“Today I think there was more pressure,” Zhao said. “I know Ding didn’t play very well in the last session but the pressure is very big. This year I just don’t want to lose any match so it feels very different.”

Judd Trump, the world No 1, inched closer to booking his place in the quarter-finals after establishing a 9-7 overnight lead in a pulsating contest against Iran’s Hossein Vafaei.

Resuming at 4-4, Trump struggled to get into his stride as his inspired opponent edged 7-6 in front, but Trump responded brilliantly, a century followed by further breaks of 74 and 94 seeing him end their second session with a precious advantage.

Neil Robertson took advantage of a controversial moment in the 14th frame of his clash with Chris Wakelin to move four clear at 10-6 ahead of Monday’s conclusion.

Wakelin was well in the ascendency when he potted a long red, but a foul was called by referee Peggy Li, who noticed him feather the yellow ball in the process.

Wakelin clearly did not agree with the referee’s call but the decision stood after Li called for a replay, and Robertson capitalised to take the frame with a 65 break, before further breaks of 65 and 101 took him to the brink of his first last-eight appearance since 2021.

Dr Todd (Caroline Harker) is upping her campaign of evil against Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant). 

Whether it’s because she feels threatened by him or just really doesn’t like him, the respected doc seems hellbent on running Jacob’s career into the ground. 

It started with her being overly hard on him, which she sneakily said was down to the fact she knew he was good. Then she looked for any opportunity to undermine him and crush his confidence. Fast forward a few weeks and she has claimed he’s stalking her while he’s been forced to visit HR. 

Evidently, things are not settling down. 

She moved to the village after a bitter divorce and has been trying to turn the locals against Jacob ever since.

Jacob found this incredibly awkward, but now that baby Leyla has arrived, he’s a bit more preoccupied. 

That won’t stop Todd, however.

She has purposefully ingratiated herself in village life with the ladies, making firm friends with Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) and Manpreet (Rebecca Sarker). They’re in the pub having a girls’ night when Mary suggests a darts match, putting Vanessa and Todd on the same team. 

Todd grabs the opportunity to start flirting with Vanessa. It’s not for romance, it’s for more manipulation purposes. She uses the opportunity to plant negative seeds about Jacob to undermine him even further than she already has.

Todd is determined to paint a terrible picture of the aspiring doctor to prevent him from ever progressing. She also knows a secret about him that no doubt she’ll be using to make his life even worse. 

If Vanessa starts reciprocating the flirting it would mean Todd is here to stay. Will the sinister Doc succeed in ruining Jacob’s life?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.

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Neil took on the 23-mile charity walk to raise money for the British Heart Foundation after losing his wife Heather in October last year.

A father who lost his wife after she suffered complications from a heart transplant has completed an “emotional” Kiltwalk in her memory.

Neil Magill, 48, took on the 23-mile charity walk from Glasgow Green to Balloch to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF), after losing his wife Heather in October last year.

She had been in hospital when he told her he was going to do the walk, and the plan had been for her to be waiting at the finish line, cheering him on alongside their 10-year-old son Mason.

But instead he did the walk in memory of the woman he described as his “hero” – and it was made all the more emotional when the route took him close to the church where she is buried.

“It’s been a good day, emotional,” Mr Magill said on Sunday after completing the challenge, which has so far seen him raise more than £2,000.

“Pretty much the whole way we’ve chatted about Heather.

“She is buried in the grounds of Old Kilpatrick Church, and I was mid-conversation with the group when I saw the church so at that point it was a bit emotional.

“I would love to do this annually now in Heather’s memory but as the first one, this felt a bit more significant.”

The couple met in 2011, Heather being from Glasgow and Mr Magill from Belfast.

Heather moved to Northern Ireland to be with him and they married in 2014, and she become pregnant a year later.

However, after giving birth to their son joy turned to concern when she suffered from postpartum cardiomyopathy – a rare form of heart failure that occurs in late pregnancy or soon after giving birth.

“There was no indication of any heart difficulties through Heather’s life and no indication of a problem, and she had a normal pregnancy, with no issues at all,” Mr Magill said.

