Bringing new stories to your favorite games.
Secret Level is an anthology series coming to Amazon Prime Video, and it brings several games to animated form to tell new short stories for those games. The series was finally revealed with a teaser trailer during Gamescom 2024's Opening Night Live showcase. It comes from Blur Studio, the …
Secret Level is an anthology series coming to Amazon Prime Video, and it brings several games to animated form to tell new short stories for those games. The series was finally revealed with a teaser trailer during Gamescom 2024's Opening Night Live showcase. It comes from Blur Studio, the creators of Love, Death, and Robots, which is another animated anthology series that was well-received. Bringing that ethos to video game stories is what Secret Level sets out to do and it will release on December 10.
Several games were teased in the premier trailer, which you can watch above. Secret Level will have 15 episoides and includes the following games and series:
For more on all the news coming out of Gamescom 2024, be sure to check out our roundup of everything announced during Opening Night Live 2024.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – but you can at least tweak it. That’s pretty much been the way of the Deathadder, which has continually been one of the best gaming mice and Razer’s mainstay for well over a decade. Even with modernized features, slight changes to the shape, and upgrades in the tech used, there’s something very familiar about using the new Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed which is to say it’s still a fantastic mouse. While it may not stack up in terms of peak performance out of the box compared to the recent Viper V3 Pro, this new Deathadder does everything right, resulting in an all-rounder that’s easy to recommend.
Like the aforementioned Viper V3 Pro, the Deathadder V3 sports a rather understated lowkey design – no RGB or gaudy flair, just a simple Razer logo on the palm area. While I do appreciate a bit of flash to give peripherals some personality, I tend to like the recent trend of more non-descript mice. Admittedly, it’s easy to get confused between this model and the recently released Deathadder V3 Pro but one of the defining differences is in their size. The V3 Hyperspeed still contours nicely for right-handed players with the hump fitting just right for a good grip. But it is slightly more compact by nearly every measurement, which makes a claw grip a little easier to maintain, yet it’s still beefy enough to feel comfortable in hands if I’m using a palm grip. This also means it shaves off some weight, coming in at 55 grams compared to the V3 Pro’s 63 grams.
Similar to other Razer mice, this one uses the “smooth-touch” texture that has a matte finish – without deep grooves or rubber material, it consistently sticks to my hand even in heated situations. Both mouse buttons have a crunchy and bouncy tactile feedback to them thanks to the Razer’s Gen-3 optical mouse switches, which makes left and right clicks satisfying and great for rapid-fire clicking. One minor change I like a lot is that the two side buttons have a bit more of a gap between each other that helps my thumb distinguish between the two, and they’re still in the perfect position to hit easily. The scroll wheel has a grippy and bumpy texture with distinct notches for each registered scroll, which works well for keeping the wheel in place when using it as a button.
The most noticeable feature found underneath the mouse are the extra large PTFE feet – it’s similar to the Viper V3 Pro and was a surprisingly effective change that improved the smoothness of it gliding across my desk mat. I can say the same about the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed, and it makes the mouse a joy to use. There’s also a slot to stow the 2.4GHz wireless dongle, which is convenient when storing the mouse. The unified power button and DPI switch is also on the bottom, which also highlights the fact that there are no Bluetooth capabilities on this mouse. It’s not a huge loss considering it’s a gaming mouse, but it does lose some versatility even if it’s to rid a bit of bloat.
The Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed uses the Focus X 26K optical sensor which is quite as robust as the Focus Pro 30K found on the V3 Pro, but it’s still a high-performance sensor that’s more than worthy of pro-level play. Out of the box, the V3 Hyperspeed sports a 1000Hz polling rate with its 2.4GHz wireless dongle, which is the modern standard in gaming mice for competitive play. It is also capable of up to the coveted 8000Hz polling rate, but it requires Razer’s Hyperpolling dongle that is not included with the V3 Hyperspeed – unless you are very serious about competitive gaming and running a super high refresh rate monitor, you are likely to not reap the benefits of a higher polling rate. And in this particular case, it’s probably for the best since it helps keep the price of the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed down ($99.99 compared to the V3 Pro’s $159.99).
