You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/nuphy-halo96-mechanical-keyboard.2226/

Like many a keyboard creator before them, NuPhy were until recently a complete unknown to me. Appearing seemingly out of nowhere with some really interesting-looking designs and layouts, I was incredibly excited to jump into my first 96% layout. Do they do enough to stand up in this ever-crowded market though?

While NuPhy might be a little newer on the scene than some of its competitors, they’ve done a great job out of the gate in delivering keyboards that look fantastic in some interesting layouts. 96% is a layout I’d not seen until recently, with it striking a nice balance between the compact nature of a tenkeyless board with the functionality of a full-sized one. Notably, the end result is a design with no spacing at all between the main keys and the numpad. It does take a bit of getting used to, with the smaller 0 key also feeling a bit wrong at first. Once you get past that first hurdle though, you’re in for a really good time. To my eye, the only keys you miss with the 96% layout are Insert, Scroll Lock, and Pause; even on my full-sized keyboards I’m fairly sure I’ve only pressed these keys in error. Losing these keys really will be nothing more than trimming the fat for most.

In terms of connectivity, NuPhy are on board with the recent trend of offering both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connetions to go with your regular USB C wired option. Though I’m a person that will usually opt for a mouse, I can’t express just how nice it is to have the option to drag a keyboard over to a different PC without having to fish cables out from my desk. The dongle fits securely in the keyboard, another plus, and matches the light blue accented keys nicely. The Bluetooth also allows you to save up to three connections, meaning you could have this as your desk mainstay and quickly swap between laptops, tablets, or phones that you might have lying around without the faff of Bluetooth settings after initial setup.

Aesthetically-speaking, the Halo96 is immaculate. You have the choice between a black or white aluminium frame on top of a matching plastic base. The white model admittedly hurts my head a little with how all but four of the keys are white. I prefer a few more accented keys personally, and the black model I have on hand meets my needs perfectly. I feel it’s a little more important here to have some kind of definition on the numpad, but this will naturally come down to preference. You’re free to swap in your own keycaps if you’d like, but it’s certainly no necessity for the Halo96. The included PBT keycaps feel great, and you have the option to buy a set of matching shine-through ABS keycaps if that’s something you’re interested in. The keyboard does feature a great assortment of RGB configurations, so this is a good option for those wanting to show it off to its fullest.

One of my favourite features from the Halo96 is its aptly-named Halo lighting. Where most keyboards tend to exclusively have lights behind the keys, NuPhy took it a step further by adding a band of lighting around the keys that can be used either by itself or alongside the usual per-key light effects. After my initial play around, I’ve kept just the Halo light on; it just looks really great without being too over the top. You can also get an acrylic wrist rest separately that allows some of the Halo light to shine through, with it coming subtly from the bottom of the case as well as inside. Having recently reviewed Roccat’s Vulcan II Max I was left underwhelmed by how little it shines through, but it’s not exactly a make or break point for me. The wrist rest is really sturdy and feels comfortable, so it does everything it needs to.

I don’t usually comment on manuals or guides, but I do also just want to put in a quick word here to say that the guide here doubles as an A3 poster featuring NuPhy’s anime mascot. This certainly won’t be for everybody, but I think it’s commendable for any company to put effort into making something that may otherwise be looked at once and thrown away into something you would want to keep and maybe even display. If you’re a fan of the mascot, you even get a few stickers!

Your typing experience on the Halo96 as usual will come down to the switches you’ve oped for at checkout. There are some commonalities however, and NuPhy really did do a great job as a whole. The big theme on show is silicone, and through various layers of it you have remarkably muted keypresses. Out of the box you have a choice of six switches, with my keyboard coming with NuPhy’s Rose Glacier switches. These offer a really heavy tactile bump, with a 60gf actuation force. Weirdly, the Halo96 opts for a unified space bar, featuring one of NuPhy’s own Night Breeze switches regardless of whcih option you choose at checkout. Thanks to the included accessory kit that offers one of each switch type alongside some accent keys, you’re free to swap this out should you prefer. All of the larger keys feel great to use, but the space bar is a little special thanks to NuPhy’s unique “GhostBar” with a small support in the middle. The general idea is to make the key a little less hollow, but in reality I think the pleasant experience is carried more by the silicone pads underneath. Using a different space bar I had on hand produced similarly pleasant results. It is still a positive mark for NuPhy, but I just feel I’m missing something when it comes to their space bar.

While it isn’t advertised all too well at the moment, the Halo96 is fully customisable via NuPhy’s driver software NuPhy Console. I assume this isn’t listed on the main product page due to it currently being listed as beta, but from my experience it really does do everything you’d expect from the big hitters. If you don’t like messing with keyboard shortcuts to set your lighting, you can sort it all out here, but more importantly, you can both remap keys and create macros. These are where your real value are going to live, especially with a numpad on the right of the keyboard just asking to be remapped to bigger and better things. It’d also be very little hassle to swap your layout to something like AZERTY if that’s what you’re used to, which is great when this keyboard is only sold as QWERTY ASCI. There are a few quirks, like the shortcut it makes after running the installer being broken, and some of the UI not quite being as clear as it could be, but it remains simple to use and does everything I’d want.

NuPhy may have been an unknown to me until recently, but the Halo96 has put them solidly on my radar. A well-constructed keyboard that offers a fantastic typing experience and feature set, it has me genuinely excited to see what’s coming next from them. To me it more than justifies its $140 price tag, and I’d encourage you to check them out if you’re looking for a fantastic and flexible pre-built board.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/vortex-pc66-keyboard.2188/

I’ll start this review off as I have many reviews of interesting-looking things: by saying I’d not heard of Vortex prior to seeing this keyboard. Based out of Taiwan, Vortex were founded in 2010 with an aim to make well designed PC peripherals that were both high quality and affordable. It’s a pretty generic mission statement, but knowing the company’s been around for more than ten years now does instil a certain confidence, and create expectations as to the quality of their gear. I saw the PC66 back in December and absolutely fell in love with its aesthetic. After two months of waiting it’s finally here, but does their time in the business shine through as you’d hope?

Let’s just jump straight to it. This keyboard is absolutely gorgeous. Based on the classic design of IBM’s PCjr it screams nostalgia from every part of itself. You have a solid-feeling cream plastic shell housing your classic off-white and beige keycaps. On top of this, you get a nice coiled USB C to USB A cable, and my favourite feature of all with the PC66: an emblem in the bottom-left of the shell. I recently built my own keyboard using the Momoka Zoo 65 kit, and while I really love how premium and clean it looks, the PC66 scratches an itch on the polar opposite end of the spectrum.

Now while I love the design, it does come with some notable caveats. The emblem in the bottom-left corner is taking up the position of two very crucial keys: on a traditional layout these would be Ctrl and Win. Vortex’s solution to this was a simple one. Get rid of the Win key, and shove the Ctrl key across. It’s not a perfect solution I will say, and any muscle memory you might have had with keyboard shortcuts may as well be thrown out the window. If the emblem isn’t too important to you, there is a PC68 flavour that gives you these two keys back. But if you’re set on it like me, there are ways to adjust. We’ll get to those later.

Your typing experience will vary greatly depending on the switches you opt for. When I’m buying a pre-built keyboard, I often try to grab switches I’ve not tried before that sound like they’ll fit with the larger theme of the keyboard. Here, I have Cherry MX Milky switches, which to me feel like heavier versions of Kailh’s Box Whites. They’re really wonderful, and give the keys what I would describe as a really satisfying bubble-wrap popping feel. The 80g actuation force is something you really feel, especially when compared to something like the previously mentioned Box Whites’ 45g. Key presses feel intentional and forceful, but it can feel slightly fatiguing with extended use. When hitting keys, you do get a bit of a metallic reverb thanks to a lack of dampening in the case. It’s not really a deal breaker for me and I think it fits well with the switches I have, but it’s worth mentioning all the same.

