Game Pass – will it continue forever? (Microsoft) The Monday letters page struggles to predict what’s going to happen with the PlayStation 6, as one reader sees their opinion of the Switch 2 change over time. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Final Pass I agree with a lot of what was said about the current state of Xbox in the Reader’s Feature this weekend and how the more Microsoft spends, and the more companies they own, the less the seem to be in control. Which is very strange really.The biggest recent failure has got to be Game Pass, which has not had the impact they expected and yet they don’t seem ready to acknowledge that. If they’re thinking of increasing the price again, like those rumours say, then I think that will be the point at which you can draw a line under the whole idea and admit it’s never going to catch on. But would Microsoft ever shut down Game Pass completely? I feel that would almost be more humiliating than stopping making consoles, so I can’t really imagine it. Instead, they’ll make it more and more expensive and put more and more restrictions on day one games until it’s no longer recognisable.Grackle Panic button Strange to see Sony talking relatively openly about Nintendo and Microsoft as competition. I can’t remember the last time they mentioned either of them, even if they obviously would prefer not to have, if they hadn’t been asked by investors.At no point did they acknowledge that the Switch has completely outsold both their last two consoles, so I’m not sure where their confidence comes from. I guess it’s from the fact that they know they’ve done nothing this gen and still come out on top, so from their perspective they’ve got plenty in reserve. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Having your panic button being ‘do anything at all’ must be pretty reassuring really. Nintendo has had to work to get where they are with the Switch but Sony is just coasting it.Lupus James’ LadderJacob’s Ladder is a film I’ve been meaning to watch for a while, and I guessed the ending quite early on, but it feels like a Silent Hill film. I don’t know if you guys have seen it but it’s an excellent film and the hospital scene near the end, and the cages blocking off the underground early on, just remind me of the game. A depressing film overall but worth a watch.Simon GC: Jacob’s Ladder was as a major influence on Silent Hill 2 in particular, even the jacket James is wearing is the same. Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk Seeing the future I know everyone likes to think of themselves as Nostradamus, but I have to admit I have absolutely no clue what Sony is planning for the PlayStation 6. A new console that is just the usual update, that sits under your TV, is easy enough to imagine but surely they’re not going to do that again?But the idea of having new home and portable machines that come out at the same time seems so unlikely to me. Surely the portable wouldn’t be a separate format, but I can’t see it being any kind of portable that runs its own games because it’d never be as powerful as the home machine. So, it’s really just a PlayStation Portal 2? Like I said, I don’t know, but for some reason I have a bad feeling about that the next gen and whatever Sony does end up unveiling. I suspect that whatever they and Microsoft does it’s going to end up making the Switch 2 (and PC) seem even more appealing by comparison.Gonch Hidden insight I’m not going to say that Welcome Tour is a good game but what I will say is that I found it very interesting at times and I’m actually kind of surprised that Nintendo revealed some of the information that they did. Most of it could probably be found out by reverse engineering it and just taking it apart but I’m still surprised it went into as much detail as it did.You’re right that it’s all presented in a very dull way but personally I found the ‘Insights’ to be the best part of the game. The minigames really are not very good and I was always glad when they were over. So, while I would not necessarily recommend the game (it’s not really a game) I would say that it can be of interest to people who have an interest in how consoles work and how Nintendo think.Mogwai Purchase privilege I’ve recently had the privilege of buying Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from the website CDKeys, using a 10% discount code. I was lucky enough to only spend a total of £25.99; much cheaper than purchasing the title for console. If only Ubisoft had the foresight to see what they allowed to slip through their fingers. I’d also like to mention that from what I’ve read quite recently ,and a couple of mixed views, I don’t see myself cancelling my Switch 2. On the contrary, it just is coming across as a disappointment.From the battery life to the lack of launch titles, an empty open world is never a smart choice to make not even Mario is safe from that. That leaves the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally that’s recently been showcased and is set for an October launch. I won’t lie it does look in the same vein as the Switch 2, far too similar to the ROG Ally X model. Just with grips and a dedicated Xbox button. The Z2 Extreme chip has me intrigued, however. How much of a transcendental shift it makes is another question however. I’ll have to wait to receive official confirmation for a price and release date. But there’s also a Lenovo Legion Go 2 waiting in the wings. I hope we hear more information soon. Preferably before my 28th in August.Shahzaib Sadiq Tip of the iceberg Interesting to hear about Cyberpunk 2077 running well on the Switch 2. I think if they’re getting that kind of performance at launch, from a third party not use to working with Nintendo hardware, that bodes very well for the future.I think we’re probably underestimating the Switch 2 a lot at the moment and stuff we’ll be seeing in two or three years is going to be amazing, I predict. What I can’t predict is when we’ll hear about any of this. I really hope there’s a Nintendo Direct this week.Dano Changing opinions So just a little over a week with the Switch 2 and after initially feeling incredibly meh about the new console and Mario Kart a little more