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  • Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review – Customizable, Comfortable, but Lacking in Ways – TouchArcade

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review – Customizable, Comfortable, but Lacking in Ways – TouchArcade


    For our last full controller review on TouchArcade, I’ve been using the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition for PC and PlayStation across my Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4 Pro for over a month now. Before I interviewed PDP Victrix about the controller and arcade sticks, I was very curious about the controller for its modular nature and also because I’ve wanted to try out another “Pro” controller after adoring the Xbox Elite (1st generation) and DualSense Edge over the years.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller – what’s in the box

    Usually, controllers just ship with a cable and sometimes a charging stand. In the case of the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition, you get the controller, a braided cable, a high quality protective case to house the controller and everything else it ships with, a replacement fightpad module with a six button layout for fighting games, two gates, two replacement analog stick caps, two d-pad caps, a screwdriver for use with the controller, and a blue wireless USB dongle.

    The items are all neatly placed within the case which is very good quality on its own. Unlike the normal Victrix Pro BFG controller, some of the items with this one are themed to match the new Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition aesthetic. Keep this in mind as I don’t see replacements available officially for this, but I hope they start selling them soon.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller compatibility

    On paper, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller supports PS5, PS4, and PC. I don’t use Windows anymore, so I was curious if this would work on Steam Deck out of the box. Since I prefer the PlayStation button prompts in games, I set it to PS5 and plugged in the dongle into my Steam Deck Docking Station. It worked without issue and without needing any update.

    On the console side, if you want to play wirelessly, you need the same dongle and to set the toggle to PS4 or PS5. I had no issues playing with it on my PS4 Pro in PS4 mode and on my PS5 in PS5 mode. In fact, since I don’t have any PS4 controller that works outside of arcade sticks with PS4 support, this is a very good bonus to have for when I want to test something on PS4 to compare with PS5.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller features

    The big draw of the Victrix Pro BFG controller is the modular nature letting you work with a symmetric stick layout, asymmetric stick layout, change things up for fighting games with the fightpad, adjust the triggers, thumbsticks, and also the d-pads. The aim with this design was to allow you to adjust the controller depending on the game you’re playing. As an example, I’d use the symmetric stick layout when playing Katamari Damacy Reroll, but I might swap to the Xbox-style asymmetric layout while playing DOOM Eternal.

    Being able to adjust the trigger stop is also great as I can change that when playing a racing game with analog trigger support and also go for the shortest stop when playing a game with digital trigger support. Beyond that, the multiple d-pad options are very nice, but I’ve been trying to stick to the default diamond shape one to get used to it, and I like it a lot. I wouldn’t use it for platformers though, but the other d-pad options work well here.

    Since this is an official PS5 and PS4 licensed controller, it is worth noting that this has no rumble, no haptic feedback, no adaptive trigger support, and no gyro/motion control support. I don’t care about gyro much, but no rumble at all is disappointing since you have sub $30 controllers now offering decent rumble, though they aren’t PS5 compatible. I’ve been informed that third party wireless controllers for PS5 might have restrictions for rumble as well, and I’ve seen more reports from folks using other third party controllers here. Either way, this is disappointing.

    The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition ships with 4 paddles or well paddle-like buttons. I wish there were proper paddles you could remove though. I mapped two of them to L3 and R3 and the ones above to L1 and R1 since I use those the most in games like Monster Hunter World and also hate pressing the sticks. Having four buttons here is very good though.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller look and feel

    Visually, I love the gorgeous and bright highlights and colors used on the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition. It isn’t as elegant as the default black model with purple highlights, but for a themed controller it looks very good with its light blue, pink, purple, and Tekken 8 branding.

    The Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition feels very comfortable, but it is a bit too light for my liking. The material on the main controller body ranges from feeling premium to just fine. It is a far cry from the premium feeling DualSense Edge, but that controller has that ugly glossy front plate that ruins things. The grip on this controller makes a big difference, and I’ve had 8 hour sessions with the controller wired without getting tired of holding it. It being light pays off here.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller on PS5

    On PS5, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is an officially licensed controller, but you can’t turn on your PS5 with it. This seems like a limitation for 3rd party controllers on PS5, but is an annoyance to keep in mind. Beyond that, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and gyro are not available here. Aside from that, it has touchpad support and all the buttons I use on a DualSense controller including the share button.

