Gaming

Anno 117: Pax Romana is a relaxing city building experience

It’s challenging but engrossing.

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Growing up, city builders were my guilty pleasure. It’s fun to build a sprawling empire and to tear it all down again with an assortment of artificial disasters. Over time, the art of city builders was lost to more battle-oriented strategy games. Today, Ubisoft is keeping the genre alive through the Anno series. The upcoming Anno 117: Pax Romana will now take players to second-century Rome to build their own Roman city.

Though the game won’t be out for quite some time, Ubisoft gave us a sneak peek of its full build, and it’s just what you’d expect from the historical city builder.

A time of peace

As the name says, this is Pax Romana. Despite being set during the Roman period, you won’t find yourself fighting in the Punic Wars or fighting off armies of barbarians. It’s a relatively laidback experience.

The preview had us going through an entire ecosystem of Roman goods from simple woodcutter’s huts to enormous fields of lavender. The ecosystem even has garum, the Roman version of patis.

A lot of times, the plethora of buildable products don’t do much, other than satisfying the wants of different social classes. It does, however, make the game feel more immersive. It also adds long-term complexity because you’ll need to balance out all your citizen’s different needs.

The economic balancing is relaxing because there’s not much pressure to build a huge army. That said, conflicts can still be resolved with force. However, in the limited time offered by the preview, amassing a huge force was not a primary focus.

Building your way into a conspiracy

Like all games of the genre, Anno 117 has a serviceable storyline. To be fair, it’s not a story I’d lose sleep over. But it’s enough to push the narrative along and help you learn the ropes.

At the beginning, you can pick between two characters: Marcia and Marcus. Though both characters have slightly different stories, they still end in the same place with a powerful figure getting murdered.

In terms of gameplay, furthering the story isn’t the most compelling. A good chunk of the preview involves sending your flagship to another island to pick something up. Essentially, it’s a series of fetch quests.

I’m not sure how else a strategy game like this can add variety to the narrative, so this might be asking too much. At the very least, it’s a decent story to keep you playing.

Learning the ropes

As a tutorial, the story works to introduce the complex system. However, it isn’t as direct as I’d want it to be. There are times when the game wants me to build a certain item but doesn’t tell me how. For the first few hours, your experience is likely just about getting used to the interface. Rather than offering all the buildings you can have in categories, the interface organizes them according to their social class. So, all the plebian buildings are found in only one menu. It takes a while to get used to this.

Additionally, when you want to build a more advanced building, the interface does show a tree that details which smaller buildings you’ll need first. One small issue I had is the lack of a clear means to easily track which of the prerequisites are already present in your city.

Getting past the mire into paradise

That said, getting into a rhythm is easy. Because it doesn’t spoon-feed players on what to do, there is an enduring allure in discovering what else you can do to improve your city.

If you had a past playing with city builders, Anno 117 can reignite that feeling. To be fair, the game does not reinvent the genre. This is a very similar game to what came before. But if you’re looking for a decent builder set in an era that doesn’t usually get a lot of love, Anno 117: Pax Romana might be the game for you.

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Gaming

Expedition 33 cleans house at The Game Awards: full list of winners

Clair Obscur bagged a total of 9 awards.

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December 12, 2025

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We’re finally in a gamer’s favorite season. Besides all the sales, discounts, and newly bought consoles, December always plays host to the highly awaited Game Awards. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the event gives recognition to the gaming world’s most prolific titles of the year.

As expected this year, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 cleaned house, bagging 9 wins out of a record-breaking 12 nominations. This includes the coveted Game of the Year award.

But Expedition 33‘s haul of awards isn’t the whole story. Other titles were recognized as well. And though it’s easy to say “lol E33 got everything,” it’s time to give those other games some recognition. Here is the full list of winners for The Game Awards 2025.