playtime has been more optimistic about the console and much more positive about Mario Kart World.It did feel odd having a new console from Nintendo that didn’t inspire that childlike excitement. An iterative upgrade isn’t very exciting and as I own a Steam Deck the advancements in processing weren’t all that exciting either. I can imagine someone who only bough an OG Switch back in 2017 really noticing the improvements but if you bought an OLED it’s basically a Switch Pro (minus the OLED). The criminally low level of software support doesn’t help. I double dipped Street Fighter 6 only to discover I can’t transfer progress or DLC across from my Xbox, which sort of means if I want both profiles to have parity I have to buy everything twice! I also treated myself to a new Pro Controller and find using it for Street Fighter almost unplayable as the L and ZL buttons are far too easy to accidently press when playing. Mario Kart initially felt like more of the same and it was only after I made an effort to explore the world map, unlock characters and karts, and try the new grinding/ollie mechanic that it clicked. I am now really enjoying it, especially the remixed soundtracks. I do however want more Switch 2 exclusive experiences – going back through my back catalogue for improved frame rates doesn’t cut it Nintendo! As someone with a large digital library the system transfer was very frustrating and the new virtual cartridges are just awful – does a Switch 2 need to be online all the time now? Not the best idea for a portable system. So, the start of a new console lifecycle and hopefully lots of new IP – I suspect Nintendo will try and get us to revisit our back catalogues first though.BristolPete Inbox also-rans Just thought I would mention that if anyone’s interested in purchasing the Mortal Kombat 1 Definitive Edition, which includes all DLC, that it’s currently an absolute steal on the Xbox store at £21.99.Nick The GreekI’ve just won my first Knockout Tour online race on Mario Kart World! I’ve got to say, the feeling is magnificent.Rable More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: Is Mario Kart World too hard? GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Mario Kart World is one of the year's hottest games, but its pivot to an open world setting, while peeling back kart customization options, opened a massive rift for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to drift into. And Sega is determined to do everything possible to make its kart racer the one to beat by including numerous guest characters and cross-platform, multiplayer contests. I took Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for a test drive at the Summer Game Fest, and it's a strong contender racing game of the year.Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' Deep Kart CustomizationThe biggest difference between Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World is that Sega's title focuses on kart customization. I'm not just talking about colors and tires; CrossWorlds introduces Gadgets, add-ons that augment your car, giving your whip helpful abilities to bring into the race. (Credit: Sega)Each ride has a license plate with six slots where you can slot your chosen Gadgets. A Gadget can take up one, two, or three slots, so the idea is to find a mix that pairs well with character traits. There's a surprising amount of depth for people who want to min/max their favorite anthropomorphic animal.I chose Sonic, a speed character, and added a Gadget that started him with two boosts (one slot), a Gadget that improved his speed while trailing an opponent (two slots), and a Gadget that improved acceleration (three slots). There were so many Gadgets that I could have easily spent my entire demo session building a car to match my playstyle. I envision people happily getting lost in the weeds before participating in their first race.(Credit: Sega)Gameplay: This Ain't Mario Kart WorldAlthough it's not an open world like Mario Kart World, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds injects a unique spin on traditional kart racing. The familiar trappings are all here, such as rings to boost your top speed. Each Grand Prix consists of three maps, but the gimmick at play is stage transitions. Recommended by Our EditorsAbout a third of the way down a course, a giant ring-portal opens, presenting a new world and track (hence the name "CrossWorlds"). The shift in tone and terrain keeps the races fast-paced and unpredictable. I particularly liked how whoever is in first place can sometimes choose which CrossWorlds track to go down, controlling the tempo. With every race completion, you earn credits based on your performance that you can cash in for new car parts.In a stark contrast to Mario Kart World, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is far more aggressive, even on lower difficulties. At the start of each grand prix, the game assigns you a rival—this is the character to beat, and the one who taunts you all match. Beat them all, and you can race high-powered Super variants.Just about everything caused you to lose rings: bumping into other players, the walls, and, of course, getting hit by items. The series' trademark rubberband AI is still in place, too. Even in the press demo, I wasn't safe from taking four items back to back and being knocked off the stage mere feet away from the finish line.(Credit: Sega)The demo didn't include the new characters that debuted at the Summer Game Fest, but I studied the character screen to see who else could be coming to the game. Including the 12 Sonic characters available in the demo, I counted a whopping 64 character slots. They include Hatsune Miku (the ultra-popular Vocaloid), Joker (from Persona 5), Ichiban Kasuga (from Like a Dragon), and Steve (from Minecraft). However, I hope to see other classic Sega IPs like in previous Sonic Racing titles.Platforms and Release DateWill Sega do what Nintendon't? I had an exhilarating time playing Sonic Racing: CrossWorld, and I can't wait to see more wild track compositions. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on Sept. 25, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is planned for later in the year.

