Tag:

review

The Anthros Chair V2.
Product Reviews

Anthros V2 Chair review: one of the most expensive gaming chairs in the world for good reason

by admin



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.

Anthros Chair V2: One-minute review

The Anthros V2 Chair is, as the name would imply, the second iteration of Anthros’ gaming chair. Geared towards both desk workers, whether in-office or remote, and gamers alike, it is a complicated product, with more knobs and levers than your local knob-and-lever factory.

It also promises to ‘fix your sit’ which, if true in its promise, would be life-changing for anyone that struggles with posture or back pain.

There’s one caveat, however; this baby is expensive. With the base model sitting at a list price of over $2,000, before any of the optional bells and whistles you can add on, such as materials, colours, and even arm rests which come as extras, you’d be forgiven for hoping this chair might make you breakfast and do the laundry for you while you’re at it.

For context, this is far more expensive than our current favorite premium pick, the Herman Miller x Logitech Embody, and you could also buy three Branch Verve chairs for the same price, too (roughly).

Everything about the chair screams premium, though, from the materials used to the build quality of every component. I could never bring myself to spend this much money on a chair, but since I’m at my desk for a minimum of eight hours every day, comfort and back support are essential. And I’m not sure you’re going to find it anywhere better than with the Anthros V2 Chair.

(Image credit: Future)

Anthros Chair V2 review: Price and availability

  • $2,146 / Around £1,600 / Around AU$3,300
  • Price doesn’t include extras – even armrests
  • More expensive than the Herman Miller X Logitech Embody

Outside of the astronomical price tag, what are you actually getting with the Anthros V2 Chair? How could it possibly be worth that much? Well, according to Anthros themselves, it’s all about the technology behind it, and how it’s “engineered to relieve pain”. The seat features a contoured cushion that utilises ‘Cloudtex’ and ‘Cloudfloat’ technology, as opposed to traditional office and gaming chairs, which are usually flat.

This is part of what makes the Anthros V2 Chair so comfortable to sit in for extended periods, and in my experience with it over the last four months, it works. Compared to my previous office butt-rest, which was a bog-standard gaming chair from a relatively cheap brand compared to some of the premium offerings in that department, this has been like night and day.

The seat isn’t everything, though, as the Anthros V2 Chair promises plenty of lumbar support, and this comes from two areas. The back rest is in two segments, which are “designed to promote an optimal ’S’ curve of the spine by supporting the pelvis”, according to the official site. Both are controlled individually with knobs underneath the seat, so you can position them as you see fit. It’ll feel slightly uncomfortable at first, but the idea is that the chair makes you unable to slouch by keeping your spine upright.

An important note to make folks aware of is, at the time of writing, the Anthros chair is only sold on a US-facing website, but shoppers from outside the United States can still order it with international shipping.

Anthros V2 Chair review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Price

$2,146 (around £1,600 / AU$3,300 plus shipping from the US)

Dimensions (L x W x H)

28 x 18.3 x 43.7in (45.7 x 46.6 x 110.9cm)

Max user weight

300 lbs (136kg)

Seat width

19.8in (50.3cm)

Warranty

12 years

Finish

Athlon performance fabric

Anthros Chair V2 review: Design and aesthetics

  • Premium feel…
  • Except one minor part
  • Lacks a headrest

I’ve talked about the cost a lot because of how jaw-dropping it is initially, but I also must stress how it isn’t completely unjustified. Every part of this chair is high quality, from the swivel base to the seat cushion, back panel, arm rests, and the control knobs.

All of the mandatory parts for the chair feel excellent, but the one exception to this is the footrest. They’ve currently dropped it from $199 to $49, which the skeptic in me would assume is because they’ve had feedback that it’s so underwhelming and cheap-feeling compared to the rest of the chair. It’s plasticky, lacks many adjustments such as the ability to raise or lower it, and it can’t even be locked at a specific tilt angle. Save your cash and pick one up from another manufacturer.

There’s also no headrest on the Anthros V2 Chair, which some folks may find frustrating. It put me off at first, but after a while, you don’t miss it. It’s easier to stay awake and alert without a headrest, and while I’d like an optional headrest attachment to use when I’m reclining and playing video games with a controller, it’s a small thing to lose when I feel better in my posture and more attentive during the working day.

(Image credit: Future)

Anthros Chair V2 review: Comfort and Adjustability

  • Comfy for long periods
  • You can feel a difference in your posture
  • Somewhat of a learning curve

As mentioned earlier, the motto for the Anthros V2 Chair is that it will “fix your sit”, but doing that requires comfort. I am extremely happy to report this is by far the comfiest chair I’ve used for long periods… although I didn’t think that at first. It takes some getting used to because if you’re using it correctly, you’ll have the lower back section pushing into you. If you let it shape your back, then over time, your posture should improve.

Anthros are well aware that purchasing such an expensive chair is an investment, so you’re offered a video call with one of their on-staff therapists to “learn more about the chair and how it can specifically help you”.

I spoke with Anthros’ Ambassador Community Director, Ashley Williams, for 20 minutes or so, alongside carrying out this review, learning a little more about the science behind it, how they went through iterations of the product, and what it looks like underneath the shell. She also helped me set up all the various configurations to perfectly suit my height and desk setup, such as where the arm rests sit, how far forward the lower back support should be, and more.

(Image credit: Future)

That customer service goes a long way, so even though the chair was provided free of charge for review purposes, knowing that service is available to anyone who buys the chair – or who wants to discuss the product prior to purchase – it’s the sort of support you value. It’s especially helpful when you consider how many knobs and adjustments the chair has, which means it has a slight learning curve, and referring to the manual is required until you learn which part tweaks each aspect.

Four months in and I’m thoroughly impressed. If I’d spent upwards of $2,000 on the chair, would I feel the same? I’m not sure, but that’s because that’s a lot of money for me. If you’re lucky enough that this wouldn’t be such a financial investment, this is one of the best chairs on the market for long-term ergonomic support.

(Image credit: Future)

Anthros Chair V2 review: Assembly

Putting it all together is a painless experience, entirely feasible to do by yourself, and you’ll be done in under an hour.

However, this comes with a caveat. Everything with the assembly went flawlessly until the very final step, which is to install the upper back cuff.

This plastic cover for the upper back hinge refused to go on, no matter how hard I tried, so I put it down for a few days. I came back to it later, and it eventually clicked into place, but be prepared to use some serious force.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Anthros Chair V2?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Anthros Chair V2: Also consider

If the Anthros V2 Chair hasn’t sunk its claws into you or it’s out of reach financially, consider one of these other desk chairs that promise similar results.

Swipe to scroll horizontallyRow 0 – Cell 0

Anthros V2 Chair

Herman Miller x Logitech Embody

Branch Verve

Price

$2,146 (around £1,600 / AU$3,300 plus shipping from the US)

$1,795 / £1,496

$549 (about £495, AU$860)

Dimensions (L x W x H)

28 x 18.3 x 43.7 in (45.7 x 46.6 x 110.9 cm)

29 x 29.5 x 45 in (73.7 x 74.9 x 114.3 cm)

27 x 27 x 37 to 41 in (68.6 x 68.6 x 104.1 cm)

Max user weight

300 lbs (136kg)

300 lbs (136kg)

300 lbs (136kg)

Seat width

19.8in (50.3cm)

29.5in (74.9cm)

16.5in (41.9cm)

Warranty

12 years

12 years

7 years

Finish

Athlon performance fabric

100% polyester fabric

3D knit polyester fabric

(Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Anthros Chair V2

  • Used regularly for almost four straight months
  • Worked from it during the day, usually locked into the upright position
  • Often gamed from it in the evening, reclining with a controller in hand

I can never see myself going back to any other seat or gaming chair after using the Anthros V2 Chair for so long. My back feels better for it, and I’m looking forward to experiencing some more of the long-term benefits. As explained above, it’ll take a little while for you to start feeling positive changes, but it’s well worth sticking with it.

I work 9-5, typing and using my computer as normal, then recently I’ve started playing Rematch in the evenings on PC, for which I use an Xbox controller. I adjust the tilt and recline, keeping the back supports in the same position, so my spine still fits into that S shape.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: August 2025



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Drag X Drive Review - Kind Of A Drag
Game Reviews

Drag X Drive Review – Kind Of A Drag

by admin



Drag X Drive comes at an interesting time in the launch lineup for the Nintendo Switch 2. Rather than numerous day-one first-party releases that may risk overshadowing each other, the company has been releasing them one at a time, monthly. First we had Mario Kart World–alongside Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which kind of counts–followed by Donkey Kong Bananza, and now, Drag X Drive. The unconventional sports game is unique in the lineup for not centering around a known franchise. Instead its hook is an almost exclusively multiplayer focus and a novel control scheme based around the system’s mouse functionality. But while it’s a neat showpiece for how dual-mouse controls can create new game experiences, in practice it’s mostly just physically uncomfortable to play and too bare-bones to hold your interest.

