Square Enix has announced a game that’s set to break for its genre. This summer, Cosmos Rings will be the first RPG released exclusively for the Apple Watch.
Cosmos Rings will be based on an unusual gameplay mechanic known as the “Time Upstream System.” While details are scarce, it seems that the device’s Digital Crown will be used prominently.
However, progression will be tied to the player’s step count, which the Apple Watch is obviously more than capable of tracking. Given the success of Pokémon Go in recent weeks, it’s easy to see why Square Enix has chosen to announce a new game based on physical movement.
Takehiro Ando has been called upon to act as the game’s producer, according to a report from Siliconera. Ando previously created Chaos Rings, a series of four RPGs that were released across iOS and Android hardware between 2010 and 2014.
Given Ando’s involvement and the similar naming convention, it wouldn’t be surprising if Cosmos Rings turned out to be something of a spiritual follow-up to Chaos Rings. However, the brief plot synopsis that has already been revealed suggests that the game’s storyline will be unrelated.
Cosmos Rings takes place in the Interval of Time, where human emotions are said to swirl around in the ether. These emotions seem to be the enemies that players will be battling over the course of the game, as they attempt to bring back the mysterious Goddess of Time.
Besides the brief glimpse of gameplay present on the official Cosmos Rings website, that’s all we know about this intriguing new RPG for the time being. The game is expected to launch this summer, so we could perhaps see a surprise release sooner rather than later.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.