The traversal in Atlas Fallen is one of the best in years. Skimming and gliding across its vast sandy landscapes with supreme elegance, ease, and smoothness is a mastery that’s a joy to control, while airborne dashes and double-jumps make crossing chasms and cliffs a breeze. However, while getting around is undoubtedly the highlight, the rest of the game fails to offer a similar high, with wooden characters, a disappointing narrative, and complicated combat letting it down.

Atlas Fallen is also a ‘Soulslite’. Souls-ish staples like respawning enemies, a rechargeable Estus flask-style healing idol, Bonfire-alikes to save or upgrade your gear, and challenging (but not brutal) encounters, will make it feel like a Soulslike, but in reality, it’s more than that. However, at its core, this is much more of an action-adventure game and when you look at all its parts holistically, certainly doesn’t feel like the genre it’s aping in play. It is, however, a fun entry into the RPG and open-world fantasy libraries despite its lack of polish in places. 

Sandscapes and sand surfing

Taking place in a fantasy world that’s unbelievably sandy, Atlas Fallen opens by going through some typical tutorial motions - a dream sequence teaching you basic combat and movement, and setting up the story in a nomad camp, complete with some character customization to make your avatar, in the middle of nowhere - before unleashing you into the world, and its best bits. However, like the wider story, the setup of the narrative is a well-trodden one: your character of lowly origins has a magical dream and finds a magical item to begin a kinship with a mysterious being and can begin to wield powers through the discovery of a powerful, but incomplete, gauntlet. 

That world is made up of four main maps or areas, each with a central hub or settlement, expansive landscapes to travel across - and plenty of sand to shoot across. Each area and environment is worthy of the exploration time you’ll need to find all of the open-world game in 2023 trappings, featuring collectibles like lore, treasure, puzzles, and secrets. The benefit of taking the time to investigate the landscape is that you’ll also immerse yourself in some beautiful landscape spots and enjoy some fine vistas - from old decrepit ruins, sand-eroded caves, and expansive dunes or woodland.

It’s easy to fall for the beautiful vistas and crumbling ruins that make up the world of Atlas Fallen, but what makes this world one of my favorites from the last few years is the way you move through it. The traversal in Atlas Fallen is awesome. Strapping on the magical gauntlet gives you several powers, borne of the sand, including the ability to surf it. This isn’t just a sprint replacement service - you can twist and turn at will, your character leaning down as if they were a snowboarder to help turn corners. It even sounds brilliant; scuffed sand makes an ear-pleasing noise as you blast toward your next quest, hunt, or enemy.

There are rare moments when the surfing felt a little imperfect when transitioning from sand to another surface, or vice versa, but overall, it’s far and away the best part of the game. Deck13 knows this too, with designed-in functions like auto-collection of resources helping to keep the surfing experience uninterrupted and smooth.

But it’s not a case of splurging the game’s best feature in one early hit - your full suite of traversal moves grows with the story, and you’ll be adding to your repertoire of movements quite deep into the game, thus gaining more opportunities to mix it up and keep your movement feeling fresh and smooth.

Not handmade, but sand-made

The way your sand-made weapons tear their way out of your gauntlet within milliseconds of a button press, comprised of the sand surrounding you, is remarkably cool and adds a level of seamless fluidity to each fight. As soon as you can think of going to town on an enemy you’re already wielding the weapons and smashing them on your foes.

There are three sand-borne weapons that you can equip a pair of - a balanced hammer, a spikey glove, a super-fast whip - and each has a bunch of moves that you can master and combine too, extending the attacks beyond the standard ‘heavy’ and ‘light’. Simple stuff, but it layers complexity by moving away from a traditional stamina bar and instead has you building up Momentum during fights. This is granted with each hit you make on your enemies and opens up several special moves at different thresholds - similar to that of stamina slots in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla. Striking enemies also recharges the healing idol encouraging some aggression in your combat so as to gain healing charges - though this can also lead to some agonizing moments when you’ll be one hit away from said heal, only to be hit by a rogue swinging claw at the last moment.

