The Verge‘s latest issue of Installer is a mixed bag of tech news, a developer homescreen tour, and a crowdsourced thread from readers, stitched together in the paper’s usual weekly format of quick takes on hardware, games, and culture with a light touch. The centerpiece is a recommendation for a Zach Cregger comedy adaptation of Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise, but the issue also covers Valve’s Steam Frame VR headset, Nintendo’s Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and Fujifilm’s Instax Pal 2 camera, among other items. The paper’s tone throughout is cheerful and fast-moving, with a clear appetite for reader input.
The Verge’s Installer 144
The edition opens with the usual welcome note from the paper’s newsletter, which the Verge calls Installer No. 144. It also invites readers to send tips and recommendations for upcoming issues. The main feature is a look at the game What’s the Password?, developed by Dan Dilorio under the alias TrampolineTales, along with a crowdsourced thread from the Verge community.
Resident Evil Comedy Comes First
Zach Cregger’s take on Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise is the lead recommendation of the issue. My colleague Charles Pulliam-Moore called it a “comedy first and a thrilling nightmare second,” a line the paper uses to describe the adaptation’s approach to the survival-horror series. The adaptation draws on the source material’s horror roots while leaning into comedy, and the paper’s own line suggests the film balances the two tones without fully committing to either.
Valve’s Steam Frame Arrives
Valve’s Steam Frame is now available after a long wait. The VR headset was initially supposed to launch in early 2026, but it has finally shipped. Sean Hollister’s review, cited by the Verge, notes that the device works well for both VR and flatscreen gaming — when it isn’t dealing with bugs and general instability. The paper offers the review as evidence of mixed results, cautioning that Valve has fixed problems in the past with products like the Steam Deck, and says the hope is the company can do the same with the Frame.
The Steam Frame starts at $1,059, according to the Verge. The paper describes the headset as a promising product with a real flaw: the bugs and instability that Hollister’s review notes.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Review
Nintendo’s latest entry in its Fire Emblem strategy RPG series is the paper’s pick for the Switch 2. The game is an “excellent evolution” of everything great about Fire Emblem: Three Houses, according to the Verge. The paper’s writer has spent about 130 hours with the game, a massive time commitment, and says it is easily the writer’s favorite game on the Switch 2.
The review notes that the game is a big commitment to play through. The writer has poured about 130 hours into the game and calls it an excellent evolution of everything great about Three Houses.
Fujifilm’s Instax Pal 2
Fujifilm’s Instax Pal 2 is a $169.95 digital camera with an optical viewfinder and a 1.3-inch LCD screen. It can take 10-megapixel photos, and the Verge calls it “so dang small.” The paper describes the device as a promising pocketable camera to play with.
Hisense’s RoamView
Hisense now has its own version of the “screen on wheels” idea that LG tried with its StanbyME. The RoamView has a 32-inch 4K touchscreen, a 10-hour battery, and you can take it off the wheeled stand to use on a desk. It costs $1,199, so it’s not cheap. The Verge says the writer really wants to try it anyway, despite the price.
The comparison here focuses on the “screen on wheels” concept, with LG’s StanbyME as the original and Hisense’s RoamView as the new version. The Verge wants to try the RoamView, but the price tag keeps it from being an easy pick.
| Product | Screen Size | Price | Can Be Removed From Stand | The Verge’s Take |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG StanbyME | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Original screen-on-wheels idea |
| Hisense RoamView | 32 inches | $1,199 | Yes | The writer really wants to try it |
Dan Dilorio’s Homescreen
The Verge’s writer turned the spotlight on Dan Dilorio, the game developer behind TrampolineTales. Dilorio released a game called What’s the Password? earlier this year, a delightful game that tasks players with solving a series of tricky four-digit codes. It’s out now on PC, iOS, and Android, and the writer says it can be finished in a couple of hours.
Dilorio’s homescreen is a Google Pixel 6A, with a wallpaper featuring his partner and their rabbit, Lefty. The developer keeps his app grid in 3 columns instead of the default 4, so only apps he actually uses end up on the homescreen. File Manager Plus is handy for managing files, especially when testing APKs transferred from his PC. Podcast Addict is also a favorite, with years of use behind it.
Dilorio plays MahjongSoul most these days, averaging at least one game of riichi mahjong a day. Sometimes he plays a few games of Threes when he doesn’t have time for a full match. He hasn’t deleted any games despite having a lot of space left on his phone.
The paper’s writer asked Dilorio to share what he’s into right now, and he sent back three recommendations:
- Omelet You Cook, a score-based roguelike deckbuilder
- The Incident at Galley House
- Esoteric Ebb and Rita, both strong contenders for his game of the year
The Crowdsourced Thread
The Verge’s community thread is a mix of recommendations from readers for anything and everything. One reader, Jonathan, is excited for Slow Horses season 6. Another, Chris, has been making the most of the Zen browser’s new features, including syncing tabs and workspaces, which have vanquished Arc once and for all.
A third reader, Chris, recently played The Drifter, a fully voiced-acted game with beautiful art and fun puzzles. The reader called it fantastic. The reader is currently reading Cloudthief by Nathaniel Rich, about a heist in a datace.
| Recommender | What They’re Into | Why They’re Into It |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan | Slow Horses season 6 | “Cannot wait to burn into season 6” |
| Chris | The Zen browser | Syncing tabs and workspaces have vanquished Arc |
| Chris | The Drifter | Fully voiced-acted, beautiful art, fun puzzles |
| Chris | Cloudthief by Nathaniel Rich | About a heist in a datace |
What The Verge’s Edition Proves
The issue is a mix of product reviews, a developer profile, and a reader thread, each with its own clear purpose. The paper’s own line on the Resident Evil comedy suggests a film that leans into the franchise’s horror roots while not fully committing to them.
The reviews of the Steam Frame, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and the other products are quick and light, more tips than in-depth analysis. The writer’s own admission that the RoamView is something they want to try anyway, despite the price, reads as genuine rather than promotional.
The crowdsourced thread from readers is a highlight. It shows how much the Verge’s community cares about what they watch and use, and it gives the paper a human side beyond its reviews.
Source material: “A great new video game movie,” The Verge.
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