Drag X Drive follows in the footsteps of games like Rocket League, mixing various influences to create something new. In this case, its closest analog is wheelchair basketball, a Paralympic sport that allows disabled athletes to play with some modifications. It adds a slight twist to that foundation, though, by taking place inside a skateboarding bowl, allowing players to build up speed and do trick shots to earn score bonuses. It’s a neat concept, and one that could pay homage to the athleticism of the real thing while giving it a wild variation. The hub area even has the look and feel of a basketball skate park, with courts living alongside loads of ramps and stunt areas.

The real hook is its control scheme. While other games have made light use of the Switch 2 mouse controls, Drag X Drive is centered completely around it. You detach both Joy-Con controllers and turn them on their side, and sliding them forward together approximates pushing the wheels of your wheelchair. Doing it in rhythm for a while gets you up to top speed, which is what enables your ability to vert off ramps and do tricks, or just rush into other players for a tackle to steal the ball. You lift a hand and flick your wrist to toss a ball into the basket, and tackling a player from the side or back staggers them for a moment and can throw off their attempted shot. Pressing the shoulder buttons acts as your brakes, and the HD Rumble feature lets you feel the tread of the tires as you roll. In theory, you can even pull off hairpin turns by braking with one wheel while pushing the other, or sliding them in opposite directions.You can pull off more complex tricks like a bunny hop or a backflip off a halfpipe for additional style points. And since the controllers map onto your hands, in the lobby you have free control to do things like wave or high-five.

In practice, though, the whizbang concept is held back by its controls. I’ve tried on a variety of surfaces, from a table to my lap desk to my pants, and I’ve found the controls to be stubbornly inconsistent. It works well enough for performing basic functions to show off the concept, but when the game starts testing your skill, it hits against the limitations of its precision. A handful of single-player minigames in the hub area has you slalom through narrow checkpoints or stunt in a bowl, and aiming your vehicle quickly becomes frustrating. The behind-the-back view in basketball matches means you don’t always have a clear idea of where the ball is, relying on an indicator that points behind you to know who has possession and where. Meanwhile, shooting the ball seems extremely generous with the auto-aim, sinking shots if you just lob in the general right direction, but that also means that you don’t understand the reason for the occasional miss. And since stealing relies on crashing into other players, but only from the front, playing on the relatively small courts in 3v3 matches can lead to a lot of awkward clumps of players.

Even when the controls do work, it can be exhausting to constantly push your Joy-Con mice for every small action. Having to physically exert yourself for movement as well as taking shots is a quick way to get tired, which says something about the impressive physical prowess of actual athletes, but doesn’t make for a very fun or relaxing experience at home. I found myself wishing there were a standard gamepad option, but I also understand that would compromise the point of the game and put players on very uneven fields. But even just getting from place to place in the lobby can be a chore, as you have to wheel yourself over to the hubs for different options and game modes. I’ve played a handful of short sessions and by the end my arms needed a break, so it really doesn’t lend itself to sustained, lengthy sessions.

To the extent that the clever control scheme makes it a neat showpiece for the Switch 2 mouse controls, it works. The lobby where you queue up for matches has some minigames scattered around, along with props like an automated jump rope to practice bunny hops or a steep hill that you actually can climb if you push yourself hard. But even then there are strange limitations. There are bowling pins scattered at one location, apparently for you to crash through, but even in a solo single-player lobby it won’t let you take the basketball out of the court to chuck it at the pins. Why? It just seems arbitrary and holds Drag X Drive from letting you make your own fun.

It doesn’t help that Drag X Drive isn’t much to look at. The Switch 2 has already been used to pull off impressive graphical feats thanks to Nintendo’s knack for art style. It isn’t the most powerful system, but Nintendo can make games look great and stylized. Drag X Drive has some very light stylistic elements–essentially a clean near-future extreme sports aesthetic, with exaggerated arms and hands on your robotic-looking players–but they aren’t pushed far enough to make it look distinct. It looks clean and well-rendered, but at the same time sterile and unexciting.

Taking a shot in Drag X Drive

Gallery

You can customize your player character with a handful of options including choosing a number, a body type (Guard, Forward, or Center), and customizing your helmet, armor, frame, and tires. For the most part this comes down to selecting a color and texture style, so the helmet is really where most of the customization lies. You can unlock extra options, up to 12 in total, by earning trophies in minigames and bot matches. And for the time being, that appears to be it.

When you get into a multiplayer lobby, the matches are quick and move along at a clip. You’ll usually queue up for a 3v3 basketball match–or occasionally, 2v2–and the matches only last a few minutes at a time. At the end, you’ll see some accolades like “Pro Passer” or “Cheer Champ” that award different styles of play, but those are ephemeral. They don’t seem to grant any permanent progression. Some of these might correspond to trophies that are used for customization unlocks, but finding the trophies list–even with an icon specifying that there are a paltry 25 in the game–is not clearly signposted. There doesn’t seem to be any meta progression or customization beyond that, so there’s very little to tempt me back. In between matches, the lobby might automatically queue you into a quick minigame, like a race to catch a rebound shot as it bounces erratically across the whole lobby skatepark, which works well enough to add a bit of variety.

In the moment-to-moment multiplayer gameplay, there is fun to be had in short bursts. I am not a baller, in or out of a virtual wheelchair, so my skills were limited, but I was able to mostly hold my own and pull off the occasional trick shot. That element may be the smartest thing Drag X Drive has going for it, because trick shots reward a very small score bonus. While your shots are worth two or three points as normal in basketball, doing it with a flourish will add a decimal to your score–making it worth 2.1, for example. That decimal point won’t be enough to change the ultimate outcome of a game if one side is simply sinking more shots, but for close matches it can make the final seconds thrilling and encourages players to attempt riskier, cooler shots.

However, that recenters the focus on the fundamental problem with Drag X Drive: It’s not very fun to play, because the controls are alternatively exhausting, imprecise, or both. Even pulling off the trick shots that give the game its personality and nuance requires getting up to top speed, which means navigating finicky tiring controls and avoiding bumping into other players. This is a great game for showing off what the Switch 2 can do conceptually, but it doesn’t make a good case for why you’d actually want to do it for very long.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
And Roger Review - When Actions Speak Louder
Game Reviews

And Roger Review – When Actions Speak Louder

by admin


It’s tough to discuss And Roger without giving away its bittersweet plot. This emotional visual novel excels at telling its gripping story through ingenious gameplay, demonstrating the power of showing rather than telling to deliver a powerful experience.

Over the span of three succinct chapters, And Roger does a stellar job telling the tumultuous tale of a girl scared and confused by the presence of a mysterious man in her home. Who is the person? Why does he seem to know her even though he’s a stranger? What happened to the girl’s father? Discussing the plot any further would give away what’s really happening, but the narrative is effective in that it’s an ordinary tale grounded in a tragically relatable core. This is an affecting tale of love, patience, and forgiveness, and while initially tricky to follow, gameplay helps clear the fog by using smart context clues.

 

And Roger is a mechanically clever and emotionally effective point-and-click adventure due to how well it captures the emotion of any given scene. For example, opening a door while frantically fleeing the stranger requires clicking the correct button in a floating batch of identically similar buttons. Running through the first door is easy, as you only have to find one button out of three. Each subsequent door, however, populates the screen with upwards of a dozen moving buttons, necessitating me quickly clicking through all of them until I found the right one. I felt my heart rate rising the longer this chaotic exercise went on. Is the stranger right behind me? Where is that stupid button? And Roger excels at conveying often stressful emotions such as panic, confusion, and fear using only simple interactions.

Whether it’s washing the girl’s hands, reciting a prepared speech, or simply trying to talk with a sweetheart, And Roger consistently offers novel and playful ways to convey how the girl is feeling in a given moment. Whether it’s memorization exercises or connecting broken lines symbolizing conversation threads, interactions (including fourth-wall-breaking twists on mundane game menu settings) are intentionally more challenging or involved than needed to serve the plot. Even so, gameplay never veers into being a nuisance. Instead, experiencing the same sense of hardship in gameplay strengthened my personal connection and empathy for its small cast.

 

The simple yet charming illustrations are complemented by a sparse color palette, which the game uses well to set the tone. Serious moments may be darkened by moody greys and blacks before happier moments paint the screen in warm hues of orange or blue. The perfectly paced narrative, backed by well-written dialogue and a moving soundtrack, makes great use of its roughly one-hour runtime. The story’s brevity and cryptic storytelling make a compelling case to replay And Roger immediately after the credits roll, and I can’t recommend doing so enough. I liked the game a lot on the first playthrough, but I fell in love with it on the second go-around, as I had the context to fully grasp and appreciate its design choices.  

And Roger left me feeling a whirlwind of emotions, from distressed to sympathetic to hopeful, using little more than a mouse cursor. The best compliment I can give is that it reminds me so much of 2018’s Florence, a game I adore, in how it uses clever interactions to communicate relatable feelings and situations. While I wouldn’t wish the plight of its protagonist on my worst enemy, I would happily recommend this experience as another strong example of video games’ strength as a storytelling medium.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
CrowPi3 Electronic Learning Platform header image.
Product Reviews

CrowPi3 Electronic Learning Platform review

by admin



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.

