Check out the Gemini-powered Google Home Speaker, plus thoughts on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Rhythm Heaven Groove and more.

Google is likely no stranger to at least some part of your household, but it’s still been a number of years since the company has entered the speaker market. The Google Home Speaker changes all that with a device that embraces a familiar look, but brings a brand new friend along for the ride.

At face value, Google has made an appealingly unassuming device with the Google Home Speaker. It’s 3D knitting finish that uses 37% recycled material, though surprisingly flexible, should blend in well with almost any household, as should its relatively small formfactor (86.6 mm x 107 mm). For longtime Google users, it sits somewhere between the Google Nest Mini and Nest Audio, which feels like the ideal sweet spot for most use cases. Available in both Hazel (black) and Porcelain (white) variants, it’s a little disappointing that we don’t get the green and red colourways that some international markets have been treated to, but that does mean there’s the potential of new colourways in the future.

While I prefer the smaller formfactor, it does come with a few trade-offs to its audio quality. With a 58mm driver, the Google Home Speaker is more than capable of handling a pretty varied array of music tracks and podcasts, with an even balance between the mids, highs and bass – all with a 360-degree output, but it simply isn’t able to pack the same amount of punch as Google’s own Nest Audio device. That said, it considering the legacy device is no longer widely available, it’s hard to be too picky and for the average buyer, this will more than suffice.

Plus, if you are looking for premium audio and already own a Google TV Streamer, you are actually able to pair two of the speakers for a spatial surround-sound audio experience, although unfortunately I was unable to assess the functionality (only a single speaker was provided for testing).

The real bread and butter of the Google Home Speaker though is the addition of Gemini, and it’s here that the unit comes into its own. As you would expect, you can easily access the breadth of Google’s Gemini technology from a simple voice command, and during testing it was always incredibly responsive and free from long delays. A new light ring at the bottom of the device also makes it easy to know what exactly is going on at any given moment (be that white for listening, blue for processing and orange for mute).

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Taking things up a notch is Google Home Premium – giving you access to additional features like Gemini Live which allows you to have more natural conversations with Gemini, including follow-up questions. If you’re already in the ecosystem you can even direct your speaker to give you reports on existing hardware – like a summary of interactions with your doorbell, which can be incredibly handy and efficient.

With that in mind, your need for the Google Home speaker will largely depend on your dependence on the Google ecosystem. For those that do, having another touch-point you can directly interact with is a big win. But if you’re jumping in for the first time or really love the idea of having constant access to Google Gemini, the Google Home speaker will be a great fit.

The Google Home speaker is available now for $199 via the Google Store.

Also out now…

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

It’s hard to believe it’s been 13 years since Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but this ‘Resynced’ remake will make you keen to walk the plank all over again.

As you might expect, the basics of the popular story remain in place – focusing on the plights of Edward Kenway as he sails the Caribbean seas hunting down the ancient Observatory, an ancient structure both the Assassins and Templars are also on the hunt for. Even after a decade it’s a jolly good time and has seen a few minor tweaks to fill in the occasional hole.

Instead, the majority of the work focuses around the completely overhauled visuals and quality of life gameplay. The former is incredibly impressive, and Ubisoft has done mighty fine work to bring the world up to modern standards, especially when you boot it up on the PS5 Pro. The latter is far less flashy, but equally important – lining it up with more modern iterations of the series.

Combat now focuses on whittling down posture bars before finishers, while boring tailing missions have been all but expunged.

Whether or not all these changes will lure you back to the open sea if you’ve conquered them once before will vary. But Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is without question the definitive way to replay this series highlight.

Rhythm Heaven Groove (Switch)

Hot off the heels of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Nintendo is continuing to embrace its premium quirk with Rhythm Heaven Groove.

In what can only be described as an unconventional melding of WarioWare and Guitar Hero, this rhythm title will see you try to frantically follow beat-synced button presses to some truly zany visuals, all before jamming them together for a crazy remix challenge. It’s fast, furious and bound to elicit a chuckle or two. It can also feel surprisingly challenging for those without a natural sense of rhythm, although practice will make perfect.

Groove adds a new Beatspell mode that introduces RPG-like elements, but while its attempt at extra depth is appreciated, it does feel like it needs a second iteration to properly succeed. Substantial lag can also be a bit of an issue. Boot the game up in handheld mode, for instance, and you’ll likely constantly falter with the precise timing this game demands. It’s far less of an issue in handheld mode though, so not how much of an issue it is will vary from gamer to gamer.

Rhythm Heaven Groove won’t be for everyone, but if you’re looking for a toe-tapping good time, it may very well be for you.

eFootball Kick-Off! (Switch 2)

This is a bit of an interesting one. On beefier platforms, eFootball is a live-service styled football title that’s copped a fair bit of heat over the years since its launch. But for Switch 2, Konami has used Kick-Off to pivot its strategy to deliver an offline-centric affair that’s got more legs than you’d initially expect.

The game’s World Tour mode is a prime example of that. Only available in this iteration, World Tour will see you take a ragtag group of players, travel around the globe to gradually add newbies to the roster, and refine them in the hopes of achieving football supremacy. It’s a pretty meaty mode, but is also pretty darn enjoyable.

The rest of the package is equally strong, with both a stable framerate and plenty of control options. You will have to accept a few trade-offs though – namely the lack of licensed teams compared to the behemoth of EA FC and some mediocre commentary.

If you can accept both of those, eFootball Kick-Off! might actually be one of the best football titles available for the Switch 2.