the same time - a rather impressive line-up from such a little unit.

The MOZA R3 Bundle includes the ESX steering wheel and while on PC you’re free to choose between a range of shapes and styles, on Xbox this is your only choice. It’s fine but didn’t feel quite as premium as either the rest of the bundle or other MOZA wheels I’ve used in the past. The ESX again shuns plastic in favor of an aluminium alloy frame but unlike the existing PC variant of the same wheel, the Xbox version opts for textured PU-wrapped grips instead of smooth leather. I can understand the swap in terms of keeping costs down but it’s a noticeable downgrade if you know what you’re missing. It’s still comfortable enough to hold and use, however with just an 11” diameter the entire ESX wheel did feel a little small. There are advantages to this though as it means the full button layout is nicely within reach and I was able to access almost all of the buttons without changing my grip.

Features

There are 22 buttons in total but once again they show signs of being an area of cost saving and are OK without being impressive. The MOZA GS V2P wheel that I’m used to features clicky mechanical buttons that feel tactile and responsive, while every button on the ESX felt a little soft and each carried a noticeable wobble. I had no issues with missed inputs, they actually feel quite similar to those on one of the best Xbox Series X controllers, but carrying over those mechanical buttons would have made a big difference. The metal paddle shifters on the back are much more like it - they’re easy to reach without getting in the way and have a short travel with pleasant clicky feedback.

The clue is in the name when it comes to the SRP-Lite pedals included with the R3 bundle. They’re simple but more than up to the task for a casual racer and would comfortably lap what’s included with the Logitech G923 or Turtlebeach VelocityOne Race in some kind of weird pedal-only exhibition race. The two-pedal set is robust with all-steel construction and a nice range of customization when it comes to adjusting the position of the pedals across the large and solid base. MOZA offers a separate clutch pedal as an added extra, along with a Performance Kit that noticeably upgrades the brake pedal with a larger spring and dampers. I’d highly recommend grabbing this if your budget can stretch the extra £29/$29 as I found it greatly improves the feeling of the brake which relies on Hall effect sensors as opposed to a load cell like you’d see in a more expensive set.

Performance

The star of the show in the MOZA R3 bundle is the wheelbase and it’s hard to convey just how much of a difference direct drive makes compared to a belt or gear-driven wheel like the staple Logitech G923. The 3.9Nm servo motor on the R3 delivers smooth, responsive, and detailed force feedback that feels far more true to life than other entry-level options. Admittedly 3.9Nm isn’t super powerful so it won’t attack your wrists in the same way a more powerful base like the 11Nm Logitech G Pro will, but there’s still plenty of oomph here and I was surprised how much I had to fight the wheel when going off track or through a tight chicane.

The wheelbase will grab the headlines but it’s actually the ESX wheel where the compatibility magic happens. Interestingly this wheel is compatible with MOZA’s other more powerful bases like the excellent MOZA R12, meaning there is technically an upgrade path on offer here. Unfortunately however, because the console handshake happens inside the wheel, while you can put the wheel on other wheelbases you can’t put other wheels on the R3 to use on an Xbox. There is a welcome compromise to this because similar to the Logitech G RS system, MOZA offers a couple of differently shaped ‘ES Mod’ wheel rims that can be swapped in and bolted to the main wheel body.

The MOZA R3 wheel base includes universal mounting points so you can bolt it to something like the Playseat Trophy without a fuss, though I was pleased to see MOZA includes their chunky desk clamp bracket as standard for those in more DIY setups. Powering on, each component was instantly recognized by my Xbox Series X and I was able to hop straight out on track in Forza Motorsport with no manual in-game configuration. Game compatibility is generally pretty good and largely plug-and-play, most headline titles are supported though there are a few notable (and strange) exclusions like F1 23 which offers no support at all, despite F1 21, 22, and 24 all being included. Odd.

While the R3 does offer a generous 22-button layout I was disappointed with how often the additional buttons weren’t usable in-game. In Forza Motorsport, for example, anything other than the basic ABXY arrangement couldn’t be mapped as a unique input, either they weren’t recognized at all or the game saw them as another existing input. The button labelled LSB for example was picked up as the left paddle by the game and seen as a duplicate of that input rather than its own.

Overall though I was genuinely impressed by what the MOZA R3 was capable of across different games even if I did often need to take some time to refine the in-game force feedback settings of each. Forza Motorsport initially tried to shake me out of my seat with a funky setting causing the wheel to violently wobble at high speed, yet jumping over to Forza Horizon I found myself looking to bump up the intensity of settings across the board to really feel the effects. Both cases were temporary though and I was quickly able to iron things out.

Should you buy the Moza R3?

In the same way that Formula 1 cars need to balance downforce and top speed, the MOZA R3 is playing a balancing game of its own between price and performance. It may not be the first direct drive racing wheel for Xbox gamers, but the R3 is the first to be genuinely accessible and still offer an excellent driving experience. There are a couple of compromises along the way but these are only evident when lined up against more expensive options. For a majority of gamers, the MOZA R3 is going to tick basically every box for a first wheel or a first jump from a belt or gear-driven option.

The R3 delivers smooth and detailed force feedback that while not overly punchy, still packs enough of a punch to make you work for every second of improved lap time. The pedals are simple but robust and precise, and while the ESX wheel itself may not be quite as strong as the rest of the bundle, it’s still more than good enough for its purpose and place in the market. MOZA has set the benchmark now, it's got a time on the board with the R3 bundle, and while there are still improvements to be made, a new era for Xbox sim racing is off to a very strong start.

How we tested the Moza R3

I mounted the MOZA R3 racing bundle to a RacGTing Challenger 301 racing seat and tested it with an Xbox Series X across a number of titles including Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon. I tested the pedals both with and without the additional Performance Kit, however, a majority of testing was conducted with the kit installed.

For more on how we test controllers, have a read of our hardware policy.

For more, check out the best PC controllers, the best PS5 controllers, and the best joysticks.

The premise of Citizen Sleeper 2 is, broadly speaking, similar to the original: you are a Sleeper, an emulated consciousness attached to a deliberately decaying mechanical body owned by a massive corporation. But whereas the first game saw your Sleeper seeking to deliberately cut those ties and all the ways that might play out in a single place, Citizen Sleeper 2 is largely about what happens when an individual attempts to assert ownership over your entire being and the subsequent desperate struggle to escape across an entire sector of space.

Second verse

All the mechanics of the original are here, and, as before, you generate a row of dice each turn, which Citizen Sleeper 2 refers to as a "cycle." Broadly, those individual dice serve as actions that you can use to do all sorts of tasks ranging from the likes of foraging for mushrooms or trying to gather intel at the docks, depending on where you are. Spending a higher numbered die, combined with your Sleeper's unique stats affect your chance of success and potential resulting consequences. Do you ensure a "Safe" ranking before beginning, or risk the potential for "Danger" to chase a big reward? The dice rolls you're saddled with may have you weighing up these decisions for a while.

Each class, like Operator, comes with a specific ability (in my case as an Operator, the ability to reroll a certain number of dice) that has a rudimentary progression attached that you can upgrade over time by completing Drives, which are functionally quests that range in complexity from taking someone somewhere to fetching items to upending the corporate hierarchy of a local water company. Instead of upgrading the class ability, you can always dump these points into your skills like Endure or Engage in order to permanently have better rolls on those actions. Yet, each class has one stat that's impossible to improve or even have at all, making those rolls inherently more difficult.

Despite all of this mechanical setup, Citizen Sleeper 2 feels largely rooted in modern tabletop narrative design: the story is told and facilitated through dice rolls, pure and simple. Success, failure, and everything in between is a combination of chance and forethought with impacts ranging from devastating to milquetoast. Maybe you simply failed to rest properly and didn't remove any stress, or maybe you broke some fundamental part of a ship and now your enemies are that much closer to finding you, and it's more unstable than ever.

You can be as prepared as possible and still one bad roll will land you on the completely opposite shore of where you meant to go. With traditional tabletop role-playing games, this is where improv and quick thinking might come into play. In Citizen Sleeper 2, all of this is written and predetermined – emulated, if you will, like your own character's consciousness. It works more often than not, but as something of a tabletop RPG head myself, there is also always a small inkling in the back of my mind that any perceived depth is an optical illusion expertly crafted in concert with the developer. Increasingly throughout my 13-hour playthrough, I wondered if that is the point.

Safely risky

Despite the fact that you are ostensibly running away from a sociopathic owner for the vast majority of Citizen Sleeper 2, it never quite felt like there was ever any real danger or bite behind my rolls. Maybe my experience with the original honed my skills to a razor edge, but the standard difficulty setting ultimately meant that I rarely, if ever, had to pass up on an accomplishment or opportunity. With my own dice rolls, two each for crew members on a mission per cycle, and just a little bit of forethought put into who was coming along and where I was focused next, I only ever really felt pressured on one or two occasions. The only one where I didn't completely succeed in the end had a positive outcome regardless.

But perhaps I really am some kind of godly strategizer instead. Citizen Sleeper 2 regularly ups the ante, so to speak, by introducing new complexities and resources to manage. Sure, you've got enough fuel and supplies to keep your people fed, but what about data you can only gather at an abandoned, out-of-the-way outpost? And how do you deal with a stowaway that needs to be regularly fed or your careful supply management can be ruined? For me, personally, this was just a larger-than-typical spreadsheet to manage, but I can imagine others getting lost in the specifics.

Citizen Sleeper 2 is at its very best when all of these mechanisms come together to form narrative arcs that feel both natural and inevitable. Inevitable, in part, because of the game's robust autosaving, which all but prevents manipulating saves to redo difficult challenges. You either do, or you don't and very occasionally somewhere in between. Much of the game was easy for me and only grew easier as I completed Drives like tracking down my pilot/cohort Serafin's sister or seeking out a particular kind of engine with troublesome freelancer Yu-Jin.

But sometimes you're faced with a difficult decision that only happens in the first place because you avoided, say, physically mining due to lacking the Endure skill and you're out of supplies thanks to a mission suddenly dropping in your lap without time to prep, which means your entire crew – including yourself – is building up stress which can knock said crew out of the mission and ultimately remove dice from your pool of actions. Sometimes that means you have to pick between tasks that both seem vital; between the wants of crew members the cold reality of space. It's a friction that can create palpable tension, and it all ultimately stemming from a handful of dice, and how you try to make your own luck, is where Citizen Sleeper 2 shines.

Who are you to decide? A Sleeper, whose entire existence and personhood remains in question throughout. Someone muddling through, who in the face of authority and capitalism and oligarchy can instead choose hope and see others do the same. Citizen Sleeper 2's space and stations can be cold and cruel, and the vast corporate machine never ceases its churning, but there is a certain romance to everyone moving forward with their lives and loves – often in spite of all this – and it is hard to not be charmed.

Monster Hunter fans will be all too familiar with what the Monster Hunter World board games have to offer. Despite being far more rudimentary (as the medium often necessitates), Steamforged Games' interpretation of the beloved franchise is exceptionally well executed, and with heaps of comic relief to boot. Considering how long they've been making some of the best board games based on video games, including the Resident Evil series, that may not come as a surprise.

Even coming at the review from a more TTRPG-heavy background, as opposed to JRPGs, I've had great fun exploring the wilds and taking on ever more deadly challenges in this adventure style combat game. That's thanks not only to its accessibility in spite of its complexity, but also the intriguing narrative facets that work to turn what could have been a simple battle simulator into a versatile, replaybable board game with a little something for everyone.

Features & design

• Co-op arena game
• New core set taking place in the desert
• Compatible with other sets

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste is run in three phases. There's the Gathering phase in which you follow clues to find a monster in a choose-your-own adventure style segment; the Hunting phase that involves slaying said Monster; and the HQ phase in which players use the parts scavenged to upgrade their Hunter's weapons and armor.

As you progress, you're able to take increasingly difficult jobs tracking and killing significantly more deadly marks. The game is meant to be played over several sessions, though you must kill a four star Monster before the specified number of campaign days is up, or you lose the game. There's a bit of choice around how to get there, including deciding which level monster you feel confident enough to take on next.

After selecting your Hunter and finding their starter cards, players head into the Gathering phase of the starter mission. One player reads aloud the narrative and you all agree how to proceed. This stage could involve anything from looting lost packs but potentially losing ground as you linger, examining the massive remains of an even bigger monster's kill, or attempting search and rescue missions. As you step through the narrative you might gain potions or ores, or suffer damage before you even get into a fight. You'll also gain Track tokens that are revealed at the end of the Gathering phase. These contribute to your Scoutfly level, which can affect the Monster's behaviour for better or worse.

When you hit the Hunting phase, it's you against the Monster in a timed battle event. Minis come out, Hunters are randomly assigned a Threat Level, the monster is set to max hitpoints, and depending on your Scoutfly level, different Behaviour cards are shuffled into the Monster's deck. Play is tracked with something called Time cards in this phase, which could throw a status effect or other random event at you at the end of your turn. Players take it in turns to Walk, Sprint and/or play Attack cards in any order. Any number of Attack cards can be chosen to fill your Stamina board as far as you dare – one of which is usually discarded at the end of a turn. Once you run out of cards, you'll need to use the Sharpen action to replenish your Attacks with those discarded.

As for the Monster, they act autonomously targeting whoever is stated on their Behaviour cards and attacking with the body part telegraphed on the back of the face-down pile. Sometimes, however, a Time card might direct you to discard the top one, having Misread the Monster's apparent next move. Terrain cards will also affect play here, reducing Hunter threat level or giving the Monster somewhere to heal, for example.

The goal is to take down the Monster before the Time cards deplete, breaking as many Monster parts as possible to gain more loot in the process. Once the monster is dead, time is up, or one of the Hunters has fainted three times, the fight is over and you enter the Return to HQ phase. You either gain the loot on the loot table from each of the broken Monster parts, then freely trade it amongst yourselves and use it to upgrade your gear or, if you failed, you can reattempt it… or try your hand at a different Quest.

That's the basics, though there are special rules for how to play each Hunter – such as the Insect Glaive Hunter's Kinsect: Harvest Extract cards that add extra bonuses when certain Attack cards are played. One to two player campaigns also gain the benefit of Palico compatriots who add special bonuses, too.

Gameplay

• Monster combat is phenomenal
• Narrative & RPG elements to break up combat
• A faff to set up

All this will seem very familiar to anyone who's played a Monster Hunter video game. There are recognizable monsters, Hunter types, and gear. Thanks to the extremely detailed miniatures, it's even possible to tell which parts of each monster have been used to detail the gear on each of the Hunter's miniatures. If you're in it for the minis, this is one game that won't disappoint. They're high quality and snap together with no need for glue which is fantastic, and I'd happily repurpose them in the best tabletop RPGs.

I have noticed a little wear on the board folds after only a few sessions but that's not something that affects playability, only aesthetics. Though since games are expected to last up to 25 sessions, that's a lot of putting away and getting out that could cause some unwanted wear.

It can be a little hard setting up, too. Finding everything among the masses of very similar looking decks is a little daunting, though thankfully there's a helpful guide as to how to store everything back in the game box. The rest of the manual is well-headlined, step-by-step information as well. The layout is easy on the eyes, and doesn't overload you with information you won't need until you hit the next phase either.

Speaking of which, I love that Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste is broken down into distinct phases. A game that relies entirely on battle segments can start to get stale, and only appeals to a certain kind of board gamer. The phases break up that monotony with narrative-fueled segments and downtime activities that add a new dimension to the game. The Gathering phase especially does wonders to distinguish the game from your average battle sim, while managing to cleverly ramp up the tension with tough choices that affect the outcome of the Hunting phase, such as shuffling detrimental cards into the time deck or making the monster's behaviour deck more powerful.

It took me a moment to get my head around the way Scoutfly level was presented, with paragraphs of text as opposed to what could have been an easy-to-reference table, but it's a great mechanic that supports the game's theme really well and gives it another element of surprise, as well as something solid and numerical to work toward.

The Hunting phase also feels really well balanced between known variables and procedural elements. A good example is the randomly drafted Hunter tokens that give your Hunter a threat rating, which act as a tie-breaker as to who monster is going to target next. These are sometimes shuffled around, and your rating can be reduced by hiding in a bush – something my TTRPG brain latched onto, giving my Hunter the nickname of BUSHMAN.

While there aren't masses of roleplay intensive elements, there are little moments that bring the story to life, which, coupled with the well-paced gameplay, have a fantastic effect on the game's tension building. There's also enough player agency that it gives player's choices real weight – be that the kind of quest you select, your Hunter's positioning and chosen attacks, or just what you choose to do in your downtime.

The main issues for me are in remembering the order of events, how the monster is supposed to move, and which symbols mean what (there are a ton). The game attempts to help out with printed reminders on time cards, and a useful key and appendix in the rulebook, but you will likely need to reference them a whole lot for the first few quests, and it can start to get tiresome.

Should I buy Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste?

Once you get used to how everything works and enter a flow state with your pals, Monster Hunter World: The Board Game – Wildspire Waste can be a truly rewarding gameplay experience with a great deal of replayability. Its push-your-luck style mechanics tempt you against the clock, adding tension alongside refreshing story elements that pull you in new directions with each and every playthrough.

It's not going to be a game for everyone, but it does well to offer a variety of rewards for the more bloodthirsty, or loot-motivated players, and even those with roleplay frivolity as their main goal. While the rulebook can be clunky with the wording in places, and set-up is a bit of a slog, the game makes fumbling through it all a worthwhile endeavor even for those who've never played a Monster Hunter game in their lives.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Wildspire Waste

Our reviewer played Monster Hunter World: The Board Game multiple times and with different numbers of people to better understand how its systems performed.

To find out more, don't miss our guide to how we test board games or the in-depth GamesRadar+ review policy.

That’s not to say I’d avoid using DLSS 4 on the PNY RTX 5080 OC. Ditching the AI tools will simply result in you messing around with settings to boost fps when playing at 4K. However, not every game benefits from the green team’s Frame Generation magic, and in the instances where you’re relying on native performance, overclocked GPUs can pull harder punches in the best graphics card ring.

Even though the PNY RTX 5080’s factory overclock ultimately only inches a few frames higher than the Founders Edition, having the freedom to boost clock speeds further can make all the difference. That said, I do have reservations about how useful overclocking is in relation to AI-boosted performance, not to mention the extra cooling required comes with size caveats.

Specs

Just like the Founders Edition model, the PNY RTX 5080 OC is packing a Blackwell GB203 armed with 10,752 CUDA cores, 336 tensor cores, and 84 ray tracing cores. The uplift compared to the RTX 4080 Super is admittedly modest, and that does mean native performance is closer to the Lovelace model than some players may have expected. Perhaps that’s more a commentary on the fact the last generation already packed an unprecedented punch, but new DLSS abilities ultimately change that narrative.

Of course, when it comes to models like the PNY RTX 5080 OC specifically, the conversation ends up revolving around clock speeds. This version comes with a factory overclock that ramps up its boost clock from 2,617 MHz to 2,780 MHz, which theoretically should help you boost fps a bit further compared to the Founders Edition or other vanilla cards. That’s certainly the case when it comes to native performance, but I’ll get onto how that mixes with new Frame Generation tricks when chatting performance.

Virtually everything else specs-wise about the PNY RTX 5080 OC lines up with the Founders Edition, including its 16GB GDDR7 VRAM, 360W TDP, and 256-bit memory bus. Just in case it isn’t clear, custom versions like this are meant to be slightly souped-up options rather than a completely different model, and while there are performance benefits to using a card designed for overclocking, your out-of-the-box results shouldn’t be worlds apart from other models.

Design

Just when I thought we were done with huge graphics cards, the PNY RTX 5080 came along and shattered my two-slot dreams. That’s not to say I expected this factory overclock card to match the Founders Edition on slenderness, but I don’t think I was quite expecting something the same size as many custom GeForce RTX 4090 cards from a few years ago. Simply put, this card is one of the largest versions you’ll find this generation, and that might be a good or a bad thing depending on your PC case space.

Keep in mind that the PNY RTX 5080 is a triple fan graphics card, and that naturally makes it more of a chonk. Enhanced cooling is pretty much vital when it comes to overclocked GPUs, not to mention it’ll suit some of you who’ve always used a card with this kind of cooling setup. While some of you will be quite happy to whack a new component into your rig regardless of its design, some systems are laid out with a three-fan shroud in mind, and sticking with that means airflow should remain the same.

As for aesthetics, the PNY RTX 5080 keeps things pretty corporate with no RGB and a black shroud highlighted by logo text. Despite its enormous stature, this card should blend in with your existing system pretty well, and even the little GPU support bracket/screwdriver hybrid included with the package is fairly inconspicuous. Just keep in mind that if you’re upgrading from something older than Nvidia’s 30-series, the size of this GeForce card could catch you off guard and interfere with your PCIe component space.

In line with every Nvidia graphics card from the last generation, the PNY RTX 5080 uses a 12-pin power connector. Unlike the Founders Edition, the socket isn’t angled, but it is recessed within the shroud a little to combat any bulky cabling issues preventing your case door from closing. The design choice means extruding wires will partially occupy the same footprint as the GPU itself, and it’s a better solution than simply having them aggressively extend outwards from the card. That said, I did find it tricky to get my fat thumbs around the dongle to remove it, which feels like it could spark future frustration if the need to remove it crops up.

Features

Both the RTX 5080 and its flagship RTX 5090 rely on Nvidia’s new DLSS 4 as a standout feature. The PNY RTX 5080 is no different in that it uses revamped versions of AI Super Sampling and Multi-Frame Generation alongside enhanced ray tracing techniques to boost performance and fidelity. Access to those tricks is dependent on whether developers add support, but with many PC games are releasing with the settings built-in by default, playing with AI enhancements switched on is slowly becoming a standard.

That said, overclocked cards like the PNY RTX 5080 are designed to give you ways to boost fps without AI shackles. You won’t even have to immediately play around with boost clock speeds yourself seeing as this model comes with that aforementioned factory overclock, but you’ll then be able to tweak things further using PNY’s Velocity X software. The app itself is fairly straightforward and keeps things simple with small menus for clock speed sliders, fan temperature curve customization, and pre-set buttons. It’s pretty much the same app that’s been around since the RTX 3090 but still offers a simple way to experiment with overclocking while striking a balance between frame rate boosts and thermals.

Speaking of software, the PNY RTX 5080 also uses the new Nvidia App as a base station for driver settings and access to the GPU’s other features. You’ll be able to access many of the options previously concealed within the GPU marker’s older Control Panel hub, optimize game settings in a central place, and tap into creative tools like Nvidia Broadcast for streaming. It’s certainly an improvement over the old Nvidia GeForce Experience app, and while it’s compatible with GPUs outside of the 50-series, it’ll still help you better access your expensive new GPU’s tricks.

Performance

Pitting the PNY RTX 5080 against the Founders Edition GPU feels less like a boxing match and more like shadowboxing. That’s hardly surprising since we’re effectively talking about the same graphics card, only the PNY version is wearing a thicker set of armor and has perhaps chugged five espressos before swinging into action. What I’m saying is that I did see slightly higher frame rates thanks to the factory overclock in some instances during testing, but I otherwise felt like I was using the same graphics card.

Let’s chat native performance first, as the PNY RTX 5080 did inch higher than the Founders Edition in Cyberpunk 2077, pulling off a 74fps average with 4K ultra settings enabled. Sure, a 3fps difference isn’t anything to get that excited about, but it does prove that even slightly boosted clock speeds can help claw back some frames. Hitman 3 ended up in the same boat, hitting 166fps rather than 164fps at base clock speeds.

Hardly exciting, right? Well, keep in mind this is out-of-the-box performance, so overclocking the card further could help you inch ever higher up the frame rate ladder. What I will say is that in Total War: Warhammer 3, I was able to squeeze 91fps at 4K out of the card compared to 87fps using the stock card. That’s around 4.6% of an increase, and if that sort of benefit applies to future games hovering around 60fps, that could come in clutch.

If I’ve learned one thing from benchmarking the PNY RTX 5080 and Founders Edition in the same week, it’s that boost clock increases become less valuable with DLSS 4 enabled. That makes sense seeing as Multi-Frame Generation will take the GPU’s generated visuals and effectively fill in the gaps, meaning the minor frame gains are mixed in with AI-generated fps.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The fact we’re at a stage where playing around with settings and tweaking clock speeds to churn out a few extra frames is pretty nice. If you find that sort of thing fun, you’ll likely disagree, but I’d honestly take being able to ramp up fps from 66fps to 309fps in Dragon Age: The Veilguard using DLSS 4 than sinking time into tweaking individual settings to inch a few frames higher.

I’m not saying everyone should start using DLSS 4 without question, and I’ll be looking closely at the pros and cons of this frankly revolutionary tech over the next few months. What I will say is that Nvidia is pretty on the ball with coming up with solutions for its own problems, implementing a new Transformer AI model to help combat artifacts and any shenanigans caused by upscaling. As I already touched on in my Founders Edition rundown, I wasn’t able to sniff out many visual hiccups playing the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and I’m already seeing an impressive improvement compared to the early days of DLSS 2 and original techniques.

It’s also worth noting that in some scenarios, latency could become a bit of an issue, even if tools like Nvidia Reflex seem to be offsetting any of those caveats at the moment. Put it this way, I’ve spent a nice chunk of time this week playing Marvel Rivals at 4K with Multi-Frame Generation switched on and didn’t catch onto any delayed inputs, even though I managed to kick things up from 70fps to 312fps.

Frame rates aside, I was admittedly more interested in the PNY RTX 5080’s cooling abilities and whether opting for a massive tri-cooler shroud is beneficial. The answer is a resounding yes, as the highest temperature I managed to get out of this card was around 64°C. I’m not saying that puts the Founders Edition’s efforts to shame, as you’re still talking about results sitting mostly in the sixties. But, the fact that I got away with playing Cyberpunk 2077 in RT Overdrive mode while the card happily burred away at sometimes 59°C is mighty impressive.

Before you ask, no, the PNY RTX 5080 doesn’t make a racket to achieve those temperatures. The cooling system ended up providing a similar gentle hum to Nvidia’s own design, but your mileage may vary based on your choice of case and setup. Just know that you aren’t going to hear the card’s cooling efforts under normal circumstances, and it helps justify the model’s egregious size.

Should you buy the PNY RTX 5080 OC?

Just like the Founders Edition, the PNY RTX 5080 OC pulls off phenomenal 4K frame rates using DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation. If you do opt for this factory overclocked card, you will also see further games in native performance, which could please some of you out there with an aversion to AI tools. The fact it’s larger than Nvidia’s stock card is a drawback worth keeping in mind, but it does come with noticeable cooling benefits that will help make further boost clock tweaks more of a reality.

Those of you looking to buy an RTX 5080 might not have a choice between a vanilla card and something like the PNY RTX 5080 OC. If that ends up being the case for you specifically, just know that PNY’s model is a custom option I can comfortably recommend despite its size and higher MSRP. Ultimately, an overclocked card like this is going to be that bit more futureproof compared to a model with limited room for boosts, so you can attribute any extra investment to that.

How I tested the PNY RTX 5080 OC

Over the course of a week, I tested the PNY RTX 5080 OC side by side with the Founders Edition model while comparing both graphics cards in terms of design and performance, During that time, I used a set collection of benchmark games including Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman 3, Total War: Warhammer 3, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Marvel Rivals and collated average frame rates for both cards. In turn, this enabled me to directly compare the overclocked PNY card to Nvidia's Founders Edition to check for performance benefits.

For more on how we test graphics cards and other components, take a look at our full GamesRadar+ Hardware policy.

Looking to pick up a next-gen GPU? Check out where to buy the RTX 5090 and where to buy the RTX 5070. Alternatively, swing by the best Alienware gaming PCs if you want an out-of-this-world rig that’s ready to go.

This is the brand’s attempt at a high-end spot on the best gaming chair ladder. I’ve already placed its excellent TC100 Relaxed on our leaderboard as the best budget option, so going into testing the premium alternative, I had some expectations. For a flagship chair, I’m delighted to note that Corsair has managed to avoid the ludicrously high price lines other brands lean into. This may be a gaming chair for people who own many leather-bound books, but at $500/£500, this really is one of the best value finds in 2025.

I’ll be upfront and say that I actually love this chair, so much so that it’s replacing the now discontinued Boulies Ninja Pro as my mainstay I’ll keep around for when I’m not testing something new. Unfortunately, though, it has a massive, inescapable issue that nearly spoils the whole experience. Whether or not it’s a deal breaker for you, I’m not sure.

