Specs:

• Connectivity: Bluetooth

• ANC: Hybrid

• IP Rating: IP55

• Battery Life: 6 to 7 hours (5 with ANC)

• Charging: USB-C, Qi Wireless

A Comfortable Fit for Quality Audio

Performance is arguably the crux of any earbud, with comfort falling second. Status Pro X earbuds blend a comfortable design with high-resolution audio for a listening experience I’m not dreading 30 minutes in.

Whereas most buds have my inner ears screaming after a few songs, I quickly forgot I was even wearing the Pro X buds. I could sit with them for a full six-hour battery cycle, especially since Status makes it easy to get lost in your music with a high-quality design, adjustable equalizer (EQ) settings, and impressive noise filtering.

Driving the audio experience are 12mm dynamic drivers, a pair of balanced armatures per bud, and an LDAC codec. Overall, the sound quality is crisp. However, advertised as “Earbuds with Subwoofers,” I expected a punchier bass. There is some depth, but it falls short of an authentic subwoofer, and none of the presets do much to enhance the deeper tones. Similarly, the buds struggle to hit the upper treble hard.

While the audio resolution is more than serviceable, and casual listeners may not even notice the diminished treble and bass, it’s difficult not to be a little critical considering the $300 price tag.

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Drowning Out the World

When you just want to get lost in your music, Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) drowns out the world around you. I have experienced buds that marginally mute external audio, but that’s not the case here. With the Status Pro X, ANC is very effective. Whether vacuuming or typing, the feature drops harsh noises to a dull roar or subtle clack.

Alternatively, Ambient Aware (or transparency) mode ensures I’m not completely deaf to the world. Ultimately, ANC is great for at-home use, while Ambient Aware is ideal in any situation where you want to be cognizant of your surroundings.

Unlike the default or ANC listening modes, Ambient actually boosts external noise. You’ll still hear the world around you as voices and other sounds are boosted by the Pro X. You can turn off both features and conserve battery, but neither greatly affected how long the buds lasted.

EQ Customization & Presets

If you’re not thrilled with the initial sound settings, the Status Hub app (on iOS and Android) offers EQ presets and customization. There wasn’t a preset that fit my situation better than the default setting, but the podcast and vocal enhance options are good additions if you’re watching a movie or have issues distinguishing lyrics.

The app’s custom EQ setting gives you control of eight bands. You’ll hear your changes in real-time, ensuring you can accurately tune the audio to your liking. This is more suited for audiophiles who understand the real difference between a 30Hz band set at 12 db and a 5.8K band at -12 dB.

Finnicky Connectivity, Untethered Possibilities

As is standard with earbuds, each Pro X bud connects separately via Bluetooth. The process is as simple as pulling the buds from the charging case. So long as your device is in pairing mode, it should automatically detect the left and right buds. On rare occasions, one bud wouldn’t connect, despite the other linking almost immediately. Fixing it has been as easy as repeating the pairing process with the disconnected earpiece, so it’s a very minor nuisance.

Once connected, I never had issues with one dropping off. Audio remained crisp and clear whether I was stationary by my phone or at the opposite end of my home. I enjoyed being untethered to my device, so my phone could be left to charge or kept out of my pocket (where it tends to get very hot).

A rather large and sensitive touch area also makes it easier to leave your phone behind. Customizable tap commands seamlessly cycle songs, pause tracks, increase volume, and answer/end calls. It’s rather responsive, so expect to accidentally pause your music every time you go to scratch your ear. Thankfully, the touchpad can be deactivated.

One neat feature is that the device pauses and restarts music apps like YouTube Music when it detects a bud has been removed from and returned to your ear.

Long Battery Life, Short Charge Cycle

I briefly mentioned that ANC and Ambient Aware chipped away at the battery life a little faster. If the Pro X struggled with usage time, that would be a significant detriment. However, each bud lasts about seven or eight hours in standard listening mode. Kick on ANC or Ambient Aware, and that only drops to about five hours, which is still more than long enough.

When the battery does need to recharge, the buds come with a very compact charging case. Recharged via USB-C or wirelessly, the case is convenient and efficient. Pop the buds into place, and within 1.5 hours, they’ll be back 100%. I got just over 2.5 full charges before the case needed to be plugged in.

A Fine Enough App Experience

Though the earbuds have tap commands and a small button to toggle power, ANC, and voice assist, the Status Hub app is best for fixing connectivity issues, swapping EQ modes, and customizing commands. Even battery power is displayed by default in most devices’ Bluetooth settings. You’ll also want to download it for the Find Earbuds feature.

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If you’re prone to losing small objects, so long as the buds are connected via Bluetooth, you can ping them to play a sound. If they’re not still connected to Bluetooth, the Find By Location displays the last location they were paired.

Even if your phone is already cluttered with apps, you’re spending $300 on these buds. You might as well make room and enjoy the full experience.

Do You Need It?

The Status Pro X earbuds should be a consideration for audiophiles. If their price were even $100 lower, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to casual consumers, who may not notice the perks of the dual driver and balanced armatures or take full advantage of the custom EQ settings.

However, they’re so incredibly comfortable. I’ve been in such a surprising amount of pain using other buds that I could endorse these on that alone. If you need to replace a subpar pair of buds or want to ditch those cumbersome headphones, I’d keep the Pro X on your shortlist.

Pros:

So comfortable you forget they’re there

Great battery life, even with ANC active

ANC is very effective in drowning out external noise

audio remains crystal clear even if you’re in an entirely different room

Cons:

Voice Calls are tinny and muted

Bass and Treble don’t reach their true potential

Minor Bluetooth Connectivity issues

Cheaper buds can offer a similar experience

I hope you have your calendar cleared, because it’s Steam Next Fest time. Pegged as “A Celebration of Upcoming Games,” the week-long event is a massive indie showcase where developers provide hands-on time with their upcoming releases.

For the 2026 digital festival, players face the daunting task of deciding which of the 3,000-plus games they should dedicate their time to. Horror fans have it a little easier, with a marginally less-impossible 400-plus available for the duration of the seven-day event.

Unfortunately, that means there is plenty of opportunity to miss out on some truly wonderful passion projects. To help navigate the extensive offering of demos, I’ve curated a list of favorites you may want to push to the top of your list.

The Hell

Developer: Metropolice

Release Date: April 1, 2026

Ever want to take control of Hell? Well, this devilish city builder is your chance. As “Hell’s Governor,” it’s up to you to rebuild the underworld and satiate the powerful Namazu to prevent havoc and chaos from dismantling your hellscape.

Play The Hell Demo

Beyond the Eyes

Developer: Sapphirus Production

Release Date: March 6, 2026

What can I say? I’m a sucker for werewolves, and I appreciate the unique concept of playing as a blind character that has to use sound to navigate a mansion and evade the hefty footsteps of a lycanthrope.

Play the Beyond the Eyes Demo

The Skin Stapler

Developer: Tainted Pact

Release Date: TBA

It’s gritty, grimy, and has a delightfully eerie soundtrack that pairs perfectly with the crude PSX-style visuals. I absolutely love the retro style, as it fits the ‘80s grindhouse inspiration and enhances the overall look and feel of the world and the uncomfortable narrative being built.

Play The Skin Stapler Demo

Vultures - Scavengers of Death

Developer: Team Vultures

Release Date: Coming Soon

Resident Evil: Survival Unit may have given us a taste of a turn-based entry in the series, but Vultures delivers an entire experience that feels more closely rooted in the classic survival horror franchise. Manage supplies and carefully plan every move to survive this unforgiving, infected world.

Play the Vultures Demo

The Midnighters

Developer: OTTO Games

Release Date: March 2026

The concept isn’t breaking new ground as a 1- to 4-player co-op horror experience. However, I like the aesthetic, and any game with hallucinations that can mess with the group dynamic is worth at least checking out.

Play The Midnighters Demo

Invocation: Ghost Photography

Developer: Echochvmber

Release Date: Coming Soon

Old school visuals? Check. Paranormal gadgetry? Check. Spooky ghosts with hollow eyes? Check. It seems to be a PSX single-player version of Phasmophobia, so count me in.

Play the Invocation Demo

Not My Hand

Developer: BettleGame

Release Date: April 2026

Just how observant are you? You’ll need to be at the top of your game to piece together the events of a ritualistic killing and rewrite the ending. Watch the footage over and over, pinpoint changes from one viewing to the next, and try to alter fate in this psychological puzzler.

Play the Not My Hand Demo

Haunted Lands

Developer: Alevgor

Release Date: March 10, 2026

A Ranger, a werewolf, a sorceress, and a sexy salamander walk into a bar… It’s either the setup to an awful joke, or the lineup to this bright, fast-paced retro platformer. The onscreen chaos may be a bit much for some, but I love the idea of six unique heroes, each with their own playstyle. And, again, I’m a sucker for werewolves.

Play the Haunted Lands Demo

End of Line

Developer: Troxan Studios

Release Date: March 12, 2026

Stuck on a train, all you can do is survive carriages full of monstrosities and puzzles. The only way off is to face your fears and outsmart the horrors that await.

Play the End of Line Demo

The clack of a mechanical keyboard is a sound familiar to typists and gamers. Though noisier than your average membrane board, mechanical options offer quite a few perks that make that persistent click music to the users’ ears.

Like any keyboard, daily use can leave a mechanical board looking dirty, sometimes more so than its alternative, considering the keys are spaced out, allowing food and all manner of dirt to accumulate by the switches.

Since each keycap and switch is an individual component, thoroughly cleaning the board may seem daunting, but it’s necessary to maintain peak performance. Thankfully, mechanical keyboards are not hard to maintain and clean. It’s actually easier than cleaning a membrane keyboard, which offers more complicated access to its inner workings.

When it comes to mechanical keyboard maintenance, there are a few things to be mindful of to ensure safe handling and a prolonged lifespan. Having thoroughly cleaned my fair share of keyboards, mechanical and otherwise, I put together a quick cleaning guide, including tips on minimizing how often you need to perform routine maintenance.

Why Do Mechanical Keyboards Need Regular Maintenance?

Like any other computer peripheral, your mechanical keyboard needs proper care. Each switch is sensitive, and if you’re not careful, you will start losing letters of the alphabet to work with.

Think about what your board goes through in a week. Even just one day can be taxing, depending on how often you use it and the tasks at hand. Along with the natural oils on your fingers and the dirt you’ve accumulated throughout the day, keyboards are susceptible to the particles flying through the air, including airborne dust and pet hair.

All of this may not be visible at first, but if you don’t clean your board regularly, you’ll start to see physical signs of dirt and debris that can lodge into the switches and cause them to stick. You’d be surprised by the havoc hair alone can cause.

Are Mechanical Keyboards Harder to Clean?

Looking at a membrane keyboard, it looks like all you have to do is brush away at the surface and clean up any buildup around the keys. However, despite the tighter fit, there’s still quite a bit of dust under the tightly packed keys.

What’s best about a mechanical keyboard is that the letters are easily removable. Whereas the keycaps of a mechanical board are durable and can be removed in seconds, membrane keys are very thin, and the mechanics underneath can be fragile. One wrong move, and you’ll be down a key.

To remove keycaps, you need a designated puller. These typically ship with mechanical boards, but are available for purchase if needed. Once the keycaps are removed, there are several ways to clean a mechanical keyboard, including:

• Soft microfiber cloth or soft brush for light dusting

• White vinegar or rubbing alcohol to sanitize caps

• Handheld vacuum cleaner to remove loose dirt without removing keycaps

• Dish soap and Q-tips for deep cleaning switches and the plate

You may be tempted to run your full-sized vacuum over the board. I’d advise against that. On top of not being small enough to be efficient, if you aren’t careful, you can suck up a loose key or damage one. If you bend or crack the cap, it may not fit back in place.

Before you start cleaning, there are two fundamental rules to remember:

• Unplug the board before cleaning

• Don’t use abrasive cleaners

Can I Use Compressed Air on a Mechanical Keyboard?

Compressed air is a decent alternative for day-to-day maintenance, but it’s not an alternative to occasionally removing and cleaning beneath the keycaps. If you are going to use compressed air to remove loose dirt and dust, it’s best to take the keyboard outside.

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Turn it upside down, and, using the hose attachment, blow air from under the keys. You’ll be shocked by the mess it would leave behind if done in your workspace.

How Often Should You Clean Your Mechanical Keyboard?

A good rule of thumb is to brush the dust from your keyboard weekly using a microfiber cloth or soft brush. I recommend turning it upside down over a garbage can every other day or so to remove any loose particles, but a more thorough cleaning should be done every two or three months. Of course, this is all dependent on how often you use the keyboard.

If you’re on it constantly for eight hours a day, a monthly timetable may be better for getting beneath those caps. There are other factors you should consider when deciding on a cleaning schedule, including:

• Whether you eat near your keyboard

• How often you wash your hands

• Is there an air vent blowing directly above

• Do you tend to shed hair frequently

• Are there pets in the same space

How Do I Protect My Mechanical Keyboard from Dust?