Your sand-made arsenal is further enhanced by Essence Stones; these are your passive or active equippable abilities, buffs, and skills; these can take your combat to another level and offer the chance to really personalize, and experiment with, your preferred combat. Almost all are upgradeable with resources and you can build up an approach to battle with these alone: equip damage-focused skills like a sand tornado, give yourself a boost of momentum as each fight begins, create areas of energy that slow projectiles and enemies down, or concentrate on durability by going for extra defense and healing effects. At some point, though, you’ll likely have problems with your build, whichever way you commit to. But you’ll be well-catered to switch your character’s focus as there are plenty of Essence Stones available to use or upgrade. 

Changes in style will be a consideration once you factor in enemy variety and types, as things change from four-legged ground beasts and larger sandworms to massive crab- or bull-like creatures. Those enemies of a certain size canteen be strategically taken apart; body parts of the larger enemies will have their own amount of health that you’ll have to take down - something Deck13 introduced in its The Surge games. This can increase the amount of complexity in combat further - particularly if you have to maintain being airborne to attack a head or a flying creature. That said, the extra targets can make fights a little more nuanced as you can target particularly potent attacks or limbs first in an effort to nullify an enemy. However, it can be frustrating when after taking an enemy's head, the rest of its attacks can be delivered just as viciously and effectively.

You can also take evasive action: you’ve got a block that can freeze enemies when a parry is timed perfectly and the ability to dodge by rolling on the ground or jetting in the air. While having these is welcome, both can actually serve to complicate combat, especially when you’re frantically fighting multiple enemies; both have to recharge and you can be left without either if you miss time them slightly.

All in all, though, the results of all these parts mean Atlas Fallen’s combat is fast, fluid, and frantic. However, sometimes it’s a bit too frantic and thus has a tendency to be over complex. The combination of weapons two weapons, each with its own combinations, the constant eye on momentum build-up, the button-combos to heal or use skills attached to the idol, and the role of dodging and blocking means that some combat scenarios become dangerously close to button mashing. This cheapened the combat somewhat and meant that the combat can be simultaneously enjoyable but tiresome as you rely on a few effective methods; no matter how satisfying it was to build up to a shatter attack - freezing the enemy and delivering high-damage blows - it had a tendency to become a regular, uninspiring pattern.

Atlas Fallen’s take on the good vs evil tale is a well-trodden one. It’s a familiar story of a person of lowly origin, finding a magic item, becoming powerful, and channeling the spirit of one god to take on another. Bits of the story were even quite predictable early on, and the supposed crescendos when moving into new areas felt a little anticlimactic narratively, but the big gauntlet upgrades that tie closely to the story and punctuate the adventure - often with boss fights or multi-phase quests - did feel more significant and meaty; the narrative journey failing to mirror and match pace with the game’s mechanics’ journey.

Atlas Fallen, then, is a mixed bag - but also rather a ‘mid’ bag. Its traversal in the shape of the exquisite sand surfing and hangtime-tastic jumping and dashing will stay with me for a long time, but the story, characters, and parts of the combat are largely middling and shrug-worthy. This will ultimately stop it from shining in a year when we’re eating very well at the fantasy RPG adventure table. While there’s potential here, it feels like Atlas Fallen just isn’t quite the sum of its parts.

Accessibility

There are only a few dedicated accessibility functions and features in Atlas Fallen, with the majority of them geared toward language and subtitles. Outside of that, there is one option to turn on or off the camera shake. Overall, this is lean, and some more features - even the addition of subtitle size differences - would be most welcome. 

How we reviewed Atlas Fallen

I played Atlas Fallen on PS5. My playthrough took me about 12 hours to complete and included a host (but not all) of the side content. I played the game in both its performance and quality-focused modes and found the performance mode to be more suited to the game’s emphasis on fluidity and movement. I found there to be only very minor performance issues in the busiest city, and only for a few minutes only. I played the game on a Samsung 4K TV and used both a soundbar and headset for audio - deploying the latter when playing a couple of hours of co-op.

Atlas Fallen releases August 10, 2023, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. See how it compares to our takes on the best PS5 games, the best Xbox Series X games, and the best PC games that you can play right now.

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons makes a strong first impression. The side-scrolling beat-’em-up revival initially seems like it might have it all: the art style is detailed but pleasingly retro and, much like a dragon, combat burns hot. Your first attempt to save the city is exhilarating.- I say attempts, plural, because Double Dragon Gaiden is a roguelike, sorta, and tumbling back to the main menu is a big part of it.

