New York's Manhattan has been rendered as a virtual game world almost as much as it's been beset by world-ending threats on the big screen, so you might think you know what you're in for with Control Resonant. It's then to Remedy's credit that the studio has created an apocalyptic event for the city so unlike anything you've ever seen.

Whereas its predecessor, Control, was set completely within The Oldest House, a brutalist Manhattan skyscraper with impossible Escher-esque interiors that serves as the headquarters of the clandestine government agency The Federal Bureau of Control, Resonant sees that game's paranatural threat, The Hiss, spilling out and warping the city into a twisted version of itself. In another twist, the sequel sees you switching from the now MIA Jesse Faden to her troubled brother Dylan, who had spent most of the first game in captivity as a victim of the FBC's inhumane experiments.

With a new protagonist and an expanded setting, Control Resonant morphs into a different, more ambitious beast of a game than its predecessor, all while building on its uniquely New Weird aesthetic. I've seen my share of apocalyptic virtual cities, but the unsettling sight of dead floating bodies, streets suddenly shifting upwards, or skyscrapers refracting into nothing is quite unlike anything else, while an even stranger phenomenon called 'patterning' might be the logical conclusion of genAI hallucinating a form into multiple uncanny versions of itself.

Control Resonant is a new weird beauty

That weirdness is balanced by the mundane details also well realised in Manhattan, like being able to peer into apartment windows and still make out things like lighting fixtures and radiators, while there's fun to be had just observing the fake billboards and flipping advertising panels around town. Visually, it's the most ambitious of Remedy's games made with its proprietary Northlight Engine, which also fully incorporates path tracing for its environments. With my capable but modest rig, I actually prioritised performance and turned off ray tracing, yet still marvelled at how the game's atmospheric art direction of ominously lit rooms and reflective surfaces remained largely intact.

When outside, however, you're often not stopping to gawp as Dylan's traversal abilities, most unlocked almost out the gate, mean that you'll always want to be on the move, where you go from bounding across the city with elevated jumps and air-dashes to shifting gravity.

Alas, this isn't an open-world Manhattan like Marvel's Spider-Man. Despite being able to double-jump (triple-jump if you counter-hold the jump once to get an elevated boost that you can also glide a long distance for) and air-dash twice, a lot of the level architecture has been designed to be out of reach, while the city's been carved up into zones sectioned with high-walled gates that don't happen to be accessible from that side. In its most confounding way to keep you from finding your own game-breaking path, you can see the outside stairways that are a prominent feature of New York apartment buildings, but you can't use them as ledges.

This Manhattan is more of an outdoor maze, and you'll also navigate underground or into buildings, including revisiting The Oldest House. I don't totally mind this, if only it did a better job of signposting. I appreciate that Remedy doesn't lean on the modern crutches of yellow paint or waypoints directing your every move, but there were also a lot of times where I was just running around in circles (both indoors and outside), which naturally only gets more complicated later on when you're traversing impossible spaces that flout the rules of reality. This was one of my key gripes with Control, and even with a map this time, it's annoying that the same issues rear their heads again on a larger scale.

I was at least more receptive to Control Resonant changing up combat, shifting from shooter to melee, with the mysterious shape-shifting Aberrant Dylan wields opening up different playstyles. I first gravitated toward the wide-ranging scythe, though I also had the freedom to switch to another weapon style, like the swifter twin blades, which also have a higher chance of landing critical hits. Complementing this are cooldown-based combat abilities you gain when you defeat huge bosses known as Resonants and inherit their powers Mega Man-style (though you'll have to choose one of two), such as a shield or projectile attacks; my personal favourite is an area-of-effect ground pound best used on enemy crowds. The icing on the cake is that you unlock and customise these skills not through a menu, but by entering Dylan's stark, abstract mind palace, called The Gap, where you can also access an astral arena to test your new toys and tricks.

You really do need to use all your skills, as you're constantly swamped by Hiss from all directions. Their designs are also an improvement over Control, with much more visible variety, from spherical types that heal nearby enemies to one that's possessed a bus, while an even deadlier enemy variation emerges later in the story to keep you on your toes. There's almost a bit of Devil May Cry to this, with an emphasis on air combos and a camera that's further back to keep you aware of your surroundings, and I'm relieved to be playing an action RPG that doesn't involve parrying for once.

It's then just a shame that a lot of the time the enemies you're fighting are so very spongy, where you're having to mash the buttons a lot more than you think before they're eviscerated. And you're rarely able to pull off combo finishers because you're constantly dodging more enemies approaching you, or worse, the ones out of your periphery firing projectiles at you. Even with all the powers you're unlocking, I often felt like I wasn't getting more powerful since each zone also levels up, spawning even tougher (read: spongier) enemies.

The saving grace is Remedy's generous suite of accessibility options, where you do have the freedom to argue against its intended difficulty, and adjust damage dealt or received, even toggle on one-hit kills if you want to feel like a paranatural god. Better yet, you can make these adjustments while still earning the relevant achievements. Yet even when I did give in and experiment with these options, I still felt like the wave of spongey enemy encounters felt excessive, and question the design wisdom of equating difficulty with protracted encounters and longer grinds.

Ultimately, Control Resonant's strongest when it just lets you go off and experience its weird world, which might include reality-bending puzzles or taking a taxi to another dimension. Remedy's knack for storytelling through a mix of media is again on display, from its many needle drops (surprisingly from a bespoke original soundtrack) to the integration of live-action performances including Matthew Porretta reprising his role as the FBC's eccentric researcher Casper Darling. Nothing may quite reach the audacious highs of Control's Ashtray Maze or Alan Wake's 2 musical number, but a lengthy flashback that plays out as a 16-bit pixel art RPG like Earthbound is a heck of a curveball.

Even if not everything here works for me gameplay-wise, Control Resonant is nonetheless a return to form for Remedy after the mixed reception of FBC: Firebreak, showing that the studio's capacity for mind and reality-bending world-building hasn't faltered.

He was 20 the first time he met a producer, and he remembers trying to extract every scrap of knowledge from the conversation, because he'd spent his entire life up to that point without access to anyone who could open a door for him. That experience left him with a lasting frustration: that being a great storyteller has so often required moving to LA, begging for permission, raising money, and hoping someone lets you make your film. Concentrate that much control over who gets to tell stories, he believes, and you're not far from propaganda.

Todorovic is co-founder of Flow Studio, the AI filmmaking company partnered with Autodesk, and he talks about generative tools less like a technologist and more like someone settling an old score.

AI can fix a broken film industry

He likes to point out how strange the industry's economics have become. He remembers walking through San Francisco with his co-founder, comparing notes on film budgets against the buildings around them – a hospital costs roughly $20 million to build, he tells me, while a film can cost ten times that and still flop in a weekend. "Absolutely insane," he calls it, evidence, in his view, of an industry whose economics have come detached from any reasonable connection to what things cost to make. He compares it to Spielberg's ET, made for around $4 million and considered a major production at the time, versus the $300 million now routinely spent on a streaming film.

Against this broken system, Todorovic sees AI tools in filmmaking, such as Flow Studio’s 3D Editor + Canvas or MotionMaker in Maya, as a way to rebel, to reset and find a new way of doing things, with new filmmakers able to find their voice. He explains his context: at the start of the 20th century, Thomas Edison's company held a monopoly on motion picture cameras and on the Nickelodeon theatres where films were shown – "because they literally cost a nickel to watch". If you wanted to make or screen a film, you paid Edison a license fee. A generation of directors and producers, tired of the arrangement, looked for somewhere to escape it, and found a small farm town in California.

"They moved there because they were like, 'okay, I can shoot on a beach, I can shoot in the US'," Todorovic explains. "But most importantly, it took forever to come by train across the country. By the time the lawyers came to shut down the production, they were already done. And the California judges were much more lenient." The first Hollywood studios, in other words, were founded by indie producers fleeing a monopoly on storytelling.

"I always found that so fascinating," he says, "because it's kind of history repeating itself, always." The indies who built Hollywood to escape one monopoly eventually built their own – first over distribution, once they owned the theatres, then over production, once budgets climbed into the hundreds of millions. Streaming broke the distribution monopoly. Todorovic thinks AI is about to break the production one.

"What I think is going to happen now – we're going to cut production costs from hundreds of millions of dollars," he says. "Honestly, we can cut it by 95, 99%."

