Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero is a 2-D action adventure video game developed by OneManOnMars Art & Games with an art style reminiscent of the good old days of classic video games. Even though it has the looks of a classic action adventure side-scrolling video game, is it worth the time? Can players enjoy this adventure or is this 2-D game something to avoid entirely? Let’s look at Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero!
Leif’s Adventure
You play as Leif, the young son of a village chief. Leif is the youngest son of his father and mother. His brother, Ragner, is the main hero of their village. Ragner is basically the golden boy of the family. This puts Leif in a position below his brother and makes everyone in the village question him when it comes to his bravery. Leif is an interesting character because of this and it makes the story of Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero stronger for it. Leif wants to prove that he is stronger than his brother and show that he is a capable fighter in his own right, no matter what anybody else thinks. Anyone with a sibling can feel some sympathy for Leif. Adds a lot of realism to his character and makes him more relatable. Very strong for an action 2-D game.
Leif meets others from different dimensions throughout his adventure to protect his people. The most important is this ghost that you encounter. Leif’s ghost guide is the most important as he accompanies Leif. The ghost guide’s dialogue is a bit too much at times. It really tries hard to be funny but fails. This is personal preference. If you are into dumb, cliché dad jokes, then you are in for a good time. The themes of friendship and bravery take center stage in Leif’s Adventure and they are very good. The plot is strong and emotional sometimes. It really took me by surprise by how invested I was in the story. While not every character is memorable or deep, Leif’s journey to become a brave and strong fighter for his people is a joy to witness. The gameplay, however.
Clunky And Frustrating
The gameplay of Leif’s Adventure is very simple. It is a side-scroller, so all you have to do is move forward and kill any enemies in your way. You can access a wide variety of weapons from swords to hammers, to take down your foes. Each weapon has different attributes and range in damage. These weapons can be obtained from merchants or picked up from fallen enemies. Choosing the right weapons is essential as enemies have different weaknesses to exploit. Weapons can also be broken so it is important to look after them. There isn’t a wide variety of enemy types. It can become repetitive to fight some of the same monsters over and over again.
The biggest problem Leif’s Adventure has is its combat. It is clunky. Sometimes when attacking enemies it may not register attacks or even have a delay when swinging your sword. There were times when an enemy wasn’t facing me and it somehow hit me and took some health or even killed me. It became frustrating as the game went on. There isn’t much to the combat in the game and it can become boring and frustrating over time. Despite being an action game, the action is unfortunately average, sometimes bordering on bad.
The boss fights are fun, if a bit frustrating. They are big and take a lot of damage to put down. Another gameplay mechanic to mention is the ghost guide. Leif can use the ghost to access moving lifts to access higher areas and to make some enemies vulnerable. In the boss fights though, the ghost guide becomes a problem. It is hard to keep track of everything when using the ghost. When using him, you can’t move as Leif and you must use the ghost’s pulse to destroy vines or create bridges to attack bosses. It can lead to deaths and frustration. The camera itself at times seems to have a hard time keeping up, especially when using the ghost guide. The combat really holds this game back.
Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero PS5
Exploration
The map of Leif’s Adventure is really big and there is a lot to explore and discover. It is recommended to explore as often as you can. Players can find loot, treasures, and even powerful weapons. There is a vast world out there and you can even find lots of side characters that will give you a side mission for lucrative rewards. Exploration is excellent in this game and the art style really sells it as the world is beautiful to look at. The map is incredibly detailed. You can easily get lost in this world.
Verdict
Leif’s Adventure: Netherworld Hero isn’t a bad game. It’s just above average. The story and Leif’s journey is very good and emotional. As a sibling, I understand his character and it makes him relatable. The themes of bravery and friendship are powerful and makes the game worth playing through. Exploring the map is fun and rewarding and the art style makes the world incredibly beautiful to explore. But the clunky combat, ghost guide mechanic and even camera at times can make the adventure tedious and frustrating. If you are into 2-D action games, it can be worth trying out but there are better alternatives out there.
The Click Lite Mouse is a great tool for gamers and office workers. I’ve used it almost exclusively for my Steam Deck as it is unbelievably light. Furthermore, connecting it via Bluetooth was a cinch, and I never had any issues. Consequently, if you love to game on the move or you need to work while you commute, this could be the perfect solution.
This 59g ambidextrous device can fit in your laptop case or work bag with ease. Additionally, it has tri-mode connectivity to enhance versatility. The 78-hour battery life is impressive, and it can be used while charging. As such, you are never out of the game for very long.
What’s in the box of the Click Lite Mouse?
The compact packaging is great to look at. Furthermore, it is durable and recyclable.
The Click Lite Mouse comes in black or white. It is lightweight and there are plenty of customisable buttons.
A braided USB cable is provided.
Learn the basics with the user manual.
Technical aspects.
Depending on your genre of choice, DPI is an essential factor. The Click Lite Mouse has a PAW3311 sensor with adjustable DPI. The range is impressive as you can flit from 800 to 24k DPI sensitivity. This makes this the perfect option for design work, gaming, and everything in between.
The impressive sensor offers low-latency performance. 1ms latency can be enjoyed alongside the rapid and stable 1000 Hz polling rate. The result is lightning-fast inputs that deliver a competitive edge.
The 500 mAh battery may sound tiny. However, I enjoyed 78 hours of playtime from one charge! This is incredible as it lets you focus on your work or any game you are playing.
Usability.
Versatility is king. Thankfully, the tri-mode connectivity makes this the perfect commuting device. I was happy with the stable Bluetooth connection. However, if I were to use this with my home PC, I’d opt for the wireless or wired alternatives.
5 programmable buttons let you pick your inputs. This isn’t something I played with too much. However, I found it to be easy to use and simple to master. Changing each button was straightforward, and the helpful user manual talks you through every step of the way.
Build quality.
I was impressed by the robust build quality. Moreover, each of the buttons has a strong tactile nature that is a pleasure to use. The central wheel has clear and definitive points that are reassuring. Additionally, clicking between DPI profiles was simple.
Each of the additional buttons is nicely positioned. I’m right-handed and had no problems. However, if you are left-handed, I’m not so sure it would be so comfortable to use.
The lightweight shell is surprisingly durable. Furthermore, the dye and finish are scratch and stain-resistant. Consequently, it won’t get damaged when you throw it in your bag or if it gets knocked during your commute.
Is the Click Lite Mouse worth it?
I’ve reviewed a lot of great gaming peripherals. Though the Click Lite Mouse won’t be on your radar, you should consider it. This affordable option is available for under $30. Additionally, it has impressive DPI and polling rates. Alongside this, it is light, comfortable, and versatile. Accordingly, it is a great device and I recommend buying it here!
For a long time, the online gaming world was mainly about entertainment, bonuses, and getting ahead of the competition. But something’s been changing lately. More and more companies in the iGaming space are starting to think about their influence—on people, on communities, even on the world around them.
I didn’t really expect this shift until I came across Uri Poliavich and charity. I was interested in the story because it felt real, not because it was showy. A gaming CEO, talking less about profits and more about giving back? That’s not something you see every day—and it says a lot about where things are headed.
Soft2Bet Is Part of a Bigger Trend in Online Gaming
Yes, Soft2Bet offers one of the most active platforms on the market. It contains a lot of games and features that are easy to use. But what’s even more remarkable is how they deal with responsibilities.