    Victrix Pro BFG on Steam Deck

    Like I mentioned above, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition works out of the box on Steam Deck with the dongle plugged into the official Docking Station I use. It even correctly is recognized as a PS5 Victrix controller with the share button working for capturing screenshots and the touchpad working as it should in PC games that have PlayStation controller support. This was great to see as some games don’t even recognize my DualSense correctly.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller battery life

    The huge advantage the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller or the normal one has over the DualSense and DualSense Edge is the battery life. It lasts multiple times longer than the DualSense and the DualSense Edge on a single charge. It also helps that the logo on the touchpad indicates when the battery is low. This is good for playing on Steam Deck as other controllers don’t really visually indicate when the battery is low.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller software

    The software is something I couldn’t test as it is only available on the Microsoft Store and I don’t use Windows anymore. Thankfully, it works out of the box with Steam Deck, PS5, and PS4. The one thing I was hoping to see is if the controller would work on iOS. I tested wirelessly with the dongle on my iPad, wired on my iPhone 15 Pro, and also wired on my iPad Pro with no luck.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller negatives

    Right now, it has a few big negatives. These include no rumble, the low polling rate, not shipping with the Hall Effect sensors, and it requires a dongle for wireless, at least for the model I have. The lack of rumble might not be an issue for some, but for a “Pro” controller, the polling rate is disappointing. There are multiple videos on YouTube showcasing this and why it is a problem as well. Comparatively, the DualSense Edge wired is massively better with its response.

    As for the Hall Effect sensors, I’m glad Victrix now sells the new modules, but why do new purchases of the controller not just ship with those in the first place? Also if I were to buy either of the module color options available for my Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller, it wouldn’t fit with the aesthetic and will not have PS5 face buttons.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Controller Review

    Having gotten well over a hundred hours of use out of the controller per platform across games like UFO 50, Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Persona 3 Reload, and many more, I can safely say that I love using the controller, but the few issues are annoying to see given its price point. In a lot of ways, the Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition has the potential to be one of the best controllers in years if it sees some fixes and changes for a potential successor. Right now, there are a few too many caveats involved for its high asking price that make sure it is very good, but not amazing. The big issues holding it back right now are the lack of rumble (which seems like a restriction from Sony), dongle requirement, additional cost involved for Hall Effect sticks, and the polling rate. These might not matter to some folks, but for a “Pro” controller priced at $200, I expected a bit more.

    Victrix Pro BFG Tekken 8 Rage Art Edition Review Score: 4/5

    Update: Added more information for the lack of a rumble feature.



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  • Popular streamers gamble half a million dollars in ‘world record’ CS2 case opening

    Popular streamers gamble half a million dollars in ‘world record’ CS2 case opening


    cs2 500k opening
    Image of Jacob Woodward

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    Published: Jul 16, 2025 12:52 pm

    Counter-Strike case openings are nothing new with the in-game mechanic itself being quite a number of years old. However, in recent times, there seems to be a surge in popularity, with some streaming personalities spending big in hopes of securing rare knives, and even more elusive skin patterns.

    The CS2 case opening scene has been building for a while with streamers such as Trainwreckstv, also known for his ties with Kick, and massive gambling sessions on sister company Stake, opening thousands of high-value cases.

    However, TimTheTatman and Nadeshot, accompanied by Counter-Strike veteran ohnePixel and CS2 case whales, went even further on July 11, opening approximately $500,000 worth of cases, claiming it to be a ‘world record’ session.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRmPWTvly4c

    During the extremely lengthy broadcast, the stream team opened a plethora of different case varieties, starting with the more ‘common’ eSports 2014 Summer Case, leading up to the extremely rare and expensive DreamHack 2013 Souvenir Package, Cobblestone Souvenir Package, and EMS Katowice 2014 Container, which can house some of the game’s most sought-after cosmetics.

    Some notable wins during the whole thing were various Bayonets, multiple Vox Eminor (Holo) Katowice 2015 Stickers, and Team Dignitas (Holo) Katowice 2014 Sticker, with the latter potentially being worth around $30,000 on its own. Stickers of this ilk go for so much money on the market due to the capsules being incredibly old and released in limited quantities, with most of them having been opened some time ago.

    cs2 500k opening sticker

    While the big item prices are attractive, a LOT of cases were opened, expensive ones at that, with the vast majority yielding very little return on investment. Obviously, the regular CS2 player isn’t going to be opening this number, or even the type of cases these streamers do, but the odds are definitely in the house’s favor no matter what.