Battling dust can seem like a daunting task. No matter how much you clean, it will find a way in and hinder the mechanics. Protecting against dust just means more frequent cleanings, unless you have a keyboard cover.

These soft, comfortable membranes put a blanket of sorts over your keyboard to prevent anything from getting in. They are available in varying thicknesses, but consider a thinner option if you’re a gamer to prevent any interference.

What Happens If My Mechanical Keyboard Gets Wet?

If you drink near your keyboard, you’re at risk of damaging your board with a spill. Even water can be a death knell, so it’s important to be incredibly careful when drinking in your office or gaming space.

In the event there is a spill, immediately unplug the keyboard. Then:

• Shake out any excess liquid

• If it’s anything but water, remove keycaps and soak in a dish soap bath

• Air-dry the keycaps

• Once completely dry, place the keys back

If you think the liquid penetrated the switches, you may need to pull them out, as well, using a designated puller. These are far more delicate than the keycaps themselves, so work very gently to clean and dry them.

Using a cloth that won’t shed, you may even need to dry out the plate beneath the switches.

Taking Care of Your Mechanical Keyboard

Your PC’s peripherals are delicate, and failing to keep up with regular cleanings can cause them to malfunction. The more rigid you are about a cleaning schedule, the longer you’ll get the most out of your mechanical keyboard.

Though it may seem durable and capable of withstanding heavy abuse, the inner workings are fragile. This process may seem intimidating, but it’s all pretty basic and simply requires a light hand and your attention. It’s a very small price to pay for a functional mechanical keyboard that lasts well beyond its warranty period.

As a horror fan, I spend most State of Plays and Developer Directs trying to remain excited for others and the bounty of entertainment flowing their way. When I heard whispers of an official Silent Hill reveal and saw Konami confirm a Silent Hill: Transmission after PlayStation’s State of Play on February 12, I knew this show was finally for me. To my surprise, it wasn’t just a trip back into the fog that Sony had in store, as Resident Evil and horror-adjacent titles like Castlevania, Legacy of Kain, and Remedy’s Control made an appearance.

Silent Hill: Townfall Shifts Perspectives

First-person perspective isn’t new to the Silent Hill franchise. Series fans may remember key moments in Silent Hill 4, exploring Henry Townshend’s apartment in search of hidden ghosts, or the 2007 mobile game, Orphan. Then, of course, there was Hideo Kojima’s wildly popular Silent Hills teaser, P.T. With the official reveal of Townfall, Konami and developer Screen Burn confirmed that first-person is back again, this time as a driving force for a deeper, richer narrative and tense, more engaging gameplay.

It may be tempting to make the Resident Evil VII comparison and accuse Screen Burn of copying Capcom’s franchise-saving move. However, the deeply personal stories naturally ingrained in the series’ narratives make first-person a far better fit for Silent Hill. To see through the fog via the eyes of the protagonist offers an opportunity for players to connect with Townfall’s latest everyman, mysterious newcomer Simon Ordell.

It’s not just the perspective that’s changing for Townfall, though. Fan pushback is sure to rise, as we’re once again moving away from the sleepy New England town. Sticking with the direction taken in Silent Hill f, where Silent Hill is more of a preternatural concept than a physical location, Screen Burn is sending players to the Scottish island of St. Amelia. The game will also replace the iconic radio with the CRTV, a handheld device designed to do much more than become a tiresome audio cue after the umpteenth enemy encounter. Screen Burn didn’t divulge too much, but the small TV will play into exploration and deciding whether to use new stealth mechanics or rely on the series’ staple combat.

The location may change, the perspective may shift, and familiar mechanics may receive an upgrade, but producer Motoi Okamoto promises Townfall “will still retain the feeling of Silent Hill that players are familiar with.” After a successful remake and another on the way from Bloober Team, it’s refreshing to see the series undergo an evolution that may better play to its core elements.

For a deeper look at the talent behind Townfall and the process of bringing the new experience (and all of its analog technology) to life, check out the complete Silent Hill Transmission.

Silent Hill: Townfall is slated to release in 2026 on PS5 and Steam.

Did Resident Evil: Requiem Refuel the Hype Train?

The excitement for the 9th main entry in the Resident Evil series has been pretty consistent since Capcom revealed Leon S. Kennedy. The State of Play trailer only further fueled it by showcasing Leon’s return to where it all began. Well, for him and the still-absent Claire, at least. The trailer featured new footage of Leon setting foot inside the decrepit police station, and a fun cameo of the Mizoil Gas Station and his Jeep Wrangler from the 2019 remake. There’s more confirmation he’s infected, though it hardly stops him from being a zombie-slaying supercop, and it’s even more obvious that Shirley Birkin is the voice in his ear.

Hopefully, the new trailer reignited the hype for those affected by Amazon’s absolutely abysmal handling of the physical release. Though the retailer’s inability to fulfill orders of the standard and steelbook versions suggests it’s going to be a good day for Capcom, it’s definitely a blow to the whole physical vs. digital argument.

Remedy Showcases a Bonkers Manhattan in Control Resonant

Though not quite a horror game, Control does have elements of the genre that seem to be carrying over into its sequel. In the latest trailer for Control Resonant, we’re treated to more of Dylan Faden’s abilities, combat prowess, and the paranatural obstacles that lie ahead. Manhattan is in complete shambles, invaded by a supernatural force reminiscent of the ghostly Hiss. Thanks to his otherworldly powers, Dylan has no problem navigating the twisted world, using traversal methods that look equal parts fun and dizzying.

As the follow-up to the very weird (but entertaining) Control, I’m not going to sit here and try to figure out what’s going on. There’s a floating half-head, particles are flying all over, and Dylan morphs his shapeshifting weapon, the Aberrant, into a comically large hammer. I’ve been following Remedy for long enough to trust the process at this point.

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The Legacy of Kain Lives On

A little over a year after Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics released the Soul Reaver remasters, Crystal Dynamics is at it again with Defiance. The last game of the series, Defiance released on the PS2 and, for the first time, allowed players to control both Raziel and Kain. While a remaster allows a new generation of players to experience the disappointment of the still unfinished story, the State of Play also had a 2D retro surprise to help soften the blow when they roll credits after the remaster launches on March 3rd.

As a new retro pixel art side-scroller set in the Legacy of Kain universe, Ascendance sends players back into the fantastical world of Nosgoth. The prequel features the original voice cast, all returning to unravel the events that led to Soul Reaver. Players will control Kain and Raziel, with the latter appearing in both his human and vampire forms, as well as Elaleth, a returning character from the graphic novels. Ascendance is slated to launch on March 31. Both games will release on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, and PC. Defiance will also land on the PS4 and Xbox One.

The Belmont’s Return in New Castlevania

Castlevania is a franchise that will pop up every so often with a nice little surprise. During the State of Play, that surprise was Belmont’s Curse, a 2D action-exploration experience set 23 years after Dracula’s Curse. Players arrive in 15th-century Paris as Trevor Belmont’s successor, equipped with the deadly Vampire Killer whip needed to take on the horrors of a new castle.

Along with the holy whip, this new slayer will have an arsenal of monster-killing weapons and abilities that will make navigating the castle’s hazards even remotely possible. Evade traps, slay fiends, and survive the labyrinthian maze when Belmont’s Curse launches later in 2026 on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and Steam.

GoveeLife strengthens its footing in smart home appliances with an expensive and unwieldy luxury ice maker that may actually be one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.

Specs:

22” x 14” x 17”

60-lbs capacity

2.5 lbs per hour

2.2L main tank

4.9L side tank

40 dB

GoveeLife: A Summertime Savior?

Living on Long Island, I took crisp, refreshing water for granted. After all, how could water taste bad, right? Then I moved to Las Vegas, where gritty, mineral-rich, and paradoxically dry H20 is the norm. To my dismay, that meant that any iced beverage took on a unique flavor profile. In a city that reaches highs of 120 degrees, ice isn’t really a luxury for several months of the year. It’s a survival tool.

I’m saying all this because I need to justify just how much I enjoy having the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro in my home. It’s huge, expensive, and sometimes clunky to operate, but I have had baskets full of delicious ice at my disposal since it arrived.

I do still have to use distilled or purified water to bypass Las Vegas-flavored cubes, and smaller, far less expensive units exist. However, having dabbled in Ecozy’s $190, 33-lb nugget ice maker as well, there are enough perks with GoveeLife’s behemoth that I may be able to justify its hefty price tag.

Assembling the Titan

At 21 inches deep, 14 inches wide, and 17 inches high, the ice maker requires a lot of space. On top of its dimensions, GoveeLife recommends a 4-inch gap on all sides, so you shouldn’t butt it against other appliances or a back wall. If you have low cabinets or narrow countertops, it likely won’t fit in your kitchen. I was just barely able to squeeze it beneath my cabinets, and I need to pull it out several inches to access the top filter.

Though the Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro is quite intricate for the very basic service it provides, assembly and setup weren’t difficult. It’s time-consuming, only because you need to run a cleaning cycle first, but that’s a “set it and forget it” process.

The included manual wasn’t entirely clear on some steps, but the Govee Home app does include videos and an easy-to-follow walkthrough that clarified a few things. Of course, that means relying on the Govee Home app, a clunky application that’s often glitchy and deserving of my constant criticism.

Smart, Fast, Noise-Free Production

Actually making ice is a simple, uninvolved process, as it is with most ice makers. Add your water of choice to the 2.2L base reservoir and 4.9L side tank, and hit “Start.” It’s definitely faster than the $190 model I owned, producing a usable amount of ice just a touch longer than the advertised six minutes.

It runs at a low hum, which is easy to get used to almost immediately. The most noise it makes is when either the tank is out of water or the ice bucket is full, at which point it beeps, sends a notification to your phone, and, if you set it up to do so, alerts you via your at-home voice assistant. Connecting to Alexa was done through the Govee app using Matter support. I clicked a few prompts, and the device was connected.

The future of ice making is essentially faster ice and many more ways for the machine to yell at you. I realized I reached a completely new level of smart home ludicrosity when I was at the doctor’s office, and received a phone notification that my $500 ice maker had run out of water. I do like the idea of being able to run it, so a fresh batch is waiting for me when I get home, but there’s a part of me that feels that maybe a smart ice maker with so much connectivity is a little superfluous.

That’s not to say I’m not pleased with GoveeLife’s luxury ice maker, though. For as much as I may scoff at its smart features, it does make a mean ice cube.

Ice Chips Need Not Apply

Even at $190, the Ecozy maker stumbled at its core function. It produced plenty of ice, but it wasn’t the nugget cubes I paid extra to have. The ice was very wet, creating a solid clump almost immediately after dropping into the basket. Rather than cubes, I had blocks of ice, which were difficult to use in my Coldest water bottle.

GoveeLife’s maker has a much more effective freezing process, likely due to its 96W compressor, large condenser and fan, and stainless steel evaporator. This setup delivers the small nuggets that are great for water bottles and glasses of all sizes. Though the basket isn’t good for long-term storage, even as the ice nuggets start to melt and fuse, they’re easy to break apart. Unlike the wetter chips, they’re also great if you want to transport them to your refrigerator’s ice machine. The Ecozy clumps would clog the machine, but that’s far less of an issue now.

Since the nuggets are better formed, they last longer in the basket. I can run a cycle, come back three hours later, and still have a decent supply of ice waiting. As with most ice makers, even when it melts, I can run a cycle again using the recycled water.

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Cleaning is an Involved Process

While the ice maker’s components may make initial assembly and setup slightly taxing, they’re really problematic when it comes to cleaning. There are two cleaning options: A general cleanse to keep your cubes fresh and free of debris and a descaling that removes buildup. Govee recommends using its specialized, food-safe cleaning and descaling agents that run for $9.99 and $14.99 for six packets each. Six of each agent should last a few months, even at moderate use, so it’s not a big expense. It’s just unexpected. Since they’re citric acid-based, cheaper options may be available, though I can’t speak to what would and wouldn’t work with the unit.

To fully clean the ice maker, you have to tend to each part, from the hose that feeds water from the side tank to the filter that keeps your supply crystal clear. Disassembling, scrubbing, drying, and reassembling is time-consuming, but the most cumbersome part is draining the ice maker.

Draining Can Get Messy

The device uses included hoses to drain into a receptacle, be it a bucket or your sink. It’s an awkward process, as I have to move the ice maker toward the edge of the counter and sometimes angle it to allow gravity and pressure to do their work. Even then, the hose doesn’t always fully drain. On more than one occasion, I needed to disconnect it from the machine, causing a sizable spill.

The upside is that you don’t have to clean the machine often. The manual recommends a full clean every 100 hours of run-time. After about 10 days of use, I still had 55 hours left until the recommended cleaning.

