Everything in this article is based on officially revealed information.

At its core is a dual-character system that refuses to let either side carry the other. Armoured spacefarer Hugh brings firepower, but without companion Diana’s hacking his bullets may as well be rubber. The two are so intertwined, in fact, that neither feels functional without the other. And because every encounter unfolds in real-time, with no freezeframes or slomo, you’re forced to multitask under constant, sometimes crushing pressure.

Look – Hugh and Diana’s aim-hack-destroy combat loop isn’t a gimmick. While encounters follow an ever-recycling rhythm: lock onto an enemy, initiate a hack, expose their weak points, then capitalise with gunfire, Pragmata is also set to test your nerve, your dexterity, and your brainpower before every pull of the trigger. This shooter wants you to think.

So, forget running and gunning as Pragmata makes that impossible. See, as enemy shields and armour make standard gunfire ineffective you’ll need to bypass defences before opening fire. To do this, Diana’s grid-based hacking interface will reveal nodes which you’ll use the face buttons on your controller to channel through, where extending routes through every object in the grid yields longer vulnerability windows or opportunities for Hugh to unleash greater damage. But, the longer you stand your ground committing to one enemy, the risk of others closing in increases. Your opponents are always always on the move at full speed, so the question is: do you push for maximum damage, or settle for safety and reposition?

It’s a simple loop in principle, but, again, you’re making these calculations in real-time. In practice, you’re aiming, repositioning, and managing threats as Hugh whilst simultaneously solving puzzles as Diana. Their inputs overlap, so it’s remarkable that the gameplay doesn’t feel overwhelming. Cool-headed focus, yes, but rarely do enemies feel impenetrable.

Now, to be clear, Pragmata favours balance between each of its controllable characters. Through build customisations, you can lean heavily into hacking if you like, even to the point of outpacing traditional gunplay. But the game’s design constantly nudges you to utilise both, with depth coming from how these two systems feed into each other.

Hacking, you see, isn’t just contained to enemies. Missiles can be redirected, traps disabled, locked doors bypassed, and entire security systems shut down. Diana’s hacking toolkit expands the further into the game’s lunar base you go too, with collectible nodes unlocking abilities like multi-target hacks, faster shield breaks, and higher damage output. Quickly, node hacking becomes the game’s strategic backbone, and through loadouts, customisations, and upgrades this part of the system begins to excel in experimentation.

But what do you do if enemy units can block Diana’s hacks? These enemies arrive, and they will directly interrupt your flow, requiring Hugh to blast away at their defences before Diana can even lock-in. In these moments, you’re using Hugh as a battering ram, stripping away an opponent’s shell and exposing their circuitry for Diana to rewire, which then brings Hugh back into the fray. It’s an extra step, but one that reinforces the need to think on your feet to survive.

For his part, Hugh packs four weapon types that are introduced as quickly as Diana’s expansive hacking abilities. Grenade launching types are ideal for crowd control while long-range shockwaves allow you to pick off enemy weak points before Diana even needs to get involved. The Stasis Net and Decoy Generator are all about buying valuable time, freezing enemies that are trapped in its web or deploying Hugh-alikes to distract their targeting reticules respectively.

As Diana’s puzzles grow more elaborate, you’ll be using as many tools for delay and distraction as you can. However, your choice of weapon might not always come down to the difficulty of the hacking puzzle that hovers in front of you. In reality, the smartest plays will come from whatever utilities you have and sequencing them according to the pair’s aim-hack-destroy loop. That means locking enemies down however you can, weakening them through hacks, then committing to high-damage bursts. Ammo, spatial awareness, positioning, timing – it all contributes to the game’s cerebral rhythm. But, the key thing remains: decision-making.

Yet, despite these symbiotic, multi-layered systems, Pragmata rarely punishes restraint. Diana’s various hacking nodes are consumables, yes, but they’re plentiful enough that you’re encouraged to use them freely rather than hoard them in your inventory Resident Evil style. Still, the most effective strategy will likely be to keep your most powerful nodes in reserve, meaning resource management, in whatever shape it ultimately takes, will be about recognising which enemies are worth using a powerup, and which can be blasted cleanly without the extra investment. This is real-time optimisation, and is another example of the game’s rapidfire problem solving; intellectual skills you’ll depend on when waves of enemies become increasingly numerous.

In officially captured footage showcasing the events shortly after the game’s sketchbook demo, you’ll see boss fights which stretch these intertwined combat systems even further. The same core loop applies, albeit grander in scale with tension heightened. Here, these robotic colossi bring more aggressive behaviours, outlandish manoeuvres, and increasingly complex defensive systems over the game’s more standard opponents. And, throughout these battles, you’ll need to adapt your approach: prioritising evasion, reading patterns, ascending the environment, and so on. In a way, it’s all about composure now, which is a skill you’ve been honing every time you enter into one of Diana’s puzzle minigames whilst taking fire anyway.

Another noticeable feature of this official preview footage is the tight, linear corridors of the demo open up into expansive arenas. Taking the form of a digitally replicated Times Square, this wider environment reinforces the game’s combat mix. Breadth of space means more angles to cover, more threats to track, and more opportunities to lose control of a fight. Spatial awareness and positioning – elements we’ve been banging on about throughout this feature – become just as vital here as successful hacks and firearm accuracy.

By this point, you can probably think of these as soft skills. Moving fluidly through the environment, taking up the most opportune positions, and firing with speed and precision, these are typical of third-person shooters, but alone – as this feature continually points out – they won’t bring success. Important, yes, but Pragmata is presenting something relatively unexplored for the genre. Shooting, hacking, positioning, they all carry equal weight, but it’s your decision-making – more often than not under duress – that’s the determining factor here.

Pragmata is a game that balances raw instinct with controlled thinking, asking you to assess, process, adapt, and execute under constant pressure. It’s not necessarily about being faster or more accurate than the game. It’s about being more composed. Knowing when to commit, when to pull back, and how to multitask numerous priorities at once. If this balance holds up across the full experience, Pragmata could end up feeling less like a traditional action game and more like a constant, real-time exercise in problem solving.

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.

For Bethesda Game Studios, their reputation has never tumbled as low as CD’s. But, for a studio once untouchable in the RPG space – the developer behind genre-defining staples like Fallout 3 and Skyrim – they’ve spent the better part of the last decade navigating uneven ground. In an era marked by development missteps and shifting priorities, there’s a sense that BSG has lost its touch.

And this is what makes Starfield’s impending PS5 launch so significant. Whilst the game has fans (there’s a lot to like, after all) it’s fair to say Bethesda’s space-faring RPG didn’t fully land. In some ways, it’s still riding through turbulence despite Bethesda’s post-launch support.

The issue, perhaps, is that BSG no longer commands automatic trust like they once did. Maybe Starfield is just the symptom of a wider problem on how the studio is perceived. The PS5 port, then, isn’t really a second chance for the game, but an opportunity for Bethesda to show the world they still understand what made their genre-definers great in the first place.

Now, to be clear, Starfield has never been a disaster. Critically, it performed well, and for many players it scratched the particular freeroaming itch only a Bethesda sandbox could. But, despite a sprawling, systems-driven experience loaded with the quests, factions, and freedom that Bethesda has built their name on, something crucial still felt missing.

The most common complaint centres on the game’s structure. Exploration, you see, felt fragmented; unnecessarily broken up by interstellar loading screens, connecting a galaxy that seemed vast in scale but oddly disjointed by the time you catapult out of low orbit. Instead of seamless discovery, you were hopping between isolated, sometimes eerily similar looking spaces. The sense of immersion the game’s marketing promised was woefully underdelivered.

