“Neva may not be the most complex 2D platformer, but it still might make you cry.”
Pros
Incredible music
Gorgeous art
Emotional story
Cons
Dull platforming
Repetitive combat
In Neva, Nomada Studio’s follow-up to Gris, the cycle of life and death starts spinning immediately. An opening battle against land-poisoning sludge monsters turns tragic when my white wolf companion is slain. From that loss, a new relationship is born as I team up with my fallen pal’s orphaned pup. What would be a downer of an opening quickly turns into something hopeful. Even in the darkest moments, we can find reasons to keep fighting. As Swedish director Ingmar Bergman once noted: “Lilies often grow out of carcasses’ arseholes.”
Neva tackles that grand idea in a minimalistic fashion that hits a ceiling. The colorful adventure stuns with gorgeous music and visuals that make its beautiful world feel like something that’s worth protecting. It’s just light on originality outside of that, with simple 2D platforming and combat that never fully capitalize on its evolutionary chapter structure. Like Gris, it’s an effective tone piece that’s more about meditating on a feeling than overcomplicating its statement on life, death, and the beauty on both ends of that spectrum.
Neva tells the story of Alba, a young girl fighting to protect nature from decay at the hands of creepy black monsters. After her trust wolf is slain, she becomes a surrogate mother for her cub, Neva. The two form a bond and travel together for the next year, each chapter taking place during a season. With each season, Neva grows bigger, gains more confidence, and even picks up a few new tricks that aid Alba in her duty.
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The story plays out like a fable, wordlessly told through animated cinematics that deepen Alba and Neva’s bond. There are clear shades of Hayao Miyazaki in its environmentalist themes. It largely plays like a small-scale video game adaptation of Princess Mononoke. There are white wolves, beasts with massive antlers, and critters corrupting a beautiful natural landscape. While there’s not much depth to its message, Nomada Studio drills down on the pure emotional beats of its story. Its deaths are gut-wrenching, but its moments of light are warm and hopeful. It’s an effective portrait of life’s highs and lows in one five-hour adventure.
Neva – Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games
What really sells that idea is Neva’s breathtaking sound and visuals. The soundtrack is full of sweeping orchestral pieces that feel bigger than those in the grandest big-budget games out there. They’re awe-inspiring compositions that sell the emotional turns of each scene and make every vista feel like a sublime sight.
The soundtrack has the visuals to match; each natural landscape is awe-inspiring. Even something as similar as a forest clearing feels holy, as streaks of light shine through rich green foliage. Any given frame looks like a painting, and that makes matters all the more dire when monsters begin mucking it up with their dark corruption. It’s as if someone spilled a bottle of ink on a masterpiece. This isn’t a case of pretty visuals for pretty’s sake; I truly believe in Alba’s desire to protect such a place from rot. There’s a spiritual connection to the natural world here, and the minimalistic storytelling allows that strong feeling to take center stage.
Though Neva’s sights and sounds communicate, that same sense of wonder is missing from its comparatively run-of-the-mill gameplay. It’s very much cut from the same cloth as 2018’s Gris, with all the same strengths and weaknesses intact. That game stunned with its watercolor art, but delivered thin puzzle platforming that even felt a little behind the times back then. Neva doesn’t move the bar much further, though it does scratch at a creative idea or two.
The platforming itself is fairly standard, with Alba being able to jump, air dash, pound through weak rocks, and scale walls. There’s some light iteration in later chapters, including a section where she needs to dash through portals, but it often feels indistinguishable to something like last year’s Planet of Lana. Even reading my review of that game now, I feel like I’m largely making the exact same critiques here.
If Neva has taught me anything, it’s that growth doesn’t happen all at once.
The main difference is that Neva features a light combat system, which lets me slash enemies with one button or slam down on them. It’s a similarly thin system that’s mostly used to fight the same few monsters over and over with little variation. It’s not terribly complex, but it does keep the platforming from ever getting monotonous on its own.
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While it’s all a little thin, Neva does find the seed of a great idea in its titular wolf. In the first chapter, Neva is helpless. The cub is almost too scared to leap between platforms or make daredevil dives off high heights. I often need to stop and comfort my friend, petting them between enemy encounters. But with each passing season, they grow. They become braver as they fearlessly follow me through platforming gauntlets and even start chasing down enemies automatically to help me fight them. I can even toss my cub toward enemies eventually. The more we grow together, the more physically connected we are.
Devolver Digital
It’s an effective moment in an otherwise pretty, though understated, adventure. Not every game needs to innovate, but considering that Neva is specifically about evolution, I found myself waiting for it to switch gears up through its abrupt ending. Like my pup early in our journey, Nomada Studio still feels like it’s growing as a developer. I can see its potential to create beautiful, heartfelt stories in both this and Gris, but it’s yet to really take a leap and find its voice when it comes to interactivity. But if Neva has taught me anything, it’s that growth doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a slow process that happens naturally. An uncertain whimper from the edge of a cliff can become a brave leap; it just takes a little time and encouragement.
