Keep your eyes peeled, because a dim star is about to quite literally go nuclear. And guess what? Its outburst will be visible to the naked eye, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a rare stellar explosion known as a nova.The star, T Coronae Borealis, is believed to erupt roughly every 80 years. After closely monitoring its activity, astronomer Jean Schneider at the Paris Observatory has calculated that it'll erupt again this Thursday, March 27, according to a paper he published with the American Astronomical Society last year.Prepare to give our scientific minds some leeway, however. T Coronae Borealis was predicted to go nova last year, after it exhibited dips in brightness, a telltale sign of an impending explosion,but the blast never came.Now, armed with more data, Schneider has narrowed the several-month window of previous predictions by others in the field down to a single day. If this week's a no-show, the next possible date this year will be November 10, 2025.Astronomers are excited, but stress that it's not guaranteed."Since last September, detailed observations of the star have revealed variations that suggest the imminent arrival of this long-awaited explosion," Franck Marchis, a SETI Institute astronomer who was not involved in the work, recently . "However, as the study is still theoretical, its conclusions remain uncertain."T Coronae Borealis, which is located just 3,000 light years away, is a binary star system comprising a white dwarf star and a red giant star. In the night sky, though, they appear as one.Tragically, they make for a toxic pairing. White dwarfs are the dense remnants of a massive star, while red giants are the slowly bloating forms of a more average Sun-like star long past its prime, having burned through all its fuel.Things get heated when they orbit too close to each other. Over time, the powerful gravitational pull of the white dwarf siphons huge amounts of mass from its stellar companion. Once enough of this stellar material, chiefly hydrogen, accumulates on the white dwarf's surface, it erupts in an epic thermonuclear explosion a nova. The cosmic hydrogen bomb doesn't destroy the stars, however. They sustain the tensions in a cycle of eruptions.In T Coronae Borealis's case, the explosion will be powerful enough to elevate the star system from a measly magnitude +10 in brightness, at which it's invisible to the naked eye, to magnitude +2, according to NASA. That's bright enough to rival the North Star, Polaris.If you want to actually watch this nova in action, here's what you should know. After sunset, it'll appear as a new star in the constellation Corona Borealis, wedged between the constellations Hercules and Botes.And don't fret if Thursday doesn't pan out. The nova should be visible to the unaided eye for several days, and over a week with binoculars. Happy hunting.Share This Article

The Chinese threat actor known as FamousSparrow has been linked to a cyber attack targeting a trade group in the United States and a research institute in Mexico to deliver its flagship backdoor SparrowDoor and ShadowPad.The activity, observed in July 2024, marks the first time the hacking crew has deployed ShadowPad, a malware widely shared by Chinese state-sponsored actors."FamousSparrow deployed two previously undocumented versions of the SparrowDoor backdoor, one of them modular," ESET said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "Both versions constitute considerable progress over previous ones and implement parallelization of commands."FamousSparrow was first documented by the Slovak cybersecurity company in September 2021 in connection with a series of cyber attacks aimed at hotels, governments, engineering companies, and law firms with SparrowDoor, an implant exclusively used by the group.Since then, there have been reports of the adversarial collective's tactical overlaps with clusters tracked as Earth Estries, GhostEmperor, and most notably, Salt Typhoon, which has been attributed to intrusions aimed at the telecom sector.However, ESET noted that it's treating FamousSparrow as a distinct threat group with some loose links to Earth Estries stemming from parallels with Crowdoor and HemiGate.The attack chain involves the threat actor deploying a web shell on an Internet Information Services (IIS) server, although the precise mechanism used to achieve this is unknown as yet. Both the victims are said to have