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Sauerkraut packs a punch, and not just for your taste buds. Famous for its tangy, sour, and slightly salty taste, sauerkraut has long been noted for being both nutritious and healthy, having been tied to a host of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-carcinogenic activities. Now, a new study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology adds additional support to sauerkraut’s healthiness, showing that the topping may help out your gut, possibly thanks to its wealth of metabolic products, or metabolites. “A little bit of sauerkraut could go a long way,” said Maria Marco, a study author and a professor of food science at the University of California, Davis, according to a press release. “We should be thinking about including these fermented foods in our regular diets and not just as a side on our hot dogs.”The Health Benefits of SauerkrautMade of chopped cabbage that is fermented in salt, sauerkraut is full of fibers, vitamins, and minerals that support the body, according to a 2014 analysis in Integrative Medicine & Health. In fact, among these nutrients are vitamins C and K, which support the immune system and aid in healthy healing. Sauerkraut also contains compounds that are tied to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-carcinogenic activities, according to a 2020 article in Nutrients, meaning that the topping may even assist in the prevention of cancer.Though these health benefits are well established, the new Applied and Environmental Microbiology study suggests that there may be additional advantages associated with eating sauerkraut, particularly when it comes to the gut. Potentially protecting the intestines from inflammation, sauerkraut and other fermented foods may improve your digestion and fight illness, the study finds, boosting a big part of your overall health.“A regular serving of sauerkraut,” Marco said in the release, “can help us in the long run against inflammation, for example, and make our digestive tract more resilient when we have a disturbance.” Indeed, the study suggests that incorporating more sauerkraut into your diet, alongside fresh fruits and vegetables, may be a simple — and bold-tasting way — to boost your overall health.A Tangy Gut-Health Test But before you start piling sauerkraut onto your plate — and before you start fermenting the topping on your own, a process that takes plenty of cabbage and several weeks of waiting — how did the study authors arrive at their findings? Comparing the nutrients of cabbage, sauerkraut, and sauerkraut brine, or the leftover liquid from the fermentation of the topping, the study authors found that sauerkraut’s nutrients were better at protecting intestinal cells from inflammation than those of cabbage or sauerkraut brine, at least in a laboratory setting. Including several types of sauerkraut in their tests, the study authors also found that the intestinal cells were better protected in the lab whether the topping’s nutrients came from lab-made or store-bought jars, suggesting that there are several ways to take advantage of sauerkraut’s gut-healthy effects. “It doesn’t matter, in a way, if we make sauerkraut at home or we buy it from the store,” Marco said in the release. “Both kinds of sauerkraut seemed to protect gut function.”Perhaps most intriguing were the study’s insights into how sauerkraut may fight intestinal inflammation, however. Comparing sauerkraut with cabbage, the study authors showed that sauerkraut has more metabolites — the products produced during metabolic processes like digestion, including those that are linked to a healthy gut, like lactic and amino acids — than cabbage. The digestive benefits of sauerkraut and other fermented foods may therefore stem from this metabolite discrepancy, the study authors said in the release. “Some of the metabolites we find in the sauerkraut are the same kind of metabolites we’re finding to be made by the gut microbiome, so that gives us a little more confidence that this connection we found between the metabolites in sauerkraut and good gut health makes sense,” Marco added in the release. In addition to finding out which metabolites fend off intestinal inflammation best, future studies will show whether sauerkraut’s intestinal effects extend outside of the lab. While you wait for those studies, it can’t hurt to try bottling up a container of chopped cabbage and salt or to try buying a jar at the store. It might give your taste buds a boost and maybe your gut health, as well.This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The Fermented Cabbage Metabolome and Its Protection Against Cytokine-Induced Intestinal Barrier Disruption of Caco-2 MonolayersIntegrative Medicine & Health. Regular Consumption of Sauerkraut and Its Effect on Human Health: A Bibliometric AnalysisSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Three researchers sample sediment from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, aboard a canoe. CREDIT: Dave Rife Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 For more than 150 years, industrial pollution, chemical waste, and sewage have flowed into Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. The New York City waterway is often described as one of the most contaminated in the United States. It was dredged and developed from a tidal wetland and a freshwater creek into its current form in the mid-1800’s, in order to serve as an urban cargo transportation route. Though the paper mills, petroleum plants, tanneries, and manufacturers that once lined its banks are now gone, their legacy of toxic dumping and discharging remains–not to mention the combined sewer overflow that still spills directly into the canal.  “It’s accumulated anywhere from ten to twenty feet of contaminated sediment at the bottom of the canal,” says Elizabeth Hénaff, a computational biologist at New York University.  Yet amid all that toxic muck, life finds a way. Microbes in the Gowanus sediment have evolved methods of coping with and even subsisting off of the contamination, according to new research co-authored by Hénaff. Hundreds of hardy microbe species, equipped with dozens of metabolic pathways for breaking down pollution, live at the bottom of the canal, per the study published April 15 in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. These bacteria, archaea, and viruses are slowly sequestering heavy metals and eating their way through some of the worst compounds lingering in the mud. The silver lining of the slo-mo environmental disaster is that engineers and biologists might have the chance to harness these superfund superbugs to help detoxify the Gowanus and polluted sites elsewhere. This process known as bioremediation has been applied to challenges like wastewater treatment and cleaning up oil spills, including the massive 1989 Exxon Valdez incident in Alaska. In this way, the “sludge” becomes a “reservoir of potential solutions,” says Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, a study co-author and an evolutionary biologist and epidemiologist at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.  To discover the canal’s hidden potential, Hénaff, Kolokotronis, and their colleagues conducted the first detailed microbial and genetic survey of the Gowanus. They paddled out onto the infamous waterway and collected sediment samples from the top layer of sunken gunk using a PVC pipe. They also obtained a deeper sediment core from an environmental contractor working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Simply getting the samples was no easy feat. “It’s not the same thing as going to the park and picking up soil,” says Kolokotronis. “This is dangerous for everyone involved in the canoes,” he adds. In many cases, the researchers had to trespass to access sites. Then, there’s the water and muck itself, which necessitated full personal protective equipment to minimize contact.  Algal and microbial growth in a laboratory aquarium at NYU, emerging from toxic sediment collected from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Henaff Back in the lab, the scientists analyzed the DNA in these samples to identify the species present and dig into their genetic makeup. They compared the Gowanus data with previously documented organisms and their functions from other databases.The team found 455 different microbe species (including salt and temperature extremophiles), 64 metabolic pathways known to degrade organic contaminants like phenols and toluene, and 1,171 genes related to heavy metal uptake. They also classified thousands of previously un-cataloged gene clusters and metabolites with potential for breaking down pollutants.  It’s the first step in what could be a valuable long-term project, says Max Häggblom, an environmental microbiologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey who was not involved in the new research. The Gowanus is “such a chemical soup,” Häggblom says. “That makes it really interesting for microbiologists because it’s basically a hot spot for selection and evolution of microorganisms with the ability to degrade these different chemicals.”  Häggblom agrees the canal could be a useful source of toxin-fighting organisms. But to know for sure, we’d need lab experiments tracking the presence and concentration of pollutants over time in a mini-Gowanus microcosm.  Sludge growth back in the team’s lab. CREDIT: Elizabeth Henaff. If the microbes really can break down pollution, they could be “mined” for all sorts of bioremediation projects. Organisms grown and stored in bioreactors might help filter through contaminated water and mud. Alternatively, shifting the environmental conditions of a waterway slightly (for instance, adding the right mix of nutrients) to promote beneficial bacteria could speed up environmental recovery with minimal cost and disruption. Sediment dredged up through the ongoing EPA superfund remediation project might be rendered less dangerous before landfilling by being purposefully mixed and steeped with these helpful bugs. The findings also act as a ground truth of the types of pollutants in the canal, say Hénaff and Kolokotronis. “These microbially kept records can be more accurate than human kept records,” Kolokotronis explains. The microbe adaptations prove the presence of toxins that have gone otherwise undocumented in the environmental monitoring and regulation of the waterway. “There’s something poetic about the memory of these organisms,” he adds. In addition to the science, the researchers also synthesized their findings into a public art exhibit about the Gowanus Canal’s history and microenvironment, called CHANNEL.  