Elecrow’s latest invention, the CrowPi3, is an all-in-one Raspberry Pi 5 platform that bundles many popular Arduino modules in a book-sized suitcase. A 4.3” LCD sits in the center with a camera on top. Modules usually used to introduce electronics, such as a breadboard or an LED matrix, are also included. They are all connected to the Pi through its 40-pin header connector. The unit has a built-in battery pack that should provide hours of fun.

Elecrow is running a Kickstarter campaign that will end on July 5th. The product’s main selling point is that it can be used as a hardware enabler for AI designs. How much this is true depends on the software ecosystem that ships with it. Elecrow is smart by using the Raspberry Pi as part of its design. This opens thousands of AI and ML libraries for the younger generation targeted by this product.

CrowPi3: Price and Availability

The CrowPi3 is available in nine configurations on the Kickstarter webpage. The Early Birds offer the most value for money and start at $159 for the basic kit, excluding the Pi computer. An 8GB Pi 5 with battery and a gamepad will add an extra $130.

(Image credit: Future)

CrowPi3: Design

The CrowPi3 ships with a transparent plastic cover on the main experiment board, which helps protect the delicate circuits and LCD module while on the go.

Specification

Supported board: Raspberry Pi 5, Pi Pico, Arduino, Micro: bit

Number of extensions: 28 Arduino-compatible modules

Size: 28.5 cm x 18.5 cm x 3.8 cm

Weight: 1.1 kg

Video: 4.3” 800 x 480 IPS LCD, 1 x HDMI

Audio: Stereo speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack

Power supply: 27W 12V power adapter

Two small magnets hold the cover in place while a rubber strap on top acts as a handle, creating a look similar to a suitcase. The unit measures 28.5 cm x 18.5 cm x 3.8 cm, for a weight of 1.1 kg, and feels solid. The two compartments on the bottom are easily accessible by sliding plastic doors. One holds the Raspberry Pi board, while the other can store small parts.

Elecrow went above and beyond to pack over thirty electronic modules in a small volume. Even more impressive is that they are all connected to the Pi expansion connector. If the Pi is too much of a hassle to work with, then two extra sockets accommodate a Raspberry Pi Pico board or an Arduino, while the breadboard space allows adding other modules easily.

The Raspberry Pi 5 provides over twice the processing power of its predecessor. The CrowPi3 utilizes all of the Pi’s connectors and interfaces; Two HDMI connectors connect to the integrated display and an optional external screen. The user can access only three USB 3 ports, the fourth reserved for the two-megapixel camera. A 4.3-inch 800 x 480 IPS screen offers excellent brightness and viewing angle, although the small viewing area makes reading text challenging.

The case integrates two 3300mAh rechargeable batteries, which should keep the Pi and screen working for several hours. Networking is available using the 1 Gb Ethernet port or the Pi’s Wi-Fi module. A pair of speakers provides stereo sound output, which can be bypassed using a headphone plugged into the 3.5mm headphone jack.

(Image credit: Future)

CrowPi3: In Use

The unit turns on by pressing the right-side power button. A long press on the same button turns the unit off. Two red LEDs indicate whether the unit is charging and turned on. The cooling system is always on without temperature control and produces a low but noticeable whining sound from the fan. The built-in screen is more of a gimmick. An external display is recommended for actual development.

The Elecrow ecosystem builds on a customized version of Raspbian OS, specially tailored for interactive learning. The UI ditches the conventional desktop with icons and instead organizes items in what looks like a dashboard with two distinct sections. The left contains AI modules, while the right holds Python-based projects. The user must create an account to start using the CrowPi3.

The most challenging part of setting up the CrowPi3 is getting the OS up and running. Elecrow provides a 40GB image that, although containing a wealth of material, is just too big to be useful. In contrast, the latest Raspbian desktop image with recommended applications is less than 4 GB. Elecrow should provide a lite version of the OS with additional user packages external to the image.

(Image credit: Future)

CrowPi3: Competition

Very few platforms exist that are similar to the CrowPi3. With built-in modules that showcase the Pi’s ability to control peripherals and the various extension connectors spread around the case, the CrowPi3 is a unique product. The curated software library also plays an essential part in the product.

The Joy-Pi advanced product is similar to the CrowPi3 and supports Pi 4. It incorporates modules such as touch sensors and ultrasonic range finders and sports an even smaller 1-inch LCD. However, the price is higher than the CrowPi3, at more than $470. It lacks a battery and key components such as a camera to make an AI platform.

(Image credit: Future)

CrowPi3: Verdict

With their newest all-in-one station, Elecrow promotes an AI-centric product on a large scale through their Kickstarter campaign. The CrowPi3 feels well-built and oozes quality with many electronic modules, such as the LCD and touchscreen. However, the software support for voice and image recognition sets it apart from the competition. We liked the general appearance and portability of the platform, with a cute handle that completes the suitcase appearance. Don’t let the toy appearance fool you; the platform can be used for more serious stuff, such as software development, but with a bigger external screen.

That said, the unit feels overcrowded. Elecrow thinks cramming as many modules into a small space will win over the general public. The fact is that the platform might overwhelm beginners with its complexity. Also, supporting material such as schematics is missing. You are on your own if the unit breaks and you want to do some repairs. Finally, the fan is noisy and will be a distraction.

Buy it as a gift for kids who like building and breaking stuff.

Don’t buy it if you want to get your hands dirty quickly with the Pi5.

Raspberry Pi: Everything you need to know.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
A screenshot from RPG Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
Product Reviews

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma review: RPG comfort food

by admin



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.

If there’s anything a game can do to make a good first impression, it’s having its dual protagonists riding huge dragons in what feels like a cataclysmic event.

Having no skin in the game as far as Rune Factory as a series is concerned, it felt as though I’d skipped a whole host of chapters and was getting ready for the final battle between good and evil, and then… my character woke up.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Release date: June 5, 2025

  • Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma at Amazon for $69.99

Rather than charging into battle atop a mythical creature, I found myself cleaning up weeds and harvesting wood. The surprising part, however, is that in doing so, I came to fall in love with the depths of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma’s systems.


You may like

There’s combat here, sure, but in the 25 hours I spent in its charming world on Nintendo Switch 2, the biggest draws were getting to just the next upgrade for my burgeoning town, offering just the right gift on a character’s birthday, and enjoying quality time with its cast.

Rhythm is a dancer

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

Still, I’m getting ahead of myself. As I mentioned, I’ve never played a Rune Factory game before, but with multiple Switch 2 games dropping into the laps of gamers, I wanted to kick the tires somewhat even before this review in hopes of filling a knowledge gap.

Waking from a dream, my amnesiac hero finds himself in the quaint Spring Village. Here, the sacred tree has stopped blooming, and I was tasked with cleaning the place up in hopes that better times would return.

As it would happen, the protagonist is an Earth Dancer, able to tap into natural forces (isn’t that always the way?), allowing them to wield divine instruments that help plants grow and push back against a sort of blight that’s strangling this once-vibrant world.

That narrative setup leads into the main mechanic of Guardians of Azuma: Village management. If the game itself were a sacred tree, its village customisation and management tools would be the central trunk–absolutely everything feeds into it, and that’s what helped me sink so many hours in so quickly.

Making friends…

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

In the game’s opening hours, you’ll be led by the hand through all sorts of smaller pieces of village stewardship. You’ll meet its inhabitants to grow social bonds (more on that shortly), and spend time building up a designated area for fields and small buildings.

It doesn’t take long to build a couple of relatively humble abodes to help bring in new villagers, or harvest crops that can be sent elsewhere to raise capital for your village. In fact, before long, there’s the same kind of satisfaction you find in any other management game, as things tick along nicely.

The more villagers you can, the more they’ll be able to help with chores and tasks, and each has individual perks that help them fall more naturally into roles like Loggers, Farmers, or Miners.

Seeing my small patch of farmland from the game’s first hour gain a whole host of villagers to work on the harvest, or adding my first blacksmith, felt perfectly paced. The carrot on the proverbial stick of “I just need to get to the next upgrade” kept me up past 2 AM more than once, and there’s a really cosy quality to Guardians of Azuma that makes it a natural fit as a Switch 2 launch game.

…and influencing people

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

In between your daily routine of tidying things up, bossing people about, and trying to make a bit of gold, you’ll also have the chance to grow friendships with your companions and even branch out into romance with them.

This is achieved by making an effort to converse with them regularly, fulfilling any requests they may have, and eventually working with their likes and dislikes to select suitable gifts or suggest suitable activities.

It’s not as strictly structured as something like Persona, and while there is a day/night schedule (complete with debuffs for staying up late), it’s easy to fit multiple social engagements into one day.

Best bit

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

They say ‘it takes a village’, and I loved watching my relatively small patch of farmland grow into a bustling production line of crops being picked, weapons being crafted, and making coin via trading.

That’s a good thing, because many of the characters are just so fun to talk to. Ulalaka, the divine spirit of the game’s first village, is relaxed and cordial but holds some deeper fears about the state of the world and her diminishing powers. And, while some characters are certainly more one-note (Murasame is the relatively generic swordsman, while Takumi is the affable, boisterous carpenter), they’re all brought to life with exuberant voice acting and great regionalisation.

