It's been a hot minute since a Call of Duty game managed to really grab me. The last couple of entries felt rushed at the best of times, but even if you were a Multiplayer-only type of player, you'd have to gel with the way they pushed into quicker and quicker territory. I'm not into movement shooters, so the return of a slightly more grounded style with Modern Warfare 4 has been a real pleasure this past weekend.

That said, it's the campaign that I mainlined the most efficiently, which is never too huge a challenge given COD's generally modest single-player runtimes. After the enormous disappointment of MW3, I was at least a little interested to see how Infinity Ward innovated and switched things up.

To be honest, I'm not sure this is the return to form that it's been greeted as, having rolled credits on it. While there are some great missions and the production value is right back up there, I still didn't really do anything that felt unlike something from previous games – including the open-world "Stranded" mission that felt like a glimpse into how boring a huge COD could really be.

That's harsh, of course, and the story ripped along at a good pace, but I was disappointed by how little time I spent with a new team of interesting and well-acted South Korean marines, instead repeatedly getting hooked back into the overarching storyline driven by Captain Price.

Price is now a full-on war criminal, for the uninitiated, and it's quite funny to watch the recap video included in the game, showing us a principled and straightforward operator, before dropping into the campaign and watching him be at first complicit and then fully participating in large-scale civilian death.

Still, while its story continued to get sillier and sillier, it's undeniably true that the COD mission format still feels exhilarating to play. As you push through front lines, accompanied by dozens of other marines, the sense of scale is often really impressive, and it crucially all looks pretty stellar.

In fact, playing on my PS5 Pro I was reminded time and again that Infinity Ward really know how to push the COD game engine to its limits. From night-time lighting that's impressively realistic, to explosions that shake your very bones when they hit, this is a really impressive-looking campaign.

It features a few locations that are just insanely detailed if you stop and take the time to soak them in, too. The Korean convenience store from the game's opening moments is perhaps the most photorealistic storefront I've ever seen in a game.

On the PS5 Pro, this is all rendered extremely sharply, too, with the console able to keep things even smoother than its less powerful sibling, without cutting back on the level of detail. Since my friends all game on PlayStation, this is another title that's pulled me away from my gaming PC right now.

As I've come to expect from Infinity Ward, the sound design is excellent. I'm playing with the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite connected, and the booming soundscapes of each battle are quite something to hear. Of course, next up is a multiplayer binge for me, and I'll be interested to see how reliable the audio is on this front.

If you've sat out the last couple of COD games, like me, because they just got too twitchy and were a little far from the traditional gameplay you enjoy, then I'd say this is one to take a look at. It's the biggest step back to basics that COD has made since 2019, and I can only hope it teaches Activision a lesson about leaning too far into competition with Fortnite.

Sometimes it takes a chunk of time for the right decision to be made – and credit to Konami, it made the right one for Castlevania. After years out in the cold, this beloved franchise finally got a new game this month, in the form of Belmont's Curse, and rather than bashing its head against the wall trying to reinvent the series, Konami took a smarter path.

It looked at the phenomenal success of Dead Cells, from a French team (Evil Empire) that openly professed its adoration of Castlevania, and asked why that same team couldn't just make the next mainline game. Fast-forward a few years, and we have Belmont's Curse, from that same developer, showing that you really can manifest your own destiny sometimes.

I spent pivotal parts of my childhood and teenage years playing Castlevania games on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, so I've basically been waiting for a new 2D game in the series for years and years. Now it's finally here, and that heritage of portable play meant that I was only ever interested in playing it on one console – my Switch 2.

As it happens, there's one small wrinkle there. While Belmont's Curse launched with a Nintendo Switch version on day one, it doesn't yet have a native Switch 2 port. While the game does run better on Switch 2, with a frame rate cap raised from 30fps to 60fps, it's still not the sharpest, and it's a bit disappointing that we'll have to wait for an upgraded version at some point down the line.

That foible aside, though, I've been having a brilliant time sinking into the game's vision of a ruined Paris, complete with a haunted castle to explore and a carefully laid-out map to discover. It's classic Metroidvania stuff, right down to its surprisingly brutal difficulty curve.

Belmont's Curse sees you take up the mantle of Rose Belmont, at the time of the game, the youngest of her famous family's line, as she and her father, Trevor, journey to Paris to investigate an uprising of demons and monsters. On arrival, they discover the city in disarray and split up.

Taking control of Rose, you'll find her a capable warrior, but a newly acquired Tarot deck is her secret weapon. It's basically a roster of weapons and skills that she can expand over time (much of that expansion happening through mastery challenges). These skills don't just change how you fight, but also double in many cases as traversal methods, giving you the classic step-by-step upgrades to how much of the map you can explore at a given time.

While Evil Empire is best known for its roguelike work, this is a traditional game in the genre, so while there are moments that let you choose where to explore next, much of the progression is slightly more linear than it might appear. Still, the map's proving really fun to explore, and it's more challenging than I expected, with even the most common enemies demanding some care when you fight them.

Bosses, meanwhile, are entirely another question, and I haven't blitzed any of them in one attempt so far. For me, the ideal boss in this genre takes me about five or six tries – enough to make me pay attention and learn its attacks, but not so many that I get really frustrated. That metric has roughly applied to Belmont's Curse so far, which has been really fun.

In a period of absolutely non-stop releases (with more games coming every week and a behemoth called GTA VI just around the corner), I've been sneaking an hour here and there on my Switch 2 with Belmont's Curse, and it might just have its hooks in deep enough to make me finish it before I move on.

Yesterday's announcement about BioWare's closure has been followed with a leaked trailer for the Mass Effect game it was working on at the time.

Now confirmed as genuine, the trailer shows pre-production footage of Mass Effect Universe – the fifth entry in the hugely popular sci-fi RPG franchise. And considering its spy thriller themes, it also underlines exactly what we'll be missing.

After it was originally posted on Reddit, renowned industry expert Jason Schreier confirmed its validity: "Can confirm that this is a real trailer of the Mass Effect game that BioWare was developing up until its closure yesterday," he wrote on Bluesky.

The trailer shows a new lead character with a bit of backstory. There seem to be some returning favourites too. It starts by detailing that the footage is all taken from in-game, using pre-production assets.

Bar any further leaks that appear over the coming days and weeks, this could be the last we see of Mass Effect in the games-sphere. It was announced yesterday that EA had closed the much-loved role-playing specialist BioWare, leaving its staff facing unemployment and its IPs – including Dragon Age, as well as Mass Effect – in limbo.

It has naturally caused an outcry in the gaming community. Canadian studio BioWare has been responsible for some of the best RPGs in gaming history, including Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and of course, the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series.

It is cited as having influenced The Witcher games and many more besides. It will be sorely missed.

One tiny bit of solace is that Amazon is reportedly ploughing ahead with its Mass Effect TV series. And hopefully, something will emerge from the developer's obviously talented team elsewhere.

Either way, let's just hope all those impacted manage to find further employment soon.

Football Manager 27 will be officially available across multiple platforms from 10 November 2026, but you can actually play it for free from next week.

Sega and Sports Interactive are releasing a Launch Preview version of the game to play on PC or Mac from Thursday 29 October until 3 November. It'll cost absolutely nothing to download and enjoy, with all game modes available.

Should you then want to continue your management journey, you can buy the full game with 10% off. Considering the retail price is £49.99 / $59.99 / €59.99, that's a great deal.

What's more, if you do purchase the game the trial period will be extended until the full release day. And your saved games will transfer over, so you can continue your career.

If you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, you can even continue your FM27 campaign at no extra cost, as it will be available on the platform as a day one release.

Alternatively, you can download the Launch Preview from Steam, Epic Games Store, or the Microsoft Store, where you can also purchase the full game after.

Football Manager 27 features a tweaked interface this year, with fewer clicks needed to get to important information. There are new tactical features and training options, including a better integration of how your tactics affect player behaviour during matches.

They can even misunderstand your instructions depending on their skill levels and the complexity of your tactics.

The match engine has been enhanced too, with improved visuals of the crowd and other stadium elements.

The game will also release for Xbox consoles and PS5, as well as mobile via Netflix (FM27 Mobile) and Apple Arcade (FM27 Touch). As with the console version on Xbox Game Pass, you'll need a related subscription to play them at no extra cost.

Xbox Game Pass members are getting a selection of great games added next week, as we build up to Halloween. And while one of those is the superb Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, I'm actually more excited by the inclusion of another remastered classic.

I played Plants vs. Zombies for many hours – days even – when it first released many moons ago. It was my Candy Crush on iPhone. So I've been looking to get my hands on Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted on Xbox for a while. Now, thanks to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, I won't even have to pay extra for it.

The tower defence game, which sees you plant different categories of lethal plants to fight off waves of the undead, was remastered with HD graphics and extra content last year. Now it's coming to the service in time for the spooky season.

As part of EA Play, it'll be available on 29 October for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers only. However, there will also be several games arriving on the platform soon for Premium members too.

That includes Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, the truly stunning, from-the-ground-up remake of one of the best JRPGs ever made (well the first part of it anyway). The start of the trilogy reintroduces us to the characters we all fell in love with almost 30 years ago.

It'll be available for Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers from 29 October, too. However, you will need an Xbox Series X/S, PC or access to Xbox Cloud Gaming to play it.

Other games coming soon include Sandustry, which arrived on Game Pass today (21 October), Dodo Duckie (coming 22 October), Scramble Knights Online (26 October), and The Séance of Blake Manor (27 October).

Also coming next week – on 29 October – are Mouthwashing, and Terrible Lizards. And the first confirmed game for next month is Pit of Goblin, which will arrive on 3 November.

Only recently we suggested that like the PlayStation 6, the next-gen Xbox console – currently codenamed Project Helix – will be delayed until 2028 at the earliest. Now another source has repeated that claim.

In a profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Fortune revealed that "plans" include releasing "the next console by the holidays in 2028".

However, we could see another device before then. It is also claimed that there will be a "next-generation handheld device" by the end of next year.

Unfortunately though, Fortune also wrote that Helix could cost as much as $1,800 (£1,344) with today's component market taken into consideration. The business outlet revealed that internal projections priced the console between $1,200 and $1,800.

That's if the components crisis continues, of course. And as I said about the PS6 in my latest report, delayed release dates could allow Sony and Microsoft to reduce their costs.

I spoke with an LG executive at IFA in September who told me RAMageddon could be over by the end of 2027, early 2028 at the latest. That could enable memory and NAND storage prices to become more sensible before console production begins.

Hopefully, the savings will then be passed onto the consumer in the form of lower price points.

After all, who would want to spend the equivalent of a decent gaming PC on a new console? The PS5 Pro currently retails for $899 / £789 and that's considered far too expensive by most.

It also depends on Helix's capabilities. Original plans were to release a premium PC/Xbox hybrid, which can play both types of games at a high level. However, reports have since said that the plans have been adjusted, to keep the console more affordable.

That could also have contributed to the delay. Either way though, existing Xbox Series X/S (and PS5) owners can rest safe in the knowledge that their consoles will continue to be fully supported for the next few years.

Apple's gaming strategy has changed in the last few years, not least thanks to its devices becoming more capable.

Not only are Apple silicon-toting MacBooks more capable of playing AAA games, but iPhone and iPad models are no longer restricted to simple mobile titles.

We've had the likes of Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village release on iOS in the last few years, and later this month No Man's Sky will join the list. What's more, the sci-fi hit will include 10 years-worth of downloadable content when it does arrive.

It's a strategy that seems to be gaining momentum. More developers and publishers want to exploit Apple's platforms and its growing base of gamers, now that the games themselves are capable of running almost as well as they do on console.

But where does that leave Apple Arcade? Most premium games will not be released on the service – at least not on day one. With a greater focus on iPhone and iPad as bone fide gaming devices, will Apple Arcade continue?

The answer is a resounding "yes". Speaking in an interview with Polygon, Apple's head of App Store Worldwide, Carson Oliver, was keen to stress that Apple Arcade is going nowhere: "We want to give developers a trusted place to reach users around the world, support them at each stage, and help them build successful businesses," he said.

"To achieve that goal, we provide developers with flexible business model options. That means a breakthrough phenomenon like Balatro can thrive as a premium download, and it can also find a home as part of the Apple Arcade service.

"The important thing is that we give developers the flexibility to make the best choice for every game and players the freedom to play how they want."

An Apple Arcade subscription costs £6.99 / $6.99 per month for access to hundreds of mobile games. They work across iPhone, iPad, Mac and, in many cases, Apple TV 4K. And they have no hidden fees or advertising.

Some of them are big name releases you'd find on console and PC too – including Sid Meier's Civilization 7, Dredge, Stardew Valley, and Cult of the Lamb.

And with the likes of Vampire Crawlers, Absolum, and Sifu arriving on the App Store soon as premium titles, it shows that Apple's only getting started in gaming. There is plenty yet to come.

It feels like almost yesterday that I was playing Sports Resort on the Nintendo Wii. It wasn't, of course, as the second game in Nintendo's series was released some 17 years ago – in the summer of '09.

The original that started it all, Wii Sports, which came bundled with that console, was released three years prior. It's fitting, therefore, that on the 20th anniversary, Nintendo has revisited its sporting classic for a Switch 2 release, which I've been playing over the last week – hitting peak Nintendo nostalgia.

However, Switch Sports Resort isn't a mere graphical repolish of the old Wii games, it's a fully new experience that just happens to leverage some of the greatest sports in the original. It also taps into the Switch 2's Joy-Con 2 controllers, taking advantage of all their control mechanisms for the better for its new additions.

How much does Sports Resort cost?

Switch Sports Resort releases Thursday 22 October 2026 around the world. It's not bundled with the Switch 2 console, of course, as you'll have to fork out your cash to buy the game.

Nintendo is positioning the title as a premier release, meaning it's close to a AAA game's price, at £41.99 / $/€49.99for the digital download versions.

You can buy a boxed copy, too, which is meant to cost more – but Amazon is holding the same price as the download for the pre-order, plus you can split the payment over 5 months to spread the cost.

