One by one, automakers have started adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) used by Tesla's Superchargers as they move towards their goal of replacing their fleet with electric vehicles. Toyota is the latest company to join the growing list. The automaker has announced that it has reached an agreement with Tesla to incorporate NACS ports into certain Toyota-branded vehicles starting in 2025. Some EVs under its luxury brand, Lexus, will come with the standard's charging ports, as well. 

By using NACS ports on its electric vehicles, Toyota is effectively giving its customers the power to access more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across North America. While the company won't be implementing the standard over the next year, its timeline matches its rival automakers'. To note, customers who already have Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) will be offered access to NACS adapters starting in 2025, as well.

BMW also recently announced that it was adopting the standard for all its EVs in the United States and Canada. A few months ago, GM and Ford revealed they were making the switch starting in 2025, but owners will already be able to access Tesla Superchargers next year with an adopter. Hyundai will adopt the port for its EVs in the US in 2024, with EVs in Canada to follow in 2025. Honda, Toyota's fellow Japanese automaker, announced its transition to NACS in September and its plans to sell vehicles with the port in two years' time. It also said, however, that it's developing an adapter to allow pre-2025 Hondas to charge using Tesla's system. 

Games Done Quick speedrunning marathons have seen plenty of unusual attempts at beating games as quickly as possible in the name of charity. From races between multiple players to blindfolded runs, there’s often something a little offbeat on the schedule to shake things up. A run that’s earmarked for January's Awesome Games Done Quick event might take the biscuit, though: a Shiba Inu is set to become the first dog to take part in GDQ.

Peanut Butter (who is named after the speedrunning term PB, or personal best) is scheduled to tackle NES game Gyromite alongside his human, JSR. The pooch’s run will take place remotely, which may come as slightly disappointing news to those attending AGDQ in-person in Pittsburgh.

According to a video JSR shared of a previous speedrun of the 1985 game, Peanut Butter uses a custom NES controller with four buttons. Those are mapped to A, B, Select and a fourth button that acts as pressing A and B simultaneously. JSR claims Peanut Butter handled all inputs for the run and that “no assistance, autofire, macros or save states were used.” However, it's worth noting that JSR did guide PB through Gyromite with the help of some tasty incentives.

It took the three-year-old Shina Ibu 25 minutes and 28 seconds to finish the game in that earlier attempt. According to How Long to Beat, that's over an hour faster than it takes the typical player to complete Gyromite. So Peanut Butter is probably better than you at this game.

Samsung was the first manufacturer to make a proper foldable phone, but it’s gotten a bit complacent. Now OnePlus is releasing its first phone with a flexible screen and it’s already giving the Galaxy Z Fold 5 a run for its money. Not only does the Open pack larger displays, both inside and out, it's also thinner and lighter. That is, as long as you don’t count its massive camera module. And with its Open Canvas software, OnePlus is taking a novel approach to multitasking that makes it super fast and easy to switch between apps. 

But perhaps the most impressive thing the Open is doing, is putting pressure on the price of big fancy foldables, because starting at $1,700, it costs $100 less than the Z Fold 5 and Google’s Pixel Fold – and that’s before you factor in OnePlus’ deal that knocks another $200 off with the trade-in of any phone. In a year when we’ve already seen Google release its first foldable phone, the arrival of the OnePlus Open is adding even more excitement to the category.

Displays: Super bright

Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line, the OnePlus Open sports two displays: a skinner 6.3-inch exterior screen along with a 7.8-inch flexible panel on the inside. Both panels are slightly bigger than those on the Z Fold 5 while also featuring 120Hz refresh rates. But the thing the OnePlus has really pushed is brightness, which hits around 1,400 nits during normal use, or up to a mindblowing 2,800 nits in certain situations like when watching HDR content outdoors. And once again, that’s for both displays. However, those numbers are so high, it maxed out my colorimeter, so I can’t fully verify OnePlus’ claims. Regardless, brightness was never an issue.

Design: When every gram matters

OnePlus hasn’t messed around too much with Samsung’s template and stuck with an inward folding design. However, it does feel like the company tried to shave off every extra gram or millimeter. The black model which features a vegan leather back weighs just 239 grams, just one gram lighter than an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Meanwhile, our emerald dusk review unit sports a glass back and only comes in a touch heavier at 245 grams.

The Open is also surprisingly sleek measuring just 11.7mm thick. That’s even thinner than the Pixel Fold (12.1mm). That is, until you factor in its massive camera module which brings the phone’s true thickness to around 18mm. The Open also has a wider exterior display, which makes typing on it much nicer without a ton of added bulk.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Of course, some of the biggest areas of concern on a foldable are its hinge and crease. Thankfully, OnePlus has done a pretty good job with both. There is a faint groove that runs down the middle of its main display, but it’s subtle. You only notice it when viewed from acute angles or if you really go looking for it.

