Games

09 May

The game that makes me actually want to exercise

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Trending

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 127, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, my Scorpion challenges your Sub-Zero to a duel, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about Hasan Piker and lines and David Sacks and sleep learning, catching up on Andor (for me) and Young Jedi Adventures (for my toddler), poring over thousands of new Artemis II photos, listening to many hours of possibly the longest YouTube video ever, taking more walks thanks to Pedometer++ 8.0, losing…

Read More

18 Jan

Kaoss Pad V is the first major upgrade to Korg’s touch-based effects in 13 years

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

The Kaoss Pad has seen many different iterations, but the mainline effect unit and sampler hasn't received an update since the launch of the KP3+ in 2013. Korg has finally given it the attention it deserves with the release of the Kaoss Pad V. Rather than a dramatic reimagining of what a Kaoss Pad is, the V takes the core idea - an effect unit with an X / Y pad for controlling parameters in a natural, performance-focused way. The big innovation on the Kaoss Pad V is that it can recognize two fingers simultaneously to control two distinct sets…

Read More

17 Jan

A cute frog game that remixes Nintendo’s best

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

While playing Big Hops, a new 3D platformer starring an adorable frog, I kept feeling like I was breaking the game - and, like with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, breaking it is kind of the point. In Big Hops, you play as a frog named Hop. Early on, Hop is taken away from his home, and he works to get back by collecting airship parts from a few different areas, each with its own cute animal characters and storylines. Because he's a frog, the primary way you interact with things is by slinging his tongue. You…

Read More

09 Jan

Xbox’s Towerborne is switching from a free-to-play game to a paid one

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

Towerborne, a side-scrolling action RPG published by Xbox Game Studios that has been available in early access, will officially launch on February 26th. But instead of launching as a free-to-play, always-on online game as originally planned, Towerborne is instead going to be a paid game that you can play offline. "You will own the complete experience permanently, with offline play and online co-op," Trisha Stouffer, CEO and president of Towerborne developer Stoic, says in an Xbox Wire blog post. "This change required deep structural rebuilding over the past year, transforming systems originally designed around constant connectivity. The res … Read…

Read More

03 Jan

Surprise, surprise: Silksong wins Steam’s Game of the Year

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames

Valve has announced the winners of the 2025 Steam Awards and, unsurprisingly, Hollow Knight: Silksong, took home the Game of the Year honors. It was also given the "Best Game You Suck At" award, which, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Given the relentless fawning over Silksong since its release in September, an event that nearly brought the entire digital video game distribution system to its knees, that it would win Game of the Year felt like something of a forgone conclusion. The Best Game on Steam Deck was awarded to Hades II (an award we'd…

Read More

30 Dec

The OneXSugar Wallet is the first gaming handheld with a folding screen

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

Folding OLED displays are still most commonly found on premium smartphones and laptops, but One-Netbook is bringing the tech to a new gaming device. Its new OneXSugar Wallet is reminiscent of the company's folding OneXSugar Sugar 1 handheld that launched earlier this year. But instead of two screens, the Wallet handheld unfolds to reveal just one big 8.01-inch OLED screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, as spotted by Retro Handhelds. The OneXSugar Wallet was announced on China's Weibo yesterday, but with few details about its features and capabilities. That folding OLED screen has a resolution of 2480 x 1860 pixels,…

Read More

28 Dec

The best PS5 games from 2025

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

In this new era of console… inclusivity? driven by Sony and mostly Microsoft bringing their exclusives to other platforms, it's getting harder to highlight games that make a singular console shine. Indeed, the top-performing games year after year on both PlayStation and Xbox are multiplatform releases, and often the best games of the year, like 2025 GOTY winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, similarly launch on most everything. (Once again, like in all things, Nintendo is the exception.) But while lists like this will probably disappear as we get deeper into the era of everything being an Xbox, Sony still seems…

Read More

27 Dec

8 great games for your Steam Deck from 2025

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

I played a lot of games on my Steam Deck this year. It seemed like there was a never-ending list of incredible indie games to try - The Verge wrote about a lot of them! - and many worked brilliantly on Valve's handheld gaming PC. Some bigger games made a splash on Steam Deck, too, and while they may not look as good as on a beefy PC, I'm usually happy to deal with that simply because I can play them on the couch or out of the house. If you're unwrapping a Steam Deck for the holidays this year,…

Read More

26 Dec

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and other Switch games are up to 50 percent off

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

Unlike the day after Thanksgiving, when people are rushing online and to the stores to look for deals, the day after Christmas is usually a time to recover from the festivities and check your budget to see how much all that gifting has cost you. However, if you're in a shopping mood, or if you suddenly realized you forgot somebody important, there are still some deals out there. For example, Nintendo is offering a bunch of its best-known games at deals ranging from 25 to 50 percent off. These include Princess Peach: Showtime ($41.99 down from $59.99), The Legend of…

Read More

24 Dec

Sony’s souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro is $100 off for the rest of today

hightechz.net0 CommentsGames, Products

Sony’s full suite of PlayStation 5 consoles jumped in price in August due to increased US tariffs, but now through Christmas, you can save $100 on several models. This discount is especially great if you planned to go big with Sony’s PS5 Pro, the company’s priciest, most powerful console yet. Normally $749.99, you can currently grab one at Amazon, Walmart, and Target for around $689.99. Sony’s PlayStation Direct storefront indicates that the PS5 Pro sale ends on December 25th at 3AM ET, although discounts may remain on cheaper models. PlayStation 5 Pro Where to Buy: $749 $648.99 at Amazon $749…

Read More