“But about a week after giving birth, when Heather was back home, she sat up in bed in the middle of the night, and you could hear her heart beating.

“She grabbed my hand and put it to her chest you could really feel it pounding.

“Heather thought she was having some sort of panic attack and put it down to her body reacting to the trauma of childbirth.

“The next day we went to the GP surgery who referred us to the Ulster Hospital, where tests identified that she had heart failure.”

She was in hospital for about two months and so missed the first few weeks of being a new mum at home – but Mr Magill took Mason in to her every day.

After being discharged she went on to lead as normal a life as possible, with annual check-ups and managing her condition with medication.

“Her health was always in the background, but we tried to protect Mason from it,” Mr Magill said.

“He knew mum had to go to hospital from time to time for check-ups and he always knew mum had a heart problem, but we never wanted him to worry, and it didn’t restrict his life.

“Heather lived life to the full and we went away on various holidays each year. I think she tried to cram everything in for fear that something like this could happen.”

In 2025 a routine check at the Golden Jubilee hospital in Glasgow – the city where the family was now living – showed a slight decline in Heather’s kidneys, and she experienced further symptoms during a family holiday to Mexico.

“While on holiday Heather did appear to struggle with her breathing more than normal but we put it down to the heat and humidity in Mexico,” Mr Magill said.

But when she returned home doctors gave the couple the news they feared – that Heather, 49, needed an urgent heart transplant.

She was admitted to hospital in August last year and her transplant took place in September.

Sadly there were multiple complications in the days following the transplant and she died on October 1.

Mr Magill said: “Heather was my number one. She was my hero for how she handled life since the heart failure, she never let this hold her back, she lived life to the full.”

He added: “Although her story didn’t have the ending we all hoped for, it was not due to a lack of dedication from those involved in her care – including the incredible work of the BHF.”

David McColgan, head of BHF Scotland, said: “We are so incredibly grateful to Neil for taking on the Kiltwalk for BHF.

“It’s thanks to the amazing efforts of people like him that we can continue to fund lifesaving research to help us find the breakthroughs, treatments and cures of the future and turn research that once seemed like science fiction into reality.”

Details of how to support the fundraiser can be found on the Team Heather JustGiving page.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Dean McDonald was last seen driving a black Mercedes A180 car, with the registration LS70 DVN, on Sunday at 7pm in East Kilbride.

A non-verbal teenager last seen driving a car in East Kilbride has been found. Police launched an appeal for help in finding 15-year-old Dean McDonald.

He was last seen in East Kilbride’s Pentland Road around 7pm on Sunday. He was driving a black Mercedes A180 car with the registration LS70 DVN.

The car was found on Durban Avenue in the Lanarkshire town. Searches focused in that area with the police helicopter out to help find the teen.

An update from Police Scotland just before midnight said: “Dean MacDonald, aged 15, from East Kilbride who was earlier reported missing has now been traced safe and well. Thanks for sharing our appeal.”

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Sheridan Smith’s monopoly of British television has become a long-running joke.

Whatever the scandal, no matter how big or small – from Louise Redknapp leaving Eternal to Liz Truss collapsing the economy – Smith is the name social media’s snarkiest commentators jokingly cast in the lead role.

It’s a joke that will never stop being funny, but one rooted in plenty of truth: Smith is by far one of the most in-demand actors in British television, and in her new five-part BBC thriller The Cage, it’s easy to see why.

Smith stars as Leanne, a broke single mum of two kids caring for her grandmother, who is living with dementia. Desperate and working in a casino, she finds herself surrounded by buckets of unaccounted-for cash and seizes the opportunity to pocket bundles of notes, stashing them in a shoebox with dreams of putting a secure roof over her children’s heads.

But she’s not alone. Matty (played by Michael Socha) has the same idea.

Unbeknownst to each other, they’ve both been quietly easing their financial woes, slipping stacks of money into their pockets – until one day they catch each other in the act and decide it’s time to call it quits.

