Sony and Ultizero Games have lifted the curtain on the PC requirements for their upcoming action RPG, Lost Soul Aside, revealing both standard and ray-tracing specifications. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the game promises stunning visuals and high-octane action, but you'll need a capable machine to experience it at its best.

For those looking to meet the minimum requirements, an Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with an Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD RX 5500 XT will be enough. Regardless of the preset, you'll also need 16 GB of RAM and 80 GB of free storage space.

The recommended specifications bump things to an Intel i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and an Nvidia RTX 2060 or AMD RX 5700 XT. For those aiming for “High” settings, the developers suggest an Intel i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and an Nvidia RTX 3070 or AMD RX 6800 XT. While the developers haven't specified the target resolution for these settings, it's likely aimed at 60 FPS.

As previously confirmed, Lost Soul Aside will feature ray-tracing support. To enable it at “High” settings, you'll need an Intel i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and an Nvidia RTX 4080 or AMD RX 7900 XT. For “Ultra” settings with ray-tracing, the game will demand an Intel i7-13700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X (typo?) and an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti.

You can check the detailed system requirements in the table below:

Preset	Minimum	Recommended	High	High – Ray-Tracing On	Ultra – Ray Tracing On
GPU	Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD RX 5500 XT	Nvidia RTX 2060 or AMD RX 5700 XT	Nvidia RTX 3070 or AMD RX 6800 XT	Nvidia RTX 4080s or AMD RX 7900 XT	Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti
CPU	Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600	Intel i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600	Intel i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X	Intel i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5700X	Intel i7-13700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X
RAM	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB
OS	64-bit Windows 10/11	64-bit Windows 10/11	64-bit Windows 10/11	64-bit Windows 10/11	64-bit Windows 10/11
Storage	80 GB SSD	80 GB SSD	80 GB SSD	80 GB SSD	80 GB SSD

Sony has also detailed the PC-specific features for Lost Soul Aside, including customisable graphics settings, unlocked framerates, and support for performance-enhancing technologies. The latter means it will support both upscaling technologies like DLSS and FSR. Besides ray-tracing, PC gamers can expect HDR display support and compatibility with DualSense controllers. Lost Soul Aside is set to launch on PC on May 30th.

KitGuru says: Are you interested in Lost Soul Aside? Based on the system requirements shared by the developer, how well will your system run it?

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AMD's Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) technology is evolving. According to a new report, AMD is working on AFMF 2.1, and its release could be right around the corner.

AFMF is a driver-level frame generation solution that boosts gaming performance by inserting interpolated frames between rendered frames. Unlike DLSS and FSR Frame Generation technologies, AFMF doesn't need any game integration, making it compatible with all games. However, this also means that AFMF upscales and interlaces entire frames, including menus and UI elements, which can sometimes impact visual quality.

Despite this trade-off, AFMF has gained significant traction, particularly for older games that lack built-in FPS-boosting technologies. The release of AFMF 2.0 in October further expanded its capabilities, adding support for OpenGL, Vulkan, DX11, and DX12 games, along with new performance and latency settings, improved compatibility with borderless windowed mode, and various optimisations for fast motion.

According to VideoCardz, AMD is gearing up for the next evolution of its frame generation technology with AFMF 2.1, slated for release alongside the Radeon RX 9070 series as part of a broader HYPR-RX update. The report claims that AFMF 2.1 will enhance the quality of generated frames, promising even smoother and more visually appealing results. AFMF 2.1, like its predecessor, shouldn't require dedicated tensor or AI cores, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of hardware, including the Ryzen AI 300 series' iGPUs.

KitGuru says: Don't expect AFMF 2.1 to be on par with DLSS or FSR Frame Generation. Still, it's useful as a backup plan to boost your framerate regardless of the game.

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We've known about Microsoft's long-awaited Fable reboot since 2017. Fans were pleased to see the game listed on the release schedule for 2025 but now, just two months into the year, Xbox has revised its plans, pushing the game back to 2026. 

We won't be playing the new Fable this year after all. Today, Xbox Game Studios head, Craig Duncan, revealed on the Official Xbox podcast that the game has been delayed to 2026.

“So, I just want to start with, really excited, really excited about progress, really excited about where Playground are. We previously announced the date for Fable as 2025, we are actually going to give Fable more time and it’s going to ship in 2026 now.”

Duncan acknowledges that this isn't “the news people want to hear” but adds that “it's definitely worth the wait”. So far, Microsoft has revealed little gameplay for Fable, but we hope to see more of the game revealed later this year. We expect to see more of Fable during this year's Xbox Summer Showcase. In the meantime though, there is a small snippet of alpha gameplay available to view in the video above.

Duncan adds that he has “unequivocal confidence” in the Playground Games team, which is primarily known for the Forza Horizon series, rather than single-player RPGs.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to Fable? Do you think we'll see it in the first or second half of 2026? 

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While Geekbench results aren't always the most reliable indicator of real-world gaming performance, they can still be interesting to check out. The latest ones to be found were of Nvidia's upcoming RTX 5070, showing it performing on par with the RTX 4070 Super in the Vulkan and OpenCL tests.

The leaked benchmarks, conducted on a system with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32 GB of memory, and an X870E motherboard, show the RTX 5070 tested with Vulkan and OpenCL APIs (via Benchleaks). Interestingly, the reported memory speed for the system memory was 4000 MT/s, which is likely an error or a misconfiguration.

In the Vulkan test, the RTX 5070 scored 188,712 points, while the OpenCL test yielded 187,414 points. Comparing these results to the RTX 4070 Super, which scores around 180,000 in Vulkan and 190,000 in OpenCL, suggests that the RTX 5070 might offer performance roughly on par with its predecessor. Comparing the RTX 5070 to its more powerful sibling, the RTX 5070 Ti, reveals a more significant performance gap. The 5070 Ti scores approximately 236,850 in Vulkan and 240,750 in OpenCL, indicating that the non-Ti variant is roughly 20% slower.

Nvidia is expected to launch the RTX 5070 on March 4th, so we won't have to wait longer to see how these Geekbench scores compare to real-world benchmarks.

KitGuru says: Based on the Geekbench scores alone, is the RTX 5070's performance in line with your expectations?

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In recent weeks, early buyers of RTX 50 series graphics cards have discovered that their GPU does not meet the advertised specification. At first, it was thought that this issue was only impacting a limited number of RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models, but this week, the first affected RTX 5080 was discovered. Now, Nvidia has responded with an updated statement.

In an updated statement given to The Verge, Nvidia said: “Upon further investigation, we’ve identified that an early production build of GeForce RTX 5080 GPUs were also affected by the same issue. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement”.

A fully amended statement from Nvidia was also issued, saying: “We have identified a rare issue affecting less than 0.5% (half a percent) of GeForce RTX 5090 / 5090D, RTX 5080, and 5070 Ti GPUs which have one fewer ROP than specified. The average graphical performance impact is 4%, with no impact on AI and Compute workloads. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement. The production anomaly has been corrected.”

Nvidia estimates that less than 0.5% of RTX 5090, RTX 5090D, RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs are impacted by the defect. Rather than going through a recall process, Nvidia is asking customers to go to the board manufacturer of their card for a replacement. However, stock isn't exactly in abundance right now, so securing a replacement could be a time-consuming process.

Nvidia also estimates that the average performance impact of the missing ROPs is 4 percent, adding that there should be no impact on compute or AI workloads. However, given the prices gamers are paying nowadays, any performance degradation over the advertised specification should be unacceptable.

We don't know how many of these cards were produced and sold for launch, so it is hard to gauge how many GPUs could have been affected. However, future stock should be unaffected, as the production defect that led to all of this has been identified and addressed at the supply chain level.

KitGuru Says: This is an annoyance for sure, but hopefully those who were impacted can get their replacement expedited. 

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It has been three years since Valve first launched the Steam Deck, its own handheld gaming PC utilising custom AMD silicon and its own Linux-based operating system, SteamOS. Since then, a number of competitors have popped up on the market, some with even better specs than the Steam Deck, but according to market research, Valve's handheld has managed to maintain its number one spot on the market. 

As spotted by The Verge, market research firm, IDC, has analysed supply chain orders to estimate just how many gaming handhelds have shipped around the world. In 2022, it is estimated that 1.62 million gaming handhelds were shipped, a number that grew to 2.87 million in 2023, before dropping to 1.485 million in 2024. These figures combine the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Legion Go and MSI Claw handhelds.

All added together, around six million PC gaming handhelds have been sold by the big brands over the last few years. It is estimated that gaming handheld shipments will fall to under two million in 2025.