been running outdated versions of Windows Server and Microsoft Exchange Server.The web shell acts as a conduit to drop a batch script from a remote server, which, in turn, launches a Base64-encoded .NET web shell embedded within it. This web shell ultimately is responsible for deploying SparrowDoor and ShadowPad.ESET said one of the SparrowDoor versions resembles Crowdoor, although both variants feature significant improvements over their predecessor. This includes the ability to simultaneously execute time-consuming commands, such as file I/O and the interactive shell, thereby allowing the backdoor to process incoming instructions while they are being run."When the backdoor receives one of these commands, it creates a thread that initiates a new connection to the C&C server," security researcher Alexandre Ct Cyr said. "The unique victim ID is then sent over the new connection along with a command ID indicating the command that led to this new connection.""This allows the C&C server to keep track of which connections are related to the same victim and what their purposes are. Each of these threads can then handle a specific set of sub-commands."SparrowDoor sports a wide range of commands that allow it to start a proxy, launch interactive shell sessions, perform file operations, enumerate the file system, gather host information, and even uninstall itself.In contrast, the second version of the backdoor is modular and markedly different from other artifacts, adopting a plugin-based approach to realize its goals. It supports as many as nine different modules -Cmd - Run a single commandCFile - Perform file system operationsCKeylogPlug - Log keystrokesCSocket - Launch a TCP proxyCShell - Start an interactive shell sessionCTransf - Initiate file transfer between the compromised Windows host and the C&C serverCRdp - Take screenshotsCPro - List running processes and kill specific onesCFileMoniter - Monitor file system changes for specified directories"This newly found activity indicates that not only is the group still operating, but it was also actively developing new versions of SparrowDoor during this time," ESET said.Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

Marvel is making abig spectacle of announcing the full cast of the nextAvengers movie live on YouTube and social media. Most of the names arepredictable: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Paul Rudd, and variousstars of Marvels upcomingThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. But one name is definitely a surprise: Kelsey Grammer who has to be playing some version the X-Men character Beast.READ MORE: Is Marvel Hiding a Secret X-Men Movie?Grammer first played Beast in the Fox filmX-Men: The Last Stand way back in 2006. He then reprised the role (in CGI form, rather than the prosthetic makeup he wore inThe Last Stand) two years ago in a brief post-credits cameo inThe Marvels.It feels safe to assume this is the version of the character Grammer will play inAvengers: Doomsday.And if this Beastis in the film, it would be shocking if there werent at least a couple more X-Men characters joining him.Marvel acquired the rights to make X-Men movies when it purchased the 20th Century Fox film studio a few years ago. To date, they have made just one X-Men-centric film: Last summersDeadpool & Wolverine.They have also included a few other teases and hints about the X-Men in other films and shows, like Patrick StewartscameoinDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and an allusion to mutants inMs. Marvel.As to which other X-Men may join Grammer, that remains to be seen. So far the confirmedstars ofAvengers: Doomsdayinclude Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Vanessa Kirby as the new Invisible Woman from the upcomingThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Letitia Wright as theBlack Panther, Shuri, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, and Florence Pugh as Black Widow.Avengers: Doomsdayis scheduled to open in theaters on May 1, 2026. The film is now officially in production. You can follow along with the continuing cast announcements below.Get our free mobile appEvery Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to BestIt started with Iron Man and its continued and expanded ever since. Its the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 35 movies and counting. But whats the best and the worst? We ranked them all.

