Gaming

LEGO Horizon Adventures review: Flat-out fun

Horizon Lego Dawn

Published

November 13, 2024

Lego Horizon Adventures is the first Horizon game that I just couldn’t put down. It’s fun, relatively easy to play, and adds some brevity to an otherwise too self-serious title.

It lego-fies the base game of Horizon Zero Dawn and offers an abridged version of the story. All the while, it offers fun platforming and relatively challenging combat.

Horizon Lego Dawn

Whether or not you’re familiar with the story told during this franchise’s debut, you’ll likely find yourself enjoying how the experience is presented here. If you’ve played any Lego games before, it has the signature Lego game humor, poking fun at the material it’s “adapting” while still telling a generally faithful story.

Lines like “you know how hard it is to count with no fingers” are littered across the game’s dialogue. And they never get old. Many of the punchlines are delivered on time and on target. It’s such stark contrast to the sometimes overly serious tone of Horizon Zero Dawn.

That said, it’s able to take the 23-25 hour story of the original game and tell it in a little over half the time. I completed my playthrough in roughly around 15 hours.

A slightly different LEGO game

The last Lego game we played is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. While they share the same DNA in terms of dialogue, aesthetic, and storytelling, the gameplay is vastly different.

Unlike in the LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Horizon Adventures has a fixed camera angle. The platforming sections of the stages differ slightly but the entire game generally has a top-down perspective view.

This helps simplify the experience. But make no mistake, there’s still a fair bit of exploring to do. It’s in the players best interest to move around the screen and check every nook and cranny for treasure chests, loot, and what not.

The top-down perspective also makes the combat feel a little bit like the games that have that perspective like Diablo and Hades. While not as challenging as the aforementioned games, this one offers a good variety to keep you engaged.

Arrows, Spheres and more

Combat is pretty straightforward. Square is your primary attack button. You can press it quickly for quick strikes. But it’s best used to press, aim, and hold for more efficient damage.

As you progress in the game, you gain different types of arrows just like in Zero Dawn. These vary from elemental damages to different ways of firing your arrows.

Meanwhile, the circle button is how you activate your gadgets. You can only hold one at a time and most of them are pretty useful in combat. My favorites were the one that lets you dart around in a flash and a Horizon classic – the trapper.

Weapons and gadgets can be picked up throughout a stage. But they’re also available during midpoints where you encounter a merchant and you have three chests to open, mostly containing a full ammo set at your disposal.

Healing is handled through berry trees scattered across the stage. These are very generously placed, especially during the early part of the game. They get a little bit scarcer as you progress.

Dealing with Machines and The Hive

Just like in Horizon Zero Dawn your primary foils are the Machines and The Hive. They can be dealt with generally in the same way. Machines still have weak points that can be targeted when you use your focus. Meanwhile, members of the hive can be dealt shot with weapons, gadgets, or even carried and thrown against each other.

Most of the combat happens in an enclosed space. After exploring, you arrive at the area where there’s tall grass you can hide in. In the enclosed space, you’ll find weapons, gadgets, and things you can throw at the enemies. Some stages also feature environmental things you can use to knock out enemies.

It’s in your best interest to move around as much as you can because the enemies tend to swarm you all at once. By moving around, you become a hard target to hit and also open yourself up to more possibilities of taking them out.

This is the part of the combat that, mechanically, somewhat felt like Hades. It’s nowhere near as challenging as that game, but it has the same general feeling. More importantly, it’s pretty fun and challenging without being too easy or too frustrating.

Clearing these combat spaces, even in just the balanced difficulty, can feel rewarding. Boss fights offer some variety, but the game does well in making sure established rules of engagement remain pretty much the same.

Mother’s Heart

Your base of operations is Mother’s Heart which is your tribe’s town/village. As you progress, you’re able to unlock areas of the town and build different kinds of establishments. They vary in look, feel, and potential for interaction.

