Not just tolerated it, either. Somewhere between getting murdered, learning how to parry properly, and eventually understanding what the game wanted me to do, the combat started becoming fun. Then the quests got interesting, the vampire powers opened up, and suddenly I was looking at the clock, wondering where my evening had gone. 

The game comes from Rebel Wolves, a studio containing several former CD Projekt Red developers, and you can immediately see some of that Witcher DNA running through it. Thankfully, it isn’t The Witcher 3 with vampires pasted on top.

You play Coen, a young man living in the fictional Vale Sangora during the 14th century. Vampires led by Brencis have taken over the valley, and after things go spectacularly wrong for Coen and his family, he becomes something called a Dawnwalker. This means Coen is human during the day and vampire at night. Convenient if you have always wanted both witchcraft and bloodsucking on the same CV.

You have 30 days to save your family, but this isn’t some annoying Majora’s Mask-style clock constantly counting down while you desperately search for the toilet. Time moves forward when you complete significant activities. Exploration itself doesn’t necessarily punish you, but choosing to finish one quest means spending time that could have gone somewhere else. This is probably the game’s cleverest idea.

Modern open-world RPGs have trained us to hoover up every icon on a map. Dawnwalker actively tells you that you probably aren’t going to see everything in one playthrough. At first, that gave me anxiety. What if I miss a weapon? What if this random peasant has the greatest side quest ever written? Eventually, I stopped worrying about it.

Instead, I started choosing quests because they sounded interesting or because I liked the characters involved. The result is an RPG that feels oddly personal because your version of Coen’s journey will depend heavily on what you decided was worth his limited time.

Day and night also significantly change the way you play. Human Coen has weapons and witchcraft. Vampire Coen is much faster, can use more supernatural abilities, and can feed to restore health. Moving around at night also feels different because your vampire abilities let you traverse areas that would require a more conventional route during the day. The transformation isn’t just cosmetic, and I found myself considering whether certain quests might be easier or simply more entertaining depending on when I attempted them.

Then there is the combat.

On the PS5, this took me a while to understand because Dawnwalker uses directional attacks and blocks. You point the left stick in a direction and combine that input with the shoulder buttons to attack or defend from that side. Initially, it feels weird.

Years of muscle memory from action games kept telling my fingers to do one thing while Dawnwalker was demanding something completely different. There were fights where I felt like I was operating construction equipment rather than swinging a sword. The game also expects you to parry. Properly.

Once the system clicked, however, I actually started liking it. Getting the timing right, blocking an attack, and immediately responding with a counter is extremely satisfying. 

The writing is excellent, especially when it comes to smaller characters. People have their own motivations and aren’t simply waiting around for Coen to solve their problems. There are also plenty of moments where the game makes you choose between several unpleasant options rather than clearly marking one response GOOD PERSON and another response CARTOON VILLAIN.

Technically, my experience changed considerably during the review period. Before the day-one patch, I ran into several issues on PS5, and performance wasn’t always as smooth as I would have liked. The launch patch adds a Performance mode targeting 60fps, and after installing it, a lot of the problems I had been dealing with during the review were either fixed or substantially improved.

There are still rough edges. Some animations could be better, enemy encounters can become repetitive, and the combat system takes longer than it should to become comfortable. The game also carries enough Witcher DNA that comparisons are unavoidable. However, Rebel Wolves has done enough differently for Dawnwalker to have an identity of its own. More importantly, I wanted to keep playing.

That is ultimately my test for an RPG. Not whether I completed every quest, found every sword, or murdered every unfortunate creature wandering around the forest, but whether I wanted to go back once I put the controller down. With The Blood of Dawnwalker, I did.

It wasn’t love at first bite. The strange combat controls nearly put me off, and the early technical issues didn’t exactly help. But once everything clicked, I found a fantastic, beautifully dark RPG with excellent writing, meaningful choices, and enough interesting ideas to separate it from the games that clearly inspired it. Give Dawnwalker some time. Just don’t give it all 30 days.

The Blood of Dawnwalker
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: R3,999
Developer: Rebel Wolves 
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment 
Platform: PS5, XBS, PC

Marvel has had a fairly good run with games recently. Spider-Man was excellent, Guardians of the Galaxy was surprisingly good, and even the various Marvel multiplayer experiments have had their moments. Fighting games, however, are a different beast entirely, especially when there is a rather large Marvel vs. Capcom-shaped shadow hanging over everything.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls tries to step out of that shadow by doing something completely different.

The game is developed by Arc System Works, the same people responsible for Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ. This becomes immediately obvious the second the first fight begins. The game is bright, incredibly animated, and completely over the top. Superheroes fly across the screen, special attacks explode everywhere, and occasionally there is so much happening that I have no idea what I am looking at. I mean that as a compliment.

Tokon is a four-on-four fighting game. However, you aren’t constantly swapping between four characters like some sort of caffeinated octopus. Instead, you control one fighter while the others can be called in to help during attacks. As the fight progresses, more of your team becomes available. This means choosing your team becomes far more important than I initially expected.

At first, I selected characters using the highly scientific method of picking Marvel superheroes I liked. After playing for a while, though, you realise certain characters work better together because their assists can continue combos, interrupt opponents, or generally make life miserable for whoever is holding the second controller. This is where Tokon becomes interesting.

You don’t need to memorise a telephone directory worth of button combinations just to make Spider-Man do something interesting. Special attacks are easy enough to pull off, and even someone who doesn’t play many fighting games can pick up a controller and look reasonably competent within a few minutes. I appreciate that.

There are fighting games where I feel I need to complete a diploma before going online. Tokon lets you start having fun almost immediately. This confidence lasts right up until you meet someone who actually knows what they are doing.

There is a big difference between knowing how to perform an attack and understanding how the entire four-person team works together. Once people start chaining assists, counters, and special moves, the game becomes considerably more complicated. So while the controls are beginner-friendly, the game itself isn’t shallow.

Visually, Tokon is probably one of the best-looking Marvel games around. Instead of trying to recreate the actors from the movies, Arc System Works has created its own interpretation of the characters. The result is something that looks like Marvel accidentally wandered into an anime convention. It works extremely well.

Characters still look immediately recognisable, but everything has been exaggerated. Wolverine looks more aggressive, Iron Man looks suitably mechanical, and Spider-Man moves around the screen like someone forgot to tell him gravity exists. The animations are equally ridiculous. Even after playing for several hours, I still occasionally stopped paying attention to what I was supposed to be doing because something spectacular was happening on screen.

The stages are also filled with Marvel references and familiar locations. More importantly, some fights move between different sections of a stage, which makes battles feel far more dynamic than two characters simply punching each other in front of a pretty background.

There is also enough here for people who don’t want to jump online immediately. The game has story content, arcade-style modes, training, and the usual assortment of options to help you learn the characters. The story isn’t the reason I would buy the game, but it does a good job of giving you an excuse to try different heroes and combinations.

Personally, I had the most fun playing locally. Tokon is one of those games that works incredibly well when you have friends over. The basic controls mean almost everyone can join in, and the flashy attacks make even terrible players feel like something impressive is happening. That is probably the game’s greatest strength. It is fun.

That sounds obvious, but there are plenty of technically impressive games that forget this very important detail. Tokon understands that sometimes you just want Wolverine to launch somebody through a wall while another superhero jumps into the fight and causes even more chaos.

My one major gripe is the price. I bought my copy for Rs 7,700, and for that amount of money, I simply don’t think this game is worth it. I like Tokon a lot. I will continue playing it, and I am glad I have it. However, I don’t see this becoming one of those legendary games I will still be talking about years from now in the same way I would talk about God of War or Spider-Man. For one of those games, I might begrudgingly hand over Rs 7,700 on day one while complaining about the price to everyone within earshot. 

For Tokon, I would wait. Wolverine is out in about a month, and by then there is a decent chance this will start getting discounted.

So yes, I recommend Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. It looks fantastic, it is easy to pick up, difficult to master, and most importantly, it is a lot of fun. Just don’t pay R7,700 for it. Wait for the price to drop and, if possible, buy a physical copy. Sony and the rest of the industry seem determined to drag us towards an increasingly digital future, and I would rather own a disc I can sell, exchange, or lend to a friend than a digital license permanently attached to an account.

At least with a physical copy, when your friend refuses to return it, you know exactly who stole your game.

The prototype uses ultra-thin transparent electrodes made from reduced graphene oxide.

Sure, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can remember some things, and you can upload documents to give them context. However, actual work tends to be scattered everywhere. One conversation is buried in email, another happened during a meeting three weeks ago, and that important document is sitting somewhere on your computer.

This is the problem Rowboat is trying to solve.