Elsewhere, repetition fatigue crept in, with your choices – usually a cornerstone of Bethesda’s design – not as reactive or meaningful as you might have expected. The result is a game where the stars only partially align. So, whilst not a bad game at all, for a studio of Bethesda’s pedigree “not bad” was never going to be good enough.

But, Bethesda has shipped flawed games before. You could argue, in fact, that they’ve built their identity on imperfection, and historically the community has been willing to embrace jank in exchange for agency. So what’s changed?

Well, much of the eroded goodwill can be traced back to Fallout 76, with its troubled launch fundamentally shifting how Bethesda is viewed as a studio. Questions around quality control, direction, and monetisation strategies began to dominate, and even though 76 has improved greatly in the years since, the reputational damage is proving harder to repair.

Long development cycles, leaving Bethesda unusually quiet in the years since The Elder Scrolls VI’s announcement, has only fuelled uncertainty. Elsewhere, decisions around paid content, subscription models, and live-service elements have deepened the sense that the studio is chasing trends to remain sustainable. Whether you agree or not, there’s an undeniable narrative emerging: modern Bethesda leans more on the weight of its legacy than forward-thinking design. And, perhaps, this is another reason why Starfield landed the way it did.

However, all this context could yet become background noise as an entirely fresh audience on PlayStation also represents an opportunity to reset. See, there are potentially millions of players within Sony’s console ecosystem who are ready to dive in free from the original launch’s baggage. And hopefully, there should be no day-one disappointment, with Starfield arriving in what Bethesda and Sony frame as its definitive version, complete with fresh gameplay updates, story DLC, and a suite of PS5-specific features like weapon and ship-specific adaptive triggers, a fully integrated light bar (indicating health and ship integrity), and DualSense speaker comms.

Furthermore, the incoming Free Lanes update looks to address one of the game’s persistent criticisms too. Now, the ability to freely travel between planets within a single star system might not sound transformative, but it smoothens the fractured interstellar travel which defined the original version. Starfield’s universe always had scale, but now it has cohesion even if it’s only between neighbouring planets. It may only be one small step and not quite a giant leap, but it’s a refinement which ultimately brings Starfield more in line with player expectations.

Even with these new content and gameplay improvements in place, Starfield – and Bethesda at large – still face the challenge we alluded to earlier: perception. Because, for all Bethesda’s controlled refinement, the studio has far less influence over how the experience is received, especially when narratives tend to stick long after the core has evolved.

If you spend any time around comments sections, forums, or social media, you’ll see the tone surrounding Starfield’s PS5 launch feels, at best, muted. There are pockets of excitement, sure, but the overarching mood is subdued, sceptical, or outright dismissive. Indeed, there are players over on the PS Blog who are actively discouraging PlayStation users from jumping in.

But, fully engaging with this sentiment is haphazard; online discourse has a habit of amplifying the loudest voices. In other words, this mood isn’t necessarily representative of the zeitgeist. Console allegiances muddy the waters further, while the broader culture around game releases occasionally labels anything short of exceptional – an 8 out of 10, for instance –  as a failure.

Ordinarily, you can look at online conversation from a binary lens, and depending on your point of view you can sit happily on either side of the argument. For Starfield on PS5, you might assess the lukewarm response as a genuine reflection of the game’s quality, or perhaps you’ll instead explore the possibility that these opinions were formed early and haven’t shifted in tandem with the game’s sweeping updates. Arguably, neither side is wrong; ultimately, if you enjoy something then it shouldn’t matter which way the discourse goes. It’s just a shame that perceptions can influence reality.

However, for Bethesda this distinction may prove irrelevant anyway. Starfield currently sits at the top of the PS Store’s pre-order chart, indicating that the title is poised to find a substantial audience, regardless of the negative noise that’s orbiting online spaces.

So, if the ultimate question this feature poses is if players will give Bethesda another chance, then looking at projected sales you’d have to say yes. We’re still in a guesswork phase, however, but what we could surmise from this discussion is regardless of whether Bethesda has momentum or whether they’re on the decline, their games still have relevance.

Starfield on PS5 is not about redemption, after all. It isn’t about whether it’s good now, or whether it’s a failure. For PlayStation players, it’s a first impression, and one the silent majority appear to be embracing.

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.

This cinematic, side-scrolling adventure from indie team ZDT Studio, then, brings a strong, relatively unique premise, casting you as a resourceful cephalopod who leans on its natural abilities and intelligence to navigate tricky platforms and solve environmental puzzles. With clear inspiration ranging from Playdead’s Inside to Moon Studios’ Ori, and through presentation infused with cartoonish movement, characterful animation, and a whimsical score, ZDT delivers a thoroughly charming, yet thoughtful experience.

"Where things begin to falter slightly is in the precision of platforming, particularly as the game introduces more demanding sequences."

And likewise, to the studio’s credit, much of their vision comes through too. The game rarely stumbles outright, but the ingenuity promised isn’t fully realised either. See, Darwin’s Paradox! is built on a brilliant idea, but it rarely stretches its inspiration as far as it could. This is a platformer that’s enjoyable in the moment, but only occasionally as inventive as its premise suggests.

I go back to this review’s outset: octopuses are uniquely suited to the kinds of systems video games thrive on, and Darwin’s abilities reflect that in ways that are immediately intuitive. Camouflage lends itself to subterfuge, firing ink allows opportunities to disrupt threats and divert attention, and his tentacles’ suction-based movement allows for traversal across walls and ceilings.

Even smaller touches, like impressive compression seeing Darwin squeeze through tight spaces, reinforce the idea that this is a character defined by adaptability. There’s a pleasing logic to how Darwin interacts with the world, as if each mechanic has been plucked from the real-world and reimagined through a playful lens. Because of this, there are plenty of moments where it feels like Darwin’s Paradox! is tapping into something genuinely fresh, but its novelty doesn’t always carry through to the broader experience.

For all the creativity in its mechanical foundations, the game falls back on standard platforming tropes too often. Pulling levers and pushing boxes make up the majority of the game’s obstacles, bringing the overall experience down to something more conventional.

Yet, moment-to-moment, the game feels good in the hands. Movement is smooth and responsive, as Darwin shuffles, clings, and squeezes his way through environments with a fluidity that suits his character. Transitions between swimming, climbing, and platforming are handled seamlessly, often reinforced by expressive, almost-caricaturistic animation which gives even simple movements a memorable personality. Combined with lively environments – currents rippling through underwater sections, background machinery grinding in industrial areas, even fire engines responding chaotically to a factory blaze – it creates a strong identity which runs throughout.

Where things begin to falter slightly is in the precision of platforming, particularly as the game introduces more demanding sequences. Early on, the forgiving nature of movement works in the game’s favour, but later challenges expose a lack of clarity in how certain obstacles are meant to be overcome. Navigating giant rotating cogwheels or fast-moving conveyor belts feel less like tests of Darwin’s ingenuity and more like exercises in trial and error. I’m not talking Limbo-style learning-by-death, but it’s not far off.

And, because it’s not always possible to see far enough ahead to properly anticipate what’s coming, poor Darwin was squished, electrocuted, and burnt to a crisp often enough that it began to feel unfair. At best, these trickier “trial by death” sections break momentum, but worse: the charm and whimsy which the game’s mechanical systems are working hard to establish is replaced by unjust punishment and frustration.

"Each environmental puzzle is immediately understandable, and because of that, rarely surprising."

What would make these situations worse still are difficult puzzles. Yet, for a game that places so much emphasis on ingenuity, Darwin’s Paradox! delivers straightforward puzzle design. Now, I don’t believe this is inherently a problem; if it helps ease the pain of repeatedly failing through game design, then puzzles that are on the easy side are welcome. But, likewise, there’s value in keeping solutions readable and accessible too. However, this does sit slightly at odds with the expectations set by the game’s premise and its marketing alike. There’s no scope for experimentation here as most environmental obstacles funnel you toward a single solution.