How many sports are included?

• Archery
• Basketball, Boxing, Bowling
• Golf
• Power Cruising, Prop Plane
• Skateboarding
• Table Tennis, Tennis, Thumb Wrestling
• Volleyball

If, like me, you were all about Bowling, then you'll be pleased to see it's returned for the Switch 2 edition of Sports Resort. There are plenty of other familiar games, too, which I've listed above in alphabetical order.

Some are totally new, though, with Skateboarding (which uses the Joy-Con's mouse-like controls), Thumb Wrestling, and the honorary thirteenth sport, Jump Rope – which is a warm-up, rather than fully blown sport.

Some of the lesser regarded sports of the original Wii Sports Resort have been left in the history books, as there's no Canoeing, Cycling, Frisbee, Swordplay or Wakeboarding. No big losses there, though, with many of the core mechanics of those reflected in the current line-up.

Can I play Switch Sports Resort online?

I've been playing Switch Sports Resort in local versus mode, which can cater for up to four players using individual Joy-Cons, or passing one (or sometimes a pair, depending on the game) around turn by turn.

Computer opponents, with three difficulty levels, can also be included. You can also play online, with up to 16 real players for certain sports – so long as you have the relevant Nintendo Switch Online subscription for access.

I can see the online play being a massive part of this game, as I'm sure there'll be plenty of pro players who take to one sport. It's also a great way to showcase your abilities, as the solo game – where you battle through every sport – isn't nearly as fun as the versus thrill.

This late October launch seems somewhat peculiar to me, however, with Nintendo's Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake due a couple of weeks later, not to mention the massive launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 incoming in November too.

Switch Sports Resort makes huge sense as a holiday period or slice of Christmas entertainment for the whole family – but, with only 12 sports to entertain, its shelf life is likely to be limited. A big discount would massively add appeal in my view, because there's so much joy to be had here.

Who knew we needed another ROG Xbox Ally X? Well, when Asus spun up a whole heap of limited editions to celebrate ROG's 20th anniversary this year, it clearly decided that the Xbox Ally X was a great candidate for an update.

After all, I was one of many reviewers who felt the debut handheld missed one key thing – an OLED display – and now we've got a revision with that addition. However, it's also packing a new design (featuring retro transparency) and a massive new price tag.

So how does it fare as a value proposition? I've been gaming on it for a couple of weeks to see how it holds up, and it's safe to say that, just like the Xbox Ally X before it, this could end up being down to your personal finances as much as your personal tastes.

Price and Availability

There's no two ways around it – the Xbox Ally X20 is a chunky ask when it comes to the price. In the US, it comes in at $1,299, which is a $300 hike over the original Xbox Ally X. In the UK, meanwhile, we're subjected to a price of £1,299 (where $1,299 is actually £980 when exchanged at the time of writing), which is even more heinous.

These figures are steep, and no mistake, but they're likely to be complicated by the issue of stock, too. The Xbox Ally X went in and out of stock fairly regularly at launch, and I wouldn't be surprised if the same is true of the new model now that it can be ordered. So the demand is certainly there, price irrelevant.

Design and Specs

The X20 looks much like the Xbox Ally X at first glance, and indeed feels the exact same in the hand, because its dimensions haven't changed. This isn't a new design in any real way, but rather just a new case for the existing one – but that case is really cool.

It sees the handheld put into a dark grey transparent plastic shell, which lets you see hints of components inside it, especially on its back, where fans are pretty clearly visible. It's a really nice retro touch that does indeed speak to the aesthetics of 20 years ago in tech.

This and some gold buttons, to really sell the anniversary theme, are the main differences in design terms compared to the last version of ROG's Xbox handheld, and that does start the conversation about whether enough has really changed here; that debate is at its spiciest when we turn to the machine's specs, though.

When it comes to internals, there's no change here, either. The same processor powers everything, meaning you get the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip – and it remains a very impressive piece of mobile work.

That said, since this chip debuted, Intel's entire Panther Lake generation of chipsets has arrived, and the top-end versions have staggering GPU performance that has made the Z2 Extreme look less bleeding-edge than it used to.

The most eye-grabbing change in component terms, though, is the new screen. For a start, it's 0.4 inches bigger than the previous version, but the crucial difference is that it's an OLED panel – just like we wanted from the start.

It's got HDR, too, making for a substantial upgrade in most ways, while still running at Full HD (1920x1080) and with a refresh rate of 120Hz. This means that all the smoothness you'd like can be achieved with the right graphical setup in your chosen games, but also ensures that you should get better image quality while getting it.

Still, the fact is that this is the sum total of the changes – you still get 1TB of internal storage on an M.2 solid-state drive, 24GB of RAM, and all the same controls and extra buttons as last time. You also get the exact same software suite, with Windows as its base and a layer of Xbox's software on top for convenience.

In fact, it's really worth reiterating this – to all intents and purposes, this machine will feel identical to the ROG Xbox Ally X, apart from its screen. Thus, despite its name giving a slightly muddled impression, it really is the same as going from a Steam Deck to a Steam Deck OLED.

Performance and Display

So, if the ROG Xbox Ally X20 is just a new shell and a new screen, how does that translate in terms of performance? Well, the answer is pretty simple – it performs near-identically to the Xbox Ally X, as you'd expect given that same chipset powering everything.

There might be tiny differences in battery life because of the newer, bigger display, and while there are miniature changes in benchmarking across technical tools, in actual gameplay we're talking the exact same frame rates as you'd have gotten a year ago on the Ally X.

That's not a huge issue, of course, because the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme remains a really impressive portable chip. You'll be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on its Steam Deck preset at around 50fps, for example, and running more recent games like Pragmata, you can get a pretty reliable 40fps, too, if you tune it right.

Capcom's newer games are great for their scalability, but the obvious caveat is that some newer titles will stretch the handheld past its limits, and it's a simple reality that you shouldn't necessarily buy this device in the expectation of playing newer titles for years to come – that's just not what it's best at.

Where it does excel is with a back catalogue, whether it's through Xbox Game Pass or Steam, and less graphically demanding titles like Hollow Knight: Silksong or Disco Elysium are pretty stellar to play through.

That also brings me to the software question, which is significant. Once you've set up the Xbox Ally X20, you'll be greeted by a sort of software shell, Xbox Mode. This launched a while back with the original Xbox Ally, but it's been upgraded in a few ways over time, and is now smoother than ever.

There's seemingly a big new version coming out imminently, but I didn't get the chance to try that for this review. Instead, I used the public version out now, and found it reliable enough, even if I did end up using it to just boot Steam quite often.

The fact is that Xbox Mode runs games with better performance than just doing so straight through Windows, so it's a welcome addition that also makes navigating through menus with your controls a good deal easier.

Putting performance aside, though, the display upgrade that really feels like the only reason the Xbox Ally X20 exists is a huge success in gaming terms. The change to OLED is indeed felt immediately, with inkier blacks and beautiful, vivid colours – and with no trade-off in refresh rate, there's really no downside here.

It's the upgrade I wanted the moment I tested the original Xbox Ally X, albeit at a price that I can't pretend to love.

In terms of battery life, meanwhile, I got about three hours from Cyberpunk 2077, but closer to five when running Silksong, which makes it a solid enough performer.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 review: Verdict

This was always going to be the way – the never-ending crunch of the memory price crisis means that the ROG Xbox Ally X20 feels a little compromised by its wild price. That's a shame, because adding an OLED panel basically fixes the one flaw with the Xbox Ally X, and it is therefore really quite lovely to game on.

However, in a world where Intel's Panther Lake chips are now in real handhelds that outperform this one, meaning it's no longer an apex predator, it does look increasingly like a niche option. If you're a big fan of Xbox Mode and want its best implementation yet, this is your best bet, but I think most people might end up bouncing off that price.

Also Consider

If you're shopping at the top end of the gaming handheld market, why not get the newest and shiniest option available? In this case, that's the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ – a genuine beast that features the latest in Intel chipsets and is therefore just about the best performer you'll find. That said, it's ferociously expensive.

The more sensible option is to accept that portable gaming might not be for uber-fidelity, and instead save loads of cash by going for something older like the Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS), which remains my favourite PC gaming handheld. It runs SteamOS natively and is a little beauty to play on, but doesn't come close to the ROG Xbox Ally X20 in terms of performance.

It's been just past a year since Battlefield 6 came out – something that you might have noticed thanks to a big promotional push around its new "Game of the Year" edition. That's a label you're allowed to use even if your own mum's the only one who gave it to you, but in this case there's a pretty decent shout about its success.

After all, the franchise had languished far behind Call of Duty for years, through some real low points (the monetisation in Battlefield V being possibly the nadir), only to leapfrog it brutally in 2025. It was the best-selling shooter of that year, and might have a chance at keeping that label this year even with Modern Warfare 4 arriving in a matter of days.

Sales don't make a game good, of course, and if anything, sometimes mean it has to come from behind in terms of my expectations. Yet, without any artifice, I can say that I play Battlefield 6 almost every day on my PS5 Pro, with a group of friends for whom it's completely supplanted COD at present.

We all fell back into that latter franchise in a huge way when Warzone released, but in the last few years the crazy in-game movement it required alienated us, so when Battlefield returned to a more grounded system it was music to our ears. Now, a year on, its fifth season is proving just as much of a hit, and its new maps (set in Las Vegas and Area 51) have already hosted a good half-dozen hours of team play.

I've particularly enjoyed the new Area 51 map, which is expansive and full of varied terrain – and unlike some of the arrivals in previous seasons (like Blackwell Fields), it doesn't feel like one big plane of similar situations to fight in. It has verticality, sprawl, and a whole heap of routes between points.

Crucially, though, the game is also finally at a point where it sounds as good as I remember it being during the pre-launch beta, when footsteps were incredibly clear and could help you win fights multiple times per round. After quite a few months of muddy audio, Dice has tweaked things to the point where wearing a headset once again feels completely essential.

While my friends all play on launch PS5 consoles, I'm also enjoying the game on my PS5 Pro, and it's one of those titles that makes me feel good about the admittedly sizeable investment it represents. It's sharper and a little more fluid than it would otherwise be, not least thanks to its use of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) to sharpen its base image.

With PSSR actually getting upgrades over time from Sony, this means that BF6 is, if anything, also feeling better than it used to, and it's nice to be able to rely on a game for this long. I have reservations about some of the cosmetics in the game, to be fair, and the "Secuty" typo on a skin this season is particularly embarrassing.

I'm more fussed about the basic fun factor than I am about skins, though, and BF6 continues to nail that side of things. For a game to be drawing me in on basically any free evening an entire year on from release is really impressive enough on its own, frankly.

While some originally suggested that the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix could release in 2027, it's looking like both could be delayed further. And their prices could be astronomical when they do arrive.

The ongoing components crisis (AKA RAMageddon) has put a kybosh on the next-generation of console gaming, with one industry insider claiming that Sony is struggling to get its PS6 costs down to an affordable level.

That's because the price of memory and storage has skyrocketed over the last two years with the demand from AI data centres making both rare. And according to KeplerL2 (via VGC) that will leave Sony facing a $680 (£510) bill just for the RAM and NAND storage for each PS6.

Responding to a post on NeoGaf that suggested the PS6 will cost $680, he pointed out that the memory and storage would be more than that on their own. You then have to factor in the AMD chipset, GPU, heatsink, fan, power unit, and everything else besides. Not even including a packaged controller, that would put the manufacturing cost alone at just shy of $1,000 (£750).

Even if Sony is willing to sell its next-gen machine at a loss, it can't take too much of a hit per unit.

KeplerL2 is a much-respected AMD expert, so he knows a thing or two about component prices and the potential hardware being considered.

A PS5 costs £569 / $599 today – much more than its launch price – while the PS5 Pro has a retail price of £789 / $899. It would not be a massive leap to suggest the PS6 will be considerably more expensive if the component crisis continues.

What's perhaps more likely is that Sony will wait until the wholesale prices of RAM and NAND reduce. LG recently told T3 that could happen by the end of 2027 or early 2028, which would allow production on a new console to start at a lower cost in spring 2028.

So the holiday season 2028 would be a better bet for the arrival of both the PS6 and Project Helix. And a lot kinder on your pocket, we hope.

I have a confession to make – despite counting myself as a big Resident Evil fan, I'm quite far from having played every game in the series. In fact, although I played a few of the Xbox 360-era games back in the day, the big renaissance for me was Village, which arrived back in 2021. I hopped aboard the Resi train and absolutely loved the mixture of action and horror that it offered up in modern times.

That means that I'd already missed the series' first big modern remake – Resident Evil 2 from 2019. I never played the original, and despite having the newer version on a couple of platforms, I never quite found the moment to dip into it and start Leon Kennedy's story off from the beginning.

Now, though, Switch 2 versions of the Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 remakes have arrived, with Capcom dropping all three at once to give fans of the series a veritable smorgasbord of choice if they want to revisit some of its finest moments. As it turns out, that's just the prompt I needed – I've finally made time to play the oldest of those three games on my Switch 2, with portability being the key factor.

It's been a pretty brilliant time, too, getting to see how the series really evolved into its modern-day run-and-gun genre. Leon and Claire's time in Raccoon City is tense from the get-go, not least because they're getting stalked by Mr X from a relatively early stage, and that dynamic really is just as electric on your Switch 2 as it's been on various other platforms over the years.

Crucially, Capcom has once again done a very solid job with its porting work, scaling down these RE Engine games to still look crisp and modern on the handheld platform, but noticeably blurrier than most other platforms you could care to name. That means there's an argument to be made that this is one of the less impressive ways you could play them, but I'd counter that by pointing out that plenty of people will only have a single console, and that makes these ports extremely welcome.

It's worth pointing out that the games all aim for 60fps, which is really quite remarkable when you consider some of the ambitious scenes they display. That said, while they often hit that mark, all three of these remakes can dip into the mid-50s when things get more hectic.