No, I don’t have a log for how often I run my ice machine. Thankfully, the Govee app does the tracking for me.

A High Cost for Cool Beverages

When I saw the price tag for GoveeLife’s Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro at CES 2026, I scoffed. Who would spend $500 on an ice maker when all it adds are smart features to an appliance that doesn’t really need smart features? Then I remembered I spent $200 on a much smaller unit that struggled to produce ice that lasted, and as I researched other ice makers on the market, I concluded: Passable ice makers are expensive.

So, yes, the GoveeLife model is costly, but considering its size, the quality of its freezing process, its more notable smart features like the cleaning and descaling reminders, and more luxury features like ambient lighting and smart home connectivity, I’m not horrified by the $300 difference.

Do You Need It?

If you asked me many years ago if I thought I’d ever be in favor of owning an ice maker, I’d probably laugh. It sounds like such a luxury buy, one that takes up counterspace and, if you’re not considering all factors, doesn’t seem to solve a pain point. However, one sip of Vegas water was enough to change my mind. Even filtered, Sin City’s H20 is unpleasant, and not something I want watering down my iced tea. So, if you live in an area with a subpar water supply, it’s definitely a recommended appliance.

Now, is the $500 GoveeLife Smart Nugge Ice Maker Pro overkill? Yes, you can get a much cheaper option, but I found my $200 option didn’t live up to my expectations. I think that, maybe, $300 is a huge leap for premium nuggets and smart features, but if you’re an ice connoisseur, it may be a justifiable splurge for your kitchen.

GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro

Pros:

Premium cubes that don’t quickly melt

Smart features add an unexpected layer of convenience

Large water tank doesn’t need to be filled often

Built-in filter ensures crystal clear, quality cubes

Cons:

$500 is a lot for an ice maker

Cleaning process is cumbersome

Takes up a lot of countertop real estate

Special cleaners available through Govee

It was a tale of five college students enjoying a holiday deep in the wooded isolation of rural Tennessee. There was some light drinking, a sprinkling of young love, and the recitation of an ancient Sumerian text that led to an unsettling tree rape, spatterings of blood and gore, and a pile of dead bodies.

Not only was it not the weekend Ash Williams and his friends expected, but it also seemed far from a usable concept for Commodore Business Machines’ home entertainment unit, the Commodore 65. And yet, in 1984, developer Palace Virgin Gold took Sam Raimi’s goo-infused horror romp and turned it into a pixelated adventure featuring the film’s bumbling protagonist, effectively launching Evil Dead’s video game exploits.

Removed from the Source Material

Like most licensed games of the era, The Evil Dead (1984) was a very crude depiction of the events that unfolded onscreen. As Ashly [sic] Williams (a reference to the spelling in the original screenplay), players warded off the evils inhabiting the cabin, picking up scattered weapons to replenish a depleting energy gauge needed to slay a host of quirky monsters (including disembodied legs and arms).

It was a simple concept largely taken from the Stamper Brothers’ Atic Atac (1983), but it provided enough entertainment to warrant a decent review in the September 1984 issue of Your Computer magazine. Most intriguing from the review was the apparent concern audiences had about violent or scary horror movies bleeding out into home entertainment systems. The Evil Dead spurred some worry but ultimately delivered on a kid-friendly experience.

Fast-forward 16 years, though, and maybe there was some validity to that uneasiness.

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Evil Goes 3D

The original PlayStation was six years into its lifespan (which technically ended in 2005) when Evil Dead: Hail to the King was released. By that time, horror gaming had already stirred controversy as the Resident Evil series and similar titles stepped into the spotlight. In fact, it was games like Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark that Hail to the King was clearly modeled after. Unlike the Commodore 64 title, the PSone game featured a 3D model of Ash equipped with his iconic chainsaw and boomstick.

Set eight years after Army of Darkness, Ash returns to the infamous cabin, hoping to rid himself of his recurring nightmares. Of course, things go awry, the deadites return, and it’s up to the wisecracking hero, voiced by Bruce Campbell, to set things right and save the damsel in distress. Rough around the edges and a little stiff, Hail to the King was deemed largely forgettable by average gamers and critics.

For fans of the trilogy, however, the story was clever and fit well within Evil Dead lore by touching on similar beats as Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Mechanically, it needed a lot of polish. Even by the time the credits rolled, players never really felt the true weight of Ash’s chainsaw hand.

That was, until three years later, when VIS Entertainment and THQ delivered A Fistful of Boomstick to the PS2 and Xbox.

True to the Source Material

Reviews weren’t necessarily kind to the 3D hack ‘n slash, but A Fistful of Boomstick really emphasized the deadite threat and made Ash feel like the incompetent hero we came to know. As was touched on in Hail to the King, Ash could outfit his stump with various weapons, including a flamethrower and a minigun.

Even his boomstick received an upgrade with various ammo types, which he stylishly shoots over his shoulder in a fashion we’ve come to expect from the franchise’s hero. Since the bigger open space gave VIS Entertainment more to work with, A Fistful of Boomstick felt more like a complete and well-rounded Evil Dead game.

Repetition, backtracking, and an unforgiving camera plagued the overall experience, but sawing deadites in half and unleashing a variety of spells kept our time as Ash from getting too dry. A Fistful of Boomstick may have felt like the series’s best, but Cranky Pants Games returned gamers to the Evil Dead universe in a story-driven hack ‘n slash that improved upon its predecessor’s pitfalls.

Mark's Occult

Decades of Frights: The History of Survival Horror

It started with a question of curiosity: “What was your introduction to the survival horror genre…

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3 months ago · 12 likes · 2 comments · Mark's Occult (Tech & Gaming)

Ash’s Last Ride

Regeneration (2005) enhanced the gameplay of A Fistful of Boomstick and crafted a more interesting story, which starts quite fittingly with Ash in a mental institution. The game featured some of the expected mechanics, like different hand attachments and firearms, but Regeneration changes things up a bit with a deadite sidekick (Ted Raimi) and the ability to call upon the more powerful Evil Ash. Escort missions occasionally bog down the enjoyment, but they’re easy to overlook amongst the near-constant bloody on-screen slaughter.

Then, with another possessed dame and another portal opened, the Evil Dead games stopped. After being spoiled for five years, fans of the franchise were left wondering if any developer would try to reinvigorate the series, but console generations came and went, and Ash was nowhere to be found.

A simple tower defense game based on Army of Darkness popped up in 2011, and Ash joined the ranks of Poker Night in 2013, but it would be a full 15 years before the team behind the World War Z and the Crysis remasters introduced players to a survival horror multiplayer experience set in the Evil Dead universe.

Evil Goes Online

Evil Dead: The Game gathered the very best of the franchise, including Ash vs. Evil Dead alumni Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo) and Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago), to take on the deadite threat in an online capacity. The co-op and PvP gameplay pit human versus demon, with horrifying monstrosities like Henrietta Knowby, Eligos, and Evil Ash (Army of Darkness) serving as generals for the deadite army.

Every character had their own abilities to level the playing field, which teemed with enemies to dismember and put back in the dirt. Evil Dead: The Game lays heavy into the horror with atmospheric maps pulled right from the cinematic universe, including the cabin that started it all.

For over 35 years, Evil Dead has been delighting fans with whatever nuggets they can get, be it a reboot, a Marvel comic book series, or digital interactive experiences that build upon Sam Raimi’s original story. Evil Dead: The Game is the culmination of all of it, blending as much of the franchise as possible into a playable medium.

Unfortunately, Saber Interactive confirmed in 2023 that it ceased all development on the online experience, and the game was delisted from storefronts in 2025. As of February 2026, servers remain active.

Will this be the last Evil Dead video game? It’s quite possible, especially considering it survived for only a year and Bruce Campbell has been vocal about stepping away from the character that defined the series. Movies will continue to keep the Evil Dead legacy alive, but the likelihood of a new game is unlikely.

While A Fistful of Boomstick and Hail to the King were console exclusives, Regeneration did have a PC release that could be saved by the video game preservation platform, GOG.com. Vote, spread the word, and let’s get back to slaying deadites.

Twenty years ago, a $60,000 movie exploded into a multi-million dollar success. Shaky cam filmmaking, a cast of virtual nobodies, a small town setting, and gritty realism helped sell the movie as a non-fiction account. For weeks after, people discussed the viability of the Blair Witch, some going so far as to spend a night in the ill-fated woods thought to be the resting place of the hapless documentarians: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard.

Younger generations can’t fathom this, but it’s true. Blair Witch was a craze. Teens discussed its veracity, while adults largely complained about something that had really yet to be done in a mainstream movie.

That the found-footage genre was still in its infancy certainly had a hand in driving the discussion over the movie’s realism. Directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez took a huge gamble by ditching traditional methods, instead favoring a handheld documentary style. The result was a movie said to have pioneered the found-footage genre while spawning a franchise of horrific delights.

The influence The Blair Witch Project had on the horror genre is still felt today. Hop onto Amazon Prime or Tubi, and you’ll find dozens of found-footage movies that emulate the shaky cam imagery of the independent production. The Blair Witch Project didn’t just infect the movie industry with love for unsteady camera operators. Its lore spread throughout multiple media, spawning books and comics that wove their own tales about the Blair Witch, Burkittsville, and the hermit that spurred the investigation into the vast woods of Maryland.

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The Blair Witch Gets Pixelated

In October 2000, around the same time that the critically-panned sequel was released, Terminal Reality snuck out the first of a trilogy of PC games that melded supernatural action and survival horror with the mythology of the Blair Witch. It was an unexpected release, but one that did the source material well by building upon the story of Rustin Parr and making the Blair Witch lore accessible to an entirely new, wholly interactive medium.

Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr isn’t a rehash of the movie by any stretch. Players don’t scour the woods helplessly in a slow-burning walking simulator. Instead, it takes us back to 1941 and introduces us to Elseph “Doc” Holiday, who some may recognize from Terminal Reality’s Nocturne (1999). That’s right, The Blair Witch Project wasn’t the only property Terminal Reality pulled from to bring the mysterious tale of Rustin Parr to life.

More than just a spin-off of the successful film, Blair Witch Volume I is an offshoot of Terminal Reality’s Nocturne. There are hints to the exploits of the episodic survival horror game scattered about, including a cameo from protagonist The Stranger and the secret government organization “Spookhouse.” Nocturne was very campy, but the early 20th-century setting, moody atmosphere, and unique scenarios were enough to overshadow wonky controls. Much of the same can be said about the Blair Witch video games, though the overall narratives are a bit more intriguing and the scares more abundant.

Much like how The Stranger is sent all over the world investigating claims of the supernatural, Doc is sent to the familiar town of Burkittsville, which is even sleepier than it was in the 1999 movie. Here, she becomes immersed in the horrors and psychological decay linked to the Blair Witch lore. Players investigate the small town, interacting with characters that have a Lovecraftian weirdness to them to unravel the truth behind the accusations against Parr, a hermit responsible for the disappearance of eight children.

The Monsters of Burkittsville

If you thought the 2016 Blair Witch movie was the first to introduce “monsters” to the mythos, Terminal Reality was ahead of the game by 16 years. Blair Witch Volume 1 could have easily been a horror adventure scattered with puzzles, but that would have tied poorly into the more action-heavy Nocturne. So, despite her assumptions that the supernatural claims of the Blair Witch are false, the level-headed Doc arrives with an arsenal of weapons and paranormal-hunting gadgets fit for tracking and taking down the very real monstrosities that hide in the woods of Burkittsville.

1999 was ripe with releases that fleshed out more of the Blair Witch story, such as D. A. Stern’s The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier, which further attempted to legitimize the legend. A series of interviews, police reports, and newspaper articles—all created by Stern, of course—expanded upon the basic outline provided by the movie. Around the same time, a young adult series of books titled The Blair Witch Files was released. While fascinating entries into an ever-growing library of material, the literary works didn’t do anything new that the movie hadn’t already touched on. That freshness didn’t come until Doc’s run-in with zombified townsfolk and shadow monsters in the winding woods of Burkittsville. To some degree, it felt very Raimi-esque, parroting elements from The Evil Dead.

By weaving survival horror gaming into the world of The Blair Witch Project, Terminal Reality was able to deliver an experience that recaptured the fear of being back in those haunting woods. Even through its shortcomings—which largely involved unforgiving camera angles, tank-like controls, and a ton of backtracking—Rustin Parr was an entertaining albeit slow-paced title for Blair Witch and general horror fans alike.

At least, it could have been had it not been lost to obscurity. Though the game garnered some praise and landed on GameSpot’s “Best Adventure Game” award nominee list for 2000, it never reached the same status as other licensed video games. As soon as the Blair Witch craze died down, Volume I and subsequent releases were easy to forget. By October 2001, Blair Witch sold 49,000 copies, a fair amount for a 2000-era PC game, but its follow-ups wouldn’t be so lucky.