The show, based on a series of books by Hugh Howey, is about a community of 10,000 people living in an underground silo that’s intended to protect them from dangerous conditions aboveground. If you’ve been meaning to see the first season and haven’t yet, you probably shouldn’t watch this new trailer; as you might have guessed, it has quite a few mysteries that are fun to experience for yourself.
AMD has announced the Radeon PRO V710, a new GPU designed for access via Microsoft Azure, the exclusive cloud partner, as part of the company’s family of visual cloud GPUs.
The V710 is available today in private preview, but anyone hoping to use it for a home PC setup will be disappointed, as the V710 features a single-slot design and passive cooling.
AMD built the V710 on the Navi 32 architecture, and there are 54 Compute Units, alongside 28GB of VRAM, 448 GB/s memory transfer rate, and 54MB of L3 AMD Infinity Cache tech. The company says the V710 is ideal for small to medium machine learning inference workloads and small model training via its open-source AMD ROCm software, which seeks to compete with Nvidia‘s CUDA.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
AMD V710 config options
Instance Config
vCPU
Memory
GPU
GPU Memory
Temp Disk Size
Max Bandwidth
NV28adms_V710_v5
28
160 GB
1x V710
24 GB
1536 GB
20000 Mbps
NV24ads_V710_v5
24
128 GB
1x V710
24 GB
1536 GB
20000 Mbps
NV12ads_V710_v5
12
64 GB
1/2 V710
12 GB
768 GB
10000 Mbps
NV8ads_V710_v5
8
32 GB
1/3 V710
8 GB
512 GB
6600 Mbps
NV4ads_V710_v5
4
16 GB
1/6 V710
4 GB
256 GB
3300 Mbps
The best data center GPU?
“With support for hardware virtualization implemented in compliance with the PCI Express SR-IOV standard, instances based on the Radeon PRO V710 can provide robust isolation between multiple virtual machines running on the same physical GPU and between the host and guest environments,” says AMD. “The efficient RDNA 3 architecture provides excellent performance per watt, enabling a single slot, passively cooled form factor compliant with the PCIe CEM spec.”
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As Intel has fallen away, AMD has really cornered the market for data centre-level GPUs, and it shows.
Compared to AMD’s RX 7700 XT, the V710 has twice as much memory, higher memory bandwidth, and a 500 MHz lower GPU clock. The company says that changes in the design locked it to 158 watts, or 35% less power compared to the GPU’s gaming variant.
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You probably didn’t think that you can get an 85-inch TV for just $1,000, but that’s exactly the price that you’ll have to pay for the 85-inch Samsung DU7200 Series 4K TV during the Samsung Savings Event at Best Buy. The $500 discount on the TV’s original price of $1,500 is expected to last until the sale’s TV deals end on October 20, but we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible because we’re not sure if stocks will last that long.
First and foremost, you’re going to have to consult our guide on what size TV to buy before you proceed with your purchase of the 85-inch Samsung DU7200 Series 4K TV. That’s because you need to make sure that you have the appropriate amount of space for this massive screen for you to properly enjoy its 4K Ultra HD resolution and HDR support. It’s powered by Samsung’s Crystal Processor 4K, which enables 4K Upscaling that improves the quality of everything that you watch. The TV also comes with the Q-Symphony feature, which allows its speakers to work as one with Samsung’s Q-Series and S-Series soundbars to unlock incredible audio.
Like the best TVs, the 85-inch Samsung DU7200 Series 4K TV is a smart TV that’s running on Samsung’s Tizen operating system. You’ll have access to all of the popular streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, and you’ll also be able to easily integrate the TV into your smart home setup if you already have one in place.
You won’t often come across Samsung TV deals as nice as this offer from Best Buy’s Samsung Savings Event — the massive 85-inch Samsung DU7200 Series 4K TV for only $1,000 instead of $1,500, for savings of $500. That’s a pretty fantastic price for a TV of this size, so we think it’s going to attract a lot of attention. There’s a chance that stocks may be gone by the time the sale ends on October 20, so if you’re interested in the 85-inch Samsung DU7200 Series 4K TV, you’re going to want to push forward with your transaction for it immediately.
People take photos in front of a giant Google logo at Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View, California on Aug 13, 2024 where the “Made by Google” media event was held today.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images
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Google said Monday that it will purchase power from small modular reactor developer Kairos Power, as tech companies increasingly turn to nuclear power as a way to fulfill the growing energy demands from data centers.
The tech giant said it will purchase power from a fleet of SMRs made by Kairos Power. Google said purchasing from multiple SMRs sends an “important demand signal to the market,” while at the same time making a long-term investment to accelerate commercialization.
“We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI,” Michael Terrell, senior director for energy and climate at Google, said on a call with reporters. “The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies. … We feel like nuclear can play an important role in helping to meet our demand, and helping meet our demand cleanly, in a way that’s more around the clock.”
The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.