Despite other options having better technical specifications, the Steam brand name has carried its weight here. Of the six million handhelds sold between 2022 and 2025, it is estimated that almost four million of those were Steam Decks, putting Valve's system well ahead of the competition. With all of that in mind, despite the Steam Deck's chip being weaker than what can be found in more expensive options from the likes of Asus, MSI and Lenovo, Valve's combination of low-power gaming hardware and the SteamOS UI has won over the consumer in far greater numbers than a ‘Windows' based handheld.

KitGuru Says: Do any of you own a gaming handheld? Did you go with a Steam Deck or one of the more expensive competitors? 

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Earlier this week, we learned that early copies of Assassin's Creed Shadows have been sold online, almost a month ahead of the planned launch date. Now, Ubisoft has responded to the situation, acknowledging the leak publicly for the first time.

Ubisoft is aware that a number of physical copies of Assassin's Creed Shadows have leaked. The company did not confirm if the copies sold were stolen from the distribution or retail channels, or whether a particular retailer elected to break street date and begin selling the game early. Still, Ubisoft says the leak is “unfortunate” and warns potential early buyers that the leaked version of the game won't be representative of the day-one experience.

“We are aware players have accessed Assassin’s Creed Shadows ahead of its official release. The development team is still working on patches to prepare the experience for launch and any footage shared online does not represent the final quality of the game. Leaks are unfortunate and can diminish the excitement for players. We kindly ask you not to spoil the experience for others. Thank you to our community for already taking steps to protect everyone from spoilers.”

Assassin's Creed Shadows is officially due to release for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on the 20th of March.

KitGuru Says: Are any of you planning on picking up the latest Assassin's Creed when it drops next month? Have you seen any of the leaked footage so far?

The post Ubisoft responds to Assassin’s Creed Shadows leak first appeared on KitGuru.

WB Games is in an odd position at the moment. Its two biggest studios, Rocksteady and Netherrealm, both failed to achieve sales targets with their latest games. At the same time, Warner Bros is trying to spin up the new ‘DC Universe', spanning films, games and other media. It would seem that the hopes of an expansive DC universe may keep both of these studios alive for the foreseeable future, as leaders from both are actively meeting with James Gunn to discuss future plans.

James Gunn was hired by Warner Bros to spearhead a new effort to put together a new cross-media DC universe, starting with a new Superman film, due to release later this year. As it turns out, Gunn has his hands in more than movies. According to ComicBook, who attended a recent DC Studios event, James Gunn has been meeting with Rocksteady and Netherrealm heads to discuss future plans for in-universe video games.

DC Studios co-head, Peter Safran, gave the following quote during the event: “It’s really the first time it’s ever been this way at Warner Bros. James and I sit with the guys that run the studios under JB Perette whether it’s NetherRealm or Rocksteady. We sit with them and we talk about characters and stories that we’re interested in and that they’re interested in.”

Gunn added that they see “designs for the projects in their very earliest stages” and then make suggestions on story direction based on what they have planned for the DC Universe at large.

However, it is said that the first true DCU game won't release for at least “a couple of years”. Given how long AAA development timelines are nowadays, I would say that a couple of years is an underestimate.

KitGuru Says: We recently heard that Rocksteady is now trying to pitch a new single-player Batman game following the failure and shutdown of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The issue is, Rocksteady made some of the best Batman stories ever told, all on their own. Now, the studio has to also appease the directors behind the movies, which could ultimately hinder creativity. My worry is that certain characters will now be ‘off limits', with the goal of maintaining a singular canon and naturally, a film director will want the biggest moments reserved for the films, which would also hamper the impact of the stories these studios are able to tell in the video game format. I don't think it is going to work out the way they envision, but time will well.

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Recently, Valve updated its Steam policy, forcing developers to disclose when Generative AI tools are used to create games. This led Activision admitting that GenAI is already in use to create assets in Call of Duty, for instance. Now, gamers have gone to the Steam feature suggestion forum to request a way to filter games that use AI from the store. 

A Steam forum suggestion thread asking Valve to give gamers the ability to hide games that use GenAI from the store has garnered a lot of attention. Hundreds of comments have registered support for the idea and users have been making good use of their Steam points to also give the suggestion a number of awards, keeping the suggestion at the top of the forum.

Valve has already added some filters for the Steam Store, such as allowing users to automatically hide adult or NSFW games, and users can hide games on an individual basis too. However, a blanket filter would work best. Many of the commenters take issue with the fact that popular AI models have been trained on pirated content, effectively stealing the work of human creators in an effort to replace them.

Valve has not yet commented on the situation, but it did recently implement a policy change to ensure developers disclose the use of Generative AI tools. This disclosure has already appeared on the Call of Duty store page, and we will no doubt see more major games from publishers like Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, 2K Games, Embracer and others carrying this disclosure in the year ahead.

KitGuru Says: As we saw with the initial pushback against DLC in the early days of the Xbox 360, and the pushback against microtransactions in premium games last generation, I feel like most publishers are simply going to ignore the backlash and push forward with their plans for AI tools. Ultimately, the use of AI tools can help a lot of studios reset to do away with ballooning studio sizes in favour of smaller teams that can work faster with AI assistance. There are ethical concerns for sure due to the fact that stolen work was used to train the biggest AI models, but if there is money to be made and a legal loophole to exploit, then I don't think the C-suite cares. 

The post Gamers call on Valve to add ‘AI games’ filter to Steam first appeared on KitGuru.

The Pan-European Game Information board (PEGI) has existed for years as a way to easily and quickly identify the relative age appropriateness of a game, with the system ranging from a PEGI 3 to PEGI 18. In a weird move by the board, the uncontroversial Poker-themed roguelike Balatro was rated as an 18+ experience despite its lack of any actual gambling. Following complaints, the board has now corrected this to the much more reflective PEGI 12.

Releasing a statement onto their website, the PEGI complaints board officially offered a ruling on the indie titles Balatro and Luck Be A Landlord.

For the uninitiated, despite both games having gambling-adjacent aesthetics, neither title features anything of the sorts – being single-purchase games with no further monetisation. That said, upon their release, both games were given 18 ratings by PEGI.

Following appeals placed by the publishers, both titles have now been re-evaluated, with PEGI stating, “The PEGI 18 rating for the game ‘Balatro’ has been changed to a PEGI 12 following a successful appeal submitted by publisher Sold Out Sales & Marketing. The Complaints Board concluded that, although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating.”

The board had this to say regarding Luck Be A Landlord: “The PEGI 18 rating for the game Luck Be A Landlord was also changed to a PEGI 12 following a successful appeal submitted by publisher Fangamer. The Complaints Board reasoned that the same arguments as above applied: although the game features a slot machine mechanic, there were no specific transferable gambling skills and the game can therefore be rated PEGI 12.”

While these inaccurate ratings alone were enough of an issue, the fact that the likes of EA’s FIFA / Sports FC games include actual gambling while still being rated a 3 showed a large disconnect between the games themselves and PEGI.

Hopefully this recent revision to Balatro and Luck Be A Landlord is just the start of PEGI’s inward reflection into how they rate all current and future video game releases.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Balatro’s original rating? Are you glad to see it changed? Will FIFA ever have its rating altered? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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Sayonara Wild Hearts was one of the most surprising indies released in the last generation, with the title serving more as a playable music album with rhythm-based mechanics. Already a great experience, Sayonara Wild Hearts has now gotten a surprise PS5 update, bringing new modes, improved frame rates and more.

Announced during the recent Annapurna Interactive showcase, Sayonara Wild Hearts has gotten a surprise PS5 update. Available right now as a free upgrade for previous owners, the current-gen release offers a buttery smooth 120fps experience at 4K for the greatest sense of speed and momentum.

Beyond this, the game has also gotten a brand new mode. Called the ‘Remix Arcade’ this new mode allows you to “speed through infinitely replayable levels and chase high scores in random sound bites, all with no loading” – giving it a great deal more content than the original release.

Being a music-focused rhythm game, perhaps the most exciting improvement is the addition of PS5 DualSense support, giving each pulse and beat its own distinct sense of impact.

Sayonara Wild Hearts features poppy visuals, excellent music and a surprisingly heartfelt narrative, and so anyone who missed the title when it first released should give this remaster a go.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of Sayonara Wild Hearts? Where does it place on your rhythm game tier list? What was your favourite song from the OST? Let us know down below.

The post Sayonara Wild Hearts gets surprise free PS5 upgrade first appeared on KitGuru.

Last year, I put together a list of seven great indie games to look out for in 2024. 33 Immortals appeared prominently on that list but unfortunately, the game was pushed back to 2025. Now, we finally have a release date, and it is just around the corner. 

33 Immortals, a new take on large-scale MMO-style raids, is now set to launch on the 18th of March as an Early Access title on Steam and Xbox Series X/S.