Well, life has a cruel way of making sure that doesn’t happen. Leanne loses every penny she’s stolen, while Matty is saddled with debts to dangerous men that can only be paid off by selling a rucksack full of cocaine.

Suddenly, neither of them has a choice but to keep swiping as much money as they can – like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, with the tenacity of Olympic athletes but the incompetence of a Chuckle Brother.

They may be terrible thieves, but they make for a brilliant double act, helping The Cage stand out as one of the most impressive British thrillers in years – which comes as no surprise given that Tony Schumacher, the former police officer behind the BAFTA-winning The Responder, is delivering another proudly Liverpudlian gem.

Socha was just 17 when he starred in This Is England, and in the years since, he has steadily built a career as one of British TV’s most underrated stalwarts, often appearing in projects with a distinctly bleak edge. Last year alone, he played an abusive father to a trans daughter in What It Feels Like for a Girl, and a neglectful and cruel parent in Netflix’s Toxic Town, based on the real-life Corby toxic waste scandal.

In The Cage, Matty asks what it really means to be a great father. He might not be perfect, but he gets an A for effort.

The role feels like both new and familiar territory for Socha – a light-hearted performance but with a tragic heartbeat – and could well be, in a strange way, the breakout moment that propels him to the level of acclaim Smith has long been accustomed to.

Smith is predictably brilliant; Leanne plays to all of her strengths as a woman on the edge of losing everything – deeply flawed, but loves her children as hard as any parent could. Smith consistently captures the extraordinary in the ordinary: the unsung warrior of a working-class mum just trying to look after her kids.

But if in years to come anyone’s still talking about The Cage, it will be because of Matty, made by Socha into one of the most likeable and unlikely heroes in a long time. He’s unwillingly caught up in a world whose darkness doesn’t belong to him; he’s soft, bringing a welcome tenderness to what is otherwise a high-octane, blistering thriller packed with hard-as-nails gangsters. He’s a man who is always trying to do the right thing – and almost always getting it wrong. Socha hits every single note perfectly.

Comparisons to Ozark, Netflix’s thriller about a couple laundering drug money through a casino, are inevitable, fair and – as Schumacher confirmed at a screening – flattering.

But The Cage is a rare kind of thriller. It doesn’t rely on relentless grit or gratuitous violence, nor does it demand to be watched through trembling fingers. Instead, it offers heart, warmth, and, beneath the menace of its genuinely frightening villains, a story about two working-class parents just trying to play the best hand with the worst possible cards.

It’s a refreshing change in a landscape where thrillers compete to outdo each other with shock and increasingly absurd twists. This is anything but absurd; it’s grounded, relatable, and a sharply observed portrayal of what it means to struggle in a world that seems designed for people like Matty and Leanne to fail.

That alone is enough to make it one of the most distinctive BBC thrillers in years.

The Cage is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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Actor James Cartwright has suggested who could be behind Theo Silverton’s possible murder in the ITV soap this week

Coronation Street star James Cartwright has suggested who could be behind Theo Silverton’s possible murder as his death could be looming on the famous cobbles.

Those who follow the soap know that the actor, who is the son of the successful writer and playwright Jim Cartwright, joined the ITV soap in March last year in the role of builder Theo, and quickly found himself involved in a hard-hitting, coercively controlling, and abusive relationship with Todd Grimshaw.

But as fans know, Todd had finally decided to leave Theo after Billy Mayhew discovered the full extent of what his friend and former partner had been going through. However, Billy’s plan to help Todd leave Theo was dramatically torn apart when they prepared to head back to Weatherfield from Debbie Webster and Ronnie Bailey’s wedding in Yorkshire in the minibus, Theo arrived, making for an uncomfortable journey.

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Then, the minibus ended up being one of the vehicles caught up in a horror multi-vehicle pile-up, which was at the centre of the dramatic crossover between Corrie and fellow ITV soap Emmerdale, dubbed Corriedale. While most of the passengers managed to escape, Billy was trapped by his seatbelt, and while Theo appeared to go back to save him, he ended up trapping him back in the vehicle before leaving, and it blew up in flames.