The hinge is also surprisingly smooth and, unlike its rivals, there’s a bit of spring-loaded action to it. So after a certain point it just swings wide open. That’s a nice change coming from the Pixel Fold which always seems to stop right at 179 degrees, no matter what you do. Another detail I appreciate is that the Open closes flush, so you don’t have to worry about keys or other small objects getting inside. Unfortunately, you only get an IPX4 rating for water resistance, which is far short of the IP68 classification on the Pixel Fold and Z Fold 5.

Performance: Mobile multitasking made easy

The OnePlus Open features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that results in very similar performance to that of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Samsung’s phone does enjoy about a five to 10 percent lead in tests like Geekbench 6 due to slightly higher clock speeds. But during everyday use, the advantage is basically imperceptible. But the OnePlus does have 16GB of RAM (versus 12GB on the Z Fold) along with 512GB of base storage–which is double what you get from both Samsung and Google.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

However, my favorite thing about the Open is how it handles multitasking. You can obviously do stuff like having two apps open in splitscreen. But if you want more, OnePlus’ Open Canvas software makes it possible to open three apps at once, with little tabs that let you move things around with a single tap. It’s like each app is a little card that slides in and out of view as you need them, and it works surprisingly well. It’s so much faster than sliding up and holding to open recent apps, but without adding too much clutter. And as a tweak on Samsung and Google’s taskbars, OnePlus added a dedicated icon for recent files, so it's super easy to drag and drop docs or photos into email or messages.

That said, as someone who loved older versions of Oxygen OS, I feel like the current design of OnePlus’ UI (following the company’s merger with Oppo) looks a bit cheap. Almost every button aside from in the quick settings is some kind of rounded rectangle, and while it’s functional, it’s also kind of boring.

Cameras: A big bump from Hasselblad

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Ever since OnePlus partnered with Hasselblad to upgrade its cameras, the modules on the backs of its phones have gotten bigger and bigger. And while it’s a bit of an eyesore, the Open’s huge camera bump isn’t without reason as it holds a large 1/1.43-inch 64-MP LYTIA T808 main sensor from Sony with a new pixel architecture designed to increase the amount of light it can capture for even better nighttime photos. OnePlus claims it delivers the best image quality on any foldable available today and, while I won’t go quite that far, its pics are relatively close to what you can capture with a Pixel Fold. Photos are sharp and detailed, the one shortcoming is that OnePlus’ low-light processing isn’t quite as good as Google’s Night Sight. But compared to the Z Fold 5, the Open’s pics often had better dynamic range and less exaggerated sharpening.

You also get a 48-MP ultra-wide cam that can also shoot macros, and a 64-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom that goes up to a 6x lossless magnification. Once again, while that 3x zoom is every bit a match for the Z Fold 5’s 3x telephoto cam, it's 6x lossless just isn’t quite as sharp as the 5x optical lens on the Pixel Fold. But that’s not a big surprise because there still isn’t a true replacement for high-quality glass.

Battery life: Great longevity but no wireless charging?!

OnePlus has always had somewhat spotty support for wireless charging. Its first phone to have it was the OnePlus 8 Pro in 2020, which was years after its competitors got on board. That support continued on the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and the OnePlus 10 Pro. But then OnePlus dropped wireless charging for the 10T and the 11, and unfortunately, we don’t get it here on the Open either.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The lack of wireless charging on any $1,000 phone is pretty disappointing, let alone a brand new flagship foldable. My suspicion is that OnePlus didn’t include it because charging coils would have added one or two millimeters in thickness, which would have detracted from the phone’s design. And if that’s true, that’s a pretty weak justification.

On the bright side, wired charging is significantly faster than its competition at 67 watts. And it's even faster in Europe at 80 watts due to their 240-volt power standard. However, because of OnePlus’ proprietary charging system, you only get those speeds when you use the included brick, so if you switch to a third-party adapter, speeds drop in half to around 30 watts.

Thankfully battery life is great. With its exterior display, the Open lasted 25 and a half hours on our video rundown test, which is an hour and a half better than the Z Fold 5. And with its main display, it lasted just over 19 hours, which is also quite respectable.