Rowboat is an open-source desktop AI coworker that doesn’t just give you another blank chat box to type into. Instead, it takes information from your work and organises it into what its developers call a “living knowledge graph”.

For the uninitiated, a knowledge graph sounds considerably more complicated than it actually is. Imagine drawing circles on paper. One is a person, another is a company, another is a project, and another is a meeting. You then draw lines between everything that is connected.

Your brain already does this. You know Rahul works for Company X, he is involved in Project Y and promised to send you something on Friday. Rowboat essentially tries to build a digital version of those connections.

AI with  memory

This memory is Rowboat’s party trick. It can take information from emails, meeting transcripts, Slack, and your conversations with the AI and turn it into interconnected notes about people, companies, projects, and topics.

More importantly, this information isn’t hidden inside some mysterious AI brain. Rowboat stores its knowledge as ordinary Markdown files on your computer. You can open them, edit them, back them up, or move them somewhere else.

This could be extremely useful if you juggle multiple projects. Before a meeting, for example, you could ask Rowboat what you last discussed with someone and have it pull together previous decisions and relevant information. You don’t have to explain your life story to the AI every single time you open it.
This is something of an open-source Claude Cowork, similar to how OpenCode is an open-source coding agent similar to Claude Code. 

More than a chatbot

Rowboat can also actually do things with all this information.

It has built-in work areas for things such as meetings, email, and notes, plus a browser that agents can use. Background agents can spring into action when something happens, such as receiving an email or finishing a meeting, or run automatically according to a schedule.

So, theoretically, you could have Rowboat prepare meeting follow-ups or organise information without manually asking it every time.

There are also more advanced features for people who want to disappear completely down the AI rabbit hole. Rowboat can work with coding agents and can even create small personal applications inside the software. For example, you could ask it to create a simple customer tracker using information already stored in your Rowboat knowledge.

The important bit is that you don’t have to use all of this. At its simplest, Rowboat can just be an AI assistant that has a much better memory.

Bring your own brain

Rowboat isn’t necessarily the AI brain itself. You can connect it to online AI models such as GPT, Claude or Gemini, or run local models using software including Ollama and LM Studio.

Running a model locally means more can remain on your computer and you don’t have to pay an AI company every time you use it, though sufficiently powerful local AI models require reasonably capable hardware.

Using an online model is easier and potentially more powerful, but information required for your request may have to be sent to that provider.

Installing Rowboat

Installing Rowboat is fairly straightforward. Head to https://www.rowboatlabs.com/ and download the program for your system. Install it, follow the instructions, and continue until you have configured it. You can link your mailbox to your AI provider and also have it on Slack.  Rowboat starts building its knowledge when you start chatting with it. 

Should you install it?

If you only use AI to occasionally rewrite an email or ask who invented the toaster, Rowboat is complete overkill.
The attraction is that knowledge graph. Most AI assistants expect you to repeatedly bring the context to them. Rowboat is trying to collect, organise and remember that context for you.

I also like that its memory consists of Markdown files rather than information trapped inside a proprietary service. If you decide to leave Rowboat, your notes are still yours. The trade-off is complexity. This isn’t quite as simple as opening ChatGPT and typing a question. Getting the most out of Rowboat means connecting models, services, and allowing it access to parts of your working life. There are a lot of moving parts.

However, Rowboat is far more interesting than another ChatGPT clone. It is trying to solve one of the biggest problems with AI assistants: getting them to understand the messy pile of emails, meetings, people, and half-remembered promises that make up actual work.

Considering I occasionally need my email search to remember what I did yesterday, perhaps giving the computer a better memory than mine isn’t such a terrible idea.

Enter the Digital Audio Player, or DAP. Think of it as the spiritual successor to the iPod, a dedicated little box whose primary job is to play music and, depending on what you buy, play it considerably better than your phone. Audiophile DAPs can cost ridiculous amounts of money, but you don’t need to sell a kidney to get started.

There are now several budget DAPs available that give you dedicated music controls, expandable storage, decent audio hardware and, most importantly, absolutely no reason to check WhatsApp between songs. So, in the interest of de-streaming both our music and our attention spans, here are some budget DAPs worth looking at.

AGPTEK A02X

If your budget is really tight, this is where I would start. The AGPTEK is tiny, plastic and resolutely uncomplicated. Put music on it, plug in headphones and press play. Revolutionary.

You get physical controls, 32GB of built-in storage on the reviewed A02 variant, microSD expansion and a claimed battery life of around 40 hours. Bluetooth can send audio to wireless headphones and speakers, although it doesn’t work as a Bluetooth receiver for your phone.

It isn’t an audiophile powerhouse, but that almost misses the point. For less than Rs 5,000, it gets your music off your smartphone and removes all the distracting rubbish that came with it. Which, when you think about it, is exactly why we started looking at DAPs in the first place.
Rs 4,600

SnowSky Echo Mini

The Echo Mini looks like someone shrunk an old cassette player and stuffed modern audio hardware inside it. I approve. You get dual CS43131 DACs, both 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm headphone outputs, Bluetooth, physical controls and microSD expansion. The sound is warm, full-bodied and easy to listen to rather than obsessively detailed, which is probably a good thing unless your idea of relaxing involves listening for the third triangle player at the back of an orchestra.
Rs 10,500

Shanling M0s

The M0’’s is tiny. At around 37 grams, it is closer to an old iPod Nano than the chunky DAPs audiophiles usually lug around. Despite the size, it packs a CS43131 DAC, Bluetooth with LDAC support, USB DAC functionality, and microSD support up to 2TB. The sound is relatively neutral and works best with easy-to-drive earphones and IEMs. The tiny 1.54-inch touchscreen is both its greatest strength and weakness. It makes the M0s wonderfully pocketable, but navigating a large music collection on it can become annoying.
Rs 15,500

Mechen M30

The M30 looks gloriously old-school, with a metal body, physical controls, and a scroll wheel. It is the sort of player that makes you feel like you should be loading Winamp skins somewhere. More importantly, it sounds good. Reviews point to strong detail, good instrument separation, controlled bass and a slightly forward midrange that works particularly well with rock and metal. Battery life is quoted at around 30 hours, and despite the official limitations, reviewers have successfully used 512GB cards through folder browsing. The downside is that the interface feels dated, and you don’t get luxuries such as Bluetooth or USB.
Rs 15,722

HiBy R1

The Rs 1 is probably one of the more sensible all-rounders on this list. It uses a Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC, supports microSD cards up to 2TB and weighs just 70 grams. Battery life is around 15 hours. The sound leans warm rather than brutally analytical, which makes it pleasant for long listening sessions. HiBy also includes its MSEB sound adjustment system, which lets you play with vocal presentation without needing a degree in equaliser frequencies.
Rs 12,900

Innioasis Y1

If what you really want is an iPod Classic without having to hunt for a 20-year-old one, the Innioasis Y1 comes very close. It has the familiar click wheel, a 2.4-inch colour screen, USB-C, Bluetooth, a headphone jack and approximately 25 to 30 hours of claimed music playback. It also comes with 128GB of storage. There is a catch. The 128GB is on a microSD card buried inside the device, so upgrading it involves opening the Y1 and performing a little surgery.
Rs 6,999

The A2L takes a hobby that can involve levelling beds, adjusting temperatures, clearing blocked nozzles, and swearing at failed first layers, and turns it into something close to a regular appliance. It even got my family excited to print something for the first time.

Some assembly is required, but Bambu Lab makes it painless. The instructions are clear, and every set of screws comes in its own labelled bag. It was easy enough for a 10-year-old to assemble, which is exactly why I used the free child labour available at home. My only gripe: attaching the AMS Lite’s filament tubes to the print head could use more explanation. 

The rest is straightforward. Load filament, let it calibrate, and it’s ready to print.

The A2L has a generous 330 x 320 x 325mm build volume, direct-drive extruder, auto bed levelling, a heated textured PEI plate, Wi-Fi, and a 3.5-inch touchscreen. Footprint is 544 x 529 x 505mm, weight 12.8kg. Its open-frame design suits PLA, PETG, and TPU.

That large build plate is one of its biggest strengths. Big objects without splitting the design, or a bed full of smaller ones. Despite the size, prints come out remarkably clean. 

Bambu Studio helps a lot too. Approachable for beginners, capable enough for experts. Paired with the Bambu Handy app, finding, prepping, and sending a model feels far less fiddly than on rival machines.

The built-in camera makes great timelapses. Watching an object grow out of the bed never gets old. The live feed is less impressive, with a low frame rate and an angle that doesn’t always show the whole bed. It is fine for checking if the printer has started manufacturing a plastic spaghetti monster, less useful for diagnosing smaller problems remotely.