Set in the glitzy world of Hollywood in the late '70s, Confidential Killings have you investigate a series of gruesome murders that seem connected. There are rumours about a mysterious cult behind them...  Explore the crime scenes, use your detective skills to deduce what's going on! Wishlist on Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2797960/Confidential_KillingsJoin our discord: https://discord.gg/xwFXgbb2xfMore informationDownloadDevelopment logDemo out! 10 days agoCommentsLog in with itch.io to leave a comment.I LOVE it! The art, the gameplay, the story, it's so much fun!ReplyFirst I was like "nah, so you just want to check if I have read everything, or what?" but later it made sense with the twists and hunting for the word you already know but need to find elsewhere.ReplyPicto Games21 hours ago(+2)the cursor is blinking it is very disturbing and the game very goodReplyBRANE15 hours ago (1 edit) (+1)I recommend trying the desktop builds if you'd like to play without this issue. Or putting more fire on this PR of Godot:https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/103304ReplybeautifulDegen1 day ago(+1)Nice gameReplylovedovey6661 day ago(+1)I love this game! i like the detective games and this is perfect :3ReplyThis is a great game! The old style detective game ambientation is superb, and the art sublime. The misteries were pretty entertaining and interesting to keep you going as you think what truly happened!ReplyI had to take notes.... my memory aint great lol really enjoyed it ReplySebbog1 day agoThis game is kind of like the detective games the Case of the Golden Idol and its sequel, the Rise of the Golden Idol, from 2022 and 2024 respectively. It's not just bullshit. It has a coherent story. If you haven't heard of the Golden Idol games, then it's basically a game where you investigate mysterious deaths and fill in the blanks of the story. You can navigate from multiple different scenes and click on people and objects to gather important clues. I think it was a good game. I like that it's similar to the Golden Idol games. I also liked that you could see the exact amount of wrong slots when it's less than or equal to 2. It said either two incorrect or one incorrect. This isn't how it works in the Golden Idol games. Although, this might make the game too easy. I am not sure tho. I also streamed this game on YouTube: ReplyMV_Zarch3 days agoI’m so happy I found this game. Amazing! The mysteries are just so good and well done. The art is beautiful and really sets up the atmosphere well. I am really interested to see the full game.Replyreveoncelink5 days agoIt was amazing!! Perfect gameplay and so many clues to connect the dots. Amazing.ReplyHey, this is a great game except for the flickering of the cursor. It’s the same for your other games (We Suspect Foul Play afaik). Hope this gets fixed! (I’m on chrome) ReplyBRANE6 days agoheya! For the flickering issue I'm not really sure what's the problem, but having a screen recording of it could help.Other than that we're not that focused on fixing the web build as it's going to be a PC game - so I suggest trying the Windows buildReplyReally fun! Wishing you guys lots of luck!ReplyThank you!Replykcouchpotato8 days ago(+1)This game is so awesome!! I've wishlisted it on steam.ReplyBRANE8 days agoThank you!Reply

As a former Xbox 360 owner I don’t understand Xbox today – Reader’s Feature GameCentral Published June 15, 2025 1:00am Xbox 360 is coming up to its 20th anniversary (Microsoft) A reader looks back on the Xbox 360 era and is frustrated at how things have evolved since then, with ROG Xbox Ally and the move towards multiformat releases. I though the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday was pretty good. Like Sony’s State of Play, it was mostly third party games but there was some interesting stuff there and I think overall the vibe was better than from Sony. I liked the look of High On Life 2, There Are No Ghosts At The Grand, and Cronos: The New Dawn the best but there was a lot of potentially cool games – I’d include Keeper, because it looked interestingly weird, but I don’t feel Double Fine are ever very good at gameplay. The biggest news out of the event was the new portable with the terrible name: Asus ROG Xbox Ally. I bet you can just imagine some parent asking that for that at shop at Christmas, to buy their kid? Not that that would ever happen because the thing’s going to be stupidly expensive. It seemed like a distraction, a small experiment at best, and I didn’t really pay much attention to it, especially as I already have a Steam Deck. But then today I read that Microsoft has cancelled its plans for their next gen portable and that actually this ridiculously named non-Xbox device may end up being the future of gaming for Microsoft. I’ve always preferred Xbox as my console as choice, probably because I was always a PC gamer before that. Although now I look back at things I have to admit that I only got the Xbox One out of brand loyalty and I wouldn’t have if I’d been thinking about it more clearly. By that point I was in too deep and so I bought the Xbox Series X/S out of muscle memory more than anything, wasn’t I proven to be a chump? What frustrates me most about Xbox at the moment is how indecisive it seems. I almost didn’t watch the Xbox Games Showcase because I knew I’d have to see Phil Spencer, or one of his goons, grinning into the camera, as if nothing is wrong. And, of course, that’s exactly what he did, ‘hinting’ about the return of Halo, as if everyone was going to be pumping the air to hear about that. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. News flash, Phil: no one cares. You’ve run that series into the ground, like all the other Xbox exclusives, to the point where they just feel old fashioned and tired. Old school fans don’t care and newer ones definitely don’t. It may sell okay at first on PlayStation 5, but only out of curiosity and as a kind of celebration that Sony has finally defeated Microsoft. To all extents and purposes, Xbox is now third party. The only thing that makes them not is that they still make their own console hardware but how long is that going to last? The ROG Ally is made by Asus and if Microsoft don’t make a handheld are they really going to put out a home console instead? That’s going to cost a lot of money in R&D and marketing and everything else, and I don’t know who could argue that it’s got a chance of selling more than the Xbox Series X/S. Phil Spencer has been talking about making a handheld for years and yet suddenly it’s not going to happen? Is there anything that is set in stone? I even heard people talking about them going back to having exclusives with the next generation, if it seemed like things were working out. I loved my Xbox 360, it’s still my favourite console of all time – the perfect balance between modern and retro games – but its golden era is a long time ago now, well over a decade. Xbox at the time was the new kid on the block, full of new ideas and daring to what Sony wouldn’t or couldn’t. When was the last time Xbox did anything like that? Game Pass probably, and that hasn’t worked out at all well. More Trending Nothing has, ever since that disastrous Xbox One reveal, and I just don’t understand how a company with basically infinite resources, and which already owns half the games industry, can be such a hopeless mess. I’m just sticking with PC from now and in the future, I’m going to pretend the Xbox 360 was my one and only console. By reader Cramersauce Xbox One – not a good follow-up to the Xbox 360 (Microsoft) The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

