Hasta La Gadget!

Far too long ago (for our impatient souls), boutique console maker, Analogue, teased something exciting. A retro handheld that mimicked multiple classic systems, including: All the Game Boys, the Sega Game Gear, the Neo Geo Pocket and the Atari Lynx. Oh and more recently announced: the TurboExpress, too. In other good news, Analogue also just announced that orders for the Pocket will open again on December 14th (tomorrow). The slightly less good news is that at $220, it’ll cost $20 more than originally planned, but you can blame the virus for that and its impact on supply chains.

Finally, it’s here and it’s… still just as exciting. So much so that the short time I’ve had with the Pocket isn’t enough to give it the deep dive review it deserves. You have to remember, this thing not only plays old games from original cartridges. It does so using a party trick called field-programmable gate arrays (or FPGA). All you need to know is that FPGAs effectively mimic old consoles at the hardware level. When you plug in a game, it thinks it’s in an original Game Boy (or whichever system for the relevant adapter you might be using). Couple that with a display custom-designed to replicate vintage screens, quirks and all, and this has all the ingredients to be the most authentic retro handheld you can find. Our early testing with Game Boy (original) and Game Boy Advance games indicates this really is one of the most authentic experiences you can find.

Pretty much the moment you pick this thing up you know you’re in for a treat. If the original Game Boy had been released today with a Scandinavian design, this is what it would look like. The clean lines and monochrome aesthetic tell you this is all about the game; there are no garish colors of cliche nods to the ’90s here. Just one dash of color on the left-hand side for the power button and that’s as flashy as things get.

The general layout broadly matches the first-gen and Game Boy color, with the screen up top and controls underneath. Though there are four thumb buttons instead of two as you’ll be able to create games for this yourself either with GB Studio or via the spare FPGA core Analogue added just for developers. There are shoulder buttons, too, as per the Game Boy advance.

Fortunately, the display is thoroughly modern and not like the squinty, if much loved, one from back in 1989. It’s also handily 10 times the resolution on both axes so it can serve up pixel-perfect renditions of your favorite original Game Boy titles. The way it reproduces original Game Boy games is quite remarkable.

Turn the Pocket on and the minimalist interface leads you straight to the good stuff: Playing games.

I won’t lie, firing up Tetris for the first time and changing the Pockets display mode to the original green-and-black game boy mode was quite the dash of nostalgia. I’ve played Game Boy games on several “modern” handhelds and none of them looked like this. Even the pixel grid of the original is here, the motion blur (if you want it), the sound. Everything felt just as it did all those years ago.

The same goes for Game Boy Advance games. If you ever owned the first model of GBA, you’ll (painfully) remember that it still didn’t have a lit screen. The Pocket does, but everything else matches, including a preset for that slight washed-out look that comes with just colors on a non-illuminated LCD. You can, of course, choose a more modern display mode if you like, but purists are going to love the attention to detail here.

The authenticity doesn’t stop at the fidelity of the games. The “link” port on the Pocket happens to be the same as the one found on the Game Boy Color and onwards. That means if you have the original hardware (or another Pocket) you can play with friends just like you would have back in the proverbial day. I do have the original hardware, and we’re testing those features right now which you’ll see in our full review.

In terms of compatibility, so far the only glitch we’ve had is with a very unofficial Game Boy Advance multicart, everything else has worked a charm — including fund stuff like the Game Boy Camera. The same goes for Game Gear titles, which is the only other platform we can try right now.

There’s so much more to cover here we kinda can’t wait to show you it all. There’s the dock accessory for playing on a TV with real controllers, there’s the aforementioned music-making app, there’s Analogue’s own operating system which hides more than a few perks and then there are the adapters for all the other consoles.

For now, we’re excited to say that the Pocket appears to deliver on its key promises. The hardware feels fantastic and we keep going back for more Tetris even when it’s way past our bedtime. You’ll just have to wait a few more days for our comprehensive review.

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After shutting down third-party PS5 console covers with legal threats, Sony has launched its own official $55 PlayStation five colors, the company announced. Those will go along with the DualSense controls it launched earlier this year, and introduce three new colors in the same galaxy-inspired theme.

The console covers (and matching controllers) will come in Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Starlight Blue and Galactic Purple. “Simply remove your original white PS5 console covers and click your new ones into place,” the company said. “The PS5 console covers will be available for both the PS5 with the Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive and the PS5 Digital Edition.” 

The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red PS5 console covers will be available starting in January 2022 in specific regions, including the USA, Canada, UK, France, Australia and China. The Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, and Starlight Blue models will launch in those same locations during the first half of 2022.

As you may remember, Sony recently launched new DualSense wireless controllers in Cosmic Red and Midnight Black. Now, it will also release new controllers in the other three colors (Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple) for $75 globally in January 2022 at participating retailers. 