Pros

Excellent print quality with a large build area
Very easy to assemble, calibrate, and use
AMS Lite and optional cutting tools add plenty of creative flexibility

Cons

The printer and AMS Lite need a lot of desk space
AMS Lite leaves filament exposed to humidity
Cutting software, instructions, and blade-changing experience need refinement

More colours, more poop

The AMS Lite holds four spools and auto-feeds the chosen colour. With Bambu’s tagged filament, it even identifies colour and material itself. Loading is dead simple. Spool on the spindle, feed the filament, done.

Multicolour printing is where the A2L becomes a family attraction as the results with four colours can be spectacular.

There’s a cost beyond extra spools, though. The AMS Lite is also handy beyond multicolour work, letting you keep several materials loaded and auto-switch when one spool runs out.

Its open design has a downside. No protection from moisture, which matters in a humid city like Mumbai. Damp filament turns brittle and prints poorly. You’ll want proper storage, dry boxes, or the pricier AMS 2 Pro, which adds drying and can even run alongside an AMS Lite.

A printer with stationery ambitions

The optional cutting and pen kit adds a whole new dimension. Installation is simple. Remove the front cover and control dial, attach the module, connect it, swap in the adhesive cutting mat.

Unfortunately, no instruction booklet came with it. I had to watch Bambu Lab’s YouTube guide. The cutting workflow also runs through Bambu Suite rather than the familiar Bambu Studio, and positioning designs needs a phone photo since the A2L has no overhead camera. It works, but feels noticeably less polished than the 3D printing side.

Skip generic printer paper, even on the light-grip side of the mat. Thin paper plus sticky surface ended in disaster for me. I couldn’t lift the cut design cleanly, and the pen dumped ink wherever it paused, making a mess. Heavier stock (120gsm+), sticker paper, or vinyl should work much better.

The blade deserves respect. It’s properly sharp, and swapping it for the pen feels a little terrifying since you handle the module while its cover is off. Not a job for the aforementioned child labour.

Still, the cutter and plotter are excellent additions, letting the A2L make stickers, paper designs, labels, and heat-transfer vinyl without a separate Cricut-style machine. It doesn’t seem readily available locally yet, but it’s worth grabbing once it is. Bambu Lab just needs to give the cutting software and docs the polish it’s given 3D printing.

The other big limitation is space. The printer is already large, its moving bed needs extra clearance, and the AMS Lite expands things further. Not something you casually squeeze onto a corner of a desk. The open frame also rules out demanding filaments like ABS, ASA, and nylon, which generally want an enclosure.

At Rs 65,999 for the AMS Lite combo (without the cutting kit), it’s not cheap. But that buys exceptional print quality, a huge bed, great software, and an experience simple enough to pull the rest of the family in. The cutter and pen tools add even more value, potentially saving craft fans from buying a second machine altogether.

The Bambu Lab A2L is a great 3D printer with a very capable cutter and plotter bolted on. Not perfect, the accessories and software need work, but the clean prints, ease of use, and huge build area are exceptional. The important part, it made 3D printing fun again.

Bambu Lab A2L Combo
Price: Rs 65,999
Bambu Lab cutting/pen kit 
Price: Rs 9579

The system uses machine learning to read steering angle, speed, roll, lateral acceleration, and rider reaction torque. Data from these signals trains a special AI to classify straight riding, cornering, and instability.

While other assistance systems, which may overreact when a bicycle leans into a normal turn, the new setup keeps its stabilisation control switched off during manoeuvres.

Published in IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, the research could make e-bikes, electric motorcycles, shared bikes and delivery vehicles safer, especially for older or inexperienced riders.

The soft, flexible suit, developed by NTU Singapore and Waseda University researchers, carries a compact oxygen generator that feeds oxygen directly to the cockroach’s spiracles, the tiny openings insects use to breathe. The system uses diluted hydrogen peroxide and manganese dioxide to produce oxygen inside a waterproof shell.

The study, published in Nature Communications, could expand the use of cyborg insects in search-and-rescue missions where flooded drains or narrow gaps defeat conventional robots. Researchers tested the suit on Madagascar hissing cockroaches and say the insects were not harmed. 

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced brings back Edward Kenway and his beloved Jackdaw for a full remake, and thankfully, Ubisoft has not tried to fix what was never broken. 

Edward is not Ezio, and that is the point. He is greedy, charming, reckless, and occasionally the sort of man you would not trust with your wallet. That makes his journey from opportunistic scoundrel to something slightly more noble still one of the strongest stories in the franchise.

This remake also feels more in line with the newer Assassin’s Creed games than the older ones. The movement is smoother, combat has been modernised, and stealth finally gets a crouch button. It sounds ridiculous now, but the original Black Flag came from an era when assassins could parkour across cathedrals but could not bend their knees unless they were hiding in shrubbery. Resynced fixes that.

Naval combat remains the crown jewel. The Jackdaw is still one of the best “characters” in the game, and upgrading it is as addictive as ever. Broadside cannons, mortars, chain shot, and fire barrels all return, now with added options and new officers who give your ship special abilities. 

However, Resynced is not perfect. Most of the time, it plays well, but there were moments when the old Ubisoft gremlins crept back out. I had instances where Edward got stuck and refused to perform even a simple pickpocket move. The only way I managed to reset him was by pulling out my sword, which alerted the target and turned a sneaky little theft into a full public brawl. Very subtle. Very assassin. The camera occasionally gets weird, and wrestling it back into place can be annoying.

There is also still some stickiness in the parkour. Edward sometimes grabs the wrong ledge, jumps in a direction no sane human requested, or refuses to move with the grace he was showing two seconds earlier. 

Even with those flaws, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is an excellent remake. It respects the original, improves the parts that needed help, and does not stuff the experience with unnecessary bloat just because modern games seem terrified of ending. If you loved Black Flag, this is the best way to replay it. Some games age badly. Some age like fine rum. Black Flag Resynced is mostly the latter.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced
Rating: 4.5/5
Developer: Ubisoft 
Publisher: Ubisoft 
Platform: PC, XBS, PS5 
Price: Rs 4999

Indoor Wi-Fi camera

An indoor Wi-Fi camera is the renter’s security guard. Mi, Qubo and TP-Link Tapo-style cameras plug into power, connect to Wi-Fi and send motion alerts to your phone. Many offer pan-and-tilt views, two-way audio, and local microSD storage. This is useful for checking pets, deliveries, house help timings, or whether you really left the gas area untouched. Just place it carefully; nobody wants a camera pointed at the sofa like 
Bigg Boss.

Compact smart speaker

This is the gateway drug to smart homes. A small Echo, Nest-style speaker or similar device sits quietly on a table, and suddenly your lights, plugs, and music obey voice commands like well-trained minions. Lately, these devices have been getting LLM upgrades as well. Prices usually sit in the “reasonable birthday gift” zone, with Echo Pop and Echo Dot-type devices often under R5,000. More importantly, it requires no drilling or wiring.

Video doorbell

A video doorbell is great for flats where every ring could be the delivery guy, a neighbour, a courier, society uncle, or someone trying to sell time shares. Qubo, Godrej, and similar systems can show who is at the door before you open it, which is especially useful if you live alone or receive many deliveries. Renters should look for models that use existing bell wiring. 

Wi-Fi smart plug

The smart plug is boring until you realise it can save you from walking across the room to switch off a lamp, mosquito repellent, or phone charger. Wipro, TP-Link Tapo, and other options plug straight into the wall and can be controlled through an app or voice assistant. Some even offer energy monitoring, which is useful if your electricity bill looks inflated. Just check the amp rating before plugging in heavy appliances.

Smart display

Smart display devices like Echo Show-style displays are useful for timers, video calls, recipes, music, and checking camera feeds without unlocking your phone every two minutes. It works best in the kitchen or living room, where it becomes a home control panel. Is it essential? No. Is it surprisingly useful once you have cameras and lights connected? Absolutely.

Robot vacuum-mop

A robot vacuum-mop sounds like luxury until you live in a Mumbai apartment where dust returns five minutes after cleaning. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop and Eufy-type devices can map rooms, avoid falls, and handle daily dust and hair, as well as light mopping. They only need charging space, Wi-Fi, and floors free of wires, socks, and debris. It will not replace deep cleaning, but it will reduce the daily cleaning grind.

Mesh wi-fi system

Indian apartments have a special talent for killing Wi-Fi exactly where you need it most. A mesh Wi-Fi system, such as TP-Link Deco-style kits, uses multiple small units to spread coverage across the home rather than relying on a single overworked router in a corner. Setup is usually app-based and plug-and-play. If your bedroom video calls look like footage from 2006, this is the upgrade to consider.

