In the Grey is in theaters now.

The old adage “the worst thing you can be is boring” is very much underlined with In the Grey, a deathly dull would-be action thriller that feels three times the length of its 97-minute run time.

Though Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal get top billing, the film’s true lead is Eiza González. She plays Rachel Wild, a lawyer whose opening voiceover explains the film’s title in explicit detail, as she talks about how she operates within both legal and illegal and moral and amoral parameters and, yep, outright says she works “in the grey” because that’s just the kind of movie it is.

The film’s paper- thin plot finds Rachel using her skills and the elite team - and bottomless resources and finances - at her disposal to target Salazar (Carlos Bardem), the crime lord who’s stolen a fortune Rachel is tasked with getting back by any means necessary. Her two best agents are Sid (Cavill) and Bronco (Gyllenhaal), who head up the aforementioned illegal side of her operation, using all sorts of tactics to trick, track and hunt those Rachel needs dealt with.

The opening scenes of In the Grey feel very cliche but also don’t stand out as notably bad or unwatchable, as they set the stage for the story, though it does stand out how much González’s voiceover is used to explain how both her job and her larger team works. But as the film continues, it becomes egregious how much the film stays in the same mode it opens in, as it tells, not shows, over and over and over again.

A classic part of a heist or espionage movie is a “this is how our plan will play out” sequence, where we hear how everything is supposed to go for the team’s big operation – often using VO alongside shots of the locations targeted – and get the lay of the land before, inevitably, something goes awry. And those sequences can be super fun and are an appreciated part of the genre. But writer-director Guy Ritchie seems to have the mistaken belief that it would be really fun if a movie was nearly entirely made up of those sorts of sequences, hammering home the technique into monotony.

It is truly maddening how much of this movie is composed of voiceovers from either González or Gyllenhaal explaining what’s going on right now and/or what’s supposed to happen next. It’s not just hand-holding to an extreme degree, it feels lazy and as though Ritchie just didn’t want to figure out any other way to include exposition and simply wasn’t interested in any sort of characterization or personal dynamics, so he skipped as much normal dialogue and character interaction as possible.

Rachel is fierce and shrewd and she’s a shark and… that’s it. There are no other nuances to what we learn about her after what is made quite clear the first few minutes. But that’s better than Sid and Bronco, who are simply there to be generically smart and badass, with zero other layers or reasons to care about them. There is almost nothing in these roles for Cavill and Gyllenhaal to do but glower and yell stock lines about sticking to the plan and getting to the rendezvous point. Given their dueling dullness, it’s curious why these two characters weren’t simply made into one, since there’s so little to make them feel different from one another except that one is British and one is American.

The same goes for their larger team, which includes dudes with names like Baker (Kojo Attah) and Gucci (Jason Wong). Everyone is stoic and super capable, but lacks anything that makes them distinct in personality or skillset. There’s no wit, no charm, and no cool touches for any of these guys.

A film like this usually gets mileage out of how a team of this sort has to improvise and pivot when things go wrong, but this group seem too good and too prepared to ever make things interesting because they really just seem prepared for literally anything. Most of the time, they don’t seem two steps ahead of their enemies, they seem 20 steps ahead, and coupled with them being blank slates, personality-wise, it makes watching them operate boring, no matter how many nameless thugs they shoot or get in car chases with.

Ritchie has had some big highs and lows in his career, and in recent years has been making a lot of movies very quickly that are mostly forgettable. But he’s never made one as dull as In the Grey. It especially stands out that he’s re-teaming with frequent collaborator Cavill here, given these guys have much much livelier – if uneven – films together, like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

As mentioned, Cavill and Gyllenhaal truly have nothing to work with here, performance-wise, while the naturally likeable González is fine but feels miscast. Though in her mid-30s, she still reads fairly young onscreen in both looks and demeanor, and doesn’t feel like she quite embodies someone meant to be the experienced and dominant leader – her team uses the codename “Mom” for her – as Rachel is intended to be. This is underlined by the presence of Rosamund Pike in a few scenes as a rival of Rachel, given Pike effortlessly exudes the energy Rachel is meant to and feels like she’d be the better casting choice for the role.

Full spoilers follow for For All Mankind Season 5, Episode 8, which is streaming on Apple TV now.

It’s kind of late in the game for For All Mankind Season 5 to finally be throwing straight heaters like it’s Season 1 or 2, but better late than never! Rolling with the momentum from the particularly strong episode before it, Episode 8 is easily the high point as we near the end of the season. “Brave New World” has all the hallmarks of For All Mankind at its best: political wheeling and dealing, nailbiting and dangerous flight action, gorgeous shots of outer space (for a show predominantly set on Mars, we’ve been treated to remarkably few of these!), meaty interpersonal drama (replete with, finally, some consistently decent acting), a couple of funny in-universe cultural signifiers sprinkled in that feel meaningful to the era the show is representing, and – last but not least – a big explosion with disastrous consequences.

Despite the collective relief of watching Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu) and the Sojourner crew land on Titan, Happy Valley is feeling the squeeze on its food supply after Dev’s faction blew up the crop domes and the storage silos. But the jailed Russians, Kuragin delegate Irina Morozova (Svetlana Efremova) and Happy Valley governor Lenya Polivanov (Costa Ronin), have it on good authority that the M-6 is weeks away from dissolving, the result of the USSR and U.S. economies being in free fall due to the halted iridium shipments from Mars. With the alliance, and the Russian President Korzhenko, on the way out, Irina and Lenya can all but guarantee a more favorable outcome for the Marsies — if they can hold out for a few more weeks and the SDM agrees to surrender. Big decisions!

Another wrinkle complicating things: Irina has also learned that, in a last-ditch effort to strong-arm Happy Valley into submission, Earth has secretly sent a multinational military crew to the Goldilocks asteroid to retake Kuznetsov Station. On that ship is none other than new OPEF recruit Avery “AJ” Jarrett (Ines Asserson). (Not to mention Connor Storrie doing a Russian accent for five seconds!? What in the Heated Rivalry crossover event is happening?)

The SDM council’s chess move against the incoming force is to destroy the dock at the station with unstable, Anarchist Cookbook-style fertilizer bombs, given their limited resources. Celia Boyd (Mireille Enos) and Lenya do the coolest thing either of them have done all season and volunteer to fly a hopper – with a cargo full of volatile explosives in a raging dust and thunder storm – out from Mars and up to Goldilocks. It’s a truly thrilling sequence that also leads us to some of the nicest space eye candy we’ve been treated to in a minute, as that hopper punches through a sea of rust-colored dust and the camera pulls back to a full shot of Mars before moving off to a thoroughly pock-marked Goldilocks dotted with flood lights and mining infrastructure. A lovely bit of emotional (and certainly expensive) visual storytelling.

And indeed, it’s a pivotal episode for AJ, whose attempts at keeping it together while being haunted by the big red dot of Mars — and her biological dad — are altogether shattered by the explosion on Kuznetsov Station that kills Sergeant Ruiz. It’s like the moment she left Earth’s atmosphere, that woman was destined to face unfathomably awful things – the curse of being a Stevens.

Elsewhere on Happy Valley, Alex (Sean Kaufman) and Lily’s (Ruby Cruz) honeymoon phase is waning as they weather the fallout of the agri-dome explosion and the death of their close friend Gulsora “Gully” Akilmatova. Alex has gone the route of joining the new law enforcement services under Boyd as a medic, which Lily hates. And Lily is roiling, swearing off ever going back to Earth (what about journalism school at Tulane?!). Instead, she channels her anger into finishing Gully’s black-and-white student thesis film, “Astéroïde, Mon Amour” — I’m sorry, but lmao — with her own documentarian bent, filming a Marsie worker who writes protest folk songs. Pretty good tune, though!

Meanwhile on Titan, Kelly is trying to keep the crew on track with troubleshooting the real problems at hand. They’ve landed just a little too far from the initial survey area, making on-the-ground exploring with their oxygen reserves potentially risky. While Kelly and the others attempt to hack out a solution, Walt (Christopher Denham) is spiraling out over where he went wrong when trying to avoid landing on Titan. Kelly very nearly comes clean about her sabotage — until he hands her the reins to the mission. Let’s see if she can throw enough compliments and jangle metaphorical keys long enough to keep Walt from losing it while they’re on the very important quest for life on Saturn’s moon.

Whether it’s the shrunken world of Grounded or the monster-collecting hijinks of Palworld, it really only takes one great idea to make all the familiar parts of a survival game feel completely new. Subnautica did just that way back in 2014 by plunging the usual formula underwater, easily emerging as one of my favorites by the time it left Early Access in 2018. Eight years and one icy spin-off later, Subnautica 2’s own Early Access debut has once again pulled me in like an ocean current, and the game-changing addition of co-op multiplayer makes the depths a little less lonesome. Of course, with red barriers waiting for you outside of the small map that’s currently available and a short list of gear and craftables to work through, I started to run low on new things to do and build after just a few hours, which does make this ocean feel more like a pond at the moment. But that won’t be a surprise to anyone who followed the original from its early days, and dipping my toes in now has made me extremely excited for the updates that await us in the months and years to come.

Returning fans will recognize most of the weird stuff going on in Subnautica 2. A creepy water planet filled with dangerous sea life? Check! A sci-fi story that goes from mildly stressful to soul-crushingly depressing in a matter of hours? Check! Building massive bases and crafting gear and vehicles solely so that you don’t have to keep swimming to the surface to catch your breath as often? You know it! This sequel doesn’t change a whole lot about the core structure of the first game, and wisely submerges itself almost entirely back into the water after Subnautica: Below Zero experimented with more action on land. You’ll gather resources that help you travel farther away from your life pod and explore deeper reaches of the ocean, facing new threats as you do – whether that be infected waters filled with hostile lifeforms or oppressively hot regions with volcanic geysers that threaten to boil you alive.

One area Subnautica 2 improves upon its predecessors is its story, which takes the mostly environmental storytelling style of the original and pulls it up from the depths, offering something that’s even more compelling (and often a complete bummer, but in an intentional way). Though we don’t get to see more than a tease as of its Early Access release, this early section is already chock full of interesting characters and sci-fi concepts, as well as some truly devastating revelations along the way. What’s great is that while this story is certainly more direct, it manages to tell it while retaining the sense of isolation and mystery that feels like an essential part of the series. If anything, learning more about the state of the world and the terrifying planet you find yourself on only heightens the disquiet as you explore. And if this is just a taste of things to come, then I genuinely fear what’s in store.

While the story is a significant leap forward, many of the survival mechanics remain mostly the same with a few new additions and optimizations here and there. You’ll still hunt for various crafting materials like copper and silver, scan every bit of flora and fauna in sight to unlock new schematics, and cook up all the kelp and seafood you can stomach so you don’t starve. That process is a bit more streamlined now as just about every material has multiple functions to make collecting them a worthwhile use of your time – no longer will you be filling up your storage with acid mushrooms and feel quite silly a few hours later when you realize you grabbed more than you’re ever likely to need. The pacing (at least in the sections currently available) also feels much better, as I always felt like I knew exactly which materials to hunt for and which areas I should explore next, and never felt my progress slow in the 15 hours it took me to hit the current wall.

One interesting new idea is the ability to modify your genes via the bio lab machine, which can either be built in your settlements or found in the world. These allow you to gain access to new active abilities, like one that lets you quickly dash around underwater after a cooldown, or passive abilities, like one that gives you a larger lung capacity. The ability to customize how you play is a pretty neat feature, although (like everything in this Early Access build) there’s only a handful of options at the moment, so it’s a bit hard to tell what that system will look like once it has a chance to evolve over time.

The survival loop might not be particularly novel, especially for those who have braved Subnautica’s waters before, but per usual, the main draw is that you’re required to explore increasingly unpredictable and dangerous depths if you hope to continue moving forward. That’s where Subnautica 2 shines, as each new stretch of water or unexplored cave features untold dangers, surprising lifeforms, and bits of lore to find along the way. Some areas are covered in diseased lifeforms and swarming with carnivorous fish until you can identify and destroy the sources of the corruption, while another has an enormous clam-like creature hiding valuable resources within its shell that can be claimed by those willing to risk waking it.

Moments like these, where everything is new and unexpected, are the best parts of Subnautica 2, so it’s great that they occur at a near-constant pace throughout the currently explorable area. However, once again, the only downside is that you will run out of new areas to explore somewhat quickly if you are looking to jump in right now. Exploration shifts from feeling like a dangerous delve to a bit like a casual farming game once all the mystery is gone and you know where everything is, especially once you unlock and upgrade the Tadpole (a vehicle that makes traveling quick and oxygen storage mostly irrelevant).

Base building, one of the other major pursuits you’re bound to spend loads of time on, has been greatly improved in Subnautica 2 (though it faces a similar shortage of stuff to chase in its current state). The best adjustment to building is how much simpler setting up, expanding, and modifying bases is, as you can now just place a room and then tug and pull at it to increase its size in any direction, adding windows, hallways, and doors as you go with almost no friction. Building is often one of those things that you lose hours to in survival games, but often feels like you’re fighting against the shoddy mechanics in order to do so. This was almost never the case in my time with Subnautica 2, which is downright impressive given how easy it could have been to make building bases underwater a complete pain in the neck. The addition of currents throughout the world is also an interesting new wrinkle, not only because they add some chaos to exploration by whisking you away, but also because they can be used as a renewable power source if you set up camp nearby, which I found quite clever.

By far the biggest addition, more than all the evil fish and scary seawater, is multiplayer. I really enjoy playing survival games with friends, so this feels like something that absolutely needed to be in the sequel. Playing in co-op is exactly what you’d expect – you can invite folks to your world and start exploring, collecting, and building together, and that’s a pretty awesome time, even if it does make progression go startlingly fast and remove some of the fear and isolation found in the solo experience. The only drawbacks are that you currently can’t play in someone else’s world unless they are actively online, and offline worlds are forever separate from multiplayer saves, so your friends won’t be able to come see all the neat stuff you’ve been working on if you started that particular run in singleplayer mode.

On paper, it will always seem a little odd that it took the Forza Horizon series until the sixth game to find its way to Japan. Few countries on Earth command the same level of renown as Japan when it comes to automobile culture – the home of drifting, Daikoku PA, and one of the few cars to ever get Dominic Torretto out of a Dodge. Regardless of how you slice it, a stopover in Japan certainly feels long overdue. However, after playing Forza Horizon 6 for the last week, I can’t help but be glad developer Playground Games waited. For mine, that’s primarily thanks to the astounding step up in map quality. It goes beyond just being the biggest or the most beautiful (which it is, no doubt). Crucially, it’s also the most credible and car-friendly, and I can’t understate how much richness and believability this adds to the world itself. Every corner of the map feels like a place I can pause or park, meaning everywhere I arrive feels like a destination.

And when everywhere is a destination, the journeys are almost limitless.