Since then, Theo’s behaviour, especially towards Todd, has only grown more sinister, and it results in the recent difficult-to-watch scenes showing the abuser subjecting his husband to a horrific attack. After catching Todd trying to leave him, he launched a violent and vicious attack, which later left Todd bloodied and unable to stand while heading to his friend, Sarah Platt’s, flat for help.

The next episode was then dedicated to Todd’s story, and raising awareness of domestic violence, as Todd was seen getting his injuries documented at the police station before giving a heartbreaking statement to DS Lisa Swain and DC Kit Green. But, heartbreakingly, there wasn’t enough evidence to keep Theo behind bars, and he’s since been seen making more enemies back on the cobbles.

But this week, he’ll be seen as one of five possible victims of a murder. In a flashforward episode aired in February, fans saw the shocked and anxious teen being interviewed by detectives about finding the dead body of someone she knows. She explained she had been at the Swarla wedding and was heading into town to continue the celebrations when she made the shocking discovery.

As the episode returned to the present day, Corrie viewers started to see how the behaviour of the five characters could lead to their possible death, with Theo, Megan Walsh, Maggie Driscoll, Jodie Ramsey and Carl Webster seen as the potential victims, each showing behaviours that could lead to them being bumped off.

This week, the victim will be unveiled, with the drama spread across five nights, and each episode will be dedicated to a villain. Speaking about being involved in Corrie’s ‘murder week’, James told the Manchester Evening News and other press: “It has and continues to be one of the great privileges of my life.

“To be involved in the show in the manner of which I have, you know, to sort of come in and have the arc with Todd, and the two-hander episode and then obviously the stuff with Billy and the Christmas stuff, and also to tell a story of meaning, of weight and importance, I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, could not feel more privileged. It feels like I’m in the show at the most amazing time.

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“You’ve got the wonderful Kate Brooks, you’ve got Ian and Verity MacLeod, all the writers. It feels like it’s in a real purple patch, and I think there’s so much competition now from YouTube and streaming platforms, and I really think it’s interesting to see the show evolve and raise its stakes in order to keep ahead of the game, and it’s still by far the best show you can watch on TV or anywhere.”

Asked if Theo were to be found dead, who could find themselves under suspicion of murder, James teased: “If Theo was to be the unfortunate specimen to befall the justice of Corrie, let’s stick a pin in a map. You’ve got George [Shuttleworth], George could do it because George could put him in a coffin and bury him and you’d never know, do you know what I mean? Yeah, it’s exhilarating.

“You’ve got Todd, you’ve got Summer [Spellman], you got who else? You’ve got Carl obviously. I think Carl’s like the tarantula of Coronation Street. He sort of prowls, sinks his teeth into anyone.”

He added: “It could be any number of people and I think very often with these things, it could be who you least expect. I mean, imagine someone like Summer, imagine he walks into the shop and she just cracks him over the head with a tin of beans, closes the shop sign and sticks him in a bin bag.”

The Monday letters page worries that The Elder Scrolls 6 may be outdated before it’s ever released, as a reader hopes that Fast Fusion gets some multiplayer DLC.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Spoilt for choice
I’ve read with interest your recent reviews of Pragmata and Saros and I did not expect them to go quite the way they did. I knew both would be good, but Pragmata sounds a lot better than I assumed and Saros sounds like it’s not really built on Returnal in the way I hoped.

I did really like Returnal, and I usually like Capcom’s stuff, so this is a bit of a problem for me because I can’t afford both right now. It is unfortunate that two really good, sci-fi third person shooters, that are both new IP (even if Saros is a grey area) have come out at the same time, but then this sort of thing seems to happen all the time, with both games and movies.

If they were half the price I’d buy them both but unfortunately that’s not how things work and I’ve got a choice to make. It’s a shame both of them don’t seem to have much of a story but while Saros’ combat sounds a bit slicker, Pragmata’s sounds more original. Decisions, decisions…
Ishi

GC: We have to admit it’s a lot closer than we expected, but we’d have to give it to Saros. Despite its fault the combat is absolutely sublime.

