New Jobs, Better Battles, And Evercold: Everything Just Revealed For Final Fantasy 14

Featuring “kitty town” and the coolest Lalafell ever seen

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Engadget review recap: DJI Osmo Pocket 4, Recteq X-Fire Pro and Alienware 27 QD-OLED

Vampire Crawlers, Peter Molyneux's return and other new indie games worth checking out

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. If you're looking for something new to play this weekend, we've got a bunch of options for you. We've also got some interesting upcoming games to tell you about as well.

In a press release announcing that Playdate Season 3 is coming later this year, Panic included a line that I've been thinking about a lot this week. "Panic is currently relieved and happy that people can make amazing games for Playdate with just 16 megabytes of RAM," it said, a nod toward the ongoing RAM crisis.

The Playdate doesn't exactly have a lot of technical oomph, and I'm frequently delighted by what developers are able to do within its limitations. Restrictions foster creativity — many folks had to get pretty inventive on Twitter back when they only had 140 characters to play with. Here, Panic offered a welcome reminder that you don't necessarily need an ultra-powerful rig or console to have access to more great games than you'll ever actually be able to play.

For instance, my favorite game of the year so far, Titanium Court, works on Macs that are capable of running macOS 11 (the 2020 version of the operating system) or later. On PC, you'll need a graphics card that's compatible with OpenGL or DirectX 9, the latter of which was released in 2002. For what it's worth, the game would also fit on a CD-ROM. 

There are tons of other great indie games new and old that'll run just fine on lower-powered machines. Bear that in mind the next time a current-gen console or other gaming system gets a price increase because of the RAM shortage. The DLSS 5 debacle aside, you probably don't need a 50-series NVIDIA GPU either. Maybe just pick up a Playdate instead.

New releases

While many of the weapons, characters and enemies are the same, Vampire Crawlers is a fresh spin on Vampire Survivors. It's a turn-based roguelite deckbuilder. Instead of automatically firing whatever weapons you have at nearby enemies, you'll play cards to conquer the mob that you face in each fight. You can still modify and evolve your weapons and abilities.

Each card has a casting cost, so you’ll need to consider which ones to play in a given moment and the order in which you do so. As such, it’s a slower-paced, more strategic take on the original game, albeit with a similar level of visual chaos should you put together a particularly powerful build. 

I've played a ton of Vampire Survivors and the Vampire Crawlers demo lured me in too. Its approach to turn-based battles is working for me. I've only played a little of the full game so far, but there's every chance I could lose days of my life to it.

Vampire Crawlers — from Survivors creator Poncle and co-developer Nosebleed Interactive — is available now on Steam (for PC and Mac), Xbox for PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch for $10. It's included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. 

Fable creator Peter Molyneux and his studio 22cans are back with another god game. In Masters of Albion, you can construct and modify settlements as a literal hand of god. You'll design buildings (which are immediately constructed and usable) and manage workers. You can also assume control of a human or animal in the world to take on quests and hunt for treasure.

There's a tower defense element to this as well. You'll need to prepare your towns from nighttime attacks from various creatures. You can fend off these foes as the god or battle them on the ground as a hero. There's a lot going on here, but perhaps my favorite part is this apparent warning in the mature content description section of the Steam page: "Players are also able to use crude, adult hand gestures at will in the game." Yes, that means you can flip the bird while playing as the god hand. Yes, I am very mature.

Masters of Albion is now available in early access on Steam. It typically costs $25, but there's a 10 percent discount until April 29.

Snap & Grab caught our attention at last summer's edition of the Day of the Devs showcase. This is a cartoonish heist game in which you'll carry out your robberies in two parts. You play as Nifty, a famous fashion photographer. In the setup phase, you'll take advantage of your position to take snaps of loot, threats and opportunities and then use those to construct a plan. With the help of some henchman, you'll then try to execute the heist. 

The game’s developer No Goblin is taking an episodic approach to Snap & Grab as it's releasing the game in five parts over the course of this year. The first episode is available now on Steam (usually $8, though there's a 10 percent discount until May 1).

Snow Day Software's follow-up to Indoor Kickball is Indoor Baseball. It's an arcade game in which you play baseball inside buildings, funnily enough. You'll play 1v1 matches against the CPU or a friend in local multiplayer. You can also dive into a 14-game season or check out the story mode, in which you'll try to play your way back onto your school's baseball team (and maybe do some chores to make up for smashing too many things at home).