Pricing: An almost unbelievable discount

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When it comes to pricing, big foldables like this have always been pretty expensive, though at $1,700, the Open costs $100 less than both the Z Fold 5 and the Pixel Fold. But to sweeten the pot even further, OnePlus has an enticing deal that will knock another $200 off the price with the trade-in of any phone. Typically there are some limits or restrictions to promos like this, so I had to confirm the details with OnePlus. But the company really does mean any device, regardless of how old it is or what condition it’s in. That means you can finally get rid of the Nokia brick that’s been living in a drawer for the last 10 or 15 years and get some value out of it. And if you do, you’re looking at an effective price of $1,500, which still ain’t cheap, but it is significantly lower than the competition. The caveat is that this discount is only available directly through OnePlus.

Wrap-up

When I first heard OnePlus was making a foldable phone, I wasn’t sure what their goal was. The company hasn’t been in the business of making flagship killers for a while. But with the Open, OnePlus has crammed some rather impressive hardware into a device with a novel approach to multitasking. The Open’s cameras are as good if not slightly better than what you get on a Z Fold 5, and it has bigger screens too. Honestly, there are a lot of things about the Open’s design that I wish we were getting from Samsung, as opposed to the three years of minor refinements we’ve seen following the release of the Z Fold 3.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

It’s also important to note that the Open has an alter ego, because depending on where you live, this thing will also be known as the Oppo Find N3. The two phones are essentially the same device just with different branding. That said, the Open will still get four years of Android updates and five years of security patches along with support for all the major US carriers. But unlike Google and Samsung’s offerings, the Open will only be available through online retailers and because OnePlus doesn’t have any local US retail partners, the only way to get the Open serviced is to send it in. That’s a bit of concern as pretty much every foldable phone tends to have an issue with its built-in screen protector bubbling after about a year. So even though OnePlus offers free shipping for repairs under warranty, no one wants to be without their phone for a week or more while it’s in the shop.

Still, I’m impressed with what OnePlus is bringing out the gate.

Intro

Panasonic’s 25.2-megapixel Lumix G9 II arrived with a lot of fanfare, as it’s the company’s very first Micro Four Thirds camera with hybrid phase-detect autofocus. And from the first day of launch, Panasonic promoted it as the ultimate small-sensor wildlife and action camera, thanks to the hyper-fast 60 fps shooting speeds and relatively high resolution.

However, I (and others) noticed that it held a lot of promise for content creators, too. The superior hybrid AF is also better for video than past models and it offers up to 5.8K 60p video, 4K at 120p, incredible stabilization and even SSD ProRes capture. On paper, it’s superior to the company’s vlogging-dedicated GH6, though it lacks the latter’s fan and a few other minor features.

That gives the G9 II a bit of an identity crisis. Is it the ultimate content creator camera, an action shooter’s dream or the ultimate hybrid camera? To find out, I’ve got a retail camera with the final production firmware and RAW photo support.

Body

Physically, the G9 II is more like the full-frame S5 II than the six-year-old G9. Gone is the softer, rounded G9 design, in its place a more angular, hard-edged body. It’s relatively large for a Micro Four Thirds camera, weighing 658 grams (OM system’s OM-1 weighs 599 grams), though it has exactly the same heft as the original G9.

The design is more businesslike than pretty, but I like the practicality of it. The ridged grip is secure, and it has every control you need, including a joystick, front, back and rear control dials, a setting dial, shooting dial and numerous buttons. A few things have changed from the G9, as the dual dial on the left is now just a single shooting dial, the on/off switch is in a better location and it has a front shooting dial. This is now a template for Panasonic cameras, so if you’re used to models like the GH5, you’ll adapt quickly.

The menus are easy to use as well, but I wish it had a dedicated photo/video switch with separate controls. For instance, if you set V-log on video, that setting carries over to photos too – and you definitely don’t want that. To keep photos and video apart, you’ll need to employ one of the custom “C” dial settings.

The 1,840K dot LCD display fully articulates for vloggers and self-shooters, of course, and most controls are available by the touchscreen. It comes with a decent 3,680K dot OLED viewfinder that’s on par with other cameras in this price range, like Fujifilm’s X-T5. I’d prefer a little more EVF resolution on a flagship camera, particularly for bird shooting, but it’s not bad.

The G9 II uses the same battery as the S5 II, allowing for a middling 390 shots on a charge. Video endurance is better than the GH6, though, lasting nearly 100 minutes at 4K 60p.

A feature I didn’t expect is SSD recording. That lets you record high-bandwidth ProRes files to an external drive via the USB-C port. It does require some rigging, but is an amazing time saver, as you can edit the files directly with no transcoding needed. It also has a pair of SD UHS-II card slots, but no support for CFexpress like the GH6.