It's also well worth underlining that this means you can play Resident Evil 2 all the way through to Resident Evil 8 on this one platform. Given it's only been a little over a year since the Switch 2 first went on sale, that's remarkably impressive work from Capcom, which really hasn't hung around at all on this front.

So, if you, too, have been thinking about playing Resident Evil 2 (or 3 or 4) in its remade form, then now looks like the perfect time if you have a Switch 2. If you're anything like me, you'll find they're brilliant little portable scare-factories.

Xbox has announced the last batch of games available as part of its FreePlayDays weekly promotion, and one of them is a hidden gem from 2025 that you don't even need Xbox Game Pass to play.

There are six games available to get stuck into at no extra cost this weekend, including the recently released NBA 2K27, but it's The Alters that stands out the most for me. Not least because it's a game that scored 86 on Metacritic last year yet not many have heard of it.

Indeed, it's not even available for PS5 yet – that version is coming in November – so Xbox Series X and Series S owners can get a heads up on their rivals... for free.

The Alters is a sci-fi survival adventure with a twist – you're stranded alone on a hostile alien planet, but you do have the capability to create clones of yourself, with different skills sets and personalities.

It's a clever concept that's helped through great voice acting, dialogue and an involving, expanding story. The game looks great too.

You can play it for free for up to three hours throughout the coming weekend – until the end of play on Sunday 18 October. And if you fancy continuing, you can either take out an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Premium subscription or pay just $15.74 / £13.38 for it, which is less than half the usual price.

More Xbox FreePlayDays games

If you do have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or even Essential subscription already, you can also play five other games for free this weekend.

Also available until the end of 18 October are the aforementioned NBA 2K27 – 2K Games' latest basketball title – plus Crusader Kings III, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop, Soccer Story, and Ravenswatch.

There are deals available for them too, so you can continue to play for less after the weekend's promotion runs out. They start at just $2.99 / £2.51.

The original Nintendo Switch instantly cemented itself as the home of indie gaming. Its hybrid form factor and pick-up-and-play immediacy made it the perfect host for the inventiveness and originality that many indies pride themselves on.

And given that Nintendo wisely decided not to mess with a winning formula, the Switch 2 has unsurprisingly picked up the baton. So, while it only turned one at the start of the summer, the new and improved console has already amassed a killer library of indie games. Here are three you need to play before the year is out.

Denshattack!

Just when you were starting to worry that the well of video game ideas must surely be close to running dry, someone comes up with this: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but you’re a train.

Comfortably the most vibrant and relentlessly exciting indie game I’ve played this year, Denshattack! is a (mostly literally) on-rails 3D platformer... of sorts. You play as a ramen delivery driver in a colourful post-apocalyptic Japan.

While Emi’s job is to make food deliveries, she quickly becomes far more interested in competing against other drivers in an underground sport where they perform familiar skateboarding tricks with their trains.

It’s truly as bonkers as it sounds, combining twisty-turny, Sonic-esque 3D level design with Tony Hawk’s combos and street culture trappings that are decidedly Jet Set Radio in vibe.

Despite how breathlessly fast and frantic it is, Denshattack! is a joy to play, even if the game throws so many new mechanics at you throughout its runtime that you won’t feel like you’ve mastered any level until you’ve replayed them all several times. But that’s kind of the point.

The one-more-level nature of the game makes it a perfect fit for a handheld device, and it runs near perfectly on Switch 2 to boot.

Wax Heads

Wax Heads is essentially High Fidelity’s romanticisation of the independent record store in video game form, letting you play tastemaker for an eccentric collection of customers who walk through the door.

Described by its developer as a cosy-punk narrative life simulation, the game drops you onto the staff at Repeater Records, a store struggling to keep the lights on but determined not to abandon its quirky music-loving clientele.

Wax Heads is ostensibly a puzzle game, but here the brain-teasers are trying to work out which record a customer is looking for based on their slightly confused descriptions.

The game has crafted its own fictional musical universe, complete with an original soundtrack, so as you rifle through the genre- and era-spanning assortment of albums that line the store shelves, you’ll also learn about the artists who made them.

I was amazed at how invested I quickly became in the career of the enigmatic popstar Mimi, and the wild rumours about the chaotic metal outfit Jarhead. Wax Heads’ comic book-style visuals are the perfect fit for its wacky cast of characters, and the Switch 2 version’s intuitive touch controls mean you could hand the game to just about anyone who enjoys good music and guarantee them a good time.

Sektori

However ambitious and technically astounding video games continue to get, you just can’t beat the raw gameplay purity of a twin-stick shooter – a genre that has been around since the early ‘80s.

Sektori came out quite a bit later than that, specifically in 2025, with the Switch 2 version arriving earlier this year, but it’s a shmup that can go toe-to-toe with any of the classics.

Like all the best twin-stick shooters, the basics are easy to pick up. You control your little ship on a top-down battlefield with the left stick, and shoot gradually increasing waves of enemies with the right. You also have an invincible dash strike move in your arsenal on a cooldown (though there are ways to instantly reset it) which is key to racking up your score.

It sounds simple enough, but Sektori adds extra layers of complexity with dynamically shifting arena boundaries that make positioning as important as your aim, as well as an ingenious deck-building element that lets you further upgrade your ship’s various attributes throughout the course of a run.

The game is a spectacular audiovisual feast, hypnotising you with its trippy patterns and thumping techno score. It’s overwhelming in the best way, and once you’ve worked out what it wants from you you’ll have a very hard time putting it down.

Well, Rockstar sure knows how to do it – whether it was giving a week's notice so that people could get excited about its exclusive Netflix streaming deal for Grand Theft Auto 6's proper gameplay reveal, or dropping a trailer with absolutely no notice, like its latest one.

The launch trailer for GTA 6 is quite a doozy, featuring some moments we've not seen before, and giving a clearer sense of how the story will actually start, with Jason finding a veteran's life hard and Lucia very much locked up. What it also featured, though, was a new song from French electronic music maestros Justice – and it's an important one.

For the first time, we now have proper confirmation that Justice aren't just providing music for the game's radio stations, as they have in previous titles. Rather, they've actually written the game's entire score, meaning their musical signature will be shaping the story from start to finish.

If, like me, you're a big fan of the duo (and I'm more than a big fan), then it's great news, and it actually explains quite a lot of their timeline over the last two years. Justice had a lengthy tour ending in 2025, mashing up their latest album Hyperdrama, but unlike every previous album, they haven't yet released a live version of the tour mix. Speculation about why has been rife in their community, and now we have an answer.

In fact, sleuthing fans on Reddit have been speculating about Justice being involved with GTA 6 for a while, not least because the last few trailers have all featured music that is at least a little reminiscent of their dirty bass and techno-fused work. Getting it confirmed is causing a bit of a sensation in the fanbase.

As someone who's seen Justice live half a dozen times, and loved it each and every single time, I can't really say how exciting this is. Quite frankly, I wasn't all that wildly hyped for the game until now – while it looks jaw-dropping from a visual perspective, I want to be told how it'll move the open-world genre forward, rather than just suspecting it'll be more of the same as GTA 5.

With this announcement, though, I'm going from a middling sort of feeling to checking out on a digital pre-order, even if I'm gritting my teeth a little at the prospect. I'll obviously be able to listen to the music at launch either way, but hearing it in context during missions will be a real pleasure.

If you want to sign up to learn more about the score as and when news comes out, head to Justice's official site and you can do just that. I'd say there's a safe bet to be had that we get some sort of limited edition vinyl release, for one, but I'll also be crossing my fingers that there's a proper album that gets a correspondingly proper tour down the line.

It's no secret that 2026 has been a bit of a disasterclass for Xbox, with new leadership clearly feeling the time is right for a brutal clearout of employees and studios. In light of those decisions, it's quite a spicy time for Gears of War: E-Day to finally come out – a game that The Coalition made instead of finishing its new trilogy (Gears 4 and 5), itself quite a big change in plans.

Rather than finding out what'll happen to Kait and her team in the future timeline, we're instead rewinding right to the start and returning to the objectively massive boots of Marcus Fenix. E-Day, as the name suggests, shows off what the actual invasion of the Locust Horde looked like to live through, and it's unsurprisingly gritty as a result.

In gameplay terms, things are also pretty old-school. While there are sequences that let you explore a little, they're far from the vehicle-driven open zones of Gears 5, and the running and gunning also feel impressively Xbox 360-coded (although they're actually a lot quicker than they used to be).

What's taken me aback, though, is how unbelievably good the game looks, playing on PC. I have a loan PC from Nvidia, kitted out with an GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, and it's pretty amazing to see E-Day push it to its limits, or at least exploring those limits. Playing at 1440p (my preferred avenue, for performance reasons), I've been able to play the game on its Ultra preset, with a few extra settings like hair strands toggled on, all at a pretty steady 60fps.

That performance has been rock solid while the game pushes out frankly gorgeous lighting and reflections – with the pre-release work between developers The Coalition and Nvidia to get this all working so smoothly seeming obvious. The fact that game-ready drivers for Nvidia cards were there on release day is all you really need to know on that front.

The game's opening sequences are played out largely in night-time scenes and dimly-lit interiors, giving it the perfect opportunity to show off ray-tracing's more subtle side. It's not all about shiny cars reflecting the world perfectly; the interactions of different light sources on a scene are just as important, and can often be more impactful.

Nvidia's crowing about the new feature that E-Day debuts on this front: the catchily titled RTX Mega Geometry. This basically marks a big step forward in how geometry in a level interacts with lighting – and it means that objects in a scene have a noticeable step up in lighting detail and shadowing.

You might not think it makes a huge difference, and in some ways you'll be fine to play without it, but if your card's capable of it, this is the sort of less shouty step that makes a real difference to a game's sense of reality, moreso than something like DLSS 5.

Of course, much of the fun of benchmarking a game when you have a 50-series card to play with is in figuring out where the ceiling is with frame generation enabled. With so many levels of the tech now available to use, it's about finding the right balance for you.

I've been playing with frame-gen largely turned off, but turning it on at all can bring huge rewards in terms of frames – and the first couple of levels really don't introduce enough latency to feel like they have much downside. Crank it up to the maximum, and you'll get hundreds of frames per second, although input lag might start to weigh on you a tiny bit.

Having that headroom to play with at all is pretty great, though, and leaves E-Day feeling like a really polished PC launch. In fact, its visual quality and launch day parity has me feeling (once again) good about selling my Xbox Series X a few years ago. It was a machine I didn't use enough, and getting this sort of massive Xbox release on PC right from the start underlines that I still don't need one.

It's oh so close now! Grand Theft Auto VI is just over a month away from release and Rockstar has just posted the launch trailer. It's likely the last glimpse of the game before we get to play it ourselves, and while it doesn't give much else away there's one great bit of confirmation – Justice have provided the entire score.

Having also scored GTA 5, the electronic duo return with a Miami-based soundtrack. And the new trailer includes one of their new tracks that you'll find on the official album – Flower in a Hurricane, which also features Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

Other than that we get to see scenes from numerous locations, with Jason, Lucia and some of the ancillary characters going about their (illegal) business.

There's not much gameplay on show – it looks mainly to be cinematic clips – but does that really matter? This isn't just the biggest gaming event of the year, it's the biggest entertainment event, full stop.

It could even be argued that it's the biggest entertainment event of the decade.

Impressively, at the end of the trailer it says that all the footage was captured on PS5 – and that's not even the PS5 Pro. Although technically the game will run at 30fps and we're getting cutscenes here, so it should look the same on Xbox Series X too.

And while it's not been confirmed yet, we've also recently heard that PC games should be able to get their hands on it in just a few months as well. It is said to be coming in Q1 2027.

Back to console though and if you haven't pre-ordered it yet, you have until 20 November to ensure you get the Vintage Vice City pack. That's available from either the PlayStation Store or Xbox Store respectively.

I've mentioned it before when testing pro controllers (like the SteelSeries Aeon Pro, just last week), but the PS5 really does have one huge flaw as a console generation on this front. Because of the step forward in haptics taken by the DualSense controller, the market for third-party pads has been hamstrung from the start.

For whatever reason, Sony hasn't been keen to let other brands use its patents and designs on the haptic side of things, and where the PS4 had literally hundreds of options for controllers, the PS5 has been far more barren. Nacon has been one of the few brands making PS5 controllers, though, and it just unveiled its fanciest yet – the Revolution 5 Unlimited.

It's basically an upgraded version of the Revolution 5 Pro, and I've been using it for over a week to get a sense of how it performs. The good news is that it ticks basically every box that I want in a pro controller, with one small caveat, and I'd love if it had more competition from other brands.

A simple prospect

In some ways, I think it's quite simple to make a pro controller – just don't try too hard. The best ones I've used haven't tried to reinvent the wheel or change how you use a controller; they're just extremely premium-feeling versions of what you already know. That's how I'd describe the Revolution 5 Unlimited, which is lovely and solid in the hand.

One of its immediate changes is that it's almost entirely covered in matte-finish plastic, making it grippier when you hold it. That's accentuated by actual rubberised pads in some places, too.

All over the controller, meanwhile, buttons are clickier and more responsive than on the basic DualSense, which is really noticeable. The triggers can also be turned into clickers at will, thanks to a trigger stop toggle, and that's a huge boon for shooters.

Needless to say, the Revolution 5 Unlimited boasts a heap of extra programmable buttons, too. There are two on each side where your fingers sit in a natural grip, while extra shoulder buttons are a little harder to reach but welcome additions.

The analogue sticks are TMR for drift-resistance and responsiveness, and a built-in screen makes it really easy to program buttons, change between profiles and presets and more. If you fancy a different method, a connected app on your phone works just as well.

This all adds up to a wide range of customisation options, but there are even more in the box. It comes with a hardshell carrying case, and inside you'll find extra analogue stick heads (to change from concave to convex, for instance), along with a series of weights.

These slot into hidden compartments to let you choose exactly how heavy your controller is in the hand. That's a degree of choice that few rivals offer even on PC, and it's a really classy touch that Nacon has been fond of for quite some time.