RGB smart bulbs and strips

Smart bulbs are the easiest upgrade because they screw into your existing holders. Philips WiZ, Wipro, and similar bulbs let you dim, schedule, change colours and use voice control without touching a single wire. You will soon invest in a strip as well.

IR blaster / smart AC controller

This tiny device is basically a universal remote that went to engineering college. Place it in the same room as your AC, TV, or set-top box, and it can send infrared commands from your phone. There are several companies, like Astra, that make one; they are mostly easy to use and set up. 

Smart air purifier

A smart air purifier is less “nice to have” and more “why is the AQI trying to murder me?” Xiaomi, Philips, and Dyson-style units are floor-standing, app-connected, and do not require installation. Good models show air quality, automatically adjust fan speed, and can be controlled remotely.  The purifiers can be set on timers via apps.

This War of Mine

This War of Mine is the least “fun” game here, and that is exactly why it matters. You play civilians trapped in a besieged city, scavenging for food, medicine, and safety while making horrible moral choices. The lesson is empathy. War, from this angle, is not about winning. It is about surviving without losing the last pieces of yourself while trying not to die.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 teaches aviation with the seriousness of a real cockpit and the convenience of not actually dying when you mess up. You learn instruments, weather, navigation, take-offs, landings, and why pilots deserve respect and the good snacks. The 2024 version adds career-style certifications, including IFR flight and jet aircraft training. Actual pilots spend time on this game to simulate actual flying. 

Farming Simulator 25

Farming Simulator 25 teaches patience, machinery, and the economics of growing things that are not money plants. You mow, harvest, tend animals, log, transport goods, and sell crops. Weather adds complications, including hail and tornadoes, which means farming is not just “drive tractor, become rich.”

It teaches planning, equipment investment, crop cycles, and the painful gap between hard work and profit; this is no Farmville. Also, tractors are much cooler than most people admit.

Democracy 4

Democracy 4 teaches you that running a country is not the same as shouting on WhatsApp. Every policy affects voters, demographics, ministers, budgets, and social outcomes. Raise taxes, and one group cheers while another starts sharpening pitchforks. The game has interconnected data, coloured arrows and voter blocs, making it a fascinating. It also teaches the most important political lesson: everyone wants change, but nobody wants their subsidy touched. Some lessons are hidden here for the world’s biggest democracy.

Factorio

Factorio starts innocently. Mine some ore, build a machine, maybe automate a belt. Then you are designing supply chains like a stressed operations manager. Researchers have even used Factorio as a model for logistics and optimisation problems. So yes, your ugly spaghetti conveyor belt is basically an MBA case study, just with more alien attacks.

Kerbal Space Program

Kerbal Space Program is what happens when rocket science is explained through explosions and adorable green astronauts.

It teaches thrust, gravity, orbit, staging, and the painful truth that going up is not the same as going into space. You why the orbit is really falling forever and why “more boosters” is both a solution and a cry for help.

Cities: Skylines II

Cities: Skylines II teaches you that cities are not made of buildings; they are made of consequences. Placing houses too far from jobs and traffic can become a nightmare. Ignore public transport and your dream city becomes Andheri East at 7 pm. The game’s improved road tools and deeper city systems make you think about zoning, utilities and taxes. This be requisite training for BMC folk.

Oxygen Not Included

Oxygen Not Included is a systems engineering sim disguised as a cartoon panic attack. You manage gases, temperature, water, waste, food, and power. The game teaches loops, pressure, heat exchange, and sustainability. It is one of those games where you begin by building toilets and end by understanding why thermodynamics is not just stuff of exam nightmares.

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic

Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic is a city-builder for people who think SimCity was too relaxed. You do not just plonk buildings. You manage mining, manufacturing, transport, citizens, construction, and a planned economy. The lesson here is infrastructure dependency. A factory is useless without workers, workers need buses, buses need fuel, fuel needs distribution, and suddenly your glorious republic is collapsing because one truck is stuck near a warehouse. Think of it as communism, but with traffic management.

Turing Complete

Turing Complete is not content with teaching you how to use a computer. It wants you to build one from logic gates upwards. You move from simple circuits to memory, processors, and assembly language. This game has no chill, and you are thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool made of wires, but that is also the charm. By the end, you understand that computers are not magic boxes; they are very obedient idiots following extremely tiny and specific instructions.

The findings draw parallels with GPS navigation, which has been shown to weaken people’s natural sense of direction over time. In a series of experiments, participants who used AI assistance were more likely to defer to the technology’s judgment, even when it was wrong. 

The team developed an ultrasonic reactor that uses high-frequency vibrations to extract flavour compounds, oils, and caffeine from coffee grounds. The process cuts energy use by up to 75 per cent compared with conventional espresso machines. 

Odysseus is a mishmash of AI-driven tools. It’s supposed to be ChatGPT, an email client, a coding agent, model-hosting software, a deep research assistant, a notebook, a web search engine, and an image editor all rolled into a single package. The big selling point is that it works in your browser while keeping your data private.

That privacy angle is arguably the most interesting thing about the application. The catch is that if you want it to work exactly as PewDiePie intended, you will need reasonably powerful hardware. Most people simply don’t have the graphics card horsepower required. Thankfully, Odysseus also works with external services such as OpenAI, Claude and DeepSeek, making it accessible to those who haven’t converted their homes into miniature data centers.
Let me be clear: this is not polished software. Far from it.

This is very much a passion project. One person built it, released it into the wild, and hoped for the best. The advantage is that it is open source, and PewDiePie has an audience in the millions. 

Installation

The installation process is relatively straightforward. I strongly recommend watching PewDiePie’s video first, as it explains what the software aims to achieve.

After that, head over to the GitHub repository (https://bit.ly/SMDpew) and follow the instructions for your operating system. Unfortunately, installation is only the beginning. You’ll still need to configure models, services, and permissions. There is some tinkering involved, and there isn’t a giant “Make Everything Work” button yet.

The Email Client

I think the email client is currently the killer feature. It is surprisingly good at suggesting replies, summarising long email chains and even mimicking your writing style. It can help manage appointments, organise conversations, and generally reduce the amount of time you spend staring at your inbox.

What makes it particularly interesting is that much of this can happen without sending your private correspondence to a third-party cloud service. 

Is it perfect? No. But it is one of the smartest implementations of AI-assisted email I’ve seen outside of large corporate products.

Notes, Tasks, and Calendar

The notes and task management features feel like a smart Google Keep with AI. You can create notes, organise projects and keep track of tasks while allowing the AI to search through everything you’ve stored. This makes finding information much easier than scrolling through a sea of folders and sticky notes. The calendar integration is still fairly basic, but the foundation is solid. 

Chat and Agents

The chat interface is exactly what you would expect from a modern AI workspace. You can connect different models, switch between them, and use AI agents to perform tasks.

This is also where Odysseus feels most experimental. Sometimes the agents perform impressively. Other times, it seems to have misunderstood the assignment. That isn’t entirely Odysseus’ fault. AI agents in general are still finding their feet. The more you use it, though, the better it gets, and that’s a feature, not a bug.

Deep Research

One of the more ambitious features is Deep Research. Instead of giving you a quick answer, Odysseus can gather information from multiple sources and compile a more comprehensive report. The results vary depending on the model being used, but the concept is promising. Just remember that AI is often confidently wrong enough that you should verify anything important.

Cookbook and Brains

Perhaps the most delightfully weird feature is Cookbook. Think of it as a library of AI models that you can choose from. It has a score, and it tries to match your CPU, GPU, and RAM to a model that fits within your resources. 

Brains is where you add skills and other things to make operations a little better. It is also where the memory is stored, and this memory is stored offline just like everything else. 

The Nasties

The original project appears reasonably secure, and PewDiePie has been vocal about privacy. However, open-source projects evolve rapidly.

The more contributors a project attracts, the greater the likelihood that bugs, vulnerabilities, or even malicious code will find their way into the ecosystem. That’s not unique to Odysseus. This doesn’t mean Odysseus is unsafe. It simply means caution is warranted.

Should You Install It?

I would install it on a machine that is not my primary computer, and I definitely would not connect it to my main email account just yet. Odysseus is fun. Most importantly, it represents something increasingly rare on the modern internet: software built around ownership and privacy.

My advice would be to wait a few months. Let the hype settle. Let security researchers and developers dig through the code. Let the project mature beyond its current experimental phase. Then revisit it. 

The rise and fall of Openclaw

That is what made OpenClaw interesting when it first appeared. OpenClaw was one of the first open-source agents to genuinely feel useful outside controlled demos. It could navigate apps, control browsers, manipulate files, and automate repetitive workflows using natural language prompts. Suddenly, you did not need to build complicated automation chains or learn scripting just to make your PC do useful things.

