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Amazon has the Nothing Phone 2 on sale for the first time since its launch. The offbeat mainstream smartphone alternative is $74 off its usual price. The deal includes the version with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and it’s ready for activation on T-Mobile or AT&T.

The Nothing Phone 2 has an unusual design, with a transparent back revealing an eye-pleasing arrangement of its internal hardware. The aesthetic is a throwback to tech from the late 1990s and early 2000s, like Apple’s iMac G3 and Nintendo’s Game Boy Color. Meanwhile, the Glyph Interface on the phone’s back uses LED strips to show customizable lights and patterns for your notifications. It’s a charming package that stands out in a sea of smartphone sameness.

Engadget’s Sam Rutherford reviewed the phone in 2023, and he noted its eye-catching hardware design and Monochrome UI in its software. Nothing isn’t marketing its phone based on record-breaking specs, but the startup still made a phone that “never felt slow” while being “well-equipped with handy features like reverse wireless charging.”

The phone runs on Nothing OS 2 (currently, it’s on 2.5.3) on top of Android 14. It has a 6.7-inch OLED display, a 4,700mAh battery and a pair of 50MP rear cameras (main and ultra-wide).

However, note that the phone is only compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile’s networks in the US — not Verizon, Sprint, Cricket or other CDMA-based carriers. Nothing only brought its handsets (officially) to America with the current generation of hardware, so perhaps future models will offer broader stateside carrier support.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-grab-the-nothing-phone-2-for-74-off-right-now-210527323.html?src=rss 

Prince of Persia fans are really feasting this year. We’ve already seen the release of the well-received Metroidvania Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, but Ubisoft just announced another game in the franchise. The Rogue Prince of Persia is a team-up with Evil Empire, the developers behind the iconic roguelite Dead Cells. It comes to Steam early access on May 14.

It’s a sidescrolling roguelite, just like Dead Cells. As you can see from the trailer, the graphics also recall the widely-acclaimed and highly addictive action-platformer. You play as, wait for it, the Prince of Persia, who has been equipped with a mystical device that allows him to resurrect after death. You try your best. You die. You buy upgrades in the hub world. This is the roguelite formula and I am absolutely here for it.

Despite looking eerily like Dead Cells, the moveset looks to be pulled straight from the Prince of Persia franchise. Players will have access to the iconic wall run and related acrobatic skills to maneuver through the procedurally generated levels. To that end, there are a variety of colorful biomes, each inspired by Persian architecture.

There are also plenty of weapons to choose from, to suit different playstyles. These include twin daggers, spears, broadswords, axes and more. Additionally, players can equip secondary weapons, like bows and grappling hooks, making each run a unique gameplay experience. Ubisoft says the game will receive numerous updates once it receives player feedback from early access purchasers, promising “new levels, bosses, weapons, enemies and upgrades.”

The title was unveiled at the Triple-i Initiative event, an indie-themed gaming showcase. Evil Empire is very much an indie developer, but the same cannot be said of Ubisoft. This isn’t the only time Evil Empire has dipped its toes into a long-standing franchise. The developer once made a Castlevania expansion for Dead Cells.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-new-prince-of-persia-game-is-coming-from-the-studio-behind-dead-cells-184040223.html?src=rss 

33 Immortals feels like a game that’s going to need a lot of pre-release testing, and thankfully, that’s exactly what developers at Thunder Lotus are setting up. Following a smaller alpha test, the closed beta for 33 Immortals will kick off on May 24 and run through June 2. Interested players can sign up to participate at the game’s official site.

Aside from the Dante’s Inferno-inspired landscape and retro-cartoony visuals, the unique draw of 33 Immortals is its raid size. The game features 33-player co-op with a cast of seven unique fighters, and each round lasts about 25 minutes. It’s all raids, all the time, and felled players are able to be revived if another warrior takes the time to chase down their ghost.

UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith got his hands on 33 Immortals at Summer Game Fest 2023 and he saw the potential in Thunder Lotus’ idea, writing, “With plenty of enemies on-screen, especially in the more challenging portal dungeons, it’s a lot of fun just chaotically spamming attacks, helping the rest of your team finish off mid-bosses, or picking off easier foes at a distance before they coordinate their attacks.” And that was with just six players at once — now add 27 more, and that’s the base chaos level of this game.