In this field, we often hear about figures like signups, retention, and engagement. But lately, people have started talking more about honesty, ethics, and leaders who really care.And Soft2Bet’s culture is a great example of that new direction.
People Over Metrics
There’s a growing awareness that users don’t just want flashy games or big rewards. They care about how a company treats its community. Things like fair play, data protection, and meaningful engagement matter more than ever.
And it turns out, when a company respects its players as people—not just data points—they stick around longer. That kind of loyalty can’t be bought with promotions.
The Link Between Gaming and Doing Good
It might seem unusual to link gaming with charity work. One is all about fun, the other about real-life problems. But that’s exactly why it works. When a company makes the choice to blend the two, it creates a powerful message: we care about more than just screens and stats.
Ways the iGaming Industry Is Getting Involved
Here are a few ways that gaming platforms are helping out:
● Charity tie-ins: Giving some of the money you make to essential causes like mental health groups or children’s hospitals.
● Special in-game events: Where playing also helps raise funds.
● Supporting employees in volunteering: Or matching their donations to nonprofits.
● Sustainability goals: Like cutting down on energy waste or using greener servers.
These actions may not seem like much at first glance. But they create real-world impact—and they show players that their favorite platforms care about more than profit.
Soft2Bet’s Approach to Leadership Stands Out
A big reason this shift is happening is leadership. Not every CEO in iGaming wants to make social change part of the company’s DNA. But Uri Poliavich does. He’s one of those people who doesn’t treat charity like an optional add-on. For him, it’s a core part of the business model.
That mindset has a ripple effect. When the top levels of a company care, it changes how the whole team thinks. From the developers to the marketers, everyone starts to look at their work differently—with more purpose.
What This Means for the Future of Gaming
This isn’t just about one company. Soft2Bet is part of a bigger shift that’s gaining momentum. Here’s what that might look like going forward:
● More honest and respectful communication with players.
● Smarter loyalty programs that aren’t just about keeping users hooked, but about offering real value.
● Clear privacy policies and ethical data use.
● Hiring more diverse teams and creating inclusive environments.
Players are paying attention. If your platform isn’t aligned with their values, they’ll find one that is.
Real Change Is Happening
I’ve been following gaming trends for a while now, and honestly, this feels like one of the most encouraging developments yet. Of course, the way the game plays and the way it feels to utilize it are still important. But it’s nice to see businesses accept responsibility for their larger role in society.
It’s not simply a pipe dream anymore that iGaming can help people, support charity, and be ethical.. It’s already happening. And if more companies take a page from Soft2Bet’s book, this industry might just become one of the most surprisingly human corners of the tech world.
Equality, diversity, and inclusion are essential touchstones for any successful modern business, especially when it comes to internal processes like hiring. Ensuring that your company is a great place for everybody to work is an absolute baseline of what you should be doing right now.
That’s a given, or at least it should be, but brands that increasingly need to stand by their values should also be putting that inclusivity at the forefront of their customer-facing output. A focus on inclusive marketing is the most obvious way to achieve that. Unfortunately, it’s also something that can very quickly go wrong.
With risks like virtue signalling or even causing offence, ill-conceived inclusive marketing drives could unravel your company quicker than almost anything else, especially amongst socially conscious young consumers. So, how do you get the tone of inclusive marketing just right? Working with a nationwide digital marketing agency that can bring experience and broad reach to your projects is a great first step. It can also pay to consider successful inclusive marketing drives, and why they work, such as the following five iconic examples.
# 1 – Google’s Pixel 8
Google went all-in on authentic representation with last year’s Super Bowl ad, when a Google 8 Pixel advertisement highlighted inclusive features for visually impaired users. The advertisement shows a visually impaired user through his eyes, navigating smartphone usage including features like the camera setting.
The ad is perhaps most iconic because it doesn’t simply slip into the risks of virtue-signalling that use a sighted person’s impression of visual impairment to get the point across. Instead, Google took careful steps to ensure a fully inclusive cast, with Stevie Wonder narrating, visually impaired actors, and even a blind director. All of which highlights the importance of layering inclusivity throughout a marketing drive like this, rather than simply on its surface.
# 2 – Mattel
Marketing isn’t just about the advertisements a brand puts out there; it also refers to how you present your products. This is something that the toy and entertainment company Mattel highlighted last year, by vowing to make 80% of its games color-blind accessible. This statement, which highlights the too-often unseen struggles of colorblind individuals, is part of Mattel’s deeper drive to ensure inclusive design processes, which includes working with design teams who have experienced colorblindness and partnering with experts who understand color deficiency.
The far-reaching implications of Mattel’s inclusive marketing focus are proof that, sometimes, a single inclusive ad isn’t enough. Instead, it can be far more effective to make deep-seated, informed inclusivity changes that are truly research-driven and headed by own voice representatives to your brand image itself.
# 3 – Urban Decay
Disability is too often an invisible issue when it comes to the beauty world, but this is a trend that Urban Decay threw off in style back with its #pretty different campaign back in 2021. A particularly iconic video uploaded to their Instagram featured Grace Kay, an actor, entrepreneur, and clothing brand founder who was born with Down syndrome. The video shows Grace applying Urban Decay products, and drew a lot of positive praise from the Down syndrome community. Best of all is the caption that accompanies the video, which includes a quote in Grace’s own words stating, “I have Down Syndrome and it is not a bad thing! I love it! Being different is beautiful. Everyone is unique in their special way. Isn’t it cool Urban Decay’s motto is ‘Pretty Different’?”
Despite being pretty straightforward, this campaign is effective in large part because it lets Grace speak for herself, adding authenticity and giving a true voice to the star of the show. The campaign’s #prettydifferent focus also invited uploads from a vast array of users to ensure fully inclusive, customer-driven content to match.
# 4 – Gillette
Transgender representation is still sorely lacking in the marketing space of many big businesses, but this is something Gillette was at the forefront of changing a few years ago, when its groundbreaking ‘Your First Shave campaign’, which included an advertisement featuring Toronto-based artist, Samson Bonkeabantu Brown as he learned to shave for the first time alongside his dad. The tagline for the campaign was especially effective, and stated simply, “Whenever, wherever, how it happens – your first shave is special.”. This came shortly after Gillette changed its famous tagline, ‘The best a man can get’ to ‘the best a man can be’ to avoid connotations with toxic masculinity.
Gillette’s inclusive campaign is iconic largely because it highlights how, even if you’ve previously been part of the problem, you can also be a leading part of necessary change. Even as a brand with undeniable links to traditional masculinity, Gillette is taking pains to show its customer base that doing things differently isn’t always a bad thing. And that’s something we can all get on board with.
# 5 – Coca-Cola
Often, we think of inclusive marketing as a new idea, but Coca-Cola is living proof that inclusion should’ve always featured in brand marketing drivers. That’s because Coca-Cola was making this a priority way back in 1971, when its iconic ‘Hilltop Ad’ displayed people from various cultures and countries singing about ‘buying the world a Coke’ on an Italian hilltop. Even so many years ago, the advertisement was so impactful that it received over 100,000 letters of glowing praise.
Coca-Cola might not get everything right, but this advertisement, and its impact, is living proof that you shouldn’t simply prioritize inclusive marketing because it’s trendy. Instead, it’s worth breaking the mold to provide something that highlights the values and good that you genuinely believe in, and that your customer base most likely believes in, as well.
