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The Preamble So, you have stumbled across The Gamer Guide and you are wondering, “Why do I need a guide to gaming?” Well, we will not guide you on how to game, but we will keep you informed as to what the gaming industry has to offer to get you the best gaming experience! Now, the second thing you are probably wondering is, “How did The Gamer Guide start?” Well, it can be a slightly long story. However, the shortened version is that the journey of three Twitch streamers brought them together, and with their passion for gaming, their experiences of streaming, and their love for everything within the world of entertainment… The Gamer Guide was born. But what exactly is The Gamer Guide? The Gamer Guide is a digital magazine that focuses on everything gaming and streaming. This includes the latest/upcoming releases, reviews on gaming accessories, streaming tips, and even interviews with streamers and industry professionals from across the globe. Our readership is predominantly other gamers and streamers, just like us! We understand that the love and passion for gaming extends far beyond just playing a game, and that is what we are all about! So, who are the people behind this magazine?

Cal Howie - Operations Director Cal, also known as EyeStayProd has been streaming since September 2020 and loves everything about it whether it be the community, the rage moments or even just having fun and brightening people’s days! Predominantly he is an Xbox Gamer and recently added the Series X to his arsenal, but he also has a PS4 for certain games as well as having the Nintendo Switch to hand! His game of choice is Apex Legends but is no stranger to RPGs and other games, such as every Pokémon game in the franchise, the Fable Series, Call of Duty amongst loads more. Brandon Sawyer - Content Director Brandon, also known as Sawyers Gaming Central or Sawyer for short has been streaming since April 2020 and absolutely loves everything about it from the communities to the gameplays and reactions even a couple of rages thrown in there on a couple of occasions, but mostly he just loves to have fun and make people laugh which he can be quite hilarious at times! Predominantly he is an Xbox Gamer where he mostly plays his Xbox Series X but also has a gaming pc, a Nintendo switch, and even a Playstation. Sawyer is mainly a variety streamer where his main love is Gears of war and RPGs and due to Sawyers background he has come on board with The Gamer Guide as the Content Director, so we’re sure you’ll all learn to love this familiar face and don’t hesitate to pop by and say hi! Emily Welfare - Creative Director Emily, also known as CreativeTrashGaming, started streaming in the latter half of 2020 with the goal of bringing a bit of joy and laughter to the world, as well as the aim of raising money for various charities.Her favourite types of games are those with a compelling story, or those that just make her inner Fantasy Nerd go ballistic. She also likes spooky stuff, not just in the gaming realm but in general, and has a podcast with her two sisters where they discuss all things horror. Emily loves to dabble in the art world often, creating digital art pieces and learning new crafts. A graphics designer in her full time job, Emily is an integral part of the team whom designs the entire layout of our magazines from top to bottom!

contents CARE - UKRAINE CRISIS FUND

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what’s new on our youtube channel?

upcoming games in april and may 2022

gamer advantage

decksaver

nanoleaf

venom

sandberg

rode microphones - $300 XLR Combo

cyberpunk next gen update & dlc

gamescom returns 2022

xbox brings back twitch

dying light 2 review

elden ring review

horizon: forbidden west

gran turismo 7

taylor morgan

uhmaayyze

camlay Property of WB Games Montreal

CARE

Ukraine crisis fund Terrible things are happening in Ukraine, and many feel as if they are unable to help. However, streamers across the globe have come up with a way to raise money in order to assist with aiding the people in need. They have united with the charity CARE who have boots on the ground in Ukraine helping to provide food, water, shelter, and financial aid. They will be hosting non-stop charity streams where viewers can donate to this wonderful cause. One popular streamer and political commentator HasanAbi has already raised a lot of money for Ukraine relief working alongside CARE. Hasan had originally planned to have an unspecified donation goal but CARE set it to $100,000, which he reached in around twenty minutes and it is still climbing daily. In addition to the donations made through CARE Hasan is matching the first $25,000 and also donating $10 for every death he has within the game he is playing. You can find Hasan’s stream here: HasanAbi - Twitch CARE is accepting donations for the Ukraine emergency providing “immediate aid and recovery, food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support and cash assistance for families in the country and those fleeing. CARE also links to stories about the crisis on their site and offers other ways to get involved. You can find additional information about CARE and what they do below or you can donate directly through CARE over at their website:

www.care.org About CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund CARE is launching a humanitarian response to support the most vulnerable Ukrainians, particularly women-headed households and the elderly. Nearly 30% of people in need of assistance in Ukraine are over the age of 60, which is the largest percentage of people affected by conflict in a single country. While many younger people are able to flee the violence, many older people are less mobile and have no choice but to stay. Older women, in particular, may be literally “left behind” to care for grandchildren with little support and face more challenges in moving to safety. CARE is working with a local humanitarian organization already operating in Ukraine to rapidly deliver emergency assistance. Through this partnership, we aim to impact 4 million people. Our first priority is to meet the immediate needs of affected families through the distribution of critical food and water supplies as well as hygiene kits, cash assistance and psychosocial support. Current Situation in Ukraine As of this moment, over 3.6 million Ukrainians have fled war, with many travelling to neighbouring countries such as Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Moldova. The citizens in these neighbouring countries have welcomed these families with open arms and are working day and night to provide shelter for them. CARE are currently dispersed in amongst these countries as well as attempting to assist those still in Ukraine that wish to leave. If you too would like to get involved with the teams working on these charity streams then do please get in touch with us over at our Twitter where we can point you into the right direction: @TheGamerGuide_

upcoming games What’s new on ourin channel? febyoutube and march 2022 We is have an ever-growing library of videos where we do in-depth reviews of the latest tech, unbox Life Strange Remastered Collection some exciting goodies and much more! Take a look at just some of the videos linked below, and Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, button PC hit PS4, that subscribe whilst you’re there! Developer: Ubisoft Release date: January 20th 2022 (Out now!)

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Platform: Switch Developer: Game Freak Release date: January 28th 2022 (Out now!)

Dying Light Stay Human Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox, Switch Developer: Techland Release date: February 4th 2022

Sifu Platform: PS5, PS4, PC Developer: Sloclap Release date: February 8th 2022

CrossfireX

Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One Developer: Remedy Entertainmennt, Smilegate Release date: February 10th 2022

Total War: Warhammer 3

Platform: PC Developer: Creative Assembly Release date: February 17th 2022 Big things are in the works at TGG for 2022, including a new series on our YouTube channel, so if you want to be kept up to date on some exciting new stuff, head to our website and subscribe to Horizon Forbbiden West our magazine for free! Platform: PS5, PS4 www.thegamerguidemag.com Developer: Guerilla Games Release date: February 18th 2022 YouTube: @TheGamerGuide

Property of Avalanche Software

upcoming games in april and may 2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch Developer: Traveller’s Tales Release date: April 5th 2022

The House of The Dead: Remake Platform: Switch Developer: MegaPixel Studios Release date: April 7th 2022

Babylon’s Fall: Ultimate Edition Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One Developer: SQUARE ENIX Release date: April 7th 2022

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Developer: NeocoreGames Release date: April 26th 2022

Salt and Sacrifice Platform: PS5, PS4, PC Developer: Ska Studios Release date: May 10th 2022

Evil Dead: The Game

Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch, PC Developer: Saber Interactive Release date: May 13th 2022

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong

Platform: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC Developer: Big Bad Wolf Release date: May 19th 2022

Gamer Advantage is a company that creates products that genuinely improve the well-being of any and all gamers. They are committed to the wellness of every gamer in the world and will continue to invest in science that produces meaningful results. Gamer Advantage believes that it starts with your vision. The eyes are the windows to our general health and can have a significant impact on our day to day well-being. How you treat your eyes directly affects how your brain and body support your gameplay. They attack that with a clinically proven lens technology that helps improve sleep, health, and performance. All of their lenses are paired with high quality optical grade frames. Hey! Thanks for speaking with us! Firstly, could you provide me with some insight into your history in terms of career, how you came to be in, not only the gaming industry, but also the gaming accessories industry and what made you decide that these industries are right for you? have been a gamer my entire life. My first run in the gaming industry began when I was the cohost of an FM video game radio show in Detroit back in 2008. I remember the station manager saying, “video games are stupid and don’t belong on the radio”. I worked a few corporate jobs following that and ended up in eyewear. It was my experience in the optical industry that opened my eyes to the need for a company that makes a great product, for an amazing industry, for the right reasons. Nothing better than working and playing in the same space. Such a great passion for the industry is just what we love to see and I bet the station manager is eating those words right now. Could you briefly introduce us to Gamer Advantage? What was the deciding factor to diversify into gaming eyewear? E.g. a brief overview of the company, your main focus, products, locations etc. I founded Gamer Advantage about 3 years ago, after years of researching eyewear, blue light, sleep, and health. I understood the connection between blue light and poor sleep, but I had yet to experience something that worked. I knew I could

design the frame, but needed a lens rooted in science from a company that shared similar values. The second I found that, we began our mission. We can be described as an eyewear company for gamers who want to sleep. We make prescription and non-prescription eyewear that is designed to look good, fit comfortably under a headset, and prevent the suppression of melatonin. Our main focus is to combine the gaming lifestyle with wellness and we believe it starts with sleep. One of the easiest ways to start getting better rest, is to minimise and mitigate as much screen time as possible while our body is preparing for bedtime. We sell online all over the world, have several local retail stores carrying our product, and are currently working with a few big box retailers. We also sell accessories, apparel, and have an eye health multi-vitamin. Only three years ago and such a strong lead in the industry market already. That’s great to hear we love and can see such passion for it and the items themselves are quite amazing. What for you, differentiates Gamer Advantage from other similar companies operating within the same industries as yourselves? We know you have a variety of products for gaming devices, how do you make your products stand out? First and foremost, every single person who works on Gamer Advantage is a gamer first. When we

post jobs, we have one of the criteria listed as “must game for at least 3 hours every week”. We think it is necessary to know gaming, to provide to gamers. Also, our product is rooted in science, clinical trials, and advisory board members with significant experience in vision care and neurology. We don’t really have competitors. We are the only optical brand in the space that participates in the way we do. We attend the events, we stream, we have over 500 partners and affiliates, and we all do this full time. Every product we sell has a baseline criterion to fit the standards we deem necessary for gaming and impact. We took something that many have done before and did it right. It’s a good trait to have nowadays being a gamer the industry is thriving massively and that’s such a huge list of partners and affiliates it great to see a big support in the community. After testing out your products we can really see that you do set the bar very high and the quality is great. As an established company, how do you ensure growth moving forward? How important is innovation, how do you keep up with the advancements in technology and current trends? I appreciate the compliment and try to always remember, while we may seem established, nothing really is in eyecare, health, and gaming. Things are changing all the time. We as a community continue to push the envelope on technology and convenience. We have 4 pillars of success and two of them speak to your question. First is “Change and Sustain” and by that we mean, we are ready to change as the industry evolves and we will do it in a sustainable way. The second relevant pillar is” Innovation that Inspires”. We want people to try our products and say “wow, I didn’t expect it to work that well, fit that well, feel that good”. We strive to impress people with every detail from our packaging, to our websites virtual try on function with true augmented reality. Well we sure are one of those people who didn’t expect it to work as well and was shocked with comfort they are really well done products. On the subject of your eyewear products, we managed to try out pretty intensively the blue light gaming glasses and found out these really do help alot with intense periods of gaming or working. It helped avoid any unwanted headaches, so on that please explain what went into perfecting such glasses?