Marvel has made it very clear who will be the villain ofAvengers: Doomsday, Robert Downey Jr.s Doctor Doom. But who are the Avengers of thisAvengers sequel? The Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and shows of late have given us almost no clue who will be the next iteration of Earths Mightiest Heroes.Today the company decided to make things a little clearer, revealing on social media and YouTube the cast members who will appear inDoomsday one by one. So far the confirmedstars of the film are Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Vanessa Kirby as the new Invisible Woman from the upcomingThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Letitia Wright as theBlack Panther, Shuri, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Florence Pugh as Black Widow, Kelsey Grammer (presumably) as the Beast, Lewis Pullman as the Sentry, Danny Ramirez as the Falcon, Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch, David Harbour as Red Guardian, and Winston Duke as MBaku.(Note: This list will be updated as more names are announced.)READ MORE: The Best Marvel Movies Not Made By Marvel StudiosMostof these names are not especially surprising.Captain America: Brave New Worldinvolved Mackies Sam Wilson debating whether to restart the Avengers; given this movie is calledAvengers: Doomsday, you had to assume he would be involved. Hemsworth is one of the most senior members of the MCU whos character hasnt been been killed or retired (yet). Wright became the new Black Panther inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.Stan appeared in the last two Avengers films and will soon appear inThunderbolts.Rudds Ant-Man managed to survive his battle with Kang inQuantumania. (Also: Very nice touch giving him a smaller directors chair.) Russell is another member of the Thunderbolts, and a former Captain America himself. Kirby, Moss-Bachrach, and Quinn arepart of the new Fantastic Four, and this is a movie about Doctor Doom, the FFs top villain. One assumes all four members of that team will be announced forDoomsdaybefore all is said and done.One name thatisa bit of a surprise so far is Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, just because he was depicted as more of a villain than a potential Avenger in his one previous MCU appearance,Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But if you know Marvel Comics history, you know that Namor does have a history with the team (as both an adversary and a member) and with Doctor Doom as well. Plus, if the film will involve a massivethreat to the entire planet, the king of the oceans is the sort of guy whod get involved in that sort of thing.As for Simu Liu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsdidvery well in theaters despite opening during the middle of the pandemic. He still hasnt gotten a sequel, though, and his movie ended on a cliffhanger involving some sort of interplanetary beacon that could be continued inAvengers: Doomsday.(It also felt like one of the reasons they gave the MCUs Shang-Chi super powers when the Marvel Comics version of the character is just an elite martial artist was so that the character could become a member of a heavy-hitter group like the Avengers.)Pughs Black Widow has been one of the busiest Marvel heroes in recent years, appearing inBlack Widow,Hawkeye, and the upcomingThunderbolts.The biggest shock (so far) was the announcement that Kelsey Grammer was joining the film, presumably as Beast, the X-Man hero that he previously played in 2006sX-Men: The Last Stand, and then in a cameo role in 2023sThe Marvels.Grammers involvement is the first confirmation that the X-Men (or at least some mutant characters) will be a part of the film.Avengers: Doomsdayis scheduled to open in theaters on May 1, 2026. The film is now officially in production. You can follow along with the continuing cast announcements below.Get our free mobile appEvery Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to BestIt started with Iron Man and its continued and expanded ever since. Its the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 35 movies and counting. But whats the best and the worst? We ranked them all.

From hanging out the back of a speeding car to tackling freezing conditions, here's how I shot a photo feature in wintry northern Sweden.

Some devices, including Samsung TVs, will benefit from the format, which is a rival to Dolby Vision.

March 26, 20253 min readMini-Satellite Sends Encrypted Quantum Message a Record-Breaking DistanceScientists in China have transmitted encrypted images a record 12,900 kilometers, paving the way for quantum messaging anywhere on EarthBy Elizabeth Gibney & Nature magazine The fridge-sized satellite Jinan-1, pictured before its launch in 2022. Y. Li et al./NatureResearchers have broken a distance record in quantum communication by sending a secret encryption key nearly 13,000 km from China to South Africa, using a cheap, lightweight microsatellite.The satellite was able to send pulses of laser light, put into special quantum states, from a rooftop in Beijing to another at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town. The pulses formed a quantum key that was used to encrypt two images one of Chinas Great Wall and one showing part of Stellenboschs campus. The feat, a kind of encryption known as quantum key distribution (QKD), is a step towards being able to send ultra-secure messages between any two locations, however distant. It was described in Nature on March 19.The satellite, called Jinan-1, is ten times lighter, 45 times cheaper and much more efficient than its predecessor, Micius, which launched in 2016, says Jian-Wei Pan, a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, China, who led the work.