Years of steady usage and exposure to the elements have taken a toll on Japanese railway stations, making replacement a headache. Finding competent contractors is difficult, and construction wages are high. Serendix collaborated with ABB to help JR West restore a historic wooden shelter from 1948 at a station in Wakayama Prefecture. This site, a true relic, was only frequented by around 270 visitors every day in a tiny coastal village near Arida that few people had ever heard of.

The factory handled the heavy lifting, and the ABB IRB 6700 robot arm stole the show. It was producing concrete components out of mortar and did an excellent job. Their Vertico nozzle proved to be a game changer, since it is four times more accurate than any other nozzle they’ve used, and they were able to reduce mortar waste by half, which had to be a positive thing. They also increased the arm’s range of motion to seven axes, which is rather astounding. It can also handle building fairly complicated surfaces.

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It took approximately a week to complete the printing process, but the important news is that all of the major components were completed and brought to the site, ready to be assembled. The designers chose an arched ceiling and even incorporated a few flourishes, and all of this was completed between the last train and the first the next morning. The crew then used the robotic equipment to assemble the pieces and create a completely new station in about six hours.

What truly sticks out is how much time and money they saved, and by saved, I mean that this printing method cut both time and cost in half. Furthermore, they used far less material. JR West stated that if this had been done the traditional way, the facility would have had to be shut down for months and would have cost double what they did, with the added benefit of reducing concrete and steel waste.

JR West executives stated that they had to complete this portion on the factory floor or the entire rail network would have come to a halt, and the Serendix employee was overjoyed with how the ABB arm performed, since his employer believes they can automate more of the procedure for the next job.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar): This system, also used by self-driving cars, fires out rapid laser pulses to map the terrain in 3D. It enables mowers to cut grass under thick tree canopies or near tall buildings where GPS signals usually fail.

AI Vision: Some mowers now employ cameras to recognize lawn areas, borders, and obstacles. Robot mowers with AI vision can potentially avoid stray footballs, cats, other critters, and maybe even pet mess. But they can also be too sensitive, stopping for fallen branches, leaves, or overhanging plants.

Some of the top mowers, like the Mammotion I’m currently testing, employ a combination of the last three technologies to map and cut areas accurately, navigate reliably to and from the charging base, and avoid unexpected obstacles. None of them is foolproof. My top pick chewed up a deflated paddling pool, but if you set the sensitivity too high, they leave areas uncut.

In addition to finding their way, many of the latest robot mowers are built to handle rough terrain. Not too rough, but fine for a bumpy garden or a yard with steep inclines. Some models even come with interchangeable tires, so you can throw on grippier wheels when you need them. But it’s important to check what terrain and inclines your mower can handle upfront. Four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive mowers are best at handling steep or uneven ground.

The Cutting Edge

Traditionally, robot mowers have been terrible at cutting all the way to the edge of your lawn. Most of the early robot mowers I tested left a thick border of uncut grass, up to 1-foot wide. I don’t think this issue is entirely solved, but some newer models have offset blades that sit closer to the edge of the machine, or they have an overhanging section that extends past the wheels, so it can cut right to the edge when the robot mower turns. There are even robot mowers with built-in trimmers and other garden tools, though I’ve yet to test one.

While edge cutting is getting better, I still find that most robot mowers need some adjustment to reliably cut the entire lawn. I often have to edit the map or tweak sensitivity to ensure they cut all the way to the edge, yet there are still areas that they seem to miss. Plants, shrubs, and trees that overhang the lawn cause issues, as robot mowers, understandably, err on the cautious side when it comes to potential obstacles. There’s still room for improvement here.

Smart Finish

Husqvarna app via Simon Hill

While the first robot mower I tested churned my lawn into a muddy mess, most robot mowers now have some form of rain detection, so you can set them not to cut if the grass is wet. The latest models are also far better at handling wet grass and turning without skidding or churning up a big chunk of your lawn.

Some robot mowers offer customization in terms of the lawn finish you want. You may find an option in the app for Wimbledon Stripes (dark and light stripes), achieved by mowing rows in opposite directions. Some mowers can even do spirals, checkerboards, and other patterns.

Oi, it’s time to start counting down to the end of The Boys. One of the most popular Prime Video shows of all-time is set to draw to a close with its fifth and final season. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been keenly awaiting its arrival since last season ended.

There won’t just be one episode to enjoy on launch day, either. Indeed, The Boys season 5‘s first two chapters will drop simultaneously when the R-rated TV series returns. When will that be? I’m glad you asked — read on for those diabolically all-important details.