GAME OF THE YEAR

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Hades II (Supergiant Games)
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)

BEST GAME DIRECTION

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Hades II (Supergiant Games)
  • Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

BEST NARRATIVE

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep Silver)
  • Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)

BEST ART DIRECTION

  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Hades II (Supergiant Games)
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

  • Christopher Larkin, Hollow Knight: Silksong
  • Darren Korb, Hades II
  • Lorien Testard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Toma Otowa, Ghost of Yōtei
  • Woodkid and Ludvig Forssell, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

  • Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)

BEST PERFORMANCE

  • Ben Starr, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Charlie Cox, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Erika Ishii, Ghost of Yōtei
  • Jennifer English, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Konatsu Kato, Silent Hill f
  • Troy Baker, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)
  • Atomfall (Rebellion)
  • Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/EA Romania/EA)
  • South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)

GAMES FOR IMPACT

  • Consume Me (Jenny Jiao Hsia/AP Thomson/Hexacutable)
  • Despelote (Julián Cordero/Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
  • Lost Records: Bloom & Rage (Don’t Nod Montreal/Don’t Nod)
  • South of Midnight (Compulsion Games/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Wanderstop (Ivy Road/Annapurna Interactive)

BEST ONGOING

  • Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

  • Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
  • Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

  • Absolum (Guard Crush Games/Supamonks/Dotemu)
  • Ball x Pit (Kenny Sun/Devolver Digital)
  • Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Hades II (Supergiant Games)
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME

  • Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury)
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Despelote (Julián Cordero/Sebastián Valbuena/Panic)
  • Dispatch (AdHoc Studio)
  • Megabonk (Vedinad)

BEST MOBILE GAME

  • Destiny: Rising (NetEase Games)
  • Persona 5: The Phantom X (Black Wings Game Studio/Sega)
  • Sonic Rumble (Rovio Entertainment/Sega)
  • Umamusume: Pretty Derby (Cygames Inc.)
  • Wuthering Waves (Kuro Games)

BEST VR/AR

  • Alien: Rogue Incursion (Survios)
  • Arken Age (VitruviusVR)
  • Ghost Town (Fireproof Games)
  • Marvel’s Deadpool VR (Twisted Pixel Games/Oculus Studios)
  • The Midnight Walk (MoonHood/Fast Travel Games)

BEST ACTION

  • Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
  • Doom: The Dark Ages (id Software/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Hades II (Supergiant Games)
  • Ninja Gaiden 4 (Platinum Games/Team Ninja/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (Lizardcube/Sega)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE

  • Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Ghost of Yōtei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (MachineGames/Bethesda Softworks)
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry)
  • Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

BEST RPG

  • Avowed (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
  • Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (Warhorse Studios/Deep SIlver)
  • The Outer Worlds 2 (Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)

BEST FIGHTING

  • 2XKO (Riot Games)
  • Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (Capcom)
  • Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK Corporation)
  • Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection (Digital Eclipse/Atari)
  • Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega)

BEST FAMILY

  • Donkey Kong Bananza (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • LEGO Party! (SMG Studio/Fictions)
  • LEGO Voyagers (Light Brick Studios/Annapurna Interactive)
  • Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/Sega)
  • Split Fiction (Hazelight Studios/EA)

BEST SIM/STRATEGY

  • The Alters (11 Bit Studios)
  • FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles (Square Enix)
  • Jurassic World Evolution 3 (Frontier Developments)
  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (Firaxis Games/2K)
  • Tempest Rising (Slipgate Ironworks/3D Realms)
  • Two Point Museum (Two Point Studios/Sega)

BEST SPORTS/RACING

  • EA Sports FC 26 (EA Canada/EA Romania/EA)
  • F1 25 (Codemasters/EA)
  • Mario Kart World (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Rematch (Sloclap/Kepler Interactive)
  • Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (Sonic Team/Sega)

BEST MULTIPLAYER

  • Arc Raiders (Embark Studios)
  • Battlefield 6 (Electronic Arts)
  • Elden Ring Nightreign (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco Entertainment)
  • Peak (Aggro Crab/Landfall)
  • Split Fiction (Hazelight/EA)