Conclusion
Inclusive marketing might still be saddeningly short on the ground, but there are plenty of brands out there getting this right, and learning from them is the best option you have for improving your own marketing focuses. Without a sniff of virtue signalling in sight, each of these campaigns has done something entirely different with what inclusivity means. Are you ready to join them?
Spy Drops is a stealth action game with various missions and objectives. Each of these missions requires the player to use items and mechanics to complete in any way they would choose. Although this sounds interesting to try out and play, the game has a lot of rough edges that need to be smoothed out. Spy Drops has a number of interesting ideas and gameplay scenarios, but those are heavily undermined by the lackluster game feel.
Stealth Action Gameplay
If you’re familiar with games such as Metal Gear Solid for the original Playstation, this game just by its looks should incite some thought of comparison between the two. However, Spy Drops is vastly different from Metal Gear Solid and most action stealth games. After completing the tutorial, you are given the option to take on random sets of missions with different objectives. These missions have a star rating to signify the difficulty of them. Upon taking on a mission, you may be required to purchase items necessary for completing them, such as C4 explosives to destroy certain objectives.
One of the selling points of this game is that the mission levels are randomly generated. In that way, if you take on multiple missions with the same objectives, the map layouts will be different each time. Another unique aspect of the game is the equipment you can buy or find. The variety in these equipment items is plentiful as you can use them for whatever situation you’re in. If there’s a guard in your way, you can hack a turret camera and shoot him down. These items can drastically affect how you go through a mission.
When completing missions, the intel gauge fills. The intel gauge fills based on how well you completed a mission and signifies the main story progression. Once filled, you will have to take on a story mission with their own unique objectives. This seems to be the main gameplay loop of taking on a number of missions before progressing the story.
The Rougher Edges
With how much you can do in this game and the various ways you can play it, the game unfortunately has quite a handful of rough spots. Actions such as attacking and sidling on walls felt janky at times. Performing a basic attack would halt your character’s movement and you would be stuck punching and kicking in a single direction. You have no way of turning yourself unless you let the whole animation finish and attack in another direction. It’s slow, awkward, and clunky. Not to mention that the camera will randomly zoom upon attacking.
The collision in terms of the game’s wall and other environmental objects is also pretty messy at times. Whenever I’m hugging the side of a wall to sneak and press the run button to get off said wall (which is the same button to sidle against walls), I immediately snap a wall I didn’t want to go to or snap back to the same wall I was at. Prior I mentioned that the levels were randomly generated. Unfortunately, there were multiple cases of one level layout that made the mission unfinishable. One of the doorways required your character to crawl through. The problem though was going back through that same crawl space. Even after trying every item I had and using the mechanics, I had to cancel the mission and retry.
Lastly, I noticed right away with the game’s intro cutscene that the voice acting sounded very stilted. It wasn’t till after that I learned the voices were AI. Because of that, the voices sounded extremely bland and uninteresting.
A Positive Future
For everything that I’ve said about Spy Drops, some and hopefully all the negatives I’ve had with the game will be fixed. At the time of me making this review, the developers, Rainy Night Creations, announced that they will be replacing the AI voices with actual voice acting. Rainy Night Creations is a small dev team, but hopefully they can deliver on that promise and work on the other issues with the game as well.
Almost ten years have passed since Tripwire Interactive released the now cult classic Killing Floor 2. Now, finally Killing Floor is back with a third entry in this beloved series. Does it stand tall next to previous titles? Or should it have been executed out of its misery?
Zed’s Dead, Baby
My experience with Killing Floor 2 almost ten years ago was a truly rocky road for a while. My friends had wanted me to try this co-op shooter and finally I relented and gave it a shot, only to be disappointed at first. Then finally it clicked. Fighting wave after wave of Zeds (zombies) and the unique enemies became an absolute blast, so naturally when the third game was announced, my excitement was palpable. After spending a hefty chunk of time now with Killing Floor 3, I’m left with a wave of different emotions, good and bad.
If you have played either of the previous two entries in the Killing Floor series, you’ll know that story takes a major backseat in comparison to gameplay, and Killing Floor 3 is no different. If you are looking for a story rich in detail and lore then this isn’t the game for you, at all. Essentially, the “story” of Killing Floor 3 tasks you with completing ten story-focused missions across the eight maps available at launch. These missions more often than not boil down to simply collecting something on each specific map and then completing the match you are in. That’s quite literally it. These missions are narrated by Cordelia Clamely, the director of Nightfall, the company for which the six playable characters work. Cordelia narrates the series of outbreaks and events that have occurred across these eight maps. It’s mundane and highly forgettable and I challenge the majority of players to recall each mission and see how much they remember. I doubt it’ll be much. In truth, most players or veterans of the Killing Floor franchise aren’t here for the story, they are here for the gameplay and co-op action and thankfully, they pack a real punch.
Wave After Wave, But Bigger And Bolder
Let’s get straight to it. Fundamentally, Killing Floor 3 is an absolute blast to play. If you have played a previous entry in the series, this is a refined and more polished gameplay loop. Playing from a first person perspective, you run, gun and slash your way through waves of enemies which culminates in one of three bosses spawning in the final round. Whilst this survival mode is the only mode available on launch, it’s just so addictive mowing down hordes of Zeds! Movement in particular feels more fluid and rapid; dodging and sliding has never felt so good. In addition, the shooting mechanics remain as satisfying as ever – few games capture the visceral power of shooting like Killing Floor. Also, the new and improved physics system makes for more realistic animations and movements from the enemies. Speaking of enemies, the game sports 13 different types of monsters at launch, with more sure to be added, thus creating good variety for each match, especially with the modifiers which can randomly activate during a round. Happily, for fans of the series, the Scrakes make their return, along with refined enemy types that do more damage this time around, such as the Bloater or Siren.
The game launches with six distinct classes for players to use, known as perks. You have the Commando, Firebug, Ninja, Engineer, Sharpshooter and Medic. Commando acts as a bog standard assault class for newcomers of the series to get accustomed to, whilst Firebug focuses on pyro weapons and equipment. Ninja forms the game’s pure melee class; Engineer acts as your heavy weapon class along with Sharpshooter whose goal is to disperse large groups of enemies. Of course, let’s not forget the Medic, who does the dirty work of keeping the squad (of up to six online players) alive. These classes all come with their own special ability such as the healing field from the medic or the attack drone from the commando. Each class feels varied and unique alongside their own individual perk trees, helping the player customise their class to tailor their gameplay style. This is complemented by the updated progression system which unlocks at level two and then increases in detail as you level each perk up. Class customisation is the strongest it has ever been in the Killing Floor series.
Polished But At What Cost?
Weapons have also had a significant face lift with the customisation systems. The thirty or so weapons at launch can be upgraded by collecting crafting resources throughout each survival match. This creates great replay ability for players wanting to craft and use the ultimate weapon. Every weapon feels solid enough to use and makes mowing down Zeds a damn good time. Of course, like the previous entries, this game is designed to be played in co-op and this is when the game is at its best, as you fight alongside five other players desperately seeking survival. The three difficulties return from previous games: Normal, Hard and Hell On Earth which adds great difficulty spikes for players wanting that challenge. Coupled with the weekly mutation events that add random modifiers, players have great challenges on offer.