From moment to moment – particularly while participating in races – it’s fair enough to say that Forza Horizon 6 resembles past games in the series in a number of obvious ways. At its core, it offers more-or-less the same brand of class-based racing as its predecessors. The timer clicks down, you mash the throttle, and then fight your way to the front of the pack. It’s still great racing, and I will say I feel like I’ve caught the AI making more impressive evasive adjustments than I recall them executing in the past. Broadly speaking, however, the racing itself remains similar.

On a gamepad, it all feels quite familiar too. The handling is still a successful blend of simulation-inspired elements – with a tangible sense of weight and grip – with smooth and approachable steering controls. For anyone unfamiliar with the feel of Forza Horizon, it’s by no means a punishing and impenetrable driving simulator that’ll fling you off the road for the mildest misjudgement. However, it’s also not a point-and-squirt, pureblood arcade racer like Burnout Paradise, either. That said, on a wheel it does feel like there’s a very welcome increase in the amount of front-end grip – and less of that slightly skatey feel that’s been present in past games. This is good news, whether you’re negotiating the many, many kinks and hairpin turns that characterise Forza Horizon 6’s greatest stretches of road (it’s impossible to choose just one, because there are so many highlights this time around) or needing that responsiveness to avoid traffic on the freeway that loops around a huge portion of the map.

It’s at this point you might be wondering whether Forza Horizon 6 is just Forza Horizon 5 on a new map, but to claim so would be far too reductive – totally ignoring what has changed.

Forza Horizon 6 arrives with an adjusted and more satisfying approach to its campaign progression – one that straddles a middle ground between the curated structure of the original and the unbridled freedom embraced by Forza Horizon 5. It’s brought with it numerous boosts to car graphics and audio, resulting in the best looking and sounding cars in the long history of the series. There’s been a massive increase in what’s possible with the user-generated content creation tools, and we can now customise garages, construct wild, private race tracks on our personal estates deep in the Japanese countryside, and even build in multiplayer anywhere around the open-world. Touge racing, open-world car meets, drop-in-drop-out time attacks and drag racing with no loading – the implementation of a customisation feature that long-time Forza players have literally been waiting 20 years for – the list of tweaks and improvements squeezed into Forza Horizon 6 is long.

But before I circle back on some of these elements, allow me to explain what it is about the map itself that has me embedded in it like a tick on a hound dog.

Tokyo Gift

The style of Forza Horizon 6’s riff on Japan should come as no surprise to those familiar with the series’ history of pilfering a pile of picturesque segments of a country that have otherwise no business being directly next to each other and… placing them directly next to each other. It takes a distilled and shrunken version of Tokyo City and surrounds it with rolling hills, open farmland, soggy fields, dense forest, sharp mountains, quaint villages, rural race circuits, and – overlooking it all – sweeping highlands and the Japan Alps. The blend of natural beauty and engineering spectacle is just outstanding, from the way low sun lights the patchy snow and lush fields on the fringe of the alpine region, down to the snaking, multi-level ramps and freeways that loom over Tokyo’s dense metro and industrial areas.

It makes no geographical sense, but it’s also not attempting to. This isn’t really Japan as much as it is a Japanese-themed amusement park for cars. It’s supposed to look fabulous and be extremely engaging to move through, and damn if it isn’t both those things in spades.

At its most gorgeous, Forza Horizon 6 is a total showstopper. Maybe that’s gazing over the Tokyo skyline from the highest point on the map, or perhaps it’s emerging from a tunnel to see the wilderness unfolding in front of you, with the freeway flanked by looming mountains carpeted in dense forest, and snowy peaks rising behind them. No Forza Horizon map has nailed the sense of both natural and man-made scale quite as successfully as this one. The fact that it accomplishes this with zero crashes and no stuttering, ever, is as commendable as ever.

But it goes far beyond the postcard-friendly vistas, because I also find myself entranced by the smaller nuances. I’m now a week into my campaign and I’m still consistently finding myself pausing to bust out the camera and pore over the more subtle details on display. Maybe that’s the flaking paint of the concrete pylons of a tunnel that’s become overgrown with vegetation to better blend into its natural surroundings. Maybe that’s distinctions in the actual road surfaces themselves, from the grooved sections within tunnels to the corrugated asphalt that forms the narrow route to your large estate property to the north of the map. Maybe it’s all the idiosyncratic coloured road markings stencilled on the freeways, alleys, backroads, and mountain passes (where the warning paint is already scarred with the burnt rubber of bold drifters that have come before you).

Maybe it’s the fact that every single parking lot I’ve discovered around the map (and there are many, many more than I’ve been able to keep track of) appears to be entirely bespoke to its location – whether that’s the enormous, multilevel, Tokyo Drift-style one by the docks, a modest lot tucked away beneath an overpass, or just a few spots lining the front of a konbini.

I would’ve loved to have seen a full spectrum of underground parking lots, and on that one specific note it's arguable that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown – which is based in the similarly dense Hong Kong and has many underground, polished-concrete parking garages, complete with working boom gates – has Forza Horizon 6 slightly beat. Like Solar Crown, however, Forza Horizon 6 does feature petrol stations. They’re not interactive, but they are realistically everywhere, all over Japan. There’s only ever been one in the whole Horizon series before – a single outback petrol station servicing Australia’s entire eastern seaboard back in Forza Horizon 3.

What I love particularly is just how car-adjacent the presence of so many places to actually pause, park, and pretend to fill up a car makes Forza Horizon 6’s map feel. It isn’t just a slab of land with some roads draped across it to drive up and down; all of these considerations make Japan feel like a world built to host cars. It doesn’t just have places you can race them, drag them, and drift them. It has places you can park them. Places you can pause and photograph them. Places you can meet and hang with friends around them.

Japan is a world that respects the car. Of course, Japan is also a world that respects the bicycle. But the car does not respect the bicycle. It is the natural order of things for cars to disrespect the bicycle.

And Forza Horizon 6 allows that, too.

It’s All in the Wrist

The cars look fantastic, but specifically they look more seated into the world than ever before. That’s especially true in frosty weather, where they become encrusted in a rough sheen of ice and water vapour floats from the exhaust as they belch hot gas directly into the frigid air. I love the long-awaited ability to place decals on glass in the livery editor. I’m not one for ostentatious and complex vinyls on my street cars, but I do love the subtle sense of ownership imbued by the simple act of being able to create and place a couple of stickers on my rear glass.

Car sound is the best it’s ever been in the series. The highlight is easily the incredible and noticeably improved echoing that you get in tight spaces and tunnels, something I’m enjoying constantly thanks to the frankly antisocial and aurally irresponsible amount of downshifting I’m doing in tunnels. But there are understated improvements elsewhere, too, like the faint squeak of performance brakes that have copped some punishment.

I do enjoy that Forza Horizon 6 brings back the curated, wristband structure of the 2012 original, and I think the overall sense of progression is considerably better because of it. With a special, sealed-off section of the map that’s exclusively available only after you’ve reached the top rank of the Horizon Festival, this campaign has a really overt crescendo – more so than previous games. It works well here, and it’s nice to have a clear endgame and a final goal. Each wristband graduation culminates with a large-scale event, which is either a traditional Showcase race or a new Rush event. Only two Showcases may sound low, but I would argue that the Rush events (which are basically giant obstacle races) remain pretty Showcase-adjacent. That is, they still involve aircraft zooming around the vicinity in some capacity – you’re just not racing them specifically. Showcases are just on more straightforward routes, which is smart considering it gives us a lot more time to actually look at, say, a giant mech stomping towards Tokyo. That one may just be the wildest Showcase in the series to date.

Overall, the tighter career structure only temporarily infringes on the freedom afforded to customise races that players of Forza Horizon 5 should be accustomed to. That is, while a race will initially have a set class and car theme locked, after this has been completed you can use the custom options to race it on subsequent occasions in any other car from your garage. It’s an effective compromise between a more traditional approach and the totally malleable nature of Forza Horizon 5.

Playground Games did make something of the decision to have your player character arrive at the Horizon Festival as a tourist in Japan rather than an existing ‘Festival Superstar’, although your identity as a tourist doesn’t really seem to inform much. You’re still immediately presented with a trio of pre-modified cars to start with and, while it seems like you’re choosing one, you’re actually gifted all three. Part of me does wonder whether using Forza Horizon 6’s new aftermarket car system – where cars for sale are positioned around the world to drive up to, view, and purchase in real time – could’ve been a more immersive option. Perhaps we could’ve headed out to cruise Tokyo in a borrowed car to find one of our own to buy and modify – or maybe it would’ve been neat to have needed to take a road trip to one of the permanent race tracks on the map to, say, meet a local getting rid of an old project car, or clapped-out track day gem. The race and drift circuits on the map are oozing with grassroots motorsport charm, and I love visiting them.

However, this is a pretty minor complaint considering how quickly and regularly you begin to accumulate cars. Playground has scaled back the wheelspin prize mechanic to be far less common, which is smart because I think it has gotten overused. However, credits still arrive at a decent clip – and there are more hidden cars than ever before, with the most barn finds to date and nine additional “treasure cars” on top of them. Clues to find treasure cars are uncovered by simply driving around the map, which is just one of the many ways Forza Horizon 6 incentivises exploring at your own pace.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will premiere in theaters on August 7. This review is based on a screening at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – the electrifying, erotic, and playfully yet profoundly emotional new film from director Jane Schoenbrun – is unlike anything they’ve ever done before. Yes, it’s got the same searing sense of introspection and interest in exploring how the media we consume shapes our fears, desires, and sense of self. But if you think watching their prior films – the similarly great We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow – could prepare you for all the many new dark delights that Schoenbrun has cooked up here, you’ve got a whole film’s worth of spectacular surprises awaiting you.

Schoenbrun’s latest takes us on a horror journey as unexpectedly probing as it is uproariously funny and ultimately moving, beginning as a mirthful deconstruction of modern genre remakes before turning everything on its head. True to its title, it’s about sex, death, and how they come crashing together at the Pacific Northwest campground where a series of fictional Friday the 13th-esque horror films were shot. Without ever losing hold of the balance between the reflective and the rapturous, Schoenbrun has made what is their most unabashedly unique film to date. When it's all brought to life (and death) by the delightful duo of Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, it becomes something really special.

Our first glimpse of this new vision places us in the literal shoes of the fictional masked killer, Little Death (Jack Haven), who is wandering around a production set. It’s the first of many instances in which Schoenbrun demonstrates a talent for capturing the specific textures of the slasher films of old. Just like how I Saw the TV Glow was a pitch-perfect encapsulation of the teen shows you’d gather around to watch once a week with your friends, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma feels like it could very well be a slasher series that we had just all forgotten about.

After this initial look behind the scenes, which ends up being the first hint of how Schoenbrun will provocatively yet poignantly play with perspective, we learn that the series had a precipitous fall from the heights with which it began. There are already so many side-splittingly great jokes in just these first few minutes as it lays this out via quick headlines that flash by. While Schoenbrun has always had an underappreciated sense of humor, this short sequence establishes this as their funniest, most biting film yet.

That humor continues as we meet Kris (Einbinder), who has been tasked with helming a new remake in this horror series. She made a critically acclaimed film that made a splash at Sundance, and as studios are wont to do, she’s been scooped up to take on this remake. Kris decides that she’ll go meet the franchise’s former lead, the reclusive Billie (Anderson), to get her perspective and maybe even bring her back to work on the new film. But what happens when a “final girl” like Billie steps back from the series that made her an icon and decides to focus on exploring her own identity? And what happens when a person like Kris – who experienced a sexual awakening of sorts because of this schlocky, often quite dated series of horror films – enters the mix? Well, the result is a slyly dark comedy and a sharp horror riff that constantly keeps you on your toes, with an often overwhelmingly personal laying bare of the characters’ deeper desires. Einbinder is hilarious as always, but she also brings a vulnerability to the part that sneaks up on you, ensuring the film’s more tender moments work just as well as the playfully teasing ones.

This could sound like too much for one movie to take on, and there are some moments in the story where you can start to feel things straining. But rather than burst at the seams, the film embraces the chaos at the core of this premise and lets it explode outwards, never once hiding away from the inevitable messiness that comes pouring out. While you can tell that Schoenbrun was working with limited locations and budget, they’re never lacking in ambition and take increasingly bigger leaps in their exploration of desire. At every turn, the movie zigs when you expect it to zag, moving from outright comedy to a more captivating and delicately rendered meditation on desire. For all the ways that so much of modern cinema can feel rather tame in how it engages with such questions, Schoenbrun fearlessly kicks down the door of any boring prudishness to lean into grappling with our libidinal impulses. Can death and sex become intertwined? Can a terrible old horror movie still awaken something in you? Schoenbrun not only gets into the guts of all this, but they’re having an absolute bloody blast while doing it.

It’s a film that’s very much not going to be for everyone, but for those that are able to get on the same wavelength, it’s truly exhilarating. There are shades of David Lynch (with one shot midway through recalling some of his uncanny visuals), as well as something of David Cronenberg’s Crash floating in the background. But just as importantly, this is also 100 percent Jane Schhoenbrun, with a sensational score by Alex G and precise cinematography by Eric Yue immersing us in all of it. Even when it stumbles a bit through the wilderness of its increasingly “real” horror setting, the film always regains its feet to run off in exciting new directions.

Some of this will almost certainly divide Schhoenbrun fans, though that’s not a bug but a feature. This is one of those wonderful instances of a filmmaker making exactly the movie they want to make, flaunting any expectation that they make something “commercial” or safe and instead taking a big swing. There’s so much about it that shouldn’t work, right down to a cheeky final needle drop that ties it all together. Somehow, despite all that could go wrong, the film finds a climactic ecstasy just as it maintains the same joyous verve all the way through to its fantastic final frames. What a pleasure it is to witness a filmmaker like Schoenbrun working with such liberated boldness once more.

SteelSeries' honeycombed Aerox 3 was one of the best gaming mice of 2022 – so I was hoping for fireworks when I began testing the new $110 "Gen 2" refresh, which keeps the same design but with a better sensor, higher polling rate and longer battery life.

Those improvements add up to a solid mouse that's better than the original in every way. And yet I'm really struggling to get excited about it.

Let me explain why.

Distinctive Honeycomb Design Fails to Cut Any Weight

SteelSeries has made its honeycomb Aerox design even more see-through by replacing the top and side panels with semi-transparent plastic. The exposed innards have a toy-like charm and I'm glad Steelseries has leaned into the aesthetic rather than playing it safe. Better to be distinctive than dull: pairing the shell with a fully customizable three-zone RGB certainly makes the Aerox 3 Gen 2 stand out.

Its medium size will fit most hands and the pronounced curves towards its wide base create natural platforms for my thumb and pinky finger. All of the three most common mouse grips – fingertip, a full palm grip and a claw – felt comfortable to hold for hours at a time and the mouse coating was grippy without feeling sticky.

The left and right buttons are on the stiffer side but always registered my clicks – their high-pitched 'ping' sounds clean, and I could spam them rapidly when I needed to.