Microbial biofilm formed on the surface of contaminated sediment from the Gowanus Canal, grown in an aquarium as part of the art exhibit CHANNEL at BioBAT Art Space in Brooklyn, NY. Photo Credit: Stefan Hagen Stefan Hagen According to Häggblom, it’s marvelous, though not surprising, that these types of microbes routinely emerge under such hostile conditions. Many microorganisms can swap genes with one another, allowing the spread of useful traits without each species having to individually go through the gauntlet of mutation and natural selection. Under the pressure of trying to survive in a toxic environment, and without the standard resources for energy production like oxygen, bacteria and viruses frequently share the alternate solutions they come up with: including methods of using chemicals like PCBs and hydrocarbons to breathe, he explains. “This is nature taking its course.”  Yet despite the wide array of pollution-munching microbes present in the Gowanus, they aren’t capable of fully cleaning up the canal on their own. For one, though many of the microorganisms sequester heavy metals like cobalt and arsenic, the microorganisms can’t actually eliminate those toxic elements. The only way to remove the metals is to scoop them out of the waterway once they’re contained. The microbes could play a role in recycling these metals for new uses. “It’s an exciting possibility,” says Hénaff. Many of the canal pollutants are resources in a different context. “A lot of the heavy metals among the toxic contaminants are being mined elsewhere to serve as a resource for technology and industry,” she notes. Though that, again, requires human-microorganism collaboration.  Other, non-metal, organic pollutants present in the Gowanus can be broken down into non-toxic forms by microbes alone. But not at the ideal speed and scale. Left to their own devices, the microbes would take centuries or even millennia to work their way through the contamination, says Häggblom.  [ Related: Childhood leaded gasoline exposure damaged Americans’ mental health. ] As the Gowanus continues to stew in the open, it poses a perpetual public health risk– exposing nearby residents to unhealthy air and soil. One of the less pleasant study findings was that the canal also harbors a wide variety of genes for antimicrobial resistance. The danger is why the EPA has been working to dredge and cap the Gowanus’ toxic sediments. Ultimately, that’s probably the correct call, says Hénaff.  But until the sludge is permanently buried and the microbes dead beneath a concrete tombstone, why not treat the canal as more than a mistake? Why not learn everything we can from the polluted world we accidentally built? 

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00918-2A 250,000-year-old footprint preserved in ash, and the effect of a polluted atmosphere on health and the economy, in our weekly dip into Nature’s archive.

Paleontologists have discovered tracks belonging to meat-eating theropods and long-necked sauropods on the Isle of Skye.

From Noise to Nuance: Advancements in AI Image Generation and Integrated Text Rendering5 min read·Just now--Generated using DALL.E 3Artificial intelligence image generators like DALL‑E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney have redefined creative boundaries over the past few years. They can produce breathtaking landscapes, hyper-real portraits, and surreal digital illustrations — all from text prompts. Yet despite their dazzling capabilities, they still struggle with one seemingly simple task: accurately rendering text within images. Whether you need a holiday greeting, a company logo, or a sign in your artwork, the text often emerges misspelled, garbled, or entirely off-target. In this article, we delve into why this happens and how developers are now addressing what seems like a “simple” problem with complex solutions.The Puzzle of AI-Generated TextAt the heart of the issue is how these models “understand” a prompt. AI generators excel at extracting statistical patterns from vast datasets. They are trained on millions of images where objects, faces, and landscapes can be blended together seamlessly. However, text is fundamentally different. When given a prompt that includes phrases like “Happy Birthday” or “Merry Christmas,” these systems often treat letters simply as visual patterns of lines and curves rather than discrete symbols with fixed meanings. The result? Sometimes text appears in another language, or spelling errors occur that are immediately obvious to human eyes.A simple prompt might be envisioned as follows: “generate an image of a sunset with the words “Go Big or Go Home” written on a chalkboard in a classroom.”Generated using ImageFXWhile the image’s colors, composition, and lighting may be nearly perfect, the text might come out with a misspelled “go big or go h0me” or even scrambled characters. This discrepancy highlights the gap between creating complex visuals and generating precise, legible text.These shortcomings arise because text is not just a visual pattern; it is built on a foundation of linguistic rules. Many image generators treat letters and words as mere clusters of shapes rather than discrete symbols with defined meaning. This mismatch between how humans interpret text and how AI “sees” it is at the heart of the problem.Why Do AI Models Struggle with Text?Several factors contribute to the text-rendering challenge:Linguistic Precision vs. Visual Aesthetics: AI generators excel at blending complex visual cues but are less adept at the exactitude required for lettering. Where one can tolerate variability in shading or texture, even a minor misrepresentation in a word is immediately noticeable.Data Imbalance: The training datasets (such as those from LAION) are rich in general images but sparse when it comes to high-quality, legible text examples. Without enough examples focusing on properly rendered text, the model is less likely to learn the correct structure.Lack of Language Understanding: Unlike specialized language models (e.g., GPT-4), image generators aren’t optimized for grammatical correctness or spelling. They generate text as part of the image, processing it as one more visual feature rather than a sequence of meaningful symbols.Negative Prompting Limitations: Efforts to instruct the model “not to include text” or “avoid typography” often fall flat. The AI’s design doesn’t allow it to interpret negative instructions reliably, which further complicates achieving the desired result in one pass.Integrated Solutions: Two-Step Workflows and Second-Pass RefinementRather than forcing the image generator to “get it right” on the first pass, a promising strategy is to split the process into two distinct stages:Dedicated Text-Rendering and Two-Step Pipelines:Instead of relying on a single diffusion process to handle both background and text, some approaches first generate a high-quality, text-free image layout. Then a specialized module sometimes referred to as a text-rendering or “GlyphOnly” module renders the text accurately into the image. Stockimg.ai is one example of a company experimenting with this pipeline, integrating text-specific corrections directly into the generation workflow. This decoupling of text from the background allows each element to be optimized individually.Character-Level Tokenization:Research has shown that models using character-aware tokenization tend to produce more accurate results. By handling text at a finer granularity (i.e., at the individual letter level) rather than in large chunks, the model can better preserve spelling, spacing, and grammatical consistency. This dedicated tokenization branch effectively “learns” the correct forms of letters and words, reducing common errors.Research and Benchmarks:Initiatives such as the TextInVision benchmark are being used to evaluate and quantify the performance of AI models on text rendering. Such benchmarks identify specific failure points and help guide improvements toward a more integrated and robust multi-stage generation pipeline.Additional Innovations and Future DirectionsBeyond these integrated solutions, other developments are pushing the envelope on text rendering:Multi-Lingual and Non-Latin Text Support:Some image generators (like Midjourney’s Niji mode) now offer enhanced support for languages beyond English by better handling scripts such as Japanese kana or simple Chinese characters. This is critical in making the technology truly global.Post-Processing Feedback Loops:Future workflows may incorporate automated feedback loops where the generated image is analyzed by an OCR system. If the rendered text deviates from the intended output, the system can iteratively correct it, essentially creating a closed-loop editing process before final output.Architectural Innovations:Improvements at the model architecture level such as using Query-Key Normalization in Transformer blocks, enhanced cross-attention mechanisms, or integrating multiple text encoders (like CLIP and T5) are contributing to better text and prompt adherence. These technical tweaks help the model to “bind” attributes correctly, ensuring that text appears precisely where and how it is specified.Ethical and Copyright Considerations:Generating text in images can also intersect with legal and ethical challenges. For example, if an AI inadvertently replicates a trademarked logo or copyrighted typography, this raises important questions about ownership and usage rights. Addressing these issues is part of ensuring that AI-generated content is not only technically impressive but also ethically and legally sound.ConclusionThe journey from garbled letters to coherent text in AI-generated images has been marked by persistent challenges, but also by rapid innovation. Whether it’s through two-step generation pipelines, character-level tokenization, or advanced feedback loops, the field is actively working to integrate accurate text rendering directly into the creative process. Models like DALL‑E 3, Stable Diffusion 3.5, and Midjourney V6 (including its Niji variations) are already showing promising improvements.As researchers and engineers continue to refine these techniques and as benchmarks and user studies guide development, we are likely to see a future where AI-generated images include perfectly rendered, contextually appropriate text right out of the box. This not only streamlines creative workflows but also opens the door to more innovative and accessible applications, from automated graphic design to enhanced accessibility tools for visually impaired individuals.In bridging the gap between visual art and accurate text, AI is learning that even the simplest elements require layered, sophisticated solutions. And as these models evolve, the blend of art and language in digital imagery will only become more seamless and powerful.This article draws on research insights, practical examples from leading companies, and community discussions to provide a comprehensive overview of how the AI art industry is tackling the challenge of text rendering and what exciting innovations lie ahead. This article was developed using AI technology and has undergone thorough review to ensure accuracy and clarity.

