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None of the 13 focus group participants — who all voted for President Trump in 2024 — said they would describe the military action in Iran as going well so far.

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President Trump's timeline for an end to the Iran war continues to shift, U.S. and Iran block the Strait of Hormuz, trapping the Gulf's oil and gas, Trump's allies defend his remarks about Pope Leo.

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There’s a solid puzzler at the core of Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, if you aren’t driven to despair by some technical hiccups, some frustrating mechanics and an auto-save system with a mind of its own.

Although I’ve watched countless pieces of media or played dozens of video games and board games that draw on the Cthulhu mythos and the works of HP Lovecraft, I was suddenly struck by one question I don’t think I’ve ever properly considered while writing this review of Big Bad Wolf’s solid investigation puzzler, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss. What does Cthulhu want?

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: April 16, 2026

As I’m trawling through audio logs, video diaries, and messages left by a research crew and its billionaire funder in an abandoned underwater facility and an otherworldly city, I witness how they all succumb to the call of the Great Old One and become fixated on bringing about his/its/their return.

And while by the end I’d solved some mysteries and smugly puzzled out how to keep Cthulhu slumbering, I still didn’t know what the big tentacle-faced beast got out of it all apart from a few mindless, raving fans.

Can I be your number one fan?

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)

I guess you could argue that’s the whole point. Cthulhu is supposed to be a being beyond our comprehension, from a place with impossible geography, so I should just take the win and be happy I was able to stop him from awakening before being subsumed into the fandom.

But while some things may never be understood, Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss is all about solving what you can. As an occult investigator, Noah, you use tech and your wits to explore the grotesque and fascinating environments of a flooded bayou to the sunken city of R’lyeh. It’s a game of scanning for clues, absorbing the relevant information, making connections, and figuring out how it will help you stop Cthulhu.

What that ultimately means is that this is a game with a lot of reading, a lot of listening, and a lot of work outside the game, shuffling the facts around inside your brain as you piece it all together. Fortunately, it’s never interrupted by the threat of a monster attack or an enemy stalking you throughout the area like a Soma or Amnesia. Some wrong moves or wayward exploration will result in death, but it’s easy to avoid this if you’re paying attention.

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)

To help visualise all of your clues, you do get given a mind map of sorts that allows you to move clues around and draw connections where you think they are relevant, but most of the time, the game will prompt you on the important questions that need answering to progress.

Added to that is an energy system that allows you to analyze clues and items, to better understand what they are and how they can be useful to your investigation. And while this is supposedly a limited resource, each area is full of the fungus that you can use to recharge it (yep, Noah basically powers up like Mario), so I just ended up scanning everything when I had the chance. Because of that, the whole system feels superfluous.

The same goes for the upgrades and augments you can find or earn from special tablets or shrines dotted around each area. You can only equip a limited number based on your maximum capacity, but when all they offer are small bonuses, such as an increase in your scanner range or a chance to restore energy when analyzing clues, the decision of what to equip doesn’t matter all that much.

Fortunately, you can still investigate and puzzle solve fully while both the energy and augment systems just exist in the background without requiring you to engage with them. I can only assume they must have been added to make Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss feel more gamey, but I don’t think they add anything of value.

Jarvis, activate 'see everything' mode

One aspect you will be engaging with a lot is the sonar built into your AI companion, Key. Using the frequencies you gain from analyzing clues, you can set and search for nearby items that match the frequency. This becomes a loop for part of the game’s puzzle-solving.

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)

For example, a component made of a specific alloy might be missing from a piece of equipment, so you can scan the surrounding area for alloys that match that frequency to find it. Relatively straightforward, then, but the game does expand on this idea a handful of times by making certain key frequencies harder to find or requiring you to combine frequencies to find more specific items and secrets.

Best bit

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)

There’s little else quite so satisfying as connecting the dots between various pieces of seemingly unrelated information and working out exactly what you need to do to progress. Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss has several moments like this, and when you get deep into a puzzle that comes together in one intricate and elegant solution, you feel like a genius.

I liked it enough as an idea, but as with all of these special vision types in games (I'm looking at you, Arkham detective mode), I ended up simply cycling through what I thought was a relevant frequency and spamming it in each new location to be sure I wasn’t missing any clues.