What is the launch time for The Boys season 5’s two-episode premiere?

The Boys – Final Season Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube

Watch On

Welcome to our latest roundup of what’s going on in the indie game space. As ever, we’ve got a whole bunch of new games for you to dive into this weekend, along with announcements and updates on several others that are coming down the pike.

I love how spoiled we are for game showcases these days, and I’m really looking forward to the latest installment of the indie-focused Triple-i Initiative at noon ET on April 9 as the first two editions were really strong. The trailer for this one features the likes of Cairn, Warhammer Survivors (the Warhammer-themed Vampire Survivors spinoff), the excellent CloverPit, Final Sentence and Far Far West. The organizers are promising to share release dates and gameplay reveals. Expect to see eight game announcements here too.

Summer Game Fest is fast approaching. That means the mid-year edition of Day of the Devs, one of the biggest indie game showcases around, isn’t too far away. Developers still have a chance to be featured in the show. Submissions for Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Digital Showcase are open, but you’ll need to hurry if you’re ready to shoot your shot at being included. The deadline for submissions is this Monday, April 6.

Meanwhile, I’d normally write about notable ports in the new releases section of this roundup, but there was no trailer for this, so I’ll mention it here. Before its success with Peak last year, Landfall also scored a hit with Content Warning on PC (making it free for the first 24 hours didn’t hurt!). Now, this friendslop game is out on PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 for $10. Landfall added cross-play to the Steam version as well.

New releases

A sequel to an all-time indie classic dropped this week, and it took the squishy protagonist of the series to another dimension. Like its predecessors, Super Meat Boy 3D is a tough precision platformer. You’ll need to guide the titular meat cube past saws, shredders, burning forests, laser-guided rockets, enemies and other obstacles. There are boss fights too. A mistake spells a quick trip back to the beginning of the level. Meat Boy does have an air dash this time around, though.

I played through the first world and Sluggerfly and Team Meat haven’t changed the base formula too much. The additional dimension and fixed perspective make platforming a little trickier. When there’s a gap while I’m running across a wall, for instance, I might forget to stop pressing up while I’m crossing the hole, causing Meat Boy to disappear into the void. I found it easier to control him with the D-pad than a thumbstick, for what it’s worth.

You can try it for yourself right now as Super Meat Boy 3D, from publisher Headup, is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 for $25. There’s a 10 percent launch discount on PC, and it’s on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass.

I really enjoyed the Raccoin demo, so I’m bummed that I haven’t had much of a chance to jump into the full game yet. I have some other things on my plate at the minute (more on some of those next week!). When I do have time to properly sit down with Raccoin, though, I may just lose the rest of the month to it.

Raccoin is a roguelike deckbuilder in the vein of games like Balatro and CloverPit. Instead of racking up giant scores in spins on poker or one-armed bandits, the action here takes place in a coin pusher. The aim, as ever, is to find wild synergies between special coins and items to break the rules and earn enough points to keep moving forward. I’m excited to experiment with a much larger box of tools in the full game.

Raccoin, from Doraccoon and Balatro publisher Playstack, is out now on Steam. It’ll usually cost $12, but there’s an 18 percent discount until April 7.

I’ve only played around an hour of Tombwater, but I’m really digging this game from Moth Atlas and Midwest Games. It’s a 2D, eldritch horror Western Soulslike. It feels like Bloodborne meets The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (there’s even a hookshot), by way of Red Dead Redemption.

After a brief prologue, you’ll pick a character class and jump right into the action as you search for a former train-robbing partner who has somehow become a sheriff. Enemies are quite varied, and you’ll use a mix of melee attacks, firearms and magic to battle them.

Resource management is vital. You restore ammo by dishing out melee damage. The magic meter has an interesting twist too. Using spells too often can send your character spiraling into madness, which can cause hallucinations.

There are lots of hallmarks of the Soulslike genre here. When (not if) you die, you’ll leave behind a totem that has all your cash and unused leveling experience. You can destroy this to regain your lost loot, or wait until you’ve dispatched nearby enemies to do so, as the totem can heal you (helpful in a tough boss battle). You can level up and restore health flasks at campfires.

There’s a wonderfully gloomy tone to Tombwater. The lovely pixel art and atmospheric music are spot on so far.

However, I got lost quite a few times — the map didn’t help much — and I don’t love the way aiming works with a controller or on Steam Deck. You aim by holding the left trigger and fire with the right. But you can only point your weapon in the four cardinal directions, and you need to let go of the left trigger before you can change your aim. That’s not a problem with a mouse, as you can aim freely.

