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Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Survival Kids review: Cosy castaway capers
Survival Kids fits into the latter category and while it's unlikely to sell consoles all by itself, it doesn't deserve to be completely overlooked, especially by the younger players it's clearly targeting. The title tells you much of what you need to know – there's a bunch of kids, right? And they need to survive, yeah? The game is based on a long-forgotten Konami series that started on the Game Boy Color in 1999 as Stranded Kids and which is regarded as somewhat of a template for later survival games such as Day-Z and Don't Starve. But this version of survival gives off a much cosier vibe that's a little bit Goonies, a little bit of peril – there's definitely no monsters nor savagery akin to Lord of the Flies or Hunger Games. Interestingly, it's also made by a small studio in Stratford-Upon-Avon owned by development platform Unity, sort of as a way to show the engine's viability on Switch 2. Survival Kids plonks you on a sequence of small desert islands, challenging you to gather the resources to explore the terrain and ultimately build a raft that sets you free. The secondary angle is that you can play it alone or with friends, speeding up the resource gathering but also opening up the possibilities for non-cooperative mischief. You might have to chop down trees to build a fire, fish for food to boost your carrying stamina, or gather stones to build a bridge. Nothing is ever very far away from its quest location. Much of the action is given a running commentary amiably voiced by comedian Marcus Brigstocke. Played solo, it inevitably feels a bit tiring to do all the running around but the game sands down much of the edges of survival – eliminating the need to track hunger, for instance, and simplifying the inventory management system to just dragging items short distances. Online play introduces cooperative mayhem where a group of up to four stranded kids share the grunt work – and probably bicker over who does what. The Unity studio pulls off an even more interesting technical feat in that the Switch 2 can share two copies of the game simultaneously for local co-op with other Switch 2 and original Switch consoles. That might be very welcome in a household of young gamers with ageing Switches who want to play together. Such a scenario feels like an isolated use case, however, and Stranded Kids doesn't have a lot of longevity built into this compact collection of islands for players who focus on completing the challenges instead of noodling about.
Forbes
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Review: The Data East And NEOGEO Evercade Super Pockets Are Fantastic
The new Data East and NEOGEO Super Pocket handhelds Next week on July 10th, HyperMegaTech! is launching their latest duo of Evercade-compatible Super Pocket devices in the form of the officially licensed NEOGEO and Data East variants for $69 each. HyperMegaTech! sent me both devices, along with a few Evercade multi-game cartridges, to test out over the last few days and I must say I'm coming away extremely impressed. Forget emulators; this feels like the proper way to enjoy retro games. Previously, the Super Pocket line from HyperMegaTech! included Taito and Capcom variants and has since expanded to also include Atari and Technos as well. Now, these two latest NEOGEO and Data East versions work the same way in that each handheld comes pre-loaded with a selection of games from the branded publisher, but the device also supports all Evercade cartridges as well. Given the price, build quality, game selection, and growing library of additional games, the value is off-the-charts for anyone like me who adores retro video games and game preservation. NEOGEO and Data East Super Pocket handhelds The Super Pocket Handheld Matt Gardner's original review here on Forbes from when the Evercade Super Pocket devices debuted still applies, but I'll offer my own praise all the same. As someone born in 1990, I grew up playing the Game Boy, Game Gear, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance all very heavily. The Super Pocket is very similar in size to the Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color s[ecifically, which is an excellent form factor to land on. In short, this device easily fits in your pocket and if you snag a slim carrying case or something like that off Amazon, you can bring the device, a few favorite carts, and a charging cable along without taking up anywhere near as much space as you would for something like a Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch 2. The vision for the Evercade ecosystem is a return to 'games like they used to be' according to the official website. When you purchase an Evercade cartridge, you're getting not only a physical cart with complete games on it, but it's also packaged in a sturdy box and includes a full-color manual. Plus stickers. Inside the box of an Evercade game These Super Pocket devices are of course not the only Evercade devices on the planet, they're just the smallest and most affordable. In addition to those, there is also the EXP-R handheld, as well as the VS-R home console, and Alpha bartop arcade units to enjoy the classics on larger screens, including multiplayer. And for those unaware, the brilliant thing about Evercade cartridges is that each cart will work on all Evercade devices. That's true versatility and game ownership. I think my two biggest gripes with these devices is that there is no way to connect them together as far as I can tell in any sort of officially capacity, despite most of the