You could simply tell it what to do. “Organise my downloads folder.” “Summarise unread emails.” “Pull invoices from Gmail and save them to Dropbox.” And surprisingly often, it worked.

The problem was that OpenClaw tried very hard to remember everything. Every interaction, every context window, every workflow, and behavioral pattern slowly piled up into long-term memory. Initially, this felt impressive. After a while, the system became slower and more cumbersome. Memory retrieval got messy. Old context polluted new tasks. 

Enter Hermes 

That is where Hermes takes a different approach. Hermes still uses persistent memory, but it treats memory more like a curated notebook than a storage locker. Instead of endlessly preserving context, it aggressively summarises, prioritises, and trims information it considers less useful. The goal is not to remember everything. The goal is to remember what matters. That sounds like a tiny distinction until you actually use it.

For example, if you repeatedly ask Hermes to open Slack, check your calendar, and summarise missed project updates every morning, Hermes can slowly turn that into a reusable workflow. But unlike OpenClaw, it is less likely to drag irrelevant historical baggage into the task six weeks later. In other words, Hermes tries to age gracefully.

There is also a noticeable difference in how the two systems approach autonomy. OpenClaw often felt heavily prompt-driven. Hermes appears more willing to break larger goals into smaller actions on its own. Sometimes it feels genuinely clever. Other times it feels like watching a very confident person assemble 
IKEA furniture without instructions. Still, the direction is interesting.

One particularly useful feature is the ability to write self-written skills. Hermes can observe repeated actions and automatically create reusable task modules. Think of it as the agent slowly building shortcuts for itself instead of forcing the user to manually configure everything. That makes Hermes feel less like a chatbot and more like a junior digital operator learning routines over time. Of course, giving an AI agent direct access to your desktop is also slightly insane. Thankfully, Hermes seems to understand this.

The platform separates sensitive operations into permission layers and sandboxes many risky actions. Shell commands, credentials, and external messaging usually require approval depending on your setup. There are also activity logs so you can inspect what the agent actually did after the fact. That said, no amount of security design can protect users from poor judgment.

Do not give experimental AI software unrestricted root access and act shocked when it deletes your movie collection while trying to “optimise storage”. Hermes can automate tasks. It cannot automate common sense. 

There is one small catch. Hermes is primarily designed for Linux environments. Windows users will need WSL2, Microsoft’s Linux compatibility layer, before installation even begins. Thankfully, WSL2 is much less scary than it sounds and can be enabled with only a few commands.

A screen shot of Hermes workflow

If you are on Windows
(Linux and Mac OS can skip this step), start with: 
wsl --install
Then (inside WSL, Linux and Mac users start directly from here): curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/main/scripts/install.sh | bash 
Finally: hermes

Follow the onscreen instructions, and you are done

If you are even remotely nervous about running an AI agent directly on your main operating system, use a virtual machine first. Seriously. Breaking a VM is educational. Breaking your actual work machine is character development.  That said running any agent like this is risky so if you are uncomfortable running this on your own PC, it can also run on a cheaper machine if you are willing to take the AI stuff online to maybe DeepSeek or OpenAI etc, Hermes provides on screen instructions during the initial setup. 

There is also a migration shortcut called hermes-claw-migrate for OpenClaw users who want to migrate existing workflows to Hermes. 

Hermes works similar to OpenClaw in many ways but the architectural difference means that Hermes still works great on day 90 while OpenClaw fails. 

Persistent AI Agents honestly feel like magic and it is very impressive how these systems manage to learn and evolve. Something worth investing a bit of time in learning how to setup, even if it is only for educational purposes.

After playing so many Forza Horizon games, you begin to expect the formula. You know there will be gorgeous cars, a giant open world and enough races to make your social life crumble into dust. Yet unlike annual franchises that merely reshuffle menus and slap a new number on the box, Forza Horizon 6 still feels exciting. Playground Games understands something many racing developers do not. Cars are only half the fantasy. The other half is the world where you are driving one.

Japan is easily the best setting the series has ever had. One minute you are drifting through narrow mountain roads inspired by touge culture and Initial D fantasies. The next you are blasting through crowded city streets glowing with neon signs and vending machines every three metres like some fever dream holiday through Tokyo. Then suddenly the game throws you into snowy mountain roads that look like they escaped from a Subaru commercial.

The map is dense without yet uncluttered. Every area feels handcrafted to encourage reckless driving and stupidly fun experimentation. There are bamboo forests, sleepy fishing villages, sprawling highways and countryside roads that practically beg you to oversteer a Nissan Skyline into a guard rail at 180 kilometres an hour. 

Visually, this may be the best-looking racing game ever made. The weather effects are ridiculous. Rain gathers naturally on the road surface while reflections from city lights bounce across puddles in ways that make you stop mid-race just to stare at the scenery. Autumn transforms entire sections of the map into glowing orange postcards while spring drenches everything in endless Sakura blossoms. It is almost offensively pretty at times.

Thankfully, the driving still feels excellent. Horizon continues to walk the fine line between simulation and arcade racer better than almost anyone else. You can spend hours tuning suspension setups and tyre pressure if you are the kind of person who uses words like “understeer” in normal conversation. Or you can simply grab a ridiculous hypercar and launch yourself off a mountain while listening to synthwave. Both approaches work. Did I mention you race a mecha? Yep Gundam fantasies are also realised. 

The car list is massive and gloriously indulgent; I believe there are over 500 cars to begin with. Japanese car culture finally gets the spotlight it deserves with everything from tiny kei cars to heavily modified drift monsters and legendary JDM classics. Naturally, there are still Ferraris, Lamborghinis and enough Porsches to fill a luxury parking lot in Dubai, but the real stars here are the Japanese icons. Sliding an old RX-7 through wet mountain roads feels spiritually correct.

The online features are also stronger this time around. Convoys are easier to manage, events flow better and the seasonal activities remain dangerously addictive. There is always something distracting you from whatever race you intended to do next. I booted the game up intending to test one car and somehow lost four hours photographing a Honda NSX near a shrine.

Not everything is perfect though. The story mode is painfully forgettable. Horizon has always struggled with this because nobody boots up a racing game hoping for emotional depth and Oscar-worthy dialogue. Still, the attempts at creating quirky festival characters and motivational nonsense feel even flatter this time around. Every time the game dragged me back into story conversations, I just wanted it to shut up and let me drive.

It also occasionally plays things a little too safe. The Horizon formula is so polished now that it rarely surprises outside the setting itself. You know exactly how progression works within the first hour. Fortunately, the core gameplay is so ridiculously fun that it barely matters.

Forza Horizon 6 is pure joy wrapped in carbon fibre and cherry blossoms. It understands the fantasy of driving better than almost any racing game on the market. Playground Games finally gave fans the Japanese Horizon experience they have been demanding for years and somehow exceeded expectations.

If you are looking for your next racing addiction, this is it. Buy Forza Horizon 6 immediately. For anyone with a Game Pass subscription, the game is available from day one, which honestly feels criminal considering how much fun is packed into this thing. This game would have been a 6 out of 5 but I am taking a point off for the poor story. 

Forza Horizon 6
Rating: 5/5
Developer: Playground Games
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platform: XBS, PC
Price: Rs 5,499

Researchers at Cornell University have developed a new computational model explaining how insects achieve stable flight, a breakthrough that could help engineers design better flapping-wing robots.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study identifies five key physical traits that determine flight stability, including wing-to-body mass ratio, hinge placement, and wingbeat frequency.

The findings challenge previous assumptions about insect flight and could simplify the design of robotic flying machines by reducing the need for complex feedback systems.

Scientists discover adhesive tape can “remember” 

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have discovered that ordinary adhesive tape can store and erase multiple “memories,” opening the door to new forms of mechanical computing.

PIC/PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNI

Published in the New Journal of Physics, the study showed that peeling tape to different lengths creates invisible lines of stronger adhesion. These lines act as stored memories that can later be “read” by measuring the force needed to peel the tape away.

While sticky tape is unlikely to replace laptops, understanding how materials store information could help create resilient, energy-efficient technologies in the future.

Invincible, the TV show, has over the last few seasons perfected the art of making you wince and cheer in equal measure. It’s brutally violent, emotionally messy, and, most importantly, consistently entertaining. Naturally, with a roster full of superpowered beings who solve most problems with their fists (or worse), it was only a matter of time before someone turned this into a versus-style fighting game. Enter Invincible VS, a game that leans heavily into that chaos and lets you beat your opponent into a satisfyingly gory pulp.