The shell occasionally creaks against the base of the mouse when I squeeze it really hard, but this was never never a problem during general use, and it feels solid and sturdy in the hand. I dropped it and knocked it around a bit with no ill effects, and its internals are protected by an IP54-rated coating that should keep it running after liquid spills.

But I have two main complaints.

The first, more minor, is not about the mouse itself but the 2.4Ghz wireless dongle that connects the Aerox 3 Gen 2 to your PC (you can also use it with Bluetooth). It wobbles in my USB-C port with the slightest nudge and sticks out further than most dongles, which are either smaller or sit flatter against your PC. It's a dangerous combo and means I'm always worrying about knocking it.

The second, potentially more major, is the weight. In 2022 the 68g Aerox 3 felt light – four years later the weight hasn't changed but all the competition has got slimmer. Nearly all new premium mice are below 60g and when I first started testing the Gen 2 version it felt heavy on my pad.

The sensor placement below the mid-line of the mouse doesn't help. The lower a sensor, the less it moves when you make small adjustments with your fingerprints at the top of the mouse. It made the Aerox 3 Gen 2 feel even more sluggish.

Lighter doesn't mean better, of course. Some people prefer a slightly heavier feel in the hand, and to be fair it only took me half an hour to stop noticing it. When that happened, it felt like it took zero effort to sweep it across my mouse pad on its slick PTFE feet, or to make small, quick adjustments.

But it's a long way from the "ultra-lightweight" feel that SteelSeries promises, and it's also at odds with its weight-cutting honeycomb design. I remain part of the masses who find 50-60g to be a sweet spot for comfort, speed, precision and control.

Sensor Improvements Boost Its Gaming Chops

The upgrades to the Aerox 3 Gen 2's specs bring its performance in line with modern mid-to-high-range gaming mice.

I mainly used it in the first person shooter Marathon and the citybuilder Whiskerwood, a duo that combines quick movements with more relaxed clicking and dragging, but I also tested it in Fortnite, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Slay the Spire 2. It felt accurate, reliable, consistent, and it captured my movements without stutters or errors. None of the upgraded sensor, the click switches, or the wireless connection limited how I played.

Perhaps the biggest change from the original Aerox 3 is in its maximum polling rate – the times per second the mouse reports its position to your PC. That jumps from 1,000Hz to 4,000Hz, with a 2,000Hz option in the middle. Theoretically higher polling rates should make your mouse feel smoother and snappier, especially when you're moving it rapidly, and to me, the difference above 1000Hz is slight but real. This is a genuine upgrade for anyone looking to squeeze every drop of juice out of their mouse. It's lower than the 8K gold-standard, but that's absolutely fine with me: 8K is overkill and never worth the extra battery drain.

Keep in mind you'll also need a high-end system to take advantage, including a beefy CPU-GPU combo and a high refresh rate monitor. Otherwise your machine, not your mouse, becomes the limiting factor. Also remember that higher polling significantly cuts battery life. At 1,000Hz without RGB lighting, SteelSeries reckons you can reach 120 hours, better than the original and roughly in line with the drain when I tested it. But at 4K polling that drops to around 35 hours. For that reason, I usually play at 1K for casual games or 2K in online multiplayer.

The sensor has been improved, but only incrementally. The maximum inches per second (IPS) of tracking and the max acceleration remain the same, at 400 IPS and 40 G, but the maximum dots per inches (DPI), a measure of sensitivity, jumps from 18,000 to 26,000.

Those numbers are mostly meaningless, however, because you won't be moving the mouse that quickly, nor should anyone use a DPI that high (even pro players stick below 1,600). The key thing is that it feels responsive and reliable, and is more than good enough for anyone short of a pro FPS player

I say mostly meaningless, because if you care about having the highest possible ceiling on your mouse then you will find better sensors in the same price range. To take two examples I reviewed recently: the Rawm Leviathan v4 and the Keychron M3 Mini both have sensors with better on-paper specs, and are both cheaper than the Aerox 3 Gen 2.

Useful Extra Settings Squeezed Into Bloated Software

The updated Aerox 3 adds plenty of new genuinely useful settings through the Steelseries GG software.

You can now, for example, change the distance that the sensor will stop tracking your mouse movements when you lift it off the pad, called lift-off distance (LOD). You can tweak the angle of the sensor to account for any natural tilts in your grip (although there's no built-in tool to test whether you hold your mouse straight). A low power mode reduces battery drain as you approach empty, a sensitivity matcher imports your settings from other SteelSeries mice, and you can adjust the X and Y axis DPI independently, if that's your thing.

These are all good options. But they're all housed in a bad system.

I find SteelSeries GG to be one of the more unpleasant mouse softwares to use, bloated with unnecessary tabs and confusing headings. Next to your "Gear" tab is one for audio customization (even if you don't have a headset), a "moments" tab to record gameplay, an aim trainer, one for "giveaways", and a "news" tab for SteelSeries announcements. A wannabe everything app.

I also find the layout of the mouse settings confusing and badly presented, with everything housed in boxes of different shapes and styles.

The RGB options are in-depth and easy to use, at least – but don't try searching for them in the "illumination" tab. Instead you have to click on "Prism", which launches an entirely new window on your computer. What a mess.

Are the EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus the best sub-$100 earbuds around?

These new buds, an upgrade to the Pro 4s from 2024, have got rave reviews and they're certainly bursting with more Bluetooth tech than any other $100/£90 earbuds I've tested, including a dedicated gaming mode, dual device connection, LE audio, Auracast and LDAC codec support. They're also regularly on sale: as I write this they're a bargain at $76/£63.

As you'd expect at that price they're not without drawbacks – so is the compromise worth it? And how are they for gaming?

EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus: Vibrant Audio for Gaming or Music

The EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus buds aren't specifically designed for gaming. Dedicated gaming earbuds use a low-latency wireless dongle rather than laggy Bluetooth – that's absent here but they do have an impressive "game mode" that aims to reduce latency when you're playing on PC or Bluetooth-ready console. I've tried similar modes on other buds and it's never made a massive difference, but here it does.

Without game mode I could feel the long delay between inputs and audio. With it, that delay virtually disappeared and I couldn't notice it unless I really paid attention. Gunshots in Marathon felt like they boomed as soon as I clicked my mouse, for example.

I wouldn't recommend them as your go-to audio for competitive gaming, partly because of the inherent latency of Bluetooth, partly because of their mediocre mic, and partly because their directionality is relatively imprecise. In Marathon I could tell the rough direction of shots and footsteps but I couldn't pinpoint their exact location or distance the way I could with a regular headset.

Still, they'll work for multiplayer in a pinch – I used them a lot in Fortnite, for example, and they worked well – and for more casual singleplayer gaming on a Steam Deck or Switch they're perfect. I loved cruising around GTA 5, listening to the radio stations and bathing in the world's buzz.

It helps that they sound vibrant and detailed. In GTA 5 and 4 (I've been on a Rockstar kick recently) I could pick out the individual city sounds: the thrum of my car engine, the horns of traffic, conversational chatter on the streets, and the boom of hip-hop on the radio. It felt atmospheric.

Music sounds rich and bright outside of games too. Bass, mids and treble are balanced and I could distinguish individual instruments from one another, such as the three guitars in Oasis' Some Might Say. I enjoy the default bass setting, too. It punched in Dave's 100M's and Busta Rhymes' Break Ya Neck without feeling artificial or overpowering.

They're not audiophile grade, of course – you can't expect that at this price. Vocals are occasionally drowned out in complex, layered songs such as 12:51 by The Strokes, and in some tracks, sibilant sounds – that is, hissing consonants and cymbals – sound particularly harsh. N.E.R.D.'s Lapdance felt far too busy, for example.

But I feel like I'm nitpicking there, and in every case I could find a preset EQ that corrected it instantly, such as a treble reducer or vocal enhancer. For 95% of songs, the default EQ is warm and vibrant.

You also get far more features than I'd expect at this price, delivered through a pretty intuitive app.

Most notably they support high-quality Bluetooth codecs, including aptX adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC. With the right hardware (iOS doesn't support LDAC), and the right streaming platform (Spotify launched lossless audio last year), you should theoretically get the best available sound. Keep in mind you can't really get truly lossless audio over a Bluetooth connection – you'll need a wire – but you do at least get the tech here to get the highest-possible streaming quality, and that's a boon for budget earbuds.

You also get power-efficient LE audio, or Bluetooth low energy. This also enables Auracast, an emerging technology that lets multiple devices connect to the same source: imagine a phone broadcasting to multiple sets of earbuds. Both LE Audio and Auracast are far from ubiquitous – you'll need an Android phone for LE, to start with – but it's good to know these buds can support them in future.

EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus: Stripped-back Design and Solid Battery Life

The EarFun Air Pro 4’s impressive sound and feature list is matched by their comfort.

The buds weigh just over 5g each. You'll find lighter earbuds – the 4.2g HyperX Cloud Mix Buds 2 remain my go-to recommendation for ultra-portable gaming earbuds – but these are light enough to make me forget I'm wearing them. Their simple shape and rubber tips made them comfortable for long gaming sessions, trips on the train, or for sweaty workouts (they're IP55-rated, so a bit of moisture is fine).

They're not ugly but I don't like their two-tone look – all black except for the outside of the stem, which is a greyish-purple. I also wish the touch control portion was bigger than the small circle at the top of the stem. It made adjusting the volume or pausing music feel fiddly.

They are at least solid and sturdy. The curved case feels compact, holds the buds tight, and snaps securely.

EarFun says they'll last 12 hours with active noise cancelling (ANC) turned off, and that the case gives you an extra 42 hours before it needs plugging in. Those are marathon numbers that eclipse most earbuds – but in practice, you probably won't reach those heights. Between game mode, ANC, dual connection and a few other settings toggling on and off, I got between six and eight hours on a single charge. Strong but not spectacular.

EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus: Mediocre Noise Cancelling

Active Noise Cancelling is about what you'd expect at this price: it will dampen incoming noise but it won't blank out loud sounds. I could sit in a cafe and work without a nearby conversation disturbing me but at the gym I could still hear the occasional clink of weights in the background. On the London Underground, the screech of the Victoria Line made it difficult to hear what I was listening to.

As well as being mediocre, the ANC is overcomplicated. There are four different noise cancelling modes: AI Ear Adaptive ANC, AI Environment Adaptive ANC, a Manual mode with a slider, and Wind Noise Cancelling. After reading the descriptions I can't really tell you the difference between the first two, and I didn't really feel any meaningful auto-adjustments from them.

Ambient sound amplifies noise around you and is equally fine. It has two settings, one more hissy than the other. Both allowed me to hear traffic noise when I was walking but neither were powerful enough to clearly hear somebody talking across the room while I was listening to the buds.

Whether these middling features are a dealbreaker depends on how you'll use them. If you work out in a busy gym or travel on a busy commute and need top-tier noise cancelling, you might want to look elsewhere.

Warning: This review contains full spoilers for The Boys Season 5, Episode 7!

The Boys may have meandered its way through the first half of Season 5, but things have certainly picked up in the last few weeks. Episode 6 ended with exactly the sort of dramatic, game-changing cliffhanger the series needed, as Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) defied the odds and handed his son the literal keys to immortality. Everything our heroes have fought and bled for has been for naught. It's a strong way to lead into the series' penultimate chapter, and Episode 7 is mostly successful in building on that foundation.

Naturally, Homelander (Antony Starr) himself is one of the big draws in Episode 7. It's quite something to kick off an episode with Homelander casually murdering the President and ordering the death of democracy as we know it. He may be reveling in his newfound godhood, but we're quickly reminded that nothing is ever going to fill the gaping void of need and loneliness that exists where his withered heart is.

That feeds nicely into Homelander and Soldier Boy's reunion, where the latter tries to make a clean getaway to Bogota and winds up right back in the cryo tube for his troubles. As much as I feel Episode 6 failed to justify Soldier Boy's decision to hand over the V1 to Homelander, at least here the series emphasizes the idea that it was an act motivated by love for Stormfront (Aya Cash) and not attachment to Homelander. I assume Soldier Boy still has a part to play in the final episode, but I also wouldn't be disappointed if this was how his story ended.

I feel similarly about The Deep (Chace Crawford), who really goes through some stuff in Episode 7. His reward for his unyielding loyalty to Homelander is to be summarily dismissed and tossed aside. He gave up everything for Vought and its master, and he has absolutely nothing to show for it. It feels like The Deep as a character is well past the point of redemption, so let his final scene on the series be him running away like a coward while an innocent man drowns.

You can't discuss the villains here without mentioning Oh Father (Daveed Diggs) and that incredible musical number that opens this episode. It's good to see the series taking full advantage of Diggs' musical theater background in a sequence that's as hilarious as it is mortifying. Diggs is strong throughout the episode, as we get a better sense of a man who is truly a believer, yet also coming to terms with the fact that so few around him feel the same way.

Episode 7 is also effective in further exploring the theme of maintaining hope in a hopeless time. At this point, even Hughie (Jack Quaid) is struggling to keep his morale up, forcing the deeply cynical Butcher (Karl Urban) to be the ray of sunshine in these dark days. MM (Laz Alonso) also has a great scene with Starlight (Erin Moriarty) as he explains the real significance of his odd nickname and casts aside his own facade of cynicism. Of the team, MM has probably enjoyed the strongest arc this season.

Another highlight this week comes with the "return" of Butcher's CIA buddy Joe Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). It's funny to think that Kessler has played a pretty major role in the series despite never once actually being a true flesh-and-blood character. It's satisfying to learn more about the twisted history between Butcher and Kessler, and then for Hughie to finally turn the psychic tables on Synapse (Steven Yaffee).

Then there's the tragic climax of Episode 7, where Frenchie (Tomer Capone) makes his final stand against Homelander. His death isn't necessarily that surprising, as the script pretty blatantly telegraphs that things aren't going to work out for Frenchie and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara). Still, the moment hits the right emotional notes. The series definitely needed a big death to remind us of the stakes leading into the finale, and Frenchie is a worthy sacrifice.

So what didn't quite work in Episode 7? For one thing, the series is guilty of delivering too little, too late with the overdue Gen V tie-in. We finally see Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) and Jordan Li (London Thor), only for the two to be quickly brushed off and dismissed by Starlight. In the effort to not upset viewers who didn't watch Gen V, the series has managed to punish those who did. And, sure, it seems like Marie and her friends are being set up to play a role in the finale, but after they've factored so little into the conflict so far, they're almost surely going to feel shoehorned into the final battle.

In a broader sense, Episode 7 suffers from the fact that it doesn't necessarily feel like the penultimate chapter of the series. The sense of urgency isn't quite there, even with Homelander having achieved his full power. For the most part, this episode plays out like just another madcap caper for Butcher and the gang, with only Frenchie's death reminding us that the endgame is fast approaching.

