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Product Reviews

Lenovo abruptly cancels some Legion Go 2 preorders due to overwhelming demand

by admin September 21, 2025

From a disastrous AMA on Monday to disappointing Legion Go 2 preorder customers on Friday, the Lenovo team is having a hell of a week. To kick things off, the Lenovo Legion team hosted an AMA on Reddit revolving around its gaming handheld launch. The Legion Go 2 generated a ton of hype, being Lenovo’s next-gen gaming handheld with more powerful specs and a higher price tag, but the team only answered 10 questions before abandoning the thread. On Wednesday, Lenovo apologized for not being prepared enough to answer all the questions, but followed it up with a bombshell in an edit posted on Friday, adding that “we will need to cancel some preorders placed directly on Lenovo.com” for the Legion Go 2.

According to the Lenovo team, the demand “substantially exceeded our projections” and led to “unforeseen delivery range extensions.” While the orders with Lenovo’s retail partners, like Best Buy, aren’t affected, anyone who preordered the Legion Go 2 directly on the Lenovo website may see some frustrating news in their inboxes. The cancellations might not be a total shocker, since some user reports are circulating that Lenovo already pushed initial ship dates from September to October with “zero communication about the delay.”

To try to save face, Lenovo explained that “as soon as our inventory is replenished, Lenovo.com will show updated availability and ordering will reopen.” There’s no indication yet if those with canceled orders will get priority with the next batch of available devices, but the Lenovo team said it would respond to the AMA thread’s questions over the rest of the month. However, if Reddit comments are any indication, there’s a good chance a lot of customers won’t reorder following this catastrophic launch.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

The Creative Chat Wireless headset during our review

Product Reviews

Creative Chat Wireless business headset review

by admin September 21, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The Chat Wireless from Creative is a lightweight Bluetooth headset designed for business use. It doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel, but instead deliver exceptional comfort and crystal-clear audio at what I’d consider to be a very fair price.

As a chap who lives inside his headphones – for everything from conference calls to music playback and gaming sessions – I was keen to see how well they performed.

Spoiler alert: they’re definitely worth a look if you’re a professional. Yes, I have issues with the buttons, but the design, price, and overall quality of the audio and noise-canceling mic are excellent.

Creative Chat Wireless at Amazon for $69.99

Creative Chat Wireless: Price & availability

The Creative Chat Wireless headset is currently priced at $70 from Creative’s official US site – while in the UK, it’s retailing for £50 via Creative.

I’m also seeing it available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk for the same price.

Compared to alternatives, it’s priced pretty much at the low- to mid-range – it’s certainly not as pricey as offerings like the Jabra Evolve 2 65 Flex I’ve reviewed, which far surpasses the $150 mark.

Creative Chat Wireless: Design & features

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The design of the Chat Wireless headset is par for the course and in line with what I’d expect from a unit at this price. Inside the box, there’s the headset itself, a USB cable, the USB dongle, and a quick start manual.

In hand, the headset is impressively lightweight with plenty of give to fit a range of head sizes. The band is made of a firm plastic, neatly rounded on one side, which I think gives it an attractive, premium style compared to bland, budget headsets. Encompassing the top is padding for a more comfortable fit. As an accent, there’s bronze-colored metal connecting it to the pads.

I found the earcups well-cushioned, with a foam interior covered with a synthetic material. They fit nicely over the ear, but don’t envelope them in the way casual consumer headphones do. These also swivel inward for easier storage – although they aren’t foldable and don’t come with a case.

On the left earcup is a USB-C port for charging and separate volume up and down buttons. I particularly like how they’re positioned on either side of the band, so I wasn’t blindly fumbling for the correct one.

It’s also home to the stowable microphone, which rotates both ways and features a physical mute button. At the base of the mic is a Call button, used to turn the unit on and off or entering Bluetooth pairing mode.

All in all, the headset boasts a simple and efficient design with all the core features you’d expect.

Creative Chat Wireless: Performance

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Chat Wireless is light, tipping the scales at 0.3lb / 137g when I weighed them. It’s the sort of headset you can easily wear all day (and I did) without discomfort. If you’re taking a lot of calls, they’re pitch-perfect in this regard.

When wearing the headset, it’s surprisingly firm on the ears – and while there’s no noise-cancelling on the earcups, the snug fit did prevent extraneous background noise filtering in.

I found audio quality to be excellent, with just the right amount of bass and treble, while voices had the correct timbre. I used these for video calls using both Bluetooth and the USB dongle, as well as hooking up via Bluetooth to my phone to listen to music and podcasts, and a Nintendo Switch 2 while playing games. Each time, I experienced no tinniness here, which I sometimes find from cheaper devices.

Microphone quality came out incredibly clear. There is noise-canceling on the mic and in my own tests, this worked well. Which is useful, as I have an especially vocal cat that likes to make its presence known during calls. I experienced absolutely no issues throughout my use, and yes, the mute button on mic works instantly and well (a perennial fear of mine). A discrete voice will whisper in your ear to let you know when it’s muted or unmuted, and the LED simultaneously switches from blue (unmute) to white (mute), too.

All button presses feel soft and pleasant – neither too clicky nor too mushy, but somewhere in between. However, I did find when attempting to adjust the volume, I had to be quite firm in order for it to register. Light taps just won’t work here.

This wasn’t the case with the Call button, which was immediately responsive when answering calls and hanging up. Other features like holding the volume buttons to skip tracks during playback or tapping the Call button to play or pause worked well.

Where I did run into problems, though, was when hitting this button multiple times to activate the various functions, like redial or opening my AI assistant. It took some time to figure out the appropriate amount of time between each click. It needs to be neither rapid nor too drawn out. Experimentation is recommended.

But where it really counts – audio and mic quality – I was highly impressed, and confident I was being heard. Never once did I have to ask “Can everyone hear me?” or “Is this thing on?”

Creative Chat Wireless: Final verdict

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Whenever I’m reviewing a device like this, I ask myself: Would I buy this with my own hard-earned cash? And, considering the cost and the overall audio experience, this one is a resounding yes. It’s impressively lightweight, and ideal for professionals in an office or home office setting.