games clearly supporting multiplayer in their original format, and also the fact that the game selection screen is lacking information. I'd love for something similar to the way Nintendo handles its classics library in which you can toggle an information window that has screenshots, a game summary paragraph, and even genre classifications. For someone like me who wasn't familiar with most of the Data East games, it would have been nice to skim over the selection menu and figure out what I wanted to try based on genre and screenshots rather than relying on often misleading 80s and 90s arcade cabinet art. It didn't seem like any of the games I tried really used the shoulder buttons, thankfully, since they're in extremely awkward spots. It's not easy to find a spot for those that is both ergonomic and doesn't ruin the form factor, but I feel like there must have been a better way. They're probably mostly for other Evercade games such as the Legacy of Kain or Tomb Raider collections. NEOGEO Super Pocket Handheld Evercade Super Pocket NEOGEO The new NEOGEO Super Pocket from HyperMegaTech! comes pre-installed with 14 games and dare I say not a single one of them isn't worth playing. I was of course very familiar with games like Fatal Fury, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and even Shock Troopers, but had never played the others. Turns out, I'm now a big fan of Mutant Nation and Blazing Star as well. Here's the full NEOGEO Super Pocket game list: Plus, since these are mostly arcade games, playing through them isn't much of a problem since pushing the 'Select' button is just like popping in another quarter. Endless continues for everyone! Data East Super Pocket Handheld Evercade Super Pocket Data East Games Admittedly, Data East is not a publisher I know near as well as the likes of NEOGEO, Capcom, or Atari, but after looking through the included library I realized it's a company I was more familiar with than I realized. Bad Dudes and Burgertime alone are truly arcade icons. I don't think the game selection is as flush with consistent quality as the NEOGEO Super Pocket, but it's still very good and nostalgia will always play a factor for each person specifically. For example, I'd never played the two Dark Seal games but really, really liked the isometric dungeon-crawler beat 'em up style. Here's the full list of all 18 included games on the Data East Super Pocket: Recent and upcoming Evercade game releases New Evercade Game Releases The majority of Evercade releases have focused on arcade titles and releases from publishers that aren't as active as they once were, but new indie games and classic console games are hitting the library lately as well. Just this month the Gremlin Collection 2 includes four original PlayStation games like Loaded and Hogs of War, not to mention prior collections that included Tomb Raider and more previously. With over 500 games available now, Evercade is a growing and, somewhat surprisingly if you haven't been paying attention, flourishing platform with new games and multi-game carts planned every month. In addition to the two Super Pocket handhelds, the company also sent me three cartridges including Windjammers, Karnov, & Friends which just released this month with five total games: Windjammers, Karnov, Atomic Runner Chelnov, Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation, and my personal favorite on the cart, Rohga: Armor Force. The other two cartridges I got were the Goodboy Galaxy/Witch N' Wiz indie game combo cart and the Toaplan Arcade 4 Collection which includes six games: Dogyuun, which was my favorite of this bunch, Grind Stormer, Knuckle Bash, Snow Bros. 2, Pip and Bibi's, and Sky Shark. And for what it's worth, I've enjoyed my time with these handhelds so much the last few days I went ahead and bought myself the first Duke Nukem Collection, which includes remasters of the first two Duke Nukem platformers, as well as Duke Nukem 3D. Next up, I'll probably spring for the Metal Dragon/Life on Mars two-game cart from Kai Magazine Software and the first Sunsoft Collection since it includes Journey to Silius, Blaster Master, and Aero the Acro-Bat. I'm really eyeing the two Gremlin Connections as well. A new game collecting addiction has definitely been awakened. Super Pocket handhelds and Evercade game cartridges Final Verdict—New Evercade Super Pockets Perhaps it's because these are my first-ever Evercade devices I've had the pleasure of using for more than a few minutes at a convention, but I absolutely adore these little pocket-sized wonders. They feel great in my hands, buttons are responsive, build quality is better than you'd expect, and the expansive library of possibilities is intoxicating. Ultimately though, it's undeniable that you could get 'more' by just buying a handheld emulator device, but those aren't officially licensed products with officially licensed games. The Evercade ecosystem is a way to support the industry directly and play authentic versions of these games, many of which just aren't accessible on home hardware for most gamers. If you present me with the choice between never-ending decision paralysis via an over-inflated digital collection of games I'll probably never play on a device that's not even optimized to run those games specifically, or, a bespoke handheld experience with the flexibility to be much more, at an affordable price, with officially licensed physical game cartridges, I'm picking the latter every single time. Disclosure: HyperMegaTech! sent me both the Data East Super Pocket handheld and NEOGEO Super Pocket handheld pre-release, as well as three Evercade game cartridges, to help facilitate this coverage.
