Back in September, the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea rated Silent Hill: The Short Message for unspecified platforms. The project was expected to be officially announced during Konami’s Silent Hill Transmission showcase held in October, but was mysteriously missing from the event. Now, it has been rated specifically for the PS5 by the same rating board.
What is Silent Hill: The Short Message?
The Korean rating board update was first spotted by Gematsu, and doesn’t reveal much else other than it’s headed to the PS5. The rumored Bloober Team project is a remake of Silent Hill 2, Then, there’s Silent Hill: Ascension – a real-time interactive series. The rumored Annapurna Interactive project is called Silent Hill: Townfall, and finally, there’s Silent Hill f – a new story set in Japan in the 1960s.
So far, the only plausible theory is that The Short Message is the demo code named Sakura that was leaked a while ago, but there’s no official word on this from Konami yet. The publisher has said that it has more new Silent Hill projects coming in the future from multiple “talented teams” so it remains to be seen if The Short Message is that leaked demo or yet another upcoming Silent Hill game.
Like many Apple products, the Apple Watch can be extremely simple to start using — but that simplicity hides a surprising level of depth and customization. You may be wondering where to start with setting up a new Apple Watch if you just received one, and it's true, there's a lot to do to make sure you’re getting the most out of your new wearable. Let us guide you through that process, from initial setup to optimizing everything it can do.
Setup
Of course, the first thing you’ll want to do is pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone. Even if you have a cellular-capable Apple Watch, an iPhone is required for setting up and managing the device. Fortunately, this process is extremely straightforward — after powering on the Apple Watch, just place it near an unlocked iPhone and you’ll get a prompt to set the device up. During this process, your iPhone will walk you through the initial pairing as well as signing in with your Apple ID, assigning a passcode, setting up things like Siri and Apple Pay, and deciding if you want to transfer your compatible apps. I recommend against transferring all your apps automatically, as the Watch is a lot more useful when you curate it with only what you need.
A few features you definitely should set up are fall detection, crash detection and emergency SOS. The latter lets you quickly place a call to local emergency services by pressing and holding the side button, while fall detection uses the Watch’s accelerometers and other sensors to, well, detect if you’ve taken a fall. It’ll initiate an emergency SOS call automatically if you’ve taken a spill and it doesn’t sense you moving. Before making that call, the Watch will try its best to get your attention via a notification, a vibration and an audible alarm. Crash detection, which is only available on the new Series 8 and Ultra, works in a similar fashion, except in this case it’s looking for movement that it recognizes as a car accident, with the accelerometer able to detect up to 256 Gs of impact force.
The fun part: tweaking apps and notifications
Engadget
Once you have the basics set up, it’s time to make the Apple Watch your own. By default, the Apple Watch mirrors all notifications that go to your phone. But I’ve found the Watch to be much more useful with a bit of curation. In the iPhone Watch app, you can customize notifications for all of Apple’s first-party apps, or turn them off entirely. For example, the Activity app notifications panel lets you choose whether or not you want reminders to stand every hour, or notifications when your friends share activity milestones with you and so forth.
Third-party apps don’t have the same granularity, but you can always turn them off altogether so they won’t ping your Watch. For things that aren’t particularly time-sensitive (say, updates from Google Photos, or Apple News updates), it’s best to just skip them. They’ll still hit your iPhone, and you can always enable them again later.
The iPhone Watch app also lets you pick which specific apps from your iPhone will be installed on the Apple Watch. I think this is more useful than just letting the Watch install every single compatible app. I prefer going through the list and deciding if there’s a benefit to having these apps on my wrist. In the case of apps like Google Maps or Ecobee for controlling my thermostat, it’s a definite yes. But things like Etsy or Bank of America don’t exactly make a ton of sense on a Watch. And if you change your mind, you can remove an app from the Watch app or by long-pressing it in grid view and deleting it – just keep in mind that this will remove the app from your Watch but not from your iPhone.
That said, I have been surprised at what some developers have envisioned for the Apple Watch. Take the notes app Bear, for example. I often use it to make grocery lists, and checklists show up great on the Apple Watch. So if there’s an app on your phone that you consider essential, give it a shot on the Watch.
Watch faces
Another occasionally-overlooked part of the Apple Watch experience are watch faces. Since this is literally what you’ll see every time you raise your wrist, I think it’s worth finding ones that fit your personal style. While there are no third-party faces, the Apple Watch has more than 30 built-in options that are endlessly customizable. We’re talking about a huge variety of colors, different typefaces and watch styles, complications (small slices of info like weather, date, or music controls) and much more. You can have a simple digital time display with nothing else, or an info-dense face with eight different complications or anything in between.
You can set up new faces on the Watch directly — but as with most in-depth features, it’s easier to do this on the iPhone. The Face Gallery shows every available face, along with multiple examples of how they can be customized. You can use those as a jumping off point to make your own creations. Once you’ve curated your favorites, you can simply swipe through them on the Watch itself when you want to mix things up. If you long press on a face, you can edit it directly on your Watch too, which is handy when you want to just change the color quickly to better match your outfit.
If you’re using an Apple Watch Series 5 or later, you can also decide whether you want to activate the always-on display. You can find this option in the settings app, under “Display & Brightness.” If you’re after maximum battery life, turn this off, but most people will probably prefer it on. New watches can still get a full day of use while using the always-on feature, but once your watch ages a bit and battery performance degrades, you might want to learn to live without it. Note that both versions of the Apple Watch SE do not have an always-on display.
Apple Watch Ultra’s “action button”
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The new Apple Watch Ultra is the first with a second button on its side. Unlike the standard button on the right, which lets you pull up recently used apps, access Apple Pay and a handful of other features, the Ultra’s Action Button is a blank slate. You can set it up for a variety of actions, like tracking intervals on a run, setting a compass waypoint for you to navigate back to later, starting a dive or other things that third-party apps could enable. You might be better off using your Watch for a bit before deciding on what it is best suited for, but don’t forget about it.
Fitness tracking
One of the biggest Apple Watch selling points is its fitness-tracking features. Whether or not you actually exercise on a regular basis, the Watch will monitor your steps and activity level, and use that data to track your daily movement via three rings that you’re encouraged to close. The “move” ring is how many active calories you burn in a day, the “exercise” ring tracks activity at or above a brisk walk, and the “stand” ring notes whether or not you get up and move for a minute or two each hour of the day.
When you set up your Apple Watch, it’ll suggest daily goals for each of these, and the Activity app (or the Fitness app on your iPhone) will show how close you are to hitting them. If you’ve never used an Apple Watch before, it’s fine to just go with the defaults — every week, you’ll get a recap of how you did and it’ll even suggest bumping up your Move number if you’re easily surpassing it. The exercise and stand options default to 30 minutes per day and 12 hours per day, respectively, but those too can be adjusted.
For extra motivation, the Fitness app lets you connect with other friends who use an Apple Watch and see how much progress they’re making against their three rings. Naturally, you can use this information to taunt them about their couch-potato habits, but you can also challenge them to informal competitions. You earn points based on the percentage you close each of your rings every day, and the person with the most points after a week wins. It’s pretty casual, but it’s also a fun way to stay motivated.
If you want to track a specific workout, like a run, walk, or weight-training session you do that in the “workout” app. There, you’ll find the many different types of workouts that the Watch can track. If you already have a favorite way to track exercise on your phone, though, chances are you can find it for the Apple Watch too. Nike Run Club, MapMyRun, Peloton and others all have Watch apps that let you track workouts using the wearable’s sensors. Also, a lot of apps can now connect with the Health app on your iPhone. It’s a database of all your activity and workout data from your Watch, so you might be able to easily sync workout data from there into your service of choice. As with most things Apple Watch, it’ll just take a bit of playing around to see what works best for you.