Finally, the whole thing comes with some convenience – a charging dock that can let you slot the controller's dongle in to save on USB ports. It's a neat little addition that makes the controller more of a fixture on your desk.

The elephant in the room

It's worth clarifying at this stage that the Revolution 5 Unlimited costs $229.99 in the US, £179.99 here in the UK and €199.99 in the EU, since that price is basically the biggest single factor in whether you might buy one.

That makes it roughly the cost of three or four standard DualSense controllers, and a small slice cheaper than the DualSense Edge, but in the same premium bracket. The question of which is better is complicated; the Edge has tighter integration with your PS5 and feels slicker in software terms as a result, but when it comes to sheer customisation, Nacon clearly wins.

There's another key difference, too, since Nacon's pad has an asymmetric layout for its sticks. That's a departure from the normal PlayStation layout, and might make it more attractive for those used to Xbox gamepads historically, or it might be something you'd rather avoid.

Another small downside is that where a normal DualSense has a large touchpad, the Revolution 5 Unlimited has a tiny customisable button underneath the larger PS button. It's fiddly to tap, making accessing the map in plenty of games a bit of an annoyance (although customising another extra button to cover the same job solves this).

I've been hugely enjoying my time with the gamepad, though, and expect to keep using it as my standard controller on PS5 for quite some time. I don't have a DualSense Edge, and since my launch-day Scuf Reflex Pro got stick drift about six months ago, I've been playing without extra buttons; Nacon's loan unit has fixed that problem for me, and I'm not sure I can go back again.

So, if you're in the market for a PS5 controller with a whole heap of added features, it's one to check out. If you want a PC and Xbox controller, meanwhile, SteelSeries has you covered with the Aeon Pro.

I'm a big fan of 2K Games' Mafia titles, so much so that I've recently started a new playthrough of Mafia III (my third). That's why I consider Mafia: The Old Country as one of my favourite releases of last year.

While it largely ditches the open-world aspects of the previous games, the prequel proves to be a solid action-adventure, which sets the stall for the series. It's also recently been served by a very decent slice of additional story in The Man of Honor, an expanded DLC package. And so, the original game's inclusion as part of the PS Plus game catalogue this month is very welcome.

Mafia: The Old Country also runs especially well on PS5 Pro, with a 40fps mode for TVs and displays that support 120Hz refresh rates. We even listed it as one of the three games you must play while waiting for GTA 6 to come out – so now's your chance.

It'll be available at no extra cost to all PS Plus Extra and Premium members from 20 October, so you don't have long to wait.

Also returning to PS Plus is Horizon Forbidden West, one of the best RPG / action-adventure games on PS5 full stop. That too will be available from 20 October. As will Mycopunk, a brand new looter-shooter with cartoon-style graphics and co-op action.

PS Plus doesn't get that many day one releases in comparison with Xbox Game Pass, so this is a rare addition.

Those in the UK, US and Japan will have to wait a week longer for the next batch of new, free games. They include Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2, Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn Edition, and Monster Energy Supercross 25.

But if you can't wait that long you can also check your PS5 or PS5 Pro now, Premium and Extra members can download The Midnight Walk from the PS Plus catalogue already.

Finally, if you do have a Premium subscription, you'll also be getting Dino Crisis 2 and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition as part of the classics catalogue next Tuesday, too.

How much is PS Plus Extra and Premium?

The game catalogue is exclusive to PS Plus Extra and Premium members (Deluxe in some regions, like Australia). That means you'll need to upgrade your subscription if you just pay for Essential.

PS Plus Extra will set you back £11.99 / €15.99 / $16.99 / AU$24.95 per month, which gives you all the games on the main catalogue, online multiplayer access, and the additional three to four games offered at no extra cost at the start of each month.

PS Plus Premium also gives you the above plus access to the classics catalogue of retro games, many of which have been remastered. And you can play games over the cloud rather than install them. You'll need this subscription to also stream games to a PlayStation Portal. Membership costs £14.99 / €18.99 / $19.99 per month.

PS Plus Deluxe replaces Premium in some regions. It costs AU$26.95 per month in Australia, for example, and comes with everything except the cloud gaming.

I can't quite believe it's been two and a half years since Dragon's Dogma 2 released – and playing the game's early hours again on my Switch 2 while travelling over the past weekend has been a reminder of just how impressive the game really is. Capcom's crunchy action-RPG is the sort of title that can grab hold of you and suck away dozens of hours before you realise what's happening, and that's high praise.

Now, it's got the major DLC it deserved, in the form of Dark Arisen, which also makes big tweaks to the base game and sees the whole package hit the Switch 2 with total parity of content. That's another little trophy in Capcom's cabinet, continuing a frankly ridiculous streak that runs through Pragmata, Resident Evil: Requiem and plenty more.

First, let's talk Nintendo. I'm not saying that Dragon's Dogma 2 on the Switch 2 is the same sort of miracle port as The Witcher 3 was on the original Switch, but it's still really quite remarkable to play on a portable machine this slim and quiet. This is a huge RPG with a massive world and some really emergent combat systems.

That it runs at all is a testament to Capcom's RE Engine and how it scales, but Dark Arisen also brings frame generation to the fore, which is important. We knew that Nintendo's console had the capacity to potentially use AMD's FSR Frame Generation, and now it's here (and more will follow in Stellar Blade soon).

This means that the game, running uncapped by default unless you tweak this in the menus, is able to inject frames to smooth out its gameplay – and the VRR-capable Switch 2 display makes this basically impossible to perceive. It means that the game's frame rate, which in fact hovers in the high 30s most of the time, feels far smoother than all that, and I'm deeply impressed with how playable that makes the whole adventure.

I've played about three hours on my Switch 2 and found myself basically bumping against no real friction in terms of gameplay compared to when I finished the base game (back at release) on my PlayStation 5. Now, though, I have a PS5 Pro to leverage for non-portable play, and that's where I've been playing the late-game expansion content.

This expansion sees you journey into a new region far to the north of the world you'll explore in the main game – which largely trends towards hotter climates, in fact. This means that, despite some parts of its visual design being fairly traditional (we've seen snow zones before), it's a really nice change of pace when you come to it, and its bleak, wintery areas really are lovely to explore.

The pace of the adventure here is really well-judged, too, and while I haven't finished it yet, I have a strong feeling that it'll follow the same trend as the base game – i.e. you could call it "finished" after 15 or so hours, but there will be dozens more in content for you to discover if you fall in love with the game.

One gameplay tweak that I didn't expect to find so addictive has been the addition of spoils, which are basically loot tokens that you find around the world, and which a given NPC can then convert into actual equipment for you to use or sell off. This loop of discovery, looting, then unveiling is surprisingly compelling, not least because the powers that these items can bequeath are occasionally build-changing.

Meanwhile, I've also used Dark Arisen as an excuse to change my main character's build, having played the base game as a mage. I'm now a fighter, and having a really good time getting more up close and personal, including a heap more climbing on and around monsters, the game's speciality.

On PS5 Pro, it's a really good-looking title – there's a cragginess and detail to its designs that draw you in nicely, and while some NPCs can look a little lumpy and randomised at times, hero characters are super compelling and animated. Plus, of course, while the Switch 2's VRR-enabled frame generation makes for decent smoothness, it's nothing compared to what the PS5 Pro can muster when you put it to the test.

This really does feel like one of those win-win releases. If you've never played Dragon's Dogma 2, there's literally no better time than now to dive in with a smoother, less obstructive experience. If you enjoyed the base game, this expansion is quite literally more, with some amazing boss fights and new systems to uncover. Get going!

Xbox is full of surprises these days and while we've been expecting an announcement of a new Elite controller, it's actually another official gamepad that's broken cover first.

The Xbox Nano Controller is a compact pad that the company claims would suit a younger player or gamer with "smaller hands". However, I can see an immediate use for it – as an ideal companion to a TV or streaming device with Xbox Cloud Gaming support.

Priced at £44.99 / $49.99 and available to pre-order now, it comes with Bluetooth as well as the usual Xbox wireless connectivity. That means you can easily pair it with an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, Samsung smart TV, or another device that supports Xbox's cloud service.

It features a similar button layout and thumbsticks to the usual Xbox Wireless Controller, but the body is truncated for a more pocketable form factor. That also makes it ideal for taking to a friend's home to play multiplayer games on their console.

All of the rest of the functionality is the same, so you don't need to learn anything new. Just hook it up and away you do.

One genuine upgrade over the standard controller is that it has a rechargeable battery, which charges through USB-C. You don't have to hunt for AAA batteries everytime it runs out.

The Xbox Nano Controller is available to pre-order in a large selection of countries, including mainland Europe, the UK, US and Canada. It'll ship from the beginning of November.

It looks like white is the only colour option at the moment, and there will be partnerships with Samsung and Meta for new owners of their respective devices to get the new controller and two-months of Xbox Game Pass for free.

The sale of retro gaming handhelds in the US could be impacted by a filing sent to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. This could result in bans, restrictions and the removal of included games.

Each year, the USTR takes nominations for companies and entities to be added to the US government's "notorious markets" list. This includes sites renowned for piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

While the list doesn't effectively ban products or trading as such, it can be used as evidence to block URLs at an ISP level, or barriers to the import or sale of items from listed firms.

This year's list could include Anbernic and other sites that sell retro gaming handhelds, after it they were nominated for inclusion by the Electronic Software Association (ESA).

According to TorrentFreak. the ESA has highlighted handhelds that come preloaded with thousands of unlicensed games (or bundled microSD cards). It's not the hardware that's an issue per se, even though they contain emulators that enable the play of pirated content, but the act of including the games.

Anbernic makes a wide array of retro gaming handhelds in all shapes and sizes, many of which are great for emulation. However, it also offers bundles including microSD cards containing many gigabytes of games.

If accepted onto the list it opens a large can of worms for the retro gaming market. You only need to scan through the handhelds on Amazon, either in the US or UK, to see how many offer 20,000+ preloaded games. The legality of them is highly dubious.

And while the notorious markets list is a US endeavour, there's every likelihood other regions will consider their own stance on the matter.

Personally, I have my own truncated rom selection that I use with my handhelds, favouring to buy the hardware without included games. However, the appeal of a Game Boy style device with almost every game from the 8-bit, 16-bit and up to original PlayStation eras has proved extremely attractive over the years.

In addition, Anbernic has already withdrawn from shipping directly to the US, in response to Trump's import tariffs, so we might not see much change there.

Still, with the ongoing RAM and components crisis that's grossly inflating prices, it seems that the retro gaming community is facing yet another threat right now.

Maybe it's time to buy an Evercade Nexus (which is out later this month) and play the fully licensed cartridges in the range. It'll make life much more simple.

Eyebrows were raised when Rockstar revealed Grand Theft Auto VI will release first on PS5 / PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X/S, but it's actually par for the course. The studio has traditionally targeted an initial console release for its games.

But what could be different this time is that the PC version could follow soon after. It is reported that GTA 6 could arrive on PC early next year – just a few months after the console debut.

According to GamesBeat, the PC port will arrive in Q1 2027 – so anytime up to the end of March. That will be unusual for Rockstar as it tends to follow up console releases a year after or even later.

Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived on PC almost 13 months after its bow on PS4 and Xbox One. Grand Theft Auto V took more than a year-and-a-half. And the original Red Dead Redemption took a mere 14 years to get a PC port.

It's different this time, however – GamesBeat suggests that the studio will want to recoup its estimated $2 billion (£1.5 billion) budget as quickly as possible, and the PC games market is as big as it's ever been – especially considering the rapid rise of handhelds.

The only thing that will be missing on console and PC at launch will be an online service. GTA Online has proved a huge money spinner for Rockstar and Take Two since its introduction with GTA 5 in 2013. Both will expect the same with an upgraded version based on GTA 6.

It is planned for "next year" but no specific timeframe has been put on the multiplayer offshoot. As well as needing extended development, maybe the companies are reticent to turn off the servers for the existing game – after all, it continues to be a cash cow.

When it comes to retro gaming handhelds you don't get much more premium than AYN. The manufacturer has regularly risen to the top with its successive Android devices, proving that there's a healthy market for power and portability.

Its dual-screen AYN Thor is arguably the best gaming handheld you can buy today, with two OLED screens and more than enough grunt to play Switch and PC games, let along Nintendo DS and 3DS. And as the proud owner of an AYN Odin 2 Portal myself, I can safely say that there's not been many to better it.

Not until now, that is.

AYN has announced on its Discord that a new model is coming – the AYN Odin 3 Portal. And considering how popular the current device continues to be, it's bound to be a massive draw for retro gamers who want the best.

In fact, thanks to the likes of Game Native for PC emulation and the new DroidDeck app which runs SteamOS on Android devices, those looking to replace their aging Steam Decks might be interested too.

We don't yet know any of the specifications or features, but the posted marketing image does show a handheld that looks very similar to the existing Portal. I would assume therefore that it will have a 7-inch OLED 16:9 display (likely 1080p).

However, because it's part of the Odin 3 family, surely we'll be getting similar processing inside. The AYN Odin 3 runs on the Qualcomm Dragonwing Q8 chipset, which is the gaming equivalent of the Snapdragon 8 Elite – basically without the mobile network capabilities. I'd imagine the same will be the case on the Portal.

That will definitely make it a powerhouse in Android gaming terms. AYN itself highlights its "flagship power".

Add to that the SteamOS compatibility through third-party apps and we could have one of the best all-rounders heading our way.

The price could also be a winner. The Odin 3 tops out at $529 / around £399 for the 16GB / 1TB model (the 2TB version was cancelled), so when you consider the Steam Deck OLED starts at $789 / £649 and is arguably lower powered, you could say its days are numbered.

The marketing image for the Odin 3 Portal claims that the device is "coming soon" and lists today's date, so hopefully more information is imminent.

Much has been said about the future of physical media, especially when it comes to games. Sony has announced that it's scrapping discs from 2028, Xbox is assessing whether to follow, and PC gamers are already very much used to digital-only purchases.