I hope Moth Atlas improves controller aiming, since Tombwater is very promising so far. I’m looking forward to playing more when I can.

Tombwater is out now on Steam. It’ll typically run you $25, but if you pick it up before April 14, it can be yours for $20.

Corgis in mechs. That’s the first thing you need to know about Animalkind, a co-op village-building game. You and your friends can play as corgis (or tuxedo cats or raccoons) in mechs. You’ll first need to find the parts to assemble your ancient mech before you can actually pilot the machine, though. Exploring the open world, gathering resources, crafting and recruiting NPCs are all elements of this charming-looking game.

Animalkind is available on Steam for $20, with 10 percent off until April 6. Developer Uncommon Games expects it to remain in early access until 2027. Once again, corgis in mechs.

Hozy is another lovely-looking game — perhaps the title is a portmanteau of “home” and “cozy.” The idea behind this home renovation title is that you’ll be restoring a neighborhood of abandoned abodes. There are nine locations for you to clean up and decorate.

There are so many nice touches in the trailer, from the robot mop cleaning floors to pulling a new table out a box filled with packing peanuts (on that note, Unpacking hit Apple Arcade this week). The animations for things like laying down floorboards, changing the height of a chair and unfurling a roll of wallpaper are all delightful. The lighting looks great too.

Hozy, from Come On Studio and publisher TinyBuild, is out now on Steam for PC and Mac. It will normally run you $15, but you can save 10 percent if you snap it up by April 6.

“You stay in the warmth of your friends,” reads a narrative subtitle as three characters stand on a rooftop, looking out at a cityscape and a multicolored sky. By itself, that shot from the launch trailer was enough to sell me on Fishbowl, a coming-of-age adventure from the two-person team at imissmyfriends.studio and co-publisher Wholesome Games Presents.

I then looked back at a previous trailer, which included the prompt “hydrate?” with the options of “yes, hydrate and live” and “no, dehydrate and die.” Shortly afterward, Fishbowl became the latest addition to my Steam library. Funny how that happens.

You’ll play as Alo, taking care of her and her home and trying to give her a fulfilling life even as she remains isolated. You’ll meet Alo’s loved ones and co-workers on video calls, edit video in her work-from-home job and rearrange items in boxes to discover her childhood memories. Learning about Alo’s past (with the help of a magical talking fish from her youth) can help you shape Alo’s future through you narrative choices. There’s a surrealist aspect to this game too.

Fishbowl is out now on Steam for PC and Mac, as well as PS5. It costs $10, though there’s a 10 percent discount on Steam until April 16. There’s a demo available on both platforms.

Upcoming

Here’s a deep dive into gameplay from Nightholme, a survival extraction game from Studio Ellipsis, which is led by Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Assassin’s Creed Unity creative director Alexandre Amancio. It’s coming to Steam and consoles, with a closed beta lined up for this summer.

Each match will have 12 monster hunters. You can run solo or group up with other players. At the start of each match, you load into a camp on the edge of a town full of horrors. Here, you’ll drink a potion that turns your character into a monster — three archetypes will be available at the outset.

There are a number of things you can opt to do in each match, from carrying out quests tied to factions, scavenging, defeating enemies and taking out other players to snag their loot. Each match also has a boss that’s protecting a high-value item.

The horror aspect makes me more interested in this than many other survival extraction games out there. I’m definitely looking forward to checking this one out.

We’ve seen a bunch of interesting climbing games over the last few years. You can add another one to the list. Ascenders: Beyond the Peak is a turn-based roguelite in which you’ll go exploring with a team of climbers. It seems that you’ll encounter Lovecraftian horrors on these mountain, along with dangers like avalanches, blizzards and rockfalls.

You’ll have nine character classes to choose from and you can level up your climbers and their gear and skills between runs. While the levels are short, you’ll need to be mindful as there’s a permadeath element to this game. You might even end up having to sacrifice a member of the party in order to save the rest. Brutal.

Ascenders: Beyond the Peak, from Ludogram Games and publisher Twin Sails Interactive, is coming to PC and consoles. It’ll debut in early access on Steam later this year for $20.

Puzzling Places has been a hit on PlayStation and Meta virtual reality platforms, as it has racked up 400,000 players. The 3D jigsaw game will soon be playable without a VR headset for the first time, as it’s going to hit Steam on April 9 — it will run on Steam Deck and SteamVR as well. A Steam demo is available now.

There are a wide range of puzzles for you to solve, ranging from 25-piece quick hits to gargantuan 1,000-piece endeavors. Each features animations, including of figures going about their lives. It seems very relaxing!