This is all about science. There is way more to talk about here than just blocking blue light. For example, eye strain can be caused because you don’t blink enough, which can lead to headaches. People who wear glasses tend to blink more often. On the other hand, poor sleep can lead to a myriad of issues, including headaches and even worse, anxiety and depression. So the long term effect is just as important, if not more important than the short term feels you might have. Our technology is patented, and it is designed as a powder, not a coating, that is impregnated into the lens to attack a very specific wavelength of light that we know to suppress melatonin. In addition to that, everything we make is under an FDA medical device classification. Our eyewear and our lenses are premium optical quality, with premium coatings, and the ability to do even the most complex prescription. This is an evergreen thing for us. We are always researching, testing, and pushing the limits of what these lenses can do for sleep, and discovering new ways Gamer Advantage positively impacts the overall physical and mental wellness of our community members. By the sounds of things a lot actually goes into the research to make such products. That’s very knowledgeable information. We are pleased to hear the science behind the production and are very lucky to have been able to try such products. I personally loved the changeable lenses on some of your ranges. Please tell us where this idea came from and did you run through plenty of designs beforehand before perfecting things like your core collections? When you say changeable lens, I assume you mean the magnetic polarised sun-clip. Like I said, we are gamers first, and many of us don’t have an extra $300 to spend on prescription sunglasses. The idea for this clip was to add tremendous value to those who had prescription but also needed sunglasses. It also drove home the point that glasses for gamers don’t have to be ugly and embarrassing. Yeah the sun clips were a nice touch indeed and them being attachable magnetically was fantastic and worked great. That is a great way to think of it and very innovative indeed. Are there any past projects or achievements that you’re particularly proud of at HideIt which you’d like to highlight in the article? The number one thing I am most proud of is the

family we have built. I started this as one person, and now we have more than 15 employees, 500 partners, and more than 30,000 customers. Yeah that is a massive accomplishment in only three years. It’s great to see you throbbing so well and having such great support behind it. We see you also have a range of vitamins for promoting healthy eye care. What made you decide to delve into the world of vitamins? There are many steps you can take to a healthy lifestyle, which includes healthy eyes. Your eyes are the only part of your brain exposed on the outside of your body and it requires nourishment to remain healthy. A lot of the nutrients in our vitamins can be found in foods we eat, but 99% of people don’t/can’t eat enough of those foods to get the nutrients they need. It’s great to see that you have thought about so many aspects of health in people’s eyes and really have put in the work to make the perfect product. On the subject of Eye Vitamins, What went into the production of such items? We managed to try these out and they really do work fantastically. Can you explain a little more about your Eye Candy range for our readers? I touched on a lot of this above, but to expand on it a little more, the main ingredients for eye health are Lutein and Zeaxanthin and those have been used for a long time in the eyecare industry. They were generally recommended to older patients, but now doctors are recommending the supplementation at an earlier age. It’s never too early to start thinking about what impact years and years of staring at a screen might have. We were very lucky to get to try out these vitamins and the taste was great, we did manage to notice a difference in the health within our eyes after the first week of trying them out. We also managed to try out your fog spray. What was the deciding factor to start producing this and what was the idea/process behind it? The main reason I created this was because I ran into someone at an optical convention that ended up basically being my neighbour. They shared their formula and to my surprise, it worked. Antifog products are generally hit or miss, but I was so impressed I thought “hey, maybe we can use this for people who wear glasses inside a VR headset.” We launched it 3 months before the pandemic started. Once the pandemic started, because our

product actually works, we quickly became the countries #1 selling anti-fog spray and now most people use it to prevent foggy glasses when wearing a mask. Once we got to try these out the first trying that came to mind was the fog of glasses whilst wearing a mask during covid so we understand that completely, it is a perfect little product which does work wonders. Also on the subject of your fog spray, can you give our readers more of an insight to this product and what methods did you go through to really make this stand out and work as great as it does? The formula has been used for a long time in the safety and military markets. I partnered with the manufacturer and created my own bottle, label, and marketing to better appeal to our communities. Seeing as we aren’t chemists at Gamer Advantage, it was important that whatever we used, was best in class. The fact that it was local, sealed the deal for me. The reason it is so effective is protected by patents, so I am just as amazed as our customers. That’s great that you managed to keep everything local and that it’s been around for some time and used by many like i mentioned before it is really a great little item to have on hand. Looking ahead, what are the plans and projects for 2022? In 2022 we will expand our product lines including new lenses, new frames, and new accessories. We will double the size of our partnership program and triple the size of our distribution footprint. We also have huge international plans that should be kicking off by the end of Q1 2022. All sounds really exciting. We would love to be kept up to date with all this as you continue to grow so we can let all of our readers know what’s the latest as your products are really great. We hope to see your international plans reach out to us over here in the UK as we would love to see you at some of the events we attend over here. With your brand name, and position in the industry, do you run a sponsorship or brand ambassador programme? If so, could you name a few, and how important are they to the growth and success of the business? The #GAFam is our #1 focus. As I mentioned we have over 500 partners. This department has more staff than any other department, so on top of the 4 full time employees in our partnerships

program, we are paying out hundreds of creators every single month. This makes us feel we are doing the right thing by trying to put as much money as we can back into the community and the people who make it happen. We do this by choice. For some businesses, it could be a bad idea. The reason I say that is because unless you TRULY care about gamers and you TRULY understand gaming, the odds of you rolling out a successful partnership program is very slim. That’s very well thought out we love that this is what you do and you support your community so well it’s wonderful to see big shout out to all the #GAFam keep it going! On another note, you mention that you are a gamer, what is your gaming platform choice, what is your go to game, and what really excites you about the gaming world? I mainly play PC and Xbox. I love all games, but spend a lot of time playing Overwatch, GTAV (I love RP too), RDR2, Halo, and then I mix in various things like Farm Sim and It takes Two. I love this industry because it changes and moves so quickly. I love the energy and focus on satisfying the end user. I love creating content and being able to receive immediate feedback. I really

love earning people’s trust through holistic and genuine conversations both over gaming and at events. Such a great choice of platforms and some wonderful game choices we too love a bit of GTA RP and are huge Xbox & Halo fans. Finally, The gaming community is a fantastic one and it’s great to see the bond with everyone together. Is there anything else that you feel you would like to mention that we may not have covered? I just want anyone reading this to know I am here and available. I am willing to answer questions about my brand, my product, and myself. I will continue to advocate for my community and will not stop working towards a healthy lifestyle that includes as much gaming as I want. Both are possible, but both require hard work, and I am in it for the long haul. Thank you so much for your time. It’s been an absolute pleasure speaking with you and getting to try out your amazing products. Well there you have it everyone if you’re interested more in what Gamer Advantages do and their products then they are open to chat or you can check out their store and their socials below.

www.gameradvantage.com Twitter: @GamerAdvantage Instagram: @gameradvantage Facebook: @GamerAdvantage YouTube: @Gamer Advantage

Are you a content creator? Do you use a USB interface? Or do you use a state of the art XLR microphone? Well no doubt you have a Rodecaster Pro and or a GO XLR. Did you know that these products can collect dust and damage fairly easily? Well, we worked with a company called Decksaver who produces protective cases for these products. Who are Decksaver? Decksaver was founded in 2008 in the industrial heartland of Leeds, United Kingdom, Decksaver set out to solve the eternal problem surrounding music gear – how to protect expensive units from damage in demanding club, studio, stage and home environments. In the following years, Decksavers products quickly became the industry standard in elite clubbing establishments across the globe such as Ministry of Sound, Fabric, Space, Pacha and Amnesia. Utilising over 50 years’ experience in the plastics industry, Decksavers covers are all manufactured under one roof in Great Britain using only the highest grade polycarbonate. Why Invest in Decksaver Covers? In 2008, Mustafa El-Etriby came home to find his prized CDJ-1000’s damaged by his little brother. This frustrating moment inspired a game-changing new product and soon the first Decksaver was designed. In following years, Decksaver covers caught fire in clubs across the

world. The brand went from strength to strength – releasing a vast array of new covers and refining their sleek yet super-durable designs. Why Cover Your Gear? Music gear doesn’t come cheap and there is often sentimental value alongside financial worth. Despite its expense, equipment is vulnerable to elements such as dust, smoke, liquid and accidental impact. These elements have taken many a good unit down and do not discriminate. Each Decksaver is designed to follow the contours of the unit it protects. Decksaver creates stylish transparent covers that let the beauty of your equipment shine through inspiring you to create! Allowances for cables are included in every design, enabling your setup to wait ready for operation. Made from super-durable premium polycarbonate, their push-fit covers fit like a glove. Low profile design Decksaver covers incorporate a low-profile design – allowing compatibility with travel bags, controller bags and flight cases for extra protection on the road. This close design keeps rogue fader tips, sliders and knobs from dancing away, never to be seen again. For the legion of Decksaver users across the globe, our covers have become an indispensable part of everyday life, enabling stress-free travel and preserving the life span of their equipment.

What does TGG Think? Decksaver provided us with three of their products, a regular and light design for the Rodecaster Pro and a GO XLR protective case. Upon inspection they come with a very unique retail packaging which is light and secure to avoid any damages, For the product itself they are really well made a fit perfectly on both of the items we used to try these, Decksavers products are made with the highest of quality and really does keep your equipment secure and safe, We stress tested these items with spillage, dust and dropping something onto the product which we found there to be zero damage to the cases and product inside not even a scratch on the protective case which is very great to see. We will continue to use these cases on our audio equipment as they are not many around to compete, TGG would overall give Decksaver a 9/10 the price is reasonable, the products are fantastic and there isn’t really one fault to be noted, the only reason why this product is set at a nine and not a ten is due to availability, now you can get this in many countries including America and the UK but to ship to America may set you back over half of the original cost of the product, But if you are UK based and this is what you are in the market for then we do highly recommend such product. If you would like to find out more and see what Decksaver sell, then head over to their website and check out their social pages.

www.decksaver.com Twitter: @Decksaver Instagram: @decksaver Facebook: @decksaver TikTok: @decksaver

Nanoleaf launches the all new Nanoleaf Lines & Nanoleaf Lines Skins We had a great opportunity to work alongside Nanoleaf once again, in this case they supplied us with their new line range + some matt black line skins which also are a fantastic touch. You can see our full in depth review over on our YouTube page where we managed to test out the quality of these items, our team overall scored it with a fantastic 9/10 TGG where we didn’t seem to find any major flaws, the only issue we had was the ability to connect via the app as sometimes it would register and unregister but that was easily solved by updating the app or in some case reinstalling, one thing to also note was the price but once again you get what you pay for, we personally recommend this product as they do excel over their competitors. You can check out all the information about the all new Nanoleaf Lines & Lines Skins below.

Nanoleaf Launches Lines LED Light Bars, The First Ever Modular Lighting Beam with Backlit Illumination Toronto, ON - Nanoleaf, the global industry leader of smart lighting innovation, recently announced their all new Nanoleaf Lines, their newest generation of modular colour changing lighting products for your home, office and entertainment areas. Nanoleaf Lines are smart backlit LED light bars featuring a never-beforeseen modular form factor, offering ultramodern design paired with forward-thinking technology to bring you the next generation of colour changing smart lighting.

Next Generation Modular Smart Lighting Following their globally successful series of Shapes and Canvas light panels, Nanoleaf has established themselves as the original creators of the modular colour changing light. Nanoleaf Lines now reinvents the idea of modular design, offering ultra-lightweight light lines that connect at 60 degree angle increments to create sleek linear layouts, grand geometric shapes, and even ceiling designs with the intuitive mounting plates integrated with every Lines Mounting Connector. Each light line features dual colour zones so you can paint with two colours at once. The diffused lighting technology blends different hues together for seamless colour mixing, while the backlit glow casts an immersive RGBW design on your walls.

Mesmerising Lighting Scenes Paint your space with Lines’ dynamic lighting Scenes like vibrant ‘Neon Dreams’ and hypnotic ‘Kaleidoscope,’ whether you’re watching a movie, gaming or listening to your favourite playlist. Lines come with 19 preset Scenes, including 7 Rhythm Scenes with intuitive music visualisation technology. You can also explore thousands of new Scenes in the Nanoleaf App or create and upload your own using the intuitive Scene Creator which includes 16M+ colour options, a colour wheel, hex code inputs and motion selector. Rhythm Music Visualizer Technology With Nanoleaf Lines, users can experience Nanoleaf’s signature features in an entirely new way. The Rhythm feature syncs up with your favourite songs in real-time to create dynamic colour visualisations as the dual zones on each bar dance along to beats and melodies. Each Rhythm Motion (with 22 to choose from) is uniquely engineered for a different genre of music, complementing everything from bass heavy beats to soft melodic instrumentals. Immersive Screen Mirror Completing your entertainment space, Lines also transforms movie and gaming nights with Nanoleaf’s Screen Mirror feature which syncs up on-screen colours and animations with your lighting setup. Users can customise their experience with four different modes, whether it’s Match mode’s ultra-immersion to feel like they’ve stepped right into the action or Palette mode for a more subtle transition of colours. Thread and Matter Nanoleaf Lines continues to broaden the Thread ecosystem and will act as a Thread Border Router for the Nanoleaf Essentials line of Bulbs & Light strips to provide a faster and more reliable connection for both iOS and Android users. Eliminating the need for third party devices, your Essentials devices will automatically connect to a Thread network as soon as Lines is paired with the Nanoleaf App. All Thread enabled devices, regardless of their manufacturer, will soon be able to connect to a Thread network using Nanoleaf’s Thread Border Routers in a future update. Lines has also been designed with Matter in mind and will seamlessly work with the new standard via a software update later this year. Flexible Controls & Accessories Lines are WiFi controlled with the Nanoleaf App, voice commands or manually with the physical Controller. They are also compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings and IFTTT integrations. For further design customizations, Lines Skins will allow you to instantly change the style of your layout with ultra-lightweight Snap-On face plates; no tape or further installation required. Skins will come in Black and Pink and will be coming soon.

Retail Availability Nanoleaf Lines is available at go.nanoleaf.me (retailers in your region may also stock these) Smarter Kits (9 Lines) retail for $199.99 USD / £179.99 GBP and Expansion Packs (3 Lines) $69.99 USD / £49.99 GBP.