Regardless of the switches it comes with, the hot-swappable nature of the board means you can happily change your mind down the line and install whatever you want. With these being standard MX switches too, there’s no real issue with you grabbing alternate keycap sets either. I’m really fond of the set Vortex picked out, but the keyboard did also release as a barebones kit for those wanting to customise it better to their tastes.

The PC66 does also feature both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless capabilities, and is quite oddly powered by two AAA batteries. The USB dongle is cream to match the keyboard, which is a nice touch to avoid it getting lost in the sea of other unbranded dongles you likely have floating around your desk. As to what this wireless experience is actually like, I really couldn’t tell you. I’m not sure if the model I have handy is defective, but it would not be found by my PC regardless of whether I used the dongle or tried to connect via Bluetooth. The batteries were fine, as indicated by the wireless indicator light turning on when I pressed the appropriate buttons to pair, but nothing would happen. It’s a nice feature assuming it works, but I’m not all that disappointed it didn’t for me. I bought this intending to use it wired, so wired I shall use it.

As mentioned earlier in the review, there are certain sacrifices you have to make if you want to pick up the 66 key variant of this keyboard. The keys being shifted over is one thing, but the lack of a dedicated Windows key was a real struggle for me. It is still somewhat accessible using Fn + Z by default, but you can actually do something about it using Vortex’s dedicated software.

Having just reviewed a Roccat keyboard, it’s a noticeable step down. At least in terms of polish. Functionally though, it hits all the right marks, and at the end of the day if it works, it’s good enough for me. There are only really two pages of interest: key configuration and the macro manager. Both are exactly what they sound like, and are incredibly easy to use. Within seconds I had my left Alt key remapped to Win, and my Alt Gr key mapped to be that left Alt. A simple change, but it goes so far in terms of bolstering usability. I still do struggle a little moving between keyboards and adapting to Ctrl + X/C/V for common shortcuts, but I at least have Win + number keys at my disposal for quickly opening taskbar apps. My only real complaint on this page is that when hovering over each key, it doesn’t actually tell you what’s currently mapped. You can configure both the standard mappings and the function layer, but you’ll have to keep on top of what you’ve mapped yourself. It’s small, but it is annoying.

The macro editor isn’t anything fancy, but again it’ll get the job done. You can choose to insert specified events manually, or record keystrokes with either the recorded delay, no delay, or a set delay. From there you save it and throw it onto a key of choice using the key configuration page. There’s no frills, but it’s perfectly functional. What I do really appreciate about the app a considerable amount is the fact that all of these configurations are saved onto the keyboard itself with no active requirement to keep the software open. This is frankly how it should be in my mind, and being able to keep my keyboard plugged into a dock that I can switch between personal and work machines on is a really big point for me. I don’t want to be installing software just to have easy access to a Windows key.

Can I recommend Vortex’s PC66? It’s hard to say. It certainly suits my tastes, but this is a niche design for enthusiasts and people like me who would put a little metallic square over functionality and many years of muscle memory. On Vortex’s part though, they really did everything right. It’s a wonderful keyboard as long as you know what you’re buying, and one I’m using as my daily driver at the moment. It feels great to type on, and I love seeing it on my desk.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/kirbys-return-to-dream-land-deluxe.2196/

Kirby games have always held a special place in my heart. They’re not known for their challenge so much as their charm and polish. To me, they’re comfort games. Joining the series back with Mouse Attack (or the better US title Squeak Squad) on the DS, I’ve seen Kirby through most of his modern adventures, and I’m yet to come out disappointed. Having missed the original Wii release of Return to Dream Land though, I’m excited to jump in now.

If you’ve managed to avoid my favourite pink blob all this time, let me fill you in on the basics. Kirby is a happy and somewhat carefree resident of Dream Land. If they had their way, they’d probably spend his adventuring days sat under a tree indulging in sweet treats; it never quite works out that way though. For one reason or another, Kirby’s peaceful afternoons are thrown into chaos, and they must set out on journey after journey to live the life they so desire. The stories behind an average Kirby game is never particularly complex, but they are endearing in just how far Kirby’s willing to go in search of this peace, or to make their friends happy. Often caught up in the grandeur and sense of adventure, it’s easy to forget how simple the motivations often are. Mouse Attack as a keen example starts by Kirby’s strawberry shortcake being stolen, and ends in a fight with a possessed mouse and an evil God or something. Kirby just wanted the shortcake, and I love that.

Return to Dream Land starts out in a similar way to most Kirby games. You see a peaceful and green world with a few familiar faces lounging around or running with food. All is well, at least until it isn’t. Kirby’s push in this case is a giant spaceship appearing in the sky, and falling apart as it crashes down. Going to investigate, we meet a now-stranded Magolor in the ruins of his ship. Seeing how sad he looks, Kirby’s naturally right there to offer support and gather the parts Magolor needs to get back into the sky. With that, we’re on our way.

Coming to this game after recently playing Star Allies, it is a change to see a more traditional level selection screen. Taking me back to some of the oldest titles in the series, worlds are laid out as a 2D map not too different from an actual level. On these maps, you can see a bunch of closed doors where each represents a level, and each world ending in a boss battle. It’s a simple formula that works well, giving you a decent idea of what to expect and how long each world is likely to be. Once you’ve unlocked a level, you can also see your stats in terms of collectables both available and found. It’s good to have this knowledge prior to entering since you don’t always keep to the three collectable per level rule you might have become accustom to in games like the New Super Mario Bros series.

The levels themselves are unquestionably and ashamedly Kirby levels. It might sound like a silly thing to point out, but if you’ve played one Kirby game before, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting here. Not necessarily complex and rarely overly punishing, they’re a relaxed stroll where you’re encouraged to explore and engage with the level using the tools on offer. It’s common for the game to put something you want just out of reach as you run through a level. Close enough that it’ll catch your eye, but far enough away where you have to think about how to get it. It’s a good balance that doesn’t really strain you to play; it fits in with my general view of the Kirby series as comfort games to unwind to.

Unique to Return to Dream Land are the super abilities. As Magolor’s ship crashed down, strange and shadowy objects fell with it. While it isn’t immediately obvious what these are or do, you’re soon introduced to them in the form of a particularly large and glowing enemy. As a great player of Kirby games, the natural instinct is to ingest such an enemy, and you’re rewarded well for such an instinct. Comparable to the Mega Mushroom of New Super Mario Bros, you gain a very strong version of the enemy’s power up with the caveat that you only have it for a brief period of time. The first of these, and the one you’ll have likely seen in some form of promotional material, is the Ultra Sword. When you attack with the Ultra Sword, you’ll both clear enemies off the screen, breaking the fourth wall a tad and smashing them into your display, and clear otherwise-unbreakable objects from the map. By getting to the end of the section with the power up, you’re able to enter another dimension that starts with you being chased by a really intimidating wall of something, and ending in a boss battle for some of those sweet sweet collectables. These sections are entirely optional, but to me they were some of the most enjoyable parts of the game.

While I do consider Kirby games to be relaxing rides, it’s certainly not to say there’s no kind of difficulty scaling as you progress through the story. Though not something I noticed so much from level to level, it is noticeable as you move from world to world, especially at the start of the adventure. Cookie Country serves as your typical green training wheel world that, in typical Kirby fashion, ends in a fight with everybody’s favourite tree. Moving out of there though and onto Raisin Ruins and beyond, I noticed myself taking more random hits and even dying a few times. It was never particularly frustrating, and I think a lot of my deaths came from being impatient more than the difficulty spiking out of nowhere.

