Sony’s State of Play on Thursday had some surprises, including the remaster of Metal Gear Solid 4. Finishing up the show were two announcements for the God of War franchise that no one saw coming. 

The first reveal was done by TC Carson, the voice actor for Kratos in the original God of War games released on the PS2 and PS3. Carson announced that the first three God of War games will be remade. The God of War Greek trilogy remakes are still in early development by Santa Monica Studio, and more details about the games will come in the future, so it’s safe to say fans still have plenty of time to wait before they’re released. 

Following the news of the trilogy remake, the final surprise was the release of a new God of War game, albeit in a game format that’s new to the series. God of War: Sons of Sparta is a 2D action platformer that tells the story of Kratos’ youth as he trains to be a Spartan warrior with his brother Deimos. Developed by Mega Cat Studios (makers of the side-scrolling Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into The Pit) with a story written by Santa Monica Studio, young Kratos will have to learn to use his spear, shield and divine artifacts to defeat his enemies.

Since Kratos doesn’t have his traditional Blades of Chaos or Leviathan Axe in this new game, he’ll rely on a classic Spartan spear that can still do plenty of damage and be customized. Changing out the spear tip will add extra offensive stats or status effects to the weapon, such as poison or burn, while spear grips add a finishing move to his combos. The spear tails add a new special attack that Kratos can unleash. 

With his shield, Kratos can deflect or parry attacks from enemies. His shield can also be upgraded to make parrying easier to reduce the damage Kratos receives when evading. The Gifts of Olympus are divine artifacts Kratos can equip that can unleash punishing projectiles or their own melee combo. Kratos can also equip accessories called Gouri to improve his offense, defense or even help find secret treasure. 

God of War: Sons of Sparta was made available in the PlayStation Store following the reveal on Thursday. The standard edition costs $30 while the deluxe edition costs $40 and includes multiple in-game items, a PlayStation Network avatar, a digital artbook and soundtrack. 

These announcements, along with the news of a God of War TV series coming to Amazon, are all part of the celebration for the God of War 20th anniversary. 

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? I found 1-Down tricky — nice one, puzzle creators. 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: Like flowers that never wilt
Answer: FAKE

5A clue: Italian city that’s hosting part of the 2026 Winter Olympics
Answer: MILAN

6A clue: «Huh, that’s strange …»
Answer: WEIRD

7A clue: Regions
Answer: AREAS

8A clue: Crossword clue, e.g.
Answer: HINT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Guy in a kitchen
Answer: FIERI

2D clue: Visitor from another world
Answer: ALIEN

3D clue: Gold measurement
Answer: KARAT

4D clue: «Don’t tell me how it ___!»
Answer: ENDS

5D clue: Kissing sound
Answer: MWAH

Google is adding a new feature to YouTube Music: AI-generated playlists. The feature was announced via an X post on Monday from the official Updates From YouTube account and is now available to premium subscribers on iOS and Android. No word yet on whether the feature will make its way to the web. 

If this sounds familiar, it might be because you’ve heard Spotify launch a similar feature, called Prompted Playlists, to its music-streaming service, though it certainly sounds like something AI-centric Google would have cooked up for its platform regardless of the competition.

Google’s been pushing its Gemini AI into virtually all of its products since it was released in 2023, though its presence hasn’t always been welcome, with criticisms of constant Clippy-like offers to summarize information popping up during meetings and while reading emails. Features like this, however, which enable you to create playlists based on exactly what you’re looking for, could be helpful features for music discovery. 

How to create an AI playlist on YouTube Music

Creating an AI playlist is nearly as straightforward as creating a standard playlist in YouTube Music:

1. Tap New on the Library tab.
2. Select AI Playlist.
3. Describe the playlist you want.

Google doesn’t mention any limitations on the creation of AI playlists, so you can put specific artists in a list or just describe the type of music you want to hear on a genre level, and the Gemini-powered feature will get to work. 

Google did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.