I do have some issues with the buttons, which could be more responsive – but to some degree that might be user error on my part – and some may wish for extra features like a foldable design or a storage case. And if you prefer a wired connection, these aren’t the ones for you, as they’re wireless-only.

But for a low- to mid-range wireless unit that makes meetings more bearable, especially if you’re using them all day, they’re one of the best Bluetooth headsets I’ve used.

Should I buy the Creative Chat Wireless?

Buy it if…

✅ You wear a headset all day: The Chat Wireless is pleasantly lightweight for all-day use, and the earpads feel snug over the ear without pressing against them too hard. I found them to be very comfortable, even after wearing them for hours at a time.

✅ You want a well-priced headset with all the core features: It’s not overloaded with unnecessary features or expensive technology, but audio quality is great and the buttons deliver a multitude of additional functions for navigating calls and playback.

Don’t buy it if…

❌ You need wired and wireless connection: As the name suggests, this headset is wireless only using Bluetooth 5.4 or the USB dongle. Creative does sell the Chat USB, which has a slightly thicker design but near-identical price with – you guessed it – a wired USB connection.

❌ You want noise-canceling audio: While the mic does have noise cancelation, the earcups don’t have this feature. I didn’t find this to be an issue even in somewhat active rooms, but it may be a deal-breaker for those in noisy workspaces.

For more top picks, we’ve reviewed the best headsets for conference calls.

Creative Chat Wireless: Price Comparison

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

There’s a fan patch for FEAR if you want to play the classic FPS with a scalable UI, controller support, and other modern conveniences

by admin September 21, 2025

FEAR is one of those games we lament because the things that were great about it feel like they’ve been lost, for few now live who remember it. Sure, there’s Trepang2. But FEAR was so good there should be an entire subgenre based on it. There should be an entire cottage industry of indie studios making singleplayer shooters with slow-motion and advanced enemy AI and something supernatural thrown in to give you the willies just when you’re feeling overpowered.

Anyway, instead of being all sad about how history becomes legend and legend becomes myth, let’s celebrate the fact that FEAR remains incredibly playable today—if you download the Echo Patch. It’s not one of those games that’s completely busted without mods, but if you play it at any resolution above 1080p all the text will look like it was written for ants.

The Echo Patch fixes that, and adds controller support so you can play it on your Steam Deck. It also lets you disable the letterboxing in cutscenes and optionally make the flashlight last forever if you don’t want to have to chase down batteries for it.

In terms of bugfixes, the Echo Patch deals with a lot of problems that emerge if you run FEAR at high framerates. There’s “ragdoll physics instability” and “excessive water splash repetitions” if you go above 60 fps, and should you run it at more than 120 fps you’d find yourself unable to do a jump-kick, which is just unconscionable. All that and more is fixed in the Echo Patch.

It even makes the world state persistent, so all those bullet holes remain to remind you of the shootouts in days past. Bodies, blood, shell casings, and other debris hang around as well instead of despawning like it’s 2005 and we need to constantly clear the decks before your PC overheats from having to depict too many polygonal dead men at the same time.

The Echo Patch can be downloaded from Github, and is an easy install. Unzip it into the folder FEAR.exe is in, and tweak the .ini files if you want to enable optional stuff like turning off letterboxing or disabling the GOG version’s 60 fps limit.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Asus TUF Gaming F16 review: Strong gaming performance offset by skimpy SSD, short battery life

by admin September 21, 2025

Why you can trust Tom’s Hardware

Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

If you’re looking to enjoy some 1080p gaming without shelling out a lot of money, we had the chance to review the new Asus TUF Gaming F16 gaming laptop. It uses Nvidia’s entry-level RTX 5050 GPU with an added twist. While some laptops have opted for a higher-tier RTX 5060 with lower TDPs, the TUF Gaming F16 is packing a potent 115-watt RTX 5050 that helps to level the playing field for gaming.

The TUF Gaming F16 is an imposing laptop thanks to its 16-inch frame, and it manages to incorporate a generous assortment of ports, an RGB keyboard, a numberpad, and a 165 Hz IPS display. Given its as-tested MSRP of $1,199, the TUF Gaming F16 offers strong performance, but that comes with a couple of caveats.

Design of the Asus TUF Gaming F16

One word can be used to describe the TUF Gaming F16’s design: understated. While the TUF Gaming F16 is first and foremost a gaming machine, it features a clean exterior, finished in black and light grey. The aluminum lid is minimalistic, with just the letters “TUF” and the accompanying logo embossed in the top corner.

There are some interesting touches, including the rear exhaust panel with triangle- and rhombus-shaped cutouts. There’s also a nifty four-leaf status LED at the top of the rear deck (behind the display) – it blinks to signify power status, drive access, etc.

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There are two USB Type-A ports on the right side of the chassis. You’ll find another USB-A port, two USB Type-C ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI port, a GbE port, and a proprietary power receptacle on the left side.

The laptop has a nice, solid feel. The plastic used throughout the chassis is of high quality, and the aluminum lid is a nice touch, especially at this price.

The laptop measures 10.59 x 3.94 x 1.07 inches and weighs 4.95 pounds. For comparison, the Acer Nitro V 16S AI measures 14.08 x 10.39 x 0.79 inches and weighs 5.5 pounds, while the Alienware 16 Aurora is 14.05 x 10.45 x 0.89 inches and weighs 5.64 pounds.

Asus TUF Gaming F16 Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

CPU

Intel Core i7-14650HX

Graphics

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 Laptop GPU (8GB GDDR7, 2,092 MHz max boost clock, 115W max graphics power)

Memory

16GB DDR5-5600 (2x 8GB)

Storage

512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

Display

16-inch, 1920 x 1200, IPS, 16:10, 165 Hz,

Networking

Realtek RTL8852CE Wi-Fi 6E (MT7925), Bluetooth 5.3

Ports

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm audio jack, Gigabit Ethernet

Camera

1080p

Battery

90 WHr

Power Adapter

280 W

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

Dimensions (WxDxH)

10.59 x 3.94 x 1.07 inches

Weight

4.85 pounds

Price (as configured)

$1,199.99

Gaming Performance on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Our TUF Gaming F16 review unit features an Intel Core i7-14650HX processor, 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and a GeForce RTX 5050 GPU with 8GB of GDDR7 memory. The TUF Gaming F16’s RTX 5060 pushes pixels to a 16-inch, 1920 x 1200 display with a 165 Hz refresh rate.