If you do find the game too difficult though, you do have a few options. The first is probably the obvious one: just skip the collectable. More often than not, the difficult areas of a Kirby game are the ones that are rewarding you for beating them, usually ending with an energy sphere or two. I managed to collect everything on my adventure, but if I were committed to collecting and found myself entirely against a brick wall, there was also another option. In Return to Dream Land Deluxe, you can call upon Magolor to assist you. He’ll throw you potions every so often, and also pick you up if you happened to fall down a hole and into the void. I’m never against optional helper features like this, especially in such an accessible game as Kirby. If you wanted to introduce a younger family member to the franchise or even gaming as a whole, something like could genuinely have a meaningful impact on their experience. I think that’s great.

On the other end of the spectrum though if you breezed through the main game, you might be happy to know there is an Extra Mode that takes the entirety of the base story and amps it up. Here, you’ll play with limited health against tweaked enemies and bosses. It is much the same game, don’t get me wrong, but only having 60% of your maximum health available was terrifying to me when I squeaked through a few of the later stages by a hit or two.

Though it might sound like a picky critique, I do think it’s a shame that no real malicious motivations are communicated throughout the game. To some extent, you’d ask why would there be? And that’s a reasonable question. But to ask something similar back, exactly why are the world bosses fighting you over these pieces of Magolor’s ship? Surely it’s just junk to them? There’s one exception to this that’s a brilliant fight, but the others feel like they could’ve been in any Kirby game. Compare this to a game like Planet Robobot where each boss fits the larger theme and serves a larger purpose, it all just feels a bit disjointed. It still makes for a fine Kirby game, but the series has shown it can be better than this.

Magolor Epilogue is a mode new to the Deluxe edition of Return to Dream Land. Set after the main story, it sees you control a now-powerless Magolor fight against enemies to collect magic points and restore his power. After each stage you return to the Ethereal Alter to allocate your magic points before heading out again. The core gameplay shares much of the Kirby charm and simplicity, but at least at the start puts a much heavier emphasis on traditional platforming with Magolor unable to fly. You’re also rewarded for building up combos of attacks with some decent magic point bonuses, this working towards an end of stage medal that ranges from bronze to platinum. I found from normal play a gold rank was easy enough to get. Platinum tended to take a bit more thinking to ensure I could both string together enough combos and not be hit out of them from being careless.

This epilogue is a really cool addition, and really rounds out your traditional game modes nicely, but there’s obviously one more major mode you’ll probably expect if you’re a series veteran: the arena. Much like Magolor Epilogue, this is unlocked after beating the main story, but unlike the epilogue, you know exactly what you’re getting here. After picking your favourite power up, you’re thrown into a 13 round timed brawl against each of the game’s bosses. As always it’s a great challenge and a greater challenge if you’re trying to best your previous high score. With me being the type of player to play carelessly in search of a quick win, this is one of the harder parts of the game for me, and one I come back to when I want to re-experience some of the best parts of the game.

Outside of your primary game modes, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe features a pretty lengthy assortment of subgames to enjoy, and they’re split between two areas of the game. The first of these is Merry Magoland, a charming theme park area run by Magolor. Here, you get ten games that are available to play pretty much out of the gate, each with a small assortment of missions to complete across three difficulty settings.  There’s a fun gameplay loop to be found. You’ll play games and receive stamps. Getting enough stamps will reward you with items to help you on your main adventure, but also cosmetic masks to wear. Some missions will require you to play the games wearing these masks, bringing you back, getting more stamps, and so on. The majority of these games are fairly simple and you’ll be getting through them within a minute or so of play, but they are fun and they’ll feel familiar for fans of the series. I enjoy the cosmetic masks a lot too since they carry over to the main adventure to customise Kirby just a little, and the missions are fun for guiding you towards an objective as you play instead of them just being standalone games. It’s kind of like how I prefer Harvest Moon DS to Friends of Mineral Town for how collecting Sprites gives much of the other game a guiding purpose.

The other way you’ll be interacting with subgames is as a reward for gathering this game’s collectables: energy spheres. At the centre of the world map, you can visit Magolor’s ship for an update of what’s still missing, but also to see what you’ve unlocked along the way. For your troubles, you’ll get an assortment of bonus challenge levels focused on a particular power, rooms that’ll let you just gain a power you’re after, and subgames. What’s a little odd here is that these are the same subgames you’ll find in Merry Magoland, but here they’re locked behind up to 115 energy spheres. What’s more, playing the unlockable versions doesn’t actually count towards the missions you can find in Magoland. If I had to guess, this was the original way you’d be able to play them, and Magoland is a Deluxe addition. Even so, it’s weird they’d leave these in as a reward when you start with them. It’s just a bit odd. I like Merry Magoland’s aesthetic and inclusion, but I do wish they reworked the content that was already present to not diminish the sense of reward for collecting the spheres. I don’t think I’d have minded Magoland having the games be locked.

Can I recommend the Deluxe version of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land? Of course I can. This is a great Kirby game on a more versatile platform, with the added bonus of new and meaningful content. If you’re a fan of Kirby games or just want something fun to play with a few people on the sofa, you’ll have a great time ahead of you.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/roccat-vulcan-ii-max-keyboard.2187/

Roccat are a brand I’ve come across a fair few times while writing for GBAtemp. Between their keyboards, headsets, and mice, I’ve only really had good words to say. High quality and often affordable, they’ve made a good name for themselves in the accessories space. Coming back to them for the first time since 2021, do they still earn this high great reputation?

Out of the box, I have to say I completely forgot how big a full-sized keyboard actually is. You have a really nice black and what I think is gunmetal grey body with keycaps that sit on top of the switches, leaving the stalks exposed. It looks quite ominous when not plugged in, but with RGB being a key feature, this is naturally going to change. The keycaps feel great, and I’m really a fan of how the bottom row of keys are convex, as opposed to the other more traditional concave caps. I don’t think the definition really makes much of a difference in terms of day to day use, but it is a pleasant finish. I assume they went for this to match the feel of your typical space bar. The Vulcan 2 also comes with dedicated media buttons, and a fan-favourite knob that by default controls volume.

As you’d expect, the keyboard transforms when you actually plug it in. Roccat have always done well with their lighting, and if RGB is what you look for in a keyboard, this is certainly one for you. The exposed stalks make for a really great aesthetic, and while I have the black model on hand, I imagine this would look even better on a white background. The lights are nice, but there’s obviously more at play here. Included in the package is a rather odd looking palm rest, and hot damn is it a big selling point. Attaching to the bottom of the keyboard, the translucent palm rest also lights up! I think RGB at times can be a bit tacky, but seeing this for the first time, I was a little caught off guard by how much I enjoyed it. The effect quite simply works using a light strip on the bottom of the keyboard. When the palm rest is correctly plugged into it, the light just moves through it. It’s a good implementation for how simple it is really.

In general, there’s only one thing I can say I dislike with how the keyboard is put together: the non-detachable cable. And I need to get this out of the way, it does matter even on a non-wireless keyboard. It’s ultimately a point of failure that could be easily replaceable that isn’t, and while this isn’t anything new for Roccat, I still hold out hope they’ll change their ways. To give them what credit they’re due, this is a really nice braided cable. On top of this, the connection to the keyboard itself feels sturdy. I’m sure it will last a reasonable amount of time, but it just could’ve been better.