There’s a nice full-sized HDMI port, but the G9 II doesn’t yet support RAW video recording. You also get microphone and headphone jacks, along with a USB-C port that supports 10Gbps transfer speeds and fast PD charging.

Performance

Steve Dent for Engadget

With a new sensor and processor, the G9 II is a speed demon – but this is Panasonic’s first crack at phase-detect autofocus. That does show at times, via issues like occasional lag and an AI feature set lacking compared to rivals.

It can shoot RAW plus JPEG bursts with the mechanical shutter at up to 10 fps, or 60 fps in the SH60 electronic shutter mode with continuous autofocus. If you don’t need that kind of speed (and don’t want to fill the buffer up too rapidly), it also offers 20 fps bursts in electronic mode. Panasonic also introduced a pre-burst mode, which continuously cycles bursts through 1.5 seconds before you fully press the shutter – helping you catch a shot even if you’re a bit slow.

It has a large buffer that allows for over three second bursts at 60 fps and non-stop shooting with the mechanical shutter. However, it takes longer than other cameras to clear the buffer – up to a minute in some cases – due in part to the slowish SD ports. This can be quite annoying, as the camera effectively stops working while the buffer clears.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Still, that kind of speed is impressive – provided the autofocus can keep up. Luckily, the new phase-detect system on the G9 II is mostly up to the task. Shooting at 60fps with eye-detection enabled, the large majority of my shots were in focus with a subject running toward the camera.

It wasn’t quite as reliable for more distant subjects when using Panasonic’s new 200-800mm equivalent telephoto, and didn’t initially lock in as fast as I’d like. The eye detect autofocus, however, was generally reliable for both human and animal subjects. It lacks a specific setting for birds, but the system does seem to automatically switch between birds and deer, for instance, if you’re shooting in the woods.

It can also track motorcycles and cars, and though I didn’t test it on the former, it does a good job tracking vehicles. There’s no “auto” setting either like you’ll find on Canon’s latest models, so you have to go in and switch focus modes manually if you’re shooting a pet and its owner.

Steve Dent for Engadget

In other words, Panasonic is off to a good start but has a way to go to catch up to Sony’s ultra-reliable and more intelligent AF. I expect that to improve over time, though.

If you’re concerned about rolling shutter in electronic mode, don’t be. Readout speeds are fast for a non-stacked sensor, so skew and other issues aren’t an issue except in extreme situations like airplane propellers.

Panasonic has included the same in-body stabilization system as the GH6, so it can reduce shake by up to 8 stops, or 7.5 stops with ultra telephoto lenses. It’s very effective for shooting handheld, letting you grab photos at a quarter second or less with no blur.

Image quality

The G9 II has the same 25.2-megapixel resolution dual gain sensor as the GH6 but image quality for photos is better, with less noise at lower ISO levels.

With five extra megapixels over the original G9, it takes sharper shots and provides some extra detail over rivals like the OM-1 – letting you crop in a bit more. JPEG colors straight out of the camera look great and require little retouching.

The dual-gain sensor also makes it good in low light for a Micro Four Thirds Camera. Very little noise is visible up to ISO 1600, and it’s well managed beyond that up to about ISO 12,800, as long as you expose correctly. That said, it’s always better to have more light with a small-sensor camera, as noise levels can quickly get out of control, particularly with underexposed shots.

RAW files are relatively easy to edit and give you room to dial down highlights or bring up detail in shadows. Again, the small sensor puts it at a disadvantage to full-frame cameras in that regard, however, as more noise will appear at higher ISOs.

The G9 II now has a dynamic range boost function applied automatically. It uses both the high- and low-gain circuits, and combines them into one photo, HDR style. That helps boost dynamic range in bright sunlight and other tricky situations.

The handheld high-resolution mode, meanwhile, combines multiple images into a single 100-megapixel shot, with no tripod required. It works surprisingly well for shots like landscapes with limited movement, drastically boosting resolution. I did notice that the high-resolution JPEG files have an artificial look when you zoom in though, as if the camera is trying to add non-existent detail. For that reason, I’d suggest enabling RAW when using the feature.

Finally, Panasonic took a page from Fujifilm with a new black and white color profile called Leica Monochrome. It was developed in partnership with Leica, obviously, and features brighter highlights and more contrast. It’s easily the nicest photo “look” setting I’ve seen on any Panasonic camera (it’s great for black and white video, too).

Video

Steve Dent for Engadget

Panasonic might not want to hear this, but if I was a content creator looking for a Micro Four Thirds camera, I’d purchase this model over the like-priced GH6.

