Tim Cain, the project lead on the original Fallout, just dropped his review of Amazon’s new show, but you don't need to watch all of it.

In his review, Cain emphasized how the show nails the feeling of the Fallout universe. He said that the show managed to get everything from the visual aesthetics to the dialogue and storyline to fit right into a universe that’s often hard to capture because it's so different from other versions of post-apocalyptic worlds. 

"For people who don't want rambling, you can just stop, leave. 'Tim said he liked the show.' There you go," said Cain.

As a creator and a fan, Cain said that he was thrilled by the amount of Fallout lore that gets packed into every episode of the series. “What I especially love about it,” Cain said, “is that there’s no exposition.” The show just drops viewers into the heart of the Fallout universe, which Cain admits might be a little off-putting for viewers who’ve never picked up any of the games. 

Cain also addressed his feelings on some of the biggest lore changes that the show introduced to the Fallout canon. When it comes to the big reveal that Vault-Tec planned to drop the first nukes, Cain said that he believes the company never got the chance. He thinks that the moment the bombs fell actually caught Vault-Tec off guard, and as proof he points to the fact that Barbara’s daughter is with Cooper at a birthday party when everything goes down, rather than safely tucked away in a vault. 

When it comes to the heated debate that fans have been having about the show’s relationship to the lore of Fallout: New Vegas, Cain said that he’s really not concerned about it. “Let me just remind you that lore drift is inevitable in big IPs,” he said, after spit-balling a number of different ways that the show could explain what happened to Shady Sands and where that event falls on the overarching Fallout timeline. Echoing a sentiment from a video he released two days after the show premiered, Cain asked fans to engage with the series in a fun and friendly way, rather than making personal attacks against the people who may or may not have made adjustments to the timeline.

Overall, Cain seemed joyous that the world he helped create nearly 30 years ago is continuing to thrive and bring he new fans. He said he was hoping for a season two, so he’s probably thrilled that Amazon has just confirmed it. 

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Sazza is one of the first goblins you meet in Baldur’s Gate 3, and from the moment you're introduced, her fate is in your hands. Like most characters, there's no strict rules for whether Sazza lives or dies in any playthrough, but keeping the goblin safe is a multi-act challenge. If you're working to escort the goblin to the end, we'll explain how to save Sazza in BG3.

Act 1 - Find Sazza in the Emerald Grove

At the beginning of the game, Sazza is captive in the Makeshift Prison in the back of the Emerald Grove. She’s locked inside a cage, being threatened by a young tiefling named Arka. Arka wants revenge because Sazza and the other goblins killed her brother. Here you’ve got an opportunity to intervene. You can either stand between Arka and Sazza, or you can pass an Intimidation or Persuasion check to talk Arka down. 

To save Sazza:

• Stand between Arka and Sazza
• Pass the Intimidation or Persuasion checks to talk Arka down

Once Sazza’s life has been spared, she’ll ask you to escort her out of the Emerald Grove. Some companions won’t be thrilled if you help her, but Sazza will easily get you past the goblin checkpoints on the way to the Shattered Sanctum. After arriving at the Sanctum, Sazza introduces you to Minthara, unwittingly putting her life on the line once again. 

Protect Sazza from Minthara

Sazza lies to Minthara about her brief imprisonment at the Emerald Grove and tries to pretend that she captured you and your party. Minthara susses out the lie immediately, and unless you try and persuade her otherwise, she sentences Sazza to death on the spot. If you once again save Sazza’s life, you’ll complete the “Save the Goblin Sazza” quest, but depending on how you play out the rest of Act 1, you might see Sazza one more time later in the game. 

She Cannot Be Caged! Achievement

It’s not easy to get Sazza to survive through the entirety of Act 1. She turns hostile if you attack the Goblin Camp, and she’s scripted to just drop dead if you kill all three goblin leaders while defending the Grove. I was only able to get Sazza to survive by siding with the goblins in my evil playthrough, but it does seem worth mentioning some players on Reddit have reported being able to keep her alive by knocking her out, killing all the goblin leaders, then long resting to get her to move on to Act 2. 

Meet Sazza again in Act 2

Either way, anyone who manages to move into Act 2 before Sazza dies can run into her again at Moonrise Towers. The little goblin isn’t the nicest creature in the world, but you do have to feel sorry for her bad luck streak. At Moonrise, Sazza’s life is once again on the line.

When you enter the Throne Room, a cutscene will show Sazza and a handful of other goblins being judged for failing to retrieve Shadowheart’s Artifact. Decide her fate yet again, and your options are to let her get killed, offer to fight and kill her yourself, or demand her freedom. If you spare her life this third and final time, you’ll unlock the secret achievement “She Cannot Be Caged!”.

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News Tower, from four-person developer Sparrow Night, tasks you with saving a sinking 1930s newspaper. The game’s early access release feels more like an extended demo, but it’s one that definitely has me intrigued about the future. 

The game begins with you inheriting a small newspaper business from your uncle. The paper publishes each Sunday, so you need to start sending out your small team of reporters to find stories immediately. Every story is marked by tags – like crime, politics, or sports – that correspond to the interests of various readers. The tags you choose to print each week, particularly the ones that make it to your front page, affect how much money you earn. 