33 Immortals is developed by Thunder Lotus Games and has already received positive feedback based on the beta test last Summer. The game is created to simulate the feeling of being in a raid, putting 33 players together in a map to take down hordes of dangerous enemies, followed by a massive boss.

Players will need to work together to synergise tactics to stand a chance against the major bosses. You won't have to worry about getting 33 friends together either – there is matchmaking. Better yet, it is near instant, so you won't have to wait long to find some teammates to play with.

KitGuru Says: I've had my eye on this one for a while – hopefully it will run well on the Steam Deck. 

The post 33 Immortals set for March release on Steam and Xbox first appeared on KitGuru.

Gamers have made it well known that they don't want to see gaming flooded with titles that make heavy use of generative AI. As it turns out, one of the biggest games in the world, Call of Duty, is already there. Activision has admitted that it has begun using AI to produce a range of in-game assets for Black Ops 6. 

How did this admission come about? Well, Valve recently updated its Steam policy, demanding that developers disclose any use of Generative AI in a sub-section of their game's Steam listing. As a result, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Steam page has been updated with the following disclosure: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in-game assets.”

Ultimately, Black Ops 6 is still a project with thousands of developers assigned to it. However, in-game assets like calling cards, stickers and even some skins have been created using AI.

According to Insider Gaming, last year's holiday-themed ‘zombified Santa' skin was created by AI, something that was spotted due to an error that led to too many fingers on the model, a tell-tale sign of GenAI being used without careful human oversight.

Recently, Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, also spoke about the company's plans to train its own Generative AI model using a catalogue of first-party games, something that could shrink development timelines.

KitGuru Says: It seems a lot of the bigger publishers are hoping that Generative AI will allow them to reset the table, allowing for games to be made faster, with smaller teams. However, the public at large has been against the use of AI replacing creative humans. That hasn't stopped the industry in the past though. There was plenty of backlash against cosmetic DLCs back in the day, but the industry pushed forward with it anyway and now, it is rare to find a game that doesn't offer some form of paid DLC. The same will happen for AI, there will be some pushback along the way, but eventually, AI will be industry standard, and it will be impossible to find a game that wasn't developed with some kind of AI assistance outside of indies. 

The post Activision admits GenAI tools already in use for Call of Duty development first appeared on KitGuru.

Balatro was one of the biggest breakout hits of 2024, with the Poker-themed roguelike selling millions of copies and even being nominated for Game of the Year. for its first major update of 2025, Balatro is crossing over with 8 different franchises, ranging from Fallout, to Assassin’s Creed and even Bugsnax.

Announced during the most recent ID@Xbox games showcase, the latest ‘Friends of Jimbo’ update for Balatro introduces a bunch of new cosmetic crossover cards.

Following previous additions such as The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 and Vampire Survivors, 8 new franchises are now represented in the game, those being:

• Dead by Daylight
• Civilization VII
• Critical Role
• Assassin's Creed
• Fallout
• Bugsnax
• Slay the Princess
• Rust

As mentioned, these crossovers are merely cosmetic, changing the artwork on your deck of cards. Even so, having so many different franchises represented in one game in this way is interesting to see.

In case you have yet to try out Balatro, alongside the update, the game is now available on Xbox Game Pass, giving its subscribers the chance to play the game – though the best way to experience this title is still on mobile.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of the ID@Xbox Showcase? What was your favourite announcement? Do you prefer cosmetic or gameplay-altering crossovers? Let us know down below.

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While Nintendo is currently keeping quiet about its Switch 2 launch date, a former Nintendo of America sales and retail employee has publicly revealed their prediction for a June launch.

Going by the name ‘Sean', this ex-Nintendo sales worker spoke on the Kit and Krista podcast (via VGC) to spill some of the beans about Nintendo's sales strategy. According to them, Nintendo will be eyeing up a Summer launch for the Switch 2, meaning the console could be in the hands of gamers within months of the company's planned Nintendo Direct showcase in April.

More specifically, Nintendo could be eyeing up a June launch date, getting the console out well ahead of the holiday season rush and laying the groundwork for some big end-of-year exclusives.

With all of that said, retailers do not have ‘advance knowledge' of the Switch 2 launch date, but Nintendo will likely inform them weeks ahead of launch. As for price tag, while others have speculated a more palatable $299 or $399 launch price, this former Nintendo employee anticipates a price tag as high as $450.

We recently published an extensive piece on one of the Switch 2's anticipated features – Mouse Mode, allowing the Joy-Cons to be used like a PC mouse for more accurate tracking.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking forward to the Switch 2 at all? Will you be looking to get one at launch?

The post Nintendo Switch 2 predicted for June launch first appeared on KitGuru.

Delta Force has been off to a good start since the launch of its multiplayer mode late last year. This month, the developers released their first single-player campaign DLC – a retelling of Black Hawk Down. Unfortunately, the campaign has been met with negative reception, in large part due to difficulty. 

Many players are finding that the Delta Force: Black Hawk Down campaign is ‘unnecessarily difficult' with no form of scaling present based on whether you are playing solo or as part of a team. Players have also encountered issues with enemy spawns and other odd design choices.

At this point in time, the Delta Force: Black Hawk Down DLC has a ‘Mostly Negative' rating on Steam. While it is technically playable in single-player, the campaign doesn't offer players much in the way of ammo or health drops without having a teammate actively playing the support class, defeating the point for those looking to play solo. You also can't pick up an enemy's weapon after running out of bullets or resort to melee attacks to try and push through.

While the overwhelming sentiment is negative, there are a few high-rated positive reviews for the campaign on Steam. Those players happen to love the difficulty level, including the lack of lives and limited supplies, forcing a more tactical approach to clearing areas from players.

From the sounds of it, the developers could improve the DLC a lot with a few quality of life changes, like fixing enemy spawns to happen a certain distance from the player, adding the ability to scavenge ammo from discarded weapons and maybe dropping a few bandages to find throughout the levels to help players get through to the end.

KitGuru Says: Have you tried the Delta Force: Black Hawk Down campaign yet? What did you make of it so far? 

The post Delta Force: Black Hawk Down campaign launches to ‘mostly negative’ reviews first appeared on KitGuru.

Journey to the Savage Planet is a fun and unique first person shooter which sees you explore a number of wonderful and weird worlds while offering solid gameplay to boot. Released back in 2020, a sequel was announced in the form of Revenge of the Savage Planet last year. Launching just 6 months after its reveal, the sequel is set to arrive this May.

As part of the recent ID@Xbox Showcase, the team behind the original game (though under the new name Racoon Logic) have officially confirmed that Revenge of the Savage Planet will be launching in just a couple months on the 8th of May.

For the uninitiated, Revenge of the Savage Planet is described as “an upbeat, satirical action adventure Sci-Fi. Jump, shoot and collect your way across vibrant alien worlds, uncovering new gear and upgrades, while discovering various hidden secrets.”

While the satirical nature of the game was somewhat hit-or-miss, the first entry in the series featured a fun and compelling gameplay loop which dished out new weapons and abilities at a solid rate – making for a fun and continuously interesting open-zone action-platformer.

Hopefully Revenge of the Savage Planet proves to be just as good as the first game.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for the game? Did you play the original Journey to the Savage Planet? What changes/improvements do you hope they’ve made for the sequel? Let us know down below.

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Announced all the way back in 2016 – and released in 2019 – Dauntless was an Epic Games Store Exclusive Monster-Hunter-like title. While it could not compare to Capcom’s series, the game was enjoyed well enough. Unfortunately, its refreshed arrival onto Steam last year was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews – with the game now officially set to be shut down.

Making the sudden announcement on Twitter, the official game's page shared the news of its impending closure, writing “Important update: Dauntless is shutting down on May 29, 2025. Dauntless will receive no additional content or updates. Dauntless will no longer be available to play on and after May 29, 2025 at 11:45PM PST. Thanks to all for being a part of the Dauntless journey.”

While a pretty sudden announcement, this seemed to be an inevitability following its failed Steam launch late last year, where the game was slammed for its introduction of loot boxes among other unsavoury practices.

The timing of this announcement is also curious as it comes just ahead of the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds. That said, given just how big of a game Wilds is likely to be, Dauntless would have struggled to maintain relevancy in the wake of its release regardless, and so it is perhaps for the best that they were able to announce this on their own terms.

Hopefully we get a more candid explanation for its closure over the coming weeks.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you surprised by the announcement? What did you think of their Steam launch? Could the game have stayed afloat if they’d done some things differently? Let us know down below.

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We were all shocked to see the director behind Marvel Rivals let go by NetEase weeks after the game's incredibly successful launch. Now, it turns out that the game was almost cancelled, as NetEase bosses were unhappy with the idea of paying licensing fees to use the Marvel characters. 