Travelling circus
I remember a reader writing in a while back about how the launch of GTA 6 would be seen as the AD and BC of modern gaming and I kind of think he might be right. At the moment, GTA 6 seems like more of a myth and an urban legend but at some point it really is going to be released and it’s going to be all we hear about for months.

I mean, if people were sick of hearing about Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynched recently then I think you’re going to have to go off the grid for a couple of months from this November. Even as someone that’s really looking forward to it, I’m wary of the circus to come. I just hope the game is worth it all.
Gauntlett

Still playing
I know I’ve mentioned this before but Vampire Survivors on Nintendo Switch, with the Ode To Castlevania DLC, just has to be the best value for money in games, in my opinion. Still playing it months later.

Ridiculously replayable, always finding new stuff to do. Just unlocked Mr S (he doesn’t mess about…). All for less than a tenner and very intrigued about Vampire Crawlers.
Chevy Malibu (PSN ID)

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

White noise
This new Xbox boss certainly seems to have all the exec speak down pat but I’m afraid that just means I don’t believe a word coming out of her mouth. The exclusivity hints seem completely unbelievable to me, for example.

The only time in years Microsoft has sold a lot of games is with the PlayStation 5 version of Forza Horizon and there is no way they are going to give that up in favour of hoping Forza Horizon 6 – or any big game – suddenly convinces someone to buy an Xbox Series X or Project Helix.

People buy a console for a lot of reasons nowadays and while exclusives are a factor it also has to be the guarantee of a steady flow of them, which you don’t get from Xbox. Confidence in the console and its maker is a bigger factor and I don’t know who would trust Xbox with anything right now.

I’m not saying that trust couldn’t be earned but the way she’s talking makes it sound like everyone’s desperate for Xbox to return to the big time and I’m not sure that’s true.
Scalar

Crazy suggestions
Can any readers or GC recommend any game that’s similar to Mad Max? I’ve been replaying it on Xbox and forgot how good it actually was. Minus the repetitive aspects of course.

A bare minimum Google search recommended Rage, Borderlands, and for some reason Assassin’s Creed. I’m on PC also so if there’s an indie game I can look into it. Any recommendations appreciated.
Bobwallett

GC: Many games, including Fallout, are influenced by the Mad Max films, but those first two you mention are the closest to the 2015 game. Assassin’s Creed was probably mentioned because, minus the car combat, it’s a fairly generic Ubisoft style open world game.

Slow update
For any of you that owns a Switch 2 and are looking for some slick and super speedy arcade racers to play, I can’t recommend Fast Fusion enough.

Fast Fusion is technically the third game (or fourth if you count Fast RMX on the Switch) in a series that got its start on the Wii. For me Fusion certainly refines the formula to a highly satisfactory degree, with some stunning futuristic aesthetics, very sharp and responsive driving handling, and some generally quite imaginative and expertly constructed racetracks, with plenty of challenging twists, turns, and environmental hazards to negotiate.

The series is also known for its polarity switching mechanic that enables you to boost over colour-corresponding pads on the tracks, which sets it apart from the competition. Fast Fusion introduces a new jump ability that encourages some more adventurous techniques and opens up shortcut opportunities.

The only real con for me is the strange absence of an online component for the multiplayer (local races are thankfully catered for though) and, perhaps, that the track selection is pretty slim. But considering the game is only £14 and its production values are rather luxurious, plus the diabolical dearth of quality futuristic racers on the market these days, I can forgive this oversight.

Oh, and it helps that the soundtrack is incredible. But I really, really hope we get some substantial DLC (and online racing) for Fast Fusion soon. Perhaps to coincide with the game’s first year anniversary on June 5.

Furthermore: for the love of god Nintendo, give the hovering car keys to Shin’en, so they may potentially make a worthwhile new F-Zero under your renowned developer-enhancing tutelage. Do it now and do it fast! Inbox magic, if you will.
GG

Evil time
Playing through Requiem got me in the mood for more Resident Evil, so I thought I’d give Village another go, as I never bothered to finish it the first time round.