When testing new gaming laptops, I like to break out Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to get a feel for how the system will perform. At the native 1200p resolution with the Ultra preset, I averaged around 90 frames per second (FPS) through most scenes in the game. Heavy action on-screen caused the frame rates to dip to the 70 FPS range, but the play experience was generally excellent.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Price (as-tested)

CPU

GPU

Display

Memory

Storage

Battery

Weight

Ethernet

Wireless

Asus TUF Gaming F16

$1,199

Intel Core i7-14650HX

GeForce RTX 5050

16-inch, 1920 x 1200

16GB DDR5-5600

512GB

90 WHr

4.85 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth

Acer Nitro V 16S AI

$1,299

AMD Ryzen 7 260

GeForce RTX 5060

16-inch, 1920 x 1200

32GB DDR5-5600

1TB

76 WHr

4.55 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 6E

Alienware 16 Aurora

$1,499

Intel Core i7-240H

GeForce RTX 5060

16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 120 Hz

32GB DDR5-5600

1TB

96 WHr

5.64 lbs

1 GbE

Wi-Fi 7

Before I delve into our usual gaming benchmark suite, it’s worth noting that the RTX 5050 in the TUF Gaming F16 has a maximum total graphics power (TGP) of 115 watts. For comparison, the RTX 5060 in the Nitro V 16S AI has a TGP of just 85 watts, while the 16 Aurora’s RTX 5060 has an 80-watt TGP. The advantage in available TGP plays highly in the TUF Gaming F16’s favor in gaming benchmarks, even though the RTX 5060 used in the two competing laptops is technically a more powerful chip.

Taking a look at Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest settings), the TUF Gaming F16 delivered 95 FPS at 1080p and 90 FPS at 1200p. Those numbers weren’t too far off the pace of the Nitro V 16S AI, which hit 98 FPS at 1080p and 91 FPS at 1200p. The 16 Aurora was one frame per second faster at 1080p.

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When shifting over to Cyberpunk 2077 (Medium settings), our TUF Gaming F16 review unit managed 30 FPS at 1080p, equaling the performance of the 16 Aurora. The Nitro V 16S AI achieved 32 FPS at 1080p and 27 FPS at 1200p, which was actually just behind the TUF Gaming F16.

Far Cry 6 (Ultra settings) saw the TUF Gaming F16 push its way to the front of the pack, with 90 FPS at 1080p and 86 FPS at 1200p — the Nitro V 16S AI well behind, at 82 FPS and 79 FPS, respectively. The 16 Aurora pulled up the rear (not by much), with 81 FPS at 1080p.

It was another three-way race in Red Dead Redemption 2 (Medium settings), with our review unit easily keeping up with the other two competitors. The TUF Gaming F16 and Nitro V 16S AI scored identically, with 68 FPS at 1080p and 64 FPS at 1200p.

Finally, the Borderlands 3 benchmark (Badass settings), saw the TUF Gaming F16 hit 81 FPS at 1080p and 75 FPS at 1200p, compared to 82 FPS and 81 FPS, respectively, for the Nitro V 16S AI. The 16 Aurora was the leader at 1080p with 83 FPS.

The overall sentiment here is that despite being a lower-level SKU in the RTX 50 Series, Asus’ implementation of the RTX 5050 with a 115W TGP and a 2,092 MHz max boost clock allows it to remain competitive with the TGP-capped RTX 5060 competition.

Metro Exodus remains our go-to benchmark for gaming laptop stress testing. Our review unit averaged 65.62 FPS at 1080p across 15 loops using the RTX benchmark preset. The CPU performance cores averaged 3.0 GHz, and the efficiency cores averaged 2.53 GHz. The RTX 5060 GPU also ran at 2.53 GHz.

Productivity Performance on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Our review unit has a Core i7-14650HX “Raptor Lake” processor, which has 8 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. That processor is paired with just 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, instead of the 32GB found on the competing laptops (while the Aurora was far more expensive as tested, the Acer was $100 more). SSD storage is also a bit on the stingy side at 512GB, which doesn’t leave a lot of space for games after you take into account the standard Windows 11 Home install.

The TUF Gaming F16 started strong in the Geekbench 6 synthetic CPU benchmark, achieving a single-core score of 2,710 and a multi-core score of 15,013. That performance put it slightly ahead of the Acer (Ryzen 7 260) and Alienware (Core i7-240H) contenders in single-core, with a healthier margin of victory for multi-core.

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Things turned ugly in our file transfer test, which involves copying 25GB of mixed media files. Asus is using a 512GB Micron 2500 Series PCIe 4.0 SSD, rated for 6,600 MBps sequential reads and 3,650 MBps sequential writes. In our test, the SSD only managed 775.5 MBps compared to 1,170.12 MB/s for the 16 Aurora. The Nitro V 16S AI left our review unit in the dust, more than doubling its results (1,838.88 MBps). Going with a 512GB SSD was already painful, but the lagging performance just adds insult to injury. In the real world, I noticed some sluggishness when installing games onto the SSD.

Our Handbrake benchmark involves transcoding a 4K video file to 1080p. The TUF Gaming F16 completed the task in 3 minutes and 33 seconds, easily dispatching the other two systems. The Nitro V 16S AI took nearly a minute longer to complete the transcode (4 minutes and 32 seconds).

Display on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Like many mainstream gaming laptops, Asus has adopted a 16:10 aspect ratio for the TUF Gaming F16’s display, meaning that you get a 1920 x 1200 resolution. An IPS panel is employed here, accompanied by a relatively brisk 165 Hz refresh rate. An anti-reflective layer is used on the display.

Compared to the Nitro V 16S AI and 16 Aurora, the TUF Gaming F16 comes up short in overall panel brightness — at least on paper. We measured 298.4 nits compared to 312.2 for the 16 Aurora and 391.8 nits for the Nitro V 16S AI. However, in the real world, I never felt wanting for additional brightnessin an indoor setting. The screen did wash out a little when using the laptop outside on a partly cloudy day, but it was still usable without straining with the brightness maxed out.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Testing with our colorimeter showed that the TUF Gaming F16’s panel outperformed its peers, capturing 86.8 percent of the DCI-P3 and 122.2 percent of the sRGB color spaces. In practice, there was little to complain about with respect to how colors were represented on the display. The anti-reflective coating might blunt colors just a tad compared to a glossy finish, but everything that I threw at the TUF Gaming F16 looked great. I spent a few hours toiling around in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and came away impressed with how gorgeous the varying environments were.