Now, before you start applauding originality, let’s not pretend this is a brand-new idea. We’ve had the likes of Mortal Kombat doing televised brutality for decades. The difference here is tone. Invincible’s flavor of violence isn’t just over the top, it’s personal, messy, and often uncomfortable. The game, to its credit, understands that.

Before we get into the meat (quite literally), let’s talk about how this game looks. Visually, Invincible VS does a solid job of translating the animated aesthetic into a playable format. The characters look like they’ve stepped straight out of the show, which is exactly what you want. There’s a comic-book sharpness to everything, clean lines, bold colors, and then… absolute carnage layered on top. Thankfully, if watching ribcages become external organs isn’t your thing, you can toggle the gore off. A thoughtful inclusion, though let’s be honest, if you’re playing this, you probably know what you signed up for. Also, this is not a kids’ game. Not even remotely.

Design-wise, the arenas feel alive enough, but they don’t always steal the spotlight, which is probably intentional, given the characters are doing most of the heavy lifting (and breaking). Now, onto something far more important in the Invincible universe: the story.

The game offers a short story mode, clocking in at about six to eight hours. On paper, that sounds fine. In execution, it feels a bit rushed. It tries to capture the emotional weight and narrative depth of the show, but never quite lands. Which is surprising, because everything else around it screams quality. The voice acting, for instance, is top-notch. It’s eerily close to the show to the point where you’ll struggle to tell the difference.

Turns out some of the TV shows ‘ voice actors are also voicing their characters in the game. That authenticity makes the underwhelming story sting a bit more. In my book, this is one of the game’s bigger misses. A stronger narrative could have elevated the entire experience. As it stands, it’s serviceable, but forgettable, and in a universe like Invincible, that’s a bit of a crime. Thankfully, the gameplay picks up the slack.

Invincible VS is a 3v3 tag fighter, which means you’re juggling a team of three heroes (or anti-heroes, because morals are optional here). The controls are simple enough for newcomers to jump in and start throwing punches within minutes. But don’t mistake simplicity for lack of depth. Once you get into it, there’s a surprising amount of strategy involved, timing your switches, chaining abilities, and managing health across your team. 

Beginners can button-mash their way to some fun, while seasoned players can dig into the mechanics and find a more nuanced experience. A balance that is not easy to achieve.

Multiplayer is where things get interesting. With online crossplay baked in, finding matches isn’t a chore, and playing with friends across platforms is a massive win. The experience is mostly smooth, though, as with any online fighter, your mileage will vary depending on your connection quality. That said, this is clearly a game designed to be enjoyed with others.

Pricing-wise, it sits comfortably in the “next-gen” bracket. It’s not cheap, but it’s not outrageous either. There’s clearly some love poured into the game, especially in the combat and presentation. It just feels like that love didn’t quite extend to the story. Would I recommend it? If you’re a fan of versus fighters or enjoy playing with friends, absolutely. If you came here hoping for a deep, narrative-driven experience like the show… maybe temper those expectations. Still, for what it is, Invincible VS is a pretty decent time.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have developed tiny, battery-free metal tags that could transform how smart homes track everyday activity. The tags, smaller than a coin and costing just a few rupees each, emit unique ultrasonic signals when triggered by motion such as opening a door or drawer. Each tag produces a distinct frequency based on its shape, allowing wearable devices to identify specific actions without relying on cameras or microphones. The system offers a more private alternative to traditional smart home sensors. Led by PhD student Yibo Fu, the team says the tags could monitor water use, assist elderly care, or even track gym exercises. Early prototypes have potential applications ranging from libraries to large-scale waste management systems.

Nut-inspired design could lead to tougher helmets 

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi have uncovered how the marri nut, a hard seed from Western Australia, achieves its exceptional toughness. The shell combines rigid outer layers with flexible internal structures, allowing it to absorb heavy impacts without cracking. The nut is so strong that even natural predators struggle to break it. This design could be used to develop better helmets and protective gear. The researchers say such materials could improve safety in industries like construction and transport, where absorbing shock without breaking is critical.

I will be honest here, I wasn’t a big fan of the early trailers for Pragmata. The combat looked like someone mashed two entirely different games together after a long night out, and the visuals, while competent, felt oddly familiar. This was not a game I was particularly excited to review, let alone play. And yet, here we are. Consider me converted, mildly confused, but thoroughly entertained.

Let’s start with the story; you play as Hugh, a gruff spacefarer who ends up partnering with a mysterious young girl named Diana on a deserted lunar research station. That’s the setup. What follows is a narrative that never quite finds its footing. The emotional beats are there, but they land with all the impact of a feather in zero gravity. The relationship between the two leads feels forced at times, think less organic companionship and more “we’re stuck together because the script says so”. There’s an attempt at charm, a dash of mystery, but very little that makes you genuinely care about what happens next. And yet, oddly enough, that doesn’t matter as much as it should.

That’s because the gameplay is where Pragmata earns its keep. This is where Capcom throws caution to the wind and delivers something that is equal parts genius and madness. Combat is a strange hybrid of third-person shooting and real-time puzzle-solving. While Hugh handles the guns, Diana hacks enemy armour via a grid-based puzzle system that you must solve on the fly. Yes, during combat. Yes, while things are actively trying to kill you. It sounds ridiculous, and it absolutely is, but it works.

There’s a rhythm to it once you get past the initial “what on earth is happening” phase. You’re dodging attacks, lining up shots, and simultaneously solving these hacking puzzles to weaken enemies. It’s chaotic, demanding, and at times downright brutal. But it’s also incredibly satisfying when it clicks. Few games demand this level of multitasking, and even fewer pull it off without collapsing under their own ambition. I am pretty sure some future study will show playing this game grows your neural connections or some other neural benefit. 

Weapons, thankfully, are straightforward enough to keep things grounded. You’ve got your standard arsenal of pistols, rifles, and a few heavier options. It’s not about variety so much as about how these tools integrate with the hacking mechanics. Meanwhile, Diana’s role isn’t just a gimmick; she’s central to everything. Without her, you’re essentially shooting at very expensive bullet sponges.

Graphically, Pragmata sits in that awkward space between impressive and inconsistent. The environments, particularly the stark, desolate lunar landscapes, look fantastic. There’s a sense of isolation that the game captures well. However, character models and certain design choices don’t quite hit the same highs. It’s polished, but not groundbreaking, and occasionally feels like it’s playing it a bit too safe visually. 

Where Capcom does stumble, quite noticeably, is in world-building. There’s a fascinating premise here, a stranded colony, rogue AI systems, a mysterious child, but the game never fully explores it. You’re given just enough to stay curious, but not enough to feel invested. It’s like being handed a brilliant novel and only getting to read the blurb at the back.

That said, gameplay is the bread, butter, and jam here, and possibly the entire breakfast menu. What I initially thought would be an overcomplicated mess turned out to be the game’s biggest strength. It’s unique, it’s challenging, and most importantly, it’s memorable. In an industry that often plays it safe, Pragmata deserves credit for taking a massive swing. 

At around 13–14 hours for the main campaign, it doesn’t overstay its welcome either. In fact, you might find yourself wishing for a bit more, particularly on the story front. There’s potential here for something truly special if Capcom decides to build on this foundation. 

So, should you play it? Absolutely. Despite its narrative shortcomings and occasional design missteps, Pragmata is one of those rare games that dares to be different and actually gets away with it.

Electric vehicles could play a key role in helping cities like Mumbai run more efficiently on solar energy, according to a new study from Columbia Engineering. Researchers found that EV batteries can act as backup power sources during short disruptions such as cloud cover or heavy rain, which are common in tropical regions.

Mumbai, which faces frequent monsoon showers and growing energy demand, could benefit from this approach. Instead of investing heavily in new grid infrastructure, parked electric cars could feed stored energy back into the grid during brief drops in solar generation. Once sunlight returns, the vehicles can recharge.

Even cities with relatively low car ownership can benefit. For Mumbai, this could mean a more stable, cost-effective path to expanding solar energy without major upgrades to its already strained power network.

Plastic waste transformed into hydrogen fuel 

PIC/UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a solar-powered reactor that converts plastic waste and used car battery acid into clean hydrogen fuel and useful chemicals. The system uses sunlight to break down difficult-to-recycle plastics, including bottles, textiles, and foams, addressing a growing global waste problem in which only a small fraction of plastic is recycled.

The process uses acid recovered from old car batteries, which is usually discarded, to break plastics into much simpler compounds. Researchers say the method could offer a cheaper, more sustainable recycling alternative, turning two waste streams into valuable resources and supporting cleaner energy production.

I have some history with Crimson Desert. I first played it in 2024 when it was little more than a tech demo, and then again at Gamescom last year as a more complete experience. At the time, I was not particularly impressed. The controls felt complicated and tedious, although the game looked fantastic on the test system. So, what has changed?