As a reminder, last year a company called PlateStation unveiled replacement PS5 covers in colors like cherry red, black and jungle camo. However, the company subsequently announced on Twitter that it would be canceling all orders and processing refunds “due to patent and intellectual property issues” with Sony.

Now we can see why Sony asserted its IP rights so strongly. Given that it can’t sell as many PS5 consoles as it would like due to semiconductor shortages, accessories like this will provide another revenue stream. Yes, console color and design aren’t that important, but the new covers are a good option for the many folks who aren’t that keen on white. Pre-orders are now open for the new controller colors ($75) and first two console covers ($55) — if you’re planning to get one, let us know below. 

Judging from all the teaser videos released so far, Forspoken is promising a swathe of visually stunning elemental spells and a heroine that can dash, glide and traverse a fantasy world quicker than any Assassin’s Creed protagonist.

But aside from magic parkour, what else is Forspoken’s Frey Holland capable of? How is the rest of the game shaping up?

At a hands-off briefing, Square Enix offered a closer look at the characters, world-building and capabilities of the bangle-wielding Frey, who fell through a magical portal from New York to the land of Athia. We also got to see a lot more of the battle systems and spells you’ll be able to wield, all running on an early version of the game.

This is the first title from Square Enix’s new studio, Luminous Productions. Forspoken runs on the studio’s proprietary graphics engine, Luminous Engine. A streamed video call on Zoom isn’t the best place to marvel at graphics, but judging from the higher-resolution trailers, there seems to be a focus on fluidity. And flinging around a lot of spells.

Beyond elemental attacks of varying scales, magical powers include the aforementioned magic parkour, where the hero can dash at speed, jump again mid-air, dodge attacks and more. Running on the studio’s proprietary Luminous Engine, the team is aiming to run the game at 2K 60 FPS and 4K 30 FPS, with ray-tracing graphical options too.

The new studio is taking different approaches to the story, too. Instead of in-house writers, Luminous Productions tapped Allison Rymer (who wrote for the TV series Shadowhunters) and Todd Stashwick as lead writers. The development team, which had last worked on the divisive Final Fantasy XV, said they were looking to create a game with more “universal appeal”, promising a narrative-led action-adventure RPG. However, judging by this early look, Forspoken may not stray too far from the video-game trope of messianic-outsider-saves-mystical-lands.

There is a focus on both the female lead, voiced and mo-capped by actor Ella Balinsk, and several female antagonists – mad sorceresses called Tantas. The world of Athia has a matriarchal society, ensuring, rightly, that the most important players are women. Still, the preview didn’t really help us get much of a bead on where the story of Forspoken will take Frey. The team is also promising post-launch DLC content, called In Tanta We Trust, which will function as a prequel to the main title.

We do know that encroaching darkness has trapped what’s left of humanity within the walls of a single city, Cipaul. The rest of the world is now covered in this sinister fog, “The Break”, that warps and absorbs life.

Some of the citizens of Cipaul view Frey as a demon – a threat – because she’s able to survive the Break outside of the city, not to mention the magical freerunning and elemental arsenal that comes with her cuff of magical bangles. There are RPG-style upgrades to unlock, too. Frey will be able to upgrade her cloak and nail art (!) to improve stamina and increase spell strength, which is a modern twist on magical jewels and runes.

In the tradition of Destiny’s Ghost, and er, Ratchet and Clank’s Clank, the cuff has a British accent and a sassy disposition. It will banter with Frey and respond to how she fights. It’s hard to tell from the early preview, but it seems like the cuffs (called Cuff?) will even offer up battle insights and fight-style advice. A Square Enix spokesperson said the team was “still in the process of adjusting the exact frequency, content and volume” of their interactions. That’s a good sign, because Frey seems to cuss a lot and there are diminishing returns to exclaiming “Shit!” every time a monster attacks. See: Devil May Cry.

The preview teased stealth spells, magical land mines and using your cloak as a sort-of grappling hook. Even while moving at a high pace, Forspoken will slow things down when you’re aiming at crucial ledges, which seems like a thankfully forgiving touch.

I’m most interested in how Forspoken will actually play and how fights will feel. With battle spells, Frey can choose different effects and spells from rings, holding several in as shortcut spots for easy (repeated) use, but it’s hard to tell how intuitive this will feel.

Square Enix, Luminous Productions

At the end of my 30-minute briefing, the developers show off Breakstorms, random supernatural events that spawn monsters and a bigger beast, a skeletal giraffe kind of thing with one eye that shoots energy beams. Frey casts multiple high-level spells, stacking effects and mixing up strategies for both crowd control and escaping the wrath of the boss monster at the center of it all. In this instance, she doesn’t quite make it, falling to the monster’s attacks, but the first thing I thought was – I want to play this myself, and best this cyclops giraffe. Hopefully, Square Enix is able to ensure these fights feel as fluid as Frey’s magical parkour dashes.

Forspoken launches on ​​PS5 and PC on May 24th, 2022.

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