That’s not to say the game’s puzzles are bad. I did enjoy investigating a lot, with many solutions requiring you to take in all of the information given to you. There are moments where you feel like you are uncovering the secrets of an ancient civilization, learning how to use their bizarre technology, or piecing together the lives and relationships of the original research team as they descended into madness.

What’s also interesting is that chapters give you two possible solutions to the main puzzle: one that pushes you more towards the corrupting influence of Cthulhu, and another (often slightly more elaborate) that lessens the Great Old One’s control over you and the world. It’s a neat idea that rewards you for following a different path than the obvious one and encourages you to fully consider all the clues presented to you.

A sacrifice I am willing to make

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)

The choices you make can affect the state of the world, characters, and your final ending, so I really appreciate a usually very linear puzzle game offering up some more freeform elements that give you more influence over the story — and a chance to try alternate paths if you feel stuck on one route or are keen for a second playthrough.

I doubt I’ll be diving in again, though, as I feel happy with everything I got out of Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss on the first go. It has some rough edges, namely an inconsistent autosave, which meant I had to repeat some steps when loading my game on a few occasions. There are also fussy item manipulation mechanics and some ideas that aren’t fully realised.

However, its core investigation gameplay is strong, and the atmosphere is suitably sinister, so I’m sure anyone who enjoys a puzzle game with a dash of cosmic horror will come away satisfied enough — especially for a budget release.

Should you play Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss?

(Image credit: Big Bad Wolf / Nacon)Play it if…

You want a good investigation and puzzle game
The majority of puzzles in Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss are well-designed and fun to solve, while the investigation gameplay feels detailed and rewarding.

You enjoy cosmic horror
Naturally, the game is steeped in the lore and atmosphere you would expect from a work set in the Cthulhu mythos, and Big Bad Wolf nails this overall tone.

Don’t play it if…

You want a survival horror experience
While the game does feature some threats and has a generally spooky atmosphere, you are free to explore and investigate in peace without worrying about monster attacks or jump scares.

You get frustrated with jank and fiddly mechanics
Some elements of navigation and a few very specific puzzle mechanics don’t fully work as intended or are frustrating to deal with, and while some bugs may be ironed out over time, the rough edges are annoying.

You might need to dip out at any moment
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss uses an autosave feature that only seems to trigger under specific circumstances, so if you need to quit the game at a moment’s notice without triggering one of these conditions, you may risk losing some progress.

Accessibility

Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss has two difficulty modes: Investigation and Exploration. The first is the standard experience, while the second allows you to ask your AI companion for hints and shows the clues available in each location. You can also set a custom option to tweak how much corruption affects you and how energy is used.

Elsewhere, there are three color blind modes for green, red, and blue color blindness, the option to make subtitles clearer, disable head movement to ease motion sickness, and fully rebind all controls.

How I reviewed Cronos: The New Dawn

I played Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss for around 8 hours on a PlayStation 5 Pro on a Samsung S90C OLED TV and Samsung HW-Q930C soundbar while using a DualSense Wireless Controller.

I played the whole game in Performance mode and still experienced a few technical hitches and moments of slowdown, so I wouldn’t risk Quality mode without a major patch.

In my time playing, I completed the game once and saw one of the possible endings, although I did have to replay an early chapter three times due to an autosave issue, which should now be fixed in the full release. However, I did still find the autosave unreliable, and that probably bumped up my total playtime by at least an hour.

First reviewed April 2026.

So... what on Earth was that? While it's nothing like the first Netflix season, Beef season 2 ending is just as explosive.

The Garmin Bounce 2 is a smartwatch designed for kids that features location tracking, two-way calling, and chore management.

Garmin Bounce 2: One minute review

Most of the best smartwatches are designed for adults, but every so often a smartwatch brand will release a dedicated offering for children. There’s the Fitbit Ace LTE and the Xplora X6Play, but the newest kid on the block is the Garmin Bounce 2. With calling, text messaging, real-time location tracking features, and some fun games, the Bounce 2 is a device that keeps kids connected without needing a smartphone.