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

A special shout-out, too, to Woolby. The game’s comic relief could have felt more irritating given how much he’s on screen in certain scenes, and I had feared he’d be akin to Persona’s Teddy or Morgana, but I ended up genuinely enjoying his appearances, and he didn’t grate much at all.

Laying down the law of the land

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

You’ll want to spend time chatting up your cohorts, too. There are around two dozen romance options, but once any of their bond levels hit 1 (which is very, very easy to do), they’ll be able to accompany you on expeditions out of the village.

That’s important because while your town is busy working on items and weapons you can take out into the world with you, there are monsters to slay.

While the bright art style may suggest similarities, it’s not quite as deep as in something like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Many enemies can be felled with a few swings of your sword, but there are plenty of weapons to unlock, each with their own skill trees.

That applies to your party, too, so leveling your social bonds can be the difference between rolling into a boss fight with a relatively slapdash squad or with a team of hardened veterans.

There’s a breeziness to the action-based sword-swinging and bow-firing, and the option to slow time when you nail a ‘Perfect Dodge’ and follow up with a whirlwind flurry of attacks feels just as good here as it has in recent Zelda titles.

Some enemies will even turn into villagers, making seeking them out (and various other bonuses in the areas outside your village) a worthy endeavour.

Rinse, repeat

While there’s always something to do, be it a notjiceboard request or working towards the next village upgrade, the game’s structure won’t be to everyone’s liking.

Each chapter essentially adds a new village, and if you’ve not had a great deal of fun managing the minutiae of harvesting and selling crops in the first one, you’ll probably struggle to find the fun in the following villages.

Each comes with its own unique challenges, characters, and mechanics, but the overarching mechanics remain the same. That’s something I had a blast with, just constantly min/maxing my time, but it won’t be to everyone’s tastes.

I also found that there are some frame rate drops while playing on a TV at 4K, but those weren’t an issue in handheld. Given the option to sit back and do some village management while watching TV, though, I can see the latter being the way most people enjoy Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma.

Should you play Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility

As far as I could see in the settings, there are no additional subtitle sizes on offer, but you can auto-pause dialogue when a sentence is finished. You can also adjust the speed at which subtitles appear.

Button mapping is very flexible, too, meaning players can customize their button inputs as much as they’d like, and the game does a great job of keeping button tooltips on screen, too.

(Image credit: Marvelous Inc.)

How I reviewed Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma

I played Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma for 25 hours, completing the main story and mopping up a whole host of side quests.

I did so on Nintendo Switch 2, switching between docked with my Sky Glass TV and playing in handheld mode, and making use of the Switch 2 Pro Controller. It marks one of my favorite Switch 2 experiences alongside The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, as well as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, but up next it’s Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition.

First reviewed June 2025

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma: Price Comparison



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens attached to a Canon EOS R100, on a wooden surface with floral backrop
Product Reviews

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary review: a portrait master for crop-sensor cameras

by admin



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.

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary: one-minute review

Most beginner mirrorless cameras are available as a kit with a standard zoom lens – a pairing that many users settle with long-term. However, if you want notably better-quality photos from such a setup, my first bit of advice would be to invest in an additional lens.

That’s where the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DC Contemporary prime comes in. Offering pin-sharp detail, dreamy bokeh and an 85mm effective focal length, it’s ideal for portraiture, and a level up from your kit zoom.

It’s one of a quartet of dinky f/1.4 primes by Sigma. But of those four, and indeed of the many lenses I’ve tested for crop-sensor cameras, it’s Sigma’s 56mm F1.4 that has impressed me the most.


You may like

What’s more – it’s tiny, lightweight, and well-built too, meaning it’ll pair nicely with mirrorless cameras from the likes of Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, and more.

In fact, Sigma should be commended for making this lens available for such a wide range of lens mounts. It was originally released for Sony E and Micro Four Thirds back all the way back in 2018, then for other mounts such as Fujifilm X, and only this year did it debut for Canon RF – a third-party lens for Canon RF is rare.

Put simply, the Sigma 56mm F1.4 is the best second lens you can buy in this format, especially for portraiture. Being a Sigma, it’s made in-house in Japan to high standards, and the cherry on the cake is that it’s reasonably priced too.

Today’s best Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN | C and Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN | C for Sony deals

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallySigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary specs

Type:

Telephoto prime

Mount:

L mount, Sony E mount, Fujifilm X mount, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z mount, Canon EF-M mount, Canon RF mount

Sensor:

APS-C

Focal length:

56mm (85mm effective for APS-C and 112mm for MFT)

Max aperture:

f/1.4

Minimum focus:

19.7 inches / 50cm

Filter size:

55mm

Dimensions:

69 x 57.5mm (Canon RF – other mounts differ slightly)

Weight:

10.2oz / 290g (Canon RF – other mounts differ slightly)

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary: Price and availability

  • Available for most mirrorless camera lens mounts
  • Priced at around $450 / £420 / AU$650, depending on mount

Sigma offers the 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary in L mount, Sony E mount, Fujifilm X mount, Micro Four Thirds mount, Nikon Z mount, Canon EF-M mount and Canon RF mount versions. Put simply, you can find a version of the lens for your crop-sensor mirrorless camera, without needing an adaptor.

How much the lens costs depends on the version you need. The Canon RF version, for example, costs $449 / £419 / AU$649, while the Sony E-mount version is a little cheaper.

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary: Design

  • Weighs around 10oz / 285g
  • Plastic barrel, no external buttons
  • Available for most mirrorless camera lens mounts

Lenses for APS-C cameras tend to be smaller than equivalent full-frame optics, and that’s certainly true of the Sigma 56mm F1.4. It weighs just 10oz / 285g (the Canon RF version is a few grams heavier), and measures 57.5mm in length, whereas an 85mm f/1.4 lens for full-frame cameras would typically be double the weight and size.

Its diminutive dimensions and light weight make the Sigma lens a suitable match for the best beginner mirrorless cameras, and it’s the dinkiest in the series of f/1.4 primes. I was testing it with the Canon EOS R100, which is Canon’s smallest mirrorless camera with RF mount, and there was a really nice balance to the pair.

There’s a nice feel to the lens too, thanks to its large rubberized focus ring that’s easy to locate and smooth in action. The barrel is plastic rather than metal, but it feels solid enough. I didn’t exactly thrash the lens around during testing and portrait shoots, but I can still appreciate its durability.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The mount, on the other hand, is metal, and most versions feature a rubber seal for dust and moisture resistance (the exception is the Canon EF-M version). It’s worth pointing out that Sigma makes the lens at its HQ in Aizu, Japan, with tight control over build and optical quality.

There are zero external buttons and switches on the lens; the sole manual control to hand is the focus ring. I was testing the lens with a beginner-level camera, which also lacks the kind of external controls found on pricier cameras. As such, I missed having quick access to a basic adjustment such as a manual / autofocus switch.

The lens comes with a generously-sized lens hood, and should you want to attach threaded filters you’ll need 55mm ones. Such small filters are usually pretty low-cost.

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary: Performance

  • Smooth, rapid and precise autofocus
  • Maximum f/1.4 aperture for defocusing backgrounds
  • Minimum 19.7 inches / 50cm focus distance delivers 1:7.4 maximum magnification

Autofocus in the 56mm F1.4 lens is powered by a stepping motor, which drives the lightweight lens elements with ease for quiet, rapid and accurate focus. Focusing is internal too – which means the lens’s exterior maintains its size.

The minimum focus distance is 19.7 inches / 50cm, which is pretty decent for an 85mm-equivalent lens, realizing a 1:74 maximum magnification. This is no macro lens, however; the closest you’ll get to sharp focus is on details such as flower heads.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The aperture range is f/1.4 to f/16, with a nine-blade rounded aperture. Naturally, I gravitated to the maximum aperture for portraiture, and I suspect that the majority of the photos I would take with the lens, should I own it myself (and I want to), would be at f/1.4.

At this aperture, backgrounds defocus nicely for head-and-shoulders portraits, as in the images below, in which you can also see what bokeh looks like – note the quality of the dappled light in the background. Bokeh is smooth and round in the center of the frame, although a little cats-eye-shaped in the corners.

On the same day that I shot those portraits, I also used Canon’s own RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM lens for portraits and the difference in quality was clear – bokeh in the lower-end Canon lens has an ugly onion-ring effect, whereas the Sigma’s is, as I’ve said, buttery smooth.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The lens construction comprises 10 elements in six groups, two of which are aspherical elements, plus one ‘SLD’ element. The result is ridiculously sharp detail, even at f/1.4, although for absolute peak sharpness any setting between f/2.8 to f/5.6 is on the money.

Like many Sigma lenses, the 56mm F1.4 utilizes in-camera digital correction to fine-tune images. I shot photos both in raw & JPEG, and checked the uncorrected images in Adobe Camera Raw, which supports the 56mm lens’s profile for corrections. Switching lens corrections on and off allowed me to see how extreme any corrections are.

Lens distortions such as chromatic aberration and flare are all well controlled off the bat, and certainly nothing to worry about. There’s notable pincushion distortion, and modest amounts of vignetting at f/1.4, but nothing that automatic lens corrections can’t handle easily enough.

Image quality is excellent across the board, and the outstanding sharpness is even more impressive given the tiny dimensions of the lens.