It’s only 86 seconds long, but I felt a lump in my throat as I watched this trailer for The Day I Became a Bird. The visuals, music and story beats got me caught up in my feelings. It’s a narrative adventure about a first love. You play as a young lad named Frank who tries to grab the attention of a classmate, bird-lover Sylvia. Designing and wearing a bird costume just might help him do that.

Developer Hyper Luminal Games is based in my hometown, which is yet another reason for me to get on board. I’m not familiar with the children’s book — by Ingrid Chabbert and illustrator Guridi — that the game is based on. I kind of want to buy it for my partner’s kid… and maybe myself.

The Day I Became a Bird is coming to Steam, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on April 16. The base game costs $20. On Steam and PS5, that version includes a short animated film from Passion Games, which found out about the book and teamed up with Hyper Luminal and publisher Numbskull to make the game. A $25 Feathered Adventurer edition includes the film, a digital artbook and the soundtrack.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is down to $369.99 at Amazon in a limited-time deal, a $130 saving off its $499.99 list price. That’s 26% off a smartwatch that brings back the physical rotating bezel, adds meaningful health tracking features, and packages it all in a 46mm cushion design that sits comfortably on the wrist. For Android users in the market for a serious daily watch, this is the deal to move on.

What you’re getting

The rotating bezel is the defining feature of the Classic line, and it’s worth being direct about why it matters. Navigating menus and notifications with a physical dial is faster and more precise than swiping on a touchscreen, and it’s the kind of interaction that makes the watch feel considered rather than generic. The Quick Button adds a second layer of hardware control, letting you assign shortcuts to the functions you use most.

The health and fitness tracking is where the Watch 8 Classic earns its keep day to day. Sleep Coaching goes beyond basic sleep tracking by analyzing patterns over time and offering actionable guidance, while Running Coach provides real-time form and pacing feedback during runs. The Energy Score feature aggregates sleep, activity, and recovery data into a single daily readiness metric, which gives you a more honest picture of how prepared your body is for training than step counts alone ever could.

The 46mm size hits the right balance for most wrists, large enough to be readable at a glance without feeling oversized under a cuff. The cushion case design softens the profile while keeping the rotating bezel prominent, and build quality is exactly what you’d expect from Samsung’s Classic tier.

Why it’s worth it

The rotating bezel, coaching features, and Energy Score tracking add up to a smartwatch that covers a lot of ground in a single device. With $130 off a limited-time price, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic lands in a bracket where the competition charges more for less, and the deal won’t stick around indefinitely.

The bottom line

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic at $369.99 is a well-rounded smartwatch that delivers on both fitness tracking and daily usability. The rotating bezel, sleep and running coaching, and 46mm cushion design make this a straightforward recommendation for any Android user ready to upgrade, and the $130 saving makes the timing right.

James Channel continues to shed light on old, forgotten gaming gear that still has a few tricks up its sleeve. His latest segment delves deeper into a device from 2003 that appears to be an early prototype for the PlayStation Portal. More specifically, the Intech Controller and Game Screen (model PS2-750). It’s an odd combination of a full PlayStation 2 controller and a little built-in screen and speakers that allows you to play on the go, away from the big living room TV.

This device turned up in pretty shape after sitting unused for years. James begins the unboxing process by cracking it open and going over the connections required to hook everything together. Three connections connect the handheld device to the console: one goes into the controller port, another handles the video and audio signal, which can be routed to the TV, and a third provides power via a dedicated 7.5v supply. Once everything is connected, the screen displays whatever the PS2 is outputting, and the controller responds to the inputs. Stereo speakers are included into the machine, and a headphone port is available if you want a quieter experience.

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As James disassembles the device, you can clearly see the type of build you’d expect from a third-party attachment back in the day: simple yet a little rough around the edges. Everything is held together using brown circuit boards and plenty of hot glue. Inside, you’ll discover a modest 2.5-inch LCD with an old-school fluorescent backlight from before LEDs were popular. The controls on this gadget include dual analog sticks, a directional pad, some face buttons, shoulder triggers, and a few extras such as a turbo button and a programmed macro key. Even a rumbling motor for vibration feedback with adjustable strength. He points out that the screen is only compatible with NTSC consoles, and the text in some games can become crowded, especially if the game is running at a higher resolution.