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Pans team also shrank the ground-station receiver from 13,000 kg to a portable 100 kg. We want to improve the technology from proof-of-principle to really practical and useful, he says. Pan adds that his team is working with the Beijing-based telecommunications firm China Telecom to launch four more microsatellites for commercial applications in 2026.This is another milestone in the development of a global QKD network, says Alexander Ling, a quantum physicist at the National University of Singapore. The satellite is a significant step forward in deploying this kind of encryption in real time, adds Katanya Kuntz, a quantum physicist and co-founder of Qubo Consulting, a firm based in Calgary, Canada, that helps other companies to adopt quantum technologies.Researchers encrypted these two images using a quantum key, which they transmitted from China to South Africa.University of Science and Technology of ChinaUncrackable codesPhysicists think that future quantum computers will be able to break many types of encryption, but techniques such as QKD provide very strong assurance that a future quantum computer cannot read confidential communications, says Ling.QKD is already used by banks and governments to transmit keys over fibre optics. But these cables absorb photons, limiting the distance over which the signal can travel. Because light is absorbed at a much lower rate when travelling through the air than in a fiber-optic cable, satellites could act as a relay to send secret keys between two locations almost anywhere on the planet.Quantum encryption rests on the idea that if two parties share a secret key, they can scramble a message so that only they can decode it.Pans experiment involved sending pulses of laser light that are each in a superposition, where they exist at once in two quantum states, representing 1 or 0. By comparing the settings that the sender uses with those used by the receiver to measure the pulses, the two parties can work out a selection of measured 1s or 0s to use as a secure key. If an eavesdropper tries to intercept the message, this disturbs the quantum states and creates noise, revealing that the key has been compromised.Faster communicationThe set-up involving Jinan-1 includes several impressive technological accomplishments, says Kuntz, who is a member of the science team for the Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite, a QKD satellite due to be launched next year by the Canadian Space Agency. Communication between the ground and the satellite is faster than with previous systems, which speeds up encryption, she says. The team was also able to shrink the satellite by giving some of its components two jobs, Pan notes, for example by using just one piece of kit to both aim the beam and control the satellites orientation.However, Jinan-1 is not able to do everything that its chunkier predecessor could. It does not produce entangled photons, which would enable kinds of encryption that hide the key even from the satellite. In the current system, Jinan-1 processes the key, and an eavesdropper could learn the secret key if [they] hacked the satellite, says Kuntz. Entanglement will also be needed to connect quantum computers around the globe as part of a quantum internet. Miniaturizing the technology for entanglement is harder, but developing microsatellites with such equipment will be entirely feasible in the future, says Pan.Around a dozen quantum satellites are currently being prepared for launch around the world, says Ling, who is a co-founder of SpeQtral, a Singapore-based firm working on QKD satellites even smaller and lighter than Jinan-1. This area is starting to see an uptick of investment and activity as companies and organizations begin to explore the possibility of a global QKD network, he says.This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on March 19, 2025.

March 26, 20257 min readAbel Prize Goes to Pioneer Whose Math Toolbox Can Be Used to Describe the Natural WorldMasaki Kashiwara, this years Abel Prize winner, co-founded a new field of mathematics called algebraic analysisBy Manon Bischoff edited by Gary StixMasaki KashiwaraAbel Prize Laureate 2025. Peter Badge/Typos1/The Abel PrizeOne of the landmarks of Kyoto, the home of mathematician Masaki Kashiwara, is the Kamo River. At certain points, there are stepping stones that allow residents to cross the river away from the bridges. If you take a closer look at these stones, you can see how the water forms swirls and small eddies around them. Describing this flow of a liquid is not easy. You have to solve complicated equations that have been known for centuries but still pose many mysteries today: Do the equations always have a solution? How can they be calculated? And what properties do they have? It seems that mathematicians have reached a limit with the tools of their trade. To make progress, a new toolbox is needed. The Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara developed such a toolbox for similarly difficult questions in the 1970s.Kashiwara introduced proven methods from algebra into analysisthe theory underlying calculus that explores functions, limits and other conceptsand, together with his colleagues, founded an entirely new branch of mathematics: algebraic analysis. This led to significant advances in various fields. For example, Kashiwara succeeded in solving one of the problems posed by mathematician David Hilbert in the early 20th century and developed new techniques that are now used in modern physics.Kashiwara has proved astonishing theorems with methods no one had imagined. He has been a true mathematical visionary, read a recent press release from the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, which honored him with this years Abel Prizeone of the highest honors in mathematics.