Designed for 6-12 year olds, the Bounce 2 is fun, cool and colorful. It boasts a bright 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen that delivers clear graphics and vibrant colors, elevating the smartwatch experience beyond that of most kids' smartwatches.

The Bounce 2 also includes a range of child-friendly features, such as activity tracking and games, although my son’s interest in the watch began to wane after a couple of months. He would still wear it if we asked him to, but he has ceased ‘pestering’ me to let him wear it. Beyond connectivity that is primarily for parents' peace of mind, the watch doesn’t include a huge amount to keep the child glued to it.

If you’d like a smartwatch with more features at a similar price, then the Apple Watch SE 3 is our recommended option. With a full set of features, including health tracking and a robust ecosystem, the Watch SE 3 offers much more longevity. This watch can be set up under a family plan which enables parents to control access and functionality and ensures the child is only able to access appropriate content for their age.

But if you’re looking for a locked-down smartwatch for your pre-teen, then it doesn’t get much better than the Bounce 2. It’s easy to set up, enjoyable to use, and has onboard GPS. To help with testing, I enlisted my ten-year-old son. Much of this review features his observations and opinions.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Garmin Bounce 2: Specifications

Component

Garmin Bounce 2

Price

$299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS

Dimensions

43 x 43 x 12.4 mm

Weight

26.5g without strap

Case/bezel

Fiber-reinforced polymer

Display

1.2-inch AMOLED Screen

GPS

Multi-GNSS

Battery life

Up to 2 days

Connection

Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, LTE (with subscription)

Water resistance

5 ATM

Garmin Bounce 2: Price and availability

• $299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
• Additional subscription required for access to all features
• The Apple Watch SE 3 offers more features at a similar price

At $299 USD / £259 UK / AUD$479, the Garmin Bounce 2 is at the pricey end of smartwatches for kids. It ships in Slate Grey, Light Purple, and Turquoise colorways.

It is priced similarly to the Apple Watch SE 3, which offers more features but is much more distracting for a younger child. It also doesn't have the same functionality for chore management.

As well as the upfront hardware cost, the Bounce 2 requires an LTE subscription for access to two-way calling, messaging, and tracking. This costs $9.99 / £9.99 / AUD per month or $99 / £99 / AUD$17 per year, with the plan being managed through the Garmin Jr. app.

• Value score 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Garmin Bounce 2: Design

• Simple, kid-friendly and not too flashy
• A small but responsive AMOLED touchscreen
• Comfortable fit with silicon strap

The Bounce 2 is a basic smartwatch with a kid-friendly design. It’s nothing revolutionary, but my son wore the watch with pride and thought it looked like a fashionable accessory. Constructed of a fiber-reinforced polymer and at just over 40g with the strap, the Bounce 2 is light enough for all-day wear, even on the small wrist of a child. The silicone strap also has the benefit of being sweat resistant and easy to clean. It fits wrists between 115-180 mm.

From a parent’s point of view, one of the best things about the design is that it doesn’t particularly stand out. It’s therefore unlikely to attract any unwanted attention that could cause problems for your child.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

The 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 390×390 pixels delivers clear graphics and vibrant colors. Swipes and taps are accurately detected, and the interface responds quickly and as expected. The screen is also chemically strengthened, which is ideal, as my child wasn't the most careful with it! The downside to this, is that the screen seriously drains the battery with my son having to charge the watch most nights.

Other features include physical buttons and a 5ATM water resistance rating that enables the watch to withstand water from splashes, showers, and pool trips. It also has a proprietary charger rather than USB-C, which is far from ideal if your child is prone to losing cables!

• Design Score: 4/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Features

• Location tracking and geofencing
• Two-way calling and messaging
• Basic activity tracking and chore management

With an LTE subscription, parents can view their child's real-time location via the Garmin Jr. app. The child can also manually ping their location to their approved contacts if they’re in an emergency situation. My son loved pinging his location when he arrived at a friend’s house, and even though it wouldn’t constitute an emergency, I appreciated receiving the update.

The GPS hardware can also be used to geofence areas so that parents receive notifications when their child enters or leaves a designated area. This is ideal for the journeys that your child will most commonly make, such as between school and home.