Yes, the GH6 has a few advantages. It can capture ProRes video directly to CFexpress cards, while you need to rig up an SSD to do the same on the G9 II. It also has a fan that allows unlimited video recording, so it is better for event videographers. Finally, you can output RAW video to an external recorder.

Aside from that, the G9 holds its own. Both can capture 5.7K at up to 60fps, or 120p 4K, and the G9 II supports 10-bit V-Log recording and 4K internal capture with high data rates and easy-to-edit I-frame files, exactly like the GH6. And you can do high-bandwidth ProRes recording via the USB-C port – again, just like the GH6.

The lack of a fan limits the G9 II’s recording times, but not substantially. 4K and 5.7K recording times are effectively unlimited at 30 and 60 fps. Even 4K at 120fps can go over 20 minutes, and few users would ever need that.

And the G9 II does things the GH6 can’t. The phase-detect AF is clearly superior for video, eliminating wobble and focusing much quicker (though the same AF caveats for photography apply). It also has a lower 500 ISO floor for dynamic range-boosted V-log recording, compared to ISO 2,000 for the GH6. That makes it more practical to shoot in sunlight, where the benefits of log and dual-gain are greatest.

Steve Dent for Engadget

As with the GH6, stabilization is excellent for video, though Sony’s ZV-E1 is a touch better. Boost Mode provides near-tripod levels of smoothness for static shots only. Turning on E-Stabilization eliminates the need for a gimbal in some cases (though the electronic IBS on Sony's ZV-E1 is a hair better). That mode also corrects warping at the edges with wide-angle lenses, a first for mirrorless cameras. As a content creator myself, the stabilization alone would make me reach for the G9 II instead of potentially more capable cameras like Canon’s R6 II – because I know I can capture great footage without a tripod.

4K video is oversampled and thus very sharp, though the cropped 4K 120p is a bit softer. Dynamic range is outstanding in V-log mode, so it’s easy to adjust later, especially at the base ISO 500. Colors are natural, and low-light capability is solid for a small-sensor camera thanks to the dual gain system. So video quality-wise, I have no complaints.

That said, there are a few handy content creator features found on Sony and Canon cameras missing here, like Sony’s dedicated product showcase and focus breathing compensation.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent for Engadget

With all that, the $1,900 G9 II is one of the most capable hybrid cameras I’ve seen. The handling, speed and improved autofocus make it a compelling option for wildlife photographers. But the excellent video capabilities and quality makes it a great choice for content creators as well.

Panasonic’s main competition on the photography side is the $2,000 OM-1. The G9 II has more resolution, but the OM-1 has a faster stacked sensor. For photos, either is a good choice, depending on what you need. However, the G9 II is far superior for video.

On the content creation side, Sony’s $2,200 ZV-E1 is a clear rival, and is a touch better for vloggers. Panasonic’s own GH6, currently discounted to $1,700, is another option. However, neither of those models can touch the G9 II on the photography side. Perhaps the best fully hybrid alternative would be Fujifilm’s X-H2, as it offers both speed and video chops, but it costs $600 more. All told, if you’re someone who tends to do both photography and video, the G9 II is a great choice.

BMW's North American EV customers should have an easier time finding charging stations in the future. The company has announced it's adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS) for all its battery-powered EVs in the United States and Canada. The changeover should be official beginning in early 2025.

The remodel's rollout coincides with all BMW and Rolls-Royce EVs built with a Combined Charging System (CCS) getting access to specific Tesla Supercharger stations. "With six fully electric BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce models now available in the US market, and more to come, it is our top priority to ensure that our drivers have easy access to reliable, fast charging," Sebastian Mackensen, President and CEO, BMW of North America, said in a statement. "This agreement is the latest in our longstanding and continued effort to expand charging options for our customers as we continue on the road to electrification."  

BMW was one of the last car manufacturers in the region which had yet to adopt the NACS. The company follows Ford, General Motors and Volvo — among others — who have recently made the change. Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda are all still holdouts, though the latter two have been in talks with Tesla about making the shift. 

In July, BMW announced a joint venture with six other car manufacturers — including General Motors and Honda — to build a minimum of 30,000 charging stations in urban areas and highways. They should each offer compatibility with the CCS and the NACS. The joint venture plans to start rolling out locations across the US in early 2024 and in Canada at a later point. 

Volta Trucks has declared bankruptcy in Sweden after four years in business. The EV manufacturers' board announced the news in a statement that thanked its workers and pointed to its existing accomplishments and unattained potential. "We created the world's first purpose-built 16-tonne all-electric truck, including a unique cab and chassis design, that would have contributed to decarbonising the environment and enhanced the health and safety and air quality of urban centres." The company had piloted its delivery vehicle, Volta Zero, in five European countries and originally planned to expand to Los Angeles in mid-2023. 

