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One of the many beautiful things about the indie gaming scene is that there's always something to check out. So if you don't fancy playing Elden Ring: Nightreign this weekend, there are plenty of other new options. To help you keep up with what's going on in the space, here's our weekly indie game roundup.

As a heads up, we won't be publishing an edition of this roundup next week. Not because there won't be enough games to highlight. Quite the opposite: Summer Game Fest kicks off on Friday June 6. There will be literally hundreds of game announcements and updates. There's also the small matter of the Nintendo Switch 2's arrival in a matter of days.

You can check out what to expect from SGF and find out how to watch the various showcases in our preview. We'll be bringing you news on titles of all shapes and sizes from Summer Game Fest Live, Xbox Games Showcase and other events. We'll also be on the ground in Los Angeles to go hands on with many of the newly announced games. Keep up with our coverage here on Engadget throughout SGF.

In the meantime, there are a host of new games to savor, as well as peeks at what's coming your way in the coming weeks and months. Let's get to it.

Thinky Direct

This showcase from Thinky Games was jam packed with captivating puzzle and mystery games. Two in particular caught my eye. The first is a very intriguing first-person archery puzzler. In He Who Watches, you'll walk on walls, rotate rooms and use a bow and arrow to solve puzzles. It reminds me of the shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. A demo is out now on Steam and the full game should arrive this fall.

The other game that really stood out to me was Echo Weaver, a so-called "Metroidbraina." Unlike in many Metroidvanias, where you need to find power ups or new abilities to progress, here you'll move forward by acquiring knowledge, including figuring out your character's special abilities.

There aren't any procedurally generated elements here. As with the likes of Outer Wilds, each run is time-based. You can find ways to extend the limit or sacrifice some time to pass through a barrier. Echo Weaver is coming to Steam and Xbox (including Game Pass).

There was lots of other interesting stuff in the first-ever Thinky Direct. I really enjoy the chill train puzzler Railbound and it was neat to find out that there's a level editor available in beta. Kiko's Apple Adventure is an adorable-looking block-pushing game in which the aim is to nudge apples onto rafts. It just arrived on Steam.

The Button Effect features a museum with a lot of buttons, each with a purpose for you to find out. It seems like a certain Taskmaster task taken to new extremes. The first public demo just hit Steam.

Nonolith is another compelling game that was featured in the showcase. In this puzzle platformer, you can copy and paste blocks to create openings, bridges and staircases. At first glance, it reminds me a little of Animal Well. Monolith is coming to Steam in 2026.

New releases

One thing definitely worth getting excited about this week if you own a particular yellow console with a crank owner is the start of Playdate Season Two. Every Thursday throughout the six-week season (which costs $39), two new games arrive on Panic's diminutive device.

The first batch includes the charming-looking Dig! Dig! Dino! and Fulcrum Defender. The latter of those is from FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach studio Subset Games, whose co-founder Jay Ma went through hell to make Fulcrum Defender.

One of the titles included in the season, Blippo+, is a full-motion video game. It will have weekly episodic updates for 12 weeks, extending far beyond the rest of the Season Two window. The first episode is out now.

Trails is a lovely puzzle game that just landed on Steam. You'll guide sandships to their destination by drawing a path for them. You can't take a ship through the same square twice, and you'll need to make sure they don't crash into each other. There are obstacles, of course, and you'll sometimes have to collect and deliver cargo.

I've enjoyed my time with Trails so far. Developer PurpleSloth gradually teaches you how to play through trial and error, and it adds new hazards and mechanics at a nice pace, though the puzzles do become quite tricky.

You may have spent many pleasant hours cleaning grime off of various objects and iconic landmarks in PowerWash Simulator (which is set to get a sequel later this year). It's time to flip the script a bit in Spray Paint Simulator, from North Star Video Games and publisher Whitethorn Games.

The concept is pretty similar, in that you'll complete jobs for clients by painting certain items or environments. There are no time limits here and a feature that lets you mask an area to ensure you get clean lines is a nice touch. If marking your territory on public or private property with sick, definitely-not-ugly tags is more your thing, there's a free spray mode that you can play alone or with a friend in co-op.

Spray Paint Simulator is out now on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It's on Game Pass too. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch on June 19.