The ballad of Rustin Parr was only one of three parts and the only one to be developed by Terminal Reality. Within a month of Volume I releasing, Volume II: The Legend of Coffin Rock (Human Head Studios), and Volume III: The Elly Kedward Tale (Ritual Entertainment) launched. Despite being published by Gathering of Developers, much like Volume I, their collective sales within the first year barely broke 24,000 copies in total.

The Real Horror is Game Preservation

It’s been 26 years since we investigated the woods of Burkittsville, witnessed the gruesome horrors of Coffin Rock, and finally uncovered the truth behind the Blair Witch, Elly Kedward. In that time, we’ve been treated to two divisive sequels and a serviceable first-person survival horror game.

Considering how old the PC game is, finding a playable version was no easy feat. I shudder to think of the damage I did downloading a dozen different ZIP files before finding one that offered working versions of all three. Unfortunately, even the version I could load was rough and, despite the power of nostalgia, unplayable.

The 30 minutes I did play through reminded me that Rustin Parr was, as far as movie tie-ins go, a surprising diamond in the rough. I doubt we’ll ever see a digital release, but there is some traction over at GOG.com for a resurrection.

Vote to Preserve The Blair Witch

Developer: Terminal Reality
Publisher: Gathering
Release Date: Now Available
Platform: N/A

Synopsis: Welcome to Burkittsville, long before three teenagers were ever lost in the woods. Investigate the mystery of Rustin Parr as Spookhouse agent Elspeth “Doc” Holliday and uncover the truth behind the feared Blair Witch and the supernatural hold she has over the sleepy Maryland town.

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Developer: Vincent Adinolfi
Publisher: DreadXP
Release Date: Now Available
Platform: Steam

Synopsis: Pass through the threshold and enter a world born of memories. Defend yourself with a camera while solving death’s mysteries in a reverent evolution of 90’s survival horror, integrating both fixed cameras and over-the-shoulder perspectives (via Steam).

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It started with a question of curiosity: “What was your introduction to the survival horror genre?”

It intrigues me to see where players received their first glimpse of a genre. When I put the question out on Twitter, I never expected it to lead to a deep dive into the history of the genre. However, two of the answers I received made me realize that there’s a discrepancy in the known timeline of survival horror.

Much like myself (and I’m sure many others), former game guide author Dan Birlew first experienced the genre with the sprawling Spencer mansion of Resident Evil (1996). As he explained

“Resident Evil: Director’s Cut was my first survival horror game. It’s the first time a game made tensions mount and my pulse rise while I was walking down a corridor, not sure what would pop out at me in the next camera angle. There were jump scares and also creepiness galore, and I was so impressed that a horror game was finally making me afraid... and I was immediately hooked.”

It’s exactly as I’d describe my time with the first entry in the long-running series. And it seems like such a solid starting point for survival horror. In fact, the release of Resident Evil was the first time the phrase “survival horror” was used to describe a genre of gaming. Since so many games mimicked the style and mechanics of Capcom’s zombie horror title, it only seemed logical that Resident Evil was where survival horror got its start.

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But then I received two more responses. The first was from Mikael Kasurinen, director of Control (2019) and Alan Wake (2010) designer, who stated:

Then, indie developer Sergio Hidalgo, known best for Dreadhalls (2017) and the upcoming Cosmophobia, shared a similar response:

And that’s when it hit me.

Capcom may have coined “survival horror,” but as we’ll see in this exploration of the genre’s history, Resident Evil was merely a popular pioneer for a genre that had already existed for more than a decade.

The 80s and the Age of Interactive Horror

Horror entertainment has been around for centuries, with many believing English author Horace Walpole to be the father of the medium with his work, The Castle of Otranto (1764). More than a century later, George Méliès’ The House of the Devil (1896) brought horror into the movies. As decades passed, the genre morphed into a means of escape from the real world. The classic Universal Monsters came to be amidst the horrors of war, followed years later by the grizzly killers of the slasher genre and, later still, the advent of “torture porn.”

Nestled somewhere in that extensive timeline is Mystery House (1980), an adventure game developed by On-Line Systems (which would later become Sierra Entertainment). Today, few people would consider Mystery House scary, but the murderous events and scattered dead bodies do offer a taste of the genre. Around the same time players were enjoying the horror-speckled murder-mystery title, another game was garnering attention - and being loosely based on an Edgar Allen Poe story, it’s hard not to see the horror influences behind the Apple II’s House of Usher (1980).

What’s so intriguing about Mystery House and House of Usher is that they weren’t marketed as horror experiences. The latter was dubbed an RPG, though it featured common elements we see in survival horror. The protagonist had a courage meter and was surrounded by mummies, hatchet-wielding killers, corpses, and other staples of the modern genre. But it didn’t fall into the horror category until many years later, and it wasn’t until 1982 that Atari released the first game to be actively marketed as a horror game. Haunted House is considered by some to be the “original horror game.” It may not look like much, but it forced players to consider inventory management as they navigated the pitch-black home of Zachary Graves.

Atari may have introduced players to horror, but the mid- to late-80s really gave the genre steam, especially as developers shifted toward gothic horror and borrowed from other intellectual properties. Castlevania isn’t necessarily scary, but its castle setting and supernatural fiends were deeply rooted in the genre. Additional games like The Evil Dead (1984), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1983), Frankenstein’s Monster (1983), Friday the 13th (1989), Halloween (1983), and Zombi (1986) showed promise of what the future held, but it was a1989 RPG that really laid the groundwork for the survival horror genre.

Home Sweet Horror

In 1989, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa released Sweet Home, a Japanese horror movie that follows a film crew as it explores the inner workings of an abandoned mansion. Sprinkle in a poltergeist and a supernatural mystery, and you have the basic inspiration for the game that eventually gave life to Resident Evil. The horror RPG based on the movie, also developed by Capcom, thrusts players into a mansion riddled with supernatural terrors. Zombies, specters, and all manner of ghastly horrors threatened the sanctity of the hapless heroes throughout the sprawling manor. Sound a little familiar?

According to Sweet Home’s video game director, Tokuro Fujiwara, Resident Evil was his opportunity to do all the things he wanted to do in the original Sweet Home, but couldn’t due to graphical and technical limitations. In fact, the Shinji Mikami-directed survival horror title was intended to be a Sweet Home remake, but a rights issue forced Capcom’s hand. That didn’t stop the development team from borrowing elements from the 80’s RPG to flesh out the zombie romp in the Arklay Mountains.

Item management, puzzles, dreaded backtracking, character-specific items, and even the mansion setting were all siphoned from Sweet Home to build a better, more expansive horror experience. With the tech of the original PlayStation, Fujiwara would finally be able to recreate the success of Sweet Home with a visually horrifying game. But it was Mikami who spent the initial months of development sketching concepts and envisioning the final product, and it actually wasn’t Sweet Home that drove him to include one of Resident Evil’s most striking features.

Horror Gaming Gets Cinematic

In its earliest stages, Resident Evil was intended to be a first-person video game. However, Mikami happened upon Infogrames Alone in the Dark (1992), a thriller that blends the dreary tones of Edgar Allan Poe with the cosmic horrors of H. P. Lovecraft. Today, it’s known as the first 3D survival horror game, but when it was released, it didn’t make the waves needed for widespread recognition. Alone in the Dark had everything going for it - a creepy setting, a unique artstyle, solid combat, and a story that did its inspirations proud. Unfortunately, it was lacking one thing it needed to shine and earn recognition as the true dawn of the survival horror genre, and that was namepower.

When Infrogames released Alone in the Dark, it didn’t do so with a long history of successful titles. In fact, by 1992, the development team hadn’t really done anything even marginally stellar. Capcom, on the other hand, was knee-deep in classics. They may not have been in the realm of horror, but it was impossible to navigate the gaming industry and not come across a well-received Capcom-developed title.

Couple that with the gut reaction players may have had toward the heavy works of Poe and Lovecraft, both known for their complex and deep themes, and you have the makings of a game that deserved the spotlight, but couldn’t quite muster the star power that Resident Evil could. The 1996 zombie romp didn’t suffer the same fate and instead quickly became the best-selling PlayStation game shortly after its release.

Beyond Resident Evil

The commercial success of Resident Evil indicated that there was an untapped market for survival horror video games, and so the late-90s became a treasure trove of memorable launches. In 1998, Square, already known for its Final Fantasy series, released Parasite Eve, a horror-RPG based on the 1995 Japanese novel of the same name. Though focused more on the action-RPG elements, Parasite Eve borrowed from the newly defined survival horror genre.

A year later, Konami released the first entry in a series that, like Alone in the Dark, put a heavy emphasis on atmosphere. Unlike Parasite Eve, Silent Hill made no qualms about being a horror game. From the look and feel of the foggy town to the hellish monsters that called it home, Konami took video game horror a step further than Capcom. With minimal lighting and sparse resources, players guided an “everyman” through a twisted tale backed by the jarring and haunting sounds of composer Akira Yamaoka.

The ‘90s brought many scares, both pre- and post-Resident Evil, with games like Dino Crisis (1999), Clock Tower (1995) and its sequel Clock Tower II (1996), Countdown Vampires (1999), Nocturne (1999), and many more. Of course, the genre didn’t just fizzle out come the new millennium. On the contrary, many of the series bred during the influx of ‘90s survival horror continued to thrive, paving the way for all-new franchises to take shape and expand upon the definition of “survival horror.”

Modern Horror and the Expansion of the Genre

Throughout the 21st century, Resident Evil and Silent Hill continued to dominate the horror market, but they weren’t without competition. The first few years of the 2000s introduced players to now-forgotten gems like the trilogy of games based on The Blair Witch Project (2000), a resurgence of Alone in the Dark, and an atmospheric iteration of The Evil Dead (2000). In 2001, the Fatal Frame series entered the fray, bringing with it supernatural horrors that put Capcom’s zombies to shame.

Developers were getting smarter and started to realize that the tried-and-true formula of Resident Evil could only appease gamers for so long. Even Capcom aimed to branch out, using series like Onimusha (2001) and one-offs like Haunting Ground (2005) to expand its horror repertoire. Silicon Knights’ Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002) borrowed gameplay mechanics from Resident Evil, but crafted a new style of survival horror that focused on the human psyche. Manhunt (2003) from Rockstar tossed out the undead in favor of human terrors and grounded the genre in reality.

While the classic camera angle of Resident Evil carried the genre for a spell, Capcom returned in 2005 with a groundbreaking alteration. With the angle shifted behind Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 4, players became more immersed in the horrors unfolding in front of (and behind) them. It revitalized the series and allowed the development team to integrate action elements, but also greatly influenced a project brewing in the creative minds at Electronic Arts.

Everyone had something new to add to the genre, but in 2008, body horror took center stage with Dead Space. Visceral Games transported players out into the depths of the universe to combat a resilient enemy that needed more than just a well-placed headshot to go down. Necromorphs became the scariest thing in gaming, popping out of vents and floorboards of the USG Ishimura in a game that embodied the best parts of Resident Evil, Alien (1979), The Thing (1982), and even touches of Lovecraft. Its faster pace proved that horror and action could reside in the same space, which became a core component of survival horror as the years went on. However, for players still pining for that feeling of helplessness often found in early survival horror, Frictional Games delivered Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010).

Amnesia spurred a new trope of survival horror: the unarmed protagonist. It’s become a driving force for so many AAA modern horror titles, including Outlast (2013) and Alien: Isolation (2014), and is heavily prevalent in the indie community. Developers continue to prove that there is still much to be done with the genre, especially as we see advancements in tech like virtual reality becoming common in the average household.

As we can see in tracing the history of survival horror, the genre is ever-evolving. Who knows what grizzly frights will be thrown our way next?

Attention Citizens!

Super Earth is on the cusp of galactic war, and needs recruits like you to push back against the Terminid threat. Think you have what it takes to stand up to teeth, claws, and deadly robots? Sure, there will be chaos, the inevitable team killing, and you’re guaranteed to come home drenched in the blood of your fellow Divers, but it’s all in the name of Managed Democracy!

And fun, of course.

So few games capture the throes of war in a way that scratches an itch for insanity and chaos, but on that front, Helldivers 2 teeters on perfection. With that comes many moments of, “What the hell happened!”, but frustration is such a fleeting feeling when you’re thrown back into the fray and are reminded of the joy you get from your arsenal of bombing runs, robot companions, mine fields, laser cannons, rocket launchers, mini nukes, and many other tools of destruction.

You could classify Helldivers 2 as just another Extraction Shooter, but you’d be selling the experience short and gravely mislabeling what many (myself included) call an Insertion Shooter. After all, in Helldivers 2, entering the fray is far more important than leaving the body-strewn battlefield behind.

Death Is Only the Beginning

There is only one thing that’s definite in Helldivers 2: You are going to die. Likely a lot, depending on the difficulty level and the competency and awareness of the Divers you’re fighting alongside. Unlike many games, though, death is expected, and, at times, necessary.