In practice, this means puzzles feel functional rather than inspiring. As already alluded to, you’ll be moving objects into place and pulling levers frequently, alongside more contextual moments like sabotaging factory apparatus to manipulate the height of an object that you’ll inevitably use to scale an unreachable height.

Each environmental puzzle is immediately understandable, and because of that, rarely surprising. Again, games of this type don’t necessarily need complex solutions. Heck, even Inside, amongst Darwin’s primary influences, thrived on a minimalist approach. But, alas, in Darwin’s Paradox! there are flashes of more engaging action, particularly when octopus-specific abilities like camouflage or ink come into play, but these ideas aren’t explored as deeply or appear as frequently as they should. There’s a lingering sense that the puzzles here could have been designed to accommodate multiple solutions, or at least make fuller use of Darwin’s aquatic skills and compound intelligence. The lack of ingenuity stands out here more than it does in Inside, for instance.

"However, if there’s one area where Darwin’s Paradox! consistently shines, it’s in its presentation."

What Darwin’s Paradox! does have, however, is a decent amount of variety in its environments, shifting from aquatic shallows, to tight, sewer-like tunnels, plus a raft of industrial spaces like steaming production lines, fluorescent offices, and elaborate packing facilities, and more, all amplified with Looney Tunes flair. Certain chapters are punctuated by lively setpieces too, and these moments – explosive factory escapes, crumbling tower evasions, tenuous highwire platforming – not only inject a welcome sense of urgency but embellish the game’s comedic undertones, supported further by a rather pesky seagull adversary.

That said, overall flow can occasionally feel uneven. In one particular area – the office-like interiors where I leaned on Darwin’s camo ability to blend into cardboard, ceiling tiles, and sofa cushions – visual whimsy dominated over spatial clarity. Whilst tonally this fits, I felt my way through moments of disorientation, where the way forward wasn’t immediately obvious. Now, I know I’ve prattled on about puzzles being too obvious, and thus not surprising, but in these multi-level layouts of impossible architecture I had to use the hint system to help nudge my progress along. This could be my own skill issue, of course, but my gut feeling is that the level design didn’t communicate its intent as clearly as it should.

However, if there’s one area where Darwin’s Paradox! consistently shines, it’s in its presentation. Darwin himself is full of personality, brought to life through expressive animation. His slower, cautious movements – almost eight-legged tiptoeing – are a particularly humorous highlight, with the intrepid mollusc’s actions exemplifying the game’s offbeat world. This cartoonish tone carries through to the narrative, which gradually introduces a surreal, conspiratorial edge befitting Konami’s famous tactical espionage action series, one that is directly referenced here by exclamation points and cardboard boxes.

"Darwin’s Paradox! is a game built on genuinely inspired ideas, and when it’s at its best this creativity is reflected in expressive movement, memorable characterisation, and varied environments."

From a technical standpoint, performance is generally stable, though the distinction between visual modes is clear-cut. ZDT themselves advise playing with performance settings enabled, so that’s what I did. It proved to be much smoother than the alternative quality mode which sees a noticeable drop in framerate for a minimal fidelity boost. For a game with such fluid movement and emphasis on exaggerated animation, performance mode is definitely the preferable setting.

Audio design is solid throughout, with plenty of environmental sounds and tactile effects to sell the space Darwin is creeping through. Even less noticeable sounds like the soft suction of Darwin’s tentacles adds to the overall immersion. The orchestral soundtrack supports the game’s tone well, even if motifs and melodies rarely stand out as defining elements.

In conclusion, Darwin’s Paradox! is a game built on genuinely inspired ideas, and when it’s at its best this creativity is reflected in expressive movement, memorable characterisation, and varied environments. The game’s playfulness makes it an experience that’s easy to enjoy, even if its sometimes shallow systems keep this enjoyment at surface level. So, while it may not evolve into something truly exceptional, Darwin’s Paradox! remains a charming and worthwhile adventure, even if its greater potential is never fully reached.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Distinct Rubber-Hose Animation is More Than Aesthetic

First impressions aren’t everything, but even cursory glances at Mouse: P.I. For Hire are arguably more memorable than countless other shooters. Drawn by hand, Mouse: P.I. For Hire adopts a 1930s rubber hose animation style – so called for the noodly limbs typifying its movement – but its contrasting black-and-whites aren’t just for aesthetic value. No, rubber hose’s inherent charm introduces a disarming undertone which studio Fumi Games capitalise on, bringing unsettling surrealness which you feel in the explosive actions of a gun-toting rodent.

A Film-Noir Inspired Detective Story

Characterised by moral ambiguity, corrupt underworlds, and moody undertones, Mouse: P.I. For Hire’s film-noir inspiration runs deeper than its vintage palette. First and foremost, this is a detective story; as rodent P.I. Jack Pepper, you’ll navigate the unscrupulous city of Mouseberg, where a simple missing persons case untangles a web of lies, kidnapping, and murder. Jack’s a grizzled, former war hero with no qualms gunning down gangland leaders and police lieutenants alike. But – as is typical of noir anti-heroes – is his mission ill-fated? Explore the seedy streets and you’ll see just how deep the mouse’s burrow goes.

20+ Action-Packed Levels Across a City Playground

Mouseberg’s reported twenty-plus levels are varied. Across your investigations, you’ll be visiting film studios and opera buildings, plus poisonous swamps and underground sewers. Likewise, recently revealed footage shows a three-stage boss fight against a robotic mouse who dwells inside a secret laboratory. There’s density here too; much like real mice who like to hide in dark, secluded areas, you’ll be wise to check every nook and cranny for any lurking danger.

Mechanically Similar to Popular Shooters

With its fast paced, run-and-gun action, Mouse: P.I. For Hire looks poised to carve out a distinct place for itself in the FPS space. While its frenetic gunplay and fluid movement are immediate standouts, the game’s hardboiled narrative suggests it is aiming for more than just satisfying action. Rather than relying solely on momentum and combat, Mouse appears to frame those mechanics as one part of a broader experience, with its storytelling playing a much more central role.

A Suite of Movement Abilities

And, speaking of movement, Jack Pepper enters the fray with a spring in his step – sliding, dashing, and double-jumping are in his moveset, as is wall-running and pipe crawling. Fumi Games are instilling a very on the move ethos, expanding on it with a broad suite of manoeuvres typical of the “Boomer Shooter” sub-genre. And yet, you’ll want to use all of Jack’s mobility options; see, he’s not an armoured Master Chief, he’s just a regular mouse with a gun. Only a few hits, the devs insist, is all it takes to down him.

Missions Offer Multiple Approaches

A key aspect of the game’s design is its non-linear, sometimes maze-like level structure, encouraging players to explore environments thoroughly rather than simply moving from one encounter to the next. Whilst it’s unclear at this stage how labyrinthine Mouseberg’s levels actually are, what we do know is you’ll have some agency in how Jack completes his missions. Take an early opera house infiltration as an example: Jack can sneak in undetected, or he can sway the corruptible denizens of the city to aid his mission; greasing the palms of the opera house staff for secret access, for instance.

Weapons are Cartoonish Twists on Period-Correct Firearms

In addition to his fists, Jack comes packing with up to eleven weapons in his arsenal. We’ll get onto the more creative firearms next, because the mainstays deserve a moment in the spotlight too, not least for their humorous reload animations. The Micer is a one-handed revolver, the Boomstick a pump-action shotgun, and the James Gun the mobster classic Tommy, with ammo that stops enemies in their tracks. The Kiss Kiss is a double-barrelled shotgun that fires explosive shells, while each gun comes equipped with an alt-fire mode: burst-shot for the Micer, hold-charge mechanism for the Boomstick, and so on. But, a special highlight is indeed the firearms’ cartoonish reloading: the James Gun’s drum, for instance, appears comically glued in place, with Jack yanking it loose with the suction of sink plunger.