Assembly

Of all the gaming chairs I’ve tested, the Corsair TC100 Relaxed had the most minimalist approach to assembly instructions. There were no included leaflets or a Secretlab-esque placard with handy diagrams. The only help you get in building it is going to Corsair’s website and finding instructions for an older chair model with a similar assembly process.

With the TC500 Luxe, there is a similar lack of instructions but Corsair’s YouTube channels have some helpful instructional videos that go through how to assemble it. Fortunately, there was nothing too confusing about the process and, like the Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen, the armrests come pre-attached, meaning there’s one less step between unboxing and sitting.

It was during this assembly process that the first moment of foreboding hit me. In the video above, the voiceover clearly says “the width of the armrests can be adjusted by partially loosening the screws”. Having been particularly excited about this chair, I had read some other reviews of it, which I don’t usually do.

The consensus on this seat was that it’s excellent, but for some reason, its armrests are set far too widely apart. To mitigate that issue, I thought, I’d move the armrests of mine during assembly to as narrow as they can go. When I got to that stage of the build though, they were already in their narrowest setting. “What are the other reviews complaining about then?” I thought.

I had far too little faith in my fellow gaming chair critics.

Design

The thing that immediately stands out about this chair on a first look is its hex-pattern cushioning, which gives it that antique, classy feel so many gaming chairs lack. Like the Boulies Master Series, it looks like something that’d be just at home in a remote worker’s professional video call as it does an RGB-filled gaming livestream.

It has a wide seat base with a generous lip on its front, inviting plenty of viable sitting positions. It has rounded shoulders that remind me of a Razer Iskur X, and the integrated lumbar support and magnetic head cushion made famous by brands like Secretlab and DXRacer.

The result is a very attractive gaming chair that’s up there with the Fractal Refine in terms of its style, and tying its aesthetics together is its marvelous choice of upholstery, which sits somewhere between suede and leather. It’s not quite either and, in truth, it might be my new favorite material for any gaming chair. It’s breathable, but it still feels as premium as the highest-end leather options. It’s also nice and plush, adding a velvety surface to a chair that isn’t as firm as Secretlab, but isn’t quite as comfort-aimed as the Boulies Ninja Pro.

The TC500 Luxe is available in three colors, with each sporting the same black wheelbase, armrests, and casters. Frost is a creamy white color, which looks surprisingly nice for a white gaming chair (these often tend to look very bold and a bit “extra”), but I can’t help but feel a slightly different color of wheelbase would really complement this model a bit more. Shadow is a sort of graphite-grey color which is perfect for anyone wanting something more muted. The version Corsair sent me is the Sherwood variant, which has this alluring mossy green look to it and sits beautifully against my walnut-textured desk. I usually advocate for more color choices with gaming chairs, but I think these hues offer a perfect set of variables for the classy feel the Luxe is going for. I’m not sure the same effect would be achieved with a blue colorway - and this certainly isn’t something I’d like to see making a play for our best pink gaming chair list.

Features

Supporting the TC500 Luxe is a solid steel inner frame. I have to say, I’m really impressed with the build quality it brings because unlike 90% of gaming chairs today, I’ve heard no creaks or squeaks coming from it after a month of testing. All the while, it doesn’t have the Secretlab problem of that great build quality potentially contributing to a really firm sitting experience.

All the usual adjustment features are here, with a reclining backrest that tilts from 90° to 160°. You can also adjust the height and backward lean, and that aforementioned 4-way lumbar support does a lot to support your lower back. The magnetic neck pillow is the best I’ve ever tested in a gaming chair. Somehow, it’s managed to out-plush Boulies and Secretlab with memory foam that feels affectionately soft and eases back into its plump shape right after taking your head off it. I found it easy to slide around depending on my sitting position too, so Corsair has provided a large magnetic surface area for it.

One of the standout features of this chair is that it has an innovative set of Omniflex armrests. These are mounted in their center, the same as most gaming chair armrests are, but they have a unique fold in them that means when you press your weight into them, they have some give, coiling down and putting less stress on your elbows and shoulders. This is, quite honestly, ingenious, and does make a big difference to comfort when leaning on them for hours at a time. I don’t get the occasional trapped nerve or a numb feeling in my elbows like I do with other chairs, and I hope this is a design that’s adopted by other manufacturers.

These armrests are meant to be 4D, but I was sad to learn that wasn’t really the case. They can move up and down, they can rotate up to 215°, they can click back and forward in the same annoying way the Fractal Refine ones do. But they’re missing a vital side-to-side movement.

Herein lies the single biggest problem with the Corsair TC500 Luxe. Other reviewers were right, the armrests of this chair are needlessly far apart. And the worst bit is that a simple sliding hinge that slides them across laterally is all it would take to alleviate this issue, potentially even bolstering this to my new top gaming chair.

Performance

Armrests are often overlooked when you’re shopping for a chair. The main draw is the ergonomics, the comfort, the shape, and size. But armrests are a massive contributor to a healthy sitting position. Because the TC500 Luxe’s armrests are set too wide, even at their narrowest, they actually detract from the posture support this excellent gaming chair gives you. If you sit up with a dignified posture, so you feel a stretch up your spine, and then move your elbows further apart, your chest will sink down as a result, creating an unhealthy slouching position in your upper back.

I often carry stress and tension in my shoulders and traps, and throughout months of testing other seats with armrests that sit straight with my body’s natural sitting position, I’ve not been feeling that of late. Within a week or two of testing the TC500 Luxe, I was feeling that all-too-familiar knot in my right shoulder.

Luckily, the saving grace is that you can rotate the armrests around somewhat, meaning that you will be able to find a more natural sitting position when gaming, but your forearms will poke off of them, never getting their full benefit. It’s also the straw that breaks the camel’s back when you’re using the armrests to stand up and they click out of the one position you found them comfortable in.

I’ve heard of some Redditors and other early adopters drilling holes in their seatbases to move the armrests in further, but this isn’t something you should have to do when spending $500 on a gaming chair from a well-known brand, and I can’t really wrap my head around why the armrest’s most narrow setting is like the widest setting on any other chair. I love that the seatbase is wide because it allows me to either cross one leg under the other, or cross both legs while sitting on it. But that wouldn’t be hampered by armrests that could slide further in.

Other reviewers have said this is quite a firm seat, but as someone who finds the Secretlab options far too firm, I’m not sure I agree on that point. For me, this is akin to the Corsair TC100 Relaxed in that it provides a really great blend of comfort and firmness. Not every chair gets that right, and I applaud Corsair for making something that I can sit in comfortably for long hours. I do still get a numb bum if I stay in a position too long, but it takes a lot longer to pang me than when I’m sitting in a Secretlab Titan Evo.

Should you buy the Corsair TC500 Luxe?

It’d be easy to read my thoughts on Corsair’s armrests and think they’re a dealbreaker. For me, they’re not, but if I had paid for a $500 chair and been met with armrest designs that make little to no sense for a wide range of body types, I certainly wouldn’t be happy.

Fortunately, there’s enough about the Corsair TC500 Luxe that I’m really fond of, so I wouldn’t call the wide armrests a dealbreaker. The premium looks, feel, and a great blend of comfort and firmness add up to a fantastic chair that is competitively priced compared to a lot of high-end options.

And for all its armrest woes, there is some ingenuity at play thanks to Corsair’s omniflex design. This is a chair that stands out for so many reasons, and it’s one I’d easily recommend. I’d just be sending a message to those DIY fixers on Reddit to ask them how I should drill new holes into the seat base.

How I tested the Corsair TC500 Luxe

I parked myself in Corsair’s high-end gaming chair for around a month before this review was written. I assembled it myself in around 20-30 minutes, and didn’t find it too heavy to lift around on my own. I sat in this chair for long hours for remote working during the day, gaming during the evening, and content creation at my desk in my spare time too.

I compared my experience closely with the Corsair TC100 Relaxed since it’s made by the same manufacturer, and with other premium options on the market like the Secretlab Titan Evo, Fractal Refine, and Boulies chairs.

For more on how we test gaming chairs, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Looking to upgrade your gaming space in 2025? Check out the best console gaming chairs, the best gaming desks, and the best VR headsets.

These brands produce some of the best gaming headsets on the market, and Alienware is finally starting to tread on their toes. The Alienware Pro Wireless headset sits in the upper mid-range of the market, at $229.99 / £221.99 it’s a good deal cheaper than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Astro A50 X that dominate the top shelves. And yet it’s considerably more expensive than the majority of mid-range options, territory of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5, Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed, and Turtle Beach Atlas Air.

The Alienware Pro Wireless takes some strong steps to distance itself from these cheaper alternatives. Active noise cancellation, a super comfortable set of cups, and a wider 20Hz - 40kHz frequency range makes for a compelling feature set. I’ve spent the last three months using the latest Alienware cups to see where they sit among the best wireless headsets on the market.

Design

If you thought Alienware only dealt with fantastical designs you can think again. The Pro Wireless is muted compared to the aesthetics of previous releases, with a slimline, low profile design complimented by a soft-touch matte plastic cover and soft, rounded corners. That’s in direct opposition to the chunky, angular frames of yore, and one I prefer for more versatile use. From looks alone, this headset can easily join you through work, commuting, and everyday activities - the detachable microphone might be a pain to keep track of, but without it this looks like any other high-end set of headphones.

The Alienware logo stamped on each side might give you away to fellow gamers in the know, but it’s in-keeping with the style of the headset as a whole, subtle and classy.

That logo sits on the side of each oval-shaped earcup, on a slightly extended section of the can itself. Designers may have been tempted to slip back into old habits with this ledge, but its smooth rounded corners keep those angles toned down and instead creates a more dynamic visual effect that keeps the gentle curves of the wider design.

On the inside of those cups are perhaps the most comfortable cup cushions I’ve ever experienced. The Turtle Beach Atlas Air holds onto the top spot overall in this category, but if I could combine that headset’s floating mesh headband with these memory foam leatherette pads I’d be a very happy player indeed. The contours of the cushions sit perfectly around my ears, never encroaching on the tip or lobe, and provide a tight enough fit to feel secure while never clamping down particularly hard. It’s as close to a perfect balance I’ve ever felt, and despite this material being known for its warmer qualities I never overheated during longer sessions.

That’s surprising, because the actual amount of padding in here isn’t too substantial. You’ll find much chunkier cushioning on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Nova 5 models - but the difference is this memory foam is much more pliable. That means it sits against the side of the head a little easier, bending to whichever shape it needs to be with less resistance behind it.

At 315g, the Alienware Pro Wireless isn’t the lightest headset on the market, or even in my comparison pool. It’s heavier than the Arctis Nova 5, Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed, and Turtle Beach Atlas Air, but brushes just under the 363g weight of the Astro A50 X and 339g Nova Pro Wireless. It’s in the middle of the pack, but still manages to eek towards the top for comfort. While the headband could benefit from a little more padding, it’s easy to adjust and still proves more tolerable than the Asus ROG Delta II.

The Alienware Pro Wireless comes in both black and white (Dark Side of the Moon and Lunar Light if you’re Dell), with an all-plastic construction save for the aluminum headband. I love the finish on this plastic, though - this is far from your average cheap headset material. Most high-end headsets still keep a plastic frame, it’s lighter and more pliable than a slightly sturdier material, but it’s nice to see the Pro Wireless taking steps to feel as premium as its price tag suggests. I much prefer it to the shiny exterior of the Astro A50 X.

The build is solid underneath that coating as well. The headband can withstand a good amount of flexing without creaking and the cushions are pinned to the side of the cups without a single crinkle. That’s one of the bigger benefits over a cheaper headset like the Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed, which - straight out of the box - presented with some joinery issues around the cups. However, I find the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless to be just as flexible (and more) in their durability.

Everything’s looking good for the design of the Alienware Pro Wireless, then, which is why I was so disappointed with one minor design decision. These cups don’t swivel - at all. For a headset that wants to be taken on the road that feels like a major oversight. I usually put my headsets in a backpack with their cups at a full 180 degree angle to keep everything safe (and preferably in a case, which Alienware doesn’t provide either). Without that flexibility it feels a little too risky to keep the Pro Wireless with me wherever I am. It also means the cups don’t sit well when worn around the neck and don’t shape themselves around the side of your head as much. While it ultimately creates a more durable strut design, pretty much every other headset I’ve tested in the last three years has been able to swivel and they’re all still going in my roster.

Features

There are a couple of features in here that you won’t find in too many other gaming headsets. Active noise cancellation, for example, is a particularly rare offering. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is the only other device in my testing pool that carries the feature, and it does so at a much higher price point.

It’s a solid system that works wonders under light and moderate sound loads, though louder, particularly high-frequency noises can still sometimes catch it out. It’s as good as I’ve heard it on the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, though. As with many ANC headphones, there is a faint hum to the overall sound profile, so I’d only recommend using it when you really need to. I can say that fairly easily, though, because even without that extra grunt these cups are particularly impressive in their sound isolation. I can’t hear my own keyboard clacking away as I type this and listen to some chilled lo-fi, and ANC is firmly off.

ANC is easily controlled via a small button on the left cup, where it’s joined by the volume dial and mic mute button. On the right, you’ll find power and connection switches distributed a sensible distance from each other. There’s no chat mix or sidetone controls available on the headset itself, but I do appreciate the simplicity of these controls - especially compared to headsets that load one on top of another.

As is to be expected at this price point (though many headsets still get away with not offering it), the Alienware Pro Wireless supports both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections. You can also connect via the included cable, though note this is a USB-C affair (with a USB-A adapter should you need it) - that means it’s not a particularly console-friendly fallback option. Xbox players need not apply, this is a PC / PlayStation / Nintendo Switch only device.

The included microphone is detachable, which means you won’t have to worry about it when you’re out and about. In previous years that would have been a benefit, but now that SteelSeries and the Razer Kraken V4 have started hiding their mics in retractable pockets it feels a little outdated.

While you’re home, though, that boom mic is one of the Alienware Pro Wireless’s biggest assets. Voice recordings and in-game chat is crystal clear, textured, and robust - in a manner that’s only comparable to the fantastic super wideband mic on the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro. That’s also complimented by ANC noise canceling working to keep your background noise firmly away from your recording space. This also works well, keeping keyboard and mouse clicks out of chat while also taking on larger background noises.

Battery life officially clocks in at 75 hours on Bluetooth without ANC, only dropping to 70 hours over 2.4GHz. That’s a solid runtime that easily beats cheaper options from SteelSeries and Razer, though both the Nova Pro Wireless and Astro A50 X have their own battery workarounds via charging cradles and hot-swappable batteries. You could argue that the Alienware Pro Wireless has its own trick up its sleeve with its 15 minute fast charging, but it’s still behind more premium models in how it handles power overall.

I found that 70 hour rate to ring true during my own testing. During my full battery run (without ANC), I was able to keep the headset alive for around a week and a half, using the headset for music and gaming for between five and eight hours per day. Sporadically switching noise canceling on does drain that charge quicker - the Pro Wireless was dead after five days when using ANC for a couple of hours every now and then.

Everything is controlled via Dell’s Alienware Command Center software, but options in this program are limited. This where you can configure power settings including adjusting the sleep time, set the volume of the main cups and microphone, enable or disable ANC or toggle Transparency Mode, and download the Dolby Atmos software. It’s in this latter app that you’ll actually be tinkering with EQ and choosing different presets. That’s a frustrating split, it’s a small nitpick, but having to rely on two separate pieces of software to alter a $200+ headset’s EQ is disappointing. Most gaming brands host their own settings on their software directly, and Alienware is still catching up in this department.

Performance

Underneath those cushions you’ll find a set of 50mm graphene drivers, similar to those found in high-end sets like the Logitech G Pro X 2 and Corsair Virtuoso Pro. It’s a more stable material that allows for the oscillation of sound waves at higher frequencies to be more controlled, resulting in greater detailing and less distortion at high volumes. Alienware hasn’t implemented these drivers quite as well as other brands.

Unlike the Astro A50 X that benefits from all the above, Dell has tuned these headphones at such a high volume that even a sheet of graphene produces distortion in the upper ranges when pushed to its limit. As a result, I barely made it past 10% volume during my testing - anything much higher simply wasn’t comfortable to listen to and often produced screechy highs and murky lows, with a mid-range that seemed to be caught in the crossfire and lost as a result.

I can’t complain too much, though, with the volume at a reasonable level these things sound incredible. When the volume is kept under control, there’s a particularly energetic interplay between different ranges at work here, with fantastic balancing between them. A powerful low range can thrum up to deep, resonating pumps of bass while the top-end has plenty of space to include finer details as well. I needed to tweak a few settings before getting the most out of this soundstage, but once I upped the bass a little and levelled out the mid-range, music, movies, and games were represented with equally deft handling and plenty of texture.

Horizon Forbidden West is always a struggle for gaming headsets. The game features a particularly clustered mid-range, eeking slightly into a busy low-end with machine sounds. Placing myself squarely in the middle of some roaming beasts, I was impressed with the clarity in the lower-mids - though cranking the volume collapsed the soundstage as the headset started to spin out.

There’s a fantastic sense of atmosphere between these cups, though, proven in my testing across The Last of Us Part 2’s The Descent mission. This smaller soundstage provided a good opportunity for the Pro Wireless to show off its directional audio, but also its textural qualities. There’s enough space in the lower ranges for that looming sense of dread to pervade through this mission, with every lurking enemy’s groans and shuffles echoing between the ears beautifully.

That low end is well and truly put to the test in Doom Eternal. With Dolby Atmos on PC I did prefer my experience at my desktop in this game - being able to fine-tune the EQ for these metal-heavy runs is a must, and without these individual settings a lot of information was lost on PS5. The bass is slightly weaker by default, and the game didn’t pack the same punch as a result.

Directional imaging and accuracy is impressive, with a clear and distinct sense of placement and movement in both CS:2 and Apex Legends. Audio information isn’t quite as detailed as the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro in this regard, but it’s still impressive.

Should you buy the Alienware Pro Wireless?

The Alienware Pro Wireless occupies a tricky spot in the current headset market. It’s cheaper than the reigning premium champions but drops a few of those luxurious features, while being more expensive than the traditional mid-range and adding its own extras into the mix. This isn’t the only device in this spot - I’ve recently finished reviewing the Asus ROG Delta II at the same MSRP. It does, however, work much harder than others to justify its position. Active noise cancellation, a supremely comfortable cup design, fantastic sound performance, and a rich, vibrant microphone make this a must-see for anyone looking to splash a bit more cash than usual on an audio upgrade.

I’d primarily recommend the Alienware Pro Wireless to PC players over those on console. While its comfortable form factor could make it one of the best PS5 headsets in isolation, tweaks only available in Dolby Atmos, and the USB-C cable required for wired listening, mean PC players are going to see the biggest benefits. If you regularly swap between PC and PS5 you’re still going to have a great time here, with the added benefit of ANC and a more versatile form factor.

If you want more flexible microphone integration, the freedom of a hot-swappable battery (no more charging), and still excellent audio quality, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is still the better buy, and current sale prices tend to dip it down to around $279.99 at the moment anyway.

How I tested the Alienware Pro Wireless

I used the Alienware Pro Wireless over a period of three months, testing alongside the Asus ROG Delta II and SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. During that time I spent one month exclusively using the Pro Wireless for all daily work and play, primarily running the headset across Ghostwire Tokyo (PS5, PC), Fallout 4 (PC), Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (PC), Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (PC), and Oxenfree 2 (PC). I also performed our usual tests across Horizon Forbidden West (PS5), The Last of Us Part 2 (PS5), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5), Doom Eternal (PC, PS5), and both CS2 and Apex Legends (PC). For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

We’re also rounding up all the best Xbox Series X headsets as well as the best Nintendo Switch headsets - or check out more of the best PC headsets on the market.

In an alternate timeline, I’d be poking fun at the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and its $999 / £979 MSRP. There’s still part of me who thinks it’s absurd to pay anywhere near a grand for a GPU, but in a world where the flagship RTX 5090 costs the same as a half-decent used car, it’s now the going rate for the best graphics card options with solid 4K capabilities. Comparatively, the new Blackwell card is also pretty appealing compared to the OG RTX 4080 seeing as that card boldly stepped on stage wearing a bold $1,199 price tag.

The RTX 5080 reassures me that Nvidia has listened to PC gaming heckling over the past few years, and I’m glad we’re not seeing a repeat of the two-tier 4080 fiasco from last time. I firmly believe that 80-class cards are vital, and while I suspect more players will be looking to buy an RTX 5070 for price-related reasons, recommending the RTX 5080 to premium players isn’t going to torment my soul.

Specs

Armed with a new Blackwell GB203 GPU, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 benefits from the green team’s next-generation architecture. The chip is packing fifth-gen 336 tensor and 84 fourth-gen ray tracing cores - an uplift compared to the RTX 4080 Super’s third and fourth-gen ensemble. On the CUDA side of things, you’re getting 10,752 cores, which isn’t too far off the 10,240 included with last-gen 80-series Super cards.

As for memory, the RTX 5080 arrives with faster GDDR7 modules while sticking with 16GB VRAM. This leaves a rather large gap between the 32GB included with the flagship RTX 5090 and its 80-series counterpart, and I’m surprised the card didn’t aim to match the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 in terms of capacity. Whether you’d actually benefit right now from 24GB instead is another thing, but all it takes is a new PC release to munch more memory than it should to cause system requirement headaches.

The RTX 5080 features a 380W TDP - an increase of around 60W compared to the RTX 4080 Super. That shouldn’t be enough to cause too much power supply upset across the board, but it is worth taking note of if you’re already pushing your PSU to the limit. It’s also not as egregious as the jump from RTX 4090 to RTX 5090, as the new frontrunner guzzles a tremendous 575W.

Design

If you asked me what I thought the RTX 5080 Founders Edition would look like around a year ago, I’d have said it’d be the same size as a full-fat PS2. It’s safe to say I was overjoyed upon carefully lifting the graphics card out of its new eco-friendly prison, as it’s thinner than both the RTX 4080 Super and the OG card.

That’s right, two-slot GPUs are back, baby, and while the RTX 5090 uses the same shroud, it still feels like the right size for an 80-class card. Nvidia has completely won me over with the look of this card, as it looks incredibly slick compared to previous Founders Edition releases and the monstrous-looking custom cards haunting many rigs out there. From its new angled connector that gently steers its 12-pin power port off to the right to its minimized heatsinks, this card is a looker.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, surely the thermals are compromised as a result? Well, Nvidia has actually rejigged its internal design by ditching its previous approach. Traditionally, graphics cards feature a single PCB (printed circuit board), but the green team has separated things into three boards for the 50-series. By isolating the GPU and VRAM modules away from the PCIe connector and video out IO, the company has found a way to better supply the heatsinks with more intentional airflow rather than just having the fans blast air within and hope for the best.

Simply put, Nvidia has modernized its GPU design and conjured up something that’s both smaller and runs cooler. That in itself is praiseworthy, and I’m keen on how it’ll affect the graphics card scene at large. More importantly, it could bury the notion of massive GPUs being mandatory once and for all, and it’ll hopefully lead to future graphics cards getting even smaller.

There is still a 12-pin elephant in the room in regard to Nvidia’s power connector, and while I’ve acclimatized to using a dongle, it’s still a pain. The aforementioned angled connector helps somewhat in terms of case space, but you’ll still need to deal with intrusive wires at the forefront of your rig.

Features

Nvidia and AI are practically synonymous in 2025, so it’s hardly surprising that the tech is an RTX 5080 selling point. You could argue that tools like DLSS and Frame Generation are becoming a mandatory part of PC gaming seeing as the fps boost is extremely hard to ignore, and the green team’s 80-series card has me questioning whether the days of native graphics are numbered.

Not every game supports it, but just like the RTX 40 series, the RTX 5080 is armed with Frame Generation abilities. Only this time, Nvidia has stepped things up a notch with “Multi-Frame Generation,” an RTX 50-series exclusive trick that produces three frames for every single rendered frame. It’s not too dissimilar from the version included with DLSS 3.5, but rather than effectively doubling fps, the tech is boosting fps even further by predicting what’s coming next.

Rather than waiting for Multi-Frame Generation support to come to a bunch of PC games, it can be instead injected into virtual adventures with existing DLSS 3.5 support. That’s pretty neat seeing as there are already 75 romps out there compatible with the RTX feature, and new releases will likely land with support baked in throughout 2025.

There’s room for debate over whether frames dreamed up by AI are a legitimate performance boost. Frame Generation might feel like magic, but it’s not immune to occasional artifacts and visual weirdness, which act as a Matrix-style black cat moment. I’ll get into my specific experience with the RTX 5080 soon, but the tech in general has come a long way since the early days of DLSS upscaling, and I’m finding less reason to leave it off with every iteration.

Of course, DLSS 4 has more strings to its bow than Multi-Frame Generation, as it boasts all the same abilities as DLSS 3.5. Ray reconstruction, Super Resolution, and Deep Learning Anti Aliasing (DLAA) are all ready and waiting to spruce up your visuals and boost fps, while Nvidia Reflex support is waiting to kick latency issues to the curb.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes to DLSS in its fourth iteration applies to its AI model, as Nvidia is now using Transformer - the same architecture as Google Gemini and ChatGPT. No, that doesn’t mean your graphics card is now a chatbot, nor does it mean you’ll have any additional AI weirdness being injected into your games. Instead, the model improves fidelity through tackling temporal stability, ghosting, and quirks tied to motion. Simply put, you should see less visual shenanigans as a result of generated frames or upscaling.

It's well worth giving a nod to the new Nvidia App too, as the new hub has simplified access to all the green team's GPU settings and features. It pretty much performs the same duties as the old GeForce Experience kit, but provides a more user-friendly way to change visual settings rather than diving into Control Panel. It also serves as centralised place to mess with features like the Nvidia Overlay in addition to the card's AI-powered Broadcast streaming abilities and various other tools.

Performance

Testing the RTX 5080 was a bit of a surreal experience. Don’t get me wrong, I was expecting some modest performance increases compared to the RTX 4080 Super, but Nvidia DLSS 4 effectively poked fun at even my most demanding test scenarios with ridiculous frames during benchmarking. I'll be benchmarking even more games and adding the results to this review soon, but I've already got plenty of frame rates to share with DLSS on and off.

Regardless of your thoughts on AI tricks, it’s hard to argue against using DLSS 4 when it has the ability to pull off such stunts as running Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K with RT Overdrive setting enabled while still hitting 185fps. Effectively, the feature helps the RTX 5080 access path tracing without breaking much of a sweat - something that will even stress out the RTX 4090 armed with vanilla Frame Generation.

I admittedly wouldn’t recommend playing Cyberpunk 2077 on PC without some sort of DLSS assistance. While native performance usually isn’t an issue with ray tracing out of the equation, that all changes with the lighting setting switched on. What I’m trying to say is that while the RTX 5080 hitting just 35fps at 4K with ray tracing switched on looks bad, no one is going to be roaming around Night City without at least Super Sampling switched on. I mean, are you really going to pass up enjoying a 247fps average with Multi-Frame Generation enabled? I think not.

No, that’s not a typo, Multi-Frame Generation really does ramp up fps to triple digits with 4X enabled. You can scale things back to 3X or 2X if you want to stress out your GPU more, but you’re not going to necessarily see a visual difference. I struggled to find anything to grumble about in terms of artifacts while using DLSS 4, and that includes the usual offenders like strange-looking blades of grass and messy mesh fences. The only thing I did pick on was an occasional softness on passing objects when blazing through the streets on a motorbike, but that’s what I get for speeding.

Dragon Age The Veilguard serves as another RPG that gets a performance revamp via DLSS 4. Without Multi-Frame Generation, the RTX 5080 pulls off a respectable 66fps with 4K ultra ray tracing settings enabled. Flick the AI switch, and you’re talking 261fps, which is an absurd leap in performance. You’d think that sort of trickery would come with fidelity caveats attached, but after much starring at the finer details of the game’s opening area, I couldn’t find anything out of place. If anything, using frage generation strangely helped combat some distracting glowing gold bowls that should have been elegantly bouncing nearby fire pit glow. Huh.

Okay, let’s step away from DLSS 4 for a bit, as Nvidia’s party trick isn’t going to apply to every scenario. In some of my benchmarking favorites like Hitman 3, I was able to squeeze out higher frame rates using the RTX 5080 compared to the RTX 4080 Super without the use of upscaling. At 4K, we’re taking native results of 164fps compared to 133fps via the Lovelace card. That’s a nice result considering we’ve left DLSS out of the equation, and I’m even pretty impressed with the 10fps increase found with ray tracing switched on (39fps versus 48fps). Naturally, you’ll want to use AI upscaling to hit a much more palatable 133fps instead, especially since the 4080 Super only managed 105fps. But hey, I’m pretty happy with even the native punches being thrown here.

