Technologies

Bounty Star Review: Saddle Up for Desert Mech Action on the Frontier

The new game from Annapurna Interactive is about picking yourself up and finding meaning in life again — with a big mech suit, naturally.

Video games that feature mechs — pilotable robots meant for battle — have always been rare. Most of them, from 2023’s Armored Core 6 to 2016’s Titanfall 2 to the Mechwarrior games of old, are fast-paced combat simulators. Bounty Star, a new mech game that’s out now on PC and consoles, slows down the action with a story about starting life anew on the frontier.

Bounty Star, developed by studio Dinogod, still has its share of real-time combat encounters that make up the bulk of the gameplay. But filling the time between all that action are calmer moments, maintaining a desert ranch, from gardening and tending livestock to tuning up a mech. It’s in these more mundane stretches that the game’s setting sings, with the twanging guitar soundtrack echoing around a dusty barn plopped in the middle of anywhere and nowhere under a seemingly endless sky.

It’s the perfect place for Clementine, a rugged former sheriff looking to escape mistakes in her past. Covered in tattoos and burn scars, she’s an ace pilot of the mechs (called Raptors) that protect the settlements of a world patching itself back together after a couple of apocalypses. Clem is a salty survivor getting back on her feet, fixing up the dilapidated waystation she’s been given by her bounty handler as she cleans up the desert of bandits and dinosaurs gnawing at the edges of civilized life in the frontier.

Cowboys and mechs, what could be better? There’s a lot of heart in Bounty Star, earning its place in boutique publisher Annapurna Games’ release calendar. The cartoony style softens the game’s somber themes of people eking out an existence on the edge of society, but its combat is well-tuned. Clem ventures out on bounty missions in her trusty Raptor, which can be tweaked to fit the mission. Most of the time, you’ll be gunning down or capturing bandits on foot or in mechs of their own.

Over time, you’ll acquire an arsenal of guns, explosive launchers, swords and hammers to clean out the sands and canyons around your ranch. You’ll have to be careful what you pack into your kit, as weapons can raise or lower the heat of your mech. Swing too widely one way or another, and you’ll force a shutdown, leaving you vulnerable. However, you can switch modular systems in and out, like a chilling coil that keeps your mech at a cooler baseline, which is great for heading out in the hot afternoon but not the cooler evening. Juggling kit pieces and time of day for a mission is part of the balancing act that keeps you switching things up.

I’m about 10 hours into the game and have unlocked some of the elements of the farm: a set of plant beds, a couple of electrolyzing tanks for mech fuel and a hive for a bug friend I can bring on missions. All need tending in the mornings, after which I can cook up a meal for bonus stats for the day’s combat. Then I take on bounties, some of which can only be attempted at certain times — like one in the evening that had me clear out a floodlit baseball field.

While the days are spent knocking bandit heads amid the desert rock and sand, the night landscapes are lit up by phosphorescent purple trees — potentially the effect of the devastating wars of years gone by, but a lovely environmental effect regardless. Rising above the neon violet flora are the stars, and like anywhere not spoiled by the light pollution of a city, the specks of white blanket the night.

I’m not far into the game, and haven’t hit too many story beats. But whenever I complete enough bounties to cross a milestone, I’m treated to a scene of Clem sitting atop her Raptor, filling out a journal, talking about the slow progress of gaining trust from the oddballs she’s met and the Syndicate that assigns her bounties meant to bring law to the land.

Few though they are, most other mech games are action-packed bonanzas against the backdrop of global (Armored Core 6) or galactic politics (Battletech). Bounty Star shrinks the scale down to a jaded woman and the land she’s helping bring back to order and productivity, one way or another. Helping others helps bring her peace. As anyone who knows the desert can tell you, look past the barren emptiness long enough and you’ll find wonder in natural beauty and purpose in making a living in the harsh frontier.

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Bounty Star is out now on PC (via Steam

and Epic), Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5, for $22.49.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___-Carlton (hotel chain)
Answer: RITZ

5A clue: Span of the alphabet
Answer: ATOZ

6A clue: Cable channel with an out-of-this-world name
Answer: STARZ

7A clue: Takes care of, as a squeaky wheel
Answer: OILS

8A clue: Toy on a string
Answer: YOYO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: When a post receives far more negative comments than likes, in social media slang
Answer: RATIO

2D clue: World’s leading wine producer
Answer: ITALY

3D clue: Middle of the human body
Answer: TORSO

4D clue: Sleeping sound
Answer: ZZZ

6D clue: Tofu base
Answer: SOY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.