Nanoleaf’s Skins Information We were very lucky on top of all this to be supplied with some awesome matt black nano leaf lines skins, What are Nanoleaf Skins you may ask, well Nanoleaf Lines Skins are lightweight snap on covers which instantly change the look of your Nanoleaf Lines layout to match your personal style. No fixings or further installation is required. Currently the Lines Skins are available in Matte Black or Matte Pink. Each pack includes 9 Skins and 9 Mounting Caps and has an RRP of $19.99 USD/ £12.99 GBP. This product will be launched in April 2022. (Skins dimensions: 25.93 cm L x 0.21 cm x 0.95 cm) About Nanoleaf Nanoleaf is a technology and IoT company changing the world with the most innovative smart home solutions, taking ordinary experiences and making them extraordinary. By infusing thoughtful design and technological intelligence in their products, Nanoleaf is ushering in a new era of the smart home that centres around complete personalization – a world without restrictions that embraces the highest potential of our most loved spaces. Nanoleaf was founded in 2012 by three engineers wanting to shake up the lighting industry. The company now has a global presence with offices in Shenzhen, Paris and Toronto. Made up of a diverse team of passionate out-of-the-box thinking problem-solvers, Nanoleaf strives to transform and reshape the way we experience our world. If you would love to see what else Nanoleaf has to offer then head over to their website where you can see a range of products and also why not check out their socials too which are listed below.

nanoleaf.me Facebook: @theNanoleaf Twitter: @nanoleaf Instagram: @nanoleaf YouTube: @NanoGridSolar Reviewed by Brandon Sawyer - Content Director - The Gamer Guide

TGG Score 9/10 21

We were lucky enough to work with Venom Gaming UK who are one of the market leaders in console gaming accessories who have been empowering gamers for over twenty years, once again we happily worked with them in which they supplied us with a variety of their products in which we thoroughly tried & tested, You can find out what products we got our hands on and what we think below.

XBOX SERIES X ACCESSORIES BUNDLE FOR USE WITH - XBOX SERIES X Your Series X deserves the best. This bundle has everything you need to game like a pro. Compatible with the Xbox Series X. TGG Review First up this bundle comes with a pretty cool LED stand for your series X and awesome clip on mount which holds two controllers and a charging back with battery packs for two of your controllers so all around a fantastic bundle. Now upon closer inspection the price fits great as all the products are made with what seems to be your basic plastics and LED alongside your average go to charging port so this doesn’t really stand out much on that side but again this is very consumer friendly and the price is about what you would expect to pay. The LED stand fits like a glove on your Series X and gives you access to all your ports with a couple of changeable features and a nice glow to it which does look pretty cool for anyone’s setup, The controller stand fits perfect too and is very sturdy if your console is in the upwards position, The controller chargers are a Venom styled but very similar to what’s on the market atm, it is very light and can come in a variety of colours to match your controllers. Overall the products are somewhat unique and fairly sturdy and I doubt you can get any similar LED stands for a Series X at such a low price so overall we would score this bundle a solid 7/10 mainly due to it being fairly easy to use and set up and the price is very reasonable for what you get.

£42.99 - TGG 7/10

XBOX USB HUB FOR USE WITH - XBOX SERIES X Expand your Xbox Series X USB connection with our innovative Xbox USB hub. The perfect addition to complete your xbox controller accessories setup and ensure you’re always ready to game. The sleek, unintrusive design simply clips into the front port of your console, allowing you to charge extra controllers, plug in a wired gaming microphone or connect your mobile phone all from the front port of your console. TGG Review Second up we have the Xbox USB Hub now this small and compact device is great it fits perfect to your series x but bare in mind you can’t use this as well as using the LED stand which was a massively downfall for this design in our opinion, It does hower add a total of two additional USB ports and a USB C port to your console which is a great addition, The price is once again very consumer friendly and I can really see anything of similar value on the market but again the flaw with it not being usable with the LED stand is the downfall here. Overall it’s a great little gadget and we do recommend this if you need the extra ports as there was no overheating and no connectivity issues just the one issue we had was this isn’t compatible with the LED stand for the Series x which is a shame so overall we will have to go with another solid TGG 7/10.

£12.99 - TGG 7/10

UNIVERSAL GAMING STORAGE TOWER FOR USE WITH – UNIVERSAL Keep your games and accessories tidy with the Universal Storage Tower. Store up to 10 games, 4 controllers and 2 headsets. Plus, keep cables and other gadgets safe by storing them in the convenient drawer. TGG Review Finally the final product we got a chance to review was which seems to be fairly popular the universal gaming storage tower, now this product has to be assemble together and it does feel fairly flimsy and easily snappable but the price point is on par and very consumer friendly, the tower itself comes with a storage compartment to store any nintendo switch joy cons or accessories or anything you seem fit to place inside, it also comes with a headphone stand at the top which is fairly convenient but be careful with the weight you use as the stand itself seems a little unstable, the tower also gives you the ability to hold up to four controller these can be Playstation or Xbox controller with the PS5 controller being a bit too clunky in our opinion for this tower, on top of all that you have room for up to ten games these can be Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo or PC games anything smaller you would not be able to store. Overall the price is great the product itself has great storage capabilities but the actual plastic which is used does feel a tad cheap but its what you’d expect with such a low price to store so many items, so overall we would give this product a solid 7/10 mainly due to the storage capabilities having so many and being very convenient.

£19.99 - TGG 7/10 26

PS5 COLOUR CHANGE LED STAND FOR USE WITH – PS5 Stylish multi-colour light-up LED stand for your PlayStation 5 console, Illuminate your console with a choice of seven different colours with adjustable brightness USB powered - simply connects to the rear of your console, retains access to all ports, buttons, vents and other console functionality, compatible with all PS5 consoles. TGG Review The third item we managed to try, test and review was the all new PS5 colour changing LED stand now this only came out this month (March 2022) which we was one of the first to get our hands on back then and we must say we was very impressed, the price was spot on for what you would imagine to pay, there was several different LED options and it fit perfectly to the PS5 disc and discless version with access to all available ports. Overall its reasonable priced very sturdy powered by USB and fits well with a lovely LED glow looks great within anyone setup the only downfall we came across was the stand itself it seems fairly easy to break and somewhat poorly put together but that didn’t seem too much of a problem in which we scored this with a solid TGG 8/10.

£24.99 - TGG 8/10

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Venom Gaming UK once again, If you would like to purchase some of their products or see what else they do sell then check out their website and socials below and if you spend over £30 you get free delivery.

www.venomuk.com Facebook: @VenomUKGaming Twitter: @VenomGamingUK Instagram: @venomgaminguk TikTok: @venomuk

We worked with Sandberg (https://sandberg. world/en-gb/) recently on their selection of power banks in which we really put them to the test, they also sent us a 3 in 1 charging cable with three different ports which include: Lighting, Micro USB & USB-C, You can check out below what we think and a little information about said products. First up we got to try out their Outdoor Solar Powerbank 24000 which is a portable battery that is charged via a USB port or the built-in solar cells. You get up to 9 charging cycles for a typical smartphone and with its solid and rain proof packaging it keeps going even under harsh conditions. With USB-C connector to charge USB-C devices. Features a QC 3.0 USB connector for fast charge of supported devices.

possible to charge almost any type of USB-C device at maximum speed, including most laptop computers. We again really tested out this product over a month or so and we found out that it does indeed charge super-fast and can also be charged to full capacity very quickly too via a USB outlet, Now this product has a built in Always-ON-mode where the power stays on at above 60 mA power

We really managed to give this a thorough test over a month or so and we found out that the charging capabilities are really something great, the solar panels work wonders outdoors and if you want to charge up quickly then you can do so via a USB connection, As for charges it did charge up to nine times and would easily turn a phone from 0% to 100% within an hour, it is really a great piece of kit with a built in torch that is really bright and helpful if you are outdoors throughout the night time, there is one thing that may put people off and that’s the price these chunky power banks start at around £116.99 which may seems expensive but with an output of 24000 a built in torch and being waterproof we had to rate this with a TGG Score of 8/10 with the price only really being the downfall and with the size you may expect a few more USB ports as there is only two. Second up we got to try out the Powerbank 20000 PD65W+2xQC3.0 which is a powerful powerbank featuring high speed, great performance and huge capacity. When you are away from a power outlet, this powerbank ensures optimum recharging for any mobile device. Supports standard USB-A, QC 3.0 and USB-C PD 65W. The latter makes it

consumption and will eventually Auto power off after 2 hours below 60 mA power consumption which is a great little feature, This product also does lack in the amount of USB ports with there only being two which can not always be great when your on the go with a family or multiple devices but overall it’s a fantastic power bank with a 20000 output as for the price these range from £93.99 so again price may be concerning but with the output and how fast it does charge it’s a fantastic powerbank indeed, As for the TGG score we will once again go with a 8/10 on the TGG score as the price and the number of ports may be a concern to some people. Finally we got the chance to try out Sandberg’s 3in1 Lightning +MicroUSB + USB-C. With the Sandberg 3in1 Sync and Charge Cable you can sync with your computer and charge the battery at the same time or from a charger with a USB port which Is always a bonus. Now we managed to try this cable out with all three ports intensely over the range of a month and we found out that all ports connected perfectly there was no bend in ports and with the braided cable that supports the product we had zero tears

or issues with the cable, we even stretch tested and pulled out the ports a fair few times and it showed zero damage which is always a bonus, So all around this cable is a great piece of kit the only downfall is the cable only stretches to one metre which isn’t always great but combine with a power bank then they both work perfectly together. As for the TGG score we had to go with a 8/10 on this with the length being the main concern and the price secondly as for a one metre cable you’d possible expect something a little less with these ranging from £23.99 but at the end of it all you do get what you pay for and we can vouch here for Sandberg as their products are double quality tested and they all come with a five year warranty so that alone is worth the price. So overall across the board we do recommend Sandberg and a lot of their products but today it is only the Power Banks which we are showcasing for you today with a final TGG Score of a across the board 8/10. If you would love to see what else Sandberg has to offer then head over to their website where you can see a range of products and also why not check out their socials too which are listed below.

www.sandberg.world Facebook: @Sandberg.it Twitter: @sandberg_it Instagram: @sandberg.world

The rode xlr combo pricing & competition Are you a content creator and or streamer? Do you want to enhance your microphone quality? Well XLR is the way to go! so you may want to check out this article. We had the chance to work with our wonderful partners RØDE Microphones, where we managed to test out their AI-1, PodMic & PSA1 mount combination. We also compared the price and products to the competition around so we could save you wonderful creators some money in the long run. Specifications First up we will start with the AI-1 which is a USB Audio Interface that adds studio-quality Input and Output capabilities to your PC and or Mac, turning your recording software into a full recording setup. With its high quality Neutrik XLR-1/4” Combo Jack combined input and discrete Class-A preamp, the AI-1 allows you to connect a microphone or instrument or line level audio signal to your Mac/Windows computer for recording. The AI-1 provides the necessary A/D conversion at up to 24 bit/96kHz. The AI-1 also allows playback and monitoring of audio either direct from the microphone or via playback from the recording software. This is done via a highquality discrete headphone amplifier and outputs via either the ¼’’ headphone output on the front of the unit or the balanced ¼’’ outputs on the rear of the unit. The AI-1 Features: • • • •

Ultra low-noise Class-A discrete preamplifier Sampling rate of up to 96kHz/24-Bit Premium discrete headphone amplifier XLR-1/4” Combo Jack Instrument / line level input

• • •

2 x Balanced 1/4” speaker outputs Rugged body with Satin Black Finish USB-C/3 connectivity

Secondly we have the PodMic which is a broadcast-quality dynamic microphone optimised for incredible performance in podcasting, live streaming, and other speech or vocal applications. Offering a rich, full-bodied sound, with an internal pop filter for minimising plosives, internal shockmount for reducing vibrations, and a swing mount for easy positioning, the PodMic will take your content to the next level. The PodMic Features: • • • •

Broadcast-quality dynamic microphone Rich, detailed sound optimised for podcasting, live streaming and other speech applications Internal pop filter, shock mount and integrated swing mount Robust all-metal construction

And Finally for the combination we have the PSA1 which is a professional studio boom arm that allows easy and precise placement of a microphone. It features an innovative parallelogram design that keeps the mic direction constant as the height is adjusted, as well as internal springs for quiet operation. The PSA1 Features: • • • •

Professional studio arm Ideal for radio, broadcast, studio, and home use Internal springs for quiet operation Includes both threaded desk insert and desk mount clamp

•

Compatible with any microphone or shockmount using a standard thread, weighing between 700g and 1.1kg, including the NTUSB Mini, PodMic, Procaster, Podcaster, Broadcaster and more

Overall Price Ranges The AI-1 is compact, light and fits perfectly within anyone’s setup, we didn’t seem to find any faults with this product and it connects perfectly to your XLR devices as well as your PC and or MAC, As for the price these range from £90-£100 or $110$129. The PodMic is a fantastic XLR microphone with a built in pop filter and excellent quality, there are times where it may pick up some unnecessary noise but with a couple adjustments to the gain that stops this right away, As for pricing these range from £80 - £95 or $79 - $99. And for the final piece of the combination we have the PSA1 now there is an upgraded version the PSA1+ which is also a fantastic mount that works very well but it is slightly more expensive and there isn’t too much of difference minus a few spec changes so if you are on a budget i would recommend the PSA1, We did however give the PSA1 a pretty intensive stress test and we did not find any damage or wear with the spring and the mount so over all a wonderful well made microphone mount. As for the price these range from £65 - £75 or $99 - $119 with the PSA1 + ranging from £99 - £119 or $129 - $149. So you too could obtain this combo for around £240 or $310 which for a professional XLR microphone, professional studio arm and an audio interface, that itself is a bargain to really enhance your content creation and or streaming output.