Eternal Evil debuted on Steam back in 2022, and two and a half years later, the survival horror game has made the jump to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It has mostly positive reviews on Steam and seems very much in the vein of the Resident Evil series (it even has a dual narrative with two characters to play). You'll take on vampires that get stronger as they feed in this game from solo developer Honor Games.

How could I not include a game with a name like Trash Goblin? This is a cozy shopkeeping title from Spilt Milk Studios that just came out of early access on Steam. You'll unearth, restore and upcycle trinkets to sell to customers so you can upgrade your shop. It seems one you might chill out with.

Elsewhere, To a T, a game we mentioned last week, is out now on Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass, PS5, Steam and the Epic Games Store. Cowboy-themed life sim Cowboy Country just landed on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch as well.

Upcoming

I've had my eye on Kingmakers for a while. It's a completely bananas-looking blend of third-person shooting and strategy game from Redemption Road in which you travel back in time to a medieval war, bringing modern weapons and vehicles with you. Publisher tinyBuild revealed during a showcase this week that Kingmakers will debut in early access on Steam on October 8. Really looking forward to that one.

Beyond the Board is a moody-looking adventure that takes a rook... well, beyond a chess board. It takes inspiration from puzzle games like Limbo and Monument Valley, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that the story is told through visual storytelling and soundscapes rather than dialogue. This game from Fragile Shapes Studio doesn't yet have a release window, but you can check out a demo on Steam now.

An extended demo for a fast-paced, melee-focused dungeon runner called Bloodthief dropped this week. It looks like a lo-fi, medieval spin on Ghostrunner (a series I enjoy but am quite bad at) but with vampires. So yes, I will be digging into this when I have a chance. The original demo is said to have 20 or so hours of gameplay and there's even more in the extended version, which will be featured in Steam Next Fest. Bloodthief, from developer Blargis, is slated to arrive later this year.

I'm going to close this edition out with a game you'll probably never be able to play. Developer Kenney says that, a few years back, they helped a young Star Wars fan make a game based on The Mandalorian after a Make-a-Wish connected the pair. It's a heartwarming story, and the game looks quite charming based on the clip that Kenney shared on BlueSky. However, for legal reasons, it'll likely stay under lock and key, sadly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playdate-season-two-spray-paint-simulator-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-110035699.html?src=rss

Kopernica AI platform tracks over 790 body pointsCombines vision, voice, and psychology to “understand” complex human emotionsContinuously learns users' emotional patterns to personalize its responses with empathyIn recent years, artificial intelligence has rapidly advanced in understanding human language and behavior, yet the challenge of truly grasping human emotions remains a frontier.However Neurologyca says its new AI system can “understand” human emotions, sense stress and anxiety, and adapt accordingly.Kopernica integrates multiple sensory inputs and, unlike traditional AI which relies primarily on text or speech, uses a combination of computer vision, natural language processing, and personality modeling.Multi-Modal SensingThe system monitors over 790 points of reference on the human body, seven times more than comparable market solutions.By using 3D pattern recognition, it can record subtle body language and facial expressions.In order to find emotional clues that go beyond words, it also examines vocal tone and rhythmic patterns.Furthermore, Kopernica continuously learns an individual’s emotional trends and interaction preferences.This enables the system to personalize and be more empathetic in engagement over time.Such multi-modal signal fusion is touted as the first technology to combine visual, auditory, and psychological signals to infer complex states like motivation, cognitive load, stress, and attention."Today’s AI systems understand what we say, but they can’t understand how we feel," said Juan Graña, Co-founder and CEO of Neurologyca."With Kopernica, we’ve created the human context layer that will empower these systems to not only capture nuanced human emotions but respond with empathy, adapt their behavior, and genuinely enhance the human-machine relationship.”The promise of an emotionally smart AI is attractive, but the huge question remains: Can AI really understand human emotions in any meaningful sense?The human capacity is very complex. It is shaped by history, context, individual nuance and cultural dimensions that even the most advanced AI system will overlook.It goes beyond simply detecting anxiety or stress markers from micro-expressions and vocal patterns. The interpretation of what caused these expressions and the appropriate response is an issue that most likely requires human judgment.There is also the issue of privacy. Neurologyca claims Kopernica performs real-time processing locally on devices, anonymizing data and ensuring no identifiable information is stored or shared without explicit consent.Yet, any system that claims to consistently monitor human physiological and psychological signals, especially in public settings, will always have privacy issues to deal with.You might also likeHere's our roundup of the best AI phonesWe've also listed the best business laptops for all budgetsSimplify to accelerate: effective enterprise security and networking strategies for 2025

A number of Sonos speakers are on sale right now at Sonos direct and Amazon. This includes the well-regarded Era 300 smart speaker, which is on sale for $359. This particular model is one of Sonos' newest, and it has rarely gone on sale in the past.