I also watched a few episodes of my new favorite TV show, The Pitt, on the display. Unlike some previous medical dramas, which lean heavily on unrealistic darkened set design to create a certain mood, The Pitt is bathed in the stark bright lights of a typical hospital. There’s nowhere to hide under these illuminating conditions. From the various colors of the scrubs worn by nurses, interns, and doctors, to their lifelike gushes of blood (and other bodily fluids) that shoot across the screen, I felt fully immersed in the frantic emergency room environment.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

The TUF Gaming F16 uses a full-size keyboard plus a dedicated numberpad. The keys have 1.7 mm of travel and are adequately spaced to occupy as much of the width afforded by the 16-inch frame as possible. While the majority of the keys feature black keycaps, the WASD keys are clear, which allows more of the RGB coloring to shine through when enabled.

Speaking of RGB, the TUF Gaming F16 uses a single-zone RGB setup (compared to four zones for the Acer) that can be configured with the Armory Crate app. You can also quickly change Aura Effects using the Fn + F4 key combination.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

In addition to the standard assortment of keyboard keys, there are also four dedicated keys on the top row of the deck. You’ll find volume up/down, microphone, and Armoy Crate keys.

Using the keyhero.com typing test, I averaged 90.87 words per minute with 96.43 percent accuracy using the keyboard, which is slightly above my typical typing performance.

Our review unit features a large 5.1 x 3.3-inch touchpad that allows my fingers to glide over the surface easily. The surface also provides a satisfying click.

Audio on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

The TUF Gaming F16 only comes with two speakers, but they are punching well above their weight when it comes to performance. The speakers are loud, clear, and equally adept at producing remarkable sound in games, movies, TV shows, and music.

Playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I could hear the distinct sounds of boots hitting metal ladders as I climbed them, the audible grunts pulling myself up to a platform, the “glug glug” of pouring a bottle of wine, and the crack of Indy’s iconic whip. Of course, this was with the volume raised to about 30% to overpower the laptop’s twin cooling fans.

I also took the time to slink into the melodic tranquility of “Mujahedin and Opium,” a John Barry track from the James Bond film, The Living Daylights. The song is a perfect mix of percussion, strings, and soaring brass that gives it a majestic quality (and is probably one of my favorite pieces in the lengthy catalog of James Bond soundtracks). I felt that the TUF Gaming F16 captured the raw essence of the piece, and I’m not embarrassed to admit that I might have played the song on repeat a dozen times or so.

Upgradeability of the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Eleven Phillips head screws affix the bottom panel to the TUF Gaming F16’s main chassis. Once removed, the panel easily lifts off, revealing the internal comments. Immediately visible at the bottom is the 90 WHr battery, and directly above it sit the two 8GB DDR5-5600 modules.

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To the right of the DDR5 modules is the first M.2 bay, which is occupied by the 512GB Micron 2500 Series SSD. If you switch your attention to the left side of the mainboard, you’ll find the Realtek Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth combo card and the second M.2 slot, which is unused.The second M.2 slot and the replaceable RAM allow people to fix my qualms with part selection, assuming they’re willing to open the system up themselves.

Battery Life on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Although the TUF Gaming F16 uses a rather large 90 WHr battery, it didn’t fare as well as the assembled competition in endurance testing. Our battery test consists of web browsing, video streaming over Wi-Fi, and conducting OpenGL tests with the screen brightness set at 150 nits. With its Raptor Lake processor built on a legacy Intel 7 (10-nanometer) process node, our review unit lasted just 6 hours and 57 minutes. For comparison, the 16 Aurora lasted 9 hours and 41 minutes, while the Nitro V 16S AI lasted another 30 minutes.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Keep in mind that our battery benchmark does not take into account gaming, so the 115-watt RTX 5050 will likely fare worse than the 80- to 85-watt RTX 5060s used in the other two laptops.

Heat on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Asus uses a twin-fan cooling system on the TUF Gaming F16, and the setup does help to keep system temperatures in check. You can definitely hear the fans spin up when gaming, although the sound output is about typical for this class. The fan noise can get grating after a while, but cranking up the speakers to a moderate level drowns out the calamity. The best option is to choose from one of the best gaming headsets.

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During our stress test, we measured skin temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad and 96 F between the G and H keys. The underside of the chassis came in at 97.5 degrees, while we saw upwards of 112 F above the F7 key.

During the Metro Exodus stress test, the CPU package measured 79 degrees Celsius (C). Meanwhile, the RTX 5060 ran at an average of 2.53 GHz at 80 C.

Webcam on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

Unlike some of the more recent mainstream gaming laptops we’ve reviewed that cram in lower-resolution 720p webcams, the TUF Gaming F16 thankfully opts for a 1080p unit. However, the results weren’t as promising as I would have hoped. While the overall resolution seemed slightly better than the 720p webcams I’ve recently encountered, the colors were somewhat washed out and not as well saturated. My skin typically appears brown in webcams, but it looks a bit greyer on the TUF Gaming F16.

Overall, the webcam was just adequate, and I wouldn’t chalk it up as being anywhere near the top of its class. If you want to use it for videoconferencing for work meetings, where you’ll just appear as a tiny head in a sea of other talking heads, it’s adequate. However, opt for one of the best webcams if you need a higher-quality picture.

Software and Warranty on the Asus TUF Gaming F16

When it comes to preinstalled apps, the TUF Gaming F16 is relatively unencumbered by needless fluff. The most prominent app is Armory Crate, which is Asus’s all-in-one utility that monitors everything from CPU/Memory/GPU/Fan status to performance modes. Armory Crate is also where you’ll find controls for the Aura RGB effects on the keyboard. The Game Library features can also keep track of and allow you to set performance profiles on a per-game basis.

