Kiln: PS5 Review 

Developed by Double Fine Productions
Published by XBox Game Studios
Platform: PS5

The art of the multiplayer game is not an easy one to master.

If it's not the likes of Fortnite or Overwatch, cut-through is exceptionally difficult and if the game's tricky or with a low-user base, it's dead before it's barely begun (Just ask Sony's Concord.)

The latest from Double Fine, the studio which brought us Psychonauts, is an intriguingly different idea - you play a sprite which can inhabit different kinds of pots - but one that doesn't feel like it's quite reached its full potential at launch.

It's a very simple premise - you're in charge of controlling different kinds of pots to possess them and to take on the opposition with the hope of dampening down the opposition's kiln. Bigger pots, which are susceptible to more attacks, carry more water - the greater the risk, the greater the reward. But smaller ones offer up a chance to make plenty of minor attacks and gains. There are some 24 different body sizes meaning that there's plenty of choice for those who want to try different types of battle.

With its 4 x4 gameplay and availability, the game's subscriber bases aren't small so it's helped that there are people playing this game, but with a lack of maps, the game may face an uncertain future that worries somewhat.

For an anarchic edge, Kiln has it in spades. Games become chaotic as everyone attacks each other and the skill levels vary - but after the initial thrill of the spill has worn off, the game starts to become a little repetitive - no matter how colourful and cute it actually is.

It's to be hoped that Kiln finds its feet very soon - because there's genuinely a space in the gaming world for a family-friendly multiplayer. Kiln has potential but it feels like it needs a little more time in the pot to heat up its true potential.

Supergirl: Movie Review

Cast: Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet
Director: Craig Gillespie

Nearly one year after director James Gunn released a revamped Superman movie to relaunch the DC Universe, House of the Dragon's Milly Alcock takes centre stage as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl.

While Superman has found his place in the universe as a protector of planet Earth, Kara is struggling to discover and define her path. However, when her only other surviving colleague from the planet Kryptonite, her dog Krypto, is poisoned by space pirate Krem of the Yellow Hills (Schoenaerts) and has only three days left to live, she sets out on a quest for vengeance and to try and save him by getting an antidote.

Based on the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow eight-issue limited run comic series, Craig Gillespie's movie looks to tackle some heady themes, while trying to deepen the Superman world and lore. 

And in parts, it really shines.

Milly Alcock utterly owns what's needed of her here. The difference between her and her cousin Clark is stark. In one line, she says he sees the good in everyone and she sees the truth when asked if they're similar. Alcock's Supergirl has a lot of PTSD to explore and deal with, something that's triggered further by her life on Krypton, which is different from Kal-El's. 

While Superman showed her as a party girl, determined not to take life seriously, it soon becomes clear that it's a mask, an insight that's probably not a surprise to many, but Alcock imbues it with gravitas and heft, as well as inherent sadness after she faces a life without Krypto.

There are also some surprisingly low-key scenes between the two cousins which bookend the film, grounding both of them and probably setting up a dynamic for Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel that's due in 2027.

Plus, the DC Universe feels kind of low-rent too, littered with scuzzy creatures and a space menagerie of life forms that feel like they never really get much screentime in these kinds of films. Along with production designs that deliver the lower end of ships and day-to-day life that feel like they're from Mad Max, Supergirl widens the universe by not wearing rose-tinted glasses. And it's all the better for it.

However, not all of this works.

Chiefly, it's an issue of tone throughout. Moments of jokiness clash up against the more sombre themes of rage and vengeance, and it doesn't always work. 

Momoa's Lobo (a kind of beefcake vampire cross with the lead singer of KISS) just feels completely out of place in proceedings, a kind of hammy, OTT character that really adds little to the proceedings and shows up just because he can. 

And disappointingly, Eve Ridley's Ruthye, who's supposed to be the moral conflict of the story as she wrestles with the desire for revenge, just seems to be prone to be repeating her mantra in a Princess Bride Inigo Montoya way that soon loses its heft. Plus, saddled with quite a bit of forced bonding exposition to Supergirl, she feels more like a mouthpiece in this than a fully fledged individual. (An odd subplot about child trafficking also just hangs there for no real depth.)

Consequently, Supergirl feels like it lacks some of the emotional resonance it needs in an at times uneven movie that never quite allows its deep themes to rise to the top and trust its audience with them.

As a result, it's not quite as Super as it could be, but deserves to be applauded for trying something different and for Alcock's superlative performance.

Avatar: Fire and Ash: Disney+ Movie Review

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Oona Chaplin, Sigourney Weaver, Jemaine Clement, Stephen Lang, Edie Falco, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Jack Champion
Director: James Cameron

The third Avatar outing plunges us back into the world of the Sullys and the Na'Vi, but outside of a couple of new elements, it feels like creatively and narratively it's dragging its heels.

 

Plus, with endless confrontations that are never fully resolved, it can't help but seem like the Harry Potter series, which would introduce elements but also end up with a confrontation with Lord Voldemort before he escaped.

This time around, as Jake and Neytiri lick their wounds from the loss of their son, the family unit that was once strong is now creaking under the weight of grief. Added to that, the fact that human Spider (Champion, one of the purveyor of some of the worst dialogue in the film) is struggling to breathe and live in a mask, the Sullys decide it's time for Spider to go back to the humans.

