Tech Radar 247

Rumors are continuously boiling up on the surface regarding the arrival of Darkest Dungeon 2. However, the fans have to wait till the “Stars are Right” for it. A recently released an hour-long documentary by The Escapist increases the excitement for the second installment even more. It’s been a long time since this game debuts, and the fans think it is the right time for the succeeding version to come. The game received great reviews from the critics, earning numerous award nominations, and went on to sell over two million copies of it.

Darkest Dungeon is a role-playing video game. Red Hook Studios produced this game, which was published by Merge Games. This game made its debut for Microsoft Windows and OS X in January 2016. Later that year, it was also released for PS4, PS Vita, and Linux. In February 2019, the creators announced the sequel of this game series. In the previous month, Red Hook also announces the latest DLC update, which promises the PvP content. This update is scheduled to come later this month. 

The Butcher’s Circus DLC: Online PvP Mode

The fans’ favorite game is getting a brand-new DLC update later this month. And it will allow gamers to play PvP Arena battles in a single-player game. The creators announced this update on the first day of April, and everyone took it as a prank. But now everyone is out of April Fools Day and getting this one hell of an update for real. Red Hook announced The Butcher’s Circus would introduce Arena battles “against your friends and enemies alike.” 

The fans will see a new place in the hamlet known as Butcher’s Circus once the player installed the DLC. The location is described as a weathered and bloodstained pavilion tent. It will serve as the venue of the PvP action. Here, players battle one another using teams of four heroes in an attempt to raise their ranks. Unique new trinkets can be used to gain a vital edge, and victory in battle unlocks banner components, enabling players to assemble their own duelist genealogy.

New Darkest Dungeon Documentary

The Escapist released a documentary which covers single high and low of this fascinating game. The Gameumentary movie covers the roots that led Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman to form Red Hook Studios, their Canada Media Fund denial, Kickstarter cast, design process, the soundtrack and narration, demoing Darkest Dungeon at expos, the January 2015 Steam Early Access release, and ongoing updates. 

The preparations for Darkest Dungeon are on full swing. And the creators think the same situation will arise again that they face after the launch of the debut version. However, this time they will be taking precautions and have better community management tools. In a recent interview, Sigman cleared out some doubts about the developers of the game. He said most of the people wonder why do developers care, but the thing is they care a lot, “especially when it’s their game.”

Darkest Dungeon 2: What To Expect?

Red Hook released a teaser trailer for Darkest Dungeon 2 in the previous year. The succeeding version of this game will be a full-fledged sequel with a better mechanism. The format of combat will remain the same, but some changes will take place to refine the mechanics even further. In the trailer, the fans can see The Ancestors narrating the whole promo. It is a brilliant formation as their lines were one of the best parts of the original game. They will be making their return in the second installment. The creators will add new character classes over time as DLC. 

The metagame of Darkest Dungeon 2 will be completely different from the inaugural one. It will take the players to a place known as “The Howling End.” The fans can take a glance at this place in the teaser. It looks quite dangerous and giving the fans some chill vibes. Recently, in a statement, the creators said Darkest Dungeon 2 would be about enduring a grueling journey, not cleaning up your backyard. The upcoming installment might come up with the trademark feature of this game. There is a probability that the fans will see a unique Hero Stress feature making its return.

Darkest Dungeon 2: Release Date

Through the official twitter handle of the game, the creators informed the fans that they are working very hard on the second installment. They also said that they’d inform more “when the stars are right.” The hype for this sequel drastically increases after the announcement of multiplayer mode. The fans can expect Darkest Dungeon 2 to release by the end of 2020. And as for the Butcher’s Circus DLC, it is planned to release on 28 May 2020. 

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We‘be been tight-lipped regarding Darkest Dungeon II, but rest assured, the team is working very hard, and the game is coming together. We’ve staffed up over the past year, and are excited to share more when the stars are right…

— Darkest Dungeon (@DarkestDungeon) March 4, 2020

Electronic Arts announced that fans might get to see the launch of FIFA 21 later this year. Although the pandemic has disrupted industries worldwide, EA studios are sticking to their plan for now. Following the usual trend, they might launch the game globally in September 2020. The current date, for now, is 25^th. Those who have pre-booked the game will have early access two or three days before. Here is what we at TechRadar247 know about it.