Other installed apps include MyAsus, which has system diagnostics capabilities, can assist with system updates, and allows you to get in contact with Asus customer support. There’s also the CapCut video editor, Dolby Access for switching audio profiles, and GlideX, which allows you to share screen access across multiple devices (i.e., a laptop, smartphone, and tablet).

The TUF Gaming F16 comes with a one-year warranty.

Asus TUF Gaming F16 Configurations

Our review unit is the TUF Gaming F16 (FX608J), which features a Core i7-14650HX processor, 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, a 512GB SSD, a GeForce RTX 5050 GPU, and a 16-inch 165 Hz 1200p IPS display. The laptop carries an MSRP of $1,199.99, but Newegg currently sells it for $1,109.99.

The FX608JH configuration swaps in a lower-performing Core i5-13450HX processor and only comes with 8GB of DDR5-5600 memory.

The top configuration is the FX608LP, which includes a Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory, a GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, a 165 Hz 1600p display, and a 1TB SSD. It can be had for $1,579.99 at B&H Photo Video.

Bottom Line

The Asus TUF Gaming F16 is an interesting entry into the mainstream gaming laptop sector with solid pricing that appears to make it a true contender at first glance.

After all, its 115-watt RTX 5050 had no trouble keeping up with more miserly RTX 5060 GPUs in the two competing laptops in game tests. The screen is big and colorful, and the speakers are a joy to listen to.

However, things quickly fall apart when you realize that you’re only getting 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, and your $1,200 outlay is rewarded with a skimpy 512GB SSD. To add insult to injury, storage performance lagged well behind the competition. Most laptops in this price range give you double the RAM and double the storage space. While you could upgrade this system to fix these problems, that would be easier to swallow at a $999 price point.

Battery life was also just average, with the TUF Gaming F16 lasting just under 7 hours compared to over 10 hours for the Acer Nitro V 16S AI.

In my opinion, the Nitro V 16S AI is the better overall laptop, boasting far superior battery life, comparable gaming performance, twice the storage space, and twice the RAM. It’ll cost you $100 more, but it’s well worth the extra coin.

Asus TUF Gaming F16: Price Comparison

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

An AI Stan Lee Hologram Is Coming to LA Comic Con (Really)

by admin September 21, 2025

Los Angeles Comic Con is next week, and one of its big guests is, apparently, an AI hologram of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, the hologram will be part of the Stan Lee Experience at LACC. Along with the standard $15-20 experience fee to join the booth, fans can spend money to take selfies with the hologram or have one-on-one conversations with it for three minutes. It was created by Proto Hologram—the company that made an interactive mirror for malls to promote The Conjuring: Last Rites—and virtual production company HyperReal.

Stan Lee Legacy Programs head Bob Sabouni assured the trade that the hologram wouldn’t say anything that isn’t “in line with things [Lee] spoke about in his lifetime, [letting us] build a voice that stays true, not always word for word, but always faithful in spirit, context, and intent.”

Even so, that doesn’t take away from the fact that Stan Lee died in late 2018 months after reports circulated of people in his social circle trying to capitalize on his decades-long success for their own ends in very weird ways. (One source at the time described the whole ordeal as “a fucking mess,” which just says it all.) This can’t help but fall into that territory, compounded by the fact that he can’t say no or even be duped into consenting as he could’ve toward the end of his life—and that’s not getting into the recent controversies and concerns surrounding AI and its relationship to the dead.

In a statement to io9, Chris DeMoulin, CEO of LACC parent company Kamikaze Entertainment, said he previously worked with Lee in the 2010s when LACC had a license deal with Lee’s POW! company, and observed “how much Stan loved interacting with fans, being on panels, telling the Marvel story, and engaging future generations of fans. I met with Bob and pitched him the idea of working to create a hologram representation of Stan, which could faithfully represent how Stan used to interact with fans at cons, including [ours].” The hologram has been in development for “several months,” added DeMoulin, and has been “coming along great” in recent weeks.

“This is all about helping to extend Stran’s legacy — something he himself talked to many of us about when he was alive. […] We know that this hologram isn’t Stan, and can never be perfect. But we think it is fun, authentic, very accurate in terms of how it responds to questions, and gives the fans a look into who Stan was, kind of [like] an IRL documentary. And in that regard, it serves the mission of the Stan Lee Universe team to preserve and extend Stan’s legacy into the future. We invite everyone to come see it for themselves, and after you’ve actually experienced it, we’d love to get your feedback.”

io9 has reached out to LA Comic Con organizers for any additional comments or clarity on the Stan Lee hologram and will update if a response is given. Los Angeles Comic Con runs September 26 to 28.

Update (9/20/2025 @ 2:30 PM ET): This story has been updated with quotes from Kamikaze Entertainment CEO Chris DeMoulin.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

How to Set Up Your New iPhone (2025)

by admin September 21, 2025

Photograph: Simon Hill

A Quick Word on eSIM

Apple has supported eSIM technology since the iPhone XS. It’s basically an electronic SIM card instead of the tiny, physical chip you insert into your phone for cellular connectivity. The iPhone 14 series was the first to completely get rid of the physical SIM card slot (in the US). That means the only way to set up a cellular connection in the US is with an eSIM.

If you’re unfamiliar with the process, don’t worry, it’s very easy. During setup, you’ll be asked if you want to transfer your number from your old iPhone. Once you agree, it will take a minute or two to activate cellular data on your new iPhone, and you’re good to go. Keep in mind that your old physical SIM card will effectively stop working once you do this.

If you’re coming from an Android phone (with or without eSIM support), you will need to scan a QR code provided by your carrier. This might even be the case with an iPhone if you’re having trouble—just contact your carrier, and they should be able to sort things out quickly. Some Android phones may support the easier eSIM transfer process, like Google’s Pixel 10 series.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Adding Other Accounts and Setting Preferences

Otherwise, it’s just a matter of personalizing your preferences. Want to add an email account? Go to Settings, Apps, Mail, Mail Accounts, and choose Add Account. Want to fine-tune which apps refresh in the background (and drain your battery in the process)? Head to Settings, General, Background App Refresh, and toggle your little heart out. Want to save time on web forms? Go to Settings, Apps, Safari, Autofill, and prefill your contact info. You can also turn on the battery percentage view by going to Settings, Battery, and toggling on Battery Percentage.