It’s not all positive though when it comes to my thoughts on the content available in Killing Floor 3. Yes, I have mentioned quite a few elements to the game but this is all encompassed into one game mode. The game feels polished and streamlined but somewhat hollow. This is at its core a live service game and that rears its ugly head. There is your bog standard battle pass, cosmetics (at launch, extremely disappointing) and deluxe upgrades. A central hub has also been made for the players to party up, craft and yes, be offered the chance to spend real world money. Ugh! Everything you expect, yet not enough modes, maps or enemies. Tripwire have promised, as in the previous game, that there will be a hefty amount of post launch content, but some players may become bored or tired by the time said content makes it appearance.
Blood And Guts Everywhere
Killing Floor has been known for its vast amount of enemies on screen and visceral art style and this third entry succeeds in continuing that style, although with some hiccups. Each of the eight maps are dripping with blood and guts smattering the walls and floors which is bloody disgusting! The maps are varied and vast in design with multiple floors and routes on offer for the player to explore. The problem with the maps I feel is that they all adopt a similar colour pallet and therefore fail to stand out, graphically speaking. Unfortunately during my time playing, I suffered from significant screen tearing, texture pop ins and even missing assets at times. Hopefully, this can be rectified in future updates. Thankfully, the lighting remains superb as in previous entries, making some really tense moments for players wondering where enemies are coming from. Speaking of enemies, they are wonderfully designed and animated to look superbly horrific and monstrous. To sum up, a mixed bag in visual presentation.
In terms of its sound design and soundtrack, Killing Floor 3 absolutely knocks it out of the park. Every bullet piercing a Zed’s skin, every slash of melee weapon against flesh sounds positively sickening, which is brilliant! Enemies sound monstrous and terrifying as they chase you around the map. The slow motion event that occurs in games when the team earns enough points, sounds so cool with distorted sounds and screams and I longed for it to happen more often. This is a superb effort in sound design and let’s not forget about the soundtrack. This collection made by Tripwire, zYnthetic and Rocky Gray is a rip roaring metal rock beat, spliced in with electronic beats to make a potent concoction. It’s like Doom met Cyberpunk; you really won’t want the songs to end, as you blast and slash your way around maps.
Verdict
To sum up Killing Floor 3 is difficult because there is so much to love and yet a decent amount of frustration. Great gameplay, online co-op and superb sound design and score should have seen the game launch to more fanfare. Sadly, a non-existent story, middling visual presentation due to bugs, and a lack of content will sour the experience for some players. There is a great game to be had here, even with the usual live service shenanigans! It’s a case of whether you can see the wood for the trees. I hope the post launch content comes thick and fast like the gameplay!
Here we take a closer look at Care Bears Digital Pet – Grumpy Bear.
Grumpy Bear is the perfect digital pet for kids and nostalgic adults who love Care Bears. Designed in the Unlock the Magic style, this interactive virtual pet teaches emotional intelligence through fun mini-games, feeding, and care activities. Bring home a piece of 90s nostalgia with Grumpy Bear’s retro pixel screen and iconic personality.
Meet Grumpy Bear: The lovable blue bear with a rain cloud belly badge who shows that it’s okay to feel all kinds of emotions. Grump-tastic Gameplay: Keep Grumpy Bear happy with interactive mini-games that lift even the stormiest moods. Care & Nurture: Feed, clean, and comfort Grumpy Bear through daily activities that help chase away the grumps.
Signature Expressions: Watch Grumpy Bear come to life with classic frowns, eye rolls, and surprisingly heart warming reactions. Interactive Pixel Display: Retro-inspired screen animations bring Grumpy Bear’s world to life in a compact, collectible format. Teaches Emotional Intelligence: Learn that caring means understanding others, even when they’re a little moody. Unlock the Magic Style: Featuring the fresh, modern Care Bears aesthetic while keeping Grumpy’s iconic charm intact. Collectible Nostalgia: A digital pet experience that blends 90s throwback feels with today’s tech perfect for kids and nostalgic grown-ups alike. Ideal Gift: For Care Bears fans who love a little personality, Grumpy Bear makes the perfect pocket-sized companion.
The Care Bears Digital Pet – Grumpy Bear is a lot of fun to play with. It’s small enough to carry around, yet large enough for even very small hands to be able to play with properly. And it even has a clip on it to attach to your bag.
It comes with a battery already installed so all you have to do is pull the battery guard out and then set the time. Then its off to play with your new friend.
Care Bears Digital Pet – Grumpy Bear from ThumbsUp is available now priced around £20 and is aimed at ages 5 and up. There are other Care Bears Digital Pets available if Grumpy Bear isn’t your favourite.
Section 13 is a game that does the basics well, but it misses the mark on many key elements. Accordingly, though I enjoyed what I saw and heard, I wanted it to evolve more than it did. However, if you love old-school games and you remember classic looter shooters, you will get a pleasant sense of nostalgia.
This isometric rogue-lite was developed by Ocean Drive Studio, Inc. and published by Kakao Games. It is both a single-player and multiplayer experience. Sadly, the online servers are dead, and I never got to play with anyone else. Consequently, I can only focus on the single-player gameplay. Had I been able to play it online, it could have removed some of the negative elements I encountered.
Section 13 tells a clichéd and occasionally silly plot.
Scientific experiments and failure go hand-in-hand. Unsurprisingly, Section 13 takes this idea to the extreme. An Omega-level containment breach forces a black-site to lockdown. The expendable team are sent in to resolve the issue. Unfortunately, the zombie-like foes are too powerful, and the team is destroyed. Luckily for them, they are in a perpetual time loop, and death is more of an inconvenience than total failure.
In typical genre fashion, you will die repeatedly. Yet, this matters not, as the game is designed to kick your butt. As you explore each dark level, you will discover slight twists to each setting. Whether it is new monsters, rooms, or entry points, the developer has tried to keep things fresh. At its core is a repetitive gameplay loop. Enter the containment zone, destroy zombies, find collectables, and die.
Bosses, upgrades, and standard mechanics.
As you progress, you will earn temporary and permanent upgrades. The latter improves your player stats, weaponry, and chances of staying alive. The temporary boosts deliver larger ammo clips, stronger firepower, projectiles, agility, better health, and so forth. This is where Section 13 excels. There are plenty of fun character builds to play with.
On top of this, there are 4 playable characters to master. Each hero has unique strengths and weaknesses that complement your arsenal of weapons. Subsequently, you must choose the right person and loadout for each different playstyle. Though this isn’t quite balanced, it was fun trying new things.
Nailing each of the giant bosses was fun. However, the 2 main bosses and a secret one were not enough to quench my thirst. I expected much more, and I live in hope that the developer adds more content to pad things out.
Section 13 is grim but great to look at.
The isometric viewpoint and well-conceived camera help to keep you focused. Each level is nicely marked out, and moving from A to B was never an issue. Though there are hordes of zombies to face, the game doesn’t falter. I had no glitches, frame rate drops or bugs. Additionally, the impressive dark colour palette was grim but brilliantly atmospheric.
The audio is just as dark. Hellish music pounds away as you explore the disgusting world. Moreover, the screams of each foe and the booming noise of your gun are enough to turn your stomach. The result is a loud and obnoxious game that will hurt your ears.
Excellent controls.
I was impressed and surprised by the simple control system. Section 13 has a pleasant tutorial that sends you on your way. After that, you learn the finer points through some trial and error. This may annoy some people, but failure is guaranteed, and one more death matters not.