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Kashiwara was born near Tokyo in 1947. He discovered his passion for mathematics at an early age through traditional Japanese puzzles known as tsurukamezan. These puzzles involve correctly calculating the number of cranes and turtles: Suppose x heads and y legs are visible. How many cranes and turtles are there? Kashiwaras parents didnt have much exposure to the abstract subject, but the young Masaki enjoyed solving this problem using algebraic methods.Heres one example: Each crane and turtle respectively has two and four legs (y)and both have one head (x). To calculate the number of cranes (k)and turtles (s), one must solve the following equations: 2k + 4s = y and k + s = x. For example, if 16 legs and five heads are visible, then there must be two cranes and three turtles.Kashiwara realized he enjoyed generalizing such questions. He excelled in school with his achievements. When he met the late mathematician Mikio Sato when he was Satos student at the University of Tokyo, he devoted himself to this type of problem-solving. Kashiwara was in the right place at the right time: Sato and his colleagues were then developing a completely new branch of mathematics that combines two distinct fields: analysis and algebra.Nothing Stands StillKashiwara worked with his mentor on differential equations. In our world, everything is in motion; nothing remains permanently still. Even a gigantic mountain range such as the Himalayas grows or shrinks over time. Such changes can be expressed mathematically with the help of derivatives. All of physics is based on equations that contain derivatives, so-called differential equations. These can be used to describe the population of living organisms, the trajectory of the moon or the flow velocity of the Kamo River.While differential equations can be written down quickly, they are much more difficult to solve. In some special cases, the solution is known. In others, however, it is not even clear whether a problem can be solved at all. One of the most important unsolved problems in mathematics revolves around the question of whether the Navier-Stokes equations, which describe the flow behavior of fluids, always have a solution. Despite centuries of research in the field of analysis, many of the most pressing problems remain unsolved.When youre stuck on a problem, it sometimes helps to look at it from a different perspective. Often its helpful to step back and examine the problem from a distance. In this case, the exact details may become blurred, but the general structure of the topic becomes visible. This approach is not only helpful for practical, everyday problems but can also be useful in mathematics.A Japanese research group led by Sato pursued a similar approach. The team wanted to examine differential equations from a different perspective. To do so, the researchers left the field of analysis and turned instead to algebra. Algebra is generally much more abstract: the focus is not necessarily the mathematical objectsin this case, the equations and their derivativesbut rather their behavior. Just as, in physics, one studies a new particle by examining its interactions with other particles, the interplay of different equations should reveal new insights. That is the idea underlying algebraic analysis.So instead of picking out a specific differential equation and examining it in detail, Sato and his colleagues devoted themselves to an entire class of such equations. They also allowed the differential equations to move not only on a plane but also on curved surfacesas if trying to describe a river on an oddly shaped planet. This approach may seem quite complex, but it actually opens up entirely new possibilities. This allows general properties to be derived for the class of differential equations under consideration that are not apparent for individual equations.At the end of the 1960s, Sato organized a weekly seminar in which participants worked together to develop the concepts of the new theory. Among all the experts was Kashiwara, then a young student, who eagerly participated.Into the Fast Lane with D-ModulesIn 1970 Kashiwara began his masters thesis under Sato. His task was to develop algebraic tools for investigating objects from analysis. Then only 23 years old, Kashiwara introduced so-called D-modules, which make it possible to extract valuable information from differential equations. D-modules can be used, for example, to determine whether the solutions to equations contain singularitiesthat is, whether there are regions where they assume infinite values. The modules can also be used to calculate how many solutions