@darthrahul
I write and ramble about movies and games. Words: GLHF on Newsweek, Video Games on SI, Men's Journal, IGN India | Day Zero Podcast | ๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ฎ when not shitposting. ๐ฉ https://thescreenzone.com/portfolio
(some of) you asked for it, and we're giving it to you.
Day Zero video episodes are now available on Spotify.
So you can see how hard Rishi makes it for me to pick frames for thumbnails.
The last week in the games industry has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Studio closures, leadership changes...
Suffice to say, this might be our most important episode yet. Available now you know where.
New Day Zero pod has us glazing and crashing out over PlayStation for all the right and wrong reasons.
Available on substack and the usual podcast services.
And yes, we've changed the schedule. New episodes every Tuesday so you start out your week with us ๐ค
Last week we attended NVIDIA's hands-on session for GeForce Now cloud gaming due for an official launch in India soon. While we didn't get a concrete launch date or a price, NVIDIA showed enough to give us a modicum of confidence regarding its rollout.
dayzeromedia.substack.com/p/nvidia-gef...
Iโm not a fan of, or good at, souls-like games. Nioh 3 will be the first one Iโll beat. The relentless pace of the Nioh games has always stood out from the crowd, and the third instalment ups the thrill by taking a few pages, nay, borrowing Ninja Gaidenโs scroll.
www.gamewatcher.com/reviews/nioh...
Something spicy this week as we talk about game preservation and the culture of killing games before we even give them a chance.
Is GTA 6 Killing Video Games Culture? | And why hype for Highguard did more bad than good. Also, Nioh 3 impressions!
dayzeromedia.substack.com/p/gta-6-disc...
On the surface, Xbox seems to be supporting Indian developers quite a lot. But how much of that is actually visible to console gamers? We discuss all that and more in the latest instalment of Day Zero.
In the spirit of the overbearing weight of doomerism, new podcast is out.
๐ฎXbox Isnโt Dead but Sure Is on Life-Support
@darthrahul.bsky.social and I discuss:
๐คฆโโ๏ธXboxโs latest ๐ฎ๐ณmarketing efforts
โ๏ธ cloud gaming reception
โฌ๏ธ Xbox Game Pass and controller sales
๐ง๐๐ป
open.substack.com/pub/dayzerom...
Behold! Our longest episode of Day Zero (yet) has arrived! A complete blast as we reminisce about the best video games we played in the year of our lord 2025. Hitting your inboxes NOW ๐จ๐ง
Absolutely loved having our first special guest Karan!
New day, new console beating Xbox in relevance? New Day Zero episode out now on the usual places.
Tune in to hear us discuss another cancelled Gears-of-War-like PS5 exclusive & the importance of cheap consoles in India.
If you know the name "Mitashi", you'll enjoy this one.
I also know that the launch version of the game had issues with hardware ray tracing. These results are from the latest build with the update that came earlier today.
INR 5499/$69.99 for this performance, more than one month in. Kinda shameful tbh.
The above screenshot was captured at 4K on my system with an RTX 4080 Super and Ryzen 7 5700X3D. Ray tracing on, DLSS performance mode enabled, giving us 41fps with crunchy image quality. With frame gen, that goes to 82fps.
Think of people on RTX 30 series or older AMD GPUs.
Screenshot from The Outer Worlds 2 at 4K, with ray tracing, DLSS performance mode enabled, showing a frame rate counter at 41fps on a system with an Nvidia Geforce RTX 4080 Super and Ryzen 7 5700X3D.
I've said in previous episodes of Day Zero that I'm liking The Outer Worlds 2. However, it got some doodoo optimisation.
At 4K 'high' with ray tracing, you NEED frame generation to push above 60fps. RT Off? Need heavy upscaling. It's CPU-heavy.
RIP low-spec PC gamer bros ๐ข
Admittedly, I didn't use my PS5 much this year. Not much at all.
It is, ultimately, an exclusives machine. And there weren't many exclusives. Also missing are the many hours of Fall Guys parties I joined to chill with friends.
Here's my PlayStation Wrap-up 2025 edition.
ICYMI on the latest Day Zero episode we discussed the state of all PlayStation Studios projects, and there are a bunch that, on paper, are more interesting than GTA 6 for 2026.
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Substack!
Time for something new ๐
Day Zero is a new podcast where
@rishialwani.bsky.social and I break down the bits & bytes behind the decisions that make and break the worldโs greatest entertainment industry ๐ฎ
Thank you PlayStation India for providing a copy for review. Full review at the link here โ๏ธ
thescreenzone.com/blog/ghost-o...
Following this, I'd like to see Sucker Punch do something different. While I like the focus on iteration, I don't want to wait another 5 years for a Ghost game. Let this franchise rest here at its peak. Whatever they make, I'll be seated.๐ฅท
There are plenty of excuses to get into skirmishes & get handsomely rewarded for them. Loved hunting bounties. Each of the Yลtei Six has something to teach Atsu, both in combat and outside of it. Increased enemy variety and expanded toolset = chaos โ๏ธ
This may be an under-discussed aspect, but Ghost of Yลtei is one of, if not the most polished, open-world games Iโve ever played. Dividing the map into various zones, each showcasing different biomes, was smart. Strong art direction + sweeping vistas = zen โจ
I've spent almost 50 hours with Ghost of Yลtei and was thoroughly impressed. The sequel is a refinement of the modern, if bloated, open-world video game, balancing narrative heft with sharp improvements in combat and exploration, all delivered with exceptional polish. ๐ฎ๐
welp, time for one of these posts.
I'm looking for paid work in entertainment media.
Previously worked at Newsweek, Men's Journal, Sports Illustrated, IGN India.
I can do news, reviews, features, etc on video games, movies, & bit of consumer tech โ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฌ
Portfolio/contact in bio/DM ๐
I also reviewed the season premiere.
tldr it's still great
www.newsweek.com/entertainmen...
I spoke with Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and more creators and cast of Mythic Quest. We talked about the upcoming season's new topics, and how working on a workplace comedy about the games industry has changed their perspective on the medium.
www.newsweek.com/entertainmen...
Cloud Strife sits beside a piano as keyboard prompts for playing it are displayed beside him in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
I've been playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC for a while, and I present to you the funniest moment I encountered. The moment I knew keyboard+mouse players are rekt xD
Nintendo Switch 2 console, dock, and Joy-Con holder with the logo on top left.
Day one (if it makes here day one).
(and if it launched with OLED option).
I had the opportunity to speak with Benjamin Davis again about playing Rupert Thorne in Creature Commandos & his ambitions for playing more DC villains. We also touched on Hideo Kojima & Rockstar Games.
www.newsweek.com/entertainmen...
Yeah, there weren't any new gaming announcements, but plenty of gaming adaptation updates. Helldivers movie, Horizon Zero Dawn retelling Aloy's story, Ghost of Tsushima anime, TLOU S2 release date...
Here are all of PlayStation's CES 2025 announcements
www.si.com/videogames/n...
RTX 50 GPUs, new laptops, more AI, and Geforce Now coming to Steam Deck and India - Nvidia had a lot of announcements at CES. Here's everything.
www.newsweek.com/entertainmen...
Two aliens from the "Concord: Tale of the Implacable" episode in Secret Level.
I watched the Concord episode in Secret Level and I really liked it! This universe had potential, shame it started with the game it did. Loved this OG Freegunner crew's story.
Been hooked to Daniel Pemberton's killer music score for it since. That man cooked.