Speaking as a former VFX artist…

Todorovic doesn't pretend the ending is a utopia. "When that happens, there's going to be so much content that it's going to be all about discovery," he says. "This is where I think studios will still dominate, because they're going to have marketing dollars." He reaches for the Spotify comparison: anyone can make an album in a bedroom now, and almost nobody hears it, because the bottleneck didn't disappear; it just moved further downstream.

During our conversation, the prospect of, and scale of, a potential Anthropic IPO comes up – because America is obsessed right now – what it could mean for San Francisco, then pivots, in the same breath, to the fact that the film industry has never had an equivalent moment for the people at the bottom of a call sheet – "no stock, no upside, just the next job if you're lucky", he adds.

For Todorovic, VFX artists and artists below the line in general "get hit the hardest." Blamed if a film fails – poor VFX – and rarely credited for a success, the way a director is. He's speaking from experience: Todorovic began his career as a VFX artist and compositor, and says he arrived expecting real creative input and found mostly what he calls grunt work, matching someone else's instructions to the pixel.

He's still visibly frustrated by productions that publicise how little CGI they used as a selling point, while the several hundred VFX artists who spent months working long hours on the film go unmentioned. To him, that's not a badge of authenticity; instead, it's several hundred people's work being erased for a marketing line. He says these are people who already absorbed the pandemic and a strike before AI arrived as a third hit, and the anger toward AI makes sense to him, even though, as he puts it, the technology itself had nothing to do with any of that.

It's okay to be angry about AI

He's not trying to talk anyone out of being angry. He just doesn't think it changes the outcome, because he's watched this fight before. The film industry, he points out, exists downstream of a technological upheaval itself – starting with the invention of the camera. Sound was fought as the death of "real" film. A Disney studio head is said to have waved off the idea of 3D animation when John Lasseter pitched the tech, reportedly asking why he'd bother if it cost the same as what he already had. The iPhone-shot indie film Tangerine drew scepticism for using a phone camera; Todorovic says that within a few minutes of watching it, he'd forgotten how it was shot and simply cared whether the story worked.

Every technological leap in this industry has met resistance before settling in, he suggests, whether it's cameras, sound, computer animation, or now AI filmmaking tools.

If he's right that studios end up dominating the discovery layer the way they once dominated the theatres, because marketing budgets, not production budgets, become the scarce resource, then that's not a new problem AI has created. It's the same cycle finding its next foothold: indies break a monopoly, then build one of their own, and someone eventually escapes that one too.

The question Todorovic can't answer is how long this round lasts before the next Hollywood shows up. Asked when the field settles into a new monopoly, because on his own telling it always has before, he doesn't offer a year, a milestone, or a hedge dressed up as an answer. "We just don't know when that is yet," he says, and leaves it there, but after speaking with Todorovic, one thing is clear: he believes AI will open the door to new filmmakers and, importantly, new stories.

Take a look at Flow Studio on the Autodesk blog.

Many people don't realise that Cricut machines aren't limited to vinyl cutting. You can create all kinds of things from custom clothes to home decor, engraved pieces and embossed invitations for premium wedding stationery. The company's heat presses can be used with iron-on vinyl (HTV), Infusible Ink, sublimation and direct-to-film (DTF) transfer to press custom designs onto clothing, fabric, ceramics and wood and more.

You can use them with a wide range of materials, but Cricut sells a wide range of dedicated supplies specifically made to work perfectly with its machines. Here's a selection of what you can find in the sale.

• Browse Cricut sale in the US
• Browse Cricut sale in the UK

Cricut sale deals: US

Cricut sale deals: UK

There are a fair few rivals to Cricut's craft machines, but two in particular stand out. First there's Silhouette, a US company that produces machines that match up to Cricut in most categories. Secondly, HTVRONT offers a broad range of accessories, such as cutting mats, as well as materials like vinyl for crafters that aren't unlike Cricut's official products for a bit less.

Our guide to the best Cricut Alternatives has all the details you need on shopping elsewhere, or take a look at our guide to the best Silhouette machines for more details.

While many modern third-person survival horror games pay a debt to Resident Evil or Silent Hill (the latter's composer Akira Yamaoka is incidentally Red Nun's Legacy's composer), the original game Remothered: Tormented Fathers was actually designed as a spiritual successor to the cult classic Clock Tower series, and which actually preceded the first Resident Evil. That game was in fact inspired by the 'giallo' films of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento, which felt especially serendipitous for the Italian studio.

Even the series' story is set in Sicily where the studio is based, although for Red Nun's Legacy, director Antonio Cutrona says that the team has decided to lean in on this explicitly.

"Our location scouting included just around our offices," he tells me. "The main villa [for the game's setting] is actually from an abandoned villa in the Etna area." Cutrona's referring to Mount Etna, a volcano on Siciliy's east coast that's still very active. While as a horror, most of the action is indoors, he promises the final game includes exterior locations where Etna is visible.

However, when I got a chance to try Red Nun's Legacy at Gamescom, what stood out to me was the attention-to-detail of its interiors. As new protagonist Susan, you wake up inside a mysterious villa, which follows the survival horror tradition of finding locked doors and unusual puzzles from objects and environments that seem to exist from another time and place.

But while locations in horror games tend to be decayed and decrepit, I found myself marvelling at this villa's ornate environmental design, from the beautiful mosaics decorating the baths to tables with colourful ornaments that would be easy to mistake as interactable objects.

Much of this detail has been made possible with the series' upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 and its Lumen and Nanite technologies. It's also with this powerful engine that Stormind has had the expertise and capacity to work on other AAA projects like Mafia: The Old Country.

Arguably, the secret sauce is that, while classic survival horror had come from Japanese developers' second-hand interpretations of Western settings and aesthetics, Stormind's team has been able to take in a rich array of references from its own culture and history in Sicily.

"This is about staying true to the Sicilian aspect of it, and believe it or not, we have many colours in our villas and architecture," Cutrona explains. "We didn't stick with a particular century or period for our cultural references - you can see things from the Roman times, the Greek times, the Baroque and Renaissance periods. We basically took what was important to us and tried to reference it everywhere.

"Having that kind of reference allows us to set us apart from other kinds of games. As Sicilian developers, we can do something that is truly our own and not the same story."

That said, there are still some outside influences. Of particular note are the Novices, masked enemies dressed in nun's habits that stalk Susan, who move in an uncanny fashion that was inspired by Butoh, a form of avant-garde Japanese dance theatre - serendipitously, there's also a Butoh organisation based in Sicily.

"One of Butoh's core principles is that nature itself is controlling you, which transfers to our idea of how [the Novices] move and behave," "The Novices undergo hypnosis, so when they speak to you they're actually saying things not relevant to Susan," Cutrona explains. "One of Butoh's core principles is that nature itself is controlling you, so that also transferred to our idea of how [Novices] would move and behave."

For any original IP, it's important for it to have its own unique imagery and motifs so that it's not just an imitation of something established. For the Remothered series, that has been its themes of hypnosis and trauma, also reflected in the metronomes that act as save points, as well as the titular Red Nun whose large cornette is decorated with an ominous red mask resembling a moth, also symbolic of the mind.

"They're all tied up to the concept of hypnosis, which is the mythos of the series," Cutrona concludes. "Harry Potter has magic, Lord of the Rings has elves. Remothered is all about hypnosis and trauma, and since the first game, it's how we have expanded the series."

Remothered: Red Nun's Legacy releases for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27, and you can wishlist on Steam.

The new Dyson CameraJet is, according to the Singapore-based vacuum cleaner company, the world's only toothbrush with a camera (we're presumably not counting any that may have been made by the KGB or MI6). This revolutionary tech is, presumably, intended to have some benefits for oral health, but one creative on Instagram has found another use for it that's as silly as the device itself: they're using a Dyson CameraJet for street photography.

Apple will be trembling, because who needs a camera phone with a mechanical variable aperture when you have a toothbrush that can take shots like this?

All Gear No Skill regularly shares tips on hardware and editing on Instagram. While the $499 Dyson CameraJet doesn't allow for native image recording on device, the photographer used it as a camera by simply taking screenshots via the accompanying MyDyson app.

The result is a series of sometimes dreamy and sometimes elegiac urban scenes distorted by the camera's fisheye lens, with unpredictable colours and an almost infrared look at times. I'm looking forward to Dyson's 'Shot on a toothbrush' campaign.