Metro
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Survival Kids review - lost in blue on the Nintendo Switch 2
The only full price third party exclusive for the Switch 2 launch is a reboot of Stranded Kids, which Konami has turned into a co-op game. For a long time, we thought we were the only people that remembered Survival Kids on the Game Boy Color (or Stranded Kids as it was known in Europe). The game was always fascinating to us, as its open-ended gameplay arrived years before the modern concept of survival games and yet it's never credited for inspiring the likes of Don't Starve and DayZ. Perhaps it didn't, perhaps it was just parallel evolution, but we were glad to see it return for the Switch 2 launch. We came away quite optimistic about it when we played a press preview earlier in the month, but that was when we were surrounded with other experienced players, who knew what they were doing. Sadly, the reality of playing the game in a more ordinary setting is that it's not the jolly co-op adventure that was intended. Konami and developer Unity were clearly aiming for an Overcooked! style game of organised chaos but while Overcooked! is like a fun kids' party, with everyone running around and having fun, Survival Kids is more like an awkward family get together, where no one is talking and you can't wait to leave. Despite its name, and the franchise's origins, Survival Kids is not a survival game. You do play as a kid stranded on a series of islands (which are actually the backs of giant turtles) but you can't die and you don't have to worry about your health or hunger. Instead, there's a very regimented approach to surviving your predicament, that plays out in an identical manner from one island to the next. There's virtually no story, but you do get constant commentary from comedian Marcus Brigstocke, who does his best to seem interested in what's going on, helped by a script that does have a few mildly amusing lines. Survival Kids can be played by up to four players online or two locally, but the whole thing is also perfectly playable on your own – although that magnifies the amount of backtracking you'll have to endure. You start off, washed up on the beach and have to collect the three principal resources of wood, stones, and vines, in order to build a base camp – which houses a cooking pot and workbench. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. The cooking pot takes both fruit and fish, in order to boost your stamina bar, which runs out whenever you do anything straining, including chopping down trees and dragging objects. The stamina bar, represented as a circle constantly hovering by your character's face, is hugely irritating, as it runs out quickly and slows you down to a crawl, as you wait for it to recharge. It's clearly meant to encourage co-operation, by two people carrying larger objects together, but that just ends up with you getting frustrated at them as well. A lot of things in the game seem purposefully designed to irritate, especially the fixed turrets that appear in later stages, and having to go back to base camp to change tools – since you can only carry one at a time. The problem here is that games like Overcooked! and are based around organisation and simple action skills. Survival Kids has none of the latter and while you do have to organise other players, it's less a case of prioritising tasks and more just encouraging them to focus on helping you. Besides, the game makes it clear what you're supposed to be doing at every point, while your overarching goals are always just activate an elevator and/or rebuild your raft, which gets damaged every single time you go to a new island. Instead of action, Survival Kids is puzzle-based, with walls to knock down with exploding flowers, objects that get blown around by the wind from your fan, and various switches to push and pull. A few of the puzzles are quite clever, in a sub-Zelda kind of a way, but they're not the sort of thing that really lends itself to a four-player co-op game, especially when the intended audience is presumably meant to be children. Having one person climb up a ledge, so someone on the ground can throw items up to you, or moving a platform to get someone to an inaccessible location is mildly satisfying, but it never seems worth the trouble of setting up a co-op game in the first place. If anything, playing in co-op is longer and more time consuming than on your own, because you've got to wrangle the other players into doing what's needed. As well as the umbrella, you get a small variety of other tools, including a fishing rod, fan, and a cannon that shoots objects a long distance, but these require blueprints and, maddeningly, these are 'lost' every time you go to a new island. This combined with the constantly breaking raft and faulty elevators, makes the game far more repetitive than it needs to be, especially as there's not actually that many islands. More Trending For a full-price game this is extremely short and while it forces you to collect more stars (given to you for how quickly you complete an island and