It would not exactly be a stretch to say that modern PlayStation’s success as a game maker and a first party is built upon Uncharted. Naughty Dog’s seminal action adventure game series started out as a rather unassuming blend of the classic Tomb Raider games and the at the time new hotness Gears of War. The original game, Drake’s Fortune, while being a moderate sized critical and commercial success, at no point indicated what the series would go on to become. But of course, any fan of the franchise, or of PlayStation, knows how it went – with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Naughty Dog elevated its craft of cinematic storytelling blended with taut and tightly designed linear action adventure gameplay. The studio’s name became synonymous with PlayStation games, and other Sony studios started following in Naughty Dog’s wake. Eventually, Naughty Dog would bring its craft to perfection with the Last of Us games, building on everything that had worked in the Uncharted games to a polished sheen, and delivering some of the greatest titles in the history of the medium in the process. But for as great as the Last of Us games are – and I say this as someone who legitimately feels The Last of Us Part 2 is one of the greatest games of all time – they are also fundamentally very different in the mood, tone, and aesthetic they strike as compared to Uncharted. For all the similarities that the two franchises share, if you wanted that globetrotting, swashbuckling, treasure hunting adventure, filled with some great action set pieces, some great historical fiction, and maybe a supernatural twist or two? The Last of Us is very decidedly not it. Very few things are, as it turns out. Earlier, I mentioned Tomb Raider as an inspiration for Uncharted, and within the video games medium, at least, Tomb Raider absolutely is the best equivalent. And for what it’s worth, fans of Uncharted do have potentially three other games they might like a lot to check out in the new Tomb Raider trilogy, if they haven’t checked them out already. Those games rebooted the franchise, taking inspiration from Uncharted liberally (how the tables turn, and what have you). And while none of the new Tomb Raider games ever match Uncharted’s brilliance, they are still really good in their own right. If you want more games along those lines, they are well worth checking out. But those games themselves are old now, and the Tomb Raider franchise has itself been inactive in terms of new releases for almost as long as Uncharted has. Inherently, it’s not unreasonable to assume that if there was any Uncharted fan who wanted more games along those lines, the seven years that have passed since the release of the final game in the modern Tomb Raider trilogy have provided more than enough time for them to look into those games for their fix. So pointing to Tomb Raider hardly helps here. Where hope comes from for Uncharted fans in these cases ends up being a very, very unlikely game– in more ways than one. This month, Microsoft will release MachineGames’ fantastic Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5. The game, which launched in December last year for Xbox Series X/S and PC to great acclaim, is being brought over to the PS5 as part of Microsoft’s continued multiplatform publishing push. Admittedly, the idea of a Microsoft game acting as a stand in for a flagship PlayStation franchise is hilarious, as is the idea that Indiana Jones, the granddaddy of Uncharted and Tomb Raider to begin with, has come in with an eleventh hour win here- but the game’s quality speaks for itself. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a marvelous single player action adventure game that really hits the perfect tone and aesthetic, takes players to multiple locations around the world on a globetrotting treasure hunting story, has a great historical fiction infused central plot and mystery, and has some really strong storytelling- which, of course, is typical for MachineGames. They are obviously not perfect equivalents. Indiana Jones is largely a first person game, for starters, which creates a fundamental change to the flow of the moment to moment gameplay. It is also far less focused on combat than the Uncharted games. Naughty Dog’s franchise is, of course, so combat focused that it has given rise to a whole class of memes about how the series’ protagonist Nathan Drake is a mass murderer (and even led to the rise in awareness of ludonarrative dissonance, and what it may mean when it comes to video games). Anyone who has seen the Indiana Jones movies, of course, knows that that level of killing and violence isn’t exactly what the eponymous main character is known for. And so it makes sense that The Great Circle de-emphasizes action. Instead, the game is designed almost like an immersive sim. Rather than guiding players through linear areas interspersing light platforming and puzzle solving with heavy combat encounters, The Great Circle moves players into small sandbox style semi open areas, giving players objectives but mostly leaving it to them to figure out how to go about them. In other words, it almost plays like an immersive sim lite. In any area, in any part of the