Returnal‘s new 2.0 update is live right now and brings a new quality of life feature to the game in the form of Suspend Cycle. This update also brings a photo mode to the game, a feature plenty suited to the game and its unique visuals.
Returnal released as one of the first PlayStation 5 exclusive titles in April. While the game was met with positive reception, many players voiced problems with the roguelike nature of the game and not being able to finish missions, due to how long runs can last. This update fixes that problem by allowing players to suspend their run.
Suspend Cycle allows players to pause mid-cycle and return to it later. That means it’s possible to exit the game, play something else, or turn off the console completely and still return later exactly where you left off. This feature isn’t to be confused with the typical Save option, as you’re only allotted one suspend point at a time.
There are also limitations to Suspend Cycle. Players won’t be able to suspend during cinematics, first-person sequences, intense combat scenarios, and boss battles to keep the challenge intact.
The 2.0 update also adds a highly-requested Photo Mode, which many gamers have come to expect from most AAA games at this point. At any time, besides first-person sequences, players can pause the game and enter the new Photo Mode. Like with Photo Modes in other games, players can change the focus, filters, coloring, and more.
Returnal and its free 2.0 update are available now for the PlayStation 5.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.