What's the camera on the Dyson CameraJet toothbrush actually for? For influencers who want to film their morning routine, I guess. How else are they going to share their brush technique with followers? Or maybe its for Meta Glasses fans who want to perv on their guests when they go to the bathroom?

I don't know, but it exists and it's currently sold out in the US and UK.

For an illustrator famous for inventing an entire world, James Gurney has a surprisingly strong attachment to reality; we saw that when he shared easy-to-learn art tips for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Gurney is best known for Dinotopia, his richly imagined series of paintings and books about a lost civilisation where humans and dinosaurs live side by side, but look closely and you start to see how much real-world observation holds all that invention together. Gurney studies things, properly studies them, and that habit feeds directly back into the worlds he creates.

In an interview about his book Color and Light, Gurney explained that working from imagination and working from observation were “indispensable to each other”. He couldn't spend too long painting from imagination without going outside and looking at the real world again, but equally, he never wanted to become someone who only painted what was in front of him.

I feel like that advice is relevant to anyone making art now, when reference is everywhere, and it's incredibly easy to either lean on it too heavily or avoid it altogether because using reference can somehow feel like admitting you can't draw. Gurney's approach is more interesting than either extreme. The things you observe don't just give you something to copy later; they become part of the visual vocabulary you draw from when you're inventing something that doesn't exist.

Once you start imagining things, you look at reality differently. You're no longer just looking at a tree; you're noticing the shapes you could exaggerate, how the branches might frame a composition, and the strange colour sitting underneath the green leaves. You start seeing possibilities in ordinary things because you're looking at them as an artist who wants to transform them.

With Gurney's approach, observation isn't simply the research stage before the real creative work begins, and imagination isn't something you switch on once you've finished studying. Each one changes what you get from the other. And that's why Dinotopia feels like a good example of the whole idea. It's an imaginary world full of things that never existed, yet its believability comes from Gurney having spent so much time looking at things that do.

The more closely you look at reality, the more convincing your imagination can become – and, perhaps more importantly, the more interesting reality becomes when you look at it with the intention of changing it.

Read James Gurney's blog, Gurney Journey, for more advice, insights and inspiration.

Our favourite James Gurney art books:

Basically, we want to find two or more styles of art that seem quite different to each other and study their unique qualities, noting any similarities between them. Then we take these qualities, throw them in a blender, sprinkle a little of our own personal style on top, and the end result should be something fun and original.

Hopefully you’ve found a few new tricks to add to your creative toolbox for next time. Keep in mind that the more contrasting these styles are, the more interesting the results will be! In this workshop, I’ll be looking at 19th century Japanese art styles – most notably Nihonga and Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and the more western movement of Art Nouveau, then taking these and merging them with my own more modern approach to digital painting, which will be focusing primarily on form, lighting and detail.

While the nerd in me would love to infodump on what I’ve learned, I’ve only got the space here to touch on a few of the relevant key points. So feel free to reach out if you’d like to know more! If you need to build your own art setup, see our guides to the best drawing tablets or the best laptops for drawing.

Pro tip: Use the Symmetry tool to help with your borders and frames! If you add a stroke effect to your layer and turn Fill to 0%, you can draw clean lined areas very quickly (Hard Round Inker Brush).

Pro tip: I like to add vibrant splashes of colour to create variation and interest in key parts of the picture. Cool and warm tones can be used to help shadows sit back and create more depth.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.

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The new Galway logo streamlines history and heritage into a strikingly distinct and immediately recognisable bilingual mark. It really does a lot for a minimalist abstract 'G'.

Galway City Council says its new logo design was inspired by the city's civic heritage, maritime history and bilingual character.

The tail of the maroon lower-case 'g' was inspired by the shape of the hull of the ship that features in the city's Coat of Arms. The upper bowl draws on the tradition of seanchló, the historic Irish script, and the circular fáinne, a small lapel pin worn to show a person's ability to speak Irish, reflecting Galway's preservation of the language.

It also has a clever second meaning, with the bowl of the G representing the city's people and the detached tail or hull representing the council supporting and serving them. It's a nice way to communicate what the council is supposed to be there for.

There has been some controversy around the Galway rebrand. Just days before the launch of the new logo, there had been reports that the process was being put on hold amid public calls to keep the previous design (see above).

The previous iconic 'Galway G’ was created by local designer Jimmy Conneely for the city’s quincentennial celebrations way back in 1984. The design used a less abstract G with the same maroon colour and a white line that formed an arrow leading to a galleon in the top right-hand corner. This represents the Galway docks that connected the western Irish city to the world.

“At a time when our culture is being eroded, we are getting rid of a local man’s design,” a publican told the Irish Independent .

I can understand the attachment to the old design, but it was designed before the development of things like the internet and digital apps. I don't agree that logos necessarily need to be as minimalist as possible, but the classic G design would be difficult to use in its entirety in many applications, particularly its shield element.

The new Galway G seems to do its job very well. It's clean and modern, and easily adaptable to a multitude of uses, including in combination with art assets for striking variations that depict iconic city scenes.

The council says it needed to embark on the rebranding after a review found that the public didn't always recognise the full range of services it delivered. The new visual identity is intended to help create a stronger and more consistent connection across those various services.

While logo disputes aren't a rarity in the design world, the similar market of the two athletic brands creates higher stakes for New Balance to protect its trademarked identity. Seeking the intervention of the Massachusetts federal court, it's clear the brand isn't going to back down easily.

The legal dispute centres around Decathlon's Kiprun running sneaker, featuring a stylised 'K' emblem on the side of the shoe, which New Balance claims in its filing is "unmistakably an N". New Balance alleges the design infringes on its trademarked 'N' logo, which has been used by the brand since the 1970s.

Despite New Balance attempting to contact Decathlon earlier this year to resolve the issue, the brand now seeks a block on the alleged infringing logo, alongside the destruction of existing products and monetary damages.

For more branding news, check out the Washington Commanders logo controversy or take a look at the Patagonia logo lawsuit controversy that's every brand's worst nightmare.

"How do you make people go faster?" is the blunt version of the pitch, Colella says. The targets are the obvious ones, including rendering and the production tasks that eat a creative's day without adding much to the finished work.

But she pushes back on the idea that saved time by the new AU tools seen at AU26 just becomes more content, more ‘stuff’. "The way you work might change, but for the better, so you can be more creative, because AI is not doing the creative," she says.

I asked her directly: is this really about giving one animator two workloads, or about giving that animator room to try things they'd never have had time for otherwise? "Yeah," she says, identifying pre-production as the clearest example. Artists can build more assets and run more iterations before things get expensive, catching problems early instead of finding them once a lot of money is already spent.

It's a better frame than the usual one, honestly, because she's not focused on how many minutes a tool shaves off a task; she's considering what happens to that hour once it's freed up. Does the studio just extract another hour of work, or does the animator finally get to chase the weird idea they'd normally have cut for time?

Nobody wants to admit they're using it

There's a wrinkle here, and it's not technical, as Colella tells me plenty of customers using Autodesk's AI tools would rather not say so out loud. "If they are using the AI tools, they won't. They don't want to tell us," she says.

Part of the reason, she thinks, is the noise around AI generally. "Every show, every podcast you're listening to" tells creatives their jobs and their art are at risk, says Colella, and she's plainly tired of it, hoping that at some point "people will stop fearmongering everybody and start using the tools for what they can do." That's the real state of AI in creative work right now: the tools might genuinely help, but admitting you used one can feel like admitting something about your skills or your job security – so people quietly use them and say nothing.

Autodesk's answer, according to Colella, is to fold the AI into workflows people already use rather than asking them to relearn everything. MotionMaker is still Maya, ensuring the AI sits inside a familiar tool instead of replacing it. "We're going to combine these two worlds," she says. It's not "traditional tools vs AI tools." It's the same artist deciding when to reach for which one.

Colella also thinks Autodesk owes people clarity about what's actually AI and what isn't. "We have to, at this point, be very transparent about what is an AI feature and what is not an AI feature," she says, reflecting on why artists need to know how a tool is built before they'll trust it.

And that suspicion runs the other way too, as Colella says audiences are getting sharper at spotting AI-made content –she points to TikTok now flagging clips that contain any AI-generated material – and admits she can sometimes tell something's off before anyone tells her it was AI-generated, just as we all can, instinctively.