Screenshot courtesy of Simon Hill

Your new device will be running iOS 26, which boasts some important new features, but you might consider changing these privacy settings right away.

One last recommendation: Get rid of the clutter. You can delete any of Apple’s many, many stock apps you don’t want (including, of course, Stocks). Do it! It feels great, I promise. We even have tips on the key iPhone settings to change. Oh, and while you’re digging around in Apple’s software, go to Settings and then Focus to take advantage of the Do Not Disturb mode that lets you cut down on the constant stream of alerts.

Hitting these basics should get you started on the right path. When you’re settled, maybe look into Apple Shortcuts. And if you’re done with your old iPhone, read our instructions on how to factory-reset it.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 are already on sale

by admin September 21, 2025

It’s barely been two weeks since Apple announced the AirPods Pro 3, but you can already find them at a slight discount. The new earbuds are currently listed as $239 on Amazon, which is $10 cheaper than their normal price. The AirPods Pro 3 were introduced at Apple’s “Awe Dropping” iPhone event, boasting Live Translation, heart-rate tracking and significant improvements to sound quality and active noise cancellation (ANC). But, if you’re not looking to shell out that much, the AirPods Pro 2 are on sale right now too for $199.

Apple

Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 are a big step up from the previous generation.

$239 at Amazon

The AirPods Pro 3 are no small upgrade from the previous generation. ANC is twice as effective as that of the AirPods Pro 2, thanks to a combination of ultra-low noise microphones, computational audio and new foam-infused ear tips, which make for both a better fit and improved noise isolation, according to Engadget’s Billy Steele, who spent some hands-on time with the earbuds. The Live Translation feature fared well when tested on Spanish-to-English and French-to-English translations, making the earbuds a potentially handy tool to have for travel. (You’ll need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence in order to use Live Translation, though).

The earbuds earned a score of 90 in Engadget’s review, which notes noticeable improvements in sound quality and battery life. Apple says you’ll get up to eight hours on a charge with ANC enabled. With the addition of heart-rate monitoring and support for 50 workouts using Apple’s Fitness app, the AirPods Pro 3 allow you to get heart rate metrics during exercise without wearing an Apple Watch.

There’s a lot to like about the latest version of the AirPods Pro, so discount or not, you can’t go wrong if you’ve been holding out for a meaningful upgrade. Per our review, “The AirPods Pro 3 is the biggest update to Apple’s earbuds lineup in years.”

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Skullcandy Method 360 review: great-sounding mid-range earbuds with a helping hand from Bose

by admin September 21, 2025

Why you can trust TechRadar

We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Skullcandy Method 360: One minute review

As my editor at TechRadar well knows, I’ve spent the last year enamored with the Nothing Ear (a) as the best earbuds you can buy for a relatively affordable price, and nothing has come close to toppling these svelte and low-cost buds.

That’s all changed now though, because the Skullcandy Method 360 give their year-and-change older rivals a run for their money. And I see them being the new big buds that, going forward, I shall compare all contemporaries too.

These buds from American audio company Skullcandy are dead ringers for the brand’s cheap Dime Evo buds, coming in the same novel carry case, but I’ve already got to correct myself: these aren’t just from Skullcandy, but from another key player too.

In a big partnership, top audio dog Bose contributed to the sound of the Method 360, and it shows. These have the energy of Skullcandy buds but the audio precision of Bose ones, and the fantastic audio quality shows that the Method 360 benefits from the best of both worlds.

While Skullcandy boasts that the Method 360 have ‘Sound by Bose’, the design of the new buds also bears more than a passing resemblance to recent Bose earpieces too, especially with a gel fin around the buds to help them stick in your ear. Whether this was another case of the Bose helping hand or just a total coincidence, it’s welcome, with the Method 360 staying in the ear reliably even during workouts. They’re comfortable too, letting you listen for long bouts without your ears getting achy.

Design of the buds may be great, but the carry case itself provides problems: namely, that it’s absolutely huge. It’s a massive long tube which hides an inner shell that you slide out to retrieve the earbuds, and it’s far too big to easily fit in trouser pockets. According to promotional images Skullcandy sees you using the O-ring to strap the case to your bag, or perhaps your trousers, but the sheer size would make that about as unwieldy as walking about with a scabbard.

A few rough edges show their face in the feature set too: the app often failed to connect to the earbuds, even when they readily connected to my phone without issues, which was irritating when I wanted to change ANC mode. Plus, the voice announcer on the buds is both terrifyingly loud and surprisingly low-res, making me wonder if I’d accidentally been sent a pair of Method 360 which had been cursed by the Babadook.

Are these flaws enough to ruin the Skullcandy? Not by any means, they’re just minor gripes, and ones that give me something to write about to seem even-handed too. But they do little to counteract the real strengths of the Method 360: its reliable fit, its fantastic sound and its affordable nature.

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Value

Water resistant

IPX4

Battery life (quoted)

11 hours (earbuds), 29 hours (total)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

11g / Charging case: 77g

Driver

12mm

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

Announced in April ’25
RRP $119 / £99 / AU$189
Priced against mid-range rivals

Skullcandy announced the Method 360 in April 2025 and put them on sale straight away afterwards.

The official price of the buds is $119 / £99 / AU$189, although they were cheaper for their first few weeks of existence thanks to introductory pricing. When considering their value, though, we’ll consider this official price.

At that price these can be considered mid-range buds, with the aforementioned Nothing Ear (a) costing more or less (depending on region) at $99 / £99 / AU$192. Their other big rival at that price is the WF-C710N which has an RRP exactly the same as the Skullcandy and we’ll get more into the differences in our comparison section below.

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Huge case that’s fiddly to insert buds into
Buds are comfortable and fit reliably
Range of color options

The worst part of the Skullcandy Method 360 is its case. It’s absolutely huge – you’ve got no chance of fitting this thing in your trouser pocket and it was even a squeeze fitting it into the folds of my jacket. It’s significantly bigger than the case of any other earbud I’ve tested recently, making it a pain for portability.