A marching army of Automatons get the drop on you? Make the sacrificial play and call a napalm strike on your position. So long as you have reinforcements left and a capable team, you’ll be back in action in no time. Sure, dying is a core piece of most multiplayer games, but you don’t get the same sense of heroism by returning to the fray in a round of Call of Duty. Whereas dying is almost shameful in traditional shooters, in Helldivers 2, it feels natural and expected in the gameplay loop.

There’s also nothing quite like rocketing down from orbit, maneuvering your pod to land right on an enemy’s head, and emerging guns blazing.

Gear Up, Recruits!

Maybe talking about how often you’ll die is a weird way to start a review. Many gamers will see it as a failure, no matter how the game treats it. So, let’s rewind a little, because there’s more to Helldivers than succumbing to the endless enemy forces.

Before launching into missions, which are abundant and dynamic, players customize their Diver. From aesthetics and armor to an arsenal of firearms and support abilities (called Stratagems), you can outfit your Helldiver as a support unit or heavily-armed tank. There are no classes, so it’s all about the weapons and abilities you choose. While most armor simply changes your look, many do offer stat buffs and nerfs, from being able to carry more stim packs to sacrificing speed for stronger armor.

The most important part of a Helldivers loadout is their Stratagems. Think of these as abilities, summoned via a string of keyboard inputs. Need to bring teammates back from beyond the veil? Be prepared to frantically type in 🠝🠟🠞🠜🠝 (or w, s, a, d, w) while a Terminid Bile Titan rushes toward you. Ready to call in the mission-critical Hellbomb? Best get those fingers loose for 🠟🠝🠜🠟🠝🠞🠟🠝.

A carry-over from the original Helldivers, Stratagems are a wholly unique way of handling character abilities, and there are a ton to choose from. It can be difficult to pound out the necessary keys when you’re about to be torn apart by bugs or robots, but it feels much more natural in-universe than a simple button press.

I have died many a time trying to panic-summon an ammo resupply or helpful heavy canon turret, and while it can be a little vexing when your finger slips and you have to restart the code, it plays into the entertaining chaos of the Helldivers universe.

Beyond Stratagems, Divers launch with a primary weapon, a sidearm, and an explosive. While the armory starts off pretty slim, with a standard-issue assault rifle, handgun, a pair of rifles, and a grenade, those are soon replaced by heavy-powered shotguns, sniper rifles, and all manner of energy-based guns. The key is patience and persistence, as progression in Helldivers 2 is far from immediate. On the contrary, it can be painstakingly slow.

Helldivers Progression Focuses on Community

The core of the Helldivers 2 experience is its missions, spread across three different sections of a galactic map. Super Earth is battling a three-front war, with Automatons, Terminids, and the humanoid Illuminate closing in on all sides. Divers participate in a number of missions, ranging from closing a certain number of bug holes to raising the Super Earth flag or eliminating all enemies. Each fits within the overarching story, with some grouped into Operations of two to four missions that tie together.

You can tackle them solo and hope someone joins you mid-game, jump into a Quick Game, or select one by scanning the surface of the planet. It’s a simple matchmaking system that has worked most of the time. Disconnects are incredibly rare, and the game shows who you’ll be playing with so you can decide if they’re too low a level or maybe a little too advanced. I’ve yet to run into high-level players that are unwelcoming to newcomers, but, as with any multiplayer, I suspect they’re out there.

Every mission completed is a step toward liberating planets, but don’t expect to make much of an impact. Percentage-wise, you’re lucky to chip away at a fraction of one percent of coverage. You’re not alone, though, and this is where Helldivers 2 expands its multiplayer component beyond the in-mission goals. You start to feel like you’re part of something bigger, connected to players you’ll likely never meet in-game. Players even vote on things like which planets to target with super weapons or what name to give a newly liberated city. It’s a sense of community you simply don’t get with many multiplayer shooters.

In Helldivers 2, there’s a constant focus on making decisions that impact more than yourself. Even what you bring planetside matters to others, which is where finely tuning your loadout comes into play. Is it helpful if everyone has the same Stratagems? Likely not, as one Diver with a munitions backpack and another with heavy firepower will balance the team and improve chances of a successful mission.

So, when you’re tinkering with what to unlock, it’s important to consider what role you want to play.

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You’re In It for the Long Haul

There is no shortage of firearms, explosives, and Stratagems for your Diver. Play for long enough, and you could have a veritable treasure trove of bug-killing gadgets and tools at your disposal. Getting there takes time, though, and requires you to complete not just main mission objectives, but also secondary objectives hidden around the map. You’ll also want to keep your eyes peeled for samples, or scientific resources used to upgrade your ship (which, by the way, you get to name).

Here is where Helldivers 2 falters a little. For the most part, it feels so little like a traditional multiplayer game, straying far from formats like Warzone, Fortnite, and even Dead by Daylight by giving every player the same goal. Then, the progression system pulls you right back into the hellscape that is the contemporary multiplayer. Weapons, armor, Stratagems, and even ship upgrades that offer stat boosts are locked behind in-game currency.

At the end of each mission or operation, depending on how well you perform, you’ll score Requisitions and Medals. Considering how many you need to unlock just one Stratagem or individual weapon upgrades, you don’t earn a lot per mission, even on the higher difficulties that test your patience more than it’s worth.

Considering there’s no competitive aspect to the game, I expected resource requirements to be a little more forgiving, but this is 21st-century gaming. So, of course, there’s the option to purchase things like Super Credits with regular Earth currency to score more advanced firearms or unique armor sets (like the Killzone Warbond that features Helghast armor).

Helldivers 2 does reward players who take on the bigger challenges. However, I’ve yet to find the value in amping up stress with extreme difficulties for the sake of hoarding resources more quickly. I’ll gladly stick to my weaker machine gun-equipped Guard Dog robot and less effective Napalm bombing run Stratagems for the time being if it means taking on a more reasonable challenge at the expense of slower progression.

Rain Fire!

Tying everything together is a gameplay loop that can get absolutely bonkers. On the easiest difficulties, maps are pretty sparse. As you unlock higher difficulties (done simply by completing a mission on the highest available difficulty), you’ll find more points of interest, mini hordes of enemies, hazards, and collectibles. I’ve found a comfortable balance on either Suicide Mission or Impossible, the fourth and third highest difficulty settings.

Depending on where you launch into the battlefield, which you’ll decide right before selecting your mission loadout, you may have mere seconds to call in necessary Stratagems, like a grenade launcher or shield, before the first Terminids or Automatons stroll up. From there, it’s a matter of keeping moving, following an easy-to-read minimap that highlights everything from key locations to dropped weapons. Scrolling the map is quick and easy, but you do sacrifice access to your weapons, so, like with anything else, plan your route fast.

Waiting around every rocky outcrop or within every underground tunnel is a surprisingly diverse army of robots, bugs, or aliens. From ranged fiends that spew a slowing bile to up-close brutes equipped with melee weapons and flame-spewing shotguns, Helldivers 2 isn’t short on ways it wants to kill you, and kill you it will. If you’re a perfectionist who can’t stand dying in video games, this isn’t the game for you. The point is that you’re at a constant disadvantage. You have tools to try and overcome it, but the effort is often futile. It puts an emphasis on teamwork and makes victory all the sweeter.

Whether you’re prepping for a mission or knee-deep in bug guts and gore, there is always plenty going on in Helldivers 2. Dull moments are rare, and maybe that’s why it appeals to me so much. In many multiplayer titles, there are lulls as you hold a strategic position, rush the map hoping to stumble upon someone, or patiently wait for some monstrosity to pass you by.

In Helldivers 2, if you’re not in a constant state of stress on the battleground, you’re making crucial decisions in your ship that can impact the larger community.

A Grindy, Chaotic, Community-Focused Romp

Helldivers 2 has so many opportunities to falter, but Arrowhead Game Studios has clearly put a lot of TLC into every aspect of the ongoing experience. While it could have been shallow and short-lived, Helldivers 2 has been a complete package that has remained entertaining for virtually all of the 20-plus hours I’ve put in.

Have infrequent glitches or unhelpful teammates left me mildly irritated? Sure, but I’ve never signed off exasperated, and considering everything I’m still anxious to unlock (giant bipedal mech, anyone?), I don’t suspect I’ll be stepping away from this hilariously messy and grind-heavy shooter anytime soon.

It’s not just the developers behind the solid experience, too. Helldivers 2 may have the most inviting community I’ve come across since the inception of online gaming. In my first few missions, knowing I was a Level 1 Cadet, many players offered tips on how to use Stratagems or advised on how to complete objectives. Before long, I was on the giving end of such advice as new players found their way into my missions.

Perhaps it’s the sense that we’re all in this war together, setting our sights on common enemies. Maybe it’s our strong devotion to protecting the Federation, offering our lives for the good of Super Earth.

After all, we’ve all enlisted to fight for Liberty, Freedom, and Managed Democracy! I’m doing my part.

Are you?

Alone in a hotel room with visionaries more in tune with the human brain than I could ever be, I felt like I was being primed for some life-altering experiment. The Neurable team wasn’t at CES to outfit schlubs like me with Brain-Altering Interface Chips, though. They were there to showcase a partnership with HP’s gaming brand, HyperX, intended to help gamers tap into their minds, improve performance, and increase their chances of scoring that coveted Victory Royale.

In early tests with casual players and esports athletes, Neurable’s “Prime” system targeted accuracy and reaction time, crucial metrics in competitive gaming. The neurofeedback system utilizes AI and proven neuroscience to deliver real-time feedback, which is then used to fine-tune focus and cognitive load.

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Unless you meditate before each round, neither is likely on your mind when you load into the battlefield. Weapon loadouts, map strategies, and a few queued-up insults cloud your thoughts. Prime guides players by cutting through the noise and finding the potential locked behind external stressors, tense firefights, and the general chaos of multiplayer gaming.

The science behind Prime isn’t new. Neurable has been working with the Department of Defense, using neuroscience to develop methods that assist veterans with brain injuries and manage fatigue in active military personnel. Gaming is a shift into a new space, as Neurable continues its mission to make neurotechnology a part of everyday life through existing video game peripherals like headsets and earbuds.

The current prototype for its HyperX partnership is a headset outfitted with sensors. Think the bowl used to analyze Vinz Clortho’s brain activity. While not necessarily indicative of the finished product, during my demo, nothing about it felt out of place or uncomfortable, even at the prototype’s heavier weight. As a gamer, it just felt like another headset, so integrating Prime into play sessions or esports training won’t be a significant change.

I had the opportunity to see the current build of Prime in action, and I can definitely see the vision. Unfortunately, it hinges on one’s ability to completely relax and clear their mind, something I don’t think I’ve ever been able to do. Not only could I not get into the zone, but I also over-performed during my benchmark aim training session. Not to brag, but I did land the highest score for the week in the Aimlabs trainer.

In Prime, brain activity is represented by a scattering of blue dots, and the goal is to focus and relax enough to shrink the dots into a small circle. I did get close, but kept getting pulled out of my zen zone. In a normal setting where I wasn’t being watched by three other people or exhausted from walking for hours, I feel it would have worked optimally.

I’m not going to judge the process based on my poor performance, especially since something like Neurable’s partnership with HyperX opens the door for a potentially dynamic future for gaming. Even beyond the competitive circuit, there’s an opportunity for developers to integrate player cognitive feedback into the experience to deliver one of the most personalized experiences.

During his presentation, Neurable’s CO, Dr. Ramses Alcaide, suggested something that really got me thinking: Fully personalized gaming experiences. Knowing I was a horror buff, Neurable’s CO, Dr. Ramses Alcaide, proposed a scenario where developers can tailor jump scares based on brain activity. If the player gets too relaxed, the game can trigger an event that keeps them on edge. Consider an Amnesia-type game that integrates the player’s stress level or a game like Eternal Darkness using the player’s actual brain activity to activate sanity effects.

The concept could go beyond horror gaming, altering how a game plays or how a character reacts to what’s happening on screen. It may sound gimmicky, but the opportunity to enhance replayability and heighten immersion would create games that feel tailor-made for individual players.

Prime doesn’t currently have a release date, though the team noted that they’re hoping to define a release with HP “very, very soon.”

CES (the annual Consumer Electronics Expo held in Vegas) is all about innovation, and year after year, Razer strives to deliver concepts that tweak the way we play. At CES 2025, I was largely critical of Project AVA, the brand’s in-house AI companion, and remained wary of Razer’s growing integration of AI. This year’s expo piqued my interest as Razer’s showcase reassured that, while artificial intelligence remained a focus, the brand was still staying close to its roots as a gaming hardware and accessories company.

Arriving at the designated meeting room in the Venetian, the layout was quite reminiscent of last year’s. The outer walls were a gamer’s paradise, lined with peripherals from the company’s ever-growing lines of keyboards, mice, and headsets. It was an RGB haven, and though I initially refrained from testing the clickiness of each keyboard, I did return after my tour to find that perfect typing feel I’ve been longing for. Spoiler alert: It’s the Huntsman V3 Pro.