It’s better than I remember it but the scary thing about it is looking at the trophies and seeing them dated 2021! Where have those five years gone and I think we were in the middle of those stupid lockdowns back then as well – a time best forgotten!
Simon

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New challengers
I don’t feel as though Elden Ring had a negative effect on Elder Scrolls 6 in regards to Bethesda needing to be upping their game, due to how incredibly awesome the Elden Ring game was in general. But the contenders that have come out recently, you’ve got to admit, have definitely been taking a slice of pie from the open world role-playing genre.

The Kingdom Come: Deliverance games have definitely been taking over some of Elder Scrolls’ territory over the last few years and threatening them with some great storytelling and quest building.

I think that one minute tease of Elder Scrolls 6 years back, was just to say it’s in the works and it feels like Bethesda have been quiet recently, apart from the odd game like Starfield being released, so most of their staff can work on the Elder Scrolls 6 as a priority and get this game, which is Bethesda’s main legacy, as complete and amazing as can possibly be.

Contenders like Crimson Desert, The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and possibly other genres like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Hogwarts Legacy in their own way, are showing just how capable other companies can be at this genre of gaming. So the longer Elder Scrolls takes to make, the more difficult it will be to raise their head above the crowd.

Most of the above are sort of direct rivals but you cannot forget to include the non-open word role-players and to enter the sandbox exploration world, with a certain title called Grand Theft Auto 6 on the horizon.

Another thing to consider over the next few years is the culture of gaming in general, as things popular in the past doesn’t mean it will remain popular! Younger generations are quite happy with a simpler and more indie style of game, and I have had a ton of hours myself in that marketplace.

I would like to see more news and updates of Elder Scrolls 6, as it does have a harder fight to stay relevant and hopefully the past fans and newer fans are still there and excited to purchase their next ticket into the world of Tamriel.
Alucard

Inbox also-rans
Just a great big thank you to Aidax89 for recommending GeForce Now. I must have missed out on tens of thousands of reward points.
Woz G

Will GC be reviewing Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes? It has piqued my curiosity after playing the first two (third is on my list). Great to be reading more of Jenkins’ input recently too.
D Dubya

GC: We’re not sure, there was strangely no press for the game and we haven’t got a copy yet.

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: When is The Elders Scrolls 6 coming out?

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North Yorkshire Police closed the A64 eastbound before 9am and junction 44 of the A1(M) was also closed to prevent traffic accessing it.

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North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said a single vehicle was involved and one person inside needed to be released before being taken to hospital via air ambulance.

National Highways said the crash closed the road between the A659 at Tadcaster and the junction with the A1237 Ring Road between Askham Bryan and Copmanthorpe.

Motorists had been advised to avoid the area or use alternative routes while emergency services were at the scene.

The #A64 in #NorthYorkshire is now open eastbound between the #A1(M) J44 and the #A1237 #York following an earlier collision.

There are no delays or congestion in the area. pic.twitter.com/KWVWKWC8Yp

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— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) April 26, 2026

Diversions had been put in place via Catterton but HGVs were told to find other routes.

Coastliner bus services 840 and 843 were following a diversion via Wighill, missing stops between Broken Bridge and Askham Bryan.

Traffic on the westbound A64 was also running slowly as it passed the scene.

The road re-opened later in the afternoon.

The Press has contacted emergency services and will bring you more information as we receive it.

The creators of Psychonauts and Keeper turn their hand to online multiplayer, with a very weird team game where you play as handcrafted water pots.

As the internet’s got faster and more reliable, and the world’s got more connected, multiplayer games have tracked its rise. Starting on PC, and with Xbox’s help moving to consoles and eventually mobile, they’re now enjoyed by every demographic, from grandmothers playing Texas Hold ‘Em to school children crowding out Fortnite. They’ve become a place to compete, co-operate, and socialise.

Most competitive online games let you choose from a range of characters, all of whom are either perfectly equal, their differences purely cosmetic, or constitute a more varied roster with a balanced set of strengths and weaknesses, that’s carefully metered to make each round of the game fair. That all goes out of the window in asymmetric games, which pit a single, incredibly powerful player against a flock of underpowered challengers. But rarely do multiplayer games give you as much free reign as Kiln, which lets you personally create the clay pots you fight as.