Image 1 of 10

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Tim Coleman)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)(Image credit: Future)I took the lens hood off for this photo and shot towards the sun. At particular angles, this pronounced flare appeared.(Image credit: Future)

Should you buy the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

How I tested the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary

  • Sigma loaned me the 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary for a few weeks
  • I tested the lens at the same time as three of Sigma’s other F1.4 primes
  • I had the Canon RF-mount version, and paired the lens with a Canon EOS R100

I had several weeks to put the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens through its paces, together with the three other lenses that make up Sigma’s quartet of Contemporary primes for crop-sensor cameras: the 16mm F1.4, 23mm F1.4 and 30mm F1.4.

They are some of the few third-party lenses made for the Canon RF-mount, which is the version that I had, and I paired the lens with the entry-level Canon EOS R100.

Throughout my time testing the lens, I’ve set the camera to shoot in raw & JPEG simultaneously, with in-camera lens corrections turned off. Adobe Camera Raw’s profile for the lens allowed me to directly check the extent of corrections that are applied.

I’ve mostly used the lens for portraiture, making use of its maximum f/1.4 aperture. I’ve also taken images in various scenarios and using various apertures, in order to check for lens distortions and check detail.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Cyber Knights: Flashpoint review | Rock Paper Shotgun
Game Reviews

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint review | Rock Paper Shotgun

by admin


Cyber Knights: Flashpoint review

Don’t let its initial cyber-posturing and sheer amount of systems intimidate you. Cyber Knights: Flashpoint is wider than it is oppressively deep, while still being rich enough to offer up some excellently tense and entertaining stealth tactics

  • Developer: Trese Brothers
  • Publisher: Trese Brothers
  • Release: Out now
  • On: Windows, macOS, Linux
  • From: Steam
  • Price: £25 /€29 /$30
  • Reviewed on: Intel Core i5-12600K, 32GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, Windows 11

Cyber Knights: Flashpoint has some excellent nonsense scenario writing propping up mission design. In one early excursion, you remote activate ‘defector tech’ to convert an enemy agent over to your side, then have a turn to neutralise the neuro-toxin killswitch in their brain with injectors. The game is awash with this sort of campy, techy gangslang. My absolute favourite of these so far is ‘chumbo’ – apparently a much stupider, funnier, and therefore much better version of 2077’s ‘choomba’.

Similarly, Cyber Knights’ script is pure cyberpunk American cheese singles; reliably tropey and enjoyably naff. And yet, I have spent the last week or so popcorn-bucket-deep in the game’s drama. There’s little as gripping as a good heist; the planning and personalities and stakes, the fated fumbles and slick improvisations. And, once it gets going, CK:F’s grip is augmented. Hour one: “lol, chumbo”. Hour three: “We’ve been made, chumbos! Go loud!”.

Part ganger management sim, part cyberpunk underworld-navigating RPG, and part stealth-tactics heist ’em up, the thing Cyber Knights is best at is making me personally feel very cool. I went to rinse off a spoon yesterday but apparently forgot that spoons are curved and spray water in a powerful arc if you hold them under a tap. I do not need a power fantasy. A hyper-competency fantasy suits me just fine.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

That said, its sheer breadth of linked and fleshed-out ideas can feel surveillance-state oppressive at first, as if hidden cameras are watching for signs of discomfort or confusion on your face so the corpogov can file you in their database of big dumb chumps. You’ll often find strategy games with an easy hook obscuring hidden crunch, but this is sort of the opposite – proudly flashing its bitty and tangled grognard bonafides before revealing itself to be quite a smooth, intuitive ride, just one that revisited the cutting room floor after hours and shoved every idea it could find into its massive techwear pockets. It’s in making all those ideas relevant contributors to its tactical theatre that CK:F really shines.

No Ship of Theseus references so far either, thank Gibson. CK:F’s answer is implicit, anyway: remove the parts, the whole just isn’t the same, so let’s cover a scav mission in action. In the final turn, my sword-wielding Knight J.C ‘Dental’ Floss will find herself pinned down by a shotgunner’s overwatch cone, before remembering she packed a syringe of evasion juice, slamming it, then dancing gracefully to the evac elevator. But we start out without a soul aware of our presence, calling in fixer favours and spending a few spare action points on abilities to disable cameras and laser sensors. We move between safes, lifting blueprints and valuable programs. We distract the guards we can with thrown lures. We take out the ones we can’t with silenced pistols and swords.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

The management layer feeds into the RPG layer feeds into the tactics layer and loops back. We extract once we’ve loaded up on loot. Once we return to base, the loot goes in cold storage to be sold to fixers for cash or favours. If someone likes us a lot, they might set us up with missions or new recruits. We customise those recruit’s backstories through detailed (if long-winded) conversations, defining personal baggage like errant siblings or debts that surface later as optional missions. Helping a black market contact out might mean better gear is available to buy, or we can synthesise our own from the blueprints we stole once we build fabricators.

Or we might want to invest in counter-intel or medical facilities instead if we got sloppy on the last mission, got people wounded or stressed or brought down heat, resulting in negative traits and recovery time and headhunter mercs interrupting us on missions. And this sounds overwhelming but it all flows naturally. Before we know it, we’re back in the field.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

CK:F works on an initiative system, with a turn gallery keeping you up to speed, but you can opt to delay a merc’s turn as many times as you want, knocking 10 initiative off each time until they’re reduced below that number. On the simpler end, this lets you do things like kick turns off with the specific ability you need, or keep your gunnier chumbos in reserve if things go the way of the pear, or just wait to see what the guards do first, providing you’re safely hidden and have preferably used some tracking tech to predict movement routes. On the more involved end, you can use it to pull guards apart and pick them off one by one, or set up lovely kill combos.

But this stuff really comes to life in how well it drives home that these turns you might be engineering for fifteen minutes apiece are really playing out in seconds for the characters. Your gangers might look like mismatched techno club casualties, but they can execute like disciplined surgi-bastards. This extends to the stealth. When you slip up, guards are alerted to your presence independently of each other, meaning you can react, eliminate suspicious threats, and slip back into the shadows. I once had Dental lope through grenade smoke and pick off stragglers with her sword. I’m not actually positive this did much but, again, it did make me feel very good at my pretend cyber job.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

They won’t rush to set off any sort of map-wide alarm, either. Yellow pips on an alert tracker mark temporary danger, and it’s mightily satisfying to clear that bar by taking out problems before they turn blue as permanent ticks toward reinforcements at the end of a turn. But this can also make stealth feels a little fuzzy and esoteric. You’re always reliably informed whether you’ll be spotted or heard, either by guards or security devices, but I still haven’t quite nailed down what feels like some hidden variables toward alerts spreading to other guards on the map. I murder seven dudes. Trip a motion detector. Get seen by two cameras. Reinforcements show up, wander around for bit. “Glitches again. Must be monday”.

In fairness, this might have had something something to do with the hacking I’d just done. This is the second version of the hacking tutorial the Trese Brothers have added, and it still gave me an anxiety attack followed by a shorter, more intense anxiety attack followed by what I’m sure was permanent psychosomatic cranial damage. I eventually looked up an older tutorial on the Brothers’ YouTube channel which was much better. This should be in the game. It’s cyberpunk. Just do a Max Headroom thing with a vocoder, it’ll be fun.

Anyway, the very basic gist here is that you spend AP to move between nodes and use memory to load and deploy programs: scan for threats, counter security measures, etc. Again, it’s actually quite intuitive, and if you don’t fancy it you can either skip the hacking missions or just vastly reduce the difficulty with perks and syringes full of hacking juice (referred to in-game by trained hackers as “hacking juice”). It’s not bad as a standalone palette cleanser and I appreciate a cyberpunk game actually attempting to dig into this stuff rather than just relegating it to a minigame. It also feeds into the fantasy nicely with how it folds back into the turn order, so your hacker can get caught or shot in realspace while they’re hacking, or you can designate a lookout while the rest of your team is off doing other things for some nice cinematic moments.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

Right, review’s getting massive. Lots to cover, so here’s a quickfire round of spare bits I wanted to mention. Stealth is both encouraged and fun but so is violence, and there’s plenty of good abilities for going loud, too, like the gunslinger class you can arm with two revolvers then set to a unique overwatch where they go all cowboy Biff Tannen. The actual planning stage of the heists isn’t as deep as I’d hope for given the detail elsewhere, it’s really just a case of setting up fixer buffs, like temporarily disabling reinforcements or security cameras. Maybe choosing entry points or splitting your team up would break the mission design but it would suit the fantasy nicely. There’s also very little explanation of what stats actually do when you’re building your characters at the start (“too many decisions, too little context”, as Sin put it.)

But it does level out reasonably sharpish. And this isn’t me saying “it gets good after twelve thousand years”. It’s good from the beginning, it just takes a few hours to get a sense for the shoal of systems being spoon-catapulted at your face like soggy peas from a fussy toddler, or like water at my own face when I forget how spoons work. I’d hate for anyone to miss out because it seemed like obnoxious work to learn, basically, because the leather jacket’s a rental and the middle finger tats are temporary and it’s actually pretty easy going, just ambitious and detailed.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Trese Brothers

And I guess the last thing to mention is the game’s styling of itself as an RPG feels very much character sheet crunch and class led, not so much storytelling. Dialogue choices are about revealing worldbuilding or accepting missions. There’s a sense of your gang gradually building up a history and trajectory, if not your customised Cyber Knight as an individual. And it definitely pulls off the XCOM and Battle Brothers thing of making you very afraid when your favourite idiot has three overwatch cones trained on them.