I’m going to say it: Mario Kart World is not as good as it should be – Reader’s Feature GameCentral Published June 15, 2025 6:00am Mario Kart World – is it a let-down? (Nintendo) A reader is unimpressed by Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2 and argues that the controversial free roam mode is not its only issue. As a day one Nintendo Switch 2 owner I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. Not with the console itself, which I think is pretty much prefect for the price and what it has to do, but with the only game worth getting at launch: Mario Kart World. Now, I don’t think it’s terrible, but I do think that not only is it not as good at Mario Kart 8 but that it’s kind of a flawed experiment and one of the weakest entries in the whole series. But I’ll talk about the positives first, just to show it’s not all bad. Knockout Tour is great, I think everyone would agree. A bit boring in single-player, but fantastic online and the game’s best feature. I also like all the weird extra characters, although how you unlock them and the costumes is very random and unsatisfying. The open world is also very nicely designed in its own right, and very large, but… that’s kind of all I’ve got in terms of praise. First, I’ll get the obvious thing out of the way: the open world is completely wasted. None of the challenges in it are interesting, if you can even find them, and a lot of them are overly hard and frustrating. There’s no story or dialogue or anything. You just drive around at random in free roam and hope you come across something interesting, which you almost certainly won’t. If any game was born to have fetch quests in it, it was this and yet there’s nothing like that. It all feels like it’s waiting for the actual game to be dropped onto the world but there’s nothing there. Maybe it will come in DLC, but even if it’s free why wasn’t it there from the start? Why wouldn’t you go all out for basically your only launch game? It’s baffling. But for me that’s not the real problem because, rightly or wrongly, free roam is really just a side show. My problem is that the actual racing in the two main modes is very dull. It may not seem that way when you’ve got a dozen people firing shells at you at once, but that gets old very quickly, and it doesn’t actually happen that much, especially in single-player. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Most of the time you’re just driving along (even 150cc isn’t that fast) and taking slow bend after slow bend in what aren’t even really courses at all. Knockout Tour is worst for this, because you’re essentially driving point-to-point and it really does feel like you’re just road racing, with nothing in terms of exciting or unexpected track design. Grand Prix is barely any better either, with very few lapped races and too many wide roads that are too easy to take. I went back to play Mario Kart 8 and it’s filled with tightly designed courses and weird and physically impossible track designs. It seems a weird to say but Mario Kart World is basically too realistic, or rather too mundane in its design. Everything about it feels flabby and under-designed. Sure, occasionally you fly vertically up into the air or down the side of a volcano, but when you get down to the actual racing it’s so plain and boring. The tracks aren’t designed for time trials and racing skill, they’re designed for power-ups and 24 player online races, and that has ruined everything. More Trending I’m sure other people will enjoy the game but as someone that has enjoyed every previous Mario Kart it’s not for me. Which means I’m now left with a neat new console with nothing to play on it, except for old Switch 1 games. And that will definitely include Mario Kart 8. By reader Lambent What is the future of Mario Kart World? (Nintendo) The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Cases News Unironically the Best Case: Retro Silverstone FLP02 with Turbo ButtonJune 6, 2025Last Updated: 2025-06-06Silverstone made the best case of Computex 2025 -- and it's actually shippingThe HighlightsThe FLP02 case is Silverstone's latest in its now growing lineup of retro-themed computer casesThe FLP02 will be sold for around $220, if all things go as planned, or just under 200 EURIt includes modern features, like 360mm radiator support, but also mixes in old throwbacksTable of ContentsAutoTOC Grab a GN Tear-Down Toolkit to support our AD-FREE reviews and IN-DEPTH testing while also getting a high-quality, highly portable 10-piece toolkit that was custom designed for use with video cards for repasting and water block installation. Includes a portable roll bag, hook hangers for pegboards, a storage compartment, and instructional GPU disassembly cards.IntroWe visited Silverstone’s booth at Computex 2025 and walked away thinking we saw the best case of the show.Editor's note: This was originally published on May 21, 2025 as a video. This content has been adapted to written format for this article and is unchanged from the original publication.CreditsHostSteve BurkeEditing, CameraMike GaglioneVitalii MakhnovetsWriting, Web EditingJimmy ThangSilverstone FLP02Our favorite case happens to be Silverstone’s retro-inspired, beige FLP02. Its old theme may look like an April Fool’s joke, but it’s definitely going into mass production. The case evokes the look of computers along the 286 through 486 era along with some of the early Pentium PCs. The case has a red power switch on the front along with a reset button, which actually follows the front lock. The turbo button, on the other hand, adjusts the fan speed. The number display indicates how fast the fans are going.The FLP02 case is based on existing tooling. Internally, the case is set up pretty normal in some ways. The power supply shroud is present and on the bottom, and it’s punctured on the top for airflow. Back in the olden days, the PSU would be in the top. The FLP02 also has 5.25 hard drive cage support.The switches on the front of the case, which represent floppy drives, are actually functional. Releasing the lock allows the slot cover to come out. Silverstone tells us the mechanism here that we saw at Computex is actually very difficult to manufacture so the company will probably create a stronger and more resilient mechanism with the company showing us a 3D printed mock-up of one.  Internally, the back of the case has a 120mm fan, but it can fit a 140mm one. The top of the FLP02 can fit a 360mm radiator. The case also has a vertical GPU mount option, though it’s only for a 2-slot wide mount, which restricts what kind of card you can put in it. The FLP02 also has a vertical GPU support, which is obviously a more modern feature.   For inspiration, Silverstone told us it Googled old computers and chose bits and pieces that it liked for the case’s design.  Older computer cases wouldn’t have had a lot of ventilation on the front, but the FLP02 has some ventilation on the front bottom. Its top panel is also ventilated and has a dust filter. The top of the case also has options for multiple radiator sizes.   