Other health features
Newer Apple Watches offer a few other health-tracking features, as well. For example, you can rest your thumb on the Apple Watch crown to take an ECG measurement, or have the watch detect your blood oxygen level. Those features don’t really require anything to get started, but ones like sleep tracking, medication reminders and advanced cycle tracking via the temperature sensor on the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra require some adjustments to work properly.
You’ll find sleep settings on your iPhone in the Health app. There, you can set a goal for how many hours of sleep you want to get a night and tell your Watch and iPhone what time you want to get up every day. You can also set up different schedules (for the week or weekend) and fine-tune details like what alarm sounds you want and when the sleep focus setting (which reduces distractions like notifications and the always-on display) turns on. Once that’s done, you can view sleep history data on your Watch or phone that shows how much time you spend in REM, core or deep sleep as well as when and how often you wake up.
The medication tracking feature is pretty lightweight, but potentially handy if you want help sticking to your schedule. As with most of these other features, you set up a schedule in the Health app on your iPhone. From there you’ll add the medication name, add a schedule and a visual identifier and also take note of any interactions you want to have on record. Once that’s done, you can log all your medications for the day or an individual one through the Apple Watch app.
Apple
If you menstruate, the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra can use a temperature sensor along with your reported data on when you have your period to estimate when you may be ovulating. To use this, you’ll need to set up manual cycle tracking in the Health app on your phone first, which lets you log the days you have your period each month (you can do this via an app on the Apple Watch itself, too). Assuming you input this data and wear your Watch when sleeping, you’ll then be able to get a notification on when you may be ovulating.
Given the extremely sensitive nature of this data, Apple has a detailed write-up on how it keeps this private. Long story short, Apple Health information is encrypted and unreadable by default if your phone is locked behind a passcode, Touch ID or Face ID. And if you use iOS 12 or later and have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID, it can be backed up to iCloud while still remaining unreadable by Apple.
However, you may have granted third-party apps access to your health data at some point. If you want to check and rescind those permissions, go to the Health app on your iPhone and tap the “sharing” tab at the bottom. There you’ll see what apps have access to your Health data and what specific pieces of info they can see. For example, Runkeeper can view things like my walking and running distance as well as workouts that I log, but it doesn’t have access to sleep or medication tracking. In this menu, you can delete all data that third-party apps have access to and revoke an app’s permissions to see your health info.
Music
One of my favorite things about the Apple Watch is that it can stream music and podcasts – not just from Apple’s services but others like Spotify and Pandora as well. You’ll need a cellular-capable Watch to stream music without your phone, but the good news is that Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora all allow you to save music directly on the Watch as well. Regardless of whether you spring for the cellular model or not, there’s a way to listen to tunes and leave your phone behind.
If you’re an Apple Music user, you’ll manage downloads through the Watch app on your iPhone. Pop that open and go to the “Music” section and you’ll see a big button to add songs. There’s also a setting that’ll automatically download albums and playlists you’ve listened to recently – turn that on and you’ll always have some music on your wrist.
It’s easy to choose specific albums or playlists you want saved, too. Just hit the big plus button and you’ll see your Apple Music library. From there, just navigate to what you want, hit another plus button and it’ll be downloaded to your Watch. Note that music only transfers when your Watch is charging, so you’ll need to take it off your wrist to sync.
If you’re using Spotify, just navigate to an album, playlist or podcast on your phone and tap the three dots icon – you’ll see an option to “download to Apple Watch” there. Then, on your watch, there’s a clearly-marked “downloads” section where you can play content without a connection.
Experiment, experiment, experiment!
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Like many Apple products, the Apple Watch has a lot of functionality and hidden complexity beneath its user-friendly surface. But I’ve found that the Watch hides a lot of features, so it’s worth checking out the built-in Tips app for suggestions on what you can do. Without a guide like that, you’ll probably never realize that clicking the side button twice summons Apple Pay, or that you can display the grid of icons in a list if you prefer. Chances are good you’re not going to irrevocably mess something up, so tap and swipe and scroll and dig into the settings.
from Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics https://ift.tt/IUA9qrj
When it comes time to write these year-end lists, I usually slim them down to my top five favorite games I played because, despite what this job entails, I usually only have passionate feelings about a handful of games by the time we reach December.
New York governor Kathy Hochul has finally signed a right-to-repair bill into law, over half a year since the state legislature was passed. Representatives for Microsoft and Apple pressed Hochul's office for changes, as well as industry association TechNet, which represents many notable tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Dell and HP. Critics say the amendments will weaken the law's effectiveness. The bill's revised language excludes enterprise electronics, like devices used in schools and hospitals. Home appliances, motor vehicles, medical devices and off-road equipment were also previously exempted.
Whatever aims the right-to-repair bill had when first proposed have been weakened. Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG), a collective of consumer rights organizations, said in a statement to Engadget: "Such changes could limit the benefits for school computers and most products currently in use." It continued: "The bill now excludes certain smartphone circuit boards from parts the manufacturers are required to sell and requires repair shops to post unwieldy warranty language."
– Mat Smith
The Morning After isn’t just anewsletter– it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, bysubscribing right here.
Included in a mammoth $1.7 trillion bill that President Biden just signed.
TikTok will be outlawed on almost all devices issued by the federal government after lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill. Officials recently added the No TikTok on Government Devices Act (what a name) to the bill, which the Senate unanimously approved last week. The mammoth 4,155-page legislation was fast-tracked to avoid a partial government shutdown. It will fund the government through September. The legislation requires the Biden administration to establish rules to remove TikTok from government devices by mid-February. The bill carved out exceptions for elected officials, congressional staff, law enforcement agents and other officials. However, the House of Representatives separately banned TikTok on devices it owns and manages.
CES is nearly here, which means we're once again writing about refrigerators. With its Family Hub Plus, Samsung has boosted the touch display size to 32 inches from 21 inches, although it’s still a vertical screen. Samsung has added support for Google Photos, along with the OneDrive integration seen on past models. There’s also a new SmartThings hub so you can control multiple smart home devices from your… kitchen, including robot vacuums, air conditioning, lighting and more. It also supports Amazon's Your Essentials service, letting you order groceries and other products directly from the touchscreen. Those groceries go inside.
It’s been a decade since the first Tesla EV made its commercial debut and the electrification of American automotive society began in earnest. Over the past ten years as battery capacities have grown and range anxieties have shrunk, electric vehicles have become a daily sight in most parts of the country. Now, virtually every notable automaker on the planet has jumped on the electric bandwagon with sizable investments in battery and production technologies and pledges to electrify their lineups within a decade or so.
Not even recent years’ production slowdowns and supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID pandemic managed to stall the industry’s momentum. The International Energy Agency in January reported that EVs had managed to triple their market share between 2019 and 2021 with 6.6 million units being sold globally last year. And as eventful as 2022 turned out to be, 2023 and beyond could be even bigger for the EV industry. We’re expecting EV debuts including the VW ID.3; the Lucid Gravity, Polestar 3, Jeep (one of four!) and Honda’s Prologue SUVs.
Steam Deck, Valve’s mega-powerful mini-PC, only arrived this year, and while there are many reasons to check out one of the most exciting pieces of gaming hardware available today, the amount of great, hassle-free games available on the device is proof enough of its success.
Congratulations, you got a next-gen console. It’s hard to believe that two years after the launch of the Xbox Series X/S, it’s still hard to find one. But you did it. Or someone who really loves you did and gifted it to you for the holidays. How nice of them! Either way, now that you got a new Xbox, you might be…
PlayStation players are once again asking for PS4, PS5 trophies to drop multiplayer requirement for the coveted Platinum trophy in some games. This has been a hotly debated topic among trophy hunters for a number of years, especially when it comes to games that are primarily single-player or those with an additional co-op feature.
PS4, PS5 trophies are often impacted by server shutdowns and lack of online players
A popular Reddit post over the holiday highlighted an issue that has been brought up repeatedly: server shutdowns and lack of players online. Games like Uncharted and The Last of Us, which are primarily single-player, are often quoted as examples of games where multiplayer trophies should not be required to obtain the Platinum.
