Technologies

Disco Elysium, Absolum and More Indie Darlings Head to Xbox Game Pass

It’s definitely a good month to reup your subscription.

March is coming to an end, and Xbox Game Pass is going indie. Disco Elysium, Absolum and other indie game favorites are heading to the subscription service to close out the month and start off April. This batch of titles covers a variety of genres, and there are a few well-known games thrown in the mix.

Game Pass offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, smart TV, PC or mobile device, with prices starting at $10 a month. While all Game Pass tiers offer you a library of games, Game Pass Ultimate ($30 a month) gives you access to the most games, as well as Day 1 games, meaning they hit Game Pass the day they go on sale.

Here are all the latest games subscribers can play on Game Pass. You can also check out other games Microsoft added to the service in early March, including The Witcher 3.

Disco Elysium — The Final Cut

Available now for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

Disco Elysium — The Final Cut is a narrative-driven roleplaying game where you’re a troubled detective investigating a murder in a richly detailed city. Its deep skill system shapes dialogue, choices and outcomes, focusing on decision-making rather than combat. Interact with memorable characters, uncover secrets and influence the case as your personality develops. The game blends storytelling and player choice, letting you become either a sharp investigator or a complete mess.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Available on March 24 for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

Spanning Japan and Hawaii, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth brings together Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu in a story driven by fate and deeper forces at play. The game features unique turn-based combat that incorporates the environment, turning everyday objects into weapons. Beyond its main story, players can dive into a wide range of side activities and character interactions, blending humor, drama and over-the-top action in a large, vibrant world.

Absolum

Available on March 25 for Game Pass Ultimate, PC, and Premium Game Pass subscribers.

In the fantasy land of Talamh, Absolum casts players as rebel heroes fighting to overthrow the rule of Sun King Azra. The game centers on side-scrolling combat that channels classic arcade beat ’em ups, enhanced by roguelite mechanics that change each run with new characters, upgrades and paths. Players battle through waves of enemies using a mix of melee attacks, abilities and movement-based tactics, with each attempt offering different challenges and rewards. Its handcrafted world and replayable structure combine fast action with a modern progression system.

The Long Dark

Available on March 30 for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

The Long Dark is a survival experience set in a frozen wilderness after a geomagnetic disaster. Playing alone, you must manage resources, endure harsh weather and navigate the dangers of nature without outside help. The game strips away traditional enemies to focus on exploration and realism, leaving only you, the cold and the environment to overcome.

Resident Evil 7

Available on March 31 for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

Resident Evil 7 has been called the game that revived the franchise. Featuring a new hero and a focus on horror, the seventh mainline game in the survival horror series made some big changes to be one of the best yet.

Barbie Horse Trails

Available on April 2 for Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

Barbie Horse Trails is an open-world adventure game where players explore scenic environments on horseback while completing quests and caring for their horse. Focused on exploration and light gameplay, it blends riding challenges with simple tasks like grooming and bonding with your horse. Set across forests, beaches and countryside paths, the game emphasizes a relaxed pace and accessible mechanics aimed at a younger audience.

Final Fantasy 4

Available on April 7 for Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers.

Microsoft continues to bring back classic Final Fantasy games to Xbox Game Pass. Final Fantasy 4, originally released on the SNES as Final Fantasy 2, marked a major shift in RPGs. The game’s story of a Dark Knight finding redemption after a life of nefarious deeds takes players through a roller coaster of emotions that only a series like Final Fantasy can do.

Games leaving Game Pass in March

For March, Microsoft is removing only two games. If you’re still playing them, now’s a good time to finish up what you can before they’re gone for good on March 31.

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, and check out our hands-on review of the gaming service. You can also learn about recent changes to Game Pass.

Technologies

Ring Finally Goes Wire-Free for Its Latest 4K Video Doorbells

The launch of battery-powered versions of the company’s powerful AI doorbells has been highly anticipated.

Security company Ring on Wednesday announced a significant expansion of its video doorbell line, notably battery-powered versions of both its 4K and 2K models, priced from $80.

Both Amazon’s Ring and Google Nest debuted high-resolution video doorbells with new AI features in the fall of 2025. But they were wired only, and in my tests, I kept thinking, «I sure wish there were battery models available.»

Wireless video doorbells are far better for most front doors than models that require connecting to your existing doorbell wiring, which is often poorly positioned for a security camera. Mine, for example, is located on a wall beside my door that’s useless for any kind of video views, no matter how you angle a lens.

«Enhancing image quality in battery-powered doorbells means customers can enjoy reliable performance with the flexibility to install devices in a way that suits their space, whether renting or living in homes without existing wiring,» a Ring spokesperson said.