Even Rockstar will simply include a download code in the boxed copies of Grand Theft Auto VI.

Thankfully though, one of the big boys has no intentions of ditching physical copies anytime soon. Nintendo executive Bill van Zyll has revealed on a YouTube video (via Eurogamer) that Switch game cards are going nowhere.

Speaking to Coelho no Japão, the general manager for Nintendo in Latin America said that "there are no plans to ditch physical". He also added: "We know how much the fans like it as well, so our position has been to be agnostic."

Of course, Nintendo's boxed copies can also require digital versions to be downloaded, although there are also plenty of games out there for the Switch 2 and older Switch models that are contained on a single card.

It's also hardly likely to ditch the format with the Switch 2 having a game card slot. That's what van Zyll means by agnostic. The company doesn't mind which version of a game you buy, as long as you buy the game.

The future of physical games

Of course, Nintendo isn't the only firm to commit again to physical media. Blaze will soon introduce its Evercade Nexus handheld, which uses the brand's game cartridges – usually packed with retro classics.

The rise in retro gaming handhelds that enable the use of physical games is important too, such as the ModRetro Chromatic, which accepts Game Boy cartridges, and the soon-to-release (in the UK) Hyperkin SupaBoy. This latter device runs original Super Nintendo carts – both PAL and NTSC.

Still, the fact that Nintendo wants to continue to offer options is refreshing. Let's just hope Sony is listening.

I used to test pro controllers all the time – it's part of the territory when you cover as much gaming and tech gear as I do. When the PS5 launched, though, something fundamental changed about the market. Sony's DualSense controller was a big step forward in terms of haptics, but it was also basically a closed shop, and there have been very few third-party controllers that work with PS5 since then as a result.

That's all basically a quick explanation of why the Aeon Pro, a superb new controller from SteelSeries, lacks the one bit of functionality that would see me use it every single day until the end of time. It's a PC and Xbox controller (as the big logo in the middle of it, and the textbook layout, would both suggest), and while I have plenty of use for the former, the latter is increasingly a less popular platform.

It's a limitation that I can't see as SteelSeries' fault, although I'd still feed back that PS5 compatibility should be the major goal of any controller-maker right now, by hook or by crook. Aside from that limitation, though, the Aeon Pro really is hugely impressive.

"Pro" controllers can run the gamut in terms of features, but SteelSeries has made sure to push the boat out in terms of inputs. You don't just get a couple of extra buttons here, but instead get four very clicky ones on the rear of the controller. These are easy to reprogram either by connecting the pad to software or using its built-in screen and menus (I'm amazed by how responsive these are).

The main triggers are both adjustable, letting you choose between full travel or clicky instant-response. That's ideal for letting you stick to one pad for all genres. It's a small thing, but the extreme clickiness of the main face buttons is also striking, and makes it all feel phenomenal to game on.

If SteelSeries is known for one thing in the world of headsets, it's for the idea of swappable batteries, something that it came up with for the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless and has now implemented a few times to great success. Adding this system to the Aeon Pro is one of those no-brainers that's clearly still innovative simply because the competition isn't doing it.

Like a high-end headset, this means that the charging cradle for the Aeon Pro, which also doubles as a connector for the controller's wireless standard, houses a charging battery at all times. When your controller runs low, you can just slide a panel off the back and swap the two batteries to never run out of charge. You'll also see the charge status of both batteries when you pick up the controller, on that built-in screen.

Frankly, with around 11.5 hours of battery life on a charge at the lowest, I can't imagine when I'd need to make this swap urgently, but since the dock only charges the controller when my PC is on, it's still a great reassurance.

That dock is also a system-swap hub, so you can have an Xbox and a PC connected simultaneously to swap between them without any hassle. The only downside to that built-in OLED input is that the menu buttons have moved down to the bottom of the controller – not an issue, per se, but something you'll need to get used to.

If there's one other elephant in the room for the Aeon Pro, it's the price: $260/£230. Those are chunky numbers for a controller, even one that feels as superb in the hand as this. It's also the sort of price that makes you want near-perfection, and while I think the Aeon Pro might be close to that level if you like the Xbox layout and don't need it to work with your PS5 or Switch 2, that won't be true of everyone.

If you're on the hunt for a high-end controller for just PC or Xbox, though, and budget is really no object, then this could adorn your desk very nicely. In that way, it pairs pretty beautifully with the Arctis Nova Elite headset – the price doesn't necessarily make sense, but the hardware is fairly irresistible.

The big online sales periods are superb for elevating your gaming, whether it be with a new retro gaming handheld, PC or accessory for your existing system. In particular, there are often great deals on pro-standard game controllers, which give your console, PC or even mobile play a significant boost.

• Shop all Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offers

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale is no exception, with a selection of highly recommended controllers available with huge discounts. There are variants from multiple trusted brands for different formats, with savings of up to 45% off. Here are a few of our favourites.

Do note, that all of the deals above require Amazon Prime membership. However, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial with no commitment to continue after the month is up.

Also, the Prime Big Deal Days sale finishes tonight at midnight (7 October 2026) so you'll need to be quick to get the best offers.

If you're building a list of the best RPGs ever made, there's no doubt a lot of personal opinion that'll inform your choice for the top spot, but some games just have to be in the upper echelons. No matter your persuasion, most people would agree, for one, that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt belongs in that conversation.

It's one of the finest open-world games of all time, but also one of the most intriguing, expansive and immersive RPGs ever, and it's been attracting accolades for donkey's years now. In 2026, though, CD Projekt Red has seen fit to bring it up to date once more by releasing a remastered version for modern consoles and the PC.

That means a new version of the game running natively on the Nintendo Switch 2, which previously just had the near-miraculous but very blurry original Switch version to turn to. This new port is available as a new purchase, but crucially is also a free upgrade for those who already have the Switch 1 version – so you might already own the newest version without realising it.

This generosity is a great start to the experience of testing out The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, but it doesn't end there. This past weekend I've put in around five hours in the game, refreshing my memory of its brilliant campaign and sizeable expansions, and I'm basically in awe of how it runs on Nintendo's machine.

Before we get to performance, though, it might be worth underscoring that this is a third-person, action-focused RPG with long, winding questlines. Geralt of Rivia, the series' hero, is on the search for his adoptive daughter Ciri, but she's not easy to track down, and he'll also circle around the sorceress Yennefer while he hunts. The story is peak fantasy, the action is relatively simple but very satisfying, and the setting is dark and gritty in a hugely satisfying way.

The fact that this game ever ran on the first Switch was a superb feat, but the performance on offer meant that I never really got into it – playing the game on any other platform felt like a better pick for me. Now, though, I think the portable experience on the Switch 2 is genuinely at the point where the compromises are no longer really there.

The developers have embraced Nintendo's hardware, including that variable refresh-rate screen, to give the game a 40fps mode as default, which means that it feels impressively smooth without the same demands as a 60fps version. There are areas where this performance dips a little into the mid-30s, but I haven't found that distracting, and the benefits to perceived smoothness are huge.

It's also drastically less blurry than the previous port, as you'd hope, and while there are still clear fuzzy edges to things when you're playing in handheld mode (these really clear up when you dock the console), it's extremely legible and clear. This means that I really do think you could play the game's entire saga from start to finish without feeling like you should have done so on other hardware.

If that feels like damning the port with faint praise, think again – I love this game to death, and to be able to play it on the go, on a machine with just a faint whirr of fan noise rather than a cacophony, is quite special. My girlfriend also only really games on the Switch 2, so this means that she's now lined up to play one of the best stories in gaming, something I've been saving for her for ages.

All of this is also doubly reassuring given that the game is getting a new expansion next year – Songs of the Past. The gap between the original game's release and this DLC is staggeringly long, but it promises to set the scene for The Witcher 4, which sounds like a real treat, and it'll come to this Switch 2 version from the start.

This all means that you can get the game on Switch 2 and be confident that even if you manage to hoover up all of its content by the end of the year (which would be quite a feat, given its scale), you'll still have more to enjoy next year, at presumably the same level of performance. That, in turn, means this is a great investment, and the smartest way to buy it is probably to find a used copy of the Switch 1 port, buy that and then score the free upgrade that way. That's a hot tip in case it hadn't occurred to you!

The original CRKD Nitro Deck couldn't have arrived at a better time. The pro controller housing for the Nintendo Switch not only gave the console extra buttons and capabilities, its Hall Effect thumbsticks completely eliminated any Joy-Con drift issues.

Now the brand is back with the Nitro Deck 2 for the Switch 2 and original Switch and it once again adds tech that Nintendo itself seemingly forgot. And what's more, it's got a very healthy 17% off for Prime Big Deal Days – even though it's only just hit the market.

The Nitro Deck 2 has been specifically designed with the Switch 2 in mind, but it can also be used with the original Switch and Switch OLED thanks to an included adapter.

You strap in the display portion of your console, link the controller via Bluetooth or an included USB-C cable (for zero latency) and it effectively replaces your Joy-Cons with TMR equivalents.

These use magnets for faster, more accurate control. They are also impervious to stick drift, so you won't have any troubles down the line. In addition, you get four remappable back buttons, two extra shoulder buttons, and you can adjust the thumbsticks manually to increase or decrease deadzones. There's a turbo mode too, plus adjustable vibration control.

The controller will even work with a Switch, mobile phone or smart TV independently of the main console screen. And there is a kick stand built in to set your device on a table top.

Two of the colour options are available in the Prime Big Deal Days sale – Smoke Black and PAL Grey.

You will need to be an Amazon Prime member to get the deal, but if you're not already you can sign up for a 30-day trial for free.

I can't be the only one who'd never played an Ace Combat game until this week, right? The series just got its eighth iteration, Wings of Theve, and while I've known about it for quite a few years, I've never had the circumstances align to the point where I've actually knuckled down and played one.

Now, with a review code provided by Bandai Namco, that's changed, and I've been slotting down a virtual visor to go on sorties for a few days, notching hours of flight time and realising that even in-game flight can be way more challenging than I thought.

This isn't a game that dresses itself up with multiple different types of gameplay, either – it's all plane, all of the time. While you do get a surprising amount of story content delivered in briefings and cutscenes before and after missions (in which you can move the camera a little, and occasionally press a button to, for instance, shake someone's hand), the gameplay is all flight-based.

You play as a pilot who's on an early mission with an ace, the Wings of Theve, before being shot down, with that ace passing away. Rather than admitting such a damaging blow, though, the PR operation behind your military (aiming to retake its own territory after invasion) decides to pretend that you are the Wings, continuing the legacy of this larger-than-life figure.

That's all a framework around which a long series of missions play out, as your forces make advances and beat retreats according to the overarching military plot. To help, you'll fly a wide range of missions, from escorting landing troops to retake a city, to strafing a giant land battleship as it crawls towards the battlefield, or long dogfights against enemy squadrons above the ocean.

There are an impressive number of different scenarios to experience, and two main control schemes to do so with. The older-school of the two lets you control pitch and roll, and while it's easy enough in isolation, in the middle of battles (if you're anything like me), the ground becomes your biggest enemy. The more casual option leaves you able to do far fewer interesting manoeuvres, but makes it miles harder to crash, and I've ended up using it to avoid frustration.

That's something I know I'll probably have to change if I decide to dive into the world of online play once I finish the campaign, which is daunting. What's also daunting is that I'm playing on PC, where people are a bit more likely to have access to flight sticks and other equipment; I normally play my multiplayer games on PS5 Pro, where my friends also game, but that option isn't the one I went with this time, and part of me regrets that choice for social play's sake.

Graphically, though, it's hard to argue with the PC version of the game. I'm playing on the Nvidia rig that I have on loan, complete with its 5070 Ti, and Wings of Theve is quite the looker at 1440p. It's a super-demanding game, too, with 4K play stretching my system to the point of needing frame generation to level things out.

Instead, I've dropped to 1440p without any real compromises on clarity, and am playing the game on the Ultra preset with no complaints and no hitches. While smoothness is really important (and I'm getting a steady 60fps without issues), it's also interesting that the pace of dogfights means that I don't feel the need to push for results closer to 120fps at this point.

The game's beautiful, though, and around 10 missions into the campaign, it's doing a great job of showcasing its natural weather systems and cloud formations. Whether it's a golden sunset cascading through high clouds or a dark and rainy night with low visibility, there's a really fun vibrancy to how the stages look.

The aircraft themselves, meanwhile, are also ridiculously detailed and impressive, with moving parts that really sing with authenticity, which makes sense since almost all of the planes you can fly in the game are, in fact, real and licensed.

I wasn't sure whether I'd click with Ace Combat 8, especially in a release calendar so ridiculously busy that I have multiple other new games waiting to be started (I'm looking at you, Silent Hill: Townfall). I'm having a blast, though, and have already carefully plotted how I'll be progressing through the campaign's unlockable skill tree – a sure sign of commitment.

Whether you aim to play it on PS5, Xbox or PC, I'd give Wings of Theve a firm recommendation as an entry point to a long series. If, like me, Ace Combat has always flown by as a theory, not something you've actually tried, then I'd tell you to get on my six, and try it out.

Nex Playground has created quite a buzz since its release in 2023 – so much so that many have tried to copy it, but without hitting the same level of quality.

It's a games console entirely focused on motion gaming for the whole family. You place the small cube in front of your TV and its camera can track natural motions to interact with more than 60 games.

Priced at £204.24 as a Prime Big Deal Days offer, it means you save almost £65 on the console itself.

• Shop all Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offers

You get five games included with the package – Fruit Ninja, Starri, Whac-a-Mole, Go Keeper and Party Fowl – all of which are kid-friendly, but can be played by all ages. If you want to expand the library, you can add a PlayPass subscription which then unlocks the entire games catalogue.

A PlayPass usually starts at £45 for three-months access, with a whole year available for £90.

Nex Playground – other details

The Nex Playground console can recognise up to four players at once, for group play and family friendly competition. And with the cube measuring just 3-inches on all sides, it's small enough to tuck out of the way when not in use.