However, when Quaritch (Lang, the film franchise's antagonist and Sully nemesis) targets them, they find themselves attacked by the Ash people, led by a truly menacing Varang (Chaplin, easily the film's MVP - for the first two-thirds, anyway). With time running out and some impossible choices to make, the Sully clan must fight for their lives, as well as Pandora's future.

The somewhat bloated three and a quarter hour run-time does little to help Avatar: Fire and Ash, with large swathes of the opening sequences once again revelling in the idea of what the technology can afford the franchise. But while it's technically adept as creatures swoop and soar through the air, it's narratively redundant and largely pointless.

It's a repetition of what went before and becomes endemic of the film's creatively stifled edges, and Cameron and his team's need to fall back on action that feels like it's the second part of Avatar: The Way of Water.

In an expansion of the world, the film's CGI, one trippy sequence aside, feels as solid as it did - and is in no sign of creaking.  But add to that the fact that the final battle is more or less a retread of Avatar: The Way Of Water and it becomes clear that Cameron's creative sauce may be spread a little thin for a franchise to keep going.

Far more successful - initially anyway - is the introduction of the ferocious Ash people, easily the series' most interesting nemeses. Led by Chaplin's slinky and menacing Varang, these mix of Na'vi and Slenderman looking hostiles pose the most intriguing debate about colonisation as they revel in the fire power that's afforded them. There's a real sense of a civilisation corrupted by first contact here but intoxicated by the possibilities that affords them.

It's too bad though that Cameron largely shoves them to the side once Quaritch becomes part of their story and while there are hints that there's more to come from them, it feels like their potential is squandered in the final wash.

Avatar: Fire and Ash can't help but keep up its pro-ecological message (something which is to be definitely applauded) and its use of echoes of The Cove are chillingly played out. (And there's a cheeky Aliens reference from an original character too). But that it ends in a hail of bullets and nature fighting back is no real surprise - after all, that's what happened in the previous film.

You can't help but wonder what Cameron's endgame is for the Avatar series - after three films, albeit technically dazzling, the narrative still feels distinctly hollow and the conclusion weak and unformed. Cameron himself has hinted a fourth film is no certain thing - but while he lays the blame at the movie market itself, it's probably time for him to step back and reassess what exactly is the roadmap for Avatar.

Because its repetition and weak story-telling is really what will sink this franchise in its own fire and ash unless there's a very quick course correction.

Bubsy 4D: PS5 Review

Developed by Fabraz
Published by Fabraz
Platform: PS5

Solid platformers are few and far in between these days for gamers.

Whether it's multiplayer titles or shooters, or story-driven adventure games, the genre's been a touch sidelined during the past few years - where are the likes of Rayman or Crash Bandicoot for this latest generation of consoles?

But that all ends with Bubsy 4D, a title that plays up to the legacy of its bobcat hero, and even makes a valid case for the return of the platform game.

In terms of story, Bubsy 4D wastes no time getting down to matters, making meta jokes about the franchise's past and sending him off with pals to rescue kidnapped sheep.

As you head off to rescue them, the game gives you a tutorial in how to leap, chain jumps together and basically leap around various levels. There's a simple energy to Bubsy's movements and it's one which takes a little time to grasp, but when it does, it flows.

Although you're likely to come away with some Sonic the Hedgehog parallels due to the character's need to dash and roll, Bubsy's movement feels like his own and its fluidity is obvious from the start.

The game's brevity may be a stumbling block for some, but for a family game that serves as a nice stepping stone into the genre, it's a sweetly ambitious and fun title to chill with.

What's on HBO Max in July

Here's everything that's streaming on HBO Max in July 2026.

Stuart Fails To Save The Universe (July 24)

The ten-episode series debuts Friday, 24 July, only on HBO Max. New episodes will debut subsequent Fridays.

Comic book store owner Stuart Bloom is tasked with restoring reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard, accidentally bringing about a multiverse Armageddon. Stuart is aided in this quest by his girlfriend Denise, geologist friend Bert and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. Along the way, they meet alternate-universe versions of characters we’ve come to know and love from The Big Bang Theory. As the title implies, things don’t go well.

Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (July 1)

The HBO Original documentary Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story, directed and produced by Jyllian Gunther and Stephanie Schwam (Max Original Swiping America) and produced by Sarah Jessica Parker’s Pretty Matches Productions, debuts Wednesday, 1 July, only on HBO Max. 

Before the internet and the ubiquity of social media influencers, there was Robin Byrd – the spirited, anything-goes New York City public access host, clad only in her signature black crochet bikini. From 1977 to 1998, Robin created, produced and hosted the late-night call-in show that incorporated performances and interviews with adult entertainers and experimental artists. Each show ended with a bawdy song and dance, turning her unapologetic, eponymous show into a national platform for sex-positivity and free speech.

Approaching her 70th birthday, Robin confronts her place in history and faces the decision to hand over a lifetime of memorabilia to archivists, while also tenderly caring for Shelly, her husband of 50 years. With a wealth of archival and intimate interviews, the film reflects on Robin’s career and tracks her current life in New York City, as well as Fire Island where she has been a beloved resident for decades.

Grand Theft Auto VI: Trailer 3 first look

To celebrate the launch of pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI, out November 19, Rockstar Games is rumoured to be launching a third trailer for GTA VI.

Pre-orders for the game are live from June 25 and are expected to shatter records.