The game begins with a long and frankly unnecessary loading screen. It took close to 20 minutes before I could actually start playing. You are then dropped into a town as part of a group called the Greymanes. After a few conversations with key members, things quickly take a turn. Within moments, your companions are killed, and you are left for dead. Except you are not.

Despite having your throat slit, you somehow survive. It sets the tone for a story that never quite finds its footing. The dialogue is often corny, and the cutscenes cannot be skipped, only sped up. That becomes a problem because much of the story feels underdeveloped, and even if you follow it through, the payoff is not particularly satisfying. 

That said, the story is not the issue here. The controls are. From the tutorial all the way to later stages like taming your dragon, the control system feels overly complicated. Button combinations are awkward and often frustrating to execute. This was an issue when I played the game at Gamescom, and it remains one at launch. 

Combat does not help matters. Enemy encounters tend to drag on, with waves of enemies appearing as soon as you clear the previous group. It becomes tiring very quickly. Boss fights are frequent and often feel unnecessarily difficult, not because of smart design, but because of inflated health bars and relentless attacks.

Now, with all that out of the way, there are things this game does very well. Once you get past the initial setup and tutorial, the game gives you a great deal of freedom. You can explore almost anywhere, and the scale of the world is impressive. In fact, it is one of the largest game worlds I have seen. The visuals are a standout feature. There is a sense of scale and ambition here that few games manage to achieve.

It is clear that the developers are aware of both the strengths and weaknesses of the game. Since launch, there have been multiple patches aimed at improving the experience. However, a review has to reflect the game as of now.

Right now, Crimson Desert feels like a mix of ideas inspired by games like GTA V, Dead Souls, The Witcher, and a dozen others, but it does not execute them consistently. There are glimpses of something special, but they are held back by core issues that affect moment-to-moment gameplay.

I did not dislike the game entirely. There is enough here to suggest it could become something much better over time. It feels like a sleeper hit that simply is not ready yet. Would I recommend buying it at full price right now? No.

Would it be worth picking up later once it has been improved? Possibly. Think of it like Cyberpunk at launch compared to what it became later. If the developers continue to support and refine the game, there is a chance it could turn things around.

Form and Function

As far as Nothing phones go, these two feel like the brand at its most mainstream, especially the 4a. I love the colour choices, and even though I tested the white version, I would personally pick the pink or blue because they look fantastic.

The 4a Pro, on the other hand, sits somewhere between a conventional flagship and a quirky Nothing device. It looks playful, but it also feels expensive in the hand. The glyph interface is more useful here too, with customised icons and indicators that make it easier to keep tabs on your phone without having it screaming for attention at full volume. I like the Pro’s colour options as well, but purely on looks, I still think the 4a is the nicer phone. The Pro, however, wins on build quality and heft. It feels more premium the moment you pick it up.

Neither of these phones is trying to be a full-fat flagship, so naturally the specs are a little more grounded. That said, the hardware story is only half the point. Nothing’s software is where these phones really earn their keep. Nothing OS is clean, fast and refreshingly respectful of the person using it. There is very little bloat, no nonsense trying to drag you into some alternate app store, and no mountain of preloaded junk you did not ask for. Everything feels smooth, the camera app is excellent, and the whole experience is polished in a way that makes both phones feel pricier than they actually are.

Camera

The camera on the 4a is good, but not consistently so. There were times when it refused to switch into macro no matter how much I coaxed it, and some of the colour correction occasionally made images look darker than they actually were. The 4a Pro is much stronger. Some of the photos I took on it came out looking frame-worthy straight from the phone, which is always a nice surprise. 

Conclusion

Between AI obsession, rising component costs, and the general madness surrounding consumer tech right now, electronics are only getting pricier. So I can respect a smaller company choosing to make usable, experience-driven phones instead of trying to win a spreadsheet war. That, to me, is the logic behind the 4a and 4a Pro. 

So here is the recommendation. If you care less about raw specs and more about how a phone actually feels to live with, both the Nothing 4a and 4a Pro are easy to like. They are good-looking, well-priced, and pleasant to use in a way many phones in this range simply are not. My personal preference is the Pro, partly because I do enjoy a bit more hardware when I can get it, but the 4a is arguably the more charming design. Really, it comes down to budget. Starting at Rs 31,999 for the Nothing 4a and Rs 39,999 for the Nothing 4a Pro, both feel fairly priced for what they offer.

Nothing 4A

Pros
>> Looks expensive with great colour options
>> Nothing OS is spectacular, and the overall experience is top-notch
>> Great display
>> Camera is pretty decent

Cons
>> No wireless charging
>> No eSIM
>> Glyph interface could be more interesting.

Nothing 4A Pro

Pros
>> Looks and feels expensive with great colour options
>> Clean software that works well
>> Very good camera
>> Glyph interface is genuinely fun here
>> Excellent display

Cons
>> A bit on the heavier side
>> Auto-brightness can be annoying

Detailed in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the platform is designed to support CAR-iNKT cells, which has shown potential against both solid tumours and blood cancers but often loses strength after entering the body.

The device uses biomimetic microparticles implanted near a tumour to attract these cells and reactivate them with localised signals. Researchers said it could improve future cancer immunotherapies.

That is where the WWE 2K26 sits.

Last year’s WWE 2K25 was excellent and felt like a fully realised wrestling game. It had problems, sure, but it also felt like a confident package. That means expectations for WWE 2K26 were sky high. The good news is that this is still a very entertaining wrestling game. The bad news is that some of its new ideas feel less like fan service and more like someone in a boardroom discovering the words “engagement metrics”.

Let us start with the obvious good stuff. The roster is massive, and it feels indulgent in the best possible way. There are enough current stars, legends, alternates, and unlockables here to keep most wrestling fans busy for an unhealthy amount of time. Whether you want to book CM Punk into dream matches, recreate modern feuds, or commit absolute nonsense in a hardcore match with people who should never be near a chair, the game gives you the tools.

The surrounding modes are reasonably packed with useful tweaks rather than dramatic reinventions, though MyRise disappoints with too much filler between story beats.

In motion, the game does a lot right. Entrances feel bigger, lighting is stronger, and there is a real effort to push the pageantry of WWE onto your screen. The wrestlers sweat more, bleed more, bruise more and generally look like they have actually been through a match rather than a mildly heated disagreement. Being able to trigger taunts and pyro during the walk to the ring is silly, unnecessary, and exactly the kind of thing a wrestling game should have. It adds personality. 

Character models are still a mixed bag, though. Some stars look fantastic. Others look like highly expensive waxwork projects that got rushed out before the museum opened. A few entrance animations also feel dated, which stands out more because the rest of the presentation is trying so hard to feel fresh. It is not ugly by any means, but this is not such a revolutionary visual leap either.

Gameplay

The biggest change is the reversal stamina system. Reversals now cost more, and if you burn through your stamina, you become winded and lose some of your defensive safety net. That means matches cannot just become a contest of who presses reverse at the right moment forever. You actually have to think about pacing. It forces players to vary their offence, time their counters properly, and occasionally stop trying to wrestle like a caffeinated maniac.
The new match types are also a welcome addition, even if not all of them are equally exciting. I Quit is probably the standout because it feels tense and nasty in the right ways. Inferno is a fun spectacle because, of course, setting your opponent on fire is still peak wrestling-game nonsense. Dumpster is fine, though it is basically another variation of a familiar gimmick match. Three Stages of Hell is great for those who like turning one grudge into a small trilogy.

Add in thumbtacks, improved weapon physics, and more environmental interaction, and WWE 2K26 becomes a very enjoyable sandbox. It is chaotic, theatrical, and often gloriously stupid. That is exactly what it should be.

The issue is that the game increasingly feels like it wants to monetise your enthusiasm. The new Ringside Pass system replaces the more straightforward DLC model with something closer to a battle pass. Yes, there are rewards to unlock. Yes, some players will enjoy grinding through it. But it can feel excessive, especially if you are not sinking absurd hours into the game. 

Modes like The Island and MyFaction already flirt with the kind of design that nudges players towards spending money, and Ringside Pass adds another layer to that. This is where the “EA-esque money grab” feeling starts creeping in. It does not completely poison the experience, but it definitely leaves a sour aftertaste. 

Conclusion

WWE 2K26 is a very good wrestling game. It is fun, packed with content, and at its best when it lets you revel in the absurd theatre of WWE. The new match types are enjoyable, the reversal stamina system is a smart change, and the overall presentation brings the over-the-top spectacle of wrestling to your TV.
At the same time, there are warning signs. The monetisation feels more aggressive, some long-running issues remain, and this is not such a huge leap over WWE 2K25 that everyone needs to rush out and upgrade immediately.