That’s a shame because it’s a bit more interesting-looking than your generic clamshell earbud case. It uses what Skullcandy calls ‘Clip It and Rip It’; this means that there’s an internal column holding the earbuds which you reveal by sliding it out of a protective tube. There’s an O-ring which lets you clip the case to a bag or, according to Skullcandy, trouser belt loop, which also makes it easy to do this sliding action.

It’s an interesting design which Skullcandy has used before, but two extra things beyond the size damn the case. Firstly, the charging port is on the bottom of the internal column so if you slide this column up, the charging port is hidden by the external case – it’s quite a procedure to keep charging while you remove the buds. Secondly, the buds only fit in their respective slots if you insert them at just the right angle, and it’s hard enough to tell which bud goes in which slot, let alone which angle to put them in at (there are a faint ‘L’ and ‘R’ to solve the first problem but it could be made more clear). These are the single most frustrating earbuds I’ve ever tested in terms of returning them to the case after use, and I constantly wasted time trying to rotate the buds to work out how to get them into their gap.

It’s not just me on this latter point: Skullcandy’s listing for the Method ANC has an FAQ question and one query is “How do I put my Method 360 ANC earbuds back in the case?” complete with a surprisingly in-depth 5-point answer. Skullcandy: if earbud users need to go through five steps to put an earbud in the case, perhaps there’s a better way of doing things. I also presented my much-smarter girlfriend with the buds and the case and she too found it akin to solving a Rubix cube.

Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Image credit: Future)

At least Skullcandy has done something I love in earbuds: offered multiple color options. As well as the standards of black and white there’s bright red, a sandy hue which Skullcandy calls ‘Primer’ and your grandma’s favorite option: leopard print.

Now onto the buds themselves: they seem to work as a medley of the two core types of in-ear buds with large bodies which stay in your ears with a silicon ridge, but they also have a slight, dumpy stem. Whatever color of case you fit, affects the buds too, though in the case of leopard print it’s just on one surface.

The buds weigh 11g so they’re among the heaviest earbuds I’ve tested, but in the grand scheme of things a couple of grams doesn’t make much difference on the ears. And that tells – not once in my testing did the buds fall out of my ears, even though I went on runs with them and took them to the gym. I’m going to point towards their fin as the reason for this, with the material of the tip also making them stay in my ear snug. In the box you get an array of sizes for both too.

Both buds have touch controls, activated if you tap the right spot on the body of the bud (if you look at the picture, it’s just below the slight ridge, around where the LED light is). This worked fine in picking up fingertips but I found it quite hard to reliably tap the correct spot when I wanted to pause music.

The buds both have an IPX4 rating making them protected against splashes of water, which essentially means they’re safe against sweat or a light drizzle of rain but nothing stronger (or wetter).

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Good on-bud battery life
ANC is strong, but not competition-beating
Skull-IQ app for extra features

With a case of its size, you’d expect the Skullcandy Method 360 to have a battery life longer than creation. And it’s definitely good, though set your expectations a little lower than ‘forever’.

According to Skullcandy, the bud battery life reaches 11 hours with ANC off or 9 hours with it turned on, with the case providing an extra 23 or 29 respectively. From my testing I’d say Skullcandy’s figures are, if anything, a touch conservative – either way those are respectable figures

You’re offered the two standard noise cancellation modes we often see: standard ANC and ‘Stay-Aware’, both with a slider letting you change intensity mode (before you ask the same question I did: higher intensity affects the strength of ANC, not of background noise allowed through).

Regardless of which option you pick, the ANC is strong and capable, and you’ll struggle to find better at this price point. It’s so effective, however, that Stay-Aware often failed to let through the kinds of loud nearby sounds that these ambient modes are designed to do. In fact I didn’t notice a huge difference between ANC and Stay-Aware most of the time.

You can download the Skull-IQ app on your phone or tablet to get extra features for the earbuds. Some of these are ability to toggle ANC and change what tapping the buds does, but there are a few more.

(Image credit: Future)

One of these is nigh-on mandatory at this point: an equalizer. You get several presets here but there’s also a five-band custom option. While that’s not as complex as we normally see in equalizers, I honestly don’t mind, as it’s a lot more simple for the average earbud user to get their head around.

Beyond that we’ve got features for low latency audio (useful for gaming), multipoint pairing to connect to multiple devices at once, the ability to use your earbud as a remote trigger for your smartphone camera and Spotify Tap, which lets you press and hold an earbud to instantly play from a certain Spotify playlist.

A few features I like to see are absent like Find My Earbuds, listening tests or earbud fit tests, but the features you do get work well… unlike the way you control them.

One thing that I’d love to see Skullcandy fix with the app is its reliability. A fair few times I’d boot it up while listening to music only to be told that the earbuds weren’t in use – one time this incorrect message was ironically covered up by my phone system’s own notification telling me the buds’ battery life. I’d have to either refresh the app, or give up on plans to change the EQ or noise cancellation.

On the topic of annoying features: the voice announcer, which tells you when the buds are connected when you put them in as well as when you change ANC modes, is both incredibly low-res and incredibly loud. Calm down please, announcer!

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Sound performance

(Image credit: Future)

12mm drivers
Bose tuning pays off
Energetic sound with meaty bass

As I said in the introduction, Bose helped with the tuning of the Skullcandy Method 360 (though possibly not in lending the 12mm drivers, which are actually bigger than the ones we normally see Bose use in its earbuds).

This helping hand shows because the Method 360 are some of the best-sounding earbuds I’ve ever tested for their price. And, more obviously, they faintly resemble the tone of the Bose QuietComfort Buds from last year, in that music sounds rich, meaty and full (which I doubled down on by activating the bass booster EQ repeatedly through testing, though it’s far from necessary).

That’s not to say that the buds are just for bass-heads, as mids were just as energetic and electric as lower-frequency sounds. I found the audio profile perfect for punchy and fast-paced rock music which fits well with the Skullcandy branding. Treble could have been a little more glistening though and, while not audibly falling behind in the mix, it did lack a little zest when other parts of a song were going full-force.

If you like listening to high-velocity music, you’ll be glad to know that the Method 360 gets very loud, and I didn’t even test it at its top volume.