BEST ADAPTATION

  • A Minecraft Movie (Legendary Pictures/Mojang/Warner Bros)
  • Devil May Cry (Studio Mir/Capcom/Netflix)
  • The Last of Us: Season 2 (HBO/PlayStation Productions)
  • Splinter Cell: Deathwatch (FOST Studio/Ubisoft/Netflix)
  • Until Dawn (Screen Gems/PlayStation Productions)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

  • 007 First Light (IO Interactive)
  • Grand Theft Auto VI (Rockstar Games)
  • Marvel’s Wolverine (Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom)
  • The Witcher IV (CD Projekt Red)

CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR

  • Caedrel
  • Kai Cenat
  • MoistCr1TiKaL
  • Sakura Miko
  • The Burnt Peanut

BEST ESPORTS GAME

  • Counter-Strike 2 (Valve)
  • DOTA 2 (Valve)
  • League of Legends (Riot)
  • Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton)
  • Valorant (Riot)

BEST ESPORTS ATHLETE

  • brawk – Brock Somerhalder (Valorant)
  • Chovy – Jeong Ji-hoon (League of Legends)
  • f0rsakeN – Jason Susanto (Valorant)
  • Kakeru – Kakeru Watanabe (Street Fighter)
  • MenaRD – Saul Leonardo (Street Fighter)
  • Zyw0o – Mathieu Herbaut (Counter-Strike 2)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

  • Gen.G – League of Legends
  • NRG – Valorant
  • Team Falcons – DOTA 2
  • Team Liquid PH – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
  • Team Vitality – Counter-Strike 2
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Genshin Impact, Duolingo partner for limited-time quest

Win various rewards by going on a 3-day streak

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December 9, 2025

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Genshin Impact has partnered with Duolingo for a limited-time 3-Day Streak Quest in the Duolingo app.

The collaboration between the popular open-world RPG and the educational app features Teyvat’s travel companion Paimon.

Genshin Impact characters Tighnari and Cyno also make an appearance, as well as Duolingo’s beloved green owl Duo.

From December 8 to 27, players and learners from select regions can unlock the “Genshin Impact Quest” in any course on the Duolingo app.

Users who complete learning exercises for three straight days with receive the following in-game rewards:

  • Custom avatar “Diligent Study”
  • Themed namecard “Celebration: Dream Reader”
  • Unique Sumeru-style dish “Spiced Fried Chicken” and recipe
  • Collectible in-app statue of Paimon and Duo
  • Primogems

The reward redemption code can be claimed from the “Shop” page in the Duolingo app before December 30 and redeemed on the title before January 31.

To make the challenges more exciting, all four characters will show up on each quest to cheer on learners.

The collaboration follows the recently released Genshin Impact Version Luna III, which introduced Durin, a new 5-Star Pyro character with dual battle forms. There is also a new story chapter set in Nod-Krai.

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Razer Raiju V3 Pro review

Competitive controller that knows exactly who it’s built for

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December 3, 2025

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Raiju V3 Pro

When I first unboxed the Razer Raiju V3 Pro, my brain immediately went: okay, this is exciting. It had that wow factor — that feeling of holding a piece of tech that’s meant to do something special. It’s the kind of controller that makes you want to jump straight into a game just to see what all the fuss is about.

Build and feel — familiar, but also very not

Razer Raiju V3 Pro

Coming from the DualSense, the first surprise is the weight. The Raiju V3 Pro is definitely lighter, but not in a cheap way. Holding it felt different, wider even, and my hands were a little more relaxed because of that added space.

Razer Raiju V3 Pro

The grip texture is great — no fear of slipping, and it feels particularly good on the bottom of your palm.

