Skip to main content

Japanese robot is excellent at mobile puzzler Puzzles & Dragons

Just as with chess, checkers, and recently Go, machines have beaten us at another game of our own design: the hugely popular Japanese mobile game Puzzles & Dragons. This match-3 game with RPG elements has consistently been one of the top grossing apps of the last few years. Japanese YouTube user Junya Sakamoto built a robot that can play the game on a smart phone, with an attached laptop analyzing the best move to unleash a torrent of combos. (via Kotaku)

The rig doesn’t appear to be purpose-built for playing mindless mobile games, of course. Another video uploaded by Sakamoto shows him operating the phone from sleep mode entirely with verbal commands. The video shows off a variety of apps: browsing websites, dictating text, dealing with alarms, asking for directions, etc. While perhaps an overwrought solution to hands-free phone use for an able-bodied person, this could be a real boon to someone who might not have the manual dexterity to operate a smartphone, but who still wants access to all the conveniences that it affords.

Recommended Videos

Puzzles & Dragons (2012) is available on iOS and Android for free, but features in-app purchases, which have added up to billions in revenue for developer GungHo. An article on Gamasutra about coercive monetization techniques in free-to-play games cited it as being particularly masterful at manipulating players into spending money. Accordingly, GungHo can’t be particularly pleased at the notion of robots that can play the game with uncanny precision.

Will Fulton
Former Staff Writer, Gaming
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Steam delists hundreds of adult games
Steam Games

Why it matters: Vague policies on platforms like Steam risk chilling developer creativity, especially for indie creators tackling edgy themes, while raising broader concerns about content freedom in gaming amid global regulations.

The news: Valve quietly updated its Steamworks guidelines to ban content violating payment processors' rules, targeting "certain kinds" of adult-only material that's not properly labeled or age-gated.

Read more
Loved Expedition 33’s combat? You should try this indie rock RPG
An evil corporate throne room in Fretless.

It's been over a month since I finished everything there was to do in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and yet I still found myself craving more. I had my qualms with what direction the story took in the final act, but the combat had me hooked and never let go. The satisfaction of mastering parry timing and crafting the perfect build with the Pictos and Luminas was more than enough motivation to finish the story and take down every optional challenge the world had to throw at me.

While I could go back and mess with the difficulty modifiers for a new challenge, I instead found a hidden gem of an RPG that scratches that same itch for tactical but reactive combat, but with a few unique twists that have more than filled that void.

Read more
How long is Donkey Kong Bananza?
Donkey Kong and Pauline blast the enviornment in Donkey Kong Bananza.,

We only had to wait one month after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch to get our first shiny new 3D platformer. However, it isn't a new Mario game like you might've assumed, but DK taking center stage. Donkey Kong Bananza is all about smashing and digging your way with Pauline to the planet's core while facing off against a cast of villains. Being able to terraform the levels completely changes the pace of a normal platformer, but does it mean you can bypass everything and finish the game in a few hours? What if you are the type of person who wants to get every collectible there is? In either case, you might be surprised at how Donkey Kong Bananza actually is. After playing the game from start to finish, here's how long you can expect to spend playing Donkey Kong Bananza.

How long to beat Donkey Kong Bananza?

Read more