    As for how the Counter-Strike skin market will progress post this, in our opinion, it’s only going in one direction, and that’s upwards. The cases and containers are only getting fewer, increasing the price of both the loot boxes themselves and the rare contents inside.

    If you’re reading all of this and thinking about dabbling in some CS2 cases yourself, do remember that it is a form of gambling, akin to that of opening packs on EA FC games. But hey, at least you’ll hopefully get some form of return through CS2 cases since you can list the goodies on a market, contrary to that of EA FC where they’ll disappear into the aether every year.

    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



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  • Ludology 344 Indie Games Night Market

    Ludology 344 Indie Games Night Market


    Welcome!

    Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.

    We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.

    On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.

    Sarah’s segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we’re all familiar with.

    Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.

    We hope you enjoy the additional content!

    Our History

    We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.

    Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!

    Contact Us 

    Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.

    You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.

    Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

    If you have questions that you’d like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish! 

    Burning Questions for Ludology

    Burning Question

    Support the Show

    Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.

    We currently have 3 “First Listen” series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.

    • The Memories that Made Us (monthly) – memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
    • Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
    • Ludology Live – recordings from conventions around the world

    Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!

    Become a Ludology Patron

    Become a patron

    You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page – sorry!





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  • Stylish soulslike Wuchang Fallen Feathers is already on sale before launch

    Stylish soulslike Wuchang Fallen Feathers is already on sale before launch



    While we’re hardly lacking great soulslikes, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers looks to put its own fresh spin on the increasingly well-explored formula. With a bleak yet layered story that blends dark fantasy with rich Chinese folklore and history, developer Leenzee’s rock-hard RPG drops later this month, and you can get a chunky pre-order discount right now over on Fanatical.

    Like many of the best soulslikes, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers delivers stamina-based combat that demands precise dodging and skillful use of your abilities. According to Leenzee, it’s also a pretty meaty game with side quests galore that combined should take you 40-60 hours to wrap.

    There are five weapon types to choose from and 25 unique options in total, including one-handed swords, axes, spears, dual blades, and war clubs. You can even equip two weapons at once while throwing around some of the game’s several dozen spells.

    In our Wuchang: Fallen Feathers preview, Jamie says, “[Wuchang: Fallen Feathers] is doing plenty to stand out from the ever-growing crowd.” Specifically, what sets it apart is the unique Madness system, driven by the supernatural Feathering Disease. Damage and death fuel your corruption – each increase in Madness boosts your power, but strips away your defenses. Once you reach peak corruption, dying summons an Inner Demon: a formidable doppelganger guarding your lost resources. It’s a compelling risk-reward mechanic that adds tension and strategy.

    Wuchang: Fallen Feathers arrives on Thursday, July 24, 2025, and you can pre-order it for $38.99 over at Fanatical right now. That’s a 22% discount. If you pre-order, you’ll get two costume sets, a Vermillion War Club, and a Glistening Red Mercury upgrade item.

    If you’d like to explore other genres, check out our list of the best PC games to play today, or if you’re looking for something with more adrenaline-pumping fights, the best action games should test your mettle.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Here’s why I’m playing Genshin Impact instead of Death Stranding 2

    Here’s why I’m playing Genshin Impact instead of Death Stranding 2


    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s bleak slog along hostile, post-apocalyptic delivery routes should have pulled me into the proverbial tar. However, despite director Hideo Kojima’s best efforts, I found myself drawn to a different source of philosophical curiosity, meaningful exploration, and bountiful vistas. 

    Genshin Impact, a high-concept fantasy action RPG, may seem a far cry from Death Stranding to the uninitiated.  Developer MiHoYo’s marketing revolves around a colourful roster of impractically dressed Genshin Impact characters to appeal to prospective players, but that’s not what gives the game its staying power. In a previous life, I looked upon Genshin Impact with distaste: To these fans, I apologise with the heaviest possible heart. I was wrong. 