33 Immortals is due to enter early access on the Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Xbox later this year, and it’ll be available on Game Pass.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/massively-co-op-game-33-immortals-will-have-a-closed-beta-at-the-end-of-may-174022411.html?src=rss 

Vampire Survivors is preparing to invade a whole new platform. More than two years after breaking through the noise on Steam, Android, iOS and Xbox, Vampire Survivors is due to hit PlayStation 4 and PS5 in summer 2024. Yep, the summer that starts in just a few months. The PlayStation version will include all DLCs and latest updates.

Alongside the fresh platform announcement, Vampire Survivors is also getting a batch of crossover DLC on May 9. Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns brings Contra characters and weapons into the game with the mission statement, “The President’s cousin’s sister’s dog has been kidnapped by Red Falcon. Are you bad enough to come to the rescue?” We bet you are.

In classic Contra fashion, the characters added in Operation Guns will encourage min-maxing and stat manipulation, and there will be 11 new players total. The DLC adds 22 guns, a new stage and an old-school arcade difficulty curve. Its soundtrack has six songs that combine Contra jams with Vampire Survivors remixes.

Who said vampires don’t like sunlight? With two big updates landing this spring and summer, it seems like Vampire Survivors enjoys the light just fine. Of course, that could be because there are no actual vampires in the game, just hordes of other monster types and hours of mindless, bloody entertainment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/vampire-survivors-hits-playstation-this-summer-174515287.html?src=rss 

Two years after E-line Media revealed it was working on Never Alone 2, the first look at gameplay emerged at the Triple-i Initiative indie games showcase. The brief clip shows Nuna and her spirit companion Fox running across ice and encountering a pair of giant creatures. There’s not much to the video (it’s a teaser, after all), but it gives a sense of the game’s look and feel.

You’ll venture through the Alaskan wilderness to look for ways to support your home village. Along the way, you’ll unravel a mystery that poses a threat to the community. While the 2014 original (which nearly 15 million people have played) married 3D graphics and 2D gameplay, Never Alone 2 is billed as a “3D open-map sequel.”

Never Alone included solo and co-op modes (we found the latter made playing the game much better). The follow-up is designed primarily for two players, in either online or couch co-op modes, to place a focus on the theme of interdependence.

Never Alone 2 has an original story from Iñupiat writer Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, and it was designed with input from Alaska Native elders, writers, storytellers and community members. E-line Media hasn’t revealed a release window for Never Alone 2 yet, but the developer has teamed up with publisher Humble Games to get it out into the wild. In the meantime, fans can wishlist the sequel for updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/never-alone-2-teaser-shows-nuna-and-fox-coming-face-to-face-with-giant-creatures-174736706.html?src=rss 

Ever since Palworld first emerged, it’s been described as “Pokémon with guns.” A new mode that’s coming to Pocketpair’s massively successful game won’t do much to get rid of those comparisons. Even based on a 15-second clip, it looks, sounds and smells just like Pokémon’s player vs. player experiences.

In the inventively titled Palworld Arena, you’ll be able to take on other players with the help of the Pokémon Pals you’ve captured. Pocketpair says you can train your strongest critters to overcome your rivals. A brief teaser shown at the Triple-i Initiative indie games showcase showed a split-screen view, for what it’s worth.

At first glance, it seems like the main difference between this and Pokémon battles is that, instead of standing back and telling your Pals what to do, your character will be in the thick of the action as well, trying to take out the enemies with a range of weaponry. 

For those of us who aren’t fans of turn-based combat (*waves*), it could be a more active, perhaps more compelling spin on Pokémon battles. But this really does just seem like Pokémon PvP modes with a different coat of paint. We’ll get to find out just how alike the two franchises’ takes on PvP really are when Palworld Arena arrives this summer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/palworlds-upcoming-arena-mode-looks-like-pokemon-pvp-with-guns-182516871.html?src=rss