NEWS: Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Enters Gran Turismo 7 in Landmark Gaming Debut

By Jon Donnis

Xiaomi has confirmed that its high performance electric saloon, the SU7 Ultra, will be added to Gran Turismo 7 from 29 January 2026 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The car arrives as part of Update 1.67 and marks the first time a Xiaomi vehicle has appeared in the long running racing simulation series. Once the update goes live at 2.00 PM GMT+8, players around the world will be able to drive the SU7 Ultra across the game's circuits.

Gran Turismo is widely regarded as one of the most demanding racing simulations, known for its realism and selective approach to vehicle licensing. Historically, the series has focused on established performance marques, making Xiaomi's inclusion a notable moment for both the brand and the franchise. The partnership between Xiaomi and Polyphony Digital was first announced in June 2025, with the SU7 Ultra chosen to reflect the company's emphasis on performance and technological development.

Gran Turismo producer Kazunori Yamauchi personally tested the SU7 Ultra at several locations, including Beijing, the Nürburgring Nordschleife and Tsukuba Circuit. These sessions involved extensive discussions with Xiaomi EV executives and engineers. To ensure the in game car mirrors its real world counterpart, the two teams collaborated on an extremely detailed digital model. Xiaomi's vehicle dynamics specialists travelled to Polyphony Digital's studio in Fukuoka to take part in final validation work, focusing on accurately reproducing the car's handling and behaviour.

The SU7 Ultra uses Xiaomi's in house Dual V8s plus V6s Hyper Tri Motor system, producing a combined 1,548 horsepower and 1,770 Nm of torque. Built on an 800-volt electrical architecture, it accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in 1.98 seconds without one foot rollout. The chassis combines a double wishbone front suspension with a five link rear layout and dual chamber air springs with adaptive dampers, aiming to balance sharp handling with comfort. Xiaomi quotes a CLTC driving range of 630 kilometres and a rapid charging capability that takes the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 11 minutes.

As the flagship model in Xiaomi EV's range, the production SU7 Ultra made headlines in April 2025 when it tackled the Nürburgring Nordschleife with the optional Track Package fitted. It recorded a lap time of 7 minutes 4.957 seconds, setting a new record for electric executive cars on the circuit. The result was credited to its electric powertrain, torque vectoring chassis control and advanced aerodynamic design.

Lei Jun, founder, chairman and chief executive of Xiaomi Group, previously welcomed the car's selection for Gran Turismo 7, saying he was pleased that players and automotive culture fans would be able to experience Xiaomi's approach to high performance smart vehicles. During 2025, the SU7 Ultra was also displayed in markets including Spain, Singapore, Japan and Berlin, where it attracted attention from industry professionals and enthusiasts.

To mark the in game launch, Polyphony Digital will run a two week official lap time challenge at Monza within Gran Turismo 7. Players worldwide will compete using the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, linking the brand's growing real world presence with its first major step onto the virtual racing stage.

REVIEW: EBOLA VILLAGE (2026 Video Game) on Xbox

Review by Jon Donnis

EBOLA VILLAGE wears its influences proudly. This is a survival horror game rooted firmly in the traditions of the 1990s, where atmosphere matters more than spectacle and progress is earned through patience rather than guidance. Played from a first person view on Xbox, it places you in the shoes of Maria as she travels to a remote USSR village following a chilling emergency broadcast about a biological threat. What follows is a slow, oppressive descent into something deeply unsettling.

One of the game's greatest strengths is its refusal to hold the player's hand. There is no glowing waypoint, no clear signposting, and no linear route laid out for you. You are expected to explore carefully, search rooms thoroughly, manage your inventory and piece together where to go next through observation and logic. Doors stay locked until you earn the right to open them, and new paths only reveal themselves once you have truly engaged with the environment. It is refreshing, and for fans of classic survival horror, deeply satisfying.

The atmosphere does most of the heavy lifting, and it succeeds. The sound design is particularly effective, with creaking floorboards, distant thunder, and the oppressive silence inside abandoned buildings creating constant tension. Music is often absent altogether, which only heightens the unease. The setting of a bleak USSR village feels carefully considered, and the environments are detailed enough to sell the illusion without becoming distracting. The visuals are solid rather than spectacular, but they serve the mood well, which is what matters here.

Puzzles are another highlight. They are balanced and thoughtfully designed, calling back to the style of 90s horror games where solutions make sense once discovered, but rarely feel obvious at first glance. Progress requires attention to detail and an understanding of the story, encouraging players to follow the narrative closely rather than rushing ahead. Combat, when it happens, is brutal and direct, supported by a variety of weapons, realistic enemy physics, and a damage system that does not shy away from dismemberment. Boss encounters add variety and reinforce the sense of danger lurking throughout the village.