Servers for sports games are shut down quite frequently, and while there are ways to find players to team up with via sites like Reddit and PSNProfiles, it’s a cumbersome process for many. Then, there are those who simply don’t want to play online or purchase a subscription to do so.
I’m not exactly a trophy hunter but I encountered this issue when playing Deathloop. Despite playing the game when it was fairly new, I couldn’t find anyone to play with. To date, I haven’t had the chance to check out the online component, let alone unlock the two trophies associated with it.
Internet sleuths have found references to an unannounced PS5 first-person shooter in the portfolio of a former PS Studios Visual Arts developer, and it’s apparently releasing in 2024. Sony has previously confirmed that PS Studios are collectively working on well over 25 new IP, including AAA shooters. However, we haven’t seen a single reveal yet, and there’s been no indication of a release window for any of the games.
PS5 first-person shooter likely in development at Firewalk Studios or Deviation Games
As reported by ResetEra and PCGame About, senior character artist Frank Aliberti (who now works at 2K) lists two PS5 shooters on his ArtStation profile: a third-person co-op shooter (thought to be Helldivers 2) out in 2023, and a first-person shooter expected in 2024.
So far, we know that Sony has one AAA shooter in development at Deviation Games, and although there’s no official confirmation whether it’s third-person or first-person, job listings suggest that it might be a first-person shooter. Then, there’s the Sony partnership with Firewalk Studios comprised of former Call of Duty and Destiny developers. This partnership was announced in 2021 and given the development team’s history, it’s widely believed that the companies are working on a AAA shooter.
Whatever the case, it looks like we might finally get more (official) clues about Firewalk and Deviation projects in 2023.
Details on Dragon’s Dogma 2 have been unfortunately thin. Luckily, the game’s director, Hideaki Itsuno, has a status update in a statement to Japanese magazine Famitsu, stating that development is “moving along well.” The last time we heard anything substantial about the sequel to Capcom’s open-world fantasy adventure was in June, when Itsuno and other devs announced the game on a T-shirt.
A Dragon’s Dogma update is long overdue
In response to Famitsu (as translated by Gematsu), which asked Japanese developers on what to expect from them in 2023, Itsuno said:
I’m currently immersed in the production of Dragon’s Dogma 2, so much so that I’m losing my sense of what season it is. Things are moving along well, so I hope to further our development progress so that we can share an update with you as soon as possible.
It’s surprising that we still don’t have a release date, let alone a release window, for Dragon’s Dogma 2. We know from the Dragon’s Dogma 10th Anniversary Stream that Capcom is using the RE Engine for the sequel. And well, that’s about it.
A substantial leak back in 2020 revealed that Dragon’s Dogma 2 was slated for a “Q2 FY22” release, but that has since passed. And it looks like both Street Fighter 6 and the Resident Evil 4 Remake will come out well before it.
Since then, a Dragon’s Dogma series on Netflix released in September 2020, which renewed some interest in the original game as well as re-release Dark Arisen.
Whether you just got your hands on a new phone or want to give your current device a makeover, the easiest way to make the most of your smartphone is to try out new apps. The tricky part is not going overboard and installing too many. Below you'll find a dozen of the best smartphones apps we think you should try.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden
If you only take one piece of advice away from this article, it's that you should download a password manager. If you’ve never used one before, it’s hard to go wrong with Bitwarden. It won’t wow you with beautifully designed apps, but you’ll appreciate its fair business model. The best part of the Bitwarden experience is that all of its core features are free to use. Without paying a cent, you can use Bitwarden on as many devices as you want. By comparison, LastPass charges $3 per month for that same functionality. If you want to support Bitwarden, the $10 per year Premium plan is well worth the money as you get access to features like advanced two-factor authentication.
FireFox
Firefox
If it's been a few years since you last used Firefox, now is a great time to revisit it. Partway through last year, Mozilla overhauled the Android version of its browser to bring over many of its best desktop features to mobile. That release saw Mozilla add more robust support for third-party add-ons. It also brought over its Enhanced Tracking Protection feature, which stops trackers from misusing your browsing data. Separately, with Apple allowing you to change your default browser since the release of iOS 14, there's never been a better time for iPhone users to liberate themselves from Safari.
Headspace
Headspace
I subscribed to Headspace at the start of the pandemic. Since then, it's become one of the few apps I use every day. Yes, Headspace is a meditation and mindfulness app, but it's also so much more than that. You'll find it also has a mix of music designed to help you focus and workouts for unwinding at the end of a long day. Across the board, everything it offers is excellent, and you'll find yourself turning to it for more than just peace of mind.
Notion
Notion
Notion is one of the most powerful productivity tools you can download right now, and if your goal for 2023 is to organize your personal and professional lives, I can’t recommend it enough. What makes Notion so powerful is an interface that looks simple but offers a lot of flexibility. I’ve used Notion to create to-do lists, write notes and features and manage personal projects. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. My suggestion is to head over to YouTube to see how other people have used Notion’s features to organize their lives.
Libby
Libby
If you want to do more reading in 2022, forget about buying books through Amazon and download Libby instead. If you're not familiar with the app, it allows you to borrow ebooks, digital magazines and graphic novels from your local library. All you need is a library card, which most systems across the US offer for free. Sometimes you have to wait to borrow the books you want to read most, but you'll find Libby will dramatically expand your reading list.
Transit
Transit
There's nothing worse than waiting for a bus on a cold winter’s day or watching three go by one after another. Avoid both situations with one of the best public transit planning apps on Android and iOS. Transit excels where other apps in the category fail thanks to its clean, easy-to-use interface that highlights all the options near you. It also has one of the better algorithms for predicting departure times, so you'll know exactly when you need to run out of your house or apartment to catch the next bus, train or streetcar.
Paprika
Paprika
Paprika is the best $5 you can spend to make feeding yourself even easier. At its core, it allows you to download recipes from your favorite websites and make them accessible on all your devices. You can also use it to scale the size of the meal you're about to cook and convert between metric and imperial measurements. Add to that a meal planner, shopping lists and a tool for tracking the ingredients in your pantry, and you have an indispensable app for home cooks.
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts
With podcasts becoming ever more popular with each passing year, there's a good chance you already have a handful of favorite shows you listen to every week. As much as Spotify would like to convince you it has the best podcast app, that distinction goes to Pocket Casts. We like it because it offers a consistently great experience across every system it supports. And if you use a mix of platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft, you don't have to worry about syncing, either. It’s also nice to use software that doesn’t feel caught between two worlds in the way that Spotify does. Pocket Casts isn’t trying to be anything more than an app for listening to podcasts. That’s not something you can say of Spotify, and it’s often a source of frustration for those who turn to it for music.
Pocket
Pocket
Another way to read more in 2022 is to download Pocket. It's among the most popular read-it-later apps out there, allowing you to save articles you find online. Much like Pocket Casts, what makes this app compelling is that it offers a consistently excellent device-agnostic experience, making it a great option for those who haven't gone all-in on one ecosystem. Whether you use Chrome, Safari or Edge, you can install a browser extension to save articles you stumble upon. You can then read them later without distractions on your phone or tablet. Just don't forget to make a dent in your Pocket reading list occasionally.
Signal
Signal
We understand, asking your friends and family to install another messaging app on their phone can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean task, but the effort has also never been more worth it. In Signal, you'll find one of the most secure chat apps on the market. It has all the features you would expect from a messaging program, including support for stickers and Snapchat-like Stories, but more important are the ways Signal is different from rivals like WhatsApp and Telegram. Signal is a nonprofit and is one of the few apps committed to privacy rather than revenue via data collection. That means you won’t see any ads in the app, nor will the company sell your data to third-party marketers.