According to sources speaking with Bloomberg, NetEase CEO, William Ding, was against the idea of paying Disney a cut of the game's revenue. In an effort to avoid doing so, he had a team or artists swap in original hero designs to the game, with the idea of pivoting Marvel Rivals into a wholly original IP. That effort ended up costing the company millions of dollars and ultimately led to nothing.

Naturally, this kind of news could sour the relationship between Disney/Marvel and NetEase, so it should come as no surprise that a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg that it has “enjoyed a close partnership with Marvel since 2017” and denied that the game was being considered for cancellation.

Ultimately, Marvel Rivals did release and by all accounts, has been a huge success, accruing around 40 million players since launch in December. Currently, it is one of the most popular multiplayer games on Steam, regularly appearing in the top ten most-played titles.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Given the post-launch success of Marvel Rivals, hearing that the game was almost canned is almost unbelievable to me. There is no doubt in my mind that the game would have turned out like Concord had it pivoted to ‘original hero' characters, rather than utilising the brand power of the Marvel IP. 

The post NetEase almost scrapped Marvel Rivals to avoid paying Disney license fees first appeared on KitGuru.

Obsidian's latest game, Avowed, has finally launched to positive reception, but the game we ended up with is far from what the studio had originally envisioned. In the early days of Avowed, it was supposed to feature a much larger Skyrim-style world, with multiplayer being the hook.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Avowed director, Carrie Patel, revealed plenty of details about the development of the game. Prior to Patel taking over, Avowed had already been in the works for a couple of years and was even used by Obsidian to pitch itself to potential buyers, like Microsoft. Back then, Avowed was set to be a much larger scale game and was internally referred to as ‘multiplayer Skyrim'.

Obsidian eventually realised that creating Avowed in its originally envisioned form would require far more manpower than they felt comfortable assigning to one project, hampering the studio's small-team, multi-project approach to development that has allowed them to release titles like The Outer Worlds, Grounded, Avowed and soon, The Outer Worlds 2, all in quick succession.

When the game went back to the drawing board in 2021, Patel faced a few challenges stepping into the director role. For a start, she needed new creative leadership and beyond that, she had to create a new vertical slice for the game with a much larger team of 80 developers. Typically, when developing a vertical slice, you would have a much smaller pre-production team, but Patel had to get the ball rolling on the new version of Avowed fast. From there, the open-world and multiplayer elements were scrapped in favour of smaller open-zones, akin to what we saw in The Outer Worlds:

“Normally if you’re stepping back and reevaluating your creative direction, putting together a new vertical slice and revised production plans, you would do that with a very small team”, Patel told Bloomberg. “A lot of lessons we learned as we were building this game, ideally we would’ve learned on a small scale with a true preproduction.”

Now that Avowed is out in the world and new players are experiencing The Living Lands for the first time, Patel is moving on to the idea of expansions and sequels, carrying forward the Pillars of Eternity legacy for a new audience.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Have you had the chance to play Avowed yet? What do you make of the game? Would you like to have seen ‘multiplayer Skyrim' realised by Obsidian, or do you like the studio's current approach to smaller, more manageable single-player RPGs?

The post Avowed was originally going to be ‘multiplayer Skyrim’, Obsidian director confirms first appeared on KitGuru.

We are still a month away from Assassin's Creed Shadows' intended launch date, but it seems that copies are landing in the hands of gamers well ahead of time. A number of physical copies of the game have seemingly been stolen and sold online, leading to a number of leaks. 

On social media, user @DannyStevens_ posted photos of the game's case, install screen and images of the game running, which have since been taken down. The account has also gone private since making the post. The early copy of the game was found on Facebook Marketplace in the US and it wasn't the only early copy being put up for sale a month ahead of launch.

On Reddit, another person with early access to the game shared a number of details. For starters, the version of the game currently on the disc is a very old build, and since we are still a few weeks away from launch, there is no day-one patch available. With that in mind, any early gameplay footage that does the rounds will likely include bugs that won't be seen in the day-one version of the game.

Based on this early version of the game, players will begin as Yasuke, a character that has been at the centre of controversy. After nearly 10 hours of gameplay, it is claimed that the person with this early copy of the game had yet to meet the game's second playable character. Whether or not Ubisoft has changed this to allow players to pick their preferred character from the start of the game still remains to be seen.

Ubisoft is aware that early copies of the game are circulating and is already issuing DMCAs to get marketplace listings and gameplay footage taken down. Assassin's Creed Shadows will officially release on the 20th of March for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Situations like this do occur from time to time. Anyone who was following Kingdom Hearts 3 in the lead-up to launch will remember that copies of the game were similarly stolen and sold online weeks before launch. This time around though, it looks like Ubisoft became aware of the problem before gameplay footage and streams began circulating. 

The post Assassin’s Creed Shadows being sold online weeks before launch first appeared on KitGuru.

Montech is debuting its quietest AIO cooler yet – the new HyperFlow Silent. This new AIO cooler is designed to deliver peak performance without compromise, all wrapped up in a minimalist aesthetic that does away with ARGB lighting to focus on a clean and professional look.

The HyperFlow Silent aimed to redefine quiet computing by minimising noise to unheard of levels. The pump in this AIO operates at a low 28 dBA, even at high speeds of 3100RPM. Minimising pump noise wasn't the only focus though, Montech has also gone ahead and combined the cooler with new Metal PRO 12 Silent fans, which reduce noise by 23 percent compared to the previous version, all while keeping the durable structure in-tact.

The HyperFlow Silent is designed to handle high-performance CPUs with ease thanks to its advanced 27mm fin stack and high-density thermal channels. The durable structure and dedicated ring tech ensure consistent temperatures during intense gaming or creative tasks. As you have likely noticed from the images above, this cooler also does away with ARGB lighting, instead opting for a swirl pattern on the metal pump interior and a timeless black or white colour variant for a more professional aesthetic. If you ever have an issue with the cooler, it is backed by a six-year warranty, so you can buy with peace of mind that any issues will be covered.

The Montech HyperFlow Silent will be available starting today, priced at $69.99 for the 240mm version and $79.99 for the 360mm version.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you in the market for a new AIO cooler? Will you be considering the Montech HyperFlow Silent?

The post Montech launches its quietest AIO cooler yet – the HyperFlow Silent first appeared on KitGuru.

Following on from our preview at CES, DeepCool is now launching its new daisy-chainable FL12 series case fans. The new fans combine aesthetically pleasing ARGB lighting effects with high performance airflow at low noise output.

Using an 8-pin cable, the F12 fans can be easily daisy-chained to reduce wire clutter and provide simpler installation for a cleaner and more organised build. The ‘cross' on the backside of most case fans has been removed for the F12R, so you can get uninterrupted ARGB effects whether you are using the fans for intake or exhaust. Each fan is also packed with 36 ARGB LEDs, leading to very smooth transitions and very bright colours.

Below you can find the specifications for each of the FL12 series fans:

FL12 120mm Specifications:

• Fan Speed: 500~2150 RPM±10%
• Fan Airflow: 55 CFM
• Fan Air Pressure: 2.82 mmAq
• Fan Noise: ≤32 dB(A)
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• Bearing Type: Fluid Dynamic Bearing

FL12 WH 120mm Specifications:

• Fan Speed: 500~2150 RPM±10%
• Fan Airflow: 55 CFM
• Fan Air Pressure: 2.82 mmAq
• Fan Noise: ≤32 dB(A)
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• Bearing Type: Fluid Dynamic Bearing

FL12R 120mm Specifications:

• Fan Speed: 500~2150 RPM±10%
• Fan Airflow: 55 CFM
• Fan Air Pressure: 2.59 mmAq
• Fan Noise: ≤33.9 dB(A)
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• Bearing Type: Fluid Dynamic Bearing

FL12R WH 120mm Specifications:

• Fan Speed: 500~2150 RPM±10%
• Fan Airflow: 55 CFM
• Fan Air Pressure: 2.59 mmAq
• Fan Noise: ≤33.9 dB(A)
• Fan Connector: 4-pin PWM
• Bearing Type: Fluid Dynamic Bearing

Prices for these fans start at €21.99 or the FL12 & FL12 WH, going up to €29.99 for the Reverse fan models (FL12R and FL12R WH). The fans are also available in packs of three, priced at €62.99 for the standard FL12, going up to €79.99 for the Reverse fan 3-pack.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Are you looking to pick up some new case fans to improve aesthetics and performance? The new FL12 series are worth looking out for.

The post DeepCool launches FL12 Daisy Chain fans packed with 36 ARGB LEDs first appeared on KitGuru.

Intel has launched a dedicated webpage showcasing its Intel 18A (1.8nm-class) fabrication process. While launching a website solely for a manufacturing process might seem unusual, especially since it primarily reiterates previously announced milestones, it's a strategic move for a company facing intense scrutiny from many sources, including investors, industry observers, customers, competitors, and even governments.