game, Indiana Jones will have to contend with a lot of armed opponents, but he will rarely be shooting them away in grand shootouts. Instead, The Great Circle emphasizes stealth and melee combat, it emphasizes puzzles, and it emphasizes exploration and discovery within its areas for players to figure out how to progress. This is a fundamentally different type of game than Uncharted in that sense. If you were in it purely for linear and high octane action packed gameplay, and the roller coaster style set pieces and combat encounters that Uncharted is known for, then little in The Great Circle would scratch that itch (though it does admittedly have some excellent set pieces). At the end of the day, it’s not really going for that sort of experience, so if that’s the sort of Uncharted-style game you’re looking for, your search for something new that fills that niche is sadly going to have to continue. However, for other fans, who primarily want Uncharted’s pulpy, high octane, swashbuckling tone, its globe trotting adventure stories blending fact and fiction, for those fans who want Uncharted’s vibes more than anything, The Great Circle is a fantastic pick, one that carves out a very comfortable place for itself in the pantheon that Naughty Dog and Uncharted had monopolized for the better part of two decades now. That’s an amazing feat, and hopefully, MachineGames gets the chance to build on that with the follow up to this game. As for Uncharted? Hopefully, a new one of those is on the horizon as well. Thankfully we have something great and new that has a lot of the same vibes– but MachineGames’ take on Indy is ultimately its own thing (which is arguably one of the reasons it’s so good, and doesn’t just suffer from a knock-off syndrome). It’s not the exact alchemy that led Uncharted to becoming one of the most beloved brands in the industry. When the next one of those is coming is anyone’s guess– in a couple of years, it will have been a whole ten years since the last time the franchise was active. Hopefully there’s a new release well before then. Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Uzumaki Goku One Winged Slayer Member Oct 27, 2017 23,119 I will definitely replay BOTW on a smoother framerate. TOTK though… down the road, but considering that game tends to wear me out whenever I have played it, maybe down the road and not back to back.  Dest Has seen more 10s than EA ever will Coward Jun 4, 2018 15,842 Work yeah. i never finished either. i got almost done with botw and then never proper finished it? waiting to return now.  Rune Walsh Too many boners Member Oct 25, 2017 7,605 By the time I get a Switch 2, a new Zelda will be out; so no.   Var Avenger Oct 25, 2017 1,658 Absolutely going to replay both but playing Links Awakening first.   Kenny_Blankenship Member Jun 1, 2023 2,275 Will give BotW a go again and hope I've forgotten most of the map.   BassForever One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 31,507 CT Not right away, but when I do replay them it'll be the Switch 2 versions.   PlanetSmasher The Abominable Showman Member Oct 25, 2017 131,048 Absolutely not. I've seen enough of that world.   DNAbro Member Oct 25, 2017 29,622 will likely do a new playthrough for both, excited to try them again   PAFenix Unshakable Resolve Member Nov 21, 2019 19,741 I'm trying to keep myself from replaying them NOW lol so yeah   GDGF Member Oct 26, 2017 8,819 Haven't beaten Ganon in TotK yet (real close though) so I will continue to fuck about and build stuff until the update hits lol   Yoshimitsu126 The Fallen Nov 11, 2017 16,976 United States Maybe 10 hrs each and move on   Dezzy Member Oct 25, 2017 3,753 USA I loved both, but the enjoyment came from the exploration and discovery which won't really have the same effect on a replay.   Bizarre Member Dec 7, 2024 895 Probably not, though I've been known to revisit my least favorite Zelda's like ten years down the line and find something to appreciate so... What day is it?  Baby Bird Member Nov 5, 2017 1,724 I don't own BoTW on Switch (I played it on WiiU) and don't intend to get it in the near future. ToTK on the other hand, at some point I will replay it, but I still consider too soon to do it. I loved the game (even more than BoTW), but I feel like it's a hard game to replay.  Stormblessed Member Feb 21, 2019 1,453 Played through BOTW like 3 times already and was middling on TOTK so I'll pass.   Paper Wario ▲ Legend ▲ Member Oct 27, 2017 3,103 At first I didn't think I would ever replay either game because they are just so large in scale, even though they're 2 of my favorite games of all time. That being said, I've had a bit of an itch to return to BOTW   Teppic Member Oct 25, 2017 760 I never want to replay those games.   MindofKB Avenger Oct 27, 2017 1,183 Bay Area I put far too many hours into both of these, I'm not going back for improved framerate and resolution.   Bran Member Oct 25, 2017 473 I will mess around in my TotK save file and probably restart BotW but not get very far. I can't see myself replaying TotK without the dupe glitch, and emulation allows you to crank up item drops to save time.   masud Member Oct 31, 2017 781 I'll dick around a little bit to see the graphic enhancements but I put about 400 hours into that version of Hyrule, I can't do it anymore...   