Tunnelbear
Tunnelbear
After a Password manager, one of the best tools you can use to safeguard your online privacy is a VPN. Again, there are many options out there, but we like TunnelBear for its simplicity and whimsical ursine theme. A VPN isn't as essential as a password manager, but you'll want to get one if you frequently find yourself traveling or using the public WiFi at places like cafes and libraries. Using a VPN in those contexts will ensure your connection is protected with encryption so that any information you send over remains safe and private.
Snapseed
Snapseed
Most recent phones come with great cameras. Still, even with the latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel, almost every photo can benefit from an edit before you share it. The options you have for photo editing apps are nearly endless, but if you want something that works well, look no further than Snapseed. It's an old favorite that offers a comprehensive suite of editing options but never gets bogged down in too many sliders and dials. Best of all, it makes it easy to save edits to your camera roll and upload them to apps like Instagram.
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Health company Movano has teased its first smart ring, the Evie, designed for health, fitness and cycle tracking. It looks like a rival to Oura's latest smart ring and other health-tracking wearables, though the company says it's "designed uniquely for women." Movano plans to provide a closer look next week at CES 2023.
The ring made its debut at CES 2022 with no name and a similar design, but Movano has since changed course on price and other factors. It will sell the ring sometime in 2023 at a one-time price below $300 (there's no exact date or price yet), rather than using a subscription model as it said last year.
It offers many of the health metrics seen on Oura's ring and wearables from Apple and others. It can measure heart rate, blood-oxygen, skin temperature variability, steps, calories, sleep, period and ovulation tracking, and more. Wearers will can get advice from health experts inside the app and it will meet medical device manufacturing standards, the company promised.
"As a medical device, Evie will go beyond the status quo of other wearables on the market," said Movano CEO John Mastrototaro. "We are bringing together medical grade biometric data and insights in a comfortable and contemporary wearable."
With the ability to measure steps, calories burned and specific activities, Evie can also be used as a fitness tracker. However, it's primary purpose is to give a picture of overall health, "turning biometric data into actionable insights," Movano wrote in the press release.
The company also promises security and privacy when transferring data to the cloud or health providers. It's currently seeking all-important FDA clearance, which will dictate the release date. If that takes too long, though, it may come to market as a wellness device at first. The Evie smart ring will only be released in the US to start with, but may come to other markets later — we should learn more about it next week at CES 2023.
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New Naughty Dog game will have multiple script writers, according to company co-president Neil Druckmann. During an interview with The New Yorker, Druckmann revealed that he’s chosen not to write the script alone or with a single partner. This time, Naughty Dog will have a “writer’s room.”
Neil Druckmann “stoked” to show new Naughty Dog game
Druckmann told The New Yorker that Naughty Dog’s next game will be “structured more like a TV show,” unlike the studio’s previous games, whereby there will be a team of writers working on the project. Unfortunately, his comments were misconstrued due to a misleading tweet by Geoff Keighley (via The Game Awards’ Twitter account), prompting him to deliver a clarification. He also said that he is “stoked” to show the “projects,” indicating that he’s referring to multiple games.
Rumor has it that The Last of Us 3 is currently in development with Neil Druckmann at the helm, but it’s unclear if this will be Naughty Dog’s next game. The rumored Uncharted reboot is apparently being developed at a different studio. There are no new updates regarding The Last of Us multiplayer.
The Harry Potter books, and the universe they spawned, are beloved by millions. It’s so unfortunate, then, that the franchise’s creator, author J.K. Rowling, has repeatedly proven herself to be the worst kind of anti-transgender bigot. That bigotry is in the spotlight once again as the big-ticket Harry Potter game …
The PS Plus Essential January 2023 games line-up leaked just ahead of the holiday – a nice Christmas present from trusty Dealabs user Billbil-kun. In what has become a tradition over the past year, the leaker beat Sony to the punch, and given their history, rest assured that we will get Fallout 76, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Axiom Verge 2 next month.
When will PS Plus Essential January 2023 games go live?
PS Plus Essential games always go live on the first Tuesday of the month. January’s line-up will, therefore, go live next week on the 3rd. Sony has yet to formally confirm the aforementioned line-up, but we expect that announcement to be made via the PS Blog sometime later today.
Players will be able to claim December’s Essential line-up by January 2nd, if they haven’t already. As a reminder, December’s games include Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Biomutant, and Divine Knockout. After it goes live, January 2023’s games line-up will be available until February 6th, following which players who are still subscribed to PS Plus will be able to hang on to the games as long as their PS Plus membership remains active.
German researchers who purchased biometric capture devices on eBay found sensitive US military data stored on the machine’s memory cards. According to The New York Times, that included fingerprints, iris scans, even photographs, names and descriptions of the individuals, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many individuals worked with the US army and could be targeted if the devices fell into the wrong hands, according to the report. One device was purchased at a military auction, and the seller said they were unaware that it contained sensitive data. There was an easy solution too: The US military could have eliminated the risk by simply removing or destroying the memory cards before selling them.
Workers at Proletariat, a Boston-based studio Blizzard bought earlier this year, announced they recently filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Proletariat is the third Activision Blizzard studio to announce a union drive in 2022. However, past campaigns at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany involved the quality assurance workers at those studios – the effort at Proletariat includes all non-management workers. The employees at Proletariat say they aim to preserve the studio’s “progressive, human-first” benefits, including its flexible paid time off policy and robust healthcare options. Additionally, they want to protect the studio from crunch – compulsory overtime during game development.
LG is taking a more minimalist approach to its kitchen appliances in 2023, with less showy profiles, colors and, seemingly, controls. While we’re not getting a close-up look at all the dials and buttons yet, the appliances look restrained compared to previous years’ models. In the past, we’ve seen a washing machine whose flagship feature was an entire extra washing machine. There was also a dryer that had two doors. Just because. LG says it’s used recycled materials across multiple machine parts, adding that its latest appliances also require fewer total parts and less energy than typical kitchen appliances. This would dovetail with the company’s announcements at the start of the year, where LG said it would offer upgradability for its home appliances. So far, that’s included new filters for certain use cases and software upgrades with new washing programs for laundry machines.
Lawmakers and staff members who have TikTok on their phones would have to delete it.
TikTok is now banned on any device owned and managed by the US House of Representatives, according to Reuters. The House's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) reportedly told all lawmakers and their staff in an email that they must delete the app from their devices, because it's considered "high risk due to a number of security issues." Further still, everyone detected to have the social networking application on their phones would be contacted to make sure it's deleted.
LG may not make smartphones anymore, but it's still building components for them. The company's LG Innotek arm just unveiled a periscope-style true optical zoom camera module with a 4-9 times telephoto range. Most smartphone cameras use hybrid zoom setups that combine certain zoom ranges (typically 2x, 3x, 10x, etc.) with a digital zoom to fill in between those (2.5x, 4.5x, etc.), leading to reduced detail. LG's "Optical Zoom Camera," however, contains a zoom actuator with movable components, like a mirrorless or DSLR camera. That would help retain full image quality through the entire zoom range, while potentially reducing the size and number of modules required. Could this mean the death of the camera bump?
On Tuesday, workers at Proletariat, the Boston-based studio Blizzard bought earlier this year to support World of Warcraft development, announced they recently filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Proletariat is the third Activision Blizzard studio to announce a union drive in 2022, but where past campaigns at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany involved the quality assurance workers at those studios, the effort at Proletariat includes all non-management workers. The 57 workers who want to form the Proletariat Workers Alliance include animators, game designers and software engineers. The group seeks representation from the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the union that helped QA staff at Raven Software and Blizzard Albany organize.
“Everyone in the video game industry knows Activision Blizzard’s reputation for creating a hostile work environment, so earlier this year, when we heard that Blizzard was planning to acquire Proletariat, we started to discuss how we could protect the great culture we have created here,” said Dustin Yost, a software engineer at Proletariat. “By forming a union and negotiating a contract, we can make sure that we are able to continue doing our best work and create innovative experiences at the frontier of game development.”