As a control game of sorts, I always put GPUs to work running Total War: Warhammer 3. The RTS romp features no DLSS or ray tracing support, meaning it can paint a more traditional performance picture in terms of graphics card abilities. The RTX 5080 faired pretty well in my usual 4K ultra tests, providing a respectable 87fps average that’s pleasing close to my typical RTX 4090 results (around 95fps).

I’ve been playing a bit of Marvel Rivals lately, so it felt only right to put the RTX 5080 to work running the hero shooter. Normally, I wouldn’t play an FPS game like this at 4K or with any upscaling trickery enabled, but DLSS 4 makes for a ridiculous experience. Without it, you’ll be playing at around 65fps, but Multi-Frame Generation ramps that up to a frankly ridiculous 312fps. That’s more than enough to satiate some of the best gaming monitors out there right now with 4K 240Hz abilities, and if you want to go even faster, you’ll be able to reach 563fps at 1080p.

The takeaway from all those benchmarks is that DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation provide an unprecedented performance uplift. Strip away the AI superpowers, and you’re still looking at a modest native lift that places the RTX 5080 somewhere between the RTX 4080 Super and RTX 4090.

Yes, it would be nice to see the RTX 5080 match or surpass Nvidia’s former flagship, but keep in mind you’re getting a slimmed-down card with a more efficient cooler for the same price as the RTX 4080 Super. It also has comparative efficiency on its side thanks to its 360W TDP, whereas the RTX 4090 guzzles 450W.

As for temperatures, the RTX 5080 keeps things comfortably cool under load, and I rarely witnessed the GPU reach that far past 70°C. More often than not, I’d find the GPU setting at around 65°C, and that includes while handling Cyberpunk 2077 in RT Overdrive mode. Those nice thermals aren’t attached to any noisy fan efforts either, so you won’t have to worry about a chorus of loud hums disrupting your setup zen.

One thing that caught my ear, however, was some light coil whining. You’ll only encounter this audible phenomenon when running games at a higher frame rate than your monitor supports, but it’s something I’ve not heard since using the GTX 970. It’s not quite as aggressive as that old GPU and pretty easy to ignore, but still worth noting if you pick up on even the slightest rig noises.

Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition?

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 might live in the shadow of its overachieving RTX 5090 sibling, but it’s ultimately the 4K graphics card you should buy this generation. The Founders Edition specifically will furnish your PC with a sleeker GPU with better cooling and a more attractive aesthetic, and while the native performance leap compared to the RTX 4080 Super isn’t revolutionary, DLSS 4 and Multi-Generation could fundamentally change how we view frame rates and performance.

I won’t lie, I’m not entirely comfortable with AI seeping into the PC gaming scene. That’s putting it lightly, and I’d rather avoid a world where I’m washing the dishes while a machine sits and enjoys my Steam library for me (humorous exaggeration). However, as a standalone GPU feature that runs locally rather than relying on a planet-destroying supercomputer in a remote location, DLSS 4 serves to help more players successfully run games with a premium kick, and it helps turn the RTX 5080 into a card that would otherwise be years in the making.

How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition

For a week, I used the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 in my main gaming PC, using the graphics card for benchmarking, casual gameplay, and general use. During that time, I took note of aspects like fan noise and temperatures in addition to carrying out separate benchmarks on a variety of games. I specifically tested the next-gen GPU’s 4K Ultra abilities in Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman 3, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Total War: Warhammer 3, and Marvel Rivals.

For more information on how we test graphics cards and other PC components, check out our full GamesRadar+ hardware policy.

Looking to pick up a next-gen GPU? Check out where to buy the RTX 5090 and where to buy the RTX 5080. Alternatively, swing by the best Alienware gaming PCs if you want an out-of-this-world rig that’s ready to go.

Things are swiftly switched up though as some neat disc scratching launches the song into a full rap, which can only be described as a certified bop. Trust me, you won't be pressing that 'skip intro' button on any episode of this new series – new theme 'Neighbor Like Me', by The Math Club featuring Relaye and Melo Makes Music, has more than earned that respect. Blending the old with the new in a fun way, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's energetic theme is the perfect indicator of what this series is. And the best news? It only gets better from here on in.

With great freedom, comes great responsibility

Depicting Peter Parker's early days as Spider-Man, the show follows the teenager as he finds his feet both at school and on the streets fighting crime. Crucially this tale isn't MCU canon; instead, the events take place on an alternate timeline. Although some fans may still long to see how Tom Holland's web-slinger developed his superpowers, freeing Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man from the constraints of the Sacred Timeline gives it significant freedom. However, with great freedom, comes great responsibility.

Thankfully, showrunner Jeff Trammell more than proves that he is the right man for this job, crafting a series that Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko would be proud of. Taking full advantage of the fact that this show isn't part of the MCU canon, Trammell reimagines key events from Peter's story, putting a fresh spin on familiar beats whilst paying homage to what has come before.

Arguably the best example of this is that here Tony Stark isn't Peter's mentor, instead Norman Osborn is. 'But Norman Osborn is classic Spider-Man villain Green Goblin', I hear you cry. Well, fellow web-heads, here Osborn takes Peter under his wing, essentially becoming Peter's "guy in the chair" on his Spidey adventures – to borrow a term from the MCU's Ned. Hell, we even see a shot-for-shot remix of a classic Tony Stark scene from Civil War, but instead it's Norman Osborn in his place.

It's certainly unexpected, but is a smart move from Trammell who cleverly subverts our expectations, with the evolving relationship between Peter and Norman easily being a stand-out. All eyes will certainly be on the pair as let's just say that Norman's investment in Peter might not ultimately be in the young hero's best interests, making their alliance a fascinating one to follow as Norman's motivations are explored like never before.

This new take on Norman Osborn allows voice actor Colman Domingo, who recently received an Oscar nomination for his performance in brilliant prison drama Sing Sing, to really flex his muscles, making the Oscorp billionaire a charming presence we can't help but admire, despite knowing the character's comic book history. Given that we usually see Norman depicted as a monstrous cackling villain, it's refreshing to see this interpretation, although Domingo does bring in some crucial edge to serve as a reminder that Osborn might not be a good guy after all.

Working it out on the remix

That's just one of the many ways that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man remixes both MCU and Marvel Comics lore, ensuring that it has something new to offer viewers, serving as a much needed breath of fresh air at a time where audiences might be feeling the effects of superhero fatigue.

Fans will enjoy the nods to MCU history that are scattered throughout the show, from the remixed shot-for-shot scene we mentioned earlier to references to key events such as the ratification of the Sokovia Accords. It's also great to hear some familiar voices, most prominently Charlie Cox as Daredevil who returns here to bring to life an alternate version of Matt Murdock. His dynamic action scenes will only make you more excited for upcoming Marvel show Daredevil: Born Again, which can't come quickly enough now that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has reignited that superhero spark.

In fact, the show is chock-a-block full with characters from the comics, as alternate versions of Doctor Strange and Iron Man pop up, whilst deeper cuts like Speed Demon and Unicorn also appear – Trammell really said 'you want cameos, we've got them'! Crucially though while the show's cast list is absolutely stacked, the cameos never really feel like they are there just for the sake of it and it's a joy to see characters that are rarely depicted on-screen be brought to life here.

Showrunner Trammell remembers though that the beating heart of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man isn't the cameos nor is it just Peter, but the friends and family that surround him. Peter's crush Pearl (Cathy Ang), Norman's son Harry Osborn (Zeno Robinson), and our hero's ever loving Aunt May (Kari Wahlgreen) are all brilliant members of a fantastic supporting cast, forming an important part of Peter's support network.

Taking big swings

However, it is Peter's friends Nico (Grace Song) and Lonnie (Eugene Byrd) who will ultimately steal audiences' hearts. Not only do both voice actors give impressive performances, but the characters have lovingly crafted storylines that allow them to really grow over the season. As Nico and Peter's friendship hits various obstacles, she learns how to open herself up to others, exposing her vulnerabilities even though every bone in her body is telling her not to. Meanwhile Lonnie feels forced to make difficult choices wanting to do the best he can for his struggling family, which sets the Midtown star football player on a whole new journey that leads to him colliding with Peter in unexpected ways. It's Lonnie's tale that is by far the most emotional in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

The star of the show though is the web-slinger himself, with voice actor Hudson Thames perfectly capturing both awkward Peter and brave Spidey. Of course, that's not exactly a surprise given that he reprises the role from Marvel's What If…?, but it's still great to see Thames be given more room to explore the many nuances of Peter Parker. From the opening scene alone it's easy to understand why Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes ever – if not the most popular period – with Peter instantly winning us over with his charisma, dorkiness, and humble heroics. The most rewarding aspect of Trammell's take on Spidey here though is seeing him at the start of his superhero journey and how those around him help mold our web-slinger into the hero we all know and love. Although cliche, there really is no 'I' in 'team'.

Seeing Spidey swing through New York City really does never get old, especially when it is dynamically animated as it is in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Opting for a stripped back, comic book aesthetic, the show really does look like comic pages if they moved, with the series often using effects such as split screens to help emphasize that vibe. For the most part the bright, colorful, and cartoonish visuals work, instantly grabbing the eye whilst suiting the show's overall fresh feel. However, during more emotional scenes the animation lets the side down, with the simplicity being unable to capture the deep feelings the characters should be conveying. At times it just feels a little stiff, unable to match the complexity of the story.

The animation style is one of many big swings Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man takes and it's arguably the only one that slightly falters. One of the best superhero shows we have seen from Marvel, Trammell and co. have not only given us a fresh take on Spider-Man, but one that does justice to the character that is truly worth your time. As the credits roll on a thrilling finale, you'll be glad to learn that a second season is already in the works as, trust me, you'll be wanting more.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is out now on Disney Plus with the first two episodes. Don't miss a beat with our handy Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man release schedule.

For more to add to your watch list, here's our recommendations for the best shows on Disney Plus.

In reality, though, their minute frames and frequentlyfiddly buttons often make for a cramped experience, and my speed and precision suffers. I wouldn’t put the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless in this camp. Despite its name, it’s a far cry from the squat mini mice on the market right now. In fact, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this rodent for previous Model O and Model D releases, but its ever so slightly more svelt design makes it a must-see for those after a more compact shape without the sacrifices.

That doesn’t mean it’s without competition. At $99.99 / £89.99, it’s muscling its way into a lineup of some of the best gaming mouse models on the market. The excellent value Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed ($99.99 / £99.99) is available at the same rate, after all, and the Endgame Gear OP1 8K packs a much harder performance punch by sacrificing wireless connectivity at $74.99 / £69.99. Not only that, but Glorious has mice posing a threat within its own collection; the Glorious Model D 2 Wireless matches the O 2 Mini’s $99.99 MSRP.

Design

With the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless sitting right next to the D 2, it’s clear this brand has found a recipe and stuck to it. The cutouts lining the rear hump, RGB strips across each side, heavier cutouts framing the main click buttons, and even the Glorious stamp in the center have all carried over from other models in the range. So much so, that from photography alone I’d struggle to tell the difference.

The O 2 Mini does make its own changes. The D2 features hexagonal cut-outs along the back panel, whereas the newer model shrinks things down to circles. I’ve never been a massive fan of honeycomb designs, I appreciate they keep weight down and add breathability during longer sessions, but I’ve always hated the feel of that holed texture against my palm. It’s a problem that’s subsided in recent years, and brands have worked out ways to keep the main chassis feeling smooth while still keeping these vents in action. The Model D 2, for example, is perfectly comfortable with its larger grills - the Model O 2 Mini Wireless’s smaller circular holes even more so. That’s likely more down to the shape of the mouse than the cutouts themselves, though.

The highest point (the very top of the dome) measures in at 355mm on the Model O 2 Mini Wireless, compared to the 430mm height on the Model D. That’s a much shorter slope, with a narrower 623mm width at the rear (compared to 680mm). As a result, the Model O 2 Mini fits a claw and fingertip grip much better than a palm hold, which means my hand was generally hovering over this back panel anyway.

Those aren’t exactly tiny measurements, but they do err on the ‘mini’ side of the market compared to similar models. Out of my comparison pool, the Model O 2 Mini has the lowest dome of the pack, and while it’s 1mm longer than the Endgame Gear OP1 8K, it’s slightly more compact than the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed across all dimensions, and considerably so when held next to the D 2. It neatly nestles into my hand with all buttons easily accessible at a twitch reflex, making for a particularly nimble hold.

I still wouldn’t necessarily class this as a ‘mini’ mouse, though - and doing so may be doing a disservice to this fantastic form factor. Yes, it’s smaller than the majority of slimline pointers on the market, but compared to compact options like the Logitech G705 it’s a giant.

There’s another benefit to shrinking that waistline and cutting those holes; the Glorious Model O 2 Mini manages to keep its weight down to 57g - impressive for a wireless gaming mouse with a strong battery life. In-hand, its weight is well distributed with no pulling to the rear, as is sometimes seen in mid-range devices, and its handling in lift-off and high-DPI situations is similar to that of a far more premium pointer. It’s not the lightest in the pack, though, the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed has it beat with its 55g form factor (and no honeycomb structure), while the wired Endgame Gear OP1 8K drops things down to 50g without a battery to consider.

Like the other mice in this comparison pool, the O 2 Mini keeps things lightweight without sacrificing build quality. Everything feels sturdy in the hand, with no creaks or flexing from additional pressure placed at the sides or along the top of the main chassis. The plastic construction keeps things zippy but every join is neat with no harsh edges. My only concern is one shared across other honeycomb mice, but particularly with the array of holes on the bottom of the Model O 2 Mini. They could quickly gather dust and debris during regular use, clogging up the inside of the mouse without an easy way to clean. Still, I’ve been using this device for a couple of months now and I haven’t noticed any buildup.

Features

One of my favorite things about the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed (and the reason it still sits among the best mice available) is the fact that its spec sheet is lean. You’re not paying for fancy DPI or polling features that everyday players won’t make use of. The exact same is true of the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless. It packs the brand’s BAMF 2.0 optical sensor (at 26K DPI, 650 IPS), space for three onboard profiles, 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, a maximum polling rate of 1,000Hz, adjustable lift-off distance and debounce settings, and customizable RGB lighting. You’re not getting the 8K wireless polling of more premium mice like the Razer Viper V3 Pro, but if you’re an everyday player you likely won’t need (or notice) it.

Instead, you’re getting all the personalization options you need to keep your usual macros to hand with a slick optical sensor at the helm and a few extra tweaks on the side. In fact, that sensor is actually faster than the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed when it comes to inches-per-second tracking speed, with Razer’s option tapping out at 500 IPS. That means faster movements are tracked with more accuracy on Glorious’s pointer.

The Model O 2 also beats the DeathAdder in the connection department. While the former is limited to Razer’s 2.4GHz dongle and a wired mode, Glorious adds support for Bluetooth as well. This isn’t going to be as fast as the receiver input, but makes for a more versatile package overall - especially if you also need a mouse for productivity on the go.

Glorious advertises its battery at 110 hours on 2.4GHz and 210 hours in Bluetooth mode. On paper, that beats far more expensive mice (both the $159.99 / £159.99 Razer Viper V3 Pro and Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 will die after 95 hours on 2.4GHz). There’s a problem here, though. The software is a little… janky in how it handles the battery. During my complete battery run downs I often rely on an app’s battery indicator to measure performance day to day, but Core either told me I was at 100% on another random percentage for a full day at a time. I was never able to get a truly accurate read due to this issue, but I was able to run the mouse via 2.4GHz on 50% brightness for around a week and a half of work and play. That’s about the same as the DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, even though Razer’s mouse has a slightly lower advertised battery life.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Glorious Core software while reviewing the Glorious GMMK 3 keyboard, but menus are far more streamlined when dealing with a mouse. In fact, other than the DPI tab, I’d say this was one of the more intuitive programs on the market - and it’s all clutter-free without those horrible ads (I’m looking at you SteelSeries).

There are five sections, with the first acting as a homepage displaying firmware updates, battery life, and the option to switch between the three onboard profiles available. The Settings tab is straightforward, allowing for polling rate configuration (up to 1,000Hz in increments of 125Hz, 250Hz, and 500Hz), lift-off distance (choose between 1mm and 2mm), and debounce time (a sliding scale up to 16ms). Those ranges aren’t the largest in the world, Razer will give you a more granular level of detail, but I was able to cover everything I usually would at a basic level for day to day play.

There’s only one zone of RGB lighting in those strips, but there are a range of different effects to choose from. These LEDs are bright, crisp, and changing colors are represented with an impressive clarity as well. I’m also a big fan of the way these lights dance across the inside of the pointer (visible due to those honeycomb holes). It’s the subtlety of this effect that I most admire, the SteelSeries Aerox 5 attempted something similar, but ended up with blobs of color that look clunky and cheap by comparison.

Keybinding is as smooth a process as any, with six programmable inputs spread across the two main clicks, two side buttons, scroll wheel, and DPI shifter button located in the center. I kept this middle clicker firmly set to DPI, it’s a blessing it’s there at all with so many similarly priced mice abandoning the feature or awkwardly placing it on the bottom panel. Both the Endgame Gear OP 1 8K and the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed omit this clicker, and it’s a shame.

Unfortunately, the DPI settings slider is less than straightforward. At first glance everything looks painless, six settings are available to cycle through, each indicated by its own color also represented on the bottom of the mouse when selected. However, there’s no way to individually edit the DPI settings of each preset once added - clicking on the actual number simply sets it as the default operating mode, and the scale presented at the bottom is simply for initial setup, there’s no sliding these markers around once you’re done. That means every time I want to tweak a DPI setting I found myself deleting the whole roster, only to go through and re-set them one by one.

Performance

Glorious’s BAMF sensor holds up well in-game, and its own brand main click switches offer a crisp but still smooth feel that I particularly enjoyed. Coming from the heavier clackers of the Glorious Series 2 Pro, these nifty switches felt like a rest but still managed to offer a level of tension to be satisfying with every snap. It makes for comfortable and bouncy repeat presses, with the strength to avoid accidental clicks baked in.

Tracking was super reliable and precise across a range of different DPI settings. I was able to maintain my regular level of accuracy across Apex Legends during faster scenarios, and was impressed with the responsive acceleration considering the size and weight of the mouse at hand. Faster flicks were registered well and tracking accuracy was maintained at high-speed. That’s all compounded by a set of particularly smooth PTFE feet that glide with a slick floating feel and for effortless motion in both claw and fingertip grips.

The lower hump of the chassis also means I was able to keep a better sense of control while in a claw grip. The narrower design often means more strain is placed on the pinky and thumb, but with a little extra space between my palm and the main body I found I was able to pivot the sensor quickly and easily using these two fingers. It makes finer mouse sweeps a lot more controlled, perfect for lining up headshots on a moving target. A mouse with a higher dome often gets in the way of this motion, knocking against the side of my palm before I’m able to get through a full wiggle.

The 1,000Hz polling rate never held me back in-game - inputs were never missed and tracking was as reliable as I’ll need it to be at my own play speed. I’d argue most players will be at this level as well, it’s only once you’re at the top of an esports competitive league that you’ll really feel the benefits of a faster 4,000Hz or 8,000Hz rate. However, if you’re getting near to that level it’s worth noting that the Endgame Gear OP1 8K’s rate is much faster.

Should you buy the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless?

Every now and then I come across a gaming mouse that feels like it should stick around past its reviewing phase. I keep all mice firmly tucked away and rotate through them when I’m not reviewing a new model, but some are so well-tuned to my own playstyle and grip preferences that I tend to keep them out of their boxes a little longer than necessary. The Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless is one of those mice, and if your needs match up to mine you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this compact pointer.

The skinny, low-profile form factor is one my small-medium / small hands can easily wrap around while still maintaining a high-level of control. If you sometimes struggle to hit side buttons or place unnecessary strain on your pinky and ring finger (a common side-effect of using a mouse too large) during longer sessions, I’d recommend the O 2 Mini over the other mice in this competition pool straight away.

Outside of that form factor, things get a little more complicated. The 26K DPI sensor and 1,000Hz polling rate served me particularly well in my current playlist of single-player action adventure titles (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Fallout 4) and held up for my casual Apex Legends and CS2 testing as well. Those are specs that will provide better players than me with plenty of runway to improve their accuracy and speed, while still sticking to a price that makes sense if you have a more casual library as well. Still, if you’re a regular at the top of the pack and have your sights set on improving every fraction of your competitive gameplay, the Endgame Gear OP1 8K provides better value for money overall with its 8K polling rate, lower weight, and wired design.

The real match up here is between the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless and the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed. Both offer the same thing fundamentally, a well-priced mid-range mouse that drops high-end features everyday players won’t use while still offering a comfortable, speedy, and customizable experience. Their sensor performance is similar, though the Model O 2 Mini Wireless does benefit from a faster IPS speed. The DeathAdder is, however, slightly lighter without needing the honeycomb cutouts. At the end of the day, if you’re not concerned about finding the right form factor for a smaller hand, Razer does offer slightly more bang for your buck when it comes to the useful sensor features that are included.

The mouse’s Dynamic Sensitivity setting became invaluable in my testing, allowing the sensor to read its own tracking speed and adjust DPI as necessary. That, plus the nifty sensor orientation smarts, makes it the better value in this price range overall - assuming you prefer a taller dome design. If you’re not fussed with these extra tweaks, the onboard DPI shifter, and RGB lighting may turn the tide in Glorious’s favor.

How I tested the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless

I used the Glorious Model O 2 Mini Wireless as my go-to gaming mouse over a period of two months. During that time I was testing for comparison with the Razer BlackShark V3 Hyperspeed, Endgame Gear OP1 8K, and Glorious Model D 2. I primarily played across Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Fallout 4, with dedicated testing in Apex Legends and CS2. For more information on how we test gaming mice, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

For alternative brands, check out the best Razer mice and the best Logitech gaming mouse models available. Or, take a look at the best mouse pads for gaming to truly optimize your setup.

You play as Brynn, an enthusiastic young Weaver (basically, a spellcaster). Unfortunately, Brynn lives in one of those surprisingly common fantasy universes where everyone hates magic users. There's been a major magical calamity called the Surge – the first of many proper nouns in the plot – that's basically gotten every magic user cancelled. After a brief prologue, Brynn and a caravan of equally chipper companions end up inside the area where the Surge kicked off. Time to start researching what happened by seeking out monsters to kill, resources to plunder, lore to skim through, etc. There's a world to explore and big enemies to fell, Yellow Brick Games taking more than a few notes from Monster Hunter World and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – though that's no bad thing.

Casting a spell

It's a colorful but somewhat overfamiliar fantasy world that feels very Fortnite, with its cartoony aesthetic and admirable amount of destructible structures. Combat is the usual hacky slashy affair with a sword and shield, with the option of using a bow for ranged action. So far, so basic. Far more interesting are the spells that Brynn has in her back pocket. You start off with one that can grab and hurl objects and enemies, much like the game-changing Half Life 2 gravity gun. Somehow even better is Ice Wall, which lets you fire torrents of the frozen stuff that can provide protective barriers, as well as locking enemies in place.

Not every spell you gain is spectacular, but there's some seriously inventive and joyous magic to be found if you poke around. I'm particularly fond of the little fiery companion you can summon to distract and fight enemies. I'll even forgive his annoying habit of exploding when he dies, often with me in the blast radius. I adore Kinetic Blast, a circle of kinetic energy that you can make nice and big on the battlefield, then trigger whenever you wish to send foes – and yourself – flying. It's great for removing shields or just smugly ejector-seating monsters towards bottomless pits.

New spells unlock at a decent clip and there's plenty here to keep combat consistently enjoyable and varied. I like that your fire and ice spells are deadly to yourself if used carelessly too, forcing you to think rather than just hold down the 'burn everything' button. Even the duller swordplay gets better once you find blueprints for more interesting weaponry out in the field. Collect enough resources and you'll be able to craft a two-handed weapon that shoots waves of ice, or a brilliant sword and shield combo that also messes with gravity to make enemies spin around helplessly in your orbit. There's plenty of rubbish blueprints too, naturally, but more than enough good finds to incentivize exploration, each new pickup making you think about the possibilities.

That exploration uses a climbing system that's been pilfered from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Basically any vertical surface can be climbed, so long as you keep an eye on your stamina meter. Eternal Strands is a much less strict parent than Zelda, too, with more generous stamina and few qualms about letting you scurry across ceilings Spider-Man style. It's a little jankier than Nintendo's masterpiece, but reliable enough to be forgivable.

Less so is the world you explore with it. There's a reason Nintendo filled Hyrule with loads of Koroks to find and secrets to uncover. Scaling Eternal Strands' tallest trees and highest peaks is often rewarded with… nothing at all. It feels like a missed opportunity, given the climbing you're capable of and how central finding new weapon and armor blueprints is to the game's core loop. Making falling into a bottomless chasm an instant game over, punished with losing a lot of your gathered resources, also seems a little overly harsh for a game that otherwise clearly wants to encourage exploration. Especially annoying when so many enemy attacks throw you into the skies. Fatal plummets are common.

Big Bads

The clear highlight of the game is far and away the fights with the Great Foes. Gigantic monsters that stalk each area, often brilliantly introduced with a brief cutscene that shows off their sheer scale and power. I'm delighted to report they meet the hype. Many can take off most of your health with one foot stomp and are more than happy to prove it. You have to clamber up them and pick away at their health bar with your pathetic sword strikes (or your much mightier magic, naturally), all while keeping a watchful eye for counterattacks.

Often they'll try and shake you off, but you don't have to worry about that. Because the game helpfully shouts "hold triangle to cling" at you about a month in advance. It's irritating that they didn't just let the monsters' impeccable animations do the talking. Luckily, it's the overly helpful exception, and the rest of these encounters do rely on you paying careful attention. To your stamina, to the temporary weak point you're currently exploiting, and to that massive monster hand that is about to grab you. There's great tension here because you're only ever a few stupid mistakes from downing all your health potions and having to flee to get more while the Great Foe happily chases you across the level. Each one you take out rewards you with a new spell too, more than enough encouragement to run head-on into the game's toughest encounters.

Is it a significant leap from Shadow of the Colossus, the 20-year old PlayStation 2 game it's cribbing from? Well, Colossus' fights were more about puzzling how to reach a colossi's weak point, whereas the more generous anything-can-be-climbed mechanic here makes it a far simpler case here of just scampering to the glowy weak bits, then going ham with your swords and spells. In its defense, Eternal Strands is going for a very different vibe. A fun swashbuckling spell-shooting adventure, compared to Shadow of the Colossus' introspective and bleak misery.

Shadow of the Colossus also never demanded I repeat Colossi battles, although Eternal Strands does make this feel somewhat fresh. To upgrade your spells, you'll need to extract a Great Foes' essence. Essentially, that means meeting a set amount of criteria that'll open a weak point. These criteria remain a mystery until you find a certain amount of lore in the world, upon which the game just tells you exactly what you need to do. It feels like a missed opportunity for more inspired sleuthing.

Still, having an extra set or rules in your head does reinvigorate these fights. I loved having to slowly take out several specific points on a Great Foe made of fire, all while my potion of fire resistance was far-too-quickly wearing off and said monster's patience with me was wearing equally thin. When you get the spell that lets you create tunnels of kinetic energy, and can start literally throwing yourself at the Great Foes, it's easy to forgive a lot of other flaws.

Which is for the best, as dynamic play is where Eternal Strands shines. That's certainly not the case for its story, a serviceable if inelegant cliché-ridden fare that just about gets the job done. Endless visual novel-style conversations with bland characters break up the fun monster hunting so often you'll long for Shadow of the Colossus' borderline wordless storytelling. I'm not knocking it for using a lower-budget solution to not having many 'proper' cutscenes, but the pace slows to a crawl when the cast really starts to monologue. It feels like it's overcompensating, too, as Brynn's fantasy-codec that allows characters to waffle during the action feels like more than enough on its own.

This becomes more of a problem as you near the 20-hour mark, where the 'Eternal' part of the game's title starts to feel like a threat. There's just too much backtracking between dull companions for more story beats. Too many fetch quests. Too many repeat visits to long-plundered locations, which inevitably run out of new monsters or fresh spells to excite you.

If you manage to connect with the game's characters, its fantasy technobabble, and its cringeworthy constant-praising of your abilities as the protagonist, there's plenty packed in. But I couldn't shake the sense that a tighter experience would better play to Eternal Strands' strengths – instead, it ultimately feels diluted, and you spend a lot of time waiting to get back to the action.