This isn’t a criticism as much an attempt at elucidating what you’re getting here, and perhaps an acknowledgement that cyberpunk as a genre probably once held some aspirations to be a bit more insightful and incisive than whatever very fun but ultimately slightly goofy and perpetually unsurprising pastiche we end up with in many cases, even if you can hardly blame it for abandoning attempted prescience when we live in a state of ketamine-droopy tech mogul grins proudly announcing their investments in the The Torment Nexus v2.1.6. Making you feel cool probably isn’t the most important thing a cyberpunk game can do. Nonetheless, CK:F is pretty great at it.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
PolarPro QuartzLine ND filter
Product Reviews

PolarPro Quartzline ND filter review

by admin



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.

PolarPro QuartzLine ND filter: two-minute review

In photography, we often want more light. It’s why people seek out larger sensors and wider apertures in their cameras and lenses – in order to capture a greater amount of light in a shorter space of time. That’s brilliant if you want a fast shutter speed to freeze the action – but what if you want to use a slower shutter speed, in order to capture the motion blur of a car racing past or turn a raging river into a smooth, silky ribbon of blue?

Achieving a slow shutter speed, particular on a sunny day, can be tricky – which is where ND filters like the PolarPro QuartzLine range come in. Available in a wide range of strengths, these circular filters screw onto the front of a camera lens and reduce light transference without affecting color rendition. At least, that’s the idea.

PolarPro sent me four ND filters to test, all in 67mm thread size (they’re also available in 77mm and 82mm), in ND8, ND16, ND64 and ND1000 strengths. The ND8 filter drops light input and increases exposure time by three stops; the ND16 four stops; the ND64 six stops; and the ND1000 filter 10 stops. Obviously, having a set like this in your camera bag would be handy if you want to cover every eventuality – but it’ll be mighty expensive too.


You may like

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

Each filter comes with its own hinged hard carry case and microfiber cleaning cloth, emphasising their premium positioning. The cases are hard plastic, but have a fetching brushed metal finish and magnetic closure, and each is helpfully labelled with the thread size and ND value, to reduce the time it takes to pull out the right one from your bag.

The filters themselves are well crafted and beautifully solid, so it does at least feel like that money is going somewhere. Made of brass and aluminum (and with a distinctive brass-colored finish), they’re reassuring tough, with pleasingly chunky ridges that gave me plenty of grip whenever I was attaching or detaching them from my Panasonic Lumix GH6’s lens (I used a 62mm to 67mm step-up ring, also made by PolarPro, in order to do so).

The brass frame construction should keep the screw threads in good shape too, in theory – so these filters should be fitting smoothly for many, many years to come. I found them very easy to fit, but you’d expect that from new filters. They also feature front threads, allowing other filters and attachments to be fitted over them.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

The glass, dubbed Cinema Series Glass by PolarPro, is made in Germany. A series of coatings purportedly eliminate color shift (any sort of color cast being added by the filter), and PolarPro also claims its ultra-low refractivity keeps the effects of the light passing through so minimal that it can fully resolve sensors with up to 400MP resolution. The coatings add anti-scratch, anti-oil and hydrophobic qualities too.

My Lumix GH6’s sensor is just 25.2MP, so doesn’t really help in putting the refractivity claims to the test, but in terms of color shift I can say I’m impressed. Even the most powerful filter of the four I was testing, the ND1000, doesn’t add much of visible color cast to images – but when closely comparing test shots without the filters to those with, there is a slight warm tint visible in the filtered images.

Image 1 of 5

This photo was shot as a control, with no ND filter attached(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

PolarPro QuartzLine ND color cast comparisons

Sample photo using the ND8 filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Sample photo using the ND16 filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Sample photo using the ND64 filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Sample photo using the ND1000 filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

I wouldn’t call this a huge drawback, particularly as I think anyone spending this much money on ND filters probably has some experience in post-processing and editing photos. It’s nothing that can’t easily be fixed in Lightroom or similar, and most observers wouldn’t even notice it unless they were looking, but it’s definitely present.

Using the filters, I was able to capture long exposures (10 seconds or more) on bright, sunny days by the sea. These photos smoothed out the motion of the waves and made the surface of the water more transparent to give my images a much more dream-like quality. They would have been completely impossible to take without an ND filter, as too much light would have entered the camera and blown out the image.

Image 1 of 6

This long exposure turned crashing waves into silky, smooth ribbons of motion.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Shot with no filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Shot using the ND1000 filter and converted to black and white in Lightroom.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)A long, multi-second capture using the ND1000 filter smooths out the sea’s surface and blurs the motion of a paddle boarder.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)A second seascape, shot with no filter.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)Here, the ND1000 filter was used to slow down the shutter speed for a multi-second capture.(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

I was also able to use the filters to aid my videography by helping me to shoot video with a wider aperture (i.e. for a shallow depth of field) or slower shutter speed (for more motion blur). I did find this a little more challenging at points, as it involved swapping between filters a little too often – and it’s times like that when a variable ND (or VND) filter feels invaluable. These allow you to adjust ND strength by twisting the filter, offering a much more immediate solution. I’m also currently reviewing PolarPro’s own PMVND Edition II filter with a 2-5 stop range, so look out for an in-depth review of that soon.

While PolarPro QuartzLine ND filters are certainly expensive, I was thoroughly impressed by their premium construction, glass quality and general usability, and wouldn’t hesitate to use them in my own landscape photography and videography.

PolarPro QuartzLine ND filter: price and availability

In the US, PolarPro QuartzLine ND filters cost the same price, regardless of their thread size and filter strength at the PolarPro store. Whether you pick 67mm, 77mm or 82mm threads, or the ND8, ND16, ND64, ND1000 or ND100K strengths, every filter costs $99.99. Simple and, in my opinion, good value for money – particularly given that you also get a hard storage case and cleaning cloth with each filter.

In other countries, the price can vary a lot more. In the UK, for instance, the filters seem very expensive in comparison to US pricing, and thread size and ND value seemingly have little bearing on the cost – i.e. at Amazon UK, the larger thread sizes are sometimes cheaper than the smaller ones, where logic would dictate the opposite. It’s a slightly confusing situation, with some retailers offering decent discounts while others charge the full whack.

Should I buy the PolarPro QuartzLine ND filter?

(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the PolarPro QuartzLine ND filter

  • One week of use
  • Tested with photography and video capture
  • Used with Panasonic Lumix GH6 camera

I tested these PolarPro QuartzLine ND filters over the course of a sunny summer’s week by the sea in southern England – an ideal time and place to put this type of light-stopping filter through its paces. I tested four filters in the range, fitting them onto my Panasonic Lumix GH6 camera (with the help of a step-up ring) to capture both still photos and video, comparing the results against shots captured without the filter.

First reviewed June 2025



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
A smiling Riri Williams wearing her white iron armor suit in Ironheart
Product Reviews

Ironheart review: Marvel and Ryan Coogler cook up a surprisingly super Disney+ show that bleeds street-level simplicity and magical mayhem

by admin



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.

Slight spoilers follow for Ironheart.

Ironheart is an underdog in every sense of the word.

Despite man-of-the-moment Ryan Coogler’s involvement, the final TV show of the Marvel Phase 5 era was mostly written off well ahead of release; few other live-action Marvel TV projects have faced an uphill battle to convince Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) devotees and casual fans alike to watch it.


You may like

Write off Coogler, the comic giant, and the series’ titular hero at your peril, though, because Ironheart is an impressive Disney+ TV Original that largely hits its marks. Yes, it falls into the perennial traps that other small-screen MCU projects have, but after watching all six episodes I was pleasantly surprised by its style, energy, and emotionally impactful story that explores themes around family and flawed heroes.

Tech check

Ironheart reintroduces us to Riri Williams, who made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Set days after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, i.e., the MCU movie in which Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) made her live-action debut in, Ironheart opens with the eponymous character returning to her hometown of Chicago. The reason? She’s kicked out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for selling completed assignments to other students to fund development of her Iron Man-inspired super-suit.

Financially broke and suit-less – after the self-made prototype suit, which she steals from MIT, malfunctions on the flight home – Riri soon crosses paths with Parker Robbins/The Hood (Anthony Ramos). The mysterious, magical cloak-wearing leader of a street gang, Robbins preys on Riri’s ambition to build a new, souped-up suit by saying he’ll fund her creation in exchange for helping his crew conduct heists.

Ironheart occasionally paints Riri as an anti-hero in the vein of Breaking Bad’s Walter White

Central to Ironheart‘s story is the internal struggle Riri continually wrestles with. At her core, she’s a good person – indeed, due to a deeply traumatic event that occurred years prior, Riri wants to “revolutionize safety” by creating a suit that can be used by first responders and other emergency services personnel.