The Proletariat Workers Alliance asked Activision Blizzard to recognize their union voluntarily. According to the group, the company has yet to respond to the request. Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.
The workers at Proletariat say they aim to preserve the studio’s “progressive, human-first” benefits, including its flexible paid time off policy and robust healthcare options. Additionally, they want to protect the studio from crunch, the practice of forcing compulsory overtime during the development of a game. They’re asking management to commit to a no-mandatory overtime policy and implement better pay and health protections for workers who agree to voluntary overtime. The Proletariat Workers Alliance says their colleagues also shouldn’t be penalized during performance reviews for not taking on extra work.
In June, Microsoft announced it would respect all unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard following the close of its $68.7 billion deal to buy the publisher. Earlier this month, the FTC sued the tech giant to block the merger.
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While competitive players continue to plumb Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s strategic depth and tease out its tactical wrinkles, one creature has gotten a shocking amount of playtime over the last month: Murkrow. The unevolved flying dark type isn’t a heavy hitter and its stats are absolute trash, but it does have a…
LG may not make smartphones anymore, but it's still building components for them. The company's LG Innotek arm just unveiled a periscope-style true optical zoom camera module with a 4-9 times telephoto range. That would allow smartphone cameras to retain full image quality through the entire zoom range, while potentially reducing the size and number of modules required.
Samsung developed a similar camera module, also known as a "folded" lens, with a four times zoom first used in the Galaxy S20 Ultra smartphone. LG Innotek provided a previous version of its zoom module to Sony for the Xperia 1 IV smartphone.
Most smartphone cameras use hybrid zoom setups that combine digital zoom and multiple camera modules. Certain zoom ranges (typically 2x, 3x, 10x, etc.) use individual cameras, with a digital zoom to fill in between those (2.5x, 4.5x, etc.). As a result, sensor resolution and thus detail can be considerably reduced.
LG's "Optical Zoom Camera," however, contains a zoom actuator with movable components, similar to what you'd seen on a zoom lens in a mirrorless or DSLR camera. It operates quickly and precisely down to the micrometer, according to LG, while saving battery life. It also has a built-in optical image stabilizer to reduce blur, something that can be a problem for telephoto lenses that magnify hand movements. (iFixit shows exactly how such modules work here.)
With the module installed, a sensor would retain full resolution through the entire 4-9x zoom range, providing more detail on telephoto shots. LG also pared down the module's thickness to reduce the size of the camera bump.
The company partnered with Qualcomm to integrate the tech in the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. "It will enhance the image tuning custom for the optics, which includes Auto-Focus, Auto-Exposure, Auto-White Balance, lens shading correction and much more. Users will be able to focus quickly. And the photos and videos will have stunning image quality," LG wrote.
The new module will appear in smartphones announced at CES 2023 starting January 3rd. LG didn't reveal any brands or models, but there are a number of smartphones coming soon with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset that could potentially use it. Those include the OnePlus 11 series, Xiaomi 13, Motorola X40 and Oppo Find X. Apple is also a large customer of LG Innotek and could use the zoom module in next year's iPhone 15 series, according to previous reports.
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LG’s latest upgraded appliances, including washing machines, refrigerators, ovens and a dishwasher, feature, well, less. It’s taking a more minimalist approach in 2023 with less showy profiles, colors and, seemingly, controls. While we’re not getting a close-up look at all the dials and buttons yet, the appliances look restrained compared to previous years’ models. In past years, we’ve seen a washing machine whose feature was an entire extra washing machine. There was also a dryer that had two doors. Just because. LG also once even experimented with creating washing machines that could clean your clothes without any water.
This year's appliances will have a simpler design language, with what LG says is an "elegantly clear control experience." The company says it’s made its latest range to ensure it can “match with any kind of décor, color scheme, or interior trend.” It used recycled materials across multiple machine parts, adding that its latest appliances also require fewer total parts and less energy than typical kitchen appliances.
This would dovetail with the company’s announcements at the start of the year, where LG said it would offer upgradability for its home appliances. So far, that’s included new filters for certain use cases and software upgrades to offer new washing programs for laundry machines. The company said it planned to introduce 20 models with upgradeable features but hasn’t confirmed how many actually arrived. Simpler, more streamlined hardware could make for easier for LG to replace more substantial parts, like motors and heating elements, to be even more efficient or effective.
However, will fewer buttons mean fewer features or less flexibility? We don’t know yet, but I like the subtler aesthetic. LG will reveal its new appliance family at CES 2023 — a show that always sneaks in countless kitchen appliances alongside the latest TVs, EVs and more. The show kicks off in Las Vegas in a week’s time.
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German researchers who purchased biometric capture devices on eBay found sensitive US military data stored on their memory cards, The New York Times has reported. That included fingerprints, iris scans, photographs, names and descriptions of the individuals, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many worked with the US army and could be targeted if the devices fell into the wrong hands, according to the report.
A group of researchers called the Chaos Computer Club, led by Matthias Marx, bought six of the devices on eBay, most for under $200. They were spurred by a 2021 report from The Intercept that the Taliban had seized similar US military biometric devices. As such, they wanted to see if they contained identifying data on people who assisted the US Military that could put them at risk.
They were "shocked" by the results, according to the report. On the memory card of one device, they found the names, nationalities, photographs, fingerprints and iris scans of 2,632 people. Other metadata showed it had been used near Kandahar, Afghanistan in the summer of 2012. Another device was used in Jordan in 2013 and contained the fingerprints and iris scans of a small group of US military personnel.
Such devices were used to identify insurgents, verify local and third-country nationals accessing US bases and link people to events, according to a 2011 guide to the devices. "It was disturbing that [the US military] didn’t even try to protect the data,” Marx told the NY Times. “They didn’t care about the risk, or they ignored the risk.
One device was purchased at a military auction, and the seller said they were not aware that it contained sensitive data. The sensitive information was stored on a memory card, so the US military could have eliminated the risk by simply removing or destroying the cards before selling them.
"Because we have not reviewed the information contained on the devices, the department is not able to confirm the authenticity of the alleged data or otherwise comment on it," Defense Department press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told the Times. "The department requests that any devices thought to contain personally identifiable information be returned for further analysis."
Given the sensitivity of the information, the group plans to delete any personally identifiable information found on the devices. Another researcher noted that any individuals found on such devices aren't safe even if they changed their identities, and should be given asylum by the US government.
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What a year for gaming. While 2022 may not have enjoyed as many AAA releases as in past years, the ones that weren’t delayed into 2023 were stellar and the indie development scene more than made up for the lack of big-budget titles. Some of our favorite releases this year came from small, ambitious teams that delivered fresh ideas. As is tradition, the Engadget team came together to extol the virtues of our favorite releases from the past 12 months.
Bayonetta 3 is a delicious amplification of the series’ most ridiculous themes. It indulges in absurdity without disrupting the rapid-fire combat or Bayonetta’s unrivaled sense of fashion and wit. Bayonetta 3 is joyful, mechanically rich and full of action, plus it allows players to transform into a literal hell train in order to take down massive beasts bent on destroying the multiverse. Bayonetta elegantly dances her way through battles, dropping one-liners and shooting enemies with her gun shoes in one moment, and turning into a giant spider creature the next.
The Bayonetta series just keeps getting weirder, but that doesn’t mean it’s losing its sense of satisfying gameplay along the way. In the franchise’s third installment, Bayonetta is powerful, confident and funny; she’s a drag queen in a universe loosely held together by witchcraft, and the chaos of this combination is truly magical. – Jessica Conditt, Senior Reporter
Sure, you’ve played Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Hades and The Binding of Isaac – but what if you could play all of them at once, in a single adorable demonic package? That’s Cult of the Lamb, baby.