Though Section 13 is relatively short, it keeps you coming back. The 4 unique characters add depth, and the arsenal of weapons is fun to experiment with. Though I wanted more, this isn’t a bad game if you want something quick and relatively easy to play.
Section 13 needed a bit more oomph.
I wish the developer had added more content and more ideas. Furthermore, the lack of online action on Xbox was a shame. Though this problem could be resolved, I don’t see the game taking off the way it should. Accordingly, though it is limited, I like it and recommend buying it here! Can you discover what’s behind the breach? Pick a hero, grab a gun, and hope for some luck.
If anyone has played any of the old Boxhead Zombie Flash games, then they know exactly what to expect from Guntouchables. Don’t think of this as a negative; those games were insanely fun, and this takes it to the next level.
Developed by Game Swing and published by Ghost Ship Publishing, Guntouchables is an iso-metric online co-op Zombie survivor roguelite for 1-4 players.
Gaming expands at a breakneck pace, and sometimes that means we lose track of what once was until we end up back near it. Genres of the toptown iso-metric variety are everywhere these days, especially shooters. But this particular type of game never got the return it needed, and Guntouchables might be the answer to the drought. Especially with the chaotic 4 4-player multiplayer mode.
Guns Ahoy!
Here is the long and short of it. You play, either alone or with a team of up to 4 players, as a full-of-personality zombie hunter, or more specifically, as a plant-based zombie hunter. You have a character-specific passive and special ability.
Each mission in Guntouchables involves killing hordes of these plant-zombies and completing a set of tasks. These tasks could involve having to gather a resource or to take a heavy object from one end of the map to another, all the while fighting horde after horde.
After each mission, every player gets to pick from a set of upgrades. These could be boring and pointless, like 5% more running speed or could be insane, like explosive damage on bullets. You also have a shop where you can buy items like new weapons and power-ups.
You keep the weapons and power-ups as they are till the end of the playthrough. Meaning, if you and your party die, losing all provided lives, it is game over, and you start from the start, from scratch.
So, more or less, the same as Boxhead Zombie, but one place where Guntouchables is different is the story department. Alas, it is not exactly something worth buying the game over.
Guns A lackin
The plot of Guntouchables is quite barebones and, as far as I know, is just zombie survivors 101. You are a bunch of eccentricindividuals trying to fight through and survive a zombie invasion.
Through some unimportant, mid-mission-select animations and a man who keeps screaming “a new horde is coming” during the gameplay, it can be deduced that you are either part of or representing a military (or at least people wearing military uniforms).
However, in the end, the plot in Guntouchables is more of a vague suggestion than a driving force, and honestly, that’s totally fine.
This isn’t the kind of game where you’re supposed to sit back and analyse character motivations or unravel a deep lore web. This is the kind of game where you and three friends yell over each other while unloading ridiculous weapons into waves of plant-zombies.
It’s more about chaos, comedy, and couch co-op memories than storytelling. The barely-there narrative is just enough to justify why you’re mowing down endless hordes, and that’s all it needs to be.
Guns a fun!
Guntouchables is not here to blow your mind with a ten-layer narrative or make you cry over a cutscene. It’s here to give you a flamethrower, drop you in a room full of angry cabbage zombies, and let you and your friends scream your way through it.
The upgrades are wild, the action is nonstop, and the laughter is inevitable. It’s messy, chaotic, and more about vibes than polish. And honestly? That’s what makes it great.
At its core, Guntouchables is just pure, dumb fun, and that’s exactly what it wants to be.
I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical about Tears of the Kingdom in the run up to its launch. Breath of the Wild was a monumental release that aided Nintendo in a transitional stage of their brand, moving on from the shadow of the Wii U into the spark of light that was the upcoming Switch. Likewise, it came at a transitional stage of my own life; I was in my final year of school and going to University that September. It felt like the game served as a last hoorah for my childhood, my favourite series was reinventing itself with a mix of melancholy nostalgia and a more ‘grown up’ open world sandbox format that enabled it to better fit in with its contemporaries and, in many ways, surpass them. How could you follow on from that?
Now don’t get me wrong I still pre-ordered and played it on release back in May 2023 and, for a while at least, I was completely hooked. I had completed the first dungeon, filled in a good chunk of the map and was by all means having a great time; but then I just… stopped. Why? Was I burnt out and overwhelmed? Was I being superficial over how the game ran on the ageing Switch hardware and holding out for a heavily rumoured Switch Pro? Or maybe, perhaps, it was because I was now an adult with a full time job and trying to navigate the wonky game design of life. So when the Switch 2 was announced alongside enhanced editions of the recent Zelda’s (and with myself in a better position with more free time), I had no excuse but to skydive back into this title to give it a proper go. And, as it turns out, I’m so glad I waited.
There’s enhancements, but they come at a price.
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way: it runs and looks way way better than it did before. No longer clamped to the OG Switch’s 2015 Tegra architecture, both Wild and Kingdom leverage the new Nintendo system’s beefier specs to produce a far more appealing image on a modern 4K display. All textures are replaced with higher quality assets, distant objects render from further away leading to a world that feels even more tangible. All this while running at 60fps, a good 60fps at that. Previous stress points like the Korok Forest are just not an issue any more, it just feels right. The resolution is now bumped to an ideal 1080p in portable mode, and a respectable 1440p upscaled to 4K in docked play; both resolutions being dynamic depending on system stress. It’s a huge leap from the muddy 900p but there’s some issues with the quality of the upscaling, using AMD’s FSR 1.0 instead of the Switch 2’s built in (and far superior) Nvidia DLSS hardware, recently put to good use in the system’s Cyberpunk port. It’s not as sharp as it could be and, as blasphemous as it sounds, makes me wish they included an optional 30fps quality mode that aimed for a native res closer to 4k.
It’s worth noting that Nintendo is asking for £7.99 for these enhancements, or alternatively an active subscription to their Online Expansion Pass, despite enhancing other Switch 1 games at no additional cost. Is it worth it? Depends on your point of view, but personally I would have gladly sacrificed the pretty trivial Zelda Notes app integration for a free upgrade.
Zelda is the princess, but gameplay is King.
Breath of the Wild revitalised the series with the first true open world rendering of Hyrule, a dynamic landscape bringing back previous locations from across the convoluted Zelda timeline, reimagined with a grander scope than previously possible. This successor takes no shame in reusing this overworld, though slightly remixed and updated, and it feels every bit as alive as it did before. Changing weather and climate conditions require you to think about your choice in clothing, wandering traders of the land’s differing species travel the path between different settlements, villages full of the series’ staple quirky characters going about their daily lives, armies of monsters patrol the highways and giant dragons gently float across the sky. Simply climbing the tallest peak in eye distance and admiring the landscape below is a heart tingling experience, the cel shaded art style blurring in the distance to create the illusion that you’re actually playing an interactive watercolour painting.
Also brought over from the predecessor is Link’s physics and moveset, a welcome return. It’s the perfect blend of him feeling sturdy and heavy, but also responsive and agile; you can still sprint, climb, glide, backflip and sidestep your way over mountains and into combat encounters. But this is all familiar ground, so what’s new? Well, Link has been granted a brand new set of abilities thanks to the procurement of a strange new right arm after his own is severed in battle, allowing him to interact with the elements around him.