Customization requires you to use the all-in-one Razer Synapse software, which can be unwieldy at times. It’s straightforward to adjust features on the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed, however. Since there is no RGB lighting on the mouse, customization comes down to DPI settings (of which X- and Y-axes can be changed separately), button assignments, activating Smart Tracking, and power saving options.
A big new feature here is Dynamic Sensitivity which allows the mouse to automatically adapt its sensitivity based on how fast you physically swipe it. There are a few presets for how the acceleration curve works and can even be customized down to your exact liking. This helps make drastic turns in shooter games much faster without having to rely on a higher base sensitivity, so this can be useful for competitive gamers who want to use granular adjustments to improve their game. One other setting worth noting is mouse rotation – the idea is that if you hold your mouse at an inward angle, the sensor can recognize your horizontal movements as if they were on a normal axis. I have more thoughts on both features in the next section.
Synapse is also where you’re going to be able to monitor battery life, and with it rated for 100 hours using 1000Hz polling rate, I didn’t have to worry about the mouse dying after a full charge. I used the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed for four days while gaming and working, which would account for roughly 50 hours, the battery was slightly above 50% charged – it seems Razer’s claims hold up.
Once again, I’ve played several ranked matches in Counter-Strike 2 to put the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed through its paces in a competitive setting. And I continued to grind out my daily and weekly raids and dungeon runs in Final Fantasy XIV to see how the mouse fares as an all-rounder. This being yet another iteration of the Deathadder, I was not surprised by how well it performed and how comfortable it was to use regardless of setting.
Counter-Strike 2 is my main shooter and having tested all my mice in competitive play, I can attest to the Deathadder V3 Hyperspeed being as good as anything I’ve used in recent memory. I have noticed an improvement in the tracking and smoothness of my mouse movements when playing CS2 with a higher polling rate like 4000Hz (running 1440p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate), however I don’t feel it’s a defining factor in my overall performance. Between the optical sensor, ergonomics, and solid buttons, the Deathadder has all the foundations covered. Also, 1000Hz polling rate is nothing to scoff at, and the option for up to 8000 Hz is still open with this mouse if you pick up the $30 Hyperpolling receiver. I was still getting them headshots, getting picks around corners, and controlling my recoil pattern to maintain a positive K/D ratio.
Comfort is the main thing I’m looking for in a mouse when I play FFXIV, and as I mentioned earlier, the size, weight, and grippy texture makes it a breeze to use. The perfectly positioned side buttons and their distinct spacing help executing key actions with ease. Running raids for two or three hours felt effortless because it’s so lightweight and ergonomic, but also the reduced friction makes navigating menus and managing inventory
On paper, Dynamic Sensitivity can be a useful feature if quick turns or flick shots are key parts of the shooters you play. However, I find it feels unnatural regardless of the advantage it may offer. And for me who will continue to use different mice, it’s not the kind of thing I want to rely on or get used to. If you’re locked in on a specific game and want to squeeze every advantage possible, then I would suggest at least looking into it, otherwise it may not be worth using.
16th-century Japan is ripe with fascinating historical context for an Assassin’s Creed game to thrive, which is one aspect that makes the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows so enticing. The way the series bends history for its fiction has me hyped to see its version of feudal Japan, but it’s also a setting that lends itself well to the kind of combat options that have been encompassed by the entire franchise.
In a hands-off preview demo of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, I was able to see roughly 30 minutes of gameplay that showcased both Naoe and Yasuke – the two protagonists – and their combat styles in action. They represent both worlds of the series’ combat: Naoe, a stealthy shinobi wielding the iconic Hidden Blade, and Yasuke, a force of nature with pure power and masterful swordsmanship.
At the start of the demo, I saw Yasuke pulling up to a town where everyday people are squeezing out an existence under the boot of a corrupt shogunate that enforces a caste system. It’s a common dynamic in stories set in this era of Japan, but it’s also ripe for Yasuke to do right by the people who revere him. He has a commanding, respected presence, and the first combat encounter was against a group of samurai who were harassing a villager that shows off Yasuke’s swordsmanship. The challenge is to dodge or counter enemy attacks (indicated by blue and red glints on their blade) in traditional melee combat.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t hold back when it comes to the brutality of its combat. Yasuke has finishing moves where he either slices enemies’ heads off clean or stabs them in the gut before lifting them up just to slam them back down. These finishers are also highlighted with black-and-white frame cuts with blood splattering, giving it a bit of the samurai cinematic flair. What’s just as brutal is Yasuke’s spiked club, which is a heavy blunt-force weapon that pounds armored foes. Seeing them take a swing straight to the dome brought a little, “Oooooh!” out of me. The point being that Yasuke is purely focused on melee, so while he won’t be doing a lot of climbing rooftops and jumping between buildings, he’ll hold it down by taking all his enemies head on.