Other Weapons are More Experimental

Alongside “conventional” weaponry (conventional used in the loosest way) are some bizzaro firearms straight out of the Looney Tunes playbook. A de-varnishing chemical weapon rapid-fires paint stripper that melts your enemy’s skin and flesh. The Loose Cannon is indeed a cannon, presumably sheared loose from a pirate ship; plus, there’s a freeze ray, fire-damaging chainsaws, and a science-infused attitude adjuster complete with a brain in a jar co-pilot.

Weapons Can Be Upgraded

Injecting some light RPG mechanics is Mouse: P.I. For Hire’s weapon upgrading system. Located in the game’s hub area, in Tammy’s workshop are workbenches where you can augment Jack’s firearms with specific power-ups. Details on what these upgrades entail are relatively light at the moment, although additional firing modes, alongside some experimental progressions, have been hinted by the developers.

Momentary Power-Ups Add Yet More Zaniness to Combat

Eating spinach will temporarily boost Jack’s punching power, much like Popeye; drinking coffee activates finger guns that quicken firerates, kinda like Cuphead. Cheese acts as a health boost, while chili peppers bring fire damage bonuses.

Jack’s Mousetail is a Multi-Purpose Tool

Not quite a Swiss army knife, but Jack’s tail has numerous versatile uses for traversal and gameplay explorations. At times, it’s a lockpick effective at breaking him into sealed-off areas. At others, it’s a grappling hook which can navigate him to otherwise unreachable places. It’s also, amusingly enough, capable of rapid rotation like the whir of a helicopter’s blade, spinning to get Jack airborne for one of the game’s most creative traversal options.

Hazards Dot the Environment

A crucial element underpinning the game’s “always be moving” action is the abundance of environmental hazards which you can utilise against Jack’s assailants, or your enemies will use them against you. Explosive barrels feature, alongside freezing areas, fire, and more flesh-dissolving turpentine. Surroundings are there to be crumbled too. With fistfuls of dynamite, you can level walls and floors, gaining an edge by remodelling the environment through chaos.

Original Big Band Soundtrack Underscores the Vibe

What is 1930s noir fiction without a big band soundtrack? This period in history is known as the “Swing Era” for a reason, so it’s fitting that Mouse: P.I. For Hire comes loaded with a suitably original big band score. The jazz cements the aesthetic, of course, but you can level up the music by authentically degrading it; in the game’s audio settings, there are filters which rewire the sound to replicate early wax cylinder recordings or vintage shellac vinyl.

Release Date, Length, and Price

Mouse: P.I. For Hire is set for release April 16, and it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The game has been price at 29.99 USD and will be 12 to 20 hours long. Likewise, there are no pre-order bonuses or special editions currently available. Of course, should this change we’ll let you know.

PC Requirements

To meet the minimum system requirements to play Mouse: P.I. For Hire, you’ll need an Intel Core i5 9600 or Ryzen 3600 processor, GeForce 1050ti, Radeon RX 580, or Intel Xe Graphics, and 16 GB RAM. Recommended specs, however, list the same CPU as the minimum, yet with higher calibre GPUs: GeForce 3060, Radeon 6600, or Intel Arc B570. 16GB RAM is still recommended, as is 8GB VRAM. Filesize is relatively paltry at 20GB.

A Vehicular Combat, Street Brawling Hybrid

The core of Samson’s gameplay experience is a hybrid of high-octane vehicular combat and brutal, hand-to-hand fist-fighting. Yes, these are two disparate mechanics, perhaps, but each share a need for muscle, speed, and technique, so we expect you’ll be tackling both sides of Samson’s work with equal parts stubbornness, perseverance, and gusto. Developer pedigree matters – Just Cause and Mad Max are two titles known for their chaotic sandbox energy and tactile combat systems, and their DNA bruises knuckles and crumples bumpers throughout.

Brawler Combat is Built on Momentum

Samson’s hand-to-hand fights aren’t glamorous. They’re primal and pragmatic, leaning on momentum and situational awareness. Look – brawling here has consequences: damage is visual, effort is extolled, and impact carries weight. You’ll be slamming enemies into walls, using nearby objects as weapons, and adapting to the environment mid-fight. An adrenaline meter adds more intensity, rewarding aggressive play with heightened damage once the gauge is full.

Weapons are Temporary

In addition to his fists, Samson can grab whatever detritus lies scattered around the scuffle to use as a weapon. Pipes, bats, blades, a wrench, whatever he can get his hands on in the moment. Most can be retained for a while, even stowed in the trunk of his car, but they’re not intended as long-term sidearms. No, to survive Tyndalston’s many skirmishes, you’ll need to master Samson’s brute-force fisticuffs, and learn to utilise what’s around you to stay alive.

Vehicles are Also Weapons

On the vehicular side, driving in Samson is designed to feel just as deliberate as street brawling. The game’s cars feel physical, responsive, and impactful, with different vehicles feeling distinct from one another. This makes some more ideal for destruction, others perhaps for getaways. Throughout the campaign, you’ll experience high speed chases full of satisfying collisions, handbrake turns, and side-slams, all enhanced by nitro speed boosts (which can be charged by knocking down sandwich boards, of all things). This is definitely more spectacle than simulation, mirroring the approach that made Mad Max’s car combat so memorable.

Skill Trees Shape Your Playstyle

Samson’s skill trees unify strength in brawling and weaponised driving alike, with over twenty-five upgrades to shape your style across four fighting categories: Tactics, which govern health, Aggression your power, Instinct is your adrenaline, and Cunning which refers to your finesse. XP is earned through completing missions and, of course, pummeling bad guys.

A Story Driven By Debt

Peel back the brashness, and Samson tells a surprisingly emotional story. Samson’s a classic antihero who, after a failed heist, has fallen into crushing debt with the wrong people. These dangerous figures keep Samson pegged, using his sister as leverage until he’s paid them every single penny that he owes. Clawing his way out entails taking on daily jobs, but there’s a constant sense of pressure as the debt spirals alongside Samson’s morals.

Mission Variety Will Be Key

Samson’s mission structure spans a wide range of activities: extortion jobs, getaway drives, targeted hits, surveillance, high-speed chases, and good old-fashioned beatdowns. The big question is whether this variety will hold up over the game’s purported ten-hour campaign. On the surface it’s diverse enough to sustain interest, but the game’s tighter, semi-linear design implies objectives which evolve along with the narrative. Samson’s success, it seems, may hinge on how engaging its missions prove to be.

Action Point System Enforces Tension

Rather than letting you tackle everything freely, Samson introduces an Action Point system that forces prioritisation. With your daily actions restricted due to a limited number of Action Points, you’re forced to pick and choose your missions strategically. You’ve a daily quota to earn, which may take the decision away from you. Either way, there’s one crucial bit of info you need to know: once your points are spent, there’s no second chance. Whether success or failure, you must live with the outcome.

Tyndalston Offers More Than a Backdrop

Samson’s fictional city plays an important role in shaping both gameplay and tone. It’s the greyscale proving ground for your nefarious deeds, of course, but there’s also plenty of opportunity for unscripted interactions, especially with the town’s denizens. NPCs won’t like being bumped into, whilst other pedestrians will tend to the injured. Like we’ve alluded to with Samson’s other systems, Tyndalston reacts with consequence. Likewise, a place with spirited citizens that look out for each other cements your status as an outsider.