how many secrets you find) to unlock the final section it still has little replayability once you know the solution to the various puzzles. As one of only two exclusive third party games for the Switch 2, Survival Kids is a huge disappointment. The co-op options are welcome, but the graphics are extremely unimpressive and clearly could've been done on the original Switch. The very bland, cartoon art style also seems a big mistake, as no kid – certainly none we've tried to get to play it – is going to enjoy what is at heart a fairly slow-paced puzzle game. While there are plenty of ports of big name third party games for the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, this is currently the only example of an exclusive title from a major publisher. It's not a very encouraging start though and hopefully not a sign of things to come. In Short: A dull and frustrating co-op puzzle game, that has little chance of entertaining a younger audience and is too simplistic and repetitive for adult gamers. Pros: The basic concept is sound and some of the puzzles are quite clever. Cons: Extremely repetitive game structure. Stamina bar and fixed turrets are hugely irritating and traversal and puzzles just aren't fun. Single-player is even more long-winded. Score: 5/10 Formats: Nintendo Switch 2Price: £44.99Publisher: KonamiDeveloper: UnityRelease Date: 5th June 2025 Age Rating: 3 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo can put your Switch 2 permanently offline if you use mods MORE: Games Inbox: Is the next gen Xbox a console or a PC? MORE: Hideo Kojima got upset because people thought Death Stranding 2 was 'too good'
Engadget
18-06-2025
- Engadget
Framework Laptop 12 review: Doing the right thing comes at a cost
Earlier this year, Framework announced it was making a smaller, 12-inch laptop and a beefy desktop to go alongside its 13- and 16-inch notebooks. A few months later, and the former has arrived, putting the same modular, repairable laptop into a slightly smaller body. Unlike its bigger siblings, the Laptop 12 is a 12.2-inch touchscreen convertible clad in brightly colored plastic. It's aimed at students, with a focus on robustness and quality you won't see in the usual machines you find at the top of the bargain list. My initial impression is that it's a damn charming piece of gear, but I immediately wonder how many kids in school will actually get to use this thing given it's far pricier than its competitors. Framework's 12-inch laptop is an alternative to low-cost laptops, but it is too expensive to compete. $799 at Framework Laptop 12 is the first Framework machine clad entirely in ABS plastic, available in black, pink, lavender, gray and green. As soon as you open the packaging, you'll be instantly charmed by its look and feel given how different it is from the rest of the market. My green and off-white review unit (which the company calls 'Sage') stands out from the crowd almost by default. Framework founder Nirav Patel has long harbored dreams of bringing back the translucent and colorful aesthetics found in Nintendo's Game Boy Color. Here, the 12 reminds me of the OLPC XO or one of the fancier LeapFrog 'computers' that glowed up when you weren't looking. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Its footprint isn't dramatically smaller than the 13-inch model, but because it doesn't taper like its bigger sibling, it feels a lot chunkier. The chassis has a metal frame clad in two layers of plastic that, the company promises, will take whatever shocks and bumps you throw at it. It also has the same quartet of expansion card slots, which are now available in a variety of colors if you want things to match (or clash). Plus, all of those cards can be shared with the other Framework machines since they're all, mercifully, uniform size. Framework clearly learned from making its bigger machines, adding several quality of life tweaks to the 12 for both daily use and repair. The folks who regularly open and close their Framework laptop will instantly spot the changes that will make things a lot easier. For a start, the input cover is held in place with more screws (eight, compared to the 13's five), which better balances tension across the surface area. The input cover now slots into grooves on the front of the deck, making it easier to place than the 13. More importantly, the input cover connects to the mainboard via pogo pins rather than with a ribbon cable. I don't think I've ever damaged a ribbon cable myself, but it's always a worry if someone tries to yank off the lid without first disconnecting it from the mainboard. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Rather than screwing the SSD in place, Framework now uses a hinged plastic clip that you press in to secure the drive. Similarly, there's a little flip-down plastic cover to protect the RAM, with a large printed reminder to flip it back once you've installed the DIMM. Naturally, the board layout has changed, as has the battery — to a smaller, 50Wh cell — so the mainboard and battery won't work with its slightly larger sibling. (Aside: If you're a hobbyist hoping the 12-inch mainboard will be dramatically smaller than the 13-inch model to make smaller projects, expect to be disappointed. It is smaller, but not by such a significant degree that you probably wouldn't rather just use the 13-inch model instead.) Daniel Cooper for Engadget The power button has been moved from the keyboard to the right side of the deck, next to the expansion card slots. There's no fingerprint reader, either, which is one of several omissions you can attribute to 'cost saving,' 'this is a machine made for kids' or both . Would-be buyers get the choice of a 13th-generation Core i3-1315U or a Core i5-1334U, which can support up to 48GB of DDR5 RAM, albeit only at the slower DDR5-5200. You can throw in an M.2 SSD with up to 2TB of storage, and if that's not enough, you can get an additional 256GB or 1TB unit to sit in one of the laptop's four expansion card slots. Patel knows enough about keyboards and trackpads not to mess with what works, and what people like. The keyboard and touchpad are as robust and pleasing to use as you find on the 13-inch model. I'm not sure yet, but I might actually prefer typing on the 12-inch keyboard compared to the 13's, maybe because of the former's all-plastic build and the slightly louder, punchier keyclicks. Daniel Cooper for Engadget This machine was offered as a better, longer-lasting and more sustainable alternative to those dirt-cheap laptops sold to kids and students. But while everything already mentioned is more than good enough, we soon start to see where the cost-saving trims have been made. This is the first Framework to ship with a touchscreen, which is a 12.2-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 glossy LCD with a max brightness of 400 nits. In short, it's the same sort of screen you'll find on a lot of lower-end notebooks and so adjust your expectations accordingly. The gloss is an occupational hazard given it's a touchscreen, but the weaker backlight means you'll deal with the usual high-reflections and washed-out view in bright light. Framework is presently developing its own stylus, but until that launches, the laptop is compatible with any USI 2.0 or MPP 2.0 stylus. You'll have to source your own right now, and for the review, I was supplied with a Metapen M2 for testing. So far, however, I've found the pen experience to be more than a little frustrating, with the palm rejection a big issue. It needs a tweak — and I'm sure it'll be addressed swiftly — given the amount of times I prodded open a menu or closed a window with the flesh on the side of my hand. Similarly, the 2-megapixel webcam is a big step down from the 9.2-megapixel sensor found in the 13-inch model. Again, you can expect the same washed out, artifact-heavy video as you would find in many other low-cost laptop cameras. Framework has worked to improve its sound quality over the last few years but the size of the 12's chassis is a limiting factor. The pair of 2W speakers here are tinny and quiet even at full volume, but at least they don't rattle or vibrate with heavy bass. My review unit was equipped with a Core i5 with 16GB RAM, and it was more than able to handle the sort of stuff you'd expect to perform on a machine of this class. Writing the bulk of this review, watching videos, viewing and tweaking images are all well within this machine's reach. Hell, I even managed to get Hardspace: Shipbreaker to play, but not very well, and while Fortnite does run, it's janky enough to not be worth your while. Again, tweaked drivers will likely tidy those issues up, but I suspect this machine doesn't have enough grunt for doom room gamers. Of course, it's a Framework laptop, so you can already guess the one major issue that pops up whenever you put the silicon under load. As usual, the fan noise is pretty noticeable when the hardware temperature rises, and I wouldn't recommend you using this thing on your lap. And you should expect to have this thing plugged in for the duration of your time using it, as the battery life isn't stellar. If you're using this to run any sort of demanding app or game, you won't get more than four hours on a single charge. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Right now, you can only buy the pre-built edition in black, with the DIY version the only place you can pick your chassis color. It's available in gray, lavender, bubblegum and sage, and I'd heartily recommend you picking any of those options over the standard black. The pre-built edition starts at $799 with an Intel Core i3-1315U, 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and Windows 11 Home. If you want to step that up to the higher-end Performance model with an i5-1334U, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, it'll set you back $1,049. On the other hand, you can pick up the DIY edition for $549 (for the i3) or $699 (for the i5), leaving you to source your own RAM, SSD and OS. I'll admit I'm struggling to work out what the Framework 12's competitors are, since this is a tricky machine. When announced, the company said it was an alternative to the sort of