Volta Trucks blames its situation, in part, on that of another bankruptcy: Its battery supplier, Proterra, filed for bankruptcy protection in August following cost-trimming efforts. According to Volta Trucks, this turn of events reduced the number of vehicles it planned to produce and made raising the capital necessary to continue operations more challenging. 

The EV industry has faced a great deal of layoffs and closures, especially from startups navigating the ever-evolving (and supply chain issues-plagued) field. Lordstown Motors declared bankruptcy in mid-2023 after five years in business, and Arrival has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs with all signs pointing toward bankruptcy — to name only two examples. As was the case with Lordstown Motors, Volta Trucks could seek a buyer for its existing technology. 

Netflix is making moves to expand its mobile gaming offerings. Soon, subscribers will see more shows made by Netflix made into mobile games, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, like Squid Game and Wednesday.

While mobile gaming is not entirely new to Netflix, it's still trying to find its place in the company’s business model. Right now, the Netflix app prompts users to download and play games like Exploding Kittens: The Game or Ghost Detective on the app store where you can play on the platform. But eventually, Netflix subscribers will be able to play games directly on their smart TVs and computers. This push into gaming by the streaming giant is preceded by the company’s recent release of a dedicated controller app for iOS devices that lets a player use their phone as a gamepad with a paired TV.

From the start, Netflix has never charged for its games or posed additional fees within its gaming domain. To play on your phone, you only need a subscription. And while we don't know if that is going to ever change in the near future, Netflix's focus on making games based on hit shows could help maintain interest in them, especially in between seasons. The bet on superconsumers’ could also lead the company to a path of buying its way into gaming.

As of now, Netflix offers more than 70 games on its platform and it plans to expand that more into the end of 2023. Netflix will continue to license non-show related games like Classic Solitaire, according to the WSJ.

It has been less than two years since the company began dabbling in mobile gaming and yet, Netflix has already become a player in indie publishing. And we’ve seen the company deliver on its promise of developing games based on hit shows. Netflix Stories: Love is Blind, an interactive story title based on the reality television series just came out last month. Now it appears ready to lean even harder into gaming.

For my money, web-swinging around New York City in Marvel’s Spider-Man is perhaps the singular best game mechanic I’ve come across in the last decade or so. It feels so incredibly right, and almost everything else in that game is built off it. I never really wanted to use fast-travel features, because swinging around was much more fun, and finding hidden missions and helping citizens in trouble as you traverse NYC is almost as rewarding as following the game’s main story. Of course, a great mechanic isn’t enough to make a great game, but Spider-Man is one of the most successful open-world style games I can think of, because it felt packed without being overwhelming.

My first impressions of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was that developer Insomniac Games turned everything up to 11, packing in more. The map is about twice as big as the original, adding in a chunk of the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens to go along with Manhattan, and the web wings offer a new way of traversing the huge map. There are more playable characters, as you spend nearly equal time jumping between OG Spider-Man Peter Parker and his protégé Miles Morales. Peter and Miles have more special moves than ever before to turn the tides in combat, and there are more skills for them to learn. Conversely, enemies have a lot more ways to mess you up, if you’re not careful.

As such, my main concern for Spider-Man 2 was that Insomniac tried to pack in too much — take what happened to the Assassin’s Creed series with AC: Valhalla as a cautionary tale. However, now that I’ve finished the game, and completed about 75 percent of all the activities and quests available, I can confidently say that Insomniac has built a tight, compelling game with a storyline that ends up with serious momentum, making it all but impossible to put down through the second half. It’s just as satisfying as ever to play as the two Spider-Men, whether you’re flying around NYC or taking on hordes of bad guys. And while the story sucked me in, there are hosts of other things for a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to do for the city’s citizens, including substantial side quests and smaller activities that enhance the story and your capabilities.

Sony / Insomniac Games

Just like the first game, Spider-Man 2 wastes no time hitting you with a bombastic action sequence that kicks off the game’s main plot. This time, Pete and Miles take on classic villain Sandman, who escapes transport to the city’s prison for super-villains and rampages throughout the streets, getting larger and more difficult to manage. As with the intro of most games, this is meant to teach you the capabilities of the two playable characters, and it does so without feeling too heavy-handed or disconnected from the main meat of the game.