It also has privacy protections built into the device, including kidSAFE+ COPPA compliance. The manufacturer is also a member of the Family Online Safety Institute and promises that no data is shared online. All motion-tracking data and processing is only stored locally on the device. You also get a built-in camera cover.

Depending on how big a fan you are, you might or might not know that today (5 October) is James Bond Day – and in the absence of a new movie, or even a confirmed new live-action Bond actor, it's looking like a big one for 007 First Light.

IO Interactive's game arrived back in May to a rave reception, rightly. I had a downright brilliant time with the game, loving the way it blended stealth and action, and I was also impressed with how it integrated arcadey driving sequences into the mix. Anyone who's finished the game will know that the Aston Martin Valhalla plays a pretty big role in its culmination, with a little more than just driving up its sleeve.

Now, a few months on, IO is making good on its promise to support the game with post-launch releases, in the form of a major new update that adds not just New Game Plus and new TacSim content for Bond to tackle on foot, but also the Valhalla Protocol, a new TacSim mission that's all about that hypercar.

It gives the player free rein to drive the Valhalla with all of its gadgets and weaponry enabled, through four missions that span day and night in the Slovakian mountains – beautiful stuff. That release prompted a chat with IO's Dominic Vega and Rasmus Poulsen (game director for missions and art director, respectively) last week, and I got to pepper them with questions about how exactly they got the car in their game.

After all, while Aston Martin's long had a deep partnership with the Bond franchise, it's also a brand that's pretty careful of its image (and that of its cars). How relaxed is it about outside partners like IO knowing about the Valhalla before it was made public (which the team did), let alone turning it into a techno-hybrid version of itself?

Well, according to Poulsen, the prerequisite to finding out about the Valhalla was indeed "certainly 100 NDAs" or so, but once that inevitable hurdle was jumped, it was impressively smooth sailing throughout the process. IO's team decided very early on that it wanted two Astons in particular – a vintage DBS, and the newest, most powerful car Aston would make available.

Bond also trains in a 2006 DBS, but it's the 1970 DBS that really steals the show when Bond drives it in Slovakia during a gorgeous car chase. Then, the Valhalla really takes the cake when it becomes explosively useful in a shootout in Q Branch late in the game.

Poulsen says that the team never presented anything too wacky in terms of that weaponry, though, always wanting to lean on credibility within the Bond universe. "How do we want this car to be represented? Of course, [we had] conversations about credibility and bridging that gap between over-the-top excitement and cool restraint."

This means that the way the weaponry comes out of the Valhalla, from underneath exterior panels, actually fell into place very early on. "When we had a design that we felt straddled being both credible enough but exciting as well, we took that design to Aston, and they were very game; because it felt, I feel, like maybe we had straddled correctly, so that they didn't feel that their vehicle was being compromised."

Anyone who's worked on projects involving more than one brand will know that the needle Poulsen describes there is not as easy to thread as he makes it seem. Vega adds some emphasis to the point, too: "We want to do this right. We want this to be something that, on this hypercar [...] we're actually doing the brand justice, and then the kind of moment was built around what those guys came up with."

After all, if you're not keen to work out how machine guns and missiles could come out of an Aston Martin, as Vega points out, you might have to ask, "Why are we making a James Bond game in the first place?"

In point of fact, the machine guns came first – it was only once IO started to playtest the Q Branch shootout that it decided more was needed to really empower the player. Vega described a moment when the team agreed: "You know what'd be really fun right now is if the AI voice, you know, Q's assistant, comes on the intercom and says 'missiles unlocked'. Right? And then you have to go back and redraw the concepts and re-look at stuff because now you have a new problem to solve."

That process of iteration, with the added layer of Aston Martin approvals, makes it sound like a complex journey, but the enthusiasm from both Vega and Poulsen for the car they ended up with is obvious. They rightly wouldn't be drawn into any question of a sequel (something that was much talked about when the game landed to huge sales and great reviews), but the addition of new driving missions is fun enough in its own right.

If you enjoyed First Light, it means there's more of it for you to sample now, and if you've not yet grabbed it, the value proposition just got even better.

Xbox is being especially generous with its FreePlayDays offering this weekend. Not only are there five AAA Ubisoft games available to download and play for free, none of them require Xbox Game Pass membership. They are available to all Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One owners.

Of the five, my particular favourite is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – a glorious-looking first-person action-adventure set in the sci-fi world created by James Cameron. But you can also play Far Cry 6, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Skull and Bones, and The Crew Motorfest,

There is a caveat – as these are part of Xbox's weekly FreePlayDays, you only have until the end of Sunday 4 October to enjoy them for free. You can then choose to continue by purchasing them outright at deal prices, or sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, where they're all available in the included Ubisoft+ Classics library.

Far Cry 6, for example, is available for just $8.99 / £8.99 as part of the promotion.

All of the games have their own merits, with Assassin's Creed Odyssey being the first in the franchise to offer the ability to play either as a male or female character. It was a unique addition at the time, which proved a masterstroke for me.

It's also a massive game with deep role-playing elements, so you'll likely want to get hold of it after the weekend is up to continue. The same goes for most of the other games in the lineup – Ubisoft rarely does things by half.

They all feature expansive open-world settings and enough gameplay hours to have you hooked for weeks.

Still, even without paying a penny in subscription fees, you can now see what the fuss is about before deciding if you want to delve further into each game. At least that's your weekend sorted, no matter what.

If you only looked at the Metacritic score for Marvel's Wolverine you'd think Sony and Insomniac had made a massive misstep with the PlayStation 5 exclusive. Reviewers and players have been truly torn over the action-adventure, resulting in some wildly differing opinions.

And I'm not one to say anyone is wrong – reviewing and judging any form of entertainment is highly subjective. It'd be a boring world if we all liked (or hated) the same things. I just wonder how many of them played the game on PS5 Pro. For me, that makes a massive difference.

Now obviously a game is only as good as its gameplay, which I'll come to in a bit, but one thing's indisputable – Marvel's Wolverine is a graphical showcase on the Pro.

Insomniac is renowned for eking performance out of PlayStation hardware, with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart still among the best running games on Sony's mid-generation hardware. The same is true with Wolverine.

You get a healthy collection of picture options to choose from, which run at 30 and 60 frames per second, or 40 if you have a 120Hz TV (I ran it on a Philips OLED+950 – which is more than capable). Fidelity is obviously the sharpest at the cost of frame rate, but even opting for performance mode gives you a glorious picture on Pro.

In addition, you can choose whether to have advanced ray tracing switched on, which introduces some caveats but enhances some aspects if you're looking closely. Thankfully though, ray tracing is available by default anyway, including in performance mode, and considering it runs at a solid, locked 60fps, you'll never likely care.

The game is routinely stunning throughout, whether you are on the neon-soaked streets of Japan or snow covered scapes of Canada. It is as much a visual feast as the Spider-Man games, even if it's very different in genre and tone. And I think it's easily up there will the best-looking titles of 2026.

But what about the game, Bub?

Now we come to the gameplay, and this is the divisive bit. Those expecting a Spider-Man-like open world will be (and have been) disappointed. This is a balls-out combat action game befitting its hero – and it's also why I've found it refreshing.

I'm a big fan of the earlier action-adventure games lurking in PlayStation's past – like the early God of War and Devil May Cry outings. As with those, Wolverine has a modicum of exploration but is a linear fighting game at heart. It is also reminiscent of the glory days of single-player 2D scrolling beat-em-ups, throwing waves of enemies at you to hack, slash and maim.

That might seem unsophisticated in the modern era, but Insomniac's combat mechanics are so fast and smooth, it feels right – especially at 60fps. Basic attacks are simple to employ, while the game adds a selection of combos and special abilities as it progresses, which you can assign through a traditional-style skill tree.

By the third or fourth story mission, you'll be cutting a swathe through your foes in multiple ways – with gore flying around a-plenty. It's a bloody game for sure, which is to be expected considering you play a mutant with unbreakable knifes that extend from your knuckles, and it must be said that the engine that flings around crimson splatters and spray is one of the best ever created.

But that's not my reason to like it so much. Even though fights can get repetitive and the default difficulty is a little on the easy side, it's unique these days to get a AAA title that's so obviously designed for basic fun. You can largely switch off your brain and just play. It's why I also like EA Sports FC 27 so much, I use it to de-stress after a tough day – I really don't have to think much.

That won't be enough for some, admittedly. But it is for me.

And then there's the story

I'm also a big comic book fan, so really like Insomniac's take on Logan. The voice acting throughout the game is superb, especially Liam McIntyre (Spartacus: Vengeance) as the lead. As is the animation. And while the game strays from the comics' canon, being based in Insomniac's gamified take on the Marvel universe instead, the characters feel familiar while also given us new twists to get our teeth into.

In addition, for an action game, there's a decent 15 or so hours of well-written story, plus another few of side and collectable missions. Add some great Easter eggs and the ability to unlock classic Wolverine outfits and claws, and you're getting a decent amount of game for your money.

I get that this isn't exactly the game that we all expected when the first teaser trailer appeared five years ago, but it's good to see Insomniac branching out and trying something different. Considering how much flack open-world games regularly get, you can't blame it either.

As for myself, gameplay aside, I'm happy that the studio has provided yet another true visual showcase for my PS5 Pro – one that looks even more stunning on a 65-inch OLED. And as we're unlikely to get a PS6 anytime soon, that's enough for me for now.

We usually find out the PS Plus monthly games long before the previous month is finished, but Sony has left it late this time. The October games have only just been announced, mere days before they'll become available to all members.

PS Plus Essential, Extra and Premium subscribers should be happy enough with the lineup though, as the headliner is one of the best racing games around. You also get a hidden gem of a first-person shooter from Crytek Studios.

F1 25 is a technical tour de force, especially on PS5 Pro. Based on the last F1 season (ie. before most of the latest rule changes) it features some of the best on-track action of the series so far.

There's an update handling model, the ability to create your own F1 team, and a whole host of game modes to test your driving skills. Developer Codemasters also includes a mighty lineup of customisable gameplay options to suit your level, so you can play the game exactly as you want.

And Break Point – the F1 soap opera started in F1 2021 – returns.

You can also choose to update the game with the F1 25: 2026 Season Pack for a one-off fee if you want to bring it bang up to date.

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is an FPS from the team behind Crysis and tasks you with bounty hunting monsters for cash. Beware though, other hunters are also out to earn and are more than happy to steal your rewards from your cold, dead hands.

You can also play this with up to two friends to bolster your team, but there's enough action included to play it solo too.

Finally, all PS Plus members get Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2. It's a light-hearted team shooter with brightly-coloured voxel graphics and alien blasting fun. It's available for PS4 owners as well as PS5.

All of the games will be available to download from 6 October 2026, while it's also worth remembering that last month's games – Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Wobbly Life, and Chained Echoes – need to be downloaded by the end of play on Monday 5 October or you'll miss out.

Like most retro gaming fans, I was looking forward to getting my hands on Blaze's first clamshell devices – The Spectrum Handheld and The C64 Handheld. Both were due on 15 October, so my excitement was ramping up.

However, the company has announced that both have been delayed to next spring, and for good reason. It didn't want to release inferior products.

"During production, we identified areas where the product construction was not meeting our high standards," said Blaze in an official statement.

"While we could address some issues quickly and release the products in 2026, we believe taking this additional time is the right decision to give you the best experience possible."

This includes standard and collector's edition versions of both devices. They will now release on 22 April 2027.

Does this affect my pre-order?

Some retailers, such as Amazon UK, are still listing the handhelds for pre-order for their original 15 October release date, but we expect that to change soon. You'll need to contact the retailer if you want to cancel your order.

Personally, I'm happy to wait a bit longer. I'd much rather have a better device than one rushed through the production process – flaws and all. And especially so when it comes to The C64 and The Spectrum Handhelds.

First announced in May, each retro gaming handheld comes preinstalled with a collection of 25 classic games specific to their original 80s system. For The Spectrum Handheld, that includes Manic Miner (of course), Head Over Heels, and Skool Daze.

The C64 Handheld sports a selection including Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Paradroid, and Nebulus.

You can also add your own ZX Spectrum and C64 games respectively through each device's microSD card slot. Even the buttons on the lower half of each clamshell are designed around original hardware, while at the top you get a 4:3, 4.3-inch IPS display that's protected when closed.

Each is priced at £109.99 in the UK, $129.99 in the US. The Collector's Editions, which include a travel case and exclusive copy of Crash or Zzap!64 magazines, now seem to have sold out.

Sadly, The Spectrum Handheld and The C64 Handheld are not the first retro gaming consoles to have been delayed in recent times. We also learned recently that the NeoGeo AES+ has also been put back – to next September in this case.

"We didn't have a choice," said manufacturer and distributor, Plaion Replai.

Much has been written about the next PlayStation console, with various reports and leaks on its form factor and features. But none so far have been as unusual as patent filed by Sony for a prospective controller.

A patent application titled "Video Game Controller-Driven Information Transfer" shows a DualSense-like gamepad that not only works to play games, it can be used to pay for them. It has wireless transfer capabilities, much like a tap-to-pay machine in a store.

That means you can use a credit or debit card to pay for online games just by tapping it on top of the controller. Gift cards will also be accepted, claims the patent.

It even looks like you could use your phone to wirelessly pay for games, in-store credit or items, much like you can use it to pay for travel, etc.

Found by Dexetro (via VGC), the patent is not new – it was originally filed in spring 2025. However, it has only just been published so that's why it has now come to light.

There is also no guarantee that the technology will ever make the light of day. Many patents are filed every day with only a fraction being implemented. That Sony would like to find new ways to take our money is not surprising though, and to be fair, this would help those who don't want their card details to be permanently stored in its data systems.

It's also an intuitive way to redeem gift cards, although maybe that could just as easily handled by the camera on a smartphone and through the PlayStation app. Certainly, the next main controller the brand releases – most likely with its PlayStation 6 in a couple of years time – will have a few extra bells and whistles.