The limitations of AI

Colella is careful not to oversell what the technology can currently do, and she has a concrete example on hand. She points to Obsession and Backrooms – two low-budget horror films that bypassed traditional studio financing entirely – and notes that neither one was made with Autodesk's tools or AI. Backrooms, for instance, was built in Blender. Both films still had to be finished using professional-grade tools, and that's what Colella picks up on: a film may be made in Blender, but it still needs traditional editing, comping and colour grading software to finish the movie, and the same is true of AI.

"AI can only get you so far today," she says. "It's not going to get you the whole way." That's where she thinks Autodesk is positioned differently from the wave of AI startups chasing the same space, as it can actually carry a project the rest of the way with existing tools.

That distinction feeds directly into why Autodesk's AI push is centred on 3D rather than 2D, where most of the generative AI hype has concentrated. Her reasoning is blunt: 2D has been comparatively easy for AI to disrupt, but 3D has resisted it. "3D was never easy, and now with AI, it's not easy to just replace it," she says. Flow Studio could have gone the 2D route – it's the more crowded, more hyped lane – but Autodesk deliberately didn't. "We're a 3D company, so for us it felt very logical," she says, framing the tools as assistance for a discipline that still can't be automated wholesale.

Is Autodesk safe from the AI bubble?

Colella also draws a sharper line than most executives when asked whether an AI bubble is coming. Her answer is essentially: not for us. "There's a lot of fundraising. There's not a lot of selling," she says of the wider AI landscape, and plenty of companies are raising money on the promise of AI, with few actually shipping products people pay for in production. She contrasts that with Flow Studio, which she's quick to point out is "shipping and selling," not a demo or a roadmap promise.

Her read is that the AI market isn't repeating the dot-com pattern of speculative buying at any price; she says investors are more cautious, which means the reckoning may take longer to arrive but will still come for companies with hype and no revenue.

But AI is here, and staying, and the bubble has yet to burst, so I reflect on the core promise we're always told AI promises to deliver – more time. But what really happens if everyone gets that hour or two back because AI is taking on the drudgery?

Colella thinks the bigger effect might not be efficiency gains inside existing studios at all. She points to the current contraction in film and TV: tighter budgets, fewer greenlights, a pullback from the streaming boom's output that accelerated once major studios started scrutinising what they were actually getting for their money.

She bets that cheaper production opens the door for projects a traditional studio would never fund. "I think there's going to actually be more creators than there is today," she says, foreseeing a boom in more people making films and shows that traditionally studios would never look at. Potentially more content flowing back into an industry that's currently gun-shy about spending. Right now, she says, the industry is stuck in a kind of holding pattern, everyone waiting to see how the economics shake out before committing.

That's a different story than the usual AI pitch of doing the same work with fewer people and studios cutting jobs.

Maybe that's the real test for AI in creative tools going forward: not how much faster it makes someone, but where the saved time actually goes. Squeeze everyone for double the output, and you've won efficiency but lost the point and likely lost creativity. Give artists room to experiment instead, and the technology looks like something else entirely.

For more on Autodesk Media & Entertainment tools, visit the Autodesk Media & Entertainment blog.

These wonderfully retro headphones actually come in five different colour options, but the bright orange cups on a transparent headband are my favourite for a Star-Lord-like look. This is also the option that we tested for our FiiO EH11 review back in April. They look like a classic wired headphone but boast modern Bluetooth connectivity and even an app with adjustable parametric EQ, which is amazing for this price (to compare, see our guide to the best wireless headphones).

Today's best Bluetooth headphones deal

Budget retro headphone perfection

These headphones made our reviewer smile when he saw them, and the smile just got wider when he tested the sound profile. In a sea of similar budget wireless headphones with retro foam cups, these standout both in terms of style and sound quality.

Regarding the former, as well as the fun colours, there are those cool wooden rotary controls on the cups, which give them a unique vintage look. As for the sound, the stock profile is warm, with the bass turned up to compensate for on-ear low frequency leakage. The treble has enough detail and the midrange is tastefully forward, delivering textured vocals. It's better than many much more more expensive mainstream headphones that we've reviewed .

If that profile doesn't happen to be to your liking, you can use the integrated Parametric EQ via the FiiO Control mobile app to customise the sound as you like it. This is something almost unheard of for a $30 headphone (even the Apple AirPods Max 2 doesn't have it, and they cost $549!)

While it's easy to be blinded into creating the best logos or swankiest graphics, the new BFI London Film Festival identity demonstrates the value of design with purpose. Tranquil yet dynamic, it shines in its simplicity, effortlessly marrying heritage with contemporary style.

Created by Pentagram partner Maria Willer and her team, the new brand identity centres around the familiar methods of filmmaking and film screening. Custom-cut letters form the 'LLF' shorthand logo, while light projections against a black background emulate the cinema screen, creating a dynamic identity that emanates vibrant energy.

The letters and lighting were then filmed and photographed to create a sense of motion, using handheld camera movements, hanging the letters to encourage organic movement, and enlisting the help of a rotating table. This motion footage was then digitally edited to enhance the typography, giving each letter a sense of presence and control.

At its core, the new BFI London Film Festival identity oozes refinement, opting for unfussy visuals that shape-shift and speak to tell its story. Instead of grand reinvention, the timeless design is a testament to the power of considered, human-curated craft that earns your attention, rather than stealing it.

For more design inspiration, check out how OFFF 2026's visual identity was secretly harvested from the bodies of actual people or take a look at the AI movie that hijacked Cannes.

When the cultural landscape of 1960s America erupted into an explosion of colour, harmony, and counterculture energy, it was Max who gave the movement its defining visual language. His iconic, psychedelic palettes were streaked with cosmic suns, flying sage figures, and utopian landscapes, and they reshaped modern visual culture, translating complex spiritual ideals into an accessible, universal canvas. This is something Max knew, and celebrated.

"The way the Beatles captured the music mood of the late sixties and early seventies, I captured the visual," he said in an interview with Noupe magazine.

With his death, we lose a profoundly important artist. Here, we look at his life in his own words.

The origins and cosmic beginnings

"My life's journey has been an odyssey through time and space... create my story, not only of who I was but also of who I was to become – an artist living in New York City, where I have been fortunate to reach a global audience with my art and philosophy." – Michael Murphy Gallery

"If I didn't choose art, I would have become an astronomer." – A-Z Quotes

On spiritual awakening and creative flow

"The Swami and yoga taught me a whole new way to draw. It empowered me to feel the cosmic consciousness within, and to allow that to flow out of me into my art." – Michael Murphy Gallery

"When I tap into my inner cosmos — that nucleus of creativity within me — it becomes a source of ever-expanding possibilities, enabling me to go from one magical adventure to another." – Park West Gallery

"I never know what I'm going to put on the canvas. The canvas paints itself. I'm just the middleman." – A-Z Quotes

The pop culture phenomenon and liicensing peak

"I just somehow captured the mood. The way the Beatles captured the music mood of the late sixties and early seventies, I captured the visual." – Noupe

"We were all together generating the feeling of love, peace, harmony and togetherness. It was not a competitive thing; it was unity… in unity is strength." – Noupe

"Don't worry about mistakes. Making things out of mistakes, that's creativity." – Geekmom

Reflections on life, freedom, and legacy

"Freedom is what I value most in life, and I'm happy to say that my lifelong goal of keeping myself in a space of creative and spiritual freedom has been met, even though at times it has been difficult." – Park West Gallery

"I'm just wowed by the universe. I'm just glad to do something I love to do. I love colour, I love painting, I love shapes, I love composition, I love the people around me. I'm adoring it all. My legacy is in the hands of other people." – Atlanta Journal Constitution

Though the eras he captured are long gone, Peter Max’s work remains important. He saw the universe as an expanse of colour and light, and has left behind a legacy that encapsulates the cosmic spirit of an era.

Head to our quote of the day series for other important words from famous creatives.

Are they clever billboard ads? Yes. Are they slightly terrifying in context? Also yes. A perfect example of how environment can make or break a campaign, the new Hunger Games ads blur the line between reality and fiction, drawing us into the terrifying world of Panem, which now seems eerily similar to our own.

Featuring a bright graphic of a soldier against a flowery background, the poster loosely emulates the style of soviet propaganda posters. With bold text reading "peace is preserved not promised", the design has an eerie and threatening authority to it that could easily be interpreted as real, were it not for the District badges dotting the corners and small text that reads "brought to you by the Capitol".

The mobile billboards fittingly appeared outside of the U.S. Capitol Building, Belgium's NATO Headquarters, Philadelphia's Independence Hall and Thailand's Democracy Monument. Perfectly placed to be provocative and eerily rooted in truth, the ads prove that fiction isn't always that distant from reality.

