Sydney Butler

Many developers now make early builds of their games available as a paid "early access" or "game preview" offering. If you're truly excited or intrigued by a game, you may be tempted to pay for it before it's actually done, but should you? Let's look at the factors for and against buying an early access game.

There are numerous great video game accessories—flight sticks, steering wheels, VR headsets, and many more. However, for every awesome accessory there are ten that come across as just a little silly. While I could probably fill a book with them, these are some of the most (in)famous examples.

I love game emulators on my smartphone, and it's great that Apple is finally allowing emulators like Delta on iPhone and iPad. However, if you want to play emulated games on the go, you might want to make room in your pocket for a dedicated emulator handheld. Here's why.

The "Why Not Both?" meme is more than a little overused when it comes to decisions between two good things, but it's the perfect answer to the question of whether you should use a controller or a mouse to play your favorite games.

Depending on when you read this, Steam Family sharing is either in beta or finally released to the public. Either way, if you're going to share your Steam library with family members after years of building your library, you might want to limit which games they can actually see!

If you're over a certain age, you may remember lugging your console or PC over to a friend's house so that you could enjoy proper local multiplayer, with none of that split-screen malarkey. Well, if you and a friend both own a Switch, you can do that right now with local wireless multiplayer!

Is a video game a job or a form of recreation? Most people would pick the second option, but if you look at how obsessive some players are about "100%-ing" their games, it seems that the grind doesn't stop when they clock out of their day jobs.

PC gamers may often express a disdain for gaming consoles, but the truth is that PC gaming benefits significantly from the existence of consoles in numerous ways. So next time you're dismissive of consoles, here's a reminder of what they've done for us.

Sometimes, a new game is just too heavy to run at 60fps with acceptable visual quality, which means that we have to fall back on 30fps as the lowest playable frame rate. That's not ideal in any scenario, but there are ways to reduce the blow.

Nintendo is the only console maker of the big three without an integrated achievement system for its consoles. Achievements are immensely popular, and many people want them on the Switch, but I think a lack of achievements is an overlooked unique selling point for Nintendo.

If you missed out on the DOS era of gaming, there has never been a better time to dip your toes into the best of what the platform can offer. Retro gaming is in vogue once more, so why not get in on the fun with a gaming platform that doesn't get enough love?

While mid-range smartphones are now so good, they can do most of what flagship phones do well enough for most people, there are still many solid reasons why you'd want a flagship model.

Windows handhelds like the ROG Ally have specs that put the Steam Deck to shame, but are let down by Windows being terrible as a handheld operating system. So, what if you could have the best of both worlds?

For decades the idea of gaming on a Mac has been seen as a joke by "hardcore" gamers,but that wasn't always the case, and maybe in the near future the Mac's gaming credentials will return.

With the world shifting from physical to digital game media, it would be nice if everyone could agree on how refunds work. Unfortunately while some companies are leading the charge in consumer friendliness, others seem to be more than a little behind the times.

The stereotype of PC gaming is a huge desktop tower filled with rainbow lights and spinning fans, while water gurgles through pipes. However, the reality is much more modest, and most people don't even need a big rig PC to play.

I've been a Series S owner almost since the console's launch, and I've been happy with my purchase overall, as a way to dip my toes into the Xbox ecosystem. However, midway through this console generation, it's hard for me to suggest that anyone should buy one of these baby Xbox consoles today, and ironically, it's not really the Series S that's at fault.

The PS5 Pro is an (unofficially) expected mid-generation refresh for the popular PlayStation 5, but many gamers who already own a PS5 are dubious on why such an upgrade is even necessary,

Gaming laptops are one of the best ways to get into PC gaming with competitive prices for mid-range systems and a plug-and-play mobile experience. However, your screen choice is far more important in a gaming laptop than usual.

PC gaming is often framed as being about specs and power, but there's so much more to gaming on PC than frame rates. Modding is an ancient PC tradition, and it's one key pillars of the experience.

Growing up, my dad owned a small arcade. So while my friends were playing NES games, I was rocking Street Fighter 2 with unlimited credits. Now, I might be making a midlife crisis decision soon, and need help!

Most people who buy iPads probably don't give a second thought to how much RAM their iPad comes with. It just works, after all. However, just as with any computer, RAM can have a significant impact on your experience, depending on how you use it.

Modern gaming technology and fast internet connections are wonderful, but so too were in-person LAN parties. I spent my youth lugging CRTs and PC towers to friends' houses or whatever space we could borrow for a weekend, and I miss it with all my heart. Here's why it was awesome.

Valve's Steam Deck is a massive success, and has kick-started an entirely new product category of handheld gaming PCs. But it's easy to forget that this isn't Valve's first attempt at a PC-console hybrid, so perhaps it's time for them to try again.

Steam is by far the most popular digital game storefront on the PC. Despite its popularity, there are some features hidden in its depths that you might not know about. Here are seven of the most useful.

Converting regular flat video games into VR is usually something that takes developers a significant amount of time and money, but the UEVR mod promises to instantly convert thousands of games to VR without any effort from the developers themselves.

As retro gaming continues to grow in popularity, so do cheap handheld retro gaming consoles from brands you've never heard of. Many of these devices are not worth your time or money. Here's how you can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Everyone seems to be offering some form of cloud gaming solution these days, despite the high-profile failure of Google Stadia. There are even dedicated cloud streaming handheld devices that aren't cheap! But cloud gaming kind of sucks, and here's why.

Games have ballooned in size in the last few years, and many people have multiple Steam installations on their local network. Thankfully, Steam now lets you install games from other nearby computers which is perfect for moving things from your desktop to a Steam Deck or ROG Ally.

The term "motion blur" is almost a taboo phrase among gamers, but the truth is that this visual feature has a very specific role that is critical to making your games look and play well. So let's look at when to leave it on or turn it off.