Kirby Air Riders is an entertaining racing game, and it provides a thorough workout for the brand new SOL-AVES engine. It's hard to fault this Switch 2 exclusive and its high-octane visuals.

DF Direct Weekly #241 is now available, discussing Steam Machine's PC-adjacent pricing news, Proton FSR 4, the return of Red Dead Redemption, the brilliant Sektori, Windows perf issues, Horizon Steel Frontiers and much more: youtu.be/NOEGamg6nf8

What’s the most you would pay for a Steam Machine? There isn’t really anything like it out so I’m curious to hear what people think. If it’s indeed priced more like a similar PC ($700 to $800) is that too much?

STALKER 2 had a rough launch, but its performance level has increased greatly in patch 1.7, despite little notice from the developer - and the apparent absence of a major Unreal Engine version update.

DF Direct Weekly #240 is out now, focusing on last week's big Valve news. We discuss potential Steam Machine prices and positioning and we go into more depth on specs, while answering a wide range of Supporter questions: youtu.be/K0jaDAG_jc8

Valve’s Steam Frame is a multifaceted streaming/standalone VR headset that should provide a best-in-class gaming experience.

Valve's overhauled 2026 Steam Machine is a polished, finely crafted console-like PC system. It's a great little home entertainment box - and it should give Microsoft a lot to worry about.

The PS5 Pro has had a mixed first year, with plenty of games that impress - and plenty that don't.

Not a big surprise. Launching during the fall is going to suffocate adjacent releases though during a very busy period, and I'm curious to see how publishers handle it.

Please check out the brand-new Digital Foundry website at www.digitalfoundry.net! Some interesting features already from @samred.com and the team, along with forums and links to everything we do.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a strong technical experience for RPG fans, and it’s fine enough across the consoles. But if you have a choice between console systems, I’d pick Series X.

DF Direct Weekly #236 is live, discussing experiences with the ROG Xbox Ally X, Black Myth Wukong's performance mode changes on PS5, the PS5 Pro mini-refresh and much, much more: youtu.be/WhQ5289lBWY

With good image quality and excellent performance, there are few faults in the console versions of Battlefield 6.

DF Direct Weekly #235 "drops" today ahead of schedule, talking Microsoft reconfirming next-gen Xbox consoles, Yooka Re-Playlee impressions and more rumours of a current-gen/Switch 2 Red Dead Redemption 2 remaster: youtu.be/1TkdxhLRxdc

Today on Digital Foundry, a DF Direct Special talking about the new technologies discussed in the recent Project Amethyst update, along with answers to our questions from Mark Cerny himself. Exciting times ahead! youtu.be/Ru7dK_X5tnc

Battlefield 6 is a strong technical effort on PS5. It's not aiming for ray-traced perfection, but it looks good and runs at a blistering clip.

DF Direct Weekly #234 is now live, talking Xbox Game Pass price rises, Austin Evans' new PS5 Slim teardown, remarkable perf boosts in Baldur's Gate 3's native Linux Steam Deck version and much, much more: youtu.be/Sj5TyrHDspU

In this post-Moore’s Law age, I think the latest Pro iPhone is a relative triumph, as a great all-round phone with excellent tech. And it blasts through our suite of AAA iOS games with ease.

t.co/37huD6Q9mT Lots of details here, but key takeaway (for me) is that day one MS games have gone from $17/mo one year ago to $30/mo today. Some marginal benefits to the cost increase, but the catalog expansion is not impressive.

DF Direct Weekly #233 is live, discussing the Marvel's Wolverine gameplay reveal, Saros, Deus Ex Remastered, Forza Horizon 6, Silent Hill f on Xbox, the Borderlands 4 Switch 2 delay and much more: youtu.be/ZADoJKL2sGc

Silent Hill f is a beautiful UE5 effort that marries moody looks with (mostly) good performance. Unfortunately, PS5 Pro needs a fast fix for its flickering woes.

DF Direct Weekly #232 is available now ahead of time owing to upcoming embargoes, talking Dying Light: The Beast performance on PC and PS5, FSR 4 tested on RDNA 3, and the big Intel/Nvidia deal: youtu.be/APk9y9SLNVE

Super easy iPhone 17 Pro pickup experience at the beautiful new Apple store in Vancouver. I don’t mind the orange, but silver feels neutral and nostalgic.

DF Direct Weekly #231 is live, discussing Borderlands 4 performance issues, Nintendo Direct, the excellent GeForce Now 5080, the mooted PS6 detachable BD drive and hands-on time with Xbox Cloud Streaming at 1440p. youtu.be/2v1ST5qMoaY

The Switch 2 is a surprisingly capable machine, but key UE5 tech - Nanite, Lumen, and Virtual Shadow Maps - have yet to make an appearance on Nintendo's hybrid. That may portend trouble down the line for future UE5 Switch 2 efforts.