the equations have.The results of Kashiwaras masters thesis shaped the emerging field of algebraic analysis. He had written his research in Japanese, howeverit took a full 25 years before it was translated into English and thus made accessible to a wider audience.After graduating, Kashiwara went to Kyoto University, where he continued his collaboration with Sato and earned his doctorate. In doing so, he further developed the new methods he had established in his master's thesis. From 1970 to 1980, Kashiwara solved almost all the fundamental questions of D-module theory, recalled his French colleague Pierre Schapira in a 2008 preprint paper that was based on a 2007 talk. After completing his doctorate, Kashiwara accepted a position at Nagoya University, conducted research for a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then returned to Japan in 1978 to accept a professorship at Kyoto University.With the help of D-modules, Kashiwara solved one of the most important problems in the field in 1980, a problem that Hilbert presented in his famous centenary address at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900. Among the 23 problems that Hilbert considered groundbreaking for 20th-century research, the 21st problem deals with differential equations. The German mathematician wanted to know whether it would always be possible to find a differential equation whose solution possessed singularities on a given curved surface. Kashiwara was able to prove that this is indeed possible for certain types of surfacesin these cases, a suitable differential equation can be calculated.D-modules have led to advances in many different areas of mathematics. But they are also proving helpful in physics. In 2023 mathematician Anna-Laura Sattelberger of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and other experts used D-modules to evaluate quantum physical path integrals. These are used to calculate which processes take place in particle accelerators, for example, when two protons collide, creating a series of new particles. The extremely complex integrals can be viewed as solutions of differential equations, which is why the methods of algebraic analysis can help to determine their properties.On Symmetries and Quantum GroupsKashiwara also had a significant influence on other areas of mathematics. One of these is representation theory, which is used to describe symmetries. An object is considered symmetric if it looks the same after certain transformations (such as rotations or reflections). For example, an equilateral triangle can be rotated by multiples of 120 degrees without changing its shape. Representation theory enables experts to calculate symmetry transformations: What happens, for example, if you combine a 270-degree rotation with a reflection along the y-axis? Such questions can be answered particularly well if you represent the symmetry transformations using matrices: the combination of transformations corresponds to the multiplication of the corresponding matrices.Suitable representations cannot be found for all types of symmetries, however. In the course of his work, Kashiwara focused extensively on continuous symmetries, known in mathematics as Lie groups. He made significant progress in investigating their representations.He also explored discrete quantum groups that are not continuous. Such discrete quantum groups play an important role in quantum physics. At the microscopic level, most quantities appear only in small pieces; the world appears to be quantized at the smallest scale. To describe the symmetries of quantized quantities, Kashiwara introduced the concept of crystal bases. These allow quantum groups to be represented by directed networks. This offers enormous advantages, allowing questions of representation theory to be answered through combinatorial considerations (arranging objects in a finite set), which are generally much simpler. These concepts have since proven their worth in both mathematics and physics.For over 50 years Masaki Kashiwara has reshaped and deeply enriched the fields of algebraic analysis and representation theory, the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters wrote in its recent press release. The mathematician has already been honored with numerous awards for all of this impressive research. This years Abel Prize, which honors a mathematicians lifetime achievement, marks a culmination of what he has accomplished. The Abel Prize is modeled on the Nobel Prizes, which do not include mathematics, and comes with 7.5 million Norwegian kroner (approximately $710,000).The 78-year-old does not seem to be thinking about retirement: he still regularly publishes new research findings and tries to enrich mathematics with new stepping stones.