The first Bounce smartwatch was limited to voice and text messages. The second iteration builds on this by including a built-in speaker and microphone for conducting phone calls with parent-approved contacts. For messages, the watch now supports voice-to-text transcription and a full QWERTY keyboard. My son took great pleasure in texting me funny jokes as well as humorous emojis and sound clips.

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

The Bounce 2 includes a range of sports profiles, including running, walking, cycling, and more niche activities such as racket sports and even motor sports. Children can unlock games by meeting daily activity goals, which acts as a motivation towards fitness.

Another feature for rewarding behavior is the chore tracking feature, which enables parents to assign chores and virtual coins through the app, which kids can redeem for agreed-upon rewards. These rewards might be screen time, a chocolate treat, or a new toy or game.

As the Bounce 2 is primarily a communication and safety tool, there's no heart rate sensor for health tracking, something that my son was rather disappointed about.

• Features Score: 4/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Performance

• Mixed results for GPS signal
• Fun and engaging games
• Very short battery life

We experienced variable results with the GPS signal, with a significant tail-off in signal within rural areas. Despite being able to successfully access signals in dense urban areas, the same wasn’t true when we were out in the country. There were a number of times when I couldn’t determine the location of my son, and even though it was never an emergency, it didn’t fill me with much confidence.

The GPS and LTE connectivity are always on, which means the battery drains very quickly. The advertised two-day battery life is definitely the maximum, with real-world experience being just over a day. My son said, “I didn’t like having to keep on top of charging and would have liked it to last at least a full school week.”

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

He spent a lot of time playing the simple games, with his favorite being the Tamagotchi-style digital pet that you have to keep alive. “I was surprised how much I found myself caring about the little thing.” In reality, I think the appeal was in the challenge of keeping it alive. Either way, they’re pretty addictive in the short term, but he lost interest after a few weeks.

The day-to-day operation of the smartwatch was considered smooth and enjoyable. “I loved using the voice commands to set an alarm or check the weather, although it was a little frustrating having to speak specific commands.” For example, "Tell me the weather” didn’t work, but "Show me the weather” did. Some AI help here would certainly improve the user experience.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Garmin Bounce 2: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

More affordable alternatives exist, and the subscription makes it a high long-term cost.

3.5/5

Design

A kid-friendly design with basic materials.

4/5

Features

A fantastic set of communication and connectivity features.

4.5/5

Performance

Mixed GPS results and short battery life between charges.

3.5/5

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)Garmin Bounce 2: Should I buy?Buy it if...

You need to keep track of your children but don’t want them owning a phone

With built-in GPS you can track your child’s location from your phone.

You want a digital way to motivate your child to do their chores

Assign chores and let your children earn virtual coins by completing them

Don't buy it if...

You need a subscription-free GPS tracker

At $9.99/£9.99/AUD$17 per month, a Garmin LTE subscription quickly adds up

You want an effortless communication tool

Anyone who wants to contact your child needs the Garmin Jr. app which makes the experience a little too locked in

Also consider

Apple Watch SE 3

This is the best Apple Watch for most people, especially if your children are breaking into their teen years. With more smart features, you'll be breaking away from the more child-friendly vibe of the Garmin Bounce 2.

Read our Apple Watch SE 3 review

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 improves on many of its predecessor’s features. It’s well designed, and shines when teamed with a Samsung phone. Its battery life isn’t bad day-to-day; it's easily comparable to its competitors, but still not where I’d like it to be.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review

Fitbit Ace LTE (US Only)

Built-in games, activity tracking, a rewards system, and parent-approved messaging. Requires a US-based Google account for setup and an "Ace Pass" subscription for LTE connectivity. 

Read more about the Fitbit Ace LTE

How I tested

The Garmin Bounce 2 is targeted at 6-12-year-olds, so I thought it would be a little disingenuous if I, a 40+ year-old, were to carry out the lion's share of testing. As soon as it arrived, I therefore handed it to my son, who spent a couple of months with it, testing it while out and about with his friends and at various midweek clubs. I’ve taken his experience and written the review, but most of the observations are his. I’m not entirely redundant, though; the Bounce 2 is designed to have parental oversight, so I’ve been proactive in that area of testing.

First reviewed: April 2026

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