That said, EBOLA VILLAGE is not without its drawbacks. The most noticeable is its length. A full playthrough can be completed in roughly five hours, which may leave some players wanting more once the credits roll. There is also the issue of motion sickness. Extended play sessions triggered discomfort for me on several occasions, something players sensitive to this should be aware of before diving in.

Despite these issues, EBOLA VILLAGE left a strong impression. I was genuinely surprised by how effective it is at capturing the spirit of classic survival horror while presenting it through a modern first person perspective. The atmosphere is thick, the gameplay is confident, and the experience feels focused and deliberate from start to finish.

EBOLA VILLAGE is a very decent game with strong atmosphere, solid visuals, and engaging mechanics that respect the player's intelligence. I would score it a confident 8.5 out of 10.

Out Now on Xbox

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/ebola-village/9n6wqfsk8r3x

REVIEW: Black Jacket (2026 Video Game) - on Steam

Review by Jon Donnis

There is something inherently comforting about blackjack. It is simple, recognisable, and built on tension that anyone can grasp within seconds. Black Jacket takes that foundation and drags it somewhere far stranger. This is a rogue lite deckbuilder set in a hellish afterlife, where the cards bend the rules, the opponents have stories, and every hand is played for your chance at freedom. This review is based on an early demo and playtest, not the finished game, but there is already plenty here to talk about.

At its core, Black Jacket is still blackjack. You are playing against restless souls, winning their Soul coins, and trying to earn enough to bribe the ferryman and escape. The twist is that the deck no longer plays fair. Cards can force opponents to overcommit, alter card values, swap hands, let you peek into decks, or unlock hidden combinations that completely change how a hand unfolds. In practice, this works far better than it sounds on paper. There are moments where victory feels impossible, only for a carefully timed card to flip the entire table in your favour. Pulling a win out of nowhere is deeply satisfying, especially when the game has convinced you that you are already beaten.

The rogue lite structure gives each run a sense of possibility. Artifacts, card suits and curses gradually stack up, opening near endless combinations and strategies. No two runs feel quite the same, even within the limited scope of the demo. The added mechanics never feel random for the sake of it. Instead, they encourage you to think a few steps ahead, not just about the current hand, but about how your deck is evolving and what tricks you might unlock later.

Visually, the game is clean and readable, which is exactly what a card focused experience needs. Cards are easy to distinguish, extra abilities are clearly communicated, and the table never feels cluttered. Even when the rules begin to twist and bend, it remains easy to follow what is happening and why. That clarity is crucial, because without it the more complex mechanics would quickly become overwhelming.

The opponents are another interesting touch. You never see their faces, only their hands, which suits the afterlife setting and keeps the focus on play rather than spectacle. As you encounter them repeatedly, their playstyles and curses become familiar, and fragments of their stories unfold. There is a quiet ambition here to tie narrative and mechanics together, encouraging you to learn not just how they play, but who they are, and how breaking the cycle might require more than just winning hands.

That said, the demo is not without its frustrations. The unskippable tutorial is an immediate annoyance. Blackjack is one of the most widely understood card games in the world, and being forced through basic explanations feels unnecessary, especially for players drawn to the game precisely because they enjoy card games. A simple option to skip would go a long way.

There is also the lingering question of longevity. For all the clever twists and added systems, this is still blackjack at heart. The new mechanics are fun and often genuinely clever, but it is hard not to wonder how long they can sustain interest on their own. Sometimes adding too many layers to a very simple formula risks working against it, rather than enhancing it. The demo hints at depth, but it also raises doubts about whether that depth will be enough to keep players coming back run after run.

In its current form, Black Jacket is an enjoyable and intriguing experiment. The idea of giving cards extra powers and letting players bend the rules works, and when it clicks, it really clicks. As a demo, it leaves a positive impression, even if it does not yet feel essential. There is a solid foundation here, but it feels like it needs more modes, more variety, or a stronger hook to truly elevate it beyond an interesting take on a classic. So far, so good. The final release will need to push harder if Black Jacket wants to deal itself a winning hand.

Wishlist on Steam at

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3100370/Black_Jacket/

REVIEW: Planet of Lana (2025 Mobile Video Game) - on Android

Review by Jon Donnis

Planet of Lana arrives on mobile as a thoughtful, quietly confident puzzle platformer that wears its influences openly. Developed by Wishfully Studios, this 2025 release brings its cinematic ambitions to Android devices, placing players in control of Lana, a teenage girl navigating a beautifully imagined world under siege by hostile alien machines. It is a gentle game at heart, but one that understands how to layer tension, mystery and emotion without ever raising its voice.