However, this euphoria doesn’t last. The roguelike structure and the ability to unlock new characters hint at longevity, but really each additional character just builds on the initial four. Once I’d successfully taken out the four gangs terrorising the city and the shadowy figure that acts as the game’s final boss, I felt the compulsion to play more Double Dragon Gaiden bleed out of me. I don’t feel bad though, I had a blast anyway. 

Most of this is down to the simple but effective combat style. You tap the attack button to string a combo together and occasionally punctuate this by pushing a direction and the special move button to unleash a few different specials. 

Enter the Dragons

The four initial characters (the titular Dragons  Billy Lee, Jimmy Lee, Marian and Uncle Matin) all feel distinctly different, and the other characters you can unlock are several boss characters and elites from the game that each bring their own flavour to the mix. That said, for me, one fighter stood out from the pack. Marian, a police officer trying to help cleaning up the city with the help of her gun and several other heavy weapons. Marian is a ranged character primarily, and her combos involve unloading a gun into the enemy, while her specials involve mines, rocket launchers and other militarised hardware.

However to counter this, Marian can’t pick up dropped enemy weapons and her throw button  is replaced with a dodge-roll that has her coming up with a powerful baton swing. As she rolls across the floor, she’ll pick up food or other consumables, making her surprisingly powerful when the game tosses a screenful of enemies at you.

This difficulty grows organically. The game is structured so that you can tackle each of the city’s four gangs in any order you want, with the surviving gangs getting stronger with each criminal empire that you topple. By the end of each run on the normal difficulty level, you’ll be fighting an entire screen of wall-to-wall bad guys.

This means characters like Marian are incredibly strong, their mobility giving them a strong sense of survivability. On the flipside, characters like Matin are strong and slow which is fun because you can pick enemies up and throw them into low-orbit, but he’s too sluggish to use effectively as you get assailed on all sides.

Your mileage might vary here depending on how skilled you are, but as an idiot with a controller, I found it better to move fast and hit hard and stuck with Marian and Billy Lee. This duo gave me the tools to handle most problems.

Yes, you’ll be controlling two fights most of the time like it’s some sort of WWE wrestling match or, for gamers of a certain age, it’s basically Mario Kart: Double Dash, except instead of Baby Park you get cold blooded vigilante murder.

Dragon on a bit

Your special bar can be used to tag in your partner, which you can use to interrupt an enemy combo or to mix up move sets to keep a combo going, or because your current fighter needs some time to heal up. Your new fighter rockets in from off screen, but your current fighter doesn’t immediately vanish, and there can be a moment when you are both performing special moves or, worse, the character you were just controlling has been bounced into the air and is being juggled as you desperately try to turn the tide with your incoming challenger.

This is the best part of the game, and something that pairs nicely with the character upgrades you can buy with your in-game cash at the end of each level. This can be something like your character giving your co-op partner a full heal and a damage boost when you die, or a flat damage boost to your basic attacks or a special ability. These often feel bespoke, but they’re quite simple really, a little extra flair to make your runs feel unique. 

The level design is always interesting and has some aesthetic quirks that make it feel unique. The criminal empires found within Double Dragon Gaiden basically flicked through the big book of bad guy stereotypes and found a page they vibed with, but that doesn’t mean it’s not well done and vibrant throughout. 

Honestly, can't think of any more dragon puns

There are some issues, of course. The game’s floor hazards are often frustrating  as are the platforming sections that involve you climbing a scrap pyramid or leaping across some grassy cliffs as rocks tumble to the floor. Both of these segments, and any other times when you are asked to navigate the environment rather than just scrap with people, actually kind of suck.

Also in the suck pile are the scorpions that attack you alongside one particular gang. These ne’er do wells can’t decide if they want to be Mad Max junklords or pyramid-inhabiting god-worshippers and have settled on a mix of the two. Yes, it’s cool to see a gang with a unique identity, but the heaps of scorpions? They can get into the bin.

Pair that off with the thumping soundtrack, and you can easily see why Double Dragon Gaiden’s introduction is like a kick to the head. Sadly, the title quickly loses its impact. You’ll enjoy the time you spend with Double Dragon Gaiden. It’s likely to be a game you’ll wind up remembering fondly, but it’s unlikely to be something into which you pour dozens of hours.  

Accessibility features 

Not only is there no accessibility menu here, there’s not even a way to turn on subtitles - although it’s not really needed as the only voice I can recall is the announcer yelling enthusiastically as you batter people. If you have any specific access requirements, they probably won’t be met here.  