Ultrahand enables you to pick up damn near anything and join them together, chopped down trees can become bridges and ladders. Recall will send any objects back along the path of which they’ve previously travelled, while Ascend causes you to dart upwards through any ceiling and come out on top; very handy in the brand new cave systems jotted around the land. Finally, Fuse lets you join together materials with your regular equipment, further increasing attack power or adding elemental effects that play best with the game’s stellar physics system. Want to electrocute an entire squad of moblins? Douse them with a Splash Fruit, attach a Shock Fruit to a well aimed arrow and ZAP!
But perhaps the most entertaining new toys are the Zonai Devices, electronic gadgets leftover from an ancient society with varying gimmicks and functions. As easily as playing with LEGO, you can use Ultrahand to combine these into awesome contraptions; hover bikes, fighter planes, giant spinning tanks that shoot missiles. The only limit is how much of an Engineer you are in your heart and brain. And yes, you can crucify Koroks. But why, why would you do that? You’ll have to get to grips with these devices if you’re to pass the brand new Shrines, mini dungeons that litter the landscape like they did in Wild, each with their own puzzles of varying ingenuity; though it was disappointing to see a slight downgrade in the length of some of these in comparison to the previous entry.
It’s a testament to the talent of Nintendo’s design team that these abilities never seem overpowered or game breaking, but rather compliment the open sandbox they’ve created. These abilities are revealed and taught to the player in the opening Great Sky Island, a visually stunning sky-bound remake of Wild’s Great Plateau, serving as a curated run through of the game’s core mechanics. It never feels condescending or handholdey, and encourages multiple routes of exploration. But speaking of the sky islands…
Ain’t no Sky Island high enough. Ain’t no Depths low enough.
Hyrule has gained two new dimensions that have appeared seemingly out of nowhere; the Sky Islands we see plastered on the box art and below the surface, a dark cavernous land known as the Depths. Running in parallel with the surface, this dimly lit land is the exact same size as the overworld. However, to be superficial, a huge part of the overworld’s appeal is in its beauty and diversity, its changing biomes and climates. In the Depths we have one aesthetic: Cave, grey, black and dark red. With no settlements or meaningful NPC’s, what we’re left with is the same series of repetitive enemy camps and the occasional abandoned mine. To top it all off, it introduces two new gameplay mechanics. Gloom, an evil gunk that permanently reduces the player’s health until they return to the surface, and Bloom seeds, the entire underground being shrouded in darkness necessitating you throw these seeds on the floor to illuminate a small space. For permanent brightness you must find a Lightroot pod, which will bring permanent light to a larger area. At first these mechanics provide a somewhat interesting challenge but after so many hours they just wear thin, to the point where I would dread exploring this dimension. Sure there’s rare pieces of armour that help negate these annoyances but in the end, illuminating and exploring the Depths becomes a tedious checklist that only highlights how ugly and empty it is. There’s a reason the Oblivion realm sections in (well) Oblivion are reduced to concise areas with a direct objective.
In contrast the Sky Islands are just so beautiful, decorated with autumnal trees and shrubbery that sparkle in the golden twilight sun. There’s far less landmass to explore here, requiring the player to think of inventive ways to travel between them. But despite the smaller scale, there’s a lot of repetition going on, the same island designs being repeated several times. These islands are supposed to be the land of the Zonai, an ancient extinct tribe who lived thousands of years ago. But there’s very little evidence that they did beyond the odd temple ruins, no settlements, no memories, no signs of life beyond the occasional Construct Robot. The island’s designs are surreal, impossible and abstract, complimenting the shrines and puzzles we find up here; it’s very gamey, feeling less like we’re exploring the remnants of a forgotten people and more like Link is trapped in the innards of a giant pinball machine.
The Overworld’s success is in the sum of its parts; it’s simultaneously huge, beautiful, gamey, diverse, dynamic, organic etc. Meanwhile the new dimensions take one or two of these aspects and present them in isolation, highlighting their shortcomings and giving us the worst of both worlds.
No Link in the Past
While investigating the tunnels beneath Hyrule Castle, Zelda and Link discover the skeleton of the Demon King Ganondorf. He jolts back to life, destroys the Master Sword and Link’s right arm and unleashes chaos upon the land of Hyrule, lifting the Castle into the sky in an event called the Upheaval. Zelda meanwhile is transported back in time to the founding of the Kingdom of Hyrule by a mysterious stone, seemingly trapped there with no way of returning home. Here she meets Rauru and Sonia, the king and queen of this new land, and begins to set into motion a grand plan that will aid Link thousands of years later.
In essence it’s a retread of Breath of the Wild: travel to the four corners of Hyrule and help the different races with their issues (essentially extreme weather conditions), before returning to the castle to defeat the evil and rescue Zelda. Fine. Zelda as a series is no stranger to reusing formulas, but my issue lies with Link’s (i.e. the player’s) involvement in events of importance. Zelda’s story is told through unlockable cutscenes, during which she explores an unfamiliar land, meets new friends, helps found a new kingdom, witnesses the rise of Ganondorf and his eventual imprisoning; all while setting up a bootstrap paradox that ensures the events of the prologue occur. In comparison we are tasked with cleanup duty, payoff with no involved setup. The narrative is a puzzle that is 99% complete, the player must slot in the last couple of tiny pieces.
Nintendo made a point of giving these new open world Zelda’s less ‘in your face’ storytelling, leading to the misnomer that Breath of the Wild’s story took a backseat to its gameplay. But this isn’t the case; its gameplay was its storytelling. Playing as an amnesiac Link who wakes up a hundred years after a calamity, we are exploring this new version of Hyrule alongside him, forging new allies and rebuilding old frienships. By directly witnessing how the people of the land have been affected by this catastrophe and aiding their plights, we are healing the physical and mental trauma of what happened a century prior. But in the sequel the world is already set up; we are left literally and figuratively treading old ground, clinging to various leads of information about the princess. Even a good portion of the returning characters pay little attention to Link, despite all he did for them in Wild, spouting some variation of “Hello Link… where’s Zelda?”, then lumbering a fetch quest on him. Why aren’t we playing as Zelda? Oh wait.
It all leads to a lack of emotional resonance, damning in a series arguably led by emotion. Sure Ganondorf is back but this version has no prior connection to this Link, and little personality or motivation beyond “I’m evil”; a far cry from the melancholy soliloquies we got from Wind Waker’s incarnation of the character. Even the side quests, usually a fun highlight of these games, have no standouts, mostly reduced to banal fetch quests. There’s still quirky, flamboyant characters to talk to, but their stories never go much deeper than cheerful, camp dialogue. Heavier emotional beats like Link witnessing the death of the Deku Tree or waving goodbye to his grandma as he sails away to save his sister have been the crux of this series, and they just don’t seem to be as present here.
Bigger is not always better.
I love Zelda and I really wanted to love this entry. If you’re looking for an open world sandbox with outstanding physics and mechanics, this is the game for you. Its graphics, controls, sound design and music are absolutely stunning. And despite my grievances, I still put in over 150 hours, even on an adult’s schedule. But I can perhaps see now why I dropped this game shortly after launch, it’s a less cohesive experience than Breath of the Wild, exemplifying not only its best qualities but also some of its weakest. Perhaps open world Zelda has reached its natural peak; will the next entry try to somehow top it, or will it return to the old formula that I seem to be hung up with nostalgia for? Time will tell.
