Gaming

Artist Alley is the highlight of HoYo FEST 2025

Everything from stickers to perfumes

Published

on

The fan art community of the HoYoverse games is rich, varied, and insanely talented. And at HoYo FEST 2025, the spotlight is on them as they get to flex and earn from their creations. 

Now in its fifth year, the HoYo FEST is staging its biggest event to date, happening in six countries in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, especially, the annual gathering of HoYo games fans lands its biggest venue so far – The SMX Convention Center. 

HoYo FEST 2025

Fans can snap their best poses on the featured games’ photobooths. They have everything from Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, Honkai Impact 3rd, Honkai Star Rail, and Tears of Themis.

HoYo FEST 2025

The Genshin Impact area also had an area where attendees could line up to play the game. One of the lengthier queues though is for the official merch. The HoYoverse team took extra care in managing it as it’s always one of the crowd drawers. 

But for us, we spent most of our time rummaging through the Artist Alley. There were plenty stickers, keychains, and other trinkets. There were even photocards of your favorite characters.

We also had a chance to speak with some of the artists.

Perfume by Lace Lazier based on your favorite character

HoYo FEST 2025

Lace Lazier had the stand that caught our attention the most. While the stickers, pins, and other trinkets were all over the entire Artist Alley, she had instead these perfume bottles with scents related to the characters.

HoYo FEST 2025

Asked how the scents were decided upon, she said, “It pertains to the memory that you take in your mind and (what) smell you associate with a particular scene. So, like, having a minty smell is a refreshing scent. It makes you think of ice, winter-y characters. It really has a lot to do with the characters’ make-up, elements, and personality.”

Lace Lazier | HoYo FEST 2025

It’s one of the most unique finds at the HoYo FEST 2025 Artist Alley that we decided to purchase the Zhongli one for some earthy vibes. Although, writing this now, we wish we also got the ones for Mavuika and Raven.

Zenless Zone Zero keychains by Aphrolyx

There were tons of keychains available at the Artist Alley but this one by Aphrolyx kind of called out to us. Billie (dude in mask in a Red Jacket) reminds us a lot of Grifter from the Wildcats making him an early favorite character in Zenless Zone Zero. 

Aphrolyx | HoYo FEST 2025

Aphrolyx has been a Genshin Impact player since it first released but only started making art on the HoYoverse games in 2023.

How they got in

Enabeleno | HoYo FEST 2025

One of our first stops at the Artist Alley was with Enabeleno. She was the one who shared with us how all the artists got in. Basically, HoYoverse sent out an invite via social media. Naturally, they had to have their materials vetted first. Once approved, it was just a matter of preparing their stall and their items for sale.

Enabeleno | HoYo FEST 2025

Enabeleno sells a variety of things but the best ones are definitely the adorable stickers.

More loot and sights

Below are photos of sights, other loot, and more items you can cop for yourself at HoYo FEST 2025. It’s happening from July 24-27 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Hall 3. Make sure to drop by!

Coin Pouches

Something to wear

Yarn things

Art deco

HoYo FEST 2025

The aforementioned photocards

 

More photocards

For the cultured

More for the cultured

Drawstring bags

And so much more. Enjoy the photos!

Gaming

Life is Strange: Reunion now available on consoles and PC

Max and Chloe return for an emotional finale

Published

on

Life is Strange: Reunion

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Square Enix have officially launched Life is Strange: Reunion, the latest entry in the narrative adventure series. Developed by Deck Nine Games, the title is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. A physical PlayStation 5 edition is also available across Southeast Asia.

The launch comes with an official trailer, marking the return of one of the franchise’s most beloved storylines.

A long-awaited reunion

Set 11 years after the original events, Life is Strange: Reunion brings back Max Caulfield and Chloe Price as they reunite to solve a new timeline-spanning mystery. This time, the stakes center on a devastating inferno threatening Caledon University–Max’s workplace as a photography teacher.

Returning from a trip, Max discovers the campus engulfed in flames, with lives lost across the university. She survives only by using her Rewind ability, a power that allows her to reverse time.

The situation takes an unexpected turn with Chloe’s sudden arrival–an outcome tied to the timeline-merging events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Now dealing with fractured memories and an unstable sense of reality, Chloe once again finds herself relying on Max.

Dual perspectives, new gameplay dynamics

For the first time in the series, players can take control of both Max and Chloe, switching perspectives as the story unfolds.

Max’s Rewind power lets players revisit decisions, reshape conversations, and manipulate environments to solve complex, time-based puzzles. Meanwhile, Chloe brings her signature Backtalk ability, allowing her to push conversations in her favor and access situations Max cannot.