Law Enforcement Reacts to Your Actions

And on that note, your nefarious dealings don’t go unnoticed by the city’s police force either. Law enforcement will react to your behaviour, with their response escalating based on your actions. If you steal a parked car, for instance, they’ll pursue you. The more you try to shake them off, the more effort they’ll put into catching you. In these moments, your knowledge of Tyndalston’s layout will prove crucial, as will knowing when to disengage entirely.

Tyndalston Isn’t a Traditional Open World

Despite its scale, Samson’s city isn’t a full sandbox. In developer Liquid Swords’ words, Tyndalston sits somewhere between fully open, and curated, semi-linear design. You’re free to explore, and there certainly are “open zone” neighbourhoods with areas to discover, but the world’s design is focused. This, purportedly, is Samson’s quiet strength, where tighter design brings pace and purpose rather than aimless wandering.

Vehicles Require Maintenance

Samson’s cars won’t be disposable, but vital tools on which progression hangs. As such, you’ll need to maintain the structural health of your vehicle by fixing upgrades that’ll bring improved performance, durability, and combat effectiveness. While preview coverage suggests this system may be somewhat limited in scope, it still adds a layer of investment. Your car becomes an extension of your playstyle, not just a means of getting from one objective to the next.

Mission Details

Samson: Tenleston Story seems built around the idea that every day in its world is a negotiation with pressure. Instead of treating missions as isolated content drops, the game ties story chapters, side jobs, and exploration into a single survival rhythm where making money is just as important as uncovering what happens next. Much of the tension comes from the fact that progress is fragile, because the more cash you carry, the more exposed you are to losing it before you make it home safe. That gives even routine activities a layer of danger, turning each decision into a risk between short-term gain and long-term stability. More than a straightforward crime action game, it feels like a system-driven urban grind where momentum, caution, and risk management are constantly at war.

PC Brings Strong Technical Settings

On the technical side, Samson looks to be well equipped with raytracing and DLSS 4.5 confirmed for PC users. The game is certainly good looking, with visual fidelity and performance optimisation clearly a priority for the developer. With Liquid Swords operating in the AA sphere, the community has been outspoken in their concern surrounding performance, but the studio has specifically addressed this via an FAQ published to the game’s website. Here, they say that optimisation has been a focus from the very start, and that they’ve leaned on their experience with open world games to ensure Samson performs as smoothly as the visuals promise.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Samson: A Tyndalston Story is set to release April 8th, and it’s coming to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Consoles aren’t ruled out, but it likely depends how well the game sells on Windows machinery first. Pricewise, you’re looking at $24.99, which feels about right for a game of this scale.

PC Requirements

To run Samson with minimum PC specs, you’ll need an Intel Core i5-10505 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU and Nvidia 1070 GTX or AMD Radeon RX 5600 GPU. Recommended hardware includes a GeForce RTX 3060Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU and Intel i5-11400 or AMD Ryzen 5 5600 XT processor. 16GB RAM, an SSD hard drive, and 15GB storage base is also required.

Yes, I know other arcade racers have attempted such control schemes before; 2020’s Inertial Drift, for instance, already embraces twin-stick driving, but having not played it before I wasn’t primed. Shmups and other twin-stick shooters I have played copiously, but their training was no help here. No, Screamer feels a different beast entirely. The best way I can sum up its unfamiliarity is to ask you to imagine writing with your non-dominant hand: see, you know how pens work, and you might be able to grasp firm enough to put ink to paper, but the lines and squiggles that emerge aren’t your usual handwriting.

"Braking is ultra-sensitive. The slightest tap slows you enough to slide through almost any turn, whilst drifting, especially, needs only the deftest tilt of the thumbstick."

Thankfully, Screamer’s racing lines do become deliberate with practice (something that my left hand and a pen will probably never attain). Despite its unorthodox controls, Screamer shares common ground with any of your go-to arcade racers: pre-corner positioning, timing, and maintaining flow reveal themselves as you grow accustomed to your car’s particular brand of handling. Layer on boosts, perfect shifts, strikes, and other character-specific actions, and what initially felt clumsy transforms into one of the most mechanically involved racers I can recall.

Certainly, at first, Screamer’s vehicles feel heavy, powerful, and planted, like sci-fi muscle cars more than precisely tuned track weapons. This physicality only adds to the friction. Early on, I felt like machine and I were wrestling, with neither able to get a foothold over the other. But, after burning through the miles in Screamer’s numerous arcade modes I was surprised, actually, when I realised that these vehicles should be handled with finesse, not brute force.

Braking is ultra-sensitive. The slightest tap slows you enough to slide through almost any turn, whilst drifting, especially, needs only the deftest tilt of the thumbstick. Its sensitivity means that it’s often only feasible once a corner’s apex is passed, depending on your approach speed, trajectory, the width of the curve, tightness of its angle, and so on. Unwielding controls and my constant over-corrections gradually faded. Blasting through the unobstructed roads of Time Attacks and Checkpoint Challenges, eventually I found expressive driving. Drifts began to flow through sequences of corners, blending into one fluid, satisfying movement.

"Using Sync generates Entropy, which is your car’s fighting aggression and defence."

But, in Screamer, races aren’t just about clean lines. Upshifting gives driving a rhythmic pulse, where tapping the left shoulder button just as your tachometer hits the required RPM gives your engine a momentary push. Generous timing windows and clear visual cues signal the optimal moment to switch gears, alongside reinforcing controller vibration that makes it easy to keep focus on the road.

Crucially, the game avoids punishing mistakes too harshly, with early upshifts not killing your momentum outright; only denying you the micro-boost. This is a small, but important, distinction, and one I appreciated the developers for. See, while flow, fluidity, and momentum are achievable on isolated circuits, chaotic races make chasing perfection near-impossible.

Now, this isn’t a negative. I embrace the chaos. I’m just pointing out that the freneticness of Screamer’s wheel-to-wheel combat makes pre-corner positioning, apex kissing, and perfect drifts secondary to survival. In fact, upshifting became the only mechanic I was able to execute with consistently.

And that’s just as well: see, each of Screamer’s vehicles is outfitted with an Echo device, a futuristic contraption which gathers charge to be spent on two intertwined resources: Sync and Entropy. It’ll fill independently through collision-less driving and timely upshifts, with your Sync able to execute Boosts and Perfect Boosts, the latter a slightly more difficult version which relies on releasing its input command after a specific duration.

Using Sync generates Entropy, which is your car’s fighting aggression and defence. The Strike system slams you into opponents, blowing their chassis into flaming pieces. Overdrive transforms your car into a rocket ship, blasting any foe whilst keeping you momentarily invulnerable.

"Screamer’s story mode is where the game’s anime inspiration comes to the fore, where high-speed clashes within a dangerous tournament are framed within themes of revenge, rivalry, and corporate espionage."

When you’re in control of these systems, it feels great. A well-timed hit can swing momentum in your favour. The problem is that this sense of control is inconsistent. Opponent strikes can be difficult to anticipate, often arriving with little room to react, making certain collisions feel less like tactical plays and more like unavoidable setbacks.

Combined with the game’s lack of rubber banding, then falling behind can quickly become an unrecoverable struggle. Even if Sync generation increases when you’re further down the order, allowing more frequent boosts, its impact during the heat of battle is difficult to assess (on balanced difficulty, at least). The result: Screamer’s combat adds excitement and unpredictability, but occasionally at the cost of fairness, especially when you’re limping at the back of the field through no fault of your own.

Beyond the standard Arcade modes already mentioned, Score Challenge and Team Races highlight a couple of Screamer’s other imbalances. The former is one of the primary avenues for unlocking customisation options, where team “members” are pitted against “leaders”, highlighting a clear disparity between vehicle performance, where leader cars are noticeably faster and more competitive. Using member cars in this mode can feel like an uphill battle, creating a progression loop that feels needlessly punishing unless difficulty is lowered.