The back side of the case has all of the modern cable management options so it ends up being a mix of design from both old and new. In terms of pricing, Silverstone says it will probably be $220, but that’s based on the current tariff situation. In the European market, the company is looking at around or less than 200 Euros. The case is also hiding some more modern features, like the front-panel USB ports, under covers to keep the immersion that the case is old. We plan on reviewing the case when it comes out. Silverstone LD05 Grab a GN15 Large Anti-Static Modmat to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and for a high-quality PC building work surface. The Modmat features useful PC building diagrams and is anti-static conductive. Purchases directly fund our work! (or consider a direct donation or a Patreon contribution!)Switching gears, Silverstone’s LD05 is a more modern fish-tank style ATX case that’s trying to hit a $100 price point, which is, again, dependent on the tariff situation. The company plans on providing 3x120mm ARGB fans. In terms of fan-mount locations, there are 2 on the side and a fan on the back. And there’s also space on the top for either 120mm or 140mm fans. The build we saw had 3x120mm ones.The case has a heavily ventilated power supply shroud, which also has a hard-drive cage within it, which is also perforated. Speaking of perforations, the back side panel is also perforated. The backside has some cable management space. It’s pretty standard. The LD05 also has white cables that try to match the case itself. The color isn’t an exact match, however.  Silverstone Alta T1The Alta T1 is a case we saw at last year’s Computex and Silverstone tells us it will be over a grand. Silverstone Alta T2We saw a version of the T2 case last year. In terms of pricing, the T2 will be about $1,000. It has an aluminum shell. When we pulled off its bottom side panel at Computex, it revealed 1 of 2 installed power supplies in the system we looked at. The other PSU is right behind it. The shroud area also has drive mounts in the middle and the front. The case itself has a ton of drive cage options. The T2 essentially acts like a home-server rendering farm of sorts. It’s got 11 slots for PCIe devices, making it one of the larger cases on the market for PCIe support.  The case’s rail system allows you to basically mount whatever you want wherever you want.The top front of the case has a canted angle, which has a plate that pulls off. There’s also another plate on the front bottom that pulls off and reveals the interior of the case. The T2 we saw also had 180mm fans installed in it. Silverstone Home Server Interview Visit our Patreon page to contribute a few dollars toward this website's operation (or consider a direct donation or buying something from our GN Store!) Additionally, when you purchase through links to retailers on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission.We also interviewed Tony from Silverstone, where he walked us through some of the company’s home-server style cases. Make sure you check out that interview in our video.

It's early June, which means it's time for a ton of video game events! Rising from the ashes of E3, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest is now the premium gaming event of the year, just inching ahead of… Geoff Keighley's Game Awards in December. Unlike the show it replaced, Summer Game Fest is an egalitarian affair, spotlighting games from AAA developers and small indies across a diverse set of livestreams. SGF 2025 includes 15 individual events running from June 3-9 — you can find the full Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule here — and we're smack dab in the middle of that programming right now. We're covering SGF 2025 with a small team on the ground in LA and a far larger group of writers tuning in remotely to the various livestreams. Expect game previews, interviews and reactions to arrive over the coming days (the show's in-person component runs from Saturday-Monday), and a boatload of new trailers and release date announcements in between. Through it all, we're collating the biggest announcements right here, with links out to more in-depth coverage where we have it, in chronological order. Tuesday, June 3 State of Unreal: The Witcher IV and Fortnite AI Epic hitched its wagon to SGF this year, aligning its annual developer Unreal Fest conference, which last took place in the fall of 2024, with the consumer event. The conference was held in Orlando, Florida, from June 2-5, with well over a hundred developer sessions focused on Unreal Engine. The highlight was State of Unreal, which was the first event on the official Summer Game Fest schedule. Amid a bunch of very cool tech demos and announcements, we got some meaningful updates on Epic's own Fortnite and CD PROJEKT RED's upcoming The Witcher IV. The Witcher IV was first unveiled at The Game Awards last year, and we've heard very little about it since. At State of Unreal, we got a tech demo for Unreal Engine 5.6, played in real time on a base PS5. The roughly 10-minute slot featured a mix of gameplay and cinematics, and showed off a detailed, bustling world. Perhaps the technical highlight was Nanite Foliage, an extension of UE5's Nanite system for geometry that renders foliage without the level of detail pop-in that is perhaps the most widespread graphical aberration still plaguing games today. On the game side, we saw a town filled with hundreds of NPCs going about their business. The town itself wasn't quite on the scale of The Witcher III's Novigrad City, but nonetheless felt alive in a way beyond anything the last game achieved. It's fair to say that Fortnite's moment in the spotlight was… less impressive. Hot on the heels of smooshing a profane Darth Vader AI into the game, Epic announced that creators will be able to roll their own AI NPCs into the game later this year. Wednesday, June 4 PlayStation State of Play: Marvel Tōkon, Silent Hill f and the return of Lumines Another company getting a headstart on proceedings was Sony, who threw its third State of Play of the year onto the Summer Game Fest schedule a couple days ahead of the opening night event. It was a packed stream by Sony's standards, with over 20 games and even a surprise hardware announcement. The most time was given to Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a new PlayStation Studios tag fighter that fuses Marvel Superheroes with anime visuals. It's also 4 versus 4, which is wild. It's being developed by Arc System Works, the team perhaps best known for the Guilty Gear series. It's coming to PS5 and PC in 2026. Not-so-coincidentally, Sony also announced Project Defiant, a wireless fight stick that'll support PS5 and PC and arrive in… 2026. Elsewhere, we got a parade of release dates, with concrete dates for Sword of the Sea (August 19) Baby Steps (September 8) and Silent Hill f (September 25). We also got confirmation of that Final Fantasy Tactics remaster (coming September 30), an an all-new... let's call it aspirational "2026" date for Pragmata, which, if you're keeping score, was advertised alongside the launch of the PS5. Great going, Capcom! Rounding out the show was a bunch of smaller announcements. We heard about a new Nioh game, Nioh 3, coming in 2026; Suda51's new weirdness Romeo is a Dead Man; and