The face buttons? Smaller surface area, longer travel. Premium-feeling overall, though I’ll be honest: I’m not entirely convinced the Raiju V3 Pro’s feel matches its price tag. That’s mostly because I’ve tried some GameSir controllers that felt surprisingly similar for a fraction of the price. But still — this feels like a product built with intent.

Gameplay experience — where it actually comes alive

 

Most of my testing happened on NBA 2K26 because… well… that’s the game I always end up playing. And this was the moment the TMR thumbsticks flexed. I found myself doing more dribble combos and experimenting with shot styles using the right stick simply because I had zero fear of drift.

I also jumped into a few fighting games — TEKKEN 8 and My Hero One’s Justice 2 — then humbled myself in several Death Match sessions on Call of Duty Black Ops 7. I even swung through Spider-Man Remastered for a bit. Across all of these, the controller felt responsive, fast, and ready for whatever chaos I threw at it.

HyperTriggers and extra inputs — surprisingly useful

Razer Raiju V3 Pro

The triggers were most noticeable during my Call of Duty matches. I still sucked at it — let’s be real — but I can totally see how better players would squeeze more value out of the locked fast-trigger mode. The surprise twist was how useful the triggers were for fighting games. Having minimal travel made reaction-based inputs feel snappier and more controlled.

As for the back paddles and claw bumpers: I thought about taking some of them out, but ended up keeping everything on. Eventually, they became little fidget points that didn’t interfere with gameplay.

Mapped the extra trigger to Square to make it easier to hit the Triangle + Square combo for self alley-oops.

In practice, I rarely used them because I’m such a muscle-memory player… except in NBA 2K26. I mapped self alley-oops and flashy passing to the extra triggers, which helped because 2K moved those combos around this year.

Thumbsticks — the star of the show

Razer Raiju V3 Pro

The TMR sticks? Excellent. Smooth, accurate, fluid — all of it. I had fun abusing them without worrying about drift, and NBA 2K26 really let me push them to their limit. COD: Black Ops 7 was harder, but I think that’s more on me than the controller. Maybe a sensitivity tweak or two will fix that over time.

Customization — only what I needed

I’m not the type who loves deep tweaking, so I mostly skipped Synapse. I only used the mobile Razer Controller app to remap the extra triggers. And honestly? That was enough. The controller already felt good out of the box.

Wireless performance — HyperSpeed does its job

No lag. No hiccups. No difference between wired and wireless — seriously. HyperSpeed Wireless worked wonders and felt as reliable as any cable-connected controller I’ve used.

Pain points — minor, but noticeable

Razer Raiju V3 Pro

There are a couple of things worth noting.

The big one: no haptic feedback. The DualSense’s signature feature simply doesn’t exist here. Razer says this controller was designed with real pro players, and removing rumble seems to be one of those “it’s not needed in esports” decisions.

Honestly? After a while — especially during fast-paced games — I didn’t miss it. Haptics matter more in story-driven titles, and this controller isn’t really meant for those anyway.

One more thing: I couldn’t turn on the PlayStation with the Raiju V3 Pro. I still needed a DualSense for that.

Who is this for?

This controller is for people who play fast-paced, competitive games. Plain and simple.

But it’s also for players who want a controller built to take a beating — the kind that survives long sessions, intense button-mashing, and weekend-long gaming marathons. Its battery life is impressive, too, making it a great backup for when your DualSense suddenly taps out mid-game.

If you want a premium esports controller designed specifically for PS5, this is one of the best — if not the best — option right now.

If you want rumble, adaptive triggers, or a cinematic gaming experience? This isn’t it.

Is the Razer Raiju V3 Pro your GamingMatch?

If I had to describe the whole experience in one line: I’m swiping right because the Razer Raiju V3 Pro is an excellent piece of tech.

But it’s not for everyone, especially not for its asking price (EUR 209.99 / PHP 12,990). You can argue there are cheaper options — absolutely — but most of those lean heavily toward PC.

In the PS5 space, especially for competitive players, this is probably the strongest contender you can buy today.

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