    The Escapist recaps 

    • High-fantasy action RPG Genshin Impact delivers on promises of exploration and thought-provoking themes more generously than Death Stranding 2.
    • Don’t let the pretty anime characters fool you, Genshin Impact has serious depth, which rivals Hideo Kojima’s best work.
    • Exploration in Genshin is generous, well-placed and rewarding.
    • Death Stranding 2 is rewarding in its own right, but bleakness is not the same thing as quality.
    • Genshin Impact is far from perfect, but it has a heart that Death Stranding 2 lacks by comparison.

    Genshin Impact’s travel and exploration

    In MiHoYo’s colorful RPG, you spend a great deal of time venturing across the Genshin Impact map in search of enemies to loot, challenges to overcome, and travel nodes to unlock. The game world is immense and, contrary to Death Stranding 2, you’re given relatively few tools with which to explore it. 

    However, given that Genshin Impact famously (and perhaps controversially) borrows from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the tools with which you are equipped are far-reaching and ambitious in their scope. You traverse the map primarily with climbing and gliding mechanics – both are limited by an energy bar, which can be gradually upgraded as you play. Given the impressive verticality of Genshin Impact’s level design, this is more than enough to allow the savvy traveller to plot creatively efficient routes across the terrain. 

    This process contains the essence of Kojima’s sequel. Death Stranding 2 gameplay revolves around the practice of logistics. Playing as Sam Bridges, brought to life by the excessively gruff but undoubtedly talented Norman Reedus, you are tasked with linking up disparate parts of a ravaged world by delivering packages and bringing new settlements onto the ‘Chiral Network’ (a sort of post-apocalyptic internet). 

    Director Hideo Kojima has made much of the unique qualities of what he calls a ‘strand game’, of which he would doubtless tout Death Stranding 2 as a dauntless example. 

    However, if Death Stranding is a ‘strand game’, then so is Genshin Impact. The routes you plot across its maps draw lines back and forth between points of interest. Even travel in familiar areas will often necessitate lateral thinking to plot the most efficient route. While none of Death Stranding 2’s cavalcade of ladders and vehicles are available, the essential puzzle at the heart of traversal is looms large across Genshin Impact’s world. 

    How does Death Stranding 2 compare?  

    However, Death Stranding 2 is more than just its traversal mechanics. In the tradition of games associated with Kojima, hot, heavy and thought-provoking themes are baked into the title’s very substance. It’s not subtle, but its treatment of fatherhood, grief and social decay is resonant and emotionally affecting. What’s more, Death Stranding 2 graphical fidelity is mind-bendingly engrossing to the point of near-cinematic realism. This in itself is deeply impressive, worthy of recognition from any player. It elevates all of Death Stranding 2’s features, grounding the game’s sense of post-apocalyptic unreality within a deeply human context. 

    Despite these herculean achievements, however, Genshin Impact is able to demonstrate that Kojima Productions does not have a monopoly on thematically compelling open-world exploration games. 

    That said, at first glance, the story of Genshin Impact is far from distinctive; the title follows an interplanetary traveller who, having crash-landed on the fantasy world of Teyvat, finds themself on a quest to find their sibling – so far, so generic. 

    However, the world in which the adventure takes place is anything but. Like Death Stranding 2, Genshin Impact takes place after an apocalyptic catastrophe, the outcome of which its main characters must confront. Teyvat’s humans live in the shadow of seven living gods, known as Archons, whose inner turmoil and personal baggage cause crises for mortals on an alarmingly regular basis. 

    To live in Teyvat is to be caught in the middle of a (very literal) war in heaven where, hour by hour and layer by layer, the answers to weighty metaphysical questions are teased and, eventually, answered. Genshin Impact manages this process with consistency, something which cannot always be said for Death Stranding 2.  

    Death Stranding 2, much like its predecessor, is both tonally and metaphysically uneven. For instance, the death of a significant character at the end of the game’s first chapter sees the sensitive protagonist embark on an uncharacteristically self-destructive arc fueled by alcoholism and self-loathing. 

    By contrast, during one particularly tragic moment in Genshin Impact, a character is flat out erased from existence, every single mention of them eradicated, right down to the item descriptions in your inventory. These quests ground the characters in the world, proving that consistency is key. 

    Death Stranding 2 has a great deal to offer for fans of stunning, granular exploration. However, despite all of its graphical embellishments and additional traversal mechanics, Genshin Impact reminds us, by comparison, that less can sometimes be more. 