Big improvements to draw distance on Akiva in the new Star Wars Outlaws patch - looks much better now! Seems like the day 1 code was bugged. (Ignore image quality/performance as this is internally recorded footage.)

DF Direct Weekly #230 is out now, discussing Switch 2's ray tracing debut in SW Outlaws, Switch 2 cart speeds, 007 First Light's gameplay debut, Hollow Knight: Silksong and much, much more: youtu.be/TMWPIT7F5e4

Outlaws is a top-tier Switch 2 port that proves the system’s current-gen bona fides.

Helldivers 2 is mostly fine enough on Xbox, barring a few odd problems. The game’s more fundamental technical faults remain unaddressed however.

Would anyone like to play some Helldivers 2 with me for a Digital Foundry video on the new Xbox version? Ideally someone with Helldive or Super Helldive difficulty unlocked and proficient gameplay. Could be one person or a group of people. Any platform on your end is fine.

Wukong is a confusing, unusual Xbox Series port. Configuration quirks define this game’s performance on console systems.

DF Direct Weekly #228 is a Gamescom special - Elden Ring and FF7R Switch 2 impressions, our games of the show, Microsoft's shader compilation solution discussed, Valve Fremont console specs, Kirby Air Riders and more! youtu.be/N0SW7R5H5wY

Mafia: The Old Country has its limits, but it is a beautiful UE5 showcase.

DF Direct Weekly #227 is now live, discussing Battlefield 6's open beta on PC, Drag x Drive on Switch 2, OneXPlayer's remarkable Strix Halo tablet, Tekken 8's feasibility on Switch 2 and... an RTX 4090 "handheld"...? youtu.be/_pKVxsXksrU

Battlefield 6’s multiplayer beta is very promising. If this is representative of the final product, prospective players have a lot to look forward to.

DF Direct Weekly #226 is now live - with an update on our independence, commentary on alleged PS6 leaks, Apex Legends tested on Switch 2, AMD Dense Geometry Format looking very very cool, plus clarifying Sony's multi-platform public statements: youtu.be/dMvbYyyAP-c

This is a little painful - hopefully things ease up over the beta period!

If you appreciate MacOS, the M3 Ultra Mac Studio is the pinnacle of the platform - the very best computing experience you can have. Taken all in all, it’s a superb machine.

DF Direct Weekly #225 is now live, discussing rumoured Xbox "Magnus" silicon, the Battlefield 6 MP reveal, Strix Halo handhelds and reaction to Nintendo Direct - can Switch 2 handle the technologically challenging Star Wars Outlaws? youtu.be/2dGdZDTaD0M

Prodeus is much better on Switch 2 - goes from a highly unstable ~30fps to a locked 60 in most levels! Totally transformed on the new hardware.

This situation is getting more interesting - yet another Switch 2 game with automatic resolution/setting adjustment based on output res. I believe there are 5 games so far that do this to my knowledge:

If you have the kit, CDPR and Apple have delivered a pretty solid version of Cyberpunk for Mac.

Would anyone in the Vancouver area like to hang out in the next few weeks? I just settled into my new place and am trying to make some friends in town - not just on the internet lol

Switch 2 and SDOLED share superficial similarities, but diverge in their fundamental approach. It's a portable spin on the classic console versus PC matchup.

DF Direct Weekly #222 is now available, talking Oblivion Remastered 1.2 performance on PC, Nintendo's "RT" patents, Wild Hearts on Switch 2 and GPU/CPU Switch 2 performance: youtu.be/ze_ILcqvF8A

DF Direct Weekly #221 is now live, discussing the ramifications of the Xbox cuts, AMD and Sony's PS6 hints, Nvidia 50-Series super leaks, the identity of the Donkey Kong Bananza developer, Helldivers 2 on Xbox and much, much more: youtu.be/mevVYojqAgM

The Switch 2 port of Hogwarts Legacy satisfies, even if it doesn’t necessarily exceed pre-launch expectations. Franchise fans will find a lot to like here.

Switch 2 offers huge improvements for select Switch 1 titles, with quadrupled resolutions and more stable frame-rates - all without charge.

I had to check out Shock 2 and, for this time, I decided to introduce Oliver to the game. As the youngest member on the DF team, I wanted to see what he thought of the game 26 years removed. We had a blast! Check it out.

The Switch 2 may use dated tech, but excellent efficiency and DLSS make it more than the sum of its parts. This is a great platform for the coming generation of Nintendo games.