It feels as though the series has too many loose ends to tie up and too many living characters still to juggle for everything to be wrapped up in a neat, satisfying bow in one last, hour-long installment. Should we have reached this point earlier in the season? Maybe. I just hope there's room enough to give fans a proper conclusion in Episode 8.

The Punisher: One Last Kill is available on Disney+ now.

Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle was conspicuous by his absence in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which is perhaps one of the reasons that Season 2 didn’t quite live up to the standard of the first. But there’s a silver lining to that particular cloud. Bernthal’s character is back at the forefront of the MCU in 2026, starting with the “Special Presentation” short film The Punisher: One Last Kill. If you crave more of Frank wrestling with his personal demons and laying waste to endless hordes of criminal scum, you’ve come to the right place. If you were wanting a dramatically different take on the character from what we’ve seen in past MCU projects, you might come away slightly disappointed.

One Last Kill reunites Bernthal with We Own This City and King Richard’s Reinaldo Marcus Green, with Green directing and both men co-writing the teleplay. The cast also includes Punisher TV veteran Jason R. Moore as Frank’s old comrade Curtis Hoyle and Judith Light as a woman who veers into Frank’s orbit.

The one-shot presumably takes place after Frank’s escape in the post-credits scene of Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. One might naturally assume that Frank would immediately resume his vendetta against Vincent D’Onofrio’s Mayor Fisk and the skull-adorned members of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, but apparently, he only dwells on the past when it involves grieving over the deaths of his family.

There’s precious little connective tissue between One Last Kill and Born Again (or most other MCU projects, for that matter). One could just as easily jump straight from the end of the Netflix series to this special and not miss a beat. There’s perhaps some missed opportunity in that regard, but there is something to be said for a film that seeks to tell a solid, standalone Punisher tale with no fluff or baggage.

Again, for all that Bernthal has noted a desire to tell a different and more psychologically driven Punisher tale, One Last Kill isn’t a dramatic departure from what we saw with the Netflix series. It’s more visually dynamic, to be certain, and Green’s presence is certainly appreciated there. But once again, we’re faced with a Frank Castle struggling between the boundless well of rage and sadness that motivates him and a desire to find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like the MCU’s Punisher has been on the brink of retirement for most of his more than 10-year existence.

But if it doesn’t do anything particularly new with the character, One Last Kill nonetheless works as a lean, mean action romp in a particularly seedy section of the MCU’s New York. The film’s 45-minute format is arguably its greatest asset. The Netflix show suffered from those long stretches where Frank would hide out in his base or Madani’s apartment in between shootouts. Here, there’s only so much time to stop and navel-gaze before the violence breaks out. Bernthal and Green give us a Punisher short film that’s equal parts The Raid (with a prolonged shootout in a grimy apartment complex) and John Wick. There’s even a bit of a gaming influence with the way Frank cycles through weapons and loots the corpses of his fallen enemies. The plot, such as it is, is only there to steer Frank from Point A to B and from blood-soaked encounter to the next.

Unsurprisingly, One Last Kill leans very heavily on Bernthal to carry the day, and he doesn’t disappoint. Early on, the focus is on Frank marinating in a psychologically spicy stew of misery and paranoia, with more than a whiff of Apocalypse Now's opening scene. Later, that rage surges to the forefront as Frank singlehandedly takes on the whole of Little Sicily in an orgy of violence. In either case, the special simply wouldn’t work without Bernthal’s magnetic portrayal of Frank there to carry the day. It’s practically a one-man show, and the actor shoulders that burden well. The rest of the supporting cast, including Moore’s Curtis Hoyle, are there mainly to give voice to Frank’s surging emotions and personal struggles.

There are also certainly valid criticisms to be leveled at how Frank is portrayed in the MCU. Outside of maybe Daredevil: Season 2, the character has always felt like a stark departure from the classic comic book source material. As portrayed by comic creators like Garth Ennis, Frank Castle is a stoic granite slab of a human being who is constantly propelled forward by a cold fury towards all criminals and an unwavering commitment to his “mission.” The MCU Frank, by comparison, is a frenetic, pill-addicted ball of anger, machismo, and longing who needs periodic reminders of why he does what he does. In a lot of ways, Bernthal’s performance has more Wolverine than Frank Castle to it. But like it or not, that’s the vision the MCU has committed to, and it’s one that One Last Kill doubles down on.

It would have been nice to see this special devote a little more attention to its anemic supporting cast. Light is compelling in the two scenes in which she’s given much of anything to do, but she’s badly underutilized, and her character is basically forgotten before the end. But even that is more than most of the cast can boast. If it’s not Frank Castle, this special only has a passing interest in the character.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro is a proper midranger, coming in with a starting price of $499. It doesn’t boast a flagship chip or exotic materials, but it doesn’t shy away from premium elements either. What it may lack in some departments, it may more than make up for with its cameras. So if you’re looking to get a great value smartphone with an emphasis and photographic capabilities, this is one to look at.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro – Design and Features

The Phone 4a Pro is perhaps Nothing’s most tastefully done design yet. Its metal frame wraps all around the edges and swoops around to cover most of the back surface as well. It’s somewhat iPhone-esque in this approach, but it doesn’t leave the carveout for wireless charging that Apple did.

The camera housing is a large plastic mound that also has a vibe crossed between the latest iPhones and yet is distinctly Nothing with its multi-tone color scheme, visible screws, and a roughly one-inch circle filled with a dot matrix display. The cameras also get a funky layout with two in a shared pill-shaped cover and one standing apart in its own cover.

It’s a great look, and will perhaps be less contentious than some of Nothing’s other hardware. The feel in the hand is solid with so much metal to contact. It’s a large phone at a hair over three inches wide and 6.44 inches tall, though, and will be unwieldy for smaller hands, but no more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The dot “Glyph Matrix” display is not terribly compelling here. It can still display a few fun little things, like a spin the bottle game, timer, and battery charging level. With just 137 dots, it’s not very crisp, though. The selfie mirror that was somewhat useful on the Nothing Phone 3 is rather hard to use here as it’s simply too difficult to distinguish what’s on the display for framing. At least this time the selfie mirror automatically activates when the camera is running, rather than using a separate, slow, and confusing pipeline as on the Nothing Phone 3.

The screen on the Nothing Phone 3a Pro is great. At 1280x2800, it’s wonderfully sharp for a 6.83-inch panel. It offers the gorgeous color and contrast of AMOLED with very respectable brightness levels for use in any environment, though glare still hurts. And its 144Hz refresh rate ensures it’s plenty smooth in regular use – just don’t count on that refresh rate for serious gaming. A fingerprint scanner is embedded under the display and works quickly, though is positioned a bit too low for comfortable reach while one-handing the device. Nothing applies a screen protector at the factory, so the display is protected from the jump, though it has a knack for showing finger oils.

The phone is otherwise protected with IP65 dust and water resistance, which is enough to keep dust and such out entirely but isn’t meant to stand up to more than low-pressure water. So, no dunks in the pool or pond. Nothing says the phone is “Tested for water immersion up to 25 cm for up to 20 minutes,” but I wouldn’t recommend counting on that as an assurance since even fully IP68 certified phones don’t get warranted against water damage by manufacturers.

The phone’s speakers aren’t quite as impressive as the display. They put out decent volume, but when they’re cranked, the meager bass levels sink and lead to a grating tone. It works for podcasts or audiobooks well enough, but you’ll want to stick to lower listening levels to get OK sound quality.

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro offers support for multiple SIM cards as well as eSIM, giving it an edge over Pixels and iPhones, which are toward eSIM only. The phone is lagging a bit behind on its connectivity offerings though, only providing Bluetooth 5.4 and dual-band Wi-Fi 6. 5G networking has worked without a hitch on T-Mobile in Chicago during my testing at least.

The USB-C port on the bottom of the phone isn’t so great. It tops out at USB 2.0 speeds and doesn’t provide display output capabilities. It does support 50W fast charging, which is a solid level. Of course, with the aluminum rear panel, there’s no wireless charging available.

While the 4a Pro has the typical power and volume buttons along its right edge, it also has a special AI button on the left edge. This integrates into Nothing’s “Essential Space.” Tapping the button grabs a screenshot and lets you add a note, while holding the button records a voice memo.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro – Software

The Nothing Phone 4a Pro comes running Android 16 and is promised three major OS upgrades and four years of security patches, which is on the short side next to Google, Samsung, and Apple, but not altogether bad for a mid-range device. At four years, I’d expect the performance of this phone to start readying many folks for a leap to a new generation of hardware, especially with evolving on-device AI processing being pushed so hard (to say nothing of Nothing’s own AI ambitions).

I won’t dive into the Nothing’s AI-powered Essential Space deeply, as that would be a full review in itself. It’s worth noting, however, that use of the app requires giving it full access to your photo and video and library on the phone. It even recognizes when it has been given limited access and will not operate. If you’re not a fan of letting AI-anything have that kind of access, be prepared to get no use out of the app and have a button on the phone that ultimately does nothing for you.

As for Nothing’s take on Android, it immediately presents users with its stylish, black-and-white, minimalist skin or the option to go for a basic, colorful option. The latter may be good for legibility, as the former looks slick, but makes even familiar apps hard to recognize by their icons on the home screen. Beyond this, there’s nothing notable about the customization of Android, with it feeling much like a Pixel phone to use.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro – Gaming and Performance

Nothing has always focused on value more than performance, and the Nothing Phone 4a Pro is no exception. It runs on a modest Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip with either 8 or 12GB of memory (my test unit came with 12GB). This doesn’t make it exceptional for gamers, though it still handles itself decently. The phone could run Where Winds Meet with its Ultra graphics setting at 30fps stably for a half hour without getting exceedingly hot, but it wouldn’t go beyond that. Lighter games should be no problem. It doesn’t perform much better than its competition. Even the Pixel 10a beat it across the board in Geekbench 6 and 3DMark CPU and GPU test benchmarks.

It’s not just a matter of special settings either. The phone has a Game Mode with a further Performance Mode setting, but that appears to have little impact on actual performance. Both Geekbench 6 and 3DMark scores were hardly affected by this setting being enabled and weren’t even consistently improved. At least the phone avoids building up too much heat, running with 99.4% consistency during a 20-run stress test with 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light benchmark.

All told, the phone still offers smooth operation in everyday use. I never noticed stutters or slowdowns. It’s just not doing much in the way of extreme performance. Efficiency may be more its focus. The phone happily plugs along through the whole day and then some. Over the course of testing, I went a few days without using the phone and was surprised to see some extreme standby efficiency, with the phone still up and running with charge to spare even though Airplane mode had not been turned on.

Nothing Phone 4a Pro – Cameras

The cameras on the Nothing Phone 4a Pro are its chance to shine. Despite being a mid-ranger, it attempts to offer an array of sensors that’s more often limited to high-end models. Even Apple doesn’t give its base iPhones triple-sensor setups. Here’s a rundown of the cameras included on the Nothing Phone 4a Pro:

• 50MP Wide, f/1.88, 1/1.56”, OIS, EIS, PDAF
• 8MP Ultrawide, f/2.2, 1/4”, 120-degree FOV
• 50MP Telephoto, f/2.88, 1/2.75”, 3.5x optical, OIS, EIS
• 32MP Selfie, f/2.2, 1/3.42, 89-degree FOV

Nothing shows its chops well with this setup. The main sensor does a great job gathering light and crisp details. It shoots wonderful portraits and has a wide enough field of view to grab decent scenery shots without needing to step over to the ultra-wide sensor. Using the Glyph Matrix on the back, it can also work for even higher-quality selfies than the already solid selfie camera manages.

The zoom lens is one of this phone’s super powers. It’s not crazy, but with 3.5x optical zoom on a high-res sensor, it can look pretty darn good even when bumping up to 7x. Even though the Pixel 10 has a 5x optical zoom, its lower resolution actually sees the Nothing Phone 4a Pro come ahead slightly in some elements, especially when pushing into digital zoom. It just tails the Pixel 9 Pro tele sensor. The camera does a great job locking onto a subject and stabilizing, too, which helps immensely when trying to frame a far-off subject. With all the detail it provides on more distant subjects, it’s really a rocking addition to the phone.

The ultra-wide is a little soft and really calls for bright light. But in sunny, outdoor shooting, it proves a useful complement to the rest of the lineup.

All in all, the camera setup and its performance is quite impressive for a phone of this price. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see it on a much more expensive device. For photography-minded users, this certainly makes up for any deficits in the performance department.

Devil May Cry Season 2 debuts on Netflix on May 12.

The first season of Devil May Cry had some frustrating issues, yet it still delivered a fun ride with a bonkers finale and a killer soundtrack. Season 2 goes even harder on the political allegories and commentary that make the show more than just a gorefest, while doubling down on the emotional undertones of Dante’s story by bringing in his long-lost brother, Vergil. Immediately, Vergil elevates the show, with a tragic and compelling backstory, a thrilling arc, and the best fights of the season. Though the scripts remain predictable, Devil May Cry is still a riveting video game adaptation.

Season 1 left off with the cowboy President of the U.S. literally invading Hell to the tune of Green Day’s “American Idiot.” As it turns out, this war is not exactly universally popular; though the government and DARKCOM work their propaganda machine relentlessly to push the war on Hell as a righteous battle against evil, we see plenty of backlash from the public… especially when footage of black site detention centers and the torturing of civilians goes public. If nothing else, creator and showrunner Adi Shankar knows to follow the lead of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace when he says that writers who use subtext are all cowards. Is it too on the nose? Most definitely, but the overt references to the Iraq War, combined with the very early 2000s soundtrack, does give the show a unique identity that makes it stand out as an adaptation.

The main thrust of the plot involves Vice President Baines (Ian James Corlett, replacing the late Kevin Conroy) and the head of the Uroboros Corporation, Arius. As a villain, Arius is not the most compelling character, though he does get a bit more characterization than he had in Devil May Cry 2 (the plot of which serves as the biggest inspiration for this season, alongside the 2013 reboot). Arius is mostly a stepping stone toward bigger and better villains; take, for instance, the agent of Hell sent to stop Uroboros – Vergil. From the moment he steps into frame, Vergil becomes the star of the season; he’s the polar opposite of Dante – super serious, no-nonsense, and completely vicious. He arrives on Earth by mercilessly butchering a squad of Uroboros soldiers, with the dynamic action edited to match the tune of Drowning Pool’s Bodies.

Vergil’s story is the highlight of Season 2 – a quest for vengeance full of twists and turns that challenges his own notions of justice, his allegiances, and his goals. But it’s also a heartfelt tale with flashbacks expanding on his and Dante’s childhood and their relationship to their mother, Eva. Where the first season focused on the reveal that Dante is a half-demon and son of a legendary demon warrior, this season turns its attention toward Eva and how she raised her boys, and the very different paths they took. Johnny Yong Bosch and Robbie Daymond do a great job portraying the emotional aspects of Dante and Vergil, respectively, with both men trying to hide the emotional scars they so clearly carry with them while letting that same trauma drive their every decision.