£500 price range, which if you are on a budget you do not want to be spending all that money just to start using a XLR, Now this is where RØDE has come in and managed to change the market a little and produce a more affordable range of products for the average creator to really enhance their quality. Summary We did manage to try and test out all of the products mentioned above over a three month period and we couldn’t fault any whether it was a RØDE product or a Shure one, they both do make wonderful high quality products, but for the average consumer and someone who may not have the budget at the moment we highly recommend RØDE and their three pack combo as overall you will be spending a lot less and producing the same or similar quality. If you would like to get a hold of this combo you can head over to RØDE’s official website in which all of their products are on there in which they will direct you to companies which sell these items in your area and you may just find it to be much cheaper than we originally noted.

www.rode.com Facebook: @rodemic Twitter: @rodemics Instagram: @rodemic YouTube: @rodemicrophones

Market Competition As for pricing comparisons and market competitors there is another XLR microphone on the market which is a very big hit at the moment amongst creators and that would be the SM7B Vocal Microphone by Shure, now the price itself for this is very off putting ranging at around £389 or $399 and that only includes the microphone, from that you would either have to buy a AI-1 or something much more expensive like a GO XLR or RodeCaster Pro these of which are in the £300-

next gen update & free dlc CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077’s Patch 1.5 is available to download for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, PC and Stadia. The update includes improved AI, better driving, a revamped perk system, and loads more customisation. The patch notes are available in full on CD Projekt Red’s official website. A majority of the update is dedicated to revamping existing systems and improving AI, as well as offering up customisation content in three pieces of DLC. The developers are rejuvenating the perk system with a total overhaul. All perks will be redistributed for existing players after the patch so all players get a chance to try out the new-look system. The change was made to rebalance the game for fairness and to get rid of useless perks, like anti-underwater detection. There are now new perks under different trees, and one example that was given in the CD Projekt Reds official announcement livestream was the specific trees for stealth, like Ninjutsu and Cold Blood. Knife throwing has been improved so your weapon will come back to you, with rarer knives coming back to you faster. Combat AI for enemies is more effective, with things like finding cover or reacting to player movement. Vehicle-wise, bikes now have glowing rims. More importantly, Patch 1.5 is bringing reworked driving models to the game. This will affect how you do burnouts, vehicles will feel heavier, you can drift, and braking and suspension is better with a different feel-factor for each vehicle. Interiors have been revamped for firstperson and calling in cars won’t stack on top of one another. Crowds and traffic have been made “more living.” Crowds will react to you, so if you threaten them

with a gun they might try and gun you down in return nor will crowds disappear when you turn around. If you are aggressive around other drivers, then the cars will try and get away from your antics as quickly as possible. Drivers can faint behind the wheel, crash into the scenery, and generally be terrified of you. The skip time mechanic has changed, with UI letting you more easily notice what time you will be waking up. Crowds should now change based upon what time of day you are skipping too. Side content and main content is now clearly distinguished on the main map, with side content for gigs having progression paths and extra special rewards for reaching and completing the last missions. There are also filters on the map so you aren’t overwhelmed. On top of all of this, the economy has been fixed and rebalanced to make it easier to buy stuff. You can also reject incoming calls and there is an ability to mute some incoming calls automatically. The first DLC, which is free, has extra weapons and attachments in shops. There will also be randomised sales unlocked from the start of the game. The development team in a second DLC added the ability to change your physical appearance mid-game with plenty of additional hairpieces and lipstick which the devs seemed hyped about. The third update allows you to customise your apartment with one of six options. There are four new rentable apartments with different price points and styles. There seems to be plenty of Easter Eggs to be discovered. In addition to all of this, there is now a walk toggle button, better and more in-depth romance options, guitar playing, better sleeping buffs, and naked showers. There are Johnny Silverhand revamps too, so you can take pictures with him or something. Will you be downloading the patch? Will this help redeem the launch?

GAMESCOM RETURNS AS A HYBRID PHYSICAL EVENT IN 2022 Gamescom is returning as a physical event for the first time since 2019, the organiser has announced, with a focus on a physical/digital hybrid approach. The world’s biggest video game convention is returning to the Cologne exhibition halls from 24th August until 28th August later this year, with new regulations to ensure a high level of safety, such as improved admission management, digital queue management, extra wide aisles, or limited ticket allotments. Gamescom this year is also focused on “going green”, with the event planned to be carbon neutral over the medium and long term. Opening Night Live will be returning, as well as cosplay areas, retro areas, entertainment areas, and business areas. “All Gamescom fans and partners have been waiting for this for two years: Gamescom is finally returning to the Cologne exhibition halls, and thus also the unique festival feeling we had all been missing so much,” said managing director Felix Falk. “This year we are combining the best of both worlds: our extensive digital program with the incomparable Gamescom experience on-site.” “In the process, Gamescom is also once again setting new standards in 2022, for example, in matters of sustainability: with our ‘Gamescom goes green’ initiative, we will make Gamescom a special and climatefriendly event together with visitors and exhibitors. We thus want to not only be a lighthouse for the many initiatives for environmental protection and climate action in the international games industry, but also a pioneer for international events in general.” Gamescom continued on during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic as a newly digital event, with a last-minute digital event organised in 2020, and a more well-planned all-digital event in 2021.

XBOX BRINGS BACK TWITCH LIVESTREAMING TO CONSOLE With everything going on in the world, it’s more important than ever that we stay connected with our friends, families, and communities. We’ve heard your feedback and are excited to bring back this fan favourite feature, re-engineered, and better than ever. Available now, Xbox and Twitch are teaming up to make live streaming from your Xbox easier than ever. You can now access Twitch directly from the Xbox guide and manage your setup in a few simple steps. It’s easy to get started from the Xbox guide From your Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One console, navigate to the “Capture and Share” tab on the guide and select “Live streaming.” You’ll need to link your Twitch account by scanning the QR code with an iOS or Android mobile device or navigating to the URL with either your PC or mobile device. Once your account is linked, select the “Go live now” button to instantly go live and start live streaming games that are downloaded to your console. Manage your live stream audio and resolution Next, plug in your headset and webcam. You can set your stream title and from the options panel, we’ve included the ability to manage game and mic audio levels, include party chat and even manually set your resolution and bitrate. Then all you need to do is click “Go live now.” Want to swap games midstream? No worries, a pause screen will be displayed when you are not in game, and your console will automatically update the game you’re playing on Twitch. You’re now live! People can watch your streams on any device they use to access Twitch. On the Xbox console, players who follow you can choose to receive notifications when you go live on Twitch. To enable this, navigate to the Xbox Notifications within Preferences and adjust the live streaming settings. Make sure to check out future updates, Xbox also have some awesome new features coming soon based on your feedback. Go ahead, boot up your console and get streaming, We will see you on Twitch! (Photo credit goes to Xbox Wire)

Forget Harran. Wave goodbye to Kyle Crane. Dying Light 2 Stay Human is set 15 years after ‘the Fall’ and 20 years after the events of the first game, in a new city known as Villedor. A decrepit place slowly being reclaimed by nature, every inch of Old Villedor and its neighbouring territories in the urban jungle of the ‘Central Loop’ is caked in post-apocalyptic grime and overgrowth stopping to look out from the rooftops reveals a swirling vortex of litter and other debris; leftover mess from the near-demise of mankind. It’s the end of the world, then, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun, liberating the limbs and heads of the Infected (and roving human gangs) from their bodies with the help of a slashing or bludgeoning tool. Also, there’s more parkour. Loads more parkour. As new protagonist and outsider Aiden Caldwell you’re faced with a simple objective to locate your sister Mia and uncover the truth behind the human experiments that you were both subjected to. During your search for elusive, monologuing villain Waltz, you’ll be faced with the myriad problems of rival factions, as well as hordes of Infected. Along the way, several significant choices also arise, and who you align with will ultimately determine your standing in Dying Light 2’s world, and, in some cases, the direction of the narrative. Choices seem to carry an awful lot of weight, especially towards the end of the game. From humble beginnings as a Pilgrim in ragged clothing, you’ll soon fall in with the slightly dubious Hakon as your guide, choosing to work for either PK commander Aitor or Survivor 41

faction leaders Carl, Sophie, and her abrasive ne’er-do-well brother, Barney. You can attempt to walk the line between both, but eventually, you’ll need to make your choice, reactivating Water Towers and Electrical Substations, then subsequently assigning them to one of the two factions, in exchange for a useful tool or gadget installed in strategic places across the city. Initially, Aiden’s only concern is getting to the city centre and locating the ‘Fish Eye’ bar in the Central Loop, but before long, you’ll be stuck in the middle of a feud between the ‘Peacekeepers’ (AKA the ‘PKs’), the city’s selfappointed “righteous protectors”; and the ragtag Survivors, pockets of self-sufficient folk, simply trying to make ends meet. At the centre, universally hated by all, are the Renegades, masked miscreants’ intent on causing anarchy, led by a man who’s earned himself the moniker of ‘The Butcher’. Fortunately, Aiden is a bit handy, able to swing a baseball bat, machete, or other cobbled-together weapon with the best of them, dismembering enemies like a human threshing machine. And, since guns have now been outlawed and destroyed, it’s all you’ve got, save for the odd crossbow or bow and arrow. Combat is but half of the game, of course much of your time will be spent leaping between rooftops or clambering up the side of vertiginous skyscrapers or scampering through buildings scrounging for valuables and resources. Across the city of Villedor, you’ll find more than ample opportunity to explore, with Dark Hollows, Forsaken Stores, GRE Quarantine facilities, GRE Anomalies, Metro Stations, and other zombie-infested areas home to crates,

cupboards, and drawers brimming with crafting items, weapons, and other useful gear. There’s an awful lot of scavenging to be done. Inhibitor needles are to be found all over the city, offering an upgrade to health or stamina for every three you find tucked away in certain places. With Aiden constantly fighting his infection, initiating a timer when night falls and you’re away from the safety of a UV light, Inhibitors are also essential for enhancing your level of immunity, increasing the amount of time you can spend in Dark Zones or running your way through the night. And some activities can only be tackled at night, so nabbing Inhibitors – there are 126 of ‘em – proves to be a going concern. As you engage in combat and parkour, you’ll gain XP (doubled during the dangerous night-time), which in turn enables you to unlock new skills, expanding your options considerably. Dying Light’s parkour mechanics have been drastically improved for the sequel, although it’s not without its minor niggles, whether it’s getting snagged on scenery now and again, or a long, arduous climb being ruined by an inexplicable lapse in grip. These instances are remarkably rare, however, and overall, the climbing and parkour systems are far more fluid and competent than they were in the original game. Once you’ve unlocked the paraglider and the rope hook, Villedor is your oyster, with fast travel available between faction HQs and Metro Stations, and the paraglider enabling you to float long distances (for as long as

your stamina gauge will allow), high above the chaos on the streets below. Dying Light 2’s combat and parkour combine to make for an enormously enjoyable experience, albeit one that could have easily run the risk of feeling far too repetitive. But, coupled with the branching narrative – a feature, which is more than mere lip service – and an immersive, varied world to explore, developer Techland’s long-awaited sequel manages to hit the right notes. While there are some parts of the story that don’t quite gel, you can’t fault the Polish studio for being overly ambitious – ultimately, it succeeds in delivering a solid follow-up that’s tighter and more technically accomplished than its predecessor. You may not want to spend the 500 hours that Techland’s suggested is possible playing Dying Light 2, completing every little thing, but there’s easily a good 60 hours or so of story and side activities to partake in. Some fall under the category of busywork, like climbing and activating windmills, scaling massive skyscrapers to find airdrops, or engaging in far too many tiresome parkour challenges, but, generally, the quality of side quests is such that you’ll want to pursue and complete as many of them as you can, prior to, and after the epilogue has concluded the core narrative. How that transpires will be wildly different, based on the choices you’ve made, and if you’re fond of a good water-cooler moment, then Dying Light 2 Stay Human will have you covered. It’s pretty infectious.

Overall TGG Rating A more than competent sequel, Dying Light 2 Stay Human conjures some memorable narrative beats in an open world that’s never anything but a joy to traverse. Granted, it has one or two niggling issues, but they pale into insignificance when you’re knocking off a zombie’s head with a massive axe.

8/10 Audio 8/10 Streets of Rage 4 and A Plague Tale composer Olivier Deriviere’s score brings the ominous synth in a big way, and adapts to the action as it happens. Voice work is strong, too, with Jonah Scott giving a spirited performance as Aiden and Rosario Dawson providing rock solid support as strong-willed Night runner, Lawan.

Visuals 8/10 Whichever graphics mode you opt for, Dying Light 2 looks good, although during my playthrough, I ran into minor screen tearing, some pop-in, and a wee bit of slowdown during some of the busier moments. Perch atop a towering building and take in the scenery, meanwhile, and you’ll be treated to a fine view stretching to the horizon.