Intel's 18A process is a milestone for the company. It's their first commercial process to utilise gate-all-around RibbonFET transistors and a backside power delivery network called PowerVia. These features might help it stand out from its closest competitor, TSMC's N2 node. Moreover, 18A marks Intel's first leading-edge process to embrace industry-standard EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools and third-party IPs, making it accessible to external customers through Intel Foundry Services. The company has high hopes for this process, viewing it as a testament to its ability to deliver cutting-edge manufacturing technology.

The Intel 18A website emphasises the collaborative nature of the process, highlighting its compatibility with industry-standardised tools, IP developers, chip designers and cloud-based design providers. Intel also underscores the process's strategic importance by highlighting its selection by the US military and government for various applications. However, with Intel's first 18A product (Panther Lake processors) not expected until mid-2025 and the first tape-ins of third-party 18A designs slated for even later, it's still too soon to know specifics on third-party adoption.

This proactive approach to communication marks a shift from Intel's past practices. In the days when Intel's manufacturing prowess was unchallenged, information about next-generation processes was typically revealed alongside actual product releases. While those announcements, which included deep dives into new materials and transistor architectures, were exciting for tech enthusiasts, the current landscape demands a different strategy. Whether it will work out or not, we should find out later this year.

KitGuru says: With many doubting Intel's ability to reclaim its process technology lead from TSMC, the company aims to dispel scepticism and rebuild confidence. The 18A website is a platform to showcase their technological advancements and attract potential foundry customers, showing them they're back at the forefront of semiconductor manufacturing.

The post Intel 18A process node detailed first appeared on KitGuru.

Over two decades after its initial release, Neverwinter Nights has received a new expansion named Doom of Icewind Dale. This unexpected addition breathes new life into the classic BioWare title, offering fans a chance to revisit the world of Neverwinter.

Initially launched in 2002, Neverwinter Nights garnered critical acclaim and spawned two expansions and a sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, which Obsidian Entertainment developed. Both games are considered landmark titles in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons video game adaptations, with the original often cited as one of BioWare's finest creations.

Doom of Icewind Dale picks up where the original campaign left off, offering players a 10-15+ hour journey through the frigid landscapes of Icewind Dale. The expansion introduces 14 new areas to explore, five new companions to recruit, 14 new monsters to battle, and a host of new music to enhance the atmosphere. It's a welcome return to a beloved world, offering nostalgia and fresh content for veteran players and newcomers alike.

Developed by Neverwinter Nights community founder Luke “Alazander” Scull, Doom of Icewind Dale is a passion project that captures the essence of the original Dungeons & Dragons experience. Priced at $9.99 (with a 10% launch discount on Steam until February 28th), it's a worthy investment for fans of the original game. Scull has even hinted at future instalments, with Doom of Icewind Dale serving as the first chapter in a new campaign called The Blades of Netheril. The following DLCs, however, don't have a release date yet.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: The release of Baldur's Gate 3 has reignited interest in D&D video game adaptations, and rumours of an Enhanced Edition of 2006's Neverwinter Nights 2 have further fuelled anticipation. Whether those rumours materialise remains to be seen. Still, one thing is certain: the world of D&D is experiencing a renaissance in the digital realm, offering a wealth of adventures for new and veteran players.

The post Neverwinter Nights gets a new expansion 23 years after release first appeared on KitGuru.

With the release of the 5000 series graphics cards from Nvidia, comes the release of new prebuilt gaming desktops, and today we assess the Cortex Pro from PCSpecialist. It features an RTX 5080 graphics card alongside a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 memory running at 6000MT/s, and a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 SSD – a spec list that puts it on the cutting edge of gaming technology. With a price tag of £2699 though, it raises the question, is it worth it? That’s the question we're aiming to answer today.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:59 Overview
01:28 Mat's current PC (compare system)
01:54 PCS system Specs / Price
02:26 ASUS RTX5080 Tuf OC Edition
03:25 Memory / Storage / Mobo
05:15 PSU / Cooler / Fans / Case
07:01 Build quality / cable management
07:44 The 2 system test comparisons
07:58 Counter Strike 2 (1440p)
08:26 Hogwarts Legacy (1440p)
08:57 Sniper Elite Resistance (1440p)
09:34 Forza Horizon 5 (4k)
10:20 A Plague Tale Requiem (4k)
11:10 Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (4k)
11:55 Cyberpunk 2077 (DLSS / FSR / Frame Gen / RT)
13:12 Hellblade 2 (4k)
13:51 Gaming Performance thoughts
14:32 Synthetic benchmarks
14:58 Cinebench R23 Multi Core
15:13 Cinebench R23 Single Core
15:28 3DMark Timespy
15:45 Total System Power
16:14 System Noise
16:43 Thermal Imaging
18:35 Closing Thoughts

Specifications:

• Case – PCS LUMIN ARGB MID TOWER CASE (PWM)
• Processor (CPU) – AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
• Motherboard – ASUS® TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
• Memory (RAM) – 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 6000MHz (2 x 16GB)
• Graphics Card – 16GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 5080 OC – 2 x HDMI, 3 x DP
• Storage – 2TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (up to 7450MB/R, 6900MB/W)
• Power Supply – CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES – MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
• Processor Cooling – PCS FrostFlow 360 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler

The core specs are confirmed in the following CPUZ and GPUZ screenshots

Gaming performance is impressive on the Cortex Pro desktop. The combination of RTX 5080 GPU and 9800X3D CPU enable smooth and fast gameplay in all titles tested. For full details and comparison to a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and AMD Radeon 7900XTX based system, head over to our YouTube channel to watch the full review.

Screenshots from Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Cyberpunk 2077, Senua's Saga: Hellblade and Hogwarts Legacy are below.

Synthetic testing resulted in the Cortex Pro comfortably beating that comparison Ryzen 7 7800X3D and AMD Radeon 7900XTX based system, as we would expect to see. Total system power draw was a particular highlight and showcases the efficiency of the newer technology found in the Cortex Pro.

Click to enlarge

You can buy the Cortex Pro Desktop from PCSpecialist for £2699 HERE.

Pros:

• RTX 5080 excels in ray tracing compared to the 7900 XTX.
• Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the gaming CPU on the market.
• Great build aesthetics and component design choice.
• Fast and large SSD.
• Good cable management.
• Prebuilt machines could be a good way to get access to the latest generation Nvidia graphics cards if stock is an issue elsewhere.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• RAM latency (at CL36) could be better.

KitGuru says: The Cortex Pro is undoubtedly a very powerful gaming machine featuring one of the latest graphics cards from Nvidia. The high price tag will certainly put it out of reach for many, but if you can afford it, it's a well built gaming powerhouse.

 

The post PCSpecialist Cortex Pro Prebuilt Desktop Review first appeared on KitGuru.

The plot thickens regarding the GeForce RTX 50 series ROP issue. While Nvidia initially confirmed that a limited number of RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs were affected by a production defect resulting in fewer active ROPs (Render Output Units), new evidence suggests the problem might be more widespread.

A Reddit user named gingeraffe90 has reported that their RTX 5080 Founders Edition card also exhibits this issue, showing only 104 ROPs instead of the expected 112, according to GPU-Z, the same diagnostic tool that initially brought the problem to light. This raises concerns about the extent of the defect and the number of cards potentially affected.

To confirm the validity of the Reddit user's findings, VideoCardz contacted the poster for GPU-Z validation. The validation confirms that the reported ROP count is accurate, even after the user has reinstalled drivers. This leaves little doubt that the RTX 5080 is indeed affected by the same ROP defect. The issue now appears to extend beyond the initially reported RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti models, raising questions about the scope of the problem.

In related news, another Reddit user (Der_Zeitgeist) posted a GPU-Z screenshot of its newly acquired MSI RTX 5070Ti Gaming Trio OC card. Instead of the advertised 96 ROPs, this particular card had only 88. The user ran several benchmarks to assess the performance impact, comparing their results to reference values. According to the data shared on the ComputerBase forum, the affected 5070 Ti showed a performance deficit of 12% in 3DMark Time Spy, 3% in Steel Nomad, and 9% in Speed Way compared to a card with the correct number of ROPs. While these are synthetic benchmarks, and real-world gaming performance may vary, they demonstrate the impact of the missing ROPs.

So far, Nvidia's response has been less than ideal for those impacted. Nvidia has asked affected customers to seek replacements from the board partner that produced their graphics card. However, supply of these graphics cards aren't exactly in abundance, which can lead to difficulties in getting a replacement in a timely manner. With that in mind, a more proactive approach from Nvidia, like a recall of the impacted GPUs, might be more appropriate.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Your chance of finding one of these GPUs in stock is already low, but now a portion of the few that managed to get one are finding that their GPUs are defective, leading to a messy situation we rarely see around GPU launches nowadays. 