For more ad inspiration, take a look at this Bic advert that's pure print perfection or check out how this company sparked brand romance with 100 hand-crafted loe letter billboards.

To select my favourites, I've focused not just on looks but also how easy they are to set up, the quality of the display, how much storage they offer, and how much this is all going to cost you.

Be aware – these are back-lit digital photo frames, and so they will emit a light, especially noticeable when your room gets darker. If you don't want that light source, go read my list of the best e-ink art frames, which act more like paper, and come to life when a light source is directed at them.

My top pick of the digital photo frames right now is the Aura Carver (10.1"), thanks to its unlimited free cloud storage, vibrant screen and lack of subscription. I've also included a budget option, an e-ink model and a frame that also comes with speakers.

The best digital frame overall

The Aura Carver pairs a crisp, vibrant panel with free, unlimited cloud storage and zero subscription fees. Setup is painless, and Aura's gift mode lets you preload photos and a welcome message, which makes it a strong choice as a present for others.

Because it only displays in landscape, vertical shots get paired up side by side rather than shown full-screen, and how well that pairing works depends on whether you sort photos chronologically or let the app try to match them by subject. Video playback is a nice bonus but can look a little choppy on loading, so this is best thought of as a frame for photos first and video a distant second.

Those niggles aside, though, this remains one of the easiest frames to set up and just leave running, which is exactly what most people want from one.

The best budget digital frame

The Frameo 10.1" delivers solid colours, easy-to-use touch controls, and seamless photo and short-video sharing via the widely supported Frameo ecosystem, all for well under $80. That makes it the easiest frame on this list to recommend if price is the deciding factor.

The touchscreen is responsive enough that even less tech-confident relatives can swipe through a gallery without help, and because Frameo is used across several other budget frame brands too, families don't need everyone to own the same hardware to send photos over.

The 16GB of onboard storage, expandable via microSD, is enough for tens of thousands of photos, and short video clips add a bit of life to the slideshow without needing a subscription. One issue reported by some, though, is that auto-rotate doesn't always catch a photo's orientation correctly.

The best e-ink digital frame

The Reflection Frame uses e-ink to display photos as if they've been printed out. It reflects ambient room light just like physical paper or a canvas print, running for months on a single charge without a power cord hanging down the wall, which sets it apart from every other frame on this list.

Updating the image is done by tapping your phone to a corner of the frame over NFC and Bluetooth, so there's no Wi-Fi setup, no account, and nothing uploaded to a cloud server unless you choose to.

The trade-off for that calm, print-like look is that Spectra 6 e-ink can't match an LCD panel for vibrancy: colours lean more toward a fine-art print than a bright tablet screen, and swapping the image takes a few seconds rather than being instant. It's also a manual experience rather than a family-sharing hub, since there's no remote slideshow or always-on connection.

The best digital frame if money is no object

The Meural Canvas II is designed specifically for fine art. The patented TrueArt display technology diffuses light to mimic real paint textures and adjusts backlighting for a clean, anti-glare finish, and its optional $69.95-a-year membership grants access to a library of more than 30,000 artworks.

The wood-finished frame snaps on and off in seconds without tools, and because the whole unit can be mounted vertically or horizontally, it adapts to more walls than the fixed-orientation frames on this list.

The app makes everyday use of your own photos straightforward, with simple controls for cropping, scheduling and displaying individual images. Where it can still be a chore is loading a large batch of photos in one go, since there's no bulk "select all" option. It's also worth pointing out that the fixed 16:9 aspect ratio also doesn't suit the 3:2 or 4:3 ratios most cameras and phones actually shoot in, so expect some cropping or letterboxing.

The best art TV

The Hisense Canvas TV S7N offers a painterly art display experience that rivals Samsung's Frame TV while being much cheaper. The price includes an UltraSlim mount and a teak wood magnetic bezel. An anti-reflective matte finish helps to eliminate glare, and built-in motion and light sensors allow you to toggle Art Mode when you enter the room. All without asking for a subscription the way Samsung's Frame TV does.

As a TV itself it's not perfect: HDR content can suffer from shallow black levels and soft detail next to Samsung's rival. On the plus side, it's a capable, high refresh-rate set for gaming, and its price relative to Frame TV, plus the included frame and art library, make it excellent value overall.

The best audio-visual hybrid frame

The Samsung Music Frame features a high-fidelity wireless speaker system – six drivers in total, with support for Dolby Atmos – behind a photo or artwork. Streaming support is extensive, covering AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect alongside Bluetooth, and setup through Samsung's SmartThings app takes less than a minute once you have an account.

That said, the sound quality isn't perfect: reviewers found it gets loud and fills a room, but the more volume you push, the muddier and less detailed it becomes, lacking the dynamic contrast that similarly priced standalone speakers deliver. Also, while swapping the front artwork is easy enough, only images that fit an 8x8 inch square will display properly.

It's the second major feature announcement from Canva this month, following an update to its Visual Suite. This time the focus is squarely on professional users: designers, animators, photographers and data storytellers who have spent the past year watching Canva grow its toolset significantly via acquisitions.

Crucially – and I know this what everyone will be worrying about – Affinity and Cavalry's core apps will stay free. Upgrading to a paid plan will only offer you extras (the AI Studio in Affinity and team features) and not the tools professionals need to create with. Check out the full feature list here, or read on for the highlights.

• Explore Canva

What's new in Affinity

Firstly, there's the Blend Tool, which Affinity says was one of its community's most-requested features. Rather than hand-placing every step of a transitional effect, you can now sculpt it live, using bias and easing to control where it speeds up or bunches, with elements distributed evenly along a curve by true distance rather than stretched to fit. This is a really fiddly problem in vector work, so if it performs as described, it will be a real time-saver.

There's also a streamlined Mask Tool, native 3D model support, and INDD import for pulling legacy InDesign files in directly. This is excellent news, and makes it much easier for anyone migrating from Adobe.

For photographers, there is an improved RAW engine, batch imports, reusable colour looks, and an AI Scene Decomposition tool that attempts to split a flattened image back into editable layers. Users also get a dedicated Astrophotography Studio, plus scripting support that lets users automate repetitive tasks across vector, pixel and layout work in a single script – or, via a Claude AI connector, describe the automation in plain language instead of writing it.

What's new in Cavalry

Cavalry is Canva's motion design tool. The update adds more than 50 features and enhancements, including a new Metaballs shape, Lighting, Twist and Ripple filters, an enhanced Isolines shape and a reworked Graph Editor. AI additions include Remove Background, Generate Vector and Image to Layers tools.

Canva says selected elements of a Cavalry animation – text or colour, for instance – will soon be editable directly inside Canva itself, while the core scene stays locked. In theory, that means motion designers build the polished, on-brand asset once, then hand it off for others to tweak without the constant back-and-forth of adaptation requests.

Affinity files can now also be imported directly into Cavalry, and both apps add support for Canva Sheets, which tightens the pipeline between design, animation and data.

The bigger picture

Canva says that "professional craft matters more than ever" in an AI-saturated industry (see more on why it's taking the AI additions more slowly than other platforms). Canva is continuing to group together its acquisitions (Affinity, Cavalry, Flourish, Leonardo) into a single ecosystem, maybe in hopes that convenience and interoperability will keep professionals inside its orbit rather than reaching for standalone Adobe alternatives.

Canva says the rollout starts now, with more updates promised as each product matures.

Here he presents four examples of his work. If you're inspired, see our guides to the best drawing tablets and the best laptops for drawing and digital art.

The Black Rider

“An undead rider crosses a desolate landscape, carrying the weight of ancient curses. I focused on atmosphere and silhouette to create a sense of mystery and quiet menace.”

Morvane

“This piece began as a simple encounter between a rider and a creature. I was interested in creating a sense of unease and scale, allowing the atmosphere to carry the story.”

Nomad Ronin

“A samurai-like character alongside a mechanical being, exploring the contrast between traditional and technological forms. Organic and industrial shapes within a single design.”

Hunters

“This piece is a character design exploring the visual language of fantasy hunters. I used colour contrasts to strengthen readability and create a clear visual hierarchy.

You can see more of Hassan's work on his ArtStation profile.

Inspired to work on your own digital art? See below for deals on drawing tablets that we've reviewed.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.