For hardcore wrestling fans, this is still close to essential. You will get a lot out of it and probably forgive its nonsense. For casual players, especially those who already own WWE 2K25, the case is less convincing. 

WWE 2K26
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Visual Concepts
Publisher: 2K
Platform: PC, XBS, PS5
Price: PC: Rs 3,999, Consoles: Rs 4,999

However, as product designers push the boundaries of geometry, many manufacturers find themselves hitting a "productivity wall." Traditional saw-cutting, manual drilling, and even adapted flat-bed laser systems often struggle to maintain the tight tolerances required by these sophisticated designs. The challenge isn’t just about making a cut; it’s about mastering dynamic stability in a high-speed environment. This is where purpose-built, special tube laser cutting systems are transforming the industry into a high-precision automated science.

The Mechanical Reality: Why Irregular Tubes Defy Standard Processing

To understand why dedicated technology is necessary, one must first look at the physics of the material in motion. Cutting an irregular tube is a vastly different mechanical challenge than processing a symmetrical one.

1. The Centrifugal Force Imbalance

When a round tube rotates, its mass is distributed evenly around the center of rotation. In contrast, an asymmetric or elliptical tube creates uneven centrifugal forces. At high RPMs, this imbalance generates micro-vibrations that can ripple through the entire machine frame. Without a high-rigidity, heat-treated cutting bed, these vibrations lead to "chatter marks" on the cut surface and dimensional deviations that make downstream assembly a nightmare.

2. The Inertia Challenge in Motion Control

Precision cutting requires the laser head to maintain a constant distance and angle relative to the tube’s surface. On a complex extrusion, the machine must accelerate and decelerate its axes with extreme agility. This is a battle against inertia. Standard steel crossbeams, while strong, are often too heavy to react with the necessary speed. This has led to the adoption of aerospace-grade aluminum crossbeams, which offer an optimal strength-to-weight ratio. By reducing the moving mass, the system can achieve higher G-force acceleration, ensuring accuracy during high-speed transitions.

Technical Pillars of a High-Performance Tube System

A professional-grade system for irregular tubes is defined by the synergy between intelligent software and robust hardware.

I. Intelligent Control & Real-Time Path Compensation

Modern irregular tube fabrication relies on "Active Sensing" technology. Advanced intelligent control systems utilize sensors to map the tube’s actual profile in real-time, adjusting the cutting path millisecond by millisecond. This ensures that a hole cut on one side of an oval tube aligns perfectly with the joint on the other, regardless of minor material deviations.

II. Adaptive Clamping & Concentric Stability

Clamping is the unsung hero of tube fabrication. For irregular profiles, a standard two-jaw chuck is insufficient. High-end systems utilize pneumatic self-centering chucks with multi-point contact. These chucks automatically adjust their gripping pressure based on the profile's surface area, preventing deformation of thin-walled tubes while maintaining a rock-solid grip on heavy-duty extrusions.

III. Thermal Management and Material Specifics

Different materials react uniquely to laser energy. For instance, processing stainless steel requires high-pressure nitrogen to prevent oxidation, while carbon steel benefits from oxygen-assisted cutting for maximum speed. A dedicated system manages these gas pressures automatically, synchronized with the movement of the laser head to preserve the structural integrity of the tube.

Environmental Sustainability: The Zonal Extraction Advantage

In the modern factory, efficiency is also measured by the health of the environment. Cutting tubes creates a "chimney effect" where smoke and metal dust are trapped inside the profile. Leading-edge machines now feature eco-friendly zonal extraction systems. By concentrating suction only at the point of the cut, these systems remove 95% of particulates, protecting the machine's sensitive optical components and ensuring a clean, safe workspace for operators.

The Macro Impact: ROI Beyond the Cutting Station

The true return on investment (ROI) for dedicated tube laser technology is found in the elimination of secondary processes:

• Zero-Gap Welding: Precision fit-up allows for faster robotic welding and reduces filler wire consumption.
• Simplified Assembly: Parts "click" together like Lego blocks, eliminating the need for manual grinding or heavy jigs.
• Brand Quality: For visible structural components, the aesthetic quality of a laser-cut edge is a major market differentiator.

Strategic Selection: How to Evaluate Your Next System

For manufacturers ready to upgrade, the focus should be on the "Three Pillars of Reliability":

1. Structural Integrity: A heavy-duty, high-rigidity bed to dampen vibrations.
2. Dynamic Response: Lightweight, high-strength aluminum crossbeams for agile contouring.
3. Support Ecosystem: Access to 24/7 technical support and professional training to maximize software potential.

Conclusion: Future-Proofing Your Production

As we move deeper into the era of Industry 4.0, the "standard" tube is becoming a thing of the past. Investing in dedicated, intelligent tube laser cutting systems is more than a hardware purchase; it is a strategic decision to master complexity. By leveraging aerospace-grade materials, high-rigidity engineering, and real-time control software, fabrication shops can transform difficult irregular tube designs into a streamlined, high-margin production reality.

Looking to enhance your tube fabrication capabilities? Contact our technical team for a professional consultation and training session.

Hotel Barcelona looks really cool; it’s got some style elements of No More Heroes, which makes it stand out, but at the same time, the gameplay and combat are fluid and fast. It’s a nice mechanism, but if like me you like to explore all the doors you encounter, you will simply be stuck playing a single level over and over again as the time runs out. 

While there is much to love in this game, I must complain that the tutorial doesn’t do a good job of adequately training you for what’s to come. It is frustrating and takes a while to figure out how to progress. 

Hotel Barcelona has the right mix of a decent enough story, interesting visuals, and fluid combat to keep you hooked for a while. I personally enjoyed it, but it is not an easy game to play even in Story mode. For under Rs 1000, this game is a steal.

Hotel Barcelona: Under New Management
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer and Publisher: White Owls Inc
Platform: PC
Price: Rs 845

The big trick this time is the split between Grace Ashcroft and Leon Kennedy. On paper, this sounds like the sort of idea that could go spectacularly wrong. One side gives you fear, stealth, and vulnerability. The other gives you swagger, gunfire, and enough confidence to make a BOW question its own career choices. In practice, it works far better than it should.

Grace is the anxious pulse of the game. Her sections lean into what modern Resident Evil does best: slow-building dread, tight spaces, scarce resources, and the constant feeling that every creak in the room is a personal insult. You are forced to think, to conserve, to sneak, and occasionally to run as your rent depends on it. The hospital and care-facility style environments are especially good at making you feel trapped in a maze designed by someone with a medical degree and serious emotional issues.

Her fear also feels human. Unlike the usual horror-game hero who reacts to monstrosities with the emotional range of a toaster, Grace trembles, panics, and struggles. That vulnerability adds real weight to her gameplay. The puzzles tied to her sections are satisfying, even if a few of them could be truly brain-melting. Still, the balance between stealth, scavenging, and survival is excellent, and when the game unleashes its larger horrors on her, it becomes properly nerve-racking.

Then there is Leon, who enters the game like he knows he is the coolest man in any room, even if that room is on fire and full of infected. His sections trade terror for momentum, and honestly, what a relief. After carefully tiptoeing through Grace’s nightmare, stepping into Leon’s shoes feels like being handed permission to solve your problems with bullets, axes, and dramatic timing.

Capcom has absolutely nailed his combat. Guns feel weighty, melee is brutal and responsive, and the parry system is the sort of thing that makes you want to fight enemies just because it looks cool. Leon’s chapters still have structure, pacing, and just enough pressure to keep things tense. He is overpowered compared with Grace, yes, but that contrast is the point. Requiem is at its best when it swings between these two energies and lets each one sharpen the other.

Visually, the game is absurdly good. The lighting does a lot of heavy lifting, especially in the darker interiors, where every shadow looks like it might be hiding trauma. The sound design deserves special mention, too. This is headphone gaming in the best and worst possible way. Every moan, shriek, and distant thud feels engineered to make your skin crawl.

That said, the game is not flawless. Some boss fights are more spectacle than substance, and a few story beats near the back end get a little too tangled up in franchise baggage. Still, the emotional core lands more often than it misses, and that matters.

Resident Evil Requiem surprised me. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill horror shooter, but what I got instead was sophisticated gameplay and storytelling that had me at the edge of my seat. I really loved the stealth missions with Grace Ashcroft as much as I enjoyed “the answer is more violence and gore” with Leon Kennedy. If you are into the horror genre of gaming, this one is a no-brainer; just buy it.

Resident Evil Requiem
Rating: 4.5/5
Developer and Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PC, PS5, XBS
Price: Rs 5199