The final oddity is the fact the Vulcan 2 has two USBs coming from its lovely cable. This isn’t entirely uncommon in gaming keyboards, with companies like Razer often including a USB passthrough in their keyboard for ease of access. In those cases, I can totally see the use case, and I think it’s a nice additional feature. Here though? It’s just for the lights. And I don’t know how I feel about that. In my PC setup, USB slots are becoming more and more competitive, and I just don’t know whether I could justify two to make my keyboard look a bit prettier. There is a silver lining here, and that’s the fact it might just work with one out of the box. I assume it comes down to how much power it can pull from one USB port, and working mostly from a Thunderbolt 3 hub, I’ve had no issues with this at all. If you are considering this keyboard though, plan for two USB slots, and rejoice if you can claw one back. It’s better than the alternative of being a USB slot short.

Though it looks somewhat extraordinary, the typing experience is about as by the books as you can get for a gaming keyboard. That’s not to say it’s particularly lacking either, it just doesn’t do anything particularly interesting. You have Roccat’s own optical mechanical switches on show, with the board not being hot-swappable. The version I have handy comes with the linear red switches (browns also available), with an actuation distance of 1.4mm, a total travel of 3.6mm, and a 45g actuation force. They feel nice to use, but to me they just feel like other red switches. With the switches exposed I do think it’s a little more rattly than other keyboards I’ve used recently, but I might be somewhat unfairly comparing it to my recent DIY build or ASUS’ Azoth, both of which feature several layers of dampening. It feels fine to type on, but it’s not the most satisfying sound profile. I do appreciate there’s a required trade off to get the desired lighting effects here, and I believe they found a reasonable balance. The experience is standard, sure, but not necessarily lacking.

If you really want to get the most out of the Vulcan 2, you’ll be relying on Roccat’s latest iteration of driver software. In this case, we’re looking at Roccat Swarm. If you’ve seen branded driver software before, pretty much everything on offer here is going to be familiar. You have an easy to use app that’ll find your keyboard updates for you once it’s plugged in. It does look a little more sparse than I remember, but it does hit all the notes you’d expect. In the first tab you have settings for repeated characters when holding down a key, as well as a feature I’m not sure I’ve seen anybody ever use: sound feedback. If it appeals to you, you can make typewriter sounds come from your PC as you type. It’s cool that it’s a setting, but I just can’t see who this is for.

The settings you’re likely opening the app for live in the second tab: key assignment. It’s here you have free reign to swap around key functions, as well as assigning actions to the function layer. You have a good amount of freedom here, and can set the keyboard to open apps, start timers, or for the more creative, you can also create custom macros. I’m a little simple in my tastes and like my keyboard to do what the keys say they should do. For the more adventurous though, the sky really is the limit.

Your final tab features key illuminations, and is where you’ll be fiddling with those glorious lights… Or not? While I’ve never been fond of driver apps that have to live in the background, Roccat’s does do one thing differently with its AIMO lighting. With it, you can set your keyboard and it’ll just go. The AIMO lighting is their smart system that’s supposed to react organically without you having to dig too deeply. I really do like it. While you’re doing nothing, the lighting will breathe, and slowly flicker between colours. When you do start typing though, the keys you hit and the area around them will come to life, with the effect becoming more intense the more you type in an area or hold a key down. It’s really great, and while I question whether it can’t be done on the keyboard itself without driver software running, I do feel it a valuable asset.

Is Roccat’s Vulcan 2 Max worth buying? As with any keyboard, it depends entirely on what you personally are needing. This isn’t what I would call an S tier typing experience, but it still does manage to nail the fundamentals you would expect from a mechanical keyboard. The Vulcan 2 is designed to be flashy, and it’s in this area it excels more than most. At £200 it’s feature rich and feels premium. If you need a keyboard to light up your life, this might just be the one.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/fire-emblem-engage.2186/

Fire Emblem has always been a series I’ve held close. As I’m sure I’ve said before, and I’m sure I’ll say again, I started with Shadow Dragon way back in 2008. I can’t say exactly what had me hooked. It was some blend of predictable yet challenging strategy married with resource management and genuine consequences for slipping up (assuming you didn’t just reset the game). At the time for me, there was just nothing like it, and even now, very little compares. It’s a series with its highs and lows, but through it all I’ve been playing, and quite frankly enjoying what’s been on offer to some degree even at the lowest points. So how does Engage fit into the picture?

Our story starts 1000 years before our story starts with the penultimate battle of a story that’s just coming to its end. It’s quite similar to Awakening’s opening with how it’s framed, with the caveat that this is a flashback in oppose to a premonition. You get to use the final boss man as a bit of a punching bag for learning the basics, before falling in a deep slumber for, you guessed it, 1000 years. When you eventually do wake up, you begin to be introduced to the world and its key players.

Our continent this time is a new one: Elyos. A doughnut-shaped land, it’s formed of four major powers, these being Firene, Brodia, Elusia, and Solm. Taking them at face value, you have the grassy country, the fire nation, the somewhat icy mountains, and the desert. On top of these, we have Lythos, a secluded island that sits in the middle of the doughnut that’s home to our protagonist and their mother, both of whom are divine dragons. Things aren’t exactly peaceful at the moment, but the most action at the time of waking up are minor skirmishes between Brodia and Elusia. Naturally, all that’s about to change.

I do like the prologue of the game, and it’s interesting to me in how it manages to setup the coming conflict by presenting what you can only assume to be a similar story’s conclusion. You get to see an antagonist, their motivation, and how you might hope to beat them. It’s not like it stops to explain everything to you, but the glimpse it gives you is enough to get you excited for what’s to come, and start putting pieces together as soon as the actual game gets going.

The core of Engage’s conflict comes from “Emblems”, spirits of notable warriors from various worlds confined within rings that, with the right power, can be summoned. To fans of the series, or angry Super Smash Bros players, many of these faces will be familiar. What you have on show is a gallery of famous faces, ranging from series favourite Marth, to beloved but less widely known characters like Sigurd. While you would be right in assuming Marth takes centre stage, I was really pleasantly surprised to see your more obscure characters get some real time in the light. Each of the 12 emblems is host to unique powers that I’ll talk a little more about later, but more importantly, they have the power to grant a wish to the holder of all the rings once every 1000 years. This is where your conflict comes from, and why your thousand-year slumber may not be so coincidental. Somebody’s after the rings, so obviously it’s your job to get to them first to add to your roster of powerful allies.

The Emblems play a significant part in the story, but they also serve as windows into their respective game worlds, either bringing up either a sense of nostalgia or intrigue depending on how you’ve engaged with them previously. These feelings come to a head when playing each Emblem’s paralogue map, representing pivotal moments of that character’s journey. They’re incredibly well-crafted maps in both their design, borrowing from popular maps from the series’ history, and in how they manage to present these important moments without really spoiling much of what happened. It’s a great balance that’s presented as a teaching opportunity for the protagonist, while just being brilliant fun to play and experience.

Through and through Engage comes across as a love letter to the franchise in the same way Generations was to Monster Hunter. It’s a marvellous celebration, and the plot makes a lot of sense when you view it through this lens. When you look at it in isolation though, it’s a little lacklustre. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a bad story, but it was in an especially unfortunate place having to follow the incredibly intricate and intertwined plot of Three Houses. The closest game I could compare it to is Fates, but that’s not as negative as some series veterans might think. Sure the plot of Fates is renowned for being a bit of a series low, but to me, its gameplay was among the best at the time of release. Engage is no different.

At its core, this is Fire Emblem. We’re not reinventing the wheel here, it’s your usual grid-based tactical RPG where you’ll take turns moving across a map with a set goal in mind. This is usually wiping out your opponent’s army, but it can also be things like surviving for so long, or even making an escape against an insurmountable foe. The maps themselves are really quite fun, and Engage borrows some aspects from its predecessors. Notable among these are unbreakable weapons and weapon refining trees to give you clear upgrade paths. On top of this, you have a limited-use do-over mechanic akin to Mila’s Turnwheel in Echoes or the Divine Pulse in Three Houses. I like this mechanic and how it allows you to both experiment with new strategy and not be punished too harshly for actions largely out of your control, such as missing a 98% hit chance.