After she’s kicked out of MIT, Riri builds a new suit at her Chicago-based childhood home (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

It’s that philanthropic nature, among other things, that draws parallels with a certain Tony Stark, whose ghost looms large over yet another MCU project. However, given their comic book ties – Stark is a long-time mentor of Riri’s in Marvel literature – Stark’s posthumous influence is more valid here than in prior MCU productions, even if the namedropping is occasionally incessant.

That said, while Riri wants to build on Stark’s legacy and make something “iconic”, her unwavering ambition and Stark-sized ego occasionally paints her as an anti-hero in the vein of Breaking Bad‘s Walter White or, in more familiar MCU terms, Frank Castle/The Punisher and Loki. Riri’s a more complicated and naïve hero than we’re used to seeing, and that make the decisions she makes, and the consequences spawned by her actions, all the more fascinating.

Fight off your demons

Ironheart does a much better job of examining post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic attacks than Iron Man 3 did (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

The dichotomy at the heart of Riri’s story is further heightened by the moral complexities and grief born out of the loss of her stepdad Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins) and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) in a random act of gun violence.

This excruciatingly painful event is not just a driving force behind Riri’s ambition to make the world a safer place, but also a moment she refuses to confront. Such a deep-seated mental and emotional scar is a breeding ground for PTSD and panic attacks, which here are handled with greater precision, creative flair, and sensitivity than Stark’s post-Avengers mental health problems were in Iron Man 3.

In Thorne, Ironheart has a talented lead with the swagger, emotional nuance, and comedic timing – despite its melodrama, occasional toe dips into horror, and suspense-filled Ant-Man-like heisting, Ironheart is a surprisingly funny show – to bring all aspects of its protagonist to life, too.

Thorne has the swagger, emotional nuance, and comedic timing to bring all aspects of Ironheart’s protagonist to life

She’s not the sole bright spot among Ironheart‘s cast of characters.

The scene-stealing Ross, who plays Natalie in flashbacks and also portrays N.A.T.A.L.I.E – an AI construct like Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y, and Black Panther‘s Griot, who Riri inadvertently creates – helps to bring a playful and squabbling relatability to the dynamic Riri shares with both characters. The pair’s natural rapport is evident from the outset and, while the way in which N.A.T.A.L.I.E helps to strip away Riri’s metaphorical armor to allow the latter to process her grief is a little on the nose thematically, it’s a ‘bestie’ dynamic that’s full of real heart.

Dancing with the devil

Anthony Ramos’ Parker Robbins/The Hood is Ironheart’s primary antagonist (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Ross, Riri’s concerned and warm-hearted mom Ronnie Williams (Anji White) and Natalie’s brother Xavier (Matthew Elam) notwithstanding, Thorne shares the most screentime with Ramos’ The Hood, whose introduction is not only novel in its execution, but also happens very early on.

Some Marvel TV shows are guilty of prolonging their narrative setup, but Ironheart gets to the crux of its primary plot within the first 30 minutes of its premiere. That might seem quick, but I can fully get behind a story that tackles its meatier content sooner rather than later – and which still maintains an air of mystery despite its fast-paced nature.

Ironheart follows in most MCU TV series’ footsteps by rushing through its finale

This doesn’t mean Ironheart‘s narrative structure is consistent in its quality. Some episodes feel hurried and, by proxy, don’t spend enough time reflecting on character choices or fleshing out certain plot threads. It also follows in most MCU TV series’ footsteps by rushing through its finale that, spoilers notwithstanding, sets up a possible sequel season and teases wider implications for the MCU via the arrival of a character MCU fans have waited years for.

Some MCU fans think they know who Alden Ehrenreich is really playing in Ironheart (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Ironheart has a semi-regular issue with its villains, too. Fans were full of praise for Ramos’ take on The Hood when the show’s first full clip was released online, but he feels a little underdeveloped in Ironheart‘s first half. It’s not until the series’ second three-episode batch that he’s fully realized as a menacing antagonist through his powerset, and positioned as a sympathetic villain via his backstory. In certain lighting, his magic-infused cloak is a tad garish, too, but I suspect that’s intentional.

Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich) falls into a similar category. A fascinating mix of bumbling and unhinged with his own tragic past, Joe bonds with Riri over their shared technical expertise and grief until their budding camaraderie is shattered by events midway through Ironheart‘s six-episode run. The fallout creates another conflicted antagonist for Riri to deal with but, while Ehrenreich does a fantastic job of capturing Joe’s betrayal of trust and emotional turbulence, his evolution from timid ally to complicated foe happens too quickly for my liking.

Ironheart satisfyingly blurs the lines between the magic versus technology-led storyline we’ve been sold

Still, Joe’s transformation, along with Riri’s magic-based suit upgrade and other references to the MCU’s mystical elements (there are as many ties to Doctor Strange as there are to Iron Man here), satisfyingly blur the lines between the magic-versus-technology storyline we’ve been sold. Yes, Ironheart pits these diametrically opposed forces against each other, but also acts as a collision point where they can come together and create something wholly unique for the MCU.

What’s more common is the at-times clunky and stifled dialog, which some fans pointed out in Ironheart‘s first trailer and isn’t aided by hard cuts between specific scenes, particularly in early episodes.

It’s also another Marvel production that refuses to explain certain things with enough intent. Sure, the MCU is a franchise where superpowered beings run riot and parallel universes exist among other things, but I don’t think I’m asking for much by wanting a bit more story exposition, especially for viewers who haven’t seen Black Panther 2. I guess my Wakanda Forever ending explainer will have to do!

My verdict

Marvel Television’s Ironheart | Official Trailer | Disney+ – YouTube

Watch On

Ironheart exceeded my expectations with its smaller-scale, family-oriented, street-level-style narrative that reminded me of Hawkeye, Ms Marvel, and Daredevil: Born Again, all of which I similarly enjoyed. I feared the worst when Marvel confirmed Ironheart‘s unusual release schedule, but its two-part release format lends itself well to the story it tells.

It isn’t the best Marvel TV Original, but I suspect Ironheart will prove a lot of people wrong. It’ll be a tough ask to win round anyone who’s already dismissed it but, if it does so through mine and other critics’ reviews, plus positive word of mouth, then Coogler, showrunner Chinaka Hodge, and the rest of its chief creative team might have built something iconic for Riri Williams after all.

Ironheart episodes 1 to 3 are out now on Disney+. Read my Ironheart release schedule article to see when its final three episodes will be released.

Today’s best Disney Plus deals



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Asus ROG Azoth X
Gaming Gear

Asus ROG Azoth X Review: A very different aesthetic

by admin



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.

We loved the original Asus ROG Azoth, and how it introduced keyboard enthusiast features, such as hot-swappable switches and a full switch lubing kit to get gamers started with the custom keyboard side of things — it would probably make our best gaming keyboards list, were it not for the price (and Armoury Crate). But it’s two years old, so it’s due for an update — Asus did release the Azoth Extreme last summer, but it wasn’t really an update so much as it was a premium alternative to the original.

But Asus has updated a few things in its new ROG Azoth X — new switches, keycaps, and accessories, and a very different aesthetic. The ROG Azoth X is a wireless 75-percent keyboard with a small OLED display in the upper right corner.

It features a plastic chassis with an aluminum top plate, double-shot PBT keycaps with three translucent sides for brighter, better backlighting, and your choices of Asus’ ROG NX switches in Snow (linear) or Storm (clicky). Like the original Azoth, the Azoth X has a hot-swappable PCB and extra attention paid to case foam and sound-dampening, though it now sports a more interesting aesthetic than the original’s boring (but premium-looking) dark-gray-on-darker-gray.


You may like

Actually, the Azoth X is very different-looking — it’s all white with Asus’ “Stellar” theme keycaps, which are white and black with accents in a blue-red gradient. The keycaps also have a sort of retro aesthetic to them, with squared-off tops and a sci-fi inspired font. And I have to say… I don’t hate it — it’s eye-catching without being way too much. But it does have a very distinct style, and that might not be for everyone.

The Azoth is available now for $299.99.

Design and Construction of the ROG Azoth X

The keyboard features an aluminum top plate painted a smooth, matte white, atop a plastic chassis. It’s a little less hefty than the original Azoth — the Azoth X weighs around 2.17 pounds (985.5g), versus the original Azoth’s 2.61 pounds (1,186g). (And it’s quite a bit lighter than the Azoth Extreme, which weighs 3.22lbs / 1,460.5g.)

Still, at just over 2 pounds, the Azoth X is heavier than most 75-percent boards from mainstream gaming companies — the Razer BlackWidow V4 75%, for example, weighs 1.8 pounds (815g), while the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless weighs 1.65 pounds (747g).

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Azoth X is fairly compact, measuring 12.81 inches (325.42mm) wide by 5.36 inches (136.16mm) deep, which is basically the exact same size as the original Azoth.

The keyboard is 1.57 inches (40.5mm) high at its thickest point (including keycaps), with the front edge measuring 0.56 inches (14.2mm) high. It comes with a rubber wrist rest that measures 12.81 inches (325.42mm) wide by 3.54 inches (90mm) deep, making the entire setup 8.92 inches (226.6mm) deep.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Azoth X looks pretty different from both the original Azoth and the Azoth Extreme. It’s the same size as the original Azoth, but that’s basically where the aesthetic similarities stop — the Azoth X is entirely white, with silver hardware and a shiny, mirrored OLED screen in the upper right corner.