I respect the ambition of trying to take the best of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, even if too many bad ideas counter its good ones. Once you've got some decent spells and have started a scrap with a Great Foe, Eternal Strands can be a real thrill ride. But getting to those moments can feel like a bit of a chore. There's potential in the premise, and some real highs (especially when launched into the air), but it's the kind of game that makes you yearn to see what a sequel could accomplish by iterating on what worked – perhaps then we'll be in for something truly magic.

Craving further thrills? Our best action games list is for you!

It's occupied France, 1944. The look and feel of the game will be immediately familiar to series fans but, this time, you're not playing as Karl Fairburne. This time, former supporting character Harry Hawker takes the spotlight. Or perhaps I should say 'arry 'awker, as his cockney accent is thick enough to style your hair with. Indeed, there's enough ham and cheese in the dialogue and delivery to give texture to an otherwise straightforward story, which serves as an ample backdrop to the hugely enjoyable act of blowing fascists away.

The first mission, the shortest and simplest of the nine (with the exception of the last, which is essentially an epilogue), is a great introduction to what to expect. One of the first things you see is a bridge in the distance, and wouldn't you know it; there are Nazis wandering around up there, and you have a sniper rifle. You don't have to try to take them out from such a great distance, but come on, you're at least going to try. I certainly did.

Even if you're not familiar with the series, Sniper Elite: Resistance speaks a language that you're bound to understand. Long-distance sniping requires compensating for bullet drop and wind direction, crouching makes your footsteps quieter, tall grass hides you even though the top of your head is usually poking out, that kind of thing. Sniper may be in the title, but this isn't Camping Simulator, and you'll likely find yourself pulling out a pistol or SMG in a tight spot. Going back to that first mission, you're quickly introduced to the idea of Climbing Up Things on your way to the bridge. This becomes more important in later city levels, where clambering up a wall might offer a shortcut or access to some hidden kit.

Snipe for the picking

Each map has its objectives, both primary and secondary, spread across great distances. It's in your best interests therefore to stay hidden as much as possible, which is where climbing up to sneak through buildings and across rooftops comes in handy. It's disappointing that your opportunities to climb in this way are very limited, but to be honest, in many situations you'd just end up getting spotted if you hadn't already taken out nearby enemies anyway. A little more frustrating is the fact that some waist-high walls and fences can't be hopped over. Most can, but a small number can't, and you won't know which they are until you bash 'arry's knees against them while futilely hammering the mantle button.

Nonetheless, there's a lot to love about the core experience. There's a strong Hitman 3 vibe despite the lack of a disguise ability. In addition to the aforementioned stealth elements, enemies can also be lured and distracted, and you can even hide bodies. A few other familiar elements are present, but flipped in ways that will render tactics you might use in other stealth adventures ineffective.

If you enter combat, you're spotted, and/or an alarm is triggered, enemies will – as you'd expect – hunt for you if you manage to get out of sight. You just find somewhere to bravely hide until they call off the search, right? Well, you can do that here, and the 'investigation' will eventually end, but with a few caveats. Enemies will now be bolder and tend to move more erratically than you might be used to. That makes the risk of getting found higher. Also, once the all-clear is given, enemies don't usually wander off back to their previous posts like good little boys. If you attract attention and don't manage to clear soldiers out, you've now created an area that's much more dangerous. Perhaps you took out that guard after he spotted you, but now, there are six enemies where there was previously just one.

Silencers (usually only found on looted or hidden weapons with limited ammo) are present, and often a good idea to use. They reduce the sound of gunshots rather than eliminating it altogether, however, meaning you need to be sure there's nobody close enough to hear when you use them. Using an unsilenced rifle to take out an enemy sniper isn't a guaranteed way of getting caught, but you'll want to make sure you're far enough away, and not in line of sight of the keen-eyed enemies. The open world nature of the maps encourages you to think about where to go and how to get there, and ensures multiple playthroughs differ from one another.

Stealthy diet

I finished the campaign in a little under 10 hours on medium difficulty, but that was just the beginning of my time with Resistance. When I started over, kicking things up all the way to Authentic, it was the same game but a very different experience. No health or ammo on the HUD, no ability to tag enemies, no multiple zoom levels on the binoculars I rely on to carefully scope out the environment, and of course poor old 'arry was now much more fragile.

I found myself creeping forward more slowly; being less likely to pull out my loud but effective MP40 for short-range kills; picking my fights more carefully than ever, rather than indiscriminately scattering corpses across the ground like a child spilling a box of fascist lego. With the guardrails off, missions took at least twice as long, but I enjoyed every minute. Scoring a long-distance kill without the benefit of time slowing or a guide to where the bullet would land while using Empty Lung is immensely satisfying.

It's worth pointing out that although there are a handful of pre-baked and very well balanced difficulties, you can tweak the experience to your liking to a wonderful degree for a custom experience if you prefer. You can make sniping easier or harder, enemies more or less alert, and so on. You can also adjust the frequency of the signature X-ray cam (now activated for short-range and melee kills as well as sniping), or turn it off completely if you'd rather live completely in the moment.

New to the series here are the Propaganda challenges. Seven of the maps have a Resistance poster hidden somewhere, and should you manage to find and collect it, you'll unlock the associated challenge in its own little chunk of the map. The stealth challenges are particularly interesting. Instead of playing as Mr 'awker, you're a member of the Resistance armed with little more than a beret and a silenced pistol. You have 20 enemies and a time limit, with ghost kills (completely unnoticed, for the uninitiated) extending the timer, and high-value targets boosting your score multiplier. Time doesn't start until you get your first kill, meaning you have as much time as you like to explore and plan. The best scores are only achievable with a perfect combination of speed and stealth; it's a mode that seems ideal for co-op but, unlike the campaign, that's not an option.

The servers were pretty quiet prior to release, so I wasn't able to test the traditional PvP multiplayer modes or try out Survival alongside somebody else (playing solo, I found it a little frustrating, and the constant onslaught of alert enemies antithetical to the rest of the game). However, I was able to put some time into the returning Invasion mode, and this is where I see most of my time in Resistance being spent after release.

Fried reich

The premise is simple: invade a player's campaign, hunt them down, and kill them (allowing invasions is optional). Stealth suddenly becomes much more important for the defending player, as if they trigger an alarm, the invader will immediately have an idea of where they are. On top of that, if the defender is spotted by a soldier that's been tagged by the invader, their precise position at that moment will be identified.

'Invasion phones' are scattered across the map and, every few minutes, can be used by either player to mark the location of the other at the time. This avoids you wandering around for hours having no idea where one another are, but invasions can still be tense affairs for both players. That said, invaders who have played through the campaign themselves have something of an advantage. A knowledge of where the objectives are relative to your starting position usually gives you a good idea of where to start or where to lay traps.

You may be imagining long-range sniper battles, and I had one of those, but a game is much more likely to end at close range with an SMG or humiliating melee kill. Sometimes this will be preceded by a sneaky mine trap (which I've been on both ends of), a hail of bullets ending your attempt to self-revive. My finest moment so far is the long-range headshot I scored on a player who was in the process of leaping through a window, a detailed description of which is now at the top of my CV.

I'll still be going back to the campaign. There are collectibles I haven't found, insertion points I haven't unlocked, and still a few Nazis I haven't found to kill. It's not exactly a huge leap away from the last entry (in our Sniper Elite 5 review we called it "brilliant and brutal"), but what Resistance does, it does brilliantly. Should you feel the urge to wipe the world clean of fascists, and to do so with style, this is worth pulling the trigger on.

Want to continue being silent but deadly? We've got a list of the best stealth games with your name on it, as long as you keep quiet.

Asus arrived a little late to the party in 2024 too, because we saw some heavy-hitting best mobile controller contenders last year from brands like GameSir, Razer, and most notably for me, Scuf. Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to review the Scuf Nomad and it quickly became my number one pick for a mobile controller. Leaving my Backbone One to efficiently gather dust.

Landing on the market and in the hands of gamers for $109/£109, The Asus ROG Tessen offers some nifty features that do make it stand out from the pack, but is it worth it compared to more affordable options?

Design

As I’ve said, I often rely on mobile controllers to do a good percentage of my gaming and so one of my biggest factors in choosing one is comfort for long playing sessions. I have unfortunately had one too many game-winning kills foiled by cramps in my hands.

Usually, that issue is prompted by a couple of factors; the size of the controller, its weight, and the placement of the thumbsticks. I can thankfully say that the Asus ROG Tessen addresses two of those problems for me. To kick things off the device is surprisingly lightweight and is made of textured plastic, making it comfortable to hold for long periods without it putting stress on your wrists.

Secondly, the device is small. I adore the Scuf Nomad for its larger size meaning it feels more substantial in hand and I really dislike the Backbone One for its smaller Nintendo Switch Joy-Con-like size, so more often than not I prefer a larger mobile controller. This leaves me shocked as to how much I like the Asus ROG Tessen’s size, particularly because it’s smaller than the Backbone. While the physical dimensions are technically smaller than the Backbone One, the actual shape of the grips gives a much nicer feel in-hand rather than it feeling flat and hard to grip.

Finally, like most of the best PC controllers, the Asus ROG Tessen has opted for the classic offset thumbstick layout. This means on the left-hand side of it you’ll find the thumbstick at the top of the device with a d-pad towards the bottom, with the right-hand side of the device featuring the XYAB buttons at the top and the thumbstick at the bottom. Unfortunately, you won’t find hall-effect sticks here, something that most mobile pads now offer, which means that over time they are more likely to experience stick-drift.

What you will find instead is two programmable rear aluminium paddles which give you extra functionality while gaming, it’s very rare to see paddles on any controller not made by Xbox or PlayStation, as you’ll most often see plastic buttons. I felt this was a nice departure from the norm, and it was refreshing to see as someone who’s tested a few controllers in the last year.

Features

As previously mentioned, you’ll find the traditional Xbox-style layout of controls on the ROG Tessen which makes it very easy to use if you’re familiar with those commands. The buttons themselves have a very nice tactile feel to them and produce quite a satisfying click - I’m not sure my girlfriend would say the same thing when she was lying next to me in bed trying to sleep, however. This is even more present in the D-pad which I actually found to be annoyingly clicky but only when pressing right on it.

Rather than having the usual extendable clamp bridge mechanism, the ROG Tessen features a very unique hinge design allowing you to fold up the controller for easier storage. This also doubles as an easy way to connect your phone to the USB-C port rather than having to stretch it around your mobile. Connecting your phone could not be easier and you’re into the games you want to play within seconds. Despite it being USB-C it has been confirmed by Asus that it is not compatible with the recent generations of iPhone, so this is a purely Android-focused device.

Speaking of USB-C, you’ll find an additional port at the bottom right of the controller to allow passthrough charging so that you can game for even longer. And of course, like most pieces of gaming technology, you’ll find some very subtle RGB along the rim of the controller.

The rear paddles at the back are easily mapped thanks to a function button on the front. Simply press the button to re-map, press the button you want to assign, and then press the paddle. Easy.

Performance

I have to admit, the paddles were hands down my favorite aspect of the ROG Tessen. They are perfectly located at the back of the controller and I found my middle fingers always gravitating towards them. This is particularly helpful in first-person shooter games like Call of Duty as I was able to assign my reload command and my melee command to those paddles. Not once did I find them having any issues or not working as they should - on top of that, they are incredibly satisfying to click, it makes me want a full-sized controller for PS5 or Xbox with back paddles as opposed to buttons.

The process of remapping them was super simple and can be done as I mentioned above or via the Asus Armoury app. I never found the app particularly useful and opted for the button on the controller for 99% of my button remapping. This was primarily because it was much quicker. Jumping between games via GeForce Now or XCloud I was constantly needing different commands assigned and this was the easiest solution.

While the thumbsticks are nothing to write home about, I can say they do the job. It’s a marked improvement over something like the Backbone One but not nearly as good as the Scuf Nomad or the GameSir X4 Aileron. I put this mostly down to how small they feel compared to the latter two I mentioned, but I just found them uncomfortable for long playing sessions. Via GeForce Now I managed to survive until round 25 on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies but most of the issues I ran into were sparked by the thumbsticks, both because of their placement making it uncomfortable to play longer than 20 minutes or because of how small they are. This is an issue that pops up for me frequently with mobile controllers that choose the offset design, and as someone with larger hands, I’d prefer if more controllers moved away from it.

Thanks to the USB-C connection I never found there to be any latency issues at all, something I have occasionally seen in Bluetooth devices. So any deaths in-game are purely down to your actual skill rather than the controller letting you down.

I spent roughly 15 hours playing the ROG Tessen both at home and out and about using a variety of native games such as Call of Duty and cloud-based games via GeForce Now and XCloud and it works okay most of the time. I did have a significant issue with Call of Duty where the controller was not recognized by the game initially without going into the Armoury App.

Overall, I never felt it did anything truly remarkable to justify the higher price tag than the Scuf Nomad, or even the GameSir G8 Galileo. While the back paddles are genuinely fantastic, I feel they really are the only standout feature to be had here.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Tessen?

If you’re like me and use mobile controllers a lot then I actually find it very difficult to recommend the ROG Tessen when compared to similarly priced controllers on the market. Everything that the ROG Tessen does well you’ll find another controller doing just that bit better. Aside from the back paddles, which are genuinely great, I don’t feel there‘s anything else that makes it a must-buy for me.

However, if you’re looking to start your journey into mobile gaming then I would recommend the ROG Tessen over the Backbone One if you can find it cheaper than RRP, but I would also encourage you to look at alternative options such as the GameSir Galileo G8, or for maximum size, the Razer Kishi Ultra.

How we tested the Asus ROG Tessen

I used the Asus ROG Tessen over a period of a week with a Samsung Galaxy S20 and used it as one of my main sources of gaming. Throughout my time with it I played a variety of games including Call of Duty Mobile and Black Ops 6 (via GeForce Now), Watch_Dogs 2 (via GeForce Now), and Star Wars Outlaws (via GeForce Now). I used the controller for approximately 15-17 hours across multiple gaming sessions that varied in length with the longest being around 3 hours.

For more on how we test controllers, check out the GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Pimax may not be as widely known as the likes of PlayStation or HTC Vive, but it has a growing history of creating VR hardware dating back almost a decade. This isn’t my first experience with Pimax, though my time with the first-generation Pimax Crystal is something I’d rather forget. A mixture of bugs and connectivity problems made that headset a non-starter and I spent a few frustrating days wrestling with it before eventually giving up.

The Pimax Crystal Light is the brand’s latest effort and I’m curious to see what’s changed (and hopefully improved) in this stripped-down version of the Pimax Crystal that wronged me. The Crystal Light does away with some of the extra bells and whistles that pushed the previous iteration’s price up but still promises a high-end VR experience.

The price remains high, though. $899/£729 still places the Crystal Light well above more established options from Pico, Meta, and PlayStation, If it can deliver on those high-end ambitions, though, could it be a PC headset worth grabbing?

Design

The Crystal Light may technically be a new offering from Pimax but there are a lot of familiar-looking parts across the design of this VR headset. Plenty of the main front housing has been carried over from the fully specced Crystal, which unfortunately for Pimax isn’t necessarily a good thing. While most other VR headsets are looking to sand off their hard edges and reduce overall size, Pimax is doing the opposite with a design that is both massive and somehow almost entirely corners. It ends up feeling distinctly industrial, almost like a utility tool plucked straight from a factory where looks don’t matter and it’s all about efficiency.

Now admittedly looks don’t really matter with a VR headset so long as they translate to a comfortable fit, so I can overlook the funky styling choices to an extent. But what becomes a genuine issue is just how large the Pimax Crystal Light feels on your face. It dwarfs my Meta Quest 3 when placed side by side and while I didn’t find the extra depth to be too much of a problem, the added width certainly is. The Crystal Light extends well beyond the width of my face and becomes clumsy as a result. I’m simply not used to carrying an extra couple of cm off each side of my face so consistently found myself knocking the edge of the headset with the controllers while playing more active titles.

By doing away with a few of the internal bells and whistles, most notably the battery pack and automatic IPD, Pimax has pulled the weight of the Crystal Light down to just over 800g. At that level the weight itself is passable, it doesn’t feel noticeably heavier to wear than the Meta Quest 3 and it’s not so heavy as to become uncomfortable in longer sessions. Unlike the Pico 4 Ultra, the weight is poorly distributed though, and the Pimax Crystal Light is incredibly front-heavy which was noticeable during gameplay.

I found the Crystal Light’s included head strap to be an unfortunate case of close-but-not-quite. Styled more like what other brands consider a pro strap, the Crystal Light features rigid side arms that wrap around to a rear pad and ratchet tightening dial. This setup offers a good amount of adjustment and is pretty comfortable overall, however, the shape of the rear pad does little to offset the front-heavy nature of the headset itself. It’s a triangular pad which means it pushes against rather than grabbing the back of your head. I can’t help but feel a ring would have been a better choice and would have gone a long way to solving the balance issue.

For a $899/£729 VR headset, the build quality of the Pimax Crystal Light is pretty underwhelming across the board. The hard plastic shell of the headset has a hollow feel that’s reminiscent of a more budget offering and the same is true of the controllers. The glossy plastic here lacks any kind of comfort or grip texturing, and they feel almost toylike in your hand as a result. Placing them side by side with the Meta Quest 3 controllers I found a stark contrast in both look and feel. Meanwhile, both the front and rear head strap pads are simple bare foam without a more comfortable fabric covering or more hygienic silicon cover. Not only does this make them feel a little rough, but they’re absolute sweat sponges and the simple velcro fastening feels a little like a bodged DIY fix rather than the official installation method.

Features

The Crystal Light is a wired-only VR headset, somewhat of a dying breed these days, and after a couple of days of testing, I can understand why. Admittedly, things started out well. Pimax has done a good job of simplifying the connection process from the fully-fledged Crystal, doing away with a confusing and convoluted USB hub system in favor of a single, three-pronged cable. You’ll need to provide external mains power (an adapter is included), along with a USB 3.0 port and a DisplayPort connection, but getting started is as simple as plugging all three in.

The Pimax desktop app was quick to recognize the Crystal Light and I had no issues with the headset being picked up and welcomed by SteamVR either. The Pimax app isn’t the prettiest or most intuitive thing to use though, it throws a lot of checkboxes, dropdowns, and sliders at you without much in the way of hand-holding and I’d have appreciated more of an initial setup walkthrough here. I’m an experienced but simple VR user, I’ve spent a lot of time playing both PC and standalone VR games across a few different headsets, though consider myself a layperson in my knowledge. It’s clear here that Pimax isn’t targeting the me of this market. This is an advanced headset for a smaller, more niche crowd and not something for the casual community.

Performance

For casual players I simply cannot recommend the Pimax Crystal Light, it’s just not the right choice for pickup-and-play VR gaming. Trying to use the Crystal Light for games like Walkabout Minigolf and Beat Saber was a frustrating experience filled with disconnections, poor performance, and immersion-breaking stumbles - none of which I encountered when playing over a wireless connection to a Meta Quest 3 (or 2, for that matter). My PC is a pretty standard mid-range machine with a 12th-gen i7, an RTX 3070 and 64GB of RAM. It’s no powerhouse but it’s a pretty common setup that can generally run close to max settings on most titles in 1440p. More importantly, I’ve had no performance issues wirelessly streaming either of these relatively lightweight titles in the past, yet when cabled to the Pimax Crystal Light I experienced tearing, low FPS, and a couple of complete meltdowns.

The Crystal Light’s cable is thick, heavy, and not particularly flexible, so no matter how I positioned it I always felt like it was trying to pull my head back up while standing over a putt. There’s also only 5m of it which sounds like a lot at first but is surprisingly limiting for games like Walkabout Minigolf where I’d prefer to, you know, walk about a bit. Jumping over to a fixed-point game like Beat Saber this was less of a problem, but highlighted a fresh issue with the Pimax Crystal Light - controller tracking. As I wildly flailed my arms around trying to keep up with a barrage of red and blue blocks, the Pimax Crystal Light’s inside-out tracked controllers would often jitter or in some cases briefly lose their place in the world altogether. High movement games also served as a reminder that Pimax has opted to retain the large plastic tracking rings around the top of each controller, mainly because on multiple occasions I flinched as I heard and felt them smack into the protruding sides of the headset itself.

In a strange way, the Pimax Crystal Light feels out of its depth in these shallow gaming waters, 18 holes of virtual minigolf isn’t what the Crystal Light wants or is designed to do. Nothing makes this more obvious than the frankly stunning 2880x2880 per eye QLEDs which are capable of producing beautifully clear, detailed, and richly colored images. These are the highlight of the Pimax Crystal Light and are a genuinely impressive joy to look at, even if the FOV is a little tighter than I’d expected or would have liked. Before it tried to make my PC explode I was very briefly able to have F1 24 let me sit in the cockpit in the garage and look around. Even the smallest text details of the car were sharp and legible, I’d have loved to have actually been able to head out on track.

These unbelievably crisp, deeply black yet highly saturated displays speak to where the Pimax Crystal Light is going to be best implemented. This is a headset for high-end users who don’t get enough from the likes of PSVR 2. It’s for games with precisely tuned, and more importantly, static simulation scenarios where the headset needs to simply act as a window for your eyes into the virtual world. Pimax was named as Microsoft’s ‘Official Peripheral Partner’ for MSFS2024 and it’s a partnership that makes perfect sense. I can imagine the joy clearly reading every dial in the cockpit must bring, if you can get things off the ground.

Should you buy the Pimax Crystal Light?

Ultimately the problem with the Pimax Crystal Light is twofold. While it does feature the best displays of any VR headset I’ve tested, giving the HTC Vive Pro 2 a run for its money on a spec sheet, they’re housed inside a body that doesn’t reflect its steep $899/£729 price point and it requires sizable further investment to function. Driving these high-resolution displays needs far more processing power than I, or indeed most standard gamers, will be able to offer it too and even dropping the settings as low as possible both in-game and using the lowest F1 24 preset in the Pimax app couldn’t produce a playable experience.

Competition is a great thing and there’s no harm in a VR headset aiming for something different, but it increases the risks dramatically and unfortunately, those risks haven’t paid off for Pimax here. The Crystal Light is a good tech demo for Pimax’s displays, a showpiece for what’s possible with VR graphics, and perhaps a nod to what’s to come in the next year or two but it’s not the finished article. Yes, within a very small set of very finely tuned setups, it has the potential to do a very specific job incredibly well, but up against some stiff and versatile standalone competition, it’s just not the VR headset to go for.

How we tested the Pimax Crystal Light

I used the Pimax Crystal Light VR headset to try a range of VR games including Walkabout Minigolf, Beat Saber, and F1 24 in a sim racing setup. Throughout it was connected to my gaming PC featuring an Intel i712700K, RTX 3070, and 64GB of RAM, and settings for each title were adjusted both in-game and using the presets available in the Pimax desktop app.

For more on our testing methodology, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

For more on VR, check out the best Meta Quest accessories. If you need a rig to hook this headset up to, take a look at the best gaming PCs and the best gaming laptops.

It's been six years since Section 31 was first announced, developing at a pace that's very much warp factor 10 (if we were in the Mirror Universe rather than real life). What started out as a spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery eventually became a movie – the franchise's first film developed for streaming – after COVID-related delays set Section 31 on a new trajectory. What's always remained consistent throughout all this though is Yeoh's involvement, which the entire project hinges on.

The Oscar-winning superstar and all-round badass plays Philippa Georgiou – not the one who died in Discovery's pilot episode, but a more twisted version from that aforementioned Mirror Universe. In Section 31, Empress Georgiou ends up working with the titular organisation, a secret, black ops division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets from the seedier threats our faves on the Enterprise would know nothing about. It's an unlikely team-up that's quite literally worlds away from the usual heroism and unflinching positivity that Starfleet has traditionally been associated with.

That might explain why our first glimpse of the film felt so "lost" as well when it debuted at SDCC last summer. Going for a Mission: Impossible meets Guardians of the Galaxy vibe, the initial trailer struck an odd tone somewhere between serious and camp with Yeoh being described as a "bad bitch" to the sound of Beyoncé's 'Formation'. Not exactly your gran's Star Trek then.

But that in of itself isn't an issue. Long-running franchises of this magnitude shouldn't play it safe unless they risk being outdated, a mere footnote in the Captain's log. No, the problem is that Section 31 does feel dated still, despite forging new ground for Star Trek in a thematic sense.

An engaging start

You wouldn't know this from the opening scene, however. Following the title reveal, which is of course mirrored, then reversed, Section 31 opens on a brutal landscape where we meet a much younger version of the Empress, played brilliantly by Miku Martineau. She's returned home to these harsh conditions, a dried out husk of a farm, to reunite with her family after competing for the title of Empress. But Georgiou has one last task to perform if she's to secure her title, and secure it she does in the most harrowing way possible.

These first five minutes had me yearning for a theatrical release of Section 31 so that I could fully appreciate the scale of this opening, visually, yes, but also in terms of the moral intrigue proposed here too. Yet that longing quickly passed once Section 31 jumps to the "present". Suddenly, what felt expensive and cinematic becomes reminiscent of Star Trek on the small screen, and no, I don't mean recent efforts like the incredible Strange New Worlds, which makes full use of a smaller budget to dazzling effect.

From this point on, Section 31 feels small in the same way that a straight-to-DVD spin-off felt like back in the noughties. Because yes, this is "Star Trek" in theory, but a diluted, basic version that would have suffered so much more as a viewing experience had it been shown in theaters.

Early on, we're introduced to the ragtag band of misfits that have been assembled to stop a dangerous device from falling into the wrong hands, including Georgiou, of course, who's now hiding out in a casino outside of Federation Space with an admittedly gorgeous outfit and headpiece that suits Yeoh to a tee.

She's joined by Omari Hardwick's hardass Alok, Robert Kazinsky's himbo in an exo-skeleton and a shape-shifting Chameloid played by Sam Richardson, plus Kacey Rohl as Rachel Garrett, (future captain of the USS Enterprise-C), and Fuzz, a tiny alien living inside an android played by Sven Ruygrok. Sounds interesting on paper, and there are some quirky moments between the agents to enjoy, but the characterisation doesn't delve much deeper beyond that and what we learned upon meeting them at the start. In fact, their limited banter can even grate at points, forcing humour where it doesn't work.

Enjoyment is futile

The only one afforded any considerable depth is Georgiou, "a tyrant who murdered her own people by the millions". Through flashbacks that tie into the present, we come to better understand this somewhat monstrous figure and what drove her to choose this path all those years ago. Yet Craig Sweeny's script doesn't do enough to reckon with the complex morality that motivates Georgiou and also this seedy world we're exposed to beyond her.

It should be thrilling to uncover the underbelly of this universe that's so rarely been given a spotlight in this way before. Because more often than not, the Federation – and Star Trek, as an extension of that — champions a utopian future where the protagonists are by and large united by common goals. That's not to say darkness doesn't exist in Star Trek or even that people always get on, but Section 31 should have provided a unique opportunity to look closer at what the nature of evil looks like in this world – or even just what it's like when all your faves kind of hate each other.

For some, that isn't Star Trek at all, but they'd be wrong. It's disingenuous and just plain wrong to assume everyone vibes in this universe like the gang on the Enterprise do. The problem is that this so-called risk doesn't really pay off here. Much of that is down to the simplicity of Sweeny's scripting which feels like a relic from a bygone era, and unfortunately, that's reinforced by Olatunde Osunsanmi's bland direction and cinematography too.

That impressive opening scene aside, Section 31 feels like a callback to TV fare of yesteryear before prestige filmmaking became more commonplace on the small screen. That's also true of the action sequences, which are nowhere near as visceral as they could be. Even a standout fight early on between Georgiou and an assassin who can vibrate through walls is nothing to sing home about. Yeoh deserves far better, as anyone who's had even a glimpse of her other action roles can attest, although there's still something to be said for seeing a 62 year old woman kick ass in genre fare like this.

Make it stop

Yeoh attempts to bring gravitas to the part with a sly smirk at points, and she does well with the material, as you'd expect, but everything is off a bit, tonally speaking. A surprise development later on gives Yeoh a chance to shine best as the iconic action star we know her to be, but she still deserves better, as do the fans.

Is Section 31 deliberately camp in a knowing sense or is that an unintentional by-product of how some of the more serious moments fall flat? That's not entirely clear, although kudos to the team for placing an Asian protagonist front and center in a genre where that rarely happens still when it comes to Western fare.

Kudos also for trying something new in a franchise that could easily coast by and just repeat the same formula over and over. Instead, Star Trek continues to boldly go where Star Trek has never gone before in stories like this and other notable titles such as Lower Decks.