Alas, I wasn’t there to shop (Okay, so I partly was), and there was plenty of exciting new tech to see, including three items I was particularly interested in seeing.

Step Aside Smart Glasses

At the center of everything was Project Motoko, the current designation for Razer’s future wearable AI companion. Think the functionality of smart glasses in a very familiar form factor that better simulates the first-person view and caters to a broader audience. Equipped with two front-facing cameras and powered by Snapdragon, the smart headset sees the world as you do, albeit with a slightly wider focal area.

Traveling abroad and need a sign translated? A simple button press and a clear prompt virtually eradicate the language barrier. The demo at CES used a Japanese cafe menu, and the AI did more than just translate. When asked for the simplest way to order matcha in the local language, the AI nearly instantly responded with a few options in what I have to trust was clear, fluent Japanese. Bringing the demo closer to home, Motoko proved useful when presented with a table full of ingredients. It’s all about asking the right question. In this case, it was “What can I make with these ingredients?” The cameras detected what was present, and the AI quickly developed a viable dinner plan.

Granted, this is what AI already does for us. Motoko just changes how we keep these incorporeal companions at our side. Smart glasses have been around for a spell, but they come with significant battery limitations, are often incompatible with strong prescriptions, and aren’t all that private. Using a larger form factor allows Razer to improve the battery life tenfold, and the cushioned ear cups ensure no one knows you have someone whispering in your ear. Motoko is also AI agnostic. Whereas Ray-Ban’s Meta AI glasses work only with Meta AI, Motoko lets users choose their platform.

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Project Motoko may be Razer’s answer for a more universal AI companion, but it hasn’t forgotten its customer base and primary market. Project AVA returned this year with a quirky upgrade that felt very true to the brand.

Razer Gives Project AVA a New Body

Since its reveal at CES 2025, the Project AVA AI gaming companion was depicted as a swirl of green fitting for Razer’s branding. This year, even before its official launch, AVA received an upgrade in the form of a desktop hologram. At launch, expected sometime in Q3 or Q4 of 2026, users will choose between one of 5 companions to join them in their gaming space. From a quirky e-girl, complete with kitten ears, to a smooth-talking hunk, there’s a 5.5-inch avatar for almost everyone. If none of the digitized characters fit your aesthetic, there’s always the pulsing wisp to revert to.

AVA’s holograms come to life on an LED panel and feature the expected Chroma RGB, a front-facing HD camera, and dual far-field array microphones. Razer partnered with Animation Inc. to bring each character to life, and with eye-tracking and dynamic facial expressions coupled with AVA’s sassy personality, there is an eerie realism to them. One that, I’m sure, some subsect of gamers will find a way to pervert.

During the demo, Razer’s rep (who was as excited about this reveal as he was about AVA’s first showcase in 2025) confirmed the company is hoping to allow for more personalized holograms post-launch. Want to be joined by your favorite four-legged friend? The vision is to allow users to upload an image that will then be converted into a hologram.

Yes, it is essentially a toy for Razer’s AI companion. Yes, it will drum up a ton of controversy, especially since its current iteration uses xAI’s Grok. However, there is a market out there for it, especially when Razer opens it up to support other AI platforms.

Project Madison Emphasizes Comfortable Immersion

My favorite Razer demonstration, Project Madison, steps away from AI and focuses entirely on pulling players into the game. Combining concepts like the Razer’s Clio and Freyja into a high-end furniture line, Madison is a three-in-one ergonomic gaming chair. Equipped with built-in Sensa HD Haptics and speakers compatible with THX Spatial Audio, the Chroma-enabled chair enhances immersion.

I enjoyed the reactivity of the haptic sensors, which were responding to specific actions in Marvel Rivals, but it’s the speakers that really sucked me in. The clarity and bass were not at all what I expected coming from the shoulders of a chair. As the Razer rep played through Rivals’ tutorial, I could accurately track opponents moving nearby via spatial audio, a necessity in competitive gaming. Madison’s speakers work on their own or pair with 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound to really bring your favorite games to life.

Comfort is still a concern for Razer, and this tech-heavy chair features the expected lumbar adjustments and 152-degree recline. While much of the company’s chair lineup is a peel-resistant leather, Madison sports a dual-density cold-cured foam cushion. The foam felt durable and just stiff enough that it should stand up to heavy use.

Razer was a little coy about an estimated release date, though the aim is to sneak it out before the end of 2026. As for price point, there wasn’t even a ballpark, but considering the $649 cost of the Iskur V2 NewGen, you should probably expect closer to the $800 to $900 range for all the tech built into Madison.

2026 Could Be a Bad Year for Your Wallet

Full disclosure, if you don’t already know this about me, I’m a sucker for new gaming tech. I have no doubts that Project AVA’s hologram companion is an absolute gimmick, but I already forked over the $20 for the pre-order. In my defense, I should keep up with the latest in gaming peripherals and gadgetry, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t have purchased it regardless, out of curiosity.

As intrigued as I was by what AVA and Motoko brought to the table, the speakers on Project Madison instantly sold me on the chair. If you could hear just how awful the speakers are on the HP Omen monitor I’m using, you’d probably understand how sound could be such a big selling point.

Specs:

+ IPS Panel

+ 280Hz

+ 2560 x 1440

+ Nvidia G-Sync

+ Integrated Speakers

+ 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB-A 3.2, 1 x DPI 1.4, 1 x USB-B,

On the surface, HP Omen’s 27-inch QHD gaming monitor wants to be a quality-driven display that delivers in ways hardcore gamers will appreciate. Out of the box, its panel is serviceable, offering a crisp resolution and tear-free action that goes a long way to bring even the dullest game worlds to life. However, when you start to focus on the finer details, it’s evident that some games may suffer.

While it succeeds in displaying a decent range of colors and vibrancy options and offers a suite of gamer-focused features, the Omen fails quite significantly in other critical areas, particularly for someone who frequents horror environments like Silent Hill and the USGH Ishimura.

A Fine Display Made for Gaming

The HP Omen 27-inch QHD is a sizable upgrade from the 25-inch I’ve been working on, something that took a bit of getting used to. The larger panel provides more room for productivity, allowing me to snap windows effectively without text being squished or shrunken down to unreadable sizes. The bevel-free design lends to a clean aesthetic, seemingly opening up more of the panel for use.

While I could tout it as a decent office monitor, this 27-inch display was made for gamers. Its size ensures you won’t be squinting to see enemies in the distance, but you’ll still need that second monitor for an efficient streamer setup. It does come with some nice RGB backlighting options, true to modern gaming accessory form. I didn’t use it much, but for on-camera personalities and those who love a soft RGB glow, it’s a neat, though far from game-changing, feature.

The HP Omen 27-inch offers a host of inputs, and here, users are spoiled for choice. Two HDMI 2.0 ports, two USB-A 3.2 ports, a USB-B port, and a DisplayPort 1.4 input ensure everything has a place. The lack of a USB-C port may bother some, but it’s hardly the biggest issue with the monitor’s components. That honor goes to the speakers. I typically appreciate when a monitor comes with dual speakers, as not everyone has an external audio source. However, here, HP takes its biggest misstep, which I’ll touch on shortly.

Smooth, Vibrant Gaming With Quirks

Omen is HP’s in-house gaming brand, and the 27-inch does play to that with an IPS panel that’s clear, colorful, and ready to take on some of the industry’s most detailed worlds. We’re living through a phase where virtually every AAA title is some visual powerhorse with incredibly fine details that aren’t meant to be overlooked. Thankfully, the Omen is good enough to truly appreciate those visuals, so long as there’s plenty of light. Unfortunately, contrast and HDR are not the monitor’s strong suits, and you’ll find that the blacks simply never get truly black.

Overall, the Omen handles color accuracy well out of the box. I have no notable complaints when I’m staring at the vast Italian landscapes of Mafia: The Old Country. The rolling hills are a striking green, dotted with splendid villas and villages that pop despite their naturally muted colors. Even battling across Haven’s Hollow and making sense of the oft-chaotic visuals of Fortnite show off the monitor’s visual strengths.

God forbid I want to explore a dimly lit haunted house in Phasmophobia, though. Every marginally black corner glows, appearing more slate than black. The poor (or, rather, nonexistent outside of HDR) local dimming and aggressive backlighting actually made playing a game like Dead Space uncomfortable. You’ll be too distracted by the bleedthrough to even notice the necromorph coming down on Isaac.

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VRR and FreeSync Save the Day

If HP’s 27-inch entry excels in anything, it’s a lag-free gaming experience. The monitor’s strongest suit is its 280Hz refresh rate, which keeps action-heavy games from tearing or stuttering. Games like Battlefield 6 and Helldivers 2 moved smoothly, even as the screen filled with particles and the chaos of war. Helldivers 2 ran particularly well and at a steadily higher rate, regardless of how many terminids descended upon me.

NVIDIA G-SYNC is in play here. It’s become such a standard in gaming monitors (alongside AMD’s FreeSync), further supporting a tear and lag-free experience, and its presence is welcomed here to complement the clarity and broad range of colors.

Booting up a game like Marvel’s Spider-Man seemed like the intended use of the HP Omen. The 27-inch QHD is at its best when there’s frantic action and very few dark spots. Spidey’s suit popped, and Manhattan came to life with only the intended motion blur.

Mark's Occult

Is Blue Light as Dangerous to Gamers as Originally Thought?

Originally posted to HotRate.com in 2021. Repost edited for grammar and structure…

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2 years ago · Mark's Occult (Tech & Gaming)

Hollow, Lifeless Audio

I’ve reviewed quite a few monitors over the past few years, and out of those with internal speakers, the HP Omen may offer the most disappointing audio experience. No matter how many settings I tinkered with, both on the monitor and my PC, the sound was flat and failed to capture any level of depth or bass.

Epic moments in Helldivers 2, when the music swells and bombing runs shake the ground, aren’t as impactful. Even something as simple as watching a YouTube video can be problematic. Will I hear the dialogue, or will the slightest background noise drown out the monitor’s futile speakers?

While built-ins are rarely a few clicks above subpar, the Omen’s feel like an afterthought. I don’t use headphones often, and, for the first time in a long time, I’m considering upgrading to external speakers to mitigate the rather disatisfying audio.

Do You Need It?

If you have your own audio setup, then I feel better about recommending HP’s Omen 27-inch. The QHD display is pretty, but it’s that 280Hz refresh rate that steals the show. At $499, it’s definitely pricey, especially when you consider some of its shortcomings. Sure, you can find a workaround for the audio quality, but nothing can really be done about the black levels and backlight bleed. If you frequent horror games or anything where you spend a significant amount of time traversing at night, this monitor may not be for you.

If you can snag the Omen 27-inch QHD for within the $300 to $350 range, it may be a better buy. Otherwise, you’re pretty much just paying for the HP Omen brand name.

HP Omen 27-inch QHD Monitor

A hail of bullets whistles past, peppering the wall to my back as I duck behind the only scrap of available cover. Enemies approach confidently, unaware of the secret weapon tucked at my side. Steps from my temporary sanctuary, piles of debris crunch beneath heavy boots, and just under the deafening rumbles of war, quick, raspy breaths suffocated by exhaustion and plumes of black smoke fight for air. I estimate the distance. It’s time.

With an adrenaline-fueled swiftness, I rise from cover, my salvation in hand.

Then, it hits me.

No, not a stray bullet. Far worse. Something in my wrist swells, and a distracting tingling radiates from the meat of my palm through my thumb, crippling my ability to comfortably and securely grip a controller or navigate a keyboard. Even before my on-screen avatar succumbs to the swarm marching toward him, I’ve laid the controller down or pushed the keyboard aside. It will be a minute before I can jump back into the game.

Though you may scoff at the idea of tingling fingers and a weak wrist, carpal tunnel syndrome is no joke. It’s something that will sneak up on many people my age and younger. Before I get into my cautionary tale of woe, allow me a quick aside to explain what it is. Even in this age of tech, which tends to be one of the biggest causes, carpal tunnel isn’t often talked about despite the remarkable uptick in instances throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

According to Johns Hopkins, carpal tunnel is a compression of the median nerve where it crosses through an aptly named tunnel formed by the carpal bones and carpal ligament. As the nerve is compressed, it’s unable to send the necessary motor and sensory signals to the thumb and the index, middle, and ring fingers.

Anyone with a wrist can develop symptoms, but sorry, ladies. You’re more than four times likely to experience carpal tunnel issues. When you’re pregnant, there’s close to a 50/50 chance of feeling that pins-and-needles sensation (or paresthesia).

What are the primary symptoms to watch for?

It’s important to note that the key trait of carpal tunnel is numbness, not pain. Pain would indicate something more troubling, like diabetic neuropathy. You may feel swelling in the wrist or your fingers, and paresthesia can be persistent. It just won’t hurt. So, if we’re talking about a little numbness, you may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?”