There is more on offer of course, and Engage’s additions to the tried and tested TRPG formula are genuinely valuable. Much like with the game’s story, Emblems live at the centre of this. To use an Emblem, you have to equip their ring to your character of choice before the battle starts. Once that’s done, you’re free to summon your Emblem with the titular “Engage!” mechanic as and when you see fit, with the caveat that the summon will only last for three turns. After that, you’ll need to charge up your Engage Meter through combat or by ending your turn on specific tiles to use it again. With your Emblem summoned, you’ll gain a variety of bonuses that vary from Emblem to Emblem. Sigurd is an Emblem you get quite early on, and he’s one I used heavily throughout the game. When summoned, the character wearing his ring will get a colossal 10 movement, as well as a few new weapons and abilities. This 10 movement is entirely agnostic to the unit class, meaning I spent my game with a rocket-powered armoured unit, and loved every minute of it. Emblems also come with a once-per-Engage attack unique to them that can deliver explosive damage and provide incredible utility to get closer and run away from foes. The mechanic as a whole fits seamlessly into the existing formula, and really takes no effort get used to. There are aspects associated with Emblems that are a little less fleshed out though.

The predominant example of this is Tempest Trials. If you happen to play Fire Emblem Heroes, that name might sound familiar. Introduced in the hit mobile game, Tempest Trials are a mode where you bring your army through a trial of between three and seven maps where if they fall, they stay down for the remainder of your run. For completing a run, you get points, which will then reward you with the game’s premium currency, a rare unit, and a whole assortment of other goodies. The mode isn’t anything particularly standout, but it is something I enjoyed while playing for the accumulated rewards and how easy it is to just pickup and run through. Looking to Engage, we hit a lot of the same marks. You’re limited to three maps here, which are admittedly larger with far more enemies. You progress from map to map with units falling not returning to you until the trial is over. Unlike Heroes though, there’s no real incentive to play. You have no accumulated rewards, and the size of the maps make them feel like a slog. Your rewards are some stones that can make your Emblem’s weapons stronger, and a flat 50 experience points for everybody who made it to the end. There’s not even any stakes to losing; even when playing Classic mode, characters who die here will just be revived at the end. Tempest Trials are thankfully entirely optional, and doing my usual Hard/Classic first playthrough, I had no issues at all in not skipping them. I feel they’d have gotten more mileage out of mimicking a more unique game mode like Hall of Forms, where you train units from zero throughout the trial.

Sitting somewhere in the middle of the Engage mechanic and Tempest Trials, we have… Gacha! Now I’ll try to calm your anger, we’re not looking at Fire Emblem Heroes here, even if they share a game mode’s name. I actually have no issues in how this was implemented. As you unlock each of the 12 emblems, you also unlock a pool of lesser rings you can try to create. Each ring ranges from C rank to S rank, and offers stat bonuses or a relevant skill. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys using a large army, these are wonderful for giving your secondary crew a boost when all your Emblem Rings have been doled out. They’re by no means game-breaking and it’s all done using in-game currency. They just give your playthrough a bit of random flair, and it can just be nice to see your favourite character from an older game lending a helping hand.

Looking beyond the Emblems and all they bring with them, there’s a few other points of interest worth bringing up. Something that’s particularly important to me in a Fire Emblem game is a good balance of having the option to grind, and having experience as a limited resource. Traditionally my favourite titles in the series have been the linear ones, where experience is just another thing you have to manage alongside your weapon durability, item stocks, and the like. I won’t blame the games for this, but I find where I can grind freely, I will. It’s like having the option there removes the meaning behind the joyful suffering of the games I’ve come to love. Engage’s between-battle grinding has a few layers to it. The simplest grinding is at the arena. After beating a map, you get three battles in the arena with no consequences to losing. It’s free experience at no cost, but you’re hard-capped to those three battles. Then, you have a bit more complexity in the between-battle skirmishes that also pop up on beating a map. What gives these depth is that your rewards will vary based on how much you’ve invested in the region that battle is based in. You see in Fire Emblem Engage, you can pay some of your already-stretched battle funds to support any of the four regions as you move through them. As a divine dragon, this kind of support does make sense in-universe. The gist is that the more you invest in a region, the better your rewards will be for clearing out monsters that come their way. I really enjoy mechanics like this that ultimately add another layer of strategy. Do you use your funds now to upgrade your weapons and buy items, or do you go for the long term payoff by investing it? There’s no real right answer, and it gives you options in terms of the larger replayability of the game.

In what I’m fairly sure is a series first, Engage also gives you the option to choose how level up stats are distributed. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, they’re not letting you pick where the stats are going directly. Instead, we get the choice between fixed and random growth types. Random growths are what we’re used to. Characters and their current classes will have a percentage chance to gain a point in a given stat every level up. This might mean that an armoured unit will have a 60% chance to gain a point of defence. With random growths, it’s entirely possible to go ten levels without getting any defence points because you’ve been unlucky and hit that 40% chance of not getting a point each time. On the other hand, fixed growths will give your characters set level up stats based on who they are and what class they are. It’s great to have this as an option, even if I’m somebody who would generally stick to the traditional random level ups.

What’s particularly interesting here is how the game’s Maddening difficulty forces you to use fixed growth types for your first playthrough. It’s not difficult to see why either. In fixing your level up stats, you allow for a much more intricately designed hard mode. You’re far less likely to find yourself in a position where you physically can’t continue because your best unit just got no stat points three level ups in a row (it can happen!). It is a bit of a shame that this is forced on you instead of being presented as a warning message, but I can still understand the choice.

Graphically speaking, Fire Emblem Engage isn’t going to be a game that pushes the Switch to its limits, but I did want to at least give it a mention for just how much brighter it is when compared to recent entries in the series. This more-anime style to me really does look good, and makes the world one I’ve really enjoyed seeing. I don’t think either style is particularly bad, but it’s really refreshing coming from the darker and moodier Three Houses.

All things considered, Engage has come out as one of my favourite entries to the series, even if it’s not perfect. If you’re new to Fire Emblem and want the full package of interesting gameplay and compelling storytelling, I’d encourage you to start with Three Houses instead, and to come to this later. While I really did have a great time, it’s definitely in its gameplay Engage sets itself apart from its predecessors. The new mechanics blend in well with the established series norms, and add further levels of strategy to be utilised or not as you see fit. If you’re already a fan of the series, I can’t recommend this enough. Even if the story falls short, you’ll have a great time meeting some familiar faces, and perhaps an even greater time being introduced to some new ones. With further story content to come in the form of DLC, I’ll be looking forward to my return to Elyos down the line.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/ayaneo-2.2178/

AYANEO is a name you should know by now if you’re at all familiar with handheld PCs. Coming onto the scene in 2021, they’ve been fierce competition to GPD with style and polish at the forefront of their devices. Roll on 2023 and the AYANEO 2 is just landing in the hands of early Indiegogo backers. Is it worth a look?

The unboxing experience is the best I’ve come across in the handheld space, and what you get in the box is pretty good as well. The overall aesthetic matches the device itself, being a fairly sleek white box, with no screws I might add! Inside you have three foam layers featuring the system itself, some paperwork, and finally the included accessories. The system and accessories each come with a sheet plastic layer on top to show you what they are, and I suppose to hold things in place. It looks great and feels great to unpack. In terms of accessories, you get a 65W charging brick and USB C cable, along with three attachments to clip onto the plug. It’s a really clean design, with the base plug supporting US sockets, and the three attachments going over it in an incredibly natural way to give you UK, EU, and what I believe is AU plug support. I love that all of these are available to everybody, and it’s a plug I’ll be keeping for traveling down the line. An added bonus in the box is the inclusion of two USB C to USB A adapters, which does make sense given the device’s three USB C ports. Finally, you get a pair of replacement tabs for the console’s sides should you decide to open it up and damage them in the process. It’s nice that these are included, but the real question to be asked is why there’s a need for these to be included. We’ll come back to this though.

