Gaming

Razer Phone 2 hands-on: Not only for gamers

All glass, all power

Published

October 11, 2018

Last year, Razer — the company known for gaming notebooks and peripherals — released a smartphone designed specifically for gamers, with features like loud front-firing stereo speakers, a brilliant display with fast refresh rates, and all the power to run your favorite games.

And just like that the gaming smartphone category was born.

This year, new competitors like the ASUS ROG Phone and ZTE Nubia Red Magic have cropped up. But Razer is back with an update! And from the looks of it, we might just have a phone that not only gamers would want to use.

At first glance, the Razer Phone 2 looks very much like last year’s model. It’s the same size, has the same boxy shape, and the same front-firing speakers on both its forehead and chin.

But turn it around and you’ll know it’s completely different. The 12-megapixel dual-camera setup (one has a 2x telephoto lens) is in a new place, and the back is now glass instead of aluminum.

In my briefing with Razer, I was told the decision on glass was to enable faster connectivity speeds — Gigabit LTE, to be exact — and to enable wireless charging.

Plus, they sell this wireless charging stand separately with cool RGB lighting underneath!

But you know what’s really cool? The Razer logo on the phone’s back lights up. Not just with Razer’s signature green, but any color of the rainbow! All of which can be managed with an app.

One thing that was really important to Razer this time around was to build not just a gaming phone, but also a flagship phone. So this year, they set out to improve the Razer Phone 2’s cameras.

The phone has got new Sony image sensors and better post-processing software, which are supposed to improve photo quality that, they say, should be able to compete with other flagships.

The camera app too has been updated — made simpler and easier to use. And for those who like it, there’s even beauty mode on the front-facing 8-megapixel camera.

Of course, all of what makes the Razer Phone 2 a great gaming phone is here.

The screen’s refresh rate is still a crazy 120Hz, but the panel has been improved further with even better dynamic range, whether you’re watching YouTube, an HDR movie on Netflix, or playing PUBG, which runs great on this device as can be expected from its pretty specced-up configuration.

This includes a high-end Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of memory, 64GB of expandable storage, and a hefty 4000mAh battery. All these power what you see on the 5.7-inch IGZO LCD and its 1440p resolution. Keeping everything cool is Razer’s vapor chamber cooling system.

With the official case on

So, is the Razer Phone 2 your GadgetMatch? Of course, you’ll have to wait till we finish our full review to find out whether or not the Razer Phone 2 lives up to its hype. But from the limited time that I had with the device, I think it has plenty of potential.

Related Topics:featured Razer Razer Phone 2

Gaming

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 bags record-breaking 12 nominations at Game Awards

These include Game of the Year and three Best Performance nods.

Published

November 18, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Gamers today will rightly point out that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the game that will most likely bag the coveted Game of the Year award for 2025. Ahead of December 11, the popular turn-based RPG has not won yet. However, the nominations have just been announced, and it’s now safe to say that Expedition 33 has a real shot for the award.

The annual Game Awards has a lengthy list of awards it usually hands out. Of course, the highlight is Game of the Year. Besides Expedition 33, five other titles are vying for the crown: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.

Besides the coveted award, Expedition 33 also got 11 other nominations, totalling 12, which is the most a single game has gotten in the twelve-year history of The Game Awards. This includes Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, Best Independent Game, Best Indie Game Debut, and Best RPG.

If you’ve been counting, that’s just nine nominations. The remaining three of the 12 need their own spotlight. For Best Performance, the game single-handedly got three nominees in: Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, and Jennifer English. That’s half of the list, rounded out by Ghost of Yotei’s Erika Ishii, Silent Hill f’s Konatsu Kato, and Indiana Jones’s Troy Baker. Notably, even 2023’s Baldur’s Gate 3 didn’t get multiple nominees in the category.

While Expedition 33 has a real chance with running away with a good chunk of the awards, viewers can control 10 percent of the vote via the fan voting process already up now. Plus, the awards will soon include a Players’ Voice award, which goes up on December 1.

Entertainment

The Legend of Zelda film gets its first official photos

Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth play Zelda and Link, respectively.

Published

November 18, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

The Legend of Zelda might be one of the hardest video games to adapt. After all, how do you write a script for a protagonist who never talks? But, by God, Nintendo is doing it anyway. Now, the company has released the first official images from the upcoming live action film’s production.

The upcoming Zelda film has had a long production cycle. First announced in 2023, it was only earlier this year when Nintendo put a date to the film’s premiere: March 26, 2027. Even now, we don’t know much about the film.

Over the weekend, unofficial photos showed that product started its filming in New Zealand. Unofficial photos don’t really mean much except for those who hang around the rumor mill, but they can spiral towards those excited for the film’s release. To get ahead of the rumors, Nintendo released official photos, over the Nintendo Today app, which show both Link and Princess Zelda.

Notably, Zelda, the archetypal princess in distress, isn’t wearing her usual princess’s garb. Rather, she’s wearing the blue gear from the Breath of the Wild duology, where the princess had a more active role in saving Hyrule. Bo Bragason, who plays the princess, will likely take on a more front-and-center role.

Link, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, is wearing his more traditional green clothing from the past games. Though the film looks like it’s adapting the most recent duology, it might be an entirely different story, based on Link’s different clothes.

Gaming

Anno 117: Pax Romana is available now for PC, consoles

Published

November 17, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

As we discovered during a preview of the game, Anno 117 might be one of the coziest strategic simulators today. The new title does away with the intensity of pure combat to have players build up their version of Rome as an inexperienced politician thrust into the role of a Roman governor. Now, after the brief preview period, Anno 117: Pax Romana is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

While other simulators might have its players build an army to overwhelm everyone by force, Anno 117 has players build up their corner of Rome from the ground up.

For both beginners and veterans of the series, the game has a lengthy campaign mode to teach players the ropes of the new title. Specifically, the campaign features two character paths: Marcus — a young man desperately trying to earn his place in the aristocracy — and Marcia — Marcus’s sister who wants to prove that women can also forge their destiny in Rome.

Otherwise, the title also has a sandbox mode that has player pick between two starting areas. Latium is a safer option that offers safety near the heart of the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, Albion is a wilder province that provides seasoned players with more challenges.

The Standard Edition of the game is already available on Steam, Ubisoft Connect, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

On the other hand, the Gold Edition bundles the base game with the Year 1 Pass. This Pass includes three DLCs coming down the line: Prophecies of Ash, The Hippodrome, and Dawn of the Delta.