Lumines Arise, a long-awaited return to the Lumines series from the developer behind Tetris Effect. Thursday, June 5 Diddly squat There were absolutely no Summer Game Fest events scheduled on Thursday. We assume that's out of respect for antipodean trees, as June 5 was Arbor Day in New Zealand. (It's probably because everyone was playing Nintendo Switch 2.) Friday, June 6 Summer Game Fest Live: Resident Evil Requiem, Stranger Than Heaven and sequels abound It's fair to say that previous Summer Game Fest opening night streams have been… whelming at best. This year's showing was certainly an improvement, not least because there were exponentially fewer mobile game and MMO ads littering the presentation. Yes, folks tracking Gabe Newell's yacht were disappointed that Half-Life 3 didn't show up, and the Silksong crowd remains sad, alone and unloved, but there were nonetheless some huge announcements. Perhaps the biggest of all was the "ninth" (Zero and Code Veronica erasure is real) Resident Evil game. Resident Evil Requiem is said to be a tonal shift compared to the last game, Resident Evil Village. Here's hoping it reinvigorates the series in the same way Resident Evil VII did following the disappointing 6. We also heard more from Sega studio Ryu Ga Gotoku about Project Century, which seems to be a 1943 take on the Yakuza series. It's now called Stranger Than Heaven, and there's a (literally) jazzy new trailer for your consideration. Outside of those big swings, there were sequels to a bunch of mid-sized games, like Atomic Heart, Code Vein and Mortal Shell, and a spiritual sequel of sorts: Scott Pilgrim EX, a beat-em-up that takes the baton from the 2010 Ubisoft brawler Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. There were countless other announcements at the show, including: Troy Baker is the big cheese in Mouse: P.I. for Hire Here's a silly puppet boxing game you never knew you needed Killer Inn turns Werewolf into a multiplayer action game Out of Words is a cozy stop-motion co-op adventure from Epic Games Lego Voyagers is a co-op puzzle game from the studio behind Builder's Journey Mina the Hollower, from the makers of Shovel Knight, arrives on Halloween Wu-Tang Clan's new game blends anime with Afro-surrealism Day of the Devs: Blighted, Snap & Grab, Blighted and Escape Academy II As always, the kickoff show was followed by a Day of the Devs stream, which focused on smaller projects and indie games. You can watch the full stream here. Escape Academy has been firmly on our best couch co-op games list for some time, and now it's got a sequel on the way. Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School takes the same basic co-op escape room fun and expands on it, moving away from a level-select map screen and towards a fully 3D school campus for players to explore. So long as the puzzles themselves are as fun as the original, it seems like a winner.  Semblance studio Nyamakop is back with new jam called Relooted, a heist game with a unique twist. As in the real world, museums in the West are full of items plundered from African nations under colonialism. Unlike the real world, in Relooted the colonial powers have signed a treaty to return these items to their places of origin, but things aren't going to plan, as many artifacts are finding their way into private collections. It's your job to steal them back. The British Museum is quaking in its boots. Here are some of the other games that caught our eye: Snap & Grab is No Goblin's campy, photography-based heist game Please, Watch the Artwork is a puzzle game with eerie paintings and a sad clown Bask in the grotesque pixel-art beauty of Neverway Pocket Boss turns corporate data manipulation into a puzzle game Tire Boy is a wacky open-world adventure game you can tread all over The rest: Ball x Pit, Hitman and 007 First Light After Day of the Devs came Devolver. Its Summer Game Fest show was a little more muted than usual, focusing on a single game: Ball x Pit. It's the next game from Kenny Sun, an indie developer who previously made the sleeper hit Mr. Sun's Hatbox. Ball x Pit is being made by a team of more than half a dozen devs, in contrast to Sun's mostly solo prior works. It looks like an interesting mashup of Breakout and base-building mechanics, and there's a demo on Steam available right now. Then came IOI, the makers of Hitman, who put together a classic E3-style cringefest, full of awkward pauses, ill-paced demos and repetitive trailers. Honestly, as someone who's been watching game company presentations for two decades or so, it was a nice moment of nostalgia.  Away from the marvel of a presenter trying to cope with everything going wrong, the show did have some actual content, with an extended demo of the new James Bond-themed Hitman mission, an announcement that Hitman is coming to iOS and table tops, and a presentation on MindsEye, a game from former GTA producer Leslie Benzies that IOI is publishing.  Saturday-Sunday: Xbox and much, much more Now you're all caught up. We're expecting a lot of news this weekend, mostly from Xbox on Sunday. We'll be updating this article through the weekend and beyond, but you can find the latest announcements from Summer Game Fest 2025 on our front page.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/everything-new-at-summer-game-fest-2025-marvel-tokon-resident-evil-requiem-and-more-185425995.html?src=rss

So, you’ve braved the pre-order sites, or maybe you’ve just gotten lucky while waiting in line—either way, you’ve got yourself a Nintendo Switch 2. Congratulations! But before you start gaming, there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind while setting up your console. Nintendo is known for being user friendly, but also a bit particular. Case in point: You can only do a full transfer of your Switch 1 data to your Switch 2 during setup, and if you miss this opportunity, you’ll have to reset your device to try again, or manually copy over your games and save data piece-by-piece later on.Luckily, I’ve got your back. Read on for a quick guide on how to set up your Nintendo Switch 2, and the three other features you should set up before you start playing.How to start setting up a Nintendo Switch 2For the most part, setting up a new Switch 2 out of the box is straightforward, but you’ll still want to pay close attention to each step before moving on, especially when it comes to transferring console data.First, remove your Switch 2 and your joy-con controllers from their packaging. Then, plug your joy-cons into their respective slots (they’ll attach magnetically, so it’s much simpler than on the first Switch). If you don’t know which joy-con goes where, the one with red highlights goes to the right of the screen, and the one with blue highlights goes to the left.Next, plug your Switch into power using the included charging brick and cable, and power it on. On the screens that follow, select your language and region, then read and accept the end-user license agreement. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You’ll see a screen to connect to the internet and download the console’s day-one system update. This technically isn’t mandatory, and skipping it (with the X button on the right joy-con) will instead take you to time zone settings. However, most features will be locked down, including backward compatibility, until you download it, so I recommend doing it during setup if possible. If you do skip this step, you can access the update later under Settings > System > System Update.Once you’re connected to the internet and you’ve started downloading the update, you’ll be able to continue setup while it downloads. Now, you’ll pick your time zone and click through a couple of tutorial pages. These will instruct you about portable and TV play, tell you how to use the kickstand and extra USB-C port, and walk you through detaching your joy-con from the console (press in the button on the back of the joy-con, underneath the trigger, and pull). You can also click through an optional tutorial on connecting your Switch 2 to a TV, if you like, after which you’ll get quick guides on using the included joy-con grip accessory and the joy-con wrist straps.If your console hasn’t finished updating, it’ll finish that now, and then take you to your first big decision: do you want to transfer your Switch 1 data to your Switch 2?Transferring Switch 1 data to the Switch 2During Switch 2 setup, Nintendo will allow you to transfer your Switch 1 data to your Switch 2, but there are a few caveats.You’ll know you’re ready for this once your system update is downloaded and you’re on a screen that says “To Nintendo Switch Console Owners,” above a graphic of someone holding a Switch 1 and Switch 2. Next to the graphic, you’ll see two buttons: Begin System Transfer, Don’t Transfer Data, plus a third button below that explains the process to you, but leaves out a few key details.Before you make your decision, the most important thing to remember is this: There are actually two ways to transfer data from the Switch 1 to the Switch 2, and despite what you might have read elsewhere, locally transferring your Switch 1 data to the Switch 2 during setup will not factory reset your original Switch. Unless you’ve taken extra steps beforehand, this is the option Nintendo’s setup process will recommend to you, so most users don’t need to be scared about accidentally erasing their original consoles. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt If you stick with a local transfer, it will simply copy over your data to your Switch 2, so that it exists on both systems. There are a few specific cases where some data will get removed from your original device as it makes its way over to your new one, but for the most part, you’ll be able to keep using your original device as usual after the transfer, and there are ways to get that data back later on (I’ll get into that). Just know that save data for specific games, as well as some free-to-play games, may have been deleted from your Switch 1 and moved over to your Switch 2. Don’t worry— Nintendo will warn you about which software will be affected during the transfer process. Additionally, screenshots and video captures stored on a microSD card attached to the Switch 1 will need to be moved over manually later on.How to transfer your Switch 1 data locallyWith that in mind, if you want to transfer your data locally, which is what most people should do, click the Begin System Transfer button and follow the instructions—this involves signing into your Nintendo account, keeping your original Switch powered on and in close proximity to the Switch 2, and activating the transfer on your original Switch under Settings > System Settings > System Transfer to Nintendo Switch 2.How to transfer your Switch 1 data using Nintendo's serversThe confusion about factory resets comes from this data transfer option, which involves using the Nintendo servers. This will factory reset your Switch, and is best if you plan to sell it anyway, or if you expect to be away from your original Switch during Switch 2 setup and don’t mind setting up your original console from scratch when you get back to it. To start this kind of transfer, power on your original Switch, navigate to the System Transfer page mentioned above, then select I don’t have a Nintendo Switch 2 yet. Take note of the Download Deadline for later. Conveniently, that does point to one upside to this method: you can start it before you even have a Switch 2 in hand.Now, click Next, then Upload Data, then OK, followed by another OK. Click Start Initialization to begin factory resetting your original Switch. From here, your original Switch will revert to how it was before you bought it, and you’ll need to move over to your Switch 2, click Begin System Transfer, and sign into your Nintendo account. If the system detects that you have transfer data to download from the cloud, it’ll walk you through the process. Note, however, that if you don’t download your transfer data before the deadline you jotted down earlier, you’ll lose access to it.If you want to skip the data transfer process...If you’d rather not transfer your data, that’s also fine, but you won’t have an opportunity to do so later, and will instead need to move games and save data over manually. Click the Don’t Transfer Data button, then Continue to move to the next step.Adding a user and parental controlsWith system transfers out of the way, you’re through the hardest part of setting up your new console. Now, you’ll be prompted to add a user to the system. Here, you can sign in with your Nintendo Account to get access to your Switch Online subscription and your collection of downloadable games, or create a local user profile. After that, you can add more users as you like, or you can save that for later (simply navigate to System Settings > User > Add User).Next up, parental controls. Like with additional users, you can set these up later under System Settings > Parental Controls, but there’s no harm to setting them up now as well. To do so, click Set Parental Controls.  Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You’ll have a few options. Most of these will prompt you to use Nintendo’s Parental Controls app, but you can also click the X button on the right-hand joy-con to set up limited parental controls directly on the console. Doing so will allow you to select from a number of presets that will block access to certain games and communication features, but not much else. Using the app, meanwhile, will let you set a daily play time limit, bedtime settings, restrictions on the new GameChat feature, and see reports on play time and games played. It also doesn’t require a Switch Online subscription, so it’s worth using if you have a smart device.To set up parental controls using the app, first download it for either iOS or Android using the information on the screen, then click the “If You’ve Already Downloaded the App” button. Enter the registration code from your app into your Switch 2 system, then follow the instructions in the app to finish setup. Which buttons you’ll need to click will depend on the controls you’d like to activate, as well as for which users and systems, but it’s fairly straightforward.MicroSD card limitationsJust a couple more screens. First, a quick warning about microSD cards. Unlike the Switch 1, the Switch 2 is only compatible with microSD Express cards, which are faster, but options for them are also a bit more limited—in other words, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to use the same microSD card from your Switch 1 on your Switch 2. To use a microSD card on Switch 2, it’ll need either of the two logos shown in the image below. A bit of a bummer, but at least a microSD card is optional (it’ll help you store more games, but the included storage on the Switch 2 is more generous than on the Switch 1). Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Oh, and like on the Switch 1, the microSD slot is hidden under the kickstand, in case you’re having trouble finding it.Virtual Game CardsYou’re technically through setup at this point, but there are still a few features you’ll probably want to configure before you start gaming. The most obvious of these is Virtual Game Cards, Nintendo’s new system for managing games purchased digitally.Essentially, like the name implies, these work similarly to physical game cards, but over the internet. This means that, unlike with your Steam library, you can only load a game to one console at a time. "Loading" is Nintendo specific term, but for the most part, it just means your game is downloaded and ready to play."(Technically, you can still play the same game on two separate consoles at the same time, even if it isn't loaded on one, but doing so is a bit obtuse—click through here for more details.)To access your Virtual Game Cards, click the Virtual Game Card icon in the bottom row on your Switch 2’s home screen—it’ll look like a game cartridge. From here, if you’ve signed into your Nintendo account, you’ll see all your digital purchases and will be able to download and play them from here. If you haven’t signed into your Nintendo Account, you’ll have the option to do so. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Now, you’ll have a few options. First, if a game isn’t loaded onto your original Switch, you can simply download it to your Switch 2 by clicking Load to This Console. If the console isn’t set as your primary device (likely the case if you didn’t do a transfer), you might see a warning if you try to open a game, depending on how up-to-date your original Switch's software is. If your original Switch doesn't have the Virtual Game Cards update yet, you can click the If You Don’t Have That Console button to download your game anyway. It will simply cease being playable on the other console while you use it on this one, although that’s always the case when moving a Virtual Game Card between systems. Otherwise, you might need to link your two systems by bringing them close together and following the instructions on screen before you can load a Virtual Game Card on your new device. If you're not able to do this, like if you've gotten rid of your original Switch while it's still set as your primary device, you can remove your old Switch from your account by deregistering it. After deregistering your old console, you can set your Switch 2 as your new primary device by connecting it to the eShop. If you're able to link your old console to your new one, this won’t be necessary for simply accessing your library, but it will extend any Nintendo Online benefits to all users on your new primary device, rather than the one associated with your Nintendo Account. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Alternatively, if you've managed to link your devices, you can use the device that currently has your Virtual Game Card (i.e. your Switch 1) on it to load it to your new one (i.e. your Switch 2). Simply open your games, click Load to Another Console, and follow the instructions on screen. This will have the same effect as the Load to This Console Button. Also, if you'd like to be able to continue playing a game on a device even after moving its Virtual Game Card to another device, you can enable Use Online License under System Settings > User Settings > Online License Settings to do just that. You'll need to be connected to the internet for this to work, whereas you can play a Virtual Game Card offline, but it's better than nothing. Plus, this enables that workaround from earlier in this section that allows you to play the same game on both devices at once.How to lend a Virtual Game Card to someone elseYou’ll also notice that you can lend a Virtual Game Card to members of a “Family Group.” To do this, you’ll first need to set up a Family Group online. On Nintendo’s website, log into your Nintendo Account, then click the Family Group tab on the left hand side of your account page. Here, you can invite members to join your Family Group via email, or create a Family Group account for your child. Note that if you have a Nintendo Switch online Family Plan subscription, members of your Family Group will be able to use its benefits (for up to eight accounts), although accounts that are part of your family group can also still use their individual subscriptions.With a Family Group set up, on the Virtual Game Card page, click the game you’d like to lend out, then Lend to a Family Group Member. Next, bring your Switch 2 in close proximity with that Family Group Member’s device—this needs to be done in person.Finally, click Select a User to Lend to. You can lend up to three games to three different accounts at once, and borrowers will be able to play these games for 14 days. During that time, you won’t be able to play the Game Card, and the borrower won’t get access to your save data while borrowing. However, they will keep their own save data for their next borrowing period, or if they choose to buy the game themselves. There are no limits to how often you can lend out a game, and you can re-lend games immediately upon the borrowing period expiring. Also, while you’ll need to lend out your games in person, they’ll return to you remotely.Transferring save dataEven if you didn’t transfer your Switch 1 data to your Switch 2 during setup, you can still access its save data on your new device. You have a couple of options here.First, the free option. On your original Switch, go to System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data. Click Send Data to Another Console, then pick the user whose saves you want to send to your Switch 2. Pick the saves you want to send over, then click OK. Note that these saves will be deleted from your original console once moved over.Next, with your Switch 2 in close proximity to your Switch 1 (this also needs to be done in person), navigate to System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data. Click Receive Save Data. To move data from your Switch 2 to your Switch 1, simply perform these steps in reverse.Second, the paid option. If you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can also use cloud saves to move save data between devices. By default, these are enabled automatically and will keep both of your systems up to date with the most recent saves. However, you can also manually download cloud saves either from a game’s software menu (press + or - while hovering over it on the Switch home screen) or from System Settings > Data Management > Save Data Cloud. You can also disable automatic save data download from here, if you like.Lock your home screen behind a passcodeFinally, you can lock your Switch 2 with a PIN for some added security, kind of like a cell phone. To set this up, simply go to Settings > System > Console Lock. Click OK, then follow the instructions on the screen that pops up to enter your PIN.There’s plenty more to dive into with the Switch 2, which I’ll cover over the following week. For now, though, this should be enough to get you started. Happy gaming!