Team Races, meanwhile, hint at hidden strategic layers but they never quite materialise. The idea is that teammates balance aggression with track position, but the reality is too disorderly. With so much happening at once, it is difficult to influence outcomes beyond simply racing as destructively as possible and finishing highly. In practice, Team Races function the same as Free For All’s, just with more setup for the same payoff.

Screamer’s story mode is where the game’s anime inspiration comes to the fore, where high-speed clashes within a dangerous tournament are framed within themes of revenge, rivalry, and corporate espionage. Structurally, it unfolds through bitesize, episodic chapters which introduce the various teams, their motivations, and disquiet simmering within their ranks. There’s a clear attempt at building a cohesive world here, and it broadly works. The overarching narrative flows purposely, with intrigue steadily building the more each team’s backstory overlaps.

"Similarly, performance is solid, running smoothly and consistently on base PS5 amid the high-speed, effects-heavy racing."

My issue lies in its pacing. Early chapters are particularly staccato, packed with exposition and explanation with pockets of on-track action acting as punctuation rather than defining moments. Likewise, character work shows an unevenness. With the exception of fiery Róisín, whose strong motivation is elevated by memorable voice acting, each character failed to leave an impression on me. There are hints of grounded emotional arcs – Gabriel, in particular, begins to show flashes of familial burden – but much of the cast remains underdeveloped. There’s undeniable ambition here, but the presentation is too sluggish for the racing which surrounds it.

Visually, however, Screamer impressed me more than its pre-release footage suggested. Its neon-lit cityscapes, reflective surfaces, and bold contrasts give races a striking sense of atmosphere. The cars themselves range from pristine, kitted-out cyberpunk cruisers to weathered grand tourers, distinguishing the identity of each vehicle and its racer.

Similarly, performance is solid, running smoothly and consistently on base PS5 amid the high-speed, effects-heavy racing. This is something we’ve come to expect from Milestone and their prowess for optimisation. Another area the studio usually excels is sound design, yet it is a slight letdown here. Engine notes lack the raw aggression that the cars’ outlandish designs promise, creating a small but noticeable disparity between how these cars look and how they sound.

Ultimately, Screamer is defined as an arcade racer willing to take risks. Whilst initially awkward, and admittedly tiring on the hands during long sessions, its twin-stick driving is rewarding once mastered. The games supporting mechanics are deep, and while not always as strategic as they suggest, they bring an engaging loop beyond sprinting to the finish line. Issues with balance, progression, and an uneven story detract from the racing’s intensity, but overall the game’s strengths outweigh its drawbacks.

There’s something undeniably compelling here. Screamer is a racer which might not reinvent the wheel, but it stands out precisely because it dares to try.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

An Arcade-Anime Racing Fusion

At its core, Screamer is an arcade racing throwback. It’s a reboot, after all, but that descriptor barely scratches the surface. Sure, the original’s Ridge Racer-style drifting is here, but Milestone – as closet anime fans – imbue this modern take with the style and tone of anime’s finest: Akira and Ghost in the Shell.

But wait, there’s more to this fusion: Milestone also harbours a deep love of fighting games – Tekken, King of Fighters, BazBlue, Guilty Gear, et cetera, and fighting’s influence bleeds through Screamer’s narrative setup, character drama, and on-road action. A melting pot of ideas, this may be, but rarely does an arcade racer merge spectacle, storytelling, and system-heavy gameplay with this much conviction.

Gameplay Revolves Around the Echo System

The backbone of Screamer’s gameplay is the Echo System, a futuristic tech installed on every car which fuels both racing and fighting via two intertwined resources: Sync and Entropy. Rather than simply accelerating and drifting, you’ll need to constantly manage the Echo System’s dual-gauges through skillful racing and well-timed actions. This system adds a layer of resource management rarely seen in arcade racers, where you’ll need to think beyond racing lines to consider timing, pace, and tactical use of abilities throughout each event.

Sync and What It Enables

Sync is your primary resource for maintaining competitiveness throughout races, with it accumulating independently as you drive. Once you’ve enough Sync, you can spend it on Boost (or Perfect Boost – a more substantial variant – if you time the release of your Boost input just right). Also, instead of Boost, you can wrap your car in a momentary Shield that’ll protect you from your competitor’s assaults.

Entropy and Its Combat Potential

Now, the other, offensive-minded side of the Echo System: Entropy. Using Sync generates Entropy, and this powers two attacks called Strike and Overdrive. Strike is a sharp burst of speed that’ll briefly turn your car into a powerful battering ram. Use Strike to rear-end an opponent and you’ll blast their chassis into flames Burnout-style. Yet, if you retain your Entropy, maxing it out instead of Striking, then you’ll unlock the ultimate driving weapon: Overdrive. When engaged, your car transforms into a comet-on-wheels; with shield engaged and fire trailing, destruction awaits. However, be careful: Overdrive is high-risk, high-reward. Your shield will deplete before your firepower subsides; thus, any wall tap and it’s you that KO’s.

Active Shift and Strategic Depth

Your Sync meter charges passively throughout races through dexterous driving, but the rate it accumulates can be accelerated by performing Active Shift – an optional upshift executed at the precise moment your vehicle’s RPM passes a certain threshold, giving your engine a little push whilst filling your Sync meter. You’ll need to keep an eye on the speedometer in the bottom corner, meaning there’s an extra skill layered on top of the drift-heavy driving and Echo System management. When assessed altogether, Screamer provides a range of boosts, attacking, and defensive options, meaning races flow more dynamically than simple sprints to the finish line.

Twin-Stick Controls

Perhaps the most unorthodox aspect of Screamer is its twin-stick control scheme. You’ll steer with the left stick, while drifting is handled on the right, creating a setup which feels closer to a character action game than a racer. Early footage shows an expressive driving style is attainable, although there’ll undoubtedly be a learning curve. If it clicks – and, for anyone who’s dabbled in twin-stick shmups it likely will – then this control method could prove to be Screamer’s standout feature.

An Atypically Narrative-Heavy Racer

Unlike most racers, Screamer is placing particular emphasis on its narrative arc. The game centres on an underground, high-stakes tournament orchestrated by a mysterious figure (hello, Tekken influence). Each participating team is compelled to take part, and throughout the game you’ll flick between each entrant to experience their point of view. There’s deep, sometimes dark, character motivations, illustrated in that crisp, anime style. Story beats will play out on track too; perhaps those combat abilities will be put to good use ending someone else’s tournament? While other racers have taken stabs at meaningful stories before, Screamer’s narrative looks to be especially resonant, where progression isn’t just by winning races.

Team-Based Racing Structure

Rather than focus on individual exploits, Screamer brings a team-based structure. Each team consists of a leader and two support racers, with distinct roles across the lineup. The leader’s car is tuned for speed and precision, making it ideal for more experienced players, while support vehicles lean into combat and survivability.

Five Teams Compete

Five teams are set to compete in Screamer’s tournament, each bringing their own personality, motivations, and racing approach. There are The Banshees, who have entered the tournament for payback. Strike Force Romanda are an Idol band, recently reunited after a mysterious separation, their tournament participation supposedly a guerilla marketing tactic. Visionary scientists Jupiter Stormers bring corpo energy, with one member in particular seemingly bent on answering a personal vendetta. Anaconda Corp are a powerful band, invested heavily in above-board and seedy ventures alike, from politics to arms dealing. Criminal syndicate Kagawa-Kai are the most revered racers in the tournament – decorated, unstoppable, and ruthless.

Characters Bring Unique Abilities

Each of Screamer’s fifteen characters – split in three across five teams – brings their own unique passive ability. One racer banks extra Sync if they KO an opponent using Strike, another can chain Strikes together with a lower Entropy cost, while a third can extend their boost duration so long as you drive cleanly. With drivers focused on maximising resources, speeding to the finish line, or enacting all-out on-track warfare, the lines between racing and character-action are blurred; you’ll be choosing racers which fit your goals and playstyle.