Atomfall is a potential cult classic, but its tech remains distractingly last-genRebellion's latest tested on PS5, PS5 Pro, Series X/S and PC.Image credit: Rebellion/Digital Foundry Face-off by Thomas Morgan Senior Staff Writer, Digital Foundry Published on March 26, 2025 Best known for its Sniper Elite and Zombie Army series, British developer Rebellion this time tries its hand at an open world adventure, Atomfall. Based on the same in-house engine as its other projects and running on both current and last-gen machines (plus PC), it's nonetheless a steep departure for the studio - and therefore an interesting challenge for its Asura engine that we last saw in 2022's Sniper Elite 5. Perhaps the most striking aspect of all is Atomfall's alternative history Cumbrian setting, which sees the player wake up in a bunker near a nuclear diaster quarantine area. There are elements of the refined run-and-gun gameplay that Rebellion is known for, with plenty more on top: survival elements, multiple pathways, branching dialogue with NPCs, stealth and investigation. It's a welcome jump into new territory, drawing comparisons with Bethesda's Fallout series, though there are plenty of differences here too. One notable tech change is that Atomfall tends to divide its environment into chunks, with loading screens in between, though its areas are still suitably vast. Viewed from afar there is a beauty to its landscapes, but it's clear from our testing that there are also rough points in its technical delivery - that could be attributed to the decision to target both current and last-gen consoles. We've tested the game on PS5 Pro, PS5, Series X and Series S for this face-off, and even on current-gen machines there are certainly better and worse choices of platform. To get a get better look at Atomfall's tech on current-gen console and PC, check out the full video version of Tom's analysis. Watch on YouTubeBefore we get into the platform comparisons, it's worth discussing some of the less favourable elements of the game's tech. Texture quality falls flat on current-gen systems, for a start, with low resolution assets used for a great many surfaces. Screen space reflections (SSR) are also a distraction, where the technique used on console has large water bodies flicker with player movement. And finally, image quality is lacking, due to the game's anti-aliasing method struggling to address the flicker and noise during any camera movement. Clearly, Atomfall is built with some scalability in mind to older, last-gen consoles - like PS4 and Xbox One - but does that ensure a locked 60fps experience on the current-gen machines we're focusing on? Which is the best platform to experience the game? And does the PC version scale beyond the console limitations to deliver the definitive edition of the game? To kick the comparisons off, let's take a look at the internal resolutions per machine. PS5 and Series X are a match in pixel counts here, running at between 1440p to 1800, with matched visual settings too. Xbox Series S, on the other hand, runs at a fixed 1080p, with cutbacks to SSR and tree LODs, while also being capped to 30fps. Official PS5 Pro support means that the game runs at higher resolutions on Sony's mid-gen refresh, maxing out at a native 4K - though dynamic resolution scaling between 1440p and 4K is typical in most scenarios. Otherwise, textures, shadows, draw distances are seemingly identical between both PS5 systems.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The matter of image quality is where Atomfall still disappoints, no matter which platform you pick. Sadly, scaling artefacts are a problem even in the best case on PS5 Pro, where the issue is slightly mitigated by rendering more pixels on average. Anti-aliasing is engaged on all consoles, from Xbox Series S right up to PS5 Pro, but pixel crawl is surprisingly obvious across the frame in action. The lack of temporal AA seems to be part of the issue here: oftentimes, player movement produces glaring bouts of flicker, notably across swaying grass or brightly lit geometric edges. The upscale process from resolutions as low as 1440p on PS5 or Series X isn't helping matters either - and it sticks out massively on Series S at its typical 1080p. The PC version shines a light on the root cause of the issue. Looking at PC fully maxed out, running with the best available ultra AA preset and at a native 4K, there are still issues with pixel crawl and shimmer. We don't see many modern open world games ship without some form of TAA, and Atomfall makes it clear why the technique has proven so popular. Only a post-process AA offered here, likely FXAA or SMAA, and it simply isn't up to the job of tackling visually 'noisy' areas on-screen, even when fed a fixed 4K resolution frame. Untreated points of fine detail, such as foliage and mesh fences, are particular eyesores, and ultimately Atomfall isn't providing enough of a breadth of options on PC to truly clean up the image. In terms of visual options on PC, you do have the ability to separately engage or disable multiple shadow settings that are all enabled on PS5 and Xbox Series consoles: ambient occlusion (AO), screen-space shadows and obscurance fields. AO is the most familiar option here, simulating diffuse shading across the ground and in the corners of the environment. Screen space shadows sound similar, but instead they add contact shadows across the world, as cast by sunlight. Hence, you'll spot extra shadows added beneath rocks, and an extra layer under grass too. Obscurance fields are described by Rebellion as ray-traced soft shadows around the player and NPCs, strictly applying to character models rather than the environment. PlatformInternal resolutionFrame-rate targetPS5 Pro1440p to 2160p60fpsPS5 / Series X1440p to 1800p60fpsSeries S1080p30fpsThe issue on console is that the combining of all of these shading options ends up giving characters a heavy, dark silhouette. It feels like overkill, and tends to look a bit odd. Thankfully on PC there is some flexibility in how many of these shading techniques you want