The Skullcandy also has a fairly pronounced sound stage, perhaps not as dramatic as the aforementioned Bose buds, but still great compared to many same-priced rivals. Instruments aren’t just panned left or right but to varying degrees around you, and audio was clear enough that I could hear the sound of fingers on guitar glissando or the type of drumstick a drummer would use.

Here’s where I’d discuss audio codecs or connection types but neither Skullcandy’s website nor the Skull-IQ app make any mention of them, so I’ve got to presume that high-res music isn’t supported.

Sound performance score: 4/5

Skullcandy Method 360 review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

The Skullcandy Method 360 are great value for money because in two big ways, they rival alternatives which you’d be spending twice the price on.

Both the sound quality and precision-designed fit feel like features you’d normally have to pay way more for. Yet here you go, finding them at a mid-range price. Good job!

Skullcandy Method 360 review: scorecard

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Skullcandy Method 360: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Skullcandy Method 360

Nothing Ear (a)

WF-C710N

Water resistant

IPX4

IP54

Battery life (ANC off)

11 hours (earbuds), 29 hours (total)

9.5 hours (earbuds), 42.5 hours (total)

12 hours (buds); 30 hours (case)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

11g (buds) 77g (case)

4.8g (buds) 39.6g (case)

5.2g (buds) 38g (case)

Driver

12mm

11mm

5mm

How I tested

I used the Skullcandy Method 360 for about two weeks before writing this review.

For the most part of the review, the headphones were paired with my Android phone for Spotify streaming as well as the occasional gaming and Netflix. I listened to music at home and in quiet environments, but also took the buds for a spin at the gym and on runs.

I’ve been reviewing products for TechRadar since the beginning of 2019 and have tested countless headphones amongst other gadgets. I’ve also used past Skullcandy options not for review purposes, but simply through having bought them myself.

Silksong sickos have already painstakingly determined the DPS of every crest in the game, and you might want to switch off Reaper

by admin September 21, 2025

Visic on YouTube and D4CLoveTrainn on the Silksong subreddit are two Silksongers of the admirably deranged, number crunching variety: Each one independently tested the DPS of every crest (weapon moveset) in the game, and their results exactly corroborate each other.

Such analysis is possible thanks to XiaoHaiNB’s ShowDamage HealthBar mod on the Nexus, which reveals both a bar and the hidden numerical value of every enemy’s health. The DPS values focus on damage from straight nail attacks, with both authors noting that this doesn’t show the whole story: General feel, platforming utility, charged attacks, and tool/spell combos are all factors to consider as well. That said, here are their numbers, with Visic reporting flat damage at max upgrades, while D4CLoveTrainn shows percentage (plus or minus) vs. the base Hunter crest.

Beast with temporary buff: 78.9 / +55%
Hunter (with max no-hit bonus): 69.4 / +36%
Wanderer: 68.3 / +34%
Beast (no buff): 52.4 / +0%
Hunter (no bonus): 50.9 / +0%
Architect: 50.2 / +0%
Witch: 45.7 / -10%
Reaper: 41.6 / -18%
Shaman: 41.5 / -18%

I Tested All the Damage Numbers from All Crests in Silksong, Here’s What I Found (NO SPOILERS) – YouTube

Watch On

Both crest investigators praised Architect’s charge attack, which offers a powerful multihit with high burst damage. Indeed, Architect’s middle of the road DPS is less of an issue with that attack in mind, as well as its focus on using Silksong’s powerful tools as opposed to regular attacks.

Beast and Hunter at the top slightly oversell them, as they require a great deal of skill and timing to take advantage of: Beast is tied to a five second buff that triggers when you heal, and Hunter’s max damage requires landing 12 hits in succession without taking damage yourself—though there is also a middle bonus for just six hits in a row.

Which leaves my go-to, the Wanderer, as the de facto nail attack DPS king when it comes to consistent, real world use. Wanderer also just feels good, with attacks that come out super fast and a more straightforward down air “pogo” move like in the first Hollow Knight, as opposed to the Hunter’s diagonal dive.

ALL crests ranked and explained in detail. from r/Silksong

But even with Architect and Wanderer looking like the real S-tier picks, I’m impressed at how balanced the movesets still are overall. Wanderer is held back slightly by suboptimal tool slots, while even the bottom of the barrel Reaper, with low DPS and no game changing bonus, has a niche as a long range, relatively “safe” pick with a nice feel. Shaman has a spellcasting specialization, while Witch has a unique offensive heal and strong charge attack in its own right. Hunter and Beast, meanwhile, seem like they could have a lot to offer high-skill players who can avoid getting hit or take advantage of a limited attack window⁠—D4CLoveTrainn sees speedrun potential in them.

Both authors have more to their analysis than just DPS numbers, like potential tool combos with different crests. Visic also breaks down damage per hit for different moves, while D4CLoveTrainn shows the damage bonus for each level of nail upgrade, plus a subjective assessment of how each crest feels to play. They’re worth diving into for Silksicko power gamers. As for me, I’m just going to keep hitting things with crazy Wanderer DPS.

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September 21, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Netflix and Guillermo del Toro Team on ‘Boy in the Iron Box’ Film

by admin September 20, 2025

After partnering with Netflix on Pinocchio and Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro is reteaming with them on a third film project.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, this’ll be The Boy in the Iron Box, a series of short stories the filmmaker co-created with Chuck Hogan. (Their second collaboration, following their Strain trilogy that was adapted into an FX series.) del Toro will produce the adaptation to be directed and written by David Prior, writer/director/co-editor of the 2020 cult classic The Empty Man. The upcoming film has also found its three leads in Rupert Friend (Jurassic World Rebirth), Jaeden Martell (Y2K), and Kevin Durand (Abigail). Production for the film will begin in October.

The Boy in the Iron Box tells the story of mercenaries who crash land on a remote snowy summit. In their efforts to find shelter, they stumble across a mazelike stone fortress deadlier than the wolves and freezing wind. The six novellas released for Kindle in 2024 via and each earned a solid reception. Friend will play mercenary leader Liev and Durand one of the men under his command, while Martell plays the titular Boy in the iron box found by the guns for hire.

We’ll have more on The Boy in the Iron Box as news emerges. Until then, you can read the books for yourself here, and see Frankenstein in theaters on October 17 before it hits Netflix on November 7.

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September 20, 2025 0 comments