With the AYANEO 2 being a Windows 11 device, setup is about as easy as you’d expect if you’ve ever bought a new PC before. There’s an argument to be made at this stage about reinstalling Windows if you don’t trust the version that’s been shipped, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and roll with what was sent to avoid the hassle of having to reinstall the device-specific stuff required to get the most out of the system. With the standard Windows setup out of the way, I was introduced to AYA Space, the software at the centre of the AYANEO experience. I like the idea of it. You get a unified game launcher for your PC storefronts, alongside various applets and customisability for the overlay that’s available to you when pressing the dedicated AYA button. When it works, it works fine. It’s just incredibly rough around the edges. My biggest issue came with updating the app. Though I managed to get the update downloaded fine, the actual update process was entirely in Chinese (who knows what terms I accepted), and the entire app switched to Chinese once the update had applied. Thankfully for me, this is a common issue, and as such, the process of changing the language back to English is well documented. Having said that, it shouldn’t need to be in that way. The device itself looks and feels hugely premium, and small things like this take away from that, if only a little.

Looking to the larger device, it’s hard not to be impressed. Between GPD and AYA, two of the big hitters of the handheld PC market, we’ve seen a huge bout of inspiration taken from Sony’s PS Vita. GPD have done a great job of taking on the Vita’s form factor, packing incredible power into a smaller form factor that at a glance, could genuinely be mistaken for something of Sony’s. AYA went a different route however, taking the OLED Vita’s completely-glass face, and boy does the device look and feel great for it. The display is the same size as the Steam Deck’s seven inch 16:10 panel. The key upgrade on offer here when compared to a Steam Deck though is that it’s 1200p, in oppose to the 800p display you’d find in the Deck. That’s not where it stops though. The bezel-less design fits brilliantly in the frame, and looks even better with the glass covering the full face of the system in oppose to just the screen. While it isn’t an OLED display, it’s definitely one of the nicest ones I’ve used to date, with some pretty good colour accuracy from what I’ve seen online (note I don’t have the appropriate setup to test this for myself). The only criticism I can find with the full glass face is that it really discourages me from putting a screen protector on. Adding a bump where the screen is just feels really wrong; I wish they offered a full-face screen protector, but I can imagine that’d be a costly custom order.

Despite the AYANEO 2’s screen being the same size as the Steam Deck, the system comes in both shorter and thinner. There’s a bit of a trade-off here. It’s definitely the more portable device, and while the difference isn’t huge, I’ve had a much easier time fitting the AYA in my bag without having to really shuffle things around. What you lose is some of the ergonomics the Deck is heralded for. While the Deck is quite thick, it’s pretty much entirely because of how much space the grips take up, and they take up that space for a reason. The AYANEO 2 doesn’t feel bad to hold by any means, but if you’re coming directly from a Steam Deck, there will be a brief period of adjustment and maybe even discomfort since there just isn’t the hold you’re used to. Having extensively used the device in the few weeks I’ve had it, including numerous play sessions of up to eight hours, I can say the form factor is comfortable overall though.

One of the aspects touted most on the Indiegogo page is the hall effect joysticks and triggers, and I can see why. For those who have been out of the loop in the past year, hall effect sensors have become wildly popular in controllers for their increased precision and durability. We’ve seen them on controllers from 8BitDo, Retroflag, and even on joysticks you can install on your Joy Cons. These are an absolute joy to use, though the travel distance for the triggers might be a bit much for some. The buttons feel good to press and have a decent travel distance, but again with a potential drawback of feeling slightly stiff. They’re satisfying, but they fall short in games that require mashing; they’re not what I’d want in a pivotal Mario Party minigame. Probably the most divisive aspect of any controller is the D-Pad, and while this one doesn’t quite fit my idea of a perfect D-Pad (see the Vita’s if you want my favourite), it does a decent job. A lot of my time with the AYANEO 2 has been spent playing D-Pad heavy games, and I’ve not really come across any notable issues. It pivots well enough, and I’ve only caught up and down inputs while holding right a few times.

For those paying attention to the images, you’ll have probably noticed the two extra buttons in the bottom-right of the face. These represent the AYA button, and a function button respectively. The AYA button will bring up the AYA Space overlay when pressed, and the AYA Space app when held. It’s great to have a dedicated button for this, and puts it a step closer to the Steam Deck in gaming usability. I know for a lot of people, Windows as an OS for a handheld like this can be a negative due to its unintuitive nature when paired with a game controller. The flexibility and compatibility of Windows makes it my OS of choice however, and these small software tweaks just make the larger experience smoother. The function button can be mapped using the AYA Space software, but it unfortunately can only be mapped to a set list of functions. These do cover a reasonable spectrum of uses at least, like screenshots, closing an app, and returning to the desktop. I hope in future this can be opened up to allow for key mapping. Outside of the console face, there are actually two more of these function buttons, each sitting next to their respective bumper on the top of the system. Even if I can’t map these to be key presses, I do appreciate that you can have separate actions mapped to both pressing and holding each button.

The last big point of interest in terms of the device’s build is its screwless design. This is actually a big selling point of the device, and while it does make for a really nice finish all I can really ask is… why? I can’t think of a single time I’ve had a device, premium or otherwise, where accessible screws have been a negative. It looks good, but when it results in a device where you’re having to include replacement parts on the expectation you’re going to actively be ruining it by trying to open it up? It’s not a positive. It’s nice the screws are hidden, but they really need to go back to the drawing board if they want this going forwards to come up with a more sustainable design.

Now the burning question on many a mind with any device like this in the modern age will likely be just how it stacks up against the Steam Deck. To this point I’ve made some passing comparisons. When Valve launched their own system last year, they rocked the handheld world with the sheer value they had on offer, paired with capable hardware and software support you can only really expect from a company as substantial as Valve. Can the AYANEO 2 really stand up to that? Put simply, the answer is no. It’s not to say the AYANEO 2 is an inferior product either. In terms of both performance and build quality it wins out hands down, but at the price point it sits at, you would certainly hope it does. This device’s cheapest variant is double what the most expensive Steam Deck is, and almost three times the most basic model. For anybody just wanting to get into the handheld PC space, the Steam Deck will likely offer enough. The AYANEO 2 sits in a much more premium space, and I do think it’s fine for both of these to exist for different audiences. For those wanting more than the Deck but not quite wanting to spend the $1000+ required for the AYANEO 2, there is a relatively good offering from the AYA team that fills this void in the AYANEO Geek. I unfortunately don’t have one of these on hand to give a more thorough look, but at its core you can think of it as a slightly less premium take on the AYANEO 2, with that being reflected in the price. You lose out on the full glass face, and have the option to go down to an 800p display, all while keeping the same 6800U on the inside. The cheapest model of Geek with an 800p display is currently sitting at $100 more than the most expensive Steam Deck. At this price, it offers fantastic value. The issue with this is that this value is an early bird price, and will go up $100 once these units are gone, and a further $100 once the Indiegogo campaign ends. For $749 it’s fantastic, but as time goes on it becomes less and less competitive as a natural next step up from the highest-end Deck. That’s a shame in my eyes.