Kouriozan Member Oct 25, 2017 24,348 For a bit to check them out, since it's included in the NSO+EP but I already 100%ed both so I doubt it'd be long replay.   Mauricio_Magus Member Oct 25, 2017 15,537 No. The one I could see myself messing around in is TOTK and maybe replaying it someday, there's no way I ever go back to BOTW I didn't like it that much.  Tathanen One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 7,060 I'll load my saves and do all of the new voice clips at the bare minimum, then I might proceed through finishing off all the tiny things I skipped in totk if the app makes tracking them down easier.   EvaUnit787 Member Aug 6, 2023 2,750 I feel I'll maybe replay ToTK but the glitches are gone so maybe not. That game without the duoe glitch is just too long for me to enjoy right now in life  RadzPrower One Winged Slayer Member Jan 19, 2018 6,668 Replay as in start to finish? Absolutely not. Will I boot it up since it's included in the Expansion Pak and goof around some? Maybe.  flatearthpandas Member Oct 26, 2017 6,811 I never actually finished TotK so I'll probably go ahead and do that   Vidiot Member Oct 27, 2017 4,867 No. As a first experience those games were magical but the gigantic nature of them with my adult life means I'll likely never do a replay. Plus they just don't have that "it" thing that would make me want to replay them. The dungeons/story are nothing special and most of your time in the game is spent messing around in the world and I can do that on a completed file.   t26 Avenger Oct 27, 2017 5,281 Nope. Will be playing both for the first time.   Misuta One Winged Slayer Member Oct 31, 2017 1,077 Germany BotW yes, TotK no.   BasilZero Member Oct 25, 2017 39,556 Omni Second time playing BotW (first time on WiiU back in 2017) Will be first time playing ToTK.  Andrew J Member Oct 26, 2017 4,950 The Adirondacks I'll go back in a for a bit and do some unfinished sidequests to see how it feels, but not a full replay, no.   Drachen Member May 3, 2021 8,310 PlanetSmasher said: Absolutely not. I've seen enough of that world. Click to expand... Click to shrink... My sentiments exactly. I played BOTW once on Wii U, then again on the Switch. Playing TOTK felt like I was playing BOTW for a third time. I'm good.   Magnet_Man One Winged Slayer Member Oct 27, 2017 3,484 Nah, both are way too long. I might pop it for a bit just to see but don't have the time for a full play I'm raring to play Link's Awakening without the constant stutter though  Tagovailoa Member Feb 5, 2023 1,428 I may play them for the first time. With all my amiibo to make the game as easy as possible Because I'm a babby But these look good honestly. I never did buy TotK so I might see if I can scoop a Switch version of it somewhere for less than $70 since the upgrade would be free.  Jerm411 Member Oct 27, 2017 8,952 Clinton, MO I purposefully didn't play a *ton* of TotK because I figured we'd get S2 upgrades…can't wait to get back into that world, I have so much yet to discover and explore.   StrappingYoungLance Member Oct 27, 2017 7,605 Melbourne, Australia I'll probably load up TotK and have a dabble but can't imagine doing a full replay.   Joeshabadoo Member Jan 3, 2019 1,744 Will be revisiting my BotW master mode file on Switch 2 to find all the new Zelda location based audio diaries. Will be finally hitting 100% on my TotK file (over time ) on the Switch 2 while also checking out the audio diaries So sorta yes. Not fully replaying  PucePikmin Member Apr 26, 2018 5,173 I still have some side stuff I never got to in TotK. I think I largely exhausted BotW.   Watershed Member Oct 26, 2017 10,384 If I get a Switch 2 at launch, I will play around with both since they will be free to me, but I don't know about fully replaying either. I would probably sooner replay BOTW than TOTK since the latter is more recent, but I've beaten both 3 times already.   KamenRiderEra Member Oct 25, 2017 2,337 Playing totk right now on emulator, and want to revisit on Switch 2. That sandbox is just too good and timeless.   jonjonaug Member Oct 25, 2017 6,146 Maybe in like, six years or something? TOTK is my favorite game of all time but there's so much to do in it and so much of the game is reliant on a "wow, this was cool/surprising/novel" factor that doesn't hit as hard the second time around.  WhoaIsThatMars Member Oct 25, 2017 2,688 湘南 Never finished Tears. I did a bunch of side quests and two dungeons. I'll be restarting it on Switch 2   Eppcetera Member Mar 3, 2018 2,143 Maybe? I don't know. I played through Breath of the Wild twice and Tears of the Kingdom once, and I'm in no hurry to go back to these games.   werezompire Zeboyd Games Verified Oct 26, 2017 14,724 I might give TotK another shot. Didn't like BotW. TotK was better, but still didn't love it and dropped it after about 10 hours.   Tom Nook Says... Member Jan 15, 2019 7,001 I've done nearly everything there is to do in TotK (minus some korok seeds), so I'm not necessarily going to replay TotK, but I'll definitely spend 5-6 hours wandering around to different locations saying something to the effect of "Oh this looks nice."   