Playability 8/10 It takes a while to unlock the requisite parkour upgrades to really start having a good time, but, when you do, Villedor is a playground you’ll want to spend hours exploring. Controls are straightforward and intuitive, ensuring combat and traversal is consistently enjoyable as an evolution of the first game and its mechanics, DL2 delivers.

Delivery 8/10 Techland’s most assured and technically accomplished game, Dying Light 2’s colossal open-world sandbox is teeming with enjoyable activities, but is not without the odd nit to pick. One instance of disappearing audio, occasional pop-in, and a lack of manual save states are the only real quibbles. [Version tested: Xbox Series X] Reviewed by: Brandon Sawyer 44

There was a point in Elden Ring where I found myself lost in a bizarre, subterranean world. Cast in the light of the stars that filled the perpetual night sky, I had no NPC to guide me, nor any objective marker on my map. The only hint I had was a series of tall monuments, each holding a flame that I could light. So I did. I set about seeking out these monuments, lighting each and every flame, sneaking past difficult enemies, and frequently dying. I could have left at any time - a simple case of opening my map and warping to a previously-discovered Site of Grace (Elden Ring’s version of bonfires), - and carried on pursuing the critical path, or explored somewhere else, but I kept on. Finally, I lit the last flame, and at first, nothing seemed to happen. No cutscene played, no message popped up congratulating me on my achievement. But when I travelled back to the first flame I’d lit, a gateway had opened up. I entered and was treated to one of the most beautiful boss fights in any of FromSoftware’s games. By the time I finally managed to take down the majestic creature, I was grinning from ear to ear. This is what Elden Ring is all about. Developer FromSoftware’s previous games in the Dark Souls and Bloodborne series have always featured meticulously crafted, interconnected worlds. They offered a certain sense of freedom, but they were far from open - each challenge was intended to be tackled head-on, in a specific way. In Elden Ring’s open world, there’s so much choice as to where to go, and what to explore, that you’ll rarely ever find yourself bashing your head against a brick wall and hoping it will break. Instead, you can go off and explore, spending a few hours discovering hidden locations and new enemies. Along the way, you’ll gain some levels, perhaps some new 45

items, or upgrade material for your weapons. By the time you come back to that tricky boss you’d gotten stuck on, you’ll have some kind of advantage that you’ve not had before. Dark Souls’ methodical combat and challenging enemies have always been excellent, but in Elden Ring they feel complete. It almost seems strange that FromSoftware hasn’t decided to delve into an open world sooner. The Lands Between, the setting of Elden Ring, is stunning to behold. When you hear the term ‘open world’ thrown around in gaming, it’s likely that you picture wide open spaces and great plains. Elden Ring does have these, but it also has a depth and verticality that make it a more interesting space to explore. Great jutting cliffs tower over certain areas, with just the hint of a ruin or tower at the top, begging you to work out how to make your way up. Similarly, you’ll descend into ravines or caves, working your way ever deeper. Each area of the world is visually distinct, from blood red swamps to misty lakes, and travelling across them is a joy, thanks to your spectral steed, Torrent. Part horse, part goat, Torrent comes equipped with a useful double jump and the ability to speed past enemies, making him an essential part of the open world experience. That’s not to say that those more linear, challenging dungeons from Dark Souls and Bloodborne are gone, however. Far from it. Instead, these areas, which publisher Bandai Namco has referred to as ‘Legacy Dungeons’, are found within the overworld, and offer a more traditional Dark Souls-style experience. You’ll unlock shortcuts, fight tough bosses, and discover illusionary walls. If anything, these areas have been given the scope to be longer and more intricate than before. After all,

even if you get halfway through and become stuck, you can always choose to leave, warping to another point on the world map, and making a note to come back later. The map itself is a thing of beauty, all tea-stained brown land and grey-blue sea, with flecks of red, green, and gold. Upon first opening up your map, you’ll find it to be completely blank, with only a few faint roads, and the locations of the map fragments you need to collect. Collecting each map piece gives you a small section of the world, but thankfully, you won’t find it suddenly full of symbols and objective markers. Instead, you’ll find yourself drawn towards strange shapes on the map that you’ll deem too interesting not to explore - a large tree towards the east, or the Telltale outline of a colosseum to the north. Once you discover these locations, their names are marked on your map, lest you forget them, but the game is more than happy to let you both discover its secrets, and let you miss them, on your own. This is perhaps where FromSoftware’s appetite for the ambiguous becomes a problem. The developer’s willingness to let you miss its secrets and optional content is one thing - it makes each player’s experience in the open world unique - but when it comes to the critical path, things can get a little confusing. Many of the Sites of Grace will point you in a specific direction, but too often, you’ll find yourself following the path for a few hours, before discovering it wasn’t part of the main quest, or that you’ve arrived earlier than you should have, perhaps without the right item. While the frustration is quickly forgotten - you’ll be on your way to the next cool thing in no time - it would be nice to have just a little more direction without having to turn to a guide, especially when the world is so huge.

has played the Dark Souls trilogy. Rather than Unkindled or Undead, we are Tarnished. In place of Bonfires, we have Sites of Grace. There’s corruption spreading over the land, with great poison swamps to be found, and academies of magic to explore. It all feels a little familiar, in a way that titles like Bloodborne and Sekiro didn’t. This game could have been called Dark Souls 4, and few of us would have batted an eye. These are, however, minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. Combat is as crunchy and satisfying as ever, and there’s a range of options outside of the classic sword and shield combo that are more widely useful than in the Dark Souls games. Magic and incantations are wonderfully fun to use, often allowing you to cast while moving, or allowing you to charge up spells for a more powerful attack. Stealth is also a viable option in many situations, allowing you to creep up on unsuspecting enemies for a vicious backstab, or letting you sneak past foes that you don’t want to fight. Ashes of War replaces Dark Souls 3’s Weapon Arts but can be freely changed between weapons at Sites of Grace, enabling you to mix and match abilities. There are more options for combat than ever before, and it’s a joy to experiment and play around with all the possibilities available to you. Elden Ring’s combination of classic Dark Souls gameplay, with an open world that is ripe for exploration, is an utter treat for fans of FromSoftware, but also serves as the most welcoming and accessible game to newcomers that the studio has made to date. It’s rare to play a game that is so difficult to put down, but so easy to pick up. Elden Ring might not be totally unique, but you could make the case that it’s FromSoftware’s best, most accomplished game yet.

That classic FromSoftware obscurity leaks into the game’s story, as well. It’s been well advertised that the lore of Elden Ring’s The Lands Between was created, in part, by George R.R. Martin, and while there are storms and swords aplenty in Elden Ring, it bears only a passing resemblance to A Game of Thrones. Instead, Dark Souls creator Hidetaki Miyazaki’s fingerprints are all over Elden Ring, and there’s a creeping sense of familiarity for anyone who 46

Overall TGG Rating Elden Ring offers up a gorgeous open world that is enticing and exciting to explore, along with excellent combat variety, amazing bosses to fight, and intricate dungeons to tackle. It might feel a little familiar, but this could well be FromSoftware’s best game to date.

9/10 Audio 9/10 The music in Elden Ring is excellent, and each boss fight track gives the battle its own vibe. Ambient sounds help to make the open world feel more alive, and what voice acting there is in the game is very high quality.

Visuals 9/10 Elden Ring’s art direction is absolutely stunning, and the steep cliffs, golden trees, and misty lakes of the game’s open world are wonderful to behold. Unfortunately, some technical problems hold the game back, with particle effects like fire not loading into view until you’re extremely close to them.

Playability 9/10 Elden Ring takes the combat of Dark Souls and expands upon it in interesting and worthwhile ways. Stealth is a welcome addition, combat atop your steed Torrent feels epic, and the vast array of magic spells and weapon abilities mean there’s plenty of ways to take down your foes.

Delivery 9/10

Elden Ring’s open world is a joy to explore, with something new to discover around every corner, and it offers a ton of verticality, as well as wide open areas. The more linear dungeons are really well made, but progression can be a little bit confusing at times. Loading times are far too long, as well. [Version tested: Xbox Series X]

Reviewed by: Brandon Sawyer 47

When Horizon Zero Dawn dropped in 2017, it was easy to look at the game and go, “heh, cool, they’ve replaced animals with machines, that’s a neat idea.” And yes, you’d be right, it was a neat idea. But beneath the shiny veneer and mechanical animals lay an extremely smart open-world action-adventure title, one that was as gripping as it was entertaining to play from start to finish. Following that up was always going to be tricky, right? It’s that infamous tricky second album - if you nail it, it’ll be talked about for aeons, a la Mass Effect 2. Fumble, and you’ll end up with something like Homefront: The Revolution. Thankfully, Horizon Forbidden West has more in common with Mass Effect’s first sequel than Homefront’s dodgy follow-up, and that couldn’t make us any happier.

You’re now one woman with an inner circle of companions… trying to save the world. The whole game is so beautifully written and the world so incredibly spun - Aloy forges relationships with minor characters during her journey, some sidequests taking you off on narratives that stretch across the entire west coast. Whether that’s returning favourites popping up for a cameo, or brand-new relationships, just seeing the growth of a relationship with a relatively minor acquaintance is an absolute breath of fresh air. The game and its world offers so much more than a simple A to B narrative. Its complexity can be staggering at times. In all, the emotion, the characters, the relationships, and Forbidden West’s diverse world, all combine to create a remarkably special sandbox.

Taking place after the events of Zero Dawn, Forbidden West tracks flame-haired protagonist Aloy’s adventure into the unknown, as she attempts to restore parity to the new world. In her quest west, Aloy meets friends, both new and old, but more importantly, visits a brand-new world (at least it is to her, anyway) and combined with some absolutely epic setpieces and a suitably epic accompanying score, Horizon Forbidden West is a game that creates so many memorable moments. Far more than the original title did.

Developer Guerrilla Games has most certainly worked some magic in making Horizon Forbidden West one of the most visually stunning open-world games I’ve ever played. That’s in some part thanks to the magic of the Decima engine, which is frankly astounding, the game’s animations and facial mo-cap proving hugely impressive throughout. You can literally see and feel the emotion on the faces of the characters and the plight they’re going through, which amps up the experience considerably. With that, comes a slight problem, however, and that’s due to the characters looking so goddamn incredible - when they do something slightly weird, something unnatural, like looking in the wrong direction, it can be a case of the uncanny valley. There are definitely some eye issues as animations transition into one another. Guerrilla is most certainly the victim of its own success

Seeing a fresh side of Aloy develop, seeing her forge new relationships in a different kind of adventure really suits the franchise and takes it in a welcome new direction. For the better, of course. No longer are you one woman trying to save the world.

there. The true star of Horizon Forbidden West is the astonishing environment itself. While Zero Dawn’s world was a spectacle in its own right, Forbidden West is an altogether different proposition. Granted, the sheer diversity in biomes is seriously impressive on its own, but it’s the remnants of the Old World that are littered throughout that really bring the world, its history, and its mystery to life. There are a couple of major areas, in particular, that are truly mind-blowing – one of those being the cover star, San Francisco; and the other is better seen with your own eyes and not spoiled by me here. What truly elevates the west, as it’s recreated in-game, is most certainly the underwater world that Guerrilla has hand-crafted. With Old World ruins and secrets galore lurking beneath the surface, the attention to detail in these environments – which can be easy to miss – brings with it a completely fresh new atmosphere to the world and is a truly fantastic addition to the franchise. The verticality of San Francisco ain’t bad either! The general goal of a sequel is to take the original foundations, the juice that made the original so great, and then build a frickin’ skyscraper on top of it. Everything you might have had an issue with in the original has been given the due care and attention you’d expect, for the most part. There are more weapons of various styles to use, more mounts to ride, more outfits, special abilities to unlock and use, a ‘Valour’ system that acts like an overdrive metre, brand new skill trees, more machine types to take down, and the open-world is teeming with interesting activities. Vantage Points have now become Vista points, for instance, involving actual puzzles; while Ruins have become much more than loot caves to be picked through. Everything has been refined and put under the microscope. Perhaps more importantly, it seems like Guerrilla has paid close attention to the game’s climbing mechanics, too, which are vastly improved over Horizon Zero Dawn, albeit a little arbitrary at times. Not everything has been given the sequel treatment, though, as the mount control and physics are still a pain in the ass – especially more so now that there are machine racing gauntlets to take part in. Perhaps the most

significant gameplay addition is the glider, which you get fairly early on in the game – once you have it, the glider adds a completely new dimension to your traversal across the openworld. There’s also one really cool new addition that we’d rather not spoil – one that comes a little too late in the game for our liking. That said, Aloy still could really do with a torch or lantern, but still, but despite a few little gripes, Horizon Forbidden West is the perfect example of how to tackle a sequel. Where Forbidden Wilds is ever so slightly let down is with a few technical issues that mar the experience at times. Even with the day one patch applied, the game suffers ever so slightly from the odd case of object-pop-in and texture pop-in. And while that’s not a massive issue, it can take the sheen off what is otherwise worthy of being described as a digital painting. On top of that, there are a couple of other bugs that can be annoying, too, like the black screen blink bug (where a black screen randomly pops-up every so often); and a weird camera glitch that locks you into an unplayable view for a few seconds – which can be highly annoying if you’re in the midst of battle. But considering I’ve put in well over 70 hours, and these are literally the only complaints I’ve had, the game emerges as an impressive testament to what a really talented team of developers can achieve. It’s genuinely the bar for open-world games to aspire to, despite the odd bug here and there. The truth is, it actually blows my mind a little, that the studio that made the monochromatic and emotionless Killzone franchise, can produce a game so full of life, personality, emotion, and colour. Not that Killzone was a bad game, of course, but, for me, it never really had the same appeal as Horizon. There’s no doubt about it, Horizon Forbidden West is the very definition of a killer app, a game that everyone must play, a game that sums up Sony’s commitment to incredible first-party experiences over the past decade. Horizon Forbidden West is an unforgettable next-gen experience on PS5, and one that is most certainly worth buying a console for.