It’s not long before we learn of a new threat to the city: Kraven and his band of hunters are tracking down super-villains for sport and causing plenty of distress while they do so. Perhaps most significantly, they’re trying to return Dr. Curt Connors to his menacing alter-ego, The Lizard, a move that has serious implications for Peter, Miles, Pete’s girlfriend MJ Parker and their friend Harry Osborne. Harry was mentioned but not seen in the first game, as he was ill and in recovery through some very experimental treatment that has returned him to his friends in this episode.

Sony / Insomniac Games

In the first third of the game, the traditional action sequences are augmented by a few flashbacks as well as sections of the game that are more about atmosphere and character-building – like one where teenaged Pete and Harry sneak through their high school, or a sequence where Pete, MJ and Harry enjoy a night at a lovingly-rendered version of the Coney Island boardwalk before things inevitably go awry. Those sequences were a little hit or miss, as they did steal away a bit of momentum – but they also provided a break from the pattern of “travel across the city, investigate, beat up bad guys.”

I won’t spoil how it happens, but the unofficial first act ends with Peter coming into possession of the fabled black symbiote suit, which greatly enhances his powers in combat in a way that’s both fun and also a little distressing. If you know anything about Spider-Man lore, you probably know where the story is going. But without going too deep, I can say that Insomniac created a familiar take on the tale of Spider-Man and Venom that nonetheless has a number of unexpected twists. Like I said earlier, I was positively glued to the game, particularly in the second half. The combination of the compelling story and outstanding gameplay elements simply made it hard to stop playing.

Let’s get into that gameplay. Sony and Insomniac have made a big deal about the fact that you can quickly swap between Peter and Miles to have different Spidey-experiences, and it’s as simple as holding a button down when you’re in the open-world part of the game. But the structure of the story dictates that you’re usually either Peter or Miles as the “lead” character for the main quests. The same goes for some of the side quests and activities you’ll find around NYC; there are plenty that you can achieve as either Pete or Miles, but some require you to switch to a specific character.

Sony / Insomniac Games

There are a number of major set-pieces throughout the game, including the Sandman intro, that blend action between the two Spider-Men. You’ll shift seamlessly between the two characters depending on what the action calls for, but you can’t just switch on the fly. It’s all pretty scripted, which makes sense but is still a little bit of a bummer. And while Miles and his crew of friends that were introduced in 2020’s mini-sequel Spider-Man: Miles Morales get plenty of screen time, the story and action lean slightly more towards Peter. If I had to guess, I’d say you control him for 60 percent of the main story. Miles fans shouldn’t be too disappointed, though, because you get to control him through a few of the game’s most intense and thrilling moments.

Insomniac did a great job of both streamlining and expanding combat. Peter and Miles each have four special attacks you can slot that regenerate through combat, giving you some options for discovering and picking your favorite moves. A lot of the gadgets from the first game return, but they’re easier than ever to access. Previously, if you wanted to use a gadget you’d have to hold R1 and switch from your web-shooters to another option. Now, web-shooters are always triggered by mashing R1, but you can hold R1 and hit one of the four face buttons to activate your slotted gadgets. It’s a great quality of life improvement that makes it a lot easier to deploy everything in your arsenal when you’re in a big battle.

The special attacks are likewise triggered by holding L1 and pressing a face button, and these are the main ways to differentiate between Peter and Miles. Otherwise, their combat skills and abilities are pretty similar, and there are lots of upgrades you can make to increase your health bar or the amount of damage you deal that apply to both characters. There’s a shared Peter and Miles skill tree as well as individual ones for each character that focus on their particular special moves. I was worried managing all this was going to get old and overly complicated, but I never felt overburdened by the variety of choices I could make, thanks partially to the fact that the game is generous about dolling out skill points to redeem.

Sony / Insomniac Games

Some of those skill upgrades relate to traversal — how far you travel when swinging from a web line or how fast you boost off an object. There’s a new skill you can use to web-slingshot yourself into motion, which is great to use when you’re on the ground and want to get moving quickly. But the web wings are the biggest change to how you get around NYC, and they’re a delight to use. Tapping X deploys the wings, and you can search for wind tunnels and updrafts to keep you moving quickly and well above street level.

Web-swinging is still my favorite move, but the wings come in extremely handy for some specific missions, including the wild on-the-river chase that Sony showed off a few months ago. Using the wings almost makes piloting the Spider-Men feel like you’re driving a race car, as you can turn corners a lot quicker and with more precision than I anticipated. It’s a totally different experience than web-swinging, and eventually I found myself switching between both techniques to build up speed or tackle certain geographical challenges as I explored the map.