Let's just hope Section 31 doesn't stick around as long as that beloved animated spin-off did though. The end certainly suggests a sequel might be in store, and Yeoh has previously said she'd be game too, but the real loss here would be developing a follow-up when the money could instead be used for something new, something bolder and better than what Section 31 has to offer.

Star Trek: Section 31 will be available to watch on Paramount Plus on Friday, January 24. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies.

A singular loop comprises the entire game at present. You spawn back at the Cursed Outpost, a small hub area where you can unlock nodes on your skill tree, find other players to team up with, and also fix up shops by spending in-game currency to then buy guns, blades, armor, and Holobytes – extra perks that buff stats, or add the likes rot or fire damage to enemies (you can mix and match five). All of these come with the now-standard color scheme of item rarity making it feel very much like any other loot based shooter. You then use a Telepad to travel to The Overgrowth to play the game proper.

The Overgrowth is a randomly-generated map set in the Hyper Light Drifter universe, full of remnants of civilization overgrown and overrun by mobs of monsters. You shoot them with Rails, slash them with different styles of melee weapons, or chuck grenades if you've got some in your loadout. Your task is to collect five guarded artifacts called Prisms to unlock a Crown, which is a boss fight. Beat three bosses and you take on the Abyss King. After that, you need to head to an extraction point to get the hell out of Dodge. Fail at any stage and you lose one of your four lives. Lose all four lives or beat the loop and the game generates a new world… and you start again.

Hyper Loot Breaker

And this is where the problems begin. All gear and Holobytes have pips – between one and two at present – removed on death. So, if you die twice in one run without looting more gear, you've lost all your gear. The game is incredibly challenging, especially when played solo, so the game is a frequent series of disappointments as you find something you like and lose it all too quickly. A patch on Day 3 added more default health because it was just too easy to die, but even going from 85 to 100 hit points hasn't changed things much. It remains mega punishing.

Even Hyper Light Drifter gives you the ability to refill your health bar with medkits right from the get-go, but here you'll likely play for several hours before you work out how to even acquire and unlock them. The difficulty is compounded by the game not really explaining that the Abyss King is making the world more dangerous as you play, filling up a yellow bar under the minimap, elevating the danger level over time. Linger too long in the Overgrowth and you'll end up facing miniboss after miniboss as they drop from the sky. So just staying alive increases your chance of death. Pretty harsh, especially when you don't understand why.

What the game also doesn't make clear is that you can extract at any time without penalty. The extraction point is always shown on the minimap, which is your biggest clue, but you can head there any time, fight off a few waves of enemies while you wait for it to kick in, and then emerge with refilled health at the Cursed Outpost. When you go back in, the danger meter is reset and you can start again, only with everything still collected.

Developer Heart Machine has thankfully acknowledged it hasn't done enough "onboarding" to get players up to speed, leaving many confused and bewildered. But complaints on Day 1 also mentioned dodgy performance on lower-spec machines, which has already – very impressively – been patched after those first couple of days, leaving the game running much better on an NVIDIA RTX 2070-enabled laptop. It still has chuggy moments, but overall it's much improved. It's also already playable on Steam Deck, but looks noticeably rougher and runs worse, though that's also being worked on. Other problems like mouse sensitivity have been fixed in that first patch, which is great.

Hyper Light Breaker does attempt to reveal its story without using any dialogue, not only through environmental storytelling, but through unlockable, hand-drawn pictures that tell what happened between the Breakers and the Crowns. Whether you'll care enough to unlock it all remains to be seen. There are some moments of haunting beauty, with the wind rippling through grass and light filtering through trees, but it doesn't come close to capturing that aching sense of sadness of the first game.

Right now, Hyper Light Breaker feels like a mash-up of ideas from disparate console generations, very PS2-feeling combat coming up against modern live service sensibilities, with flashes of visual stylings from everything in between. Mobs and environmental features repeat way too quickly, and the loot and perks aren't as interesting as they could be.

The important thing to remember is that this is Early Access, which means the game literally isn't finished, but based on this first week with it, there's a long way to go before Version 1.0. As it stands right now, due to difficulty, complexity, unoriginality and repetition, our advice is to wait and see how further updates fare – at this stage, it's simply not worth getting burned. Fingers crossed that changes soon.

Looking to play something else with friends? Take a look at our best co-op games list for some suggestions!

At $229 / £219, the Delta II is punching with some big guns in both performance and value - priced $100 below the best gaming headset on the market, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, but around $100 more than the SteelSeries and Razer models that occupy the popular $120 price range, this is a headset firmly in the middle of the pack.

The standout feature here comes from just how hard Asus has leaned into its simultaneous connectivity. This is a feature that allows headsets to run audio through a 2.4GHz dongle connection and via Bluetooth at the same time, and it rarely makes its way to headsets below that $350 premium price point. While the extra support for players who want these different channels is unparalleled, and competitive experiences are particularly well catered to through fantastic soundstage positioning, the ROG Delta II doesn’t do enough to separate itself from cheaper options overall.

Design

I liked the triangular step Asus took outside of the mainstream with its original Delta headsets, and I’m glad to see the form factor return in the new release. The angular lines feel a little softer this time around, with a slightly more squat cup shape overall. That’s a running theme in the Asus ROG Delta II, everything looks and feels more streamlined. Whereas the originals featured chunky plastic yokes reaching around both sides of the earcup, the new model is far more modern in its approach, with anodized metal reaching from the headband to the rear of each cup, allowing for full swivel and a slight angular tilt towards the head.

It doesn’t just look better, the cups themselves sit particularly well on the head. I would have appreciated some extra clamp force (as it stands, the looser fit allows a lot of external noise to creep into your listening), but the spacious enclosure inside each of these cushions feels more relaxed as a result.

That’s a win for comfort, but it’s a win that might be retracted by the skinnier headband. This harder strap does offer a thin layer of the same memory foam cushioning you’ll find in the main cups, but it’s not enough considering the pressure placed on the crown by the thinner design. There’s only 318g of weight pulling down from this band (slightly less than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless), but it’s still enough to create an ache right in the center of where the headband sits. This was noticeable from the moment I put it on, and continued to worsen through longer sessions.

The looser clamp force also feels like it’s compounding this problem - there’s usually a little support from the cups themselves when they’re pressed against the side of the head, but here they feel like they’re hanging directly downwards. It’s a far cry from the extremely comfortable Turtle Beach Atlas Air, which uses a comparatively huge mesh headband cushion and a floating earcup design.

Out of the box, the Asus ROG Delta II comes with leatherette earcups, but these can be swapped for a set of mesh covers (also included). I stuck with the leatherette for most of my testing, though did enjoy the softer feel of the mesh during changes. Sound isolation is already a struggle here, though, so I would recommend sticking to the harder material unless you’re in a particularly warm environment. The sides of these covers are nicely textured to provide a little visual pizazz, while the inside of each cup remains matte to ensure those ridges don’t get irritating.

An all-black design (save for the gray yokes) is perfectly complimented by the more outlandish earcup shape and the additional RGB lighting on both sides. Each earcup features a slightly raised center, with a strip of LEDs around the rim and an illuminated Asus logo in the center. As always, this extra design element is only going to be worth it if you’re a die-hard RGB fan - even streamers won’t get much use out of it considering it won’t be too visible on camera from the front. It also runs the battery down quite considerably as well.

Features

Asus has put its wireless connection options front and center of its marketing efforts for the Delta II, and so it should. I rarely see simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connections available on even the best wireless gaming headsets, and having enjoyed the feature on the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and Astro A50 X, it’s certainly something I hunt down.

The ROG Delta II takes things one step further, though, with dedicated volume and playback controls (via a multi-function button on each side) for both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth audio streams. I’m used to fiddling with volume on individual devices to find the right balance between two connections, and this was a real game-changer. It’s a standout feature on the headset overall, offering immediate access to both connections for quick adjustments and pauses - something I’m going to struggle to work without once I move on to the next device.

The 2.4GHz volume dial also doubles up as a nifty mic-mute function when pressed, while the function buttons on both sides offer additional controls as well. The left 2.4GHz scroller toggles RGB lighting when pressed and held, while the right Bluetooth button can answer and reject calls with a tap. It’s an incredibly well-designed system of controls that evades the common overcrowding problem in headset clickers and dials while still providing functionality for both home gaming and on-the-go listening.

It’s clear that Asus doesn’t want its headset tied to your desktop, like its wired predecessor. That Bluetooth support and ample control scheme means this is a device designed to go everywhere with you - and that’s supported by the detachable microphone. I do prefer a retractable model, like those used by the Razer Kraken V4 or SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova line - it avoids the inevitable loss of the mic arm itself after it’s been stuffed into a different drawer. Still, the flexible gooseneck design makes placement a lot more versatile compared to the stiff-arm of the Astro A50 X and it’s easily popped in and out of the side of the cup.

You’ll be using the brand’s Armoury Crate software to tinker with the available 8-band EQ settings, choose between presets, tinker with your mic noise canceling and sidetone settings, and toggle virtual surround sound. The software doesn’t go quite as deep as Razer’s selection of tools, but does a better job of keeping track of everything than lesser-known brands.

Battery is another winner for Asus. The advertised 110 hours of 2.4GHz battery life rang true in my testing (with RGB off). From a full charge straight out of the box, I was able to run the headset for around three weeks (roughly 3-5 hours a day) before needing to charge up. Bluetooth mode does open you up to a slightly longer runtime as well. Those numbers take a significant hit with RGB enabled - I only managed a week with those LEDs blaring. That’s still one of the sturdiest batteries I’ve tested so far - the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless still retains its top spot with 300 hours on the clock, but the next runner-up is the HyperX Cloud 3 Wireless with only 120 hours to its name.

Performance

The Asus ROG Delta II uses 50mm titanium-plated drivers to achieve a crisp, clear sound profile that doesn’t get overwhelmed at either end of the spectrum. That’s not always a good thing. If you’re looking for a slightly warm but ultimately neutral sound this is a fantastic pickup, but most players will find themselves seeking something with a little more energy overall.

The audio isn’t bad it’s just not that exciting. If this was a $120 headset I’d be singing its praises, but with an extra $100 added onto that price tag, I’d expect a more dynamic sound quality. Of course, if you prefer a more acoustic-sounding experience you’re going to have a good time here. The lower ranges never threaten to overwhelm higher frequencies, even holding their balance well in trickier scenarios like Doom Eternal.

That flatter out-of-the-box soundscape also means competitive players are particularly well catered to. Footsteps, gunshots, and reloads are all crystal clear in their placement, moreso than in other headsets that place a higher priority on filling the soundstage with environmental ambience. I’d even suggest that this is a better headset for CS:2 than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless due to its deft handling of positional audio. It’s also one of the best PS5 headsets I’ve tried when it comes to representing Spider-Man Miles Morales’ Time to Rally mission in all its 3D glory.

It’s a clean and accurate experience overall, which works particularly well for lighter Nintendo Switch soundtracks like Super Mario Sunshine and more delicate audio profiles like Oxenfree 2. But I still found myself looking for a little more power in the lower mids and bass ranges. I didn’t get the same sense of dread when tip-toeing through the hotel in The Last of Us Part 2’s The Descent mission, even if the echoes and screeches of nearby enemies were well translated.

Asus is also proud of its 10mm super-wideband microphone, and it should be - this is a crisp, clean voice capture with enough texture and vibrancy to take on the fantastic Razer BlackShark V2 Pro and BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed. Where it falls short of these industry darlings, though, is its noise cancellation. I’ve grown pretty used to my headset mic not picking up details like my keyboard and mouse clicking, so I was surprised to find that not even the dedicated Noise Gate setting in Armoury Crate could fully remove them from a recording.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Delta II?

I wouldn’t recommend the Asus ROG Delta II to the masses. It’s got a solid set of specs and a respectable sound quality (though you’ll have to truly be after a neutral soundstage to appreciate it), but it doesn’t do enough to truly separate itself in this more obscure market position. There are headsets at just over $100, like the Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed or SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless, that offer a more robust sound quality overall while dropping connectivity features - and they each come with their own benefits as well. Meanwhile, the top end of the price scale manages to nail nearly everything the Asus ROG Delta II gets right while also addressing its comfort and bass range shortcomings.

I say nearly everything, because there is one scenario in which I would be thrusting this headset directly into the hands of anyone who raised it with me. If you’re big on simultaneous connection, say you regularly chat with a friend or listen to music while also playing your games, there’s nothing better out there at the moment. Asus has given these specific players a wealth of features to play with, more so than any other device on the market. It’s enough to cancel out the design concerns or low-quality noise isolation by itself. Just note that this simultaneous connection won’t work when wired in, so those after an Xbox Series X headset are out in the dark on this one.

How I tested the Asus ROG Delta II

I used the Asus ROG Delta II for a period of six weeks, testing across all the games in my current backlog as well as our benchmarking staples. When connected to my PC I was using the cups for CS:2, Doom Eternal, Fallout 4, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Oxenfree 2. On PS5, I tested across Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, The Last of Us Part 2, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Doom Eternal (for cross-platform comparison). Meanwhile, on Nintendo Switch, I tested in Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario RPG. For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

We’re also helping you find the best PC headset on the market, as well as the best Nintendo Switch headset. For more portable options, though, take a look at the best gaming earbuds available now.

Just as I was making peace with playing Overwatch 2 and other FPS games at 1080p to hit higher refresh rates, the Sony Inzone M10S came along and ruined it all. The 27-inch display certainly isn’t the only 480Hz screen in the best gaming monitor ring in 2025, but you’ll struggle to find alternatives that can also hit 1440p. Are you going to actually get the time in shooters to smell the QHD roses? Potentially not, but this screen is instead for those of you who get irritated at noticing full HD warts in between fighting for your life.

Coming in at $1,099.99 / £1,199, you’re paying a premium for the 1440p 480Hz experience the Sony Inzone M10S has to offer. Keep in mind we’re talking about an OLED panel here, so colors and contrast have a natural edge over TN and IPS displays. Still, you’ll want to ask yourself whether you truly have the need for speed before paying over a grand for this display, as 360Hz alternatives like the Samsung Odyssey G6 are kicking around for under $800.

Design

OLED gaming monitors are all starting to look nearly identical, but the Sony Inzone M10S commendably goes out of its way to look different. In sheer defiance of the pentagonal pedestal included with so many displays these days, the M10S is propped up by a low-profile circular disc fixed to an angled plinth. The minimalist vibe really ties in with the competitive nature of this screen, and while it feels like the objective is to feature minimal distractions, I also happen to think it looks pretty snazzy.

It’s probably worth touching on the fact Sony collaborated with the esports team Fnatic to create the Inzone M10S. The squad effectively provided the company with insights into how they play competitive matches in addition to design ideas that would directly benefit those scenarios. It’s the whole “play like an esports star” pitch you’ll see with many peripherals these days, so it makes sense that a 480Hz screen is getting the same treatment. For what it's worth, I do think some of the sensibilities added to the display do work in its favor, especially if you’re serious about your shooters and want zero visual distractions.

All the Inzone M10S’ guts are packed into an oval hump at the back, with the rest of the screen getting to enjoy that usual OLED wafer-thin profile. That same section also has a shadow lip underneath, serving as a home for the monitor’s single HDMI 2.1, dual DisplayPort 1.4, and USB ports. You’ll be able to feed all of these through an oval hole in the stand, which works pretty well considering it’s the bare minimum required to combat wires.

The Inzone M10S is once again making me contend with a fiddly joystick nub. It’s accompanied by a large concave button for power on the bottom right, but you’ll mostly be using the annoying plastic nipple to navigate the screen’s OSD and change source. It’s not the worst I’ve used from a usability standpoint, and it’s easy enough to swan around the display’s menus with directional certainty. I just wish the idea of including remotes would stick, or perhaps some clever clogs can come up with a way of controlling OSD options in a way fit for 2025.

Features

If you enjoy a great monitor stand, the Inzone M10S could be worth a look for that alone. That pedestal with the low-profile circular base isn’t just a pretty face - it boasts a 360-degree swivel that feels tremendous to maneuver. Sony already caught my attention with this feature during a pre-release demo.t looked incredibly smooth to move and I can confirm that to be absolutely the case. Pivoting the screen is nearly effortless, with the whole effect feeling like the display is mounted to the surface of your desk.

Height and tilt adjustment isn’t quite as slick, but can still be achieved using one hand and minimal effort. Considering I’ve used screens that either skimp on any sort of adjustability or stick with the bare minimum, it feels like Sony has gone all out with the Inzone M10S. That in itself helps distance it from the console market a little and move into the PC scene, which is a smart move seeing as Sony is normally associated with the former.

That approach carries through to its less physical features too, as the Inzone M10S is packing plenty of niche tricks that once again cater to competitive gaming. The one that sticks out to me as perhaps the least conventional is the screen’s 24.5-inch mode. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered the setting, and it’s used in some screens to enable higher refresh rates by dialing back resolution. In this instance, it’s all about adjusting the viewpoint so that it’s scaled just right to competitive standards on the 27-inch panel, as you’ll be enjoying 480Hz regardless.

Moving onto what the OSD has to offer, you’ll find the usual array of visual profiles, adjustment options, Nvidia G-Sync dials, and OLED protection functions stowed away within. The picture mode menu includes both an FPS Pro and FPS Pro+ option, which also draws on Fnatics expertise to set contrast and colors to benefit competitive visibility. You’ll have to switch HDR off to access these two features, though, so keep that in mind if you’re struggling to switch them on.

Of course, the M10S is now also compatible with Sony’s Inzone Hub for Windows. The app effectively adds all the monitor’s settings into one place while also allowing you to import and export all your tweaks. I much prefer messing around with options using a mouse than trying to just use the OSD and joystick, not least because it helps with checking over everything in the instance that something doesn’t feel quite right.

It’s nice to see that Sony is on the ball with OLED protective measures. Options like pixel shift and panel refresh are on hand to ensure you’re not haunted by any static overlays or HUDs down the road, as playing at 480Hz means there’s a greater risk of burn-in. That’s not to say burn is guaranteed to happen if you look after the screen and use Sony’s extra features, but there’s a reason these options are mandatory when it comes to these kinds of panels.

Performance

The Sony Inzone M10S offers up monstrous specs on paper and now that I’ve spent a month playing fast-paced shooters on the screen, I can confirm its visuals hold up. The panel’s 480Hz refresh rate and 0.01ms response time have made all the difference to my personal performance in the likes of Overwatch 2, all while its 1440p capabilities keep everything looking crisper than 1080p dual-screen competitors.

I normally main Pharah in Overwatch 2, and quickly getting out of dodge right after bombarding the enemy team felt easier than ever on Sony’s speedy screen. The slightest twitch can make all the difference to an aerial assault, especially when it comes to those riskier moves required in a clinch. Did I feel a bit lighter in the air using the 540Hz AOC AGON Pro AG246FK? Sure, but the TN panel’s slightly slower 0.05ms GtG specs mean that the Inzone has a tiny edge in terms of sheer responsiveness.

I also like to jump into Halo Infinite from time to time, which doesn’t quite benefit from the screen’s QHD 480Hz abilities seeing as its maximum frame rate is lower. Not to mention it takes a greater visual hit to boost fps anywhere near that level, leading to graphics that look worse than a Series S. That said, the OLED screen still provided my Spartan with enough speed to keep up with intensive matches, and the panel helps the shooter pop thanks to elevated contrast and colors.

Thankfully, I have been somewhat keeping up with the FPS times, as I’ve been jumping in and out of Marvel Rivals. The hero shooter feels pretty spectacular on the Inzone M10S, and it’s a game that certainly benefits from running at 1440p on a 480Hz OLED. The vibrant comic book visuals look explosive on Sony’s panel, and just like with Overwatch 2, you’re getting a level of responsiveness that’ll let you keep the heat up. I’m still easing myself into the game using Squirrel Girl, but I can already tell that some characters will be monstrous if played at this kind of speed.

Stepping back from the competitive side of things, it’s worth highlighting the Inzone M10S for detailed single-player abilities. Naturally, 4K monitors have an edge in terms of pixel density and overall sharpness, but the 27-inch display can switch from being a competitive multiplayer menace to a well-rounded QHD screen when required. For starters, the model’s 1,300 nits peak brightness and DisplayHDR 400 support have a lot to offer games where fidelity matters over speed, meaning you won’t have to ensure lackluster results when not in your go-to esports romp.

It’s still a shooter, but Cyberpunk 2077 always does a nice job of highlighting monitor abilities. The Inzone M10S manages to keep up some of my favorite OLED screens from last year with vibrant visuals and neat HDR flair, particularly when it comes to Night City’s scattering of neon lighting, reflective skyscrapers, and glowing car headlamps. I did notice that blacks weren’t quite as inky using the DisplayHDR profile, resulting in a less mesmerizing pop from some of the RPG’s more saturated elements. However, I found that switching to the RPG option helped in that regard, so it’s worth having a look at each profile in case there’s a better-suited option.

Should you buy the Sony Inzone M10S?

Out of all the esports-focussed gaming monitors out there, the Sony Inzone M10S certainly feels the most ambitious. By opting for a 1440p 480Hz panel, the company has pushed the QHD bar that bit higher in terms of resolution and refresh rate, all while still offering up excellent OLED abilities that’ll benefit your entire Steam library.

However, at $1,200 with more focus on competitive shooters than anything else, it’s hard to universally recommend the Sony Inzone M10S. Perhaps that’s why the 4K 240Hz Inzone M9 II exists, but with rivals like the LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B serving up the best of both worlds using dual-resolution tricks, paying near the same for a QHD model is questionable. If Sony released one screen that could offer up UHD and 1080p, it could have captured the attention of PS5 Pro players and PC enthusiasts alike, as I’m pretty sure full HD wouldn’t have looked too soft on a 27-inch panel.

At the end of the day, the Sony Inzone M10S exists to help competitive players hit resolutions beyond 1080p while still embracing premium speeds. I have a lot of respect for those ambitions, and they might finally be the nail in the coffin for high refresh rate 1080p monitors. I’m not saying even faster full HD screens won’t rear their head once the RTX 5090 is available to buy and pushes frame rates to an all-time high, but I’m willing to bet 1440p 480Hz is enough for 99.9% of players right now.

How I tested the Sony Inzone M10S

For a month, I used the Sony Inzone M10S as my main gaming monitor. During that time, I played multiple sessions of Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals in addition to Halo Infinite to check the screen’s responsiveness, as well as played Cyberpunk 2077 with HDR enabled. During testing, I took note of the display fidelity and brightness capabilities in both competitive and single-player scenarios while also assessing the monitor’s general usability, features, and aesthetics.

For more information on how we test gaming monitors and other screens, check out our full GamesRadar+ hardware policy for a complete rundown.

Looking for more screen recommendations? Swing by the best 4K monitor for gaming and best curved monitor. Alternatively, take a peek at the best gaming TV for living room options.

So if it isn’t making a play for the top of our best PC controller list, what’s the point? Well, let’s ignore the fact that not everyone needs the latest and swankiest pro controller. The PB Tails Crush Defender is a landmark gamepad that signals a turning point for this fabled gaming peripheral. It’s the first to feature TMR thumbsticks, which is an upgraded form of Hall Sensor technology that other manufacturers will, in all likelihood, widely adopt in 2025.

This is a controller that’s earned a place in museums of the future for that alone. Its rusted, metallic design seems self-aware of that, like it’s playing into its antique appeal. For $109.99 / £92, it costs more than some pro controllers, though. So what are you looking for? The elite design of an Esports pad, or a timepiece that could be the crown jewel of your controller collection?

Design

You can’t deny that the Crush Defender has a look like no other, but what’s not immediately obvious is that each one made is truly one of a kind. The controller has a metal body that’s hand-finished with tiny dents, scratches, and its own unique deformities. It looks like something pulled straight from the world of Borderlands, and I mean that as a compliment of the highest order. As a controller, it feels like it already has a backstory and a character of its own from the moment you unbox it, a bit like the Skywalker lightsaber does when it’s passed from character to character. These tiny bits of aging aren’t just a coat of paint everyone else will find, but authentic, hand-crafted scars for just your model that make it just yours.

On another note, the shape of this controller is also distinctive. It’s not like other controllers that release these days that are clearly all drawn from the same five, tried and tested molds. The shape of the Defender was inspired by, of all things, a car. The Porche 550 Spyder is known for its elegant curves and smooth metalwork. Its headlights are these perfect circles that look almost out of place on such a non-formulaic body. The thumbsticks here stand out in the same way, reflecting back at you like a mirror thanks to their silver hue.

The full metal jacket of the Crush Defender adds so much to the feel of flicking a thumbstick back and forth. Each push and pull sends a deep, reverberating rumble through your hands. Usually, that would be a bad thing, making a gamepad feel cheap, but because of sturdy metal build quality, it feels like a baked-in piece of engineering to enhance the feel of your games.

The triggers are perhaps the part of the Defender that benefits the most from the metal design. They clack down with authority and remain cool to the touch no matter the intensity of your session. Unfortunately, these also experience drawbacks too. As badass as each trigger pull feels, it’s slightly ruined by a squeak that emanates when you release one.

The back of the controller has a superb shape to it. So much of the time grips on a controller end as soon as you get to one’s spine. The indented, circular shape you wrap your fingers around just stops because you can instead grip the back of the product. With the Defender, you get this exceptional groove all the way up to the triggers, which really helps it to feel comfortable in the hands.

Features

The PB Tails Crush Defender is late to the party, but it can be counted among the best Nintendo Switch controllers. It also works with Windows, SteamOS, Apple, Android, and the Rasberry Pi. It can connect wirelessly via a 2.4G USB dongle that comes in its case, or with a USB-C to USB cable that’s also included. There’s even Bluetooth support, so there are plenty of platforms and uses for the Defender to make the most of.

The one bit of physical gaming flair it features is its RGB light bar, and you have the option to customize this using six on-board profiles. Additional function buttons can be found on its face which help you to control these, and the pad’s deadzone settings. There’s no app or software to help you in this regard, and for a controller with no back buttons to speak of, I can’t help but feel like some customization software could have been the one Esports draw the PB Tails team could have granted.

Just in case you want some motion control for games on the Switch, the Defender packs a 6-Axis sensor. In addition, it features a turbo mode, so if you’re sick of tapping minigames or quick-time events, they have a counter. There’s an 860mAh battery inside too, which supplies around 8-10 hours of wireless life.

Of course, the main selling point here is the TMR technology in the thumbstick modules. As you may know from almost every controller adopting them in the last few years, Hall sensor thumbsticks use tiny electromagnets to measure stick movements. They provide a much more accurate controller input than traditional potentiometer sticks and don’t have any physical components that wear down over time, so drift isn’t going to be a problem.

TMR stands for Tunneling Magnetoresistance, and it takes what’s great about Hall Sensors and kicks it up a gear. In the same way that 4K massively expands the number of pixels on a display compared to 1080p, TMR sensors can register around 10 times as many positions on an axis as Hall ones like the GameSir G7 SE. They’re also faster, reporting their positions at up to 20,000Hz. The PB Tails Crush Defender only has a polling rate of 1,000Hz, and while I don’t think we’ll see most controllers reach past that any time soon, it’s why I think this joystick tech will likely be what’s used in Esports gamepads of the future.

Performance

I hate to say it, but in many ways, elite TMR thumbsticks are wasted on a controller like this. I want to make it clear that the Crush Defender is one of the most unique and comfortable controllers I’ve ever been sent to test, but a performance controller it is not. There are functional issues with its design that are hard to get past, even if I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt for not necessarily trying to be a “pro” controller.

The thumbsticks do have swappable tops, although to change them out for the rubberized ones that come in the case you first need to pry off the metal faceplate, then somehow wrestle the metallic stick tops out of their guard. It’s not an easy process, one not something PB Tails accounts for in its instruction leaflet. Either way, if you plan to use this pad for intense gameplay, I think this feature will be a must. The metal surface of the sticks has a domed shape, which matches the rest of the Defender’s look, but is a massive problem when gaming. The second your thumbs start to produce heat they will slip off the sticks so fast you’ll begin to hear that canned whistle sound used by cartoons. That can make precise movements really tricky, so this isn’t exactly the pad I’d use for sweaty sessions of Hunt: Showdown - even if flick aims in Straftat are horrendously satisfying.

The face buttons have a really nice feel to them - imagine a DualShock 4 if the traditional PlayStation buttons were made of metal and had the symbols engraved into them. On the whole, rumble and feedback here make the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra feel like a Hasbro toy. Great feel is hamstrung by a lack of responsiveness though. Swapping between the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro and the Crush Defender during sessions of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was actually really difficult because the speed allowance of both controllers couldn’t be more of a polar opposite. Razer’s mechanical and microswitch buttons are like wielding lightning, but with the Defender I felt like I was moving in slow motion.