Since receiving the AYANEO 2 a few weeks ago, this has become my primary means of both playing PC games and emulation. Given how many options you have available to you on Windows, I thought it’d be a nice idea to just go through how I decided to set things up, and what options you have available to you to make it a more gamepad-friendly OS. In an ideal world, AYA Space would be where this starts and ends, but to some extent I’m glad it isn’t. What I love about having Windows over something like SteamOS is the flexibility after all. It’s not like I don’t use AYA Space, but its use for me is limited to giving me a clean interface for my Steam, Epic, and Game Pass games. I appreciate how easy it is to use, and how it’ll just automatically sweep for new games when it’s turned on and pull in relevant information. If you’re heavily invested in the Steam ecosystem, or perhaps are coming from a Steam Deck, you do have the option of Steam’s new Big Picture Mode, which is modelled after the Steam Deck experience. It is missing some features when compared to the full SteamOS, but the compatibility you see from using Windows more than makes up for it in my mind.

In terms of emulation, I decided to try a frontend for the first time. Though many swear by RetroArch, I still prefer the idea of having individual and familiar apps for each console. To this end, I downloaded my go-to emulators console, and used Playnite to tie them all together. It’s a great interface that’s incredibly easy to setup and maintain. What’s more, you can use this with your PC games if you want that library aggregation without AYA’s own software. For the first time in maybe ten years, I also installed Rainmeter to make my desktop both touch-friendly and tidy. Though it’s just a few icons to launch Steam in Big Picture Mode, load Playnite in its console mode, and take me to my emulation folder, it goes a long way in improving the overall experience.

The device has been great for everything I’ve thrown at it, and I’ve tried my best to give it a variety. In terms of emulation, it’s handled everything from Game Boy to Switch admirably, though your performance will naturally vary based on your TDP setting. In simple terms, the more power you’re willing to use, the better performance you can expect to get out of it. The trade off for this is naturally going to be battery life. Using AYA Space, you have three set TDP configurations: 11W, 15W, and 22W, dubbed power-saving, balanced, and gaming respectively. On top of these, you have a final “pro” setting that you can set manually to be anywhere from 3W to 33W. I tend to have this either set at 6W for easier emulation and indie games, or 33W for the more difficult to emulate titles or certain PC games that push the system to its limits. At each extreme, you can expect around 4 hours of gameplay at 6W and less than an hour if you’re pushing it to 33W. Battery life has always been a struggle with x86 handhelds, but I am happy to see it meet my two hour portability threshold at 11W. I find 11W lets me play most of what I wanted if I was willing to make compromises in terms of graphics or framerate. It’s not like you need to set things any lower than 800p most of the time anyway, so games will still look fine.

My favourite, albeit somewhat niche, use for the AYANEO 2 is its ability to be an entirely portable Wii U when paired with a portable monitor. Plugging in my ROG Strix XG17AHPE, I had a Wii U in my hands with all the creature comforts. Sure, it doesn’t last long without being plugged in, but the fact you could see such a setup on your commute to work if somebody felt that way inclined amuses me to no small extent.

The inclusion of two USB 4.0 ports alongside the USB C 3.2 port means the AYANEO 2 has great potential for a high performance docked setup. If you haven’t been keeping up with USB standards, USB 4.0 is the latest in this absurd line, and comes with an impressive list of optional features. Despite being seen as an open implementation of Intel’s Thunderbolt protocol, it’s actually not a guarantee USB 4.0 has compatibility with eGPUs and other Thunderbolt devices. There’s a whole host of other features that may or may not be included when you see USB 4.0 on the box, but at the very least, I can say eGPUs work great with the AYANEO 2. Having a Razer Core X Chroma on hand along with a spare 5700 XT, I was able to see the system at its best. This is what I always wished the Switch would be, even if it is remarkably impractical in terms of cost.

Coming back around to emulation, I really have been quite impressed by what the AYANEO 2 is capable of. In retrospect, much of this shouldn’t have been a surprise having owned both a GPD Win 3 and Steam Deck. You have one device that really can just replace a Switch in terms of console gaming, as long as you’re willing to accept a compromise in terms of battery life. For comparison, you get somewhere around five hours of play time on Breath of the Wild on the Switch… You’d be lucky to get that idling on the AYANEO 2.

Using Breath of the Wild on Cemu as a bit of a benchmark, here’s an idea of what kind of FPS you can expect on various TDP settings at both 800p and 1200p:

TDP	800p	1200p
11W	34-40fps	24-32fps
15W	44-52fps	32-36fps
22W	50-54fps	36-40fps
33W	50-60fps	38-42fps

The above results were using stock settings for the most part, with FPS++ enabled and the resolution altered to the 16:10 800p and 1200p. As somebody who really doesn’t mind 30fps in Breath of the Wild, 15W is plenty of power to get what I’m wanting, and the graphical leap from 800p to 1200p is surprisingly significant. What surprised me is the diminishing returns you get when putting in power beyond 15W, with 22W and even 33W really not giving you that much of an improvement when compared to the additional battery drain you’re paying. I will add that this test is by no means definitive, and that you can most liikely eck out a solid 60fps if you know your way around Cemu settings better than myself. Breath of the Wild seems one of the toughest to emulate from what I’ve tried, so you can think of these stats as a bit of a worst case.

Looking at Switch games, you’ll find some really variable performance depending on exactly what you’re wanting to play. Games like Skyward Sword HD can maintain 60fps in docked mode running as low as 11W, while games like Smash Bros Ultimate will be looking for 22W to hit similar numbers. Despite being a portable system, it really shines at its brightest when you’re close enough to a plug to push it to its limits. To me, this isn’t as much of an issue as it used to be, but I would still love to see these devices start hitting longevity to rival true handheld consoles now performance is as good as it is.

PC gaming is about as good as you’d expect. Browsing Steam, you can think of the Steam Deck verification as an indication that it’ll run on this with no issues at all, and it’ll almost certainly run better. I’ve put a good amount of time into playing Hitman 3, and the idea that a game of that scale can be on a handheld is something I’ll never quite get over. At 1200p you won’t be hitting 60fps, but you can maintain 30 perfectly well on some pretty spectacular-looking settings. Bumping down to 800p will natutally give you that edge in performance, and is an option you will always have on hand as you decide what you value more on a per-game basis. Running Windows is a huge boon in the native gaming department, completely eliminating issues with the various anti-cheat measures and launchers within launchers some publishers are known for. Though it’s definitely a poor use case, I was happy to be playing MapleStory with no problems.

So the burning question remains. Should you pick up the latest AYANEO handheld? If you’re on the fence after reading the above, my answer would probably be no, and that’s to no demerit of the system as a whole. If you don’t already own a Steam Deck, it’s just a far more compelling package that I feel companies like AYA and GPD need to be putting more effort into truly competing with. The AYANEO 2 is a super premium device through and through, and that’s heavily reflected in the price. Even if the Deck offers better value, I can’t deny just how much I’ve loved using the AYANEO 2. If you have the budget and want more than a Steam Deck, it’s one to look at, and definitely not one you’ll regret.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/andaseat-kaiser-3-gaming-chair.2169/

Now this isn’t my first rodeo. Having reviewed one of E-Win’s chairs back in 2018 I found it a comfortable companion for my day to day work and play. As time’s gone on though, the seat started to show some wear, and in looking for an alternative, AndaSeat offered one up for review: the Kaiser 3.

To start from the start, assembling the chair was incredibly trivial. AndaSeat celebrate their use of magnets to assist in an easy chair assembly, and advertise an assembly that only requires one person. From start to end it was quite simple, and while the magnets feel more novel than crucial, they are appreciated in nonetheless. The basics didn’t change much when compared to the E-Win construction in terms of having a seat and a back, and having to bolt them together. The magnets come into play in adding the cover over the bolts themselves, giving you a really clean aesthetic with minimal additional effort being required. Getting the wheels onto the base is just a case of slotting them in, and the mechanism to raise and lower the chair is more of the same. I can’t imagine many people having trouble setting this up outside of the weight of carrying the initial parcel. At 35kg it is heavy.

