Technologies

Hands-On With Spellcasters Chronicles: 3 Things I Hope They Change Before the Closed Beta

The game is an interesting spin on the classic push-lanes-with-minions formula, but the action doesn’t yet feel satisfying.

Quantic Dream, the studio known for rich storytelling games like Detroit: Become Human, announced something totally different last month. Spellcasters Chronicles is a competitive three-on-three action-strategy game that promises to have an element of ongoing storytelling. And the develop just announced that it’s entering a closed beta from Dec. 4 to 7.

Spellcasters Chronicles follows the general mold of a multiplayer online battle arena game like League of Legends: Your team battles along three lanes, with player-controlled characters helping waves of computer-controlled minions as they push toward objectives («lifestones») deep in enemy territory. Player characters have different classes and abilities, giving them defined strengths and weaknesses.

I got to play an early build of the game earlier this month to get a sense of the gameplay loop and the general vibe of Spellcasters Chronicles. The usual caveats apply: This is an early build of the game, so things were not optimized, features may change and so on. I should also be clear that one or two matches played is not a lot of material to judge by, so I’ll be focusing on the broad strokes.

Based on a quick match-and-a-half, here are the three things I’m hoping the game changes.

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Put more action in the action-strategy

The match I played, which came down to the last dying seconds, felt like it was primarily decided by the two teams’ strategic decisions more than individual plays. Our opponents summoned an early titan, a massive creature that helped them gain control of most of the map, but my team worked together to stop it before it could damage our lifestone (each team’s most precious structure). We used that momentum to flip one of the lanes and ultimately destroy one of our opponents’ lifestones.

At the end of the game, the other team made another push with a titan while one of our teammates was on a long wait to respawn. But we had stocked up on resources and were able to dump everything into eliminating the titan before it took out one of our lifestones, though we cut it pretty close.

Those big swings felt like they came down to our strategy, rather than relying on landing important shots or abilities, which is what I’d hoped to see in an action-strategy game like this. And deckbuilding elements of selecting ability cards to bring into the match, which were limited in our playtest, further swing the game toward rewarding strategy over moment-to-moment combat skill. That’s certainly not unheard of for MOBA games, but I’d like the balance to shift more toward the action side, or at least somewhere more in the middle to reward great plays.

The existing action elements need some help

To be clear, the game does have action elements, but they probably need a little tweaking if Quantic Dream wants them to stand out. Flying around the map with dash abilities and raining spells down upon enemy summons were fun, and by far the most dynamic parts of the game, but other pieces of action came up a bit short.

The biggest thing for me was that it felt impossible to hit other spellcasters with primary attacks and abilities due to the travel time of projectiles and the small hitbox of the spellcasters. Maybe the struggles were particular to the spellcaster I was playing (the swamp witch), but about halfway through the game, I kind of just gave up on shooting at enemy spellcasters because I felt like a Death Star stormtrooper firing at Luke Skywalker. The swamp witch is listed as a duelist class, so I had hoped to feel more useful in 1v1s against other spellcasters.

Unlike traditional MOBA games, players have to manually summon minions, rather than having them automatically spawn from their base. This gives you some element of control — you can pick which lane to spawn them in, and as you gain map control, you can spawn them further up the lane. But spending time summoning minions felt like a bit of a chore, even if it happens pretty quickly. There were times when I wanted to rotate to another lane, but I felt like I had to hold off in order to summon more minions in the area I was currently in. In fairness, the deck I selected was very heavy on minions rather than spells or other effects, so other builds might have a different experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that the hands-on summoning process really slowed the game down for me.

The art style is engaging and enjoyable, but visually, a bit hard to read

The game has a bright, vivid art style that makes spells and parts of the scenery pop. But sometimes, there was a little too much popping. I’m a veteran of Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, so I’m no stranger to a barrage of particle effects, but there were moments where I got totally lost in Spellcasters. Three casters barraging a titan with spells in front of a glowing lifestone can be pretty visually disorienting.

In the visual style of Spellcasters Chronicles, size is power. Ultimate abilities have enormous areas of effect, and the most powerful summons, titans, are kaiju-sized threats that stomp across the battlefield, demanding your attention. In general, I think that works, but when those large elements all cluster together, it’s challenging to decipher what’s happening.

What’s next for Spellcasters Chronicles?

Spellcasters offers an interesting twist on a popular game type, and it’s already doing some things right. Games run 25 minutes long, which helps dodge the classic MOBA pitfall of feeling trapped in unwinnable games or slowly grinding out a victory for 45 minutes to an hour. (Though 20 minutes might be an even sweeter spot.)

Seeing a titan lumbering toward your lifestone is appropriately thrilling, and summoning one feels nicely cataclysmic. It’s one of the game’s biggest strengths in the current state.

But I hope Quantic Dream spends some time tightening up the action elements and some of the visual clutter. The early state of the game probably wouldn’t be enough to break into my rotation of other competitive games, but if spellcaster-to-spellcaster combat felt more consistent, and if the game depended a little more on landing shots and spellcaster abilities, it would be a more serious contender.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 21.

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? It’s the long Saturday version, and some of the clues are stumpers. I was really thrown by 10-Across. 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: «Jersey Shore» channel
Answer: MTV

4A clue: «___ Knows» (rhyming ad slogan)
Answer: LOWES

6A clue: Second-best-selling female musician of all time, behind Taylor Swift
Answer: MADONNA

8A clue: Whiskey grain
Answer: RYE

9A clue: Dreaded workday: Abbr.
Answer: MON

10A clue: Backfiring blunder, in modern lingo
Answer: SELFOWN

12A clue: Lengthy sheet for a complicated board game, perhaps
Answer: RULES

13A clue: Subtle «Yes»
Answer: NOD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In which high schoolers might role-play as ambassadors
Answer: MODELUN

2D clue: This clue number
Answer: TWO

3D clue: Paid via app, perhaps
Answer: VENMOED

4D clue: Coat of paint
Answer: LAYER

5D clue: Falls in winter, say
Answer: SNOWS

6D clue: Married title
Answer: MRS

7D clue: ___ Arbor, Mich.
Answer: ANN

11D clue: Woman in Progressive ads
Answer: FLO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 21, #516

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 516.

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. I actually thought the purple category, usually the most difficult, was the easiest of the four. 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: Old Line State.

Green group hint: Hoops legend.

Blue group hint: Robert Redford movie.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Maryland teams.

Green group: Shaquille O’Neal nicknames.

Blue group: Associated with «The Natural.»

Purple group: Sports that have a driver.

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 Maryland teams. The four answers are Midshipmen, Orioles, Ravens and Terrapins.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Shaquille O’Neal nicknames. The four answers are Big Aristotle, Diesel, Shaq and Superman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «The Natural.» The four answers are baseball, Hobbs, Knights and Wonderboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports that have a driver. The four answers are bobsled, F1, golf and water polo.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.