When James finally has the chance to turn it on, things don’t go well. A burnt smell and dead audio indicate that at some point in the past, someone crossed their wires and installed the incorrect voltage polarity. He traced the damage to a basic 7808 voltage regulator that overheated, melting some of the surrounding electronics. He painstakingly desoldered the damaged component, replaced it with a new one, and was able to turn the volume back on after a rivet fused in the heat. It turns out that the LCD also has vinegar syndrome, which is a typical condition in which the polarizing layer on the screen fades and causes the image to appear dark or blurry. James was able to rig up a remedy by carefully cutting a new layer from a spare laptop screen, aligning it, and fixing it in place to restore the colors to their old state.

With all of the repairs completed, James tests it with some actual games, including Dance Dance Revolution and Katamari Damacy. It’s very surprising that the small screen can offer playable visuals, even if the colors are washed out by today’s standards. The controller still feels familiar for short periods, but the directional pad is stiff and the grips have become sticky with age. He even gets the controller side to operate with a PlayStation 3 by simply plugging in a USB adapter, demonstrating that the input side is still functional after all these years.

Haier is best known for appliances. It’s the no.1 global brand, owner of the Candy brand in Europe and Hoover in the UK.

I, myself, was unfamiliar with the name before attending its One Vision Conference in Liverpool; I’m definitely aware of who they are now.

That unfamiliarity perhaps represents the hill Haier has to climb in the UK. In the not-too-distant future, it is about to jump out of the frying pan and into the living room with the launch of their first TVs.

And it has very ambitious plans.

Higher and Haier

Haier unveiled three TVs in the K85, S80, and S90 (the latter two might raise an eyebrow or two at Samsung with those model names). These three TVs follow Haier’s approach of good, better, and best, a narrative that helps them onboard customers for the experience that suits them.

Want a simple TV experience? That’s what the K85 is for: a TV that isn’t driven by specs but aims to offer value. The S80 is aimed at families and kids, the picture quality receives a boost from the K85’s LED to a QLED screen; and the sizes get bigger too (up to 85-inches).

Then we get to the S90 – the ‘best’ in the range for the time being – featuring Haier’s Homey AI chip for picture processing with “enhanced” motion handling, gaming modes, and Dolby Atmos sound system tuned by British hi-fi brand KEF (though I saw a soundbar system included with the S90, so perhaps this is not a built-in system). They all feature Fire TV and Freely, providing over Wi-Fi access to the UK’s favourite apps.

Haier’s goals are ambitious, given that it has no previous experience in the TV market.

It views the TV market as a “major growth pillar”, aiming for 50% of its European growth to be driven by TVs in the next three years. Similar to TCL a few years ago, Haier understands it is playing catch-up in UK and needs to build up a presence. What impressed most about the presentations was the confidence they exuded, but then hubris does come before a fall…

But Haier seems to have at least the basics figured out. It has a roadmap in terms of launch with 2026/27 primed for launches of Mini LED and Quantum Dot Mini-LED models. It already has ideas about (maybe) launching 163-inch Micro LED TVs, and they’re in the process of establishing a base in Poland to cut down lead times to the UK in terms of shipping.

Can it deliver on the promises? Will it be a case of too much, too quickly? We’ll have to wait and see.

The shifting sands of the TV market…

As I mentioned when it emerged that TCL was buying a controlling stake in Sony’s TV business, the sands of the TV market are shifting in ways that I don’t think we’ve seen before.

Japanese giants such as Sony and Panasonic have had to seek help from Chinese manufacturers who offer more scale and efficiency. Samsung and LG have found their market share eaten into by Hisense and TCL, both of whom started out in the UK offering value-focused offerings before leaping into the premium market.

Haier senses there was an opening in the market for another player to exist, and to be fair, there is one.

The market share of both Samsung and LG had declined, and Haier believes the market is shifting towards Chinese brands. While Samsung and LG are about a combine 50% of the UK market, the Chinese brands have a market share that by the end of 2026 will inch somewhere close to 30%.

Haier is most similar to TCL in that they’re playing catch-up, but like its performance in the home appliance area, this isn’t an obstacle but a challenge to be overcome. As one of those ‘everything’ Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Huawei that have many toes dipped in many waters, Haier has experience across a broad range of markets. It’s not approaching the TV market with blinkers on, but it believes it has a compelling hand.

It remains to be seen if they can deliver on the talk. There’s been no mention of pricing, which will be the most important factor. Haier talked about not wanting to be dragged into a price war and undercutting its competitors as TCL has done, but can it offer a premium experience that customers will want?

If I had a quibble about Haier, it’s that what they showed was nothing new; we’ve seen on an annual basis TVs of this type. When Sky entered the TV market, it struggled with TV performance but it offered a unique proposition that no other brand could match. It remains to be seen what compelling hook Haier can offer as it looks to make a splash in the TV market.