You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/rha-trueconnect-wireless-bluetooth-earbuds.1201/

RHA are an independent audio company based in Glasgow intent on providing innovation and function in a tantalising package. Prior to this review, they were a complete unknown to me, and honestly I find that a great shame—I’ve come out of it with something new to keep a keen eye on.

What I have to look at today, or more precisely listen to, are RHA’s TrueConnect wireless earbuds, their true wireless offering. For those used to more conventional wired earphones on the go, true wireless are exactly as the name suggests, offering two unattached earbuds, usually with a case to charge them in. In general, they’re really quite liberating, and far more discreet than other wireless designs. The TrueConnect do little to stray from convention, once unboxed showing an incredibly stylish case, as well as the earbuds themselves. The case and earbuds are available in black, white, or navy blue, with the black ones being on display here. I can’t fault the design. It’s sleek, stylish, and the ‘stalk’ on the buds makes fitting them into the case a trivial affair, with them guided in comfortably. The closest comparison I can find, and the one perhaps on people’s minds as they read this, is Apple’s AirPods. They’re true wireless, they have a sleek case and design, and they even have the same ‘stalk’ coming from the bud itself. On top of that, they’re priced at a very similar point of £159, compared to the TrueConnect’s £150. Fighting the Goliath that is Apple, there stands the elephant in the room: what do these do to stand toe to toe?

Now not owning AirPods myself, a comparison of audio quality is difficult. What I can say, however, is that the TrueConnect are truly sublime. Connecting to your Bluetooth-enabled device with a pleasant ringing sound effect, the experience is leagues beyond other, admittedly cheaper, earphones I’ve used. On my Android phone, the pairing process was as simple as finding them in the Bluetooth devices list and letting them connect. Subsequent connections were automatic when removing them from the case. A pleasant touch I noticed with Android is that it displays the current battery level, something not otherwise visible on the earbuds.

Music just sounds right. Bass isn’t overamplified, lyrics are crisp amongst their accompaniments—the experience is something I struggle to fault. Pushing the volume to its maximum was something I was eager to test, with cheaper devices distorting the audio slightly, or what I can only describe as a ‘booming’ sensation as they try to be louder than they’re realistically built to be. The TrueConnect at their loudest, compared to others I’ve tried, doesn’t feel all too loud, but at the same time I struggle to feel underwhelmed. The quality is still there, and I’m suitably oblivious to my surroundings. It’s as though they understood the device’s limits and worked within them, which is something you’d perhaps expect as standard. At the other end of the spectrum, the quietest settings left me with a surprisingly clear sound that almost didn’t feel like it came from the earphones. Though obviously muffled, I could remain entirely aware of the goings on around me alongside the handpicked soundtrack to my life. If you’re after something for this purpose exclusively, I might recommend you steer clear and instead look into bone conduction headphones, these aiming to provide audio without obstructing your ears. The TrueConnect are a fantastic all-around choice, but the fact remains they are still earbuds by design.

Moving past audio quality, the TrueConnect have a few interesting things to offer. You have IPX5 water resistance (more on what that actually means here for those interested), a great assortment of tips for the buds themselves, and, quite bizarrely, a bar of chocolate. I question whether the chocolate was an exclusive offering for reviewers, but I can hope it’s available as standard. It’s a strange touch, but it goes a long way in adding a sense of premium to what is ultimately a very premium product. It’s also delicious, maybe the greatest bar of chocolate I’ve ever had. Changing the tips was a bit of a learning experience, with some of the larger foam ones leaving me concerned I’d damaged them trying to remove them from the metal plate. Thankfully, they soon returned to their original shape. Having tried out a few of the available offerings, I found myself most comfortable with the ones that came as standard, but the choice of size and style is something I can really appreciate. Going back to AirPods, this is something you only get on the pricier Pro version; the same can be said for water resistance, the AirPods Pro falling just short of the TrueConnect with its IPX4 rating. 

When it comes to battery life, you have what I see as a slightly above average five hours of advertised playback time, with an additional 20 possible thanks to the case and its impressive charging times. 50% charge in 15 minutes is fantastic, providing you with two and a half hours of playback from pocketing the earbuds momentarily. From what I’ve experienced, the advertised battery life is around what I got, though it’s hard to pin an exact number down when I rarely have five consecutive hours spare for a more thorough test. 

Perhaps the only point of contention for me in a review for GBAtemp is how poorly they perform for games, this solely falling on the delay you see in Bluetooth audio devices. Clocking in at around a second, I’ve definitely had worse, but it’s just too jarring for me to be able to play anything without feeling distracted. When watching downloaded videos, you can negate this by adding a delay with your player of choice, and with music this is naturally not a problem in any way. This isn’t the kind of device I’d recommend for gaming, and I think that’s fine. These are earbuds for being out and about, for listening to music while you work, while you exercise, or just while you’re getting ready. If you’re looking for freedom from wires with no detriment to sound quality, I say look no further. Yes, these cost a pretty penny, but you get what you pay for, and with a three year international warranty, RHA have faith they’re built to last.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/new-super-luckys-tale.1188/

Lucky is a name I didn’t know. Debuting in a launch title for the Oculus Rift in Lucky’s Tale, and later coming to PC and Xbox One in Super Lucky’s Tale, the fox eluded me as a mediocre attempt to kick off a new cutesy mascot platformer. I dismissed him outright, but looking back now, perhaps I was wrong to do so.