There are several different levels, each of which has a variety of ways for you to make a home run, from smashing a window to landing the ball in a toilet. It seems light and fun and as a burgeoning baseball guy, I dig the idea of this one.

Indoor Baseball is available now on Steam, Xbox for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It costs $15.

Upcoming 

I love Another Crab's Treasure very much and so I'll always be interested in whatever Aggro Crab is up to. Given that the studio also co-developed the smash hit Peak (alongside Landfall), I imagine many other folks feel the same way.

Crashout Crew is another multiplayer game from Aggro Crab. This one adopts the chaotic co-op formula of games like Overcooked. As a team of forklift drivers, you and your buds will work together to fill orders in warehouses while dealing with obstacles like blackouts, cacti, fire and bees.

It's coming to Steam, Xbox on PC and Xbox Series X/S on May 28. It'll be available on Game Pass on day one.

I'm very much here for slice-of-life games based around soccer (I still need to play Despelote!). Kick is another such title. This is a side-scrolling, anime-inspired game from solo developer nospacelost and publisher Shoreline Games, in which you dribble a ball as you make your way to school.

There are 23 levels with people to dodge and obstacles to overcome. You'll need to avoid damaging anything as you try to pull off tricks by kicking the ball at the correct angle, all while making sure you get to class on time (you can switch off the timer for a more relaxed experience). It looks pretty, and it never hurts a game's prospects to have a pup accompanying the main character.

No release date for Kick has been announced. It's coming to Steam at some point.

Elfie: A Sand Plan is a cozy sandcastle building game from Pressed Elephant and Sol's Atelier. There are more than 180 levels in which you'll build sand sculptures to match what Elfie, a small elephant, has in mind. There are three difficulty levels too.

It looks cute and I adore elephants (oops, I just started fostering another one), so I'm interested in checking it out. Elfie: A Sand Plan is coming to Steam for PC and Mac on May 12. It'll cost $7, and there'll be a 10 percent launch discount.

It took the team at Realmsoft 14 years to bring Clockwork Ambrosia to fruition and if this latest trailer is any indication, that long development cycle could have well been worthwhile. This is a side-scrolling action platformer in which you can customize half a dozen weapons using more than 150 modifiers. 

You play as an airship engineer who tries to survive on a steampunk island full of aggressive robots and creatures following a crash. I really dig the art direction here, which features lush hand-drawn pixel art and lovely animations. Realmsoft made the game using a custom engine the team built from scratch.

I'm looking forward to checking out Clockwork Ambrosia. It's coming to Steam on May 12.

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PS5 Pro Users in for a Treat With Highly Anticipated Ubisoft Game

Ubisoft has promised a special treat for PS5 Pro users when its highly anticipated upcoming adventure game is out in July. As confirmed yesterday, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced — a remake of the fan-favorite 2013 action-adventure — will have a little something extra for Sony’s pricey hardware.

Upcoming game Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will support PS5 Pro PSSR 2

Black Flag Resynced will take advantage of the recently upgraded PS5 Pro PSSR, dubbed PSSR 2.0. While Ubisoft didn’t confirm whether the game will support PSSR 2 at launch or if it will be patched in post-launch, the company did say it’s already achieving impressive results with the upscaler.

“It [PSSR 2] allowed us to render our dynamic tropical world full of swaying palm trees, violent storms, and rogue waves without visible upscaling artifacts, delivering sharp pixel quality and great image stability,” said technical director Jussi Markkanen. “Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced pushes ray tracing further across all modes on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. PlayStation 5 brings more consistent lighting, while PlayStation 5 Pro delivers a no-compromise experience with advanced ray tracing performance and enhanced PSSR,” added technical architect Nicolas Lopez.

Ubisoft will detail all the PS5 Pro enhancements at a later date, but it all sounds very promising.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced will release on July 9, 2026.

The post PS5 Pro Users in for a Treat With Highly Anticipated Ubisoft Game appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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The Morning After: Polymarket and a hairdryer

Although it’s one of the more inoffensive topics on Polymarket, this news typifies the Wild West of prediction markets and betting sites. A hairdryer was allegedly used to rig Polymarket bets on temperatures at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, according to a report by The Telegraph. French authorities noted that the official temperature readings at the airport spiked twice in the past month. On both occasions, gamblers betting on those temperature fluctuations on Polymarket appear to have walked away with thousands upon thousands of dollars.