From the outset, the presentation does a huge amount of the heavy lifting. The hand painted visual style is striking, clearly inspired by the softness and warmth of Studio Ghibli films, even when depicting a planet scarred by mechanical invasion. Lush landscapes, subtle animation and careful use of colour create a world that feels alive and worth saving. There is a constant undercurrent of unease, balanced by moments of calm beauty, which keeps the pacing taut without ever feeling rushed.

The story is simple but effective. Lana is searching for her abducted sister, and that clear motivation anchors the adventure nicely. There is no excess exposition, and the narrative unfolds naturally as you move through the world. It works because the game trusts its imagery and atmosphere to do the talking, which suits the genre well.

Gameplay follows a side scrolling puzzle platform structure, heavily influenced by cinematic titles such as Inside. Lana is not a fighter, and neither is her cat like companion Mui. Instead, progress comes through observation, timing and cooperation. Lana can swim and issue commands, while Mui's smaller size and agility allow it to reach places she cannot. Puzzles are built around this partnership, asking you to think carefully about positioning, timing and environmental interaction. Mui's ability to hypnotise certain creatures and, later on, the power to temporarily tame creatures and hack machines, add welcome layers without overcomplicating things.

The puzzles themselves are well executed and nicely paced, even if they rarely feel truly original. They are satisfying to solve, logically structured, and varied enough to avoid monotony. The real hook is how seamlessly they are integrated into the world, rather than feeling like obvious obstacles placed in your path.

Stealth plays a key role, as Lana and Mui cannot directly attack enemies. Avoiding detection and using the environment to bypass threats keeps encounters tense, especially when timing is tight. It reinforces the vulnerability of the characters and fits the tone of the story well.

Where the mobile version stumbles slightly is in its controls. Directing Mui can be fiddly at times, and touch screen input does not always feel as precise as the game demands. This is clearly a title designed with a gamepad in mind. Using a controller dramatically improves the experience, making movement and commands feel far more natural. While it is possible to connect the game to a larger screen and use a Bluetooth controller, that does somewhat undermine the appeal of having the game on a phone in the first place.

Despite these issues, Planet of Lana remains a strong example of the puzzle platformer genre. It may not reinvent the formula, but it executes its ideas with confidence, charm and a clear artistic vision. The sense of mystery carries you forward, and the bond between Lana and Mui gives the journey real emotional weight.

Planet of Lana is a beautiful, absorbing adventure that occasionally shows the limitations of its mobile format. With the right controller, it becomes a genuinely rewarding experience. Even with its lack of originality in places, it stands out thanks to its atmosphere, pacing and visual splendour. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and would comfortably score Planet of Lana a solid 8 out of 10.

Out Now on Android

play.google.com

NEWS: Maestro All Aboard! Conducting Chaos, Classical and Cannon Fire in Virtual Reality

By Jon Donnis

Maestro, the virtual reality conducting game developed for Meta Quest, was originally released in 2024 and quickly positioned itself as one of the platform's most distinctive musical titles. Built around hand tracking and real-world conducting techniques, the base game places players on the podium of a full orchestra, allowing them to shape performances through physical movement rather than traditional controller inputs.

The core experience sees players step onto fully rendered concert stages and conduct interactive orchestral performances with complete visual and audio immersion. Maestro features a wide range of music across thirty tracks, spanning classical composers such as Beethoven and Vivaldi alongside well known cinematic scores from franchises including Star Wars and Harry Potter. Players can also customise performances by unlocking different stages, costumes, gloves and batons. The game was named Meta's Game of the Year for 2024.

On December 17, 2025, Maestro expanded with the release of All Aboard!, a pirate themed downloadable content pack rather than a standalone release. The DLC introduces a nautical setting and a new musical programme inspired by the sea, while retaining the same conducting mechanics as the base game.

All Aboard! centres on a fictional voyage aboard La Cultivée, with players leading a rough-edged pirate orchestra through five new pieces. The tracklist includes Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt's He's a Pirate and Zimmer's Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, the traditional sea shanty Wellerman, Rimski Korsakov's The Shipwreck from Scheherazade, and the overture from Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony.

The update frames its content with theatrical pirate imagery, inviting players to assemble a buccaneer crew and conduct amid canvas sails and seafaring atmosphere. Despite the change in tone, the DLC is designed to integrate directly into Maestro's existing structure, offering an additional themed experience rather than altering the underlying game.

Out Now on MetaQuest

https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/all-aboard/1310468043816380