Taking a leaf out of Mario’s book, Lucky returns in a confusingly titled game for the Switch, New Super Lucky’s Tale. What makes this particularly odd is the fact that this is, as it happens, not a new tale, instead expanding upon the original ideas shown in Super Lucky’s Tale. While with many a different game, this would usually mean a few updated graphics and maybe a bonus level or two. Our foxy friend however finds himself embarking on a completely different adventure, following the same story and the same overarching structure. As an outsider looking into the series, I feel it best to describe it as a do-over, Playful Corp’s realisation there was something more lurking in their previous ideas that they just wanted to take in another direction. Though I can’t speak of the original game’s quality, I can say this version does not disappoint.

Opening with a fully-voiced cutscene to set the stage, Lucky starts out strong. The antagonist, Jynx the cat, tried to steal the all-powerful book of ages. He fails, and Lucky gets pulled into a separate world with its now-separated pages after a bit of a scuffle. The general cycle sees you be transported to a world, collect some pages, beat one of Jynx’s crew, and head to the next world, eventually ending up in a showdown against the big kahuna himself. The gameplay loop is simple and familiar, evoking fond memories of Super Mario 64. Each of the game’s six worlds are broken down into self-contained levels, along with a hub area; to draw an easy comparison, the castle and its paintings. Each level has four pages up for grabs: one for completing the level, one for collecting 300 coins, one for finding each letter of our protagonist’s name, and one secret one, often hidden behind an optional puzzle or platforming challenge. Ranging anywhere from traditional 3D platforming, to short questlines, to 2D platforming, and even runner sequences, the levels constantly found a way to keep me engaged. No two levels felt the same, each surprising me in their ability to stand out in what I otherwise assumed to be a generic by the books game.

Graphically and stylistically, the game oozes charm. Each world has a theme, with each level revolving around a central idea matching the theme. For example, in the second world, Veggie Village, you have a town of farming worms facing the threat of machination as the Kitty Litter’s genius inventor Tess moves in to make things more efficient. From this basic setup, you have a good mix of interesting ideas. There’s oversized chickens that need to be freed from mysterious devices, there’s a folk band that need to be reunited, you help the Carrot King himself oust the garlic menace—there’s even a 2D level focused on avoiding what I can only assume to be spiky fruit. To fall back to a simple word, it’s fun—brilliantly so. I can without reservation say I haven’t had this much fun with a 3D platformer since Super Mario 64. There’s life in every part of the game, from the Sims-esque garbled and yet somehow emotive language, to the bizarre themes and self-serving yet ever-amusing Kitty Litter, to the challenges and quests presented to you in levels. It’s a game a child could pick up and an adult could enjoy, and a large part of that enjoyment stems from the satisfying movement.

To me, any kind of platformer starts and ends with how it controls. Your character might be unresponsive, have a dissatisfying jump, an ever-so-slightly off hitbox, there could be a lack of feedback—any number of minor issues can completely ruin an otherwise brilliant game. Coming from, as you might expect, the stunningly refined Mario series, you get a taste for a control scheme that just works. You want a reasonable jump, you want to turn quickly, to hear a fun sound effect as you stomp an enemy. There are things you take for granted as standard, and there are things you really don’t expect other platformers to nail in quite the same way. Lucky feels great, but it’s not as seamless an experience as a Mario game might be. You have a double jump, a tail swipe, and a dive to burrow underground or slide along solid floors. That’s it; on paper there’s little to learn, with each part of the moveset being introduced in the first level quite enjoyably. The jumps feel great, providing ample height and distance, with tail swiping enabling you to go just that bit further if timed properly. Burrowing is fluid and natural, the animation weaving seamlessly in a way that makes you just want to keep doing it. Where you’ll perhaps need a moment of adjustment is in the movement itself—turning in particular. In what I assume to be an attempt to create a more fluid sequence of animation, you turn in an arc, in oppose to turning quickly on the spot. It’s a small difference to what I’m used to, but it was enough to throw me off until I got my act together. You definitely get used to it within a level or so, but I had a good bit of frustration for the first ten or so minutes as I learned the basics.

Outside of that minor complaint, there’s really only one negative I can think of with New Super Lucky’s Tale: loading times. From starting the game to getting to the main menu, it took 38 seconds. From the main menu to loading my current hub world, it took 35 seconds. From my current hub world to loading one of its levels, it took 18 seconds. It adds up, but for much of the game, it falls to the back of your mind. Around 20 seconds between levels isn’t ideal, but the moment of respite to enjoy some well-written messages in the loading screen at least kept me entertained. That was, at least, until I hit my first runner stage. For those not familiar with the format, this kind of level sees you constantly moving forwards, the challenge lying in timing your jumps properly to collect everything as you go. As a completionist, I wanted to collect everything, but found myself greatly frustrated at the lack of option to restart the level. Missed something? 20 seconds to load back into the hub world, followed by another 20 seconds to reload the level. It’s here the frustration kicked in, and it’s here I really became aware of the loading times. It’s a shame to see the game held back by such a trivial thing, but the more you play, the more you start to realise the wholesome messages of Greg the Mailgolem can’t keep you occupied forever.

All in all though, New Super Lucky’s Tale is a great game that genuinely shocked me. Going in expecting some malformed and unintentionally nightmarish mascot character awkwardly stumbling through generic levels, the charm offensive and overall polish caught me off-guard. This is a game that belongs on Nintendo platforms, and I can only hope it sees a proper sequel, even if it takes some time to load.