There is no indication that Polymarket forced anyone to return winnings, but the temperature sensor has been moved to a new location. The site is also still running bets on the daily temperature in and around Paris.

In a more serious development, a US soldier was arrested for allegedly making over $400,000 on Polymarket using information he had about the plans to capture the former Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke was arrested and charged with using classified military information to place bets on the prediction marketplace Polymarket. Van Dyke created a Polymarket account around December 26, 2025, and made 13 bets related to Maduro from December 27 to January 2.

The soldier has also been charged with one count of wire fraud, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of unlawful monetary transaction, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. It’s a lot heavier than hairdryer shenanigans.

— Mat Smith

The other big stories (and deals) this morning

• Here’s to the stable ones: In praise of Tim Cook

• Meta is downsizing by about 10 percent

• Hey Meta workers, are you getting paid for those keystrokes?

• Apple TV’s upcoming For All Mankind spinoff Star City oozes Cold War-era paranoia

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DJI Lito 1 and Lito X1 drone review

High-quality aerial video at its most affordable.

Engadget

DJI is taking another stab at the budget drone market with the new Lito series. The Lito 1 and Lito X1 are both under $400 and weigh less than 249 grams — they’re ideal for beginners. Both replace DJI’s Mini series, but they offer things those models lacked, like LiDAR and 360-degree obstacle avoidance. After testing both models, I believe they offer unbeatable value and performance at these prices, by a long shot. However, due to DJI’s standing in the US, you might not see either.

Continue reading.

Xbox cuts Game Pass prices

But new Call of Duty games will no longer hit the service at launch.

Activision

As suggested by recent comments by the new boss of Xbox, Microsoft’s gaming arm is cutting the prices of both Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, effective immediately, but there’s one big caveat. New Call of Duty games will no longer be available on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass on day one. They’ll eventually hit those tiers about a year later, during the following holiday season.

Continue reading.

Accessory maker Anker made its own AI chip

Of course it did.

Anker, of battery-pack and cable fame, has announced its own AI chip that it will integrate into its future headphones and other devices. The company is planning to debut the chip, called Thus, on a new model of headphones to be unveiled at its Anker Day event in May.

Anker’s Thus chip integrates computing power directly into NOR flash memory cells, which offer faster read speeds than NAND. Anker says headphones are a particularly challenging environment to demonstrate what a new chip can do because “hardly any other device places higher demands on an AI chip.” Anker announced one particular feature to showcase its silicon. Clear Calls will cancel noise “with a large neural network running entirely on the device, supported by eight MEMS microphones and two bone conduction sensors.”

Continue reading.

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PS Plus Adds Great Free Game Trials, Includes 2026 Sony Game

PS Plus Premium has added a fresh batch of fantastic free game trials — the second such drop in a single month. There’s something for everyone in this batch, from adventure to RPG. What’s more, it includes a new PlayStation Studios game released in March 2026.

All new PS Plus Premium free game trials added on April 23, 2026

The first-party game in question is MLB: The Show 26, which needs no introduction. PS5 players can check out the full game for three hours.

Then, we have acclaimed 2025 PS5 adventure game The Midnight Walk. It’s a short adventure, so Sony‘s only offering a 30-minute full game trial, which might be PS Plus Premium’s shortest trial length yet. But we highly recommend checking it out.

The Midnight Walk can be completed in a few hours, should players wish to make a purchase.

The third new game trial is for brand-new PS5 and PS4 RPG, Eternal Exodus. The game is described as a “story-driven 2D monster-catching RPG set in the afterlife.” PS Plus Premium users can try Eternal Exodus for an hour.

Finally, we have underrated PS5 and PS4 RPG Asterigos: Curse of the Stars. This is one of those odd additions in that it’s for an older title released in 2022. Still, we recommend giving it a go for two hours. Players might find it a hidden gem, and it often gets discounted in PS Store sales.

The post PS Plus Adds Great Free Game Trials, Includes 2026 Sony Game appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

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Crimson Desert Gets Even Better In Its Largest Update Yet: ‘They Just Added so Much Random Sh*t, I Love It’

Patch 1.04 is another laundry list of improvements

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