The keyboard features dye-sublimated double-shot PBT keycaps with three translucent sides — the sides facing away from you — for better RGB lighting shinethrough. The keycaps themselves are white and black, with blue, red, and purple accents. They have primary legends printed on the tops and secondary legends printed on the side that faces you.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The original Azoth impressed us with its minimalist, understated design, and by comparison the Azoth X is much more… in your face. But I like it — the muted gray and black of the original Azoth did make it look expensive, but it also made it look almost exactly like every other high-end gaming keyboard trying to dial back the gamer aesthetic.

The Azoth X is bright, different, and interesting to look at, but it doesn’t aggressively scream “gaming keyboard.” The keycaps’ theme and retro styling make it look more like an enthusiast board, though the bright RGB backlighting still gives it plenty of gamer flare.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Azoth X has a small grayscale OLED screen in the upper right corner, which is about the same as the screen on the original Azoth — a 2-inch grayscale animated OLED that measures 2.28 x 0.83 inches (58 x 21mm) and is controlled by a three-way control knob and button combo.

Pressing the button switches between modes — media control (volume), media control (track), brightness adjustment (backlighting), lighting effect, and brightness adjustment (OLED display), and the knob adjusts the settings. You can also adjust the keyboard’s backlight brightness and effect using Fn shortcuts (Fn + arrow keys).

Image 1 of 7

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The back of the keyboard is plastic, with four rubber strips to hold it in place on your desk and two levels of plastic flip-out feet. There’s a power switch that lets you toggle between wireless connections along the top right, next to a place to store the keyboard’s 2.4GHz wireless USB-A dongle. The USB-C charging port is located on the opposite side.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The keyboard comes with a handful of accessories in the box, though not quite the original Azoth’s full lubing kit/station. On the connectivity side, there’s a 6-foot (1.8m) braided USB-C to USB-A cable and a USB extender for the keyboard’s 2.4GHz wireless USB-C dongle.

The keyboard is hot-swappable, so it also comes with a switch puller and a keycap puller and three extra switches, plus an alternate Ctrl keycap for the right Ctrl key, which functions out of the box as a Copilot key.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Like the Azoth Extreme, the Azoth X also comes with a wrist rest — which is, arguably, a more useful accessory than a lubing kit. The Azoth X’s wrist rest is white and made of silicon with a soft-touch finish, and features the iconic ROG eye logo debossed on the right side.

It fits perfectly up against the keyboard, and while it’s not plush or padded, it provides solid, firm support for your wrists and palms while typing (and it’s pretty comfortable, too). I did complain about silicon looking less-than-premium when we saw a similar wrist rest with the Azoth Extreme, but the Azoth X isn’t a $500 keyboard (the Azoth X’s wrist rest is just silicon, not silicon and metal, like the Azoth Extreme’s).

Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Size

75%

Number of keys

$83

Switches

ROG NX Snow V2 (linear)

ROG NX Storm V2 (clicky)

Backlighting

Yes

Onboard Storage

Yes

Dedicated Media Keys

OLED Screen and multi-function button/toggle

Game Mode

Yes

Additional Ports

0

Connectivity

2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, wired (USB-C)

Cable

6ft. / 1.8m USB-C to USB-A

Keycaps

Dye-sublimated

Construction

Plastic chassis, aluminum top plate

Software

Armoury Crate

Dimensions (LxWxH)

12.81 x 5.36 x 1.58 inches / 325.42 x 136.16 x 40.05 mm

Weight

2.17lbs / 985.5g

MSRP

$299.99

Release Date

June 21, 2025

Typing and Gaming Experience on the ROG Azoth X

The ROG Azoth X comes with Asus’ house-brand NX switches in either linear (NX Snow V2) or clicky (NX Storm V2). Like the other keyboards in the Azoth lineup, it features a hot-swappable PCB and comes with a keycap/switch puller, as well as three extra switches, to get you started.

The NX Snow V2 switches are Asus’ second-gen “refined linear” switches, and feel like… well, slightly-refined linear switches. They feature a smooth, straight linear press with no audible click or tactile bump, and they feel very good — they’re pre-lubed and very consistent.

The Azoth X has a gasket-mounted design for flex, and an FR4 positioning plate — which is slightly stiffer than I prefer, but does offer a bright, crisp “pop” sound when you bottom out. The case features five layers of sound-dampening material (one layer of silicone and four layers of PORON foam), for what Asus calls “sublime” acoustics.

The acoustics are good, but I wouldn’t call them sublime. While there’s very little case ping, the space bar has a loud, deadening “thunk” that’s inconsistent with the other keys. This is because the space bar has been packed with silicone to prevent it from sounding hollow and rattly — and it doesn’t, but it is instead much louder than the rest of the keys. I ended up swapping it with a regular space bar, and it sounds much better — it rattles a little, but it’s much better than the thunking. (Swapping out the space bar isn’t an ideal solution, as it disrupts the whole “themed keycap” aesthetic, but it’s an easy one.)

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

As for the keycaps themselves, they have flat, square tops and a smooth, slightly matte finish. They have a Cherry profile, which means they’re lower-profile than OEM keycaps and have sculpted rows.

I have no complaints about the Azoth X’s keycaps — they were comfortable enough but didn’t otherwise stand out. They are double-shot PCB, at least, so they should last longer than the typical ABS keycaps found on most mainstream gaming keyboards.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Typing on the Azoth X is both comfortable and pleasant, and it’s especially impressive compared to other mainstream gaming keyboards. It also sounds good, though the sound is brighter and more on the “pop” side, rather than the “thock” side.

If you’re looking for a gaming keyboard that really does have a sublime typing experience with linear switches, I’d suggest the Arbiter Studio Polar 75 Pro or the Meletrix Boog75 (though the latter is more for typing than it is for gaming).

Features and Software of the ROG Azoth X

The Azoth X is configurable using Asus’ Armoury Crate software, which is — as you probably know by now — my least favorite peripheral software. However, this time there’s a twist, because the Azoth X now comes supporting Asus’ new web-based Armoury Crate, which is, well… entirely online. That means you don’t have to download the awful bloatware that is Armoury Crate just to customize your keyboard — supposedly.

At the time of this writing, I was unable to find the web-based Armoury Crate at the link Asus provided, so I attempted to take the Azoth X for a spin in the regular, software-based Armoury Crate.

Image 1 of 6

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Of course, I was required to update the firmware twice, for some reason, and restart my computer, before I could use Armoury Crate. Once I was in, it offered the standard functionality of key remapping, customizing the control knob and the OLED screen — you can upload your own pictures, including GIFs, to display on the screen (or you can turn it off, to save battery life) — changing the lighting, and checking battery life and adjusting power settings.

It also lets you set up “Speed Tap,” which is basically snap tap or SOCD (“Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions”). This is a gaming feature that prioritizes the most recent input between two keys and releases the earlier one so you can switch directions / strafe quickly in games like Counter-Strike 2. It’s a pretty controversial feature, as many consider it to be cheating.

Image 1 of 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The original ROG Azoth has backlighting, but it’s not particularly visible, as the original Azoth also has solid, non-shinethrough keycaps. The Azoth X, however, has semi-translucent keycaps — or, well, keycaps that are translucent on three sides, for a much more satisfying backlighting effect. You can adjust the keyboard’s backlighting on the keyboard itself, using Fn shortcuts, on the OLED screen, using the multi-function knob/button, or in Armoury Crate.

The Azoth X has three forms of connectivity — 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth (up to three devices simultaneously), and wired (USB-C). It boasts an impressive battery life akin to its predecessors — up to 1,600 hours with the backlighting and OLED screen turned off, over a standard 2.4GHz wireless connection.

Asus says that it can also get up to an 8,000 Hz polling rate with the ROG polling rate booster… but it doesn’t come with an ROG polling rate booster, so you’ll have to buy that separately (not that anyone really needs a keyboard with an 8,000 Hz polling rate).

The Bottom Line

The ROG Azoth X is an interesting update to the Azoth and the Azoth Extreme — it goes in a very different aesthetic direction, but it’s one that gamers might appreciate, with better-looking RGB backlighting and an overall theme that’s… gamer-adjacent. It offers a much better typing experience than most mainstream gaming keyboards, and features a hot-swappable PCB for those who want to experiment with the enthusiast side of things.

Still, the typing experience isn’t quite as “sublime” as one you’ll get from a more enthusiast keyboard (or something that’s just on that side of the line, such as the Meletrix Boog75), so keep that context in mind. And perhaps I’m the only one who hated the thunky space bar, but that inconsistency was enough to remind me that this is still a gaming keyboard and not an enthusiast keyboard — even if Asus is trying very hard to pass it off as one. It’s also a whopping $300, which is $50 more than the original Azoth (and only $200 less than the Azoth Extreme). If you’re looking at keyboards in the $300 range, an enthusiast board such as the Mode Loop TKL (2024) offers a much better.



Source link

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Close