That money can be spent on anything from workplace necessities like bathrooms for your employees to printing presses that let you publish more stories each week. The basic system is easy to grasp, and finding the right way to prioritize the needs of my individual employees and the requirements of running a business made for a fun balancing act. 

Welcome to New York 

My first big surprise in News Tower came when I got the chance to plan out my paper’s expansion. There’s an in-game map of New York that’s covered with small neighborhoods you can target each week. Different neighborhoods prefer different types of stories, so as soon as you start expanding, you get to make more purposeful decisions with what your reporters research and what your paper actually publishes. 

Along with neighborhoods providing you with alternate goals, there are also various factions in the city who reach out with their own special requests. The mafia offered me good money to halt all crime reporting for a week, and the mayor’s office paid me handsomely to print a few flattering stories about the mayor’s latest initiatives. These “Hidden Agendas” encourage you to expand into neighborhoods that want to read about what your secret patron has requested, which provides you with another fun set of priorities to balance. 

Sometimes individual stories you uncover also come with their own challenges. The public might show up outside your building to protest a controversial story, or the mafia might send a couple of its members to rough up one of your crime reporters. These challenges force you to hire new employees like security guards or lawyers. Whether your paper is facing conflicts or reaping rewards, everything that happens to it is based on the stories you choose to publish, and that feels great. 

What’s less great is that, at least in the early access portion of the game, there’s no real way to search for specific kinds of stories. You can ask your employees to prioritize finding certain tags each week, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll succeed. Plus, some tags appear randomly and can’t be prioritized. More than once I failed a Hidden Agenda because I was never given the opportunity to publish the story my secret patron asked for. 

Should you buy News Tower? It's a quick ride 

News Tower has just gotten into its early access period, but even knowing that going in, I was surprised by how short the experience is. The game begins in 1930, and the full experience will apparently stretch into 1939. The early access wraps up at the end of 19932, and I hit that point in about four hours. Between the core gameplay loops, all the additions you can get for your tower, and the various factions you encounter throughout the city, I’d say four hours is just enough time to familiarize yourself with the game’s many mechanics. 

I’d just begun getting into a publishing groove when I reached the end of my time with News Tower. It’s definitely a good thing that the game left me wanting more, but as it stands right now, I don’t have much of a reason to boot it up again until the full release, which currently doesn’t have a date attached to it. News Tower shows some definite promise, but with the way its early access suddenly cuts off, I really can’t tell if the game is on track to stick the landing. At the very least I’m hopeful, and News Tower is something I’ll keep my eye on in the months ahead. 

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CD Projekt Red just dropped the latest update for Cyberpunk 2077, and it makes a handful of visual updates to the game while also addressing some glitches that range from harmless to game-breaking. 

Officially, Cyberpunk 2077 is finished, and CDPR planned for patch 2.0 to be the last big update to the game, but things didn’t shake out that way. Ahead of the game’s Ultimate Edition release, patch 2.1 added a ton of new content, including a functional metro system and new companion side activities. After that CDPR shifted its focus to the Cyberpunk sequel, but the developer is still ironing out some details in 2077. 

The latest update is patch 2.12, and while it brings a number of welcome changes, it isn’t adding any new content to the game. Instead, 2.12 is aimed at making small adjustments to quests, fixing bugs, and improving the game's performance on some devices. You can read all the details below:

PC

• It will now be possible to properly rebind the Radioport and dropping bodies to a different key on AZERTY keyboards. Switching quest objectives will now be assigned to the T key on all keyboards.
• Fixed an issue where trying to bind the T key to actions in Exploration & Combat resulted in a "Binding Failed" error.
• Together with Intel we fixed the stuttering issue that occurred while the "Prioritize P-Cores" option was enabled.
• Together with Razer we fixed a crash that occurred when using Razer Chroma enabled devices.
• Fixed an issue where NPC hair could appear extremely bright inside vehicles when Ray Tracing is enabled.
• Fixed a crash that occurred on Steam Deck when playing with Ray Tracing enabled.

Xbox

• Addressed an issue where the game could enter an infinite loading state, hang up or crash on Xbox when using some saves.

All Platforms

• Fixed an issue causing the inability to access the menu, inventory, stash, holocalls and fast travel.
• Updated the description of the Sonic Shock quickhack so that it properly reflects the changes made to its behavior in 2.1.
• Improved visibility of the controller cursor in menus and when using computers or keypads. This change will primarily help Steam Deck users, but will also benefit consoles and PC when using a controller.
• New Dawn Fades - Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to open the phone to read the notification from the Automated Delivery System.
• I Can See Clearly Now - Lowered the Body attribute check required to move the dumpster.
• I Walk the Line - Sasquatch's jump attack will now properly register as a hit and deal damage.
• Riders on the Storm - Enemy cars in the chase sequence will now shoot at Panam's van.
• Nocturne Op55N1- Fixed an issue where, after choosing to call Reed, the conversation sometimes wouldn't trigger, blocking progression.
• Sonic Shock will now be properly categorized as a Covert quickhack.
• Fixed instances where groups of immortal enemies could appear across Night City.
• Fixed an issue where some elements on the perk screen wouldn't change after switching to Colorblind Mode.
• BioDyne Berserk will now properly have increased Crit Chance from its Reflexes Attunement.

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