How we reviewed 

I rolled the credits on Double Dragon Gaiden a few times over 10 hours with the game and played it on PC with a combination of playing on the keyboard and the Xbox Elite Controller Gen 2. I’d use a controller given the choice. I played in single player, and a little bit in co-op and also tried out the Nintendo Switch version, which was fluid and responsive without slowdown too.  

We've compiled the 10 best beat 'em ups on PC if you're looking to take your combat skills to the next level, but if you're looking for something more retro, why not check out our list of the best GBA games?

Razer Cobra Pro: Two-minute review

The Razer Cobra Pro mouse is my new daily driver.  No one is more surprised about the fact it could be a contender for best gaming mouse, I promise. Still, It’s a well deserved win for the Cobra Pro, which combines all of the high-end gaming tech of Razer’s other mice and wrapping it in a cleanly designed shell that, improbably, weighs just 77g.

It’s a mouse that does most things pretty well, but that sizzle is what Razer does best. Taking a simple chassis and putting lots of the best gadgetry into it isn’t a groundbreaking concept, but there’s an art to getting something that feels this polished, and it’s why the Cobra Pro could be a contender for this year’s best mouse.

Of course when you’re looking at the Cobra Pro’s design, the first thing you’ll notice is the underglow, which makes it look like something out of a Fast and Furious movie than a mouse. There are 11 different zones for Chroma support, and most of them provide the soft customisable glow that kicks out from under the mouse. Usually RGB lighting comes with a little bit of cringe, but it only took a tiny bit of tweaking in Razer’s Synapse software to get a soft purple glow that looks great. The Razer logo and a light beneath the scroll wheel also pump out bright colour, and it’s the only real bit of flair the mouse has. 

Otherwise, the mouse does a lot of things right, but it’s quiet about it: it’s a simple symmetrical design with a subdued look. The skates feel high quality, and I like the rubberised grip on the sides, but it doesn’t seem to be replaceable and is definitely the thing that will wear out first. If you’ve seen one of Razer’s Viper Mini, that’s basically what the Cobra Pro looks like. 

The weight, 77g, is less than the company’s Basilisk V3 Pro all-round mouse, which weighs in at 112g, but the weight distribution did feel a little unusual. I play a lot of first-person shooters, and while digging into Battlebit Remastered and Escape From Tarkov over the last few days it felt easy to adjust to the change from the Deathadder. However, the weight feels a little closer to the rear of the mouse. With huge hands this isn’t really a problem, but it could feel a little sluggish for those with smaller hands. 

There’s the usual suite of buttons: your left and right click, a scroll wheel, and two buttons on the side. DPI buttons below the scroll wheel let you adjust sensitivity on the fly. These buttons are a real highlight, using Gen-3 Razer Optical Switches that make them feel light and precise whether you’re messing with a spreadsheet or clicking on heads. 

A close second is the 30K optical setting, which is overkill for me (I usually run a mouse at 3200 DPI) but does make movement feel silky smooth. If you have the Mouse Dock Pro — which you can buy bundled in or separately — you can also get magnetic wireless charging and 4K Hyperpolling through the Cobra Pro’s 2.4ghz wireless. 

It’s one of the first mice I’ve seen in a while to offer the choice of Bluetooth, 2.4 Wireless (1K or 4K polling), or wired. I’ve opted largely for the 2.4 Wireless with 1K polling and haven’t noticed any latency or reliability issues. With the bundled-in cable, you’ll probably want a mouse bungee as the cable is quite stiff and I felt some pull. There’s also the option to save five different memory profiles, which I played with a bit but didn’t see much of a use for. 

As I’ve touched on above, the mouse is reliable and crisp. The buttons feel solid in use, and even sliding it around a desk it’s kept up with everything I’ve asked it to do, so far. 

You have a few different options for how you use the mouse. I felt some latency using it with Bluetooth, which was fine for productivity but isn’t really okay for high-pressure shootouts. The mouse with a cable is probably totally usable with the aforementioned bungee, but honestly I think I’ll just stick to wireless. 

The battery life is claimed to be 100 hours. I’ve been using the mouse constantly for around a week and have only had to charge it once, but I’ve also turned on a lot of low-battery settings to ensure I don’t get caught short mid-game. 