A Dystopian Overworld Awaits

Befitting of its Akira inspiration, Screamer’s overworld is bleak and dystopian. Announced so far are three distinct biomes: Neo Rey is a steaming neon metropolis; a city of contrast not unlike Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, utopian and nightmarish alike, with winding streets promising plenty of tight, high-octane racing. Sky Road Desert is a scorching wasteland, again reminiscent of Cyberpunk’s Badlands that surround its central city. The rather prescriptive sounding Forest #13 is one-part nature reserve, one-part geothermal power plant, an indication that even the countryside can’t escape the churning wheels of capitalism in dystopian fiction.

A Breadth of Customisable Game Modes and Multiplayer

Screamer ships with various game modes. Tournament is its de facto story mode, while the arcade menu brings a slate of customisable racing. A “Free For All” with all fifteen characters, plus Leaders only or Members only. Each features numerous augmentations: race duration, powerups, Sync generation rates, participant numbers, and more. Team Race pits each team of three against each other, with final scores determined by placement and KO’s. Score challenges, Overdrive-only races, time attacks, checkpoint races, there’s plenty here that’s tweakable. Multiplayer comes in online modes and up to four-player split screen.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Screamer will release to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on March 26th. The base version is retailing at £49.99 / $59.99, while the digital deluxe version will set you back £59.99 / $69.99.

Digital Deluxe Inclusions and Pre-Order Bonuses

Pre-ordering Screamer’s Standard Edition nets you the Chromed Style Pack, which decks your cars out in a tasteful metallic finish. Pre-ordering the Deluxe Edition gives you the Iridescent Style Pack too, like chrome only shinier and more colourful. Speaking of the Digital Deluxe Edition, if you opt for this version you’ll gain customisation packs for each of the game’s five teams plus three days early access.

PC Requirements

Minimum PC requirements as per the game’s Steam listing including an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU and GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU. Recommended specs detail an Intel Core i5-14600K or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor and GeForce RTX 4070 or Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU. No matter your setup, you’ll need 16GB RAM and 35GB storage.

This guide is all about grinding for Abyss Artifacts quickly and efficiently in order to upgrade skills and equipment in Crimson Desert.

Abyss Cressets

Just like Abyss Nexuses, Abyss Cressets are denoted with a question mark symbol on the map for “Mysterious Energy”, but unlike them they additionally hold an Abyss Artifact in them. There are at least 22 in Hernand alone.

Some Cressets require you to solve a puzzle before you can use them for fast travel.

Sealed Abyss Artifacts

These particular variants of Abyss Artifacts prevent you from interacting with them until you complete the particular challenge that you are tasked with, including combat, exploring, and learning lore. Once done, simply crack them right open from your inventory, to collect your rewards including both regular Abyss Artifacts and Faded Abyss Artifacts.

Pay close attention to your minimap as you explore, as these items are identifiable as purple icons when in proximity to them.

Ancient Ruins Puzzles

Solving the puzzles in certain Abyss locations will reward you with Abyss Artifacts. There are at least fifteen locations scattered around the world waiting to be unlocked.

Shops And Merchants

While certainly not cheap to purchase at a cost of 28.50 in Silver each, Abyss Artifacts can be bought from a number of shops. Usually just one will be in stock, but bear in mind that wares are reset daily at midnight in-game. There is an upper limit to the total stock as well.

Combat

In case you were not paying attention, the curved yellow gauge on the left of the minimap is filled by eliminating enemies, and will earn you an Abyss Artifact every time you max it out.

A potential farm for combat XP are the infinite mob spawners on the mountain prior to the Reed Devil boss. This opportunity will no longer appear after defeating the boss, so stock up as much as you can stomach before boredom sets in.

Questing

A handful of quests explicitly reward you with Abyss Artifacts, as do some side missions. They are also rewarded for defeating certain bosses.

The Challenges tab in the Journal also holds a number of opportunities to earn Abyss Artifacts as rewards for completing them, usually the exploration or mastery ones.

Looting

Since Abyss Artifacts are a tangible form of skill points, you will find them just lying around in the open or in containers around Pywel. Either get familiar with their shape, so that you can pick them out easier visually while exploring structures with loot for the taking, or glance at your minimap to see their distinct yellow icon when nearby.

Respec

If you are starting to regret going down a particular path in the skill tree, remember that you can somewhat freely reset all of the skills upon which you explicitly spent Abyss Artifacts. This does require possession of another item though: the Faded Abyss Artifact, which is visible as the middle icon in the top-right corner of the Skills tab, along with how many you own. These can be purchased from Witches, crafted in a cauldron with a blueprint, rewarded from Sealed Abyss Artifacts, or just found randomly in the wild while exploring.

Also note that all skill trees are reset when you utilize the Reset All function, which might be annoying if you only intend to wipe a specific set of skills.

Those are all the best ways to amass Abyss Artifacts fast in Crimson Desert.

This guide for Crimson Desert is all about how to unlock both the use of Abyss Cores, as well as the sockets for them in your gear.

How To Unlock Abyss Cores

While you may stumble upon them well before being able to actually use them, Abyss Cores are finally unlocked for socketing after Chapter 5: Exposed Plot, over the course of the ‘Witch of Wisdom’ questline.

Speak with Elowen the Witch at Witch’s House in The Witchwoods of Hernand.

How To Use Abyss Cores

In order to start socketing Abyss Cores into your equipment, interact with a witch and select Embed Abyss Core. Your gear is listed at the bottom along with sockets, if any. Not all types of gear have the same number of maximum slots, and even that maximum may not be available by default when you acquire a given item.

You can also elect to Extract Abyss Cores if you want to move on to better Abyss Cores, or better gear for the same Cores.

Note that all Abyss Cores are not compatible with every type of item.

How To Add More Sockets

If you want to add more Abyss Cores to a particular item, but lack empty sockets, you can use the Create Socket function to do so, for a progressive cost in Silver. A total of 105 Silver is required in order to add the maximum of five sockets to equipment:

• 1st socket: 5 Silver
• 2nd socket: 10 Silver
• 3rd socket: 20 Silver
• 4th socket: 30 Silver
• 5th socket: 40 Silver

Note that different types of equipment have a maximum number of sockets possible:

• Head: 1
• Torso: 3
• Gloves: 2
• Boots: 2
• Ranged Weapons: 5
• Two-Handed Weapons: 5
• One-Handed Weapons: 3
• Off-Hand Equipment: 2

A number of item types simply cannot have sockets whatsoever, including Cloaks, Rings, Earrings, and Necklaces.

That is everything there is to know about using Abyss Cores and socketing gear in Crimson Desert.

A keen eye on the numbers underlines the sport’s psychological battle, with the face-off between pitcher and batter its epicentre. So, when we say MLB The Show isn’t like other sports sims, it’s because it must do two things: simulate baseball’s moment-to-moment action with precision whilst feeding you streams of data – stats, rates, attributes; continually engaging, page after page.

MLB The Show is a gold-standard baseball sim, with this year’s entry capturing the sport’s rhythm, complexity, and tactical depth through rejuvenated stat delivery. For batters, real-world pitch usage rates yield information you can take straight to the plate, while fielder reaction times are now digestible via a suite of new attributes. Support comes from expanded match day coverage and an abundance of all-new on-field animations – over 500, to be exact. The result is a package that remains one of the most authentic sports simulations available, even if some additions feel evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

"Among the new hitting interfaces is Fixed Zone Hitting, which prevents the Plate Coverage Indicator – the PCI – from resetting after releasing the analog stick."