Cult of the Lamb is part social and farming simulator, part dungeon-crawling roguelike and all-around fantastic. After being sacrificed and resurrected, you’re instructed by a grand, dark deity to start your own cult, managing worship services, agriculture, cooking, marriages, deaths and much more. You must also venture into the wilderness to battle demons and recruit more followers. Keep in mind that you’re a lamb, which makes all of this exceptionally cute.
Cult of the Lamb is a brilliant balance of satanic dungeon crawling and cult simulation, offering more action than Animal Crossing and more casual farming mechanics than Hades. Cult of the Lamb is incredibly satisfying, and it’s rich in gameplay, story and environments. Most of all, it’s cute as hell. – J.C.
There was never going to be a version of this post that did not include Elden Ring, FromSoftware's big push into open-world Berserk-inspired sword and sorcery.
Yes, there's something to be said about the earlier, more linear Souls games forcing players down a path of increasing gloom and difficulty (cue the hallmark rasping laugh of an NPC who seems to know precisely how screwed you are), how the inevitability of that experience allowed the devs to craft a bespoke gameplay loop of apprehension, frustration, discovery and the eventual reward of mastery. I love that stuff! But Elden Ring tried something new, effectively playing a shell game with those four player states, and making discovery the new initial draw.
My big "aha!" moments in Dark Souls 3 or Bloodborne arrived when I'd finally spotted a shortcut or sussed out a boss's hidden weakness. Elden Ring retained that. But what really made the good brain chemicals flow was just… roaming around. Reaching the top of some lava-ridden mesa. Or finding a way onto some seemingly inaccessible islet. The grandeur of the settings and knowledge FromSoft wouldn't make me work for a slice of geography devoid of treasures to loot and dudes to hack apart made the effort worthwhile.
Some fans adore the limited palate of Sekiro which essentially tells players, "git gud or quit." Call me a bad gamer (accurate) but I prefer the maximalism and flexibility that Elden Ring brought to the table. Want to grind until every boss is trivial? How about a hitless all-remembrances run? Either, and anything in between, is valid. Allowing for challenge and accessibility makes Elden Ring a beautifully executed twist on the formula FromSoft has been honing for nearly 30 years. – Avery Menegus, Senior News Editor
Sometimes, games you were once really looking forward to playing just sneak past you at launch. That’s totally true of Ghostwire: Tokyo, a game from Tango Gameworks, which also created the underrated horror game The Evil Within and its sequel.
Ghostwire: Tokyo is different to those, though. It’s often… funny. Sure, there are grotesque Japanese folklore monsters and creepy faceless men-in-suits to hurl magic at, but there are also ghosts trapped in toilet cubicles that need a few extra rolls of toilet paper, or park trees that need to be magically cleansed for nearby spirits to feel at ease. You play through a first-person perspective, using elemental attacks, charms and a spiritual bow and arrow set to take down an array of spirits that have invaded a substantial patch of central Tokyo. If you’ve heard the game described as Yakuza, but with ghosts, well, it’s a completely different kind of game. But the beautifully rendered buildings, interiors and streets definitely hit similar notes. Due to a supernatural attack on the city, you won’t bump into any other humans, pretty much through the entire campaign, which adds an eerie air to the entire game. It’s either ghouls trying to kill you, or spirits that need your help to move on.
The main game is short but punchy enough. It feels like a game that was banking on DLC to round out a lot of the more ambiguous plot questions players might have, but it’s uncertain whether that will ever happen. It’s still a fun supernatural game that takes a different approach to horror, with some mind-bending set pieces that bring some of the more imaginative parts of games like Control into the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. And who doesn’t want to be stalked by hundreds of paper eyeballs? – Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief
When I was first introduced to Kratos, the God of War, he was on my PS2, taking a stroll along a Cretan wharf, casually tearing a few Minotaurs in half. Things only went downhill from there. For a full three mythos-crushing game installments, things only went downhill from there. I mean, by the end of GoW III you had to dig pretty far down the Pantheon talent list to find a surviving deity.
But when we were reintroduced to Kratos on the PS4, we were not given back the pale ball of vengeful fury and barely-contained ultraviolence that we had grown to know and love. This new one was, well, not softer but at least not quite so hard-edged as before. This was a Kratos with bad knees who old-man grunted when he stood; a Kratos with a son he struggled to connect with but still reared in a dangerous and unforgiving world, demi-god or not. This was a more relatable Kratos, one that had aged alongside the gamers that inhabit his form in the intervening console years, with concerns and motivation beyond most efficiently chain slashing his way through enemy hordes.
I think a big part of what made God of War the Game of the Year in 2018 was that progression away from thinly-veiled plot points serving as excuses for more blood, boobs and button smashing; and towards a more mature, measured examination, not just of Kratos’ relationship with Atreus, but the larger theme of how to process familial loss, its accompanying grief, and to move forward from the pain.
Ragnarok is both an affirmation of Kratos’ reformation and a lodestar for the future of the God of War franchise. I’m not going to spoil the rich and nuanced multi-arc-with-just-a-hint-of-time-travel storyline for those who have not yet played but it, in my opinion at least, is the best written of the series. This is a game with cutscenes you’ll want to sit through. Combine that with well-paced skill-adjustable action, huge maps packed with treasures and secrets, an expansive supporting cast and star-studded voice acting – not to mention a menagerie-worth of mystical wildlife just begging to be torn limb from limb – and you’ve got yourself one of the best games of 2022. — Andrew Tarantola, Senior Reporter
Sony’s first-party studios have generally done sequelsright, and Horizon Forbidden Westis no exception. The first game had one of my favorite narratives, as protagonist Aloy learned what happened a thousand years prior to bring about the mysterious world she (and the player) inhabit – one where mankind lives in relatively primitive tribes trying to stay safe from giant animal-like machines run amok.
Forbidden West delivers even more of what worked in Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy remains a steadfast, righteous and occasionally stubborn protagonist who continues to grow as she uncovers more secrets about the world around her while fighting a totally unexpected force bent on destroying Earth as she knows it. The twists of Forbidden West don’t quite match the first game’s reveal of how the world we know evolved into the world Aloy inhabits. But the narrative is still rich and complex, and the new parts of what was once the American southwest that you get to explore are rendered in stunning detail. It’s one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played.
As with any good sequel, combat and traversal around the world have been refined – there are more weapons than ever, and you can customize them to match your play style or the particular enemies you’re facing. Melee combat against humans and machines alike has also been significantly upgraded, and new items like a grappling hook and hang glider make getting around quicker and more fun. And nearly all the machines from the first game return, along with some colossal new enemies that present a massive challenge, but also a massive bit of satisfaction as you figure out their weak spots and systematically take them down.
I think my favorite new thing of Forbidden West, though, is the relationships you build with your friends. In the first game, Aloy is mostly a lone wolf, occasionally partnering with people here and there but mostly doing things on her own. In Forbidden West, though, you establish a posse of capable and likable companions, some old and some new, all of whom bring something different to the table in your massive quest. Trying to fend off the end of the world feels just a little bit easier when you have friends by your side. – Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor
With Immortality, indie game director Sam Barlow has delivered a tribute to the surreal films of David Lynch, with a dose of Hitchcock for good measure. Similar to Her Story, it's also entirely about scrubbing through video clips, except this time it involves footage from three unreleased genre films spanning several decades. Your job? To figure out what happened to the actress Marissa Marcel.