Even if the visuals still suffer from CG demons and some unfortunate use of still images during some action scenes, the animation by Studio Mir remains dynamic, and the fighting is kinetic. Episode 2 even employs some interesting art style changes that echo the phenomenal sixth episode of the first season. The soundtrack also remains one of the coolest things about this show, with some fantastic needle drops that fit the tone of the season.

Call of the Elder Gods, from developer Out of the Blue Games, handles a careful balancing act between story-focused adventure and puzzle solving with grace. As the long-awaited follow-up to 2020's Call of the Sea and its emotionally gripping puzzle-box adventure, it's another rare Lovecraft-inspired game that effectively wields the surreal mystery and emotional stakes of confronting the unknown, rather than the macabre aspects of cosmic horror you may expect. The original game focused on exploring a winding, lush island that gradually revealed deeper mysteries and crushing loss with its protagonist, Norah, and Call of the Elder Gods continues the story as a noticeably tighter sequel with two new protagonists who embark on a parallel journey set in motion by its predecessor.

Call of the Elder Gods is set two decades after the first game and has you playing as both newcomer Evangeline Drayton, the daughter of Frank Drayton from the original game's ill-fated expedition, and returning character Professor Harry Everhart. With Evangeline experiencing a lapse in memory and dreams of an ancient city of elder gods, she seeks out Harry Everhart for answers on what was uncovered from that expedition. All the while, the original protagonist, Norah – played by actor Cissy Jones – narrates the story's events with a level of self-awareness that adds an even stranger layer of intrigue.

While Call of the Sea's remote island jungle was equal parts an interactive mystery box filled to the brim with puzzles that tied into some heartfelt storytelling for protagonist Norah, Call of the Elder Gods is more of a globe-trotting Indiana Jones-style adventure – complete with familiar stylings like streaking red lines going across maps to give it that sense of scale. This change expands the series' scope and leads to some unexpectedly profound and bizarre moments for its protagonists that even stretch across time and space.

It channels the tone and style of Lovecraft's short story "The Color Out of Space" over the course of its five-hour journey. Yet, it takes it even further by drawing on his novella "The Shadow Out of Time" as the story escalates into out of body experiences and time-bending phenomena. Call of the Elder Gods takes the time necessary to absorb you into the perspectives of its characters as they explore the Everhart estate, ancient caves in the backwoods of Virginia, and all the way to the remote deserts of Australia.

I really enjoyed the way the story escalates with Harry and Evangeline traveling to increasingly peculiar locations, such as an abandoned Nazi compound housing corrupted eldritch experiments and even the ancient city of the distant past; it leans into the aforementioned style of sweeping adventure that'd make Indy proud. Although it works for the most part, I wasn't as connected to each location by virtue of its brisk pace as opposed to the original's more cohesive setting. Just when I was taking in the fantastic visuals and mesmerizing atmosphere of a specific chapter's location, I would be whisked away to the next area, which sometimes funnels you into less imaginative enclosed spaces. This disconnect also extends to the in-game animated cutscenes, which showcase the strong personalities of its characters, but can also come off as stilted transitions between chapters.

Much like the original, Call of the Elder Gods puts a keen focus on investigation and puzzle-solving across its chapters. With the help of Norah's trusty journal, which keeps track of all relevant information, the puzzles evoke the classic Myst and Riven approach to collecting clues left by other characters and inspecting environmental details to overcome obstacles. There is some genuinely inventive puzzle design at work within Call of the Elder Gods – I appreciated those organic moments where you're learning how the pieces of its puzzles fit together in the process of deciphering solutions just before the eureka moment, and it's one of the great joys that complements its wondrous atmosphere.

One of my favorite early sections was exploring the estate grounds during a storm. I had to carefully position the statues at right angles to unlock access to a gated area, all while thunder and heavy rain was coming down. It's a sequence that starts leaning into the Lovecraftian influence of directly placing you in strange situations where otherworldly forces creep in to add a subtle sense of dread. Much like the original, Call of the Elder Gods weaves its sharp, visually striking environmental presentation to uplift its story-driven puzzle-solving. But it takes things further with a larger variety of spaces to explore that show the escalating stakes of the journey, which gives each chapter a unique theme and flavor.

Compared to the more straightforward progression and ramping up in complexity with puzzles in the original, Call of the Elder Gods's more fragmented structure unfortunately leads to uneven difficulty at times. While I generally felt in sync with the pacing and level of challenge, so much so that I was able to knock out some of the seemingly complex puzzles with ease, some challenges were a stark jump in difficulty in terms of an overload of information and moving parts to keep track of. This was particularly troublesome when trying to get a handle of the more machine-heavy puzzles, which took a lot of cycling back to my journal as if I was combing through an instruction manual. I even hit some walls that left me retracing my steps for extended periods to find any missed clues that would help lead to a solution.

There is a handy hint option in the main menu to offset those periods of being stumped, which will outright give you a step-by-step breakdown of puzzles in select chapters. It's a helpful feature that will keep you moving along and prevent stalling in your progression. Yet, I felt some aspects of the puzzle-solving could have benefitted from more natural ways of leading you on or just better explanations of the mechanisms behind its puzzles.

Thankfully, its stumbles don't drastically detract from what Call of the Elder Gods is all about – that feeling of uncovering a great mystery across time and space. It does so in a less isolating way compared to the original, and with the two strong leads whose connections to otherworldly forces naturally unravel as you take in clues and progress. Call of the Elder Gods even includes moments where you'll swap between both Harry and Evangeline to solve puzzles in tandem.

My favorite interactions between the two are during story moments where you'll make decisions on how they'll react to an interrogation, or a deeply affecting moment of personal trauma. This is all while a sinister cult is chasing the very same thing you are, trying to stay one step ahead to seize what it believes to be some kind of ancient power – it provides the adversarial element needed to keep the stakes high and broaden the consequences at hand.

Overall, it's an elevation of the original game with its clever use of its dual perspectives, and I was impressed by both Harry and Evangeline's parallel emotional journeys as they grapple with their memories of the past and the possible futures that lay ahead of them. The strong writing and voice performances by actors Yuri Lowenthal and Mara Junot, respectively, really do well to bring the characters and story to life. However, Call of the Elder Gods doesn't quite stick the landing as it closes with an unsatisfying finish that leaves a lot of its mystery on the table. Still, Evangeline's arc as a new protagonist adds greater weight to the original game, giving its story of the failed expedition a more poignant sense of tragedy.

Arguably the most famous episode of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica TV series is also one of the first, called 33. In it, every 33 minutes, the relentless Cylons show up like clockwork to pursue Galactica, driving the crew to the breaking point. It was a brilliant concept for a TV show, and a very similar idea works quite well for Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes. This roguelike strategy game about leading a small fleet on a quest to link up with Galactica immediately after the destruction of Caprica borrows that ticking clock and combines it with an unceasing barrage of both missiles and crises, giving a tense edge to its strategic resource management and relatively simple 2D tactical combat.

It's definitely worth watching at least the first season of Battlestar Galactica before diving into Scattered Hopes, in part because it's a classic sci-fi show in its own right, but also because it'll help you understand a lot of the mechanics that separate this from similar games. In short, every faster-than-light jump you make in your Gunstar – a smaller version of a Battlestar that's effectively very similar and leads a fleet of mostly unarmed civilian vessels – kicks off a race against the turn-based clock: you have a scant 10 turns to not only repair and upgrade your ships and crew, but also collect resources and manage the political friction between different factions of survivors, as well as handle an intentionally overwhelming number of crises before the Cylons arrive. At that point you have to avoid taking too much damage for two real-time minutes while the FTL engines spin up again, and repeat.

Even though you're not playing as Galactica or any of its crew, using the eerie theme music from the show goes a long way to establishing the BSG vibe. The art direction also generally works toward that goal, because while Scattered Hopes' 16-bit style doesn't look as true to the show as 2017's Battlestar Galactica Deadlock did, it's at least interesting in its approach (and serves it nearly as well as its clear space roguelike inspiration, the legendary FTL). What's not to like about the bright-blue flash of a nuclear explosion in space? The exception is when it zooms in on Cylon motherships at the beginning of each battle, where the pixelated textures on 3D models get stretched in unflattering ways. It's eye-catching, though, how that style is mixed with high-resolution portraits of the randomly generated characters that pop up during the frequent dialogue scenes. They're not animated beyond a subtle distortion effect that makes it look like they're breathing, and there's no voice acting at all, but the tradeoff is that there's a lot of variety to the crews that I appreciated after a few runs.

Combat sequences are a pretty straightforward real-time tactics game that you can pause at any moment to assign targets, use special abilities, and move ships out of the way of missiles and other attacks. These are relatively small-scale skirmishes, so you never have more than five fighters on the map – usually it's more like three – but you also have the weapons of your Gunstar available to launch when you spot an opportunity to wipe out a group of clustered ships with a flak burst or a well-placed nuke. (One of my favorites allows you to detonate enemy missiles remotely, so you can set off Cylon nukes as they pass by their own ships.) A fair amount of battlefield complexity emerges as your officers and fighters earn new traits from leveling up, and you have to figure out how to optimize active and passive abilities like earning temporary speed boosts after a kill, bouncing ballistic weapons from one target to another, or reflecting damage back at attackers, among many other possibilities.

On that note, I can't help but be a little disappointed that Scattered Hopes doesn't make any effort to replicate the show's flashy dogfighting; instead your Vipers, Mantises, and more are abstract representations that fly straight at their targets until they bump into them, then stop and duke it out until one or the other explodes. Meanwhile, artillery ships like Raptors have to hold completely still in order to bombard from afar, and support ships try to keep their distance. Next to the cinematic approach of something like Sins of a Solar Empire 2 or Homeworld 3, that looks a little lame – though I can understand how having everything flying every which way might make the action tough to follow when there are a couple of dozen Cylon ships and nuclear missiles screaming toward your Gunstar and you simultaneously have to keep your ships out of the blast radius of your own area-of-effect attacks.

There isn't a huge amount of variety from battle to battle, simply because the Cylons rely heavily on a handful of ship types that mostly just jump in around the map and mindlessly charge your capital ships unless your fighters draw them away. You can count on plenty of easily swatted Raiders and their heavy counterparts, augmented by smaller numbers of artillery ships, missile launchers, stealth ships, hacker ships, minelayers, and the especially annoying evasive Dodgers. That predictability (including the way the time and location of their arrival is precisely forecast) is the main thing that makes it possible to fend off so many of them with just a few ships of your own. But there are at least a few meaningful differences between fights: each Cylon mothership you square off against (which are mostly smaller cruisers, but Basestars show up for boss fights) gives its accompanying fighters certain bonuses, such as speed or damage boosts, and some can even neutralize your non-nuclear missiles. Occasionally, battlefields will also be littered with devastating minefields to avoid or asteroids that provide defensive bonuses you can use to your tactical advantage.

In every battle, though, you're always watching the two-minute timer tick down until the moment you can jump to safety, often getting out by the skin of your teeth while an enormous final wave of Cylon ships fires into the empty space your Gunstar and two civilian ships occupied an instant before. That's a built-in tension that Scattered Hopes makes good repeated use of. It is slightly maddening, though, that the auto-pause triggers when the clock counts down to zero but not the instant your last fighter docks – that's almost always the moment I want to mash the Jump button to avoid leaving anybody behind.

As you progress from sector to sector, you're usually given two options for which path to take (in typical roguelike fashion) and I've found that the single biggest predictor of whether I'll have a good run or not is if I luck into recruiting several new crewmembers in the first few jumps. Not only can these officers pilot fighters and man Gunstar weapon stations to boost their abilities, they also each give you at least one free action to resolve a situation (which would otherwise cost valuable supplies) or gather extra resources and better ships. That's absolutely invaluable because the benefits snowball quickly – even though having more crewmembers makes it a little trickier to figure out which one of them is the Cylon saboteur. You can recover from a small crew early on if you manage to rescue and upgrade civilian ships that automatically generate a ton of resources, but nothing beats pure manpower in my experience.

It's never a surprise when a new crisis pops up since they're marked on a timeline in each sector, but they're usually inconvenient because you're probably already struggling. A lot of the problems that arise are one-offs that can be dealt with quickly, but many are strung together as fairly elaborate stories with multi-part resolutions that require your team to fix airlocks, repair damage, treat wounded civilians, arrest suspects, or even fight special battles before they're resolved and their negative effects are lifted. There are even personal quests that pay homage to Starbuck's death wish from the show and uncover characters' hidden pasts, unlocking powerful upgrades. That said, for a game that's meant to be played over and over again, it seems like there aren't quite enough of them to go around; I was only a couple of runs in before I was having to click though a bunch of dialogue I'd already read, rushing to the decision at the end about which faction to please and who to raise tensions with. (I've even gotten the same story event multiple times in a single run.) Yes, one of the show's most quotable catchphrases is "This has happened before and it will happen again," but this is taking that a little too far.

That's especially true of the hidden Cylon story that happens on every single run (except, notably, on the one where I accidentally got them killed before they were revealed). It's not really about deduction, but a process of elimination as you're given "clues" every jump that highlight suspicious crewmembers, which you then have to guess at and spend resources to investigate until you get lucky. That part isn't all that interesting, but the fact that there are two different ways the confrontation can play out based on whether the Cylon knows they're a Cylon or not is a fun twist, and there are interesting decisions to be made in both outcomes.

A run of Scattered Hopes takes a bit on the longer side for a roguelike, usually around two hours. (There's an achievement for finishing in under 90 minutes.) But that means your crew and ships get lots of opportunities to level up on the journey, and you gather progressively more randomized passive and active abilities that you have to mix and match based on whatever comes your way. Pairing an officer who had the Radioactive Bullets skill with a Viper that had bullets that could ricochet from one target to another was a fun one, as was putting a crewmember who significantly reduced cooldowns and had a chance to earn extra resources from every kill onto a missile launcher with a big blast radius. One time I ended up with four powerful artillery ships that, thanks to stacked range bonuses, could fire across the entire map and completely dominated every late-game battle.

Of course, it took me a while to get to the point where I was regularly winning – my first six runs ended in failure, largely because the Hades-style progression system withholds some pretty crucial abilities like more starting resources, re-rolling random upgrade choices, restarting a failed battle, and increasing the odds of getting legendary-quality items and traits. Once you unlock a fair number of those, victory becomes much more attainable – though, naturally, you'll also unlock new Gunstar variants that put more focus on castable weapons rather than fighters, and every successful run as each of them unlocks a tougher version where things can go wrong that much faster. So even though I've already done 35 hours worth of runs, I haven't gotten anywhere near beating the toughest challenges.

Making the leap to space feels like a big departure from the usually grounded horror of the previous games in Supermassive's Dark Pictures anthology series. But Directive 8020 reminded me that the sense of isolation, living in a bubble surrounded by forces hostile to human life, makes the dark beyond a great fit for this genre. Kicking off the second "season" of these self-contained tales of terror, the four-year hiatus after 2022’s The Devil in Me has brought a number of much-needed technical improvements and gameplay tweaks – though some of them are more well-considered than others.