to layer on, but on console you're locked into a heavily shaded look.Moving on, there's the reflection issue. Base PS5 and Series X appear to run at PC's low or medium reflections setting, which ends up causing visible shimmer as you move nearby. It's glaring, especially for a current-gen console release, and is one of the more distracting uses of SSR I've seen in a long time. The good news for PC users is that the ultra reflection setting fixes that shimmer for the most part, and even high does a good job of avoiding it. Of course, all the usual SSR limitations remain, with occlusion artefacts and a drop-off in detail towards the screen's edges. It's par for course, and a shame that there's no push for proper RT reflections to go along with its RT shadows option. Still, the PC release does still offer a workaround for one of the game's issues on console. In terms of world draw distances, PS5 and Series X match up well with PC's top presets. The only lingering issue is the texture quality: on console we're getting equivalent to the high preset, which falls shy of the assets possible on PC's ultra setting. It's not a radical difference in truth, but by maxing out the PC version it again helps to minimise the distraction of seeing certain objects or walls up close. 1 of 8 Caption Attribution PS5 Pro gets a resolution boost to 4K at peak, helping to improve clarity across Atomfall's visually dense areas. PC remains the best and most consistent way to lock at 4K resolution.There is an upside to playing on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Series X in that each runs at their target 60 frames per second. At least so far, every battle in the open world and rapid sprinting across towns flags zero issues in my testing. That's with one bizarre exception, where I caught performance tanking into the 50s when battling a marauding gang for an extended period. After dying, the area played out at the usual 60fps once again. I also had a crash to the system menu - funnily enough, after trying to eat food from the inventory. Broadly speaking though, PS5, PS5 Pro and Series X hold up well. More of a frustration is the Series S release. Despite its resolution and settings cutbacks, being restricted to a v-synced 30fps makes for a noticeable increase to input latency and visual responsiveness, and it's hard to recommend this version on those grounds - though its frame-rate is at least rock-solid at that 30fps target. The turnout for Atomfall is mixed when judged purely by its tech then, but it's without doubt a compelling idea. The Lake District setting plays host to a paranoia-fuelled adventure, one that forces you to conserve ammo, take the stealthy road, and guide your path with NPC dialogue. If that appeals, the PS5 and Series X versions put in a solid 60fps rendition of the game, even if the textures, reflections and lacking image quality are rough points. For the most blemish-free take on the game, the PC release obviously offers solutions by running at ultra settings, though maxing out its graphics menu only does so much. In terms of the offered settings, Atomfall makes some surprising omissions - with no modern anti-aliasing options like TAA, let alone FSR or DLSS, on show. All signs point to a cross-gen developed game with last-gen machines still very much a focus. With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see whether Rebellion's next effort will totally commit to current-gen machines - and equally, if Atomfall will perhaps, be a good scalable fit for Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereAfter decades of running the genre, The Sims finally seems to have a proper rival in the form of InZoi. Launching in early access with Steam Deck support out of the gate, could the new life simulator finally wrestle the crown away from EAs beloved series?Well, according to game director Kjun, the new game doesnt hold a candle to The Sims quite yet. With the new series about to take its first steps, the director explains its not even comparable to Maxis giant.InZoi director on The Sims comparisonSpeaking to PCGamesN, the InZoi game director expressed a great appreciation for The Sims.The Sims is an incredible game, and I dont think InZoi is anywhere near comparable at least not yet, the director said.As the new arrival takes its first steps towards being a true competitor to The Sims, it could one day keep EAs series on its toes. However, for now, the two are completely different beasts, and Maxis juggernaut holds the crown for a reason.Were just taking our first steps along the path The Sims has paved. Every time I play The Sims, I learn something new, and I often find myself resonating with the decisions made by its development team. Kjun said. Just as every person leads a unique life, The Sims and InZOI each have their own meaning and value.The game director explained that launching with The Sims already being so established does lead to a lot of pressure for the team. While the game is competing in the same genre for a lot of the same audience, the director wants both to succeed.As a player, I genuinely support The Sims and look forward to what it has for us in the future, the director said.InZOI is set to launch in early access on Friday March 28, 2025. Starting at a price of $39.99, players will get access to all DLC for free during its lengthy early access period.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share