Geared more towards cinephiles than mainstream gamers, Immortality can be frustrating if you're not operating on Barlow's wavelength. But if you're a fan of surreal cinema, and you enjoy diving into behind-the-scenes footage, it's a game with endless rewards. The mystery will get you started, but the spooky atmosphere and excellent performances will keep you hooked. – Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor
After getting burnt out on Hearthstone a few years ago, and superhero movies more recently, the last thing I expected to hook me in 2022 was a comic book-themed collectible card game. But then the fine folks at Second Dinner released Marvel Snap and it quickly became my favorite time waster. Because a match lasts less than five minutes, you can easily play a round during commercials, while waiting for the train, or in the bathroom (I’m not judging). And while decks cap out at just 12 cards, there’s a surprising amount of depth with a huge variety of effects and counters. Meanwhile, thanks to appearances from lesser-known characters like Hell Cow, Devil Dinosaur and the Infinaut, the game has prompted me to learn more about Marvel lore than any of the movies ever did. So even though the game is a little barebones at the moment (the only mode is a basic ranked ladder but more features are on the way), Marvel Snap is sure to be a game I continue playing long after I’ve forgotten about whatever happened in the latest Spider-man movie. – Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter
What do you do when you love speed running and score chasing, but you're generally not very good at it? You play Neon White.
Like all good games, Neon White is simple to learn, and difficult to master. The basic ask is that you vanquish every demon from a level and head to a finish marker. It plays like a fast-paced first-person shooter, with the complexity coming from your weapons, which are cards that can either fire or be spent for a special movement or attack ability. The real challenge comes from the scoring system, which grades you based on the time you took to complete a level.
There are just shy of 100 levels, all begging to be learned, repeated and perfected. Despite its first-person shooter visuals, it plays out more like a cross between Trackmania and a platformer. You'll quickly turn that bronze medal into a gold, and then an "ace" that is supposedly your ultimate target. Then you'll see the online leaderboards and realize you've left some seconds on the table. Then you'll randomly achieve the secret red medal on a level, say "oh jesus" and realize that there's a whole hidden tier of perfection for you to attain.
The trick is that everything feels smooth, and fast. From my first gold medal time up to the top-ten-in-the-world run I showed my pretending-to-be-interested friends, every time I turned on the game I felt like a master, inches away from perfection. There are multiple paths through each level, ridiculous shortcuts to discover, and near-infinite degrees of satisfaction waiting after every good run.
The main negative point, for me, is the story, which plays out like a visual novel. I love the genre, and had heard good things about the game's characters, but found the narrative overly slow and just generally dull. There is mercifully a "fast forward" button, and once you've played through everything, a level select screen that lets you jump right into the action.
Despite its storytelling, and a couple of overly long levels that had me gnashing my teeth, Neon White was easily the most fun I had with a game this year. I played on Switch and PC, but a couple of weeks ago it landed on PlayStation as well, and I imagine I'll be starting up a new campaign and playing it all over again soon.– Aaron Souppouris, Executive Editor
Most of the time, single-player narrative-driven games are where I spend most of my gaming time. But once a year, I come across a game like OlliOlli World that I can play for minutes or hours at a time because the gameplay is just so satisfying. The goal in OlliOlli World is simple: become a skateboarding god. You do that by progressing through five worlds, each of which has a dozen or more individual stages, each with a wildly unique course to traverse.
Unlike the earlier games in the OlliOlli series, World is a bit more forgiving at first. It’s much easier to pick up and start pulling off wild moves and combos than ever before. But it’s still fiendishly challenging – if you want to beat every challenge, you’ll need lightning-fast reflexes and the mental stamina to change up your tricks and moves constantly. But once you get fluent in the game’s mechanics, you can enter a flow state where you’re just making moves purely on instinct.
The level and character design in OlliOlli World only enhances this effect. Like the earlier games, each of the five biomes has its own unique characteristics, but in all cases the levels are extremely colorful and interactive, with tons of eye candy and bizarre creatures hanging out in the background. And you can customize your character with clothing and items you pick up for completing challenges, letting you express your personal style in a huge variety of ways. There are also competitive aspects, like the daily challenge where you compete against nine other skaters to post the top score in your group. And every time you visit a level, you’ll see a “rival” score to try and beat. There’s always something pushing you to skate even better in OlliOlli World. – N.I.
Overwatch is my second favorite game of all time. Despite sharper, faster-paced gameplay, some much-needed quality-of-life improvements and the free-to-play shift I've wanted for years, Overwatch 2 isn't quite at that level yet. It's too rough around the edges.
The monetization changes felt like a gut punch. In fairness, many of the high-end skins cost around the same as what you'd pay for outfits in other major free-to-play titles. But newcomers now need to pay up if they want cosmetics that have been in the game for six years – items that veteran players were able to earn for free only a few months ago. Players also need to pay for the premium battle pass, grind through the free tier or wait until it's easier to unlock new heroes in later seasons before getting access to the latest characters.
And yet, Overwatch 2 has a hold over me like no other game. It's still the best multiplayer title around, with a rich lore, a wonderful cast of characters and a colorful aesthetic that helps it stand out from many other games on the market. The ping system is an excellent addition for accessibility, and the four new heroes that have joined the lineup since launch are all a blast. Some of the major hero reworks, especially the Orisa one, have been a resounding success.
As much as I enjoy the game as it is now, Blizzard has laid the foundations for an even more exciting future. Next year will bring long-awaited, story-driven co-op missions to the franchise – until now, we've only had a taste of those during seasonal events. After getting a sneak peek at some of the stuff that's on the way to the PvP side in the next few seasons, including a new core game mode and the season four hero, I can't see myself putting this game down anytime soon. – Kris Holt, Contributing Reporter
Rollerdrome is lush. It’s incredibly stylish, taking cues from 1970s Hollywood sci-fi but with an attractive cel-shaded filter over every scene. Even better than its stunning visuals, Rollerdrome has smooth, precise mechanics that allow players to fall into a flow in every level. The game is all about gliding through the environments on rollerblades, picking up speed and doing tricks while dodging and shooting enemies, managing weapons and controlling time – and it all comes together in a thrilling dystopian bloodsport.
It’s a joy to dodge, dodge, dodge and then leap into the air, slow down time and take out the people shooting at you, refilling ammo and collecting health in the process. Meanwhile, an unsettling story of corporate greed unfolds naturally beneath the rollerblading bloodshed, keeping the stakes high. Rollerdrome was a sleeper hit of 2022, so if you’ve been napping on this one, now’s the time to wake up and play. – J.C.
When I fall in love with a game, it’s the setting that gets me, which maybe explains why I wandered around Fallout 76’s Appalachian wasteland long after most people had left – I wanted to live there. I want to live in the futuristic city where Stray takes place too, but since I’m neither cat nor robot, I wouldn’t be allowed. In the game, you play a standard orange tabby with no special abilities, apart from those given to most felines like agility and jumping prowess. Through a mishap, you find yourself trapped in a domed city populated exclusively by amiable humanoid robots, and you eventually team up with a small drone that lets you “talk” with those androids.
To find your way back to your cat family outside the city, you solve puzzles, fight mutant bacterial blobs and generally follow your curiosity. The cityscape is a gorgeous, multi-level cyberpunk playground that feels a little less hardcore than Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, with plenty of woven rugs to scratch and pillows to nap on. In fact, scratching, napping and otherwise doing cat stuff not only unlocks achievements (I was particularly proud to earn the one for getting a paper bag stuck on my head) they’re also integral to the game.
As my colleague Jessica Conditt said in her review, Stray is “downright joyful.” By leaning into the cat premise, it creates a whole new gaming perspective – you can’t do stuff humans can do, but you can do stuff cats do, like shimmying through small holes and jumping on pipes and bookcases. Living 12 inches off the ground for the cumulative eight hours or so it took me to play the game, I finally understood why cats want to jump on top of everything. The view is just better up there. – Amy Skorheim, Commerce Writer
A ton has been said about how The Last of Us Part I is a remake of a game that was originally released for the PS3 and then remastered a year later for the PS4. (Oh, and it’s coming to PC in early 2023, too.) So, it’s not exactly an essential release if you’ve played it before. But for people who may have heard about the upcoming HBO show and want to know what all the fuss is about – or anyone who loved Joel and Ellie’s journey the first time – this PS5 version is the definitive way to experience this story.