The post First Nvidia RTX 5080 card with missing ROPs found first appeared on KitGuru.

Prior to the official unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2 last month, I postulated on the strategies and movements which I believed the company should utilise in order to ensure their upcoming sequel console is just as if not even more successful than the 150+ million seller OG Switch from back in 2017. One of the most pivotal points in my opinion was the necessity for the Switch 2 to feature some sort of weird gimmick. Sure enough, cut to Nintendo’s – admittedly short – reveal trailer and we got our first taste for what the company is cooking.

While not outwardly stated, the teaser showed off what many believed to be a sort of hybrid mouse mode, taking the previous Switch’s split Joy-Con mode and reinventing it further into what I believe could be one of the most transformative ‘gimmicks’ the company has come up with over the decades. Whether it will resonate with tens of millions is yet to be seen, but in my opinion, this new mouse mode might just be exactly what I’ve dreamed of for many years now.

Growing up as a console player, I of course spent years completing all my games using a dedicated controller – be it a 3rd-person action-adventure title; a strategy puzzler or a first-person shooter. Using controllers just felt more natural to me. And so, when I switched over to PC gaming, my muscle memory from years of gamepad usage left me struggling with a majority of titles.

Can I play games using a mouse and keyboard? Of course, but it is far from my preferred method of control. While there is no denying that using a mouse and keyboard does have its own unique set of benefits, it also comes with a great deal of downsides. Unlike a traditional gamepad/controller, mouse and keyboard as a method of input is highly unoptimal.

First, on the keyboard front, having 100+ keys laid out in these equally-spaced and homogenised rows is far from utilitarian, with one needing to look no further than the WASD keys’ to identify the fact that keyboards were created and formatted for writing and navigation – with games then having to work around this in order to try and find a comfortable layout of usable keys.

Forget RSI from continuous use of a mouse, my entire left hand needs to be contorted and stretched in unnatural positions for possibly hours at a time in order to perform movements as simple as sprinting or sliding. Keyboards were not designed for this type of continuous multi-finger hyper-tapping. The invention of sticky keys and the doubling up of CTRL/Shift/Alt keys on both sides of the keyboard serve enough proof of this fact.

That’s not to say that over the decades PC games haven’t adapted to this system, with a majority of titles using similar layouts in order to make the overall experience more familiar from game-to-game – but to say that keyboards are a better designed product for playing video games is objectively false.

Of course, for some, a controller can feel like holding an alien remote, and I would never besmirch you for your personal proclivities when it comes to your preferred input method. However, for me, using a keyboard for gaming just doesn’t sit right with me.

The humble mouse on the other hand offers a much more compelling argument for its use when compared to controllers – leading me on a years long search for the perfect hybrid between the two types of peripherals.

This search sent me down a long and arduous path which ultimately ended in disappointment. One of the first methods I attempted was to hold a controller in my left hand and a mouse in my right. While this could be the best of both worlds in theory, the uneven weight of the full controller in my left hand did not make for a comfortable experience in the long-term.

Even if it did, only a handful of titles offer the ability to dynamically switch between the two peripherals – with even fewer allowing for simultaneous usage – and so I had to keep looking.

Next, I tried more gaming-focused keyboards such as the Razer Tartarus: a gamepad which purported to offer the control of a mouse and keyboard while removing all the dozens of unnecessary keys. While certainly an improvement, the keypad’s attempt at an analogue stick for movement left plenty to be desired, functioning more so as a multi-directional d-pad with a couple bonus inputs.

While I respect the peripheral and what it is attempting to do, for my purposes it fell just a bit short. Then came the Nintendo Switch.

Thanks to its hybrid nature and the invention of Joy-Cons, the OG switch in TV mode allowed for one of the first instances of split controller usage, letting you freely use one Joy-Con in each hand. While primarily a function of comfort, the potential for such a feature was notable, and while Nintendo themselves did little with it, I was hoping to see its implementation spread to other manufacturers.

Sure, we did get some controllers which could be split into two, but the concept wasn’t taken any further than this.

Cut to 2025 and the Switch 2 was officially announced. During the brief hardware tease, Nintendo showed off the refreshed Joy-Cons racing around a flat surface on their side.

Shortly thereafter, patents published by Nintendo were discovered, confirming the Switch 2’s new mouse mode – allowing you to control a character’s movement and more in the traditional way, while simultaneously turning the right Joy-Con into an optical mouse for added precision when aiming.

This alone would solve the issue I’ve been struggling with, however according to the patents, this new feature can go even further with the R1/R2 buttons serving as left and right mouse clicks while still giving you the option to use the right analogue whenever you wish; similar to using both a thumbstick and gyro aiming at the same time but with even greater precision.

Assuming this works as intended (and is as seamless as the last-gen split Joy-Con mode), Nintendo might very well have created the exact control method which I’ve been searching for. It’s just a shame that such a control scheme will be limited to the Switch 2 itself.

Until now I’ve failed to mention one of my biggest grievances with mouse and keyboard controls – that being the lack of any haptic feedback. While in no way necessary (and somewhat alleviated by a good set of headphones) the added tactility and response felt by tight haptic feedback when shooting, jumping or performing any other action – especially on the likes of the PS5’s DualSense controller – makes for an infinitely more satisfying experience in moment-to-moment gameplay.

Now I understand why you wouldn’t want to have your keyboard and mouse buzzing about with each button press (and peripherals which have tried to approximate this have struggled in the past), but with what will presumably be an upgraded form of their HD-Rumble included with these new Joy-Cons, I once again may be able to have the best of both worlds in this regard; offering tight yet prevalent haptics while still offering the many benefits of using a mouse.

You never know, the likely success of the Switch 2 could see PC accessory manufacturers revisit the concept, now that more game studios are likely to be conscious of implementing support for simultaneous multi-connectivity (and the fact that advanced haptics are more – well advanced – and cheaper to boot).

As mentioned, I previously wrote a KitGuru Games piece ahead of the official unveiling of the Switch 2, in which I discussed – among other things – what weird gimmick I would like to see Nintendo try out for the upcoming console. The two main off-the-dome ideas which I proposed was to see the return of glasses-free 3D screens / pressure sensitive screens.

I knew neither of these were going to happen (especially as they would only work with the Switch 2 in handheld mode), and while I would still totally love to see Nintendo give its 3DS gimmick another go at some point, I can’t deny that this mouse mode has me extremely intrigued and enticed.

Why did the console maker opt for this as their primary new gimmick? I honestly don’t know. It seems a bit too niche when compared to the company’s other grand swings which they’ve taken with previous systems. That being said, I could see a couple first-party Nintendo titles (such as Metroid 4) make use of this in a similar way to that of motion aiming – not for everyone, but a nice optional quality-of-life addition which will be welcomed by some.

So, while I don’t think this mouse mode will revolutionise the way games are designed, I do hope it sets a precedent for more developers to add dynamic controller support – and in tow see more hardware makers create hybrid controllers; ultimately creating a new loop of invention and reinvention which could very well eventually evolve the way we physically play games.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Nintendo Switch 2’s new mouse mode? Could it be revolutionary if widely adopted? What’s your favourite new Switch 2 feature? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post KitGuru Games: Switch 2’s Mouse Mode could Revolutionise Game Control first appeared on KitGuru.

2017’s NieR: Automata was a beautiful, evocative and highly fun game which introduced millions to the unique and bleak world of NieR. 8 years following its release (and 15 years since the first game), Square Enix has announced that they will be hosting an anniversary livestream this April.

Well in advance of its actual stream date, an upcoming livestream celebrating NieR’s 15th anniversary has been penned for the 19th of April, with the team writing (as translated by ResetEra user ‘Super’):

“This is a live broadcast of the ‘NieR’ series, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary in April 2025. We will deliver the latest information on events and merchandise planned to be held in commemoration of the 15th anniversary, along with talks from developers. We also plan to have a mini live performance during the program. We hope you enjoy it. The program is scheduled to last about 2 hours and 30 minutes.”

Despite first arriving 15 years ago, the series has so far only seen two mainline entries – those being the original NieR Replicant/Gestalt and the aforementioned Automata (as well as the mobile-only ‘Re[in]carnation'). That said, Automata in particular was huge for the series, alone having sold over 9 million copies.

Considering the fact that we’ve seen neither hide nor hair regarding a sequel, do not go into this livestream expecting an official announcement. More likely the stream will focus on interviews, panel discussions, answering questions and the like – with some new merch announcements or something on top.