It’s not like what PB Tails has built is unusable though, and I want to make that clear. Besides the aforementioned thumb slips, the Crush Defender held its own when playing Celeste. The hefty weight and excellent feel of the pad gave each jump and dash so much power, and the slippy feeling somehow made me more aligned with my in-game avatar. As they started losing their grip on the cliff they were holding onto, I too started feeling my accuracy slip away due to perspiration.

It also can’t be denied just how comfortable a controller this is. It makes it all the more tragic that there are no back buttons because building them into the fantastic shape of this pad’s grips would have added so much utility. As it stands, the Crush Defender is at its best in cozy games where intensity is low, or in cinematic experiences like Indika.

I did notice that recording footage for videos felt great with the Defender. TMR tech really makes slow camera pans easy because even a small hint of a nudge was registered at the speed I wanted. On that note, in FPS games that didn’t require too much precision, the Defender worked great. We Happy Few felt like it was being played on the ideal controller because all those attempts to copy BioShock went hand-in-hand with a nostalgic gamepad.

Should you buy the PB Tails Crush Defender?

One of my favorite controllers of all time is the DualShock 4 - even to this day. It doesn’t have pro features, back buttons, or really much that stands up to the best PS5 controllers today. But it has undeniable levels of comfort, feel, and it does the basics of what a controller should do, and does them really well. The PB Tails Crush Defender feels like a progression of that type of gamepad.

It’s not trying to be the next pro-level sensation to rival the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox, it’s trying to remind you that no matter how advanced the technology inside a controller gets, we should remember where it all started. It’s just a shame this minimalist attitude didn’t translate to substance over style, because as solitary as the Defender’s design is, small mistakes like slippy, domed thumbsticks make no sense. For some, I bet squeaky triggers will be a step too far.

Again, let me ask you what you’re looking for in a controller. The PB Tails Crush Defender isn’t cheap, and you could get a fully fledged pro controller like the PowerA Fusion Pro for less than this. If you want something a bit quirky for the once-in-a-while controller session though, and you want a collector’s item that you’ll treasure for years to come, nothing has the PB Tails Crush Defender beaten.

How I tested the PB Tails Crush Defender

I spent a number of months with the PB Tails Crush Defender before writing up this review. I’ve had a great time testing it with slower, more cinematic games like Indika and Pools.

To test its FPS prowess, I spent time with it in Hunt: Showdown and STRAFTAT, but it didn’t really compare with my experience using other pro controllers in this genre. In slower single-player FPS games, it wasn’t unusable. Playing We Happy Few felt quite nostalgic, and since precise aiming isn’t the biggest aspect of that game, it worked better.

I compared the Defender’s speed with the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro because I tested both controllers alongside one another. In Dragon Ball Sparking Zero I felt as though the Defender was really lacking speed and responsiveness, although time playing Celeste did make me more optimistic about that.

For more on how we test controllers, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

There’s more where that came from! Take a look at the best joysticks, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best racing wheels for PC.

This is a niche machine - it’s not going to work out for most, but with a fantastic display at the helm and plenty of AI future-proofing it could be perfectly tuned for some. I spent three weeks testing the RTX 4080 version of the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio, putting it up next to the best gaming laptops on the market to see how it fares.

Design

Stealth is the name of the game here, and MSI’s slimline machine doesn’t want to give anything away. Yes, it’s a gaming laptop first and foremost, but the minimalist design means it can slide under the radar in a more professional setting as well. The full black design is on the cusp of being boring, without the extra red or blue flairs found on the Titan and Raider line to help it make its mark. Instead, this is a full matte aesthetic with very little in the way of distinguishing features. Save for those slightly gray upward-firing speakers on the main deck, a skinny strip (so skinny you could easily miss it) of RGB lighting, and a slightly indented keyboard, this is a simple black brick. I do like that small burst of color, it's just the right level of pzazz without taking over the deck as a whole - but the Stealth feels like it needs more of these nods running elsewhere in the design.

The trouble here is the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio doesn’t feel like a high-end black brick, in the same way as the Razer Blade 18. Where Sneki’s machines are cold, hard CNC-milled aluminum, MSI has gone with a magnesium-aluminum alloy to keep that weight down. That means this thing is flexy - even the slightest push on the main palm rest area causes the entire keyboard to sink and the lid has far too much give for a machine this close to $4,000.

Striking a balance between build quality and portability is tough, but in sacrificing durability this much, MSI has shot itself in the foot in both regards. The machine creaks just a little too much when pulled out of a backpack for me to feel fully comfortable carrying it around all day, even if it is light enough to do so.

There’s another troubling design flaw here, and it rears its head once you open up the shell and start typing. The keyboard itself feels great, but the inclusion of the full-sized keys and number pad means the main deck is shifted way over to the left. With a central trackpad, I was constantly nudging the cursor when writing, due to my palm accidentally hitting the top corner of the mouse area. I had to adopt a strange floating stance with my right hand just to stay free of these accidental moves and clicks.

Features

The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio that I tested came with an RTX 4080 GPU, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, and 32GB RAM under the hood. That configuration costs $3,749 with a 1TB SSD attached, but mine came with 2TB - a spec I haven’t seen advertised anywhere with a price tag.

In fact, prices are hard to nail down on these rigs. They’re available with a wide range of GPU options with everything from an RTX 4060 to RTX 4090 available, and a choice of either that top spec Intel Ultra 9 or an Intel Ultra 7 155H - but availability seems to be limited to the RTX 4090 / Intel Ultra 9 model from what I’ve seen on easily accessible shelves.

Still, those are solid specs. The Ultra 9 185H processor, a CPU that’s in a difficult position in 2025. It’s not the most AI-efficient model that’s going to be available in the next few months, with Intel’s new 200-Series models quickly entering the market. It’s not even the most powerful AI CPU of last year, with AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 taking the win in the last few months for those wanting to use their laptops for machine learning operations. This is an older processor originally designed with AI in mind - so it’s not particularly game-focused. In my testing, machines with the traditional Intel i9-14900HX ran better under demanding gaming conditions, outside of sterile CPU-specific benchmarks.

The aforementioned poorly placed keyboard sits above those components, and for my misgivings about its location, it provides a solid working base. Key travel is nice and snappy, with a satisfying clack to each press that feels both bouncy and smooth - this is one of the few 18-inch keyboards that I haven’t had to spend days re-learning. Spacing and size felt intuitive with very few accidental presses.

Then we get to the screen. This 4K Mini LED panel is simply gorgeous, with local dimming to reach from super bright, vibrant images all the way down to complete blacks in an instant. Details are extremely well defined on this screen, especially at that full 4K whack, and the panel nails it with a super precise color accuracy. A matte finish means there are no glare issues in high lighting, without washing out the color on-screen.

Ports are spread across all three panes, with all your more permanent connections handily situated towards the rear. That means you can connect power, ethernet, and your HDMI in the back panel and - if you keep your laptop firmly on the desk - never have to deal with them again. The right side features a slick Thunderbolt 4 with both power delivery and DisplayPort, as well as a standard DisplayPort USB-C, with two USB-As on the left. That’s a solid amount of ports, though there are 18-inch gaming laptops out there with more connectivity. The Razer Blade 18, MSI Titan 18 HX, and MSI Raider 18 HX all add an extra USB-A to the mix, for example.

Elsewhere, you’ll find a set of impressive upward-firing speakers that can easily fill a room with the sounds of your games and music and stretch pretty well over the sound of the fans as well. The lower ranges are a little fuzzy at high volumes, causing some buzzing when at full pelt which sometimes caught me off guard. You’ll also find a fingerprint sensor for Windows’ biometrics systems as well.

Performance

The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio falls short of other 18-inch gaming laptops in its performance, but can still put up a good fight if you need to run your games at 4K with some setting adjustments. More demanding games like Total War: Three Kingdoms and The Talos Principle 2 manage to stay above 60fps in High settings, but dropped short of that goal at full whack. Meanwhile, easier titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider still hit three-figure framerates comfortably at UHD resolutions. That’s with an RTX 4080 at the helm - I tested the MSI Raider 18 HX and MSI Titan 18 HX with RTX 4090 GPUs, and the upgraded graphics offer a slight boost in 4K performance. Considering you’re only spending a couple hundred bucks to get the RTX 4090 Raider model, it could well be worth the upgrade.

Compared with other RTX 4080 QHD+ tests I’ve conducted, on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio falls slightly short again. That’s with the larger 18-inch chassis in tow, though with a slimmer form factor overall. These are all more than playable, but that 61fps average result in Epic settings on Returnal does indicate that a smaller but chunkier machine like those named above is more future-proofed for now. The MSI Studio 18 AI Studio did win in the raw performance matchup against the similarly slimline Razer Blade 18. This rig packed an RTX 4090 when I tested it, and still the RTX 4080 MSI managed to beat it in every cross-comparable benchmark test.

The story is much the same when it comes to synthetic 3D Mark benchmarks. That RTX 4080 isn’t winning out over MSI’s RTX 4090 counterparts, but it puts up a good fight. There is still a significant step down from the only slightly more expensive RTX 4090 Raider across Time Spy, Fire Strike, and Steel Nomad runs. The RTX 4080 inside the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 also makes significant headway against the Stealth in the two more complex tests; Time Spy and Steel Nomad.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor inside the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio has a lot of smarts - but very few of them are put towards gaming. The Intel Core i9-14900HX processor inside the MSI Titan 18 HX still rules the roost for pure gameplay performance, with a PC Mark 10 score nearly 2,000 points higher than the MSI Stealth. This is a CPU built for more complex AI programs, and games are yet to fully take advantage of the processing side of this equation. Still, in direct competition with another AI-first CPU, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the Intel Core Ultra 9 still struggles. The Asus TUF A14 is smaller and far cheaper than the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio, but that AMD brain is incredibly well utilized. The HX 370 is comfortably outpacing the Ultra 9 in both PC Mark 10 and Cinebench R24 benchmarks.

Should you buy the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio?

The MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio feels caught in the middle. It’s an 18-incher without the raw horsepower you would expect from a desktop replacement. It’s using an AI-first processor but remains too clunky to truly be considered a productivity laptop first and foremost. Unfortunately, some of the Stealth’s finer moments are caught in the crossfire. That display is gorgeous, truly offering a fantastically immersive experience full to the brim with detail and vivid coloring - but the MSI Raider features the same panel, and does so with an RTX 4090 configuration that comes in only $200 more than the Stealth.

Then there’s another problem. It’s a little tricky to find a wealth of configuration options for the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio - this is an all-or-nothing machine, with only the RTX 4090 configuration widely available at the time of writing. If you want a big-screen, high-budged 4K RTX 4090 experience, the MSI Raider 18 HX offers a better set of specs and more rounded design, and it’s easily accessible on the shelves.

How I tested the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio

I used the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio for a period of six weeks, using the laptop for all my daily work and gameplay in that time. I spent two of those weeks away from home, using the laptop in full lap-mode while I worked and played over the holidays, but also used it on my desk (both solo and plugged into a monitor setup). In that time, I primarily played Indiana Jones: The Great Circle and Fallout 4, but also benchmarked Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, and The Talos Principle 2. I then completed a round of synthetic benchmarks across 3D Mark’s Time Spy, Fire Strike, and Steel Nomad, as well as PC Mark 10 and Cinebench R24. For more information on how we test gaming laptops, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

For an alternative brand, check out the best Alienware laptops and best Razer laptops on the market, as well as the best Asus gaming laptops.

While the Bravia 8 is recognizable to anyone who has previously used the brand’s VPL-XW6000ES model, there are a lot of firsts here. The Sony Bravia 8 is the first Sony projector to use the brand’s XR processor (a generational step on from the previous X1 Ultimate), a central unit that previously only ever made its way to Bravia TVs. That means features like XR Dynamic Tone Mapping and XR Deep Black are on the cards for the first time - a must-see for true cinephiles. Competition among the best projectors at this price range is close, but after a month of testing, it’s difficult to see anyone needing anything else from one of the best 4K projectors on the market.

Design

Compared to most mainstream projectors I’ve tested in the past, the Sony Bravia Projector 8 is a huge undertaking. At 31lbs and 20inches wide, it’s not going to tuck away neatly in the corner of a smaller viewing space - though it is easily mountable for a more subtle installation. In this world of high-end models, though, this size is par for the course - and the Bravia Projector 8 is actually more compact than its predecessors. Older models used a larger imaging system which therefore required larger lenses, but the new three-chip system in the Bravia 8 allows it to shrink compared to those juggernauts.

While I was surprised by just how large and heavy it is (I realized I would have to move to a more spacious location in order to properly test it once I took it out the box), those on the hunt for a $15K projector aren’t going to expect anything less. That means it comes down to handling and build quality - both of which carry that Sony stamp of luxury.

Everything feels incredibly well put together - joins are seamless, the plastic chassis is solid and durable, and there are only very few creaks when lifting and placing the projector itself. Each button feels well centered, with a satisfying clack and strong feedback, and ports are free from any interference.

I received the white model for testing, though the Sony Bravia Projector 8 is also available in a more traditional black color. That white is a little muted so it doesn’t stand out when placed on a table in front of us - but I would still prefer the black version if you’re keeping your device in pride of place.

The left hand side offers a selection of simple controls, from power, input, and menu access, with ports tucked away underneath the main overhand of the body itself. Not having these connections to the rear of the device could cause some issues depending on where you’re planning on placing your device (they did sprawl out to the side in a fairly unattractive manner during testing). However, the larger top portion of the chassis does hide them fairly well and give you a little wiggle room if you’re using a cable run or tube.

A centered lens (with supplied cover) juts out from the front of the device, flanked by generous grills running on each side and covering the rear panel as well. Air circulation sounds efficient - I never noticed any undue fan noise from the device during everyday use, only picking up on the whirrs when seated within around five feet of the device.

Features

Let’s get straight into that XR processor, as it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to overall image quality and HDR performance. The XR chip is the next evolution of the Sony Bravia X1 Ultimate system, offering real-time brightness and color adjustments, controlling dedicated laser dimming for darker black levels that don’t sacrifice the vibrancy of the surrounding image, and upscaling with over a billion colors for a fantastic result from lower resolution images.

XR Dynamic Tone Mapping is responsible for that real-time processing. Projectors generally give you a slider to control when creating presets for HDR content, but this is static - it won’t give different scenes their own levels of brightness, color, and detail, instead washing over the picture with a grading that might only make sense for certain images. The Sony Bravia Projector 8 handles its HDR adjustments frame by frame. There are three modes to choose from, with various different highlight and lowlight details. The result is a far more vivid image with detail spread across all different light levels of a scene. This is particularly noticeable in more shadow-heavy scenes.

That’s also where XR Deep Black comes into play. The system further enhances these shadowy details with laser dimming - essentially you get more information from darker aspects of the scene without having to sacrifice the vibrancy of lighter areas.

The XR processor also brings in XR Clear Image for turbo-charged upscaling, running everything from standard HD TV to old movies in a much higher resolution, while Triluminos Pro gives the Sony Bravia Projector 8 over a billion colors to play with overall.

We’re not done yet - Cognitive Intelligence has to be one of my favorite features in this tech, but it can easily fade into the background if you’re not looking for it. The system essentially works out the objects you’re most likely to be looking at in each scene, and ramps up image processing to ensure they look their best.

All of that runs at a maximum brightness of 2,700 ANSI Lumens, with an image covering 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and both HDR10 and HLG support.

I was expecting setup to be a pain. This is a high-end projector for enthusiasts who know what they’re doing, and that normally means a lot of color correcting, preset tweaking, and manual placement requirements. I was pleasantly surprised. The wide zoom range means I had far more flexibility in the Sony Bravia Projector 8’s location, and while it was a little large to house in my own tiny living room, it easily slotted into one of the larger cubbies in my friend’s dedicated basement movie space.

The system also features Corner Keystone correction, which allows for extra image placement tweaks as well. I usually stay well clear of these settings during the main testing period - they can often wash out the image altogether, adding an extra layer of processing that draws valuable resource away from the image quality itself. However, there was very little degradation to the overall picture with this handy system in place and it meant I was able to get a perfect screen placement without the headache. The motorized lens also offers horizontal and vertical lens shift for even more versatility as well. Menus are easily navigable but still hold a wealth of more minute settings that can be found and tweaked particularly easily.

That’s all fine for movies, but the Bravia Projector 8 has another weapon in its arsenal. Those HDMI 2.1 ports aren’t just for show, this is a fantastic projector for PS5 and Xbox Series X as well. The system can run 4K gameplay at 60Hz with an input lag of around 21ms, which zips down to 12ms when running in 1080p / 120Hz. There are faster gaming projectors out there - the BenQ X3100i can run 4K60 gameplay at 16.7ms, dropping down to 8.3ms at 1080/120 - but to see these kinds of speeds on a home theatre projector of this caliber is still exciting.

So what are you dropping from the Bravia 9 model? The Bravia 8 doesn’t feature Sony’s Live Color Enhancer, a setting that boosts brightness and overall detail when faced with higher ambient light levels. It’s also slightly less bright overall than the 3,200 lumen premium model. It’s also worth noting that there’s no sound system built in - though if you’re spending this much on a lens it’s easy to bank on the fact that you’ve already got a set of speakers to use.

Performance

I was impressed with the Sony Bravia Projector 8’s performance straight out of the box. I could easily set and forget this device and still marvel at the vividity and detail in a range of different movies and games - without even touching some of the more exciting features under the hood. I thought this projector had changed the game when I first booted it up - then I revved all its engines and was blown away all over again.

HDR is on another level with that XR tone mapping in play, making for a much higher contrast level in high-brightness settings, all with inky dark blacks and excellent shadow detailing. Even dedicated scene presets like Cinema Film and IMAX Enhanced offered tangible upgrades to the right content, with the former offering particularly warm tones in more relaxed scenes. Overall, HDR content was brighter, more vivid, and more detailed than I’ve ever seen it before.

Joker, running off a Blu-Ray through the PS5 ran beautifully, with incredible color representation that truly made the most of that contrast range with velvety colors bouncing off shadowed scenes beautifully. Detail was captured with intense sharpness, and while I had to retune the cooler tones to bring the reddish hues of these scenes out a little further, all retouches were simple and easy.

Dunkirk represents an extra challenge for the system’s HDR capabilities. This is a much more muted color space, largely filled with grays and blues. However, it was the detailing amongst the darker scenes that truly shone in this test. Here, those cooler tones played a fantastic role in allowing wider shots to breathe, all while Tom Hardy’s crash billowed with a super energetic clash of color. Even SDR content benefits from Sony’s attention to detail, with a more spruced image than I’ve typically seen even from similarly priced projectors.

Of course, these movies are best enjoyed in the dark - but with a few ambient lights around the room the Sony Bravia Projector 8 still managed to keep its cool. It runs much better in low light than cheaper models I’ve come across, losing very little detail in brighter scenes and - thanks to the additional processing - maintaining its clarity in shadows as well. There is a noticeable difference in the overall pop of the image, which is to be expected - and there are ‘bright’ presets designed to combat this, but they do add a slight film over the picture as a result.

Gaming feels smooth during single player endeavours, though I the extra snappiness of the BenQ X3100i is still preferable if you’re playing more competitively. Overall picture quality in these solo missions is greatly improved on the Bravia, though. Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s brown and orange hues gathered a new lease of life when running through Sony’s lens, and the bubblegum color palette of Astro Bot is still burned into my retinas today.

Should you buy the Sony Bravia Projector 8 (VPL-XW6100ES)?

I spend most of my time tinkering with projectors in the $1,000 - $4,000 region, but have enjoyed my fair share of top-end options over the years. I’ve never seen a projector run like this. You don’t often see this level of improvement at the top end of the market, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) value is on Sony’s side here.

$16K is a lot to spend on anything, but if you’re ready for an investment that cash is getting you a lot here. If I could, I would watch all major releases on the Sony Bravia Projector 8 - it’s not only fantastic straight out of the box, but there’s a lot of room to grow with this device as well. Hours can be spent tinkering with intricate settings options and dedicated presets should you wish to get the best possible image quality for your setup, but the best part is you don’t need to do anything at all.

This is an enthusiast’s projector, but only its price cuts out the rest of the market. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of color theory or the minutia of projecting technology to get a cinema-grade home theatre here - and that’s worth a lot by itself.

Gamers beware, though. This isn’t necessarily the projector for you. Unless you’re also building out a full entertainment system, I’d recommend the much cheaper BenQ X3100i. Yes, you’ll get a better picture from Sony’s top-of-the-range model, but it runs at a slightly slower speed for around $13,000 more.

How I tested the Sony Bravia Projector 8 (VPL-XW6100ES)

I used the Sony Bravia Projector 8 for a month, originally testing in a smaller living room area before moving into a full basement theatre setup. I tested the projector at a range of different presets (generally sticking to Cinema Film 2 and Game) across Joker, Dunkirk, and A Quiet Place Day One (via Blu-Ray on PS5). I also tested in SDR content running via Netflix. I tested Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, Astro Bot, and Apex Legends on PS5 using the system’s HDMI 2.1 connection as well. For more information on how we test projectors, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

We’re also rounding up all the best outdoor projectors and the best portable projectors for more on-the-go options, or check out the best gaming TVs for a more traditional panel.

Like actual space research, SETI is complex and time consuming. Even with player guides for everyone that explain the various actions you can take, how technology upgrades work, and what the end-of-game scoring tiles mean, it’s easy to make mistakes on a first playthrough. It’s more satisfying on a second or third attempt, though even then it’s going to require several hours of commitment since even setting up the board involves a fair amount of work.

If that doesn’t deter you, SETI is a deeply rewarding play experience that forces you to think strategically and take into account what other players are working on and how the moving of the Solar System will impact your future actions. It also has one of the best solo modes I’ve seen in a competitive game, using an evolving deck to replicate the feeling of your opponent’s engine ramping up as the game progresses. If you value head-to-head tactics, this may just be one of the best board games in recent years.

Features & design

• About searching for intelligent alien life
• Solar system board looks amazing but takes up lots of space
• Five different aliens to encounter, with two chosen secretly each game
• Cards all have flavor text to teach a bit about astronomy

SETI is a table-hungry game, centering on a spectacular modular game board that replicates the Solar System. You can scan a QR code in the rulebook to get a random starting orientation when setting up for each game, which will determine trajectories for your exploration of different planets. The positions will shift regularly, with three different tracks representing the planets, comets and asteroids revolving around the sun.

The other highlight is the large deck of cards which can be played for a wide variety of effects, spent for immediate benefits like earning publicity or moving a probe, or turned into income that you’ll generate each of the game’s turns. The cards are based on real innovations or projects like the Herschel Space Observatory and Mariner 10 Mission, complete with high quality art and a bit of flavor text.

Each player has a small board that represents what they can do with their actions, unlocking more options for scanning distant stars, deploying probes, and crunching data as they upgrade their technology. While the types of technology you can unlock is consistent across games, the kicker prizes you get along with your research is determined randomly during setup so the resources you need are likely to impact what you prioritize.

Similarly, the five aliens have their own boards and decks that offer fresh objectives and strategies when revealed, complete with small decks of cards and their own rules sheets.

Each player board also has a second side representing a level of difficulty for an AI opponent in SETI’s excellent single player mode. Your virtual academic rival has their own deck that upgrades over the course of a game and based on what aliens you encounter, a dynamic that feels richer than the usual way of increasing difficulty in solo play by denying the player resources.

The pieces are equally well designed, from little microphones representing each player’s publicity score to clear data pieces marked with ones and zeros that you collect from scanning.

Gameplay

• You need to find your ideal mission window based on Solar System movement
• Actions get more complex and competitive as turns go on
• Be sure to build up a good engine rather than just going for big points

Turns in SETI start relatively fast and simple and ramp up in complexity as players build out their engines, gathering more income that can be used to take more actions. Energy and credits are highly limited resources, with credits mostly being used to play cards while energy allows you to move and land probes. Cards give you a huge amount of options and provide major benefits for completing objectives. They can also significantly add to your score at the end of the game so figuring out what to play when is a huge part of SETI's strategy.

The main way you gain more resources is by increasing your income, which gives you an immediate reward and the same resource again at the start of each of the game’s five turns. In early rounds, players will want to prioritize gathering data and putting probes into orbit to increase their income while earning publicity by flying past planets and comets in order to research new techs that will make their actions more efficient. Unfortunately, if you don’t get a good engine going early in the game, you’re likely to fall behind and have a hard time catching up, which can feel very frustrating given how long SETI takes.

Many researchers can gather data on a given star, but only one researcher actually gets full credit for the discovery. That means you’ll want to plan carefully based on what you think your opponents are going to do and even what position the Earth is likely to be in on future turns when you take your actions in order to make the most out of your research. The relative value of scanning versus landing on planets and moons changes depending on the number of players, with more players meaning additional chances to complete scans and fewer offering less competition for key spots for probes.

When a certain amount of discoveries have been made by crunching data, landing on planets and scanning stars, an alien species is discovered. These aren’t as transformative to the game as you might think, but can favor different strategies. For instance, the insectoid Mascamites encourage players to focus on landing probes on Jupiter and Saturn, while the fossilized remains found on Oumaumua provide another place to scan.

SETI also has one of the best solo modes I’ve seen in a competitive game. The AI starts with a simple four-card deck but replaces cards when the aliens arrive to suit the circumstances and also gains cards that allow them to take more powerful actions over the course of the game. Their difficulty ramps up faster if the player doesn’t complete randomly determined objectives, which are mostly things you probably wanted to try to do anyway, so will shape your priorities. Because so much of the game is based on the location of the Earth and other planets in the Solar System, the AI’s actions never seem too random and you might even get help from them completing scans.

Should you buy SETI?

If you find playing highly complex strategic games by yourself or with a small, dedicated group of friends satisfying, SETI would be a great option to add to your collection. It’s especially appealing to fans of astronomy and space faring science fiction, providing rich flavor to compliment the strong design.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested SETI

Our reviewer played SETI multiple times and with different player counts (including by themselves) over a number of days to get the best sense of the game's systems.

To learn more, be sure to check out this guide to how we test board games. As for a broader overview, see the GamesRadar+ review policy.

For more recommendations, be sure to check in with our guide to the best 2-player board games and the best cooperative board games.

Set in a world fractured by sordid betrayal, magical mishaps, and an insatiable chaos Godling, there's plenty of threads to follow as you explore perilous lands, traverse fairy roads, unearth shrines, and get battered by the unpredictable and very British weather of the many seasons and unseasons of Dolmenwood. It's all very enticing for the folklore-inclined, but in a landscape of the best tabletop RPGs dominated by giants like D&D and Pathfinder, where does a game like Dolmenwood stand?

Features & design

• Old School Ruleset
• No point distribution in character creation
• Saving throws are well thought out

The author, Gavin Norman, based Dolmenwood on his Old School Essentials (OSE) system – a clone of the 1981 D&D Basic/Expert (B/X) subset of 1st Edition. It comes with some light customizations to make the system palatable for new players, including a modern higher-is-better ruling for Armor Class, improvements to the Treasure Types system, and a bunch of additional rules for the common challenges and hazards of a British folklore setting.

The campaign book is 470-odd pages of well-structured, easy-to-parse information. The most pertinent notes are emboldened with the rest in parenthesis, or its own little nearby stat block, for when players engage. The 200-page player's handbook gently ushers in newbies with short preambles and examples where necessary. The PDF hyperlinks are well utilized, too, with each map hex linking out to its full description.

And my god the artwork is gorgeous. With contributions from a collective of artists, the designs fit so beautifully with how I envision the setting, I cannot praise this game enough in terms of graphic design and artworking.

When it comes to character creation, Dolmenwood uses terms that'll be familiar to your average D&D player, though some are named more appropriately such as 'Kindred' in place of species. Before choosing a Kindred or Class, players roll 3d6 for all the usual Ability Scores like Strength, Charisma, and Intelligence in turn, with no option to distribute points. After choosing a Kindred and Class, you can improve your Prime Ability scores by adding a point and reducing another, less important score by two points (ouch).

Classes include Friars who can destroy the undead, chivalric Knights who can assess the worth of any steed, and Magicians who can detect magic innately, alongside the usual Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Thief, and Hunter archetypes, all with their own folkloric twists. As for Kindreds you have your average Mortal Humans, and goat-like Breggle with horn-related psychic powers. There are Fairy Kindreds including the immortal Elves and catlike, shapeshifting Grimalkin. Demi-Fey Kindreds such as Mossling and bat-faced Woodgrue also feature, each with special quirks such as the Mosslings' Yeast Master Knack that allows them to ferment sweet liquid and commune with the fungus (ew).