It’s here where you spawn after every mission. You can customize the town to your liking with lego parts related to the Horizon franchise but there’s more to unlock and have fun with.

It’s also in this hub where you can level up, change your look, and collect more Lego Bricks by completing town quests. These quests are mostly simple and just require building certain things. While others require you to wear a particular costume as you go on your adventures.

You can change up your look after a certain point of the game. It unlocks pretty early on. You can dress as Horizon characters. And just like the buildings and structures, more non–Horizon costumes will be available to you as you progress through.

There’s a general skill tree that applies to all the characters you can control. Yes, characters. As a solo player, you’ll have four playable characters at your disposal. If you’ve seen some of the previews of the game, you already know that Varl is one of them. Won’t spoil the rest.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try Co-op play as my Player 2 was away during the review period. That opened up some tricky decision-making as to which character I will use in each mission. Ultimately, I went canon and just used Aloy 85% of the time.

Is this your GameMatch?

LEGO Horizon Adventures is a Super Swipe. It’s a game we can easily recommend because it’s such a good time. The gameplay is fun, the humor is on point, there’s an option for couch or online Co-op, and it’s easy to pick-up and play.

I have unfinished playthroughs in both Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. Something about those games just didn’t land with me personally right away. But the lego-fied version is different. In fact, it’s even renewed, even just by a little bit, my desire to complete the playthrough of the actual game it’s based on.

I also learned a lot about my personal tastes playing through this. I’m all for realism and the usual cinematic action-adventure that PlayStation offers. But if Astro Bot and now LEGO Horizon Adventures is any indication, there’s definitely a place for bright, stylized games that’s just flat-out fun.

Gaming

AMD FSR Upscaling 4.1 now available for Radeon RX 7000 Series

Update drops earlier than expected, powering more than 300 supported games

Published

June 24, 2026

GadgetMatch

PC and handheld gamers can officially skip the wait, as AMD has launched its FSR 4.1 upscaling technology for Radeon RX 7000 series (RDNA 3) GPUs.

Computing and Graphics Group Senior Vice President and GM Jack Huynh made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter). This development brings machine learning powered gaming to millions of players across more than 300 games.

By downloading the latest AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.6.2 driver, users can unlock the new AI upscaling suite on existing RX 7000 series desktop graphics cards.

(The driver can be downloaded here.)

The update drastically sharpens image reconstruction, delivers far superior temporal stability, and keeps motion ghosting to an absolute minimum. That’s across a massive library of supported titles.

Beyond optimized frame rates out of the gate for those two blockbusters, the release packs vital architecture stability improvements and bug fixes for the broader Radeon ecosystem.

Huynh added that AMD is actively engineering lightweight machine learning models to expand FSR 4.1 optimizations to a wider base of gamers. More details are to come.

Moreover, the driver for the FSR 4.1 upscaling technology will deliver day-one support for two highly anticipated releases: Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced and DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations.

if you are wielding an RDNA 3 desktop rig or an RDNA 3-powered handheld, like the ROG Ally X or Lenovo Legion GO, simply open up the AMD Software suite, get the update, and test the new AI tech.

Gaming

GTA VI: New images unveiled as pre-order details, price finally announced

Highly-anticipated title to launch on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S

Published

June 24, 2026

GadgetMatch

Grand Theft Auto VI finally has a price. The highly-anticipated upcoming installment in the series is set to launch on November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Pre-orders will begin on midnight, June 25. Available versions are the Standard Edition at US$ 79.99 and the Ultimate Edition at US$ 99.99.

The Ultimate Edition amplifies the single player experience with an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story.

Here are some newly-released exclusive images:

Alongside the Standard and Ultimate Editions, all Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders and purchases before November 20 will also get the Vintage Vice City Pack.

This is a collection of items that flash back to when the neon burned brightest:

Players who pre-order digital versions of GTA VI will be able to begin pre-loading on November 12. This is to ensure they are able to play at launch on November 19.