After this introductory combat encounter, a cutscene shows Naoe burst onto the scene to help Yasuke by leaping onto an enemy and executing them with her Hidden Blade. Naoe and Yasuke have this sort of chummy dynamic as they decide how to take on their next mission: assassinate the daimyo at Fukuchiyama Castle. From here, you have to choose to either control Naoe or Yasuke, and this will determine your playstyle and how you navigate the mission to kill your target.
Playing as Naoe, you then have access to scaling walls, hiding in foliage, and stealthy kills. She’s not solely working with a Hidden Blade either; she has throwable kunai for ranged kills and a set of short swords to get her hands dirty up close and personal, should things go loud. But my favorite weapon of hers is the chained blade she can swing around in a circle to chop down crowds of enemies, which even slices through environmental objects. So while she is more focused on being nimble and staying out of sight, she still has some viable options as backup.
But of course, slipping past guards to nab those satisfying stealth kills seems to be worth the effort. Being able to move through the environment with tools like a grappling hook to get up on higher ground in a jiffy and assassinate unsuspecting guards almost reminded me of Tenchu, since it’s more about smartly using tools than just hiding in grass and waiting for patrol patterns to play out. Naoe channels traditional Assassin’s Creed energy, and her options definitely lean into the Splinter Cell fantasy that hasn’t really been fulfilled in the years since we last saw Sam Fisher in action.
If you play this same mission as Yasuke, you literally bust down the front door and provoke all enemies into combat. Watching him tear through guards almost reminded me of For Honor, another Ubisoft game, for how methodical it all seemed to play, even though it isn’t quite that in depth of swordfighting. Since this is the era of Japanese history that first introduced firearms via Western import, Yasuke also wields a single-shot rifle, and it's pretty wild to see a hulking samurai pull off headshots just before whipping out his katana to slice down the rest of the foes in front of him.
Whether you play as Naoe or Yasuke, the end result seems to be the same: you kill the daimyo and keep it moving. I’m not sure what the story implications will be depending on your choice, if any. But it’s nice to see two characters with fully realized playstyles with a number of weapons and tools so as to not get stuck into monotonous combat encounters. Granted, that will be determined by how quests are designed. Infiltrating Fukuchiyama Castle showed promise in this regard, but I would love to see if, or how, Shadows can mix and match the two protagonists in more natural ways.
I’m more curious now to get my own hands on Assassin’s Creed Shadows because I always appreciate how different weapons and gear create a distinct flow, especially for a series that’s recently been bouncing between different identities. For me, the most interesting aspects of this game will come from the creative freedom Ubisoft flexes when playing with its historical fiction. Yasuke is a fascinating figure in Japanese history and having a covert shinobi in Naoe contrast the ideals of highly regarded samurai sets my expectations quite high. At least now, I know I’ll be getting a more interesting gameplay dynamic than what I’ve seen from Assassin’s Creed’s recent past.
We'll be able to see it all come together when Assassin's Creed Shadows launches on November 12 this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Some of the more interesting Star Wars content in recent years has nothing to do with Jedi and Sith. While their iconic push-and-pull of good versus evil has been a great framework for games like the Star Wars Jedi series, honing in on the life of a scoundrel gives us the opportunity to see life in the galaxy from a different perspective. That’s the impression I got after getting hands-on with an hour's worth of gameplay with Star Wars Outlaws, the upcoming third-person action shooter from Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment.
It’s rough around the edges as of however old this build was, but exploring the galaxy as protagonist Kay Vess and getting into dirty business in this three-part demo was refreshing, even though a lot of its gameplay felt familiar. The best representation of this was a mission that started inside an Imperial base and sent me to sneak my way around to activate controls to move a cargo shipment, opening the way to steal a ship for a getaway. After knocking out some guards and hacking into some systems, I got into a shootout with Stormtroopers as I waited for the cargo to move into the ship I was going to steal.