In its pottery-themed 4v4 battles, each team defends a flaming kiln while trying to douse the opponent’s base in water, extinguishing its flames. To do that, each player controls a spirit that inhabits a clay pot, hermit crab-style. Once in the pot, they can run about the game’s cramped, chaotic arenas, first in search of smashable water jugs or fountains, then once topped up, heading for the enemy kiln.

During each round your time’s split between trying to prevent enemies getting any water into your kiln’s firey mouth and attacking theirs. Although arenas are small, they’re filled with level furniture, much of which is in constant motion, making the action both dynamic and frenetic. You also have to deal with the physics of running around while keeping as much water as possible in your pot.

Each clay vessel has three ways to strike opponents, which are in order of power: basic, jumping, and special attacks. Specials take precedence over ordinary attacks, but take time to charge up, during which you’re vulnerable. And even though jumping attacks are slightly more powerful, they also involve slopping precious water if your jug’s full when you strike.

When you’re on the receiving end you can simply run in the opposite direction but under prolonged assault you can also roll, either briefly or for as long as there’s an unobstructed path. Naturally, that means you lose your entire load of water, but if you’ve already taken damage it’s a useful last resort to get yourself out of trouble.

The shape and size of pot you make informs its function in your team. Small capacity means higher health, and vice versa, so generally you want your largest urns gathering water and hurling it into the enemy kiln, while smaller more robust crockery defends them and your home kiln. To add flexibility to that process, you can sculpt your own pots, three of which you can store on a shelf for use during battle, optionally switching when you respawn.

The process of actually sculpting new pots is wonderfully intuitive in its use of the left stick to pull virtual cartoon hands around your blob of clay as it spins on the potter’s wheel. Dragging left or right extends the bowl outwards, while moving vertically raises or lowers its top. The stats for each of your handmade ceramic masterpieces are shown as a slider with volume of water on one side and health on the other. The larger the capacity, the more easily destructible it will be.

In the game’s frantic showdowns you’ll often spot the other team using tactics that can be rebuffed by switching to other pot designs, either to get aggressive with their large volume water carrying attempts, or to take advantage of negligent defence to pour as much fluid as possible into their kiln while they’re distracted.

The size and shape of your pot also governs its special move. These include a tornado spin for top heavy pots, sword thrusts for tall thin ones, aimed strikes for medium vases, and a bullhorn that knocks back enemies in its cone of noise for trumpet-shaped creations. Some are undoubtedly a lot more useful than others, but as with all multiplayer offerings, tweaks, additions, and new content are likely to iron out any initial kinks.

Between competitive matches, there’s a hub area where you can sculpt and fire new pots, buy cosmetic upgrades from a friendly dog called Slip, and kick about a beachball or two should you feel so inclined. It’s all very much in keeping with Kiln’s sense of fun and silliness, in a game that’s more concerned with entertainment than the rigours of serious competition.

For younger potters there’s a moderated mode where everyone’s crockery is represented by a preset styling for small, medium, and large pots, preventing any of the game’s more phallic designs from polluting impressionable minds. It has no effect on gameplay, although it does mean you won’t be able to see anyone else’s way-out decorative approaches, whose more outlandish options are unlocked as you level up.

It’s fun, even if most rounds tend to feel a bit shapeless, descending rapidly into brawls, depending on how organised the other team is. It’s a perennial issue with online games unless you’re playing with a tight knit group of friends, and adds a familiar if unwelcome random factor to proceedings.

Given the nature of online games, Kiln is likely to change considerably as Double Fine add new arenas and improve interactions. As it stands it should be an instant download for anyone with Game Pass and a free couple of hours. For everyone else, it’s a chunk of delightfully offbeat knockabout fun. It will be interesting to see how it evolves over its first few months in the wild.

Formats: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £15.99
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Double Fine
Release Date: 23rd April 2026
Age Rating: 7

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