DontHateTheBacon Unshakable Resolve Member Oct 27, 2017 14,098 Yeah I'll probably replay TOTK. I won't replay BOTW though, already did that.   J Silverhand Member Jun 30, 2023 53 I did almost everything in TOTK, aside from all koroks and a few side quests, so I'll save those for Switch 2. I haven't played BOTW since 2023 and never actually bought the DLC, so I might check that out. I played them on the Switch Lite, so I'm just excited to see these games blown up on my TV, especially with the new upgrades.  Prison_mike Member Oct 26, 2017 1,610 Var said: Absolutely going to replay both but playing Links Awakening first. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Link's Awakening is in desperate need of a framerate bump  Tom Nook Says... Member Jan 15, 2019 7,001 werezompire said: I might give TotK another shot. Didn't like BotW. TotK was better, but still didn't love it and dropped it after about 10 hours. Click to expand... Click to shrink... I was personally a little underwhelmed by TotK until I got to the first dungeon. I had this "oh no it really is just BotW with some building mechanics" dread sinking in during those initial hours, but the game blossomed into far more than that as I explored.  loco Member Jan 6, 2021 8,289 No but I would if I never played them before. I will be double dipping on Elden Ring because it's extremely replayable and always wanted to play that on a Nintendo system.  

It’s not easy to be Henry, the protagonist of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. I spent my first 15 hours or so getting my ass beat around every corner of Bohemia; I’d either perish to a pack of wolves, stumble upon a lone soldier, or fail to subtly steal a slurp of soup. That experience looks like a balmy day in the park compared to the new Hardcore mode, which has a host of complications and obstacles to encounter throughout the already massive campaign. First of all, Henry has to choose three negative perks to deal with throughout the campaign. Hangry Henry makes him want to eat as much food as possible, whereas Punchable Face makes traveling without being attacked a much more difficult task. Sweaty, Menace, and Numbskull are just some of the negative perks up for grabs, and none of them seem particularly appealing. Secondly, Henry’s position no longer appears on the map, which means the player has to puzzle out his location. There’s absolutely no fast travel, either, so you better prepare to learn the countryside lest you perish in it. There’s one upside: Henry can now ask fellow travelers for directions, as long as his reputation and presentation merit a response. If the player selects Bashful as a negative perk, Henry can’t even ask for directions — he’s too shy. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s new Hardcore mode doesn’t include permadeath, but it seems like a much tougher experience overall. For some, that increased difficulty will likely lead to more satisfaction, as well as a more immersive experience overall.

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy. Just a few days back, Wall Street was celebrating NVIDIA's "minimal tariff status," with Lynx Equity going so far as to predict that the high-flying stock would promptly return to its recent highs. However, the Trump administration has now upended a material revenue stream for the GPU giant, endangering that rosy scenario in the process. The markets recently breathed a sigh of relief when President Trump conceded to a global import tariff rate of 10 percent for all trading partners of the US barring China. Then, in what unleashed the heretofore scarce animal spirits on Wall Street, Trump went on to temporarily rescind the tariffs imposed on the import of semiconductors and electronic items (including Apple's iPhones) from China, reducing the effective tariff rate on all Chinese imports from 145 percent to 104 percent. Do note that the imports of semiconductors, smartphones, and other electronic items from China currently still remain subject to the fentanyl-related 20 percent tariff. However, it seems Trump's concessionary streak has ended. To wit, NVIDIA has now announced that it expects to incur charges of up to $5.5 billion during its fiscal Q1 2026 (which concludes on the 27th of April) resulting from "inventory, purchase commitments, and related reserves" for the China-specific H20 GPU. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the H20 is a severely restricted version of the H100 GPU, largely geared towards the Chinese market. However, the Trump administration formally communicated to NVIDIA on the 09th of April that, going forward, the H20 GPU will be subject to an "indefinite" export licensing requirement. Moreover, this restriction also applies to other ICs bearing similar memory and interconnect bandwidth capabilities. Bear in mind that Lynx Equity continues to assert that NVIDIA, "with its AI servers sourcing most components outside the US and assembled by system integrators based in Taiwan, has built a multi-layered strategy to avoid nearly all US tariffs." However, the recent H20-related restrictions might prompt Beijing to retaliate, especially as China now has little to lose. Deal of the Day