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There have been suggestions that the launch of Apple's first foldable phone next month could make the iPhone 18 Pro launch a bit of a damp squib. Analysts speak of "soft demand" and "lukewarm" preorders. Only higher-spec configurations of the Pro Max likely to see significant wait times: the base 18 Pro is expected to ship on time on its release date tomorrow (19 September) in most colours and configurations.

But for anyone looking for the best iPhone for photography, I think the choice is clear: the iPhone 18 Pro is the way to go.

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iPhone 18 Pro: why it's the choice for photography

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max preorders are open now for an 18 September release date, while iPhone Duo preorders don't open until a month later on 16 October for a 23 October release date. That's an interesting decision on Apple's part.

The company might have been concerned that releasing the Duo at the same time would have meant upstaging the relatively iterative Pro update since all the headlines would be about the foldable. However, the risk it faces with the staggered release is that people might delay ordering a Pro because they want to wait to see what the Duo really looks and feels like first.

For me, the Duo's main advantage is going to be multitasking and Apple Pencil support – although it's only Apple Pencil USB-C and Apple says it's coming later, not on launch. When it does arrive, it will give this Duo an additional edge over the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, which hasn't supported Samsung's S-Pen on its latest iterations.

But for one group of creatives, the choice should already be pretty clear. The iPhone 18 Pro will be the best iPhone for photography thanks to its groundbreaking new variable aperture. The 48MP Fusion main camera introduces a first-of-its-kind six-blade mechanical variable aperture system with steps ranging from ƒ/1.48 to ƒ/4.0.

This offers the optical control over depth of field and light more comparable to that of a traditional camera. You can physically widen the aperture to ƒ/1.48 for clean low-light shots and natural-looking bokeh, or narrow it down to ƒ/4.0 to ensure more depth of field for group shots or landscapes.

For comparison, the iPhone Duo has a 48MP Fusion 26mm f/1.6 main camera and an Ultra Wide f/2.2 , but there's no physical aperture and no telephoto. The foldable might have some structural advantages for certain situations: the self-supporting hinge could allow you to stand the phone at various angles without needing a tripod, which could also help with long exposure. Dual-Display Shooting can also be handy for selfies, but if you're interested in lens versatility and image quality alone, the 18 Pro has the edge.

Not for you? See the best current foldable phone deals and dumb phone deals.

But all hope is not lost – there's a hero here to fix it. Bob the Builder has returned in all his classic stop-motion glory, starring in E.ON's latest ad promoting its green skills initiative. Am I falling for nostalgia bait? Perhaps. But I don't mind; my childhood is restored.

The charming campaign promotes E.ON Next, the company's net zero training academy that's helping to build a greener future, and who better to showcase it than the OG handyman himself, Bob the Builder. It's been over a decade since he appeared on our screens, and in that time he's picked up yoga, discovered birdwatching, and even taken a trip to Australia – but times have changed since the ol' days of simple brick and mortar building. Bob's gone green.

“Bob the Builder has always inspired people to solve problems and build things that matter. Today, those same qualities are needed to help deliver the UK's transition to clean power," explains Helen Bradbury, Chief People Officer at E.ON UK. “By embracing green skills and fronting this campaign, he’s a shining example of how we can make new energy work for everyone."

With original voice actor Neil Morrissey reprising his role for the first time since 2011, it's safe to say nostalgia hit me like a truck. The ad's friendly and familiar character design, warm colour palette and chirpy music immediately took me straight back to my childhood, and while 3D animation might be the simpler and more cost-effective choice nowadays, there's a distinct charm to stop-motion that can't be replicated. Growing up on Aardman and Laika movies, it's the care, detail and human imperfection of stop motion that gives it its signature warmth and wholesomeness.

For more stop-motion news, check out the new poster for Laika's Wildwood or take a look at these 8 practical lessons for making stop-motion animation.

In fact, it's so impressive that some are questioning whether it's too polished.

Wildwood is an adaptation of the 2011 children's fantasy novel written by Colin Meloy of The Decemberists and illustrated by Carson Ellis. The first book in The Wildwood Chronicles trilogy follows two seventh-graders, Prue and Curtis, as they enter the magical Impassable Wilderness in Portland, Oregon, to rescue their baby brother.

True to Laika's signature animation style, the film combines traditional stop‑motion with CGI enhancements (check out how Laika animates water). That creates a smooth, polished aesthetic while Laika's process of animating on ones creates very fluid motion.

On social media and YouTube, this has some people asking, if it doesn't look like stop motion, why use stop motion at all?

It's true that a lot of viewers might not realise that they're watching stopmotion. And it's true that many fans of stop motion will tell you that what they like is its imperfection: the visibly handcrafted nature that makes it feel warmer and more human.

But while Wildwood might not have the obvious rough edges that the medium's known for, I think it's wrong to say that the studio could have achieved Wildwood's look digitally, and I have to disagree with people who says it looks like Pixar-style CG 3D animation.

Wildwood has a sense of tactility with tangible physics and organic textures that digital renders can't replicate in the same way. In stopmotion, the puppets are heavy, fabrics have natural folds, and objects interact mechanically. The physical force of gravity is real. In pure CGI, every bounce of a curl, shift in clothing, and footprint must be artificially simulated.

There's also the lighting. A digital camera can only mimic real light. Laika uses physical camera lenses to shoot a miniature world lit by actual studio lamps gives The way light scatters across real materials, like the 9,000 tiny hand-placed feathers on General Eagle puppet or the way light filters through translucent materials give a different feeling to the depth of a scene.

And then there's the subtlety of the micro-vibrations in physical objects moved frame-by-frame. These lend an organic, living pulse to the film that digital math can't capture naturally. The CGI doesn't replace stopmotion in this sense; it expands its scale.

What do you think? Would you know that Wildwood was stopmotion if you didn't know it was made by Laika?

Wildwood will be released on 23 October. If you're inspired, see our guides to the best laptops for animation and the best animation software.

"Canva AI 2.0 is a complete re-architecturing" of Canva AI. We think it's the best AI creation experience you can get," Canva co-founder Cameron Adams told us at a press event at the brand's new London headquarters this week.

But as Canva began rolling the features out in April, it faced a unique problem – and one that Adams thinks other brands can learn from. The demand for Canva AI quickly exceeded its expectations. "Too many people wanted to use the product. There were soon 75M people using it, presenting huge cost and server load increases". So Canva paused the roll-out. With some re-engineering, it managed to reduce the cost-per-task by almost 90%, ending up with models that were 5x faster and 30x cheaper.

Adams says this exactly how business need to think in order to succeed in a rapidly shifting AI landscape. It's not just about raw power, but how to keep costs down.

"There's a lot of focus right now on the big models, such as Claude and ChaGPT," Adams says. "But the best tech isn't always the winner. Betting only on a model is a very fragile approach. We’re going to be constantly in a cycle of models overtaking each other." This is why Canva now has over 120 researchers working on AI models internally and using open source.

Because customers, Adams argues, ultimately don't care specifically which model(s) you're using. They just care how it affects them. "We want to make something accessible, reliable and connected to the way people want to work. We’re playing the long game, translating new tech into everyday human capability," he says. "We don’t settle for short term vision."

The problem however is that those early games are only accessible via Steam, while the pixel art style might not be as palatable to audiences compared to the more modern 3D entries (it should be noted that Japanese developer Nihon Falcom is a smaller-sized company than the likes of Square Enix and so hadn't made the transition to full 3D back in the noughties).

The good news is that the games have received sumptuous modern remakes, and I regarded Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter as the best remake released in 2025. I'm still currently playing through Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, which launches today, but after having a chance to also get hands-on with a couple other upcoming JRPG remakes, including Final Fantasy VII Revelation and Persona 4 Revival, it's only really made it clear to me how much Falcom gets right when it comes to modernising a classic.

From sprites and stills to 3D anime

The uninitiated might glance at the multi-chapter release of Trails in the Sky and make comparisons with the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. That's not the case here, as the Trails games have always been made up of arcs consisting of multiple games. Falcom might not have the same budget and graphical grunt as the other Japanese studios that made the leap to 3D earlier on, but what has made the Trails series special is its focus on narrative, so even the early games were dense with character dialogue and lore, and even minor NPCs would have names and backstories.

In short, there's already so much existing material that means Trails in the Sky doesn't need to have its story expanded, while 2nd Chapter sticks to the original structure where you're essentially revisiting locations from the predecessor in the Kingdom of Liberl, albeit travelling by airship. The story has stayed faithful to how it was originally but given a modern presentation.

