All posts tagged: gems

Gems, ghosts and GTA VI: the biggest video games for autumn 2026 | Games

Gems, ghosts and GTA VI: the biggest video games for autumn 2026 | Games

Published by Sam Flores

Onimusha: Way of the Sword After 20 years away, Capcom’s hyper kinetic action adventure returns, pitting skilled samurai Miyamoto Musashi against hordes of warriors and demons in Edo-period Kyoto. Master the complex combat then prepare for flashing blades, disembodied limbs and geysers of spraying blood. 4 September; PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox Screenbound Billed as the first ever 5D platformer, Screenbound has you navigating a 3D landscape while simultaneously playing an on-screen handheld console, which contains a 2D mirror world. Everything you do in one affects the other in mind-bending ways. The most ingenious puzzle game we’ve seen in a long time. 10 September; PC, PS5, Xbox Mind-bending originality … Screenbound. Photograph: Crescent Moon Games Marvel’s Wolverine The team behind the brilliant Marvel’s Spider-Man titles is back with a very different kind of hero. The open-world New York setting is gone in favour of a globe-trotting narrative following Logan on his quest to protect vulnerable mutants. The visuals are gorgeous, while the slick combat brings literal meaning to the term bleeding edge. 15 September; PS5 …

21 Must-play Steam Deck Games from AAA to Indie Gems

21 Must-play Steam Deck Games from AAA to Indie Gems

Published by skeptic

The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming device that allows players to enjoy PC games in a portable format. Poladr0id has curated a selection of 21 games that demonstrate the device’s versatility across different genres and playstyles. For example, cinematic RPGs like Persona 5 and action-driven titles such as Batman: Arkham Asylum highlight how the Steam Deck handles demanding games while maintaining a compact and accessible design. These examples illustrate the range of experiences available to players who value both mobility and variety in their gaming. Explore how games like Rogue Legacy use evolving mechanics to encourage replayability, or dive into the narrative depth of Citizen Sleeper, which combines sci-fi storytelling with tabletop-inspired gameplay. Gain insight into indie titles such as Mouse P.I. for Hire, which pairs retro aesthetics with humor to reimagine classic genres. This overview examines how these games use the Steam Deck’s capabilities to deliver engaging and varied experiences for players. Console-Like Experiences: Immersive Adventures on the Go TL;DR Key Takeaways : The Steam Deck redefines portable gaming, offering a versatile platform …

Amazon’s August Kindle freebies include two 5-star gems you shouldn’t miss

Amazon’s August Kindle freebies include two 5-star gems you shouldn’t miss

Published by skeptic

Published Aug 3, 2026, 5:53 PM EDT Sara Heritage is a tech and gaming journalist, who’s currently making her way up to Master Ball rank in Pokemon Champions. Bylines in IGN, GAMINGbible, The Gamer and more. You can usually find her tinkering with tech, or restoring old consoles, always with one of her 3 cats nearby. Come and talk with her over on Twitter @SHeritageJourno. It’s the start of August, which means your Prime membership has unlocked a fresh batch of free reads. Amazon’s First Reads program gives Prime members one free Kindle book and a bonus short read every single month. Non-Prime members can still grab them for $1.99 each. Once you download them, they are yours to keep forever! Related This open-source e-reader lets you actually own your books, unlike Kindle Open Book Touch describes itself as a “liberated book for the people.” Here’s what’s on offer this month I’ve checked them all out, and cross-referenced the ratings to help you pick We’ve been spoiled for choice this month — there are eight books you …

These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era

These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era

Published by skeptic

Apps are back, or maybe they never left in the first place. While some people debate whether people will shift away from apps as AI agents make accessing online services more efficient, we’ve found the App Store to be alive and well, with a recent explosion of fun, creative, and innovative tools, experiences, and other indie efforts. Some of the more recent launches may be attributed to the rise of AI coding, which has enabled people to ship software more quickly, and allowed novices to participate in the app ecosystem. According to one report, new app launches have soared in 2026, with worldwide new app releases up 60% year-over-year as of the first quarter across both the Apple App Store and Google Play. On Apple’s iOS store alone, that figure was an even higher 80%. While there’s valid concern that vibe-coded apps in particular could be cluttering the App Store with lower-quality content, there are plenty of interesting apps worth exploring, and those that resonate with consumers will rise to the top. Many also use …

‘Uncut Gems’ Producer Oscar Boyson Made a Movie for the Letterboxd Generation

‘Uncut Gems’ Producer Oscar Boyson Made a Movie for the Letterboxd Generation

Published by Sam Flores

“Our Hero, Balthazar” is not really an elevator-pitch kind of movie. Sure, there’s a log-line: A wealthy New York City teenager ( Jaeden Martell ) who, in a misguided attempt to impress a girl, travels to Texas to try to stop a school shooting. But it’s the describing of it that gets tricky: It’s a black comedy, but also sometimes just a comedy. It’s a thriller and a satire. It’s a commentary on performative activism, gun culture and toxic masculinity. Mostly, it’s just an entertaining ride. Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, called it “a cutting, audacious, and at times astonishing movie.” The idea for “Balthazar,” which he co-wrote with Ricky Camilleri, just felt electric, like the movies that made them want to make movies when they were younger. It’s also the kind of that seems to be disappearing from American cinemas and has the makings of a cult classic. “There’s a trend towards sameness and safety and familiarity that is making the movie industry a really uninteresting world to play and create and collaborate in,” …