Characters all have Listen, Search, and Survival Targets rolled on a d6, similarly to Ability checks, with situational modifiers often coming into play. Most variables are noted with a percentage or "something in 6" chance to have a certain effect, such as for the Mosslings' fermented brew to be palatable to other Kindreds.

Attack rolls hinge on hitting or beating an opponent's AC on a d20 roll, plus mods, and Saving Throws have had a superb overhaul from D&D's B/X version. These are split into a simple array of Doom, Ray, Hold, Blast and Spell, which makes picking a category much easier when you're trying to avoid being poisoned, knocked down and the like.

Combat is also split into Rounds, at the start of which each side rolls against one another for Initiative. Before Initiative is rolled, however, characters must Declare whether they intend to flee from melee range, cast a spell, or Parry in case they lose Initiative. It's a bit more strat-heavy and much less reactive than something like D&D 5e.

Gameplay

• Highly strategic, often deadly combat
• Reliance on randomness makes balancing hard
• Glorious, deep lore and worldbuilding

Dolmenwood character creation is made easy thanks to the simple, two-page walkthrough and roll tables. They make the process super speedy for when you need to quickly roll up a new character mid-battle. And you most certainly will if you're not careful, because this is not a forgiving system. Once your character's HP hits zero, they die; no Death Saving Throws. Unless you're granted quick access to a high level caster who can revive the dead, it can be game over in an instant.

The real restrictions for player characters become clear when you try to play a Class that doesn't support the Prime Abilities you've rolled. Your character will have to live with a -10% or -20% XP modifier that means being left behind if you roll badly or miss a session, especially if the rest of your party is working with a 10% or 20% XP bonus. The system attempts to curb this by capping advancement so PCs can't rise more than 2 levels in a session. It's rare, but stripping players of their hard earned XP is a sure way to upset them.

Thankfully there are plenty of optional advancement rules, including easier milestone advancement, and XP for gaining and/or spending money. So if someone's lagging behind XP-wise, you can always appoint them to acquire new gear while you're all in the tavern.

The reliance on randomness also means, while you might've come to Dolmenwood to try out one of the fun new Classes Norman dreamed up, you're stuck with whatever ragtag crew the dice cough up unless you're prepared to keep rerolling characters to make your stats fit, make huge sacrifices in your non-Prime Abilities, or give in and let players distribute Ability Points. This reliance on randomness also makes initial party balancing really hard.

As for making Combat declarations and rolling for initiative every round, while it makes sense in a certain way it means combat is pretty front-loaded and much harder to track. It means Dolmenwood feels much more like a combat strategy game than more narrative focussed campaigns, despite the comprehensive narrative building blocks. Players have to think creatively to get out of combat or avoid it altogether, which makes combat all the more intense when it’s unavoidable. It’s tough as a GM as you have to be willing to either kill off your entire party, or give them an out even in low-level combat.

Dolmenwood is a fascinating campaign setting, though. As a GM, you're never strapped for lexical garnishings or substantial narrative fuel to fire a campaign. As far as the system goes, it hits a good middle ground between hardcore OSR and more modern rulesets. While it isn't the most rules-lite system, it covers the most important bits like fighting, looting, timekeeping, and travel succinctly with some unique and fun mechanics for things like drinking and foraging. It also goes over some rarer interactions like fighting in water, so as not to leave you in the dark if this is your first TRPG foray.

Advancement tables and easy fractional chances help soften the crunchiness, and optional rules provide alternate ways to track things like Encumbrance. It's not as dense a system as D&D 5e, but it certainly puts more pressure on the GM to keep track of everything. If they're not on the ball with balancing encounters and placing helpful herbs, potions, and characters, you might find your players TPKed by a handful of Pixies in a starter settlement (I'm not proud that I did this).

Should you buy Dolmenwood?

With OSR at its heart, Dolmenwood encourages a sandbox approach to tabletop gaming, pushing players to think outside the box or get wrecked. It offers abundant narrative building blocks, countless rumors for enticing players into the undergrowth, and all the tools that allow you to quickly slap together a story, supplementing the journey with fantastic roll tables for when players shift off course to follow some inane thread you mentioned on a passing whim.

Against its B/X foundation there are some drastically helpful improvements, but for all its frilly flavor text and drunken roll-table tomfoolery, Dolmenwood packs a punishing ruleset compared to many modern systems.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Dolmenwood

A few sessions of play, leading up to and working through the starter campaign. I also did a deep dive into the Campaign Book, Players Book and Monster Book to get a feel for how the game worked compared to other OSR games, as well as more modern TRPGs.

For a more comprehensive look at our process, see our guide to how we test board games, or the wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

For more content, why not look at some of the best TRPGs out there, or check out the game that beat Dolmenwood in the most anticipated TTRPGs of 2025 survey.

You’d be hard-pushed to find a brand that is more intrinsically linked with high-quality microphones and audio equipment than Shure. We consider the Shure SM7dB to be one of the best microphones for streaming and gaming but with it being on the expensive side of high-end, that iconic microphone tends to be a pipe dream for the average content creator, let alone your everyday gamer.

That’s exactly the problem this premium audio brand is trying to solve with the new Shure MV6 USB Gaming Microphone. With a price of entry at only $149/£129 it’s aiming to provide gamers with the same high quality that you’d find in the MV7 or the SM7B microphones but at a much more approachable price.

Design

Looking at the Shure MV6 microphone straight out of the box, you’d perhaps struggle to tell the difference between it and its more expensive cousins. It looks very similar to the now iconic Shure SM7dB just a little smaller and condensed.

It comes with a very sturdy and nicely designed desktop stand that simply screws onto the microphone holder. Unfortunately, you’re not able to adjust the height of the stand, but the holder on top allows you to change the positioning of the microphone itself. Alongside the stand, it comes with a wind guard that doubles as an integrated pop filter to prevent unwanted sounds from being picked up. It's always nice when you buy a microphone and you don't need to think about forking out for more of the best gear for streaming like a pop filter or stand. For your money, you’ll also get a 1-metre-long USB-C cable which is disappointingly short.

The capsule of the microphone is housed inside a black chassis with a green cage design which is concealed by the windscreen. Once that is attached the lime green colors accent the microphone nicely as a ring around the middle of the device as well as its onboard mute button. On the side of the body, you’ll also spot the Shure branding in grey text quietly reminding you who these regularly-seen mics are made by. On the rear of the device, you’ll find a USB-C port to allow you to connect it to your PC and a headphone jack to allow live monitoring and PC audio playback.

Features

The microphone that's housed inside is a dynamic one which essentially means it converts sound waves into electrical signals using something called electromagnetism - and this is where my understanding of the underlying technology ends.

In plain terms, it means that compared to the more common condenser microphones like the SteelSeries Alias, the MV6 should be better at picking up your voice from directly in front of it. Like the Shure MV7+, there’s value in proximity with this brand’s narrower cardioid patterns, but the result is a large reduction in background noise.

With your purchase of the MV6 microphone, you will also gain access to the Motiv Mix app that allows you to adjust your microphone and tweak all sorts of settings. While this is helpful and easy to understand, I didn’t find myself using it as much as I expected and would prefer to use OBS or Adobe Audition as that's what I am used to. Most gamers or streamers will either not use software like this or will have a preferred software that they use already - especially if they own one of the best streaming mixers with dedicated software.

However, it is worth using a few of the features from the Motiv Mix App such as the digital Denoiser, the Auto Level Mode, and the Digital Popper Stopper, all of these I found to be helpful when streaming and worth the additional download of the app.

To test the Denoiser effect I played very loud white noise from my SteelSeries Arena 3 speakers which are sat right next to my desk. The first recording is what it sounds like with the Denoiser effect off, while the second is the effect turned on. While there is only a slight difference, the Denoiser successfully eliminates the background hum produced both by the white noise and my computer while it can be heard with the effect turned off.

A less noticeable difference is through the digital popper stopper which aims to reduce the harsh ‘puh’ sounds. It does manage to make it sound more pleasant to listen to and reduces the poppy sound. Hopefully, my masterful attempts at "Peter Piper" have showcased the subtle differences when it is turned on compared to when it's off (scroll down to hear those audio samples). It’s not an effect that's all too noticeable, but like I said previously it is worth using regardless.

The same goes for the Auto–Level-Mode, it was very difficult to sample this and record the differences but it did make an impact when using the Shure MV6 microphone so I would recommend turning it on.

Performance

Having used the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma for the past few months, considering it to be a good microphone, I was shocked at how much I preferred the Shure MV6 in comparison.

The room that I record in - my bedroom which doubles as my office and gaming suite - has practically no soundproofing. Yet despite this, I was impressed at the MV6’s ability to capture my voice during gameplay and streams and make it sound high quality and professionally treated. Thanks to the real-time Denoiser found in the Motiv Mix app I found that it practically eliminated any annoying background noise that I didn’t want picked up by the microphone. I usually don’t have much background noise but this eliminated the annoying hum of my computer that is occasionally present.

Thanks to my compact recording space I don’t have much room to keep the microphone at a huge distance so it is often sat on my desk directly in front of me. One of my constant worries with any microphone is how much it picks up and blows out any ‘puh’ or ‘buh’ sounds with it being so close. Thankfully my worries were put to rest with the Shure MV6 as its pop filter and digital popper stopper were able to stop any overpowering plosive sounds. In particular, the Digital Popper Stopper - a fantastic name - does a similarly fantastic job in reducing any distortions in your recordings.

The audio quality throughout my use of the MV6 was consistently of a very high level and something I would consider to be standout compared to similar USB products within the same price range. 99% of the time my audio was well-rounded, clear, and captured all the tones you’d want being picked up while eliminating the ones you don’t. For gamers and streamers, the Shure MV6 does exactly what you want and need and then some especially considering its competitive price point of $149/£129.

Should you buy the Shure MV6?

It is safe to say that Shure’s MV6 microphone is a top-quality product at a budget price and one that asks a very compelling question; should you buy it over the MV7+? That mic takes a more professional approach, giving you more futureproofing in the form of USB and XLR connectivity.

Sure, you could splash out a little bit more funds on the MV7 model. Sure, you could want a slightly more ‘professional’ sound - albeit one that would be hard to detect on a blind listen. And sure, you could want to use XLR over USB-C as your connection. However, I find it hard to justify the additional costs involved when the MV6 delivers exactly the sound quality I need for from-home live streaming without breaking the bank.

For gamers and streamers looking for their first quality microphone who don’t mind spending north of $100/£100 then you can’t go wrong with Shure’s MV6.

How we tested the Shure MV6 microphone

I used the Shure MV6 microphone for 2 months as my main microphone for gaming, streaming, and script recording. Alongside my use of the microphone, I used the Motiv Mix App as mentioned in the review. While streaming I used OBS to stream to Twitch and for script recording I utilised Adobe Audition and Audacity.

For more on how we test the latest streaming gear, take a look at our hardware policy.

There's more content creation gear where that came from. Check out the best webcams, the best capture cards, and the best ring lights for streaming.

But for the most part, Netflix spin-off Castlevania: Nocturne actually succeeded in channeling the best of the franchise in season 1, building on decades of worldbuilding already established in Konami's legendary video game series with bloody action and a devilish grin.

Yet even with its new cast of delightful characters and a welcome change in setting, the first season of Nocturne still never quite soared to the heights of Castlevania at its best.

Whether you blame the departure of controversial writer Warren Ellis, pressure to match the original, or something else entirely, it always felt like there was something missing in the first chapter, as if it was the younger sibling trying to keep up without fully understanding what made the original so special in the first place.

With the arrival of season 2, Castlevania: Nocturne now has the added pressure of living up to that legacy while also building on the new arc established in season 1. Kind of like a certain vampire with a huge legacy of his own who showed up out of nowhere last time in a surprise cliffhanger…

Levelling up

Set 300 years after the end of Castlevania, Richter Belmont and his merry band of vampire hunters continue fighting to stop Erzsebet Báthory in the new season. This 'Vampire Messiah', already on the verge of godhood, is now closer than ever to obtaining the full power of an actual goddess named Sekhmet amidst the French Revolution circa 1792.

But thankfully, the gang have levelled up too. Having unlocked his gifts at the end of season 1, Richter is now living up to the Belmont name and then some by incorporating control over the elements into his whip-based brawling. Meanwhile, Annette's mastery over earth and metal continues to grow as she sets out on a quest to obtain more power at the behest of her ancestors who believe she may be the key to defeating the Vampire Messiah.

And then there's Maria Renard, a summoner whose ability to conjure dark entities takes on a frightening new dimension (literally) in season 2, compounded by the loss of her mother to vampiric forces. Her storyline especially is a highlight this season. When Maria stares into the abyss, it stares back at her with eyes she can control, or at least try to, depending on her mental state. The corrupting nature of this unknown gift, which calls upon energies other gifted magic-users don't understand, plays out separately to the main narrative, but this is where the show excels most.

Between Tera's struggle as a newly-fledged vampire and how this is echoed through Maria's own descent into darkness, the Renard mother-daughter dynamic is a highlight that speaks to the thematic backbone of the original Castlevania where Alucard wrestled with his half-human, half-vampire lineage.

A backwards Dracula

Ah yes, Alucard, the son of Dracula, who barreled into the fray at the very end of Nocturne season 1 with all the force of blood bursting out of a severed artery. Despite the two shows sharing a universe together, and despite the fact that Alucard is immortal and so could theoretically appear in sequels until the end of time, his arrival was nonetheless shocking in the best way possible, bridging the universe established in Castlevania with this new roster in an ambitious bout of expansive world-building.

This franchise often knows exactly what its fans want at the right moment, be it a perfectly-placed Easter egg or a perfectly timed bout of choreography, and Nocturne is no exception, opening with a solo Alucard fight that reminds us why viewers would line up for a bite from his truly.

From that point on though, the show wisely moves him to the side, being ever present with his condescending quips without drawing too much attention away from the central characters and their story. Because it is their story now, Alucard had his time, and making him the star again would risk diminishing returns while doing a disservice to what Nocturne has already established.

That's not to say Alucard has just been included for the sake of it. In the show's quieter moments, his past, including events we have and have not seen, play into conversations with the new, younger cast, be it through advice on evil dads and the transformative power of love or what it means to live forever (especially when the Belmont bloodline is also around forever to bother you still).

Some of the banter between Alucard and Richter is reminiscent of the old days with Trevor Belmont, Richter's great, great, great, great-something-grandad, although the dialogue can feel a bit forced on occasion, especially compared to how easily it used to flow in the original show. Some of the voice actors fare better than others with the material, but James Callis remains the perfect Alucard, concerned yet aloof, while Pixie Davies captures that innocence Maria fights to retain staring so much into the void.

What does continue to flow well though is the action. Every fight, every moment in fact, is packed with the kind of innovation superhero cinema is sorely lacking these days in comparison. The team behind Marvel's Blade would do well to begin their research here, assuming the film ever comes out, because it's hard to find more thrilling battles than the ones regularly peppered throughout Nocturne.

There are grand, jaw-dropping sequences that will have you jumping out of your seat in disbelief, including a level-up for Maria that's reminiscent of Games of Thrones, but there's just as much wow factor in the little moments too, whether it's Richter steadying himself with iced-up knuckles, Maria's hair moving like Sailor Moon's as she seeks vengeance, or even just Tera using melting ice to shield her vampire form from the sun overhead.

Lacks bite

No punches are pulled, especially in one long fight that stretches over the final two episodes, so it's a shame that the villain at the heart of this conflict lacks punch. That's true of both villains in fact because neither Erzsebet Báthory nor Drolta Tzuentes are particularly engaging this time around. And I say that as a huge fan of the latter in season 1. Compared to the vicious Council of Sisters from Castlevania, and the deliciously evil Carmilla especially, these new Big Bads are big in the power stakes, but are kind of bad, or at least a bit dull, when it comes to the charisma you'd expect from a world chock-full of likeable monsters.

Olrox, the old Aztec vampire in love with a Christian soldier, helps balance this out with his much welcomed return in season 2 although even his story is a bit underdeveloped. Edouard is also under-used now that he's kept almost entirely separate from the rest of the gang, except when he's trotted out to sing his gorgeous opera notes that further emphasize the contrast between his now-horrific demon visage and the beauty that can still be found at times in this cruel, bleak world.

Bleak, yet stunningly so, the carefully rendered locations expand from rural France to the streets of Paris, inside the Louvre and even Ancient Egypt in season 2, not to mention other spirit realms that only Annette can see. The animation is dazzling at points, as is the love story that sits at its center, although the chemistry between Annette and Richter lacks some heart compared to the emotive beats of other arcs like Maria's.

I won't spoil how all these threads tie together by the end of the season, but just know that it doesn't end on quite such an abrupt cliffhanger as the first chapter did. If this is the end of Nocturne, it's a decent one that ultimately does the franchise proud, even if it doesn't quite match the dizzying, blood-curdling heights of Castlevania's flagship show.

Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Check out how you can watch the new season in full with our Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 release schedule.

Discover more new anime around the corner with our guides to the Attack on Titan movie and the Chainsaw Man movie.

Christopher Abbott stars as Blake Lovell, a husband and father who inherits his estranged dad’s Oregon farm and takes his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and adoring young daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) for a much needed break to his rural childhood home. But after the family is attacked by a vicious creature, they must barricade themselves inside the remote farmhouse for the night and, once Blake begins to behave strangely under the effects of a new mysterious ‘sickness’, must fight both the terror within as well as what is prowling the forests that surround them.

From the opening titles that explain about missing hikers and indigenous legends about something called the ‘Face of the Wolf’, Whannell’s intentions to craft a movie that harks back to werewolf pictures that have come before – like 1981’s The Howling and An American Werewolf in London and 1994’s Wolf – are clear. But the director and his writing partner Corbett Tuck have something fresh up their sleeves along with the nostalgia, leaning into themes of mortality, parental responsibility, genetic trauma, marital miscommunication, and the tension between urban and rural perspectives. Along with its solid focus on the body horror that comes with the monstrous transformation, Wolf Man’s emotional core and inherent tragedy gives it more in common with David Cronenberg’s The Fly than fluffier fare like Teen Wolf.

Monstrous transformation

Whannell wanted Wolf Man to honor artists like Jack P. Pierce, the legendary creator of Lon Chaney Jr’s wolf in the 1941 Universal classic The Wolf Man, and he worked with hair and makeup designer Jane O’Kane and prosthetic designer Arjen Tuiten to create Christopher Abbott’s look in the film. The result both presents the unique stages of Blake’s transformation into the titular beast and gives Abbott the freedom to perform through his makeup.

The werewolf transformation is gradual but brutal. Blake’s mood darkens, he sweats and growls, his senses heighten, his jaw juts and his eyes blacken, his skin mottles and his hair falls out, and once the sickness truly takes hold, those bodily comparisons to The Fly and An American Werewolf in London are too sickening to ignore.

Whannell’s longtime collaborators cinematographer Stefan Duscio and sound design artists P.K. Hooker and Will Files, along with the film’s VFX team, also lend their substantial talents to our experience of Blake’s transformation. Through what the filmmakers have dubbed ‘Wolf Vision’, they show the audience the creature’s perspective as he begins to perceive everything more sharply, especially in the inky darkness that suffuses the movie.

The main action of Wolf Man takes place all in one night and its use of darkness is one of the things that makes the film’s scares work so well. Paired with Duscio’s mischievous camera lens – utilised previously to terrifying effect in The Invisible Man – the use of shadow, and mere glimpses of loping or crawling figures through black windows and in dirty mirrors, will set your canine teeth on edge from the outset. When and if the lights do come on, it’s a genuine relief.

As well as scanning a deserted treeline or pulling the audience’s attention to something just behind the primary action on screen, the camera also tilts in sickly fashion, for example when Blake’s perception shifts and especially during one particularly effective sequence involving a truck and a tree. This makes the film a woozy, disorienting experience, and the unsettling and often near-deafening sound design plus drum-laden music by Benjamin Wallfisch only add to the off-kilter vibes.

Practical magic

Scares come thick and fast, from masterfully crafted tension and solid jump scares to wince-inducing body horror and sudden bursts of violence. Major set-pieces, like one that takes place on the precarious roof of a greenhouse and another that involves a wolf man-on-wolf man battle of tooth and claw, see both actors and stunt performers taking on beautifully choreographed action, proving that it’s not only the makeup that Whannell wanted to keep practical.

Beyond impressive stunt work, the performances from Abbott, Garner and Firth are excellent, grounding the fantastical elements of this monster tale in a heartbreaking narrative about what can happen when someone you love becomes unrecognizable. Abbott’s Blake is a believably dedicated father and frustrated son and husband, and his physical embodiment of the beast is both imposing and sad. Garner also wows, once again employing her by-now-well-known talents to portray an outwardly strong professional woman who must harness her inner maternal instincts to protect her daughter from unknowable horrors.

The film may veer into softness and sentimentality a couple of times too often, especially at the very end, lessening somewhat the more visceral impact of the beast beyond its effect on the Lovell family, but some nods and homages that bring moments of ‘if you know you know’ levity are welcome.

Wolf Man is a superb adaptation of a well loved horror classic, a frightening and heartrending new take on an enduring monster, and a brilliantly crafted update to the werewolf subgenre.

Wolf Man is out on January 17, 2025 and available in theaters. For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to upcoming horror movies.

Like the legendary game of Catan, it's one of those gateway board games that everyone and their mom has played at one point or another. But is Carcassonne really worth it in 2025? And does it still deserve to be considered one of the best board games two decades after it was first published?

Features & design

• Lay down tiles to create a map
• Claim features with your tokens to get points
• Based on a historic French city fortress

Seeing as it's based on the eponymous French city of walls and picturesque streets, it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that the board game challenges you to build your own using random tiles. These feature parts of towns, roads, abbeys, and gardens that you've got to complete in a grand jigsaw puzzle.

More specifically, each player blind-draws a tile and takes it in turns to expand fields, cities, or roads by joining the piece with a matching edge currently making up the board. The game ends when all tiles are placed.

After placing a tile, a player can decide to claim something on it by putting one of their wooden 'meeples' (the people-shaped tokens, here called 'Followers') there. Points are awarded to that player as soon as their road or city is completed, or their monastery is surrounded by tiles. They then take that meeple back and increase their score by however much they've earned. The bigger the city or road, the more points are up for grabs.

This is essentially the entire game, though as you play it's important to remember the tiles that will be scored at the end. One of the more powerful options for claiming map features, and one that's easy to overlook, is laying a meeple down in a field. This earns you three points for every completed city within or bordering that field. Powerful stuff.

No matter what you build, it'll look rather handsome when finished. A completed board is a satisfying, patchwork map of medieval life.

Yes, the meeple you place there are simplistic, but they're a downright iconic design that stands the test of time.

Gameplay

• Simple rules that are easy to learn
• Heavy focus on luck-of-the-draw
• Perfect for beginners, may frustrate experienced gamers

If you're new to the best adult board games, are hunting down the best family board games, or haven't ventured far beyond Monopoly, Carcassonne serves as the perfect entry-point to this hobby. It's accessible, easy-going, and strategic enough to keep you invested until the end of each match. There's a reason why this is often touted as a good 'beginner' board game, after all.

On the flip side, Carcassonne may not appeal to players who are used to more complex board games or even wargames. While it's easy to learn and teach by comparison, it may leave your average Eurogamer wanting more. Why play with colored blocks when you have Mechano, am I right?

Play also relies almost entirely on the luck of the draw. Players decide where to place tiles and what to claim, but there is no selection process or forewarning around what's coming next. It makes it hard to form strategies and frustration can set in toward the end as you draw tiles from the dregs of the bag. Of course, there are a couple of simple tactics you can set up early on, especially if you're privy to how many of each kind of tile there is in your set, but you're never entirely sure if they'll fully play out.

Similarly, avid city builders will wince at the heavy procedurality, particularly if they have an artistic eye. Honestly, some roads and cities end up looking like they were designed by an alien species.

That said, there are plenty of expansions to give it more depth.

In addition, the randomization means there's heaps of replayability. With countless tile combinations and more than a few ways to score, no two games are ever the same.

Where Carcassonne really shines is in its simplicity, too. Don't get me wrong, assumptions and accidental house rules often creep up. Players often assume they know the rules so they don't think to check, but Carcassonne is at least quick to get the hang of. That's not least thanks to competitive symmetry (when everyone is playing the same game as opposed to working toward separate, hidden goals). No one is stuck pouring over their own version of the rules, and there's also a real social element to a game in which everyone contributes to the building of the same board.

There's a very careful limit placed on the number of meeples each player has in Carcassonne. The fact you use them as placeholders means you have to think carefully about the things you claim and the Followers you'll have left over. It's a smart way to give other players who might not be doing so well a fair chance to catch up.

Should you buy Carcassonne?

Carcassonne is one of those quintessential worker placement board games that's appropriate for the whole family, and takes mere moments to teach. Even non-board gamers tend to get the hang of it pretty quickly, so it's a great one to whip out at family gatherings. If you're looking for something with broad appeal, Carcassonne is a great option.

For those who want a greater challenge, though, it may be worth looking at the likes of Life in Reterra instead. It's a very similar concept, but has far more depth.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Carcassonne

We have had Carcassonne in our collection for years, so have spent a long time getting to grips with its systems. For this review, we paid particular attention to how it holds up more than 20 years after it was first published.

For more on our process, see our guide to how we test board games. You can also check out the wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

It's somewhat fitting then that season 5 kicks off with another reset, immediately discarding the Gotham City Sirens setup that the season 4 finale promised in favor of something else completely. There was a lot of potential fun to be had with these versions of Catwoman and Oracle, so it's a shame that this new team is brushed over so quickly, but it's also for the best.

Taking big swings

Rather than repeat a similar Bat-family style team-up again, season 5 avoids getting into a rut by moving Harley and Poison Ivy out of Gotham into a shiny new apartment across the river in Metropolis. The perpetually loved-up couple do so to avoid getting into a rut themselves, because in the wake of their team's break-up, eating Thai food in bed became the focal point of their life together for over a year before making this change.

And what a change it is. Away from the cesspool of Gotham, Harley and Ivy are reinvigorated by everything the city of Metropolis has to offer, and to some degree, that's also true of the show itself. This modern, seemingly perfect utopia brings in a stark contrast to the grimy hellhole we've spent the last four seasons in, and the writers have a lot of fun playing around with this early on. Who knew that people from Gotham smelled like "piss" this whole time?

Once this new setting is established, Harley Quinn wastes no time bringing back faves like Clayface, King Shark, and Bane because Metropolis has better schools, obviously. If you haven't kept up with the Kite-Man spin-off, you might be surprised to learn that Bane is now a family man, playing daddy to the fairytale character of Goldilocks.

That's not all though. If there's one through-line to speak of in Harley Quinn season 5 it's family, specifically parenthood, that drives the emotional resonance of the show this time around.

Without spoiling too much, there are some particularly moving moments in the latter half of the season inspired by this, although the addition of King Shark's new kid, Sean, isn't one of them. To be fair, he's supposed to be annoying as he literally chews up the scenery, unable to stop himself from eating everything in his path. But the problem is that he ends up grating on us even more than he does the actual characters in the show, with jokes as dull as his teeth are sharp.

The "perfect" villain

Otherwise, most of the new characters are more nefarious this time around, swapping in and out to share the role of this season's 'Big Bad'. One highlight early on is the introduction of Jason Woodrue, a scientist who diehard comic book fans will already recognise as The Floronic Man, a stupidly named yet imposing villain who was responsible for Pamela Isley's Poison Ivy transformation (in the post-Infinite Crisis DCU). How he interacts with this version of Ivy makes for a darker turn than fans of the show might be used to, incorporating horror and elements of trauma in one of Harley Quinn's most memorable and significant storylines in the series as a whole.

But just when you think season 5 might be getting too dark, Clayface performs a play about people who weren't present during major historical events, introducing Giovannia, an Italian man from 1921 who wonders what might happen at Pearl Harbor two decades on…

Brainiac, the classic Superman baddie who's long been obsessed with Metropolis, straddles humor and villainy here just as Harley's morality continues to balance that fine line between good and evil. That's always been a strength of this show, it's unwillingness to pigeonhole anyone as intrinsically good or bad (except perhaps The Floronic Man this time around).

The result is a Brainiac who embodies this character at both his scariest and silliest, especially when he chats to his alien monkey, Koko, who even comic book fans might not recognize from DC's pre-Crisis days. But even a robotic figure like him is imbued with more humanity here than some other DC properties can muster for their flagship heroes, which is credit to new cast addition Stephen Fry, and of course, the Harley Quinn writers room, as always.

