Jason, Author at Thumb Culture

17Apr

By JasonNo Comments

be quiet! Dark Power 14 PSU Review

Let’s be honest, the Power Supply Unit (PSU) is the unloved middle child of the PC building world. Most people pour their budget into a flashy GPU that glows like a neon sign or a CPU that could simulate the weather in real-time, only to pair them with a "budget-friendly" metal box of sparks. But when you are building a high-end rig, you aren't just looking for power; you are looking for stability, efficiency, and, if you value your sanity, absolute silence. Pure Watts, Total Stealth Enter the be quiet! Dark Power 14 PSU range. There are the options of 850W, 1000W and 1200W. I was kindly sent the be quiet! Dark Power 14 1000W to test out. It is a high-end, ATX 3.1-compliant beast that refuses to make a scene. It is designed for the enthusiast who wants their PC to handle a massive overcl...

18Mar

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

TerraMaster F2-425 NAS Review

We live in an age where our lives are scattered across the cloud like digital confetti. Photos on Google, documents on Dropbox, and that one weird spreadsheet on a thumb drive you haven’t seen since 2019. If you are tired of paying monthly rent to tech giants just to keep your files "safe," it is time to look at a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. Time to Take Control The TerraMaster F2-425 is here to change that narrative. It is a two-bay powerhouse that promises to be the brain of your home network without requiring a PhD in computer science to operate. Priced at around £210-280, it aims to deliver prosumer speed and "set it and forget it" reliability for the rest of us. Design & Features TerraMaster has a very specific "look," and the F2-425 sticks to the script with i...

25Feb

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy – PC Review

Released February 12th, the Royalty & Legacy expansion for Sims 4 doesn’t simply layer crowns and capes onto familiar gameplay; it restructures the very foundation of social hierarchy and generational storytelling. Where past packs flirted with fame or influence, this one formalises power into a living system that reshapes how families rise, fall, and endure. Heavy is the Crown Set in the sweeping new world of Ondarion, there are windswept cliffs of rebellious Verdemar, steeped jungles of Dambele and the gleaming marble capital of Bellacorde; the expansion feels expansive in both scale and ambition. More than just a picturesque backdrop, Ondarion responds to whoever holds the throne: taxes shift, festivals erupt in royal celebration, and townsfolk bow or whisper as your monarch passe...

3Feb

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

ifi GO blu Air Review

If you are the kind of person who still carries a dedicated wired setup because "Bluetooth just doesn't hit the same," prepare to have your world gently shaken. We have all seen those bulky portable stacks that make your pocket look like it is carrying a vintage scientific calculator. But what if you could shrink that fidelity down to the size of a matchbox and clip it to your lapel? Going Wireless with Your Favourite Wired Device The ifi GO blu Air is the slimmed-down, ultra-portable sequel to the legendary GO blu. It is designed for the audiophile who wants to cut the tether to their phone but refuses to sacrifice the soul of their music. At £129, it is a lighter, more affordable gateway to high-resolution wireless audio that manages to be both a tool and a toy in the best possible way...

2Feb

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

ifi GO pod Air Review

If you are an audiophile, you know the struggle. You have spent more money than you care to admit on a pair of high-end in-ear monitors that sound like an angel whispering secrets into your brain. But then, you step outside. Suddenly, that glorious one-metre braided copper cable becomes a liability. It snags on door handles, tangles on the zip og your clothes, and makes you look like a human telephone switchboard from 1922. You want the freedom of wireless, but you refuse to settle for the compressed, muddy sound of standard Bluetooth buds. ifi Lets Go! Enter the ifi GO pod Air. This is the younger, leaner, and more affordable sibling of the original GO pod. It promises to turn your favourite wired IEMs into a pair of true wireless powerhouses without murdering the sound quality in the p...

The Pharaoh’s Tomb: Online Escape Room Experience – PC Review

5Jan

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Pharaoh’s Tomb: Online Escape Room Experience – PC Review

Wolf Escape Games has made a habit of dropping players into strange situations and calmly asking them to think their way out, and with The Pharaoh’s Tomb, the studio dives headfirst into ancient mystery. This is the fourth escape game in their catalogue, and having reviewed both Hallows Hill and Phantom's Hour it feels like a confident step forward rather than a simple repeat of past ideas. Swapping modern locations for dusty ruins and long-forgotten secrets, the game invites you to step into a cinematic puzzle adventure inspired by classic archaeological tales and golden-age detective fiction. Set in Cairo, 1901, you play as Sherlock and Watson, and the setup is immediately enticing. A priceless artefact has vanished, a lost heiress, clues point to Egypt, and an ancient tomb hides answ...

5Dec

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

Capsule Dishwasher Review

We’ve all been there, the mountain of plates after dinner, staring back at you like some kind of ceramic Everest. Sure, full-size dishwashers exist, but what if you don’t have the space? Or you’re renting, travelling, or simply hate the idea of installing yet another appliance? Enter The Capsule, the new countertop dishwasher from Loch Electronics. It promises to take the pain out of dish duty while sipping water (just 2.6 litres on a quick wash!) and even sprinkles in some sci-fi flair with UV light drying (perhaps useful for sterilising gamepads?). It doesn’t need plumbing; instead, it runs on two external tanks, one for clean water and one for waste. This makes it great to have within a flat or even a camper van. More Time for Life, Less Scrubbing! It sounds like the ultimate “lazy...

26Nov

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Anno 117: Pax Romana – PC Review

Every few years, the Anno series decides to take us somewhere new. We have built Renaissance trading hubs, industrial powerhouses, futuristic colonies in space, and deep-sea utopias. Anno 117: Pax Romana marks the first time the franchise marches back into ancient history and plants its eagle standard firmly in the Roman Empire. It is a bold move. Ancient Rome is one of the most overused settings in gaming, yet somehow rarely done justice on a strategic, city-building scale. Frontier provinces, political intrigue, marble megastructures, legions marching across dusty plains, it is all ripe for the taking. The question is whether Pax Romana manages to feel like a true Anno game while embracing the grandeur and brutality of the Empire it portrays. A Grand Strategy Worthy of an Emperor Th...

5Nov

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Jurassic World Evolution 3 – PC Review

Ever since the first Evolution game, dinosaur-park management sims have had a special place in my heart: equal parts “wow, a T-rex!” and “oh no, a T-rex!” With Jurassic World Evolution 3, Frontier asks: what if you could really play god over scaly, roaring beasts, sculpt your own island, and maybe, just maybe, watch your park go from pristine dream to absolute prehistoric meltdown? Released on October 21, 2025, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, the game arrives with the promise of deeper systems, bigger creative freedom and, yes, more “life finds a way” moments than ever. "Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming." It’s the third major chapter in the Jurassic World Evolution series, so naturally, I went in expecting a little more than ...

The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack – PC Review

17Oct

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

The Sims 4: Adventure Awaits Expansion Pack – PC Review

Every so often, The Sims 4 drops an expansion that makes you forget all about bills, deadlines, and whatever existential spiral your Sims were currently facing. Adventure Awaits is exactly that kind of escape. It bursts open the familiar suburban loop and hands your Sims a backpack, a bug net, and a suspiciously optimistic travel brochure. "It's a Quest. It's a Quest for Fun!" Suddenly, the world isn’t about upgrading bathrooms or perfecting grilled cheese recipes; it’s about chasing fireflies, camping under skies brighter than your Sim’s aspirations, and building stories that unfold far beyond the picket fence. It’s the expansion that says, “Put the phone down, we’re going outside.” Gameplay At its heart, Adventure Awaits is all about movement, not just through space, but through ...