Gems Expert Who Uncovered British Museum Thefts Dies

Gems Expert Who Uncovered British Museum Thefts Dies

Published by Jenni Sidey

Ittai Gradel, the Danish gems specialist and art dealer who uncovered that some 2,000 objects had been stolen from the British Museum’s collection, died on April 28 at age 61. BBC News reported that he died of renal cancer shortly after receiving a medal from the museum in honor of what its director, Nicholas Cullinan, called his “very significant contribution.” Initially dismissed by the museum, Gradel’s investigation made international headlines and ultimately led to the resignation of then-director Hartwig Fischer in 2023. An expert in engraved gems of the Greco-Roman world, he alerted the British Museum in 2021 to what he believed were precious objects from its collection being sold on eBay. He identified senior curator Peter Higgs as the suspected culprit, including in a 1,600-word missive describing a Roman cameo he had spotted for auction online, alongside other ancient artifacts. Related Articles His concerns seemingly ignored, Gradel wrote to the British Museum again in October 2022 with suspicions of theft. His message was reportedly passed on to George Osborne, who had recently been appointed …

Google Gemini Guide 2026: Understanding Gems and Notebooks

Google Gemini Guide 2026: Understanding Gems and Notebooks

Published by skeptic

Google’s Gemini platform offers two distinct approaches for managing tasks: Notebooks and Gems. Each serves a specific purpose, with Notebooks acting as a collaborative workspace for evolving projects and Gems excelling at repetitive, predefined workflows. For example, Notebooks are ideal for research-heavy tasks like tracking renewable energy trends, where memory retention and advanced features such as visualizations can streamline complex processes. Gems, on the other hand, are designed for precision in tasks like generating timestamps or applying uniform edits, where consistency and automation are key. Paul Lipsky explores these distinctions to help users make informed choices based on their project needs. In this breakdown, you’ll gain insight into when to prioritize Notebooks for their memory and collaboration features and when to use Gems for their efficiency and task-specific focus. Explore how Notebooks can enhance team-based projects with shared workspaces and contextual continuity, while Gems simplify repetitive workflows with reliable outputs and easy sharing options. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to align each option with your specific goals. Notebooks: A Collaborative …

Londonmaxxing: Ultimate guide to discovering London’s hidden gems

Londonmaxxing: Ultimate guide to discovering London’s hidden gems

Published by Sam Flores

Saint Monday, 4 Warburton Road, E8 Microbrewery and metal bar, hidden under East End railway arches. Go for thrashing guitars, beers brewed freshly on site, skull’s head taps and, frankly, too many piercings. Besides its own-brewed beers, there are guest pours from across the world, plenty of cocktails and a spirits selection up there with the best of them. Decent smoking area, too. Renegade Urban Winery, Walthamstow and Bethnal Green Renegade winery, right, bills itself as breaking the rules, one bottle at a time. Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s just making very decent wine with quirky labelling. Founders buy grapes from across the UK and Europe, and turn them into interesting wines without any added yeast, and without filtering. They try to never repeat a wine: go to either site’s bar to sit in and sip your way through whatever they’re working on. A bottle to takeaway? Rude not to. The East London Liquor Lab, 382 Mentmore Terrace, E8 Big on spirits? Head to the East London Liquor Co’s white-walled lab, where for £75 drinkers can …

‘Tranquil, natural and barely a tourist in sight’: readers’ favourite hidden gems in Spain | Spain holidays

‘Tranquil, natural and barely a tourist in sight’: readers’ favourite hidden gems in Spain | Spain holidays

Published by Sam Flores

Chilling out in La Rioja Recently travelling from Madrid to San Sebastián, we spent three days in picturesque Briñas in La Rioja, staying at the beautiful Finca Torre de Briñas (doubles from €189 B&B). The neighbouring town, Haro, reached via a 40-minute walk by the Ebro River, hosts several of the largest wine producers in the region (CVNE and Muga are recommended). You can stop in and sample them, before heading into the town centre, which has several tapas spots to fuel the walk back to the hotel. Bliss.Tom Dickson Forests and badlands in Murcia Aleppo pine forests in Sierra Espuña massif. Photograph: Juan Vilata/Alamy Less than an hour’s drive – yet a world away – from the bustling Murcia coast sits the brooding Sierra Espuña mountain range, a green respite from the summer heat and the site of a rewilding project started more than a century ago. After a morning’s hike through the shady pines, we drove up a switchback mountain road to check out the 16th-century Pozos de la Nieve, and descended steps …

I tried living on free streaming channels for a month and found some real gems

I tried living on free streaming channels for a month and found some real gems

Published by skeptic

Every year, I visit family for a month over the holidays, knowing full well that I am entering an entertainment black hole. Being based overseas, I found that single-household-per-streaming-account rules throttle any attempts to circumvent them, even with a quality VPN, so I resigned myself to using the free services available on my Amazon Fire TV Stick for the foreseeable future. I expected a downgrade, with endless ads, low-quality content, and a frustrating viewing experience, but what I found was surprisingly different. Free streaming felt less like scrolling fatigue and more like rediscovering TV as I remember it, where you stumble onto something good instead of endlessly searching for it. From niche movie libraries to TV on demand, and some addictive 24/7 channels, there were moments when I genuinely forgot I wasn’t paying a cent. Tubi A vault that’s brimming with unexpected finds Of all the services I used while avoiding the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Tubi most closely resembled paid streaming platforms. I was surprised by how massive its library is, but …