EA’s Financial Report for 2020 revealed the upcoming title

FIFA is one of the most successful gaming franchises globally, with more than 100 million players.  EA recently released their financial report, and from what it looks like, they have incurred severe damage due to the pandemic. Besides, it is in the same report that EA confirms the launch of Madden 21 and FIFA 21 in 2020. It is more than likely to happen that the game will launch on the last Friday of September as the previous ones have.

FIFA 21 might cost slightly higher than previous versions of the game

FIFA 20 bought more than 25 million new users to the platform in the last quarter of 2019. Similar are the expectations with the upcoming title. We still do not have any official information on the pricing. However, like the previous versions, the standard edition of FIFA 21 might cost around 60USD or slightly more. EA launched a couple of different editions of the game: Ultimate Edition and Champions Edition, and they might cost differently.

FIFA 21 will be a cross-generation title. It will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Like some other titles that will launch later this year, it might also be available on the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X. Unfortunately, Google Stadia could not feature the previous version of the game. This year, it might.

Fans throughout the world would be able to pre-order the game, most likely in summer 2020. That is the time when EA usually promotes its upcoming titles. You might also get some discount on the price and additional perks like Ultimate Packs.

We might see the following improvements in the game

The last edition was very popular because of several aspects. One of them was Volta, the street football addition. It was one of the most appreciated features, with its own story and soundtracks. We could see the addition of new venues and skills in the upcoming game. 

We might also see some career mode improvements and new icons. The realistic transfer system and stadium editor is a popular demand amongst FIFA fans across the world. 

FIFA recently lost the Juventus football club to Konami. It would be exclusive to eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020(PES). Similar situations developed for Barcelona, they were without a home in the game. Hopefully, EA would win the race to get the roosters licensed this time. The last year’s edition had Eden Hazard and Virgil van Dijk as cover stars. We might see them again on this year’s cover, although there are plenty of other contenders available.

Motorola Razr, the modern flip phone, will be out in the market on May 8^th 2020. For now, the smartphone will be available on Flipkart and Motorola’s authorised leading stores. This device is an example of sheer hard work and cutting-edge technology. 

The USP of this device is the completely foldable screen. It practically reduces the size of the device into half (doubling the width) when not in use. Being the highlight of the device, this might be a caveat at the same time. With a revolutionary design, the device has some ordinary specification out of the box. However, mind you, this device is not about being the fastest or smoothest. It is a classic example of the advancement of tech.

Let’s talk specifications

A Snapdragon 710 processor along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage is what helps the device to perform well. Given the combination, it will be able to handle everything that you would throw at it efficiently. It runs on Android 9 Pie and has all the necessary sensors that you might need in your device (including a fingerprint sensor).

Get ready to use two displays!

The Motorola Razr has two displays. Once you flip the device close, the part of the device in the front has a small 2.7”(600 x 800) gOLED display. You could interact with your device without the need to open it like read messages, answer calls, click selfies and so on. Utility wise, this is a very nice feature.

Talking about the main display, we get a 6.2”(2142 x 876) pOLED HD screen, with an aspect ratio of 21:9(called Cinemavision). This screen folds itself up. It is a very fulfilling in-hand experience.

A gOLED display is nothing but a substantial amount of glass added to the OLED panel, giving it additional strength. A pOLED display is plastic added to the OLED panel, giving it flexibility.

Cameras and other features

We get a single-lens primary camera, 16MP (f/1.7), and it uses both dual pixel autofocus and Laser autofocus. Although, you can shoot 4K videos at 30fps.

The selfie camera is a tiny 5MP shooter. When the device is close, you can click selfies using the primary camera and the secondary display.

The marvellous design comes at certain compromises

The battery capacity is 2510 mAh. While the processor is power efficient, you might have to search for your charger at around 9 PM. The battery supports 20W Turbo-Power, and we also get an 18W fast charger in the box.

For those of you, who are coming across this for the first time, imagine your smartphone. Grab it from the top and the bottom bezels and just fold it vertically. Now, do not do that because the screen on your smartphone is not flexible like the new Motorola Razr. It does take a hit on the capacity of the display to withstand rough usage (high-pressure random touches, sharp nails). Again, the amount you would pay for this device, it is very unlikely that it will have to face those circumstances.

This device is undoubtedly a breakthrough

In current times, the smartphone industry is evolving faster than anything is. We saw smartphones with high storage capacities, with mind-blowing camera systems and even ultra-fast charging. It essentially means that your phone can have a higher storage capacity than your PC. That very smartphone of yours could click images that have higher resolution than a DSLR. Besides, you can see your phone charging up in real-time. For all the tech enthusiasts out there, this must be a great time to be alive!