It’s difficult to describe just how uncomfortable the sensation is. You’ve likely felt it in your feet at some point, maybe from sitting the wrong way for too long. It’s not fun, and it’s difficult to walk on, partially because your brain wants to keep you from putting pressure on it. Now, imagine that in a smaller appendage, one that you’re actively using while trying to drive your car or text your girlfriend. As much as you try to ignore it, longer flare-ups are difficult to push to the back of your mind. Unlike your sleeping foot, if it’s bad enough, it can last minutes, or, in severe cases, become chronic.

Circling back to the beginning of this article, you’re about to earn that Victory Royale when the fingers you use most to navigate the map, aim, and take down other squads can’t do their job. While you try to recover, there’s already a sniper with crosshairs on your forehead.

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Living with Carpal Tunnel as a Gamer

Being a writer, I always knew carpal tunnel was on the horizon. What I foolishly ignored is how much it could impact one of my favorite pastimes. After all, how bad could it possibly be? A little tension in the wrist, maybe a pressure that would subside if I took a few seconds to stretch. However, it’s more of an impediment than I imagined, and has, during many nights, affected my ability to play anything that I can’t pause.

When symptoms were at their worst, I gave up multiplayer games entirely. I didn’t want to be the guy who stepped away every few minutes because he couldn’t hold the controller or dance my fingers across the keyboard. During some sessions, I found the real value in my PS5’s Rest Mode, as I’d just have to stop playing altogether because the numbness was so severe and frequent.

I did get corrective surgery in 2021, and for quite a while, things felt fine. There was a spell when I thought my other hand had started to develop symptoms, but those subsided after a decent amount of weight loss. Unfortunately, though, I still spend the better part of my life clacking away on a keyboard, mistreating my wrists and fingers as if they don’t pay the rent. To my benefit, I have a doting wife who has provided me with every home hand treatment imaginable, but, even as I type this, I can feel the telltale sign of something swelling in what was the mended wrist. Somewhere on the horizon, I suspect the tingling will start again, and I’ll be back at square one, where I can’t easily jump into a game of Battlefield, knowing I’ll sporadically be an easy target.

I’m not here to complain, but to suggest exercising prudence and to bring awareness to something I can almost guarantee no one will seriously discuss with you. For something that affects one in six adults, I’d say it warrants mentioning.

Can You Prevent Carpal Tunnel from Developing?

One good thing about carpal tunnel syndrome is that you can take steps to reduce the risk of exhibiting symptoms. Nothing is a guarantee, of course, but it’s best to mitigate with a few precautions.

Watch Your Weight

As I mentioned, shortly after my corrective surgery, I started to feel tingling in my other hand. When I asked my orthopedic surgeon about steps I can take to correct it before it requires surgical remediation, he had one answer. At that time, I was on the cusp of being super obese, so I wasn’t shocked when he suggested I start by losing weight.

I know it can be a frustrating answer for anyone who’s overweight, but I can attest that it helped. Even after just 10 lbs down, the tingling stopped. A study published in the Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online found that even the effectiveness of surgical treatment correlated with lower BMIs. For patients at a healthy weight, there was a drastically reduced rate of postoperative stiffness just over a month after surgery compared to obese patients.

Take Breaks

I used to love long gaming sessions. I completed Metal Gear Solid 3 in one sitting, and while it was one of my most memorable gaming experiences, I was 19, and my hands were still young. If I tried that today, I would pay dearly for it.

So, take breaks. Give your hands a rest, stand up, and get the blood flowing. There’s no scientific measure for how long a gaming session should be, but if carpal tunnel is a concern, don’t go hours without pausing to stretch those fingers out.

During a break, use a finger stretch tool, hand warmer, or massager to pamper yourself and loosen things up. I use all three methods today, and each offers a different benefit. I especially appreciate the massager, as it improves blood flow and can be quite soothing on a strained hand.

Reduce the Strength of Your Grip

Gaming can be intense. Even more so if you’re a competitive gamer. If you find yourself locking in, gripping your mouse or controller so tight that you can hear the plastic creaking, it may be time to lighten up a little.

A strong grip puts unnecessary strain on your hands, and that tension can shoot up to your wrists. Go easier on everything, even with keystrokes. You don’t need to be pounding away at your keys, especially if you have a mechanical board. A softer touch goes a long way.

Think Ergonomically

If you’re a mouse and keyboard gamer, ergonomics are crucial to preventing carpal tunnel. A hunched back, an outstretched arm, and a bent wrist are unnatural positions for the human body. To prevent strain and pinched nerves, everything needs to be straight and in alignment. A wrist rest and a rollerball mouse are great solutions… for an office environment. If you can get them to work for your gaming setup, wonderful. If not, try to be mindful of your alignment as you play. Don’t let your arm fly wildly all over the desk, and avoid the “locked-in” pose that leaves your back and shoulders curved in such a way that will, eventually, lead to a pinched nerve.

It may come as a surprise, but yes, how you align the rest of your body can impact your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Wrist Wraps vs Braces

There are a lot of opinions on this out there, but I’ll speak solely on my experience. Wrist wraps don’t do anything if you’re already feeling the symptoms of carpal tunnel. They’re a good preventative measure to stabilize your wrist, but I needed a brace to limit the numbness. Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to game (or type at a reasonable speed) with a brace, so I didn’t use it often.

A brace isn’t a permanent solution. It’s simply a temporary way to alleviate symptoms throughout the day. If you want to try to prevent carpal tunnel and you game often, I’d get into the habit of wearing a wrap.

Gaming with Carpal Tunnel

The plus side to all of this is that carpal tunnel syndrome isn’t a death sentence for your gaming sessions. You just need to learn what works for you to reduce the frequency of symptoms and minimize the risk of developing a severe case. Mild and moderate symptoms can be easily alleviated, and, if you’re especially diligent, you may even reverse the compression of the median nerve.

If you feel nothing you’re doing is helping, then you’ll want to speak with a doctor. As with anything, some can be a little surgery-happy, and while risks like nerve damage and a weakened grip are fairly uncommon, it’s worth getting a second opinion on a surgical correction. Surgery also isn’t a permanent solution, so try to implement preventative measures as soon as possible, even if you aren’t exhibiting symptoms.

After all, you don’t want to be facing down Shao Khan when those pins and needles start.

Many moons ago, I launched an Etsy shop with a simple, fun design:

I’ve expanded since, with designs that span Resident Evil, Diablo, Ghostbusters, and the Evil Dead franchise. For my devoted Substack readers, I’m offering $5 off $25. Just use Promo Code “SUBSTACKSUB” to save a few bucks as my “Thank you!” for being a reader.

While I’m still working on more designs behind the scenes, I wanted to share the current selection of custom-made designs from yours truly. As with everything else I touch, AI was not used in the creation of any of the designs.

Head on over to the Haunted Pixel Society Etsy and find something for yourself or the horror fan/gamer in your life!

Shop 'Til You Drop

In January 2024, How-to Geek published my review of Secretlab’s MAGNUS Pro standing desk. Words like “versatile” and “durable” were front and center, painting a picture of the type of desk every shopper would ultimately want. As of December 2025, I will have been using the MAGNUS Pro for two full years, and while that’s a testament to its quality all its own, I wanted to circle back to what may be my second-favorite piece of office furniture.

I won’t get into the first, because I’ll be doing that in a separate review update and don’t want to veer too close to “sponsored post” territory.

If you’ve followed my writing for any amount of time, you know that I’m not swayed by free things. If a product is bad or if it has shortcomings that warrant mention, I’m going to hone in on those points. After all, I think dissecting the issues of a product is more important than offering ample praise, no matter how warranted. And that’s kind of why we’re here, talking about the MAGNUS Pro 24 months after my initial glowing review.

I still stand by everything I said. The steel frame is as sturdy today as it was when first assembled. The all-over magnetic top is sleek, and it comes in handy when adding on some of Secretlab’s (pricy) accessories. The motor hums to life without pause, and the legs extend and retract in one smooth motion.

However, over the years, a few quirks have popped up. They haven’t diminished my appreciation for the overall build of the MAGNUS Pro, but they’re things worth noting so that you know to handle them when you add the magnetized desk to your office or gaming space.

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Expect to Dust Frequently

One thing about nearly any kind of electronic is that it attracts dust. Desktop PCs and monitors are typically more susceptible to it. It’s a simple fix, right? Take a duster, brush the desktop down, and you’re good to go. Except you may overlook the one area that’s secretly collecting dust bunnies like it’s amassing an army.

The built-in cable management tray being full-length is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, my wires are pretty well hidden. On the other hand, if I forget to dust it for maybe a week, it’s a horrid scene. Granted, I do have two cats, which add to the mess despite never lying on the desktop, but even without them, dust collects at a surprising pace.

The legs are another problem area, and that’s primarily because of the lubricant that sometimes collects on the adjustable poles. They don’t get as dusty, but don’t overlook them as you go about your scheduled cleaning, or they may start to look a little fuzzy.

Was Black a Bad Choice?

The black steel frame and magnetic desktop are aesthetically perfect for my office. The pops of color I do have, from glowing peripherals to the rare trinket and magnetic cable anchor, look so nice against the void. The issue is the magnetic desk mat, which is kind of a necessity, because one thing the metal desktop isn’t is comfortable.

Again, quality-wise, the mat is fantastic. Of the 24 months I’ve had the MAGNUS Pro, I’d safely guess that I’ve used it for a cumulative total of 23 months straight, and the leatherette mat hasn’t shown any wear or fading. That’s because I obsessively clean it whenever it scuffs, and it does scuff often.

Scuffs are not permanent and don’t damage the surface of the desk mat, but black shows everything. I drag my keyboard closer, and it leaves behind a faint trail. If my fingers are just a little oily, the mat will announce it to the world. I know the logical answers are “stop dragging the keyboard” and “stop being so oily,” but I also wonder if it would be so obvious if I had gone with the Ash Gray leatherette or one of the NanoGen and Microsuede alternatives.

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As bothersome as it may be, even as I write this, I’m highly considering the Stealth black with red stitching and gold emblem. Partially because I’m a masochist, but mostly because it is, for lack of a better word, sexy.

Don’t make my mistake, though. There are a few light-colored options that may serve their purpose without the annoyance of little scuffs and oily fingerprints everywhere.

Accessorsize Judiciously

One of the understandable drawbacks of the MAGNUS Pro is its price. At almost $1,000, you can definitely find cheaper standing desks. Target and Walmart have even started to carry them in-store. You won’t find something that meets Secretlab’s quality at a significantly lower price, but the savings may be tempting when you realize that the sticker shock doesn’t just stop at the cost of the desk. Secretlab offers an array of accessories to enhance storage, monitor layout, cable management, and more, and each can really make the wallet weep.

If you’re considering a monitor arm for your dual monitors, expect that to run $250. Still have a few wires you want to hide, but ran out of the included cable sheaths and anchors? That bundle of two sheaths, three anchors, and 10 fastening straps will set you back $55. From a simple magnetized headphone hanger for $35 to a desk riser for $100, setting up your MAGNUS Pro can be a costly endeavour.

The problem? They’re all absolutely worth it. My dual monitor arms have stayed in place, and neither is showing signs of a weakened hinge. When I had a PC tower, it was safely stowed under the desk (but off the floor) in the PC Mount ($100), and my headphones are easily accessible without taking up desktop space.

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2 years ago · Mark's Occult (Tech & Gaming)

Granted, none of this is required, but I would expect to spend an additional $300 on top of the cost of the desk.

Should You Buy Secretlab’s MAGNUS Pro Standing Desk?

At How-to Geek, we ended every review with a simple question: Should you buy…? It’s been two years, I’ve added a few things that weren’t included in the initial review unit, and my answer today is the same emphatic “Yes!” that I gave over 700 days ago.

Heed these warnings, and you can mentally prepare for the cost and stock up on dusters.

No, that's not a criticism, especially as someone who adores the long-running franchise. Flesh Made Fear feels like I stepped back into my 1996 gaming era, with its retro aesthetics, quirky voice acting, and over-the-top narrative.

In my first 1.5 hours of play, I read lore-building documents, popped some zombie heads, enjoyed a haunting soundtrack, and maybe got lost once for 30 minutes because it was 2 a.m. and I missed three little numbers (don't worry, I spared you my idiocy).

Check out my time in Rotwood Forest in the posted video, and find more details about Flesh Made Fear on Steam!

Let’s get one thing out of the way: Silent Hill f is as much a Silent Hill game as any entry in the core franchise. Its heavy themes, horrifyingly beautiful aesthetics, and haunting sound design reek of Konami’s survival horror series. Though it may separate itself from the titular town by thousands of miles, and 1960s Ebisugaoka looks nothing like the foggy New England retreat, fans of the franchise should still feel at home.