I’m using the mouse with a tempered glass mat, but even using it on a normal wooden desk it’s not missing a beat.

Razer Cobra Pro: Price & availability

• How much does it cost?  $130 / £129.99 / AU$234.95 
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

Let’s be honest, the price on the Cobra Pro is going to be the sticking point for many. It looks like you’re paying just for the shiny RGBs, but the price is probably worth it, mostly, for the optical switches and the beefy sensor. 

It’s about the same price as the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro and honestly I’d feel happy recommending either to just about everyone. Right now though, you can also get the Logitech G502 X Plus for about the same price, with the G502 X offering similar specs but an 106g weight if you prefer something a little weightier.   

• Value: 4 / 5

Razer Cobra Pro: Specs

Should you buy the Razer Cobra Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Razer Cobra Pro: Also consider

How I tested the Razer Cobra Pro

• Tested it for a full week
• Used it for both work and gaming
• Tested it with several different PC games and work-related apps

I used the mouse solidly for a week for both work and gaming. This was around 100 hours of usage using it anywhere you might expect to use your mouse. 

I spent some time in Kovacs Aim Trainer using the mouse to compare it to my previous scores but also played shooters Battlebit Remastered, DayZ and Escape From Tarkov to test it out. I rounded this out with clicking through several spreadsheets and this website’s own CMS for a more mellow approach, but played some Victoria 3 too to round out the gameathon. 

I’ve been reviewing games for 13 years, and playing games mostly on PC for 15. I’m “a little extra” when it comes to mice, because it’s important to get any advantage you can get when you’re playing a shooter but also in your 30s. 

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2023

I have never, ever, played anything like Viewfinder before. This puzzler from Sad Owl Studios is truly ‘unique’ and could be a seachange moment in what games can actually do and be - and how they can play.

Set in a simulated world away from your character’s real one, Viewfinder tasks you with navigating mind-boggling, architecturally-impossible levels with the power to make photographs, graphics, and even children's drawings part of the world around you. Add in a camera and the art of perspective and you’re seamlessly warping reality around you as things go from 2D art to full 3D as you journey to the teleporter that ends each level. 

It sounds simple enough, but Viewfinder’s play feels like it could represent a new way in which the medium can be enjoyed, and what it can do. As a result, I can already say that it’s already one of the best indie games of 2023 and will likely make many folks’ best PS5 games and best PC games lists too.

2D or not 2D

The core act of play in Viewfinder, the ability to make the two-dimensional, three-dimensional is just fabulous. It’s moreish and never fails to pique interest and intrigue. Every puzzle is smart and fun, and there is sheer joy and delight in turning a 2D picture of your choice into an explorable 3D area in a flash. 

That delight manifests a couple of different ways too: there is the intense feeling of satisfaction not only that comes with solving any puzzle, but also a joy from knowing that the way you did it was likely different from every other player - there are different solutions on a basic level, yes, but the placement of your pictures, the particular cut you make through scenery, all will be individual to your game. I cannot understate how much fun the puzzles are; I always had a smile on my face, and couldn’t wait to tackle the next one.

Across the game’s five hubs, you’ll move through a variety of levels that progressively - and predictably - up the ante on difficulty, demanding increased creativity and lateral thinking. This can vary wildly from utilising a semi-hidden photocopier to essentially print more maps and worlds to taking pictures of scenery that can then be used to cut through, well, other scenery, and from obtaining and duplicating items through photos, to shifting your own perspective to change the world. 

Such is the brilliance of the intelligent and imaginative puzzles and the solving of them, you’ll quickly realise that no two pictures you take will be the same, and so no two solutions will be the same - in turn this means, your experience of Viewfinder’s puzzles will vary from other players. Your creations will be a distinct, personal mash-up of M.C. Escher and Dali, and the results you create are fantastic, often wild, and at times laughably baffling and weird. 

A pentiment effect

Echoing vibes of The Witness and Firewatch in art style, Viewfinder deploys a stylized simulation of the world, using color theory, and subtle visual cues - that make it a nice place to exist in. It has a near-constant sense of chill, and the ambiance and environment are so relaxing; from environmental noises like rain and leaves rustling, to the spa-like music and art of, and in, the world - all of which are enhanced by the fact that your pace is limited to a walk. You can really soak it all up as you potter around. 