Overall TGG Rating Horizon Forbidden West is the perfect sequel to Zero Dawn, taking the original’s formula, and fleshing it out in every conceivable way. With a stunning open-world and incredible score to complement outstanding acting and set-pieces, it truly is a masterpiece, boasting moments you’ll remember forever.

9/10 Audio 9/10 Horizon Forbidden West is an absolutely sublime auditory experience. From the incredible and soulful performance by Ashly Burch as Aloy, to the truly iconic score. This one’s a doozy, folks.

Visuals 9/10 Yes, Horizon Forbidden West is the most beautiful open-world game that exists on next-gen (and looks and handles great on last-gen too), but it is marred ever so slightly by a few tech issues.

Playability 9/10 Not any massive, monumental changes when it comes to gameplay, but Zero Dawn nailed it there to be fair. New weapons, abilities, the Valour system, and a frickin’ glider are excellent additions.

Delivery 9/10 With one of the most diverse open-worlds in the history of video games, you’re never short of engaging and excellent adventures to embark upon in Horizon Forbidden West. It’s a sandbox of pure joy.

[Version tested: PlayStation 5]

Reviewed by: Brandon Sawyer 51

Since the series’ debut on the original PlayStation in 1997, developer Polyphony Digital has been making good on that boast with each successive iteration, its visual finesse and driving model growing increasingly sophisticated over the past (almost) 25 years. And would you believe it – Gran Turismo 7 is the game most worthy of that delightfully aggrandising tagline. More than ever, this particular iteration of Gran Turismo feels like a real driving simulator, albeit one that’s still exceedingly precious with its cars. You can scuff, scrape, and crumple your vehicle ever so slightly, but Polyphony’s fervour for all things automotive means that the idea of meaningful damage to bodywork remains sheer blasphemy. Indeed, why wouldn’t it be? Consider the time the Japanese studio must have taken, poring painstakingly over all 420+ cars in the game, ensuring every little detail is present and correct - to mangle it would be a shame. Besides, GT has always been about precision driving, not smashing up cars. The obsessive detail that GT is famed for shows no signs of waning for this seventh mainline instalment either – every aspect of the game is a loving ode to the automobile. Even the game’s intro, which languidly takes you through a potted, illustrated history of the car, from sepia archive footage right through to present day motorsport, in full colour, it shows just how in love with metal on wheels Polyphony really is. But it’s on the track where Gran 53

Turismo 7 shines – quite literally, if you’re talking about the blinding light bouncing off the gleaming curves of your car’s bodywork. The handling is remarkably tight and uniquely gratifying, every car imbued with its own characteristics and quirks you need to consider when rushing towards the finish line. What makes GT7 so moreish, though, is the game’s progression system, tasking you with completing menu books for Luca, the proprietor of the Gran Turismo Café. Collect sets of three cars by winning them via races or purchasing them to complete a Menu Book, and Luca will reward you with a history lesson about hot hatches, Alfa Romeos, rally cars, or whatever make or models you’ve acquired. Luca’s Menus also guide you through championship events, the obligatory licence tests, and other elements of the ‘World Map’ mode you might have otherwise missed. Not paid attention to the ‘Circuit Experience’, which enables you to better acquaint yourself with a track, section by section? Given the Time Trial a wide berth? Luca will give you a nudge towards everything GT7 has to offer, steadily granting access to new venues, modes, features, and pavilions within the World Map. From here, you can shell out for used cars, head to Brand Central, if you’ve enough credits for a new one, and visit the auto shop for an oil change or car wash. Or you can hit the tuning station to upgrade your chosen vehicle with an

extensive suite of options, encompassing everything from brake pads to new suspension, filters, engine enhancements, flywheels, crankshafts, weight reduction, racing computers, tyres, and loads more, all of which contribute to your car’s PP (Performance Points) level, determining its speed, power, and the races you’re eligible for. Customisation is the most expansive it’s ever been in a GT game, with aerodynamic wings, spoilers, and bumpers joined by wheel rims, and in-depth livery editor tools for both your car and driver, whose head is permanently encased in a helmet. While it’s odd to have essential features like multiplayer (including local 2-player splitscreen) locked behind progression, there is something unusually gratifying about seeing GT7’s world map come to life with new pavilions popping up, where you’ll find something new to discover. Before long, you’ll be taking gorgeous snaps via the Scapes zone, tackling individual Missions, or delving into Sport Mode for a daily challenge, when you’re not compulsively raising your Collector Level by filling your garage with precious metal. In gently unfurling everything at a measured pace, Gran Turismo 7 is never overwhelming – in fact, it’s easily the most welcoming entry in the series to date, without diluting anything for hardened veterans who cut their teeth on the earlier games. New Music Rally races also serve as a great way to take a first step into GT7’s world, presenting you with a piece of music and a checkpointbased race against time, to progress as far as you can before the tune comes to an end. It’s the icing on an enormously generous cake, one that you’ll be gorging upon for countless hours, admiring the myriad flourishes and stunning presentation as you chow down. It’s a game that also makes great use of the PS5’s DualSense controller, providing ripples through your fingertips with the changing of track surfaces, clunking gear shifts, or providing a tactile jolt when scrolling through menu options. The integrated speaker is also used in smart ways, whether it’s the sound of a squeegee when you’re having your car washed, the glug of oil going into your engine, or simply the countdown to a race starting - it all contributes to immersing you in the GT experience. The only thing

missing is the scent of smouldering rubber and motor oil. And while we could perhaps have done without the inane pre-race chatter from rival drivers, blathering on about how special baguettes are, how their favourite music is thrash metal, or how you’ll never see them without a hat, despite their photo portrait being entirely hatless, it’s refreshing to play a racing game that encourages such levels of fairness and clean racing. No one ever brags about how great they are or tells you you’ll be eating their dust, and you’re rewarded with a 50% cash bonus for finishing a race cleanly, without a collision. This essence of fairness is drilled into you during multiplayer, too, where dirty tactics and intentional contact with opponents is duly punished, impacting your player rating while dragging your online sportsmanship rep down into the doldrums. Of course, there’s no guarantee you won’t be knocked around a bit as you jostle with a grid full of players online – that comes with the territory – but the game’s connected offerings are stable and easy to set up, although having to set up a new lobby to change tracks is a pain. If you’d prefer not to directly compete with rivals online, you’ve leader boards and Sport Mode to fall back on for some semblance of connected, asynchronous racing instead. Or you can enjoy an online track day with friends in the new Meeting Place social space, share your Scapes photos, and created liveries. The absence of a proper damage model in 2022 might seem bizarre, but Gran Turismo 7 seems to exist within its own rarefied air. No other racing game can really touch it in delivering such meticulous detail and unparalleled depth, while conveying a fervent passion for the automotive without being overly stuffy, nerdy, or dull. Whether this is your first foray into Polyphony’s celebrated genre-defining series, or you’ve been playing since day one, Gran Turismo 7 has something to offer players of all kinds, in what emerges as the most definitive, full-blooded GT game since Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, cementing the series’ place as one of PlayStation’s greatest. 54

Overall TGG Rating A towering achievement, Gran Turismo 7 is Polyphony’s most assured and complete GT to date, almost outstripping the series’ past glories. Equally welcoming to newcomers and veterans alike, GT7 is both a resounding triumph and spectacular celebration of car culture.

9/10 Audio 9/10 A marvellous soundtrack and authentic car noises, all brought to life by 3D spatial audio. It’s fantastic. And there are even sounds coming out of the DualSense speaker. What’s not to like?

Visuals 9/10 Jaw-dropping, eyeball-caressing graphics across the board, from the 400-odd cars rendered in ludicrous detail, to the circuits, weather effects, and even the menus. Gorgeous. Shame there’s still no proper damage model, though.

Playability 9/10 All I can think about right now is playing Gran Turismo 7 – it’s that good. Handling is tight and intuitive, while a wealth of tuning options and assists enable you to tweak and tailor things to your liking. DualSense features are also fantastic and add to the immersion.

Delivery 9/10 Granted, you have to unlock a lot of it, but once you have, GT7’s options are more than extensive, with car collecting, racing, multiplayer, leader boards, the best photo mode around, and loads more making for one of the most comprehensive (and polished) racing games you can buy. [Version tested: PlayStation 5]

Reviewed by: Brandon Sawyer

taylor morgan

“Engagement is

everything. If you look at it from the perspective of the viewer, there is no better feeling than typing a question in chat and seeing your favourite streamer read it out and answer.”

Taylor Morgan is a female australian Twitch partnered streamer from Sydney with a following of around 35,000, She also has previously gone viral several times over on TikTok with a following of over 650,000, She streams very regular over on Twitch where her main content focus is Call of Duty: Warzone. We were lucky enough to have an interview with her to find out more about her and her streaming career!

Hey Taylor! First of all, we would like to thank you for chatting with us today. How have you been? Hey guys! Not a problem, I’ve been awesome thank you! TGG: That’s great to hear! So, tell us, how long have you been streaming and what made you want to start streaming? I technically started streaming in September of 2020, however I absolutely hated it! I had no interest, and probably only streamed a handful of times. However, as I started to grow on TikTok, I learned a lot more about Twitch/the streaming process and with a bit of help and a lot of tips, I officially kicked off streaming regularly in July 2021, becoming a full time streamer in November 2021! You’re always popping up on our FYP. We are not surprised by the success you are getting on TikTok. We are glad you made the return to Twitch as it has seemed to pay off. Away from your streaming life what do you do in your spare time? I’ve actually got a decent amount of hobbies to keep me busy! I am huge into fitness/sports, currently playing softball and touch football with a bit of gym on the side. On top of that, I am a musician! I mainly play guitar/singing, so you will often find me doing a fair amount of recording of covers in my spare time. And just in case I had any spare time during the day, I am super in love with cars/motorbikes! I am currently working on my GT86, and preparing to do some motorcycle vlogs on my Ninja 300. Some great hobbies right there, we would love to see those motorcycle vlogs for sure! What advice can you give to any smaller streamers about making their stream better and growing their channel/content?

Engagement is everything. If you look at it from the perspective of the viewer, there is no better feeling than typing a question in chat and seeing your favourite streamer read it out and answer. It makes it feel so much more personal! A good tip for small streamers is to invite the question back to the viewers. If they ask you about your favourite weapon in a game, tell them, and then ask about their loadouts! It is just an awesome way to connect. Thank you for the great advice. I’m sure it will help plenty of our readers to grow. What got you into gaming and what is your earliest memory of playing games? My Dad is the sole contributor to my gaming habits. I remember playing MW2 with him when I was 8 or 9, and he loves telling me the story from when he was obviously going quite easy on me to ‘huh? Did she just kill me? I am going to have to put in a bit more work now!’. He and I still game to this day! Ah the good ole days, it’s great to see a father bringing his love for gaming to his child. The same similar scenario happened to us too. As a female streamer & gamer, do you think that females face more negativity in the gaming industry? Without a doubt. However, you can either continue to take it as a negative, or see it as an opportunity. My content isn’t female centred. Yes, I am a woman who streams, however my content isn’t gendered. Some of the most positive feedback I get is the enjoyment my viewers get watching negative/ sexist comments thrown at me and watching what I do to throw it back. And I think that is what can really make you stand out from others.