As is typical in a Silent Hill game, the human condition is under the microscope. Known for its unique approach to exploring love, loss, and grief, the franchise welcomes Silent Hill f with open arms as it torments our heroine, Hinako Shimizo, with monstrosities molded by her very experiences. It’s always where Siletn Hill teeters into a very uncomfortable territory, as it uses enemy design to tell part of the protagonist’s story, be it the Nurses of Silent Hill 2 that represent James’s guilt for suffocating his wife, or Hinako’s own demons depicting the perverted old men and abusive father she’s been a victim of.

Hinako’s journey takes her between two realms: The Real World and the Otherworld, known here as the Dark Shrine. Both work together to see Hinako’s literal nightmare come to life, as the independent young girl faces the realities of growing up in a traditional culture where women live life not of their own accord. NeoBards Entertainment succeeds in capturing the perils of being a young Japanese woman, as we watch Hinako’s childhood friendships wither away as she faces the less-than-desirable life path expected of her.

Hinako’s journey is brutal and uncomfortable, and the world is disgusting and weirdly alluring, but underneath all of that is a wildly repetitive experience that suffers from its lack of variety in the second act.

A Well-Rounded Silent Hill with Significant Late-Game Flaws

Though Silent Hill f introduces some new concepts, such as “selling” items for Favor used to upgrade our heroine, many things feel familiar. Combat is slow and clunky, exploration and item management are key for survival, and running away is often the best option. These are all pretty much staples of the franchise, though Silent Hill f makes a few tweaks with a serviceable dodge/parry mechanic and a return to breakable weapons that first appeared in Silent Hill 4.

Despite her small frame, Hinako is a formidable fighter. Though she struggles to put any weight behind her variety of melee weapons, which range from more agile metal pipes to heavy-hitting sledgehammers, her speed and reflexes are her greatest assets. The game’s dodge/parry may feel out of place for Silent Hill purists, but without it, Hinako would struggle against her agile foe. Timing a dodge and the reactive parry is crucial to survival. That is, if you play the game like I did, thinking Hinako is secretly a tank meant to take enemies head-on.

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I, admittedly, approached Silent Hill f poorly on my first run through. I met every enemy head-on, and while that was fine for the early game, I realized the error of my ways as the claustrophobic streets of Ebisugaoka sank further into madness. Careful item management is the only sane way to survive Hinako’s horror, else you’ll be restarting segments quite often, trying to find the sweet sauce and spot of luck to make it through more intense, enemy-laden areas. This includes preserving weapons.

Repair kits can fix degraded durability, but they’re a rarity throughout the game. Silent Hill f sets players up with a false sense of security by being fairly generous with items in the beginning. By the midway point, that generosity erodes, and careless players will find themselves with minimal or no aid when needed most.

Along with weapon and, of course, health management, players need to watch Hinoko’s Sanity and Stamina. The former is a two-fold mechanic, as it’s consumed for some abilities (like a charged attack) and chipped away by enemies and some environmental effects. When the Sanity bar depletes, Hinako’s health gradually drops. Stamina is crucial for attacks, dodging, and running. While all three can be upgraded at scattered Hokora shrines (this game’s save points), by the game’s end, it’s a fool’s errand to try to balance sinking the very limited resources into each of them, as upgrades require Faith and Ema tablets scattered throughout Ebisugaoka.

You’ll want to mind Hinako’s stamina, even if you take the stealthy approach. In fact, in its final moments, the game punishes those who don’t nourish Stamina well. Stockpiling items is part of the survival experience, but a big part of it lies in the Onamori. New to the series, Onamori alter Hinoko’s stats or tweak her abilities, allowing players to structure builds that may favor stamina or turn Hinoko into a formidable fighter.

It all comes together well, creating an engaging experience that should have you thinking carefully about your approach to helping Hinako survive her nightmare. Later acts do play with gameplay mechanics more, as the Dark Shrine follows our lead’s transformation from an innocent young girl into a bride alienated from her former life. When she submits to her future, a whole new play style emerges, but to avoid too many spoilers, I’ll just say it favors action over the stealthy approach of the Real World.

Silent Hill f does fairly well to create a cohesive and engaging experience, but the approach grows tiresome deeper into Hinako’s journey. From the enemies you encounter to the loops you navigate, NeoBards seemed to struggle with continuing to flesh out the player experience, and the shift in the Dark Shrine can feel like a desperate attempt at waking the player up from a rinse-and-repeat daze. At one point, you face off against the same grotesque mini-boss three or four times in a row, and that’s already after spending much of the game evading or smacking around the same four or five monsters. The developer’s ingenuity seemed at its height in the early game, as evidenced in segments like the unsettling field of maimed scarecrows.

Typically, repetition can be easy to overlook when reflecting on the full experience, but there’s a quirk about Silent Hill f that puts its late-game tedium in the spotlight.

A Bold Approach to Silent Hill’s Multiple Endings

The problem with repetition is in how NeoBards handles the series’ typical multiple endings. Whereas securing the True Good ending was possible during the first playthrough in earlier entries, every player gets the same incomplete conclusion when they first roll credits on Silent Hill f. Players, at minimum, need to replay the game three times, obtaining two of the five other endings, to see Hinako’s actual fate.

NeoBards was careful not to make each playthrough identical, as there are shifts in the narrative and new areas to explore, but New Game+ still largely repeats the first run, and gameplay mechanics and enemy type don’t really change at all. By the end of my second playthrough, I was feeling very fatigued and still unsatisfied with how things turned out for Hinako. For a character I’ve grown to admire and feel responsible for, it felt like punishment that I still needed to put her through hell two more times to give her the ending she deserves.

Silent Hill f’s themes don’t make subsequent runs any easier to swallow. Like the rest of the series, Hinako’s journey is heavy, dark, and depressing, and though I appreciate a good, dreary, dramatic story, I felt like I, too, was running a gauntlet of torment that I knew wasn’t going to give me the ending I wanted.

A Quick Tip on Playing Silent Hill f

While much of the English dubbing is well done, I found the original audio best captured the emotional overtones and better served the game’s writing. In the English dub, some of the dialogue does a disservice to NeoBards’ successful attempt at crafting characters that are easy to empathize with and root for

Welcome to a desolate, barren warehouse filled with dead-eyed fiends, cheap sundries, overpriced liquor, and uninspired food, where joy is a lost commodity and greed reigns supreme. That may sound like a house at Universal Horror Unleashed (UHU), but that’s simply what awaits guests as they set foot inside Goretorium 2.0.

If you’re not a local, you may not know about the sordid tale of Eli Roth’s Goretorium. There’s a reason for that, and somehow, Universal has tapped into the very same mistakes that Roth (or, rather, the club manager that represented his name) made with Sin City’s first year-round haunted attraction. If you’re expecting the Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) feel here, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Horror Unleashed has the premium stink of corporate Las Vegas all over it, from the bare bones decor scattered throughout to the emphasis on eating, drinking, or shopping.

At no point did I feel like the mazes were the stars of the show. It doesn’t help that two of the four were closed, one seemingly to force crowds to watch the impressively awkward stage production of budget Joker and Harley Quinn, and an out-of-place dance routine. While I’ll admit that the sets for the queues were well done and detailed, that’s pretty much where my accolades end. Once inside, you’re met with low-energy actors within the mazes and left to navigate set pieces that struggle to meet the standards set by Hollywood or Orlando’s productions. While the streets of Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando are lively with animated scare actors who live for the screams, the Vegas warehouse is patrolled by costumed employees with thousand-yard stares.

The glaring issue with UHU’s mazes is the staggered entry. At HHN, you’re in a perpetual line, shuffling through quick scares, loud audio, and complete chaos that’s constantly grabbing your attention. UHU sends people through every 30 seconds, giving them time to drink in the set pieces and actors. However, nothing here should be looked at for too long, else the cracks start to show. Costumes were the typical HHN standard of “it looks good in the dark,” and actors don’t seem to know how to handle groups that stop to watch their performance (Don’t do this. Keep a steady pace. These aren’t mini movies). On more than one occasion, my group caught up to dawdlers who seemed to think they were in an escape room, looking for clues before moving on.

Unlike at the larger events, there is no staff within the maze to keep things moving, and once you’re in the flow of a standard HHN house, pressed back to chest, you start to miss everything. The timing at UHU is so specific and the mazes so bare that it doesn’t allow for people to fall out of that 30-second gap rhythm. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss those cloaked marshallers. We missed half of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and most of “Exorcist: The Beginning” because the group before us fell out of pace, stopping to watch a scene unfold. Scenes, mind you, that typically consisted of “Possessed Girl screaming” or “Leatherface unenthusiastically swinging a chainsaw.” This is something even independent haunts understand, and scare actors, still in character, know to usher groups along to prevent a backup.

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The “Exorcist: The Beginning” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” houses were rather uninspired recreations of HHN exhibits past. I recall both Hollywood iterations vividly, and there’s no comparison. Though I loathe the overuse of smells at Halloween Horror, their absence in Vegas winds up being another layer missing from what’s meant to be a high-end experience. “Scarecrow: The Reapening” was the surprising star of the evening. Maybe inspired by the lack of source material, UHU’s creative team spliced together a cohesive and well-constructed maze, where scares were abundant and effectively placed. This was the first maze of the evening, when the warehouse was relatively empty, and it set a precedent that the rest of the event simply couldn’t come close to.

I wish I could speak to the quality of the “Universal Monsters” maze, which was my most anticipated, but I never made it inside. On arrival, it was closed. By the time it opened (about 30 minutes later), the line was quite long, stretching beyond the inner queue and well into the warehouse. While the evening had no limit, my patience did. Having failed to enjoy two mazes because of the unmanaged staggered entry, I couldn’t subject myself to waiting a half hour to experience a third significant disappointment.

Waiting in a queue can be a two-part experience. There’s the inner queue, which provides some fun set pieces to admire. The outer queue is where the whole thing falls apart. The main space for UHU is already cramped, as it’s clumsily broken up by a bar and scattered decor. If a line snakes out into the warehouse, there is a very small roped-off section before it spills into the walking space. I dread to think what could happen if there were a fire or other emergency. It creates disorder within the main space that borders on intentional, as if to discourage people from waiting, so they’ll grab food or a drink instead.

I didn’t partake in any of Universal’s dining options because, as a Vegas local, I already know the inevitable imbalance between cost and quality at places like this. Neither of the eateries was all that captivating, and with the minimal decor, it all felt like a cheap cafeteria that was far from enticing. I did browse the merchandise, what little of it there was. It was a mix of apparel and collectibles themed around the mazes and the UHU branding. There was a Psycho robe, which was tempting, but my experience at that point hadn’t inspired my wallet to leave my pockets. Some of the shirts and jackets looked fine. Others, particularly a Frankenstein vs. Wolfman sweater, looked like they were screen-printed in someone’s garage. The staple Vegas imbalance struck again.

If there is one thing UHU excels in, it’s security. Red shirts were plastered all over, from the first entrance into the large warehouse to hovering around the bar and near each queue. I didn’t feel particularly unsafe, but I was also early for the 2,000-some guests (per an employee at the front entrance) that were expected that evening. After I surveyed the entire space, I found myself uneasy at the thought of thousands of people sardined into the inadequate main area, and better understood why so many eyes were needed.

Beyond the bounty of red shirts, my time in the warehouse left me thinking that Universal favored virtually every aspect of the event over guest safety. Not only is the crowded venue ripe for drunken hostility, even at a diminished capacity, but it was also difficult to pinpoint any exits. Even in the gift shop, the main exit is a pair of simple, fully tinted doors with no prominent signage. Of course, I have no doubts that the building meets acceptable standards for local fire and event space code, but I can’t fathom the chaos that would erupt in the event of an emergency.

Unless you’re itching for another lackluster Vegas spectacle, where alcohol is the only avenue to a good time, Universal Horror Unleashed should be off your radar. Even as a fairly big fan of horror and haunted attractions, I couldn’t set aside my strong critiques to enjoy the evening, considering the nearly $200 I spent to be met with closed mazes and what still feels like a half-cocked concept from a multi-million dollar corporation. And that, therein, lies the critical failure. There didn’t seem to be any passion behind it, definitely not the same degree as Halloween Horror Nights or independent haunts.

You’re better off spending your money at a local haunt. Their cost-to-value ratio is a bit better, and for smaller attractions like Tom Devlin’s annual haunt in Boulder City or 31 Screams in Tivoli Village, you’re supporting small businesses that have proven their dedication to the local haunt community.

In total, I was at UHU for about an hour, and while that may seem “rushed,” it was more than enough time to witness the entirety of the event, including the live entertainment that caters largely to HHN superfans. When you’re admitted at your ticketed time, they say you can stay until closing. Considering the event sells tickets as late as two hours before it shuts down, I think even Universal understands that, unlike at its much bigger events, guests don’t have much reason to linger in this warehouse of disappointment.

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