Although I doubt we've heard all of the potential features as yet. I'd be happy with a sturdier build quality – I've already gone through four or five DualSense controllers over the last few years. And now the rubber grips on my DualSense Edge are starting to come off too.

With gaming console prices on the rise – which is why I wrote that now's the time to buy a PlayStation 5 Pro – it's interesting to see a Nintendo deal that's bucking the trend.

With just one month to go ahead of the latest Zelda game launch – the remake of Ocarina of Time, which is largely regarded as among the best in the series' history – the Switch 2 console has crashed to its lowest-ever asking price.

Check out the Switch 2 deal here

This happened in the run-up to Amazon's Prime Big Deals Days – a marketing term that you've probably never heard anybody say aloud – with earlier discounts hitting the site ahead of its official 6-7 October dates.

Look at it this way: the Switch 2 has never had a larger discount, especially in light of that recent price rise that saw it rocket beyond the £400 threshold.

The real reason to want the console now, though? It's the incoming Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake that's due out in November.

Check out £5 off the Ocarina of Time on Amazon

Indeed, the saving on this console will cover buying that game 'for free', in effect, which is why I'd action buying now if you've been paused and waiting for a deal.

Sadly, you can't pay for the Switch 2 in instalments via Amazon's sometimes-offered service, meaning you have to pay the full price up front – but a credit card purchase will help you to split that across two months of pay while avoiding any interest.

It's not only the latest Zelda remake that's worth putting on your wishlist, though, with Mario Kart World great fun, Yoshi And The Mysterious Book a genuinely joyous play, and both Donkey Kong: Bananza and Star Fox being a real blast for one or two players.

I've been lucky enough to own a Switch 2 since day one. But if I didn't own the console yet then this deal would make me pull the trigger and buy one. It's well worth it ahead of the Christmas period.

I have been writing and collecting retro gaming devices for many years, and so I find myself scouring online retailers each big sales period for new models to add to my lineup.

That's lead me to check out Amazon once more, as its Prime Big Deal Days sale will start once more – for two days from 6 October 2026 – and I've already spotted a perennial favourite at a great price.

The R36S might not be the most powerful or famous retro gaming handheld out there, but is capable of emulating classic systems up to original PlayStation. I own a couple of them already, in fact.

This particular model comes with many thousands of classic games on a microSD card, so what's not to like at just £25.99? Most other retailers are listing it for at least £39.99.

One thing to note is that as the R36S is such a popular device, whenever I find it for under £30, it gets snapped up sharpish. So be quick with your order – it's unlikely to hit a price lower than this.

Also, while the white model is at the unbelievable price of under £26, you can pay a little more to get the colour of your choice. That includes the great-looking transparent black model for just £1.49 more – at £27.48.

What is the R36S retro gaming handheld and is it worth it?

The R36S is a decently spec'ed gaming handheld with a 3.5-inch 640 x 480 4:3 display. It runs on the Rockchip RK3326 processor, which has been the bedrock of retro gaming devices for a few years.

That means it is capable of playing all the 8-bit and 16-bit games comfortably – such as NES, SNES, Master System and Mega Drive – as well as original PlayStation titles.

You might even be able to eke a bit of PSP or N64 gaming out of it.

Most suppliers include a card filled with dubiously sourced ROMs (the games) and so it comes largely plug-and-play.

Mobile gaming changed completely for me when Apple finally opened up and allowed emulators onto the App Store a few years ago. Delta became part of my staple of apps and has never left it, with retro games acting as a superb fallback when train delays hit or my book isn't quite holding my attention.

That reliance on flexibility means that I'm not really the sort of gamer to cart around a gaming controller just on the off chance I want to use it with me phone, and that includes even quite sleek gaming grips like the Backbone One.

So, I was super interested to try out 8BitDo's FlipPad when it unveiled it: a gamepad that married a tiny design to the convenience of it clipping onto your phone, meaning you need only the tiniest amount of space in a bag to upgrade your gaming experience handily.

After a week with the FlipPad, I'm even more enamoured by the design choices that brought it into being, and I think it might just be the perfect addition to a travel bag or EDC backpack.

A tiny slice of clever gaming design

The FlipPad is basically a flat controller with a hinged USB-C plug to pop into your phone's port. Once that's secure, the controller rests on the bottom of your screen, making the phone basically have the orientation of an old GameBoy.

It's an ergonomic arrangement that has been improved since those days, of course but it's also really quite proven, and it works a treat in my experience. Plus, the buttons 8BitDo has used are really nice and clicky, making the FlipPad extremely tactile and satisfying.

It's worth paying attention to the button layout here, though, to make sure it'll work for what you need. There's no analogue stick here, so this is very much a gamepad that aims at the NES, SNES, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance catalogue principally, along with the many other consoles that predate analogue sticks.

It does have four function buttons at the top, two of which are the standard shoulder buttons and two of which are extra, giving you some nice customisation options. I found that Delta detected the layout perfectly, giving me the easy option to tweak my controls.

What Delta didn't do, though, was move the on-screen display of my game up to account for the controller taking up the bottom of the screen. It treated the FlipPad like a normal wired controller and centred my game screen, which actually made the FlipPad cut off the bottom of it. I fixed this by tweaking the app's settings to force the appearance of the touch button layout, which is slightly clumsy but still extremely effective.

That tiny teething problem aside, I've had nothing but positive experiences with the FlipPad, whether in how massively it upgrades the experience of playing GBA titles that involve quick button presses, or how tiny it is when stored in my tech pouch.

For retro gamers on the go, I think it's a no-brainer so long as it fits your phone, and it'll probably be a mainstay in my day pack for quite a while to come.

I've been playing EA Sports FC almost daily since Electronic Arts' much-publicised split from FIFA, and the FIFA games long before that, but last year's outing was the first that made me reconsider my life choices.

After reviewing it for T3 a year ago I opted to give it a break and only returned months later – when Team of the Season started in Ultimate Team. I actually didn't miss it in that time either.

There were a few reasons for that, but primarily it was the on-field gameplay. In Ultimate Team at least, it was the first release where I felt opponents could get away with spamming the same moves and types of goals over and again. And the game seemed to punish clever football-like movements and play.

Some would argue that I should have played a similar way to the masses, or tweaked my defensive play somewhat, but it just wasn't fun. I got more out of it when my team became better after the later promotions, but even then I felt a regular degree of frustration when playing against opponents who clearly just wanted to rinse and repeat.

And so I approached EA Sports FC 27 with some trepidation after receiving my review copy from EA (for free, in full disclosure). However, having now played it for a week I'm pleased that some of the issues I had with FC 26 have been addressed, and there are additional upgrades that I've enjoyed.

Here then are the five improvements I've noted that have made the game more enjoyable so far. It's worth noting that I've been playing on PS5 and PS5 Pro, switching between them. I've not yet tried the PC version this year, which is thought to be a touch more responsive.

1. Speed

The first thing that struck me about EA Sports FC 27, especially when playing an online game in Ultimate Team, was how quickly it moved.

I've often hated starting my UT journey with a bog standard gold team each year – not least because I'll have only just switched from the previous game and a 99 rated squad of superstars. However, the game has felt more zippy even with a starter team in FC 27.

I've managed to secure a few better players over the week, through the transfer market, SBCs, objectives and a couple of excellent pulls from season pass packs, but I don't feel that the game's pace is skewed much by the enhanced stats – it was already fast and fluid.

Depending on the tactics and formation you use (I'm currently playing 4-2-1-3 which works for me) you can get up the pitch quickly and effectively. Previous years have felt like you're playing in mud for the first month or so.

I'm not yet convinced much has changed with the attacking AI and passing is still a bit sluggish and inaccurate at this stage, until PlayStyles start to kick in properly, but gameplay is more fun for sure. I've certainly managed to score a greater variety of goals so far.

2. Defending

One of the biggest enforced improvements this year is in depending – especially in multiplayer. The game now rewards manual defending much more, with AI defending still present but less effective if you simply rely on it.

For example, players have a shorter reach if you leave AI to sort out interceptions. Positioning your players manually will give them more chance of stopping a through ball or pass. And the speed at which you can jockey around attacking players is faster if you are controlling the player yourself, while containing them is more accurate when you're not just spamming buttons.

I've found it results in counter attacks being more manageable, while in reverse opponents who rely on automatic containing and the like aren't able to prevent your own attack plays as often. There's less camping in a half during Ultimate Team matches and more free-flowing football – at this stage of the game, at least.

3. Gallery

I wasn't sure what I'd make of the new Ultimate Team Gallery when it was first announced. It's like an interactive Panini sticker album where you can sort the cards you've picked up into collections. However, in reality it's actually a very handy way of gaining packs and rewards.

In some ways it's like an additional SBC (squad building challenge) mode. You have to fill collections of different categories with cards you've acquired, with each card awarding you points and ultimately helping you progress up the Gallery levels.

This leads to rewards of Gallery tokens to be spent in the store, plus additional giveaways, such as packs and player picks – some of which are worth decent amounts of coins on their own.

What I particularly like about it is that there's an automatic option – you can let the game fill a collection with the required cards. And, unlike SBCs, it doesn't actually use up the cards you add – they will still be in your club afterwards. In fact, once used in a collection, you can even sell them or use them in SBCs. They'll remain in your Gallery collection as long as needed – unless you replace them with higher value cards for more points.

Basically, anything that gives you rewards for play rather than real world cash is a win in my book.

4. SBCs

I've never really had a problem with SBCs and, in fact, I enjoy filling them all to get players and packs. But they have sometimes felt more of a chore than a fun feature.

Thankfully, while some SBCs are the same as before – you have to fill a team with eligible cards to reach a certain target – there are new types that are much more simple and quick to complete.

Instead of a set objective, they require a number of player points to finish, which can be filled with cards from your deck. Different cards are worth a different amount of points (a gold is more than a silver, silver more than bronze, for example) but the game is indiscriminate of other factors.

This makes it a faster task to add cards to the lineup, hit redeem and get your reward. You can even keep the selection button pressed and multiselect players for an even quicker response.

Prior EA Sports FC games – and FIFAs before them – have had too many modes that felt like admin, especially in Ultimate Team, so this is a far better system for me.

5. The return of Alex Hunter

I'll admit it, I was a big fan of The Journey – the three-part story mode that appeared in FIFA 17, 18 and 19. I'm not usually big on single-player modes, but this kept the action short and sweet while genuinely provided an interesting narrative as you guided Alex Hunter from young footballing wannabe to superstardom.

So am thrilled that EA has decided to bring him back, if not the campaign itself.

Starring in The Grounds – the biggest new game mode in the series since Rush was introduced – he is your main mentor and guide through the online multiplayer world. It's also good to see the actor Adetomiwa Edun return to the role.

Could it mean we get a new chapter of The Journey next year? I'd like to think so, but somehow doubt it. The previous outings apparently cost a whole lot of money for a game that is mainly played online, but we can hope.

As for The Grounds itself, it hasn't really captivated my attention as much as it will some. Running around and joining kickabouts is fun, but it's about as far from the real world of football as it gets.

Conclusion

There are plenty of other smaller things I've so far enjoyed in EA FC 27 and it's certainly encouraged me to return more often than its predecessor. The gameplay is faster, more fluid and tighter, I feel, which some of the additions to Ultimate Team feel like they've been born from player feedback.

As is traditional these days, the game does feel iterative rather than something new, but it is definitely improved. It had to be, there were too many holes in its play last year to maintain the fun.

The game isn't perfect – some player faces are really bad (we're looking at you Victor Munoz) and I'm not overly sure anyone over the age of 13 will get much from The Grounds. But it is far more than just a database update this year, and the tweaks to the gameplay mechanics do seem to have made a difference.

I'll know more after a month more of play, but signs are good so far.

Google's new premium laptops are just over a week away from release and while they're not particularly designed for full-on gaming, the welcome news is that they'll be very capable in that department too.

Googlebooks are coming from some of the biggest players in computing – Dell, Asus, HP, Lenovo and Acer – and not only will they run every Android game available on the Play Store today, they are capable playing AAA PC games.

That's thanks to Nvidia's cloud gaming service GeForce Now. With GeForce Now, you don't need to own a high-end PC yourself, you can stream games to multiple devices over the internet, with control codes going in the opposite direction.

It was revealed during the Googlebook launch last week that 12-months of a paid GeForce Now would be bundled with each new purchase, and now Nvidia itself has confirmed support.

The only thing we don't yet know is exactly when the service will work on a Googlebook, as Nvidia's official blog says "later this year". So you might have to be patient for full compatibility.

It'll be worth the wait though. Nvidia GeForce Now is an exceptional cloud gaming service with almost no latency – the time it takes between pressing a button or key and the action happening on screen. This has been a hurdle with cloud games in the past, but Nvidia seems to have cracked it.

It also has a very healthy library of supported games. Unlike Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can only play games you already own across digital store fronts, such as Steam and Epic Games Store, although you can also play free-to-play titles, like Fortnite.

And there's a free GeForce Now tier, which enables limited play – just one hour at a time – on older servers. But as you get a voucher for a year's membership, you'll be able to play over longer periods and in better resolutions/frame rates on your Googlebook.

To be fair, the service also works on Chromebook and Android devices, so it's nothing new to Google devices, but we can see it working well on the higher spec of the new Googlebook models.

Just head to the GeForce Now website to find out more.

Xbox is allegedly asking its own gamers whether it should scrap physical discs or not. It has reportedly started to survey Xbox Insiders on potential features for Project Helix, and if it should retain the option to install games from disc.

A lot has been said about Sony's decision to ditch disc versions of games from 2028, while Xbox was also thought to be doing something similar. It recently launched an initiative to convert disc copies of Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S games into digital versions, to use without the disc being inserted. This lead to many believing that it was to phase out the format.

However, its survey suggests a final decision is yet to be made.

According to screengrabs posted on X by Power Up Gaming, the survey asks Insiders on the importance of being able to "install games from a physical disc" on its "next-generation Xbox console".