The use of magnets does go beyond the assembly process, and I feel these ones are a bit more useful. You see this in both the arm rests and the head rest. What I think is good here is that these are two relative points of failure when it comes to long term use, with head cushions seeing heavy wear, and arm rests typically being the things I accidentally hit other things with. In theory, being able to replace these without having to replace the larger chair is a big win for me, but that is just in theory. While AndaSeat do have a section on their site for pillows and other accessories, the Kaiser 3 stuff seems to be absent. It’d be my hope that AndaSeat would be able to offer replacements if contacted directly, but I have no way to confirm this for myself.

What really drew me to the Kaiser 3 in particular was the availability of a fabric version. I feel gaming chairs too frequently fall into the same designs with that almost rubbery look thanks to the PU leather materials. With my E-Win chair being PU leather, I can at least vouch for its comfort, but to be blunt I just got tired of seeing it. It doesn’t fit in with a normal room, and while garishness is somewhat of a gaming staple, it really doesn’t have to be. AndaSeat aren’t the only company to be putting out fabric options, but having used this chair for a few months now I can say it’s been genuinely refreshing. I love having a chair that doesn’t seem out of place in a room, and the fabric feels great when sat down. The only flaw I could really come to with fabric as a chair material is ease of cleaning. With PU leather you can naturally just wipe it if you spill something, and while you can still tackle fabric with a cloth, it’s something I can see coming into play as the chair sees more use.

In terms of lumbar support, you have a good degree of flexibility in how you want your spine to rest in the chair. On the back of the chair you have a knob on each side that can be twisted to easily move the internal lumbar support up and down, and alter how much it protrudes outwards and into your backbone. It’s really intuitive, and can be altered entirely on the fly to suit your current mood or particular flavour of lower back pain. It’s a huge step up from the simple cushion I’ve previously had, and the flexibility it offers does top the office chairs I’ve used for work.

Can I recommend the Kaiser 3? In no uncertain terms, yeah. It’s comfortable, and that’s obviously the biggest thing you’re looking at in terms of a chair investment. But on top of that, the fabric is breathable, it’s easy to assemble, and makes it easy to replace a few common parts that might fail first. It ticks a lot of boxes for me, and with a two year guarantee to support it, the £400 it costs feels a bit safer.

You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/asus-rog-azoth-gaming-keyboard.2165/

It’s no secret I’m a fan of ASUS. Since I started reviewing their keyboards, mice, and other fun gadgets, I’ve come to expect a certain quality and a certain degree of fun uniqueness from the products they have on offer. Be it a two-screened laptop or a keyboard that you can move the number pad to the left of, their more out-there peripherals are the ones that have stuck with me, and they’re the ones I’ve gone out and bought after finishing my reviews. Roll on the grand year of 2023 and we’re back with not just a clean-looking 75% keyboard, but one with a small OLED display in its corner? Consider me suitably intrigued.

The out of box experience with any ASUS product is a good one. You don’t quite have that feeling you might expect from something like an Apple product, but it’s still somewhat distinct. It’s a box within a box, with the keyboard protected with a nice sleeve that you might want to keep for transporting it. Underneath the keyboard, you get your usual bits of documentation, a USB C to USB C cable for charging, and a switch lube toolkit that includes tools for removing keycaps and switches, a few spare replacement switches, and some Krytox lubricant. It’s a great set and more than I’d usually expect to see from a gaming keyboard. To me though, this feels like more than just a gaming keyboard.

The ROG team have somewhat outdone themselves with the larger design of this keyboard, bringing in some of the features you’d generally only expect to see in your custom DIY models on top of their usual bells and whistles. On the surface you have what looks like a fairly normal ROG keyboard. It’s all black, got plenty of lights, and is packing great connectivity with a combination of USB C, Bluetooth, and 2.4 GHz wireless. It’s not all too different to the STRIX Scope RX I looked at last year at a glance. There is an elephant in the room though, and that’s the compact OLED display and associated knob that sit in the top-right of the device. I don’t want to oversell this, you’re not getting something like Razer’s Deathstalker Ultimate. This screen isn’t going to house a browser window or really do anything spectacular. Instead, ASUS opted to shift a lot of what you’d usually find on a traditional function layer into this neat package with a simple but really clear display. Here, you can control audio, media, and the keyboard lighting, as well as a few other interesting things with the help of ASUS’ Armory Crate, like your motherboard fan speed. The display can also show a number of things while sitting idle, ranging from a looped gif to system stats, to the date and time. The controls for the display are a really simple knob that clicks up and down, as well as being able to be pressed in. It’s a really intuitive implementation of features you would generally expect on this kind of keyboard, and while I don’t necessarily think it’s a revolutionary feature I’d struggle to do without, I do think it’s a meaningful addition.

There is more yet to the keyboard though. Screens and other eccentricities might be what you expect from a gaming keyboard nowadays, and to an extent I certainly do. What I don’t expect however are a build quality and typing experience on par with DIY builds. In no uncertain terms this keyboard is a joy to type on. The switches come pre-lubed, and thanks to there being three layers of dampening alongside a silicone gasket mount design, typing feels cushioned and much more muted than other gaming keyboards I’ve come across. Still having the STRIX Scope RX on hand, its similar RX red switches feel far more hollow. I don’t think I’d notice half as much of a difference using clickier switches like blues, but with reds this muted and cushioned feel is genuinely sublime.

Looking at the larger build quality of the keyboard, you have a metal top cover paired with a sturdy plastic base. ASUS did comment in the promotional materials that the plastic base was picked to minimise wireless interference, but it really doesn’t take away from the larger premium feel or aesthetic. I actually quite like the two-tone look the two materials provide. Despite the plastic base, the keyboard itself is rather weighty, coming in just shy of 1.2kg. For comparison, that’s around 300g heavier than my full-sized Wooting two HE. It sits really nicely in place on the desk at the cost of being slightly more difficult to justify carrying in a backpack.

I took a bit of time to play with the keyboard itself, dismantling it and throwing on some keycaps I had lying around. Due to only having ANSI keycaps handy, it looks like a bit of a monster with some of the keys having light shine through them and some not, but it did highlight a small design issue for me. I really don’t like the spacing of the function keys. This is definitely a subjective point, and I do understand why they’re clumped together with the space being needed for the screen. Putting my own keycaps on, I realised just how much nicer it was to have some kind of definition, even if it was just having the central four function keys be a different colour to the rest. But that is some of the joy of this keyboard, and in fairness, a good number of keyboards lately: you can make them entirely your own. To give due credit, there aren’t many gaming-oriented keyboards with hot-swappable switches, and it’s nice to see a brand like ASUS take that step. I bought ASUS’ Claymore II for its great wireless connectivity and flexibility, and I am genuinely considering this keyboard as a base to just have fun with. Once you throw on some new keycaps and turn off the lighting, you really wouldn’t know this is a gaming keyboard, and in a market of often-garish and in your face designs, I think this is a really cool thing. It’s a bit of a shame ASUS didn’t take it a step further and offer different case colours or designs, but I can understand the need to stick with a simple black, if only to maintain parity with the larger ROG brand.

Can I recommend the Azoth? Being told it’ll retail around the £200 mark, I think I can. This is the first gaming keyboard I’ve looked at that really does feel like more than just a gaming keyboard. This feels like the keyboard of an enthusiast, and a grand entrypoint to the larger world of keyboard customisation. With a useful screen and connectivity that you generally wouldn’t see in a lot of DIY models, it does enough to sell itself as a unique product while keeping up in the areas that really matter.