Remember Breath of the Wild? I don’t know. Just the single most amazing open-world game Nintendo published? Yeah, well, we’re all collectively getting a sequel come 2022 with Nintendo tickling us with their The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (Not the official title yet, by the way) trailer.

Nothing screams new and improved like a new hair-do. The trailer features Link’s sweet new hairdo, abilities, enemies, and corrupted arm. 

Familiar place, new arms

After a shot of ominous red and black goop and a foreboding shot of Zelda falling, Link sky-dives between clouds into floating islands that look just like the last game’s Skyward Sword Skyloft. The scene cuts to him gliding into the Slyloft-like structure at night and him running on a floating islet at sunset.

A sneak peek into Link’s right arm appears from this falling and gliding sequence. Whereby, the arm is reminiscent of the classic Fullmetal Alchemist mechanical arm but with Sheikah technology.

New skills for familiar targets

Link’s new abilities are closely tied to his corrupted arm. And, Nintendo shows these new abilities off by first showing new targets. In the next scene, Link glides by Bokoblins hanging out in a fort built on top of a Stone Talus. Which, effectively combines two enemies in the previous game, into a hellish moving enemy target.

Nintendo then decides to tease us with a quick look-see of Link’s green-glowing corrupted arm. The scene skips to Link mid-climb with a group of enemies sending a spiky ball his way. He quickly reaches out with his corrupted hand; freezes the ball; and rewinds it back up the hill. All while taking out some Bokoblins along the way.

Sheikah Slate, who’s she?

Link’s new abilities build upon his Breath of the Wild skills. From freezing objects (instead of time) to a quick shot of a flamethrower arm, to swimming through obstacles.

We get an allusion to his new abilities with a drop of water ripple back into a droplet. Whereby the shot is of Link swimming through a stone structure and out the other end. We’ll have to wait to see if the arm augments other powers like Magnet, Remote Bomb, and Cryonis. But, so far, Link looks to be bending objects if not through them.

Nintendo is looking to release the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild some time in 2022. 

Razer is holding firm to its position as the maker of the world’s most powerful compact gaming laptop with the release of the brand new Razer Blade 14.

Powering this bad boy is the 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX. It also features up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, and up to a Quad HD 165Hz display. These are all packaged into the world’s most compact 14-inch gaming chassis.

Elsewhere on the laptop is your usual Razer Blade things. There’s per-key Razer Chroma RGB backlighting, immersive THX Spatial Audio for dynamic sound, and an abundance of ports. These are: USB 3.1 Type-A port, USB-C port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Despite all this raw power, Razer promises cool, quiet efficiency, with the new Razer Blade 14. They claim it can last you for up to 12 hours so you won’t have to worry about power outlet hunting when you’re out and about.

Going back to the display, there are two options: QHD 165HZ — the ultimate combination of resolution and refresh rate; and FHD 144HZ — focus is purely on speed, then secure that split-second advantage with an ultra-high refresh rate.

Price and availability

The all-new Razer Blade 14 starts at US$ 1799.99 and is available with RTX 3060, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080.

Diablo II: Resurrected gets a release date
Update as of 6/15/2021

Diablo II: Resurrected is coming to PC, and for the first time to the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on September 23.

The game supports up to 4K resolution and includes fully remastered 7.1 Dolby Surround audio. While Diablo II: Resurrected takes full advantage of today’s modern gaming hardware, it also preserves the timeless hack-and-slash gameplay that is as engrossing and enjoyable today as it was twenty years ago.

Of course, it comes with a few quality-of-life updates Diablo veterans have been clamoring for, such as a larger stash and automatic gold pickup. Players experiencing teary-eyed nostalgia as they relive fond memories of spinning hammers and exploding corpses can seamlessly swap between the modern graphics and the original 800×600 resolution experience with the push of a button.

Diablo II: Resurrected will be available as a standalone experience  or as part of the Diablo Prime Evil Collection which includes:

• Diablo II: Resurrected
• The Diablo III Eternal Collection, comprising Diablo III, the Reaper of Souls expansion, and the Rise of the Necromancer content pack
• The Mephisto pet and Hatred’s Grasp wings for Diablo III

Diablo II: Resurrected begins first public test
Update as of 4/7/2021

Diablo II: Resurrected Single-player Technical Alpha is the first public test of the game available to a limited number of players, press, and content creators from around the world.

A limited amount of PC players who have pre-registered on the Diablo II: Resurrected website will be able to download the Technical Alpha. If you weren’t able to pre-register you may still participate in future tests. Here are the recommended PC specs:

• Operating System: Windows® 10
• Processor: Intel® Core i5-9600k/AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Video: Nvidia GTX 1060/AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Storage: 30 GB
• Internet: Broadband Internet connection
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Here are some highlights:

Explore the first two acts of Diablo II in full  — Navigate perilous areas of eastern Khanduras, from the Rogue Encampment to the Monastery, and then head East to walk the sands of sunlit Lut Gholein.

Try out three beloved characters — Crush demons in fierce melee combat as the Barbarian, slay your enemies from afar as the Amazon, or master deadly spells as the Sorceress.

Test the single-player experience — While multiplayer will be a huge part of Diablo II: Resurrected upon release, we are focusing on testing solo play during this Technical Alpha

Play with mouse and keyboard or a controller — Diablo II: Resurrected will allow you to control the game the way you want it, and we will be testing both input methods in the Technical Alpha.

Internet connection required for testing only — To ensure security of the Technical Alpha, a constant online connection will be required during play. (A constant Internet connection will not be required for the final version of the game.)

English language-only for the Technical Alpha — When released, Diablo II: Resurrected will be localized in more than a dozen languages including English, French, Italian, German, European Spanish, Korean, Polish, traditional Chinese, Mexican Spanish, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian. Additional supported languages to be announced later.

Blizzard announces Diablo II remaster for 2021
Update as of 2/20/2021

To celebrate the original game’s 21^st anniversary, Diablo II Resurrected brings the classic game to a new generation, complete with new graphics. During its time, the original game had crude, but reliable graphics laid over an isometric format. As shown in the short announcement trailer, Diablo II Resurrected features new graphics similar to that found in the third entry, Diablo III.

The HD remaster will launch sometime this year for the PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Notably, the PC version will allow cross-platform progression across the different console version.