Like other JRPGs, there's an anime aesthetic to the character designs, but while the original games was limited to conveying this through chibi sprites and character portraits accompanying dialogue boxes, the technical advances means the same scenes get to play out like a full-on anime, complete with moments with exaggerated comical facial expressions.

Indeed, there's such an emphasis on character close-ups that the game mostly does away with the need for character portraits, a convention that Persona 4 Revival strangely still clings to despite having upgraded its 3D character models to be just as detailed and expressive.

To an extent, the Trails in the Sky remakes simply update the originals so that they are comparable to the most recent entries in the series. This includes incorporating a hybrid battle system where you can freely switch between traditional turn-based battles or real-time hack-and-slash action, though you're often incentivised to opt for the former, where you also get the most over-the-top animations when triggering special abilities.

Nonetheless, the remakes stand out a little more by making its world even more anime with bright cel-shading that differs from the more realistic lighting used in the other 3D entries, which also really suits the vibe of playing as younger protagonists in a coming-of-age story.

Some limitations still inevitably show up, notably that the dense script means that there is only voice-acting for some of the lines, which can be often inconsistent to the point where only one character is voiced, or they may initially speak only to suddenly have the rest following as speech bubbles. Even then, the game's camera work is always changing to keep you engaged with the visuals so that you're not just scrolling through text.

A bloat-free modern remake

Of course, any JRPG can feel like a serious time commitment these days, worse when the likes of Final Fantasy VII Revelation and Persona 4 Revival plan to add more new content to justify its existence to fans who have played it before even if it means an even more bloated experience (does a 100-hour game really need more content?). Again,

I applaud these Trails remakes for not cramming extra side content and minigames for the sake of it, while 2nd Chapter's minigames are present simply because they also existed in the original version. Staying faithful here does however have a downside, as compared to its teen-rated predecessor, the latest release is rated mature for its inclusion of gambling minigames, and there's even a side quest that involves the teenage Estelle trying to break someone's winning streak in Poker.

Another element present in other modern Trails games but also applied to the remake effectively is the implementation of high speed mode for those who want to get through the game quicker by speeding up animations.

It probably helps that dialogue isn't fully voiced but it's important to note that even if animations are faster, any voiced dialogue still plays out at normal speed so you can still appreciate the voice acting as intended, compared to the Final Fantasy Remake series going full Netflix and letting you butcher the voice performances at up to double the playback speed. While high speed can also make some games comically unplayable, I also found that at 1.5x speed, it's still possible to breeze through real-time battles while still being able to read the window for dodging enemy attacks.

Ultimately, what makes Trails in the Sky a successful remake is that instead of embellishing, reimagining, or bloating the essence of what it was, it exists alongside the series' continuity, which is clearly something its creators had thought long and hard about whereas other modern remakes have gone through the awkward process of retconning characters or plotlines (also evident in series like Resident Evil and Yakuza).

Admittedly, 1st Chapter's launch was also mired by localisation that used different naming conventions and terminology inconsistent with the wider series, but a post-release 'legacy patch' nearly a year later has thankfully resolved these issues just in time for 2nd Chapter's release.

More ambitious JRPG remakes are still to come in 2027, though from my initial impressions, I'm finding Final Fantasy VII Revelation's everything-but-the-kitchen sink maximalism overwhelming to the point that it loses sight of what made the original game amazing in its own right, while Persona 4 Revival is stylish but also an unnecessary $70 remake when the original expanded port is available on every modern platform for a fraction of the price. Instead, the perfect JRPG remakes are already here with Trails in the Sky, which achieves what any modern remake should strive for.

Their modern graphical and gameplay overhaul doesn't just make it fresh while keeping the story faithful to what fans love the original for, but they also serve as the perfect entry to audiences playing for the first time, which will make a smooth transition for experiencing the rest of the series.

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is out now on PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. A free demo is also available on all platforms, with save data transferring to the full game.

• Buy the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth for $949 / £839 at Amazon

The recent un-coloured tuning trend has been a great thing for affordable personal audio. Headphones like the closed-back Sennheiser HD 480 Pro Plus and IEMs such as the Crinear Reference have committed to a balanced, neutral-sounding profile, and all around the $400 mark. They sound exceptional in their clarity, and they are hands down some of the best audio releases I've heard in recent years.

Yet none of this has caught on in the world of high-end headphones. And the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth – the 2023 iteration of a line that dates back to the $3,000, 2015 original – is no exception.

After all, the best-sounding wired high-end headphones are about specialisation – bold, sometimes risky tunings that don't need to be liked by everyone, just a few wealthy enthusiasts. Each pair of eye-wateringly expensive headphones is like a piece of modern art: the perfect mix of colour and form for some, a derisory mess that a child could replicate for others.

Now, the HiFiMan HE1000 may not be for everyone, but it is certainly for me.

In this review I dig into what exactly the HE1000 is trying to achieve with its specific tuning, and I'll do my best to help you decide whether this $949 high-end headphone is the End Game set for you.

Sound profile

Overall, there are a few things that jump out at me when I first put on the HE1000 Stealth (just HE1000 from now).

First, the expansive sense of space – these open-back headphones feel and sound really open. If you like an intimate, vocal-forward tuning, look elsewhere. And it's not just because of the scooped upper mids that present a sense of space – the ear cups are huge and let a lot of air through. Combined, the HE1000 gives me the most grandest sense of space of any headphone I've tried.

Second, the bass response is satisfyingly extended, measured and void of bloat. Then there's the fresh, bright-leaning presentation that brings a sense of detail. And finally, there's the correct-sounding timbre, despite its upper midrange colouration. For me, everything works together in harmony. Though I'd never call the HE1000 neutral, it offers a coloured sound that remains balanced.

The HE1000 makes an event of listening to music – it's as satisfying as it is impressive.

Bass: As with all HiFiMan planar magnetic driver headphones, the HE1000 delivers a refined bass response, which extends deep into the sub-bass region, though it drops off a cliff below 20Hz. It's linear without massive peaks, or tactically placed dips, so you get a textured, well-articulated bass that isn't over-done, isn't bloomy or overbearing, yet it's impressive for such an open-back set.

I don't want to overstate, as I've heard open-back headphones with more mid-bass slam and sub-bass rumble (like the Sony MDR-MV1), but for an exceptionally open-back headphone such as the HE1000, its bass extension and sense of body is really impressive.

Many reviewers have reported that it's the HE1000 Stealth's planar magnet design which provides extra tactile punch and lightning-fast speed... I don't know about that, and I'd much rather focus on my personal take on the tuning of a headphone than what the tech might be doing to the sound.

Bottom line: I get a textured, impactful bass from the HE1000, and there's precision there too. This is top quality stuff, and the bass is balanced with the rest of the frequency response really well.

If you're reading this review, the chances are that you're aware of HiFiMan's house sound, and the reason why many believe HiFiMan headphones provide the most expansive 'soundstage' of all headphones. Here's a quick recap, just in case...

HiFiMan open-back headphones feature a deliberate dip in the upper midrange frequencies (roughly 1.25–2.5kHz), which psychoacoustically pushes parts of vocals and lead instruments further back in the sound presentation. This tuning, which is very much present in the HE1000, can translate into an expansive, non-fatiguing, spatial presentation, giving listeners a sense of depth and width to their music, while also allowing more complex tracks to breathe with a sense of airy separation.

Now, full disclosure: This recession will strip many vocals and instruments of some of their natural intimacy, body, and presence, and that can be a solid turn-off for some. When this type of tuning is too extreme, the sound can feel slightly hollow. And though some of the body of vocals and lead instruments are definitely put on a diet with the HE1000, I never get a sense that I'm missing out; that HiFiMan went too far and took out something of the soul of the music. I just enjoy a different presentation of the sound.

This is because the overall balance of the frequency response remains cohesive. The genius of the HE1000 is that although it scoops out a chunk of the upper midrange (from 1.25kHz to 2.5kHz) to give that sense of space, the timbre of instruments and vocals is never compromised.

Of course, this is all relative, and when comparing the HE1000 to a much more neutral headphone, such as the HEDD D1, the latter's timbre is more correct. Yet the smidge of accuracy you lose in the HE1000 is easily made up for by its inviting, exciting and embracing presentation.

Ultimately, this spaciousness effect is exactly that – an effect. But it's expertly done, and a great deal of fun.