You’ve got that right and we agree those haters deserve getting a piece of their own medicine thrown back at them. We see you play a lot of Warzone on stream. What is your go-to loadout? My primary weapon tends to switch (currently a toss up between the PPSH, XM4 and cooper carbine), however I am quite known for my lethality with the Kar98. (My nickname on stream has become ‘Tay Tay the Kar98-inator’) What a cool nickname! we have seen those lethal snipes of yours they are on point! On the subject of Call of Duty Warzone, what are your current thoughts about the game, the new map, the crossover between vanguard and their anti-cheat system? I think everyone likes to hate on the new CODs. In fact, I think it is a trend to hate on new CODs. But I think Vanguard is incredibly reminiscent of Black Ops 1 in terms of mechanics/map design, just minus the nostalgia. I think if anything, the game lacks a little bit in terms of their weapons, but other than that there are some really great aspects of the game I personally love Caldera, but that is because it suits my playing style. I can see why some people do not like it. I think Verdansk had a lot of opportunity for close quarters/fast gameplay, whereas Caldera is more for the long game. I quite often find those that love Caldera, didn’t like Verdansk and vice versa In terms of anticheat, I think it is doing its job. No software is perfect, but although some may slip through the cracks, it is nothing like we used to see in previous games You’re not wrong there too many people don’t give a game the chance and just jump on the trend. We too like the new map and do think the anti cheat is working. Speaking of Call of Duty, what are your top 5 CoDs of all time? This is a hard one. 1. Black Ops 2 2. Modern Warfare 2 3. Black Ops 1 4. MW2019 5. Modern Warfare 3 59

A Solid top five right there! So let’s talk set up! What 5 essentials can you not stream without? 1. Dual monitors are a game changer! This is an absolute must for anyone starting to stream. Gotta have one for gameplay and one to manage chat! 2. Stream deck! This is so much fun for all those awesome animations etc. 3. SCUF Controller. Yes yes, I am a controller scrub. HOWEVER, investing in a fully custom SCUF controller makes all the difference! 4. Lighting! Got to add a little pizazz to stream 5. Gaming Chair. For all the time I spend sitting on my bum, you gotta protect the back! A great top five, back protection and lighting are very key, we all do need more than one monitor nowadays there is just so much going on! What would you say are your Top 5 Games of all time? I have always been Call of Duty based, but I would say outside of that: 1. Call of Duty 2. GTA V 3. Rocket League 4. Apex Legends 5. Phasmaphobia An amazing top five! and a great variety of different games from shooters to sports and even horror are great choices! If you had to choose one game only to play forever, what would you choose? Black ops 2! If there were enough people playing it, I would never leave my chair! Black ops 2 was a game changer. I’m not surprised you would choose this. The multiplayer was just great even though there were a lot of toxic lobbies which were hilarious. What made you choose to stream on Twitch over the likes of YouTube, Facebook and other platforms? The engagement really! I love the idea of the tiered emotes and benefits you get as a viewer 60

for how often you interact with streams. Really lets the connection go both ways! Those emotes can be a fantastic touch for your community, great to see your community growing. What is the best moment you have had streaming? Or if you have a few, what are your Top 3? I have one moment that really sticks out to me. Last September, in honour of the charity Black Dog Institute who run ‘Mullets for Mental Health’, I ran an event in which all of my donations for the month of September were being given to Black Dog Institute. I remember one particular stream, the amount of love was incredible. We had something like 20 donors totaling over $11,000 in one stream. I was crying, chat was crying, it was a lot of love going around. Thats a fantastic stream and raising that much i’m not surprised it made you cry big congrats on that one. So, let’s talk a little bit more about you! What is something that no one who watches your channel/content knows about you? I am pretty open on stream, so there is usually not a lot that my channel doesn’t know, however

not many people know that before becoming a full time streamer, I was actually studying for med school! I was only a couple months from a massive exam before deciding to take the plunge and give streaming a go- and I haven’t looked back! Wow med school that’s very interesting, it’s also great to see you made that leap because your content is great. Finally, what are you currently working on that you’d like our readers to know about/check out? And do you have any big things planned you’d love to share for 2022? There is so much in the works right now, and a lot to be excited about! My channel can expect some big content coming out on YouTube, as well as merch! Thank you so much for your time Taylor and chatting with us today has been great. We can’t wait for the merch launch and your new YouTube content coming soon alongside some awesome motorcycle vlogs! If you want to stay up to date with Taylor and her content then please check out all her socials below.

Twitch: @TaylorMorgan__ Instagram: @TaylorMorgan__ Twitter: @TaylorMorganS_ Facebook: @TaylorMorganGaming YouTube: @TaylorMorgan_ TikTok: @taylorrmorgann

UHMAAYYZE Uhmaayyzze or Uhm for short is an American Twitch Partner streamer with a following of over 40,000 He is one of the top if not the number one hypeman of Twitch with some awesome freestyles, motivational speeches and awesome gameplay/entertainment, Uhms main content focus is Destiny 2. We got to sit down with him and find out more about himself and his love for streaming!

Hey Uhmaayyzze! First of all, we would like to thank you for chatting with us today. How have you been? I’m doing uhmaayzing thank you! That’s fantastic to hear! Great pun love it! So, tell us, how long have you been streaming and what made you want to start streaming? I’ve been streaming for six years on the Twitch platform! I wanted to start streaming after playing a game called destiny. I was helping groups that recommended I start streaming because of the hype and morale I brought to the team. Six years wow that’s some dedication, fantastic to see it’s all finally paying off for you now. Away from your streaming life what do you do in your spare time? I uplift people on Twitter, read emails and lurk a couple channels on twitch. I also take the time out of my day after work and spend my precious time with my lovely son. Ah that’s some good past times we love your uplifting and a family man too that’s great. What advice can you give to any smaller streamers about making their stream better and growing their channel/content? Be confident in your content. Do your best to stay consistent. Always appreciate the content you put out and appreciate the small plants you put out because due time they always grow. 63

Some very good advice we too agree that these are very key things and our readers will love such words. What got you into gaming and what is your earliest memory of playing games? My dad got me a Sega genesis and the first game I remember playing was sonic three and from there on it developed into PlayStation Nintendo 64 Sega Dreamcast Xbox and from there on I knew I would be a gamer. Such an amazing little console, to start on and some fantastic ones to follow on to. We notice you are a fantastic freestyler and they can come at any random moments during your streams, please tell our viewers how and where this idea came from and what made you get into freestyling? Freestyling started in middle school at a lunch table. I used to beatbox in freestyle to my own beats at the table for fun. It was a career I was Chasing from middle school on into high school. It came back when I started working at UPS. From there on in I started doing more freestyles when I started streaming my community help me turn this into something more such as weekly goals for every 20 subscribers we will drop a freestyle. Cozmo and I played together for one month. He told me to freestyle while we were playing a control match so I did and it turned out great so from there I started getting better and kept doing it and surprised myself it blew up and I changed the way gaming was done.

“Networking consistency, never questioning yourself, keep putting out great content and advice, don’t give up on something you love.” 64

Freestyling at the lunch tables that’s so cool we would have loved to have been there! its also great that you had the push and support from people to keep doing it as its really paid off and your community alongside us love it. On the subject of freestyling, do you have any icons you look up to for motivation? Nipsey Hussle, Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac as well as Drake and more I also look up to myself. As a massive fan of Notorious B.I.G and 2Pac i am not surprised to see these names here such a big impact on the music scene, amazing icons to go off of. You say you are the official hype man of Twitch and strive to bring positivity to people’s lives. What struck you to want to take that path of entertainment and positivity? My dad he was my hero, my faith, my confidence he made me smile even in his downtimes he made me feel important. Anytime he would struggle he would still be smiling and pushing forward. I love him so much he changed me and made me the best man I could be. That’s so wonderful to hear you say that, Shout Out to Big pops Uhmaayyze, we appreciate that your father has done an amazing job in raising you. We see you play a lot of Destiny on stream. What is your go to class, best armour and weapons you use at this moment in time?

We agree it was a great move and do think Bungie will benefit from this massively and bring out some seriously good content for years to come. As a powerful outspoken motivational streamer who has a wonderful community beneath him, do you find that you get some form of hate and what methods do you use to tackle this? I always receive hate pushing positivity. How do I tackle it? I either block or try to help them which I know most people will not do. I always try to see if there’s hope but mostly it never works so I block and move on my goal to push forward don’t look back and uplift people. Such great words, we love the positivity of always looking at the good in everyone, such a great way to see things. On the subject of hate & haters would you give any advice to similar streamers who struggle with this form of negativity? Yes always remember the only person that can judge you will always be you no one else. You’ve got that right! So let’s talk set up! What 5 essentials can you not stream without? I need a stream deck greenscreen elgato lighting amazing camera in high-quality Mic. We love Elgato so we can understand that their products are on there! What would you say are your Top 5 Games of all time?

My main warlock, favourite exotic transverse steps. Favourite gun ace of spades. Secondary frozen orbit sniper.

Metal gear solid.

A great class and setup! I’m sure some of our readers may copy these. On the subject of Destiny, what are your current thoughts about the game and the acquisition of Bungie from Sony?

destiny one and two.

I think it was a perfect move. Bungie has been making a lot of amazing moves and changes. I’m excited for the future. I’m excited to see where they go they’re pushing for higher heights. I’m rooting for them.

Metal gear sons of liberty. Mario 64. Grand Theft auto. Some amazing choices right there! If you had to choose one game only to play forever, what would you choose? Destiny.

Destiny is such a great game and as a bog focus on your channel we are not surprised to see that game here. What made you choose to stream on Twitch over the likes of YouTube, Facebook and other platforms? Because it’s where I started and I’ve learned so much over the past six years. Totally understandable, stick to what you know a six years grind aunty done for nothing. On the subject of Twitch, we can see that you are a Twitch Partner which is a great goal to achieve. Can you tell us how you managed to reach this goal and any advice for those streamers who are pushing for a partner? Networking consistency, never questioning yourself, keep putting out great content and advice, don’t give up on something you love. Fantastic to advise we agree network is key! and always push your best. What is the best moment you have had streaming? Or if you have a few, what are your Top 3? Best moment I had 500 subs in one week. I was on a billboard in Times Square representing positivity for twitch. I made it into major articles doing free styling and gaming. Wow now that is such accomplishment 500 subs in a week and on a billboard in times square wow that’s amazing! We notice that you are sponsored by some very well known companies including Elgato, Please tell us what your initial thoughts were when they reached out to you and how great it is to work with such sponsors. Elgato is a caring and amazing family of people. When they reached out I was very surprised. It’s amazing to work with them they love working with me making sure I have everything I need and taking great care of me as one. We most certainly agree Elgato is a fantastic company everyone should check out! We too hope that someday we manage to work alongside them on something great. Speaking of Elgato, our readers must use this link if they want to get all the best and latest tech

and support Uhmaayyze! https://e.lga.to/UhMaayze On the subject of sponsors we notice you are sponsored by Advanced GG, please tell us a little about these. They are an energy company who provides great energy for gamers and you can take that outside of gaming whether that be with IRL or are you just simply working a 9 to 5 every day it helps you get through the day with so many flavours they are an amazing company. They sound great and who doesn’t love to boost their energy! If you’d like to pick up some of Advanceds amazing products then head over to https://advanced.gg/ and make sure to use Code: UHM for a discount! So, let’s talk a little bit more about you! What is something that no one who watches your channel/content knows about you? I’m a very kind and respectful positive human being. We can most certainly see that and we respect and love the humbleness. Finally, what are you currently working on that you’d like our readers to know about/check out? And do you have any big things planned you’d love to share for 2022? I can’t share it’s nothing too big and most of my things are NDA. We can totally understand that and can’t wait to see more of what’s to come from you! Thank you so much for chatting with us today Uhmaayyze its been an absolute pleasure! if you want to check out Uhmaayyze you can find all his socials + his awesome merch below! Twitch: @uhmaayyze Twitter: @uhmaayyze TikTok: @uhmaayze YouTube:@UhMaayze Merch: www.bonfire.com/uhmayyyze

“Don’t look too much at numbers, growing on twitch is hard but not impossible!”

Camlay Camlay is a Norwegian cosplayer, gamer, and TikTok personality who became popular through posting her cosplay and gaming related videos on her TikTok account. She has gained more than 320K followers and her videos have assembled over 3.3 million likes on her TikTok. She is a variety streamer who plays games throughout the spectrum amassing 8.1k followers on twitch at the time of writing. She continues to grow and continues to build a supportive community. She is best known for her take on Naruto with her amazing cosplays such as Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and many more! She has recently posted on Youtube with her original story Yara which has been written and performed by herself and is currently working on Partner Merch that will be dropped when she achieves the goal during a 24-hour live stream! Hey Camlay First of all, we would like to thank you for chatting with us today. How have you been? I’m honoured you wanted to get to know me and my community, life is hectic and exciting. It still amazes me to this day how much my work has paid off over the last 2 years! So, tell us a little bit about your streaming life, how long have you been streaming and what made you want to start streaming? I started my streaming journey many years ago. I think my twitch account age is about 6-7 years. But back then I was not mentally prepared for the attention I would get as a streamer. I wanted to stream back then for other reasons than I do today. I used to be a World Of Warcraft gamer focusing on raids and good gameplay. When I restarted about 2 years ago I ONLY started because I wanted to find a way to make people smile. Covid broke out and as a Mental health worker/Nurse by profession, I also wanted to find a way to cheer people up off the clock. Social media seemed to be the best way to reach people worldwide. And well here I am! 6-7 years? Wow! At what point during your streaming career did you think “Damn, I could really make a career out of gaming”? I think it’s still something I’m figuring out. As a nurse, I feel like quitting my job would be losing