    Despite boasting wildly different aesthetic approaches, both titles are about a wanderer who is endeavouring to restore a damaged world through acts of service and compassion. Both games are, at their core, about connection and relationships. 

    However, when compared directly to Death Stranding 2, Genshin Impact dances to a more reliable tune. Compared to the off-putting tonal inconsistencies and convolution of Death Stranding 2, Genshin Impact makes for an emotionally generous experience where characters and relationships are given ample time and space to take root in your heart. 

    Genshin Impact is a post-modern opus that confronts ideas of gnosticism, social engineering, morality, and religion with an adroitness and breadth utterly belied by its cover. All of this is framed against intuitive, well-paced, and rewarding exploration mechanics. Despite the title’s gung-ho and, at times, off-putting approach to monetisation, Genshin Impact’s generous open-world vistas make Death Stranding 2 seem miserly and sullen by comparison. 

    Ask the Escapist 

    How long is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach?

    Death Stranding 2 takes between 40 and 50 hours for a campaign-centric playthrough. However, if you’re looking to take a completionist approach, this could extend to roughly 100 hours.

    Why is Genshin Impact so popular?

    Genshin Impact is popular because it offers a roster of charming characters against the backdrop of a compelling and mysterious setting. The questions at the heart of the story encourage players to devote time and energy to exploring the world of Teyvat.

    References

    1. https://www.thegamer.com/kojima-strand-games-genre-explained/ 
    The Escapist is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy



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  • Aftermath and Taigam, Master Opportunist


    The rules of aftermath for something like Driven // Despair say to exile a card cast with aftermath when in leaves the stack, does this override Taigam, Master Opportunist placing the card into exile?



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  • Star Valor is one of Steam’s most overlooked space RPGs, and it’s getting better

    Star Valor is one of Steam’s most overlooked space RPGs, and it’s getting better


    The very best space RPGs can inspire a sense of wonder and scale unlike anything else. Games like No Man’s Sky and Starfield, when they are at their best, offer a magnificent sense of smallness and an equal embracing of freedom. That feeling goes to back to some of the best retro RPGs like Wing Commander: Privateer. Continuing in this legacy, Star Valor is a overlooked throwback. An upcoming DLC centered around base building looks to make it even better.

    In Star Valor – Base Building, you can do exactly what it says on the tin: manage and construct your own bases. The DLC adds multiple station types, like mining stations for extracting minerals from gigantic asteroids or production facilities to boost your economic power. You can even start with a base instead of a space ship in a new mode, battling waves of enemies to preserve the center of power. Like the best space games, Star Valor offers multiple approaches to play, letting you become an intergalactic trader, a pirate warlord, and much else besides.

    For the unfamiliar, Star Valor is a space-based RPG in a procedurally generated galaxy. No two games of Star Valor are alike; the game redraws the map every time you start a new game. You’ll start on your own, but as you level up and get cash, you can hire crew members to pilot bigger ships or entire fleets. You’ll barter, argue, fight, and ally with seven different factions.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    The Base Building DLC for Star Valor will launch on July 27, 2025. The price has not yet been announced.

    If you are looking for more richly defined, speculative worlds, take a look at our list of the best RPG games. If you want to wander through endless possibilities, check out the best open-world games.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Can there be a useful verifier that always results in False?


    Are there any setups by the Turing Machine manufacturer that we know of that use the fact that a verifier is required to complete the code BUT the verifier also does not ever produce a true for the given code? Example below:

    For b = blue, y = yellow and p = purple you could have:

    1. b = 2
    2. y = 3
    3. p = 3

    You could also have the verifiers:

    1. v1 = one colour is less than the other two
    2. v2 = yellow is =/>/< 3
    3. v3 = there are x even numbers
    4. v4 = one colour is greater than the other two

    Using that you can get the following results from the verifiers (eventually):

    1. v1: blue is < yellow or purple
    2. v2: yellow = 3
    3. v3: there is 1 even number
    4. v4: all results are negative

    In this case BECAUSE all results on v4 are negative, the code is solvable and is b2 y3 p3

    IF v4 had a positive for p > b/y then the result would also be meaningful: b2 y3 p5

    Therefore in this case v4 is both: required for the solution AND provides only negative results for this code

    I’m interested in whether the game setup provided by the manufacturer uses this feature to allow for such games. It seems ‘legal’ within the game rules, but it’s not clear whether these cases are actually provided and I can imagine that for ‘ease of understanding/play’ they might have shied away from those setups.