Kay isn’t exactly a force of nature and has to get scrappy, which meant well-placed shots, using cover, and commanding her little merqaal companion, Nix, to lend a hand were required to make it out alive. Kay’s blaster has a lethal and EMP-style modes, plus a one-shot knockout on cooldown, but she can also pick up enemy weapons for more firepower. Putting this all together was pretty challenging, but after making the escape I was then in control of an Imperial ship and getting into dogfights in space, channeling some of that Star Wars Squadrons energy into Outlaws.
I then returned to the desert planet Toshara in the city of Mirogana, where the criminal underworld thrives, for the finale of this story mission. All of this happened seamlessly, moving from one thing to another at a brisk pace and encompassing all the aspects of what it takes to be a successful scoundrel in the Star Wars universe. Although I didn’t get to spend much time poking around Mirogana, it seems to be full of side content to give Outlaws that open-world feel to complement the linear story-based missions.
I do think Outlaws sometimes relies too heavily on the design conventions of an Uncharted or Tomb Raider. For instance, another part of the demo had me platforming and climbing structures to retrieve a relic tucked away deep in this abandoned reactor. It seemed like every other room had the ground falling under me in an attempt to create tension, but we’ve seen this rug-pull trick far too many times for it to be a surprise. And the controls aren’t quite precise enough to make jumping gaps, scaling walls, or shimmying across ledges feel natural – this is something action-adventure games of this kind have figured out in years past so it’s a bit disappointing that Star Wars Outlaws struggles here. Hopefully that's on the fix-it list for the last few months before launch.
The third segment of the demo had me infiltrating a base run by thieves on the dark and snowy planet Kijimi, and this had an emphasis on stealth and hacking mechanics. Although staying out of sight is all you really need to do, I wish the stealth mechanics were more robust. Kay struggles to stick to cover and Nix isn’t super helpful as a companion in this scenario, but once everything breaks into a shootout all of that becomes a moot point. The hacking minigames became more prominent, and I actually quite enjoy the rhythm-based lockpicking and the Wordle-style icon-matching one, which are clever little breaks in the traditional action. Especially when you’re in the middle of a hostile encounter frantically trying to hack into systems or past doors, these add a neat wrinkle to round out the gameplay flow.
I wasn’t able to get the full context for the story happening in this mission, but Kijimi is a fascinating and more recent planet in the Star Wars universe that’s also deep with crime syndicates. Seeing Kay tip-toe around allegiances and get into sticky situations with competing factions makes me excited to see how Star Wars Outlaws presents that scoundrel fantasy. It’s like having a fully realized game based around the idea of being Han Solo, but having a new character in Kay Vess gives it room to breathe and create a new fiction within Star Wars, divorced from the canon or expectations that often puts pressure on the franchise.
So at this stage I can say that Star Wars Outlaws shows a lot of promise, but as usual we'll have to wait and see how many of the things that struck me as a little off can be smoothed out ahead of launch. (Never tell me the odds!) Even though it’s borrowing a lot from what we’ve seen in games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider, the Star Wars universe is ripe for that style of game. More stories outside of the Jedi-Sith framework are also appreciated, especially ones that dig deeper into the criminal underworld and the implications it has on the rest of the Star Wars world. Gameplay may not be as fluid or satisfying as the games that it’ll be compared to, or even the Star Wars Jedi series, but there’s a good variety of mechanics and systems that meld really well.
Hopefully it all comes together in the full game, which we won't have to wait for very long for: Star Wars Outlaws releases on August 27 of this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Uncharted territory for Star Wars.
Some of the more interesting Star Wars content in recent years has nothing to do with Jedi and Sith. While their iconic push-and-pull of good versus evil has been a great framework for games like the Star Wars Jedi series, honing in on the life of a scoundrel …
Deadly stealth and brute force working in tandem.
16th-century Japan is ripe with fascinating historical context for an Assassin’s Creed game to thrive, which is one aspect that makes the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows so enticing. The way the series bends history for its fiction has me hyped to see its version of feudal Japan, but it’s …
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