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There are only three SMRs that are operating in the world, and none in the U.S. The hope is that SMRs are a more cost-effective way to scale up nuclear power. In the past, large, commercial-scale nuclear reactor projects have run over budget and behind schedule, and many hope SMRs won’t suffer that same fate. But it is uncharted territory to some extent.
Kairos Power, which is backed by the Department of Energy, was founded in 2016. In July, the company began construction on its Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Rather than use water as the reactor coolant – as is used in traditional nuclear reactors – Kairos Power uses molten fluoride salt.
Google said the first reactor will be online by 2030, with more reactors going live through 2035. In total, 500 megawatts will be added to the grid. That’s much smaller than commercial reactors — Unit 4 at Plant Vogtle, which came online this year, is 1.1 gigawatts, for example — but there’s a lot of momentum behind SMRs. Advocates point to lower costs, faster completion times, as well as location flexibility as reasons.
Monday’s announcement is another example of the growing partnership between tech companies and nuclear power. Data centers need 24/7 reliable power, and right now nuclear is the only source of emissions-free baseload power. Many hyperscalers have ambitious emissions-reduction targets, which is why they’re turning to nuclear power.
Earlier this year, Google said its emissions have grown nearly 50% relative to 2019 thanks in part to an increase in data center power consumption.
“It is an incredibly promising bet, and one that, you know, if we can get these projects to scale and then scale globally, will deliver enormous benefits to communities and power grids around the world,” Terrell added.
The OnePlus 13 is coming this month as the brand’s next premium mobile flagship. There are high expectations surrounding the device, especially after its impressive leaked benchmark results. Now, a company executive claims that the OnePlus 13 will feature a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that is more power efficient than the Apple A18 Pro.
Apart from the OnePlus 13, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s benchmark performance has been seen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, the upcoming OnePlus device delivered the most impressive results. According to Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 13 scores over 10,000 points in multi-core tests. For reference, this is 18% more powerful than the Apple A18 Pro in the same tests. On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 Ultra narrowly surpassed 9,000 points.
OnePlus 13’s custom Snapdragon 8 Elite surpasses Apple A18 Pro’s energy efficiency, executive claims
The OnePlus 13’s raw power certainly calls into question the device’s energy efficiency and thermal management. After all, impressive benchmark results are useless if the phone can’t deliver similar day-to-day performance due to thermal throttling. However, Cai Zuxuan, a OnePlus executive, claimed on Weibo that the OnePlus 13 will use a custom chip that outperforms the A18 Pro in terms of energy efficiency.
Via: Wccftech
OnePlus wouldn’t be the first brand to use custom Snapdragon chips. For a few years now, Samsung has been implementing “for Galaxy” versions of Qualcomm’s most powerful SoCs in its Galaxy flagship devices. These versions offer slightly higher CPU clock speeds than the standard variant. Other manufacturers usually access this special version of the chip in the second half of the year, but with the “Pro” surname.
The OnePlus executive specifically highlights the energy efficiency of the SoC. So, it’s possible that OnePlus’ custom Snapdragon chip goes a little further than just increasing the CPU speed. However, as there are currently no specific details available, any claims made in this regard are merely conjectures. Jikanglucky, a Weibo user, revealed that the iPhone 16 Pro consumes a maximum of 12W during Geekbench tests while reaching up to 9,615 points in multi-core tests. So, if the claims are true, the OnePlus 13 should be better than that.
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The device will arrive in the next few days
We won’t have to wait long to learn more about the OnePlus 13. While there is no specific day yet, the company has already confirmed that it will arrive sometime in October. So, it is likely that both official and leaked information will pop up in the coming days.
Microsoft is bringing the latest Call of Duty game to Xbox Cloud Gaming on day one. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available to stream for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers at 10AM PT on its launch day, October 25. Modern Warfare III and the battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone arrive on the platform on the same day.
This will be the first time Call of Duty games have been playable on Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform. “Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to enjoy Call of Duty in more places than ever before, including on their consoles, PCs, mobile devices, select Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Meta Quest devices,” Xbox VP of Gaming Experiences & Platforms Ashley McKissick wrote in a blog post. “This opens up even more ways to play Black Ops 6 starting on day one at launch.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will have a full campaign set in the early 1990s. The game will add omnimovement, the new fluid mobility option that lets you sprint, slide, and dive in any direction.” Also new is Supine Prone, “the ability to rotate while prone,” which Activision describes as adding more freedom of movement and tactical flexibility. Its maps will span the Middle East, southern Europe, Russia and the US.
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Modern Warfare III is last year’s installment, which came to Game Pass in July. One of the lowest-rated games in the franchise’s history, it’s a direct sequel to Modern Warfare II. The game follows a special operations unit tracking Russian ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makaro, who is (tsk, tsk) hatching a plot to start World War III. The game includes a single-player campaign, multiplayer and an open-world Zombies mode (just in time for Halloween).
Finally, Call of Duty: Warzone is Activision’s 2022 answer to the free-to-play battle royale trend. As with genre stalwarts like Fortnite, you parachute onto a shrinking game map and have at it. Locations include Urzikstan, Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep.
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