Directive 8020 follows the suspenseful journey of the Cassiopeia, a sleeper ship sent to scout for humanity's first exoplanet colony. This is framed to the crew as humankind’s last hope to escape a dying Earth, though clever little hints start to add up that suggest the company line might not be entirely truthful. There's a lot of crawling around in vents and trying to get critical systems back online after unexpected crises arise, with both the art and the plot wearing their love for films like Alien and The Thing proudly on their space suits.

The Cassiopeia itself is an interesting mix of Ridley Scott retrofuturist aesthetics and a cleaner, more modern look that sometimes made me think of the Todd Howard-ism "NASApunk." There are little homages to classic space horror, like terminal loading screens that look like they could have been downloaded right off of the Nostromo, but it's not quite as grimy or hard-edged. When the mysterious threats finally take center stage – which I'm not going to spoil too much about for obvious reasons – it doesn't just look like someone copied H.R. Geiger's homework.

It's really hard to say much more than that, since slowly discovering the nature of what’s trying to kill you is a big part of what I loved about this story.

The writing is pretty sharp from bridge to stern. Across eight episodes that took me around 10 hours to complete the first time, the crew is put through a harrowing “choose your own adventure” gauntlet of paranoia, corporate conspiracy, simmering tension, and eventually adrenaline-pumping terror. There's a big twist that didn't feel obnoxiously obvious, but also didn't come out of nowhere. I was able to figure it out ahead of time by being a thorough explorer and connecting the dots, so it felt like I earned that, not like it was fed to me, and that's always a tricky needle to thread. Other theories I had ended up being incorrect, so the writers managed to surprise me regardless.

The characters are endearing, memorable, and complex. And they're all brought to life by Supermassive's impressive performance capture tech, which has been among the best around for a while now. In certain lighting, the models do have a little bit of an uncanny valley feeling to them, though, as a side-effect of this being the highest fidelity game the studio has ever put out.

Like previous Dark Pictures games, you can improve traits like Serious or Playful for certain characters through dialogue choices, which eventually leads them to unlock one of two mutually exclusive Destinies, cementing what kind of person they become for the rest of the series. I found this had mixed results this time around. In cases where it simply served as a culmination of a character's emotional arc, I enjoyed it. But there were a few times where it locked me off from being able to make a certain story choice – perhaps the obviously correct one – and I didn't love that. If a trait like Serious or Professional can have negative consequences on a high-stakes space mission, that doesn't seem like something I could have figured out based on smart thinking. I just guessed wrong. How would I have known that could be a bad thing?

There's also not a lot to do for some of the crewmembers in the back half as a byproduct of the branching story. By the time you get to the last couple episodes, practically anyone could be dead already based on your decisions. This results in a handful of conversations where it feels like there are five people in the room but only three of them get to talk. It's probably a small price to pay for how many different permutations are possible – after one playthrough, the menu said I had seen only 58% of the possible scenes, to give you some idea – but it is a bit awkward.

The big new mechanic for this flashy return of The Dark Pictures is active stealth sections that have you trying to avoid a prowling enemy using cover, darkness, and distractions. It's nothing revolutionary, but it does help Supermassive's formula not feel like so much of a visual novel with quicktime events and limited exploration. That being said, I did find by the end that it's maybe a bit overused. Most of the sections involving mortal danger default to this sneaky routine rather than using the other tools in the Dark Pictures toolbox.

There are a lot of difficulty and accessibility options in Directive 8020, which is nice. If you don't like life-or-death quicktime events, you can adjust them to be much more forgiving. There's a "parry" mechanic that can allow you a cooldown-based free getaway if caught in a stealth section, which I think basically trivializes them on the default setting. But you can tweak that, too. The big choice is between Explorer mode, which allows you to rewind to any previous scene, and Survivor mode, which forces you to keep playing and live with your decisions. And that opens up a whole can of worms.

I chose to play through the first time on Survivor, but even when you have that mode active, you can open the menu at any point to see a new scene tree which details all of the possible paths and their unlock requirements. It even contains some pretty big spoilers if you're not careful. Now, I know you could simply not look at that screen. But even glancing at it once to see how an episode is structured, which is trivial to do and doesn't come with any kind of spoiler warning, was more information than I would have wanted about how the sausage is made.

It kills some of the tension to know that there are certain scenes where death isn't a real possibility, whereas previous Dark Pictures games had me on edge and ready to hit those QTE buttons at any second. And there's really no going back from that. I would highly recommend resisting the urge to look at this screen at all, at least for your first playthrough. I wish I hadn't, and I wish there was a way to disable it completely.

That said, once you have finished the story, this tree does become a useful tool for going back and seeing what other paths you could try out. It's the only way to find out there are a total of 44 different unique character deaths to witness, if you're into that kind of thing. There are even some Easter eggs that require the rewind feature to find, which is neat.

The audio in Directive 8020 is a little hit or miss. The voice acting is clean and crisp and the sound effects themselves are excellent and effective. But on my surround sound headphones, the directional audio was always kind of imprecise and the mix was a little bit off no matter how much I tried to tweak the settings both in-game and on the hardware side. This is merely distracting when someone's voice doesn't seem to be coming from where they're standing on screen, and potentially deadly when you can't really hear where a threat is coming from.

The needle drops at the end of each episode are great, though, with a variety of ethereal, emotive tracks that help set the mood. I was disappointed by the fact that you're not greeted by Pip Torrens' mysterious Curator to introduce the story, though. And I missed the phenomenal Khemmis cover of O' Death that served as the first season's theme song. I don't think that framing device is entirely gone, thankfully, but I'll let you figure out what I mean by that yourself.

Go big or go home. That feels like the entire mantra of the HP Omen Max 45L’s design. It has an enormous RTX 5090 that’s somehow even larger in this configuration with its anti-sag bracket. It has boat loads of memory, plenty of storage, and a huge case that completely silos off the CPU cooling in a fashion reminiscent of those old Vapochill phase change units.

All of that comes at an enormous cost, though. This configuration is north of $6,000, and bizarrely it’s with a 12-core 9900X3D CPU, rather than the flagship 9950X3D or more-typical gaming kingpin, the 9800X3D.

Still, it looks good, plays good, and gives you plenty of scope for expansion. If you want a PC that can play anything and do it relatively cool and quietly, this may not be a bad buy in 2026 where just about anything is going to cost you a lot.

Design and Features

The HP Omen Max 45L is well named. This system is big and bold, with a domineering presence on or under your desk. Despite the LED lighting and glasswork being tastefully handled in the default configuration – HP reliably told us unicorn vomit was on hand if you want it – this system makes a statement. Its segregated cooling unit on the top looks different and it certainly stands apart from more traditional case styles, and increasingly common wraparound glass panelling of more showy designs.

However, this is no mere statement piece. HP has thought about the practicalities of such a system, and though it looks the part, it’s also versatile and relatively easy to get to grips with. The toolless side panels are a lovely touch, making them super easy to remove without needing to hunt for a screwdriver. Or at least, they should be. I found one of the toolless mechanisms stuck on my first attempt to open the side and several more after that. It eventually loosened up and we were all good, but I wonder if a knock in transit made it less compliant than it should be.

The motherboard is a bespoke HP 8E55 model with an AMD x870 chipset and a well rounded selection of USB inputs, SATA ports, and fan headers for if you want to expand the already impressive stock cooling configuration. There’s just a single PCIe x16 port and one PCIe x4 slot, which is likely plenty for most gamers. However, if you do want to add something to that x4 slot you may want to consider a riser cable or a smaller graphics card. With the oversized RTX 5090 in place that port is all but covered and there’s no chance of getting anything plugged in.

Similarly, the secondary M.2 SSD is located directly under the graphics card, making maintenance on that drive impossible without removing the GPU entirely. It’s not an enormous gripe, but if you’re going to have a bespoke motherboard, more accessible storage would be nice.

Rear I/O connectors offer a reasonable selection of USB-A, USB-C, and audio connectors, with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, too. I’ve had plenty of other boards with more expansive USB port offerings, though. I can imagine a scenario where I saturate the USB ports on this board and need to shuffle peripherals around. Would a few more USB 2.0 at least have been too much to ask? The backplate has enough negative space that there’s room for more.

Cable management is reasonably well handled, but not necessarily to the same standard as you might expect from such an expensive system. Although the majority of them are corralled behind the motherboard tray, there’s still a sizable spaghetti mess in front of it. None of them are labelled, and some are not even tightly pinned to cable tidies on the front. There’s a lot of single-use cable ties employed to tie them down too, meaning if you want to really reroute anything, you’re going to have to break out the scissors.

Like the motherboard, the PSU is bespoke too, some HP-branded 1,200W Gold efficiency ATX 3.1 unit. Both are made to standard ATX formats, though, so you can swap them out for another branded alternative in the future if you wish.

I like the cooling configuration with this system. Isolating the CPU radiator in the roof with its own intake and exhaust gives the system a unique look and ensures the CPU’s cooling is completely distinct from everything else in your system. It could achieve the same effect by just front-mounting the radiator, but then that warmer air would impact the temperatures of the GPU a little. This all equates to only a few extra frames per second and slightly quieter fans, but for a system of this size and price, I’ll take innovation on cooling for general quality of life in day to day use.

Software

This system doesn’t come with too much bloatware, although there is the expected collection of pre-installed apps and HP tools that you almost certainly won’t use. HP Smart printing services, HP diagnostics, and HP Support Assistant are all there, though the one pre-installed HP app you might actually use is the Omen Gaming Hub. This lets you monitor performance and temperatures, and gives you full customization over the AIO CPU cooler’s LCD panel, and RGB lighting on each of the system’s fans.

There’s also the Omen AI helper which can optimize component and in-game settings for maximum performance. Realistically, though, if you’re buying this configuration there shouldn’t be a game you can’t play at absolutely maxed out settings. Don’t sniff at DLSS and Frame Generation, though, as outside of ultra-competitive esports games those can really help your frame rate smooth out in even demanding, ray-traced games.

Performance

Unsurprisingly for such a powerful system, the HP Omen Max 45L had no trouble with any of the games and benchmarks I threw at it. Its 3DMark scores make just about every gaming desktop we’ve reviewed in recent months spit out their digital coffee - ray tracing, 4K resolution, none of it is trouble for the ultra-powerful combination of an RTX 5090 and Ryzen 9900X3D.

Cyberpunk 2077 still proves a challenge once you engage RT Overdrive mode, but with DLSS and frame generation enabled I almost reached 120 fps which feels ultra smooth and about as realistic-looking as you can get, even over five years on from the original game’s release. Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition, still a challenge all these years later but an easy 100+ fps for a system like this.

Forza Horizon 5 looks buttery smooth with over 200 FPS even without frame generation, and with it I almost broke 300. You’d need a seriously fast gaming monitor to really take advantage of that, but if you have it, this PC will deliver it.

Total War: Warhammer III was similarly easy for this system, with a rock-solid 150+ fps average. Even Black Myth Wukong, a notoriously demanding game, was simple to break 100 fps. With frame generation enabled, too, we were able to take it over 160 fps - great for those with faster monitors who can really make the most of those higher frame rates.

Call of Duty 7 isn’t the best looking gaming in the world, but it’s demanding enough. Of course this system breezed through it, even at 4K with over 100 fps and close to 150 fps with frame gen enabled (though for a competitive game you’d likely leave that off to reduce input lag.)

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows proved the most demanding of the games tested, but even then I managed over 80 FPS with this system at 4K with everything maxed out. Frame generation nudged that into the 140s, making for a gorgeously smooth murdering experience.

Outside of gaming, the HP Omen Max 45L showed its productivity potential with a strong showing in Procyon’s Office benchmark, managing a score of 8,415. It’s not going to compete with the 16+ core productivity chips from AMD or Intel, but if you want to stream while you game, or edit videos when you aren’t playing, this PC is more than up to the task.

The HP Omen Max 45L is an impressively quiet system. The combination of strong system cooling and the cryo-chamber for the CPU radiator meant that even in some demanding games like Cyberpunk noise levels stayed very reasonable. In Assassin’s Creed: Shadows however, I did find myself reaching for the headphones, so this isn’t some silent gaming PC. Just one that’s quieter than most at this kind of size and level of hardware.

Full spoilers follow for For All Mankind Season 5, Episode 7, which is streaming on Apple TV now.

Just to confirm: No, you didn’t accidentally skip an episode. For All Mankind’s seventh episode jumps ahead six months after the coup on Happy Valley to check in on the Sojourner crew, still en route to Titan. Over the radio, they hear bad news from Kosmos-1, who were a nose ahead of them in the race to Titan: They’ve missed the moon and are barreling toward a crash-landing on Saturn. It’s a sobering, if somewhat jarring, opening, considering we left off Episode 6 with President Bragg completely cutting off Earth’s supply lines to Mars. But with only a handful of episodes left in its 10-episode Season 5, For All Mankind has a dwindling amount of opportunities to take bigger storytelling swings. I, for one, am glad the show is bringing back the danger in space exploration. Mars was feeling a little too homey.

Things are not looking too good on Happy Valley. Six months with no aid from Earth means the Martian colony is rationing supplies and having its local teenagers pitch in to water the crops. But the general population is growing weary; signed petitions are being posted with hundreds of people asking to be sent back to Earth. The Sons and Daughters of Mars council — made up of Miles Dale (Toby Kebbell), Celia Boyd (Mireille Enos), Lee Jung-Gil (C.S. Lee), other SDM members, and Aleida Rosales (Coral Peńa) as a neutral third party — is struggling to govern, and Dev Ayasa (Edi Gathegi) and the MPK’s faction, holed up in the Helios offices, are getting antsy. To break the stalemate and tip the scales in Earth’s favor, Dev hatches a plan to destroy the growing crops. But it’s c. 2012 and, unfortunately, flash mobs are huge right now, even on Mars.

Here’s where I have to talk about Alex (Sean Kaufman) and Lily (Ruby Cruz) again. Can someone tell me if I’m being overly surly about For All Mankind choosing to pair them up? I get that it’s somewhat inevitable — the teen dating pool is not very big on Mars! — but I can’t stand this. It’s not flirty or acted well enough to be heartwarming; it’s mostly cringey.

It’s Alex’s birthday. Lily has invited him to a break-in birthday surprise inside the crop dome, where she has arranged… yes… a flash mob set to Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” to dance for him. (I suppose it was almost funny that he thought he was about to get laid before people started walking out of the corn stalks.) I was too stunned (derogatory) by the line dancing to feel thwacked by the tonal shift of the breached dome. Narratively, at least, it works. Accidentally ruining the secret party his favorite teen was at haunts Dev more than blowing up six crop domes and five ration caches, the loss of which put the entirety of Happy Valley on a two-week timeline before running out of food entirely.