    It’s relevant because knowing whether they are possible setups or not affects your number of guesses. If it’s not possible, then you can assume the above case HAS TO BE the p5 solution and do (potentially) at least one less guess of the verifiers



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  • The rest of July is awesome for Game Pass with huge titles including Grounded 2 set to arrive – here’s what’s coming your way

    The rest of July is awesome for Game Pass with huge titles including Grounded 2 set to arrive – here’s what’s coming your way


    Grounded 2
    Image of Paul McNally

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    Published: Jul 15, 2025 10:24 am

    If you are a Game Pass subscriber, you’d better start clearing your calendars and storage space for the next few weeks, as Microsoft has dropped a list of games that you are not going to have time to play, all of which are arriving before the end of the month.

    As ever, some are going to get your attention more than most, and we will give you the full list in a moment, but first let’s cherry-pick some of what has caught our eye.

    Grounded 2

    Grounded was a really great game. Its setting, writing, and gameplay all appealed deeply to gamers like us who grew up watching movies where kids got shrunk and put into mild peril. Movies such as Inner Space and Big were staples of our entertainment, and Grounded took us back to a time when that all seemed possible.

    Grounded also became a little infamous for being one of the first games to cross the Xbox exclusive divide and enter the enemy camps of Nintendo and PlayStation.

    Grounded 2‘s Day One release will follow a similar path, being available only on Xbox and PC at launch.

    It’s going to be very cool, and we can’t wait to play this one.

    RoboCop: Rogue City

    Not new by any means, and with standalone DLC on the horizon as well, RoboCop: Rogue City caught everybody by surprise by being great, and also doing a fantastic job of recreating one of our favorite 80s movies. With appearances by original actors and a game that didn’t fall into the trap of just making another twitch shooter, RRC was really fun, and finding a new audience on Game Pass is its deserved reward.

    Farming Simulator 25

    Giants Software can do little wrong when it comes to Farming Simulator. Its audience is nailed on, and the size of it is mindblowing. Now, after healthy sales, it is obviously deemed the right time to spread the word further, so get your crops sown before the winter sets in and relax to the sounds of your combine harvester.

    Games coming to Game Pass in July’s Wave 2

    Outside of those three, we have the return of the excellent High on Life, which was a Day One game back in the day before leaving the service. That’s back from today, and we also have new Souls-like, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, which looks beautiful but challenging.

    Here’s the full list of what to expect between now and the end of the month.

    Date Game Available On
    July 15 High On Life Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
    July 17 RoboCop: Rogue City Game Pass Standard, Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
    July 17 My Friendly Neighborhood Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
    July 18 Back to the Dawn Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, Cloud, PC)
    July 22 Abiotic Factor Game Pass Ultimate (Console)
    July 23 Wheel World Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass (Console, PC, Cloud)
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  • TouchArcade is Shutting Down – TouchArcade

    TouchArcade is Shutting Down – TouchArcade


    This is a post that I’ve known was coming for quite some time, but that doesn’t make it any easier to write. After more than 16 years TouchArcade will be closing its doors and shutting down operations. There may be an additional post here or there in the coming weeks as we try to honor any previously agreed to obligations, and a proper farewell post is in the works too, but as of now our normal daily operations have ceased. The reason we’re shutting down probably isn’t a surprising one: Money.

    Many of you who have followed TouchArcade for a long time are well aware that we’ve had financial troubles for many years now, and to be frank I think it’s a miracle that we’ve been able to last as long as we have. The truth of the matter is that a website like ours just doesn’t make money anymore. To our own detriment we’ve resisted things like obnoxious in-your-face advertising, egregious clickbait headlines, or ethically questionable sponsorships, which sadly are the types of things that actually still make money in the internet of today.

    There are a number of other reasons that have contributed to us reaching this point, but I’d rather not get into all that right now. TouchArcade was an institution for many millions of people over the past 16 years, and it was my full-time job for the last 14+ years. A solid third of my life. In many ways it is like one of my children, and having to say goodbye to it is very difficult to do. I’d really rather focus on all the great times we had than dwell on the things which we cannot change.