And while there is a style to the game overall, draped across all its hubs and levels, there’s even space for multiple art styles in places - sometimes all on screen at once. Oh, and a quick note on screens: the game supports widescreen too so looked an absolute treat on my Acer Predator X38 monitor - being able to have more of Viewfinder’s world on-screen at once was terrific. Anyway, those differing art styles, often in the same levels, as well as your own ability to layer on pictures, scenery, textures, and 3D space can result in the world going from a stylized arty look to a crazy pentiment-layered effect. 

Encouraging exploration and engagement, Viewfinder’s world does also have some video game staples you can collect and read along the journey. There are notebooks and post-its the founders wrote and left for each other respectively, a few collectibles from squeaky rubber ducks that piqued my dog’s interest every time - sorry, Bella - to mahjong bricks, and models of planets. And in what seems like an effort to really encourage enjoyment of the world there are always plenty of places to sit and stop too - and it’s often incredibly tempting to do so to elongate the experience and enjoy pictures you’ve made, the world around, or take time to listen to one of the many Rapture-esque ‘loggograph’ recordings. These logs give an insight into the founders of the world and their workspaces in the different hubs.

As you progress through the world, both environments and puzzles become more complex - but also a little bit more dark and mysterious, adding a further level of intrigue. Puzzles become more mind-bending, developing on the principles of the melon-scratchers that came before nicely, and weird scenery is introduced that’s impervious to you and your camera.

The only disappointment in the whole world was that I just wish the story was as strong or as striking as the world it goes with. 

Some flatness develops

There is a story in here somewhere, and one that feels ‘close’ to your journey through the game, following you throughout - but it never feels strong or really shines. There were many times deep into Viewfinder where I really couldn’t have told you the story or narrative direction. Despite Cait - a loveably and friendly virtual Cat companion - doing his best to drop information and weave a story throughout. Some of those levels, while almost always brilliant, are very short indeed and could have benefited from some more meat on the bones

My eyebrows were raised a little at the end of the game too when, having greatly enjoyed that chill and relaxed approach throughout the game from the very first minute or two, I was thrown into a jarring and tightly-timed last level. The juxtaposition of this felt off and only served to annoy me a little rather than help me celebrate the climax of the game. However, with the timer off, this last level does hint at potential ambitions that Viewfinder’s devs may have - a long sequence of changing environments where pictures from previous areas can become lifesavers in future ones, and where tools such as photocopiers provide valuable ammunition in times of need.  

But even those minor downsides can’t really take away from Viewfinder and the experience it gave me: even in the short time since playing it, it’s left an imprint on me. I've been out on dog walks imagining talking pictures that'll get me and Bella to different places, or over roads, and I’ve even caught myself planning shortcuts, and extra doors through my house. 

And as it left imprints on me, it is clear that there are imprints on Viewfinder, too - it proudly shows off its Portal and The Witness inspirations (and a bit of Wall-E too) and does so in such a way that it now has carved out a video game experience that just didn’t exist before. This is level design done differently, and done beautifully. It’s just a shame it’s all over so quickly, hinting at what potentially could be. But as short video games go, it’s right up there with the likes of Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch for being absolutely hooked, craving more, and being a bit sad when it all finishes, and you’ve taken that last photo.  

Accessibility

There is a dedicated accessibility menu in Viewfinder which houses some dedicated options - and there are some genuinely excellent alterations that you can make. From turning off timed levels and haptics to subtitle and font changes, and also the inclusion of a photosensitivity mode, there’s a decent amount here that folks can tinker with to make sure it plays right for them.

Away from the dedicated accessibility options, the game is playable on PC with a mouse and keyboard, and controller. I have hands that require a controller to play games so mainly played the game with a DualSense - for which the support is total - but gave the mouse and keyboard controls a quick test as well.

How we reviewed Viewfinder

I devoured all that Viewfinder had to offer and completed the game in around 6 hours, in two sessions. There are a bunch of optional levels and puzzles per hub which I went out of my way to complete, while also exploring every nook and cranny of the world to look for collectibles, notes, and post-its. I tested all controls available and put every way you can create a picture in Viewfinder through its paces (often to my own journey’s detriment). I played about 90% of the game with a Sony PS5 DualSense controller and completed my playthrough on an RTX 3090-powered gaming PC and in ultrawide resolution with an Acer Predator X38 monitor supplied by Acer.