In a fracturing community, what’s the one thing that can bring everyone together? Landing on a new planet (or, well, moon). Sojourner’s Titan journey, and the handoff in MOCC with Aleida, makes the episode. While Happy Valley is spinning its wheels mired in faction politics, Annoying Walt (Christopher Denham) calls off the mission after the Kosmos-1 tragedy, opting to not take the risk with the open uncertainties around the trajectory’s calculations. But Kelly Baldwin (Cynthy Wu) Baldwins out; she gets inspired by her old man’s Lunar plaque and hijacks the system at the last minute, diverting Sojourner’s slingshot around Saturn and heading the ship straight for Titan. It’s a great, hold-your-breath sequence that feels straight out of the good ol’ days of For All Mankind, when space exploration was risky and new. Not a matter of freeing up schedules and docks, as Miles tries to negotiate with Aleida, who sasses back: “Because space flight’s that simple, isn’t it?”

With product branding that's perhaps a bit too contrived for its own good, the G'AIM'E Time Crisis Light Gun from Tassei Denki nevertheless convinced nearly 6,000 worldwide Kickstarter backers it was a project worth supporting. On offer was a plug-and-play light gun console with up to four Bandai Namco arcade games pre-installed, including the titular Time Crisis. While there are several solutions for making light gun gaming work on modern displays, the in-gun G'AIM'E tracking technology uses a high-resolution camera and AI. While this approach may not be the best technical solution for every scenario, it makes a compelling case in terms of ease of use. Just make sure you're not only a fan of Time Crisis, but are also willing to invest in the more expensive bundles that come with three additional games, because that's all you'll ever have access to.

G’AIM’E Time Crisis Light Gun – Light Gun History and Technology

Light guns have been a staple in arcades since 1936 with the introduction of Seeburg's Ray-O-Lite, and would finally come to the home in 1970 with Nintendo's Beam Gun toy. Magnavox would license the rights from Nintendo for use with the first home video game console in 1972, Odyssey. After that, light guns were either included with, or regular options for, many consoles and home computers.

Most home light guns were designed to work with the technology of CRT displays, which drew images by firing an electron beam across the screen, from top to bottom, and left to right, briefly illuminating glowing phosphors. The whole screen would quickly flash when the light gun was fired, as its photo sensor and lens focused on a small part of the screen. Because the console or computer controlled the video signal, it was able to calculate which pixels were illuminated when the signal came back, allowing it to approximate the shot's location.

Unfortunately for light gun fans, by the early 2000s, flat-panel TVs, with their lack of electron beams and added latency, started to replace CRTs, putting an end to the viability of that well-worn technical approach. New technology was implemented, including infrared, or IR, tracking, which required a sensor bar or other type of sensor array. It worked well, but was a bit clunky and sensitive to external light sources.

More recently, camera-based tracking, like that found in Sinden's technology, has come into fashion. Unlike IR's limitations, camera-based tracking is self-contained within the light gun and less sensitive to external light sources. While Sinden requires a visible border around the game display, Tassei Denki's G'AIM'E implementation uses AI-powered training data to implement borderless tracking. G'AIM'E also features a 1,920 x 1,080 camera resolution versus Sinden's 640 x 480, and can work with displays or projections as small as 15 inches, all the way up to 150 inches or greater.

G’AIM’E Time Crisis Light Gun – Options and Setup

The G’AIM’E Time Crisis Light Gun is available in three configurations: Basic, Premium, and Ultimate. The Basic ($99.99) includes the light gun with a 13.1-foot cable, a mini console with the arcade version of Time Crisis built in, a 3.28-foot USB-C to USB-C power cable, a 3.38-foot HDMI to HDMI cable, and a quick start guide. The Premium ($149.99) adds a foot pedal that works with Time Crisis, a collectible pin badge, and three additional arcade games: Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and Steel Gunner 2. The Ultimate ($199.99) adds a second light gun, a Type-C multi-region power adapter (20W), a keychain, and a collectible acrylic diorama stand. The gun ($69.99) and foot pedal ($29.99) are also available separately.

There's no way to add additional games once you have the console, so it frankly makes little sense to invest in the Basic configuration that only includes Time Crisis. While I don't consider there to be much relative value in the tchotchkes or the 20W USB-C power adapter that's included with the Ultimate, I'd argue it's worth the extra $50 over the Premium for the second gun, maximizing each game's potential for two-player simultaneous fun.

Setup is straightforward. Connect the power cable to the mini console, then to a USB-C power adapter. If you don't have the Ultimate package, the power adapter you use needs to have a minimum output of 5V/3A (15W). The next step is to connect the HDMI cable from your console to your display, then connect your gun or guns, or pedal, to the console. Finally, hold the power button for one second until the blue LED turns on.

Although Tassei Denki makes a point about its self-calibration technology, there is, in fact, a calibration step each time you power on so that it can learn your play area. Calibration is guided, but it essentially boils down to aiming the gun or guns using both the front and rear sights, taking slow and precise shots, and then staying in the same approximate position while playing that you did during calibration.

The recommended distance from your display depends on the display's size. For instance, for a 32-inch or smaller screen, you should be at least 1.5 feet away from the display, while 65-inch or greater, you should be at least 13.1 feet away. For projection sizes of around 100 inches, you should be about 20 feet away, while for 120 inches, you should be about 26 feet away. Of course, the included cables only extend so far, so you may have to invest in USB-C extension cables for the best results on particularly large displays or projections.

Since there's no gamepad, every function is controlled from the gun. The trigger button is used for selecting games, advancing to the next screen, and – surprise! – shooting. Short-pressing the pause button pauses the game, while long-pressing restarts the game when paused. Short pressing the Coin Button (Credit) button adds credits, while long pressing returns to the Game Select when the game is paused. The A (left) and B (right) buttons are used for additional actions like standing or reloading during the game, as well as skipping through the calibration screen. Finally, there's a recoil on or off switch.

Besides the power button and power LED, the front of the console features a reset switch and two USB-C ports. Time Crisis is only a one-player game, so you plug a gun into one port, and, if you have it, the foot pedal in the other. Otherwise, the other three games support up to two players and no foot pedal, so you can plug a gun into each port if you have two. Port order is ignored, so whatever light gun gets plugged in either port first becomes player one.

While not unexpected, it's important to note that there's no headphone or Bluetooth audio support. Considering the audible trigger (and recoil if you have it on), it would be difficult to have a private listening experience anyway.

G’AIM’E Time Crisis Light Gun – Games and Gameplay

Each of the up to four games, including Time Crisis, Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and Steel Gunner 2, plays just a bit differently from each other, but they are all straight-up shooters. While it might have been nice to include the Sony PlayStation console ports for some of the games, there's something to be said for the consistency of play and overall quality of the arcade originals. Of course, that's no excuse for not including even more games, like Point Blank 2 and 3, for example, but what's there is still a good representation of 1990s-style light gun gaming.

It's also important to note that you're talking arcade games with native resolutions as low as 288 x 224 pixels. There's only basic upscaling and filtering here that's not adjustable, so your HD or 4K display shows every chunky polygon and pixel from the original game. It's also in a square, rather than widescreen, format, so you'll have black bars (pillarboxing) on the left and right of your display.

Finally, each game can be adjusted in the Settings menu between Easy, Medium, and Hard, providing less time and fewer lives with each difficulty increase. Time Crisis specifically allows for the gun crosshair to be turned on or off. It's off by default.

Time Crisis (1995)

Play as VSSE (Vital Situation, Swift Elimination) agent Richard Miller, tasked with rescuing the President's daughter, Rachel. She's been kidnapped by the Garo family, who seek to reclaim rule of the Republic of Sercia. You have to infiltrate the castle, defeat all enemies, and save Rachel before sunset. It's an on-rails shooter where you have to strategically use cover and reload before blasting the enemies. This is a single-player-only title.

Although the foot pedal is optional, I really love using it to reload and remove myself from cover. The A or B button is arguably quicker, and they're required in other games, but the independent action of the foot pedal adds a little extra depth to the experience.

Point Blank (1994; known as Gun Bullet in Japan)

Blast targets in shooting gallery mini-games. You'll be ranked on accumulated points, lives remaining, and how many continues were used as you complete the Accuracy, Intelligence, Memory, Simulation, Visual Acuity, and Speed stages. Up to two players can play at the same time. This is the only (mostly) non-violent option of the four games and is a nice change from the others due to the relative variety of mini-games and often comic nature.

Steel Gunner (1990; Namco's first light gun game)

Up to two can play as future cops Garcia and Cliff, who pilot "Gargoyle" suits to fight the terrorist group, STURM, that's attacking Neo Arc City. You need to rescue kidnapped scientists and ultimately stop the superweapon. Like Time Crisis, it's an on-rails shooter, but it plays at a faster pace, emphasizing rapid, continuous fire over precision shooting. You can shoot anything on-screen, but lose energy if you accidentally (or otherwise) hit civilians. A limited number of missiles can take out more enemies, but they also run a higher risk of hurting civilians.

Steel Gunner 2 (1992)

Just like the first game in the series, up to two can play as future cops Garcia and Cliff, but this time you're fighting the terrorist group, Vanguard. This sequel is considered better in just about every way over its predecessor, including for its audio-visuals and longer story, and I'd have to agree. Still, I'm glad the first game is available as another fast-paced option, particularly for two players.

Light Gun Quality and Overall Gameplay Impressions

The quality of the light gun makes or breaks an arcade shooter like this, and I'm happy to say that these mostly feel arcade quality. It's a little front-heavy, but overall well-balanced. The buttons are clicky and responsive. The recoil is a nice touch, but it's more like vibration with a slight pushback rather than a true recoil. That's particularly disappointing since the light guns are wired and therefore should have been able to receive enough power to drive a more powerful feature. And while I do appreciate the generous 13.1-foot USB-C cable length, that also means it tends to get tangled when stored. Wireless would have been much more convenient. Still, lack of a wireless option or proper recoil aside, I have no complaints about the build quality or overall accuracy.

Speaking of accuracy, Tassei Denki continuously warns about light sources on or near your display. I actually had some pretty aggressive light sources as part of my testing and can report no significant issues with accuracy. While I would still try to heed any and all warnings – and there are ways to confuse the camera – it's good to know that they err on the side of caution rather than strict need. If you do have an issue, however, a firmware update is available that allows you to tweak the display border for your room conditions, although you’ll need a Windows computer to install it.

Along those same caution lines, one of the challenges might be getting to the recommended distance depending upon your display size. Fortunately, I found that being closer than recommended still works well. For instance, with my 77-inch LG C4 OLED, I was only about 10 feet 7 inches from the screen, rather than the recommended 13.1 feet or greater. Similarly, although I'm not sure of the actual projection size from my Xgimi MoGo 4 Laser Projector (I couldn't fill the 100-inch screen area), there's no way I was near the recommended distance. It still worked fine. The only display I was able to use the recommended distance with was an Arzopa M3RC 32-inch 4K 144HZ Gaming Monitor, where I was easily able to achieve the greater than 1.5 feet and experienced no issues with overall accuracy.

Manufacturer guidelines aside, based on my varied usage, you really don't have to have an enormous room to play in if your display is on the larger side, as long as you ensure the light gun is able to see the entire display area at once. And of course, don't forget to set your display to Game Mode or equivalent to minimize lag for such a timing-dependent experience.

Finally, it's a shame there's no way to add more games. What you buy is what you get. The only option would be additional consoles as game packs. I doubt that's going to be an option, so consider the four games – and you really should only purchase one of the two options with the four games – as all you'll ever get. For me, it's enough, because there's sufficient gameplay diversity between the four games, and they all play so well. And opposed to something like Arcade1Up's Time Crisis Deluxe Arcade Machine ($699.99), which features the same games and overall accuracy, you're not tied down to one spot in your home or limited to the 17-inch white-bordered LCD screen required by the Sinden light gun technology.

Bill Loguidice is a contributing freelancer for IGN specializing in video game and computer hardware and accessories. He has several decades of experience and has written for a wide variety of publications. Bill has authored a dozen mass market books and was a writer and producer on a major feature film documentary on the history of video games.

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe Colorsoft represents the tech giant's most ambitious, and expensive, E Ink device to date. It marries the large-format digital notebook concept of the original Scribe with the color technology recently introduced to the smaller Kindle lineup. Priced at a premium that puts it in direct competition with Apple's iPad Air and the ReMarkable Paper Pro, this device is purpose-built for users who want a distraction-free reading and note-taking experience, but are unwilling to compromise on color. It’s the ultimate luxury Kindle, offering meaningful hardware upgrades over its predecessor, though its steep price tag and Amazon-centric ecosystem limitations might make it a tough sell for the casual reader.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft – Setup and Display

Right out of the box, the Colorsoft impresses with its razor-thin 5.4mm profile and a lightweight 400g chassis. Amazon has opted for a symmetrical design this generation, utilizing uniform half-inch bezels around the entire screen instead of the asymmetrical side grip found on previous iterations. While this gives the tablet a sleek, modern, iPad-like aesthetic, it does mean you have to be a bit more careful with thumb placement to avoid accidental screen taps while reading.

The Scribe Colorsoft comes bundled with a Premium Pen, replacement tips, and a USB-C charging cable. As usual, you'll need to provide your own charger. Setup is a breeze, easily importing any previous Scribe notebooks you've saved to the cloud once connected to Wi-Fi.

There's a power button on the upper right side and a USB-C charging port at the bottom. The pen attaches magnetically to the right side of the unit, just below the power button. Next to the USB-C port is a microphone, which is not yet enabled. Amazon promises AI query tools and other features that will take advantage of the microphone via a software update later in 2026.

There's no built-in speaker, so you must use Bluetooth audio output. Whispersync for Voice is supported if you connect to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, but Immersion Reading, which plays an audiobook and automatically highlights the text on the screen simultaneously, is not.

Finally, there are four small rubber feet on the backside of the tablet so it stays put on a surface. Optional cases accommodate these feet.

The real star of the show is the new 11-inch Colorsoft display. By utilizing a custom-built oxide-based panel and tightly fitting miniaturized LEDs, Amazon has largely mitigated the dark, shimmering grain that typically plagues Kaleido 3 color screens. Like all color E Ink devices, the screen utilizes a color filter that drops the resolution from a crisp 300 ppi for black-and-white text down to a softer 150 ppi for color imagery. Because this filter naturally darkens the unlit screen, making it look a bit muddy, you'll need to lean heavily on the built-in front light to get any real vibrancy. Once illuminated, however, the screen offers excellent contrast and pleasingly-rendered colors that you can toggle between Standard and Vivid modes. While you might notice a slight drop shadow near the bezel due to the gap between the glass and the display panel, and the matte back is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, the hardware is undeniably premium.