entry-level laptops bought for kids and students, which are 'janky, locked-down, disposable, underpowered and frankly, boring.' This means it's going up against $500 notebooks and Chromebooks, the likes of which you'll normally find on sale at Best Buy. The ones that, you know, have a reputation for surviving until a week after the warranty expires, leaving you out of pocket until the next sale. From a utilitarian perspective, the higher price is offset by the knowledge it should outlast every other computer in your kids' cohort. Not only is it durable and repairable, but you should be able to swap out the mainboard in two or three years' time to keep pace with technology. But, by that same utilitarian argument, you could just as easily pick up a refurbished Framework 13 with a Core i5-1340P, when available, for just $779. Daniel Cooper for Engadget I'm fond of the Framework Laptop 12 because I can easily see it having a place in my life when I'm on the go. It's cute, good-looking and small enough you could easily throw it into a bag when you're in a hurry. The durability of the chassis and repairability, plus the swappable expansion cards, means it should run for years and years. And it's fun! I love the idea of a little laptop that stands out against the endless rows of cheap black plastic or silver aluminum notebooks. Those dirt-cheap notebooks built with low-end parts and sold to kids and students for $300 or so aren't much good for anything. If you want quality, you'll need to cough up for it, and this will at least last for years without endless replacements. But. The limited performance and battery life here gives me pause and I'm not sure a machine that, right now, needs a stretch to run Fortnite would be too popular. My gut tells me Framework had intended to sell this for less before tariffs pushed the prices up beyond what made sense. But as a consequence, the Framework Laptop 12 falls between two stools: Not cheap enough to be compelling to the price-sensitive buyers and not powerful enough for people with bigger budgets. Unless you happen to have a spare SSD, RAM and Windows license kicking around that'll bring the cost down to sticker price. My gut tells me that this laptop's real audience will be adults looking for a quirky second device to take on the go.
Engadget
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Palmer Luckey's ModRetro Chromatic portable console is now a thing you can actually buy
There's a new (ish) retro console on the block. The ModRetro Chromatic had a soft launch last year but is now "permanently in stock" for consumers. This is another machine that runs Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, like the beloved Analogue Pocket and others. The Chromatic features a magnesium alloy build, so it should take a licking. It also features a backlit screen — something the original Game Boy lacked. As a matter of fact, Nintendo didn't fully embrace backlighting technology until midway through the life of the Game Boy Advance. The console was designed by Palmer Luckey and was originally sold in a limited run last year. Today's release includes a new colorway and the choice of a sapphire glass display for increased durability. There are also a bunch of new accessories, like a rechargeable power bank, and some nifty software features. It can now natively stream to Discord, Mac or PC, without any additional hardware and there's a new firmware tool to update games. The Chromatic runs proprietary cartridges, in addition to Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. There are a handful of new games arriving with this release, including a metroidvania called Dark Plague . Each console ships with Tetris , just like the original Game Boy. The standard release costs $200, but the model with the sapphire glass display costs $300. New games price out at $40 and old-school Game Boy carts are available on eBay, at garage sales and maybe buried in ancient couch cushions. There are a couple of caveats here. First of all, this doesn't emulate games, as cartridges are required. It only handles Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. The Analogue Pocket, for instance, can also play Game Boy Advance titles and a separate adapter brings other consoles into the mix. — Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) May 1, 2025 There's also the creator himself. Palmer Luckey is a controversial figure. He founded Oculus and helped bring VR to the masses, sure, but recent years has found him running a military defense contracting firm called Anduril Industries. This company has been involved with designing a "virtual" border wall complete with hundreds of surveillance towers, building AI tools for military use and, most recently, making wearables that allow soldiers to interact with AI-powered weapon systems. He's become a big player in the defense space, securing $6 billion in global government contracts. You'll have to decide if you want to indirectly contribute to that cause by giving him $200 or $300 to pick up a portable console. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