Viewfinder is out now on PS5 and PC and is a single-player game you should absolutely not sleep on.

Maingear MG-1: Two-minute review

When I opened the box for the Maingear MG-1 AMD Advantage - Enthusiast desktop gaming PC, I got a very nice surprise. The folks over at Maingear had added a customer order front plate on the case emblazoned with the TechRadar logo and, intentionally or not, a graphic design that pretty accurately captured the site's color palette. 

It's the kind of touch I'm sure Maingear's builders included as a friendly gesture, but I took it for what it is: an emblem of Maingear's love of PC building, the company's incredible attention to detail, and an understanding that it's building gaming rigs for actual people who will actually use them. 

It's little wonder then that the Maingear MG-1 is easily the best gaming PC I've laid hands on all year, and I think it really underlines Maingear's coming into its own as the premiere custom PC shop in the US. I'd honestly say this is a better gaming PC than the Maingear Turbo I reviewed last year, which in itself was a work of art.

After unboxing the PC, setting it up was a breeze. The premium packing job goes above and beyond what a lot of other manufacturers will do, and it better protects the parts inside the PC during shipping. Powering it on for the first time, the interior displayed just enough flash to keep things interesting without being overwhelming. The system booted quickly and there was no bloatware to contend with. 

Opening up the PC is easy enough if fidgeting with components is your thing, and the magnetic front panel can pop right off if you're looking to swap it out for another. As a standard mid-tower-sized PC, getting to the ports along the top of the case and in the rear is as you'd expect.

How many rear ports you get will obviously depend on which motherboard option you go with, so if you're going for a custom build, keep that in mind when making your pick. 

Speaking of configurations, a prebuilt Maingear MG-1 starts at just $1,099 (about £900 / AU$1,520), so the MG-1 is literally one of the best budget gaming PCs you can get. It's also among the most premium high-performance machines around, whether for gaming, professional content creation, or a mix of both. That is a very hard thing to do in a single product, but Maingear has put in the work to make the MG-1 as accessible as possible to just about everyone.

Performance is going to vary widely depending on which configuration you go with, so you'll definitely need to do a little research to find the best build for your needs. Maingear offers a number of MG-1 prebuilds to make the process simple or you can customize the PC to your specifications. 

One thing I can definitely say about the performance is that regardless of configuration the system stability will be stellar. I've had the privilege of touring the Maingear production floor in New Jersey, and the testing that goes into each build to ensure it will run without issue is very thorough, regardless of whether it's a prebuilt PC or a custom order. Whichever build you go with, you'll get a smooth-running machine that rivals the stability you'd get from far larger manufacturers. And if you do run into issues, Maingear's customer service will bend over backward to fix whatever problems pop up.

All told, the Maingear MG-1 is a stellar gaming PC that just about anyone, on any budget, can buy. It should be on the shortlist for everyone considering a new gaming rig this year. Whatever your need or price range, the Maingear MG-1 can slot itself into that niche with ease. You will not be disappointed.

Maingear MG-1: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? Starting at $1,099 (about £990 / AU$1,520)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, but international shipping is an option

The Maingear MG-1 is available now in the US starting at $1,099 (about £990 / AU$1,520). And while shipping this PC within the US is going to be much easier, interested international buyers can contact the company to see about their shipping options as well.

The price you ultimately pay for this PC will depend on what configuration you choose, as well as whether you go with a prebuilt system or a custom build. Prebuilds range from $1,099 up to $4,699. There are also branded prebuilds co-developed with Shroud, the popular Twitch streamer and Valorant player, as well as AMD Advantage systems, the latter of which I received as a review sample (the MG-1 AMD Advantage - Enthusiast, to be precise), which starts at $3,199 ($3,449 as reviewed).

The lowest I've managed to configure a custom build has been $1,117, but if there's a cheaper one, it won't be less than the entry-level $1,099 prebuild. The highest-end configuration I've managed to get (seen above) will cost a staggering $7,441. It may be the only gaming PC you'll need for the next decade, but still an incredibly lux build.

That being said, all of this in a single gaming PC is a hell of a thing.

• Price score: 5 / 5

Maingear MG-1: Specs

The Maingear MG-1 comes in dozens of configurations, ranging from fairly accessible prices to sovereign wealth fund levels of luxury, and includes both prebuilt systems and custom-built ones.