The game has been entirely rebuilt from scratch, and it shows in everything from the ruined post-pandemic cities and surprisingly tranquil forests and mountains to the detail found in collectibles around the world. Most crucially, though, the facial animations are simply stunning. Everyone you encounter, whether a lead character or an NPC you only see once, looks amazingly detailed and realistic. Of course, that means the hordes of infected humans hunting you are even more disturbingly detailed than ever, as well.
The updates aren’t just skin deep, either. Enemies are smarter and more cunning than ever, thanks to developer Naughty Dog using the upgraded AI system they implemented in 2020’s The Last of Us Part II. Humans are more aggressive about flanking you and a lot easier to lose once they find you, while the Infected are even better at hearing you trying to sneak by. There are a host of other updates, big and small, perhaps the most important of which is a massive suite of accessibility features so that almost anyone can give this game a shot.
What hasn’t changed is the story and script – but that isn’t a problem, given that The Last of Us was already well-known for its outstanding performances and plotting. The debate on whether or not The Last of Us Part I was really “necessary” will likely continue, but don’t spend too much time thinking about it. If you’ve never played the game before, this is the way to do it. And if you’re like me and play it every year or two, this is the best way to do so. – N.I.
How do you write about a game that’s best experienced without expectations? That’s the challenge of saying something meaningful about Tunic. You can speak to its influences – primarily The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, with a dash of Soulslike combat – but that doesn’t do the game justice. Worse yet, it fails to capture its appeal. I could also mention its haunting soundtrack by Lifeformed and Janice Kwan or the austere beauty of its art style. But again that’s not quite what makes Tunic so special.
I’m being purposefully vague because to say more would be to rob the game of its magic. So I’ll leave you with this: It’s fitting Tunic casts you as a cutesy fox because the game has a knack of making you feel so clever anytime you work through one of its many mysteries. Do yourself a favor and try to play this one without turning to the internet if you run into a roadblock. On the other end is one of the most rewarding gaming experiences in recent memory. – Igor Bonifacic, Weekend Editor
As a longtime fan of the SRPG genre, no game in the last decade has managed to evoke classics like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre more than Triangle Strategy. I admit it’s a bit of a slow burn and it gets a bit text-heavy, but with multiple endings (including a New Game+ mode), a deep roster of characters and rewarding turn-based combat, this game has it all. And thanks to its art style, which masterfully blends old-school sprites with a modern 2.5D approach, this game looks and feels like a love letter to those all-time greats of the late 90s. If you’re a fan of tactics games, Triangle Strategy is a must-play. – S.R.
I had such good intentions for my Steam Deck. I swore I'd use it to get through my Steam backlog and stream a bunch of games from Xbox Cloud Gaming and Stadia (RIP). Sure, I do those things, but only on the rare occasion I can rip my attention away from Vampire Survivors.
It is a rudimentary-looking game with very basic controls. You'll face hordes of monsters, but because your weapons autofire, the only real control you have is using the thumbstick or touch controls to move your character. You'll need to carefully juke away from some enemies while getting close enough to kill others and pick up the experience gems they drop. After you collect enough gems and level up, you’re able to select another weapon or powerup.
This is where many of the game's intricacies come in. You'll get a random selection of weapons and power-ups to choose from at every level, as well as the ability to make your items more powerful. If you find the right pairings, you can evolve weapons into ultra-powerful forms. Vampire Survivors is the perfect distillation of the power fantasy. Flesh out the right build and you'll carve through bosses that once seemed unbeatable like a lightsaber through ice cream.
This game begs you to keep coming back. Since it debuted in early access last December, developer Poncle has frequently updated the game with more characters, weapons, items and levels. Part of the joy is in building different loadouts that can demolish enemies with ease. Vampire Survivors also shares some DNA with casinos. There's an explosion of color and some upbeat, tension-filled music whenever you open a treasure chest, along with a delightful chime whenever you grab a gem – you will hear that a lot. These aspects don't exactly make it easy to put the game down.
I love my Steam Deck. I love Vampire Survivors. Together, they have a toxic hold over my desire to play other games. I could simply uninstall Vampire Survivors from my Deck, but, really, what's the point when I can just play it on my phone now?– K.H.
For a while in 2022, a word game brought the world together. Because it’s the same puzzle for every single player each day, Wordle was a giant inside joke amongst solvers across international boundaries. At Engadget, for example, London-based Mat Smith could give me hints or laugh at my inability to guess a word he got.
I also loved sharing and seeing the little blocks that showed how many tries it took us to solve the word. It was a chance to both bond and brag – the perfect gaming experience. Plus, whenever a word was controversial, whether it was spelled in US or UK English, for example, I loved the inevitable debate that would result. In 2022, Wordle gave us an elevated form of watercooler conversation fodder, but for the entire world.
Although technically launched in 2021, Wordle found widespread popularity in 2022. It was born from software engineer Josh Wardle’s desire to make a word game for him and his partner Palak Shah to play together. But it was when the user base expanded beyond his family to encompass the entire globe that Wordle took on a life of its own.
Countless iterations were spawned, building on the format and name… which itself was based on Wardle’s last name. You may have seen examples like Heardle, Worldle, Squirdle, Absurdle and more, using the puzzle’s format for us to guess songs, countries and other subjects. As always happens with anything popular, hundreds of websites published guides to beating the game, while scores of clones popped up in the Android and iOS app stores, hoping to cash in on the fever. Wardle later sold the game to the New York Times for an undisclosed sum that was reported to be in the low seven digits, and soon, just as quickly as the fever started, the game’s popularity subsided. Thanks to Wordle, we all may be leaving 2022 just a little bit savvier about the most common letters and words in the English language. – Cherlynn Low, Deputy Editor
Getting into a new role-playing game series can be hard sometimes. This is especially true when you’ve allied yourself with a certain studio or series – and we are into double digits in the Trails series, not to mention the juggernaut that is Final Fantasy. It’s trickier to reorient yourself to completely new gameplay dynamics, series in-jokes that fly over your head and just, well, things being different.
That means I’m late to playing critically acclaimed RPGs – I have to be in the right mindset. So how did Xenoblade Chronicles 3weasel its way into my heart? I think it’s because I was told by several people, both gaming critics and friends, that it was a perfect entry into the series, regardless of whether you’d played its predecessors. They weren’t wrong.
It’s a nice game to approach with a blank slate because it goes through around three different tonal gear shifts before you entirely know exactly what the heck is going on. While I don’t want to ruin the anime-nodding plot twists, several of which you will see coming from a mile away, the game starts with a sci-fi, steam-punk high-concept scenario. Teen warriors on two factions are pitted against each other, waging wars with mechs, but also close-range weapons. It turns out direct kills are the only way to leech their enemy’s life force, building up a store in their base’s “flame clock” and ensuring a squad’s survival. They have to fight, to live.
Noah and two of his allies clash against Mio and her retinue, and after the battle ends in a draw – and I get to enjoy a slick, anime-styled battle movie between all six – the fates conspire to ensure this is your group of warriors, and only they can save the world.
With a wide range of classes to wield and master, as well as the ability to add a guest warrior to your squad pretty much any time throughout the game, battles initially seem chaotic, but I soon got attuned to the rhythm. Defenders will coax enemies into targeting them, allowing your heavy-hitting attackers to wail on them from the side or back – positioning is crucial. Meanwhile, your healers will ensure your defender doesn’t fall and amp up damage either with area-specific skills or targeted attacks on enemies. Also, your epic, charge-them-up-in-battle Interlink attacks are accompanied by such a high-energy soundtrack, it’s hard not to feel like a hero.
There are some big pacing problems in places, and when you get the ability to combine with your allies and form powerful Evangelion-esque avatars, you wonder exactly what can stop them at times. But it’s a vast adventure with several compelling side quests to fill out your time in Aionios. Annoyingly, it’s won me over – and I have since downloaded the original Xenoblade Chronicles (and its sequel) to play in 2023. – M.S.
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