a part of who I am. At the same time, I do realise I overwork myself by basically keeping up two full-time jobs. I had to drop any social life offline 2 years ago when I put all my energy into content creation when I’m not at my other job. The fact that I’m managing 6 social media platforms on my own. Editing my own photos, videos, doing my own photoshoots, and planning out all that happens mostly on my own has made me realise this is actually not just a hobby anymore. It’s way more work going on than just what you see live on twitch. Wow you really are busy! Away from your streaming life & content creation what do you do in your spare time? Spare time? What’s that? Hehe… Honestly like I mentioned, 2 years ago I dropped everything the moment I realised the impact I could have in people’s lives online. The moment people told me my community became their safe space, their family… That’s when I gave my all. But other than streaming and being a nurse, I sing, make YouTube videos, I cosplay, voice act, and write my own story about my original character Yara The Demon Goddess. I’ve been singing since I was 5 years old, training my voice for years wanting to be a singer. After years of actually winning talent shows, doing concerts, and educating myself in how to use my voice I found out I have a MASSIVE stage fright 70

that ruined me. I did NOT have the confidence I have today, and I’ve only grown confident enough to sing online because of my loving community. Anime & Cosplay is something that means the world to me. Anime saved my life, and that’s no exaggeration. I was at a very dark point of my life where I was not sure if I could handle another day. Luckily I stumbled upon the anime Fairy Tail.. It changed my life, it pushed me through the hardest time and after that, I found Naruto that continues to be the 2 anime that means the most to me. I’m also known for cosplaying like half the Naruto characters hehe. I did photoshoots for a good time with photographers before I found anime, being a plus-size hobby model. But after that, I wanted to find a way to show the world how much anime means to me. Just like that, I started cosplaying, as a way to honour the thing that saved my life. Growing up I’ve always been very creative with a HUGE imagination so writing stories was easy for me in school, but about maybe 5 years ago? I started thinking about making my own story, my own character. And there is where my voice acting/story writing comes in. Yara is still an ongoing process I’m working on, but some are out on YouTube. My goal is to re-record all of it in one video because the acting and sound weren’t the best in the first one, however, I’m still proud of the story. Everything from how her cosplay looks to what it is about is created by me. Other than that I edit all of my Shorts and full gameplay videos myself. Although in the future it would be really helpful to have someone edit my full gameplays for me. Cause I do suffer from chronic hand pain in both my arms so everything gaming-related hurts to do (despite LOVING doing it though) but editing and texting is the most painful thing to do, and also very time-consuming which is hard with 2 jobs. Aww we’re sorry to hear but so grateful for your content! Let’s talk about your setup. What are the top 5 most essential things that you can’t stream without? I do absolutely love my Elgato Stream lights, after I got two of them big bad boys it’s so 71

much easier to get the camera acting right. For me, a green screen is a must, after you go greenscreen you don’t go back :O It’s not a big surprise for anyone who knows me that I adore my Razer kitty headset. So much so that I bought both colours. Black and pink. I`m very picky with the headset, how it fits and looks. But I refused to get a bad quality headset just because it was cute, so not until I found this one I accepted buying a cute set hehe. Still, after 14 hours live it doesn’t give me a headache and that’s what we like! I am currently using 2 monitors. One 32 inches and one 27 inches. I could not stream with less than 2 screens! Honestly, I wish I had another.. Built up on the wall, however, my stream office is VERY tiny and I’m just happy I had room to squeeze what I already have in there. There are like 25 different cosplays/wigs to fit as well don’t forget hehe. With my hand pain, I could not stream as much as I do without a controller. I used to be a PC gamer and I still game on PC, but to be able to play long hours on stream I needed to change to an Xbox controller instead of a keyboard to handle it. I do miss using the keyboard though, you will never be able to be as fast on the controller as on the keyboard in my opinion. But it’s worth it, at least I can still play this way. Some real solid picks in there! Do you have any key advice that you would personally give to any smaller streamers about making their stream better and growing their channel and or content? Yes, play or do something you ENJOY! Cause to start we are all being with that one viewer, Called NIGHTBOT hehe! And even though no one is watching your stream, you never know when someone might suddenly pop in. And if you are having fun may be talking to yourself or just seem inviting, that might be the difference between a person scrolling to the next stream or saying Hello In your chat. Don’t look too much at numbers, growing on twitch is hard but not impossible! And at least if you had fun playing, what did you have to

lose streaming it?

that. Find out what works for you.

Also, there is no secret that networking works! But I don’t like the idea of follow for follow, I will never and have never done that. I love platforms like Hover (that I just started 1 week ago as I’m writing this) Where it’s easy to find other creators loving the same thing. I spend so much time on that app and I love the general positivity and support it provides! I will recommend anyone that streams to get Hover, BUT don’t just spam around follows to every person you see expecting a follow back if you yourself don’t have any content. Be humble, get to know people.

Having a schedule and set time for people to find your live is very helpful! And promoting on platforms like Instagram + Twitter, a going live story/post is very smart.

Like me, I have a self-promotion section in my discord that I encourage people in my community to use! I started my community journey only to help people and see people blossom and grow with me. But there is a difference between being a new streamer jumping into an already established streamer chat, just to spam about their own content. It’s unnecessary and honestly, it’s not going to bring people to you. If you are streaming and spend time in a community you like, it will naturally come up that you stream. Most creators love to support each other and will then ask you about it. I often do something I learned from a streamer friend of mine ThatRavenArmed: tell the chat to type 1 in chat if they are a streamer. Then if there is a person there you don’t know who is? Who knows? Maybe it’s your new favourite streamer?! Maybe I can introduce people to their new best friend? I love doing this! I’m sorry this turned long, but in general. Network, spend time in other communities, interact with their chat and your own, learn what you think is entertaining to watch and what you might want to do your own way. There is no one way to stream, we are all different. I am the type of streamer that puts the chat first ALWAYS. I rather lose a game than miss too much in my chat, but not all streamers want to stream like

Some great advice there! We see that you love to cosplay different characters looking at your Instagram. Who has been your favourite character to cosplay? My own personal favourite must be Yara The Demon Goddess as she is my own creation, but from anime I think I have a soft spot for Hinata Hyuga as he was the first Cosplay that made me go viral on TikTok over and over. She is for sure a follower favourite. But cosplaying gender bent characters like Female Hisoka (From Hunter x Hunter) and female Hatake Kakashi (From Naruto)… Well that’s the most fun thing I do! Don’t we all have a soft spot for Hinata haha! We see one of your most recent cosplays is the female version of Sasuke Uchiha. What made you decide to start doing female various of male characters? I did male versions as well for a while, but I do love the comedy and sassiness with Naruto`s SexyJutsu. And one day I thought to myself. What would they all look like in female versions?! That started my curiosity and creative mind to create one girl version after another. The fun thing about that cosplay is that most seem to think it is supposed to be an adult version of Sarada Uchiha, although I made this cosplay before I even watched Boruto or knew who she was. I wanted to cosplay Sasuke, but since I turned it into a female version I added Akatsuki colours instead of original colours, and that’s why it kind of looks like Sarada. Well we look forward to seeing Sarada soon too! Speaking more on cosplay, we see there are a lot of Naruto characters you have cosplayed. What characters are you looking to cosplay soon? This was supposed to be secret but I guess I can give away a wish for a few cosplays. After watching arcane recently I have been

obsessing over Jinx/Vi, both their personality and look! Sooo who knows hehe. I have also promised to cosplay Nami from One Piece and am considering doing a Nico Robin one as well. But since I’m working my way on One Piece with very limited free time and currently only on episode 380 I want to see more of the show before cosplaying the girls. I already have Elisabeth Liones cosplay that I wanna do better than last time. And I am planning to cosplay Zero Two (Shhh no one knows yet.) SO many more I want to do, but all in good time. These are some I hope to be able to do this year. Well we’ll try and keep it a secret ;) We see you’re a psychiatric night shift nurse, this must be a very tiring job. How do you stay so happy and perky when you come to stream and make content? Yes I am, and I get asked this a lot! I work only nights and my job is to keep things calm to hopefully make people sleep and feel safe. And as weird as it might seem to people watching my streams.. I am a VERY calm person and it’s crazy for people who grew up with me seeing me this energetic because I swear I can ROCK the couch potato vibe. But my community. My Family. The most amazing people in the world are always showing up. Sigh. I get teary-eyed just talking about them. They make me shine. I get excited every time I see their names in my chat. The HONORFULL feeling of seeing that they choose to spend their time on ME!? How can that not make me happy? The fact that they tell me I make them smile? Some have even told me I saved their lives and to this day that still makes me cry thinking about it. The simple answer must be that it’s an endless positive circle. I cheer them up, they cheer me up, I get hyped, they get hyped. Together we grow and the more loving caring people we get in our family, the more we can cheer each other on. And they are so supportive. I am so proud of my community, they are truly a blessing. <3 75

That’s so amazing! We see you’ve been playing Apex Legends recently. Who is your favourite legend to play and can we expect any Apex Cosplays? Ooh Apex! Yes, the game I never thought I’d like cause I didn’t like shooting games.. Aaand now I’m addicted haha! I’m not good at the game but damn do I have fun! My Favourite legend must be Octane, I love playing aggressive even though I’m not really good enough for it. Hmm Apex cosplay? Well I do have the natural booty of Loba so we have joked about that.. Maaaybe? Well we look forward to seeing you play this more and maybe a Loba cosplay! As a big time gamer what would be your top 5 games of all time? Little Nightmares (all of them) World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Outlast (My first YouTube Playthrough and first horror game! It means alot as I literally cried, ripped down my greenscreen and threw up a little during it!) Resident Evil Village Mario Kart (GameCube best version!) Some great picks! Now you have told us your top 5 games of all time. If you could only play one game for the rest of your life what game would that be and why? I think World of Warcraft as it always keeps changing and will give you something new for years to come. I will maybe add apex to top games eventually but it’s still too new to me to tell. The struggle with WoW that made me have to drop it mostly is ONLY because of my hand pain, and I struggle enjoying the game with the controller. Again a solid pick! So let’s talk about your highlight reel! What are the 5 top moments in your career so far that you would want in a montage? My first clip in my jumpscare moment from At Dead of Night.. When I tossed my mouse and kind of broke it in fear.

Several moments from my outlast playthroughs are just insane. but when I ripped down my greenscreen. Sigh.. such a moment.. That moment from this weekend.. 11-13 february.. It’s on Hover and Youtube, and the stream has made me cry many times.. But it just hit me so hard.. My love for them is just so strong and sometimes I can’t hold it in. Another moment from this weekend when I stopped everything to tell people how unique and beautiful they are. Also both on hover. Hard to choose one, but I do have a singing moment when I play apex and just freestyle and I suck at apex parody. It turned out quite funny xD Chats love scaring the streamers they watch don’t they haha! Back to your streaming life, what would you say is your best all time moment on stream? There are so many. But this weekend was special. This weekend I was streaming despite not being recovered fully from surgery (health reasons), but I couldn’t stay away longer because I missed everyone so much. I usually stream 6-12 hours as a general time, but I could only last 4 hours before almost passing out this weekend. And the community. The love. Them looking out for me telling me to breathe (they knew if I got a high pulse I could pass out, since I was told to NOT do that by doctors). Seeing chat going Hooosaaaa breathe when I got excited. And I get excited all the time because they are so awesome! Them being so patient with me, and us having so much fun being a family. It was so special. Feeling so loved and cared for that I felt like If I reached out I could touch the love. It sounds so weird I know. But this eventually ended in me tearing up to telling them how much they mean to me, and words cannot explain that moment unless you were there <3 Aww that’s amazing! So let’s talk a little bit more about you! What is something that no one who watches your channel/content knows about you? Hmm No one? I mean. I’m pretty open but.. 77

Please give Camlay some love and support b

Twitch: @ Twitter: @ Instagram: TikTok: @ YouTube: @ Hover: @

by following her Twitch and social channels!

@Camlay_ @camlay_ @calmlay_ @camlay_ @Camlay_ @camlay

Lemme think. There are many things only my close community knows like that I used to be overweight, like 50 kg bigger than what I am now, uhm that’s about 110 pounds I think. I can’t really think of anything big that NO one knows other than a bad habit I have I guess? I almost only eat standing up next to the counter in the kitchen o.O I swear I’m so weird like. I can make my meal and end up standing there like a moron just eating it before realising I haven’t sat down… I think it’s a bad habit from always doing a million things at once, so I can’t really put my mind into caring about the meal, which is as shame! :O I think we all do that when we have other things to do! Finally, what are you currently working on that you’d like our readers to know about/check out? I’ve recently just finished and uploaded Yara The Demon Goddess Story to my Youtube Channel! However, Yara`s story is an 18 + story as it continues and is limited on YouTube to only users with an 18+ account. Take that as you will hehe.. Yara’s story is a horror/fantasy adventure and in no way kids friendly. I have also updated my Hinata Hyuga cosplay with my new custommade hoodie I ordered handmade from SukiCosplay. Since I have recently updated my Hinata cosplay I am looking to update my Kakashi Cosplay in the future! Should be thinking about a new full gameplay series on YouTube as well, hard to choose which one though.. People tend to love seeing me play horror. But Hover is as of now my smallest platform, I am planning to put more work into that and less into TikTok despite my big following there. My goal is to be verified this year on Twitch and hopefully Hover? Maybe getting to 100 k on YouTube, but I’m in no hurry. I welcome all who want to join my family on our journey to..

Who knows where!

The Gamer Guide - Issue 7