Achilles: Survivor is an interesting project to critique. It doesn’t offer the best first impression, with no player onboarding whatsoever, subpar presentation, and a wall of stats for you to decipher. Once you get past all that, you’re treated to gameplay that’s far from engaging, threatening you to uninstall within your first few minutes.
And yet, it’s a lot of fun. The game reveals its complexities to those who stick with it. What may appear like a derivative isometric RPG is actually a thoughtful cross between the roguelike, bullet hell, and strategy genres. Sprinkle in a bit of Greek mythology, and you have a budget title that punches a fair bit above its weight.
While I do have praise for Survivor, it really can’t be understated how poor a first impression it makes. There’s no introductory cinematic, or really any presentational flair, just a static menu. Character selection and level up screens present like a mobile game, and I was shocked to find that it wasn’t available on iOS.
This might be forgivable given that Dark Point Games is a rather small team, but the lack of tutorial is significantly more irksome. Instead, you’ll need to pause the game when you start a run, where you’ll immediately be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of tracked stats. This is not a D&D character sheet, it’s a damn Excel project. Thankfully, the various charts, numbers, and achievements will start meaning something to you once you’ve sunk a few hours into the game.
After reading through the How To Play menu from within the pause screen (itself a small tome), you’ll finally have an idea of what Achilles: Survivor wants from you. You pick a character from Greek mythology and run through various levels, slaying creatures. Notably, combat isn’t the explicit focus; you will automatically attack enemies with skills on cooldown. Instead, you’ll be playing an intentional game of resource management.
Items like stone and gold will be gathered from the environment and killing high-level enemies. Once you’ve obtained enough, your stone can be used to create structures in the environment. These range in utility, from simply dealing damage to healing you and even helping you cultivate more resources. Regardless, they all give you a buff until they’re destroyed, and make it much easier to carve through the swarm of beasts that will soon flood your screen.
It’s this game within the game, the collectathon within the roguelike framework that makes Survivor so engaging. I’m very action-oriented in most games, but the decision to sideline traditional combat was an inspired choice. I’m much more excited to plan which structures to build than I would be mindlessly mashing buttons, and the sense of accomplishment you feel when the contraptions destroy all monsters without you even lifting a finger is fantastic.
Should you fail a level on your first attempt, there’s no reason to be dismayed. Succeeding and failing both give you permanent upgrade currencies. These will be used to enhance your stats across all runs, offering a better chance at succeeding the next time around.
Unfortunately, this also creates a paradox where by upgrading a character’s starting attributes, Achilles: Survivor can become a bit too easy. You’ll be able to breeze through most levels building structures at your leisure, and your abilities will wipe out any enemies that luck into getting close to you. This issue is alleviated as you get deeper into the campaign or increase a stage’s difficulty level, though the most dedicated players may be operating well beyond any challenge the game throws at them.
While I went in with low expectations, Achilles Survivor was able to clear them with minimal effort. Dark Point Games have proven themselves in my eyes, and created a solid experience worth the attention of genre fans. Despite minor balancing flaws, it’s a more than serviceable time-waster, one that I plan to sink many more hours into.
The Medion Erazer Beast X1 certainly lives up to its name. Packed with an RTX 5080, 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD, there is no way it could be called anything other than a beast. The laptop itself is reasonably heavy and wouldn’t be the best laptop to carry around if you wanted something portable. Not only is it quite sizable due to it being an 18″ laptop, meaning it wouldn’t fit in most laptop bags, but the specifications of the laptop make it quite heavy as well.
Turning the laptop on, I was immediately greeted by the lightshow on the keyboard. The colors were vibrant and very showy, perfect for those who are obsessed with RGB lighting. I was glad to see the option to dim the keyboard if necessary, as it was a little bit too much when using it in the late hours of the night.
Considering how well kitted out this laptop is, I was pleasantly surprised by the cost. While it is still pricey, it is one of the cheaper options available on the market right now, sitting at £2,999.97. While the graphics were stunning, the RGB was flashy and the SSD was plenty spacious for all of those big games, there were a couple of issues I did have with the Medion Erazer Beast X1.
So Heavy It Isn’t Portable
Because of how hefty this machine is in both weight and overall design, it unfortunately loses some of the portability that comes with a laptop. Comparing it to my current laptop, my laptop weighs next to nothing in comparison. Putting the actual weight of it aside, it the bezel is quite thick, and the base of the laptop is chunky. However, it comes with some pretty cool RGB flair along the sides. This is the kind of laptop that is very traditionally made for the gamer, with the amount of shininess and flashy colours. Even the front of the laptop lights up in the Erazer logo itself. The bottom half of the laptop is also quite wide and long, with there being a considerable amount of space between the wrist rest part of the laptop and the keyboard. If you are someone who rests their arms on the laptop, you may find that you’ll have to reach a little bit farther to get to the keyboard than on another laptop.
If you’re someone who is happy to leave your laptop in place on the desk long-term, than this option will be absolutely fine. However, if you’re looking for something to slip into your backpack and take on the go, it may not be the best option. It does fit into bags, but it is heavy and may put extra strain on your body. As someone who is disabled, I struggled to lift this normally, and cannot imagine putting this in a bag for that reason.
In a similar vein, the power cable I received with the laptop was far too short for it to be moved any sort of distance. Even with my plug socket being directly below my desk, the cable wasn’t long enough for the laptop to be put on the desk, which limited where I could use it by a significant margin.
Like An Airplane
It’s known that gaming laptops are typically noisy, and I expect it. However, I wasn’t quite expecting how noisy it was from day one. By the sound of the laptop, you’d think that the CPU or GPU was overheating, and had engaged its fans at a higher speed to try and cool itself down. However, that was not the case. Installing games made the laptop fans rev up, and when I did finally test it out and push it to the limit a bit by playing modded Baldur’s Gate 3, it was extremely loud. So much so, it alerted my family!
If subtlety is what you want from a gaming laptop, you won’t get it from the Medion Erazer Beast. However, if you’re happy to have a laptop that packs a punch and runs games with zero issues, the Medion Erazer Beast is the perfect machine for that. While I’m okay with having a noisy laptop, this one was just a bit louder than I wanted it to be.
Sleek Finish
If you like your laptops to be sleek and streamlined, the Medion Erazer Beast X1 does a fantastic job of that. Finished with brushed metal and a glowing insignia in the middle, it’s very subtle on the outside. However, once you open it up, you are greeted with a very flashy RGB keyboard. Of course, this can be turned off and edited to your liking, so you don’t have to have a full rainbow flashing at you all of the time if that’s not what you like. Although the design is relatively subtle, it still has that gamer feel to it, which is great if you want to show off your flair a little bit.
The laptop is visually pleasing and the screen is stunning. Once you boot up your favorite game, you’ll easily be blown away by the sheer level of detail this laptop can provide at a 2500 x 1600 resolution. However, if you are looking for a 4K laptop, you won’t find it in this one. Despite that, you still have access to a glorious 240Hz, which is perfect if you like to play competitive titles. I tried out Overwatch 2 and League of Legends, and it was silky smooth and made planning my attacks that much easier.
Although the laptop is fitted with the best of the best, I did find the speakers to be rather disappointing. It made sense to me though, as all of the cost is in the graphics card and the CPU. However, I wished that the speakers had a bit of a better sound to them. Instead, using headphones was the option for me.