Realme X3 SuperZoom is one of the most awaited smartphones. It is one of the three phones in the X3 series. As the name suggests, it is going to be a camera-centric smartphone. There is no official announcement about the specifications. But leakers and fans can never wait. The news caught some eyes when the device appeared on the Bluetooth registration website. So here is a possible overview of the device.

We might see a medium-sized display

The device might come with a 6.44”(1080 x 2400) 90Hz LCD. The LCD panels save cost as compared to 90Hz OLED panels, and that is the company is using for a long time now. We have also seen Realme taking surveys in the past about the display type that the user wants. 

A flagship processor lasts for almost two years!

The device showed up on Geekbench. The listings suggest that X3 SuperZoom would be powered by a Qualcomm 8 series processor, Snapdragon 855+. It is the flagship processor from last year and remains powerful. Out of the box, the device would come with Android 10. All these hints that Realme might not be after making a 5G phone, instead they are working on something that is more value for money and less expensive. 

The device might have these additional features

It might come with additional features like 180Hz Touch Sampling Rate, and the screen might also support HDR10+ content. Talking about different models, there will be standard RAM variants of 6/8/12GB coupled with 128/256GB of UFS 3.0 internal storage. A leak also says that it will house a 4200 mAh battery that will support the 30W fast charge.

SuperZoom suggests some unique zoom mechanism

Talking about the camera, it is going to be a party for mobile photographers. The back panel might have a quad-camera setup. The primary lens is said to be 64MP (f/1.8) shooter, along with a 12MP (f/2.5) telephoto shooter. The optical zoom capacity does not have any official word yet, but the setup is capable of producing a 20x hybrid zoom. There might be two optical zoom lenses as we have seen on a couple of devices in the past. Let us see how Realme implements this.

There might be a completely different story

If we consider the recent launch of Realme X50m in China, which is powered by Snapdragon 765G(5G enabled), it might give a different angle to the story. The X3 SuperZoom might also feature this smartphone, and this would not only give it 5G connectivity, but it would also cut slag in terms of cost.

The pricing of the device puts it right into competition with upcoming models like Mi 10 Youth, which has a very similar form factor and spec sheet. We have discussed the device in an article. Check it out for further details. All-in-all, the price range of 20,000 to 30,000 has the most heat. Whether or not the X3 SuperZoom would stand a chance, time will tell!

The OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro made their way to the market, in the recent launch. But the third device that did not show up. The OnePlus Z or the OnePlus 8 Lite is the topic for today. According to the latest leaks, the device might come up in July 2020.

The device would cost less than OnePlus 8

OnePlus has hiked up the prices of the new line-up. It only makes sense that they would launch a device to maintain their strong presence in the mid-premium range. The price would likely be between 400USD to 500USD.

Where will OnePlus save the cost?

With the new price segment, customers are missing that DNA OnePlus use to have. From being the “Flagship-Killer” to producing a flagship phone (or at least trying to do so), OnePlus has come a long way. The OnePlus Z would be a slightly small device. 

Screens are always a cost-cutting factor for companies while developing budget-friendly mobiles. Now whether the company provides an AMOLED panel with high refresh rates or an LCD panel, time will tell. We might as well see a different chipset than in more expensive devices. 

Let us have a look at possible specifications

The phone is likely to have a 6.4” display with a hole punch. A standard 60Hz display would be no surprise. Since OnePlus announced that it is going to be “All in 5g”, this new device might also support 5G. But then how would it be less expensive? Well, experts say that the new affordable OnePlus device might be powered by Dimensity 1000, a new 5G enabled chipset. It is a new processor by MediaTek and claims to be very powerful.

Up ahead on specifications, the device might have a triple read camera setup, with the primary lens being a 48MP shooter.  The front camera could have a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor. The device would come with a 4000 mAh battery out of the box and could support Warp 30T fast charging.

The storage variants would be 8/128GB and 8/256GB, with the support of UFS 3.0 storage. Overall, if you miss the mid-premium smartphones by OnePlus, this might be the right phone for you. Other companies are flooding the market with products in this price range. 

Especially in the Indian market, where most people need to buy an affordable device, low-cost smartphones are very successful. OnePlus 8 series comes at a lower price in India than it does globally. Let us see how they implement the Lite model!