As far as custom builds go, you can go to Maingear's MG-1 configuration page and play with the specs to get the build you want and find out the pricing across configurations.

The absolute breadth of configuration options is one of the MG-1's biggest selling points. It includes 13 processor options, 11 graphics card options, and nine motherboards (five Intel and four AMD), along with different RAM configurations, power supplies, M.2 SSDs, SATA SSDs, and HDDs. There are even capture cards for the streamers out there.

Throw in design customizations, coolers, and peripherals, and, well, you get the idea. Maingear has some of the best custom build options around, full stop.

• Specs score: 5 / 5

Maingear MG-1: Design

• Mid-tower case with customizable magnetic front panel
• Attractive interior
• No option for custom cooling loops

The Maingear MG-1 is easily one of the better-looking gaming PCs I've seen this year, and not just because they splashed TechRadar's logo on the front of the rig (though flattery will get you everywhere, folks).

I'm not the kind of gamer who needs their gaming PC to look like a carnival booth or the dance floor of a German discotheque, and Maingear's MG-1 provides enough gamer flair without going overboard. The acrylic side lets you admire the high-quality build inside, while the customizable front panel can be a conversation piece or an opportunity to promote your brand.

Compared to other Maingear systems like the Turbo, the MG-1 lacks the custom water-cooling loop and instead goes for Cooler Master AIO coolers with Maingear's logo on them. This means it feels more off-the-shelf, but it doesn't feel cheap in any way. 

If there's anything to knock on the design here, it's that the case is a standard mid-tower form factor (though a very nice one, to be fair). There have been a lot of really interesting case designs coming out in the past few years, so if you're looking for one of those, you won't find it among the MG-1 options.

It's also important to note the radiator on the top of the case can feel a little exposed, with bare metal slots at the top bleeding heat from the AIO cooler. Several PC cases nowadays have some form of filter or cover on top to help keep dust out, and that isn't the case here. 

Had I reviewed this PC at home, rather than at our NYC office, my cat would've established a permanent beachhead on top of this PC, and it would've taken a supreme effort to dislodge her. Cat hair being what it is, I can see a potential problem here, though my laziness in not brushing out my cat's fur isn't really something I can knock Maingear for, is it?

• Design score:  4.5 / 5

Maingear MG-1 AMD Advantage: Performance

• Fantastic system stability for a custom build
• Performance will vary greatly depending on configuration

As far as gaming and workstation performance goes, the MG-1 AMD Advantage - Enthusiast prebuild I reviewed is a phenomenal performer, all thanks to its AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor, AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPU, and ample memory and storage.

If there's something I can take points off for here, it's the creative performance. The RX 7900 XTX doesn't work with CUDA, so many CUDA-optimized programs won't perform nearly as well as they would have if this build used an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 or Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090.

On the flip side of that, the gaming performance on this PC is simply incredible (which my EIC absolutely loved as I played video games in the lab all afternoon and called it "work"). What parts you end up getting will make all the difference in terms of gaming performance, but as mentioned before, the system stability for the MG-1 is top-notch, something that's not easy to do when offering hundreds of different possible part combinations. 

They really do test these PCs extensively before they're shipped out, so you can be confident that your PC is going to work for the long haul without any weird part compatibility issues that can often plague these kinds of custom-built gaming PCs.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Maingear MG-1?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Maingear MG-1: Also consider

If my Maingear MG-1 review has you considering other options, here are two more customizable gaming PCs to consider...

How I tested the Maingear MG-1

• I had the Maingear MG-1 for several weeks
• I used it as my day-to-day workstation PC, which involved content creation, game testing, and more
• In addition to our standard benchmark tools, I played several of the latest games for several hours with every performance setting maxed out.

I tested the Maingear MG-1 for several weeks, using it as my main workstation PC in our NYC office, including content creation like photo and video editing, benchmark testing, and PC gaming (even on the clock!).

Given the number of possible configurations, the MG-1 will be suitable for everything from 1080p budget gaming to high-end content creation with 8K video, as well as high-performance PC gaming.

I've been reviewing computer hardware for years now, and I've been a PC gamer and PC enthusiast since I was a kid, so I know my way around a gaming PC, as well as what it needs to do well and how well it should perform at any given price point.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2023