Probably my biggest complaint with the gameplay is something I remember noticing in the first game: There are more than a few moments where the big climax of an action sequence takes place only in a cutscene, where the player has no control or input into what’s on the screen. I get that there are some sequences that are so far outside of the move set players have that they need to be cutscenes, but the game is otherwise so good at immersing you in large-scale conflicts that it’s jarring to be completely pulled out of the action.

Unlike the previous two games, Spider-Man 2 is exclusive to the PS5;the original was built for the PS4 while Miles Morales had a simultaneous release on both consoles. Insomniac didn’t waste any of the horsepower it had to play with here: the game looks incredible. As with many AAA games, you can pick a “fidelity” mode that runs at 30 fps with full 4K graphics and effects like ray tracing, or scale things down a bit for a higher frame rate (up to 120 fps, if your TV supports it) in “performance” mode. As usual, I went for high frame rates, but spent time in both. Rest assured that, whatever your preference, this game is a graphical stunner, with intricately detailed character models — massive bad guys like the Lizard are particularly stunning.

Sony / Insomniac Games

The city, meanwhile, looks gorgeous whether it’s at sunset or in the train, whether the streets are filled with tourists and pedestrians or deserted from the latest calamity. Local landmarks like Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Avengers Tower are rendered lovingly, and the new boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn have their own distinct identities in the game just as they do in real life. I’m looking forward to spending more time just exploring the cities and taking in all the detail Insomniac included, probably while using the expansive Photo Mode for some virtual photography.

Insomniac also took advantage of the DualSense controller’s features like adaptive triggers and impressive haptic feedback. There’s a pleasing amount of tension when using the triggers to swing around the city, as well as a number of times when you’ll need to perfectly balance the amount of pressure you’re putting on the triggers to execute a move. As with most games, the DualSense features don’t radically change the experience, but they enhance it in ways that you might not immediately realize but would notice if they went away.

Sony / Insomniac Games

In the last few years, I’ve had an increasingly hard time coming up with original ways to describe Sony’s first-party games. In the PS4 generation, games like Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War and Spider-Man all combined excellent storytelling with huge worlds and outstanding gameplay. As such, the recent sequels have all felt like they had to up the stakes and make longer, more complicated games. While I love God of War Ragnarok and Horizon Forbidden West, I also occasionally felt they were just trying to do too much.

That’s not the case with Spider-Man 2. It’s a perfectly balanced game with gorgeous graphics, delightful combat and traversal systems, a compelling storyline and characters, plenty of challenge and a huge map to explore. Perhaps most importantly, though, it’s just fun. In a year where I’ve struggled to connect with games that I expected I’d love, it was a relief to play Spider-Man 2 and immediately get sucked into the world. Whether or not you’ve played Insomniac’s earlier Spider-Man games, anyone should be able to jump into Spider-Man 2 and immediately feel like a superhero.

Netflix just dropped the official trailer for its upcoming Scott Pilgrim anime, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. The highly anticipated eight-episode series brings back the original cast from the 2010 movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and counts Bryan Lee O’Malley — creator of the comics it’s all based on — as one of its executive producers. Edgar Wright, who directed the movie, is also on board as an executive producer. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will be released on November 17.

The show will return to the story of 23-year-old Sex Bob-Omb bass player, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), and his plight to defeat the seven evil exes of his new love interest, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). While Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will build on what we’ve seen in the comics and movie, it won’t be a straight adaptation, according to the show’s creators. In an interview with the Netflix companion site Tudum, Wright said O’Malley’s idea for the show “was way more adventurous” than that. 

Alongside Cera and Winstead, actors including Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, Brie Larson, Chris Evans, and Aubrey Plaza will be reprising their roles. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will also feature music by Anamanaguchi, the band that did the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The action-packed trailer set to the Mortal Kombat theme is doing everything to drum up the hype, and honestly, it's working. 

The Evil Within will be free next week on the Epic Games Store. The nearly decade-old title is a survival horror game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, who left Bethesda earlier this year. The game will be free to claim on Epic from October 19 to 26.

The game puts you in the shoes of Detective Sebastian Castellanos as he finds himself sucked into a macabre world full of nightmarish monsters and traps. The Evil Within’s action unfolds in a third-person perspective as Castellanos uses stealth and whatever weapons and resources he can scrap together to unravel the mystery of his environment and the villainous Ruvik. The highly intelligent antagonist toes the line between madman and tortured soul as he helms the STEM machine, a complex device that can link human minds together in a virtual world.

Although some players and reviewers chided the title’s uneven plot and archetypal (sometimes bordering on generic) enemies, it could be seen as something of a modern cult classic for horror fans and Mikami devotees. You can add the game (typically $20 these days) to your account for free next week in the Epic Games Store.