Insiders are asked whether this is "not necessary", "nice to have", or a "must have" on the new console.

There are also questions on game exclusivity and the saving of automatic gameplay highlights.

Not all Xbox Insiders have received the survey (I haven't on my own machine), so we're not sure how widespread this is or which regions it might be operating. But if genuine, it does suggest that Xbox's plans for its new machine are still not set in stone.

It has been said in recent times that the original idea of a premium machine that combines the capabilities of an Xbox with a PC have been curbed a touch, not least due to the rising costs of components. Xbox itself has hinted that it might have to trim back some of the plans to make the next console more affordable.

Adding a disc drive will naturally add expense, but it could also give the brand a strategic advantage over Sony and its next PlayStation. It's almost certain that the PS6 won't be compatible with physical media – either as a home console or handheld (both are rumoured).

We'll likely have to wait a fair while longer to find out. But if you do happen to be sent the Xbox Insider survey, at least you'll get to have your say.

The NeoGeo AES+ has been one of the year's most exciting retro gaming announcements, and pre-orders were taken up in their droves this spring. However, the hype had to be tempered a touch earlier this month when its manufacturer, Plaion Replai, had to delay the product.

It will now be coming out in September 2027, but even that looked tentative at one point.

Speaking to VGC, the company's hardware and software director explained that at one point the project was "almost dead". And it was a common foe at fault.

After unprecedented amounts of orders were received, Plaion entered the hardware procurement phase and discovered an issue: "[We] advised our partners in the Far East what our requirements were, and it’s the first time I’ve ever been refused ordering chips. I’ve worked with Plaion for nearly 20 years in this field," said Ben Jones.

"What do you mean I can't get these chips? Oh, AI!"

Yep, RAMageddon was striking again. The global chip shortage enforced by the demand of AI data centres meant that essential components were unavailable. In this case, Plaion could not source parallel NOR flash. chips.

It meant the design team had to return to the drawing board. Thankfully though, as Jones revealed to VGC, a solution was found. The serial NOR flash chips the company was using in the cartridges to be released with the console would work as an alternative, with some conversion wizardry.

Additional development was required to find the answer and add technology to perform the conversion, but it meant the NeoGeo AES+ project was resurrected.

This did result in the delay though. The new system needs extra testing, although Plaion does have "thousands of these chips ready for the cartridges" already, so at least the procurement issues have been ironed out.

Shipping for the console will now start on 16 September 2027, with pre-orders continuing to remain open in the meantime. The NeoGeo AES+ starts at £179.99 for the console and controller, with cartridges priced from £69.99 / €79.95 apiece.

The brilliance of handheld games consoles is that you can take them with you wherever you go, rather than being rooted to your sofa or desk chair. This makes handhelds the ideal companions during the summer, because who doesn't love chipping away at their backlog on holiday?

We may be entering the last days of the summer and the early part of autumn, but if you’re looking for something to play on your Nintendo Switch 2 when you jet off for a final fix of sunshine before the autumn rolls around, I’ve been having a lot of fun with these three games recently.

Lies of P: Complete Edition

There have been a lot - and I mean loads - of Dark Souls imitators over the years, but few have been as well received as 2023’s Lies of P, a twisted take on the fairy tale of Pinocchio.

Set in the Belle Epoque-inspired fictional city of Krat, Lies of P tells a markedly different story of the iconic puppet (who just so happens to look remarkably like Timothee Chalamet). He's tasked with saving Krat from the “Frenzy” that has turned all other puppets against humans.

Lies of P has everything a good Soulslike needs: a moody and mysterious setting rich with lore, excellent combat and build-crafting, and panic-inducingly difficult boss fights that aim to halt your progress. P (as he’s known here) mixes and matches various blades and handles to become a character that can be fast and nimble, or a real boy interested only in the heaviest swords.

Lies of P: Complete Edition arrives on Switch 2 several years after the game originally launched on other platforms, and comes with all the DLC. It runs shockingly well on Nintendo’s beefed up console too, particularly shining in handheld mode.

You couldn’t really get a more anti-summer game, but I’ve been really enjoying making my way through the mean streets of Krat whenever I have a free 15 minutes.

Splatoon Raiders

I’ve been a casual fan of the Splatoon series since it debuted on Switch in 2015, but with every entry I eventually run into the same problem: after a while, the hardcore players (of which there are intimidatingly many) become so good at the game that I can no longer hang with them in the lobbies. So I tend to bounce off until the next entry’s Nickelodeon-esque colour palette and outlandish fashion inevitably lures me back in, and the process begins again.

Most Splatoon games have had a single-player component of some kind, but Splatoon Raiders is the first game in the series that’s an entirely PvE experience designed with solo players in mind.

It essentially reimagines Splatoon as a looter-shooter. Think Diablo, but infinitely more cheerful. You still cover levels in paint with a huge assortment of weapons and swim through your handiwork in squidform, but rather than other human players, you exclusively fight waves of Salmonid creatures in pursuit of treasure and better gear to level up your character.

The Spirhalite Islands are disappointingly bland compared to the vibrant metropolises that the mainline games take place in, but Splatoon Raiders is a wildly addictive spin on a formula Nintendo has perfected over the last 10 years. It has that dangerously one-more-go gameplay loop and works just as well in co-op with friends as it does on your own.

Somehow, Nintendo has taken a very well-worn genre and made it feel fresh again.

Moss: Forgotten Relic

The Moss games have for a long time deservedly been held up as two of the (admittedly few) crown jewels of virtual reality gaming, and the best way to experience these delightful interactive fairytales is still through a headset. That said, not everyone owns one of those, and for some people VR is just a non-starter for a variety of reasons.

As someone who regrettably suffers quite violently from VR motion sickness, I’ve always recommended the Moss series to people looking for a more comfortable experience, but I still think it’s great that developer Polyarc has reimagined its two titles as entirely flatscreen games that just so happen to be a perfect fit for Switch 2.

Moss: The Forgotten Relic includes Moss: Book I and Moss: Book II in one package, and the simple blend of exploration, light puzzling and combat mostly makes an elegant transition from VR to traditional platforms.

As both games are built around you, the human player, helping the mouse protagonist Quill to make her way through a ruined kingdom, there’s definitely something lost from not being entirely immersed in the intricate diorama-like levels, but the games are still packed with charm.

It’s also nice that you can use the touch screen to move objects around for your rodent pal to climb, a pleasingly tactile substitute for the way you physically pulled them in the VR games. So, if you’re a headset sceptic who has overlooked these miniature gems, you no longer have an excuse.

Game emulation has never been more popular, with a multitude of retro gaming handhelds and consoles enabling play of thousands of classic games and systems. There are emulators for just about every console and computer released in the last 50 years, and many of them will run on the most basic of hardware.

Regular readers will already know that I own scores of retro gaming devices, most running emulation software, including self-built consoles made from mini PCs, arcade machines, and even highly-spec'ed Android handhelds. However, I tend to stick to the legendary systems and games.

Not so everyone. Not only has there been big breakthroughs in PS4 emulation of late, reports suggest that PS5 game emulation is progressing at a rapid rate. A couple of emulators have appeared for PC – SharpEmu and KyTyPS5 – that are boasting impressive performance numbers when running some PS5 games, such as Demon's Soul and Grand Theft Auto V.

Now another developer / YouTube has taken things further, he's managed to get one of those – KyTyPS5 – working on an Xbox Series X. And yes, that means there's the potential of playing native PS5 games on the rival console.

Devran Cosmo Uenal (via tech4gamers) claims to have ported his own fork of KyTy to Xbox's machine. He's also posted a video that appears to show the PS5 version of Quake II running on the console.

This isn't the most complicated or graphically intensive game, of course, but it hints at the potential.

Compatibility is limited, he revealed, but these are early days. He also said that some other games are already playable, so it'll be interesting to see if more videos are posted in the near future.

Personally, I'm not particularly interested in emulating games of systems that are currently available. I'm more into playing old titles on old console types that are either discontinued or not easily available. But there's no denying the commitment and skill of the emulation community in such groundbreaking work.

Now if only someone could get PS2 games to run more reliably on Android hardware – I'd totally appreciate that.

What do you get if you cross Doctor Who with Fallout – and throw a spot of Clockwork Orange, The Wicker Man and Monty Python in for good measure? Atomfall is a quaint and rather different action-adventure from British developer/publisher Rebellion, and it's well worth a play through.

If you have Xbox Game Pass Premium or Ultimate, you can do so as part of your subscription. But be warned, that will soon change.

The first-person sci-fi game is leaving the platform on 30 September, alongside several other titles, so you only have until then to check it out.

You can currently play it on Xbox consoles, PC and through Xbox Cloud Gaming, but you'll have to pay for a full copy if you want to continue after the end of the month. The same is true with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Little Nightmares 2 Enhanced Edition, Little Rocket Lab, Sifu, SOPA Tale of the Stolen Potato, Sworn, and Terminull Brigade. So download them now – there's still enough time to play one or two of them through to completion.

In better news, a number of big name games will be heading to Xbox Game Pass over the next couple of weeks. They include Dune: Awakening, the single- or multi-player survival game/RPG set in the cinematic Dune universe. That's coming on 22 September, with Well Dweller also being added on the same day.

Mad King Redemption will be available a day later, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will finally be made available to Game Pass Premium members on 25 September.

Minecraft Dungeons II will follow for Ultimate and PC Game Pass members on 29 September, with Gears of War: E-Day arriving for the same subscribers a week later.

There was a bit of a hoo-hah when pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI opened in June, around the lack of a physical edition. While boxed copies can be ordered in advance, they do not contain an actual disc – just a download code.

It's become part of a wider debate about physical copies of games and game ownership in general. And that is going to rage on for the next year or so, I'd imagine, as we creep towards PlayStation's own cut off point for disc versions.

That's an argument and issue for another time. In the here and no, it seems like Rockstar has decided to release physical GTA 6 discs after all – just not the ones we expected.

It has announced the forthcoming release of the official soundtrack album for the game, which will be available on vinyl and CD, not just digitally.

Also available to pre-order now, for the full release on 20 November, are Grand Theft Auto VI: The Album on vinyl, CD and in a limited edition vinyl box set. Prices start at $19.98 for the CD version, rising to $124.98 for the collectors' set.

They each include 34 original tracks used in the game, with tracks from the likes of Yung Lean, Travis Scott and Keith Richards.

The limited edition vinyl collection comes with two transparent magenta LPs filled with blue liquid. You also get exclusive artwork in this version.

You'll also be able to listen to the entire album on digitals streaming services, of course, and can even check out some of the tracks now, as they've been released early. You can pre-save the album across just about every service out there.

As for the game itself, it is still well on track for its 19 November release date on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It's also on track to being one of the highest grossing games of all times. Even without a physical disc copy.

When it was first unveiled, there was more than a heavy whiff of The Witcher 3 about The Blood of Dawnwalker, a game that basically feels like a top-quality spinoff from that titanically successful dark RPG. Its developer, Rebel Wolves, features a host of developers who worked on Geralt's last big adventure, so the connection is far from a stretch.

I've stuck around 15 hours into the game over the last couple of weeks, since its launch at the start of September, and I'm loving it way more than I expected, largely thanks to one little choice I made when Bandai Namco offered a review code. I decided to play the game on my PC, complete with its Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, rather than on my PS5 Pro, after some pre-release news indicated that console performance might be a little lopsided.

Well, I've been super glad of that; it seems like a higher-framerate performance mode was a really late addition to the plan for Dawnwalker, and most likely will be refined over time to cut back less than it currently does on PS5 Pro in particular. That console is impressively powerful, but if a developer doesn't cater to it specifically, then it's always going to be at a disadvantage compared to a PC.

Dawnwalker sees you step into the shoes of Coen, a young man growing up in a secluded valley in 14th-century Europe, a historical setting that has a major twist. The valley has been taken over by a violent vampire warlord, a Vrakhir, as they're called in this universe.

He's taking taxes from the valley in the form of monthly blood donations from its denizens, but when Coen's village has its turn, things go wrong, and Coen soon wakes up with his family kidnapped and having been turned into a mysterious semi-vampire. He becomes a Vrakhir at night, but spends the days as a human.

This sets up both of Dawnwalker's most unique gameplay systems. First, a ticking clock that sits on your screen at all times, along with a reminder that you have 30 days to rescue your family before they're executed. As you journey around the valley sniffing out allies and ways to grow your power, your actions will often consume the time slots that make up each in-game day.

So, completing quests or side activities drains from a finite pool, encouraging you to prioritise what you're doing and what will make the biggest difference to your story and path.

The other big system is that you have very different powers during the days and nights. In the former, more humans and allies will be accessible for quests, and you'll be able to use hex-based witchcraft powers. At night, meanwhile, you'll gain the ability to teleport short distances, hugely helpful for exploration; however, you'll also have to manage your health more carefully to avoid losing your resistance and draining the blood of whoever you happen to be talking to.

These systems are great fun to work with because they force you to think about your decisions and plans at almost all times. You'll find yourself shuffling around your quests because some can only be progressed at night, for instance, but you'll also need to keep on top of others that will have different outcomes if you wait too long to complete them.

Making me make meaningful choices is something that more games should really be doing, and Dawnwalker is managing to make me feel that peril pretty regularly, which is no mean feat.

It's also looking great while doing it, and I've been playing on maxed-out settings at 1440p with impressive smoothness. Bumping this up to 4K has proved more taxing, and given the strength of my setup, that underlines that this is a bit of a performance hog for more mid-range systems.

It's also an Unreal Engine 5 game, which means you get stutters in the open world basically no matter how good your rig. These are minor inconveniences, though, and I'm just glad not to be playing at 30fps on console.

If you're craving a story-driven RPG with pretty slick combat (albeit combat that doesn't necessarily feel all that dynamic), and a narrative that feels reminiscent of the most memorable material from The Witcher's world, I'd definitely give Dawnwalker a look. If you can do so on a powerful PC, happy days – but don't overlook it on console just because of a few early performance jitters.