The only thing that bugs me about the midrange is that because of this fun dip, the following peak – around 3.4kHz – does provide a level of spice that some may find too much. It's fine for me, but if this is a known trouble spot for you – and let's be honest, the ear gain region is a trouble spot for many – then it's definitely worth keeping this in mind.

Some people may find the HE1000's treble off-putting (as treble so often is). For me, it isn't a problem... until it is.

After listening to my whole library un-critically, then my 'headphones' playlist critically, it wasn't until I got to two tracks that I felt the HE1000's treble reached my limits of spice.

The static squeaks and squelches of K-Lone's slk started to grate towards the end of the track, and the immediate high hat bursts of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean verged on too much... still, two out of 631 tracks isn't bad!

Casting a spotlight on it, there are hot spots around 6.5–7.3kHz, then there's a dip around 7.6kHz followed by a noticeable peak around 9kHz. Of course, you may hear the HE1000 differently to me – especially the treble frequencies – so that's more of a guide than a prescription. But the point to take away from this is that there definitely are peaks in the HE1000's treble. For me, they largely serve to sculpt sharp dimensions to the music, giving it texture and clarity.

Price, value & gear

Evaluating the value of a pair of excellent-yet-expensive headphones has to be nuanced, and I'm doing this from the perspective of someone to whom the HE1000's price tag is a considerable investment. So, can a pair of headphones that cost $950 ever offer good value? I think they can.

Tuning gets bold, singular, daring and divisive in the high end of audio. That means many people are not going to like the sound of the HE1000. For other listeners, I can see the HE1000 being their perfect end game headphone, being far more appealing than a neutral-leaning pair of headphones like the HEDD D1, or a slightly darker, warmer set like the HiFiMan Edition XV.

The HE1000 offers an audio experience that no other headphone does. Because I'm not overly sensitive to its specific colourations, and because I really enjoy the spatial effect it offers, I think it represents good value.

It's also worth noting that the HE1000 headphones come with a pretty standard 2-year manufacturer warranty, alongside a 30-day return policy for a refund when purchased from official channels. However, if there is something faulty with your HE1000, you'll have to pay for the postage when sending them back to be repaired (which HiFiMan will cover). It's a small yet annoying detail that many audiophiles have bemoaned over the years.

DAC/Amp requirements

The majority of people who buy the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth will already have a dedicated headphone DAC/Amp set up. However, if you don't, fear not! The HE1000 is incredibly easy to drive, and you won't need to spend an additional arm and a leg to get the best out of them.

Thanks to its high 93 dB/mW efficiency, driving the HE1000 Stealth is a breeze. Any clean, solid-state DAC and amplifier providing roughly 200 mW to 500 mW into 32 ohms will achieve 115 dB dynamic peaks without distortion or clipping. That's lots of volume, zero noise.

Most boutique, multi-thousand-dollar pieces of gear are only 'better' than affordable modern desktop units in their value as pieces of art. If you love the look of them, and the features that they offer, that's great! Acoustically, they're indistinguishable.

Although I played the HE1000 through my $650 Luxsin X8, you just don't need to spend that money to get the most out of these headphones. You'll get all the power you need from a $220 FiiO K7 DAC/Amp, or a $199 Topping DX3 Pro+. Now, that will still bring the overall cost to North of $1,000, so it's worth considering. But again, I'd be surprised if anyone buying the HE1000 is building their personal audio setup from scratch.

Build & comfort

I can imagine that the look of the HE1000 isn't for everyone, but I think generally the build quality stands up to its kilobuck price tag. The comfort of the HE1000 is certainly top notch.

I love the retro, 70s-tinged, wooden trimmed vibe it's got going on, though I'm the first to admit that for $950, we really should be getting real wood trims! Instead we get a wood-printed vinyl veneer.

It would be enough to take half a star off, if I didn't find this weirdly charming.

What stands up to any scrutiny is the real suede headband which further sells the retro vibe and ramps up the comfort. Add to that subtle, light and comfy earpads, and very large earcups that will never irritate you by rubbing against your ears (no-one's ears are that big), and brushed aluminium, and you've got an incredibly comfortable set that feels solid in your hands.

I've read that the HE1000's massive ear cups can create seal issues on smaller heads, though I experienced no such issue. What I will say is that the supplied cable felt a bit stiff and prone to tangling, so I ended up using my trusty Custom Cans' ultra-low capacitance balanced litz cable.

Should you buy it?

I don't think we need to over-complicate things here. The HE1000's $949 price does a good job of answering the question 'should you buy it?', after all.

I would buy a pair of HE1000 because I find the experience I have with them to be amongst the most enjoyable I've experienced in audio to date. The specialist tuning is spacious and welcoming, seemingly sculpting music with added dimensions.

Also, in the fantasy world where I can afford the HE1000, I could probably also get the more neutral HEDD D1 headphones, so I'd have the best of both worlds. Out of the two, I think the $799 D1 is a better choice for the majority of people. But there will be a few of you out there that will find the HE1000 as special as I do.

But let me be clear – this is absolutely a pair of headphones that you need to get on your head and try out before buying, because there's a fair chance that the spacious effect and bright higher end is not your cup of tea, or you might just hear them differently to me – such is the nature of personal audio.

I'm excited about the current trend towards neutral that's occurring in budget and mid-range headphones, and I love how many of those new headphones sound. And at the same time, I equally love it when some old-school high-end cans, like the HE1000, utterly ignore the trends, and plough on with their bold, daring tuning.

In a world of billboard ads and social media campaigns, Savage X Fenty's playful approach is a refreshingly tactile take on advertising that proves simple concepts can have a big impact. Nearly impossible to ignore and perfectly placed to snatch passersby's attention, the cheeky campaign is a prime example of experiential design at its best.

Looming above Seventh Avenue and Fashion Avenue, Savage X Fenty's bold campaign turns the streets of New York City into a living, breathing ad experience. The oversized lingerie set casts a shadow on the Garment District, creating a dual display when the sun hits just right (bonus points for aligning it so the crosswalk hits right in the middle).

Just in case you were wondering who's behind the mysterious floating undergarments, the lingerie set is bordered by the Savage X Fenty logo, while the clothing itself bears the Savage wordmark in a slick serif font. It's a simple concept with expert execution, proving that breaking the mould of conventional advertising can be a strong move that gets people talking.

For more advertising inspiration, check out how the subvertising has held up a mirror to some of the biggest brands or take a look at this ad platform that sparked brand romance with 100 love letter billboards.

The American football team finally retired the 'Redskins' logo and name in 2020 due to its racist connotations. So why did it drop a fresh collection of merchandise with the old branding just ahead of the new NFL season? According to the team, it effectively has a legal obligation to continue to promote racist stereotypes.

The Washington Commanders' retro redskins merchandise sold out in just 48 hours, which is perhaps a sign of how much some fans are still attached to the old brand. The Association on American Indian Affairs criticised the drop and raised concerns that the limited-edition release could have been a trial to test public reaction ahead of a possible backslide towards using a racial slur in its branding.

The club claims that's not the case. It also claims the use of the controversial logo wasn't for nostalgia's sake. It argues that it has to continue to occasionally sell products with the questionable branding so that others can't. Otherwise, it could be argued that the team has abandoned its trademarks, like a social media company recently tried to claim regarding the Twitter name.

Some aren't convinced by the team's argument. The controversial merchandise drop was hardly discreet: it included an Art Monk T-shirt with a huge image of the Redskins logo. Trademark law doesn't say anything about having to efforts to maximise merchandise sales to avoid claims of abandonment.

Outside of sport, some brands have found much more discreet solutions. Quaker Oats continues to use a small placement of its Aunt Jemima logo on Pearl Milling Co packaging to avoid leaving it up for grabs.

Either way, the legal scholars Chris Buccafusco and Jon J. Lee suggest that the incident shows there's an argument for the law to be changed. Writing for MS Now, they say legislation could be changed to prevent claims of abandonment in cases where the public still associates a former trademark with the original owner, or that Congress could create a registry for retired trademarks that have historical significance connected to commercial success or major political or social issues.

"With such a law, the United States Patent and Trademark Office would be empowered to stop others from selling merchandise bearing the trademarks, ensuring that the trademarks would be removed from the marketplace for good," they argue. "It also allows companies that want to sever ties with their racist pasts to do so with less concern that others will be able to swoop in to take their place."

Then we can go back to debating the merits of the Washington Commanders' folded 'W' alternate logo.