Jason, Author at Thumb Culture

15May

By JasonNo Comments

Whirlight: No Time To Trip – PC Review

There’s something comforting about a good point-and-click adventure game. Maybe it’s the weird characters, the ridiculous puzzles, or just the fact that they let you slow down and enjoy the world instead of sprinting between explosions every five seconds. Whatever the reason, Whirlight: No Time To Trip absolutely nails that old-school adventure feeling while still managing to feel modern enough to avoid becoming stuck in the past. After checking out the preview a while back, I was already interested in what the Willy Morgan devs, ImaginaryLab, was building. The humour landed well, the art style looked fantastic, and the puzzles showed real promise. Now that the full game is here, I can happily say the final result delivers on pretty much everything I hoped it would. Time For Adventure!...

11May

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

iFi Audio GO link 2 DAC Review

In the rapidly evolving landscape of portable audio, the transition from dedicated bulky stacks to "dongle DACs" has been nothing short of a revolution. Among the titans of this industry, iFi Audio has consistently carved out a niche for itself by blending quirky British engineering with high-fidelity performance. The original GO link (review here) was a runaway success, praised for its affordability and surprisingly mature sound signature. Now, with the release of the iFi GO link 2, the company aims to solidify its dominance in the entry-level ultra-portable market. The Ultra-Portable Powerhouse Redefined The GO link 2 arrives at a time when competition is fiercer than ever. With rivals from FiiO, Moondrop, and Hidizs flooding the market with sub £100 options, a sequel needs to be more ...

7May

By JasonNo Comments

PC Reviews

Global Rescue – PC Review

If you have ever sat in traffic on a local road thinking, "I could run this town better if they just gave me a blue light and a siren button," then developers PeDePe GbR have heard your prayers. Global Rescue is the latest "save the world from your swivel chair" simulator to hit the PC, and it is a weirdly personal journey into the heart of emergency management. Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One, do you read me? Most games of this category tuck you away in a fictional metropolis like "Night City" or "Liberty City." But PeDePe GbR, the mad geniuses behind City Bus Manager, decided that was not enough. They wanted us to suffer, or thrive, in our own backyards. Naturally, I did not pick London or New York. I picked my old hometown of Folkestone. Why manage the NYPD when you can manage the ...

17Apr

By JasonNo Comments

Hardware & Tech

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...