In his quest for perfection, Brainiac proves himself to be a perfect 'villain' for a show like this, although just when you think you've got it all sussed out, there are plenty more twists ahead for him and us alike.

What surprised me most though was the distinct lack of Bane (or Nightwing) in the first half of season 5 especially. Thankfully, the back half makes more use of Bane even giving him adorable little reading glasses at one point, which absolutely sent me.

But as anyone who's gone back to watch YouTube compilations of his best moments can attest, you can never have too much Bane. Voice actor James Adomian deserves The Congressional Medal of Honor at this point for his service to comedy.

Yet it's fair to say that the focus this time around is back on Harley and Ivy working together, as it should be after season 4 kept them apart for large chunks of time. Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell continue to have a blast as Harley and Ivy respectively, to the point where it's hard to imagine anyone else voicing them now (despite the many Harley's cartwheeling around these days in animation and beyond).

Be gay, do crime

Now that the couple have been established for a few seasons, their relationship has (for the most part) settled into a comfortable groove, as relationships often do in real life. Just like their initial coupling was revolutionary for animated fare of any kind, let alone mainstream superhero storytelling, this ease and familiarity they share is groundbreaking in a sense too. Whether they're saving the day or gorging on food in bed, Harley and Ivy are very much couple goals throughout, with the show normalising their love in such a simple yet affectionate way.

That's not to say they're not horny miscreants still though. "Wanna go fuck shit up?" asks Harley at one point. "You had me at fuck," replies Ivy. Be gay, do crime, indeed!

It's easy to forget just how lucky we are to have a hilarious, queer DC show survive five seasons already when so many others have fallen by the wayside. Although this isn't peak Harley Quinn in the way earlier seasons were — some of the jokes don't hit quite as hard as they used to — there's still plenty to love in season 5. Because Harley is so much more than just "gymnastic skills and short shorts," as one character describes her here, no other DC adaptation has so much fun proving that point while still getting to the heart of what makes Harley tick.

Unfortunately, with all the reshuffling going on at Warner Bros, not to mention the brutal kill rate queer shows especially face in today's streaming age, it does feel like this might be the end for Harley Quinn, or at least this specific, R-rated version. If so, just know that season 5 ends the series as a whole on the perfect note you'd expect from one of the most dependable, consistently entertaining superhero shows on TV.

Harley Quinn season 5 premieres on January 16 on Max in the US with its first episode. A new episode will then air weekly through to March 20. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2025.

Depending on how high you go, where you started, and how many arches you used, you're assigned a point value that can be redeemed for cards. These cards determine how many blocks you get immediately as well as your recurring bank of blocks – but more importantly, they also have a banana point value. At the end of a Monkey Palace session, it's all about how many banana points you have; as in so many of the best board games, nothing else matters but your score.

If that sounds a bit complicated, well, yes. It does sound complicated, and trust me when I say reading the rulebook isn't going to help you consider Monkey Palace anything but fiddly. There's really no getting around it, however, and once you have wrapped your head around the rules, it can be a genuinely great time.

Features & design

• A resource management game
• Build as high as you can
• Starts simple, gets much more complex

Helpfully, because it's a board game built with Lego, the vast majority of the game's pieces are just… Lego bricks of some flavor or another. (If you're a fan of the best Lego sets, you'll feel right at home.) Mostly this is arches, columns, or single bricks with some additional decorative plants as well as a monkey, toad, and butterfly. And, of course, the base grid itself – which is covered with one of three different possible sheets to produce different kinds of maps.

Beyond the Lego bricks and the three maps, there are four different player trackers in addition to a whole mess of different cards. While the vast majority of the cards are indicative of how many Lego bricks a player should grab on a given round, some are simply meant to tally points with the game's rules being fairly clear on when that actually triggers.

As for the rulebook, there is helpfully a QR code on the box itself as well as on the first page of the rules that will likely be far more helpful than the written instructions. But for those folks that aren't able to spend time watching a video, there's honestly nothing better for understanding than playing a couple of times after getting at least a rudimentary concept of what you're supposed to do.

Gameplay

• Manage resources over several turns
• Multiple starting points for a variety of outcomes
• Earn banana points by building as high as you can

The game itself plays just fine and in a relatively intuitive way once you've actually figured it out, but if you're only using the rulebook, there might be a bit of confusion when you get started. More than once, for example, I found myself trying to puzzle out exactly what might count for points when the rules mentioned only five bricks high or more without arches but including decoration would count toward a specific objective.

The fact that Monkey Palace uses Lego bricks as such an integral part of it is both a blessing and a curse. The vast majority of people that play Monkey Palace are absolutely going to be familiar with the iconic building toy, making it rather simple to understand the fact that the main point of the game is to build up bigger and better than your rivals (making it a great board game for kids). But trying to apply a fluid framework to something that many adults might associate with explicit instructions is its own challenge, and it took multiple turns before I really began to understand all the possibilities at my fingertips that weren't simply "put this Lego brick on top of this Lego brick" over and over again.

While Monkey Palace can technically be played with just two players, I'd recommend getting as close to the full roster as possible. Because games end when you run out of pieces to grab when refilling, more players means shorter games overall. It also typically means that it's not just you and one other person backstabbing each other on every turn – there are instead multiple folks to sink the figurative knife into.

Adding more players to the mix also increases the impact of all of your decisions. Every single Lego brick you add to the growing monkey palace complicates the next player's decisions that much more. If, for example, you're able to play the little monkey on an arch end because you began in a spot that ended in a golden brick at the highest level yet, that path being blocked for multiple other players is much more significant. If it's just you and one other person trading back and forth, as my first game was, it's just as likely that you'll curse yourself with your previous decisions as you are to give your opponent a headache.

In other words? This isn't going to rank amongst the best 2-player board games anytime soon... but it's a blast with a larger head-count.

Should you buy Monkey Palace?

If you're really into Lego or want a relatively fast-paced game with familiar pieces, Monkey Palace is an easy recommendation. I'm quite picky about what games remain in rotation on my board game shelf, and Monkey Palace has settled into its own spot thanks in large part to the physicality of building wild structures.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested Monkey Palace

We played Monkey Palace several times with the different maps and optional rules. To find out more, see our guide to how we test board games. You might also read our wider GamesRadar+ reviews policy.

For recommendations, don't miss the best cooperative board games or the best family board games.

In practice though, I’ve always found Razer’s controllers to ever so slightly miss the mark, either misplacing their back buttons or ultimately feeling cheaper than their premium price tags should suggest. The Wolverine V3 Pro feels like a new chapter though, and it’s making a serious play for a spot on our best PC controller list. This is a peripheral that shows Razer has gone back to the drawing board, listened to feedback from fans and critics, and genuinely improved upon its product.

Even the price has been refined, although I’m not sure people will be any happier with the result. The Razer Wolverine V2 Pro on PS5 costs $249 / £249, but the enhanced V3 Pro has managed to adhere to the $200 / £200 mark. If that’s still too much for you, Razer has made a Tournament Edition which skimps on a few features but comes in at just $99.99 / £99.99. Are all of these improvements enough in a market that’s stacked with affordable competition?

Design

The design ethos behind the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro was to convert the speed and performance from Razer’s successful mice and keyboards into an Xbox Series X controller. After all, controller players are constantly mocked for not being able to keep up with traditional PC players, but if they have the speed of mechanical switches from Esports mice at their fingertips, maybe that’ll give them the boost they need.

In shape and size, the V3 Pro feels similar to the previous Wolverine models. It has that slightly bloated, more rounded feel in the hands than the stock Xbox controllers, but the new version feels more robust and professional than the Razer Wolverine V2 Pro ever has. I always find that Razer’s PS5 controller has a fairly hollow feel to it, and its metallic thumbstick guards create an echoed clacking sound that doesn’t do much to justify its high price tag. The V3 Pro sounds much tougher, and although I don’t like its $200 demands, it at least feels like a premium peripheral. Besides maybe the PowerA Advantage Controller, I can’t think of another gamepad I’d bet money on surviving a Mous case-style drop test.

The grips have a rubberized hexed texture that doesn’t over-exert itself. The GameSir Kaleid Flux controller has that 3D dotted texture on its grips which sometimes makes your hands itch, but the V3 doesn’t go that far. Despite some refined ergonomics elsewhere in the package, I’m a tad disappointed that the grips haven’t been elongated since previous Wolverines. My pinky fingers don’t feel catered to with this pad, which becomes more of a problem now that the back buttons are placed properly.

To be completely frank, the back button placement on the older Wolverine models is completely nonsensical. They live on the controller’s back plate, but they’re central and are placed far too high up. The result is a pair of unruly half-triggers that pay no mind to how a human being actually holds a controller. The back buttons in the V3 models feel like the biggest improvement of the entire product because they sit exactly where your middle and ring fingers naturally rest. I find I can either curl my fingers to press these with their tips, or I can have a more relaxed hold and actuate the buttons with the insides of my DIP joints.

Features

The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is an officially licensed Xbox controller, which means it’s available to use with that console and ecosystem, as well as PC. Razer, like more and more peripheral makers these days, has skirted around that annoying stipulation for Xbox controllers that means they can only use a wired connection. The V3 Pro is a wireless option that comes with a USB dongle, but most competitive PC players might be drawn to a wired connection anyway since it can reach a 1000Hz polling rate when tethered. The more affordable Tournament Edition is locked to a wired-only connection, so this is worth weighing up if you’re trying to decide which controller to go for.

There’s clearly a lot of thought that’s gone into this pad’s extra buttons. According to Razer, they feature actual mouse switches from one of its unnamed Esports mice that’s supposedly “market leading”. I’d love more specifics on that if I’m honest, but they do the trick. Either way, this places them in a league of their own. Back buttons are usually simple plastic switches that don’t have much feel to them at all, and back paddles found on the DualSense Edge and Elite Series 2 use magnetic levers that feel much more premium. With a mechanical set of four back buttons, the V3 Pro treads the line between the two, offering more speed and a feel that’s consistent with the product's other switches.

Looking at the controller from the top down, we have the two additional bumpers that this line of Razer’s controllers is known for. These are almost identical to the ones found on the Razer Kishi Ultra, and although they’re not my most-used feature, Razer wanted to carry them over for players who use a “claw-grip”, since they aren’t catered to all that often.

The rest of the buttons use a mix of membrane and mechanical switches, so the D-pad feels very spongy while the very shiny face buttons have more responsiveness. Using the trigger-stops, you can even give the triggers a super-quick mechanical actuation, which could be huge for budding Esports players. The Hall Sensor thumbsticks have removable tops, which is a first for Razer. For the brand that charges the highest price for its controllers, it is wild to think this is the first option with replaceable thumbsticks and a carrying case. It’s not quite the attachment selection offered by the Victrix Pro BFG for Xbox, but it’s much better than a controller and a cable in a plastic box, which is what Razer has offered until now. If you do opt for the cheaper Tournament Edition, you won’t get that carry case.

On an Xbox, the V3 Pro pads feature a 250Hz polling rate, which is standard for the platform. You’ll also be able to benefit from Xbox haptics, but on PC you get more for your investment, with that 1000Hz polling rate when wired, as well as Razer’s RGB Chroma syncing up with your rig’s other Razer-lit accessories. Of course, the Razer controller app for mobile and PC lets you tune deadzones for both sticks and remap the additional buttons. I’m delighted that you can do the latter without downloading an app though.

Performance

I’ve played loads of different games with the latest Wolverine controller, from Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero to Pools, to platforming around in Owlboy. This really is a versatile controller, and it has as much to offer in single-player games as it does in competitive multiplayer ones.

Even in early tests, it’s clear that speed was a priority for Razer’s product designers. Nothing better exemplified that than my time in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. Speed is quite literally everything in that game, and both the back buttons and face buttons have saved my skin during many a difficulty-spiked bonus level. I did, however, find that the game’s button-mashing moments felt less forgiving on this controller than on the likes of the DualSense on PS5. Mechanical or membrane buttons are great for fast actuation, but something about them makes my joints scream “Please stop doing this, you aren’t 12 years old anymore”.

Speed was equally useful when playing through a level of Celeste, as I do with every controller I test. Back buttons can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to this game’s tight platforming because if they take too much pressure to press, you can end up hindering yourself. Using back buttons, face buttons, analog sticks, or a d-pad with the V3 Pro, I felt I had an accurate tool for the movements I was trying to pull off.

I do, however, have a gripe with the wireless connectivity. When playing on a PC using the wireless USB dongle about five feet away from me, I frequently found that sitting the controller on my lap and crossing my legs, was enough to block the connection, which created all sorts of problems. Sometimes, it prevented the PC from actually pairing with the controller, which was infuriating when I was trying to enjoy a quick level of Owlboy on a lunch break. I have found this to be a frequent issue with some wireless controllers, but I haven’t experienced it quite as much as I did with this one.

Luckily, the thumbsticks are another saving grace of the V3 Pro. I recorded gameplay of Pools for a video I was making a few months ago, and the eerie tension in that game means that quick turns of the camera are vital. Using the Wolverine’s taller thumbstick attachment I was able to look over my shoulder for lurking eldritch monsters at a moment’s notice. When I was taking a moment to enjoy the game’s vast halls, smooth camera pans were a breeze to control, and it’s nice to have a peripheral that can do both.

As an FPS controller, the Wolverine’s six extra buttons are as good as ever. I was able to wield all of the in-game actions in Hunt: Showdown, barely needing to take my thumbs off of their sticks. I do wish the deadzones were smaller out of the box since I felt my accuracy suffered before diving into customization software. Overall, the V3 Pro wasn’t exactly on par with the Azeron Cyborg II, but this is still one of the best gamepads currently available for FPS games. In a similar way, game feel wasn’t quite on par with the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, but it was good enough that I didn’t feel I needed to finetune the out-of-the-box vibration levels.

Should you buy the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro?

It really shows you just how much Razer has been overcharging for its V2 Wolverine on PS5 when this massive improvement costs less - and it's still $200. There’s no dodging the fact that the competition from GameSir and EasySMX is now capable of throwing out equally good products for much, much less money than this. The PowerA Fusion Pro manages to stay under $100 while also having four back buttons and official licensing from Microsoft, so I struggle to see why the V3 Pro should cost as much as it does. Even Victrix and Turtle Beach manage to keep their options under $200.

Sure, you could opt for the Tournament Edition if you’re willing to forgo a carry case, the grip textures, swappable thumbsticks, and a wireless connection. Then again, I haven’t tested that model, so I can’t say it’ll have that truly robust feel that I enjoyed here.

On the other hand, this is a controller that feels speedier than the current pool of Xbox options. If you’re drawn in by six extra buttons (that are actually usable now), mechanical and membrane feel, and the pedigree of Razer’s previous work, I can’t blame you for splashing out on this. It’s a premium option, but you’ll likely be happy you spent the money on it.

How I tested the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro

I put the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro to the test for a number of months before this review was written. In that time, I used it for the majority of my PC playtime, in games like Celeste, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Owlboy, Hunt: Showdown, Pools, and Hellblade II. I used the controller in wired and wireless mode and swapped the back buttons and extra bumpers extensively during my testing time.

I compared my experience closely to when I reviewed the Wolverine V2 Pro, as well as other Razer gamepads. For more on how we test controllers, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

Looking for something cheaper? There are plenty of options out there if you look at our list of the best Xbox One controllers, best PS4 controllers, or the best Xbox Series X accessories.

Developer Omega Force is no stranger to shaking things up. After all, the original Dynasty Warriors was a one-on-one 3D fighting game similar to Battle Arena Toshinden. Yet, with Dynasty Warriors 2 in 2000 the leap to PS2 retooled the setting to be a flashy beat 'em up set in large-scale battlefields, birthing the Warriors genre itself (also known as 'musou'). From there it's been reinvented time and time again, adapting other time periods (Samurai Warriors), at others applying the formula to licensed IP (Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Persona 5 Strikers, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4), or even inspiring numerous musou-likes (Fate/Extella). But it's not always worked out. Dynasty Warriors 9, the last game in the series, retooled it to be a huge open world – and it ended up being extremely dull with abysmal technical issues.

Which is why I'm happy to say that Dynasty Warriors: Origins isn't just a return to form, but a genuine reinvention that makes the series feel fresher than ever. Considering that, as with all Dynasty Warriors games, it's once again telling the story of China's Three Kingdoms era (inspired by the popular epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms), it's impressive that this retelling of how the conflict came to be feels novel.

That's thanks in large part to focusing the story on you. An original character, you're an amnesiac but skilled warrior who ends up thrust into battle alongside Guan Yu, earning the nickname Ziliuan – a kind of sacred bird – for your ability to read the winds of change in the midst of hectic battle. From there, you Forrest Gump your way through the conflicts of the era, able to lend your blade to the three major factions – led by Sun Ce, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei – while also bonding with the heroes of legend who fought with them (with romantic subtext you could cut with a crescent blade).

To battle

But it's on the battlefield Dynasty Warriors: Origins really shines. Exploring a map of China like an overworld from a classic RPG while mounted on a horse, you can find collectibles, chat to locals, visit towns, and take on sidequests – but it's also here you initiate the many bigger battles that form the spine of each chapter.

Each battlefield environment is large and complex, striking a middle ground between earlier Warriors' more corridor-based design with ambitious open areas to give each space a unique flow. One part of the battlefield may be made up of little connected forts you can capture, for instance, while the space outside a large castle is a much larger plain for hundreds upon hundreds of fighters to scrap. Often these suit the needs of the story being told by the battle, be it rushing through checkpoints on your horse or helping a unit flee.

Hundreds upon hundreds is no exaggeration. As ever, a counter on screen ticks up as you string together light and heavy attacks with your weapon of choice to send standard enemy soldiers literally flying. Regularly in these large fights will you plough past 1,000 – a special graphic cleaving through the displayed number taking up the whole screen, boosting your special meters to enable you to keep the devastation going.

The more you use weapons, the more they level up, unlocking expansive move sets that, while somewhat consistent for each weapon in how you use them, have their own feeling. Your standard sword is the most approachable, each hit of a light combo giving you a new jumping off point with the heavy attack to deploy a completely unique move. Others, like the gauntlets, have you shifting forms in different manners to change your next attack options, or the blade wheels that introduce a timing element as you spin and catch the weapons before flinging them away again.

Not all soldiers go down so easily, as stronger foes – usually leading a unit or acting like mini-bosses in fortified zones you have to capture – have bigger health bars and a stack of Fortitude. Unleashing strong attacks, spending Bravery on Battle Arts, or unleashing an iconic ultimate musou attack will chip away at this; as will pressing the block button for a parry. With it depleted, enemies stagger, opening themselves up to a follow-up attack. While all of these ideas have been present in Dynasty Warriors in some form in the past, they've never gelled together as well as they do here, the clashes feeling incredibly tactile as you exchange blows and move fluidly from one mode of attack to the next, everything feeding into each other.

This even comes to the fore in special set-piece boss encounters which really put your ability to go blow for blow with a stronger enemy to the test. There weren't a lot of these in the routes I played (though there are a lot of paths depending on who you side with, and the actions you take in pivotal moments), but each remained memorable – and go to show that Omega Force have learned lessons from even their licensed entries, even if boss fights here don't go quite as hard as the anime-inspired antics of One Piece Pirate Warriors 4.

The visceral nature of combat is emphasized even further when you complete sub-objectives in battle to assist the commanders of your faction, allowing you to form up for a battle charge. Incredible sound design and canny use of camera angles sells the adrenaline of riding into war, making the stomach lurch like the best of rollercoasters. In these biggest exchanges, enemy forces can become so large that they're organized with their own health bar and special attacks, coming down on you with such force and power they're like a human wave, which must be broken to make the fight go more smoothly – again accompanied by a massive roaring of voices like a boisterous football crowd.

Which is all to say you constantly have a lot of flashy moves to use and a heck of a lot of targets to use them on. But it's not pure chaos. Thanks to Ziluan's strange ability to read the literal wind, you hold [L2] to zoom-out slightly and bring the action a stand-still, able to see more information on ally and enemy units (which is also sort of used as an in-universe explanation for the mini-map and morale gauge – which is a bit of fun). You can customize how much information the game gives you and how much it slows down, and if you fail a battle – for example, if you let your general die – you can rewind through a timeline of data on the whole battlefield and choose from multiple checkpoints to rejoin the fray. Some set-pieces even have you use this power to spot enemy tricks or traps. Though this feature is a bit sporadic, it's an additive way to incorporate this power into both the mechanics of battle and the narrative.

Forging alliances

By design, though, there are some areas where Dynasty Warriors: Origins may leave long-time fans a little cold. The dedication to telling a single-player narrative means there's no multiplayer co-op, which for some fans is the primary way they've played past entries. For another, the legion of characters to play as, a defining series trait to this point, is no more.

Additional characters act only as companions to Ziluan. This means you can team-up with combo attacks, but also switch to playing as them briefly once their musou gauge is full. Here, each hero is incredibly powerful, with their own weapons and battle skills that allow for some really destructive attacks. But anyone looking to mainline a campaign playing as Sun Shangxiang or Zhang Liao won't be served here.

Even though you'll be playing as those other heroes less, they're still well-drawn here, and it's a pleasure to get to know them through bonding scenes even if their challenge-based requests can get a little rote, as can the often fairly static scenes of characters standing around talking to each.

Still, it's all compelling enough that I couldn't resist passing up the chance to natter with a new ally, and I genuinely began to feel conflicted about who I'd end up pledging my allegiance to in my first route. With a slightly more grounded tone, it's great to get the chance to see a (tiny amount) of humanity in the menacing Lu Bu, and to see more of Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo without them just being facial hair twirling caricatures.

Sure, while you can't judge a game based on what it isn't, how something stacks up against predecessors is still a factor. With that said, though, I think Dynasty Warriors: Origins – with its focus on Ziluan as a character, and focused on telling a more complete RPG-like story – does a tremendous job, and focusing on those elements really helps that come to the fore. The action is better than ever, and the overworld design really helps each skirmish flow into the next. More than a return to form, this soars high indeed.

Looking for something to play with a friend like previous Warriors games? We've got a handy list of the best co-op games to lend a helping hand!

Priced at $249.99 / £219.99, the Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble machine’s price isn’t for the faint of heart. By that, I mean you have to be really into the idea of having a micro arcade cabinet to pay this amount, and even then, its MSRP is a bit lofty. Before getting my hands on the tiny time capsule, I wasn’t convinced I’d want to pay over $200 for a system that can only run one game. However, through clever design and tremendous quality, the unit actually nails its objective of somehow feeling exactly like the real deal.

There’s certainly a conversation to be had on whether Quarter Arcades machines are proper gaming systems. They skirt the line between collectible game room display pieces and playable retro consoles, which in turn affects how you view their illustrious price tags. Would I recommend this Bubble Bobble machine over something like the Evercade Alpha? Not if you’re looking for a proper sit-down retro gaming session, but it rocks if you want a playable conversation starter in your space that’ll suck you in with gorgeous sounds and visuals.

Design

Made almost completely out of wood, the Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble machine couldn’t look more like the original arcade cabinet. I’m pretty sure if I took a Leaning Tower of Pisa-style picture leaning against it like Fonz, I could trick some of you into thinking it was full size. Naturally, it isn’t, instead it uses a 1/4 scale design, measuring in at just 17 inches tall and 6.5 inches wide.

Despite its size, you’ll still be able to treat your eyes to tremendous decal details if you squint hard enough. It’s actually more detailed than some of the OG cabinets I’ve come across, featuring a bezel with instructional artwork and Bubble Bobble’s Bub and Bob on the front panel. The Taito-themed blue and black sides provide a nice visual break from the busy screen area, with the whole getup feeling very much like a typical machine from the ‘80s.

I’ll get onto how the buttons and sticks actually feel, but from a visual perspective, they’re practically perfect. The joysticks even have tiny dust covers included to drive home the authentic feel, while the buttons look just right thanks to their height, concave top, and vibrant blue and red plastic. The fact you’re also getting two sets of controls for multiplayer action is a bit bananas, and again, helps the machine still feel like an accurate replica in spite of its size.

Down the bottom of this machine, you’ll find extra buttons where the coin slots live. Rather than simply adding a simplistic reference to the old payment method through molding, the slots instead serve their original use as illuminated red buttons, allowing you to feed the machine visual coins (and probably upset your virtual parents.) The cherry on top of the whole cabinet, however, is the illuminated marquee, which provides a warm glow that breathes life into the machine. I’ve messed around with a few arcade lighting setups in my time, and this banner nails the fluorescent look.

Features

Armed with a five-inch TFT screen, the display sits recessed under a perspex cover in a move to replicate an old CRT. It certainly manages to pull that off, although I’m surprised that the visuals lack scanlines. This is likely to ensure the screen is still bright enough, and at this sort of size, overlays aren’t required for extra sharpness. The viewing angles are slightly less impressive than IPS displays due to the panel tech used here, but again, the size and layout mean that’s not a biggie.

Onto sound, and the Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble’s 3W speakers are surprisingly punchy. I feel like their placement gives them a huge boost since they’re angled down from the inside lip, with the wood body helping make everything sound warm and bassy. Had Numbskull shoved the speakers at the back or sides, I think the whole effect would have been drastically different, so I’m glad they’re on the ball.

One of the Quarter Arcade's more surprising features is the inclusion of a built-in lithium battery. Perhaps that means the machine can technically serve as a gaming handheld, albeit one you’d have to hold like a Djembe drum. Silliness aside, its inclusion is ridiculously handy, as it means the system is ready to go without having to fetch its USB-C power adapter or keep it in a set spot. Simply put, you can become that guy at house parties who whips out a guitar for some Wonder Wall, only you’ll have a cool battery-operated arcade machine to show everyone (the Gallagher brothers could only dream of writing the Bubble Bobble theme.)

Performance

Just like most modern arcade machines, Quarter Arcades use emulation to provide access to the classics. In this case, we’re looking at a custom setup that requires no intervention, but firmware updates are available when the need arises. Sadly, you can’t mess around with the emulator it's using and fire up your own ROMs, but that’s typical when it comes to officially licensed products.

So, since we can play any game we like as long as it’s Bubble Bobble, I’ll focus on some of the performance insights for the old arcade romp. Visuals, sounds, and responsiveness are all pretty much identical to the original, and the TFT screen is superbly vibrant. I’m actually surprised just how much contrast the screen is able to provide seeing as it’s not OLED or anything like that, and the recessed setup does its utmost to look like a CRT.

Before acquainting my thumbs with Quarter Arcade microscopic buttons and sticks, I was slightly nervous that they’d be borderline unusable. I’ve also come across plenty of novelty arcade machines in my time with similar-sized inputs, and none of them felt remotely high quality. Thankfully, my preconceptions couldn’t have been more wrong, and everything about these controls feels like the real thing, but tiny.

Naturally, you’re not getting anything close to Sanwa switches here, but both the buttons and sticks are exceptionally clicky. The joysticks in particular have defined cross gates that provide a nice degree of arcade accuracy, and the buttons have travel that feels just right. You’d think you’d need Barbie hands to use either, yet your thumbs will fare just fine.

I managed to get a few games of Bubble Bobble in with my partner over the holidays to see how multiplayer holds up. I figured we’d be fighting for space on the control deck, but we managed to get by without any arguments. Naturally, everything about this setup is squished, but I’d argue that’s all part of the novelty. This is very much a device for quick bursts rather than long sessions, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Should you buy the Quarter Arcade Taito Bubble Bobble?

As a modern arcade solution, the Quarter Arcade Taito Bubble Bobble machine packs a surprising punch. If you’re simply looking for a way to play the classic ‘80s platformer, there are a million cheaper ways to do so. However, if it’s an eye-catching piece of visual brilliance you’re after for your game room, you won’t find anything quite like this cabinet out there.

The entire Quarter Arcade line-up is admittedly pricey, and it’s certainly one of those purchases that can be hard to justify given it boasts just one game. That said, I think solely focussing on that caveat risks missing the point of this collectible machine, and while financial guilt may keep you from splashing out $250 yourself, I think it’ll make an outstanding gift for retro fans looking for something special.

It’s safe to say I’m head over heels for this adorable mini arcade homage, and I reckon plenty of you will be too.

How I tested the Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble

For a month, I used the Quarter Arcades Taito Bubble Bobble arcade machine at my desk in both single-player and multiplayer. During that time, I carefully assessed the machine’s build quality, controls, and screen as well as compared emulation results against other ports and releases. I also repeatedly ran through the game to check for any glitches or bugs and installed firmware updates as they became available.