Still, the defining strength of MLB The Show is its ability to capture baseball’s fundamental mind game. Every at-bat is a strategic battle of prediction, timing, and patience, with MLB The Show 26 continuing to emphasise the count’s dynamic moments.

When you’re batting, CPU pitchers will mix up their throws with convincing intelligence. Fastballs often establish the early rhythm, while sliders, sinkers, and off-speed fastball variants arrive to disrupt timing. Over the course of several exhibition matches, I noticed that the CPU was able to adapt its approach, occasionally establishing patterns before swiftly subverting my expectations. On one occasion, after two pitches landed on the left-side of the zone, a third delivery appeared headed for the right. I was anticipating this, but my swing was still ill-advised. The ball broke into a slider, veering wide of the plate. A little more discipline and I could have turned the tide in that particular war. Instead, momentum didn’t shift. I was out.

This moment illustrates how MLB The Show 26 can replicate the tension at the plate, with the pitcher’s confidence gauge playing a major role. See, confident pitchers locate the strike zone with greater consistency, while struggling pitchers scatter their throws more erratically (an effect I experienced many times when, after what I believed was perfect placement, I saw my pitch curve wide of the zone through low confidence). If the batter takes these balls – as in, lets them fly past without swinging wildly – then a pitcher’s confidence noticeably drops, creating opportunities for mistakes that skilled batters can exploit.

Hitting remains the game’s most demanding aspect. Timing, pitch recognition, and placement – alongside various batter attributes – all combine to determine the quality of contact. The sharp thwack of a perfectly timed hit is joyous to hear, but those moments occur infrequently making them feel earned and deeply satisfying when they do happen.

Among the new hitting interfaces is Fixed Zone Hitting, which prevents the Plate Coverage Indicator – the PCI – from resetting after releasing the analog stick. This experience makes Zone Hitting slightly more intuitive, with the extra swing control offered by either mode keeping this interface as the game’s most effective, although newcomers may find it intimidating.

More accessible is the newly introduced Big Zone Hitting interface, existing in a middle ground between Zone Hitting and directional or timing-based systems. Instead of precise PCI placement, Big Zone divides the plate into segments, allowing me to guide my swing toward a general area while focusing more heavily on my timing. See, with the strike zone visually separated, reading pitches became easier, and my attention shifted toward the crucial split-second decision of when to swing. Successful hits became more common, while leaving difficult pitches was more manageable.

"Bare Down Pitching puts your pitcher into boost mode, heightening senses to bring greater control and velocity in the biggest moments."

Ambush Hitting – introduced last year – also returns, where contact advantages can result from pre-selecting the correct half of the strike zone. In theory, this adds another layer of strategy or, at least, gives greater opportunity to break a pitcher’s flow. Yet, in practice, I felt my choice came down to educated guesswork rather than a readable tactical system. Later in my playthrough, as my confidence grew, I defaulted to always choosing the outside half of the zone anyway. That is where I most-consistently smacked the ball to an un-manned part of the field.

Real-world pitch history information is available through menus, and there’s lots of useful information within. At a glance, you’ll see which pitches your opposition favours in a given moment, which has more likelihood to be thrown if you’re in command of a right-handed batter, or the ranking of their pitch repertoire via their player card, and so on. It’s not an exact science – a pitcher who launches spinners four-percent of the time can still lob you the occasional spinner. Useful it may be, accessing it mid-game disrupted my flow. I’d much prefer referencing this information at the plate, especially during clutch moments.

And speaking of clutch, you’ve a new weapon to deploy at the mound. Bare Down Pitching puts your pitcher into boost mode, heightening senses to bring greater control and velocity in the biggest moments. And, depending on your pitcher’s clutch rating, you can stack Bare Down Pitches to use one after another. While sharp intakes of breath and tighter framing increase the drama, I rarely found this mechanic to be over-powered. In fact, batters often still dealt with my Bare Downs, if only to knock out foul balls and maintain the count.

Elsewhere, Road to the Show returns as the series’ flagship career mode. Partially rebranded to Road to Cooperstown, this iteration sees the early stages of your career expanded to include the final stretch of a high school season, with college scouts evaluating your performance.

"You’ll favour Franchise Mode if you’re the kind of player who prefers baseball’s strategic side, where long-term control over a team’s roster, finances, and trades coincide with the regular season."

Character customisation remains incredibly deep although, with the mode placing renewed energy on your individual progression to Hall of Fame status, it didn’t feel excessive. It was part of the journey, where goal-orientated progression revolves around performance grades, completing dynamic objectives, earning tokens to boost attributes, and unlocking perks. While the structure is easy to understand, progression pacing felt uneven early on, where an abundance of college offers came rolling in – along with an unexpected Blue Jays contract – despite, admittedly, a string of average performances. Still, the act of climbing the baseballing ladder is more compelling than ever.

Diamond Dynasty continues to serve the series’ live-service centrepiece, where you build custom teams through collectible player cards, completing challenges and events to strengthen your lineup. This year introduces a new Red Diamond rarity tier and expanded Parallel XP systems to allow greater stat customisation. While these additions deepen progression, the core appeal remains unchanged: quest for cards and reap the addictive thrill of ripping packs open and assembling your dream roster. Accessibility sliders are disabled in this mode to retain competitive balance, which makes the experience noticeably more challenging than exhibition play. For newer players, this might slow progression down to a frustrating grind.

You’ll favour Franchise Mode if you’re the kind of player who prefers baseball’s strategic side, where long-term control over a team’s roster, finances, and trades coincide with the regular season. The revamped Trade Hub provides a centralised interface for managing deals, alongside improved AI logic and a rumours system which hints at other teams’ needs across the league. This mode gives another example of MLB The Show 26’s ability to present an overwhelming amount of statistical data in simple structures. The Trade Hub’s layout tracked my thought process too; whether by design or coincidence, I found navigating through the various sub-menus fluid and frictionless.

Early on, I identified a lack of squad depth in first and third base positions, and there was a list of free agents easily accessible from this screen. After a quick browse, I opted to get the season underway instead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. occupies first base for my chosen team (again) the Toronto Blue Jays, and I figured he’d be a big injury loss whichever position he played. However, before starting the season proper, I located the “positions” tab on the Trade Hub and selected 1B and 3B as positions I’d like to prioritise for recruitment, the intention being that opportunities for trade would come my way rather than I sift through reams of 1B player stats.

"For beginners willing to embrace its difficulty, or seasoned veterans looking for a refined baseball experience, MLB The Show 26 remains the benchmark."

So, despite the managerial complexity, I was able to leverage a foothold. In Franchise Mode, evaluating roster strength and negotiating trades doesn’t demand expert baseballing knowledge, just a little patience. I only spent a couple of hours in this mode, but immediately I saw sandbox potential that would keep me satisfied throughout an entire season.

In summary, MLB The Show 26 isn’t a radical reinvention, but a continued effort to refine one of the most authentic sports simulations available. The famously steep learning curve persists, but once the mechanics click the essence of baseball reveals itself. Broadcast quality presentation, authentic, and varied, fielder animations – jump throws, slides, the odd fumble, even slowing to adjust footwork before throwing – plus hitting interfaces that bridge the gap between novice and expert, opportunities for deep, long-term experiences, and a true representation of baseball’s psychological warfare – the pitcher-batter mind game. All that’s critical is here.

Despite my usual gripes with the live-service loop (common in most modern sports sims, to be fair) MLB The Show 26 has very little superfluous fluff, and that’s including the smorgasbord of stats, abilities, gauges, attributes, form guides – numbers basically – that the game throws at you. For beginners willing to embrace its difficulty, or seasoned veterans looking for a refined baseball experience, MLB The Show 26 remains the benchmark.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.