This dual-character approach expands both narrative depth and gameplay variety, offering different ways to uncover clues and influence outcomes.

A character-driven finale

Life is Strange: Reunion continues the series’ focus on grounded, emotional storytelling, with choices that carry meaningful consequences. The game builds toward a dramatic climax that aims to close out Max and Chloe’s journey.

As the final chapter in their story, Reunion positions itself as both a continuation and a conclusion–tying together years of narrative threads while delivering a new mystery shaped by time, loss, and choice.

Continue Reading

Gaming

Nintendo will make it cheaper to buy digital games than physical

Physical releases will have the same price.

Published

on

The days of lining up for a newly released game are well and truly over. Though some games still experience shortages in brick-and-mortar stores, such as the widely successful Pokémon Pokopia, gamers can get their titles digitally. Now, Nintendo is making digital releases more enticing by offering a tempting discount on the eShop.

Starting in May, Nintendo will start charging different prices for the physical and digital releases of first-party games. While physical releases will still have the same prices going forward, digital releases via the eShop will enjoy a discount.

The discount, of course, will likely depend on the title itself. Nintendo has already given the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book as the first example. The new platformer will cost US$ 70 from retailers. However, it will cost only US$ 60 on the digital eShop.

The company says that the new pricing scheme “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format.” With the prices of chips skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that the physical release is more expensive than the digital one.

To be more technical about it, Nintendo has started skipping a physical game card for a while now. The physical release of Pokémon Pokopia, for example, has only a game-key card or a code to download the game. In this format, physical releases are just pretty cases you can display on your shelf.

Also, digital releases do carry the added risk of getting delisted on the whims of the developers, the publishers, or Nintendo itself. It is, however, still a cheaper option, especially in a world where getting any discount is a welcome thought.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo sues the United States

Continue Reading

Gaming

Razer Blade 16 (2026) packs more cores, faster memory

Razer’s thinnest gaming laptop yet

Published

on

Razer Blade 16

Razer has officially unveiled the 2026 version of its Blade 16, doubling down on what it does best: squeezing high-end performance into an ultra-slim chassis.

This year’s refresh focuses on meaningful internal upgrades. That includes a new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, faster LPDDR5X memory, and NVIDIA’s latest RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs — all while keeping the Blade 16 as the thinnest gaming laptop in Razer’s lineup.

Performance gets a serious bump

At the core of the new Blade 16 is the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, featuring 16 cores and up to 4.9GHz boost clock. Razer claims a 33% increase in core count versus the previous generation, translating to stronger performance across gaming, content creation, and AI workloads.

There’s also an integrated NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, enabling faster on-device AI tasks like image generation and live translation.

Memory gets a notable upgrade too. The Blade 16 now supports up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which Razer positions as the fastest available in a laptop today. The result: quicker responsiveness for heavy multitasking, creative apps, and AI-assisted workflows.

On the graphics side, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series (Blackwell architecture) brings DLSS 4 and enhanced AI capabilities for both gaming and creator use cases.

Display and design stay premium

Razer isn’t fixing what isn’t broken. The Blade 16 retains its signature CNC-milled aluminum chassis, measuring just 14.9mm thick and weighing around 2.14kg.

The display remains a highlight. You get a 16-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, now brighter and certified for VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000. It supports full DCI-P3 coverage, Calman calibration, and NVIDIA G-SYNC, making it just as suited for creators as it is for competitive gaming.

Battery life and efficiency improve

Despite the performance gains, Razer is also pushing efficiency. Thanks to Intel’s newer architecture and system-level optimizations, the Blade 16 can hit up to 13 hours of productivity use and up to 15 hours of video playback under ideal conditions.

That’s a notable improvement for a machine in this class, especially given its slim form factor.

Connectivity and audio step up

The 2026 Blade 16 gets a future-ready connectivity suite, including Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. There’s also a full set of ports, from USB-A to HDMI 2.1 and an SD card reader.

Audio gets an upgrade too. The six-speaker system now supports THX Spatial Audio+ with virtual 7.1.4 surround, aiming to deliver more immersive sound both on speakers and headphones.

Price and availability

The Razer Blade 16 configured with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB VRAM) and 32GB LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM is priced at US$3,499.99 / €3,599.99 MSRP.

It is available now, exclusively via Razer.com and select RazerStores worldwide.

Still the Blade, just sharper

At a glance, the 2026 Blade 16 doesn’t reinvent the formula. But under the hood, it pushes performance, memory speed, and efficiency forward in ways that matter.

It’s still the same idea: a no-compromise gaming laptop that looks like it belongs in a minimalist workspace — just faster, smarter, and a bit more future-proof this time around.

Continue Reading

Trending