We enjoyed the Era 300 enough to give it a score of 80 in our review. It has excellent sound quality and offers a premium experience that far surpasses other products in the company's lineup, even the Era 100. This is also true when compared to rival speakers like Apple's HomePod.

It's simple to set up and offers the company's proprietary Trueplay tuning system. This feature optimizes the sound of the speaker to the unique acoustics of a room by leveraging an internal microphone. It measures how sound reflects off surfaces and adjusts the EQ to match. It's pretty nifty.

As for connectivity, it can pair with another Era 300 speaker for a true stereo experience. It also includes a Bluetooth receiver and line-in options. Of course, the speaker integrates with just about every streaming music service. The built-in mic also allows for voice assistant control, but only with Siri and Alexa. Google Assistant is left out of the party.

This speaker goes all-in on spatial audio, and the results are mixed. Sometimes it's sublime and sometimes it's kind of eh. This is more of a dig on the technology itself. It has serious potential but is still experiencing growing pains. The only real downside of this speaker is the exorbitant asking price, which has been slightly alleviated by this sale.

As previously mentioned, other Sonos products are available at a discount. This includes the Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar, which is 26 percent off at $369. These deals are available via Sonos itself. There's also an ongoing sale on portable speakers.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-sonos-era-300-is-20-percent-off-in-this-home-speaker-sale-150857725.html?src=rss

Champions League Final 2025 kicks off later today – which means it's time to figure out the best way to watch PSG vs Inter live from the Allianz Arena on Saturday, May 31.The huge soccer showdown between Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Serie A stalwarts Inter Milan is tipped for a global TV audience of more than 145 million.Football fans can watch live thanks to major sports networks such as TNT Sports and CBS, as well as online via their respective streaming apps.Ready to see the PSG-Inter showdown in Munich? Stick with us for all the latest on the 2025 Champions League Final including team news, build up, and goal updates...What is the venue for the Champions League Final?The 2024-25 Champions League Final between Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan will take place at the Munich Football Arena, Munich, Germany.The stadium is usually known as the Allianz Arena but UEFA regulations dictate the removal of stadium sponsors to provide a "clean stadium" for fixtures.The UEFA-approved Munich Football Arena previously staged the 2012 Champions League Final and the 2024 European Championship.According to UEFA, "The Munich Football Arena took less than three years to build from start to finish, and was completed on 30 April 2005." It has a capacity of 75,024 and is owned by elite German club Bayern Munich.When does the Champions League Final take place?(Image credit: Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images)The UEFA Champions League Final – as it is officially known – takes place in Munich, Germany on Saturday, May 31. The match will begin at 8pm GMT / 3pm ET.The match is a repeat of the pair's club friendly in August 2023, in which Inter Milan beat Paris St. German 2-1 away after scoring two late goals in the 81st and 83rd minute of the game.When does PSG vs Inter Milan start?Kick off: 8pm GMT / 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 5am AEST (Sun) / 12.30am IST / 9pm CET Munich time on Saturday, May 31.What time does the build up to the Champions League Final start?Good question. In the UK, the build-up to Paris v Inter in Munich will begin on TNT Sports and Discovery+ at 6pm on May 31 – two hours ahead of kick-off at 8pm.We expect the match to start bang on time.UEFA's fan park – Champions Festival, located in Munich's Olympiapark – is open from 11am to 15 mins after final whistle on Saturday, May 31 and 11am – 6pm on Sunday, 1 June.Munich is home to the Hofbrauhaus, one of the biggest bierkeller's in Germany and the fans are already there to celebrate today's festival of football.If you're planning on watching the Champions League Final, keep an eye on our live updates for the latest streaming info and build-up.