That said, with Automata selling almost 10 million units pretty much as its own new IP (with very little carryover from the original NieR), it would make sense now more than ever for Square Enix and director Yoko Taro to finally announce a new title. We will have to wait and see.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to the livestream? What do you expect to be announced? Will we ever get a NieR 3? Let us know down below.

The post Square Enix announces 15th anniversary NieR livestream first appeared on KitGuru.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is one of the biggest Microsoft-published games set to release in 2025, with the id Software developed FPS once again seemingly reinventing what it means to be a DOOM game. Ahead of its 15th of May debut, the team have shared a ton of new details on what separates The Dark Ages from its predecessors.

In an interview conducted by EDGE Magazine (and collated by ResetEra user Rychu), the team at id Software offered a bunch of new details on DOOM: The Dark Ages’ many mechanics.

Regarding the new shield, the team confirmed that it can be thrown “in the style of Captain America” as well as functioning as a block of course. Beyond this, in a nice bit of attention to detail, when thrown, the shield will react differently depending on the surface – or enemy – it hits. Lastly, taking inspiration from God of War’s Leviathan Axe, the Shield in DOOM will be used for puzzles and exploration.

In terms of melee options, players will have 3 different weapons to choose from: The Gauntlet; Flail and Mace – all of which function differently and have their own benefits/drawbacks.

When it comes to level design, id Software have gone big with The Dark Ages, claiming it to feature the largest spaces in the franchise, serving more as sandboxes as opposed to linear paths. Interestingly, we actually got a description for how long each level will be, with these sandbox levels taking around 1 hour to complete if taking the main path (which can of course be lengthened through further exploration).

That said, the levels aren’t just giant squares, with the team confirming that they will be split into acts – with some starting off more linear only to then open up later on.

Further details on many of DOOM: The Dark Ages’ mechanics and features can be found HERE. Given the overwhelming success of 2016’s DOOM, it is both interesting and somewhat refreshing to see the team at id Software continue to evolve and add on to the DOOM formula in new and interesting ways. Hopefully the game resonates with long-time fans.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to DOOM: The Dark Ages? Which of the most recent titles had the best gameplay loop? Has the DOOM series innovated too much when it comes to this recent trilogy? Let us know down below.

The post A ton of new DOOM: The Dark Ages details have been revealed first appeared on KitGuru.

2025 is a busy year for Obsidian Entertainment, with the Microsoft-owned studio having just released their fantasy RPG Avowed – and The Outer Worlds 2 coming up later this year. Despite having quite a lot on their plate, the creative director for Avowed is hoping to support the series for years to come with expansions or even a sequel.

In an interview conducted by Bloomberg (paywalled), creative director ‘Carrie Patel’ spoke on the future of this series, saying:

“Now that we've built this wonderful world, and also built this team strength and muscle memory around the content and gameplay in this world, I'd love to see us do more with it.”

Avowed has seen a pretty positive reception from both critics and fans alike, with some of the main complaints being the world’s relative lack of reactivity in particular when it comes to the NPCs and some of its writing.

Both of these issues could easily be overcome with a sequel or even expansions, and so with Avowed having a solid core, it would make sense for Obsidian Entertainment to build upon it – assuming Microsoft are happy with the game’s sales/performance of course.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Have you been playing Avowed? What do you think so far? Would you want to see an expansion/sequel released at some point? Let us know down below.

The post Avowed creative director hopes to work on a sequel/expansion next first appeared on KitGuru.

Back in late 2022, it was officially announced that a film adaptation based on the popular indie fighter/brawler SIFU was in development, being headed by the creator of the John Wick franchise. While we’ve heard little in the way of new information since, a new report has confirmed that SIFU will be distributed by Netflix – alongside additional details.

As reported by Deadline, Netflix has joined the film production of SIFU, serving as the funding machine/distributor for the adaptation. Interestingly, the set-up for its production has changed slightly since the initial announcement, with Derek Kolstad no longer helming the script – instead seeing T.S. Nowlin take charge of the writing.

For the uninitiated, Kolstad is the creator of the John Wick franchise and served as the writer for all 3 entries in the franchise. Nowlin on the other hand has a slightly less reputable past, having written the screenplays for the Maze Runner series as well as Pacific Rim Uprising.

That said, much of the team behind John Wick remains involved in SIFU, with series director Chad Stahelski and his company 87Eleven joining Story Kitchen as producers.

SIFU is known for its impactful and flashy combat, and so to have someone familiar with the genre working on the adaptation is encouraging (even if it is no longer Kolstad himself). It will be interesting to see whether SIFU’s more mystical elements (such as the game’s aging mechanic) will make it into the film. If nothing else, at least the action will hopefully look cool.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of the recent updates for SIFU’s film adaptation? Are you disappointed by the change in writer? What is the most important aspect of this adaptation in your eyes? Let us know down below.

The post SIFU film adaptation is no longer being written by the John Wick creator first appeared on KitGuru.

G.Skill is raising the bar for server and workstation performance with its latest release: an enhanced version of DDR5 R-DIMM memory sticks. Built to the recently announced JEDEC specifications, these new memory sticks will feature a 16-layer PCB for improved signal integrity and incorporate robust voltage protection for enhanced reliability and stability.

A key upgrade in these new DDR5 R-DIMM modules is the implementation of a 16-layer PCB, a significant advancement over previous 8- or 10-layer designs. This increased layer count enhances signal integrity, resulting in more reliable and stable data transfer, even under demanding high-performance or overclocked conditions. This makes G.Skill's new DDR5 R-DIMM an ideal solution for high-performance computing applications in server and workstation environments.

Moreover, each module incorporates two bidirectional transient voltage suppression (TVS) diodes and a fuse to improve reliability, providing dual-layer protection against unexpected power fluctuations. This design safeguards the memory from voltage spikes, ensuring maximum stability and dependability for mission-critical workloads and next-generation high-performance computing systems.

These new DDR5 R-DIMM memory kits are expected to be available starting in mid-2025.

KitGuru says: If you plan on building a new server or workstation later this year, will you consider using G.Skill's upcoming enhanced R-DIMMs?

The post G.Skill will soon launch new R-DIMM memory with 16-layer PCB and voltage protection first appeared on KitGuru.

In recent weeks, a few RTX 50 graphics card buyers have encountered some issues. This time, we aren't talking about burning connectors, but a different kind of fault. It turns out, a small number of RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards were shipped with GPUs featuring fewer ROPs than advertised on the official spec sheet. 

According to Nvidia, the problem stems from a factory defect affecting a small number of GPUs, including the RTX 5090, RTX 5090D, and the recently released RTX 5070 Ti. These defective GPUs were shipped to board partners, meaning cards from various manufacturers could be affected. The defect, which results in a reduced number of ROPs (Render Output Units) being enabled, can lead to a performance decrease of up to 4%, as confirmed by TechPowerUp's investigation.

Nvidia's statement was the following:

“We have identified a rare issue affecting less than 0.5% (half a percent) of GeForce RTX 5090 / 5090D and 5070 Ti GPUs which have one fewer ROP than specified. The average graphical performance impact is 4%, with no impact on AI and Compute workloads. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement. The production anomaly has been corrected.”

While Nvidia claims that only 0.5% of GPUs are affected, this still translates to many potentially defective cards already in consumers' hands. What's particularly concerning is that Nvidia seemingly knew about this issue for some time but failed to disclose it before the launch of the affected cards.

The company's statement offers little guidance for affected customers, simply advising them to seek a replacement from their board partner. However, securing a replacement could be tough given the ongoing supply challenges, particularly for the high-end 5090 series. A prompt recall of the affected cards would be a more appropriate course of action.

KitGuru says: This statement casts a further shadow over the RTX 50 series launch, which has been marred by underwhelming performance gains, inflated pricing, and now, production defects.

The post Nvidia admits that a small batch of RTX 5090(D) and RTX 5070 Ti were shipped with fewer ROPs first appeared on KitGuru.

We were expecting to learn all about AMD's upcoming RX 9070 GPUs at CES in January but a last minute change of plans has led to weeks of speculation. Now, just ahead of the planned late-February reveal, details about these GPUs, the reference designs and more have surfaces. 

Hardware leaker Hoang Anh Phu (via VideoCardz) initially shared details confirming clock speeds and total board power (TBP) values, although the post was quickly deleted. According to the deleted post, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is set to boast a boost clock of 2,970MHz and a TBP of 304W, while the non-XT RX 9070 will feature a boost clock of 2,520MHz and a TBP of 220W. The leaks also confirm support for PCIe 5.0 x16, meaning the GeForce RTX 50 series will no longer be the only consumer GPUs supporting this PCIe standard.