At first, I wondered whether the higher 4K resolutions and more advanced AI features would use too much power to support batteries. If so, Ring is the first to fix that issue with this suite of doorbells, including these models available for preorder right now:

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro — $250: This model offers up to 4K resolution and 10x zoom, and Ring says it features a redesigned internal architecture to support battery power.
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd-gen) — $180: This model includes a quick-release battery pack along with 2K video.
Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd-gen) — $100: This video doorbell includes 2K video, a 6x zoom and what Ring calls a «streamlined, rechargeable design,» which means you take the entire video doorbell to charge it, not just the battery — a design I greatly prefer, since Ring’s battery packs can get fiddly.

There’s also a new version of a Ring wired doorbell with 2K resolution, starting at $80. It wouldn’t be Ring without a plethora of doorbell devices to confuse newcomers, which is why I have a guide specifically for Ring video doorbells that will need some updating once I finish testing these new models.

Resolution plus an intelligence upgrade

Ring’s ordinary subscriptions of the Ring Protect plan give you cloud video storage and intelligent alerts for people, packages and vehicles, which are important but not really advanced AI. But spring for the $20-per-month Ring AI Pro cam, and this new generation of cameras opens up other capabilities.

Ring’s AI features include AI video descriptions, so if you get an alert, you can also get a summary of what the doorbell saw, including people and activities. A similar feature lets you search your video history with specific terms, such as «bike,» «truck» and so on. You also get the beta version of Ring’s Familiar Faces feature, which can ID logged faces of people who approach.

If these AI features make you uneasy and you’d rather protect your privacy, the best option is to avoid a subscription altogether or choose a lower-tier plan that gives you cloud storage without AI.

I also have a guide on how to turn off Ring’s detection and data-sharing features that might make you nervous, so you can keep what you like while ditching what you don’t.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, March 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 26.

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.

Baseball is back! You’ll see baseball images patterned throughout today’s Mini Crossword grid, and when you solve the puzzle, they’ll spell out a certain word. Play ball! Er, 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: Degrees for boardroom execs
Answer: MBAS

5A clue: «___ want for Christmas …»
Answer: ALLI

6A clue: What Hamlet holds while giving his «Alas, poor Yorick!» speech
Answer: SKULL

7A clue: Wild, as an animal
Answer: FERAL

8A clue: Sphere
Answer: ORB

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Word after «match» or «mischief»
Answer: MAKER

2D clue: Bit of writing on a book jacket
Answer: BLURB

3D clue: Penne ___ vodka
Answer: ALLA

4D clue: Window ledge
Answer: SILL

6D clue: Bay Area airport, for short
Answer: SFO

Technologies

McDonald’s KPop Demon Hunter Meals Include Bright Purple Nugget Sauce

The Derpy McFlurry mixes popping boba pearls and berry sauce into a soft-serve dessert.

McDonald’s has seen success with themed combo meals, including its holiday Grinch Meal. Now, the fast-food chain is capitalizing on Netflix’s Oscar-winning animated film, KPop Demon Hunters, with new upcoming menu items and both a breakfast meal and a lunch/dinner offering. Let’s hope you like the color purple.

The HUNTR/X Meal, named for the K-pop girl group in the movie, is a 10-piece chicken McNuggets meal that includes a medium drink and three special menu items.

Ramyeon McShaker fries come with a small bag of soy, garlic, sesame and spice seasoning, along with regular McDonald’s french fries. You sprinkle the seasoning into the provided bag, dump in the fries, shake it all up and eat.

The meal includes two new sauces for the fries and nuggets. Hunter sauce is a sweet chili sauce mixing notes of chili, garlic and pepper. But my favorite item on this new menu is Demon sauce, a bold mustard sauce with some heat and a bold purple color. There’s just not enough dark purple food out there.

There’s also a new dessert, the Derpy McFlurry, which blends creamy vanilla soft serve with berry-flavored popping boba pearls, served with a swirl of wild berry sauce. McDonald’s named it for the supernatural feline, Derpy Tiger, from the movie.

If breakfast is your bag, the new morning meal is the Saja Boys Breakfast Meal, named for the movie’s boy band.

It includes a Spicy Saja McMuffin sandwich, which is a sausage McMuffin with egg and a spicy Saja sauce, hash browns and a small drink.

Both meals come with a photocard for one of the bands and a Derpy card. The Derpy card includes a QR code you can scan to unlock online content about the film.

The full KPop Demon Hunters menu should be available at participating McDonald’s beginning March 31.

The McDonald’s Grinch meal (and its accompanying patterned socks) sold out quickly, so KPop Demon Hunters fans may want to mark their calendars and nab a meal when they are released.