By Amber Neely
Thursday, April 09, 2020, 11:40 am PT (02:40 pm ET)

Microsoft may be forced to delay the release of the Surface Neo and Windows 10X as a whole to focus on single-screen uses, according to sources within Microsoft.

In October of 2019, Microsoft revealed a future product that it didn’t plan on shipping until 2020 —the Surface Neo. It consisted of a dual-screen notebook with an extra keyboard and stylus support. The devices were set to ship with Microsoft’s new branch of Windows called Windows 10X.

On Thursday, rumors surfaced that Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay had said the Surface Neo dual-screen Windows 10X devices wouldn’t ship in 2020. Microsoft intends Windows 10X as a new, modern form of Windows 10 designed from the ground-up for dual-screen device. Furthermore, it guts many of the older Windows 10 features in favor of increased security and a more streamlined experience.

Dual-screen devices with Windows 10X were slated to ship around the holiday season of 2020. Likely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft appears to have fallen behind in developing the Surface Neo and Windows 10X.

Microsoft has allegedly said they would not be allowing third-party dual-screen devices to ship with Windows 10X either, according to ZDNet.

In February, Microsoft had stated that they were hit hardest in their “More Personal Computing Segment,” a part of the company that deals with Windows licensing, accessories, all of Microsoft’s gaming initiatives, and Surface hardware.

Microsoft has not as of yet commented on the report.

Ever since Banjo and Kazooie were officially confirmed as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighters last summer, rumours and speculation surrounding new games and remasters for Rare’s legendary series have been doing the rounds online. One such rumour suggests that Playtonic, a studio housing plenty of ex-Rare staff, is helping Rare, Microsoft, or both to create a new title.

Today, and not for the first time, Playtonic Games has taken to social media to gently let down any fans believing such rumours to be true.

Playtonic says, “it’s never fun to come out and say these things, but we’re trying to avoid hopes being pinned on us”.

What the Yooka-Laylee developer really is currently up to is being kept under wraps for now, but it might be best to avoid dreaming about any brand new Banjo-Kazooie games guh-huh-ing onto your Switch. Is guh-huh-ing a word? It is now.

We’ve seen quite a lot of rogue-lite games in the past few years, but HyperParasite is quite a unique one. Taking place within a typical cyberpunk cityscape, an alien parasite has invaded the planet and is looking to leech onto every unfortunate soul that happens to get in its way. The twist here is that you get to play as the parasite, and all the heroic characters defending the city are your enemies. It’s a neat little spin on a game that otherwise borrows its aesthetics and gameplay structure from other examples of the genre.

With solid twin-stick controls, HyperParasite boasts a wide range of characters that you can play as. At first, though, the game can be a bit of a grind. You’ll only have access to a few characters, and in order to unlock more, you’ll need to kill them during your run and transport its brain to the in-game store. That’s not all though; once the characters’ brains are safely stored away, you’ll need to invest precious currency in order to actually unlock the character. Once you’ve got a few under your belt, the game becomes a lot more manageable, as you can always infect a new host if your current one gets killed. When playing as the parasite in its pure form, however, caution is highly advised, as one hit will immediately kill you and end your run.

A mix of offence and defence is required if you’re to successfully navigate the stages within HyperParasite. Whether playing as the parasite in its pure form or as an infected host, you’re granted the ability to dash, which makes you invulnerable for a split second as you execute it. Each character also has an enhanced version of their main attack, so, for example, the hobo can blast his trolley towards enemies, ploughing through several at once, and the police officer can power up his handgun so it shoots out gigantic bullets. It’s worth saving these abilities for boss battles, or for when you’re feeling completely overwhelmed by enemies.

Overall, the gameplay is pretty solid, with the unlockable characters proving to be a great incentive to dive in again and again. It takes a great deal of patience during your initial sessions to keep playing, however, because without having a decent range of hosts to choose from, you’re at risk of dying over and over again if you’re stuck within the parasite’s pure form. Thankfully, the enemies do tend to telegraph their attacks from a mile off, so you can mitigate the danger significantly once you know how to look out for this.

Unfortunately, the graphics and overall presentation don’t hold up quite as well at the gameplay itself. The environments are nice enough and display an ’80s aesthetic that works rather well, but the character models themselves lack detail, resulting in a bit of difficulty telling them apart during the more hectic moments. We also noticed some slowdown here and there, but thankfully this is minimal. If you’re not too fussed about detailed visuals, then HyperParasite will no doubt keep you hooked with its unique parasite gameplay mechanic and exciting gun-play.

Yesterday, Sony revealed the upcoming PlayStation 5’s brand new controller, the DualSense. Our chums over at Push Square have details on everything you need to know about if you’re thinking of grabbing a PS5 later this year, but we couldn’t help but notice one small – and very silly – detail ourselves.

Actually brought to our attention thanks to the tweet below, we’ve realised that the controller’s shiny new ‘Create’ button looks strangely familiar. We’re not sure what the design is really supposed to represent exactly, but it sure does look an awful lot like the honk of everyone’s favourite indie goose.

Since launching on Switch last September, Untitled Goose Game has also waddled on over to the PS4. If a sequel should be released later down the line on PS5, wouldn’t that just make for the perfect honk button?

Do you like the new PS5 controller design? Think it’ll be any nicer than the Switch’s Pro Controller? Give us a honk in the comments.