Battery life predictably takes a hit compared to standard black-and-white Kindles, but it still offers up to eight weeks of reading or two weeks of writing on a single charge. That feature alone is a massive advantage over a traditional tablet.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft – Reading

For manga and comic book fans, the 11-inch canvas is an absolute revelation, provided you mostly buy your content directly from Amazon. Colors are pleasantly muted, closely resembling the look of classic newsprint or non-glossy comic book stock, which is delightfully easy on the eyes during long reading sessions. The reading experience feels significantly snappier thanks to a new 2.0GHz quad-core processor that makes page turns roughly 40% faster than previous models. This larger, color-capable canvas makes reading graphic novels, magazines, and textbook PDFs with a lot of detail a genuine joy.

Purists, however, should be aware of the inherent compromise, that, without the front light turned up, the screen contrast isn't quite as perfectly stark as a dedicated black-and-white e-reader. The magic also fades a bit if you prefer to source your reading material outside of Amazon's own Kindle Store or Comixology. Getting third-party color comics onto the device requires jumping through frustrating hoops, such as using conversion software to chop DRM-free CBZ or EPUB files into 100MB chunks just to bypass Amazon's strict Send to Kindle limits.

When reading standard text, the experience remains top-tier, elevated by features like the new Active Canvas. This lets you write directly onto the page, but because the text dynamically reflows around your notes, it shifts the pagination and can break your reading flow. It's a jarring experience compared to Kobo's superior approach, which treats the page as a static canvas and lets you simply scribble in the margins like a real book.

A recent software update finally enabled a system-wide Dark Mode. It lets users change surfaces like Home, Library, and Settings, as well as customize where and when you’re using Dark Mode, such as keeping notebooks in Light Mode.

Finally, despite the performance improvements and color, the built-in web browser is still best saved for only occasional use. It remains just sluggish enough to be annoying, particularly on more complex websites.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft – Pen and Note Taking

The note-taking workflow is where the device's color capabilities truly shine. The included Premium Pen has been redesigned into a sleek, fully-cylindrical shape that magnetically snaps to the side of the tablet with satisfying force. Utilizing Wacom EMR technology, the stylus requires no charging and feels phenomenal to use. Amazon boasts a blistering 12ms of latency, and in practice, digital ink flows almost instantaneously. Writing on the new texture-molded glass feels incredibly natural, emitting a quieter, less scratchy sound than previous models while still offering a satisfying, near paper-like friction.

You're given 10 distinct pen colors and five highlighter shades to play with, alongside a new shader tool for creating watercolor-like gradients. Amazon has also introduced a brilliant upgrade to the Lasso tool that allows you to select previously drawn strokes and retroactively change their color, which is a feature entirely absent on most competing color E Ink tablets. Another major software addition is the AI-powered handwriting search, which impressively indexes your non-converted handwritten notes so you can search for specific terms globally across all your notebooks.

Thanks to a recent update, Smart Shapes in Notebooks allows you to add structured lines, arrows, circles, triangles, and rectangles directly from the toolbar. Hold-to-snap allows for freehand drawing that automatically converts strokes into precise lines, circles, triangles, or rectangles. However, even with the update, the software still holds the hardware back from its full potential.

Unlike the ReMarkable Paper Pro or Onyx Boox tablets, the Scribe Colorsoft lacks layers, limiting its usefulness as a dedicated drawing tablet. And while Amazon has finally added robust cloud integrations for importing and exporting via Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, file management remains rigid and clunky compared to Android-based competitors. It's also a shame there's no keyboard support, as this expansive and relatively speedy display would make a fantastic distraction-free writing device.

True nostalgia isn't the replication of a specific place or time, but of a feeling. It’s those flashes of emotion that transport us back into memories that have long sat dormant. I was born too late to be a teenager in the '90s. I grew up thousands of miles away from the schools of Northern California. I've barely stepped onto a skateboard outside of a couple scraped knees in the summer of 2003. But none of that matters, and Mixtape knows it. Australian developer Beethoven & Dinosaur fills each and every moment of its coming-of-age tale with incredible music, perfectly hand-picked to set the tone for its free-flowing chapters in a way only nostalgia can. As original as it is reverential, it's a masterfully constructed dose of new memories hinged brilliantly on how they remind us of our own.

The “coming-of-age story” is perhaps my favourite framework in all of fiction. That longing for a time I didn't live in, and being given a chance to hang out with friends who never knew me, are sensations I find myself coming back to often. This is far from the first video game to tackle the concept, of course, but it might be the first one to have nailed a tonal balance that hits just right for me. I've tried to enjoy the Life is Strange series more than once, but it's always leaned into corny territory just a little too much for my taste. Mixtape, on the other hand, feels more rooted in how actual people talk, and is all the better for it. Sweet without being saccharine, thoughtful but never forced, and always funny.

The story centres on Stacey Rockford and her group of friends as they look to make the most of their last day together and reminisce about past adventures before she skips town to chase her dreams in New York. You aren't given choices here, but experience these fully-formed characters’ hijinks and heartaches, warts and all, and they feel all the more realistic for it. That’s not to say their recollection of those adventures isn’t laced with flights of fantasy, though, as they have clearly been embellished in Rockford’s mind, allowing each to be presented with lashings of style as if they were playable music videos.

There’s a great sense of spectacle later on that I wouldn’t dare spoil, but particular early highlights include a trippy softball practice session soundtracked by “The Touch” (anything that reminds me of Boogie Nights is an instant winner) and a police raid of a house party that you escape by hurtling downhill in a shopping cart. It's the most irresponsible, yet highly enjoyable, use of one since Johnny Knoxville and friends barreled along in a supersized cart to kick off Jackass: The Movie. And in some ways, Mixtape shares a similar sense of reckless abandon, zipping along at a pace and smartly reflective of a time in life where you're so eager to enjoy one moment after the next that you almost forget to savour them fully.

Where Beethoven & Dinosaur’s debut game, The Artful Escape, used psychedelic metaphor to tell a tale of self-expression, Mixtape is far more grounded in its exploration of friendship and how those closest to us help us grow. It’s a story that won’t necessarily surprise, but will comfort, and one that is often hilarious — like those aimless afternoons you’d spend with friends without any specific goal for what the day had in store, but you’d always end up learning something new about them, whether they’d planned on revealing it or not. Obviously, those unlocked memories aren’t yours; they’re Rockford’s, but these moments are just so well observed that they come across as universal, as if they could be ripped straight from your teenage Facebook or MySpace page. In many ways, it's best to treat Mixtape, well, like a mixtape — with no knowledge of where it will go next beyond a trust placed in the creator.

There’s no interest in fail states or high score chasing here, instead prioritising existing in and enjoying the moment. Its simple mechanics match its simpler times, with each twist aiming to elicit a fresh emotion through interactivity in a way that only video games can. That can be as simple as hitting a series of buttons to headbang in rhythm to Silverchair’s “Freak” blasting out of a car radio or designing your own slushies from a selection of flavours. Some, though, are a little more out there, such as the recollection of Rockford’s first kiss, where you take control of a pair of tongues (one on each analog stick) and awkwardly navigate some brace-caged teeth. That an option to press a button labeled “That’s Enough” almost immediately popped on screen is a very funny, and merciful, touch.

Each memory sequence spawns from a keepsake found around the world that smartly serves as the key to unlocking cherished memories. In this regard, Mixtape is somewhat similar to What Remains of Edith Finch, although I’d never say it carries the same emotional weight as Giant Sparrow’s masterpiece, instead sidelining deep-rooted familial trauma for a focus on youthful joy. Any replay value is found in wanting to revisit these short pockets of fun. They won't change, nor will the relationships or conversations within them, but familiarity is at the core of nostalgia, and I can see myself treating Mixtape like one of those comfort films you pop on every couple of years. You know what's going to happen, so the surprise factor is gone, but spending time with characters whose lives are only a few hours long is still valuable. That’s probably why I’ve played it through its roughly three-hour campaign a full three times already.

Best friends Slater and Cassandra are excellent foils to Rockford, too, with an instant sense that these three have been a close-knit group instantly delivered via quick-hit, sarcasm-fuelled jabs at one another and the sort of goofy noises spilling out of their mouths that only occur when you feel completely comfortable around someone. Referring to a T. rex as “the Barry Manilow of dinosaurs” is one such amusing observation among many. It’s yet another example of the writing and performances coming across as almost effortlessly natural, which is such a difficult thing to accomplish. Cassandra, in particular, has some standout scenes and ended up being my favourite of the bunch, even if some aspects of her character change a little too abruptly to be 100% believable at certain points in the story.

Rockford herself is an aspiring Hollywood music supervisor, and as such, pop songs from the early '90s and decades before propel much of the adventure. Big artists are here, but not always alongside their biggest hits. It's a nice touch, as if someone like Rockford — a music connoisseur who dreams of a profession centered on unearthing audio gold to match a mood — has curated the soundtrack. I particularly enjoy the way you can walk around her bedroom and get treated to amusing analysis of the albums strewn around the furniture in the style of Patrick Bateman, though with far less violent undertones. The opening skate to Devo’s “That’s Good” is the perfect high-energy pace-setter, whereas the scuzzy “Love” by The Smashing Pumpkins provides a fantastic backdrop for some explosive angst. And then there are songs like John Paul Young’s “Yesterday’s Hero” which I had never heard before, but now can’t stop listening to due to the way it’s used here. I’m not sure I’ve felt a game connect so intrinsically to its music in such a charming way since Simogo’s excellent Sayonara Wild Hearts, and I simply couldn’t get enough.

It consistently hits a delightful cross section of games, music, and movies. From Dazed and Confused to Ladybird, it reminds me of some of my favourite coming-of-age stories, without ever feeling like pastiches of them. Mixtape does this elegantly and with a genuine love for a genre its creators clearly hold close, as Beethoven & Dinosaur itself comes of age with its sophomore effort. But it isn't just tonally looking towards cinema; it plays with the form, in turn becoming a mixed-media wonderland of a video game. There's the glorious, painstakingly handcrafted Spider-Verse-esque animation that enraptures at a glance, along with the use of grainy live-action stock footage, music-video-like editing rhythms, and fun fourth-wall breaks. It's not afraid to experiment and nerd out when it comes to stamping different styles on different scenes, and is all the better for it, keeping things constantly fresh.

Look, I was always going to be a mark for Mixtape. As a coming-of-age movie lover with an ear lent to guitar music of decades past who often indulges in the bittersweet sensation of melancholy, Beethoven & Dinosaur may have made it just for me. I mean, it even references David Shire’s unused Apocalypse Now score in an early scene — I can’t help but fear I have been actively spied on. But the beauty of Mixtape is that you don't need to be exactly the type of person it's for to get a lot out of it. Much like nostalgia, it brings out feelings you may have long forgotten, through faces and songs you may have never seen or heard before, but which bring familiar, faded emotions with them all the same. It reminds me of times I once enjoyed, but in hindsight wish I had held dearer in the moment. It's a mistake I didn't let happen again with Mixtape, as I savoured each and every minute, all the way to its final, powerful button press.

The Terror Season 3 premieres on AMC+ and Shudder on May 7, with new episodes arriving weekly thereafter.

After a seven-year hiatus, AMC’s erudite horror anthology, The Terror, returns with another compelling season worthy of this franchise. Sticking to its stand-alone season format, Season 3 is based on novelist Victor LaValle’s much-praised 2012 novel, The Devil in Silver, and is the first contemporary tale of the trilogy. Where Season 1 theorized a supernatural fate for the doomed HMS Terror crew in 1845, and Season 2 wove folklore into the Japanese-American internment camps of WWII, Season 3 is firmly set in modern day Queens, New York. Through the experiences of rudderless musician Pepper (Dan Stevens), the season immerses viewers in America’s broken mental illness system via his 72-hour psychiatric hold at the decrepit New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital. While inside, he’ll be forced to face the darkest choices of his life… which may or may not be manifesting inside the ceilings and halls of the dank facility.

Effectively atmospheric and stacked with a cast of excellent character actors, including Judith Light (Poker Face), CCH Pounder (Avatar: Fire and Ash), and Aasif Mandvi (Evil), The Terror Season 3 works as both a mystery about what resides behind the facility’s locked silver door as well as an existential dark night of the soul for Pepper. For decades, he’s been skirting through life avoiding worthwhile attachments, but all of that avoidance ends at New Hyde… because, well, he’s got nowhere left to hide. Pepper’s sins will literally haunt him in the halls, fueled by his unchecked anger and guilt. And in keeping with prior seasons, Season 3 weaves in the supernatural and horror beats as a way to ultimately unpack the monsters that reside within our flawed humanity.

“November in My Soul,” the premiere episode written by LaValle, opens with a frightening hook as the tiny New Hyde staff discover a patient dead in their bed, mauled in the face, with rigor mortis having set in. What follows sets the grim tone for the series as the disheartening realities of the underfunded, under-serviced hospital are laid bare to the audience. This is the place that Queens native Pepper (underscored by Stevens’ slightly dodgy accent) will find himself in after beating up his girlfriend Marisol’s (Juani Feliz) ex. The cops who wrestle him into cuffs then divert him from police processing to New Hyde as an easier and less expensive way to deal with Pepper in a system overburdened with hotheads like him.

With Marisol angry at his overblown reaction, and with no one else to call, Pepper gets placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. If he complies with the rules laid out by facility administrator Dr. Anand (Mandvi), he’ll be free to go. He’s placed in the room and bed of the aforementioned recently deceased patient, and let’s just say the odds are not in Pepper’s favor. He’ll end up desperately trying to get out of New Hyde as his mandatory meds have him seeing creatures in the ceiling and red lines on the floor leading to a room with a locked silver door that no one wants to talk about.

Directed by modern horror great Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets), and written by co-showrunners Chris Cantwell (Halt and Catch Fire) and LaValle (The Changeling), Season 3 is an unflinching descent into the desperate lives of the mentally ill who fall through the cracks of our broken healthcare system. A more realistic American horror story, this season makes it abundantly clear that funding or care for the mentally ill has not improved since the 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, or its 1975 cinematic adaptation by Miloš Forman. There’s a strong echo from that film in how New Hyde is depicted, but with extra claustrophobia and viscera. And like that film, it’s the friendships made inside between Pepper and fellow patients Dorry (Light), former engineer Coffee (Chinaza Uche), and angry Loochie (b) that will lead them together toward an exit… some with hope, and some without.

The whole season is suffused with an effective sense of dread and an interesting mystery that centers on New Hyde’s founder, Dr. Walter (John Benjamin Hickey). His draconian practices from the ’60s still haunt this facility in many ways, and ties Pepper’s situation to the freaky occurrences that will ultimately unfold across the season’s six episodes.

If the previous season of The Terror checked all your folk horror boxes, then Season 3 is sure to please as well. LaValle’s compact adaptation of his novel into series format satisfyingly retains the book’s themes, chills, and Pepper’s core examination of his flawed life. The talents of the ensemble cast give extra life to these characters in rich ways that will have the audience rooting for these people stuck in this horrible, real-life haunted house.