    Also, as a man with a wife and two young children, and a mortgage, and all that other fun adult stuff, this is the end of my livelihood, and despite them being “freelancers” in a technical sense that is true for the other two people who have been the beating heart of TouchArcade, Shaun Musgrave and Mikhail Madnani. Which brings me to my next point…

    PLEASE HIRE US!

    The job market is not great anywhere, and finding new work is tough, especially in the games industry. If you are reading this and you have a need for very capable game industry veterans such as ourselves, please reach out.

    Jared Nelson – That’s me! Obviously I have more than 14 years of experience working right in the very thick of the mobile gaming boom here at TouchArcade. Writing, editing, managing staff, traveling to conventions. I’ve pretty much done it all. I also have a pretty varied work history previous to TouchArcade, including in management roles, that I think gives me a really well-rounded set of skills. You can contact me on LinkedIn or by email at jared [at] toucharcade [dot] com.

    Shaun Musgrave – Shaun has been with TouchArcade for a bit over 11 years, but has been in professional games media for more than 25 years overall. He is hands down one of the most gifted writers I have ever encountered, and if we needed a review for a big, important game and needed it by a very tight deadline Shaun was always dependable. He also uses his vast, almost uncanny knowledge of video game history to find interesting angles to write about games that only he could find. Shaun lives in Japan and is fluent in both Japanese and English, making him a great candidate for localization work as well. Please reach out to him at muzkind [at] hotmail [dot] com.

    Mikhail Madnani – As part of TouchArcade for more than 7 years, Mikhail has been the workhorse of our staff. Posting the bulk of what you would see on a day to day basis, there is no possible way our website could have kept running for so long without Mikhail’s contributions. An expert at sniffing out interesting news stories and then posting them in a timely fashion, but also able to put together huge features like in-depth interviews and multi-platform reviews. His coffee-laden header images are legendary as well. If you need someone who can reliably and consistently post video game-related content, then I cannot recommend Mikhail highly enough. Reach out to him at hello [at] failgunner [dot] com.

    So What Happens Now?

    If there is some sort of silver lining to all of this, it’s that for the foreseeable future all of the content that has ever been posted to TouchArcade will remain online and accessible to all. More than 33,000 published articles, including more than 4,000 game reviews, not to mention all of our yearly Best Of content and Game of the Year picks. These should hopefully all continue living on into the future for reference purposes and just to look back and see how drastically the mobile gaming landscape changed over the last decade and a half.

    We are also hoping to continue with our Podcast, The TouchArcade Show, which very recently just celebrated its 600th(!) episode. There are a couple co-hosts who have come and gone during the course of the podcast (shout out to Brand and Mike!) but myself and Eli Hodapp have been a constant presence on the show since the very beginning, and it’s really crazy that we’ve both spent 13+ years of our lives putting out hour-long podcasts on a (nearly) weekly basis.

    Related to that, you may be wondering about our Patreon. The support from our Patreon has far and away been the biggest contributor to TouchArcade continuing to exist since we launched it in June of 2015, almost a decade ago. Our thoughts are to pivot the Patreon contributions towards keeping the podcast going, and perhaps occasional posts or special features written by the staff here. Perhaps a random “SwitchArcade” or a review about a particularly high-profile mobile game launch. Maybe we could even squeeze in a Game of the Year for this year? It’s just a nugget of an idea right now, but it would be pretty cool to see TouchArcade be able to live on even in that small way.

    Whatever the case ends up being, I will explicitly change the verbiage of our Patreon to state that it’s no longer about supporting the website, and if people choose to stop contributing then that is totally understandable. If people are giving us money monthly I want to be absolutely transparent about what it’s going towards. Anyway, look for more news about this in the coming weeks, and at the very least be sure to follow along as a free member on our Patreon to stay in the loop. Also if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at tips [at] toucharcade [dot] com or leave a comment below.

    Well, that about does it, I think. I speak for all of us who have contributed to running TouchArcade over the past 16 years–from the co-founders Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson, to the first full-time hire and future Editor in Chief Eli Hodapp, and to the dozens of other writers and freelancers who have helped make TouchArcade what it is–we just want to give a sincere thank you for ever reading our site, listening to our podcast, or attending one of our events. It has been an absolute pleasure to have such a wonderful audience who appreciated what we did so much and we will all forever be grateful for the time that we were able to spend together.



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