Overall, I was very impressed with what the Medion Erazer Beast X1 18″ had to offer. If you’re someone who cares about the graphics and the flashiness of your PC, then this laptop is the way to go. However, if you want something streamlined and portable, you may find yourself struggling with this one. While it will fit in a backpack with no issues, it is quite heavy, and may cause some back pain if you have to carry it around for a long duration.
There’s a special kind of magic that happens when a mobile game manages to feel both fresh and nostalgic at the same time, and that’s exactly the spell “Criss Cross Castle” has cast on us. Developed by Simply Sweet Games, this delightful puzzle game for Android and avaliable on iOS, isn’t just another word-finding distraction; it’s a whimsical journey into a world of enchanting puzzles and adorable storytelling. From the moment you open the app, you’re greeted with a warmth and charm that’s hard to resist, making it the perfect escape for a cozy afternoon.
The Hero’s Enchanting Quest
The game’s story is centered around a realm where the malevolent Illiterati have removed the magic of written language, leaving tales and stories in disarray. Players take on the role of a hero, choosing between Wanda, a spell-casting witch, or Pip, a clever squire. The main quest is to reverse this curse and restore the power of language. The narrative is simple yet so genuinely cute, it feels like a storybook coming to life. It’s a wonderful premise that gives a satisfying purpose to every single puzzle you solve.
The Magic of Word Puzzles
The core gameplay is a brilliant and seamless blend of crossword puzzles and magic-casting. On screen, you’re presented with a crossword grid, and below it, a jumble of letters. To help your hero on their quest, you have to find and spell words using those letters. The game’s adaptive puzzle engine, powered by natural language processing, makes every solved puzzle a magical accomplishment. Spelling words is the key to unlocking new pathways, discovering secret treasures, and ultimately, reversing the curse on the land. It’s a game that truly makes you feel like a wordsmith wizard!
Simple Fun for All Ages
The simplicity of the mechanics is one of its greatest strengths. It’s very easy to grasp the concept of how to play, yet there is a few starter puzzles that are tutorials in the beginning. No matter what type of level gamer you may be, the game is intuitively guiding you, and before you know it, you’re happily spelling away, helping your hero on their grand adventure. Plus, it does provide some challenges, trying to build words and attack the enemy without claiming defeat. This makes Criss Cross Castle an absolute joy for players of all ages. Kids can improve their spelling in the most fun way imaginable, while adults can enjoy a relaxing, low-pressure experience that’s a perfect antidote to a stressful day. The roguelike structure also offers great replayability, as each journey to restore the magic of language can feel a little different.
Charming Graphics and Lovely Sounds
Visually, the game is an absolute treat for the eyes. The graphics are simply stunning, with a soft, hand-drawn art style that makes the castle and its inhabitants feel alive. The characters are bursting with personality, from the sweet and determined heroes to the wonderfully silly little monsters they have to deal with. Every location, is beautifully designed and filled with charming details. It’s the kind of game you could honestly just sit and look at, even if you weren’t playing. The music and sound effects are equally lovely. The gentle, whimsical tunes perfectly match the game’s enchanting aesthetic, and the sound effects such as the little “pop” of a spell being cast, the satisfying click of a word being completed are so well-crafted, adding another layer of polish to the experience.
Final Thoughts: A Recommended Treat
In conclusion, Criss Cross Castle is a beautifully crafted, heartwarming, and genuinely fun puzzle game. It’s a charming art and cozy gameplay. The unique word-spelling mechanic tied to a magical narrative is a brilliant concept executed with care, and the stunning visuals and audio make it a true pleasure to experience. While it may not be a hardcore brain-teaser, it never pretends to be. It’s a game about spreading a little magic, one perfectly spelled word at a time. It comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a sweet, bit of a challenging and still relaxing and utterly charming mobile game that will make them smile.
If Rogue City was RoboCop’s triumphant return to gaming, Unfinished Business is his blood-soaked encore- shorter, meaner and focused on what the franchise does best: blowing scumbags to bits.
Developed by Teyon as a standalone expansion to Rogue City, this follow-up doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but reinforces it with steel armour, and a couple of rocket launchers.
ONE TOWER, ONE MISSION.
Set shortly after the events of Rogue City, Unfinished Business sees RoboCop investigating a massacre at the Metro West police station.
The trail then leads to OmniTower, a high-tech residential monolith, crawling with mercenaries, drones and cyborg ninjas. The entire campaign unfolds within this vertical warzone.
There is no open world to this first-person shooter, just a ruthless ascent through different floors of chaos in the OmniTower.
“Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”
RoboCop stomps and wades through the levels of the OmniTower like a walking tank, dishing out slow-motion law and order with his Auto-9 and a growing arsenal of new weapons, and upgrades.
Unfinished Business builds on the original foundation of Rogue City, introducing fresh enemy types, and an expanded arsenal of new weapons and gadgets for players to experiment with.
Enhanced upgrade options further diversify the gameplay loop, injecting each level with challenges that demand tactical flexibility.
These additions add variety to each level and forces players and RoboCop to adapt their tactics to deliver effective justice.
“Somewhere there is a crime happening.”
Much like Rogue City, Unfinished Business include an array of side quests and investigations that let players dig deeper into the criminal underbelly of dystopian Detroit.
These diversions serve as moral dilemmas, investigative tasks and citizen interactions that break up the main campaign’s linear relentless gunplay.
While these tasks don’t impact the overarching narrative, they enrich the world-building and encourage players to pause, explore and absorb the gritty atmosphere.
For trophy hunters, achievement chasers, and completionists, these side missions are more than just filler- they are essential towards 100% justice.
Gameplay: Familiar, fun, but slightly repetitive
Unfinished Business sticks close to its predecessor. RoboCop stops through corridors, blasts enemies with his Auto-9, and delivers law and order to those asking for it.
The gunplay remains satisfying, new weapons like the Cryo-Cannon. RoboCop can pick up enemies and throw them at each other, which is always fun.
The variety of weapons and combat abilities makes the combat engaging and satisfying for a while.
The core gameplay loop, however, rarely deviates from “enter room, shoot everything.”
While this suits RoboCop’s mechanical nature, it risks becoming repetitive, especially for players craving more tactical depth and variety.
Movement is stiff and rigid, fitting and appropriate for RoboCop; but noticeably clunky when stacked against the fluidity of modern first-person shooters.
After storming through a room full of enemies and clearing them out with a mix of precision shots and explosive justice, it does feels earned.
Earn your badge?
RoboCop: Rogue City – Unfinished Business clocks in at around 6-10 hours, depending on your playstyle. The expansion doesn’t just add content, it’s a shorter, sweeter experience that ramps up the challenge, diversifies the action and perfect for any RoboCop fan.
The DLC isn’t bloated with any filler or distracted by side fluff. Instead, it delivers a focused, doubled down, satisfying extension of the core experience, with enough new weapons, enemies and tactical shooting to keep things fresh.
The DLC understands exactly what the audience wants, and delivers what it promises: more RoboCop, more justice, more explosions.
While the game includes fast-paced action, combat and a linear story. It often revolves around entering a room full of law-breaking foes, which RoboCop must eliminate and uphold the law.
It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s unapologetically old-school. RoboCop doesn’t evolve, he enforces.
