A great new video game movie

Plus, in this week’s Installer: Valve’s Steam Frame, Nintendo’s expansive new Fire Emblem, Fujifilm’s tiny new camera, and more.

Plus, in this week’s Installer: Valve’s Steam Frame, Nintendo’s expansive new Fire Emblem, Fujifilm’s tiny new camera, and more.

by

Jay Peters

Sep 20, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC

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Jay Peters

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Hi, friends! Welcome toInstallerNo. 144, your guide to the best andVerge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, new tech season is here, and also you can read all the old editions at theInstallerhomepage.)

This week, I flew out to Los Angeles to try on and write aboutSnap’s Specs. Along the way, I’ve been marveling at how Apple put the iPhone 18 Pro’s Face ID sensorunder the display, reading aboutnew Xbox boss Asha Sharma, getting excited for bakes in thenewGreat British Baking Showtrailer, watchingStephen Colbert shave his beard on Jimmy Kimmel, and hanging out at a lot of coffee shop tables to work.

I also have for you Valve’s Steam Frame, Nintendo’s expansive newFire Emblem, a tiny Fujifilm camera, and more.

(As always, the best part ofInstalleris your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What are your favorite things you’ve watched / seen / listened to / been wowed by recently? Drop a line toinstaller@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoyInstaller, forward it to them and tell them tosubscribe here.)

The Drop

  • Resident Evil.Zach Cregger’s take on Capcom’s iconic survival-horror video game franchise sounds like a riot. My colleague Charles Pulliam-Moorecalled ita “comedy first and a thrilling nightmare second.” Say no more.
  • Valve’s Steam Frame.Valve’s new VR headset, which was initially supposed to launch in early 2026, is finally here, and it starts at $1,059. Based onSean Hollister’s review, it seems like a really fun way to play VR and flatscreen games — when you’re not dealing with bugs and general instability. The Steam Deck was a similar story, and Valve righted the ship, so fingers crossed it can do the same for the Frame.
  • Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave.I’ve been playing Nintendo’s latest entry in its strategy RPG series over the past several weeks, and it’s anexcellent evolutionof everything great aboutThree Houses. It’s easily my favorite game on the Switch 2. Seeing most of what it has to offer is a massive time commitment; I poured about 130 hours into the game. But if you’re intoFire Emblemor even just like RPGs, this one will keep you busy for a long while.
  • Fujifilm’s Instax Pal 2.This $169.95 digital camera has an optical viewfinder and a 1.3-inch LCD screen, can take 10-megapixel photos, and is so dang small! Looks like a great pocketable camera to play with.
  • Boox’s Picco.The newBoox Palma 3isn’t available to order just yet, but youcanpreorder the tiny Picco, which has a 3.97-inch E Ink screen and costs $99.99. I haven’t used any of these diminutive e-readers, but I love the idea of them.
  • Marvel’s Wolverine.Insomniac’s latest superhero game isn’t getting the same rave reviews as the studio’sSpider-Mangames — my colleague Andrew Webster praisedWolverinefor being astraightforward action gamebut says the story ends up being “largely forgettable.” But if you just want to slice and dice as Wolverine, it seems like the game delivers.
  • Hisense’s RoamView.Hisense now has its own version of the “screen on wheels” idea that LG tried with its StanbyME. It has a 32-inch 4K touchscreen and a 10-hour battery, and you can take it off the wheeled stand to use on your desk. It’s $1,199, so it’s not cheap, but is it bad that I really want to try it anyway?

Screen Share

This week, I’m featuring the game developerDan Dilorio, who develops games under the aliasTrampolineTales. Earlier this year, he released a delightful game calledWhat’s the Password?that tasks you with solving a series of tricky four-digit codes. It’s out now on PC, iOS, and Android, and you can finish it in a couple hours.I really recommend it.

I asked him to share his homescreen and the apps and things he cares about. Here it is, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:

Image: Dan Dilorio

The phone:It’s a Google Pixel 6A.

The wallpaper:My wallpaper is my partner and our rabbit: Lefty!

The apps:I keep my app grid in 3 columns instead of the default 4 so that I only keep apps I actually frequently use on my homescreen.File Manager Plusis pretty useful for file management, especially when I need to test APKs for my games that I’ve transferred from my PC.Podcast Addictis also fantastic for keeping up with my podcasts. I’ve been using it for years and it’s very customizable.

The game I play the most these days isMahjongSoul. I tend to average at least one game of riichi mahjong a day. Sometimes I’ll play a few games ofThreesif I don’t have enough time for a full game of mahjong. I’ve got a lot of space on my phone still, so I haven’t felt the need to delete any games.

I also asked Dan to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent back:

Crowdsourced

Here’s what theInstallercommunity is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Emailinstaller@theverge.comwith your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies tothis post onThe Verge.

“Slow Horsesis baaaaaaaaack. Cannot wait to burn into season 6.” — Jonathan

“I’ve been making the most of the new version of theZenbrowser. Now with syncing tabs and workspaces, it has vanquished Arc once and for all.” — Chris

“I recently playedThe Drifterwhich was fantastic. Fully voiced-acted, beautiful art, fun puzzles. Surprisingly good story. Currently readingCloudthiefby Nathaniel Rich, about a heist in a datacenter and how difficult it is to get off the grid these days.” — rkatz94

“After getting excited by theMetroid Ravenousreveal I’m givingDreadanother go — this time on Switch 2. A resolution upgrade would have been nice, but playing mostly handheld with the 1080p boost mode is enjoyable enough.” — bimonscificon

“Watching:Colin from AccountsS3, good silly Australian fun. The new season ofTaskmaster, I’m surprised they can keep the exact same format fresh all these years. Reading:Children of Strife, the latest in theChildren Ofseries. Nothing beats the first bookChildren of Timethough, one of my all time favourite reads.” — Mrmagoo

“Been playingInscryption! Fun rougelike card game with some mystery thrown in. Recommend going in blind as it’s fun to discover more details as the game progresses.” — HapticVibez

“I haven’t been much of a country music fan in the past, but I’ve been obsessed withShaboozey’snew country album. It’s like listening to a western movie and I can’t get enough of it. (And it’s a gateway drug to other country music too.) Also I got theXteink X4 Proand it’s a lot of fun to use. Great to throw it in your pocket and always have with you. The touch screen and front lights are really nice too.” — Daniel

“I’ve been usingCoquietfor my deep work sessions lately, and I’ve really enjoyed it. The music selection is great, there’s a built-in Pomodoro timer, and I love the feeling of working alongside others. It’s free!” — Diego

Signing off

I have another week of travel coming up, and I still want to hear your travel apps / tips / ideas / recommendations. Here’s mine: For work travel, I mostly eat at boring chain restaurants like Starbucks and Chipotle. I need to eat reliable meals that don’t upset my stomach while I’m doing all the work needed to cover an event. (I’m old!) After the stories are ready or an event’s over, though, I’ll often look for something local, like thesedelicious chicken stripsI got from a ghost kitchen in LA this week.

See you next week!

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