The physical version, which contains a download code inside the box, will be available starting November 12 as well to support pre-loading.

Gaming

ASUS brings 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo, G16, and G14 to the Philippines

New Zephyrus laptops arrive

Published

June 24, 2026

GadgetMatch

ASUS Republic of Gamers has announced the Philippine availability and pricing of its 2026 ROG Zephyrus lineup.

Headlining the range is the new ROG Zephyrus Duo, joined by refreshed versions of the Zephyrus G16 and Zephyrus G14. The latest models feature Intel Core Ultra processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs, upgraded cooling systems, and ROG Nebula HDR OLED displays.

The lineup is available through authorized retailers starting June 24, 2026.

ROG Zephyrus Duo introduces dual-screen gaming

The 2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo (GX651AX) is billed as the world’s first 16-inch dual-screen gaming laptop.

It features two 16-inch 16:10 touch displays with 120Hz refresh rates. Together, they provide up to 32 inches of combined screen space for multitasking, content creation, streaming, and gaming.

The primary display is a 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with up to 1,100 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision HDR support, and 100 percent DCI-P3 color coverage.

A new 320-degree kickstand hinge enables multiple usage modes, including Laptop Mode, Dual-Screen Mode, Book Mode, Tent Mode, and Sharing Mode. ASUS ScreenXpert software manages display layouts and transitions between modes.

Powering the device are an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X memory, and 2TB SSD storage.

ROG Zephyrus Duo price in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus Duo GX651AX-SR071WSM (RTX 5090, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 559,995

The laptop comes bundled with an ASUS Pen 3.0, ROG Universal Backpack, ROG Gladius III Gaming Mouse, and ASUS warranty package.

ROG Zephyrus G16 gets RTX 5090 option

The refreshed ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU606) retains its slim aluminum chassis, measuring 1.49cm thick and weighing 1.85kg.

Configurations include up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with up to 160W TGP. ASUS says the laptop supports NVIDIA DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation technologies.

The 16-inch display uses a 2.5K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, VESA DisplayHDR True Black certification, and NVIDIA G-SYNC support.

Battery life is rated at up to 22 hours of video playback, while ROG Intelligent Cooling combines Tri-Fan Technology, liquid metal, and expanded ventilation for sustained performance.

ROG Zephyrus G16 prices in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AR-TB061WSM (RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 289,995
ROG Zephyrus G16 GU606AX-TB084WSM (RTX 5090, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — PhP 429,995

Both variants include an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.

ROG Zephyrus G14 focuses on portability

The ROG Zephyrus G14 (GU405) continues to target gamers who want a more compact machine.

It measures 1.59cm thin and weighs 1.5kg. Despite its size, ASUS equips the laptop with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with up to 130W TGP.

The device sports a 14-inch 3K ROG Nebula HDR OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-SYNC support, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 certification.

ASUS also redesigned the thermal system with thicker heat pipes, additional copper fins, and improved ventilation to boost cooling performance.

ROG Zephyrus G14 prices in the Philippines

ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AP-SY057WSM (RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 224,995
ROG Zephyrus G14 GU405AW-SY069WSM (RTX 5080, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — PhP 324,995

Each model ships with an ROG Exclusive Sleeve and ROG Strix Impact Gaming Mouse.

Warranty and launch promos

All 2026 ROG Zephyrus laptops sold locally come with ASUS’ No. 1 Quality & Service Program. This includes a three-year international and local warranty, one-year accidental damage protection, and Premium Care support.

Buyers also receive a gaming mouse, three months of PC Game Pass, an Office 2024 lifetime license, one year of Microsoft 365 Basic with 100GB cloud storage, and up to 700GB of ASUS Cloud Storage.

Meanwhile, the new ROG Slash Collection 4.0 accessories, including the Slash Backpack 4.0 and Slash Sling Bag 4.0, will arrive in select ROG stores starting July 2026.