Adding to the excitement, a leaked 3DMark benchmark (via @GawroskiT) has surfaced, showcasing the RX 9070 XT's potential performance. While there's some speculation about the benchmark's authenticity, with suggestions that pre-release drivers might be masked as a Radeon RX 7800 XT, the results are impressive nonetheless. The leaked benchmark shows the RX 9070 XT achieving a score of 7979, putting it on par with the RX 7900 XTX, surpassing both the 7900 XT and 7900 GRE, and exceeding the 7800 XT by over 50%.

In addition, AMD has confirmed (on X) that the dual-slot reference design it previously showcased in marketing materials will not be available for purchase. This departs from AMD's usual practice of offering reference cards alongside partner models. While some might be disappointed by the lack of a reference design, this could benefit consumers. In the past, AMD has prioritised the production of its reference cards, often limiting the availability of GPUs for AIB partners at launch. This time, AIBs will be solely responsible for the RX 9070 series launch, potentially leading to greater variety and availability of custom designs.

KitGuru says: What kind of performance do you expect from the Radeon RX 9070 series? 

The post AMD Radeon RX 9070 details leak ahead of full reveal first appeared on KitGuru.

Philips is strongly committed to sustainability with the launch of its latest business monitor, the Philips 34B2U3600C. This 34-inch curved VA display is the company's first to be TCO Certified, generation 10, a globally recognised sustainability certification for IT products. This certification underscores Philips' focus on minimising environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle, from manufacturing to end-of-life disposal, addressing the growing demand for eco-conscious electronics.

Beyond its green credentials, the 34B2U3600C has impressive features designed to enhance productivity and user comfort. The curved display provides an immersive viewing experience, while the WQHD resolution 3440×1440 VA panel delivers vibrant visuals with 1.07 billion colours and a 3500:1 contrast ratio. Integrated 5W speakers offer convenient audio for video conferencing and multimedia consumption. The 120Hz refresh rate is also pretty decent for gaming and such.

Connectivity is served with a versatile USB-C port that supports 90W power delivery and an RJ45 port. Eye comfort is prioritised with TÜV Rheinland Eyesafe certification and SoftBlue Technology, which reduces harmful blue light emissions. The ergonomic stand allows for height, tilt, and swivel adjustments, ensuring the user is comfortable during extended use.

Productivity-enhancing features include SmartKVM, which enables seamless switching between multiple sources with a simple keyboard shortcut, and MultiView, which allows for simultaneous dual connection and viewing. Philips is backing the 34B2U3600C with an extended 5-year warranty, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and product longevity. The Philips 34B2U3600C is now available for €439.00.

KitGuru says: Even if it's clearly a productivity-oriented monitor, the 120Hz refresh rate suggests it should also do its job for gaming. So, if you're looking for a new ultrawide monitor that you can use for work and play, the new 34B2U3600C could be worth checking out.

The post Philips launches eco-friendly 34B2U3600C ultrawide monitor first appeared on KitGuru.

Among Us became widely popular in its original 2D form but the development team at InnerSloth is looking to change things up soon with the release of Among Us 3D. As the name suggests, this is the same social deduction game we all know and love, but in a 3D environment instead. 

Among Us 3D isn't an entirely new game. InnerSloth already had the game running in a 3D environment in Among Us VR. However, with the majority of gamers having no access to a VR headset, creating a new version of the game to run on ‘pancake displays' was imperative for improving reach and accessibility.

As Among Us 3D is based on Among Us VR, the two versions of the game do have crossplay. As you would expect though, the 3D version is not compatible with the original 2D version, so there will be no crossplay with those who own the original version of the game.

There is unfortunately no release date yet for Among Us 3D, and we do not know if this version of the game will release on consoles. For now, it is just a PC release, but we'd be surprised if it didn't pop up on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch next year. For now though, PC gamers can get an early look at the game when the demo drops during Steam Next Fest.

KitGuru Says: Will you be picking up Among Us 3D once it arrives? 

The post Among Us 3D announced with free PC demo for Steam Next Fest first appeared on KitGuru.

After three years of additional development, CD Projekt Red managed to transform Cyberpunk 2077 from a widely disappointing release into one of the best action RPGs on the market. One of the big focuses for improving the game was enhancing NPC AI, particularly for crowds and police chases. Now as development for Cyberpunk 2 gets underway, CD Projekt Red is looking to enhance its simulation systems to untold heights. 

CD Projekt Red is hiring, seeking developers to help craft “the most realistic crowds ever seen in a video game”. This is an ambitious starting point for the sequel, and it gives us an idea of where CDPR's priorities are for the sequel.

The specific job listing in question here is for a lead encounter designer, who will “work in close collaboration with the systems design team to create the most realistic and reactive crowd system in any game to date”. That is certainly an ambitious goal to set, particularly with Grand Theft Auto 6 set to release later this year, which will no doubt have some of the most intricate open-world systems seen to date.

After years of extra development, Cyberpunk 2077 became far more immersive. Based on what we're seeing from job listings for Cyberpunk 2, immersion is going to be a big point of focus for the sequel, hopefully to the point where we can class it as a true ‘immersive sim', like Deus Ex, Prey etc.

KitGuru Says: Immersive Sim RPGs are amongst my favourite and Cyberpunk 2077 definitely got pretty close to earning that moniker. Would you like to see CD Projekt Red lean further into this direction with Cyberpunk 2? 

The post Cyberpunk 2 aims to have ‘the most realistic and reactive crowds’ ever seen in a video game first appeared on KitGuru.

We've known for quite some time that EA's new studio, Cliffhanger, is hard at work on a Black Panther game. Since the initial announcement in 2023, there has been very little news but now, after an extended period of development, we are finally starting to get some details. 

According to GhostOfHope, a leaker primarily known in the Call of Duty scene, Cliffhanger's Black Panther game will allow players to choose their protagonist at the start of the game. If handled well, this could open up the game to multiple playthroughs, something that can greatly extend the playtime for a single-player title without having to bloat it out Ubisoft-style.

For those who aren't caught up on Marvel lore, Black Panther isn't just one character. The Black Panther is the leader and protector of Wakanda, a fictional country in the African continent. As a result, there have been a number of Black Panthers over the years, as the moniker is passed down through the generations, or claimed through combat.

Some of the variants planned for Cliffhanger's Black Panther game supposedly include T'Challa, M'Baku, Azari, Shuri and Killmonger, and there could be more beyond that. Each will have their own unique weapons, armour and gadgets, offering a different playstyle. Gameplay-wise, we are expecting a third-person view with an over-the-shoulder camera angle, a reactive story with multiple outcomes based on key decision moments, and combat inspired by authentic African Martial Arts.

KitGuru Says: We still don't know when Cliffhanger's Black Panther will come out but it seems that the developers have a direction in mind. Hopefully that means we'll see the game in action within the next couple of years. 

The post EA’s upcoming Black Panther game to feature multiple protagonists first appeared on KitGuru.

Cougar is championing eco-conscious design with its latest PC case, the Airface Eco RGB. This mid-tower case prioritises sustainability without compromising cooling performance, offering a compelling solution for environmentally conscious builders.

At the heart of the Airface Eco RGB lies a ventilation system designed to maximise cooling efficiency while minimising energy consumption. Its unique coned vents feature a wider opening that tapers inwards and channels cool air more effectively towards internal components. This design reduces the reliance on active cooling, resulting in lower energy usage and a quieter operating environment. Two pre-installed 180 mm PWM fans enhance airflow, promising to provide enough cooling for demanding hardware. These fans come connected to the built-in RGB Hub Sync.

Fan support is quite good, allowing up to 2x 140 mm or 3x 120 mm fans on top, a 120/140 mm fan at the rear, and up to 3x 120 mm or 2x 140/180 mm fans at the front. As for radiators, there's space for up to 280/360 models at the front and top and a 120/140 model at the rear. Moreover, there's also space for up to E-ATX boards, 390-mm-long GPUs, 190-mm-long CPU coolers, and 200-mm-long PSUs. Lastly, users can add up to 2x 3.5-inch HDDs and 2.5-inch SSDs.

Dust management is also a key focus. Filters on the front, top, and bottom prevent dust buildup and protect internal components. Maintenance is simplified with a quick-slide front dust filter and a removable top panel. Moreover, a modular front I/O with a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, two USB-A 3.0 ports, a 4-pole headphone jack, and an RGB button allows versatile placement.

The Airface Eco RGB exemplifies Cougar's commitment to performance and sustainability. It offers a compelling option for gamers and PC builders who seek to minimise their environmental impact without compromising functionality or aesthetics. The Airface Eco RGB is now available in the US in black or white for $109.99, and it's coming soon to the UK for £109.99. The rest of Europe will have to wait for April to get this case for €124.99.

KitGuru says: Do you like the Arface Eco RGB aesthetics? Which model would you prefer?

The post Cougar goes all-in on airflow with ‘Airface Eco’ RGB case first appeared on KitGuru.